Operation: Serpent

[Magister]

Benn

Benn stood as Jenna approached the table, then sat when she did. His gleanings of information from her unresisting mind told him how much she appreciated such gestures. Taking the proferred pastry from her, Benn nibbled at it slowly, sipping his tea. Pedantic, repressed bitch she may be, he thought, but this primitive can work miracles with this Earther food.[/

They chatted about empty pleasantries while eating of the pastries, then Benn stood and stepped over to the porcelain shell display. "Quite lovely. You have very good taste, Jenna." A moment later, he assumed a puzzled expression and bent down to carefully examine one of the shells on display. "Jenna, could you come look at this shell?"

Having telepathically planted the thought in her head, the Psion already knew what she would be seeing. He had altered her perceptions in this area just enough to render her fairly suggestible when properly led. "You see, Jenna? Nature's miracle, shellfish, have always been a hobby for me. Not only is that shell made to resemble the spiny ragamuffin's shell... I think it IS a spiny ragamuffin shell! Those have been so near extinction for quite a while...

 

[crysede]

Jenna McKay:
As they chatted, Jenna became more and more impressed with Benn, she would have to thank her publishers for finding such a wonderful replacement for Sue: not only were his manners impeccable, but he was clearly mentally well adjusted and had the good taste to read her books as well! She watched expectantly as he stood to admire her shell collection, she had no doubt but that he appreciated the symbolic perfection achieved by molluscs just as she did: attaining their ideal state, then remaining essentially unchanged for the rest of time. In each shell she saw the future of humanity reflected, a future of perfect ease, contentment and beauty. Just as the lesser blue-spotted webclam occupied himself wholly with adding to his decorative shell, so to could humanity now concentrate upon enhancing their flower beds and homes.

"Jenna, could you come look at this shell?..."

Coming swiftly to his side, she carefully took the shell out of the display shelf, examining it closely. "Oh, my goodness," Jenna exclaimed, her green eyes widening with shock, "I think you're right Benn! How could I have not noticed before?! A spiny ragamuffin shell,... oh my! They are incredibly rare!" She gasped, shaking her head in disbelief: yet the shell was there in her hand, plain as day, its curly little pinkish spines sparkling impishly in the sunlight.

 

[Magister]

Benn

Smiling inwardly, the Psion complimented himself on applying just the right level of mental nudge to get the human to accept his claim so easily. Forcing his face to assume an expression of dismay, despite the hilarity trying to break through, he turned soulful eyes on Jenna. "Jenna, there's something horribly wrong here! The trafficking in seriously endangered species, even their remains, is strictly illegal! I know you had no idea, but this could mean..." Benn gasped, "Tad Raya could be a smuggler!"

 

[crysede]

Jenna McKay:
She looked at Benn with stunned incomprehension. "Tad Raya, a smuggler?! Oh that can't be, that can't be at all!" Her mind reeled at the possibility of such a well known and respected man being involved in, in something illegal! Suddenly, an even more frightening specter loomed over her: this shell was a problem, a problem that she had to do something about!

Feeling faint she pressed the shell into Benn's hands and stumbled back to the nearest chair, collapsing limply into it. "What will I do?" She asked, her voice trembling with emotion, "It, it's illegal to have this shell, oh I'll have to do something with it!" She looked desperately around the room, as though hoping some government official would suddenly appear and take charge of the situation.

 

[Magister]

Benn

Benn gave a gleeful inner chortle. As he'd suspected, any possibility of conflict with an authority caused this Earther Priestess of Passivity to panic. Time to start having her see me as someone to come to her rescue... He placed the shell into its holder, then slipped it into his pocket.

Having removed the offending object from her sight, Benn stepped across the room to where Jenna had collapsed onto the chair, and laid a firm hand on her shoulder. "It will be alright. I'll take care of everything. You couldn't have known, and there is no sense in getting involved any further. Just leave everything to me." He spoke in a strong, deep voiced, pitched just right to trigger her natural responses to an authority figure.

Benn touched her cheek gently, wiping away a tear with his thumb. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Jenna," he said, looking deeply into her eyes. Well, anything besides ME! his inner voice said, triumphantly.

 

[crysede]

Jenna McKay:
Finding herself faced with the need to make a non-trivial decision for the first time in her life, Jenna's thoughts collapsed into a chaotic maelstrom. Her fear of the unknown, as much as its unfamiliarity, rendering her impotent in the face of such conflict. Despondently, she looked up at Benn when she felt his strong hand on her shoulder, her tearful face an image of abject despair.

As he spoke, her panicked mind immediately seized upon the authority in his voice with the desperate determination of a drowning man clutching at the hand of a rescuer: reacting instinctively to his offer of salvation in the face of certain self-annihilation. It was with immeasurable gratitude that she accepted Benn's invitation to take all responsibility for action upon himself, and with great relief her mind retreated back into the familiar safety of supine acquiescence.

"Yes, yes, I couldn't have known! Oh I cannot thank-you enough Benn!" She looked into his eyes gratefully: a feeling of warmth and security seemed to radiate out from him and envelope her. Never for a moment did she question why he would want to face the terrors of responsibility: authority was there to look after you, you did not question it. She was only too glad to relinquish her recently acquired responsibility, and place her trust in Benn, as a manifestation of this benevolent governing power.

 

[Magister]

Benn

"Don't worry, Jenna. I'll take care of you." Benn assumed an expression of tender compassion as he knelt beside her chair, putting an arm around her. "How about you go fix this pretty face, and I'll carry the things out to the car. Big lecture today, you know?" and he smiled at her, again wiping an errant tear from her finely-sculpted cheek.

 

[crysede]

Jenna McKay:
"You're right of course," she said, gazing happily at her rescuer, "oh dear I must look a fright." She got up and flounced out of the room, happy to have a task that she felt confident at: the memory of her earlier terror slipping away as her cheerful complacency returned. She turned her thoughts to the lecture, she was looking forward to having Benn hear her speak: she was sure it would be an event he would remember.

After diligently fixing her make-up, restoring her face to it's former perfection, she hurried back downstairs again and began to clear the tea things off the table. "Oh my, I do hope I haven't made us late." She chirped to him, as she returned from the kitchen with the basket of sandwiches and her notes for the lecture.

 

[Magister]

Benn

It was truly amazing, Benn thought, at the depth of facile self-delusion these Earthers were capable of. A couple of minutes ago, Jenna was a wreck, but now she was her usual, chipper self. A casual observer might think she was merely resilient, but he knew her mind far more thoroughly than even she, herself, did. That fear had been ruthlessly repressed, but not dealt with... very promising!

"Not to worry, Jenna. I'm an excellent driver, and we have plenty of time to get there. Here, let me carry that for you." Benn took the basket and notebook, and carried them to the car. A flick of a button, and the rear door opened, allowing him to stow the items. He then stepped over to the passenger side of the vehicle, to open the door for her. "In you go, Jenna." He smiled at her, touching her shoulder as she sat.

 

[crysede]

Jenna McKay:
Giving him an appreciative smile, Jenna relinquished her luggage to Benn's capable hands. Following him out the car, she stood politely aside to allow him to open the door for her: observing these little social graces was, in her opinion, both the purpose and meaning of civilization.

Once they were underway, Jenna started to chatter cheerfully to Benn about the inherent superiority of passivity, the arrangement of her flowerbeds, her favorite china pattern, and all the other things she thought would be of great interest to him.

 

[Magister]

Benn

The only thing keeping Benn from going quite insane during the drive, or simply taking the silly bitch's mind over completely, was the wicked joy the anticipation of her fate brought him. He tuned her out for the most part, his advanced mind compartmentalizing itself to spare a brain cell or to, in order to ensure he grunted, nodded, and smiled at the correct response times. Most of the rest of his consciousness was happily plundering her innermost thoughts, secrets, and memories. The Psion was delighted to find such a rich field of repression... the correct stimuli would cause her to react in SUCH delightful ways, he chortled inwardly.

Soon, they arrived at the lecture hall parking area, where a gangly young student met them, directed them to appropriate parking, then escorted them inside. Benn's nerves were happily jangling as he extended his perception to encompass the building. He grinned, as if in response to one of Jenna's inane commments, when he spotted the mental footprint of his subject from the night before. The presence of another non-Earther mind surprised him, but not very greatly. After all, none of the alien saboters had been assured exclusive access to a given target.

 

[crysede]

Jenna McKay:
Graciously accepting a bottle of sparkling water from the students aids, whom Jenna was appalled to note had mismatched socks on (one being off-white and the other clearly being antique ivory), she followed her guide through the maze of hallways and courtyards to the large lecture hall. As the student pointed out to her the various controls for the lights and speakers, she smiled fondly in remembrance of her two previous lectures in this hall: both were very well attended, and she had practically been able to feel the level of apathy rise during the course of her talk! Once the tour was over, Jenna turned to her faithfully following publicist.

"Benn, it's still two hours before the lecture is due to start, would you be a dear and take me to the hotel we'll be staying at so I can freshen up?" She asked, smiling sweetly at him. "And the drive over should give me just enough time to finish telling you about what inspired me to plant two basil plants in my herb garden, instead of one basil and one oregano!"

 

[Magister]

Benn

The prospect of listening to more of the Earther's inane babblings only hardened Benn's resolve to thoroughly enjoy twisting her psyche inside out. Outwardly, however, he was all calm smiles and waxed enthusiastic about the prospect of more quiet time with Jenna. "What a lovely idea, Jenna! The serenity your botanicals brought me, just from that brief time spent near them, was quite remarkable. I would love to hear more of how you achieved such an effect!"

He led her to their car, carefully steering them away from his booby-trapped student. A short drive, and they were at the hotel he had selected for her. "I'd already had us checked in yesterday, Jenna, so we can go right up. My room is right next door to yours, with an adjoining door, so we can share a common suite area."

The human and alien pair made their way up in the elevator, letting a bellcap carry what little luggage they had brought. After a generous tip from Benn, they were left alone in the suite.

 

[crysede]

Jenna McKay:
"Oh my, what a beautiful room!" Jenna exclaimed rapturously at the sight of the suit, it was decorated in a powder pink and pastel green theme, with adorable little kittens stenciled lovingly on the walls: although, if one looked deeply into their bright blue kitten eyes, there was a sense that their playful faces were but a mask for an inner loathing of all they gazed out upon. Luckily, Jenna never looked closely at anything, so she was entirely free to imagine that this room was the work of pure love and happiness upon the part of the artist.

Laying her clothes out on the bed, for it would not do to have a wrinkled dress to wear for their drive back tomorrow, Jenna took her makeup case to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later she emerged, her face doll like in its porcelain perfection.
"Well then," she said, giving Benn a broad smile, "let's go bring the joy of passivity into some peoples' lives, I have a feeling that this afternoon's lecture will be exactly like all my others!" And truly, she thought contentedly as they walked back out through the lobby, what could be better than that.