Phineas Ben-Eliezer finished his work in the office. His job
was to supervise the robots, mining the surrounding hills
for minerals. The robots were pretty efficient; little
actual work was required of the supervisor. Most of the
time, he just played on his X-box, waiting for one of the
big computers to beep. Every half hour he checked the main
monitor.

The hardware technology of the robots was provided by the
Pleiadeans. These aliens have arrived in flying saucers. At
first they acted clandestinely, securing Area 51 as a base
of operations, teaching Earthlings some advanced science in
return, even taking scientists and politicians for rides in
their spaceships to various places in the Solar System. They
had to act secretly. They were subject to the 1925 Treaty of
the Intergalactic Council, which, at the time, was
controlled by the benevolent Vegans. But now, the power
shifted to the Expansionists.
The Pleiadeans planned their move carefully, using
Divide-and-Conquer tactics. First they took over the USA,
and the rest of the world followed. Now, they acted openly,
controlling the entire planet.

Phineas saw the last robot enter his shed, then initiated
the shut-down sequence. Certain systems stayed on; those
were the security and alien-monitoring systems. The
supervisors were also monitored.
As he approached home in his slow field car, he noticed a
battered Buick at the side of the road. An old man stood
there, hovering over the rear of the car.

He hesitated. This was a stranger, and strangers were not
generally allowed in the town. As he was looking, the
stranger noticed him and waved to him anxiously. Phineas let
his compassion overrule his fear.

"How can I help you, sir?" He asked the stranger.

"The engine seems to have failed, and I'm stuck here,"
replied the stranger. "Where can I spend the night?"

"There's a hotel in the town," he answered. "But they will
arrest you on sight and send you to jail for trespassing."
The old man looked dejected. After a moment Phineas said,
"Come with me."

"Berta, I have a guest," he announced upon entering his
home. His wife frowned. "A guest? Without notice? You know
this is a breach of..."

"I know," her husband cut her short. "But look at him. I
couldn't let him spend the night in prison. He wouldn't
survive."

Berta said, "Dinner in 20 minutes." A moment later, she
arrived at the table in the dining-hall with two glasses and
a jug of cold, fresh water from the Distiller.

"Where are you from?" Asked the landlord of his guest, after
they both poured and sipped. "I'm from far away," said the
stranger. "What is your name?"

"I'm Phineas, and you, sir?"

"My full name is too complex for your tongue. You may know
me by my initials. Y. H. W. H. You may call me Y in short."

It took some time for this to sink in. "Are you God?"

"Your ancestors called me that. To them, I was a god. I am
from another galaxy."

"You look fairly human."

"This is a disguise. An avatar. In my true form, I emit
radiation in lethal doses. No mortal being may see me and
live."

After a prolonged silence, the avatar of Y said: "Aren't you
curious to know why I came?"

"I sure am," replied his host.

The avatar said: "For the last 20 years, you have been
oppressed by the aliens of the Pleiades. Your People, at
least those of them who considered themselves religious,
have been praying to me. If enough people concentrate
enough, they can convey an emotional distress signal over
Intergalactic space."

"So you have come to help us?" Asked Phineas.

"That depends on your people," answered the avatar. "I can
only help if you really desire my help."

After a moment, the old man vanished. No spectacular visual
effects - one moment he was there, the next he wasn't.
Phineas stared at the empty seat, wondering if this was
real, or just a hallucination.
His wife arrived with dinner. "Where's our guest?" She
wondered at the half-full water glass and the empty seat
next to it. "He just... disappeared," said her husband, and
related to her what he had been told. "I can't believe
this," she said. "Are you sure this is real?"

"We can't both be imagining things," he said. "We must
believe."

"Will He really help us?"

"As He said, it depends on our people's determination," he
answered.


--to be continued--