8.25.2011

I Feel Fine


          I don't know why people don't know how to use their imaginations. In 2025 some scientists figured out a way to manipulate the way sound waves move in the environment. Advances in the music entertainment industry were made. Fortunes were had. Yet militaries were afraid to touch it. Manipulation of the sound waves was boringly stable on small, low powered scales. Grand scales with abundant power? Unstable and unpredictable. So the idea was set aside.
          The new girls, April, May, and June, bought their roster spots with schematics for the only acoustic rifle ever designed. A well connected friend of the "family" created an actual prototype. Antediluvian lout that he is just had to call it a Boomstick.
          So I says to him, after he delivered his update on the weapon, "A boomstick is an obvious development. Make something fun for me, K?"
          A standard fortnight later I get a message to expect a special delivery. But nothing could have prepared me for the inconceivable creations of that mad man's mind.
l        l        l
          The main ballroom of the Bebop Cowboy Cruise pleasure ship was staged for a high dollar show. Scores of adolescents ranging from wanna be tweens to borderline illegal twenty year olds. In the midst of the mayhem was Horace Hawkins. He sat at a table surrounded by girls who were experimenting with the boundaries of their minds. A security screen, two bodies deep, separated him from the hoard.
          "Sir, the band is about to start. Would you relocate you closer to the stage for a better view?" A man in a flat black suit queried of the young dictator to be.
          "Naw, Geoffrey, let these kids have fun. This party is a political gig, it's not for me. Hey," Horace turned to one of the guards, "is there a safe place to put all these girls? They seem to have medicated themselves." With a sign from the guard, a detachment of the pleasure ships medical staff removed the girls to the hospital ward.
          "Sorry, Sir. Mr. Holt felt they were the safest companion s for the night. His security concerns yet again overrides his common sense." The unusually tall, fragile looking, Geoffrey replied. "I assured him they were unnecessary. Honestly, I am beginning to think that his motivations were not in your interests."
          "Careful Geoffrey. He's my Dad's pal more than he is Head of Security anymore. Just drop it; it's the safest course of action now." Horace turned his attention to the stage. "So what clown act have we got for tonight?"
          "The captain assured me they are a wonderful group, know as the Galaxy Girls."
          The curtains pulled back and the MC rushed on stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen we have a slight change of plans for tonight's entertainment." Sweat gleams off the MC's forehead as he glances off stage. "So without fu,further ado, I give you a 1990's Old Earth coverband, "Cloud Nine".
*        *        *
     We run onstage in our bright orange pressure suits. As far as Old Earth costumes go, we either look like convicts or astronauts. It's eerie how accurate that is. I'm the lead with an electric guitar, John-Pierre has a bass, Marla a violin, and our drummer is Ralph "The Dog".
          With my guitar slung over my back, I grab the mike from the MC as he scurries off the stage. "Hello party punks!" The crowd roars as the MC initiates the evacuation of the rest of the ship. "Are you ready to tear this place up?" Eager for a good time, the crowd presses forward. "Well get yourself ready, cause we are gonna shred this place up!"
          At my last words, Ralph, starts up a high octane beat on the drums. On the fifth beat the rest of us join in, and the crowd instantly erupts in cheers.
          "That's great it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes and aeroplanes. Lenny Bruce is not afraid." The throng starts jumping up and down in unison now. I sing through the rest of the first verse; missing words here and there, but nailing every note. "You vitriolic, patriotic, bam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty psyched." I press a button on the back of my weapon, activating the sonic reverberaters that have been installed by my old friend. As I start in on the chorus, we all lower our instruments, and sing. The audience stops their moshing and echo the words back to us. We lift up our arms, and as I sing out the word "fine", make a single motion.
          All around the ship sirens blare in vain, as explosions of literal sound obliterate everything in sight. Before our performance we had managed to place reverb amplifiers in non critical areas in order to control damage. The spectators make a mad dash out of the ballroom. There are more than enough emergency craft to get them all off the ship.
          My crew makes quick work of scurrying to the brats table. His guards, who treated this job like a light vacation, only offer token resistance. That left me charging distance with three men.
          "Sir, I recommend that we retreat before that woman gets here." A tall dark glass of Old Britain speaks to my nemesis' spawn.
          The second turns and yells "You two aren't going anywhere. I'll take care of this..." My foot slams into his jaw before he turns back around to face me. While down on the ground he grabs a knife from his boot, I pull mine from belt. We slash and slice, blades carving skin, and ripping clothes.
          "Who are you!" Grunts my opponent as we grip each other's wrists.
          "My name is Nica jekkame'a Sinmoral." With a wrench I manage to dislocate his right arm, and his knife drops to the floor.
          "Your the brat I didn't get to kill." He lunged with his left hand. I duck underneath him, grabbing his arms as I slip around. Using his own momentum I flip him over.
          "So you are the one who killed my father. There's something I've always wanted to say to you. But seeing as your employer is not here, I can't have all my dreams come true. Instead, I'll take the kid. You get to stay and explain, to your ever so understanding boss, what happened."

4 comments:

  1. I didn't expect a music scene, but I LOVE it. Very creative! Great feel to the story, I found myself reading it rather quickly but in a natural tempo. Very enjoyable, great job :)

    A couple of typo's. You have riffle instead of rifle and too instead of two.

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  2. Many thanks, and the typos have been banished.

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  3. Hi, Arch_Nem,

    I've just caught up with all of the Ninerverse tales so far.
    In this one, is Ralph "the Dog" a fake i.d. for the character?
    Nica's posse do have multiple i.d.'s, so I wasn't sure.
    This episode is a truly Rocking Adventure Tale.

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  4. @ quango-baud Ralph is his name, his alias is "The Dog". Its a nod to Rolph the Dog from the Muppets.

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