George
Posted By: A Halo Fan...natic<mikeandrewp@gmail.com>
Date: 22 August 2007, 3:36 pm
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George sat at home and watched the holovision. He'd always watched holovision, ever since he was a kid. The people on HV were always so friendly compared to the people at his job and his school. He especially liked Rosita Rickman, the UNBN newscaster. She always dressed so pretty, in green and blue dresses. Right now she was saying something about aliens.
"It's too soon to tell for sure, but military strategists say that the pulse from the evil alien scout ship that arrived last week and was utterly destroyed was most likely an emergency communications device, sending a signal to let the other aliens know where the ship is when it's in trouble. We asked Mr. Robert Nording, the UN's secondary military advisor, for his opinion."
The screen cut from the warm, bright newsroom to a dark, wood paneled room. In-between, there was a flicker of something else, but he couldn't see what. Of its own volition, his hand reached for a can of pop. Now an old man was speaking.
"Ah, thank you for having me on your show, Rosita. Now, we're not sure exactly what the signal was saying, and it might not have been saying anything,, but we can't assume that makes it -"
The scene cut back to Rosita. She smiled at him and he felt a warm glow.
"Well, there you have it, the signal was saying nothing. I think we can all safely assume that the aliens aren't coming here, then."
George smiled. He had heard that if the aliens invaded there would be no more holovision. That made him sad, slightly. How would he know what was going on without Rosita? He was glad the aliens weren't coming here.
He leaned back and watched the ads. They always had such good ones on UNBN, especially the one with the dog. That one made him laugh. He especially liked the ads with Kali Richards in them. She always knew the best things to buy. Thanks to her he drank Moca-Cola, instead of that horrid Fountin-Do he had drunk before. He loved Kali Richards.
The news came back on. Now they were talking about Sally Fulls and how she had been charged with drunk driving. He booed at the screen. People like that didn't deserve to be famous. He should be famous. Yeah! But how to get famous? Write a book? People who wrote books were famous. But how could he write a book? He shook his head. He'd never be famous. He sighed and grabbed another can of Moke.
Sally disappeared off the screen. Now it was Rosita again. He smiled.
"Deuterium prices continue to rise! What you can do to help make a difference. More after this short break."
The screen cut back to Kali Richards. "Tired of waking up sore in the morning? Having headaches or blurred vision? Hi, I'm Kali Richards, your best friend LIVE, to tell you that you should buy new Ceravin sleeping aids! Ceravin helps you go to sleep fast - FAST! And for only $49.99 a bottle, you can't afford NOT to buy these pills! Look… look at…"
Something was wrong. George frowned. Suddenly, Kali burst into tears, falling to her knees and sobbing. "No, Kali, don't cry," he said, reaching out to touch the screen, "It's okay." The screen cut to blue for an instant, then went to the funny Cord commercial with the jumping dog. Kali was banished from his thoughts by images of a dog jumping try to catch the hover car floating overhead. George chuckled.
Rosita came back on and lectured about deuterium conservation. George nodded. She was smart. She should be prime minister someday. He'd like to be prime minister, too. Maybe they could be ministers together? He'd like that. And he could stop by her office every now and then, and…
The screen went blank. George stared at it, his face just as blank. It had never been dark this long before. Then it flashed white, flashing like a strobe light. A loud tone sounded. George frowned and screwed up his eyes. He didn't like this! Then a voice came:
"Attention citizens of San Francisco! There is a large ballistic weapon closing on your location. Missile defense systems are neutralized. Take shelter immediately! Repeat, take shelter immediately! This is your emergency broadcast alert! Attention citizens of San Francisco! There is a large…"
George sat and waited for the news to continue. He didn't know what was wrong with the HV now, but he didn't like it.
Four minutes later, George and six million others died in a burst of nuclear fire. George hurt more than he'd ever hurt before.
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