"Do you think she'll understand?" A hushed voice was rumbling from mouth to ear, however hushed. One of the two figures in the doorway shuffled in a manner, intending to leave.
"She only understands as much as she accepts. Let's hope that she accepts it."
From their hands to the ground, and scurrying up through the mailslot, and into the house-- their parcel was sent.
They left, the two shadows. They did not intend on returning.
Morning would dawn and Judith's alarm would jangle her back to reality. Dreams of flying trees or burning in the sun would fizzle into nothingness, and she would dress for her day at the firm.
She phoned ahead: "York, is there a way that you could hold my calls until noon. N-no I'm not in yet. I just need some time to regroup. Yes, it was a tragedy, but... Yes, please have them send my lunch anyway. Yes... at ten."
Absent-mindedly, she avoided the other side of her bed, the other side of her closet, and the other sink in the bathroom. A big purchase was going to be made today-- hopefully. She had to be on her A-game. Hearts didn't sell commercial shuttles. Science, persuasion, and luck sold them.
Her purse in tow, and a bag of gym clothes for after work and she was in her sleek FlierBird. Nevermind the odd smell following her, nor the odd weight of her purse today. Eye on the prize.
Her foot tapped as she moved through the traffic. She ran through the proposal aloud:
"Yes sir. Here you will see that our advanced systems have allowed us to utilize artificial black holes as our propulsion systems. As you all know, black holes, while they can suck in many things relative to their size, they also spew out the energy that they have assimilated. We use micromicroscopic black holes to replace such out-dated fuel issues."
She rambled on, until she realized that she was getting a better response than she had anticipated.
"Oh, yes. I fully agree. We should certainly take your firm up on this shuttlecraft system."
"Why, thank you. How many should I put you down for, sir?"
"Well, I haven't any idea what kind of currency you use."
She went silent-- pulling from her day dream.
"What the hell..."
"I'm sorry?"
She looked around, and began to check her in-flight phone system, worried that she had Bump-dialed someone. She hadn't.
"Is everything alright?" the supposed client asked.
Her eyes went to her purse, and the source of her new sale.
"Sorry?" On the brim of her purse sat the seven inch critter, much like a squirrel, but lacking any fur. Maybe it was a lizard? But lizards couldn't speak. It also looked a bit like a hairless weasel-- but still, those didn't speak either. If it wasn't a human, a parrot, or an android-- then it shouldn't be speaking.
She made her way to the office-- sitting in silence. The critter sat silently as well, staring up at her, its hands wiggling absently in its nude lap.
"Is there something wrong?"
And for the next few hours she ignored the creature in her purse, reciting the proposal in her head, up to when she began eating lunch.
"I'm pretty hungry myself. Do you mind if I eat the crusts?"
"You're not here, you know. You're not real."
"Well, that seems pretty ego-centric."
"Heh, no. Like... I'm imagining you."
"Now THAT'S just solipsism. Have you ever consulted a doctor?" It smiled, sitting on her desk.
"I have work to do."
"Well, I was trying to work, too. We need those shuttles."
"Right... You and all of your other imaginary friends. Or maybe you're my imaginary friend..."
She trailed off, staring at her computer. The creature stood, coming and nabbing some crusts, nibbling on them ravenously.
"They sent me to make a deal, get the shuttles, and come in peace, as you humans say."
"Right. Well who's that then?"
"The Traks. That's me, well, I'm one of them."
"Why are you in my purse?"
"Well, we're told that it's the closest possession to so many people on your world. Figured it'd be a good way to get a word with you. Now, about the shuttles."
"I've got work to do."
"But this is work." The Traker explained.
"Why is this happening to me... Today!"
"I'm sorry, but it's very important that we finish this purchase. We have the money-- well, we have precious items which your world could certainly benefit from."
"And what's that?"
"Diamonds."
"Oh, well... That's a relief. Here, sign these papers." She slid the papers to it, along with a pen.
"I'm not sure what that means. Is this a gift?"
"No. It means that I want you to leave."
"You're a confusing woman, you know that?"
"No, I'm a crazy woman, apparently."
-----------
As time passed in weeks, the Traker stayed at her purse, eating scraps and trying each day to get her to come to her sense. His deadline grew close, and the shuttles weren't going to buy themselves.
Because this sort of insanity wasn't exactly harming her, she didn't bother waste time or money on getting a doctor to shrink it away. Instead, she just ignored it.
She was doing quite well with ignoring it, actually. To the point where she didn't see it for days. That is, she couldn't ignore what appeared in her bedroom overnight.
Waking up on that Saturday, leisure and relaxed from a good night's sleep, waking to a day free of work, she sat up. And there they all sat like meerkats, on their hind legs, peering up at her in all of their naked glory. There was no way that she could step out of bed without smashing them with her feet, so she stayed in bed, wide-eyed.
"This is bad."
"Hello," they all spoke in unison, "We would like to make you an offer."
"Also, we come in peace." One sat at the foot of her bed, speaking out of turn.
"You don't have work today, do you?"
She shook her head.
"Well, let's get down to it-- we need those shuttles-- fast. And we need your help, not just you. But your people."
She nodded, allowing this dream-like-experience to overcome.
"Our world is in peril-- and we must ask for you to give us these shuttles in trade so that we may escape our fate."
"H-how did you guys get here then?"
"Oh, these guys? They're my clones. I've been working day and night to get them done."
"Oh... Why?"
"Power in numbers, right?"
"I guess.. But."
"One moment-- there's something else that I'd like for you to see, considering your everlasting hesitance."
From the doorway walked a human, blonde and blue and nude-- walking rather robotically.
"This is you. And if we cannot gain your assistance-- we will become you."
She stared, trying to remember to breathe. Slowly, she leaned toward her night-stand, and picked up the phone and dialed for a psychiatric hospital. "Yes... I'd like to admit myself? No, I'm no danger-- but the things I'm seeing might be."
She was taken away within an hour. But she was replaced.
She saved the Trak world, and she resumed going mad in the psych ward of a nearby hospital.
Statues of her were erected on the new home of the Trakers, and there were festivals for her.
-----
Months later, as she sat in her hospital room, she was visited by that very same Traker. She was not shocked, and merely stared, smiling.
"Back, I see."
"Indeed-- we want to thank you."
"For what? I couldn't help you... I can't even help myself."
"But you never stood in the way. And we want to thank you for that. We want to thank you with this."
He held out a small mechanical device, and set it on her bed.
"What is it?"
"Just show it to someone well-versed in space-travel and shuttle systems."
"Okay..."
"We won't be coming back."
"Thank you."
"But that doesn't mean we won't see you again."
It left through the window with that cryptic message.
After a nap, she called a friend from the university, and had him meet her. After having seen that which she was gifted, he suggested that they visit the nearby lab. He had to stifle excitement.
---------
The device which she was handed was a miniature warp-drive. This allowed for deep-space travel. This also allowed for much less time to do it. This allowed for a Nobel Prize. No one understood her humbleness. And while everyone knew of her stay in the psychiatric hospital, they gave her no grief-- for all great minds are plagued with such demons.
She is now a hero to two worlds.
No comments:
Post a Comment