The Hand Of God (3) ZHULHAR "Every rule that you need to be aware of is written in this book." Chris picks up the book and looks at the thickness of it. CHRIS "And you expect me to read all of this?" ZHULHAR "In time, yes." Chris puts the book back on the table. CHRIS "What about in the mean time? Is there anyone that will be teaching me?" ZHULHAR "Unfortunately, no. Our last mediator committed suicide in the mess hall." CHRIS "Suicide? Why?" ZHULHAR "I will not lie to you. Your job will be very mentally demanding. You will see horrific things that you will not be able to prevent. The only rule is that you stay within the guidelines written in that book." CHRIS "And if I say that I don't want to be your mediator?" ZHULHAR "Then you will be killed." CHRIS "Killed? Why?" ZHULHAR "We cannot put you back on Earth. Having you on Earth now will create an unbalanced population." Chris starts to become more boisterous and rises from his seat. CHRIS "Well it seems that I don't have a choice now do I?" ZHULHAR "No, Christopher. There is always a choice. However harsh it may be." Chris puts both of his hands down on the table and speaks harshly to ZhulHar in an inferior, slave-like tone. CHRIS "Well, may I leave then, Master?" ZHULHAR "There is no need to become angry, Christopher. I have just given you the greatest power that any human could imagine. Do you not appreciate it?" CHRIS "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate this opportunity but it seems a little bit out of my league." ZHULHAR "It may seem that way, but you have been conditioned for this position for your entire life. You will do fine." CHRIS "Maybe it all just has to sink in." ZHULHAR "That is a possibility. Let me have Ben escort you to the mess hall. You can get some food and relax. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow." ZhulHar presses the intercom button on his console and begins to pipe into the intercom. ZHULHAR "Ben, could you please escort our new addition to the mess hall for some food?" Ben's voice rings back through the intercom. BEN "I'm on my way." ZhulHar sits back in his chair and tries to get Chris to relax. ZHULHAR "Please sit. I'm sure that Ben will be along shortly." CHRIS "I'm fine. I think I'll wait in the hallway." ZhulHar goes along with Chris' request and presses another button on his console. Chris hears a locking mechanism coming from the door to the hallway. ZHULHAR "I've just unlocked the door. You are free to go." Chris begins to make his way towards the exit. CHRIS "Thank you." ZhulHar picks up the rule book from the table and holds it in the air. ZHULHAR "Aren't you forgetting something, Christopher?" Chris turns around quickly and sees the book in ZhulHar's hand. He walks back and takes the book from ZhulHar before spouting his trademark sarcasm. CHRIS "Oh, don't want to forget that." Chris turns and, again, makes his way toward the door and enters into the hallway. INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE THE "GAME ROOM" Chris leans against the wall while he waits for Ben. He begins to slide down the wall to sit on the floor and look over his rulebook. As he slides down the wall his back forms to the bumps and ridges that occupy the wall panel. Just before he reaches a seated position he catches his forearm on a small piece of metal protruding from the panel, giving him a small cut of about 2 inches on his forearm. He jumps up, dropping his rulebook, and looking back at the wall. CHRIS "Ouch!!" Chris takes a closer look at what cut him. He sees the small lip on a piece of the metal and kicks the lip in anger. Just after he kicks the panel he hears a familiar voice coming from down the hallway. BEN "Hey, what happened?" Chris looks at his forearm and shows Ben as he approaches. CHRIS "I cut my arm." As he takes a closer look Chris' eyes bulge. CHRIS "There's no blood." Ben looks at the wound and pokes it. BEN "Yeah there is, right there." Chris lets out a small yelp. CHRIS "Ouch" Chris still in amazement looks at Ben. CHRIS "You think I need stitches?" Ben looks back at Chris. BEN "Not here." Chris looks puzzled at Ben. CHRIS "What do you mean not here?" BEN "Here. As in this ship." Ben reaches down and picks up Chris' rulebook from the floor. BEN "The only thing that you will need stitches for on this ship is decapitation." Chris takes the rulebook from Ben. CHRIS "This is too weird." Ben grabs Chris by the shoulder and begins to escort him to the mess hall. BEN "Trust me it will only get more weird." The two begin to walk. BEN "Let's go get something to eat." CHRIS "It's not going to be worms or anything, right?" BEN "Hey, if you want worms you can have worms." Ben tilts his head towards Chris. BEN "I was thinking of pizza." Chris looks back at Ben. CHRIS "No. Ravioli. They can do Ravioli, right?" BEN "What ever you want." The two walk a short distance before reaching the mess hall. They turn the corner and enter. INT. MESS HALL The mess hall is fairly small. A few people sit at the tables set up around the hall. There are about thirty people in the room in total. To the right of the room sits a stack of trays and a lineup of stations that resemble metallic microwaves. Chris notices a couple of people at the stations as they speak into a microphone at the side and open the door to retrieve their food. Chris and Ben walk over to the trays. BEN "Remember how I told you that things only get more weird?" Chris still in amazement answers Ben. CHRIS "Yeah." Ben and Chris pick up a tray each and head to one of the stations. BEN "Well here we go." The two step up to one of the machines. Ben stands in front of Chris, presses in a button and begins to speak into the microphone. BEN "Pizza. Pepperoni, mushrooms, tomato." Ben releases the button and the message "Processing.." appears on the display of the station. Within a few seconds a pizza appears in the machine. Ben opens the door and takes out his pizza. BEN "Voila. 30 seconds or it's free." Ben giggles at his own joke and then shows Chris how to operate the machinery. BEN "Ok, this is a food synthesizer. All you have to do is hold down this button.." Ben points at the small button beside the microphone. BEN "Tell the machine what you want…" Ben points to the microphone mounted on the side of the station. BEN "And BOOM! You've got it." Ben steps aside to let Chris try it. BEN "Give it a shot." Chris steps up to the machine and holds down the button. CHRIS "Ravioli." The machine processes his order and soon a bowl and fork appear behind the door. Chris opens the synthesizer and removes his order. CHRIS "There's nothing in it…" Chris puts the tray on the counter in front of the synthesizer. Frustrated with the machine he holds down the button again and begins to speak. Ben sits back and has a chuckle. CHRIS "SHIT!" Chris speaks into the microphone almost as though he was spelling the word out. CHRIS "R-A-V-I-O-L-I." Once again the machine's display shows "Processing.." Ben stands behind Chris and talks into this ear. BEN "Yeah, that'll taste real good." Just as Ben gets the words out of his mouth a bowl and fork appear behind the door accompanied by a pungent stink. BEN "Mmmm, Shit Ravioli. Just like Mom used to make." Chris starts to break up laughing. CHRIS "You've got to be joking me." Ben nudges Chris aside with one arm as he opens the door of the synthesizer. BEN "The smell speaks for it self doesn't it?" Ben removes the bowl from the synthesizer and deposits it in the trash receptacle below the synthesizer. Chris hears the people at the table behind them laughing and talking about them under their breath. One of the guys at the table yells out. MURDOCK "Hey, Ben. Could you order me a shit sandwich? I've been craving one all day." The entire mess hall erupts with laughter. Ben turns around and jokingly responds. BEN "Would you like that with or without peanuts?" The mess hall again rings out with laughter as Ben helps Chris order his food. Ben talks softly to Chris as not to be overheard. BEN "These things are picky sometimes. Once you get the hang of it you will be fine." Ben steps up to the synthesizer and holds down the button before speaking into the microphone. BEN "Beef Ravioli with tomato sauce." Within a few seconds the order pops up into the synthesizer and Ben pulls it out. BEN "See it's just as easy as that." Chris places his order on his serving tray. Ben takes his pizza and escorts Chris over to a seat near the front of the mess hall. Murdock leaves his seat and meets the two as they sit down at their table. The three sit down and Murdock extends his hand to introduce himself. MURDOCK "Hi, Derrick Murdock. I'm the tech officer around here, so if you have any problems with any of the computers you come and let me know. You must be the new mediator." Chris acknowledges his position with little enthusiasm. CHRIS "Yeah, I guess I am." MURDOCK "You don't sound so enthused. But then those fuckers don't give you much choice, do they?" CHRIS "Mediate and live or refuse and die is about the only choice I heard in there." MURDOCK "Yeah, it's like going from ‘land of the free, home of the brave’ to ‘band of the misfits, home of the slaves’." Ben pipes up and makes a comment. BEN "But let's be honest here. Chris has a good gig right?" Murdock nods his head as he eats his lunch and Ben climbs on top of his seat and raises his mammoth arms in the air. He speaks loudly and the mess hall automatically turns their attention to the table. BEN "The Hand of God….." Ben reaches down to Chris with his out-stretched arm and touches him on the forehead with his finger. BEN "You can give life……" Ben clenches his fist and strikes it down on the table. BEN "… or you can take it away." Ben leans down and whispers to Chris. BEN "You have the ultimate power, the ability to create or destroy. The only question is can you handle witnessing the things that you can't control." Murdock pipes up in agreement. MURDOCK "That's right. Some of the shit you see will mess with your head.” CHRIS "Nothing matters now, right? I can't go back." MURDOCK "Now that's the spirit." BEN "Chris, everything matters. You see even though ZhulHar and Mofdo helped the human race evolve they did not control the entire evolution. Humans can think for themselves and evolve on their own. Sooner or later they will discover the microchips embedded under their skin, remove them and begin to evolve on their own." Chris looks at Ben puzzled. CHRIS "So what you are saying is that I am here to mediate their game, but I am really here to stall them long enough so the human race can evolve past them?" BEN "In more simple terms, yes." MURDOCK "You are here to outsmart your creator." CHRIS "What is this some sort of resistance?" BEN "Yes and no. Everybody on this ship knows that their ultimate fate is death. So we want to do everything we can to ensure the human race lives on, because once the human race is dead, so are we." CHRIS "Why don't you just overthrow the ship?" MURDOCK "They'd kick our ass for sure." BEN "We out number them, but Mofdo is too strong, even for me." CHRIS "So ZhulHar is…" BEN "The weakest of the two, yes. However, he is extremely smart and also has the ability to shape-shift. He may even be able to shift into a form with the likeness of Mofdo, which would be extremely difficult to handle even though he may not have the same combat abilities as Mofdo." CHRIS "So basically we are at the hands of our own race to ensure that we stay alive." BEN "Yes, if they continue to evolve the way they have been, we are sure to see some sort of results within the next 50 to 100 years." CHRIS "Man this is bullshit. How did I manage to get stuck….." The beautiful nurse that met Chris upon arrival on the ship walks through the mess hall corridor and approaches the food synthesizer. She leans up against the synthesizer and provocatively enters her selection. Chris, almost in a drooling state tries to get out a word. CHRIS "Damn. Who is that? She is hot!" Murdock and Ben look at each other and cover their grins. Murdock finally speaks up with a smart remark. MURDOCK (giggling) "Must be a little testosterone left in the system." BEN (giggling) "Shut up." Chris looks at the two with an empty gaze. CHRIS "What? She's hot, right?" Ben and Murdock look at each other. MURDOCK "I am sure she is but we don't really look at her that way." CHRIS "What?" Ben motions to the young woman who has just finished with her order. BEN "Melissa!" Melissa looks over and makes her way over to the table where the three are seated. She sits down beside Murdock and is introduced to Chris. BEN "Melissa, this is Chris Creemore. He's the new mediator." Melissa extends her hand across the table and introduces herself. MELISSA "Hi there, Melissa Fannon. I am the resident nurse around here." Chris shakes her hand and replies. CHRIS "Nice to meet you." MELISSA "Good to meet you too." Ben addresses the comments that Chris had made about Melissa. BEN "Mel, Chris was just telling us how ‘hot’ you are." MELISSA "Oh, really?" Embarrassed Chris begins to stumble over his words. CHRIS "I was just…ummm..I…ahh..I meant…" MELISSA "Chris, it's quite alright." Chris shuts his mouth before he gets himself deeper into trouble with his love interest. BEN "Well?" MELISSA "Well, first of all. I am sorry Chris but even though I look like the neighbors daughter, I am actually old enough to be your grand mother. Secondly, I am pretty sure that you are not supposed to be having those feelings since I personally…." Melissa takes a deep breath before attempting her phrase and braces herself for the reaction. MELISSA "Removed your testes." Stunned Chris just looks back at Melissa with a blind stare. CHRIS "Ummm, what?" Melissa offers her explanation. MELISSA "Well, castration is a necessary procedure for new males who are boarding the ship. You see the human male is just too aggressive to be on a ship where order and peace is the prime directive. Also, procreation is not needed on the ship and is, therefore, forbidden. You will be given a testosterone substitute that will allow you to lead a normal life as a male, but you will not have sexual feelings." Chris, still in awe speaks up. CHRIS "So, you….cut off my balls…and ask me to accept that?" MELISSA "Well, Chris. They are already gone." Chris clutches at his crotch. CHRIS "You can't just go around cutting off other peoples balls." MELISSA "I'm sorry Chris but it is procedure." Chris becomes more vocal and angry. CHRIS "Sorry? It's procedure? FUCK YOU!" Chris stands up and reaches out for Melissa over the table. CHRIS "You cut my balls off, I break your fuckin' jaw!" Chris grabs Melissa by the scruff of the shirt and pulls her closer before winding up with his right hand. Just as he is about to punch Melissa he feels a hefty thud on the back of his head. He lets go of Melissa and drops to the floor. He can't hear much except for the mumble of people as he looks through his blurry eyes from the floor. BEN "Sorry Chris. You just need some time to cool down." MELISSA "Here this will settle you down. Sweet dreams." With a prick to the arm Chris is off to dream land. He blanks out and falls asleep. FADE OUT FADE IN INT. CHRIS' APARTMENT Chris' eyes slowly begin to focus on the ceiling above his bed. He cautiously gets out of bed and looks around his large room. Filled with all the luxuries of home, the room is fit for a king. Chris rubs his eyes and looks towards the kitchen. A food synthesizer is affixed on the far wall of the room with a table directly across from it. He walks into the kitchen and approaches the synthesizer. CHRIS "Ok, just behave and we'll get along fine." Chris presses the button for the synthesizer and begins to enter his order.
Copyright © 2001 Brent Paine |