Episode 34. Life Imitates Fiction
Context
- Coordinated Universal Time
- Monday, July 22, 2024 - 12:29 PM
- Location
-
- Space
- Lunar Orbit
- NATO Starbase
- USS Enterprise
- Captain's Quarters
- Timeline
- Unknown Timeline
- Previously
-
Aboard the Enterprise, Agnes and Angie take possession of their quarters. Between humor and mishaps, they discover a classified file sent by Admiral Michaux: since 1954, NATO has been exploiting extraterrestrial technologies recovered from the crash of a spacecraft at the North Pole. The file even mentions a Vulcan alien named T'Met, sowing doubt about the true origin of certain advances.
Characters
| Name | Affiliation / Branch | Title / Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Agnes V. Rodriguez | NATO / Special Fleet | Captain |
| Angie Chen | NATO / Special Fleet | Commander |
Manifests
| USS Mercator Out of Service | USS Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliation | NATO | NATO |
| Location | Docked at the NATO Starbase | Docked at the NATO Starbase |
| Captain | Agnes V. Rodriguez | |
| First Officer | Angie Chen | |
| Pilot | Eric Corda | |
| Communications | Emilie Flores | |
| Operations | Charlene Savea | |
| Advanced Weapons | Eros Vitos | |
| Infirmary | Victor S. Calpel | |
| Counselor/Consultant | N/A | |
| Custodian | Manu |
TL;DR
Agnes and Angie debate the revelations contained in NATO's confidential files, between conspiracy theories and references to the cult series Galaxy Patrol. While watching episodes, they realize that the UFO observed over Brussels during the evacuation strangely resembles a ship from the 1960s fiction... dangerously blurring the line between imagination and reality.
Story
In the luxurious suite of our Enterprise palace, we're buried in NATO's deepest secrets, all packed into a file Admiral Michaux handed us.
Angie is practically tearing her hair out trying to make sense of all these revelations.
Listening to her, I feel like we've become two FBI agents investigating unsolved cases.
The theories fly, the conspiracies pile up...
Basically, nothing is off the table.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
... No, Agnes, I don't agree with you!
From a technological standpoint, we are far too advanced for our time!
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
That is illogical, Angie.
The telephone was invented long before the North Pole crash, and technology in that field has progressed steadily ever since.
Your theory does not hold water.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
And I'm telling you that ship comes from the future.
And that, in that future, humans and aliens will be allies.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Oh, sure...
And now you're going to tell me they travel back in time by slingshotting around the sun and doing three pirouettes in a flying DeLorean?
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Don't make fun of me, Agnes!
How they travel through time doesn't matter!
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Keep your voice down!
You're going to make the Enterprise capsize in spacedock.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
I'm serious, Agnes!
Something about all this doesn't add up!
Then explain why the transporter doesn't work the way the file says it should.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
That's simple.
The aliens are smarter than we are.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Nonsense, Agnes!
And you're forgetting all the similarities with Galaxy Patrol.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
That has absolutely nothing to do with any of this!!!
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Quit kidding yourself, Agnes, and face the truth!
Our Enterprise looks exactly like Captain John V. Clark's USS Advance.
Even the bridge is identical... except, perhaps, for that ridiculous raised captain's chair of yours.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
I maintain that it is pure coincidence.
The show's creator could never have gotten his hands on information that secure and turned it into a low-budget science-fiction series.
And let me remind you: construction of the Enterprise began ten years ago, not in the sixties.
The engineers at Area 51 may have been inspired by that series... and not the other way around.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Every system has its flaws.
And you know that better than anyone, Agnes.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
We're getting carried away, my love.
Maybe we should take a break.
Silence settles in.
Our brains are smoking as theories collide.
Finally, Angie looks up from the screen, exhausted.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Good idea, Agnes.
You know what...
What if we watched that series?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Oooh no...
You're not starting that again, Angie.
Do you have the video files with you?
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Of course.
I never go anywhere without my external drive.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
In that case, connect it to the screen while I go get two beers and some popcorn from the kitchen.
Angie is a true fan of this series.
She knows everything there is to know about it.
As for me, I've never been a fan of this cheesy little sci-fi show...
But today... strangely enough, I'm intrigued.
Settled comfortably on the couch, we start watching Galaxy Patrol.
After a while, Angie falls asleep against me and wraps her arms around me as if I were her teddy bear.
That's just how she is.
And I love it.
After several hours of watching, one scene suddenly sends a chill down my spine.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Angie!
Angie, wake up!
Quick, hand me the remote!!
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Huh... Uh... What?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
How do you rewind?
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Hmm... wait.
It is this button.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Look at that, Angie!
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Yes, I see... so what?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
What's that ship called?
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
It is an Aragthonian ship, Agnes.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
That's it!!!
That's our UFO!!!
The one from Brussels!
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
I was peacefully walking down a yellow brick road...
And you woke me up for that?
Good grief...
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Hang on a second.
I'm pulling up my mission file.
Look at the shots we took on the Mercator.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
It's blurry, Agnes.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Yes.
But when I line the two images up, it's clearly the same shape.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Hmm... yeah.
You may be right.
But as you said this afternoon, there is no connection between reality and fiction.
Can I go back into my dream now?
A tin man, a scarecrow, and a lion are waiting for me there...
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Yes...
Sorry for waking you up, Dorothy.
I think I've become addicted to this series.
This dive into fiction is starting to feel more and more like a real investigation.
For hours, episode after episode, I keep watching, studying every detail, every clue that might connect fiction to reality.
Then, utterly exhausted, I finally fall asleep too...
The screen still glowing.
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