Fred

Fred

Looking out the window, all I could see was the ball. A big green ball. Our destination after all this time finally was in our sight.

“George, check this out. It’s finally here.”

“I can’t believe it. Are you sure?”

I turned and stared at him.

“Surely you are kidding me. We traveled almost nine years to get this far. And now you are asking me if this is where we need to be?”

George turned on another light. He aimed it at a computer screen. Coordinates and maps and emails appeared on different screens.

“Yep, like I thought. Look at this, John. I think we took a wrong angle back there. Back at the nebula.” He pointed to a spot on a black screen.

“Are you sure? The computer set the course. We double-checked the coordinates.”

We looked at each other.

“Let’s check them again.” George hit buttons and switches. “Computer, we need to be on course for Uranus. Set the course for Uranus.”

“I’m sorry. That planet is full. Your course is set for the planet Fred.”

“Fred? There’s a planet named Fred? What kind of crap is this? George!”

“Computer. This must be a mistake. Tell me what model you are.”

“Thank you, George. I am model #6A of the Gateway industrial computer made in Sioux City, Iowa. I have you on the correct course for the planet Fred. You will land in two hours.”

I couldn’t believe our bad luck.

“I can’t believe there was a computer company with a name like Gateway,” said George.

“Then you won’t believe their computers were in boxes that looked like cows. Black and white spots,” I said as we entered the atmosphere of Fred.

W/C 290