Axonite Super Ostrich
Joined: 01 Sep 2005 Posts: 1560 Location: NEPA
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Posted: Sun May 24, 2009 4:42 pm Post subject: Security Alert! - A Station V3 short story |
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"Security alert!" Linton shouted, as he ran down the hallway from the shuttle bay. "Security alert!"
Mr. Maintenance Engineer looked over from the panel he was working on. "What's wrong?"
Linton skidded to a stop. "There's a security alert!"
Mr. Maintenance Engineer nodded. "Yes, I got that. But why?"
"Because there's a security alert!"
"There's a security alert because there's a security alert?"
Linton looked puzzled. "What other reason would there be?"
"I don't know..." Mr. Maintenance Engineer gestured down the hallway with the electric wrench he was holding. "Something wrong in the shuttle bay, maybe?"
"Of course there's something wrong in the shuttle bay! There's a security alert."
"Yes, yes," Mr. Maintenance Engineer replied, quickly losing his remaining patience. "But what specifically is wrong there?"
"There's a security alert!" Linton was also losing patience. "Didn't I just say that?"
"Yes. But how do you know there's a security alert?"
"The 'security alert' sign came on."
"Fine, I guess that counts as an answer. I suppose you'd better let everyone know instead of wasting any more of my time."
"Right!" Linton continued on his way down the hallway. "Security alert!"
"Security alert!" Prentis shouted, as he floated up the hallway towards the shuttle bay. "Security alert!"
Mr. Maintenance Engineer dropped his wrench. "I heard that already. What's up?"
Prentis came to a stop, sprouting some legs to stand on. "There's a security alert," Prentis replied. "It's in the shuttle bay."
"Are you the one who put the 'security alert' sign on in there?"
"Yes!"
Mr. Maintenance Engineer picked up his wrench. "Well, then, maybe you can tell me. What exactly is the problem in there?"
Prentis blinked. "How would I know? I haven't been in there yet to see."
"Then how did you know there was a problem?"
"Linton came running down the hallway shouting 'security alert!'"
"He was shouting 'security alert' because the 'security alert' sign in there came on. You put the 'security alert' sign in there on because he was shouting 'security alert.'"
"Well, then, there's obviously a problem, isn't there? I can't let you waste any more of my time." Prentis continued on his way towards the shuttle bay. "Security alert!"
Mr. Maintenance Engineer tapped the panel with his wrench. "Speaking of time, the reality normalizer has a slight malfunction at the moment, causing some local time/space distortions, specifically in the area of cause and effect," he announced to nobody in particular. "Not that you guys would care about that." _________________
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