Paragon- Ghost Hunters
Page 1
Freddy Milton
GHOST HUNTERS
‘If you put that pocket money in the bank, you will be able
to buy the whole world in a hundred years!’
‘But unca Donald, we’d much rather have an ice cream now!’
Carl Barks
Chapter 1
COMFORT
”Where’s my medicine?”
His mother repeated. She became more and more tense. She went around frantically ransacking objects in the dining room.
”I think you used the last of it, Mom.”
His mother gave up. It wasn’t the first time.
”Yes, I suppose so. You haven’t seen a bottle somewhere, have you, Anders?”
”No.”
She went to the toilet and took the lid off the tank. No, there was no bottle there, either.
”Then I suppose I’ll have to go down to get some.”
Anders said nothing. He could have suggested 'Do you need it?' But he had tried that before, and it was no use. He’d also stopped pouring out the contents of the bottles when she wasn’t looking. And, it didn’t help diluting it, either, as she’d just drink more.
”You look after Maja, will you?”
”Yes, don’t worry.”
Anders could hear how she hurried down the stairs. The neighbors would have their usual thoughts. 'Oh, she's busy. She’s on her way down for more booze'. They said nothing, though. You just don’t do that; it’s not appropriate. People must handle these things on their own. Each one his own, in his own way. Still, it was really bad behavior, now that she had the kids around. She could easily lose them. The way she let herself go, it was only a matter of time before they’d be taken away from her.
Anders’ mother went down to the wine dealer. It was a few blocks further away, but she would prefer not to purchase spirits in the supermarket, where someone she knew could spot her as she stood paying for the bottles. The liquor store was more acceptable, because liquor is the reason why you go there, so no gossiping tea-toddlers would be there.
Things went fairly well, now that they were on their own. There was no loud bickering, as when the children’s mother was together with someone. There had been several men, one after another living in their apartment. However, now it had been a while since the last one had left. Anders hoped a new partner wouldn’t show up. Unfortunately, his mother now had more time to think about her lonely situation, and so, often needed even more liquor.
”Why does Mom need so much medicine?”
Maja was playing with her ponies in the corner. She never became tired of grooming and combing their long manes and tails. Right now, she tended to her favorite light blue unicorn pony, Celia, with the yellow-orange hair.
”Do you know why?”
Anders was lost in his own thoughts. He used to answer as best he could, even though he couldn’t always explain things as they really were. Small children don’t understand how The World works, and they can risk blurting out inconvenient remarks at the wrong time because they are unaware of the consequences. But, he had to answer Maja.
”She becomes tense or upset, and then the medicine helps her relax and forget those unhappy thoughts.”
”What’s that?”
”What?”
”What’s Mom unhappy about?”
”Probably a lot of things. Adults don’t have it very easy.”
”Why not?”
”They need to make money all the time. It’s usually not easy, and it’s almost never fun. Most women also want to be with a man. But, that gets hard to do after some time. They often end up quarrelling. You remember that, don’t you?”
”Yes, you’re right. I remember now.”
”It's probably best if you can forget. And for Mom, too. But then all the bad stuff repeats itself whenever she finds a new guy.”
”At least, right now there’s not so much of that.”
”Thank goodness.”
”Can you show me how to braid, again?”
He’d done that earlier. But Maja had trouble remembering how to do it.
”Now pay attention.”
”No, I’ll have to sit in front of you.”
”Come here, then.”
Maja sat on his lap, and he held her arms around her to show her the braiding. Meanwhile, Maja held Celia.
”Look, you have the three locks here.”
”Yes.”
”You shift putting the outer lock over the middle alternately from either side, like this.”
She rubbed up against him. Maybe it was not so easy.
”It ought to be Mom showing this to you. Not me! This is more of a girl thing.”
”But she’s so impatient. What are some boy things?”
”Mostly some technical stuff or skills, you know. Like operating machines or playing football.”
”You like doing that?”
”Well, not so much, I guess. If I was out playing football, I couldn’t look after you. And Mom would rather not.”
”Like this?”
Maja showed him the braiding. Now it seemed she’d gotten the hang of it. Just until next time, when she’d forget it again. Anders had shown her many times. He suspected her of forgetting it on purpose, so she could sit with him a while.
”What are you doing?”
”Homework.”
”You’re always doing homework.”
”Students need to, if they want to learn and not fall behind.”
”Is it fun?”
”Sometimes. We need to work hard on it if we want to perform better than the others.”
”Do you have to?”
”Yes. Otherwise, I’ll end up getting the lowest paid jobs, like Mom.”
”Yes, she’s not happy with that.”
”I guess it’s boring.”
”Is there anything she’s happy about?”
”Yes, she is happy about us.”
”Do you think so?”
”Oh yes.”
”She never says so.”
”It's probably because she’s always thinking about unhappy things.”
”I'm not sure her medicine helps.”
”No, only for a little while. Just for as long as it takes for her to forget what makes her sad.”
”I feel bad for her.”
”Me, too.”
Maja was putting the ponies back into the stable. It was a cardboard box Anders had arranged with stalls and cut out windows in the sides. He had also made some racks with hay placed where the ponies could eat. The hay was some very thin strips of fine paper, which had been in a box with glasses.
They heard their mother return. She slammed the door with one foot.
”Did you have a good time?”
”Yes.”
”Anders helped me make braids for Celia and Molly.”
”Has he now? I thought you had learned how to do it yourself, by now?”
”I forgot.”
”That’s how it is. I forget things too. It's hard to remember everything.”
Their mother drank a little from the bottle. Anders fetched a glass for her. He placed it on the coffee table with many round circles. It was gin. It didn’t smell, so it wasn’t so embarrassing when other people were around.
”Do you feel better now?”
Maja looked up.
”Yes, I feel good now.”
”Will I get better if I drink that?”
”Drink this? Ha! Ha! No, you must stay away from it, baby.”
Their mother leaned back on the couch.
”Why?”
She looked over at Maja. An explanation was obviously necessary.
”Because it’s bad for you. You never get enough. And it costs a lot, too.”<
br />
”Then, why don’t you stop taking your medicine?”
”It's not so easy. You become dependent on it. And no other medicine is better.”
Their mother took a sip, this time from the glass.
”But, why do you need it? Everybody doesn't need medicine?”
Her mother frowned.
”It kind of picks you up when you feel weak. Strong people don’t need it. But everyone isn’t alike. I hope you’ll be stronger than I am. People shouldn't think too much about things. I can do that best when I have some medicine.”
Anders wanted to put the bottle aside, but first their mother poured a little more.
”Yes, yes, you're right, Anders. I’ve got to do what’s right. I better go to work tomorrow.”
She tried to pull herself together.
”But, it’s your bedtime now. You'd better get to bed. Have you done your homework, Anders?”
”Yes, I just finished.”
”And you’re not having problems in class anymore?”
”No, I can even help some of the others, now.”
”That's fine, Anders. I'm pleased. You’ve got to keep up, not fall by the wayside.”
”Have you fallen by the wayside, Mom?”
Maja apparently listened.
”Ha! Ha! Yes, my dear, I'm afraid so. Several times, unfortunately. I’ve probably tried to take too many free rides in my life, but now all that's over.”
”Is it, really?”
”Yes, because, in the past, I’ve counted too much on my appearance. Girls can do that when they’re young, and so did I. But that advantage disappears as the years go by.”
”You're still pretty, Mom.”
Anders tried to be a little positive. She needed that.
”You really mean that, Anders? That’s nice of you. It really is, because girls like to continue to hear that. But no, my time is over. We shouldn’t dwell on things that don’t last. I think men have it easier that way. It doesn’t matter what they look like.”
”Oh well, not quite?”
”Yes. If they have control of things, they can get pretty much who they want.”
”There's nothing that prevents girls from doing that same thing.”
”No, but the temptation to exploit your advantageous appearance is bigger, and it disappears easily, if you’re stupid and careless. I admit I’ve been there. To you, at least. You should know it as it is. If you can’t be a role model, maybe you can be a strict disciplinarian. That’s probably how it will be with me.”
”Come on, Mom. Let’s go to bed.”
Anders grabbed her hand to get her off the couch. If she continued that way, he knew where it would end. Then she’d dive even more into self-hatred, and feel sorry for herself. After that, she’d to go and refill the glass, and then she’d find more and more things wrong and seek more consolation and, ultimately, oblivion. He had to avoid allowing things to go that far.
”Yes, yes, I’m on my way. We’ve got to pull ourselves together, but it isn’t that easy. It is much easier to let go.”
Now he had to be smart, so he could get the confirmation Maja was missing.
”Maybe it would be best if we weren’t here being troublesome...”
”What do you mean?”
His mother was a bit groggy.
”I mean, Maja and me. We are a drag, as you sometimes put it.”
Mother fixed her eyes upon him.
”No, you must never say that, Anders, you really mustn’t. If I say that, you shouldn’t believe it, because it’s not true. I know I am saying things I don’t mean to when I have a little too much... medicine, but you must try to bear with me.”
”So you wouldn’t really rather be without us?”
”Oh no, on the contrary. You two kids are all that keeps me going.”
”So you do care for us?”
Anders looked towards Maja. She noticed.
”Yes, without you I wouldn’t have anything to hold me up, making a kind of sense out of this whole miserable life. Without you, I’d go completely to the dogs.”
”The dogs?”
Maja paid attention. Then she also heard they were loved, after all.
”Fall apart. It’s something you say when you give up everything and do nothing. Then you’re not far from the bottom, but then, on the other side it doesn’t matter.”
Anders slowly helped his mother up.
”Still, there are too many people on this planet anyway. If the worst part of them was removed, it would probably work a lot better. Don’t you think?”
”Mom, you're talking nonsense.”
”Yes, but I actually think so. Quite a few people are just dead weight to the others. People who constantly need help and only use benefits, without giving anything back to the community. The thing about the circle, you know...”
His mother gestured.
”Mom, you said yourself that there is a need for all, each in his place.”
”Yes, Anders, if one can find the right place. But I don’t believe I’ve found mine. You know, where you can feel you make a difference. Everything is just so utterly miserable... where things don’t matter either ...”
”Now we’ll brush our teeth.”
”Yes, you have to wash your hands and brush your teeth...”
Mother was straying off anyway.
”Come on, Mom.”
”Yes, yes, I'm on my way. Be patient with your old mother...”
Maja was already brushing her teeth and she had gotten into her white nightgown with the yellow teddy bear heads. There was no room for them all in the bathroom at the same time, so Anders went out in the hallway. But, brushing our teeth at the same time got Mom to pull herself together, and pull away from of the dangerous point where it could end up going seriously downhill. Luckily, it was a while ago that it had occurred, but Anders also did what he could to prevent it and get her mind off questionable things.
”I'm done.”
”Then slip into your bed, my darling.”
”No, we need to go together.”
'Bravo, Maja', she had learned something. If they could just go to bed together there would be no more negative behavior.
”Well, I'll be ready soon.”
Anders dragged it out, so he finished at the same time as his mother.
”It's so nice when you tuck us in.”
Maja had clearly gotten the hang of it. She was beginning to realize that her mother needed at little prodding when it came to having fun together. And, since she had even admitted that it was what kept her going, she’d probably give priority to that. Ordinarily, their mother easily fell back into her old habits of sadness and despair, where she had to console herself.
”Yes, then let’s go to bed at the same time. I am also tired after the long day, with all the trouble at work. I won’t bore you with that. It’s probably not something you’d understand, anyway. Thank God for that. One day you’ll grow up and find out how adults must deal with so many problems, day after day.”
”Can I sleep with you, Mom?”
Maja clung to her mother.
”Of course you can, Honey.”
Anders was happy. ‘Good job, Maja! We managed to pull today off in style'.
Chapter 2
NEW HEADQUARTERS
Paragon, the blue dragon, spread his arms and stretched his body. He and Pollux, the Altryde from the fourth moon of Astrakhan were about to dismantle some of the machines in the Dreamscape Operation Center, so they could keep for a period without being in operation. It was no simple matter, for machines not used for some time can be difficult to deploy again if an emergency occurs. You had to dismantle them, but still keep them in good working order, so that they could start up again on short notice. This was something new. Pollux grumbled as he packed some sensitive parts in cotton wool and bubble wrap.
”It be extremely cumbersome, so there.”
”You're right, Pollux. In reality you have to keep two systems ready du
ring this transitional period.”
”They like to take over something of this in The Ganymede complex.”
”I’ve heard that too. But it gets too expensive to ship the equipment up there. After all, it is heavy machinery, and it will cost a bundle in fuel and cyber jumps.”
”You do them favor. Be development area. Cannot afford much.”
”I’m also in favor of these services, but not if it becomes too expensive. There must be a balance in things.”
Pollux stood and looked at the accumulator.
”It be discharged over time.”
”Indeed. We have also demanded some days to prepare things, in case we must start up again.”
”Then the spare parts store also be retained.”
”Absolutely. Otherwise everything is in vain.”
At this time, a service courier came into the hall. He looked around. He hadn’t been there often. Paragon spotted him from the gangway.
”Can we help you?”
”I am looking for one called 'Paragon'...”
”I’m here.”
Paragon slid down the bannister to the tiled floor of the machine hall. Paragon was a little proud that only a few tiles were broken over the years, for which he had no more for repairs. But eventually, the whole thing didn’t seem to matter.
”A cable from the head office.”
The messenger handed Paragon the gray-green envelope. This area of work was also on the way out. Soon they would all walk around with a little black slate and be called upon in no time.
”Thank you. What’s your name?”
”Drymbal.”
”And where are you from?”
”Lebara.”
”So what will you do in the future, when this new technology is fully implemented with pagers and the whole caboodle?”
”It's a good question. I expect that they will find something else for me. Although things should work more easily if they still have use for all employees.”
”Yes, there will just be more services in the future that people take for granted.”
”Well, have a nice day!”
Drymbal saluted with two claws to his cap. It was not often you saw that anymore.
Pollux was curious. He shouted down to Paragon.