John

Kevin looked at John with a faint hint of disdain and said with a subtle smile,

“My dear John, you are no different from the leaders of your kind—always speaking in grand yet empty slogans.

And you claim to envy the so-called poor because they are free from expectations.

To me, that sounds insincere.

Have you ever truly cared about your impoverished compatriots?

Have you ever genuinely attempted to help them?

I find that doubtful.”

“As for your belief that one cannot be considered truly good without first facing the temptation of evil—do you not hear how absurd that sounds?

Good and evil are merely constructs created by your species.

Your own history should have taught you this.

Your moral compass shifts and reshapes itself with remarkable ease…

Or perhaps you simply do not pay attention to history.”

After speaking, Kevin fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

Then he smiled lightly and said,

“In light of our conversation, I have decided to return you to Earth.

Human civilization will become a new subject of study for us.

Will your kind move toward peace… or toward self-destruction?

The answer intrigues me—and may even serve as a warning for our own civilization.”

“As for you, dear Earthling John, you will become the central figure of our observation—much like Truman from what I consider one of your greatest films, The Truman Show.

We will not interfere.

We will not make contact.

We will observe—just as Uatu the Watcher does in your Marvel stories.”

“As an apology for abducting a sentient being without consent—and because you have demonstrated qualities of an intelligent lifeform—we will enhance your physiology.

For the next fifty years, you will be free from all diseases.”

And so, John was transported back to Earth.

Meanwhile, eight hundred million light-years away, a young man named Kevin sat before a screen, watching the newest episode of a program titled The Life of Earthling John.

When John awoke, he found himself lying in the middle of the convent’s vegetable garden, just as he had left it - yet something was unmistakably different. The colors of the world seemed sharper, sounds clearer, and his body felt impossibly strong, almost weightless, as though every cell within him had been polished by unseen hands.

He sat up slowly, touching the soil beneath him.
It felt warm - warmer than it should.

"Fifty years… no disease…" he murmured. The alien’s final promise echoed in his mind like a prophecy.

As he rose to his feet, he wandered through the courtyard, unsure whether he should feel relieved, violated, blessed, or cursed. The other friars hurried about, unaware that he had ever been gone. To them, only minutes had passed.

But to John, everything had changed.

He walked to his tiny room, and as he stepped inside, something unexpected caught his eye: a small, round object resting on his wooden table. It pulsed faintly with blue light.

He froze.