The UN ambassador from China, Zhou Zu Qi, a taciturn, reserved statesman, who seldom knew how to express his true feelings openly, kept his thoughts to himself. “If this is an example of how the arrogant people of America plan to conduct themselves in determining the future of this rogue planet, China will have to rethink how we will go forward when dealing with these people. If they, the American people, in setting up this dummy cooperation scheme among Security Council members delude themselves, thinking they can block China from trading with the aliens of this new planet, they are sadly mistaken.”
“In just a matter of time, we Chinese will rub the noses of the American people in Chinese dust. We will take over this planet and bury the lazy, over-doped American people in so much debt they will have no choice but to recognize our rightful place as a two-world leader—making ourselves a dominant force on both planets.”
The UN ambassadors from the United States, France, and Great Britain had a difficult time containing smiles on their faces. “It is about time for someone to suggest to these pompous, overbearing collections of hot-air world leaders, it’s time to start working together with the other members of the Council instead of vetoing down every good humanitarian program presented to this body.” this comment from Lord Gladstone, Ambassador from Great Britain.
30
Close Call
Izzy Lewis and Ted Blanchard, small-town contractors, specialists in small repairs and building demolition, received a contract from the Floyd County Commissioner to demolish and remove an old trailer located near the banks of the Floyd River. Those living in the small town of Hinton, Iowa, and citizens of had been steadily complaining for years about the decrepit old trailer as being an eyesore and should be removed. Since its owner, Randy Purvis was confined to a mental institution with little hope of returning to a normal life, its removal by the county, they decided, was within the county’s legal rights.
“Izzy, before we set up our equipment to demolish this old relic it would probably be a good idea to inspect the inside to see if there is anything of value,” added Ted Blanchard. The guy was a weirdo, probably stashed away bags of gold coins and other things of value.” Entering the old trailer, the first thing the two observed was a funny-looking contraption resembling a miniature, alien spacecraft.
Where other parts of the interior looked as if it was on its last leg, and, of course, there were no bags of gold coins, the alien spacecraft looked brand new. “Whoa! What in the hell is that? We better call the County Commissioner’s office and get his advice before we go any further. We may have a space visitor walking among us and no one knows about it.”
County Commissioner, Ed Pennington admitted that he was just as puzzled as they were. “Why don’t you take it out of the trailer, deliver it to the county warehouse, and continue with the removal of the old trailer? I will have someone from the media come over and take some pictures of it for the nightly news. Maybe someone will identify it and notify us. In the meantime, I will contact someone from NASA and see if they will send someone out to identify this thing. I don’t think it is anything we should worry about, but you never know.”
When contacted, the spokesperson from the space agency asked point blank: “Is this the same alleged space junk that one of your citizens called us about a few years ago,” the commissioner was asked.
“I don’t know anything about that, sir, but I really do think someone from NASA should take a look if for no other reason than to ease the minds of our locals. A lot of them have already worked out in their head that we are about to be attacked by a colony of blood-thirsty aliens from another planet. That’s probably from watching too much TV. The crap devoted to scaring the shit out of people in believing such nonsense is real.”
“Not to belittle your concern, commissioner, we will have a NASA representative visit your area within the next six weeks. As I am sure you are aware, we already have our hands full working with aliens from the recently discovered planet, Zorbus. We don’t need another UFO to get the public all worked up any more than they already are.”
The Jefferies, Brad, and Allison had just finished an early dinner, setting down to watch the evening news when the news clip of an unidentified space object flashed on the TV screen.
Allison panicked! “I didn’t think this subject would ever come up again. And I don’t have Uncle Bubba to help me figure out what to do. Let’s face it: I’ve got to finally confess to the entire world who I really am and explain how this discovery might change our lives forever and not in a good way. And the only way to accomplish this is to confess to who I really am.”
“Whether I confess or not, my life will be put under a microscope as if we were some foreign disease, posing a danger to the entire civilized world. Our hopes and plans to one day resettle on planet Zorbus will go up in flames. Why have I waited this long to tell the world the truth.” After pausing for a couple of minutes, Allison, turning to Brad said. I just had the urge to have a Bar-B-Que this weekend, inviting the whole family clan. You think you can help me with that?”
Luckily, the following Saturday the entire Dawkins clan was available, managing to show up to enjoy the festivities. After the gayety and eating were over, Allison asked the parents to please separate themselves from the children as she had something important to announce. “And you surely don’t want to miss it, she emphasized.”
The tone of Allison’s announcement was unusual for her and unexpected---each family member, was concerned that maybe Allison had come down with some type of fatal disease. Wasting no time, they all gathered around the little garden memorial that had been installed in honor of their mother Peggy. When everyone was settled, with their eyes cast toward her, Allison rose and began to speak.
“I don’t know any other way to say this but to just come out and say it. I am not your biological sister. My real name is not Allison. It is Racine. At the age of four, I was born and raised on planet Zorbus. That is why it had been so easy for me to communicate with these people you consider aliens and I consider family.
“I hope you will forgive me for deceiving you. You may wonder why I am bringing this up at this time. Let me explain. I’m sure all of you saw the news bulletin of the recent find of an alien, miniature space capsule. The media calls it a ‘spacecraft, but for me it was my own, personal space capsule, landing me at your very doorstep. The one I regret deceiving the most is my earth mother, Peggy. She eventually discovered my true identity, loving me, even though I was not her biological daughter, from the first moment she saw me to the end of her life. It was a love we both shared.”
Total quietness lasted for nearly five minutes before Paul spoke up. “Dear Allison, you are the most precious sister anyone could ever hope to have, biological or non-biological. To us, it makes no difference. We, Pauline, Charlie, Rebekah, and I have always known that you were not our biological sister. We figured that out when we were just kids. To prove it to ourselves, we dug up little Allison to confirm that she was indeed dead. Your earth mother and our biological mother, Peggy I am quite sure, as you have already admitted, at first was certain that you were the real, reincarnated Allison. Even, as you said, discovering the real you, it made no difference in her love for you.”
“My God,” spoke up a shaken Allison. “Just think of all the time I wasted, feeling guilty that I was deceiving you. Why didn’t someone tell me?”
“Well,” spoke, Paul, “we were kind of waiting for you to tell us. But it doesn’t matter. We are all so thankful that this family’s secret is finally out and in the open and will remain our secret. The public need never know. From now on, let’s pledge that there will be no more family secrets.”
“Why,” asked Pauline, “did you choose to make this confession now.”
“This discovery you saw on the news,” spoke Allison, “is not the first time the sighting of this special space capsule has come up. A few years back, this same mentally challenged individual, Randy Purvis, whose name keeps coming up in the media, proclaimed to be a pseudo-scientist, specializing in space exploration. Using his own high-power telescope, claimed to have tracked my entire entry into the earth’s atmosphere, advising NASA that he knew exactly where I had landed.”
“Fearful that if NASA came into possession of this capsule, they would be terrified that this alien, me, having landed on our soil, may be carrying a deadly, untreatable contagion, posing a real threat to our very existence. And, of course, if the word got out, there would be general panic around the world, the likes never seen before.”
“Zealots of every religious persuasion, convinced that this was a clear signal that the ‘End times’ had finally arrived, would take to the streets, delivering their message to whomever chose to listen. Every wacky scientist around the world, those who study the stars, like a flock of hungry vultures, would feel compelled to descend upon this area, isolating, and taking away our freedom of movement for fifty miles in all directions, determined to find the source behind the capsule.”
“Of course, none of this can take place without the aid of our military, setting up checkpoints to monitor our movements. Once I was identified as the culprit, I would be placed into isolation where every test imaginable would be performed. Not only would my life be destroyed, but so would the lives of our entire family and close associates and friends like Rose and Sam. That is why, in the past, when I heard the story about Purvis’s claim, I solicited the aid of Uncle Bubba to help me dump and sink the capsule into the Floyd River before any search by NASA got underway.”
“Little did we know at the time, that the Floyd River goes through periods of drought, exposing all of the human trash dumped into the river over the years. including our little capsule. Now, with the absence of Uncle Bubba, I must find another way to make this space capsule disappear, permanently.”
As the weekend gathering broke up with each family member making a solemn promise not to reveal Allison’s true identity, Brad spoke up. “So, when were you planning on telling me why the discovery of this space capsule was so important to you? Why did I have to learn about it this way?”
“I’m sorry Brad, I always wanted to tell you, but just could not find the right time and place. Besides, when we began our relationship, I was afraid if you knew too much about me, you would think I was some type of alien monster, and I loved you too much to lose you.”
Brad couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t you realize by now; that I could never stop loving you even if you started growing horns? I’m so damn proud of you I can’t imagine what my life would be without you. O. K. Now that’s settled, let’s figure out how we are going to keep you out of jail.”
Professor Bradley Jefferies, as we know him, was sitting at home, mulling over possible solutions to the problem that faced his family and what the scientific world considered a global threat, it seemed. “How can such a small, insignificant child-like space toy represent such a threat to our family and the entire world? It’s possible, I suppose scientists at my lab can come up with some general idea of what type of material we are dealing with here. But, to do so, I need some type of scraping or fibers from the capsule to work with.”
“Do you think some fibers may have rubbed off on my spacesuit?” asked Allison. “I still have it hidden away if you think it might help.”
“It’s worth a try,” responded Brad.
With just a bare sample of some residue left over from the capsule that had attached itself to Allison’s spacesuit, the scientist was able to conclude that the space capsule was made out of a special material of unknown origin---“nothing you would expect to find around here, that’s for sure” they declared.
One of the scientists recalled a plastics chemical, a company located in Canada, maker of special props for a Hollywood movie company. Unfortunately, that business folded many years ago. “What if we came up with some type of chemical solution that we can spray on the capsule’s surface which will automatically downgrade its chemical composition, making a sophisticated product look more like a cheap, Walmart plastic toy---is that even possible, they wondered.”
In less than a week, Brad’s team produced a highly toxic solution capable of changing the toughest chemical composition of most plastic surfaces into something inferior and with little or no tensile strength.
“Now,” thought Brad, “how do I manage to get this to our target which I understand is locked away in some Floyd County warehouse?”
It was unseasonably cool that Monday morning, with Rebekah showing up at the Peggy Pink Pig (PPP) ranch to give the farm goats and sheep their scheduled vaccination for rabies. A somber Allison, needing something to get her mind off their present problem with the capsule, volunteered to help hold the small goats and sheep while Rebekah took care of the vaccinations.
“Tell me, Rebekah, what would Mom do in this situation?”
