Who Dad?!

Back Where We Left Off

"Why on Earth would I want to do that?!"

"Off Earth, actually."

"Wait, you want me to leave the planet to meet my father?" I couldn't help thinking, I bet no one had ever said those exact words before. "Ivy, you are an astounding woman and I'm sure a wonderful travel companion, but I'm married and — "

"I am an android, not a woman. This current form was chosen by my Captain."

Okay, so it was possible for things to get even stranger. I looked at her more closely, touched her very real feeling skin, and then blurted, "You're not real?!"

"I assure you that I am quite real. However, my creation process differed from anything you would be familiar with. I am a Z-generation android designed to be able to replicate any known life form in the galaxy."

"Why?" was all I could manage to say, while feeling something like an unrealistic fantasy in the first place slip away.

"ZARDs are deployed throughout the galaxy to assist travelers in need. However, when my Captain discovered that the treachery disrupting a peaceful evolution on this planet had conspirators in both the Dream Whisper and Alternate Reality Simulator networks, plus on the Galactic Tourist OverBoard itself, he did not know whom to trust, so he reprogrammed me to assist him."

I stopped her and asked her to explain just about everything she had just said, which led me to exclaim, "I still don't understand! You are all part of a supremely evolved collective, right? Why is any of this happening?!"

"Are you referring to the unraveling of the connective web that has kept your civilizations intact or to why some intervention has not prevented it from occurring?"

"All of it!"

"Your father stayed in human form too long, became somewhat imbalanced, broke several rules, including altering his genetic material for mating purposes. It was his intent to counteract the negative influence of those tampering with the networks while remaining hidden himself. I participated as he directed."

"Hold on, are you saying that I was supposed to be part of some solution?"

"Not just you, but all of his offspring."

"Just how many of us are there?"

"Several thousand, around the planet, and of varying ages."

"WTF?! So how did I wind up being his repository?"

"You did share his love of golf and writing."

"Are you kidding me? That's why he chose me?"

"He did not choose you. I did. He was past being able to make decisions. Your relative location was a factor in my choice."

"I was convenient. Lucky me."

I was so caught up in Ivy's revelations, I had not heard nor noticed several rough looking street people approaching us.

"Uh oh!" I nudged Ivy and whispered, "We may have some trouble right here and now."

She gave me a peculiar look as if she just realized that she had been attempting to communicate with an imbecile.

"I am a ZARD" was all she said as she disappeared from sight and one by one our potential assailants seem to spontaneously decide to take a nap.

She was speaking as she reappeared, "It is time to leave".

There was no discussion. She lifted me as if I were a paperweight and in a blur we were back inside where she had once brought me before.

"This is my vessel."

"It looks like the inside of an Airstream trailer. But, Ivy, I can't just leave the planet. That's not something people like me do. I should talk to my wife first. Besides, why do you need me?"

"It is necessary to restore my Captain's essence."

"Take it! It's certainly not doing me any good."

"For that, we need the facilities of a galactic medical station. Otherwise, there is a danger of damaging the integrity of your being."

"But I thought he was disintegrating, or something bad like that."

"He needed to be forced back into his natural state. He has been regenerating in a special chamber ever since he was retrieved by an OverBoard team."

"So, you wanted them to fix him, but not learn what he knew."

"Exactly."

I think she gave me a look of approval. And, after seeing what she was capable of doing, there didn't seem to be any point in arguing, but I did make one last meager attempt.

"I have nothing to wear for outer space."

She made that sound like a laugh again, then gave me something to wear unlike anything I had ever seen. It was a lightweight jump suit that glimmered as if it were alive. Against my better judgement, but curious, I started to put it on. It finished the process by itself, expanding then contracting until it fit snugly over my entire body. I must admit, it was nifty, and I felt pretty cool. I imagined myself showing up at the club in it.

"It will protect you from all temperature changes and provide your body with the oxygen and nutrients you will need."

"I guess I'm going to meet my father in outer space." Yeah, I really did enjoy saying that. Unless it was the living suit talking.