Committed

COMMITTED by A.R. Kirby Episode 12 Choosing Wisely T al and Liv walked hand-in-hand across the lounge area, their footsteps echoing around the domed room, back toward where Gnorr stood waiting. As they neared the alien, Liv squeezed Tal’s hand tightly and took a deep breath. “Okay, Gnorr,” she said, her voice clear but her knees wobbling. “We’ll do it. Or at least we’ll try. I can’t give you any guarantees that we’ll be able to do what you ask.” “But we will do the best we can,” Tal interjected, and they squeezed their hands even more tightly together. “Oh, that is most excellent,” the little alien exclaimed, with an accompanying symphony of toots and whistles, his black eyes sparkling. “I knew you would make the right decision, I just knew it! Now the earth has at least a fighting chance!” “Of course, there is still much to do, and so little time,” he continued. “Please, let us begin.” Gnorr moved toward the pedestal with the holographic display and motioned for Liv and Tal to follow, which they did, once more taking places on either side of Gnorr’s enormous blue head. The alien waved a stubby arm at the display, and foottall 3-D renderings of Liv and Tal appeared immediately, slowly Committed by A.R. Kirby rotating in place above the pedestal. Scrolling characters of what Tal assumed were Gnorr’s native tongue ran horizontally above the model couple’s heads and feet. “My plan -- oh, excuse me, our plan” he said, glancing back and forth to Tal and Liv with a smile on his face, “is to give both of you capabilities far beyond those of normal human beings. My sincere hope is that these powers will enable you to face the danger and save your planet; but, even in your advanced state, I am certain it will be a difficult task. However, I chose the two of you because there is something about you -- something within you -- which makes me believe that you are equal to the challenge, as long as you have some help. These powers will be that help.” Gnorr gestured at the display once more and the holographic Tal and Liv moved apart from each other to stand on either end of the pedestal. Immediately in the space they had just vacated, a list of terms (this time in English) with accompanying descriptive icons began scrolling in midair in front of their faces. “Now, about your powers,” Gnorr wheezed, “I will be giving you some basics -- flight, strength, speed, and so forth. It is my belief that you will need to be generalized in some ways in order to best combat the threat facing the earth. However, you will each be able to choose two more powers from this list.” Gnorr stepped back as Tal and Liv moved in to peer closely at the display. “Wow,” Liv let out a low whistle. “This is some list... Advanced Acrobatics, Astral Projection, Psychic Ability, Teleportation... there’s so many to choose from...” Gnorr let out a small gurgle and smiled as the couple reviewed the options. “As I said, I enjoy your human comic books, and they gave 2 Episode 12 me some wonderful ideas. I am pleased you find the possibilities acceptable,” he said, and burbled gleefully. “I like the sound of this one -- Aquatic Ensemble.” Tal pointed to an icon featuring an ocean scene with various sea creatures. “What’s that, Gnorr?” “That, sir, provides you with the ability to exist underwater, as well as communicate with all marine life,” he said proudly. Liv looked over her shoulder at the alien. “Really, Gnorr? Isn’t that like -- what’s his name -- Aquaman?” “He’s one of my favorite characters,” Gnorr replied. “I find the myth of your Atlantis fascinating.” Liv rolled her eyes. “But who the hell would want to be Aquaman?” “I would,” Tal said quickly, still staring at the screen. “It would be so cool to be able to just pretty much live in the ocean! Think about it -- hanging out all day with dolphins, being at the beach all the time...” Liv could see that Tal was far away in his mind, swimming free with the manatees and talking to sharks about wrecks of old Spanish galleons in the Caribbean. “Following stingrays, listening to the whales...” “Oh, come on, Tal.” Liv stood and looked at her husband, still lost in his daydream. “We’re trying to save the planet, not do this for ourselves.” Tal slowly turned toward his wife, and she could see that he was still trying to reconcile the image in his mind with the task at hand. “Baby, listen.” Liv tried her best to sound diplomatic, and the look in Tal’s eyes made her want to be even more cautious. “It’s just that those powers are so -- so specific. They are pretty limited in scope. Like you said, we don’t know what the threat is, 3 Committed by A.R. Kirby so I think we should look at powers that are more general; stuff that complements each other. I think that would give us a better shot at taking on whatever it is we’ll be facing.” “But I wanna be Aquaman,” he whined, but his eyes twinkled . “I guess you’re right. So what do you think we should pick?” “Well, let’s see,” she said, looking over the list. “Does anything strike you right off the bat?” “It’s hard to say,” Tal said. “There’s so many to choose from; any one of them might the just the right thing, but we have no way of knowing, do we?” He turned from the display to find Gnorr watching the couple intently, one tiny fist propping up his gigantic chin. “Fascinating,” he said. “I’ve been watching humans for thousands of years now, yet it is always so very interesting to see their personal interactions up close. Amazing.” “Maybe so,” Tal replied, “and I’m glad you’re finding this entertaining, but we could use some help here. Got any hints?” “Unfortunately, no,” Gnorr said, and a sustained groan in B flat minor escaped his protuberances. “I’ve already done too much by bringing you here in the first place. I’m counting on the technicality that I never interfered with your free will as my ‘ace in the hole’, as you say. I can give you the powers, but you have to choose them, and whether you will use them.” “Hmmm...” Liv scratched her head. “All righty then. We don’t know what we’re going up against, and we’ve got no help from Mister Potato Head here. What’s the best way to approach this?” “Let’s look over the list and see what all we have to choose 4 Episode 12 from,” Tal said. “We’ll be working together, right? I guess all the powers will have potential strengths and weaknesses... we should probably find things that will work well in combination. For example, I don’t think if I get the Titanium Skeleton and Claws that you should have Radiation Blasting.” “Well, that goes without saying,” Liv agreed. “So what else is there?” “Psychic Abilities?” Tal asked “That’s kind of creepy. I don’t like the idea of monkeying around in people’s heads,” Liv said. “So ‘no’ to that one.” “Commune with the Dead?” “Ewww. That’s even creepier.” “This looks interesting -- Time Travel. That might come in handy.” “Haven’t you ever seen a science fiction movie? We could really screw things up doing that.” “Phase Shifting? What the hell is that?” “Telekinesis? Nah.” “Laser Eye Blasts seem like they would be too limited.” “Ultraspeed and Ultrastrength,” Tal murmured. “Faster and stronger is rarely a bad thing.” “I guess that would depend on just how fast and how strong we will be in any case,” Liv said. “Gnorr, what do you think?” “The basic powers are relatively high on the scale,” Gnorr 5 Committed by A.R. Kirby replied, still watching in amazement as Tal and Liv deliberated. “I’m pretty sure you’ll be strong enough -- and fast enough -without the upgrade.” “Hey, here’s one,” Tal said, his face lighting up. “Monstrous Transformation. What does that do, Gnorr?” “It turns you into a monster, as the name implies.” “Well, what kind of monster?” Liv was also intrigued. “Something similar to the monster from your Godzilla movies,” Gnorr gurgled. “Nah. Never mind,” Tal said, turning his attention back to the display. “We could never go to Japan.” Liv pointed to a reference on the display. “Is Animal Transformation similar to Monstrous Transformation?” “Yes, it is,” Gnorr said. “You can change into the shape of any animal on your planet.” “Great for a kid’s birthday party, but pretty useless here,” Tal said. “What else do we have?” “What does Power Absorption do?” Liv turned to the alien. “It allows you to absorb the powers of anyone you touch with a bare hand,” Gnorr said. “Since we’re the only ones on earth with powers, that seems like a waste,” Liv said. “Next.” “Death Touch?” “Too risky,” Liv replied. “You might touch me at the wrong time, or one of the girls. Not a good one. Besides, I don’t want us 6 Episode 12 to be all about death and destruction, do you?” “Depends on what we’re going to run into,” Tal said. “We might have to be all about kicking ass and taking names.” “Hey Gnorr, what’s this?” Liv pointed to a section titled “Elemental Powers” with subtitles of “Earth”, “Air”, “Fire” and “Water”. “They are four separate powers, actually, and some of my favorites,” Gnorr said. “As you can see, I took a liking to the time when Greece was the major power on your world, so I created powers that would allow you manipulate the elements as the Greeks knew them. ‘Earth’ allows you to manipulate dirt and rocks or anything made of dirt and rock; so forth and so on for ‘Air’, ‘Fire’ and ‘Water’.” “I think that’s it,” Liv said. “They’ll work perfectly together, and they’re very well-rounded.” “You think so?” Tal was unconvinced. “I still think the Aquatic Ensemble might be a good idea.” “Would you just drop the whole Aquaman thing?” Liv turned to the alien “Yes, Gnorr, these are the powers we’re choosing. We want the Elemental Powers.” “Are you certain? The powers cannot be changed once you choose them,” Gnorr said as he looked at the couple with a serious face. “As you humans are so fond of telling each other in your transactions, ‘no refunds and no exchanges’.” “I like them,” Tal said. “General enough for most any situation, and potentially very strong. Yes, I think these are the ones. Hon?” “Yes,” Liv said, smiling as she took Tal’s hand. “Yes, I 7 Committed by A.R. Kirby think that’s it.” “You’ve chosen wisely,” Gnorr said as he moved through the couple back to the display. “Now who wants what?” “You go first, baby,” Tal said to Liv. “You sure?” “Why not?” “Okay,” Liv said. “Gnorr, I’ll take ‘Air’ and ‘Water’.” “Leaving ‘Fire’ and ‘Earth’ for me,” Tal finished. “Excellent,” Gnorr said. As the alien made a gesture in front of the display, the laundry list of powers disappeared and the images of Tal and Liv moved back together in the center of the pedestal. “Now, we must get moving, and quickly.” Gnorr ushered the couple hurriedly across the room and out the doorway opposite where they had gone to the observatory earlier, babbling the entire time about how little time there was and how much there was to do. In some ways, he reminded Liv of the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland -- at least a white rabbit with a giant, blue potato-shaped head. They rushed down the hallway for about 30 feet or so until a large doorway appeared on their left. Gnorr squeezed his way between the couple and headed down three small stairs into what Tal thought must be some type of laboratory. The Greek theme continued throughout the room, but it was crammed full with strange machinery. Two upended cylinders, each big enough for a human to stand in comfortably and made of what appeared to be glass, formed the centerpiece of the room. Gnorr glided quickly down the steps and took a position 8 Episode 12 behind a pedestal near the two cylinders. He waved his stubby blue arm across it, and another display appeared. He began working feverishly on it, apparently oblivious to the two humans standing a few feet away. Liv looked at the strange array, her eyes wide, her already wobbly knees wobbling even more. She held tightly to Tal’s arm. The room and all its equipment were the most alien thing she had ever seen, and she suddenly felt vulnerable and weak. Tal, on the other hand, thought the room was the coolest thing ever. After a few more seconds, Gnorr raised his head from the display and turned toward the two humans. “Well, what are you waiting for? We’ve got to get moving.” “Uh, Gnorr, what exactly is it we’re doing here?” Tal asked. “You’re about to become the most amazing human beings ever known,” he replied with a smile and a series of light toots and whistles. “Now, if you will both remove your clothing, we can get started.” “I don’t know about all that,” Liv replied, her arms crossing over her chest as she said it. “Why do we need to take off our clothes? Are you some sort of extraterrestrial pervert?” An embarrassed bleat escaped Gnorr’s head, and he rubbed his chin. “You have to take off your clothing so you can be covered,” he said. “It’s how you get your powers.” “Covered with what?” Tal asked. “A special biomechanical coating,” he told them. “It is like a second skin. It’s only a few nanometers thick, and you won’t even know it’s there. It won’t interfere with your ability to breathe, eat, sleep, or anything else. What it will do, however, it provide you with the ability to fly, give you strength and speed to match, and make you practically invulnerable. It will protect you 9 Committed by A.R. Kirby from extreme heat, cold, and pressure. You would even be able to survive in open space. Of course, if the suit is damaged, you’ll lose the powers. But I think that is a highly unlikely event. The only thing we Empyreans know of that can damage the suit is the Blade of the Empyreans, and that’s on my home planet thousands of light years away.” “I don’t know, Tal,” Liv whispered to her husband. “I don’t like the idea of being naked in front of this guy.” “We’ve come this far, we might as well run with it,” Tal told her. “So an alien sees us naked. At least he’s not looking to do an anal probe.” “All right,” she said. “Let’s do this.” Gnorr looked relieved. “Please, each of you, once you have removed your clothing, stand in one of the cylinders, and we’ll go from there.” He returned to the display while Tal and Liv walked slowly to the center of the room, each careful not to step on the myriad of cables that crisscrossed the floor. Once there, they both started to undress. Gnorr burbled when Tal took off his underwear. “You humans have the funniest genitalia,” he said quietly. “I don’t see how you walk about with those things.” “You can skip the commentary,” Tal said as he stepped inside the cylinder nearest him. “Can we get on with this?” “Is this going to hurt?” Liv looked fearful as she moved into her own cylinder. “There might be some slight discomfort for a moment or two,” the alien replied from his position behind the pedestal, “but I seriously doubt there will be any pain. Now, are you ready?” Both Tal and Liv nodded toward the alien, and the doors 10 Episode 12 into each of the cylinders slid shut with a hiss. Tal looked over at his wife; her eyes were shut, and he could see she was breathing heavily. Tal tried to make himself relax, but he too was tense. A light like a 60-watt bulb flashed in the cylinder, and Tal closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and awaited whatever was to come next. After about 10 seconds, nothing happened. Perhaps 10 more, and still nothing. Tal opened one eye and cast a glance toward the other cylinder where Liv still stood, head upraised and eyes closed, also awaiting her transformation. “Why are you standing there with your eyes closed?” Gnorr looked perplexed as he watched the couple from the console. “We’re all done here.” “What?” Liv snapped her head forward and opened her eyes. “But nothing happened! I don’t feel any different...” “Oh, it happened all right,” Gnorr replied. “That one small flash of light made you the most amazing humans the world has ever known. And now, it’s time for you to get to work.” “Wait!” Tal pushed against the door of his cylinder, but it wouldn’t budge. “That can’t be all...” “It can, and it is,” Gnorr said. “Now if you will excuse me, I have work to do.” The alien made yet another gesture toward the display, and Tal could hear a hum inside the cylinder. A blinding light enveloped him, and he could feel himself being stretched. “Good luck saving the earth!” Liv heard Gnorr say, and then they were gone. To be continued... 11