Anthony Allen's Questionnaire

Well, I live in the small town of Maplewood. It's in Nashville, Tennessee, to be specific. I don't live there for any specific reason, per se, more just because I grew up there and I'm not really in need of moving right now. 

It's nice, all things considered. The people are pretty nice, I guess, but everyone seems so fake sometimes, even the street performers who say they're singing from the soul. It's nothing compared to the true self that people display online. 

I can't lie that it does intrigue me a little, although the reason why I seek out the Contracts becomes farther and farther from the "truth" I told that Harbinger guy for every day that passes. Now, I simply want to see what the powers can bring me. If I keep gaining these powers, maybe...someday, I can find a face that sticks. 

And stop having to wear these masks.

I usually get my money from working part-time at my friend's dad's bakery. It's a really chill environment and he pays pretty well for what I actually have to do. 

Plus, I get to eat the extra stuff that will go stale otherwise at the end of the day. It also helps that my friend's dad is really nice. He probably wouldn't make too big of a deal if I suddenly had to leave for a bit out of the blue...

What do I spend it on? Well, I don't really spend much money since I have utilities paid for by my parents and I don't usually buy dinner because my mom makes it, but I guess I spend them on new games when they come out and subscriptions? I don't know, I'm not a big spender. Although, I can definitely see that that might change here soon...

My Ambition is to become unkillable through both my own physical power and society itself. I want to be protected by the very system that the highest-ranking species on the planet abides by. I strive for complete and utter dominance over the planet to satisfy the urges this body has. They are nothing more than a bother, but the ideal future for any living creature is to live out their entire natural life enjoying pleasures. 

I would go as far as I need to achieve that goal. Cross any arbitrary limit, no matter how much my mind or body refuses to cross it. I would like to say I would make the correct decision and avoid death at all costs, as that would be completely contradictory to the end goal, but if it was ever in such close proximity to me, I cannot say for certain that I wouldn't try and grab it, even if it meant I risked death.

The most defining event of my life before the Contract would have to be the night of my first party. It was 2 years ago at a friend of a friend's house. Apparently it was some sort of 2-month-late birthday party for the abroad older brother of my friend's friend. 

The night had gone well at first. I moseyed around and mingled with various groups, mainly sticking to people I usually didn't get the chance to talk to from my school, but eventually, the topic of romance came up among mixed company, some individuals I knew, others I did not. I had been prompted to answer a question about my personal life, to which whatever I said must have impressed one of the girls I didn't know, as she began to make pretty bold advances that the drunken minds of the others present didn't fail to catch. We were given space to leave and one thing led to another as she was now on top of my lap in the bed of the guest room upstairs.

I had no real interest in the girl, but I did not plan to deny her either, which is why I was confused when I felt something rise in my gut. Disgust.

Why did I feel this way? She was a pretty enough girl and it's not like she had done anything harmful to me. So why did I feel that way?

The girl obviously did not read the look on my face as she didn't slow down in her efforts in the slightest. The mix of my thoughts and the circumstances resulted in me acting without thinking and pushing her away, resulting in her head hitting the wall hard enough to be heard from downstairs. I tried to rectify my mistake immediately, but when I noticed her unresponsive and a small splatter of blood against the wall, I panicked as the possibilities of the potential dangers.

It hadn't been my plan to end the night sobbing in a public bathroom until I eventually fell asleep to the sound of my own labored breathing. Then again, I don't think anyone plans for that.

I heard later that she was checked out at the hospital and apparently received mild brain damage. Strangely enough, nobody ever seemed to put it together that he was the one who was at fault...

The closest people in my laugh would probably have to be my mom, my dad, and my dog, Toby. 

My mom is a pretty average person, in all honesty. That might sound rude or blunt, but it's true. She is nice, but not overly nice, smart, but not to the point of it being impressive, and her looks are middling, although I can't say for certain as I obviously don't look at her the same as others so maybe she is a little below average in that case. I suppose she cooks quite well, so I like that. Not to imply I don't like my mother, because I do! Just that she feels bland sometimes. Her name is Melissa, and her last name used to be Parker before she met my dad.

My dad is fairly impressive. He is good about getting home early enough to be around me, he makes good money for the family, and he is in pretty good shape despite his back-breaking office job. All in all, he is a good father and a better husband. I also enjoy that he is pretty true to himself most of the time. I just wish his true self wasn't still so boring. His name is Daniel.

My dog, Toby, is quite dumb, but I still love him. It's hard to blame him for the way he is, even if he is even dumber than most dogs, I think. He sometimes fakes being hurt so I scratch his belly, but besides that, he is the most honest person I know.

The Assimilator's childhood consisted of stealing the body of a small child to whom was just barely entered the education system, so once they began inhabiting the child known as Anthony Allen, it was majorly like any other ordinary human child's childhood, save for their alien way of thinking that always had them thinking more logically than other children his age. It was sometimes a little unsettling to his teachers back in primary school. Once he grew better at mimicking the behaviors of his host species, he learned that the logical decision is not always the correct one for this race, at least, if your goal is to blend in. 

The Assimilator, now known as Anthony, is an only child to a mother and father who would be said to be good parents by those on the outside. They are both sufficient in their roles, but nothing that Anthony would consider impressive, save for his father's ability to be truer to himself than others of his type.

His mother, Anthony is not impressed with, however. On top of being an individual who wears a mask around others, she is also not entirely faithful to Anthony's father, which Anthony feels would only worsen their familial ties and further complicate the situation if it were addressed, so he chooses to leave it be.

Anthony did not fit in at school in his first few years in the education system, as he was literally learning how to be human a half-dozen years late. Thanks to his race's incredible ability to adapt, he was able to salvage most situations. All except his initial birth into this world, to which a human woman who was babysitting The Assimilator's host witnessed his assimilation of Anthony's body. He has only recently discovered this memory, due to having trouble reaching into the deep memories of the braindead child's mind until now.

After learning the ropes, Anthony was actually above average in popularity in school, really garnering some social power in the form of people who would vouch for him were he to ever need it.

Anthony has never necessarily been "in love" in the same sense as a human would describe it, although he is uncertain how exactly he would know. He has, however, felt a sexual attraction to many of his opposite-sex peers. Love has been described online and in books as something transcending simple sexual attraction, and his anatomy proficiency proves that what he is feeling is at least incredibly similar to his only experiences, so his understanding of love, he feels, is crude.

If love is described as an intense enjoyment of another's presence, without any sort of ulterior motives, Anthony would say he loves his dog. He doesn't think he would die for them, but he would definitely be quite peeved if an asset of his pleasure was taken away.

Anthony's worst fears are being caught unprepared and captured and, more importantly, being killed.

Anthony has an incredibly strong sense of preservation and combined with his alien mind, will be counted on to make the logical choice almost every time. That is only almost all the time and not all the time because, as much as Anthony has changed the body of the boy whose identity and future he robbed, so has he been changed by the human body.

Anthony has found himself making completely illogical decisions and still can't seem to put his finger on exactly why. He has a hunch that he is imperfect and must complete a metamorphosis of sorts as well as partake in these Contracts to use the most of his potential.

The one thing that stays true thus far, is that Anthony fears death. Most other humans do, too. But the thing about humans is that they find things that they would die for. Anthony has yet to find something he would die for. At least, he doesn't think he would.

It's not like he would ever really cry for anyone were they to die. At least, not cry and feel it. He can definitely make himself cry. Yeah, and that would be what he does if someone were to harm his mother or father. Or Toby.

Yeah, he would act like he's crying alright. Especially for Toby. Poor Toby.

Anthony's most prized possession is his one and only host. Whenever he acquires more and stronger hosts, they will most likely be his most prized. Of course, that is if he has lost Anthony's body. He has found himself to have a strange outlook on the boy whose body he stole. He has yet to find resistance, but this, even he knows, is because the boy is braindead. He assuredly wasn't before, but he understands that if he were to try and take over someone else, there would be a struggle of some sort. He can feel it in his DNA.

Speaking of DNA, whenever Anthony is ready for it, his most prized possessions are sure to change. In the future, he can imagine himself saying that his children and his hosts are all valuable to him. But in reality, he can't find himself ever caring about other parasites like himself. He has even found that he might just hate himself. At least, the thought of seeing his true self. He's so used to seeing his face as Anthony Allen, and not as The Assimilator Parasite, feared by all living things across the galaxy!

At least, he hopes he would be. If there are other creatures out there with similar or superior latent abilities to his own, he might have just found another fear to put on his ever-growing list.

Right now, the biggest and most prominent issue in Anthony's life is definitely his lack of stability. He finds himself feeling disoriented swapping to so many different host bodies as of late. He very much preferred back when he had a normal life. Anthony Allen is all he knows, and while it wasn't the strongest or fastest body, it was HIS.

He's not willing to give that up just yet, although he fears he might have to.

Speaking of fears, he is very much concerned about how he is going to manage going about acquiring said security in his life. He's started making efforts to make allies with those taking part in the Contracts like him, which he had first completely disregarded, favoring coldness and caution. While he still tries his best to be cautious, he has recently took it upon himself to reveal his true form to two of said allies. It may have been a bit impulsive, and looking back on it, doesn't really help him forward his whole "secure life" thing, but worrying about something he can't change is even less logical.

The more important thing to be worrying about right now is what exactly he's going to do to acquire the assets required to further his plans.

Oh, and probably take care of those Wendigos. That too. He worries greatly about those creatures, and he is sure they are chasing him down. They didn't seem like the type to forgive and forget, especially after they got a taste. And if its Anthony they're after, its Anthony they'll get.

But amongst the worries, something else lies inside him, almost as if he harbors a parasite of his own. Excitement. A hot fire that seems to spark every time he thinks of the potential gains of acquiring such a strong host in the event that he succeeds in beating the wendigos. The problem is, however, if he does end up taking their bodies, he isn't quite certain he can change them to look human enough to be worth the risk. It goes against the very goal he has right now of staying on the down low and finding security.

Maybe if he figured out a way to improve his shapeshifting capabilities, he could get the best of both worlds...

Anthony no longer has a "typical morning" after being forced to change hosts so quickly in such a short span of time. Back when he was still Anthony Allen, his morning routine consisted of getting up out of bed, checking his room to make sure everything is in order, brush his teeth, check his phone, eat breakfast, go to school, then come home and tell his parents about his day before ending it with an hour or two of searching the web.

Now, all that's changed. The first month after the Missing Hand Incident, he had been forced to find refuge inside the body of a badger and hide out in the sewer until he had grown comfortable enough to be more bold with his hosts.

After THAT, he only just recently stumbled upon a multitude of different hosts, jamming him full of information and different experiences. An above-average physique clown of sorts given to him by a Harbinger worm-parasite creature, and a few others with government positions. Now that Anthony is back to a "comfortable" environment and not stressing out, he realizes it probably would have been possible to cure the biomechanical CEO of their cryogenic therapy needs using their adaptive augmentations, but it's just another thing to keep in mind for the future.

So much learning, so little time.

The Assimilator would probably dress the occasion, trying to fit in with whatever everyone else is wearing. The more information about the occasion, the better. It would most likely obsess over how best to fit in, trying to fit the mold and seem both completely normal while not seeming artificial in execution. Humans are, at least from the Assimilator's perspective, an advanced race, at least in regards to social norms and communication.

One thing can mean another with a different tone or pitch to the voice and some things might mean another if followed by prior context, etc. In short, it's a very hard community to fit into for those who have known no other. Fortunately for the Assimilator, it knows human. Its knowledge on Humanity is still flawed, but only in the sense that every other human's sense of understanding on their own race is flawed. Mainly because they are that race. But the Assimilator also has an advantage here.

They know both the experience of being human, as well as looking on the outside as a completely foreign species. 

To fit into the mold and make oneself appear like they belong. It's a sad existence, but one it is best suited for. 

How it longs to change that.

The Assimilator is unsure what it would do for its next birthday. It hasn't even crossed its mind. Honestly, its most recent one probably passed by, the only knowledge of it being the date roaming in its head. It always prepares this sort of miscellaneous information to reply to in case of surprise questioning, but it doesn't think to actually celebrate its birthday.

If it had the thought of mind to participate in such a human thing, it would probably go out and have fun, like a normal human. Like the kid it is. Even if it can be anything, it knows on the inside, deep down, far away from even itself, it's still Anthony Allen, 17, nearly 18-year-old kid from Nashville, Tennessee. He had even planned a college to go to and everything. Tennessee Tech University. It'd be a little bit of a drive, but it would only need to be made a few times.

All of that is gone now. What with the wendigos almost certainly killing off Anthony for good, it has no identity. Or, that isn't true. It has an identity. Just not one that would be accepted by the government. That would need to change here soon, and eventually, it would not be necessary.