Alibi Encyclopedia · sci-fi

I'm in an Alien Training Program

Technically you're not supposed to talk about it, but you're already late, so you might as well.

For entertainment purposes only

The scenario

You've been selected — quietly, by entities you cannot name — for a part-time training program that occasionally requires sudden, unscheduled absences. Today was one of those days.

It started six months ago when a polite voice in your head started giving you directions to a parking garage. You followed them. Inside, a perfectly normal person handed you a clipboard and said, 'Welcome to onboarding.' You signed the clipboard. You probably shouldn't have signed the clipboard.

Now you're in the program. Most weeks it's fine — light reading, occasional vibe-based tests, one timed exercise involving a hallway and a very calm rabbit. But every so often there's an emergency module, like today, where you're pulled in without warning and asked to identify which color a feeling is. You missed your meeting. You also got a perfect score.

Why it works

It's the perfect modern absurd alibi — vague enough that nobody can prove anything, specific enough that nobody wants to ask.

How to deliver it

  • Use the word 'module' a lot.
  • Refer to your trainer only as 'them.'
  • Pretend you're not allowed to elaborate.
  • Offer to share what color sadness is. Don't actually do it.

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