Not one to be swayed by his melodrama, I sent a text to Steven, my contact at the AARO, warning him of N’kal’s violent reaction. I expected a reprimand for my fuckup, maybe a reassignment back to my work at the CPD, but instead, Steve took it in stride.
Oh, yeah. I guess I should have warned you about this. Since the first Xalanite visitor to Earth never ate any sweets, it took us a while to realize why it was like mating season every time we served dessert here at the intake center. I'm sorry. I hope he’s not too upset.
“Not too upset”? You'd think I killed his favorite puppy!
Is there anything that you’ve found that counters the effects?
Unfortunately not. To make matters worse, the addictive properties of sugar in Xalanites seem to last well beyond the detox period. It’s more addictive to them than alcohol or even crack cocaine in humans. He might always crave sugar after this.
I groaned and rubbed my temple. Great. I just created a monster.
I don’t suppose you could have told me this when you gave me the assignment. What would have happened if I'd bought him a candy bar?
The chat bubble rolled for a few seconds before Steve’s response popped up on my screen.
That actually might have been less serious. It seems like the pure cane sugar affects them the most.
Note to self: Let the hotel concierge know not to have the maid staff restock the sugar packets.
Anything else you might have forgotten to mention?
More rolling dots. They appeared and disappeared several times before I finally got an answer.
You said your guest’s name was N’kal?
Yeah. Why do you ask? He’s not some infamous criminal or something, is he?
Not that I recall. It just seems familiar. I’ll ask around here, see if any of our other guests might know who he is.
My head slowly swiveled in N’kal’s direction. He was still pouting, sitting back against the headboard with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl plastered on his face.WasN’kal a criminal? He seemed innocent enough, but for all I knew, he was a sex offender or murderer or something equally vile.
Thanks. Keep me posted if you do find anything out.
Putting the phone back in my pocket, I cleared my throat to get his attention.
“So, N’kal, what did you do on Xalan? What was your job?”
“I built things. Devices. Technology. I was an … engineer? I believe that is the term. I created new devices for Xalanite use.”
“Cool.” But why did he skip town to come to Earth? It didn’t sound like he had a bad job on Xalan. “So you were an inventor? That’s actually kind of awesome. I can’t build shit. I once got a desk from a Swedish furniture shop, and it took me a week to get it put together. The damn thing still wobbles.”
N’kal perked up. “I can fix it!”
Oh, no. I was not bringing this alien—who might or might not be a criminal—into my apartment. “No, thanks. It’s fine.”
Shot down, N’kal sunk back into his pouting. “No sex. No shoo-garr. Now you won’t even let me repair your desk. Am I a prisoner?”
“Honestly? Yes. I seem to keep having to remind you that you’re here illegally. We have a legal system in place for Xalanite immigrations and visitations for a reason, and you bypassed every single law to just crash into Wrigley Field and ruin the day for hundreds of people. Just because we allow Xalanites to visit Earth doesn’t meanallXalanites can come whenever they feel like it. It would be chaos!” His hurt expression made me feel guilty, so I tried to soften the blow. “Look, we’ll get you to the intake center once things have calmed down there, and you’ll likely just get a citation. I doubt the AARO will arrest you. At worst, they’ll probably just send you home.”
Tears welled up in his yellow eyes. “They could send me back to Xalan?”
“Well, yeah, of course they could. But would it really be all that bad? I mean, you had a job there. A life. It’ll just mean your pleasure trip gets cuts short, that’s all.”
Before I could react, N’kal crawled across the bed on his knees and grabbed my hands. “Please do not let them send me back. I cannot go back. Xalan is not where I wish to live. I wish to live here.”
I narrowed my eyes and disentangled my hands from his grip. “Why are you so upset? Are you in trouble on Xalan?”
He averted his gaze, picking at a loose thread on the hotel comforter. “No. Not precisely.”
