"We didn't hurt him."
"You put him back the way you found him, do you understand? Do it right this instant!"
"Yes, Mother. Let's see, how did we find him?"
"Simple bilateral symmetry, stupid!"
"Oh, yes, two of everything except—"
"Hold it! Remember the anaesthesia."
Buzz!
When I awakened this time they were gone. My electric clock hummed softly on the mantle, revealing the nonsensical information that less than an hour had passed since my visitors first arrived.
I staggered to my feet, bracing myself against the thick air, but the air was just ordinary, thin, substanceless air again. My hand dropped to my right hip.