* * *
And on a day two months later:
“And now!” said the off-pixievision-camera announcer, “Live! On Television! Major Spacer in the 21st Century!”
* * *
“ . . . tune in tomorrow, when you’ll hear Major Spacer say:
WE’LL GET BACK TO THE MOON IF WE HAVE TO RETROFIT EVERY ICBM IN THE JUNKPILE WITH DUCT TAPE AND SUPERGLUE.
“Don’t miss it. And now, for today’s science segment, we go to the Space Postal Joint, with Cadet Rudy!” said the announcer.
Rudy: “Hey, kids. Listen to ol’ Rudy. Your folks tried hard but they didn’t know their asses from holes in the ground when it came to some things. They didn’t mean to mess your world up; they just backed into one that could be brought down in thirty seconds ’cause it was the easiest thing to do. Remember the words of Artoo Deetoo Clarke: ‘With increasin’ technology, you headin’ for a fall.’ Now listen how it could be in this excitin’ world of the future . . .”
* * *
A few years later, after Bill and the show and Rudy were gone, some kid, who’d watched it every day, figured everything out.
And kept us human.
Other Books by ElectricStory
Terry Bisson
Bears Discover Fire and Other Stories
Numbers Don’t Lie
Tony Daniel
The Robot’s Twilight Companion
Mark Jacobson
Gojiro
Richard Wadholm
Astronomy
Dream Factories and Radio Pictures Page 30