Tanya Charles was once again lost in thought as she watched her clothes enter the rinse cycle at the Spin-o-Rific Laundromat. Tanya spent most of her Saturday afternoons here wishing she too could come clean with the world. The pensive thirty-three-year old Bronx resident often took comfort watching her clothes through a small round window located on the front door of the machine. The different wash cycles unconsciously reminded Tanya of her childhood when she could allow her total being to simply go with the flow. Now, life was full of restrictions. Charles had spent her last 26 years adapting to a rigid lifestyle. Her first seven years were a whole lot easier when she used to live on her home planet, Xylas. Tanya experienced total freedom on her native world where one would be hard pressed to define the word: schedule.
On Xylas, there was no need for the phrase: 'Same shit, different day.'� The beings on this planet possessed the ability to change their shape at will. In fact, the process was done so frequently that many Xylans argued over whether they were originally bi-pedal beings. Tanya and her fellow Xylans often spent days at a time assuming the shape and biological makeup of a wild animal. They would then romp through a forest and discover what it meant to be a phormon ' which resembled the bear species of Earth.
On another day, the shape shifting beings might take flight in the form of a winged-being, which inhabited their world. But those days were gone. Twenty-five years ago, the sun, which Xylas orbited, went supernova. The Xylans worked frantically to evacuate as many children from the planet as possible by sending ships through a nearby wormhole. The Xylans did not know if the space portal would really transport their offspring to another place in the universe; but necessity and desperation were the mothers of invention.
Approximately one hundred young Xylans were successfully evacuated before their planet met its fiery demise. The children had been instructed to find a planet, which could sustain carbon-based life once they were through the wormhole. If the planet was inhabited, the children were advised to assume the shape of the most intelligent life on that world and 'blend in.'� 'I know we are asking you to stifle your creativity and lust for life with these imperatives,'� one adult Xylan professed, 'but this is the price that must be paid if you are to survive. Please remember that a limited existence is still an existence.'�
And so it was. The adult speaker had created a new and harsher reality with his words. Tanya Charles was now experiencing what it meant to live a limited existence. Earth was a place where you had to choose what you were going to be when you grew up. Tanya lamented that such parameters existed for herself and her fellow beings. However, Tanya's upbringing would not let her concede defeat. Her mind was simply too powerful a tool. Charles would often laugh when she heard a motivational speaker referring to the mind as a shape-defining instrument. 'You can create the life you want,'� one self-help author noted on the cover of his book. Tanya found these types of books quite amusing in light of her own powers. 'Of course I can define the type of life I want, I'm a shape shifter,'� she laughed. 'And if you really want to know how to pull off the ultimate make over,'� Tanya announced in reference to a TV reality show, 'just watch me transform myself from a pile of gelatinous goo to a stunning, 5-foot-seven-inch blond every morning.'�
Tanya managed to maintain a sharp edge on her wit over the years thanks to her human peers. 'They so desperately want to change themselves; yet they live in a society which commands them be the same person day in and day out. The majority of them go to the same jobs everyday as if portraying an actor in a play. Is this what they really want to do for the rest of their lives?'� Charles would ask herself in disbelief. 'I bet if given the opportunity, humans would opt for more variety.'�
Tanya commiserated with the humans who lived their repetitious lives in quiet desperation. She not only sensed this; but she experienced the same bouts of futility herself. She also felt trapped in a confined existence, and therefore identified with the plight of the humans who were forced to make the best of it - all in the name of survival.
Tanya recalled that there was no need for an economics system on Xylas. There also was no government. The need for hierarchy and class on Earth fascinated Tanya so much that she majored in Political Science at the University of Massachusetts. However, thoughts of entering into a political career were just whims of fancy, she told herself.
'The political arena would greatly increase the risk of exposing my true identity,'� Tanya's voice of reason would often argue with its egocentric side. This voice of reason knew a major physical hurdle stood in the way of Tanya's desire to become a public figure. 'Under the publics microscope,'� the voice told Tanya, 'your physiological makeup would one day be discovered.'�
Deep down, Tanya knew she would have to obey the voice. 'It is illogical to think that humans will accept a leader who must revert to a liquefied form every night for recuperative purposes,'� she reasoned.
Upon her arrival to Earth, Tanya and her alien friends managed to conceal this nightly recuperative cycle from the staff at the Cranburytown Adoption Center by stuffing pillows underneath their blankets. Staff workers unwittingly believed the children were asleep in beds when actually they were resting in a nearby stream. Each night, the children slipped out of the building's windows in liquid form and slithered to rest in their aquatic beds. In the morning, the process was reversed.
The Xylan children reviled in their deception, which went undetected. Only one time did Tanya fear that the humans had discovered their secret. One Tuesday evening, Tanya overheard a staff employee talking on the telephone. 'Yes, I believe she's a changeling.'�
For a few minutes Tanya wrestled with the idea of assuming the form of an adult to aid in an escape effort. However, the child wisely accessed an Internet web site to learn that the worker was applying a different definition to the word. The electronic source noted that changeling means, 'a child secretly exchanged in infancy.'� Tanya soon realized that the staff worker was theorizing that Tanya's real parents had intentionally switched her for another child upon birth. Neither the staff worker nor Tanya could fathom what could possess parents to commit such a heinous act; however, Tanya was relieved to find that her secret was safe. Yes, she was a changeling from another planet. But no Earthling was the wiser. They all simply thought she was just another foster child.
Tanya and her cohorts used their shape shifting skills to procure phony identification records at the center. Each Xylan chose a name with the aid of a government database.
Tanya chose the last names Charles because backwards it spelled 'Selrach'� which was her name on Xylan.
While assuming the shape of Earth children, no biopsy test could identify that the aliens did not possess human DNA. Only when their bodies were in their recuperative state, could a genetic coding difference be detected. And so far, no human was privy to this fact.
The alien shape shifters also used the government database to mimic the physical makeup of humans who had died in childhood. The aliens made sure they did not assume the resemblance of any children listed as missing in order to maintain a low profile. This ingenuity kept the aliens' secret safe for several decades. The children eventually assumed human forms, which mimicked the progression of aging and went on to attend college and take their place in the work force to the complete ignorance of several national security agencies.
Tanya eventually landed a job as an administrative assistant at a Manhattan advertisement agency. Her boss often utilized Tanya's witty remarks in ad campaigns for such products as beer and automobiles while intentionally failing to compensate the talented author for her ideas. 'You can really think outside the box,'� the executive would often remark to Tanya as if this would compensate for his plagiarism.
Tanya didn't really care if she was receiving just compensation for her groundbreaking marketing ideas. What she really wanted was a career in politics so she could effect real change. Charles knew she had to keep her true makeup a secret, but she couldn't stand to keep her thoughts to herself a minute longer. She introduced her opinions to her fellow subway riders one day out of the blue. 'Our leaders are becoming so concerned with being politically correct that they are losing sight of the bigger picture. We must strive to live in complete harmony with nature if we want the world to survive. That means we sometimes have to offend some people who are blatantly abusing our ecosystem under the guise of democracy.'� The majority of her subway buddies looked on with disbelief that day. But soon they would be converted to supporters, taking great solace in Tanya's profound statements. Most Americans were used to being governed by politicians who were only out for his or her own personal gain. The frequent uncovering of scandals involving payoffs to elected leaders only confirmed this fact.
Many of the commuters encouraged Charles to run for office. They maintained a leader of Tanya's caliber would keep the press busy with stories of substance. 'The rags wouldn't have time to report on what kinds of junk food our political prisoners enjoy,'� one rider named Seymour maintained. 'A candidate like Tanya would encourage me to vote again,'� another commuter pointed out.
Tanya found she was not immune to human praise. She wrestled with the decision to quit her job for several nights based upon her friend's compliments. Maybe she could achieve her goal in small increments without detection, she told herself. The people had spoken and Tanya felt obligated to serve them. By the end of that week, Charles had resigned from the marketing firm and applied to serve as an intern at the White House.
* * *
President James P. Knowles looked at his television screen with mild annoyance as he took a sip of his morning coffee. His aid Jack Harcourt quickly intervened to downplay the importance of the latest poll that showed the president's popularity was on a downslide. 'Sir, NNN is desperately launching this assault to rattle your confidence. You and I know, the National News Network doesn't want to give you hope for re-election to a second term. They probably just can't stand the fact that you're one of the youngest presidents ever elected.'�
'Jack, I don't care about being one of the youngest presidents, just the most savvy,'� the 38-year-old president retorted with a big grin. 'Now, I can understand how the majority of Americans are upset with me for acting so aggressively in our latest conflict. However, I must uphold the wishes of those who funded my election campaign. I wouldn't be here without them. My foster parents were neither rich nor famous; nor were they politically connected. And now I must repay those who had financial faith in me despite a drop in popularity.'�
'Well Mr. President, that wane in popularity won't last for your long. I have no doubt the people will come around when they realize your strong-arming techniques in our latest conflict were necessary to secure a natural resource which is most vital to our nation's stability.'�
'Jack, let's use some of those convoluted sentences of yours in my next speech. They drip with more sweetness than my glazed cruller.'�
'Well, you do have a sweet tooth, sir.'�
'Funny thing Jack, I never had one when I was a kid. I guess it's all part of my acclimation process.'�
Jack knew the rest of the White House staff must not become privy as to what that 'acclimation process'� was.
'You know, Jack. Between you, me and the fly on the wall- the natural resource we are working so feverishly to protect may one day destroy our whole ecological system.'�
'Pollution is a small price to pay to keep the world free,'� Jack answered while clumsily dumping some artificial sweetener into his tea.
'Put that phrase on a bumper sticker, my friend,'� the president cackled. However, President Knowles realized his laughter was forced. Deep down, he knew the price of maintaining loyalty to his financial backers would ultimately destroy the very foundation of democracy they were swearing to protect. 'But what the hell,'� the president reasoned in silence, 'I'll be dead and buried before a decay of that magnitude sets in.'�
The president wrapped the remainder of his cruller in a napkin as if the super sweet tasting dough represented the rot he had planted in America's garden.
'I'm just following the party line,'� Knowles told his conscious. 'I'm like all the leaders before me who cynically snickered at the notion of being the voice of the people. All that rhetoric is just part of some fairy tale. Come to think of it, I guess I'm now part of that fairy tale as well. American folklore says I'm a trickster in disguise; and here I am in a Amani suit. A wolf in sheep's clothing if you will.'�
President James Knowles had had enough of listening to his flock for one day. His face contorted into a strange kind of smirk as he commanded his TV remote to quiet the voices on the news program. In a flash, the screen was in total darkness. 'And on the seventh day, God rested,'� Knowles declared while propping his feet upon a desk.
* * *
When the Office of Strategic Initiatives notified Tanya it had accepted her application for internship at the White House, the ambitious shape shifter quickly traded her Bronx apartment for a townhouse in Baltimore.
Charles was feeling less restricted these days, as she believed the internship would open new doors for her. 'My job may still be confining; but at least I will able to effect change in our government system. It looks like I'll still be able to use some of my shape shifting skills after all,'� a small voice in Tanya's head reasoned.
As the 33-year-old Xylas native unpacked her boxes, she marveled at how she had traveled from another galaxy with a lot less luggage. Still, the heaviest baggage Tanya was still forced to carry was her secret identity. The appeal of maintaining the secrecy had worn off long ago. The time she had spent assuming the form of a mischievous Earth child who reviled in fooling adults seemed like a waste. She allowed a small voice to speak from her heart as she fondly looked upon a picture of her foster mother. 'I don't want to play hide and seek anymore. I want the world to know who I am.'�
Tanya's foster mother Amanda had confirmed that some people on this planet do remain true to themselves. The shape shifter found it odd that she wanted to please her Earth mother so much. Back on Xylas, the shape shifters had unconsciously displayed a form of pride as they followed their dreams on a daily basis. She reasoned that this desire was just a natural instinct, which unfortunately had become overlooked due to the constraints of assuming the same form day after day. Tanya knew she would always have a hard time accepting the limited kind of life Earth would allow her. 'It's a wonder that these beings can survive at all when they're condemned to assume one form, one sex and often one career for an entire lifetime.'� Tanya wished she could pick up a phone and share these feelings with her foster Mom. But reason always won out at the end of the day. 'I must honor those Xylans who helped save me,'� Tanya declared while her eyelids grew heavy. She then headed for the bathroom where she could quietly recuperate in liquid form within the confines of her bathtub.
* * *
'Mr. President, I have some news which should cheer you up. Some young, beautiful woman will be joining us in the Oval Office today.'�
Jack Harcourt's announcement was like a cool breeze on a hot summer day to the president. The president's aid was well aware of this fact and made sure he took all the credit for scheduling a meeting with the White House's newest interns. Jack knew his commander in chief possessed another kind of sweet tooth in addition to the one that craved sugarcoated donuts. This other type of sweet tooth lusted for the sweet young flesh of blond interns. Harcourt was also quite aware that he should schedule the president's meetings with the interns when the First Lady was on holiday. Yes, Jack Harcourt would do just about anything to watch the back of his president. But he would also make sure that his back would receive ample scratching when it was time to collect. 'No supporter will be left behind,'� was Jack's motto.
Harcourt made sure each female intern met with the president separately so Knowles could ogle each breathtaking form with uninterrupted adulation. 'Go worship your art, Mr. President,'� Harcourt would often joke to Knowles before each appointment. Harcourt was right; Knowles had incorporated the human male penchant for lust into his repertoire with the skill of a native. 'You've sure got everyone fooled, my friend,'� Harcourt stated in a small voice just underneath his breath after the president's second appointment.
When it came time for the president's third appointment, the cool breeze the president had enjoyed with the first two interns had suddenly metamorphosed into a bitter Arctic chill. The physically fit, blond-haired woman announced as 'Tanya Charles'� strode into the office with an air that stated she was all business.
Deep in the recesses of Knowles' mind, the president was sure he had met this woman before. However, Charles launched into the reason for her visit so quickly the president had little time to place her face.
'As an intern with the Office of Strategic Initiatives, I find myself obligated to advise you Mr. President that your duty to the people of this country has gone off course. Your election speech promised the people that you would devote more time to the problems on our own soil. Your popularity rating has suffered because of your broken promises. The people want all conflicts involving matters on foreign lands to take a back seat. I know I am speaking candidly without your permission Mr. President; but I am here as an unpaid employee who feels compelled to serve the interests of our nation's people. In other words, I am enduring the humility of toiling as a waitress at The Golden Chicken to fund this endeavor. I speak with the conviction of a woman who spends her nights with elbows emerged in grease when I say I must appraise you of your folly.'�
Knowles didn't know if the woman who sat before him was a concerned citizen or a lunatic on release from a mental facility. He briefly considered calling for security guards until he allowed his eyes to peruse the shapely legs of his guest. The president's lust had instilled a small amount of courage in him. 'Yes, it's worth the torment to hear her speak if I can find a way to get her into my bed,'� the commander in chief told himself.
Charles began to speak again as she quickly sensed what the president really wanted from her. Tanya could not conceal her tone of disgust as she pleaded with Knowles to reconsider his stance on the current foreign conflict. However, the president continued to listen in silence. The voice was beginning to provide a clue to this woman's true identity. At the same time, Tanya's mind began to focus on the words Harcourt had used to introduce the president: 'Tanya, please say hello to the President of the United States. The first foster child to assume command of the greatest country on Earth.'�
In the back of their minds, the president and the intern became aware that they had met before.
* * *
'Is it really you, Selrach?'� the president whispered in Tanya's ear.
'Oh great Xylas - you're the one who's running this country into the ground,'� she answered in disbelief. 'How many people know who you really are, Knowles?'�
'Just my aids and my wife. Now please keep your voice down.'�

'I foolishly squandered many years I could have devoted in pursuit of my dream, while you threw caution to the wind. How could you betray both our race and the humans?'�
'I was following the orders of our people, Tanya,'� the president whispered in a combative manner. 'We were instructed to blend in, so that is what I am doing. I am following the usual party line. Any deviation would result in my complete exposure.'�
'I am sure our fellow Xylans would want us to do more than just blend in when the fate of an entire nation is at stake. How self-serving can you be, Knowles? You have learned to acquire the worst traits of humanity.'�
'In any event, you must keep your mouth shut about this, Selrach. Our families sacrificed their lives so we could survive. And that is what I intend to do. If you want to make waves, then take your shapely show girl-like body and take a jump into the Atlantic Ocean.'�
'Speaking of my body, James. How can you sit there lusting after me when we're made of the same substance? We didn't require sex to procreate on Xylas. Yet, here you sit like someone transformed you into some shameless, wide-eyed salivating barbarian.'�
'You are speaking foolishly. Whatever we once were no longer exists. So get that through your pretty blond skull and go sling dishes at The Golden Chicken.'�
'I will do no such thing. However, I do promise to become your nemesis. I will run for president and beat you, Knowles.'�
'Your day is numbered, Tanya. I can't let you step out into the world and expose me along with my fellow Xylans.
'You do not care about any fellow Xylan or any fellow man, period.'�
'I suppose you're right. You see right through me whether I assume human form or not. I have learned to adapt. You have not, Tanya. And you know the old saying rings true ' it's the survival of the fittest.'�
The president then silently motioned for Jack to join them. Harcourt, who strategically positioned his thug-like body outside the closed door of the office, sensed the president's urgency and bolted towards Knowles. 'Are you all right, sir?'� the aid asked with exaggerated concern.
'I am fine. However, our intern friend is not feeling well I'm afraid. Maybe you can take her on a little trip to the National Arboretum and pick out a nice plot for her.'�
Both the president and his aid foolishly ignored the camera that was recording every visual and audio move they made. Tanya, who was well aware of the monitoring device, made sure the camera caught her best angle. That angle would be the one where Jack Harcourt was stupidly shoving a pistol into her backside.
Charles knew resistance here could mean the death of them all. She quickly acted to remove the racing human heart, which was beating wildly in her chest since no shape shifter required this organ for breathing. 'I will not resist you,'� Tanya quietly whispered to Jack while she extended her arms away from her body. Charles knew the cameras would record this odd behavior that she hoped would serve as evidence of Knowles' misdeeds. 'At least he'll be taken down whether I survive this ordeal or not,'� she reasoned.
Harcourt kept his weapon concealed in his coat pocket as the pair made their way of the White House. Jack threatened to use the gun without hesitation if Charles tried to alert any of the security guards of her plight.
Fifteen minutes later, Harcourt and Charles were seated in a black car. Tanya was riding shotgun while her six-foot-three-inch abductor kept an automatic pistol trained on her from the driver's seat.
Tanya's mind raced to find a solution to this dilemma. 'How can I help this planet if I'm dead?'� she asked herself as the car carried her closer to what the president hoped would be her final destination.
'The secret of the Xylans will soon be exposed anyway thanks to our fearless leader. I suppose I could call upon the survival instincts of the phormon (the huge bear-like beast she had often transformed herself into as a child). Without further delay, Tanya allowed her mind to drift into a semi-conscious state. In this state, the Xylan body worked to read and write the DNA sequencing code of the shape it desired to assume. Tanya had not called upon these mental and physical powers for many years and was not entirely convinced she even met the definition of a changeling anymore. After two minutes, Charles began to come out of her semi-conscious state thanks to a human-like panic attack.
'Unleash yourself from all the human restrictions,'� Tanya silently chanted to herself in a desperate attempt to alter her reality. There were only minutes to spare as the car turned onto Bladensburg Road; if she couldn't transform herself in the next three minutes she would most likely never shape shift again. The grounds of the arboretum lied just a few hundred meters ahead.
Harcourt who ignorantly assessed his captor had given up hope of escaping, allowed his hand to relax on his pistol. The shortsighted aid also forgot to turn off the inside surveillance cam which was mounted on the interior's roof. A national security act had mandated all government cars be equipped with this miniature device in the event of a hi-jacking. Well at least good old Jack wasn't wasting the American taxpayers money. Tanya's abduction could be loosely translated into a hi-jacking if one tried hard enough.
In fact, what was to transpire in the next five minutes would serve the definition nicely.
Just as Harcourt fought in vain to stifle a yawn (this was apparently the first time he had been given any real work), a large black object started to invade the corner of the aids right eye. For a split instant, his mind associated the image with another sedan.
Fearing he was about to be sideswiped, Jack cut the wheel hard and swerved left.
As Harcourt did this, he soon realized the black-colored object was indeed closer than it appeared. Right next to him was a slobbering extraterrestrial beast whispering sweet grunts into his ear. Harcourt summoned what little courage his character allowed him to squeeze the trigger of his pistol. The shot missed the beast entirely and exited out of the passenger window before coming to rest in a telephone pole. The next few minutes were not going to be the ones Jack Harcourt had fantasized about. No sir. He was not going to be surrounded by scantily clad babes in his old age. But he was about to be surrounded by a hairy beast whose instincts told it to bite down on the arm that threatened its metamorphosed existence. Yes, Tanya had become one with the phormon. It summoned the same will to survive as Charles did.
The mighty jaws of the phormon separated Jack's right arm from his body with the greatest of ease. Step right up and see the show. The circus was in town and Jack Harcourt was about to realize what it meant to be the unfortunate member of Siegfried & Roy.
The car was now out of control; but gravity was not. The weight of the alien beast soon rocked the vehicle to its left side. The slight tip placed the beast/Tanya Charles squarely upon Harcourt's pain wracked body. Jack's last thoughts were: 'Where did that blond chick go?'�
The weight shift in the vehicle then caused it to tumble side to side like a huge clothes dryer. When the car came to a rest, a phormon was no longer draped over the dead body of Jack Harcourt. However, the unconscious form of Tanya Charles was.

The Ford that had nearly transported Tanya Charles to her demise was beyond repair much like its driver. The car came to a rest in an empty patch of field located along Bladensburg Road. Tanya Charles had come to a rest at George Washington University Medical Center. However, the shape shifter was quite alive despite her dormant state.
As soon as Charles was able to open her eyes, detectives were on hand to levy a barrage of questions at her. A throng of reporters, who had been banned from entering the medical facility, had aligned themselves along the perimeter of the facility during the overnight.
Charles did not recall that her nearly life-less body had entered into its liquefied recuperative state after the crash. However, several uniformed officers would not soon forget this fact. Detective Robert Stanton did not doubt the young officers on the scene were telling the truth when they recanted the surrealistic-like event. 'One minute there was a pool of liquid, and the next, there was this unconscious hottie,'� one shocked patrol cop stated. This officer also experienced the after math of a liquid release in his trousers.
Detective Stanton knew an officer who suffered the embarrassment of wetting his pants was not one to make up stories.
'How was I saved?'� Tanya asked Stanton.
'I don't know. It looks like you saved yourself. The doctors told me they couldn't make heads or tails of your physiologically. One of them even told me you didn't have a heart,'� the detective reported trying to maintain his best matter-of-fact tone.
'I want to make formal charges against the President of the United States for conspiracy to murder.'�
'You don't have to, ' Stanton answered. Your ordeal in the White House and in the car was captured on video. The president was physically removed from his position three hours ago. Suffice to say, he did not step down with dignity.'�

The secret of the Xylans was public knowledge. James P. Knowles was sentenced to two life terms in the prison. The public was not so much outraged that a public figure had misrepresented himself (apparently Americans were use to this sort of thing), than they were sickened over his plot to murder the idealistic intern. 'I'll take a concerned shape shifting alien over a self-involved politician every time,'� one teenager told NNN.
Two months later, Tanya determined she was totally healed from her accident despite pleas from her doctors to stay admitted as a test subject. 'There's not much to study anyway doctor - psychologically speaking that is. I am filled with as many neuroses as you are. I am quite content to live out my life in human form. But if my life is ever threatened again, you can bet your malpractice insurance premium that I won't hesitate to turn into a blood-thirsty phormon again.'�
Upon hearing Tanya's candid answer, the admitting doctor couldn't sign her release papers fast enough.
Two days later, a press conference was held. Tanya explained that she had received a pardon from the Vice President for falsifying identification documents. The acting president ' who was quite human ' also extended the pardon to all other Xylans inhabiting the U.S.
Charles advised the reporters that her next task would be to gain citizenship. 'There's nothing in the Constitution that states a shape shifter can't become a United States citizen,'� Tanya remarked without acknowledging the absurdity of the situation.
The journalists ate this up. They fell in love with the shape shifting blond alien who majored in poly science and loved her country.
'After I become a citizen, I think I will run for the governorship of California. Californians seem to be pretty liberal when it comes to electing candidates. But seriously, one day I do hope to lead this great country.'�
One reporter then asked Tanya if the idea of becoming America's first female president intimidated her.
'That realization doesn't scare me at all. However, the notion of becoming America's first honest president is kind of scary.'�
THE END

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