by John Ricks
Cooky brought me some pasta, and I started eating. Bed was going to feel good tonight. The admiral motioned for the captain to follow him out. Susan said, “We’ll talk later, Freddy.”
“Okay, boss,” I responded. “I’m not going anywhere.”
When the admiral had the captain in the other room, he said, “Susan, he invented the shields as a spur-of-the-moment thought?”
“Yes, Admiral, and the shield around us now is probably nuke–proof.”
The lieutenant walked in and said, “Yes, it is.” They both looked at her. “I was just in training, and that shield has a warning system that it activates in case of nuclear attack. Captain, the shield is 360 degrees. We’re in a bubble right now.”
“How deep does it extend?”
“It’s not a perfect sphere, Captain. It’s only about five thousand feet deep, and it covers the entire top, partly out to sea, and some of the surrounding forest. It’s not setting anything on fire, as it’s not energy, as far as we can tell. It’s like a plastic bubble that can be controlled. It’s multidirectional. In short, we can go in or out or both, depending to how we set it at any grid. We can modulate it to make it visible or we can make it invisible, even to the scanners but not to his new scanners. They are something else.”
“What do you mean?” asked Susan.
“The range has been increased. They reach out over eighty light-years instantly and can detect moving objects up to 130 light-years away, and at the same time it’s detecting something at a distance, it can tell you everything around you too. Right down to the smallest atom. If the other scanners were spur-of-the-moment, then he put a lot of thought into the new ones.”
“And these are on the new ships?” asked the admiral.
“He said they were, so expect it.”
I had finished eating, so I came into the living room on my way up to bed. “Think twice about who controls the Protectress, Captain. That person will be the second most powerful person in the known universe. I would hate to have to destroy him or her.”
As I went up to bed, three people watched me, with chins dropped to their ankles.
Gray motioned for another Gray to come over and then said, “Go check to see if our computers are transmitting to their ships. Now!”
I smiled.
Little Yellows said, “we would bet they are.”
Green yelled, “Shut down all computer transmitting capabilities immediately! If they have our information, we are in deep trouble.”
A voice came over the intercom. “Gray One. It is too late. The ship they had following us left minutes ago. The transmissions stopped at about the same time. They have everything.”
“Follow that ship, and destroy it. Turn the fleet around. Do it!”
Black slid in and said in a very quiet voice, “Do not follow that ship. It is his fastest, and they are already sending the information to their fleet and home world. It is also transmitting to seventeen other worlds.”
Gray ordered, “Do not follow the ship. Head for home at all possible speed. We are doomed.”
Little Yellows said, “We don’t think so. Let us continue. We believe we will find a way around this.”
Black ordered as he slid out, “Then continue.”
Chapter 31
Big Issue, Big Deal!
The next two months were spent mostly in the workshop. Patricia was coming along fine. The Protectress was ready to come out right after we snatched some rest. Patricia and I came out about two in the afternoon, when Shop gave us a warning.
“The captain asked me to relay this information to you as soon as you were available but not until you were finished with this juncture of work. Freddy, while you were working on the Protectress, the media found out about the rock, and they nicknamed it ‘the Destroyer.’”
“Well, figure the odds on that.”
“I have, and it’s 123,345,187.93 to one.”
“Very well. Continue.”
“The president had a press conference to calm down the public. She told them that a private organization is working on the situation.”
“Nice. Since I’m the only private organization that has the technology, they automatically aimed in my direction.”
“That’s about it.”
“Is the base under attack?”
“No. The captain has made it very clear that they stay away. She has told them that you will talk to them as soon as possible.”
“I’m going to have to placate them somewhat. Shop, please contact my lawyers.”
“Working.”
A nice alto voice said, “Zimmer and Venski Law Offices. How may I help you?”
“Hello, this is Freddy Anderson. Is Jeff or Carl there?”
“They’ve been expecting your call. I’ll put you right through.”
“Freddy, nice to hear from you. Seems we have a small problem. My offices are under attack. I have lawyers suing us for information. We have people outside holding picket signs with sayings like ‘Let Freddy Talk to Us’ and ‘Help Us, Freddy.’”
“Working for me is interesting, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. Want a report?”
“Sure.”
“You made $119 million off that lawsuit against the media and put 40 percent of them in the red. Most paid, but several filed bankruptcy. The media has formed a new group called Honesty and Fairness in the News, and get this—they have asked the public to pick people to run the group. It’s based on the medical system. You now need to pass an exam and take a moral oath to ‘report completely and fairly’ before you receive a license to report the news, to own a news group, or to edit the news. If you do something majorly wrong, you go before a board of your peers, and they can yank your license.”
“That’s nice, but who can we trust to cover us in this crisis?”
“That’s easy. Five of the ‘Big Ten’ paid quickly, with promises of their full and complete cooperation if they can get coverage of any breaking news.”
“Send me a fax on them, and include phone numbers to call. I need to talk to my people, but very soon I will need coverage on the greatest breakthrough in history. Has the army complied with giving news only to these five?”
“Yes. They’ve been very adamant about that. They hold exclusives, claiming that you insisted. They don’t invite the ones that are not cooperating, and they don’t let them into the meetings. Still, the others obtain the information through lawsuits and off the other groups’ news sites. The army complied with the freedom-of-the-press lawsuits about two days after the news was first given out. Therefore, they got the information days later than the others, and that is killing them.”
“Good job, guys.”
“Freddy, we have a favor to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“We have other problems besides what you’re working on. The world thinks that you’re gay.”
“What?”
“They keep seeing you in long hair and wearing earrings and have asked hundreds of questions about it. You were wearing dangly earrings during the ‘Ghost Hunt.’ We receive mail every day condemning you for it and some praising you, but we receive the most mail saying that you’re gay and strongly suggesting you ‘get a haircut and stop acting like a girl, or else.’”
“Interesting. I bet it’s going to rankle some people that the ‘child’ who is going to save them is someone who doesn’t quite match their expectations.”
“Yes, it will, and it will draw attention to you in other ways. Especially since they think you are gay.”
“Why? I’ve never even had sex. How can they make that judgment?”
“It’s stupid, we know. But they draw their conclusion from the fact that you look rather feminine. Face it. You look like a very lovely young girl with your hair long and wearing earrings.”
“Close-minded bi
gots! So using that argument, are all women who have short hair and don’t wear earrings gay?”
“No. It only applies to men.”
“Really. Why not both ways?”
“The men are used to women doing what they want, so it must be okay.”
“I can’t believe it! Here I am, attempting to save the world, and this is the big issue.”
“Not the big issue, but it ranks up there.”
“What do you guys suggest?”
“Either get your hair cut and stop wearing earrings, or make a big deal out of this in some fashion. Take the question and the mystery out of it, and the issue will calm down.”
“I’ll talk to my leaders about it.”
“Thanks.”
“Bye, guys.”
“Bye, Freddy. Let us know when you’re going to hold a press conference. We need to be there.”
“You got it. Bye.”
“Thank you, Shop.”
“You’re welcome, Freddy.”
I turned to Patricia and said, “Interesting conversation.”
“Yes, wasn’t it?” she replied. “What do you plan to do about it?”
“Talk to the boss, and see what she thinks. I have to have my hair long, as the energy that builds up in the protein increases my ability to heal and use telekinesis. My mother and father wore earrings and had long hair. It’s hard enough to speak in front of all those people, let alone try to explain why I do what I do or am what I am.”
We went out and were immediately met by the captain and admiral. I was just a little depressed about the situation, and receiving threatening mail is horrible.
Susan said, “You weren’t gone long, Freddy. Only four days.”
I think she was about to chew me out for working so long without a rest again, so I said, “We’re finished, Susan.”
“Finished?”
I reached over and shook hands with the admiral. “Hello, Admiral, sir.”
“Hello, Freddy, nice to see you.”
I turned to Susan and said, “The ship is ready for loading and for her maiden voyage. I will bring her out after we get something to eat, some sleep, and fix a problem or two. Right now, we seem to have a media issue. Am I right?”
“Yes. The president wants to talk to you as soon as possible.”
“Might as well talk while I’m eating. She’ll understand. Patricia has been the best helper, Captain. I couldn’t have finished without her. Not this quickly.” I took a deep breath and then said, “Shop?”
“Yes, Freddy?”
“Play back that conversation we just had with Zimmer and Venski for the captain, please.”
They listened, and Susan whistled. “That figures. I kind of expected it would come up eventually.”
I said, “It’s silly. Now that we’re finished, I suppose we need to have a press conference.”
“Whenever you’re ready.” She could see my mind wasn’t on the project.
“I guess the day after tomorrow will be good. I don’t want it set up here, but I want to be ready to have the media come to the base right after.”
“Why?”
“How much hate mail have I received here at home, Susan?”
She blushed, and I knew it was quite a lot. I told her what I planned to do, and she nearly died. The admiral was in shock, but Patricia just smiled and said, “You think that’s bad. Try having a twenty-foot robotic spider jump out at you!”
Susan sobered up quickly and looked at me with a frown. Man, she can change moods quickly. I took off running. I remembered what she said she’d do if I didn’t stop playing my jokes. It was no good, though. I could not outrun her, and I sat at the table with a sore bottom as the video call went through for the president.
When the call was connected, I said, sounding disheartened, “I hear you want to talk to me. Madam President.”
“Yes, Freddy. First, I want to apologize for giving away who was working on getting us out of this fix.”
“As I understand it, you said nothing wrong, Madam President. The media took that, along with our discoveries that the army has published and our breakthrough with traveling faster than light, and put two and two together—and they actually got four this time.”
She smiled and said, “Something like that.”
“I would have loved to have been there when the admiral took the media for a flight around Mars. That must have been fun. I hear we have some issues.”
“Yes. I can’t keep this quiet any longer. We need to give them something to calm the public down. They know about your small ships, but they also believe that they can’t stop this ‘Destroyer.’ It’s becoming a public nightmare.”
“Madam President, please let them know that I am going to hold a press conference the day after tomorrow. The captain is setting it up.” I told the president what I planned to do, and she just about had a hissy fit.
“Freddy, that would not be a good thing.”
“Well, you’ll be there to help calm me down, won’t you?”
“Yes.”
“You’re losing in the polls, aren’t you?”
“Yes. They don’t believe I’m doing anything about this problem.”
“I need you in office. I can’t work with anyone else.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence, Freddy.”
“Let’s fix things.”
“Launching the Protectress will help.” Then, seeming to think aloud, she said, “It could let them know that you’re not just sitting around, thinking things up. It could eliminate some of the fear of a little boy having all this power if they knew you trusted me and the teams, that you’re following our advice, and that you look up to us as role models. We need to get the media up on the Protectress too. If we stop at the first part and can’t complete the second, then we’re all in trouble.”
“I won’t let anything stop me from bringing out the big guns. Don’t worry.”
“I won’t.”
“Then this is what we can do.” Our discussion lasted until the food was ready, and then we signed off, and I ate my dinner. Then it was off to bed for some much-needed rest. We were tired.
Little Yellows said to me, “Gray seems to be upset about your people grabbing our information.”
I answered, “Remind him that he is doing the same thing by probing me. What’s a ‘hordslowat’?”
Little Yellows laughed, “A hordslowat is a small creature that steals food if you’re not watching close enough. It became famous when an entire division went hungry due to lack of food and had to subsist on only rations for over a year. And the rations kept coming up missing, so the fleet had to make a trip over six million light–years home, just to get food.”
I smiled. “We have the same thing on our planet. We call them chipmunks.”
Meanwhile, Green said to Gray, “You are upset that all our information is compromised. Did you not think that maybe they got the idea from us?”
Gray stopped his pacing, his mouth dropped open, and his face elongated into what had to be an expression of complete shock. “Are you going insane?”
Green answered thoughtfully, “I don’t think so. I will have myself checked, as it does run in my litter. However, do you not think that the creatures would see our stealing their people and taking information from their minds against their will as nearly the same thing?”
Gray was about to blast Green but stopped long enough to think. “I suppose they would. I know I would. They adapt quickly, don’t they?”
Little Yellows said, “Too quickly. Please continue.”
Chapter 32
To the World
The day of the press conference came quickly. Colleen woke me with, “Freddy, time to get up.”
“Okay. In a few hours.”
“No. Right now, young man. After breakfast
it will be time to go to the press conference.”
“Okay,” I said grudgingly. I took a shower and washed really good. I even washed my hair and used my powers to dry it, and then Colleen braided it nicely. We went down to breakfast, and I had oatmeal with cinnamon, sugar, and milk—good stuff. Then it was back up to my bedroom to get dressed. Colleen helped me, and I put on my fancy suit with the vest the townspeople gave me. It’s very nice and feels great, almost relaxing. It’s made of a soft, smooth wool, dark blue with darker blue trim, and a black belt. It has a dark red vest with gold trim and a dark red-and-gold tie. I even have black leather shoes.
I took out a matching set of earrings, necklace, and bracelet. Colleen nearly fainted when she saw it. She helped me put the earrings on with trembling hands.
“Where did you get these?” she asked.
“One of my first inventions allowed me to find minerals and precious stones. During summer vacation, Dad and I found a hidden treasure in a cavern in Tibet. I brought it out and took only this set as a finder’s fee. The country allowed me to have them. Nice, aren’t they?”
“Are they real rubies?”
“No. They’re perfect red diamonds. There are twenty-seven stones in each earring, including the thumb-sized one in the center. The bracelet has the same number only larger, as you can see, and the same with the necklace, except the center stone in the necklace is fist-sized. I was going to give the set to Mother, but she died before I could. I won’t wear a necklace, as it could easily get caught in some of the moving parts of my work, so I only wear the earrings. I like the teardrop shape, but the set gets heavy after a while. I think that’s mostly because of the twenty-four-carat gold filigree surrounding everything. I fell in love with them the first time I saw them. Does the red go well with the suit?”
“You look like an angel. Yes, the red looks great with the suit. Go downstairs now, and see the captain. I need to get ready.”
I headed downstairs and received compliments from everyone about my hair and earrings. When Maggie saw my earrings, she immediately started working on the computer. While I was talking to Captain James, Maggie came in with a printout on the earrings I was wearing.
