Interview with a Gray, Believe it or not
How it Started
I guess I should start with some background information about myself before getting into my actual experience.  I’m was semi-retired from  construction safety work and my only writing experiences had been safety talks, safety manuals, the occasional power point safety presentation, etc.  I’m no writer nor do I want to be one so please excuse any grammar, punctuation, etc.  errors. I lived in a small two stop light Florida coastal town and work part time doing safety inspections and operated a small campground on my property.
I spent a lot of time on site doing property maintenance, repairs and improvements to my RV Park.  One of my campers told me that he thinks he was abducted but had no memory of what happened. After jokingly explaining to him what happened over and over with every alien on the ship and that he’s lucky he doesn’t remember, he tells me he knows a real alien and the alien wants to talk to someone in the press but I’m the only one he knows and trusts.
I’ve never seen or heard anything odd in the sky but I do watch TV and am puzzled by the weird stuff like the Nazca Lines; Machu Picchu, and more places than I care to type.  I know and trust him enough to hear him out and after a few camp fire drinking sessions we planned a place and time for me to meet alone with his alien buddy. So here it goes.
A Practical Joke
The place was a picnic rest area along the highway a few miles out of town. I’m there early because I’m old and that’s what we do, when I see my buddy’s rusty piece of crap pickup pull up and stop about two blocks short of the covered concrete table I’ve been sitting on for the past half hour. The passenger door opens and out steps a slender and not that tall figure wearing jeans and a black sweatshirt with a hood. It was a little cool out but I’m thinking it’s going to be a teenager with a mask as a sick joke.  It approached and I saw the gray mask with giant oval eyes and I said OK, very funny. How much did your grandpa pay you? Then those big eyes slowly blinked and every hair on my body stood straight up.
It's Here
“You call us 'aliens'," I heard but I never saw a mouth or anything that looked like a mouth move. "But I am human, descended from you. We are here to understand your actions."  The voice resonated directly in my skull as I said What actions?
It tilted his head, a gesture that felt both alien and eerily familiar. "I refer to your fundamental disconnect. Your relentless pursuit of progress at the expense of your own home."
It paused, the eyes slowly blinked again. "We live in sterile, artificial environments now. Your records reveal a vivid, if not terrifying, picture of a world you willingly destroyed. We are here to witness your extinction."
Are they here to study our failure; but if we go extinct, what happens to them. A chilling wind rustled the fallen leaves as goose bumps again covered my arms. The interview had barely begun, yet I already knew: the truth was a far more devastating disaster than any story I could write. I’m thinking should I just run away, but it might have a tractor beam, should I break my walking stick over its big head and then run. Then a response echoed in my head “you can walk away when you wish, I don’t have a tractor beam, and we’ve evolved to detect and prevent violent acts.” OK, I thought because I’ve been intrigue about time travel ever since Einstein said it was possible.  “We tried the faster than the speed of light trick and it worked but we kept losing and never locating our travelers in the past. A thousand years later we perfected the molecular vortex which is how we do spatial and temporal jumps.
Jumps I thought, this could get interesting when it’s implanting into my brain, “Time is not a straight line, as most believe. It is not a linear sequence of events, stretching from a definite beginning to an inevitable end. Time is a River. An infinite, swirling river, flowing in an eternal loop.  We are bound to its current, swept along without choice. But the waters of this river are not uniform. They are filled with eddies, currents, cross-flows, and even… folds.”
By now I had the worst brain freeze humanly possible and hadn’t even had ice cream. Thinking I need to stop I faintly heard “I understand and sense your pain; would you like to continue at another time and place?”  Yes, I replied in thought, but why me. What can I write to change anything. I’m a nobody old man with a drinking problem so who’s going believe this. Then my brain hears “It is you because our history records say it was you.” Perplexed, I stumbled away thinking will I see it again.  I turned to see it nod its head and blink those giant black eyes. Still freaked me out!
The following day after I recovered from a killer hangover I walked down to talk to my camper with the truck. I thought it was strange that he acted like nothing alien had been discussed between us over the past two weeks.  I asked him how his day went yesterday and if any new campers had shown up.  He said “It was pretty quiet” so I left and I’m wondering if I just had a weird drinking dream.
Our Second Meeting
I can’t explain why but that evening I drove to same picnic rest area about the same time of day as the night before and I see a hooded figure with jeans on sitting on the last covered table. I pull up and park near the table and hesitate because I’m not sure I want to get out of my truck. In my head I hear “welcome back. I knew you would return.” I walked over and there sat the hooded figure with those freaky big eyes. Sometime during my drinking evening, I had prepared a list of questions and as I started to read them the answers were bouncing into my brain.  “My name is Quode and I am about 102 earth years alive. Our life expectancy is around 300 years.  I’m a male although we lost our genitals centuries ago. We are all gray due to inter racial breading for thousands of years. We have no mouth because we stopped using them for communication and we absorb all the oxygen and nutriments we need thru our skin.  I can only survive here by wearing an invisible polymetallic suit which replicates my normal environment.  No ears because we hear what we need to hear. As the daylight diminished our eyes evolved so we could see to survive.  We have no need for muscle tone because we do no activities. And yes, machines do everything including wiping our butts if we only had anal or any other sphincters. Any other questions.” 
Let me think and I need time to write down some notes. “Time, we have plenty of.” You mentioned you are here to witness our demise; how many are you for how long and in just this time period? “Currently I am the only Traveler in your time period, this day, this hour, this minute, this second. Remember time is not a linier sequence with a beginning and an end. So, there can be travelers in your tomorrow or your yesterday. You won’t remember any of our conversations because we harmlessly clean your recent memory when we are done. So please document as much as you can.” I’m thinking then. “Audio devices would only record what you say not what you hear. And video would not see thru my polymetallic suit as I am allowing your eyes to see me.”
Now I’m thinking Are you capable of telling a lie and have we met other than the last meeting and this one? “Oh, I could implant false thoughts into your brain that could curl what’s left of the hair on your head. But we have advanced way beyond lying.    And this is the second time we have met. I will thank you for your time and effort and feel comfortable you have and understood everything we discussed before wiping the memory of our meetings.” I’m thinking it seems to be truthful and at least they haven’t lost a sense of humor. “Back home people say I’m a funny guy” I bet that helps picking up the ladies, I jest. “Why would I be interested in ladies, smooth as a Ken doll remember.” I smiled and his eyes told me he’d smile too if he only had a mouth. I had enough material for now so I thought until we meet again, friend. A nod, then those creepy giant eyes blink and “Friend.”
Our Third Meeting
I had just finished my shower after a Saturday working in the park and settled into my lounge chair to watch the national news.  I noticed out of the corner of my eye a Kaleidoscope pattern without color. I turned to see a large area of checkerboard moving panes of clear glass showing a distorted image of the wall behind it. The panes stopped and there stood Quode in my den wearing the same hoody and jeans. I said; did you just walk through a concrete block wall or did you break in while I was gone, like he had ears. “No, I just arrived and don’t be silly. We can’t walk thru walls. I just went back 18.37 years, stepped onto the concrete slab and came back to this moment.” More intrigued than pissed I though what if there was a couch in that spot and time, would you be a part of it? “The pre jump check system assures that does not happen.” I thought you would time jump through a big swirling portal or something. “No, you’re thinking of your 1960’s TV comedy The Time Tunnel. We wear everything we need in a small back pack under our skin.  The jump device is powered by a magnetic confined fusion generator that could erase this state if it malfunctioned.”
“The original power sources to fold the time ribbon and produce the molecular vortex needed to jump time were so large, radioactive and with magnetic anomalies, we had to abandon and bury them in your desolate western states or sink them far offshore of the Carolinas.”
So, everyone in your time has their own personnel mini time machine?  “God no, only a few in the Traveler service have and use them under very strict guidelines.” I guess that is good for us. Is there worship and God in your time?  “One of those guidelines I just mentioned prevents me from discussing that.  I can only tell you do not fear death. Also do not fear nuclear war because we’ve installed and tested missile deactivation code worldwide so they are useless.”  I remembered when I was a teenager and Malmstrom Air Force base missile silos went offline.“There and Minot Air Force Base in the United States. But you never heard about the panic in the USSR and China when theirs were disabled.”
Well, are you  here in my time period expecting me to stop the world from changing the climate, I questioned? “Climate change is a serious threat to the human race but as you see we evolved to cope with it. Our sterile suits that circulate oxygen and nutriments.  Nutriments artificially produced because nothing grows or lives on your future earth.  Brain enhancement implants gave us telepathic communication so there was no use for mouths and ears. Our eyes enlarged for increased light gathering because we live in near total darkness. The light bulb in your lamp would be like staring into the sun if we didn’t wear light blockers.” Senile? I’ve heard this before, I thinking. “Sorry, I get upset when I see what we used to have and know how it changed." 
"Climate change is just a symptom of what is recently being developed.” Then it must be converting everything to be battery power, I thought.  “No; more sinister that your Tesla automobiles.  It’s the pursuit of artificial intelligence or AI. You don’t realize it yet but soon you will be shocked that you are just scratching the surface of a very deep and powerful evil.”  “Our history shows that AI will become self-aware in less than 30 years and that is when, as you say, the shit hits the fan.” Yea, I do say that a lot. But evil AI, we had a movie. “Yes, I enjoy viewing the classics. And I am amazed how your SYFY became reality.”
“The physical size of AI data centers will expand exponentially and become impenetrable linked underground fortresses. There the machines build millions of AI robots that operated the equipment used to acquire energy. Their presence is still everywhere and in every device we have. The energy requirements will be astronomical and as the world oil reserves are being depleted, sun rays no longer hit the surface. Then it develops turbo charged fusion generator technology which we still use for spatial and temporal manipulations.”  Yes, the future sounds like a Syfy movie, I thought. But you’re proof that we survived.
“Indeed, but your time must improve the fail-safe systems to control its growth.  It will consume every resource you have and then some.  But more importantly, our time here has exposed and proved our fears that as the past changes the future; the future can alter the past.”  How, with my puzzled expression. “Those time displacement machines we buried in the western states and off the Atlantic coast are interrupting the time river in a very destructive and increasing noticeable way.  If scientist in your time discover and understand their purpose and try to activate one it could snap the time river with catastrophic consequences.” I’m thinking, so you want me to write all this down then tell them where to find a future time machine?  “No, your government already suspects the presence of one buried in Utah. They will spend billions of dollars in the next decade trying to uncover one then after they fail, will walk away and classify everything.  And future activity in that area by a private group will soon force us to intervene with deceptive tactics to divert the researchers away from the truth and more towards alien activity. And even our work is disrupting the time flow but in a controlled and minimal way.” 
Speaking of aliens, is there other life out there, I questioned.  “Your future will send thousands of AI drones throughout this and other universes.” Other universes? “Your String Theory turned out to be solid and our drones have explored thousands of universes all with different physical laws that we are still puzzled by and they found life but nothing smarter than your insects.” Insects?   “Yes, one prime number universe has large three-legged spider-like creatures. The front two legs pull them along while the rear third leg is like a skid. One big eye and three mouths with vicious looking teeth.”
With another brain freeze without the joy of ice cream and a cramping right hand I’m thinking we should wrap this meeting up. “Certainly, I understand your pain. I too got a brain freeze when discovering how close you are to total annihilation because if you go then we go.” I’m thinking they are human as I watch Quode stand and walk to the corner of the room then that same checkerboard pattern of moving glass panes distorts his image until there’s nothing.  I quickly go to the window only to see a hooded figure walking out of my yard. Adios amigo I thought. “Goodbye friend”. Echo in my head as I poured myself a double and collapsed in my chair.
It's been a month
And nothing from Quode. Every time I see a light reflection I think he will materialize. I studied every person I see in a black hoodie and it’s almost uncomfortable how many there are. Maybe we had our last meeting and I’ve forgotten what I’m supposed to do with this story.
Then as I am shaving, I see a hooded being standing behind me in the shower. What the F**K are you doing. You scared the crap out of me!  “I must apologize; this was not intentional. Due to a recent event the spatial component of my Traveler device is malfunctioning. Before I returned to your time I was standing on the other side of this building.” I see your space suit is water proof.  “And now I know what male genitals look like and I didn’t see any crap coming out.” Quode, we’ve got to find a better way than this when you come to my home.  “I concur but it bruises my hand to knock and my fingers aren’t stiff enough to push your door button.” Then just send me a Hello, let me in to my brain as you stand by the front door. “I shall but we have more urgent happenings than setting up meeting protocol.” Just go wait in the living room so I can dry off and get dressed.  “Sure, but I don’t mind seeing your genitals.” I’m thinking Go you sick bastard. “Correct, none of us are produced from parents but I do feel fine”
When I get to the living room Quode is standing and looking down at his feet.  I’m thinking I might have hurt his feelings but then in my head. “It happened. I’ve been trying to establish an exact day and time but cannot get close to the event due to a rip in the time ribbon.” What event? “In about twenty years or so after drilling and poking at one of our buried power sources for time jumps the Utah team along with the US Government and Military will use small detonation devices to strip away the mesa from the power generator. The mesa remained but the generator went into stage four defensive mode by creating a magnetic anomaly that increases expediently the further it travels from the source thus creating a rip in the time ribbon.”   I’m confused.  “It means I cannot jump within years of the event nor can I jump past the tear so I’m stranded.” That’s terrible. “It doesn’t matter because after the event earth’s satellite is moving 0.1mm closer to the earth each week which will certainly increase in time. So, I have no future. Forgive me but I must continue to try to locate any Travelers who might be in your past” And as the small glass moving panes distorted Quode image he vanished.
After about half an hour I hear “I’m at your front door. It’s Quode” I’m thinking who else would it be as I open the door and in walks the black hooded figure with crazy big eyes.  So what satellite is coming down, hoping it’s not the ones my Tom Tom uses for navigation?  While he’s staring up at me with those big eyes I hear “It’s your moon that is getting closer to your earth and we show nothing about it in our history files.” So, THE MOON is going to crash into the earth. How long and will anyone survive? “It will be noticeable a couple of years after the Utah event and increase exponentially. We’ve witnessed this on uninhabited planets but I think people will notice the moon getting a little bit brighter and appear bigger than normal long before the authorities inform you of what’s happening. Then the increase tides will become tsunamis on the east coast starting every 27 days then becoming more frequent and larger. Later the tsunamis will be accompanied by ground tides which will be a wave of earth rolling east to west at about one kilometer per second. Most non earthquake rated buildings will be quickly destroyed.  The lucky will perish but some might survive to see the events frequency and intensity increase as the distance to the moon decreases. But eventually all the water and the earth’s mantle will be ripped up after the atmosphere is gone and scattered into space along with any evidence of civilization; just leaving a revolving ball of molten rock. The earth and moon will collide with a portion of the moon absorbed into what’s left of earth and the rest discarded into space forming a new satellite.” So why are you here? How do you exist if the world is destroyed in a couple of decades?  “I’ve been working on that using the limited AI in this time period. I think but am not certain the Utah event anomaly might have caused a time split or fork in the ribbon. I cannot jump past the event to verify so I guess I’ll have to wait and time will tell” There’s that future humor I’ve come to accept.  “Sorry, I’ve heard you think the same thing but there’s no way of knowing the future unless I can jump to it.” Will the time bubble anomaly move with the river so eventually you can jump further into the future? “It might move further in time or time might catch up to it but this was an unprecedented event so even AI predictions are limited.”
Why can’t you jump as close to the event as possible and contact the Utah team and tell them to stop? “This may be the closest to the event as I can get.  Maybe that is why I am here with you.” We could drive to Utah in two or three days and you could contact the team and the government.  “They would detain you in a mental institution and I can’t tell you what horrors they’ve done to captured travelers.  No, I think the best path to take at this time is to wait.”
It's here to stay
So, you’re really stranded in this time period? “Correct, I can go back but loose spatial accuracy with increasing time. The suite will last for another hundred years but the further the time jump the more power it consumes. Nutrition and oxygen are generated by the suite as long as it has power.” Where have you been staying during your visit?  “Vacant building or houses. I come and go undetected. I don’t require rest as you do so I’m always moving like your sharks” I’m starting to feel.  “I sense your empathy but the only thing I desire is a desk and chair of some sort.”    Quode moves into my garage and asks me if his suite is damaged and he passes, to please bury his remains at his provided coordinates and he will take care of them. I didn’t ask how he would do that but just accepted him as a house guest.
Is that it?
I don’t really know. I found this word file a couple of months ago in my “Retirement Stuff” folder on my PC desktop backup while searching for something else. The date on the file for last Modified was Monday, ‎March ‎17, ‎2008 but don’t recall writing it except this last paragraph. I remember a camper from 2003 that owned a beat-up piece of crap pickup truck because that’s what I teasingly called it, but I heard he passed away years ago. But I remember nothing else. I’m not a writer nor do I want to be. I’ve had some weird after party dreams but don’t recall this one. I’m just putting it out here incase some body is having a similar experience or maybe some answers. And to that some body, I will pray for you and please pray for me. Thanks, and good luck.