Posts tagged ‘aliens’
ELMO’S SOJOURN, CHAPTER 9
ELMO’S SOJOURN
CHAPTER 9
ELMO RETURNS HOME
Suddenly, Elmo found himself back in his cellar, standing next to Valmid and near his time-space machine. Valmid made a sound that could only be described as a chuckle as he examined Elmo’s machine.
Upstairs, Elmo could hear Mildred in the kitchen. Even though it had only been a few days’ journey, with all he had learned and seen, Elmo felt he had been gone for a very long time. The two travelers slowly made their way up the stairs.
In the kitchen, Mildred was just cleaning up after dinner, washing a cast-iron skillet when she heard someone coming up the cellar stairs. “Elmo’s back,” she said to herself. She couldn’t wait to hear about his adventures and what it was like to travel in space and time. Then she thought, “Wait a minute. I had to control the machine in order for him to return.” With that thought, she clutched the handle of the skillet with two hands ready to battle whoever had broken into the cellar.
As she watched, the door leading to the cellar slowly swung open. Out stepped a young man she did not recognize. She screamed, “Who are you? If you don’t leave right now, this skillet will make a lasting impression on you. Now get!”
The young man just stood there and said, “Mildred, it’s me, Elmo.”
“Who are you trying to kid?” answered Mildred, now studying the stranger more closely. This young man was younger than Elmo had been when she first met him, yet he was starting to look vaguely familiar.
The stranger then said, “It’s me, Doll.” Elmo was the only one who ever called her that. After nearly forty years of marriage, he still called her Doll when they were alone.
After the stranger uttered her nickname, Mildred studied his face more closely as the skillet slipped from her hand and crashed to the floor. “Elmo, it is you. What on earth happened to you?” As she was finishing her question, Valmid appeared, ducking his head through the doorway behind Elmo. That’s when Mildred crashed to the floor.
* * *
When Mildred came to, she was lying on the couch and the new Elmo was dabbing her face with a wet cloth. He explained how he arrived on planet Roth and found that the creature he had transported to Earth was a pet of one of the inhabitants of the planet. He went on to tell her about Valmid and how she would be able to communicate with her new guest. Next, he explained the complexity of time-space travel and the fact that he survives his trip through the wormhole was just dumb luck. Finally, Elmo described the increasing invasions the planet Gylex was mounting on Roth and the information Valmid required to repel the invaders.
“Now prepare yourself, Mildred, while I properly introduce you to Valmid,” he told her. As Elmo said this, Valmid entered the room. He seemed to be studying Mildred and communicated to Elmo, “Your wife is still very disturbed by my presence. Perhaps we should do some research on your computer and gain the knowledge of chlorofluorocarbons and give her time to digest your youthful appearance – and my countenance.”
Elmo gave Mildred’s hand a pat and told her that they were going to his study. He then led Valmid up the stairs. Soon Elmo was punching away at of his keyboard while Valmid shook his head at how such an archaic device held information that might save his planet.
Locating a web site giving the history of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Elmo began to read. Discovered in 1928, CFCs, a group of chemicals including Freon, had many uses in both industry and the home. The gases were considered harmless. In fact, their inventor, Thomas Midgley, once took in a lungful of one of them to demonstrate its safety and then blew on a candle to show it was nonflammable. After many years of use, CFCs were linked to the destruction of the ozone layer. Their manufacture declined and other gases replaced Freon. Elmo explored further and located the chemical composition of Freon, including the formulation and conditions necessary to produce it.
Valmid was greatly pleased and was sure that the chemists of Roth could manufacture Freon with little trouble, and since he had never had any ill effects before or now from breathing the air, he felt Freon would not harm the inhabitants of Roth. He had accomplished his mission and was anxious to return to his planet and start planning the deterrence of the demons from Gylex. He had other plans to consider, but for now, the welfare of his planet was his prime concern.
Valmid turned to Elmo, and Elmo sensed what he was about to ask, “Now Elmo, what are your plans?” Valmid knew the confusion Elmo was experiencing, torn between his new taste for adventurous space travel and his love for Mildred and the life they had shared for so many years.
Valmid suggested, “Perhaps you and Mildred should spend some time together. I’ll stay here and amuse myself with your computer.”
Elmo made his way down the stairs and found Mildred sitting at the kitchen table. He sat opposite her and extended his hands. They sat there holding hands for a few moments before Mildred spoke. “So many changes, Elmo. I’ve learned to expect the unexpected during my life with you, but never anything like this. You could be my son; you’re so young. And there’s a gray seven-foot alien upstairs waiting to return to his planet. It’s too much to comprehend all at once. Elmo, what are we to do?”
Elmo had given the possibilities a great deal of thought and had formulated a plan. “Dear,” he told her, “I must return with Valmid to see if my theory for repelling the Gylexians is correct. If it is not, he will need my help to investigate the history of Earth and what could generate the mysterious substances needed to return Roth to its former tranquility. The safety of Earth is also at stake. And there is still so much I want to learn about Roth. I may want to stay there for some time. Mildred, once the planet is safe, I want you to travel to Roth with me. For wherever you are, that is where my home is.”
Mildred did not know what to say to this proposition. Elmo seemed so certain, so confident, and her mind was full of so many doubts. They talked for hours, sitting and holding hands at the kitchen table. “Mildred, I left here an old, retired scientist, I returned a young adventurer involved with a planet that needs my help.” Then he told all he knew about Roth. How, even though it was an alien planet, biology and geology were very similar to that of Earth. He struggled to voice his emotions.
“The inhabitants of Roth are different on the outside, but inside they share the same hopes and fears as we, the same love and dreams for the future. Roth is not safe now, but when it is, I’ll be back, and I hope you will return with me to share my adventure.”
“I just don’t know Elmo; I just don’t know.”
Elmo stood, “Think about all I said Mildred. My future is with you, and we can have a future neither one of us had ever dreamed of.”
They could hear Valmid making his way down the stairs. Elmo stood, kissed Mildred, and made his way to the cellar door. Valmid appeared in the kitchen, bowed to Mildred, then made his way down the stairs with Elmo. A few minutes later a blinding flash emanated from the cellar below. Mildred knew she was once again alone.
ELMO’S SOJOURN, CHAPTER 8
ELMO’S SOJOURN
CHAPTER 8
ELMO’S BREAKTHROUGH
Elmo and Valmid sat in the living room as Elmo explained his theory about what could be destroying the demons from Gylex.
“You see Valmid, I racked my brain trying to discover what property of Earth’s atmosphere has changed in the manner you described and yet has gone unnoticed by the population and scientists – something that increased then decreased yet had no effect on life on my planet. I first considered elements of the atmosphere that have changed over the time period you indicated. My planet has seen increases in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, but these gases have increased steadily with our increase in population and industry. I next considered another source of gases that periodically enter our atmosphere – volcanoes. Massive amounts of gases composed of sulfur and other elements ring the earth when large eruptions occur. However, volcanic events would cause a random spike rather than a steady increase, and major eruptions have occurred since the earth was an infant.
“Valmid, you describe something, that until eighty years ago did not exist. Then the monsters from Gylex began to die when venturing to Earth. Whatever it was, it reached a plateau and began to disappear. I could not think of any event that impacted our atmosphere under those conditions and with that time frame. I was nearly in a panic, then decided to relax and just let my mind wander and I may have found the explanation.
“My mind wandered from something naturally occurring either through our geology or increase in the Earth’s population, to something man made and occurring during a limited time span. What harmless substance could man have begun manufacturing nearly one hundred years ago, and then suddenly stopped producing? The key, my friend, was that it was not harmless. It was harmless in itself, but reacted with the ozone in our atmosphere increasing the ability of ultraviolet rays to reach the Earth’s surface and cause harm to the population. Valmid, I think the component of Earth’s atmosphere that can destroy these monsters is chlorofluorocarbons.”
Valmid’s brow wrinkled, for he was unfamiliar with this class of chemicals. Elmo explained that these chemicals were used as refrigerants and propellants to disperse material from spray cans.
“Everyone thought these chemicals were harmless but eventually discovered that they were reacting in the upper atmosphere and destroying the Earth’s protective layer of ozone. After this was discovered, chlorofluorocarbons were replaced with other chemicals that are inert, which would explain the decline of this mysterious substance in our atmosphere.” Elmo guessed that there must be something in the makeup of the Gylexian lung that makes breathing chlorofluorocarbons fatal.
Valmid became extremely excited at the prospect of ridding his planet of its plague. “We must produce this chemical immediately!” he said.
“I’m a physicist, not a chemist,” Elmo countered. “The only way I had this information about chlorofluorocarbons was the fact it was common knowledge on Earth due to the ozone layer. I have no idea how to make the stuff.”
“We must obtain the information,” Vlamid responded.
“But where can such information be found on Roth?” Elmo wondered. But before he could complete the thought he had another: “I’m going home.”
“Yes my friend, you’re going home. I’m sure, in time, our chemists could reproduce this chemical, but I am impatient to gain the knowledge needed to formulate these compounds.”
Suddenly Valmid detected that Elmo had some uneasiness about returning to Earth. Valmid quickly added, “We will not use the same wormhole you used to travel to Roth. The wormhole we shall use will have little impact on your age.”
Elmo was relieved to hear his age would not be altered. In fact, he feared that upon his return to Earth his age would revert to that of an old man. He enjoyed being young once again. He thought of all the things he still wanted to do and all that he still wanted to learn.
“You know Elmo, you would have returned to Earth in a day or so if you had been unable to help Roth with its problem. When you first arrived, I intended to keep you here until our problem on Roth was solved. We grew to be friends, and I found that not only were our chemistries similar, but our emotions as well.”
With that, Valmid left the living room and returned with a small plastic case. From the package, he extracted what appeared to be a large piece of black colored foil and spread the foil on the living room floor. It was circular, and about six feet in diameter. Upon close inspection, Elmo could see circuits incorporated in the perimeter of the foil. Valmid smiled, “Elmo, this is my time-space machine. We shall journey to earth and the device will be transported with us, unlike your machine. With this type of device, we can travel to many different destinations in one outing. And because it is so compact, we carry several along in case of an unexpected occurrence. I will use the coordinates for the place from which you left and that is where we shall arrive.” Valmid then left the room.
Elmo was alone with his thoughts. He had experienced so much in so little time, traveled to another planet, and contacted a race of intelligent beings. He studied his surroundings, his thoughts immersed in the unreal aspect of this adventure.
Valmid returned attired in his most regal garments. “Are you ready Elmo?”
Elmo could not believe he was going home. The question that haunted him, which he was unable to answer, was a simple one: Would he stay on Earth? His love for Mildred was strong, but he was now in his thirties and she in her seventies. And after his brief stay on Roth, would he ever be satisfied spending the rest of his life on Earth and never again exploring a distant planet. These complex issues filled Elmo’s brain as he stepped into the foil circle with Valmid, who was holding a small control device for his machine. He entered the proper coordinates, pushed a button and Elmo’s world went blank.
ELMO’S SOJOURN, CHAPTER 7
ELMO’S SOJOURN
CHAPTER 7
ATTACK FROM GYLEX
The scene outside the house was peaceful and remained peaceful until the dingo plants began their shrill alarm, joined moments later by the sound of flapping wings. The camera recorded a sight, illuminated by the outside lights that sent a chill through Elmo; it was a vision from hell. What it showed was a creature at least eight feet tall with arms and legs like that of a human. But there the resemblance ceased. It flew. Its wings appeared like that of a bat, leathery and veined, colored blood red, like the rest of its body. The torso was covered with thickly matted black hair, but the head was its most frightening aspect. It resembled the head of a wolf, with an elongated snout exposing a vicious set of teeth. The ears were long and pointed, also like a bat’s. The creature hovered before the camera, snarled at the dingo’s alarm, then flew off.
Valmid paused a few moments for Elmo’s nerves to settle down then said, “These creatures are a menace to the planet Roth, and someday soon they will again menace Earth. We know a great deal about these creatures, although no Rothian has ever set foot on their planet. These creatures do not know of our ability to read their thoughts. Because of their actions, we never attempted to communicate with them. Elmo, when you arrived, you stood in wonderment and amazement at all you witnessed. But when these creatures from Gylex first arrived, they had one thing in mind: to do us harm. The first attack occurred one night many years ago at a remote location and was not discovered for days. A worker making a delivery discovered a man and his son, dead and partially devoured. The wife and the daughter were missing. Later, other attacks were made in more populated areas, and the reality of these monsters became known.
“We learned that the invasion was from the planet Gylex, which had been wracked by a strange illness, a virus that destroyed most of the female population. It was finally controlled, but not until ninety percent of the females were dead. You now know Elmo, that our biochemistry is very similar – almost identical. The Gylexans share this similarity. The sexual chemistry of us all is also similar. The hormones and mating rituals are almost identical. Only the gestation periods vary slightly. The primary purpose of the invasion of Roth was to abduct females to sustain their population. Once captured, the females were implanted with embryos created with eggs harvested from Gylexian females before the females died.”
Elmo shivered at the thought of being touched by one of these monsters, let alone carried to their planet.
“We are a peaceful civilization, unable to defend ourselves from these monsters. We found that the dingo plants, with their extended nocturnal strands, would warn of an invasion. The Gylexans came only at night, for their planet had an odious and polluted atmosphere allowing very little light to penetrate. They cannot bear the life-giving light of our days.”
Valmid paused for a moment and his eyes filled with tears. “One day,” he said, “our daughter was visiting friends. The dingo plants of the house had not yet surrounded the dwelling with their strands, allowing the fiends to strike and abduct our girl. Those are her clothes you are wearing now.”
Elmo’s heart sank at this knowledge. “But Valmid, you said Earth was also in danger and had been invaded in the past. We have had no invasions by these beasts.”
“Ah Elmo,” Valmid replied, “but you have. From the Gylexian thoughts we found that Earth had been invaded, your females captured and returned to Gylex. These monsters kept a low profile on Earth because of your weapons, and the ease with which your society uses them without hesitation. Earth abductions continued for some time, until an invasion team became deathly ill. One day, a group of them died; dropped to the ground and instantly decayed. A lone survivor, near death, returned to Gylex and reported this development. Gylex then ceased its Earth invasions. They had not consumed anything on your planet, so they assumed something in your atmosphere was killing them. But these monsters are persistent. They continued to send parties for short periods of time – always returning to Gylex close to death. That is until recently. They still cannot remain on your planet for long, but the time they can tolerate visits is lengthening. I fear soon the invasion of Earth will begin again.”
Elmo thought for a moment. He did recall remembering a series of unexplained disappearances of women early in the twentieth century.
“I’ve been to your planet Elmo, so have others from Roth. But because of the strict rules of our people, we are not allowed to interfere with your civilization. Imagine the hysteria that would ensue if I were to appear. Knowing your love for weaponry, I doubt if I would have existed long enough to tell my story. You cannot imagine the joy, the relief all my brothers and I felt when you came to us. We hope to learn of this component contained in your atmosphere and banish this plague from our planet.”
Elmo’s mind was overwhelmed by this awesome assignment. “I am a physicist, not a chemist,” he protested. But his mind began to consider the evidence. Something in the Earth’s atmosphere sickened these beasts. The concentration of whatever it was continued to climb until it began killing them. Now, it is decreasing, yet this mysterious component of Earth’s atmosphere remains unknown. Elmo considered, “The only component of the atmosphere that is changing is carbon dioxide – producing the supposed greenhouse effect. But that gas continues to increase as the population and industry of our planet grows.”
Valmid stood and said, “It is nearly dawn, we should all get some rest.” He extended his hand to Cal and, as Elmo bounced along behind, they went upstairs.
Elmo went to bed but not to sleep. He pondered what he had just been told. Finally, he fell asleep with his mind still in torment. Blinding light entered through the unshielded window, awakening Elmo as his mind once again filled with the mystery he was asked to solve. He lay there thinking and testing theory after theory. There was nothing he could think of that had increased in the Earth’s atmosphere, then decreased without being detected. Elmo decided he must rest more. He cleared his mind and suddenly it came to him – crystal clear. He sat upright in bed and struck his forehead with his hand. “Of course, that has to be it!”
Valmid was aware of Elmo’s thoughts all morning. He now entered Elmo’s bedroom with a smile on his face “Come my friend,” he said, “we have much to plan and work to do.”
POEMS AND FLEETING THOUGHTS: THE HUMANITY OF MISTAKES.
Have you ever made a mistake and said, “I’m only human?”
Being a writer of science fiction, my mind dwelled on the phrase.
Who knows why?
Of course at this point I let my imagination take over, conquering rational thought. I pictured an expedition to a distant planet much like ours. They landed and found no occupants. After months of searching one of the team found a document explaining the demise of the civilization. “We were a race of perfection. No mistakes were ever made. Eventually, we die of boredom.
