Flash in the Pan, Part CIV
Okay, so my conscience, or the worn stub of a work ethic, gets the better of me, and I decide to reconstruct the 3/4 of a chapter I lost last night. So, I put on some music, put Zane in a spring-jumper so he momentarily forgets he's teething, and I start up the text editor.
And the whole damn chapter is there.
I'm still scratching my head over what sleep-deprived hallucinations were hitting me last night. I checked and rechecked, and I was positive that no complete copy of the story existed. I ranted for half an hour and got over it. I can't see why it's all there now.
Anyway, here's part 104 of my Flash Gordon parody serial, surviving despite my best efforts.
"She's not going anywhere." Sergeant Dovel said.
Two of Dovel's men were standing shoulder to shoulder in the doorway. Dovel had reached out in the darkness and probed to see if there was a way to slip through someone's legs, and he was confident the way was blocked.
It was enough of an embarrassment to take this long to kill one old woman. He had to make sure the job was done before the president took notice.
Dovel had done some work as an electrician before he started working in the army. He managed to use the charging cap to set fire to some papers.
"Those are my notes." Dr. Soma said.
Sergeant Dovel tore a sleeve from his jacket and wound it around his rifle. He held the cloth over the papers until it caught fire. Then he lifted his makeshift torch and looked around the room for Soma.
"Who's a genius now?" Dovel asked.
"There's that word." Dr. Soma's voice spoke from a dark corner of the room. "What did I tell you about genius?"
Dovel rushed the dark corner, holding the fire before him. He looked all around the newly lit corner for some sign of the doctor.
"You said that genius is knowing what assumptions you could make." Dovel said.
"And. . ." Dr. Soma said.
Dovel pushed the torch at the voice, and he saw a speaker set into the side of the wall. The speaker continued in Soma's voice, ". . . knowing what assumptions you can't make."
"Dr. Torre's dead." the Arborian soldier said excitedly. "It's on the Republic radio broadcasts. There's desertions on the front."
"How did he die?" Viun asked. She made the question sound merely curious.
"The Hawk Men!" the soldier said. "They said the message came after their last bombing run! They said there was only one radiation sign on the ground."
"Thank you." Viun smiled. "It's good news."
The soldier left, and the smile fell from Viun's face.
"Father?" Gido asked.
"He's gone." Viun said. "If there was one radiation tag, and it was next to Dr. Torre, it was Barin. If he knew he would die, he'd use it to complete his revenge."
"If you knew father was dead," Gido asked, "why didn't you tell him?"
"I think you should do it."
"Why me?" Gido asked.
"They needed Barin. Someone has to take his place."
"Me?"
"Barin was younger than you are when he joined the inner council."
Gido looked helpless, miserable. "My father just died."
"So did my husband." Viun said. "The hard thing for us right now is that Barin was not just ours, he was every Arborian's. They've all lost him. They'll all need guidance."
"You should do it. You helped father plan everything he did."
"Your father was impulsive and an unreliable strategist. He had the kind of ideals and the kind of will that people wanted to make their own." Viun shrugged. "I don't."
"What if I can't do it?" Gido asked.
"If you have any doubt, I'll find someone else. Can you do it? Can you talk to our people? Can you tell them your father's dead? After you've done that, can you rally them?"
"Yes." Gido said, feeling like the voice came from someone else.
The fighters of Arboria moved along the ground like a living stream. The leaders at the head turned back on the column and became a dam. The people collected at the head of the column and waited, wordlessly.
"Barin is dead." Gido yelled out.
The people looked back at Gido, silently. There was hardly a sound, but Gido felt like he was drowning in the shocked faces of his countrymen.
"We admired Barin. The soldiers of the Republic only feared him. We embraced him, while the soldiers of the Republic only hunted him. We miss him, while the soldiers of the Republic feels only triumph in his passing.
"Barin was a man. Our enemy may rejoice that the man is gone, but they have made a memory. That memory will not rest. That memory can not die. That memory will know no mercy.
"We long for the days when Barin was alive and with us. The soldiers of the Republic, I vow, will long for those days, too."
"Dr. Torre. Dr. Torre, answer me!" President Gordon yelled into his talker.
There were just under a dozen soldiers in the room with the president. Outside, automated barricades sealed themselves over the exits. Even so, Gordon had never felt so defenseless.
"I'm afraid Dr. Torre is dead." someone said on the other side of the talker.
"He's dead?" Gordon asked.
"Yes. Barin of Arboria is dead, too."
"Barin's dead." Gordon dared to hope. "Are the Arborians running?"
There was a pause. "Yes, Mr. President. I've never seen anyone run so fast."
"Thank heavens." the president said. "When they're gone, come to the palace. There's been a revolt here."
The voice on the talker was almost too quiet to hear. "Mr. President, I'm afraid you misunderstand me."
Gordon heard shots and screams on the other side of the talker, and then the connection closed.
And the whole damn chapter is there.
I'm still scratching my head over what sleep-deprived hallucinations were hitting me last night. I checked and rechecked, and I was positive that no complete copy of the story existed. I ranted for half an hour and got over it. I can't see why it's all there now.
Anyway, here's part 104 of my Flash Gordon parody serial, surviving despite my best efforts.
"She's not going anywhere." Sergeant Dovel said.
Two of Dovel's men were standing shoulder to shoulder in the doorway. Dovel had reached out in the darkness and probed to see if there was a way to slip through someone's legs, and he was confident the way was blocked.
It was enough of an embarrassment to take this long to kill one old woman. He had to make sure the job was done before the president took notice.
Dovel had done some work as an electrician before he started working in the army. He managed to use the charging cap to set fire to some papers.
"Those are my notes." Dr. Soma said.
Sergeant Dovel tore a sleeve from his jacket and wound it around his rifle. He held the cloth over the papers until it caught fire. Then he lifted his makeshift torch and looked around the room for Soma.
"Who's a genius now?" Dovel asked.
"There's that word." Dr. Soma's voice spoke from a dark corner of the room. "What did I tell you about genius?"
Dovel rushed the dark corner, holding the fire before him. He looked all around the newly lit corner for some sign of the doctor.
"You said that genius is knowing what assumptions you could make." Dovel said.
"And. . ." Dr. Soma said.
Dovel pushed the torch at the voice, and he saw a speaker set into the side of the wall. The speaker continued in Soma's voice, ". . . knowing what assumptions you can't make."
"Dr. Torre's dead." the Arborian soldier said excitedly. "It's on the Republic radio broadcasts. There's desertions on the front."
"How did he die?" Viun asked. She made the question sound merely curious.
"The Hawk Men!" the soldier said. "They said the message came after their last bombing run! They said there was only one radiation sign on the ground."
"Thank you." Viun smiled. "It's good news."
The soldier left, and the smile fell from Viun's face.
"Father?" Gido asked.
"He's gone." Viun said. "If there was one radiation tag, and it was next to Dr. Torre, it was Barin. If he knew he would die, he'd use it to complete his revenge."
"If you knew father was dead," Gido asked, "why didn't you tell him?"
"I think you should do it."
"Why me?" Gido asked.
"They needed Barin. Someone has to take his place."
"Me?"
"Barin was younger than you are when he joined the inner council."
Gido looked helpless, miserable. "My father just died."
"So did my husband." Viun said. "The hard thing for us right now is that Barin was not just ours, he was every Arborian's. They've all lost him. They'll all need guidance."
"You should do it. You helped father plan everything he did."
"Your father was impulsive and an unreliable strategist. He had the kind of ideals and the kind of will that people wanted to make their own." Viun shrugged. "I don't."
"What if I can't do it?" Gido asked.
"If you have any doubt, I'll find someone else. Can you do it? Can you talk to our people? Can you tell them your father's dead? After you've done that, can you rally them?"
"Yes." Gido said, feeling like the voice came from someone else.
The fighters of Arboria moved along the ground like a living stream. The leaders at the head turned back on the column and became a dam. The people collected at the head of the column and waited, wordlessly.
"Barin is dead." Gido yelled out.
The people looked back at Gido, silently. There was hardly a sound, but Gido felt like he was drowning in the shocked faces of his countrymen.
"We admired Barin. The soldiers of the Republic only feared him. We embraced him, while the soldiers of the Republic only hunted him. We miss him, while the soldiers of the Republic feels only triumph in his passing.
"Barin was a man. Our enemy may rejoice that the man is gone, but they have made a memory. That memory will not rest. That memory can not die. That memory will know no mercy.
"We long for the days when Barin was alive and with us. The soldiers of the Republic, I vow, will long for those days, too."
"Dr. Torre. Dr. Torre, answer me!" President Gordon yelled into his talker.
There were just under a dozen soldiers in the room with the president. Outside, automated barricades sealed themselves over the exits. Even so, Gordon had never felt so defenseless.
"I'm afraid Dr. Torre is dead." someone said on the other side of the talker.
"He's dead?" Gordon asked.
"Yes. Barin of Arboria is dead, too."
"Barin's dead." Gordon dared to hope. "Are the Arborians running?"
There was a pause. "Yes, Mr. President. I've never seen anyone run so fast."
"Thank heavens." the president said. "When they're gone, come to the palace. There's been a revolt here."
The voice on the talker was almost too quiet to hear. "Mr. President, I'm afraid you misunderstand me."
Gordon heard shots and screams on the other side of the talker, and then the connection closed.