Something to Do

(Gamma Globular is a planet about 8 light years from Earth, a comet’s throw past Alpha Centauri and a little east of Betelgeuse.  Two aliens, Beta Zarfus and Omega Zarfus are en route to Earth on a mission of exploration.  The Gamma Globularians haven’t perfected inter-stellar travel yet, so they have to put their gammanauts in suspended animation on these long journeys.  It is a very deep sleep.  But unfortunately the sleep mechanism aboard ship has gone awry, and now Beta and Omega are awake, and they need something to do as they travel through deep space.)


“Well!” Omega snorted, “Any chance of fixing it?"

“No,” snapped Beta, “she’s gone for good.  The sleep system, Dream Time Number 9, so highly touted, is useless to us now.  Let’s face it, Omega, we are up for the duration.”

“Yeah, and what are we supposed to do?”  Omega demanded.  “Did you bring any magazines?”

“Uh, no, no I did not.”  Beta set down his wrench and continued:

“But I have an idea.  It’s something I saw on G-Tube before we left Gamma Globular, something interesting culled from bits of history from planet Earth, the planet we’re on route to.  There they play this game called chess, a game for two players.  Here, let me show you.”

Beta pulled up a video of two chess players playing chess, moving the pieces all over the board.  After a while, Omega blurted out:

“O, surely you jest!  That looks incredibly complicated!  Why not expect me to learn Orion-speak overnight!”

Beta paused the video with a close-up on the chess board.

“This is easier than it looks!”  Once you learn how the pieces move, then learn some tactics and then plan your strategy...”

Beta noticed Omega staring at him petulantly, eyes narrowed and lips thinned.  But Beta, being a compassionate gammanaut, spoke softly, all the while feeling a bit of amusement as well.

“Look, Omega, you can at least give it a try, can’t you?”

Omega’s knobby shoulders slumped. 

“O, I suppose so, what have I got to lose?  We do need something to pass the time, and it sure beats counting asteroids.”

“That’s the spirit!” said Beta, patting him on the back.  “I can make chessmen out of parts from the Dream Time Number-9, and a chess board is no problem.”

Omega went to the window and looked at the stars.  He turned back and faced Beta:

“Now that we are without suspended animation, how long will it take to get to Earth?”

“About three thousand years,” Beta answered matter-of-factly.

Omega, his interest waxing, searched the video selector until he found, Learn to Play Chess.

He turned back to Beta:

“About three thousand years, huh?”

“Roughly,” said Beta.

(Our two intrepid gammanauts continue their long journey to Earth, having now, at least, something to do.  And fortunately for both Beta and Omega, all Gamma Globularians are long lived.)


488 Words
Writer’s Cramp
June 11, 2013