aaron_the fall of america_chapter_25

Chapter 25

Everything worked perfectly. The craft re-entered space-time just a few million miles from Pluto's orbit. In a few days we were circling the planet Earth.

"This is my home."

"It looks very beautiful."

"Some of it is."

"I'm looking forward to seeing some animals."

"I'm looking forward to eating one."

"You do that?"

"I try not to, but I sometimes crave meat."

"Do you just catch them and eat them?"

"We grow and harvest them."

"Like plants."

"More like forced fed slave prisoners."

A few calculations on the computer showed me that in the two months and nineteen days that I was away, the Earth had passed through seven years, five months and two weeks.

I had been avoiding thinking about where on Earth to land. My instructions were to land at Cape Canaveral a few hours before dawn but they didn't mention bringing back an alien. They might let me out of quarantine after a few weeks but they might never let Karna out. I could try landing the craft in the game sanctuary area of Cape Canaveral and when they find me I could tell them I was drunk. Karna could run away through the alligator infested wetlands and hope no one caught her.

I didn't want to land in an isolated location because we had little to survive on. There weren't many isolated areas in Florida aside from the ghettos of Miami. I had to decide before someone noticed we weren't just space-junk circling the globe.

"I want to take the craft back to Florida and find my parents since they are the only people I know where to look for. I could just land us in a large park in Canada and let a canoeist find the craft. And then we could go to Toronto and maybe one of my old friends would let us stay with them. I could look for a job in a bar or something. I don't know."

"You are getting anxious."

"Yes, you're right."

"I do not understand why."

"I should leave the craft in Florida."

"Why can't you?"

"There are too many people."

"Too many people is not good?"

"Not normally but I have an alien with me. That we have to keep a secret."

"People will know I'm an alien."

"They might guess if they see you coming off a space ship. Unless."

"What is that?"

"Yes. That's the solution. I knew it was so bloody obvious that I would fail to see."

Karna watched me.

"We'll go to Disney World."

"Another planet is better?"

"Not another planet just a different world. It's a small kingdom of hot-dogs, ice-cream and imagination dedicated to the memory of Walt's characters."

"What is that?"

"It's an amusement park dedicated to fantasy, film, technology and capital gains."

"What is fantasy?"

"One of man's opiates."

"What do opiates do?"

"They help us forget."

"Forget what?"

"That's the thing. I can't remember. I don't think anyone does."

"They must be effective."

"Oh yes. We are well entertained out of our senses!"

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just fretting."

"Can I do anything to help."

"No. No. But if you remain relaxed it will help. I believe I know what I'm doing. For the next while you will have to trust my judgement and follow my directions. Things are different here. We may have to be a little careful for a while."

"I will watch what you do."

"Good. Now put these clothes on and put your hair under this hat."

"It's part of being secret."

"You guessed it. It will make you look like a sweet astronaut."

I helped her into her clothes and made her resemble a fine astronaut that kids and dads would love.

"Should you kiss me now?"

"Good point. I might have forgotten that in all the excitement."

In a few minutes, we were hovering over Disney World. I took the craft down slowly enough to let the crowd open a landing area for us. As soon as we landed, I shut everything down, locked everything with the computer and put Karna's robe inside my jacket. Her feet didn't quite fill my shoes and the trousers were a little baggy but with the shirt open enough, no one would notice.

"Smile and wave when the door opens."

"Wave?"

"Like this."

When the door opened, we were greeted by a cheering crowd.

"Mister Disney's own personal private spaceship," I bellowed. "The same one he flew to Mars in. Look inside."

As soon as they knew they were permitted to visit the new attraction, they had no question for it's surprise appearance. Mayhem. Like vultures glutting over putrid carrion, they struggled to see how many could get to the craft. It would take the authorities some time to sort out the situation.

"People will be human."

The crowd ignored us as we pushed through them. Instinctively, I made use of the confusion. I found my way into pockets and purses retrieving wallets with credit cards and money.

"Don't move from here," I told Karna when we came to the first washroom. "I'll be back in a minute."

I removed my jacket and shirt and threw them in the garbage. In a gift shop, I bought two big sweatshirts, two pairs of shorts and two pairs of leather sandals.

"Cash or card?"

"I better put it on my plastic."

The boy hadn't looked at me yet. After he checked out my card and filled out the bill, he gave it to me to sign. I scribbled on it and took my copy and the card. I glanced at the back of the card to compare signatures.

"Dad's card," I said.

"Have a nice day, Mister Green," he answered.

"Thank you."

There was no suspicion, only impatience. I had finished my business and had not left promptly. I gathered up my big bag so the next person in line could put down his items.

"That's a nice shirt you're wearing," I said.

He smiled proudly. It was a good quality, high-resolution print of three women standing in front of a church. The Jesus Tones.

"I've been to their concert."

"I think I know their music."

"If not you better get your radio fixed," he grunted.

"Have a nice day," I said as I hurried out.

Karna was standing talking to a man that left once he saw me approaching.

"What did he want?"

"My name, how long I planned to stay in Florida, where I got the shirt, what hotel I was staying in and what I'd like to eat for dinner."

"Did you tell him to piss off?"

"I told him, my English not good."

"Good then. Take these new clothes into the washroom, go into a cubical, take off this stuff and change into these. Throw your old clothes in the bag and when no one is looking stuff it into the garbage as inconspicuously as you can. Got it?"

"I believe so."

"Good. Now be quick about it. I'll be waiting for you here."

I stocked into the men's washroom. In the handicap stall, I changed. After tossing the official clothes into the garbage, I scrubbed my face and wet my hair. I had transformed into a tourist. As a tourist I would have to act as one so I strolled slowly with a haphazard manner trying to be in a dazed.

Karna walked out of the washroom the same time I did.

"How's this?"

"Oh, you're a beautiful tourist. How do you feel?"

"Bewildered. What's this on my shirt?"

That's Mickey Mouse. He's a cartoon character."

"Cartoon?"

"It's fantasy. Fun for entertainment."

"What's on your shirt?"

"Donald Duck," I said in Donald's voice.

"What's that?"

"That's the monorail, a transportation device."

"Do we use it?"

"Not today, I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"I'm not sure yet. But we better get away from here while we can. Someone might alert the authorities when it's finally discovered that there's a several billion dollar, top secret spaceship in an amusement park. We also have to get identification. We'll be in deep shit if we aren't somebody and somebody other than who we are."

"There are many things to worry about."

"And there's also the things I don't know about yet."

"Why must you worry about your people?"

"People are hell."

"What is that?"

"Industrial waste in your water bottle as you walk naked through the Sahara desert on a hot day."

For a moment I couldn't remember if my memory was of Canada's Wonderland of Disney World. If I were in Canada's wonderland, I would know where to find the exit from orientating myself with the man-made mountain. The monorail told me I was in Florida. People's accents echoed the statement. The sun was hurting my eyes. The monorail wanted me to get on but I was afraid to be trapped. Maybe I had to locate the castle or was it the Buckminister style dome. I didn't want to ask anyone because they might wonder how I would forget. They might ask me questions. Unless I acted like a person that like to ask directions. That must happen sometimes. Maybe they wouldn't wonder. Maybe they were wondering already. They looked at me funny. As we strolled, I sighted the geodesic dome.

"Okay. I know where I am."

Karna didn't respond. She let me guide her with my arm around her while she watched the people. They were excitedly rushing to stand in a line to see an event or by a hot dog. Fat children argued with their fat mothers while ice cream dripped down their dirty chins and onto their stained T-shirts that toted prints of whatever on them. A man was sweeping wrappers into his folding shovel. Many people looked into guide pamphlets. A pimply-faced little girl eating pink sugar floss stuck her tongue out at Karna. We got in the way of people taking pictures. Eventually we weeded through the jungle of people and made our way to the gate. I started feeling that people might not care about us too much. Maybe we fit in. No one tried to stop us as we exited the gates. We were almost free. We'd soon be lost in the city.

As we walked across the parking lot, I noticed a couple guys watching Karna as they approached in their bright red pickup truck. It was a little slicker than the pickup trucks I remembered but it was still obviously an American-made truck. I didn't see a shotgun in the back window so I yelled as they passed.

"Hey!"

They stopped.

"What's your problem?" the driver yelled back.

I walked up to his window.

"Nice truck."

"Ya."

"What year is it?"

"Last years."

"Pretty nice."

"Was there anything else?"

"Yes, now that you mention it. We lost our friends in there and need a ride back to Orlando central. If it's not out of your way we'd appreciate a lift."

"Ya, sure. Get in the back."

We jumped into the back and sat against the cab.

"This is transportation?" Karna asked.

"One method."

"Where ya all from?" the driver yelled out of the back window.

"Canada."

"Oh ya. Where's that?"

"A long way north, I answered.

"It's in Kansas, ain't it?" the passenger bellowed.

"That's right."

They didn't ask anymore questions.

"We're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy," I said to Karna.

She nodded.

"Either they didn't study geography or Canada is a state now."

"Which is more likely?"

"I'll wait for more information to come in before I form an opinion."

I looked around to become reacquainted with the surroundings. Seven years was much to lose in two months. Although I couldn't see much of a difference, I suspected I was missing something and would soon be in for a surprise.

"What is the smell?"

"That's the poisonous exhaust from the brutal fuel that powers the noisy engines that moves these dangerous transportation devices."

"Why do they do it that way?"

"Greed and myopia."

"It hurts my head."

"You better get used to it. The demented bastards will have us burn it until their wells run dry."

"Run dry?"

"It's a product sucked out of the bowels of the earth. From the mass graves of bugs and animals under pressure for millions of years evolves a slime of black death. Black death can be pillaged from the Earth with only serious casualties, transported with a few more serious casualties, refined, separated, sent to little stations to be distributed and burnt in inefficient engines or turned into plastic bags and bleach containers. It’s all very corrupted, suicidal and irresponsible."

"Why does everyone have there own transportation?"

"They like to be free to die on the roads. It's of course convenient. And cars are made to be aesthetically pleasing sometimes. It’s nice to have pretty things."

"These are nice things?"

"Not at all, but we were told they are, so we like them. Who's going to doubt what the TV says?"

"I don't think I understand."

"Where ya all going, buddy?"

"Sure."

"I said, where are ya all going?" the driver yelled.

"Just up the next corner be fine," I yelled back.

"It's so loud," Karna said.

"What is?"

"Your planet."

I wasn't certain where we were except for Orlando just out of down town. There was a large shopping centre at the next intersection. That would be our next adventure.

"Thanks for the lift."

"No problem, Brother."

The light turned green and our driver left us standing in his exhaust. I paused to study the newer models of automobiles, Thinking they weren't much different than they were eight years before. The had changed just enough to give people the illusion that they were better than previous models. That was really the only point in auto design.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"I believe so. I'm overwhelmed."

"Understandable. This, what you see here, is how modern man gets around. There's a lot to be said about it but we would have more fun letting American Express buy us the world."

"What is that?"

"We need some things to be proper tourist, which I believe is our best cover, so we have to buy them. I have no money but the credit companies have excessive amounts."

"So they will give you what you need."

"I will take it, but only what we need. They are stolen credit cards anyway."

"Is that better?"

"For us."

"What are credit cards?"

"Another modern convenience to separate us farther from whatever it is we left behind."

"I do not understand."

"You use them instead of money. It's like a short term loan. The idea is you give them money when the bill comes in. It's convenient, especially if you have money to pay the bills, unfortunately, our nature makes us abusive of the convenience and we have to pay extra for late fees. But all these things you will learn as we go along. For today, I'll show you how to get things."

"We need things?"

"Oh yes. Everyone needs as many things as they can hoard."

"What things?"

"Any things."

"In there are the things?"

"Yes, in there. That's one of man's great achievements: the shopping mall. A delicious stratagem to keep the masses trapped in daily jobs. We're taught to be shit hoarders and television obeyers. A small check, a trade allowance that it, keeps us from asking questions. We don't notice that our lives have been taken away from us. We accept that the planet belongs to two percent of the population of one murderous mutant mammal.

No one gives a rotting rat's ass if we live as morons so long as we have a way to support our shopping mall dependency. That's the direction of our intelligence.

We are so gluttonous and greedy, that in our myopic quest to conquer the world and the rest of the universe, we forgot the simple realisation that we, as mortal beings, need air to breathe, water to drink, and food to eat. It's all been poisoned. It won't matter a drop of stale pig's piss if we're flying around Mars in a luxury craft or building a global city full of modern conveniences, our stupidity and mortality will make mockery of our ignorant assumption of our supreme intelligence.

Just obey the rules.

Each day after contributing to the destruction, we go home to be brainwashed a little more by the television. In our happy stupor we won't even notice the saturation point. There just won't be any air to breathe, no water to drink. we'll wonder why it wasn't on the news. We'll wonder what went wrong as we all lay down, cough a few more times and die with the rest of the creatures and life forms. The third planet from the sun will be a wet waste land."

"I'm having trouble understanding you, Aaron."

"That's doesn't matter. I know what's going on."

"What is that?"

"Don't ask me."

I knew I had to be alert. I had to respond properly to people when they talked to me. Although the people looked as they had seven years earlier, I wasn't sure what they had been told. I was certain they were still ruled by TV. They would still believe they were idiot sheep. Communication should still be superfluous and safe.

Because of the humid heat blasting up from the pavement of the vast barren parking lot, I was sweating and tired by the time we entered the sanctuary of the air-conditioned shopping centre.
"How are you doing?" I asked Karna.

"I believe I am fine. I am confused about our urgency."

"We have to get our shit together. We need some supplies, such as clothes, so we can travel and fit in."

"What is fit in?"

"It's a basic need of many animals. If one doesn't fit in, it can be fatal."

"I'll watch that."

"You will have to."
"Aaron, you have a puzzled look."

"It's anticipation of the hoards of reptilian minded, media manipulated plebeians I will likely have to face. I feel I'm a criminal with something I have to hide."

"Is the plant life natural?"

"Oh sure. In some places there is much more of it."

"It is delightfully delicate."

"It's not an all bad planet."

The first store we went into specialised in denim. I thought it was the first thing an alien should have to fit in. I picked out a few things for Karna to try on.

"Can I help you?" a voice asked.

A finely dressed young man and his smiling face had stalked up behind us. He was eager to help.
"We're looking for some things for her sister for Christmas. She's the same size. What jacket would go best with this shirt and these pants?" I asked like a seasoned shopper.

"Try them on and we'll see," he said to Karna.

Karna went to try her new clothing on while the salesman showed me the jackets he thought would look good. I suspected he received commission.

"Let us see how this one works," I said.

We met Karna at her change room. She may have been a little confused about her part in the act but she wore her costume well.

"If your sister looks like you, she'll look great in these," the salesman said.

"He sister is just a little prettier," I said.

"I don't see how that could be," he went on, "but if she doesn't like anything you get for her, send her to see me and I'll exchange them for her. I think the jacket works very well, don't you think?"

"Ya," I agreed. "We'll take these."

"Our cashier can wrap them if you'd like."

"That would be nice."

"Excuse me," he said after delivering us to the cashier. He went to help someone else admire their new self.

"What's Christmas?"

"Hell, ask me about it later."

"I don't have a sister."

"I just wanted to have a story for him, sometimes it's more fun that way."

I used Mr. Green's card again. We went to another store to get shoes. In another store we got boots. In another store we bought trousers and shirts. In another store we bought portable compact disc players. In another store we bought a few discs, although I had a difficult time finding anything I thought I'd like. I got the impression I was in a Christian music store. Finally we bought two travel bags to carry it all.

"Good enough. Let's lose this place before I get carried away."

"Will someone take you away if you shop too much?"

"It's possible."

When we escaped the mall, we packed everything into our travel bags. I threw all the wrapping, plastic bags and credit cards into the garbage.

"Where does that go?"

"I don't know. Land fill or the ocean. It's not a very good system."

"Someone comes to get it?"

"Every day."

"Where do we go from here?"

"I think we'll find a humble motel and take it easy for the rest of the day. I'd like to wash my clothes so they feel nice and soft. Go out for supper. Have a long bath, a six pack and a late movie on the one-way."

Karna didn't seem to understand any of what I said.

"Don't worry. I have everything under control."

"I can see that."

We walked until we found a rundown motel that advertised: good rates, satellite TV, air condition, free ice, free morning coff. They must have ran out of ‘E’s.

"This looks like the place."

Karna nodded slightly.

"I'm going to say you are my wife when I book us a room so keep your hands down."

"Wives don't raise their hands?"

"No, it's just that there's a picture of Jesus on the wall in there and wives supposed to wear a ring."

I started worrying about the space authorities. Although I was diligent in storing all information in code on the computer, they would be concerned about a missing astronaut. They would consider me their property. They would want to find me. They'd want to do tests. They might want to debrief me so that I would keep the flight a secret.

"Hi," I said to the large woman behind the counter.

"Just a minute son," she said.

I tried to see what she was watching on the television that was more compelling than my business, but as it was at such an angle, I saw nothing.

While we waited for her, I thought of what name I would use. I wanted a common name such as Joe Christian or Jeff Jones. Maybe she would suspect something was up if it was too common. What would someone do if that were one’s name, which is often the case with common names?
Karna sat down to look at a magazine as I grew impatient. If I wasn't in such a tender positron, I might have voiced some complaint about the poor service.

"Did you want a room?" she asked from her fixed position.

"Yes, I did," I said politely. I did until I came in here. Now I think I'll watch television with you and masturbate into a dirty sock.

"Fill in the form there in the rack."

She pointed, still without moving her eyes from the television.

I filled out the form with false information. When I finished, I wasn’t certain if I should interrupt her once more to get a key for a room of just have a nap in a chair. I watched her watch the television. She hadn't looked away from it.

"How ya all paying?"

"Cash."

"Cash?"

"Yes, that's right."

"You got some credit card trouble?"

She let her eyes be pulled away from her television with the turning of her head toward me. Her eyes were blood shot and she had large dark rings under them. She had a funny expression that struck me as a contented sadness.

"Hundred and nine dollars," she said. "I can give you a little off since you're paying cash and we're a little quiet."

Was she bloody mad? She was trying to rob me of the money I had stolen. She was taking advantage of me because she could see that I was in trouble. I was about to question her when Karna leaned on the counter beside me. I then remembered that more than seven years had gone by. Things change, especially prices. She was likely being more than fare.

I pulled out one hundred and twenty dollars and dropped it on the counter. She took it and replaced it with a pile of quarters.

"You'll want to buy some pop out of the pop machine later and no one will be up to change you're money."

"You're a smart one."

"Just call it experience."

"Okay. I will."

"Room two o seven, Mister Ryder."

"Thank you, Ma'am, have a good evening."

"Thank you. I will and you be good to your pretty misses."

"He always is," Karna assured her as we left the office.

"Why'd the chicken cross the road?" I said on our way to our room.

"What is a chicken?"

"Exactly. What the hell is a bloody chicken. And who cares. And why are we struggling to fly with the turkeys?"

"What?"

"Just another stupid saying."

"Aaron. You appear uncomfortable."

"I've been spooked. Something is way out of whack. I smell it."

"Maybe you are a little tired from the trip."

"True enough. It was a long one. I went through so many time zones that I don't know if it's two o'clock or next Tuesday."

"What is that?"

"More prefabricated sayings. I find them soothing in a perverse way right now."

When we got to the room, I flopped on the bed. It actually felt comfortable and although the place was ugly, it was clean and didn't smell very bad.

"How are you enjoying our planet so far?"

"It's a little more frantic than I'm used to but I think I will enjoy it."

"We won't stay in this city long. I'll take you to better places. After I find out where my brother is, we'll go to Canada. I like it there. You will too. There's animals. Maybe even a few trees left."

Karna laid down beside me. I wanted to explain things to her but I hadn't even started when I slipped off into a dream. A dream where things were being explained to me. Explained most emphatically.



read on. book_02 chapter_26



by Joanne B. Washington

© 2001 | the jose wombat project