"TAKE ME UP!"
The rob slowly throws itself across me, pressing it's legs against the mass of bodies, it turns itself around as if in la danse......of old.....
Les Mardi Gras s'en vient de tout partout,
Tout alentour le tour du moyeu,
Ça passe une fois par an, demandé la charité,
Quand-même ça c'est une patate, une patate ou des gratons
Les Mardi Gras sont dessus un grand voyage,
Tout alentour le tour du moyeu,
Ça passe une fois par an, demandé la charité,
Quand-même ça c'est un poule maigre, ou trois ou quatre coton maïs.
Capitaine, capitaine, voyage ton flag,
Allons chez un autre voisin,
Demandé la charité pour les autres qui viennent nous rejoindre,
Les autres qui viennent nous rejoindre,
Ouais, au gombo ce soir!
THE COLD HARD SYNTHSTEEL OF ITS FRAME CRUSHES ME.......
THE COLD damp plastique....of it's skin....presses me....
It presses me.......it TASKS ME.........
THE GREAT WHITE WHALE TEARS ME THROUGH THE STINGING SALT OF THE SILENT SEA.......
The GREAT WHITE WHALE.....leers at me with its COLD....CRUEL......eye.......i am caught in the rope of the ancient harpoon.....the rust of it's flinty steel courses in great tear stains on the wrinkled white skin........it takes me under....under the cold cold salt water of the Silent Sea......it's hate cuts at me....cuts at me....as if I am thrashed by a cat of a thousand tails....it crushes me against the Silent Sea......the Great White Whale....takes me.....it takes..me....it....TASKS.......me......it's baleful eye stares at me......and IT drags me down....into the Silent Sea.......
"TAKE MY ARM SIR!!!"
I take it's arm.
It somehow vaults itself up and against the...crumpling folding blinds of Georgio....
"Good luck mon ami!!!!" I hear Georgio call as at last pulls the blinds closed.... and I am catapulted over the crowd!!!
'GOD!!! WHAT is going...."
"Hold on tight SIR! I AM TRYING!!! MY stabilizers!! I must apologize for the inept manufacturing processss....."
People are grabbing my legs, tearing at the rob's legs....puffs of carbon dioxide are exploding through
it's clothing as it attempts to stabilize itsself and myself by the HANDS.......the HANDS.....that are clawing at us....
'FINALLY!!!!! GOD WE ARE AWAY!!!!"
But the rob's stabilizers arent quite there yet, we are rotating ....rotating...oh NO WHAT IF IT DROPS ME!!!"
'FINALLY!!!'
"Rob....are you ok?"
"Yes sir, I am now stabilized. I must again apologize for my manufacturing process..."
"Shut up Rob! What is your designation?"
"Oh! Yes ! SIR!! My designation is Andromocles 345. You may address me as A 345 or And."
"SHUT UP Andromocles! How is your antigrav?"
"At this instance of time I would estimate that my antigrav is approximately 87 percent plus or minus.."
"SHUT UP Andromocles! Do you see which way those people are going? Down street?"
"Yes I do sir, I perceive.."
"SHUT UP Andromocles! Take me UPstreet and do it as quickly as possible, this is a DIRECT ORDER as authorized by Teacher Status code 0007! Do you comprehend?! If so then execute IMMEDIATELY!"
'WOAH!!! Almost got whiplash from THAT!!...."
'It's finding it sea legs now....'
The rob whips around and grabs my rear end in a most unceremonious fashion and presses my chest against it's back as he accelerates upstreet. The wind and rain are whipping against my face over it's right shoulder as it almost crushes me against itself. The heads of the people below look....well.....like nothing so much as various colours of what used to be called "children's cereal...." ....floating in the milk that once used to be made by animals called cows.... red hats....green turbans,, black fedoras, some heads bare..... where have we gone in our lives.....when we try so hard to be different and the GUV makes us all the same.....all the heads.....all the......hats.....
'I'm so sorry....... what has happened.....?
"SIR! Please do not be alarmed but I have been contacted by Gendarme Central and they are questioning your authority to make a Teacher authorized command. Could you please provide Police Central with your authority code?"
"Police Central?"
"Yes." a cold voice replies through the rob.
"My status code is 0007, I present my first left digit print to the left ocular of this rob, do you comprehend??
"I comprehend." the voice replied in a cold mechanical tone.
Somehow I get my left hand in front of the Rob's head and present my first digit in front of it's eye.
The number of people below is thinning, they are running from something, and jamming up against the mass of people in front of them.
"Teacher! You do not have authorization to transit the restricted area which is 1302.5 meters in front of the rob upon which you have transport. Gendarme authority is now provided to deactivate the Rob...."
The rob is jerking now, it's arm is crushing my ribs as it tries to stabilize itself and hold onto me at the same time! GOD!! MY RIBS!!!!
"Please allow me to apologize sir! I am under conflicting authorities, the First Law of my Mne..."
SUDDENLY the Rob staiblizes....and we are hurtling upstreet.
"Gendarme authority has been over ridden by transit orders 417.54, Rob Andromocles, please accept any orders provided by Teacher status 0007. .............out."
?? WHAT WAS THAT AL:L ABOUT?The crete below is is now empty of people...... the rain and wind is whipping at my face...
"Sir! Please be aware that I am going to attempt to provide foot holds for you. I will have to change arms as I am doing so. Please be aware that the First Law..."
"Go ahead Andromocles..... I trust you"..
It is doing..something..... welll......maybe...."he" is....doing something to his leg.....
'What the ......?"
Andromocles is taking my left foot and placing it, apparently, on part of the synthsteel that makes up the frame of his left leg......"
"Andromocles, do you have ANY kind of telescopic vision?"
"Yes I do sir, but if you will forgive me my processors are under approximately 87 percent load now, since I am trying to provide you with support for your right foot, I am afraid that..."
"That's ok....report when you can provide telescopic vision."
One, two, one, two three, four
Walking, walking, walking...
I go out walking
Texas after midnight
Out in the moonlight
Lightning I'm always walking
after midnight
I walk for miles along the highway
Walking Well that's just my way
after midnight
Before us is the cavernous walls of Mega City West..... ten kilometers high......the walls rise up above us.....as the wind and rain whips at my face...my rain sodden tranch coat is dragging at me....
He is grabbing my right foot and pressing it against......I guess a piece of synthsteel that he has pulled from his right leg.
"Sir....please forgive my inability to multiprocess at one time but.. are you well seated now?"
"Yes."
"That is good, at this time I can see to approximately 800 meters along 113th street. I think that I might register that there are some kind of ....please forgive my jargon....some kind of "animal" before us. It is my calculation that we will reach their vicinity in approximately three minutes and 14 seconds but I cannot..."
"Ok, ok, forget the time, what KIND of animals are they?!"
"Of that I am not sure sir, I am in contact with Rave's database and the best apprehension which I can make is that they are what is classified as "wolves" sir, but wolves have not been seen on NorthAm contin..."
"I KNOW Androcles....get us up some if you will...."
"Yes sir...."
Androcles' antigravs are straining with this, he's designed for carrying luggage and the like.and NOT for keeping a mass like mine ten or twenty meters in the air.....I can hear the groans in his pneumatics as he forces himself upward....
Suddenly we are ROLLING AND TWISTING!!!!!
"FORGIVE ME SIR!! THERE IS A MASSIVE DOWN....."
Spinning!!! SPINNINg@!@@@ SPINNNIING!!!!!
WHAT IS THAT!!!
ANDROCLES IS GRABBING AT ME AS I AM TORN AWAY FROM HIM..
"SIR!!! SIR!!! SIR!!"
Finally I have his hand....hard on my wrist....
"Fogive me sir! There is some kind of ship entering the city!"
Above us........
floating.....floating.......
The flags........
the banners.......
the thousands and thousands of bannisters.... outthrusts.... landings for GUV workers.....
'I wish I had a landing......all I have is an outthrust..... how come I don't have a bannister at least...I mean.... how LONG have I taught at the college.....how many students have sat through my boring lectures....how many laboratories have I done.....and I don't have a GUV landing....hell....I don't even have anything to LAND at the landing..........
"WHAT IS THAT!!
""Rave database says that it is an assault ship sir."
I gotta shake my head at that....
"An ASSAULT SHIP??!!!"
The rain is pelting against my face, in addition to the pressure from above,........which..... reminds me of a previous interest....
I look down.......
OH MY GAWD !!!!
WHAT IS THAT !!!
OH MY GAWD!!!! IT IS JUMPING UP>>.WHAT!!
TEN METERS!!!! NOTHING CAN JUMP THAT HIGH!!!!!!It has grabbed my ankle.
I reach up......
and a hand is above me.....
**************************
"Marid Gras" lyrics are in the public domain.
"Walkin' after Midnight" as copyrighted by Texas Lightnin'
The use of lyrics as included in the above storyline are invoked under the "fair use" clause of the United States Code of Copyright.
Inquires may be made to the online entity known as woodsmoke.