[Sven2]

A playground for anyone who sees our characters in roman togas or spacesuits, tomorrow or a thousand years ago, in a spoof or in an ancient tragedy. Tell it as you see it, keep them alive.

[Sven2]

John Is An Alien!

klaatu barada nikto

Somewhere in the Pleiades's star system, two officers in Planet Control Operations take their posts in front of an omnibus of plasma video screens all linked vibrationally to every outpost planet they have colonized or visited in the last 500 billion years.

It's the first watch. Junior Technical Officer Jana and Officer of the Day, Marcus begin their series of routine checks.

Marcus: How are the readings?

Jana: The Vibrational Detection System running normally, sir. Nothing to report.

Marcus: Very well, then. Carry on.

The organically programmed VDS is an autonomous network much like a Richter scale that must be observed and documented on a timely schedule of eyeball checks.

Jana: Oh, fuck!

Marcus: (sitting up straight in his ergonomic anti-gravity chair): What is it?

Jana: You know that little outpost planet way out there on the fringe of the Free Will Zone?

Marcus: You mean Terra? Third planet from that dying Sol Star?

Jana: Yes, Sir! That's the one! It just blinked!

Marcus: Again? So soon?

Jana: Sir?

Marcus: Never mind.  Who is our emissary on Terra?

Jana: Checking, sir. (she flips a toggle switch, twists some dials and John's face comes into view on the huge plasma screen in front of the officers.)

Jana: John, sir. John. They call him John from Cincinnati.

Marcus: Ah, yes, good man, that John. Been around many lifetimes.  

Jana: Yes, sir.

Marcus: What was John's most recent message from Terra?

Jana: (Her fingers touch the tiny console screen on her control board where John's face beams and begins to scroll a series of ones and zeroes.)  The End is Near, sir.

Marcus: (laughing heartily) Yes, that sounds like John alright! Always had a great sense of humor. (takes a deep breath) Well, it's gonna be a long watch.

Jana: Yes, sir.


--Captainpeace

[Sven2]

I love the scene, Captain,  "sense of humor" that for me is one of inherent parts of life, is driving it. Thanks again!

[Waxon]

Sol Star!  AHAHAHA!

Great Scene, Capt.

[skordamou]

Keep writing, Capt.!

[Patrick]

- Kai and Shaun go to the Gulf -

(Kai and Shaun , now 18, are traveling to Louisiana to join other surfers
as part of the 'Hit the Surf, Help the Gulf' relief effort to help with the massive oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico )

(The 737 is making its approach to the terminal at Louis Armstrong International airport .)

(Kai nudges Shaun awake)
Kai : We're getting ready to land Shaun, grab your stuff, I want off this plane.

( stretching out,Shaun lifts his sunglasses up on his head)
Shaun: Oh man, I was having this wild dream.

Kai: (laughs) Yeah, I'm sure the hot flight attendant is dreaming of you too, dude.

( they walk thru the terminal, backpacks full )
Shaun: So where do go from here, the hotel?

Kai: Yeah, we'll drop this stuff off and head down to the beach at Grand Isle, it's about 50 miles from here.
There should be all sorts of volunteers there to help with this fucking mess.

Shaun: Could you see how bad it is from the plane?

Kai: I could see some streaks in the water, but that doesn't tell half the story,
it's gonna be ugly when we get down there.

( Kai and Shaun arrive by rented jeep to the beach at Grand Isle, they spot their group of fellow surfers by
their t-shirts , donated by Cissy's shop )
Shaun: Whoa, the smell , damn!

( Kai is taking pictures )
Kai: Ahh man, look at this. Globs of oil on the sand, it's coming in with the waves.
the smell of the oil and.. shit, look at those poor birds, they can't get off the ground.

Shaun : And this is just one beach, how many hundreds of miles of coastline look like this?

Kai: Look, over there, there's a station set up. Looks like they're trying to clean birds, Damn.

( Shaun ties his long blonde hair into a pony tail and dons a baseball cap)
Shaun: Let's meet up with the others and see what we have to do.

Kai: Hope there is enough hazmat gear for all of us, you don't want this shit all over you.
Even breathing it in too much can make you sick.

Shaun: I'm a little sick just seeing this shit here Kai. What if this were IB?

( Kai and Shaun meet up with the others there. Soon they are walking the shoreline collecting
balls of oil and placing small red flags where they find dead birds and sea life that will be
collected by special teams later).

(Shaun has drifted far from the others, lost in the task at hand. As he stands at the shoreline
looking out at the waves, he feels a hand on his shoulder from behind .)

John : The earth is bleeding, Shaun. It has been stabbed in the heart .
John was stabbed once. Remember, Shaun?

( John mimics the thugs who attacked him in IB a couple years back:
"You think this is a joke cabron?"
"You stare me down? You stare me down!" )

Shaun: Fuck, you scared the shit out of me, John. Where did you ....?

John: I am here now, Shaun. ( looks down sheepishly ).
Kai and Shaun are here to make the waves clean again to surf.

Shaun : I don't know, John, There is so much oil, so much damage. It's still pumping into the ocean.
Good men died out there on that rig.Those corporate assholes are destroying the whole Gulf coast.
It's gonna be a long time before anyone will put their sticks in this.

John: Many will help Shaun. This will take a long time. Lessons will be learned.

( Shaun hears a whistle blowing and looks off to the west. It's Kai waving him to head back to the meeting area.
John is no longer behind him )

(By days end, the group of volunteers are exhausted. Kai and Shaun return to their jeep ready to head back
to the hotel for the night )

Kai: Man, so many of us are here and it just keeps rolling in on the waves, it breaks my heart.

Shaun: What are we doing to our planet Kai? This shit here will last for decades.

( Kai drives slowly out of the beach parking lot past the local news vans and satellite trucks.
As she heads north on LA-1, Shaun sits back adjusting his sunglasses and begins to drift off )

[Sven2]

That thread should be restored as this site is being renovated. Please, continue!

[Sven2]

Shaun is leaning against the side of the beach's only tamale stand. He is staring at the sandy grass in front of his sandals.

"Your grandma is a CONTROL FREAK, Shaun, and YOU KNOW IT ! And I'm not letting her babysit our son,just because you want to go to Huntington tomorrow. Final.

"Grams LOVES Johnny, Celeste. Final." Shaun looks off at the whispy clouds rolling in from the south. He looks far away.

Celeste readjusts her young son, looking as though she is carrying the weight of the world in her slim arms.

"Look, hon, GO if you want to go. You don't need me to be there, pretending to know or care about your old surfing friends. If YOU were competing, it might be different, Shauny, but you're NOT. You sit around and dream of the old days, like your life no longer exists. You're not fooling me, Shaun Yost."

"I'm not going anywhere without you." Shaun peeks a glimpse at his young wife. "And you know that, Celeste."

A long awkward silence is punctuated by a voice coming from behind them. A voice Shaun hasn't heard in what feels like a hundred years.

"You should get back in the game, Shaun Yost."

--Zen On Mars

[Opelxing]

Not long ago I debated with a friend about the above.

[Sven2]

Opelxing,

With much respect, you being new visitor here in a long time, would you share some details of that debate?

A lot of spammers got an ax, you seem to be a human. Just a side note.

Conversation in the time of the cholera