"I see. How do you feel about intervening in a foreign war you know next to nothing about?"

"I mean, I want to do the right thing? And if this Earth's at all like mine, it doesn't deserve to be invaded."

"That's a noble sentiment. What worries me is that you are a very powerful player in a conflict where the invading force can control minds. Do you have any special advantage in avoiding infestation?"

"I can also control minds. I don't know yet if my power works on them too, but - if it does, anyone who tries to control me should suddenly realize they're my very best friend, actually."

"It sounds very useful, if properly aimed. How much time would it take to determine whether you can affect a Yeerk?"

"Uh, if I'm concentrating with humans I can get them fast, in like under a minute, if I don't already know stuff about them. I don't know for aliens, but I'd expect to notice within fifteen minutes one way or another on a test?"

"Thank you. I'll do my best to find you a test subject. As for immediate logistical concerns, I believe the plan is to put you up at Scott's house. Do you think you'll be needing an official identity here?"

"Probably eventually. Especially if I'm gonna be stuck here a while."

"We'll worry about the details as they come up. For now, you'll be a friend of Scott's. You can come up with the details of why you need a place to stay, but Scott has a single mother who won't ask too many questions if he wants to give a friend a home. The bigger concern is school. How old are you?"

"Twenty one. I don't think anyone will question me not being in college."

"No, I suppose they won't. What about your home? Do you have any idea if we're dealing with another planet, or something more complicated? Scott seemed to think you were from another Earth."

"Another dimension. My home knew of at least one more - there's parallel Earths, sometimes with different peoples and histories and all."

"Do you have any idea how you got here? I admit I don't know of any way to cross dimensions."

"I think somebody else's power, they were aiming in my general direction before I was dumped here."

"Well. In the meantime, we'll do our best making this a safe place to live. A friend of mine will be here to pick you up. He can show you around and help you get acclimated."

"Thanks."

"If you need anything for the next half hour, let me know. Otherwise, feel free to wait in the lobby."

He proceeds to prepare for the day ahead.

He hangs out in the lobby.

A man who looks around his age, or slightly older, walks into the clinic. He doesn't remove his sunglasses.

"You must be Nereus. Derek. How do you feel about motorcycles?"

"They're fine."

"So I hear you're visiting from pretty far away. What do you think so far?"

He leads Nereus outside to his motorcycle, and hands him a helmet.

He takes and puts on the helmet. "Lots going on, it seems, though it's mostly calmer than back home."

"The kids wouldn't want me to say it, but Earth has been pretty lucky so far. The Yeerks at least want to keep the planet and its people intact."

He starts the motorcycle just after saying this, which doesn't leave Nereus much of a chance to respond. They drive for about fifteen minutes through the town. It's an ordinary small town, not much different than one might expect to see anywhere in America. When they arrive, it's to a large house which might be reasonably called a mansion.

As soon as the motorcycle has been parked, a jack russell terrier comes barreling towards them.

Derek removes the sunglasses immediately, crouching down to pet the dog.

"Sorry to surprise you, buddy. I should have told you we were having a guest over."

Nereus climbs off the motorcycle and crouches down, holding his hand out for any sniffs the dog feels like taking.