SW10: Deputy Ambassador to Another World

Scott Eiler seiler at eilertech.com
Thu Feb 3 23:38:51 PST 2011


?WORLD JOURNAL MONTHLY
February 1, 2011

DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO ANOTHER WORLD!
Can That World Save Us?

---


Vice-President Joe Corrigan had canceled the morning security briefing.
Ever since what happened in Nashville last December, the Government's
information gathering wasn't even worth his time.  He could get the same
news off TV now.  So he was catching up on e-mail when the message came:
"Wyatt Ferguson has invited you to a hyper-conference.  Click here to
activate."


Corrigan muttered, "It's 'bout time he reported."  He clicked there to
activate - softly.  His touch often broke things.  The staffers called him
Crusher Joe - and so did most of the world.  But if he could have
*stabbed* there to activate, he would have.

A video window came up on his computer.  Wyatt was wearing a silk blouse with a 
sash.  He had his traveling companion Kristi Halsted (the Animal Woman) next to him.

“Wyatt.  Damn good to see you're all right.”

Kristi said, “You mean *our* Wyatt hasn't come back yet?”

“What you mean?  Wyatt's right there beside you!”

"That's not our Wyatt.  As the Acting Ambassador from Earth-SW10 to the Congress 
of Ordered Realities, please allow me to introduce you to *Chancellor* Wyatt 
Ferguson, head of the Congress."

"What the hell is Earth-SW10?"

"It's us.  It's just a tag.  They assign these tags to superhuman worlds that 
make it here.  There aren't all that many.  There's only about fifty worlds here 
now."

Wyatt broke in.  "If I might move this meeting along... I knew of you as 
*Governor* Corrigan.  I always wanted to see how you'd done since that Strait of 
Juan de Fuca stuff in 2000."

"You can *see* what I've done.  Now *I* get to move the meeting.  What's this 
*Acting* Ambassador crap?  I sent *Wyatt* to be the ambassador!"

"With two Wyatts here, he abdicated in favor of Kristi.  Then he headed for home 
to get you to send Kristi a replacement.  Isn't he there yet?"

"Hell no!  But I got to sidebar that, 'cause I'm on an agenda.  Kristi tell you 
about how we can give you settlers?"

"Yes.  That was the *first* thing she brought up.  She told me how you got into 
a fight between The Trillions and their enemies, and they changed your planet's 
orbit so the crops failed."

"Close enough.  So can you take our settlers?"

"We've got the room.  We can keep the doors open for you until The Trillions 
land on your world."

"What you mean, *until* they land?"

Wyatt looked surprised.  Kristi looked like she was thinking, Uh Oh.

"Vice President Corrigan, are you saying The Trillions have actually *landed on 
your planet?*"

"What's it mean to you?"

"Until we can establish they have not, you become one of the Earths we have to 
blockade.  That's why we only have fifty-two Earths left in the Congress of 
Ordered Realities now.  The Trillions took over the rest.  Wherever they exist, 
they just breed and send spaceships.  They will cover your planet with their 
ships.  That's *all they do.*"

"Well, if this is an official question, I got to get back to you with Earth's 
official response."

"I think I know the answer.  I'd offer you your Deputy Ambassador back, but 
she's indicated she wants to stay.  I have only one thing left to offer:  Do you 
want us to send some planet-killers?"

"Hell no.  Planet killers are what got us in this mess."

"So be it.  Good luck.  We'll be closing your access door now."

The conference window closed.

SMASH!

An aide ran in.  "Another monitor, Mr. Corrigan?"

"It had it coming...  I need something *useful* to smash.  How about those 
zombies in South Bend?"

"But you know we've declared a containment zone."

"%$#@ it.  It's time for an executive fact-finding mission."

---

Author's Notes:

For once, I have *not* written this story as a web page yet!  For one thing, 
I've got a lot of writing to catch up on.  For another, I'm considering how best 
to publish stories in a world where I can edit web pages on my smart phone, but 
not edit more than one web page at a time.  Maybe I should just concentrate on 
that one page, and worry about formatting it later.

So, this once I've written an instant story!  It is *not* my zombie story for 
the challenge, but it *is* a necessary prequel.

The story refers to Nashville in December.  I haven't written that story 
(Cauldron Book 2) yet, because it is the *opposite* of an instant story.  Heh 
heh, you'll have to wait for it.


-- 
(signed) Scott Eiler  8{D> -------- http://www.eilertech.com/ ---------

Only their myths concerned peace and contentment, and that in such a
coercive, sullen package it was obvious that the Earth humans resented
the very idea.

- from "Passing" by Elaine Radford, Aboriginal SF, May/June 1987.




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