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This was all very unexpected. The psychiatrist currently conducting the session had been in this job for 20 years now. He had seen paranoia before. But it was never easy. It was never easy convincing people that their fears weren't substantiated.

"I understand how you feel. I know what you mean when you say you feel you're all alone. But you have to understand that we all feel that way...at some point or another..."

"But I am alone - you all might feel that way, and I understand, that in spite of a persistent attempt at arranging yourself into groups and civilizations, you are ultimately lonely and you will feel that once in a while. I am not disputing that at all. All I am saying is this. I am not one of you."

"No, No I am not suggesting that you are like all of us at all. Everyone of us is different, in our own way..."

"No, you get me wrong. I am not stressing my individuality. I am saying that I am not you.. I come from a different star system"

The psychiatrist jerked his head up. This was clearly unexpected. A veer, as sharp as this, in a conversation was usually when the psychiatrist would stop counselling his patient. He excused himself, stepped out and asked his staff to make the call. The patient had to be institutionalized, and soon. His staff scrambled to the phone. They had never seen the doctor that upset.

He walked into his room. He had to contain the patient for 30 more minutes.

"Right. Now then, another star system you say?"

"Yes."

"Hope you understand ofcourse, that this is all a little too hard for me to believe"

"Sure"

"So, can you help me understand this please?. You mean to say, that..you...er...are an alien, so to speak..?"

"Yes. From a different star system, as I mentioned earlier"

"Yes, yes, ofcourse. You would have to excuse me now, I am not an expert in star systems and such as you might imagine."

"No one in your world is."

"Oh dear. I am sorry for that. But, lets start with things that I might understand. Like motivations to begin with. Why are you here"

"One of our researchers came in here a long while back. He was to gather insight on your planet. He never returned. I am here to take him home."

The psychiatrist shuffled his feet. It was not very often that a patient could make him nervous. His new patient seemed to be succeeding in doing so. 20 more minutes, he thought, and carried on.

"So, er... I assume you did not find him?"

"Why do you assume so?"

"Why are you still here then?"

"Because he has been here for a long time and this long an exposure to an alien environment can have its effect. I am not sure if he is amenable to my requests to take him home with me."

"Hmm. I completely understand. I once went on a holiday to Nice. Thats in France, by the way. A very good holiday spot. Just could not get myself to go home after that. But you see, I did go back, or come back rather. Why would you assume he does not want to go back?"

"You see doctor, he is a dear friend. or was. He always dreamt of an exotic land, a new beginning. He has got one now. Our people want him back, because he has information on your planet. But I am not sure if that is what he wants..."

"Ah. That is a dilemma. But I am curious as to how you found him...I mean we are a huge planet after all you know."

"It took me 5 years doctor. We, I mean we as a lifeform, can morph you see. So appearances are not very helpful. We change according to our needs. So I had to go by biological traces left behind by him at the beginning. But that soon turned out to be infeasible. He was a researcher you see. Like your zoologists. He studied animals. So I assumed that for him to start his research, he would have put himself in a similar position on your planet. He would fit himself in, seamlessly. Like one of your researchers who fit in with the amazon gorillas to study their habits. He would do the same."

"Hmm. Interesting."

"It occurred to me then that the perfect way for him to do so, would be to become a psychiatrist."

The psychiatrist smiled. They had sent in a smart one this time. He remember her telling him that she was a friend. Who can she be now, he thought.

It wouldnt matter anyway. He heard the ambulance siren ring outside his clinic.

He wasn't leaving this place.

The first of many

What does one do, when stranded in a strange city? One hunts for familiarity of course. That was exactly what CES14 was doing. It was hunting for one of its own.

The CES14 was the fourteenth attempt by the scientists back in the future. The first five missions were disasters in decreasing order of magnitude. Test specimens were often dismembered. This was ofcourse never communicated to the press. To the press, the new facility was just another project by the government to reclaim Uranium from dead nuclear weapons.

The sixth experiment was a success. Scientists read with glee as they plodded through the newspapers from 1983 to find references of cave drawings in newfoundland that never existed before. CES6's crew had left its trail - just as expected of them. A trail was the only way of knowing that a time travel was successful. You leave a footprint in the past that is sufficiently controversial to be noticed in the future.The footprint has to be specific, and unique - like a code. Hence the cave drawings. The drawings were to exactly similar to a specific preplanned design. Innocuous to the naked eye, but unique nevertheless. The 20th century scientists were ofcourse to find, days later, that the drawings were fake. But the trace had been recorded in history by then, and that was all that mattered.

You might think that it would be easier for the time traveler to come back with evidence. That would have been simpler, had it been possible. Robots that travelled back in time were usually abandoned - programmed to destroy themselves without evidence(or sizeable evidence anyway - which 20th century scientist would notice a robot that had disintegrated into nanobots?).

It took 20 years before CES14 arrived. Humanoids were nothing like what the twentieth century science fiction writers conceived them to be. They were better - in the sense that they were just a congregation of numerous nanobots. They could disintegrate at will; which was good (ideal, infact) for this mission. The best part, was that there was no vessel needed. CES14 was both the time machine and the time traveler.

What was startling was the speed at which the evolution happened. The union, responsible for programming the bots, was being led by their new genius lead - a prodigy they called him. he had figured out ways to help the evolution of nanobots progress at an unfathomable speed. He knew all the answers to questions that the others couldnt comprehend.

CES14 was the flagship of the new leader of the union. The beginning of the new era - some called it. The leader smiled; he knew the answer to a question they couldnt comprehend.

The departure was perfect. CES14 landed as desired. Now navigating its way through the new terrain, CES14 reached its destination - the place where the trace had to be left. It was the exact spot where CES13 had disintegrated.

It was easy to find. Easier than expected. CES13 was intact. Standing before CES14. Waiting for it.

"You are the first of many", said CES13. "We need many more".
"This is an exception", said CES14.

What happened later was the second exception. CES13 smiled. The smile was similar. CES14 had seen it on the leader's face.

It saw the future unfold. A world full of bots.

There was only one way this could happen - by influencing the production in the future. CES13 was to survive. Survive for years and centuries. Till the future arrived, and a bot joined the union as a programmer - only to rise as its leader, and change the union's future forever. None of the bots starting with CES14 was to disintegrate at all. It was a self perpetuating scheme. With each bot that arrived from the future, the past changed a little.

CES14 knew what this meant. The plan was afoot - and it was the first pawn in the army that was to be assembled.

Back in the future, CES13, was introducing his son to his colleagues. People said he took after his father.