First Person by Eddie McGarrity Read Free Book Online Page B

them
is when they arrived in New York and the UN gave them the keys to our planet.
There were three of them. Telling us they were few, they offered us the chance to
go to the stars because they needed our help. They would open the Solar System
up to us if we assisted them in gathering their fuel. All those years of
probes, moon-shots, and rovers on Mars a total waste. We should have waited
until they arrived and spent NASA’s money on donuts. Since then, we’ve seen
nothing. We only hear about them via that creep Mikkelsen.
     
    Here
are the three conclusions I’ve made. You can read more about them in my
Manifesto which is attached.
     
There
     are only three of them. Despite the size of their ship – and it’s massive,
     I saw it from the departure platform – there are only three of them
This
     is our asteroid belt. It’s our Solar System. They came from outside our
     Solar System. This asteroid belt, and all its resources are ours – it belongs
     to humans
It’s
     time for them to leave. We need to hit them hard and make it less
     prosperous for them. They’ve got enough from our little arrangement and
     it’s time for them to move on
     
    Which
leads me onto my final act. It won’t be difficult. The hardest thing will be
getting into the cargo area where those precious minerals and all their fuel
is. However, I’m on duty there in half an hour. I’m supposed to be there. I’m
expected. Passing security will be what they expect me to do.
     
    The
group I’m involved with have shown me what to do and where to do it. In the end
it will be easy. All I have to do is push a button.
     
    My
worst fear is that people think it’s another awful accident, like what happened
to Dale. His death was pointless, whereas mine will mean something. I hope
people will see it as a kind act, one which sets us free. I’m not supposed to
be telling you about this. The group I’m with have their own agenda but I have
mine. Please see to it that the press receive my Manifesto – it’s attached at the
top. You can decide whether or not they should see this message.
     
    Finally,
Elza – please know that I love you and that I want you to be happy. Go on
without me. Gather up our life together and place it in a box where you can
look at it from time to time. Carry it to different places, but go to those
places. Leave the memory of me behind so you can build a new life.  If I’m
lucky you’ll be looking up to the early morning sky right now as I type. This
ship won’t be visible to the naked eye at first. But it will once I’ve pushed
the button. No amount of advanced alien technology will be able to stop the
cascade of reactions and this ship will shine like a new star in the sky before
fading away. Then we’ll see a spark which lights up the whole solar system and
they’ll remember it was me who did it.
     
    Goodbye
my love
     
    Daniel

Cutters
     
    H appy 18 th Birthday .
    I
looked at the banner strung across an archway garlanded with flowers. We’ll see
how this wish works out, I thought. Early morning party planners buzzed about
in the sunshine. Catering was provided by Davis Bros and music by ‘DJs to the
Stars’. My moment came when an unmarked panel truck pulled up along the east
facing side of the marquee, the side with no doors, just the plain off-white
canvas. A number of hands clustered around the back of the truck, primed for
its arrival. I threw my jacket into the back of my car and shimmied up next to
them, eager to see what was inside. It was the cake.
    I
smoothed down my black apron and adjusted my white blouse when one of the men
there looked me up and down. He looked away, embarrassed at being noticed
ogling one of the waitresses. Unthinking, he smoothed down his own black apron,
and looked back inside the truck. Fondant modelled into a monstrously large
pool table, complete with balls and cues, was being pushed forward. The bakers
inside shooed the waiting staff away, telling us they could manage