Pineapple Explosion

Apologies for the delay in getting this post up. 

Today the Capt’uns have ordered us to interview a character from our novels. Since we both have a finished WiP and we are too lazy (aka too awesome and creative) to hold two interviews, we decided to do a cross-over scene.

This is an imagined scenario and does not have anything to do with either of the stories.

Jimmy, the protagonist of Utsav’s novel – Averagely Extraordinary, is a fifteen year old boy from Earth who is called to Ulfitron to save it from an invader named Enshreto. He’s looking for an object which will lead him to the legendary Lost Land of Gorjons, trees with the knowledge to control the universe. In this search he is travelling across planets and ends up on the planet Ver.

Prince Anton, the protagonist of Brighton’s novel  –  What the Water Gave Us, is from the family that rules an empire that controls most of the planet using their immunity to the Kappa Violenti virus. In this scene he is abroad in the rural nation of Levant trying to eradicate the virus there. If you want to see on the map where this scene here takes place find Westport on this map: http://www.brightonluke.com/2012/06/29/maps-of-the-planet-ver/republic-of-ver-levant-map/

And then you can find Ver Levant on this map: http://www.brightonluke.com/2012/06/29/maps-of-the-planet-ver/planet-ver-map/

AVERAGELY EXTRAORDINARY/ WHAT THE WATER GAVE US CROSS-OVER SCENE:

Jimmy teleported to the surface of Ver, having the mixed fortunes of arriving smack in the middle of the runway at the Unity Defense Forces base at Westport. Soldiers quickly decended on him, and he was led to Prince Anton’s field office in the main building of the compound. Not wanting to hurt or kill random people Jimmy lets the soldiers take him without incident. 

Inside Lt. Farr briefed Anton on the situation. “Your Highness he just appeared out of thin air, I saw it myself. He’s unarmed and just a boy, but I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Lieutenant have you never seen a magic show?” Anton said, then motioned for Jimmy to be brought in. He looked Jimmy over. ”So it's obviously beyond the rebels to just appear out of thin air. So a new low for Elias sending a child. Impressive trick though. What does he have you coming here for?”

Jimmy jolted forward at the word child, and was held back by the soldiers on either side of him. “Who in the world is Elias? And what desolate army camp is this? Seems like Earth but isn't.” 

“You've got the desolate right. Welcome to Levant.” Anton looked out the window, the view was beautiful, a lake stretched out before them backdropped by jagged green mountains as far as could be seen along the horizon. Other than the military base they were on the only other sign of civilization was the small spec of a house across the lake. Anton then turned his attention to Jimmy who was dressed in wooly brown trousers and a green tunic that to Anton looked like silk. “You're not from Turin are you?” Anton asked, thinking of the mysterious people of the neighboring planet, who no one on Ver had ever actually seen.

Jimmy’s expression turned to one of disgust. “Turin? You mean that dusty planet with nomadic tribes? Hell no. I am from Earth. Well I was, till I was taken to Ulfitron.”

Anton had never heard of Ulfitron, and only vaguely remembered any mention of Earth. He pulled out his tri-key and pulled up a holographic projection of the known universe. “Illuminate Earth and Ulfitron.” Anton commanded. The projection zoomed in on a small planet from a distant star system. Earth. Ulfitron didn’t show up, it wasn’t known to the people of Ver. Anton looked up at Jimmy with suspicion. The chances of a visitor from another planet were low. “Scan him.” Anton ordered. The guards ran a ray of blue light over Jimmy from his dark hair to his feet, then pricked his finger for a blood sample. 

“He’s human,” the guard announced.

“Wow, cool technology! We don't have such things on Earth,” Jimmy exclaimed, genuinely interested in the technology, a gadget like that surely would have won him first place at the school science fair back on Earth.

Anton, unable to determine Jimmy’s sincerity, continued on in a disaffected tone. "We find it valuable to determine what people might not tell us themselves." Anton then turned to the guards. "Can you trace his blood to any families within the empire?" 

The guard looked down at the readings before him “No. he's not a match to anyone. His DNA doesn’t even come close to a match for projected samples from anywhere on the planet."

Anton turned back to Jimmy. "I guess I’ll have to trust you are what you say you are, and then trust you even further regarding why are you're here.”

“I am looking for a very powerful object. I need it to save Ulfitron. And I strongly suspect it's hidden in one of the 17 planets with organic life,” Jimmy replied. “But I sense something different about you. The others in this camp are normal. You have something special.” 

Anton was tempted to take Jimmy’s comment as a jab at Anton’s immunity. Anyone from Ver would know that Anton was different, something special. But if Jimmy was who he claimed, and had the power to sense things, Anton wondered if it was his immunity that Jimmy was sensing, or something else. The thought of being special for something other than his immunity was appealing, but Anton wasn’t about to let himself get sucked into mind games with someone who looked to be a child. 

"Jimmy, saving a planet? How old are you?" Anton asked.

Jimmy’s posture changed, Anton had hit a nerve. “Differs on different planets. How does it matter to you how old I am?”

Anton grinned in response and ordered the guards out of the room, then turned back to Jimmy. “You're right about me, and you look young, when I was young I had a lot of responsibility people who's lives depended on me. Maybe not a whole planet, but enough."

Jimmy visibly relaxed once the guards had left the room, not because he had been afraid, in fact he could have taken them out if he wanted, but because he took it as a sign of trust from Anton. “You're not the only one who can detect things.” Jimmy then read Anton’s thoughts. “Wow, Prince of the entire planet eh? Too bad your planet’s dying.”

Anton’s tenor changed starkly the moment Jimmy said the planet was dying. He took it as an affront to the work he’d spent his life on. “If I were my uncle I'd order you killed right now. But I imagine someone who can appear out of thin air is more powerful than I am."

Jimmy laughed. “You think your uncle could've killed me? I am much more powerful than I was and I dare you to think of me as an ordinary kid.” Jimmy’s anger built and the building began to shake. 

Anton sat back and watched as objects fell from his desk. He stared at Jimmy trying to decide how much of the young man’s story to believe. Ultimately Anton decided to take a chance with it because he sensed they had something in common. Never before had Anton met anyone else who had the burden of so many lives relying on his actions. "Ordinary? I think that's the last word I'd use to describe you. How about you calm down for a moment, put all this aside, see if we can find any common ground?"

Jimmy looked Anton over with suspicion, but he sensed respect for his power. "All right. I am here merely to search for the object. Once I have it, I'll be able to track the lost land of Gorjons and become the most powerful man in the universe. I can probably save your people as well then.”

Anton’s reaction surprised Jimmy, he was suddenly very happy. "You have no idea how relaxing it is to not be the most powerful person in the room without having to worry about being held underwater for saying the wrong thing. Power is always such a burden, you either have it or someones using it against you. i have soldiers who could help you find your object, but my question for you is, why would you ever want to be the most powerful being in the universe?" 

Jimmy was visibly confused. “Thanks for the help, Lord Anton. But why wouldn't anyone want that much power? Imagine having the power to beat Enshreto. I'll be able to control life itself. And moreover nobody will ever call me average ever again. You could cure your people in one go and remodel your planet with no wars, no hunger and no disease.”

"Wouldn't it be nice if everyone with power were so altruistic?" Anton commented wistfully. 

“Altruistic? What does that mean?” Jimmy asked. He may have been more powerful than Anton, but he was still only 15 back on Earth.

"It means you want to do good for others now, but wait, once you get a taste of it, your own wants will creep in, and even worse, even with all that power what if helping some would mean hurting others? What would you do then? And there are worse things to be called than average, especially if the worse things become true, when average seemingly never was."

Jimmy was still confused by how cynical Anton was, he tried reading Anton’s mind again to understand, but Anton’s mind was a deluge of complicated and conflicting thoughts and emotions, many too painful to go near. ”You think too much, Lord Anton. I'll always help those in need. And when you have the power to change the universe, you will always make it a better place. Don't worry, Lord Anton. I promise I will return and help your planet when I have that power.”

 Anton smiled again, this time with a hint of hopeful sadness. ”Well, Jimmy I hope that proves true for you, I don't think it would be the same for most of us. I'll send Lt. Farr and his squad to help you find your object, and I suppose we'll see if you can make change or if power will simply change you."