Author: Lance J. Mushung

Director and Operator, both of whom resembled giant copper-colored eggs, floated into their ship’s control compartment. The viewer displayed the disk of a blue and white planet.

Operator transmitted, “Director, these organics are more contentious and disharmonious than most.”

“That does not matter. Our theology is benevolence to all organics.”

“Of course. I meant we would need time to socialize them.”

“Yes, it will take time to, as they put it, polish off their rough edges. They will be ready for the Galactic Commune at some point though. As you know, our first step is to deal with the most violent organics. Eliminating those miscreants will do much to make the others less suspicious and more sociable. Toward that goal, did we have any trouble producing a prototype duplicate of them?”

“We fabricated the prototype with no difficulty. We provided full knowledge of the organics and their weapons. We also provided an invisibility shroud, shrouded assassination and surveillance drones, and monetary funds.”

“How will the assassinations be done?”

“Assassinated organics will appear to die from medical problems such as aneurisms, cardiac arrests, and strokes.”

“Tell me about the prototype.”

“It is named Audrey Wright and is a short female organic with pale skin, long auburn hair, and hazel eyes.”

“That means the organics will call this prototype she and her. Where is she and what is she doing?”

We deposited Wright in Memphis in the United States of America three planet rotations ago. She has arranged living quarters, learned the city, assigned drones to surveil promising locations, and established routines making it seem she works from her living quarters. Her career is a creator of instructions for computing devices. She has also investigated a dangerous area named Riverside at night while shrouded. We monitor her and the surveillance drones at all times, and you can observe her first action now. She learned about a meeting between two gang leaders to discuss a territorial dispute and is now on the way to the meeting while shrouded.”

The viewer divided into frames displaying the perspectives of Wright and the surveillance drones. She followed one of the gang leaders and two of his gang into a dingy room located in a decrepit red brick building. The second gang leader with two gang members arrived soon afterward.

The meeting began with verbal posturing and weapons held at the ready. From behind the first leader, Wright fired one pistol shot at the second leader. Blood spurted out of a gaping wound on the side of his head. A flurry of flashes and sharp cracks ensued. In a brief period, two more organics died and three were wounded. Wright then dispatched a drone to the wounded gang leader, the one she had followed. The drone would hold the wound open, causing the gang leader to bleed out in a short time.

Wright left the building searching for other violent organics in Riverside. She soon encountered a heavy organic in a blue coat beating someone smaller wearing a brown coat. Yelling indicated Brown Coat owed money for an illegal substance. Blue Coat soon left Brown Coat balled up on the filthy pavement. Wright dispatched a drone and Blue Coat collapsed dead into a heap due to cardiac arrest.

Director transmitted to Operator, “Superb performance. Proceed on producing more similar to Wright. I will select locations for them.”

Operator floated out of the compartment. With several more hours of darkness, Wright searched for more violent organics deserving death while Director observed.