The binders containing the case of Alex Dell, National Security Case File Subject 42987, were put on the table in the conference room with the remaining members who were left after the support teams, and non-government consultants such as Dr Levin, were no longer needed and released from the Task Force. They had a good idea what had happened, but the "why" of it had required quite a few heated discussions over theories, most which were dismissed after they could not follow a logical path or reason. The theory they finally compromised on was that the alien craft was a research vessel, since Alex had not recalled any weoponry or security measures on the ship, and the craft was alone, ruling out any military or scouting missions. The aliens didnt seem to be doing any genetic research, since they apparently had extensive knowledge of human DNA already. Alex's recall of the specimen dishes she had seen and what had appeared to be incubators with human fetuses indicated that they were looking to create or replicate human beings either for use on other worlds or on Earth itself, possibly a creation of a new and improved race of humans. Many scientists had speculated in the past that Darwin's missing link was humanity itself, engineered by a superior race from the primitive neanderthals which were theorized to have evolved from apes. But why didnt the aliens abduct a human already female? The reason may have been that the aliens had chosen males from another race to introduce to our evolutionary process, and that in the long run that our males, if changed to females, would be able to produce children from the union of the two races. A curious result had come from tests done on the eggs that the doctors on the medical team had taken from Alex during gynecological examinations. Her eggs were mixed with sperm cells to see if she was capable of reproduction, which she was, but 100 percent of the embryos produced was female. None of the "Y" chomosome sperm which would eventually produce a male would be accepted by the egg to produce the cell multiplication which was the first stage of pregnancy after fertilization of the egg. The scientists guessed that Alex may have been a preliminary experiment which would manifest itself on the human race in about 200 years, a short time in the evolutionary process, if we didnt end up killing ourselves first. The report concluded that no imminent primary threat existed to national security which would justify any further pursuit of this case which would require funding approval at the Cabinet level. Ted Gorman signed off on the report which removed the case from National Security jurisdiction, and turned jurisdiction over to Charlie Greer, the assistant director of the FBI. " It's all yours Charlie, but I'd do something about leaks coming out of Justice and getting to members of the press. This case in itself probably doesnt present any big problem, but if the American people start thinking that we're covering up some big alien plot to kidnap all the boys and turn them into girls, or that we even took some story like that seriously, the whole bunch of us from the President on down are going to look like a bunch of clueless assholes" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- Most of the detectives in the LAPD Homicide division wondered if Lt Bob Griffin was getting overly horny after his divorce two years ago, because they had seen him many times in the past months after the Dell case hanging out in just about every topless joint in Southern California. Griffin had been spending his off duty time canvassing the clubs whose owners had given him tips on cases when he worked in narcotics, and he was particularly interested in any information they had on a beautiful dancer called Alex. She had been one of the biggest favorites of the patrons, and the other girls recalled her as being personally friendly but quiet, and didnt talk about her private life very much, which wasnt uncommon among the girls who danced in these clubs. She had told anybody who asked that she had come out to L.A from Long Island, and that she needed the money to live on until she finished school and got her degree. She usually changed the subject when anybody asked about her life back east, and the girls figured she was running away from something. As a detective who had to deal with facts that would hold up in court, he still treated this case as a possible murder, and was looking to see if the girl he was asking questions about knew anything about who may have committed that murder. But he still couldnt get over the matching of fingerprints between her and the victim, and that she looked enough like him to be his sister, but a check on the victims records showed he had two brothers but no sisters, and the strange questions asked by that persistent news magazine reporter. Finally he remembered one more person he wanted to question about this case, the highway patrolman he had finally located, and he slipped a dollar into the g-string of the girl dancing over him, winked at her and left the club to see officer Mike Mendoza of the California Highway Patrol. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Alex checked into her room at the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas, the new casino at the bottom end of the Strip that was built like an Egyptian pyramid, those mysterious pyramids that a the book "Chariots of the Gods" had been built by extra-terrestrials. She wondered if Julie had picked this casino for that reason or this was just another irony in her new life. On the in the room were a bouquet of beautiful roses, and some presents that she opened that were all from Julie. The big box contained a gorgeous strapless blue formal dinner gown, a matching purse and four inch pumps, and small boxes containing silver bracelets, diamond earrings, and a blue choker with a large pearl on it. Alex put the roses in the vase as Julie entered the room to remind her of the appointment they had with a high class beauty shop. Alex kissed her and thanked her for the gifts as they left for the shop. The make-over artists at the shop were the best in town, and Julie watched in admiration as the cosmetics people went to work on Alex's face. Alex had entered the shop looking like a pretty co-ed, her lips were painted to bring out their fullness, and her already stunning green eyes had become exotic under the professional hands of these artists. The hairdressers then washed and set her hair in curlers, and when it dried they brushed her hair to one side and tied it together, leaving a huge beautiful mass of curly brown hair cascading down over her shoulder and over her breast. The artists also went to work on Julie, whose long thick black hair and cat-like dark brown eyes were brought to their full glamour, which made many people mistake her for Fran Drescher, and the hairdressers had piled her hair high on her head, and Julie gave them her best Jewish Princess voice, much to the amusement of the staff. The two women returned to the hotel to dress for dinner, and as Alex put on the gown which fit her perfectly, with the bare shoulders and the choker and the other accessories, she looked in the mirror and wanted to stay there forever to gaze at the image. While she had felt attractive before, for the first time she felt the joy of being truly as glamorous as any movie star. The feel of the satin fabric and the smell of the expensive perfume completed the rush, and she smiled at the equally glamorous Julie, and as the two left for dinner, Alex warmed at the anticipation of returning the favor to her, with a long night of passion pent up from six months of confinement at the Air Force Base.