Author: Alexander Fawn

It moved to the screen and brought up the images of where it had last played its game.

The room it occupied was one of several that made up a very small proportion of the interior structure of the gigantic alien craft. Although it hovered silently within its cloak of invisibility a vast distance from the planet whose images were displayed on the screen, the player’s access to it was entirely open and available. Ever since the world in question had been allotted to the young alien, it had played with it whenever it liked. The gaming structure was complex, with the controls comprising of a large, curved control panel, which sat below a huge screen. It was covered with symbols and groups of coloured button-like sensors. Using a system made up of millions of tiny beams, not dissimilar from the strings used by a puppeteer, the player was able to manipulate events on the targeted world.

The craft itself was in place for reasons far greater and more expansive than anything the gamer played out on the distant planet. This world, like so many others that have been randomly set up around the cosmos, was created for the sole purpose of allowing young beings to manipulate them at will. Their role in the whole scheme of things was nothing more than to provide pleasure for the gamers. From the console it was able to rearrange weather patterns, create global warming, change shipping routes, manipulate world currencies, manifest plagues, bring about insurrections, all of this together with the ability to increase or decrease the intensity of those belief systems held by the planet’s inhabitants. This meant that the gamer could generate situations where wars could be played out between countries.

It just so happens, that this particular planet being toyed with, being the third planet out from a sun within this particular solar system, recently detected a vast number of unknown beams, splayed out across its surface. Unfortunately, the scientific community was in the process of making a world-wide statement to this effect when they all suddenly disappeared.

For those alien elders who relied on the system to prevent any mischief arising from bored youngsters, the knowledge that the program was not completely fail proof was always there. However, if the beams were detected by the planet’s inhabitants, and in order to protect their own hidden location, all beams were instantly retracted. Further, if prior to the removal of the beams, it is considered that the constant random manipulation performed by the game players has caused the planet to become politically unstable or economically unbalanced, it is vaporised.

Hopefully, in the case of the vulnerable planet in question, they’ll consider that this kind of intervention would be just a touch premature.

He had no idea where he was.

He had a vague recollection of lying in a bed. It may have been a hospital. He had been feeling really poorly and there were nurses and a doctor and… It came to him that he may have died. He felt completely fine now, sitting in this chair… in this waiting room… His head was spinning, though. He looked around. There were a couple of dozen others, all sitting patiently. All sorts, young and old, mostly old. A mix of ethnicities, but all sitting in a calm repose as though they knew exactly why they were there. Maybe they didn’t. Maybe they were all like him, dazed and confused. He thought he’d get up and take a look around, but found he couldn’t. He looked down to see whether he was held by restraints of some kind, but he wasn’t. He took a deep breath and went back to waiting.

Not long after this, a large, double door at the far end of the room parted. The creature that came in was dressed in a white, long-sleeved, full-length smock from head to toe. It was hard to tell the gender, but it towered at around twelve feet high. It was thin and walked very slowly. He could see that it had a face, although strange, it was a face; eyes, nose, mouth. It moved to the centre of the room looking intently at some kind of clipboard. It gazed around at the room’s occupants before speaking. It sounded like a person whispering down a tunnel, there was a slight echo to it. The strange being was explaining that what they were each hearing was being heard in their own mother tongues. It asked if they understood. He nodded with the others. It went back to its clipboard.

It was slowly coming to him that this had to be some sort of ‘between lives’ place. This wasn’t heaven or hell, he thought. This was some alien setup. He found it incredibly difficult to imagine the purpose of having a room full of people like this; hard to imagine where it was all going. His thoughts were cut short when they were asked to stand up and follow their host.

With no difficulty at all, he got up. They all filed through into what was a long corridor, with rooms on either side. One by one, and in no apparent order, despite the fact that the alien was continually checking his board, they each entered a room. When it came to his turn it opened the door for him. Inside, a similar being stood waiting. Some flimsy paper thing was handed over and it left, closing the door gently. He looked around while the alien studied what he’d been given. It seemed to be nodding slightly, without any facial expression, presumably receiving a summary about the man that stood gazing around the room. The room was featureless, save for one enormous wheel that stood against the far wall. It looked just like the sort of thing he’d seen on TV game shows.

With its lips barely moving, the new creature explained that he was to spin the wheel to determine the sort of life he would return to. Despite the unbelievably ludicrous situation he found himself in, he felt a calm wave come over him as he went forward to take a closer look. It was huge, if anything it was higher than the thing that had followed him and now stood beside him. It looked down and began to explain. However, it was self-evident. There were numbers from one to a hundred in a normal sequence and pins that ran around its outer edge. A flap hung from the top that would bend with the passing of the pins. He stood thinking about how remarkably close it was, in style, to the standard wheels-of-fortune he’d seen before.

He became aware that the creature was most probably giving him time to think about it. Turning it over in his mind, he presumed that he could return as a member of any one of a number of races. He could return to a war torn country or somewhere nice and peaceful. He also considered that any single life expectancy, in general terms, could be very long or very short. It amazed him that with so many potential outcomes, these unknown life entities had managed to get these alternatives down to just one hundred.

He heard the entity make a gentle hiss, and a long, thin arm came up. Its slender finger pointing to a handle. It was high up on the right-hand side, no doubt for starting a clockwise spin of the wheel. He was instructed to pull down hard. Again, he was surprised at his unquestioning obedience as he took hold of the handle and with gusto got the massive thing turning. The rotation wasn’t fast, but it seemed like a very long time before the huge wheel stopped. He noted the number, the significance of which was entirely meaningless from his point of view.

He looked up into the peculiar face and waited. A few moments passed while the paper like material it was holding was studied. Twice it looked up at the number…

Despite the fact that the thing’s face was just about expressionless, he thought he detected just the hint of a smile…

It seemed as though the two of them had been talking for hours.

The boy’s unexpected visitor was showing a great deal of patience. He was saying, “I do realise that all of this must be hard for you to take in. I do not know why you were chosen specifically. That is something entirely outside of my conspectus, but you were chosen.”

The boy, sitting on the side of his bed, was equally patient. He sat listening in silence.

“My elders,” the visitor went on, “are fully aware that there is very little chance that anything I tell you, or any new ideas I bring with me, will have any substantial effect on the way your people move forward. My elders simply wish me to advise you that this is merely the sowing of a single seed.”

The boy, despite having never been the subject of an intelligence quotient test, was extremely bright. Others regarded him as a deep thinker. He said, “A lot of what you have told me is, let’s say, psychological. It’s more about how we think that has determined our historic path, rather than what we have done.”

The visitor smiled. “Exactly! I now see why you were chosen.”

“So far you have made a lot of references directed to the subject of celebrities. Why is this aspect of human nature so important?”

“Again, an astute observation. Yes, you have gone to the heart of it. Your kind has created the role of celebrity, which is now fully ingrained in your world culture. In fact, no nation or tribe is free from it.”

“OK. I see that, but what is wrong with a person having a celebrity status.”

“Everything.”

“Everything?”

“Yes. In all other advanced civilisations that my people know of, such a category does not exist. It is for this reason that we know that the concept of having no celebrities would be unfathomable to you.”

The boy thought about what had been said and the visitor, seeing this, waited. He asked, “Can you tell me what the problem is by having celebrities?”

“I can. It is that you have given them certain values, such as power, control and money, to name only a few. These values have been given to kings and queens, politicians, actors, business men and women, singers, dancers, comedians, composers, writers… the list is very long. It is long because your peopled have made it so. They are all mastered by values that we reject.”

“Are you saying that all people should be equal, or treated equal?”

“Yes, but in a way that you could not understand, after being so long on your present course of development. As I said… just sowing a seed.”

“So, you’re not actually here to change anything?”

“Not at all. We would have no way of doing that.”

“Well then, it will certainly make me stop and think about the value of celebrities.”

The visitor smiled broadly and bowed, and at this point two things happened in the same moment.

His visitor evaporated and his morning alarm sounded.

The young man had been watching a TV series about a notorious gangster’s life.

He wasn’t impressed with the way they tried to portray the life of Al Capone with such fear and dread; with all these historians coming on saying how wickedly bad he was. Come off it! He thought. He wasn’t that bad, and let’s face it, he’s long gone. Anyway, he would have nothing on Al the dentist. Waited an hour before I went in. Big notice saying mobiles had to be turned off. Nothing but women’s magazines on the table. When I finally got in, I felt the needle go in, it hurt, but I don’t think there was any painkiller in it. The next twenty minutes were painful beyond belief.

Then there’s that nasty traffic warden, his badge said he was an Al.  All I did was to pull over for a minute to find a music station on the radio. I might have been on a yellow line, but it was only for a minute. He slapped me with a fine. As for Al down at the pharmacy. He makes me wait one hell of a long time for prescriptions, deliberately. There’s no reason for it that I can see; he’s just mean.

Anyway, none of these come close to my old geography teacher. I’d rather face Al Capone than my old geography teacher… any day!

It seems rather odd,

To be weighing a pod.

–

To give a sharp prod,

Or to pray to a god.

–

To give a quick nod,

Or to walk with a plod.

–

To be a tightwad,

Or to go unshod.

–

To fold a tripod,

Or to join a new squad.

–

To shovel a sod,

Or to batter a cod.

–

To brandish a rod,

Or to ride roughshod.

–

To stand ramrod,

Or to be slipshod.

–

Then, weighing a pod,

Is not at all odd.

After such a long time he still misses her.

Everything was going well. They had been dating for over three years when it happened. Plans for marriage were well advanced. He thought they were a perfect couple. Then, he came along. He was something of a socialite with a wealthy family behind him. He never lacked for anything and could have just about anything he set his heart on. He had swept her off her feet. One minute they were sharing a flat together and the next she was with him in his luxury apartment located in the high end of town. That was nearly a year ago. He had never met the man who stole his fiancée away from him, but he’d seen pictures of him from time to time in the local paper, with her on his arm, of course.

At the time, he had murderous thoughts about the man, even going to the lengths of purchasing a small bottle of poison on the black market. It was guaranteed to give a massive heart attack that would leave no traces. He would never get the chance to use it, of course, but it made him feel good to fantasise all the same. This he kept beside the barista coffee machine that he operated on a daily basis. Not that the likes of him would ever stoop so low as to frequent the café he worked in. This modest café was definitely not the sort of place he’d use.

Then came the day when he was proven wrong. It was a little after opening time and the morning rush was on in the café when he walked in. He recognised him instantly; expensive suit, freshly cut hair and a swagger that he couldn’t hide if he wanted to. He was with a dodgy looking guy that was probably a gangster. They had no doubt chosen this as a venue to discuss business in a part of town where neither would be recognised. Keeping well out of sight behind his machine, just in case, he listened intently when the girl took their orders.

He reached for the bottle.

She returns from a three day conference across the country, so glad to be home.

Home to her cottage at the end of the lane. She missed her home, her home missed her. As she came up the garden path she pulled her keys out. At the front door she was bringing the key up when she heard a click and the front door popped open. She smiled as she went in. The house really had missed her. She smiled again when she heard the kettle boiling in the kitchen. She throws her travel bag on the bed; she’ll unpack later. Back in the kitchen she opens the cupboard and finds her favourite mug swinging back and forth on its hook. She takes it down with a nod of thanks. Rattles come from the drawer. Half a dozen teaspoons are jostling for first place. With a murmur of thanks directed at those not chosen she takes one out. She can hear teabags milling around in the caddy. Again, she takes just one and nods at the rest.

She pauses, teabag dangling from her fingers. She looks around and sighs with satisfaction. She hears the house echo with a soft hiss.

They are both glad that she’s home.

The old lady was racked with guilt about what she had done.

She had certainly never acted that way before. It was hard to believe that she’d been that rude; that mean. She was at home now with her shopping, staring down at the tin of cat food. It had all happened so quickly, but that was no excuse. When she entered the aisle to get cat food, they were just about out. There was only one tin of her cat’s favourite left. There was a man, very tall, standing immediately in front of it. She felt sure he was about to pick it up. That’s when she did it! That’s when she grabbed it from right under his nose and hurried off to the checkout, leaving him shell-shocked, watching her go.

That night she was disturbed by noises in the street, but it soon went quiet again and she went back to sleep. The following night, she found there were problems watching her television show and the next day discovered that her email wasn’t working at all. Soon after, she received a notice in the mail from her service provider to say that a fault with her kerbside connection had been detected and that a technician would be coming out to repair it. Almost a week went by before anybody turned up. She had thought about calling them to give them a jog, when the van pulled up outside. A technician, very tall, got out and started to do something by the roadside. After a few minutes, he strolled up the path and rang the bell.

He was smiling when she opened the door. He said, “Good morning madam. You received notification about your faulty connection, I take it?”

“Yes. I’ve got no email at the moment. I received a notice about it in the post.”

“Well, I’ve just had a look at it. I’m afraid we’re having trouble getting the part you need. It could take some time, but we’ll let you know as soon as the parts arrive.”

She frowned. “Oh, dear. Nothing you can do about that, I suppose.”

“Not really. We’ll be in touch.” As he went to go, he saw the cat, curled up on the front lawn. “He’s a nice looking fellow,” he remarked.

She felt a cold shiver run up her spine. She now eyed him suspiciously. She asked herself, could this be the man in the supermarket?

She watched him go.

As he climbed into the van, he called out, “Got to watch what you feed ‘em, eh?”

The agency came highly recommended.

It put its high success rate down to its policy of maintaining the strictest level of confidentiality.

He would be meeting her in less than an hour. He had his best clothes with him and would change in the toilet before leaving work. They had been talking by email for several weeks and were finally ready to meet. It was all managed by the agency. No photographs, no real names, complete privacy assured prior to any first meeting of the couple. There, they could speak freely about who they were and what they were looking for in a partner. The agency had posted out details of the meeting venue, date and time.

When he arrived at the restaurant he was very nervous. Before he went in, he stood in a nearby doorway. He combed his hair and made sure his tie was straight. Satisfied with his reflection, he entered the restaurant and looked around. There she was, sitting at the designated table. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

How could she do it? How could she be here?

He was incensed!

How could his wife do such a thing?

He was a leader in his field.

The use of security super scanners had swamped the market because of their simplicity, their being easy to use, and their being almost impossible to fool. The days of relying on a set of keys, combination locks, press button entry codes, fingerprint readers, swipe cards, proximity cards, card reader panels, to name just a few secure entry systems, these were giving way to the installation of super scanners. Passwords and PINs were hit and miss, whereas the super scanner takes one look at you and either lets you in or it doesn’t. The technology being relatively new, there were not too many technicians you could call expert. This is what made him valuable. He worked for the world’s largest company producing them and had studied hard late in his working life to become something of a guru. He was proud of his well-earned reputation.

The scanner diagnostics kit that he used, one in which he had played a major role in designing and building, was housed in a sturdy metal case. It had a combination lock and a handle. It looked like any other toolbox. Inside it had a small, specialist keyboard and a pull-up screen. This was something else he was proud of. Overall, he’d done well for himself and planned to take a well-earned early retirement. It was general knowledge in the company that after his final day in the job he was taking an early morning flight the next day to begin a month long stay in a luxury hotel in the Caribbean. Looking at his workload for his final week, he felt a strong sense of disappointment that his last day would be spent using his skills in a place and for a man he didn’t care for.

He wouldn’t have chosen this one to go out on, but he couldn’t control where he was sent. The job was for a high security room within a financial company’s city building. The manager there had never shown himself to be anything other than a rude, self-important man, with a crude sense of humour. He was generally disliked by any who knew him. In fact, on one social occasion he had tried to amuse those gathered there by saying that the technician had found his diploma in a Christmas cracker! Having made this unkind remark he seemed to be oblivious to the fact that no one was laughing. He certainly had no idea how much he’d hurt the other man’s pride.

As it happened, on his penultimate day in the job, a Thursday evening, the technician was returning from a job when he found himself passing the finance company. He decided to take a quick look at what he’d be coming to on the following day. When he approached the main entrance he was surprised to find that the scanner wouldn’t let him enter. It was good that he checked. He wouldn’t have time enough to fix it in the poor light. He would carry on as planned and come back as scheduled. He felt he should report it. Having the manager’s number he gave him a call. The manager, greatly amused by the other’s plight, said that by being there he’d spoiled his little last day on the job prank. The faulty scanner was not an internal room at all, but the main entrance.

The scanner expert was proud of the way he had stayed calm and in a steady voice had told the manager that he would return the next day. He went back to his car, where he sat for a long time weighing up the situation, together with the pros and cons regarding how to proceed. He finally made up his mind. It was very late when he took off for home. On the way he stopped at a town that he knew had a deep river running through it. Parking behind an office block he opened the boot and took out the case. He walked along several dark streets before coming to the bridge. He paused, looking down into the black water, convinced that no one had heard the distant splash. At home he took a large screwdriver and jemmied the lock on his boot.

The following morning he went into the office and reported the robbery. Naturally, considering the value of what had been taken, the police were called and a detective showed up to take a statement. His immediate manager advised him of the call from the distraught manager from the finance company as casually as he could. Other than that, the day had gone pretty much as expected with cards, one of the secretaries bringing along a box of doughnuts, and well-wishers turning up from around the company, while he cleared out his desk. Management obviously made an effort to make his final day a good one, despite the robbery. Just a few final speeches and a bonus cheque and he left for home, where he was fully packed and ready for his early morning flight. He contemplated the fact that through his years with the company he had only had one major itch, and he’d scratched it.

He was really looking forward to his retirement.