Wicked Messenger by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Chapter 7
ACCEPTANCE, ELI, 6-8-98476. 6-8-2058 EARTH CALENDAR
It was the day before scheduled Flight II containing Ares the Ambitious and Cronos was pacing his office floor, Maalox bottle in hand, drunk on the pink ulcer tonic. The buzz was in his head, but only sharp pains resided in his gut. He muttered to himself; “You work all your life to attain a position, forsaking family, lovers, wives, hobbies and play and it only takes one problem to put it all in jeopardy. I realize that the bungle happened during the single most important event in the history of Eli, but it wasn’t my fault. And even if it was, what do they expect? Perfection? The only thing perfect is death and maybe I’ve contributed to the people finding that. Serves the ingrates right. Ha, ha. Damn that Joshua Foucalt!”
He realized that as he spoke his voice was elevating. He opened the closed door to see if anyone just happened to have business within earshot of his plaintive monologue. Seeing no one he felt free to continue as he found he was enjoying talking to himself. He imagined himself a brooding royal making his case to an unseen celestial listener or, in lieu of that, a silent psychiatrist hiding behind his desk, beard and glasses. “I am not the swimmer and this is not the deep blue, but I am in the deep stuff as far as I can see. I’ve played safely all my life and at this advanced age I have to consider an un-hedged act?
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The fortunes are completely unfair. But, even were I willing, what act?” He took a swig from his rapidly emptying, pink bottle and unabashedly wiped the residue from his lips with the cuff of his shirt. “I know. I know. I know. That’s my job to figure that out. But, I could use a hint. This whole thing scares me. You laugh? Consider a lifetime of avoiding all criticism by not making any decisions at all, but knowing how to appear to be in charge by questioning. The percentages are in your favor in this manner, as opposed to actually doing something and becoming the answer man. Only this time, when I scream my questions into space I get nonsense back. If I can’t get anywhere asking questions, I’ll have to risk being the one on the hot seat.
............... That’s it! I will commit an overt act. Right now, before I think better of it.” He chugged the remainder of his bottle and charged to the transmitter.
He said; “Joshua, don’t give me any nonsense and report right now.”
Becky answered; “You must be thick. How many times have you been told that there is no Joshua here?”
“Yes there is; Joshua Foucalt. Go get that man, whatever you call him. The one who sometimes gets on the line. Not the old one! ”
“I don’t have to.”
“Little girl, this is a matter of the utmost importance.”
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“I’m not little. I’ll be ten in a week.”
Cronos’ will to take charge was being tested. He sought a new, more circuitous approach and said; “Happy birthday. What kind of presents do you want?”
“I like to be surprised.”
Cronos was never actually in that circle and drew a blank.
In frustration he said; “I’ll send you a cuddly teddy bear.
Would you please go get that man.”
“As long as you say please. And don’t bother with the bear.”
“Please.”
“With sugar and spice and everything nice on top?”
“With sugar and spice and everything nice on top.”
“Hold on. I’ll see if I can find him.”
Just to be sure, he said; “Thank you,” and did his best not to make it sound sarcastic.
Becky went to the porch and found Harry in his recent favorite place; sitting next to Grandpa. She interrupted the
“when I was young” story, saying; “Harry, you’re wanted on the rocket. The nut insists that your name is Joshua, though.”
Becky sat and picked up the thrice heard tale at midpoint.
Harry went to her room and said; “Hello” to the tiny rocket.
It answered; “I have something very important to tell you.
Are you alone?”
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Harry shut the door and said; “Yes.”
“I’m Cronos Titanby, Galaxy Director of the Planet Eli. I’m going to take the chance that you are Joshua Foucalt and tell you something that you need to know. I know you are aware of this, but I’m going to say it anyway. You are the Senior Galactic Executive, my right hand man, also from the planet Eli.
You were sent to Earth because Eli’s sun will soon die and the people need another place to live.”
Harry wanted him to slow down and said; “The planet Eli is not known on the internet.”
“And it will never be known on Earth as one has to travel at the speed of light to the fifth power to reach it. To continue the main point, the powers that be have determined that Earthlings are a violent species; their history is a rendition of wars. One in three women has been raped. We peaceful Elis cannot live with such primates, so you were sent there to report back on their weaknesses, weaponry and locations, so we can take them out as efficiently as possible.”
“When you say ‘take them out,’ are you referring to the people or the weapons?”
“Both. Since you’ve been incommunicado another Eli is coming tomorrow; a choice of Military Director Marshall Ordnance. Ares Jarrod is very ambitious and I would suspect that
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if he finds you alive he will try to kill you, in order to have all the glory. Any questions?”
“No doubt, but they don’t come to mind right now. When they do I’ll blast you on the rocket.”
“You could be making a fatal mistake taking this lightly.”
“I’m really not. You’ve given me a lot to think about. I’ll assume you’re being honest with me and I’ll hazard following suit. I got amnesia. I’ve been piecing things together and have been getting some ideas and lost memories back. They don’t contradict what you’re saying. How can I be sure that I’m who you say I am?”
Cronos thought a few seconds and matter-of-factly said; “Go into the rocket and look around.”
Harry snorted a half-laugh.
“What?”
“You’ve got to be kidding. You’ve just lost all credibility.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The ******* thing is about two inches long. I was carrying it around in my pocket.”
“You’re not joking. Of course, first you have to shrink.”
“........................”
“You’ve forgotten. I guess you haven’t used your controller.”
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“Yes, I have, but I didn’t shrink.”
“All right. This is a bit tricky. Take out your controller.
Got it?”
“Yeah, but I have to tell you something. I made some adjustments to it. All three buttons are pushed in and the switch is set in the center.”
“Undo it.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“Oh, boy. You’re stuck on Earth until someone fixes you up with a new controller. How do you feel?”
“Well. In fact, very well.”
Cronos said; “You say you have all three buttons pushed in and the switch set in the middle?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to have to try that. I can’t recall the last time I felt very well.”
“...........................”
“Well, if you can undo what you did red, red, green, blue, blue, green will make you shrink and blue, blue, green, red, red, green will return you to full size. The manufacturer did it this way, thinking it fool proof, so no one would shrink or grow accidentally. It can be embarrassing in social situations. These
**** things always manage to have some glitch. They didn’t anticipate someone wanting to stay big at all times.”
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“I didn’t want to! It just happened accidentally.
................... This method of ‘proof’ is reaching a dead end. Is there any other way you can assure me of what you say?”
“You have a chip imbedded in your body.”
“So do dogs.”
“Dogs?”
“Yeah, for years. In case they get lost, someone can find where they belong.”
Cronos cleared his throat to avoid the possibility of a chuckle. He said; “I don’t know. How does anybody prove anything to anybody? On an objective level there’s always some detail missing. Then, if found, later there are factual adjustments and discovery of better measuring instruments. On a subjective basis there are various theories concerning the ability to know anything. The present-day, lionized theory put out by the newest brilliant philosopher is that one can only know what is in their own mind and that anything outside of it may not even EXIST. If correct, this renders the burden of proof from one Eli to another an insurmountable ..........”
Harry cut him off, saying; “You’re getting a little deep here. I mean, like, can you fax me a copy of a photo drivers’
license or something similar. I’d even be comfortable with a photo library card.”
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“There are no fax machines on Earth compatible with ours and even if they were it would take forever to get there.”
Before the conversation commenced Harry-Joshua had strong suspicions of his alien status and what Cronos had told him did not oppose any of his prior thoughts. However, whether or not someone could travel at the speed of light to the fifth power seemed a little far-fetched. His mission was unsettling as he was expected to betray his new friends. Knowing that someone was coming to kill him was useful information. He didn’t want to show all his cards and perhaps because he had been on Earth for a while, he felt silly and said; “If the fax isn’t fast enough, figure out a way to send it by rocket. We’ve still got some time. In all seriousness, I think you’ll appreciate the fact that I have to consider the possibility that I might be being tricked into killing someone for others’ purposes. How do I know this isn’t some sort of set up?”
“Even if it was in the interest of someone else to kill Ares, it is also in yours. If you insist on being obtuse and stubborn, you will likely be dead.”
“Excellent point.”
“We have a mutual interest here. We must trust each other.”
Cronos refrained from choking. “Your life and my job are a function of your success.”
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“If I remember correctly success means conveying Earthling weaknesses, weaponry and locations.”
“Precisely.”
“And the death of Ares Jarrod?”
Cronos said; “I don’t see how that would harm either of our interests.”
Harry-Joshua said; “Consider it done,” ending the conversation.
Joshua now had enough understanding of the chess board movements and non-movements to know where his knight stood and how he probably got where he was. It didn’t sit well with him, but this was where someone placed the pieces. Joshua didn’t define the game or its rules. He was a mere player put into a bad situation. The eradication of the Earth people was most disturbing. He had come to love Becky and Grandpa and couldn’t envision any circumstances in which he would be comfortable in being part of their deaths. He was also certain there were other Beckys and Grandpas throughout the world, as he didn’t believe in the miracle of his having happened to land next to the only two. He had no moral qualms with helping to eliminate Earth’s weapons, as sometimes technology does get ahead of the people’s ability to use it properly. The system had a to-date-insoluble flaw. To rise to the top and determine policy, one had to spend
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a lifetime thinking of one thing; themself, no matter the cost to others. Cronos said that the Elis had achieved peace, yet he added that these “peaceful” people were set to take out all Earthlings. He didn’t even seem aware of the obvious discrepancy. He’s either a liar, not very bright or a product of a severely flawed system. After having absorbed some of the Earthlings’ love of life, started when Becky chastised him for obliterating a cactus, he was not even at ease with the idea of killing Ares. Self-defense was another matter. So, as is always the case, the question with which he wrestled was what to do next. He was only certain of one thing; that he couldn’t live with himself if he was complicit in the deaths of Becky and Grandpa. In fact he expected that he would be suicidal if his mere lack of effort had that result. What to do? What to do?
Cronos got an idea from the amnesia story. He wasn’t certain that Ares would try to kill Joshua, but it was the logic he drew from his understanding of Ares’ point of view. More importantly, it was in his interest to have Joshua think so, as if Joshua killed the military interloper, it suited him just fine on a personal basis. He also wasn’t fully convinced that Joshua had really contracted the amnesia condition, but couldn’t imagine what interest he had in saying that he did. Whatever Joshua’s true mental state, it was better for him (Cronos) to
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have his man on the heroic job and Ares out of the picture. He made two phone calls, and under the guise of properly keeping his “team-mates,” President Zeus Indiffant and Military Director Marshall Ordnance, informed, he told them that he had definitely located Joshua and that he was without memory. He knew that the report would get back to Ares and he hoped the second astronaut would interpret that as meaning Joshua would be an easy target and not be as efficient as he possibly could be.
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