The Video Goes Viral
Space Traveler Fargone • Episode 6
New to Space Traveler Fargone? Start at the beginning.
“Far, you gotta see this.”
“What?”
“Huckster just posted our first video.”
Em swiped the video onto our flight deck monitor.
“Greetings, Earthlings. Space Traveler Fargone here, reporting from deep space. Before I tell you about my epic alien-life encounter on the newly-discovered planet, Purpletonia, I want to introduce you to my partner on this new adventure, Emma Nettle. I can’t say enough good things about her. Or any, actually. How did you enjoy your first trip to space, Emma? Besides almost fainting on take-off?”
“It has been exciting, Fargone. I’m sure a better pilot would have made it a little less exciting, but you can’t have everything.”
“We had quite an adventure down there, didn’t we, Emma?”
“Absolutely, Fargone. Purpletonia is an amazing planet blanketed in purple vegetation and dotted with deep blue lakes.”
“And glowing purple balls. Care to explain what those are, Emma? After all, you did discover them.”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Fargone. Let’s talk about our first impressions of the planet.”
“I thought it looked very purple.”
“Brilliant. Incredibly insightful.”
“Well, I was a little distracted by the terrified look in your eyes.”
“You’re an idiot, you know that?”
“Yup. I’ve got a certificate. How does my hair look?”
“You’re kidding, right?” I asked Em.
“No. It’s all over GalaxyTube. My influencer career is ruined.”
“What was Huckster thinking?”
We didn’t have to wait long to find out. An alert for an incoming call from Huckster opened up on the screen.
“We did it! Your first video has gone viral. I have to admit, when I got your files, I was not happy. But then I started seeing the gems buried in the rubble.”
“Gems? It’s all bickering,” Em said.
“I know! Isn’t it great? People love the banter.”
“Listen, Huck. We can’t force bad videos. The bickering gag will get old quick,” I replied.
"You're right. So we have decided to use the videos to supplement your splog on SpaceBook. Talk about your personal experiences, behind-the-scenes stuff. Show off the ship. Make it personal. Get creative."
“I’ll leave that to Em. I’ll stick to writing the splogs.”
“Perfect,” Huckster said.
“Well, what now, Captain?” Emma asked.
“I like that. A little respect.”
“Don’t get used to it. That video threw me off my game.”
“It’s simple, First Officer.”
Em crinkled her nose.
“We find another planet. You want to pick a sector?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“Try to pick one that has a planet with a donut shop.”
“What is it with you and donuts?”
“I need to explain? Have you ever eaten a donut?”
“Of course. But I don’t dream about them.”
“Well, I do. I can’t prove it, but I believe that somewhere in the Universe, there is a planet made completely of fried dough and covered with powdered sugar. And I intend to find it.”
“You need counseling.”
“I need donuts.”
Em touched an uncharted portion of the Universe map, and off we went. When we arrived, I had Em do the habitable-planet scan. There were only two of us. She needed to learn everything about the ship in case something happened to me.
“I am not getting anything,” Em said.
“Let me try.”
“Uh, Far…”
“Hold on, I think I just need to tweak the sensitivity a little.”
“Fargone! Look.”
I looked out the window and saw a massive space station. It was rectangular and endlessly long. In fact, I couldn’t see either end of it. It seemed to be divided into multiple sections—each with a different appearance. The section in front of us was smooth metal with no visible openings. As we were gawking at it, we got a voice transmission.
“Unknown ship, please transmit your registration code for landing bay assignment.”
“I don’t have a registration code. I am from the Milky Way Galaxy.”
“Without a registration code, your ship is subject to an impressive, yet highly painful, destruction.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Em said.
“Control, I have a coupon for a free box of Farismitron donuts that I could spare.”
There was silence for a few seconds.
“Proceed to Landing Bay 28.”
“A little incentive almost always works,” I said to Em.
I landed Rustbucket in Landing Bay 28 and popped the door open. The bay was empty. Some kind of machine appeared from a corridor and rolled up to us. It looked like a metal box on wheels, but it was smooth. I couldn’t see any seams. A tray slid out of the machine, and a voice said, “Please depot the donut coupon.” I did. The tray closed, and the machine rolled away.
Since there was nowhere else to go, we started walking down the corridor. It seemed to go on forever. Eventually, we came to an open area. That’s when we saw our hosts. Em elbowed me in the arm. I tried not to stare. Everyone looked like Em and me, except their skin was shiny and smooth and appeared to be made out of metal, like the box that greeted us.
One of the figures who looked like Em spoke.
“Greetings, I am Flow. Welcome to the Metallum zone.”
I'm craving a doughnut and a cup of Earth.