Tala ran faster than she thought she ever could, all the way through the park, zipping around trees, not even turning around to see how close her pursuers were.

She exited the park on the far right corner, but instead of running toward her home, she ran up a small street and then turned to the left, running above the park. She stopped only to see if they were behind her, but when she could not see anyone following her, she took her jacket off, stuffed it inside her bag, tied her hair all up, and ran on a stairway passageway taking her up to the big playground that had the view of the town underneath.

Picking a big trunk tree to hide behind, she decided to stop and check if anyone was following her. She could not see anyone in dark suites anywhere. Not even in the park below that seemed as if nothing happened to it.

Then the thought occurred to her.

Was she right to run? Nobody was following her. No, she needed to run, the alien dude told her to do so. It was a good advice. Those guys in black were bad news, that much was obvious. They wanted her and they were the kind of guys that would slam into a bike and kill a guy. Shoot darts and throw bombs at him.

Just before she ran, the guy said… she was infected.

With what? Something deadly?

Some alien virus? Am I going to burst into flame and turn into a heap of dust?

She weighed those words, but could not find worry in her thoughts. No, there was no malice in the alien dude’s intention, none that she could detect.

But then… She was starting to feel weird, that’s for sure. She felt something. Strange. The tickling in her hand. It was slowly moving up her hand, through her arm. Then she felt itching around her neck. Then the rush of blood ran into her head, making her grab the railing, almost knocking her out. But then before she could start to panic, it all went away and she felt a sudden sense of freedom and clarity, felt better than at any moment that morning.

“Shit… this must be some good drug. But what happened with that guy? Did he really disappear like that? In the beam of light? That would have been so cool. So alien cool.”

She sighed and looked harder, trying to see if any of the people coming up the stairs wore dark suits. None did, and she felt safe.

“That guy was an alien… and those guys in black… wanted to kill him. And then, they looked at me as if I was a Thanksgiving turkey. So, fuck them. I should trust what he said. He said to run, not to get caught. So, yeah… It’s good I got away. But now…”

She looked at her watch. She lost her targeted ride, but another bus will be coming in ten minutes. Which meant that she could still make it to the testing with fifteen minutes to spare. She did not need to go to her old station since if she ran a few more blocks to her left and took an alley down to the main street, she would end up at another bus station.

It could work, she thought and set out running, not so fast, just enough to make it there with a few minutes to spare.

“He seemed like such a nice… alien. Yeah. It’s true. I saw it. Nobody needs to believe me. But I know what I saw,” she muttered to herself. “And it does not matter if nobody will believe me. I won’t tell anyone. Well, my little brother would believe me. Maybe I’ll only tell him,” she was thinking aloud while she turned around to see the source of the ringing that suddenly reached her.

*Ding*

Did not matter how much she ran, the ringing was the same intensity. She even grabbed her phone, but… it was on mute.

*Ding*

She stopped running as she reached the narrow alley between homes, taking her down.

“What the hell is that ringing…? It’s almost as if it’s inside my head,” she wondered.

[The ringing is a way to communicate to you that you have an urgent message pending]

“What?” she said, and when she got no answer, she asked “Who was that? Who was talking? Were you talking to me?”

[Yes.]

The same voice answered.

It sounded as if the alien was still talking to her, but she turned around and could see him not.

“You almost sound like that guy that disappeared. Are you him? Communicating with me… kind of telepathically?”

[No. I am a Pre-Integration Message Manager. I have no body form.]

“And how the hell are you talking to me?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

[The process is too complex to explain. However, I have originated from Levran Trono, System Dispersion Authorized Agent Class 85. He possessed the ability to propagate the system.]

“Was that the dude that… had disappeared in the flash of light... an alien?”

Dum, dum, dum, A million-dollar question. and the answer is... Well maybe fifty years ago. Now with the inflation, it might as well be a billion-dollar question, she thought.

[Since the Integration is not complete, I do not yet possess the integration with your memory to know who you are referring to, but Mr. Trono would be considered an alien on your planet.]

“I knew it. And how did I win a grand prize and get you inside my head now?” Tala asked, suddenly looking at the cut in her hand and remembering how she felt when she held her.

Strangely, the cut that was bleeding only a few minutes ago, seemed to have healed as if it happened a day ago.

[The system system was transmitted from Mr. Trono.]

“Through blood?”

[Yes. That is one way. Since I am only Pre - Integration Message Manager, I cannot offer you in-depth information regarding this matter]

“Damn,” Tala cursed and thought about everything that was happening to her. “This… nobody will believe. Maybe not even Chitto.”

Then she remembered the time and figured she better start walking down the alley if she was to catch the bus.

*Ding*

“Okay, so… what are you dinging now?”

[You have an urgent message.]

“Oh, yeah, the message… is it from the alien? Mr. Trono you said was his name?”

[No. It’s an invitation letter from the Council of Species]

“Sounds important, let’s hear it?”

[You’ve been invited to join LiPo Agency.

Before we can properly classify you and offer you employment, please Accept the Integration of our system.]

“Would the ringing stop if I accept this integration?”

[Yes. You would have an option to mute all incoming messages and choose how you want to be notified. You could even choose to read messages rather than being vocally addressed]

“Cool, maybe I’ll try that. So, then, let’s see, how do I Integrate?”

[Just state that you accept the Integration, and the process will be then able to start automatically.]

“And I don’t need to do anything else?”

[No.]

“You will not suddenly ask me for my credit card numbers or something? Because, let me tell you, my credit is shot"

[No payment is necessary. Actually, with Integration the money the way you see it might lose any meaning to you."

"Good, but let's go back to that dinging. If I accept this, will I be able to stop the dinging then?”

[Yes. You can always go to the Options and choose to mute me.]

“Well, okay then, I accept to Integrate, whatever that means.’

[Integration has been accepted.

Estimating time of complete Integration is:

2 hours and 45 minutes

Initiating Integration Now…]

And just like that, her Integration had started.

At first, she did not understand. “It takes close to 3 hours?” she asked all disappointed. “How come?”

[That is how long it is estimated to take for a sufficient number of ninomins to multiply and spread through your body.]

“Crap. Those ninomins need their time, huh?" she said even though she had no idea what ninomins were.

[Yes, unfortunately, their self-propagation in your body is rather slow.]

"Don't blame my body. My body is perfect."

[Please accept my apology. I meant a human body.]

"I know what you meant, Just kidding. So... anything else you can tell me?”

[I do possess available information on how you can speed it up. Would you like to hear it?]

“Sure. Educate me, please.”

[To increase the ninomins multiplication rate and speed up the integration, please refrain from strenuous activities as well as consume additional supplements.]

“Supplements as what?”

[Consumer food rich in iron, magnesium, vitamins, and omega oils.]

“Shit. If I wanted to eat healthy…” she started to speak but then remembered her little brother. He saved his lunch money and got her three energizer bars that he packed inside her school bag. She swiftly opened one and gobbled it down.

“How about now, how long will it take now?” she spoke with her mouth still all full.

[I can inform you when new estimates become available.]

"Fair enough," she said and opened up another energy bar, deciding to double up and see if that would do anything.

A million questions swarmed inside her head.

“So, tell me, when that shit finishes and I get Integrated, what will happen to me?”

[You will be fully integrated into the system.]

“Integrated in what system exactly?”

[Galactic Neural Network Mode 32x43xerwe.]

“Galactic Neural Network Mode… shit, that sounds cool. So, this Galactic Neural Network, what will it allow me to do?”

[The full manual and instructions will only be available once you reach full integration and will depend on your class and rank.]

“Okay, I guess I can wait for that. This almost seems like a game. Can’t say I don’t like that,” she said but then swiftly remembered the men in black and all the violence in the park, and decided that maybe she should be a bit more careful.

“So, tell me, would I be smarter once I integrate? I bet I would be able to figure out all the questions on the exams, right?”

[Sorry, I do not possess such information. I am only a Pre-Integration Message Manager, so I cannot offer you in-depth information regarding this matter]

That answer was very disappointing, and she smirked, thinking if she made the right choice.

[But I can inform you that sometimes, depending on your characteristics, the administrators offer a signup bonus.]

“Yes?”

[They may show their appreciation of you joining the network by improving your physical and mental attributes by a certain percentage.]

“I knew it,” Tala yelled, all happy. “I’m getting smarter and I’ll get 100 percent on my tests! Yes!!!”

But her exuberance did not last very long as suddenly she felt a little itch deep inside her nose, which almost made her shove her finger in there.

“This Integration, is it painful?”

[The Integration has been designed to be pain and stress-free, but you may experience a bit of discomfort while it proceeds.]

“A bit of discomfort… Shit, what did I get myself into?”

But just as she wondered if she selected the right thing, her nose itching stopped. But then, just a few steps away, she felt her tongue suddenly starting to swallow, pulsing inside her mouth.

“That is… the strangest freaky thing I ever experienced,” she said, not sure what was going to happen if it continued to swallow.

She finally reached Main Street and looked at the time on her phone. Her bus should be there any minute, and she was not planning to miss it.