Chapter Seventeen- Mirrors
The Foreigners headed out of the city with no idea what to do next.? Foreigner One eyed LM-2. She had nearly landed them in it . . .?“What the hell was all that innovation stuff about?” said Foreigner Two.
“I was thinking on my feet,” she said.
“Thinking on your feet? If it weren’t for Himself talking about the spaceships, we’d have been strung up on a wall like those god-awful skins.”
“I don’t think so,” she muttered.
“If you don’t come up with something innovative, we’ll be excommunicated—sent to the Aliens.”
“Hardly,” said LM-2.
“We Foreigners do all the work—the city would shut down without us.”
“She has a point,” said Foreigner Two.?“
And I have an idea,” said LM-2.
“Pfff—you? An idea?” said Foreigner One.
“I was thinking about miniatures and reflectors and a way to use fewer materials for even bigger-looking statues.”
The two men looked at her and for the first time saw a bit of Loud Mouth, except with way better hair.
“We could try reflecting something onto something else . . . bigger,” she said.
The two male Foreigners were speechless. They had never heard of a woman making sense before, let alone a teenager.
LM-2 came up with the template involving mirrors and a miniature statue of James the Strong.? She, along with Manifesto the Great and the two Foreigners, had worked hard on the project, keeping it quiet from everyone until Manifesto the Great blurted it out across his morning toast.
James the Strong choked on his tea; the idea of a miniature was as offensive to him as being owned was to Aggie.
“Miniature? There is nothing miniature about me,” shouted James the Strong.
“And there’s mirrors as well,” said Manifesto the Great.
“I’m scrapping the project,” said James the Strong.
“But Dad.”
Aggie nodded.
“Assign that teenager to babysitting.”
Aggie stopped.
Ever since her son fell under the spell of LM-2, Aggie had a feeling in her bones, a shifting of things not in her favor.? Aggie knew he was a she straightaway. LM-2’s “bum fluff” was as convincing as the sock stuffed down her trousers, and as for phallic jokes, they were as funny as the Librarian’s, and he had no sense of humor. He didn’t even flinch at a fart, which had most men in hysterics.
Aggie had tried to take charge, make some distance between her son and that so-called teenage boy, but there was a bond between them. LM-2 was all her son talked of, and everything Aggie did made things worse.
She stared at her son.
Did she really want him spending even more time with her?
“Let’s not be too hasty,” she said.
“I thought babysitting was all the rage,” said James the Strong.
Manifesto the Great looked from one parent to the other.
“Yes, but what if this miniature was more than, well, a miniature? It could be a coup,” said Aggie.
“Coup?” said James the Strong.
“It’s possible, Dad. Don’t forget, there’s mirrors too.”
“You could go down in history,” said Aggie.
“That’s what that teenager said,” muttered James the Strong.
Aggie huffed.
“What about a show then?” said Manifesto the Great.
James the Strong looked at Aggie, confused.
“Just us and the . . . Foreigners?”
James the Strong said nothing.
“And the mirrors,” said Manifesto the Great.
The Foreigners, describing their new take on an old statue idea as “jaw dropping,” arranged a demonstration by the waterfall at sunset.
“You will never look at a statue again in the same way,” said LM-2.
James the Strong, suppressing weird feelings he now felt for this teenager, nodded. ?Aggie, her son, the Librarian, and James the Strong stood by the waterfall as LM-2 (in man garb) slid a pocket-sized object covered in a hemp handkerchief onto a rock by the waterfall.
The two Foreigners waited, poised for light-switching.
James the Strong and his entourage stared in silence.
“Is this a joke?” snapped the Librarian.
LM-2 had worked tirelessly with the reflectors, up all night, convincing herself it would work. Now, in the sharp light of the sunset, she wondered.
She tugged at the hemp handkerchief; it fluttered from the figure.
The group stared at the doll-like statue.
LM-2 gulped.
“Are you taking the piss?” said the Librarian.
“Just wait,” muttered LM-2.
“My family member’s larger than that,” shouted James the Strong.
“A baby’s family member’s larger than that,” said the Librarian with a look of distaste.
LM-2 nodded to her comrades.
Foreigner Two positioned the reflector to catch the sunset, and it reflected the light onto the miniature statue. James the Strong’s majestic silhouette flashed behind the waterfall, filling the backdrop larger than a spaceship.? The effect was breathtaking.
“Immortalization,” muttered James the Strong.
“Unbelievable,” muttered the Librarian.
Manifesto the Great, jumping with joy, grabbed LM-2’s hand.
Aggie’s heart sank.
The Foreigners basked in their glory, slapping each other on the back.
Manifesto the Great turned to his father and waited for a smile, a nod, a “well done,” and was just on the brink of shouting a “See, Dad?” when a cloud slid by, plunging the waterfall into darkness.
The cheering hushed.
The back-slapping stopped.
The cloud moved on. The sunset appeared, lighting up the waterfall . . .
They waited for the silhouette to appear. The light flickered, finally flashing the image of a Victorian Earth bedroom.? They stared into the cluttered room with no idea what a potted plant was.
“What the pickle?” muttered James the Strong.
An aging face appeared, her hair piled high, her face covered in makeup.
“Is that a woman?” muttered someone.
She began to apply more makeup.
“What’s she doing?” muttered Manifesto the Great.
They shook their heads as a boy in a nightdress appeared from behind her.
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall.” He laughed, bursting into tears as she clipped him over the ear.
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