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| Dr. Gantz � Exploring the Unknown By Mitch Moss My name is Dr. Gantz, and my friend, Amanda was kidnapped by a mafia-type governor. I have only one choice to save her; to perform as medical officer aboard a small ship, and explore an unknown sector of the galaxy. As I entered the ship, I began to meet the crew. The captain, a man named Connell L�Mann, and I quickly became good friends. He had lost his ship due to tremendous gambling debts, and had agreed to captain this ship and forfeit his salary in order to pay his debts, and have his ship returned. As I met the other twenty crew members, I quickly realized a common theme, all crew members were either convicted of crimes, or heavily in debt, and had agreed to take this mission in order to pay everything off. The ship appeared to be an old junker, possibly confiscated from a smuggler. This ship was so old that my portable medical devices were more advanced than the equipment in this ship�s infirmary. I did not have a good feeling about this. We entered unknown space, and examined several uninhabited planets. I examined indigenous lifeforms, as others examined geology, climate, and other planetary traits. This mission was easy, so far. Our luck changed when we encountered what I believed was the real purpose of our mission. We were traveling through space, when we were surrounded by alien spacecraft of unknown origin. They sent us a message in English, implying that we were probably not the first humans that they have encountered. Our viewscreen showed a humanoid race that was somewhat reptilian in appearance, with bony ridges on the head, and a dark purple skin color. They said, �We are the Vorklans, and you are our prisoners. We are superior to you, and you will not escape.� They caught our ship with a tractor beam, and towed it towards a planet. Captain L'Mann sat helplessly, as our ship was being captured, with no weapons, or powerful engines to resist. Our ship was taken inside a hangar, with three other human ships already there. We were escorted outside of our ship, as several Vorklans entered and examined it. Later, they exited, and an older Vorklan arrived to speak with us. He said, �We are here to conquer your region of the galaxy. We have examined four of your ships, and know that we have no opposition. You humans will be helpless to stop us. Our technology is far superior to yours. You will remain here. In a few days, we will begin the takeover, and give you to our medical researchers.� The crews of the four ships did not react well to this. Some cried and reminisced of loved ones that they will never see again, some prayed, some partied in order to enjoy their last few days of life, while others plotted violent rebellion. They had no weapons, but they preferred to die fighting, rather than in a lab being tortured and dissected. Hope of escape did not seem possible, although many searched for an escape route. Escape did not appear likely, since the hangar was surrounded by a force field, and guards were posted at each exit. I tried to maintain a positive attitude. Escape seemed hopeless, but I have survived tough situations before. I tried to raise the crews' morale by using a light-hearted sense of humor, and performing magic tricks. It helped a little, but the crew still felt hopelessly doomed. Eventually, I began to feel hopeless as well, but tried to maintain a positive appearance. We appeared trapped, and nothing I could do could raise the crews� morale, but I continued trying. As hopeless as everything appeared, there was a part of me that refused to give up. I often thought of Amanda, hoping that I would be able to save her from enslavement, but I wondered if I would ever see her again. As I thought of her, I remembered her grandfather, and an idea began to form in my mind. Arthur and I had often discussed contemporary magicians of the twentieth century, and two in particular appeared in my mind: David Copperfield and Franz Harary. I quickly gathered the captains of the four ships, and told them, �I have a plan. It will be a lot of work, and I will require the help of every crewman and maintenance bot. We do not have much time, and I will need every available hand. The plan is very complicated and unusual, and I do not have time to explain it, but it is the only choice between life or death. It should save us, but you must trust me.� The captains quickly gathered their crews. Many crew members were drunk, but removing their drunkenness was an easy task. I separated the crews into job groups, and began work. I gave each group a specific job, but did not tell anybody the entire plan, since I did not want anybody to learn my magic secrets. The Vorklans were able to scan our technology, but this should fool them. We were constructing items of twentieth century technology, which would be so ancient, that the Vorklans would probably not notice them. Finally, we completed the construction. I told the guards to send their leaders, so that I could talk with them. A few hours later they arrived, accompanied by a large group of guards. The Vorklans were seated in the theater-like chairs that we had constructed, while I stood in the performing area, with my ship behind me. |
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