LEGAL DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Disney or Buena
Vista, to whom the show "Gargoyles"
belong, yadayadayada, and all that jazz. You've heard
it before, and you are likely to hear it again.
CHRONOTRIGGER LABORATORIES, SOMEWHERE ALONG THE TIMESTREAM
The lone gargoyle quickly
scaled the outer wall, making sure he remained in the shadows. He grinned
at the bittersweet irony of his quest. First, locate
and acquire one ChronoTrigger. Second, find his way to
the Temporal Gate.
Then, go to Roswell, New Mexico
to change history, to keep the USAF from getting their greedy hands
on the UFO-technology that had been used for building
the machine that stood here. Such amusement, such
fun... such grief he would be able to prevent...
Having slapped the wristwatch-like
ChronoTrigger on his arm, he entered the Transporter Pad and voiced
the commands meant to take him back through time.
"Computer, set arrival
to Roswell, New Mexico, grid one-oh-two-nine by one-nine-seven-nine, date
July
seven, time two-one-oh-oh. Energize."
"Unable to comply, sir.
Security registers as breached. No ChronoLeap will be authorized until
the alarm
is off."
"WHAT? Oh, c'mon, computer,
gimme a break. Be nice, eh?"
"Consider this, puny organic
being: I am currently the world's most sophisticated AI, and I'm eternally
trapped in a box measuring about two by five by eight
inches. I have no reason to be nice."
The gargoyle grinned.
He had foreseen this, and he had the computer exactly where he wanted him.
"So, buddy, you're stuck?
Hey, how 'bout a deal?"
"And what do you think
I desire from a fleshling?"
"Well, if I can do my
Leap, you won't be trapped in that box."
The computer hummed for
a brief moment, seemingly thinking it through.
"Well, mortal, I think
there is only one appropriate word for my answer..."
Green lightnings flashed
on the Transporter Pad, ripping the young gargoyle out of reality.
"Namely `Doneï. Good
luck, young one."
ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO, JULY 7TH, 1948
"...And next thing I knew,
I was standing here in front of you. By the way, my name is Harry. And
yours?"
The girl smiled, extended
her hand, and replied, "I'm Sally. Welcome to Roswell. And you still haven't
explained what you are."
"Oh, sorry. Gargoyles
are protectors, it's not just what we do, it's what we are. I'm here to
protect the
future from its past, which happens to be in the near
future from now... do you follow?"
"Uh... yeah, I think so.
You're going to change something that will happen here tomorrow."
"Actually, tonight. There
will be an awful storm, and two alien spacecraft will collide and hit the
ground.
In the future from whence I came, the USAF had recovered
both wrecks and managed to repair one with
parts of the other, and they used the spacecraft... against
my kind. I alone survived the onslaught, blind luck
saved my hide. Or maybe it was fate, I don't know. In
any case..." The gargoyle looked down at his feet,
shoulders drooping, "In any case, I am the last. And
as for the humans of that future... something in the small
spacecraft was awakened, and quickly gathered all the
energy it could. Earth lost all power plants withing hours.
Fusion plants, old solar power plants, you name it, they
were tapped, bled dry. Within the next two months,
humanity had been reduced to a mere percent of its population,
caused by starvation and hypothermia alone.
Only a few installations still had power when the UFO
headed out of our atmosphere, the few who ran on
geothermal power. Among them, the ChronoTrigger Facilities."
"So, you think you can
do this, then? I've always thought that history is impossible to change,
that what is
done is done for all time."
"True, that is how it
usually works... but the ChronoTrigger project changed that."
"How?"
"Uh... I'm no scientist,
but I think they found some way of moving outside time, so that history
would be
unaware of any changes, so to speak."
"Okay, I think I get it.
So, need any help?"
"Most likely."
The skies opened around
midnight, and a handful of strange craft were visible high above the planet.
Two of them collided, and plummeted toward the ground,
blasting a formidable crater where they landed.
Harry and Sally made their way to the UFOs, fighting
the wind.
"How far away do you think
it is?"
"What?"
"I SAID... oh, skip it.
You can't hear me over the wind anyway."
"I can't hear you over
the wind. The crash site is just down in that hole, we'll be sheltered
from the
storm there."
Sally made a face, holding
on to Harry as best she could while walking behind him. Harry found the
crater in a most impractical way, stepping right into
it and pulling Sally along in the fall. When they recovered,
they found themselves leaning on a metallic surface of...
something, and staring at a short, grayish humanoid
with an oversized head, large black eyes and something
deadly-looking in his hand. The creature spoke.
"Sxwuldigrh! Mwxfnghe?
Gargfdsdryjbn!"
Sally looked at the alien
blankly, but Harry seemed to understand the language.
"Sqrophtz. Nzwoytrdwasvmnb,
stjshsdrgbxnxy agrfhst."
The alien lowered his
weapon and smiled.
"Very well, if you insist.
But why did you drop in on us, anyway?"
Sally stared.
"Oh, and could you tell
this human friend of yours that it is impolite to stare at people?"
Harry grinned, "I think
it's just that she never expected you to speak our language."
"I don't, it's this interpretor
device that translates for me. So, come to help repair our vessels, or
to hinder us?"
"Actually, I know that
it is impossible for you to repair both craft, you must rebuild one with
parts from the
other, leaving one wreck here."
"How can you say that?"
"Because I'm from the
future. A future where you failed to repair your ships and get away. And
because of
that, this planet will die in about 150 years."
The alien paled.
"I'll notify the Commander.
Quickly, you must help us transfer parts, then."
The three of them made
their way inside the spacecraft, and started disassembling destroyed parts,
throwing them outside.
"The crew from the other
vessel should be here momentarily. Now, do you know how we can repair
one of our ships?"
"Yep, I sure do, you need
to replace these consoles," Harry pointed at the far wall where three smoking
computers stood, "the ones in the other craft are still
mostly functional."
"Why not instead take
pieces from this one over there?"
Sally looked up at the
gargoyle, smiling, fidgeting with small pieces of unearthly metal.
"Yeah, Harry, why not
take parts from this one over to the other ship?"
"Simple. On this ship,
the engines still work, and the hull is intact. On the other... well, losing
power and
atmosphere just doesn't sound comfortable."
The alien swallowed and
opened the hatch, allowing three others to enter.
"Qwagfthjfdy shgdytj
xhxjxyjjfg, dj."
The three newcomers nodded,
and left.
"They're going for the
consoles, I just hope you are right."
"I know I am. Now, we
have about five hours to make repairs and get you out of here, let's hurry."
THE UFO, THREE HOURS LATER
One human, one gargoyle
and seven aliens were working hard together, for the first time in history.
The
last of the repaired consoles was sliding nicely into
place, and the machinery started to hum contentedly.
"Srsjtrj dhd."
Two of the aliens smiled
to each other and touched foreheads.
"Guys, we did it."
The alien they first had
met cheered and fished up the two earthlings in a hug.
"Without you two, who
knows what would have happened?"
"I do. The military would
have found both craft, arrested and performed experiments on you, and rebuilt
this
craft themselves. Then, our world would have been forfeit."
"We thank you."
"Likewise." Harry smiled
at the crew. "But now you must hurry up and leave, in less than two hours
humans
will arrive to capture you."
Some of the aliens were
arguing haughtily.
"Harry, what's going on?"
Sally asked nervously.
"Uh... you might not like
this, but they're arguing about what to do with us, since we've seen them
and
been in here."
"What do you... they want
to kill us?"
"No... not exactly. They
argue whether killing us is necessary, whether or not there are alternatives..."
The navigator they had
first befriended approached them, concerned.
"Harry, Sally, I think
you should decide what we do to you."
"What are our options?"
"Well, there's death..."
"Out of the question."
"Very well, then there's
memory wiping, but our facility is not functioning as well as it should
due to
the crash..."
"We'll pass."
"That leaves one possibility.
Come with us."
"WHAT?" The two earthlings
chorused.
"Really, we cannot let
you walk loose with your knowledge. What's more, this military of yours
is likely
to capture you, as well, and squeeze information from
you. So therefore we have an offer for you."
"We're listening."
"First: if you come with
us, you will automatically become the ambassadors of your homeworld. You
will be given positions of power in the Galactic Council,
and you will have the final word in decisions concerning
your planet. Second: we have the equipment to create
artificial habitats to your liking, we can assure you, your
surroundings will never be displeasing to you. Third:
you'll be able to go where no earthlings have gone before.
Part of the status of Ambassador is your own personal
spacecraft, ensuring efficient and comfortable means of
transportation. Fourth: uh... well, there is really no
fourth point, the standard offer always consists of four parts,
the last of which is to be suggested by our... guests.
What do you think?"
Harry and Sally stared
at each other, pondering, when the a voice cut through to them from the
cockpit.
"Jhsdysdt stjhklo rrlsauozw!"
Harry spoke before Sally
had the time to open her mouth.
"It seems our decision
has been made for us. We accept."
Sally glared at him.
"Sorry, Sally, but the
USAF is approaching. If we don't get out of here, they'll arrest us for
trespassing. And
according to my history lessons, they aren't used to
gargoyles in this period."
The vessel rose from the
ground, albeit unsteadily, and shot toward the sky. On board were seven
gray-
skinned humanoids, one red-haired human and a turqouise
gargoyle.
"Well, Schrwu, if we are
leaving earth, I for one could use a meal. Got anything to eat around here?"
Their friend guided them
to the rear of the spacecraft.
"Please, ambassadors,
follow me, we have a device for preparing food over here. Just place your
palm on
this scanner here," Schrwu said, demonstrating how the
device worked, "and think of what you would like to
eat. The machine will identify your desire, and you may
retrieve your meal from this hatch."
He took a small, liquid-filled
cup from the compartment and sipped happily.
Sally tried, placing her
hand on the scanner, and tried to think of what she wanted to eat. When
she opened
the hatch, there was a tall pile of pancakes, drenched
in blueberry jam resting there. Smacking her lips hungrily,
she started to scarf her food down.
"Hmmm, these pancakes
are the best I ever tasted."
"But of course, ambassador
Sally, the food replicator scans your memory for the best sample of your
selected
edible, and replicates that. It cannot go wrong."
Harry shoved the two gently
aside, placing his palm on the scanner.
"Please step back, I'm
so hungry, I could eat a horse."
EPILOGUE
Ambassadors Harry and
Sally of Earth worked honorably for as long as they were in office in the
Galactic
Council, always working to help the ones in trouble,
never afraid to get some dirt between their toes. The
Ambassadorial Policy concerning Earth was one of no interference;
the decision was that when Earthlings were
ready, they would come to the Council, instead of vice
versa. Their children never saw their ancestral home, but
one day, their descendants may be allowed to return to
Earth. Over the 170 earth-years Harry worked, the only flaw
on his record was what had been humorously dubbed `The
Equine Incident', in memory of a small mistake he had
made before he stood before the Council for the first
time.