More story, this time about runaway Mormons:
Salt Lake City, Utah
15 March 2017
The Quorum had sent forth the word, and the faithful gathered. Some four hundred and fifty thousand Mormons left their homes, taking only a handful of prized possessions and the clothes on their backs, and they gathered in houses, warehouses, temples, churches, government buildings and even barns in and around the cities of Salt Lake and Provo. The handful of American soldiers still in the state watched all this activity with a nervous eye, expecting another rising.
At the heart of this activity, in the rebuilt Temple Square in Salt Lake, a dozen elders of the Latter-Day Saints stood around a large and unattractive lump of machinery placed right in the center of the square. Pipes and wires looped around the heart of the device, while metal blocks of unknown origin jutted out at odd angles. The whole thing was anchored to the ground by five clawlike appendages that grasped the earth like a raptor’s talons. Several men in futuristic jumpsuits climbed around the device, tightening bolts and checking connections. Electric lights had been placed around the square, so as to provide proper illumination for the men working on the device.
Time passed, and the elders were joined by more people; first the governor and other members of the State House, then a reporter from the local newspaper, then finally a crowd of curious onlookers thronged around Temple Square. Everyone except the technicians gave the device a wide berth. Evening passed into night, and in the wee hours the technicians finally climbed down and gave the elders a satisfied nod.
“Everything’s ready to go, Mr. President,” said the lead tech, the gold delta badge of office glinting in the sunlight. “We can start when you’re ready.”
The tall, gaunt man who claimed leadership over the Mormon church gave the device a dubious eye. “And you’re sure this ‘spindizzy’ contraption will work?” he asked.
The engineer nodded. “We tested it out in Australia a couple weeks back,” he said. “It worked like a charm. What we’re moving now is a bit bigger, sure, but the principle remains the same.”
The president nodded, more in line with the engineer’s optimism than in any understanding of what the man had said. He turned to the man standing next to him. “You’re always welcome to come with us, Heber,” he said.
Heber Young, the president of the Church during the underground years and current governor of Utah, gave the president a sad smile. “I can’t go, Orson,” he said. “I’ve made oaths that I shouldn’t break. Besides, somebody has to stay behind, maybe show the Americans we’re not all bad. I’d like to think you’ll be coming home sometime before I die.”
Orson gave Heber’s hand a good hard shake. “Put your faith in God, my friend, and anything’s possible. Good luck.” Heber’s smile lost some of it’s sadness, and he left Temple Square, the people clearing a path around him. A handful of people left with him, mostly other government men.
The president watched Young go, then turned to the Federation engineer. “Let’s give him enough time to get clear, then we’ll go. Before anybody else changes their mind,” he half-joked.
~***~
An hour later, all over Salt Lake and Provo, wireless stations that had been broadcasting devotional music all night, switched over to a hissing sound, then through the scratchy microphone, they heard the voice of President Orson Hinckley coming into their homes and businesses.
{speech goes here}
As Hinckley finished his speech, the team of Federation engineers switched on the giant spindizzy in the center of Temple Square. In Provo, another team of engineers did the same to another spindizzy.
The people outside the city saw a tall bubble, not unlike thin glass, appear over the city. The bubble faintly reflected the early light. For a minute, the bubble held steady. Then it began to move.
With incredible slowness, Salt Lake City began to rise. The city within the bubble shook free of the ground with a tremendous roar of displaced air and floated upward at a leisurely three miles an hour. Soldiers and gentiles alike, awoken by the noise of takeoff, rushed out of their homes and watched the city fly upwards.
A few minutes later, Provo tore free and followed Salt Lake. The forcefield bubbles surrounding the two cities caught the sun’s light and glowed in the early morning gloom.
Like leaves in an updraft, the Mormons rose to greet the dawn.
~***~
Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
16 March 2017, 9:45 AM (EST)
Ever since the first contact meeting in November, the Fenspace delegation had made it a point to use the Bellevue-Stratford as their designated embassy. It was close enough to the seats of power, plus it had some of the better accommodations available in the city.
Today, the embassy was occupied by General Mal Fnord and his aide-de-camp Tina Weatheral, who were enjoying a late breakfast and going over the day’s briefing when Mal’s phone began beeping. Curious, he pulled it out and saw a text message:
MORONI HAS WINGS – SEE YOU ON CAPRI MENSAE
Mal smiled. “Well, that takes care of one problem,” he said. Tina gave him a curious look, but before she could say anything, a State Department official came into the room.
“General, the President would like to speak with you,” he said.
“Oh, I’ll bet he does,” Mal replied.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information
"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"
Salt Lake City, Utah
15 March 2017
The Quorum had sent forth the word, and the faithful gathered. Some four hundred and fifty thousand Mormons left their homes, taking only a handful of prized possessions and the clothes on their backs, and they gathered in houses, warehouses, temples, churches, government buildings and even barns in and around the cities of Salt Lake and Provo. The handful of American soldiers still in the state watched all this activity with a nervous eye, expecting another rising.
At the heart of this activity, in the rebuilt Temple Square in Salt Lake, a dozen elders of the Latter-Day Saints stood around a large and unattractive lump of machinery placed right in the center of the square. Pipes and wires looped around the heart of the device, while metal blocks of unknown origin jutted out at odd angles. The whole thing was anchored to the ground by five clawlike appendages that grasped the earth like a raptor’s talons. Several men in futuristic jumpsuits climbed around the device, tightening bolts and checking connections. Electric lights had been placed around the square, so as to provide proper illumination for the men working on the device.
Time passed, and the elders were joined by more people; first the governor and other members of the State House, then a reporter from the local newspaper, then finally a crowd of curious onlookers thronged around Temple Square. Everyone except the technicians gave the device a wide berth. Evening passed into night, and in the wee hours the technicians finally climbed down and gave the elders a satisfied nod.
“Everything’s ready to go, Mr. President,” said the lead tech, the gold delta badge of office glinting in the sunlight. “We can start when you’re ready.”
The tall, gaunt man who claimed leadership over the Mormon church gave the device a dubious eye. “And you’re sure this ‘spindizzy’ contraption will work?” he asked.
The engineer nodded. “We tested it out in Australia a couple weeks back,” he said. “It worked like a charm. What we’re moving now is a bit bigger, sure, but the principle remains the same.”
The president nodded, more in line with the engineer’s optimism than in any understanding of what the man had said. He turned to the man standing next to him. “You’re always welcome to come with us, Heber,” he said.
Heber Young, the president of the Church during the underground years and current governor of Utah, gave the president a sad smile. “I can’t go, Orson,” he said. “I’ve made oaths that I shouldn’t break. Besides, somebody has to stay behind, maybe show the Americans we’re not all bad. I’d like to think you’ll be coming home sometime before I die.”
Orson gave Heber’s hand a good hard shake. “Put your faith in God, my friend, and anything’s possible. Good luck.” Heber’s smile lost some of it’s sadness, and he left Temple Square, the people clearing a path around him. A handful of people left with him, mostly other government men.
The president watched Young go, then turned to the Federation engineer. “Let’s give him enough time to get clear, then we’ll go. Before anybody else changes their mind,” he half-joked.
~***~
An hour later, all over Salt Lake and Provo, wireless stations that had been broadcasting devotional music all night, switched over to a hissing sound, then through the scratchy microphone, they heard the voice of President Orson Hinckley coming into their homes and businesses.
{speech goes here}
As Hinckley finished his speech, the team of Federation engineers switched on the giant spindizzy in the center of Temple Square. In Provo, another team of engineers did the same to another spindizzy.
The people outside the city saw a tall bubble, not unlike thin glass, appear over the city. The bubble faintly reflected the early light. For a minute, the bubble held steady. Then it began to move.
With incredible slowness, Salt Lake City began to rise. The city within the bubble shook free of the ground with a tremendous roar of displaced air and floated upward at a leisurely three miles an hour. Soldiers and gentiles alike, awoken by the noise of takeoff, rushed out of their homes and watched the city fly upwards.
A few minutes later, Provo tore free and followed Salt Lake. The forcefield bubbles surrounding the two cities caught the sun’s light and glowed in the early morning gloom.
Like leaves in an updraft, the Mormons rose to greet the dawn.
~***~
Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
16 March 2017, 9:45 AM (EST)
Ever since the first contact meeting in November, the Fenspace delegation had made it a point to use the Bellevue-Stratford as their designated embassy. It was close enough to the seats of power, plus it had some of the better accommodations available in the city.
Today, the embassy was occupied by General Mal Fnord and his aide-de-camp Tina Weatheral, who were enjoying a late breakfast and going over the day’s briefing when Mal’s phone began beeping. Curious, he pulled it out and saw a text message:
MORONI HAS WINGS – SEE YOU ON CAPRI MENSAE
Mal smiled. “Well, that takes care of one problem,” he said. Tina gave him a curious look, but before she could say anything, a State Department official came into the room.
“General, the President would like to speak with you,” he said.
“Oh, I’ll bet he does,” Mal replied.
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information
"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"