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WORLD JOURNAL MONTHLY
February 1, 2011
DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO ANOTHER WORLD!
Can That World Save Us?
Vice-President Joe Corrigan had cancelled the morning security briefing. Ever since what happened in Nashville last December, the Government's information gathering wasn't even worth his time. He could get the same news off TV now. So he was catching up on e-mail when the message came: "Wyatt Ferguson has invited you to a hyper-conference. Click here to activate."
Corrigan muttered, "It's 'bout time he reported." He clicked there to activate - softly. His touch often broke things. The staffers called him Crusher Joe - and so did most of the world. But if he could have stabbed there to activate, he would have.
A video window came up on his computer. Wyatt was wearing a silk blouse with a sash. He had his traveling companion Kristi Halsted (the Animal Woman) next to him.
"Wyatt. Damn good to see you're all right."
Kristi said, "You mean our Wyatt hasn't come back yet?"
"What you mean? Wyatt's right there beside you!"
"That's not our Wyatt. As the Acting Ambassador from Earth-SW10 to the Congress of Ordered Realities, please allow me to introduce you to Chancellor Wyatt Ferguson, head of the Congress."
"What the hell is Earth-SW10?"
"It's us. It's just a tag. They assign these tags to superhuman worlds that make it here. There aren't all that many. There's only about fifty worlds here now."
Wyatt broke in. "If I might move this meeting along... I knew of you as Governor Corrigan. I always wanted to see how you'd done since that Strait of Juan de Fuca stuff in 2000." (www.eilertech.com/stories/jehovah.htm)
"You can see what I've done. Now I get to move the meeting. What's this Acting Ambassador crap? I sent Wyatt to be the ambassador!"
"With two Wyatts here, he abdicated in favor of Kristi. Then he headed for home to get you to send Kristi a replacement. Isn't he there yet?"
"Hell no! But I got to sidebar that, 'cause I'm on an agenda. Kristi tell you about how we can give you settlers?"
"Yes. That was the first thing she brought up. She told me how you got into a fight between The Trillions and their enemies, and they changed your planet's orbit so the crops failed."
"Close enough. So can you take our settlers?"
"We've got the room. We can keep the doors open for you until The Trillions land on your world."
"What you mean, until they land?"
Wyatt looked surprised. Kristi looked like she was thinking, Uh Oh.
"Vice President Corrigan, are you saying The Trillions have actually landed on your planet?"
"What's it mean to you?"
"Until we can establish they have not, you become one of the Earths we have to blockade. That's why we only have fifty-two Earths left in the Congress of Ordered Realities now. The Trillions took over the rest. Whevever they exist, they just breed and send spaceships. They will cover your planet with their ships. That's all they do."
"Well, if this is an official question, I got to get back to you with Earth's official response."
"I think I know the answer. I'd offer you your Deputy Ambassador back, but she's indicated she wants to stay."
Kristi interjected, "Sorry, Mr. Corrigan. I never asked for this job. I just had to get away."
Wyatt continued, "I have only one thing left to offer, Mr. Corrigan. Do you want us to send some planet-killers?"
"Hell no. Planet killers are what got us in this mess."
"So be it. Good luck. We'll be closing your access door now."
The conference window closed.
SMASH!
An aide ran in. "Another monitor, Mr. Corrigan?"
"It had it coming... I need something useful to smash. How about those zombies in South Bend?"
"But you know we've declared a containment zone."
"%$#@ it. It's time for an executive fact-finding mission."
Author's Notes:
For once, I have not written this story as a web page yet! For one thing, I've got a lot of writing to catch up on. For another, I'm considering how best to publish stories in a world where I can edit web pages on my smart phone, but not edit more than one web page at a time. Maybe I should just concentrate on that one page, and worry about formatting it later.
So, this once I've written an instant story! It is not my zombie story for the challenge, but it is a necessary prequel.
The story refers to Nashville in December. I haven't written that story (Cauldron Book 2) yet, because it is the opposite of an instant story. Heh heh, you'll have to wait for it. (Now available at www.eilertech.com/stories/2010/cauldron5.htm)
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