by Sandy Nathan
“Cut.” The screen when blank.
“Hi, Wes. Great to see you.” Bud shook Wes’s hand. He turned to the camera. “Here’s the world’s favorite Indian actor.”
“Not just Indian, Bud. I’m bigger than that.”
“Cut.” Blank.
“Hi. This is the man who used to be my best friend until he went to Hollywood and got a swelled head.” Bud’s hat flew off. No one saw what knocked it off. “He’s also the sweetest tempered darlin’ …” Bud flew back about five feet. “Knock it off, Wes, or I’ll pop you one.”
Jeremy stopped the images. “Did you see that? He knocked his hat off without moving. And he shoved him the same way. Keep watching.”
“Go ahead and pop me, Bud. I’d love if you tried.”
“Are you in the role now, Wes?”
“Yes, Bud. I won’t come down ‘til we’re done shooting.”
“What are you playing, a psychopathological maniac?”
“A serial killer. An out-of-his-mind, raving, covert ops, military anti-terrorist gone bad. I just finished six months of guerilla training with the Special Forces and a couple martial arts experts so I could do the part. I’m finally in role and, thanks to you, I have come over here and can train horses the nice way.”
“He’s got guerilla and martial arts training! And he’s in shape!” Jeremy practically shouted. “And they can fight, watch …”
“Oh, good.” Bud shouted over to the corral, “Run hard, you poor creatures.”
“Shut up, Bud.” Wes looked at him and Bud slid back a few feet.
“One more time, Wesley, I’m going to pop you good. I couldn’t do it when Grandfather was around, but he’s gone. So you got no protection, buddy boy.”
“Hey, Bud. Do you know what my face is insured for?” Wes stuck his face out. “Millions and millions.”
“You know, Wes, I really liked you before you got famous. You used to be a nice guy.”
“When I was a nice guy, I lived on a broken-down ranch using equipment that should have hit the junk pile before I was born. Our bulldozer came from the dump. I rebuilt it.”
“But you don’t have to do that anymore, Wes. You went to school. If you weren’t an actor, you’re still an architect.”
“Yeah, right. Sit in an office and take orders …”
“See,” Jeremy broke in. “He knows about farm equipment.”
“But our kind of equipment?” asked Henry.
“Look, could any of us rebuild any kind of a bulldozer? And he’s an architect. Does anyone know how to build anything?”
“Let’s see the rest.”
“Hello, boys,” Bud and Wes stepped back as a third man entered. They recognized the tall, white-haired man as Will Duane. He was old, but stood erect and had a commanding presence. “Having a friendly discussion, boys?” He smiled into the camera, looking like a white-haired grizzly.
“Whoa, Mom, Look at him,” Jeremy said.
“I am, Jeremy. He reminds me of myself in a previous life.”
“Keep listening, Mom.”
“Well, boys, philosophical discussions are nice, but it’s my nickel,” Will said on the screen. “It’s my ranch, my film, my TV station, and my movie. You’re both on my salary. Are you getting the drift? Finish the job and get out of here.” Will disappeared off camera.
“He does have a way about him, doesn’t he?” Bud said. “So what are you going to do, Wesley? We’re trying to increase the adoptions of wild horses and raise money …”
“I thought I’d break a few of those horses, Bud.” He indicated the milling herd.
“We don’t break them, Wes. We put them under saddle.”
“I break them, Bud. I break their hearts.”
He walked over to the horse corral and vaulted over the six-foot fence as though it was nothing. He approached a horse in the pen. Blue sparks flew off him. He touched the horse’s nose with his hand and it moved away from the group. He had his hands all over it. The horse looked like it was covered with a shining blue blanket. Then he was up on it riding it around.
And on to the next horse. And the next. Throughout the herd. The camera kept rolling.
Only the herd stallion was left. “I saved him for last, since he has an attitude,” Wesley said into the mike. The stud reared and pawed the air. Wesley did something, and the horse was on the ground with Wesley sitting on his head. Blue stuff came off his hands like blue gel shaving cream. He got off and the horse stood, shaking its head. Wes leapt on top of him. The horse made a couple of little bucks and began trotting around the corral at Wes’s direction. It stopped and turned, bucked. Began to gallop in one direction, then the other, and then started doing complicated maneuvers.
Grace was enthralled. “He’s the best horseman I’ve ever seen. He’s got that wild horse doing dressage. Play the rest of it.”
“Yeah. You gotta see what happens,” Jeremy said.
“Let’s see if he can jump.” Wes pointed the horse at a six-foot corral fence. The horse flew over it, but Bud went ballistic.
“That horse wasn’t ready for that,” Bud snapped. “You would never do a stunt like that when you were a spirit warrior.”
Wes turned red, then white. He spun around like a bull looking for something to charge. A golf cart was in front of him. Jumping off the horse, Wes picked it up and hurled it at Bud. Bud caught it and set it down.
“Hey, Wes, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” Bud lifted his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “What happened to you wasn’t your fault.”
Wes deflated, shoulders hunching.
“But you sure can pitch a cart …” Bud laughed and Wes finally joined him.
“What was that all about?” Grace asked.
“I just found hints about what they are on the ‘net. They’re ‘spirit warriors’ trained by a great shaman named Grandfather. He taught them to do all that stuff. Wesley had some kind of falling out with him and got kicked out. It was a very secret Native American movement.
“But look what he can do, even kicked out,” Jeremy said. “They could fight the Bigs!”
“We need them,” Grace exclaimed. “We need them now.”
30
“But they’re in 2015,” Henry said.
“How can we get them here?” Grace mused. Her mind immediately went to the people of the golden planet. They could do it. She looked around. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea.
“You can’t be thinking that,” Jeremy shouted. “You can’t trust them.”
“That’s true,” said Grace. “But they’re the only way I can think of to get Bud and Wesley here. Can anyone think of any other way?” They shook their heads. “Do you think we can win without them?” The collective answer was no. “So that leaves us with: Can we control the goldies somehow? Can we keep the upper hand?”
“I don’t think so, Mom. Look at what they were going to do to Ellie. Look what they did do to her by not sending her food and medicine. They almost killed her. You can’t trust them.”
“But they didn’t actually do anything to Ellie. I mean with …” she petered out, looking dismayed.
“We know what you mean, Grace,” Henry said. “With James, Mel and me. Once we laid the law down, they backed off and sent us home.”
“And they sent doctors for Ellie when she was so sick,” Grace added. “Of course, I had to let them know that the whole universe was listening in and could see their cruelty before they did anything.”
“So we can control them some. We have already,” Mel summarized.
“We can say no to them. We can shame them. What else can we do to control them? Can we bribe them into helping us? What cookies can we offer? What do they like?”
“They like pets. They like stuff. Minerals. Jewelry. Gold. They all wear jewelry all over.” said Mel.
“They like style. Fancy hairdos, golden robes, and things like that,” James added.
“They like to watch anything, the more private the bet
ter,” Jeremy said.
“That’s true,” Henry said. “They like watching people live and on their screens. Every single one of them has a screen. They’re supposed to be for watching the stars, but they watch anything they can. There’s no programming, so they spy on their neighbors. They’d go crazy over a good soap opera.”
“Maybe we should give them something different: a dose of violence,” Grace said. “Wesley Silverhorse was playing some sort of criminal in the movie he was shooting. A sociopath.”
“In that movie, he was the good guy,” Jeremy responded. “I sampled his films. He made close to a hundred movies, including those he directed. They’re brilliant, but so brutal I could barely watch them.”
“Ah,” said Grace. “How about if we sent some of those movies, and the video we just watched, to the golden planet? Kind of like a teaser? And Bud’s horse-training videos, too. What if we offered them exclusive coverage of Bud and Wes and the rest of us saving the children? Material that we control completely. They would have to play our way or get nothing.” She looked around. People nodded.
“Do we have anyone who’s good with a video camera?”
“I am, Mom.”
“You’ll be busy. Anyone else?”
“Well, my videos of the NYC Hair Show won awards,” James offered. “And I’ve filmed the major designers’ collections, too. I’d be glad to film us.” He tilted his head a bit, looking apologetic. “I want to save the children, too.”
“OK. You’ve got a job filming, James.
“Shall we offer exclusive coverage of our entire adventure? They bring us Bud and Wes here from 2015. We film what happens and broadcast it to them at the end. They have to do their part before we can start. No double-crosses possible.” Grace was getting excited. “What do you think?”
“I don’t think you’re asking for enough.” Jeremy scowled. “You don’t realize that moving people around the universe is no big deal to the goldies. They can do it with a thought. With the shadow of a thought. They’re so advanced it’s pitiful. It’s not like you’re asking anything that will cost them anything or even be hard. And you ought to get everything in writing and still not trust them. Because if there’s a way to screw us, they’ll do it.” Jeremy got up and stalked away.
“But we can’t get the Indians here without them, Jeremy,” Grace called after him. “Send that entire show to Ellie’s planet. And send everything you can about Bud Creeman and Wesley Silverhorse. Then set me up to broadcast.”
31
Jeremy was in the computer container downloading Wes Silverhorse movies and sending them to the golden planet when Ellie came to the door.
“We talk, Jeremy?” she said. Her eyes looked huge. Something was wrong.
“Sure, babe. I’ve got everything set up on automatic. What’s the matter?”
“We go our house.” She turned and walked toward their ruined adobe casita.
“Sit next me, Jeremy.” She sat on their bed and patted the place next to her. Jeremy did as she wished, feeling puzzled. She looked up, through the non-existent ceiling. “This nice house.”
“Oh, yeah, baby. Wait until you see how I’m going to fix this place up. I’m going to use part of a space station in the junk pile to make a roof. I’m …”
She held his hand and put it to her cheek. “Jeremy good person.”
“Is there something the matter, Ellie?” Her eyes looked weird. Her pupils were long, like a cat’s. “Are you OK? Should I get my mom to call that doctor again?”
“No, Jeremy. I fine. I want say I love you. I want you know.” Her eyes filled with moisture. Tears were poised to spill over her lower lids.
“I know you love me, Ellie. I love you. I’ll always love you. I’ll never love anyone else. What’s the matter? You’re freaking me out.”
“Nothing matter, Jeremy. Everything fine. No problem.”
“Well, good. I know—you’re worried about the battle. Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. We’ve got munitions that can …”
“No worry, Jeremy.” She touched his face with her fingers, tracing the outline of his eyebrows and jaw. “I no worry.” The tears breached the ramparts of her lids and flowed down her cheeks. “I never love any person but Jeremy. Never.”
“God, El, you’re scaring me. What’s the matter?”
“No is matter, Jeremy. Is me. How I am.”
“What’s going on?”
“I want baby so bad. You know how much? Bigger than sky. Bigger than ocean. So big.” She stroked his head and let her hand flow down his neck to his shoulder. Her eyes remained fixed on his. “I want baby, Jeremy. Save Sam’s babies.”
“We’ll save them. We’ll adopt Sam’s babies, El. All eleven of them, if you want.”
She smiled. “Good. You take care of babies, Jeremy. You good father.”
He started to protest, but she kissed him, a kiss that might have said I will love you for eternity or this is as much rapture as a human being can stand. She pulled him down on the bed and his control disappeared. He could never say no to Ellie, could never do anything but please her. He had no defenses against her sweetness and joy. He pressed her to him.
“I love you, El. I love you.” He began to undo her clothes, but she stopped him.
“Not now, Jeremy. No can do now.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m supposed to be getting ready for that broadcast. Tonight, El? Let’s love each other tonight? OK?”
She nodded, yes, but her eyes looked so sad. It was like she was leaving him forever.
“El, are things OK? You’re not mad at me, are you?”
“Never mad Jeremy. Love Jeremy.” She stroked his face and got up.
Mel’s voice intruded, “Hey, Jeremy! Where are you? Your mom’s ready to broadcast. Let’s go.”
He looked at Ellie. “Tonight?”
“Always, Jeremy. Always Jeremy and Ellie.”
32
The doctor stroked his chin with his long fingers. His eyes narrowed. She was broadcasting again. He stood in the hall of the elders with his fellows, watching the great screen. The other elders grumbled even before she began to communicate.
He felt strangely excited. She looked different than she had before. He liked the smooth curve of her hairless skull. She was clean and sparkling and her features appeared to be augmented in some way. A shiny garment accentuated the protuberances on her chest. Jewels glittered on her neck and ears. He fingered the jeweled collar around his own neck, smiling. His rings reflected the light. She was more like them this time.
“Hello, everyone, Lady Grace here.” She waved into the camera. “Lots of news. I’ve had a personal rebirth. Sam helped me get over the trauma of my early life. I feel like a new person. I cut my hair to mark the change; you might have noticed.”
Noticed? He tuned into the current of his people’s psyches that was always available to him. The intuitive abilities of his kind were magnified in the elders—he was in direct contact with the essence of every one of his people. He could stand in the great hall and know what each individual felt.
The entire planet was delighted.
Since the elders had taken to broadcasting Mrs. Edgarton’s high volume rebukes or pleas for help, everyone had upgraded their screening systems and lived in hope that the soft dong of the chimes would let them know that she was at it again.
The elders had broadcast her messages as a cautionary note: Stray from our calm and contemplative culture and look what happens. In so doing, they created the planet’s first superstar.
And today! Oh, great ball of golden substance, before her broadcast, she (or Jeremy, whom they detested when he was on planet, but who had grown so much more appealing millions of miles away) sent a TV series on training, not breaking, horses. They had never seen horses before, but all agreed that they had to have some to go with the dogs. That show was the most exciting thing to hit the planet since the humans arrived with Ellie and the Lhasa Apsos. Maybe the most exciting thing ever.
After the p
rogram about horses, the people were glued to their sets, a term Jeremy taught them, hoping she would appear. And she did. The buzz about her hair rocketed around the planet and its moons. The doctor’s smile broadened. This suited his plans.
“And Sam and I are married.” She blushed. “I’m so happy. I didn’t know I could be so ecstatic. He’s wonderful.”
The tall doctor scowled. She married an Earthling? Since touching her hand, he’d been captivated. Her warm flesh was part of it. Solid flesh beating with life.
Unlike the other elders, he was aware of the mesmerizing effect that Mrs. Edgarton—now Lady Grace—had on everyone on the planet but the elders. (He really liked her new name, Lady Grace.)
The planet was changing. Ellie and that scruffy brat, Jeremy, had left thousands of half-human offspring, saving them from dying out but posing new challenges. People were finding their adopted little mutts hard to handle. They didn’t obey.
The doctor had watched the material about the two Indian horse trainers and thought it very interesting. Maybe if they imported Bud Creeman and Wesley Silverhorse to their planet, they’d be able to control their little ruffians. But the men were violent; the film showed that. A trial of their abilities somewhere farther away from the home planet would be best. He continued stroking his chin, contemplating what good might come to his people as a result of the broadcast.
“We’re going to march against the underground tonight,” Lady Grace said. “We have to train some of the horses before we go. There’s a new wrinkle at the underground. Aside from the monsters that would annihilate and enslave us …” she turned off camera, “Jeremy, can you send those images of the Bigs?” She paused a moment. “You should be getting the images now. It’s turns out that my husband, Sam of Emily, has built a secret hide-away and hidden eleven children in it. These are the best of the village, kids who don’t have the genetic diseases shown so clearly in the photos. So, in addition to destroying those beasts before they get us, we need to rescue the children.