This post is a response submission for the following prompt on the r/WritingPrompts subreddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/gtusb0/wp_you_were_a_death_row_inmate_but_a_man_in_a/

“Mr.James, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” the man in black suit started. “I understand you’re in a little bit of a predicament.”

“To say the least,” Michael James replied. He been given 24 hours to live by the state, all because he chose to defend someone.

“I believe we can help each other out,” the man said. “My organization is looking for a man of your talents. If you come work for us, your debt to society will be considered fulfilled.”

“And what exactly does your organization do?” Michael asked.

“Secure, contain, and protect,” said the man.

“Against what?” At those words every hair on Michael’s body stood on end.

“Things that go bump in the night, what else?” The man’s face broke into a giant grin. “The vast majority of humanity can’t even begin to fathom the horrors that exist out there. Our subjective perception of reality doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what’s really out there. My colleges and I make sure it stays that way.”

“This is all some kind of joke, right? This is pure Men In Black territory.”

“Where do you think they got the idea?” The man countered. “I can assure you everything is on the level. What our ancestors considered angels, demons, and monsters were beings ranging from aliens to extra-dimensional entities that viewed us as their play things. As humans progressed, these entities learned we were less and less willing to tolerate their overt meddling in our lives, so they moved to the shadows. For centuries now we’ve worked to keep people around the world safe.”

“But why me,” Michael asked.

“You’re a fighter. You took on three men who were attempting to sexually assault a young woman and not only managed to come out on top, all three men needed to be hospitalized, with two of them eventually succumbing to their injuries, all while you walked away with a few bruises.” The man in the black suit fixed his intense gaze on Michael. For the last several months most people had looked at Michael with fear, but the man looked on Michael with admiration.

“What happens if I say yes?” Michael asked.

“You go through with the “execution” just to keep up appearances, but instead of the usual cocktail, we’ll exchange it for our own special set of chemicals that will allow us to revive you once we cart your body off of state grounds. On your end, you’ll go to sleep strapped to a chair and wake up ready to start an entirely new chapter of your life.” As implausible as the whole situation seemed, Michael knew the man was being sincere.

“All right. I’ll do it.” Deep down Michael knew he didn’t really have any other choice.

“Excellent. I’ll begin preparations immediately.” The man beamed. Michael was a high priority acquisition, and having them on their team would be an immense boon.

“You’re name…is Dave?” Dr.Leo Harrison was dumbfounded to say the least.

“Yup, or it least Dave is the closest approximation that you’re species can understand.” The being’s aloofness came as a surprise to the research team. For years xenosociologists said that any encounter with an alien intelligence would turn into an American native vs settler type conflict.

“We have so many questions. I guess first and foremost, how is you can understand, much less speak, English?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Your species is extremely… I guess you would call it wasteful, with the way you transmit information. Your planet has been beacon for anyone that knows what they’re looking for. I sent a probe to your system once I detected your first broadcast and I’ve been monitoring you ever since. Despite what some of your kind like to think, you’re not anywhere near as advanced as you like to imagine you are and your auditory based languages are actually incredibly simple. Based on the markings of your ship, I determined English was the best language to attempt initial communication with.”

“Wait, so you’ve been monitoring us?” Dr.Harrison could only imagine the reaction the high command back at Earth would have to the knowledge that somewhere in the system an alien probe had monitoring the goings on of Earth for centuries now.

“I have. After that whole business with that Hitler fellow, I wanted to make sure that if it looked like you may destroy yourselves that I could step in,” explained Dave.

“What do you mean?” Asked Dr.Harrison.

“Quite honestly,” said Dave, “I’ve been alone for so long that the thought of not getting to properly meet your species actually made me sad.”

“I’m still confused,” Leo said. They had seen entire cities worth of these aliens. How could this one speak of loneliness.

“I assume you’re confused about the whole loneliness thing. I am what you would refer to as a hive mind. Long ago, my species was composed of unique individuals, like yourselves, but over time we created various technologies that merged our minds into one. I am the culmination of an entire civilization’s technological efforts.”

“You’re not…” Leo started with hesitation.

“Going to assimilate you? You watch way too much science fiction my friend. Even if I wanted to, it would take millennia. I honestly have no desire to “assimilate” any other species. I am quite content with the way things are. The only thing I wish to do is offer your people help wherever I can and learn as much about you as possible.”

“I think we can do that,” Leo said. With that the Davian Alliance was struck. In exchange for full access to all of Earth’s cultural history, Dave helped usher in the ultimate golden age for humanity.

I told myself that the abduction was nothing but a dream. I almost had a heart attack when I looked in the mirror and saw scars covering my body that weren’t there the night before.