Left Handed

23

Luke, I am your father," I intoned in the voice of Mufasa.

I was so excited. No matter what really happened to my father, it didn't matter if Frzzzbo was my actual father and the other guy is just that. Some guy. I could finally shed any guilt and shame and really start my life out of the shadow.

"No," said Bo.

"Hell no!" said mom. "What gave you that idea?"

I was disappointed. Not terribly so buy a little.

"Soooo?" I asked. "What do you need to tell me?"

"Your mother is going to be neutralized."

I jumped up. Neutralized? What? They are going to kill her? Why did she agree to that? She looked so happy. It was the air. Must be. She was on some sort of drug.

"Neutralized as in made into an Atlantean. Not neutralized as in Cold War stuff," mom said.

"Oh." That was awkward. I sat back down. "So what exactly do you mean?"

"Well," Frzzzbo started.

"No," I interjected. I pointed at mom. "You tell me."

"Oh! You don't talk to us like that," she said.

That was the straw that broke the Land Rover's windshield. I once again jumped out of my chair, this time flipping it over. I made a ugh sound and stormed out.

How can it be possible that adults are so thick? It should be illegal to be that stupid. I don't get it.

I left the building and continued stomping down the road. Soon my surroundings calmed me. New Atlantis is the absolute shit. The architecture is a fusion of Classical Greek and modern innovation. High towers perfectly melted into collonaded temples, into sleek townhouses. Whether you are looking for a bachelor's pad close to the heart of town or a family retreat, New Atlantis has something for you. And I sound like a fucking real estate agent.

Fact is though, it's great and my mood mellowed more and more.

At one point I got fascinated by the street. It was laid out in colorful mosaics that seemed to tell a story. Sometimes the story would branch out just like the street did, so, for example, I went down the road and it told a story of one king of Atlantis where he met a farmer who pointed at the stars. Then, at a crossroad, the story of the king continued on the main road but down the street the story of the farmer started. I decided to walk down the street with the farmer's story, turned the corner and ran straight into a girl.

The girl shouted something in Atlantean. She had short, spiky hair and wore faded jeans and a black shirt. She looked like a punk.

She looked me up and down and repeated what she had said, this time a little less aggressive and a little more curious. I'm the alien in this scenario.

"I don't speak fish," I told her.

She started to laugh immediately.

"You're good," she said, in English. "I said , what the fuck are you doing? So. What are you doing?"

"I'm following the goat dude."

The girl turned and looked down the road.

"There is no goat dude. Anyway. Farming is done in Atlantis B. Sorry. Are you new?"

I looked at her blue skin, then lifted my arms and made a show of looking at them. "Yeah..." I drawled.

"That's kinda racist," the girl said. Then she laughed again. "I'm just busting your boobs. You look like a vampire. Again. What goat dude?"

I pointed at the floor. I didn't know what to make of this woman. Either she was a complete bitch or she was really funny. Maybe humor didn't work the same here as it did back home. One thing was for sure. She trumped mom and Frzzzbo right now so I'd hang on to her. At least until I was sure she wasn't nuts.

"Oh. The shepherd? Did you know he was a full on communist?"

"Really? How so?" I asked. Not that I really cared but it would get her to keep talking.

"Yeah. So the story goes that the king went to the shepherd and told him he needed money for a war. The shepherd refused and said that he will not pay for the war that doesn't affect him. The king then set up his defenses behind the grazing ground of the shepherd and let the enemy run through those lands and steal the sheep before he defeated them. So the shepherd went to the king and asked him to help him get back on his feet but the king refused and said that their problems did not align. So the shepherd seceded from the kingdom and built his own community where he shared everything with everyone. Unfortunately his lands were crowded with people too lazy to work and then, when resources were at an all time low, the king invaded with his army and exiled the shepherd for good."

"Eh," I said. "You are crazy."

"So I keep hearing. Did you know that the shepherd is the hero in this story? That king, his name was Frizzzta by the way, did a lot of things for us and that is the one thing he got wrong according to our thinkers and I am using that word very loosely."

That the girl wasn't offended by me calling her crazy was probably the biggest point for her. She did have strange ideas but I am not going to judge someone because they have one strange idea. Don't we all have those? Seems to me, that's what makes us conscious.

"So. Where can a girl get fucked up in this town?" I asked. I wanted to spend time with this girl. I knew I needed a friend here. I had to stop making enemies.

"Now we're talking the same language. I am Ta, by the way," she said and extended her hand.

I took it but also raised an eyebrow.

"Okay fine," she conceded. "Lizzzta."

"Of course it is," I said, "Tracy."