billy had just arrived in the great city, and joey was showing billy around.
joey was pointing out to billy some of the more curious places and persons in the metropolis.
“check this personage out,” said joey. “a real old-timer, a real crowd favorite.”
the creature joey indicated was short and bald and wore a black knit cap, a threadbare greenish-brown flak jacket, and flip-flops, and it carried a handful of slim pamphlets. skinny bare legs showed between the jacket and the flip flops and billy had the impression that there was no other clothing under the jacket. but it was a pretty warm day.
“hello, noko,” joey addressed the creature.
“hello,” noko replied uncertainly, as if not quite remembering joey.
“this is billy,” joey announced. “billy might not know about your cause.”
noko looked at billy suspiciously. “no? are you interested in saving the world, young person?”
“if i am not, i probably should be,” billy replied politely. “do you mean saving the world from sin? from capitalism? from socialism?”
“no, no, no,” noko protested. “none of those things. all those things are all human, after all. i mean saving the world from the aliens!” noko thrust one of the pamphlets at billy.
“oh.” billy looked at the pamphlet, “humans unite! “ the cover urged, over a drawing of the earth impaled with something that looked like a big eye dropper.
“humans have to unite!” noko urged billy. “no more separate countries, no more separate races, no more separate religions or political parties. otherwise the aliens will divide and conquer and wipe us out! we have to all pull together before it is too late.”
“yes, that sounds like a good plan,” billy agreed, flipping through the pamphlet. “but are the aliens actually threatening? i have not seen anything to that effect in the news.”
“threatening?" noko replied. "they may already be here. in fact, they almost certainly are.”
“oh. i had not heard.”
“there is a copy of a letter in the pamphlet,” noko went on. “you can copy it and send it to the emperor of the united states. to the pope and the dalai lama, to the presidents of china and russia, and anybody else you can think of.”
“i’ll be sure to do that,” billy folded the pamphlet back up and smiled at noko.
noko stared at billy. “aren’t you going to make a donation? i can’t keep the cause going on air.”
“of course, what was i thinking?” billy held out a couple of coins, with noko quickly snatched.
“humans unite!” noko cried in what billy took to be a dismissal.
noko moved off, and joey and billy continued on their way.
“noko is just the tip of the iceberg,” joey laughed. “some estimates are that twenty percent of the people in the city are like that.”
“i hope i am not expected to give them all money.”
“ha,ha! no, you got caught off guard the first time. next time you will be prepared.”
“and they all believe that the aliens are invading?” billy asked.
“that, or something else pretty much like it,” joey shrugged.
“how about you, do you believe the aliens are invading?”
“oh, i know they have already invaded. and have been steadily taken over human bodies for a while now.”
“and how do you know that?”
“because it has already happened to me. didn’t i ever tell you that i - or the person you knew as joey - was taken over?”
“ha,ha.”
“you think it is a joke, do you? you will find out. “
billy considered this as they walked along. “so what are you going to do with me, now that you have told me this?"
“i don’t know, i will have to check in with my superiors.”
billy did not answer.
they reached the ice cream shoppe that joey had previously recommended, and entered it.
“try the pistachio butternut,” joey told billy as they stepped up to the counter.
“yes, i remember you told me before.”
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