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The Summer of Discontent
Part 1: The Plan
WORLD JOURNAL MONTHLY
April 28, 2011
THE PLAN!
Could The Earth Go Back To Its Old Orbit?
Correspondent: Noelle LaRue
In a meeting room underneath the Southwick Zoo in the rural town of Mendon, Massachusetts, Vice-President "Crusher" Joe Corrigan called the Executive Committee on Superhuman Activities to order. "Alright, this should be secret enough. Fed subsidies keep this place in bueiness, and the budget don't say why.
"We got one journalist here, but she's not gonna release this story 'til it's over. And by the time she tells people where we met, we'll have another room no one will suspect. Let's roll.
"News roundup... Dammit, I miss Wyatt. Ingrid, you got this?"
A Brazilian woman next to Dr. Ingrid Bodil spoke. "I will brief you. And I miss Wyatt also." Dr. Karla Melhor spoke from her chair. "Food shortages are beginning to abate. Raspberries and potatoes in particular are coming to harvest. Web sites are offering recipes for raspberry-potato casserole.
"But rolling power blackouts continue. As such, television viewing is decreasing. Soap operas are giving this as the reason for going off the air. Many banks have turned off their electric digital clocks."
Corrigan interjected. "Food shortage I understand. But we got plenty of power still."
"Indeed. The problem is maintenance of the power grid. Substations are being targeted by the Libertine Party, to protest our trials of Nashville rebels. (www.eilertech.com/stories/2010/cauldron.htm ) The ongoing plague and the extensive collapse of the world economic system are affecting our ability to repair. But there's progress on the plague. Scientists say it is actually mosquito-based, not avian-based."
"mosquitoes... What have I read about mosquitoes?"
"mosquitoes were bio-engineered to make the very first strike against The Trillions in Russia almost two years ago. (www.eilertech.com/stories/2009/trillions.htm#trillions ) Coincidentally, the plague started in Eurasia after the aliens landed. To speak more of aliens...
"You may recall, last summer an alien penetrated blockade around the Earth. (www.eilertech.com/stories/2010/deathtrap.htm ) He was of course the Alien Beast, member of our Combine. He went to his homeworld for breeding. I am pleased to report he has delivered two children."
"Uh, what you mean delivered?"
"He was pregnant. He was bio-engineered to be a hermaphrodite. Male and female together, that is."
"I get 'hermaphrodite'. And yeah, aww, but does the national security really care about his children?"
"Yes, it does. His species gains superhuman powers under our sun. But it also drives them crazy. The Beast himself was bio-engineered to be sane here. And a hunter. He did not have the extra powers, though. But his children do. And they seem to be sane. And the children are toddlers already."
"Okay. Unless the toddlers are ready for action or we have to send in Child Protective Services, note for the future."
Karla continued... "Since then, the Beast has returned to the hunt. In Alexandria, Egypt, he has found a plot by the guardian class of The Trillions to support the Red China government in a crackdown against the South China rebellion."
"Trillions believe in unlimited reproduction. Red China has population control. How they gonna make a deal?"
"The Chinese are allowing more reproduction now. But any family that has more than one child, has to all enter the Trillions' ships."
"Yeah, that would do it. If I were South China, I'd rebel too... Be nice to get rid of The Trillions. But we're stuck with them. Everyone's grandma is signing up for life support in their ships. So they're part of the family now. But can we do anything about their guardians?"
"If we find which ship commands them, we can hijack their command structure."
"So, can we?"
"Perhaps and perhaps. To find the command ship, we are investigating widely. One Massachusetts crime lord we have recently captured shows some promise. There is considerable argument among villains at present, apparently due to a power struggle between Satanists and Eric X. (www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/villainwar.txt ) Some villains of course have contact with The Trillions."
"What about the hijack?"
"Even once we find the ship, we will not know until we try. We have several ideas. But The Trillions are highly adaptive. Once we try something, it will never work again."
"Okay. Save the hijack for when we need it. Like, just before New New Year's Day. You got the info on that plan?"
Dr. Ingrid Bodil said, "I will address that. We have a report from the Australian ambassador. Ellipsis has been conducting research there, along with the Bride of the Ultimate Darkness. In theory, the Bride can teleport the Earth into Darkness, and have it emerge in another direction. Into a new orbit."
"It really a good idea to let Darkness eat the Earth and spit it out?"
"It is not a good idea, but it is the best we have. The Bride can usually make Darkness behave around the visitors she sponsors."
"Alright. I got new orbit. I got theory. What about practice?"
"There are two limitations. One is the Method Man."
"Uh, isn't Method Man some kind of rap star?"
"I do not know the details of 'rap'. But this Method Man is a guardian upon the magic powers of humanity. (www.eilertech.com/stories/2008/reversal.htm#methodman ) He has limited the powers of the Bride of Darkness, to only control things smaller than cities.
"Vara Hosea has recently contacted the Method Man. He now says he will enable the Bride's full powers, but only if some great mystic sacrifice is made."
"Aw, crap. Vara's not here. Who knows magic here?"
Another woman spoke. "She sent me. You can call me Wenchy the Witch."
"Okay, Wenchy. What you know about great mystic sacrifice?"
"I was with Wyatt Ferguson when he resurfaced in our reality. He had somehow found the power of God. And he sacrificed it, to save us all." (www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/britannia_beach.txt )
"... Whatever. So, is that a good enough sacrifice?"
"Yes. But only if we find Wyatt."
"How we gonna do that?"
"He got banished by Black Mages into a future. We've looked for him in the probable futures, but he's gone from those parts of the futures we could touch."
"Oh, humma humma buzza buzza, I don't wanna know. Where will you find him?"
"Maybe he's used his own powers to go to an alternate reality outside our future. Or maybe if he's under a time travel spell, he's in the past now. We're looking."
"Okay... You said one problem. Magic guardian in the way. Only Wyatt can save us. Got it. What's the other problem?"
Ingrid Bodil resumed. "There is a blockade on our universe. This has happened before. The previous blockade restricted all teleportation. (www.eilertech.com/stories/2004/passover.htm ) This one is looser, but it will still stop the Bride of Darkness from moving the entire planet."
"So, how we fix that?"
"Mr. Vice-President, you've already made contact with the Council of Ordered Realities. They have a Chancellor who's declared the blockade. (www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/deputy.txt ) If you can get him to lift it, then we might shift the Earth."
"Aw, dammit. The other Wyatt. Why is it always Wyatt?"
Wenchy the Witch said, "If you'd care to know..."
"No! I don't care! What do we do about it?"
Ingrid said, "I understand the main concern of Ordered Realities is The Trillions. Once we execute our strike against them, their concern might be addressed."
"Alright. Let's get back to the plan. Get to Ordered Realities somehow. Get them to work with us. Find Wyatt somehow. Hope he hasn't spent his big sacrifice somewhere else. Find the Trillions command ship somehow. Hope we can take over. Then maybe we can move the Earth."
"Yes, sir, that would be the plan."
"And do it by... when?"
"The fifth of May would be ideal. So would the sixth of June. At either of those dates, the Earth's position will match the old orbit."
"Okay. Let's do it."
Author's Notes:
I've been considering the Earth's new orbit to be a done deal, because it leads to my predeclared apocalypse world of Earth 2022. (www.eilertech.com/stories/2009/beyond.htm ) But of course my characters would consider other options. And my characters often drive my story. Might they get what they want? Would it be good enough? I guess we'll find out together.
Crusher Joe Corrigan is a character created by Joe Fucile. All other characters in this fiction are copyright 2011, Eiler Technical Enterprises. All this year's stories are online at www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/.
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