"Are you going to give me my legs back?" Sharon asked, a surge of hope flooding her face red. "Actually, this wouldn't be an option in this reality. The tech level in surgery or genetic recombination is not high enough for that -- and in the interest of economy, we will not warp you out of here." the same Man in Gray answered in a neuter tone. The other man who was guarding her seemed totally immobile, staring at her like she was the Virgin Mary and keeping his Magnum aimed right at her forehead, the gun's barrel moving ever so slightly to follow the movements of her head when she spoke. The featureless steel chair Sharon was tied to felt very cold and she could tell by the now-familiar itch that her tail was drying up again. "Then why didn't you kill me? I was told you were uncompassionate Orwellian bastards." Sharon replied, trying her best to keep her cool."That is what we would normally do. But you are still more valuable alive. Control is what the world needs, and this world is no exception. There is a job you will do for us if you want to remain alive." the man said, his posture and voices still emotionless. Sharon pondered -- it seemed that in this particular reality mermaids were in high demand. Why the heck couln't they just go find one in another planet or another universe or any other thing that didn't involve her? "I thought you said that noninterference was essential, Mister." Before the man could answer, Sharon leaned forward as much as the steel wires that bound her allowed, buried her face in her arms, and let out a sob. "Why can't you just let go of me, what have I done? may I too see?"
For a second, a look of compassion flashed on the two Men in Gray's faces. But just for a second.
"You just answered yourself, young lady. Merpeople are very far away from here, planarly speaking, and
it is antieconomical to go fetch one for a single persuasion job. I am happy to see that you have done your homework,
by the way, that's a lot of training we can skip." Sharon cursed herself for not having done enough of that 'homework',
with a better rhyme or intonation maybe she could have persuaded them to let go of her. At least the talking MiG lost his
steel temper for a little... so not even they were totally immune. She made a mental note of it.
"Tell me, young lady, have you been informed on the timeframe?"
"Yes, Greta told me this is 1958... wait! What happened to the people in the truck?" "Oh, they have been
taken care of.". The MiG's face somewhat softened, just to the degree to let Sharon dubious on wether the three nerds
had been killed or not. She definitely was not liking this. Somehow it reminded her of the overrational, over-impersonal talking
computer in '2001: A Space Odissey' -- these two people were SO inhuman. Too inhuman to even show cruelty.
"American History quiz.Do you know what will happen next year?" The silent Man in Gray put a hand on
Sharon's upper tail, about in the spot where her left thigh would have been. She couldn't feel any want or interest in that touch.
He just wanted to see how dry she was getting. This reminded her of the itch, which was getting more and more annoying -- like a
column of black ants walking on her tail and taking the occasional bite.
"Look, how could I possibly know! This is not my world!!" "Easy, easy. This particular event is coincident with
your reality, but indeed you couldn't know. Next year -- 1959 -- the Cuban Revolution will take place. Seen Stalin's behavior though,
we calculate that it will be different. Milder, softer. It is even possible that this form of attenuated Communism would work, and
this would disrupt our influence. This is unacceptable. By the way, do you want something to drink?" the Man in Grey asked,
producing a mug of water from beneath his own chair. Sharon accepted it speechlessly and only took a sip, splashing the rest on her
lower body. The relief was only partial, but fulfilling.
"And where could I come into your paranoid schemes?!?" she asked.
"It is really easy. Mermaids have gained the reputation of luring sailors to their death by various means. All
you have to do is to follow the script."
"And you want me to seduce Fidel Castro and then drown him?" Sharon had to admit that, if the goal was to stop the revolution, it made
perfect sense. Should Castro die in an accident at sea, he would be neither a leader nor a martyr.
"But of course no. Your target is Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. We want the revolution to take place, but fail. He had a
key role in the demise of Fulgencio Batista. Then Comrade Stalin will perhaps take the Cuban dissidents into consideration, should he
feel the need of an American stronghold. American reaction then will--"
"You want to start a whole fucking WORLD WAR? Aren't two continents enough for your destructive meaglomania?!?"
"Comments are unnecessary. You will undego a few surgical modifications, do the job and then be brought to our HQ in Orwellian Oceania
where you will be rehumanized and memory-formatted. Other options include dying of dehydratation in a couple of days, or
failing your mission and finding yourself too 'civilized' to survive in the ocean on your skills alone."
What a presumptuous bastard, Sharon thought. I'm more of a woman AND more of a mermaid than you bozo think. I'll...
What do you get if you cross a Mafioso with a Sophist? An offer you can't understand.
Thu Jun 24 16:47:41 1999
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