Reginald was now in the future, speeding past buildings that seemed to float like alien artefacts in a world that was both recognisable and entirely alien. As he zoomed through a blur of neon colours and sanctimonious street signs lecturing him about recycling, he kept a lookout for any hint of an alien presence. It wasn’t until he nearly collided with a humanoid figure that he realised he had finally found what he was searching for. In front of him stood a five-foot-tall creature, with large, almond-shaped eyes and a posture that might’ve been mistaken for a yogic stretch routine if it weren’t for the swaying tentacles where arms should have been. Surrounding the creature were tendrils of a fluorescent green substance that shimmered like moonlight on a murky lake and pulsated iridescently as if trying to bond with the nubile earth. But before Reginald could act, he was wrapped up in a gust of air and thrown back. When he regained his vision, the figure before him was gone. However, resting on his palm, was a single undried drop of the luminescent green liquid.
Confused, time-travelled, and somewhat concussed, Reginald embarked on his journey back to his own time. His brush with the unexplained had left him with many unanswered questions, but all he could think about was the $10,000 he was going to have to return to Mike and the peculiar green substance that somehow possessed otherworldly beauty while also looking like an environmental hazard. Was Mike’s ‘alien mission’ just an elaborate prank? What did he actually bring back from the future? Those were all questions that lingered as he rode furiously back to the office and crashed back into the car park. As he approached Mike’s office with a plastic grin that felt more like a grimace, he was already preparing himself for a sliver of humiliation from Mike that day. Between the alien encounter and the unexpected return, Reginald felt like a patched-up, knocked-about hero from space-time adventures. He was ready to be done with Mike, ready to be done with ‘Wokerland,’ and ready to be done with the strangest Tuesday he had ever experienced.