Lost in Space @ otoh

Lost in Space

Fred — that was the persona he had adopted on earth — floated in microgravity at the controls of his ship far above the blue planet. He knew he should shift back to his normal appearance and enter stasis for the long journey home. Instead, he adjusted his trajectory so that he hovered directly over a particular city in the southern United States. He hummed to himself and then softly sang, “Long distance information, give me Memphis, Tennessee….”

Observe and report. That was his mission. He didn’t even have to visit the surface of the planet. But he always did. Even the planets that were completely devoid of life, he thought, warranted at least a cursory personal appearance. Just so he could say he did. And he had a portfolio full of souvenir images for proof. The planets with life though, those were risky. He had to avoid interacting as much as possible and certainly wasn’t allowed to interfere. He had never counted on meeting Ginger.

While he knew that physics made it impossible, her eyes seemed to shine and twinkle with a light that came from within. Her voice was low and sweet with a musical quality to it. Music, human music, that was something else he had never counted on. He sought it out at every turn and that’s how he had met Ginger. There were musicians right out on the street here every day and night. He couldn’t believe how indifferent most of the humans were to what they were hearing. But some vocalized in tune with mechanical devices while others gyrated their bodies to the tempo. Ginger did both.

“Staring and slack-jawed” was the way she later told him he had appeared. She had said hello and reached out her hand for him to join her in the gyrations then laughed when she saw the look of panic on his face. She thought he was just too shy to dance with her. His first impulse was to turn away, get lost in the crowd and return immediately to his ship. But something kept him rooted to the spot. He had seen similar actions by humans so he tightened a couple face muscles that pulled the ends of his oral orifice upward and rotated his head laterally back and forth a couple times. And he kept staring, though he managed to tighten those jaw muscles.

Somehow, Ginger had found this endearing and when the band took a break she came over and talked to him. She used a lot of words he didn’t fully understand — they didn’t seem to match the dictionary definitions he had studied. But the sound of her voice mixed with the scent of jasmine that radiated from her body still hot from her recent activity. Fred was mesmerized. Even though his body wasn’t really human, he thought he felt an unmistakable attraction, a desire for his body to be close to hers. He had observed mating rituals across half the galaxy and he had never felt anything like this.

Fred suddenly realized he had gone way beyond just observing, that even this innocent interaction with Ginger might have far-reaching effects. Mumbling what he hoped was an acceptable excuse he left abruptly. “I hope I see you again,” she had called after him. “I’ll be here tomorrow night.” Nothing in what he knew about magnetism or gravity or nuclear forces could explain the drag he felt on his body as he forced himself away from her.

And now he hovered. How odd, he thought, that indecision stills weighs heavily even in microgravity. The longer he stayed in human form the more desperately he wanted to stay on earth and seek out more time with Ginger. If he returned home as he knew he should he certainly would never again be trusted to go off-world. He could not orbit here indefinitely, he had to make a choice. Then he realized… of course, there is only one choice….

So, dear readers, I am curious. What choice do you think “Fred” made? Did he stay on earth, return home, or realize that he had another option? Please leave a comment.

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[Note: Learn more about Fred and Ginger here. ~Tim]

Posted on December 31st, 2009 Tim 12 comments

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12 responses to “Lost in Space”
1. mazzz_in_Leeds December 31st, 2009 at 14:49
  
  Love the little plays on words like “How odd, he thought, that indecision stills weighs heavily even in microgravity.”
  
  so what did he do..?! I was going to go for him staying, but what could the other option be? Take her with him?
  
  Thanks, that was my favorite line in this. And that’s a very interesting choice and one I must admit I had not considered. I like it! ~Tim
2. Louise Dragon December 31st, 2009 at 15:08
  
  He stays! Love has an even stronger pull than gravity!
  
  Another Ginger heard from, oddly I had this name picked out for my main character also, but changed it at the last minute. Is this because great minds think alike?
  
  Anyhow, Happy New Year!
  
  Great minds obviously think alike, but I’m still on the fence as to his choice. I like the comparison to gravity! ~Tim
3. Laura Eno December 31st, 2009 at 15:14
  
  Those pesky linguistic databanks never understand the native slang.
  I think he stayed on earth.
  
  Maybe he should have studied the Urban Dictionary site too. Thanks for reading and the RT! ~Tim
4. Sam December 31st, 2009 at 16:32
  
  Great story! I vote for taking her with him.
  
  Happy New Year!!
  
  Noted and thanks for the RT! Happy new year! ~Tim
5. lime December 31st, 2009 at 17:30
  
  i want to read where it goes with all the various choices…alternate endings please.
  
  Hmmm, sure. I’ll pencil all that into my schedule. ~Tim
6. David G Shrock December 31st, 2009 at 17:56
  
  Gravity is a weak force, of course love is stronger. Nice play with words throughout. It could work either way, but given most of the story covers his yearning for more Ginger, Fred stays with Ginger comparing his attraction with the strong nuclear force, but realizes their future is governed by the Uncertainty Principle.
  
  Excellent! ~Tim
7. marc nash January 1st, 2010 at 11:48
  
  This charming tale put me in mind of those Marc Chagall paintings where love lifts the characters above gravity such as “Birthday Kiss”
  
  The act of observing changes what is being observed, so my layman’s knowledge tells me faced with these two dilemmas, in one parallel universe he stays, while in the other he goes…
  
  Isn’t it great to know that through parallel universes we can choose multiple outcomes! ~Tim
8. Estrella Azul January 1st, 2010 at 12:05
  
  Lovely story Tim, I also vote for taking her with him
  Will there be a sequel coming up on what happened? (Or two versions: one that he stayed, one that he took her with him?)
  
  Happy New Year!
  
  Thanks! I rather like that every reader makes up his or her own ending [because, let's face it, that's way less work for me] but I will consider writing at least one possible continuation. ~Tim
9. J. M. Strother January 1st, 2010 at 15:49
  
  Reminds me of Starman. Shame on you for leaving us hanging.
  
  Here’s my take:
  He beams her up, intending to elope to a nice little low tech planet he came across in his earlier travels. But once on board his ship Ginger morphs into a Hocnog mercenary, gives him the boot, steals his ship, and flies off to resume his career in interstellar piracy.
  
  Well, you asked.
  
  Seriously now, it did have the the charming nature of Starman, which was my initial reaction. But this time around I think the star man stays.
  ~jon
  
  Wow! Another possibility I hadn’t thought of. Darn those mercenaries. Thanks for the Starman comparison. I like that movie and actually did think about it when describing some of Fred’s actions. ~Tim
10. Virginia Moffatt January 4th, 2010 at 06:04
  
  Like others I like the idea of love being stronger than gravity. However, I wonder whether he would have been able to stay, even if he’d wanted to. He seemed to think his initial presence had made an impact it shouldn’t. What if staying for love affected the whole planet in a bad way? Wouldn’t that make him think twice – personal responsibility versus love?
  
  I’d like to think he stayed, but I’ve a feeling he might not have been able to. (But then I’m a fan of bitter sweet endings)
  
  I think he would think twice [or more]. I tried to write him with a zeal for his job and a sense of responsibility. I’m wondering now whether I didn’t emphasize that enough or all the readers are hopeless romantics? ~Tim
11. G.P. Ching January 4th, 2010 at 10:25
  
  If he’s like American men, he leaves but calls her every 6 months to “hook up”. Heh, Heh. What a fun story. Well written with an immediate hook. It would be interesting to hear the dialogue between these two if you decided to write a follow up piece.
  
  Thanks! I think the dialog would be very one-sided with Ginger chattering away and Fred barely keeping up. That could be fun. ~Tim
12. Tim Remp January 5th, 2010 at 09:26
  
  I think, being alien and not wanting to get caught, he leaves orbit and while passing through the asteroid field near Mars, he finds the largest asteroid in the area and launches it towards the Earth ending all life/temptation in what looks like a nature disaster. Just a thought.
  
  This was a very fun read with great reader hooks. I too am also curious to know if you’re going to write an ending?
  
  http://timremp.blogspot.com/2009/12/aftermath.html
  
  Ah, the “If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried” plan. I haven’t decided yet about writing an ending. Stay tuned! ~Tim

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