00056

Green-tinted snow covered the ground. Green-tinted snow blew in the wind. Green-tinted snow fell from the greenish-grey clouds. And through the snow, across the snowy landscape, trudged an elderly woman, bundled in thick layers of clothing, wrapped in a heavy coat. Her trail of boot prints originated at the stone-block, dome-shaped structure behind her. A strange blue creature, the size of a large dog, followed her. It jumped and played in the freezing snow, seemingly not noticing the cold. It bounded ahead of the woman, then dashed off into the distance. She glanced at it, then kept on her course.

Huffing and gasping because of the freezing air, she struggled to climb a hill, slipping and sliding in the snow. When she reached the top, she glanced behind her toward the dome. Nobody followed. Good. But it would be better if the strange blue creature that was supposed to be following her actually did follow, instead of running all over the place.

The woman hurried over the top, and down the other side, into the little level valley, where Security Leader Clyden stood, shivering, alongside his small air vehicle, parked on top of the snow that lined the bottom of the valley. Rubbing his two hands together, he complained, "I-it's ab-bout time you got here, Dr. K-Kitchen!"

"Why didn't you wait inside your aircar? Do you want to catch a cold?”

“I didn't expect it to be this cold today. Either a bad winter up here at the polar cap is coming, or something is wrong with the local Evniro-Gen. But if I waited inside the skycar, I might get too cozy, and if you weren't able to slip away, I would end up freezing to death in my sleep, and never know it. The heater's broken."

Sec. Ldr. Clyden opened the hatch of his small vehicle and waved in Dr. Kitchen. She sat in the passenger seat. Clyden took the pilot's chair.

Dr. Kitchen inquired, "So, what's the reason for your message to meet today out here in such awful weather and such a low temperature?"

"I'm curious. What's taking you so long with our special project?” Clyden asked. "I hope this isn't a hold out for more money..."

"Don't be so ignorant," she chided. "A project like this needs time to do it right, to get it to a point where it at least stands a chance of hypothetically working. You can't rush something like what you expect."

"Hmph. These days the Governor's not very amenable towards me. I am hoping to hustle you, so I can make a move. I won't have to put up with his sarcasm, then. And to think, I used to like him."

"Oh, I still do. But I like finding out if something can be done, such as your special project, even more, so...”

"Good. So, hurry up, then, and see if it can be done. You are part of the Research and Development team. A senior player. Gov. Xavier liked you so much, he recruited you for his R and D. You have a fairly modern lab to work in, with fairly modern equipment. I can't think why it takes so long to-”

“Let me do the thinking, Security Leader Clyden. I think it is unwise to do my experiments right out in the open." She reminded him, "Discretion is crucial, if you want to have any hope of success. And, even then, there is no guarantee the experimental stuff will even work. It is all very risky. You could be the one to end up as a mindless miner, and be adoring our wonderful Gov. Xavier."

Clyden made a sick face, complete with his tongue hanging out. "I'd rather be dead."

She asked, "Wow, just what made you lose your enthusiasm for Xavier? I know you said he's not very pleasant anymore, but- You used to be all gung-ho, one of his fanboys, almost as bad as a miner in your dedication. What happened?"

"Things change. Let's just say, I don't believe he appreciates me the way I think he should. Maybe he never did. Perhaps to him I am just some useful idiot, to be used and discarded," grumbled Sec. Ldr. Clyden. "Anyway, don't worry about it. Just do the job I asked you to do."

Dr. Kitchen laughed at him. "Oh, it's okay for you to treat me like a useful idiot, but you get angry when Gov. Bright behaves the same way toward you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Dr. Kitchen, but I pay you well. I expected Gov. Xavier to pay me what I was worth, with a Lt. Governor job, but I guess he doesn't think my services are worth it."

Suddenly a huge, ugly blue face, a cross between a lion and a dog, peered in at them through the window. Sec. Ldr. Clyden jumped with a gasp, surprised. As quickly as it appeared, it was gone, back into the snow.

Sec. Ldr. Clyden complained, "That is one ugly creature, Dr. Kitchen! Why did you have to bring that thing along for me to see? I ate just before I came here!"

"Fuzzy happens to be a good excuse for me to leave the lab, without arousing the suspicion of security. Fuzzy likes to romp in the snow all the time. And he is good company. He is very loyal and loving. And appreciative. He appreciates all I do for him, and I appreciate him, too. He doesn't care if he gets paid or not, he'd be loyal to the death. Hehe, he's the complete opposite of me. And I appreciate that, so I give him his peanut butter treats, to show him how much I value him. Too bad Xavier doesn't treat you like that, eh?"

"Haha, as ugly as Fuzzy is, he should be grateful and loyal if anyone just gives him the time of day. I still can't understand how can you stand having that monstrosity around? Why did you make such an ugly-looking thing in the first place?"

Offended, she said, "Ah, stop talking that way about Fuzzy. He's cute. And he really is good company, when I am alone in the lab. He's getting bigger and he's changing. He is maturing. I wonder how he will be, once he is fully grown. More loving and loyal, I’m sure."

"Huh! If you want to see love and loyalty, look at the face of one of those miners. They don't know any better. As you called them, mindless. But so happy,digging out the fuel ore for us, for the World of Hope, for Earth, and most especially for Gov. Xavier. They break their backs to keep our worlds spinning on time in their orbits, thanks to the wonders of our much needed and much

appreciated energy fuel. Talk about stupid.”

She nodded. "But, thanks to the dedication of the miners, we have been spared some big wars over resources these past few years. The fuel ore is a wonderful, versatile discovery. To think, it can be made into batteries, or into a liquid fuel, or so many things. Afterward, when the energy has been drained

from it, the stabalizing compounds which have been added to it, having nullified the energy fuel's radiation, become a useful goo, which can be utilized for fertilizer. Imagine that! Amazing."

"Yup, that's great," said Clyden. “Gov. Xavier wants to speak today at the ceremony commemorating Sparkle City's anniversary. I must be there to keep my Security Agents on their toes, to watch for those trouble-makers who might want to make a scene at the ceremony, so I can’t stay and chit-chat.”

"By trouble-makers, you mean the house church people.”

"Of course, those druggies!"

Dr. Kitchen smiled knowingly. "You can't kid me, Security Leader Clyden. There are no illegal drugs. I recognize a trick of the Governor's when I see one. Or, maybe it's one of your tricks. But why does he make those people such an issue? They're harmless."

"Oh? Did you know, now they are defacing Gov. Xavier's posters all over town? That's disrespectful and stirs up dissension."

"Well, who started it?" Dr. Kitchen wanted to know. "And, do you know for a fact the church people are the ones guilty of defacing the posters? After all, I'm sure there's more than the church people who find fault with Gov. Bright. Such as you yourself, for example."

Sec. Ldr. Clyden opened the hatch again. Cold air and snow blew in, chilling him once more. "Okay, get lost. Go back and work on the project. Stop wasting time. And remember, mum's the word." After kicking out Dr. Kitchen, Sec. Ldr. Clyden lifted the aircar up into the howling wind. The turbulence swayed the craft. He struggled to keep it under control and on a steady course back to Sparkle City.

(c) drk 2012