Welcome Featured Author for March, 2014 - Robert Polans of Chillicothe, Ohio .....

An Excerpt from "Alison"  by Robert Polans:

                                                            Ch I

Now everything made sense to Alison. She had heard them in the hall almost all of her life, but now she understood. From the Torps' high giggly voices, the midrange sound of the Ccloffs, to the deep voices of the Stegs, speaking as they patrolled.

Anybody who knew Alison would not be surprised that she was translating five different languages into her own. After all, she did possess a level seventeen Geffed education. When she had the slightest inkling that they were talking about Earth, Alison began learning the language. Her first discovery was that the seventeenth Geffed level was the equivalent of a Master's degree on Earth. As she twirled her now white hair, Alison thought about the great physical difference between her parents and her. They were huge lumbering lizards who had stood on their hind legs. When she was angered, her description spanned sarcasm's extremes. Either of her parents would be called a Tyrannosaurus. Alison knew that she had Princess status, but did not understand how somebody as small rated this.  She also had a speech affectation, anything became anithing and everything
became everithing. In talks with the Time Adventurers who had crossed the light years and visited, she was told that she looked exactly like an ordinary Earthling.

That was when she had flashes of the day she first met her present parents. She could not
completely understand anything, as she had been only two days old, however, she desired with her life to remember. When she reached age sixteen, she fulfilled a promise to herself, and had a friend delve into the deep recesses of her mind. The first thing brought out was a high voice saying, "We cannot just leave her in this dumpster." The next voice said, “I guess you are right, but you know what it means if we take her." She thought of this as often as she looked in the mirror.

Alison liked looking in the mirror when Montage stood next to her. He had been her friend and companion for as long as she could conceptualize the fact that there were others. Along with Montage, she would vow to find out who her natural parents were, if possible. Her second, and more important vow was to never let anything tear her present family apart.


                                                                        Ch II

Montage! She remembered when she was in the marketplace twirling what was blond hair and saw a pink monkey. She fell in love instantly! So what if he had two sets of extra arms? Over the years, Alison had found that Montage was also an adventurer. He could not do very much though, Montage was also basically a coward.Alison had discovered that they were of different sexes many years ago, during their morning bath. This did not matter much to her.

Montage was gregarious and sarcastic at the same time. He usually toned down the sarcasm until he knew the acquaintance quite well. Montage also dealt in their black market. He had one main objective, that was to find the approximate part of Earth that Alison had come from.

Finding Alison's natural family was to be a surprise gift to her, if he could. The only contact that he had with Earth was through the Time Adventurers, and they did not know anything that he needed to hear. They did not choose where they were to be sent, luck was with Montage every once in awhile and some 'Adventurers had just come from Earth. All of the Time Adventurers knew to contact Montage if they had been to Earth. As he had Royal Family Status, it was an unwritten rule or law. Besides, Montage was obtaining the information for Princess Alison, so they did whatever they could.

Montage wondered if he would ever get his tail back. One of the Time Adventurers had been very gruff, and did not appreciate Montage being his sarcastic self. That 'Adventurer left the marketplace with a pink tail stuck in his belt. Montage did not mind the loss, but every time he and Alison argued, he heard, 'Where is your tail?' Which embarrassed him, ending many of their arguments.                    

One day, Montage felt new sensations, but paid no attention to them. An Eco-Sweeper, a glorified street-sweeper told him that he had to find a woman. The exact phrase was, 'Ya got it bad pal, gotta find a woman!' Montage heard this in the town and thought that the woman was in town. He found one. Not a very pretty sight, but she was designed for total pleasure. After thirty minutes with her, Montage thought that it would be enough sex to last at least a year. He remembered that Alison had also told him of feelings, but this had started approximately fifteen years ago. Now he knew what to tell Alison, but did not know if
he should. He could not describe how he felt afterwards. Vulnerable did not accurately describe it, but that was as close as he could come. Montage was usually so articulate that Alison did not believe him now.

             "So you think I'm lying to you, huh?"

             "Yes, I do. I think that you are hiding something."

             "Alison, what can I hide from you? We can read each other's minds."

             "I know, but do not tell anybody that. Only we found that tree, and it is in the forbidden out reaches."

             "I'm not gonna tell anybody."

             "Good, now you fuzzy, pink, tailless..."

             "I had a tail, ‘lost it for you."

             "You are still tailless."

             "Well, it's better than being smooth."

             "You see my body everyday when we take our bath. And smooth? Montage, that adjective does not fit me."

Montage was stuck now. He knew that he was wrong, but could not waver in his argument. Alison was too well built for him to ignore, and nothing about her was smooth. From her excellent breasts to the dip of her stomach. Her navel appeared as if somebody had poked their finger into unformed skin, to her very firm backside. Besides that, a good part of her chest and upper arms were covered by a design of bumps that resembled Emben Saat squares. This last part made Alison's parents and everyone else who knew her proud. A new advance in plastic surgery had been discovered, but the doctor needed a volunteer
to test his procedure. The procedure was the implantation of chips in the skin cells. At the time, her parents did not think that she was old enough to comprehend the importance of the operation.What she thought was just a design on her skin, was really a tracking grid. The grid sent out signals, and the equivalent of a simple radar-scope detected these signals. Alison did not know that she could be tracked wherever she was. Not just to tell who she was, but to carry all of her medical history.

When she had that operation, her parents regarded it as good fortune being handed to them on a silver platter. At the time that it was done, they were on the verge of war with a horde of energy beings. Montage was thinking, 'What a mistake, she isn't smooth at all.' They looked at each other and soon began smiling. Montage knew that this meant the argument was over.


  
                                                                        Ch III

One day, one of the Ccloffs waddled in, picked Alison up under her shoulders and threw her over its shoulder. Montage did not know what was going on, but what could a mere monkey do? When he took his first step, the Ccloff looked at him and growled. He knew that wherever Alison was going, he was not invited. Montage took another look at the Ccloff and thought, 'Odd creature this.' Nobody would argue with him and the Ccloffs would be the first to agree.

Ccloffs were six feet tall, with legs two feet long, and could be mistaken for great brown cushions until they moved. Their eyes were functional to a point, and their arms were three feet long with no elbows. He was always making fun of them by bending his six arms as he walked by.

Montage thought, 'Enough of this train of thought,' when he thought of Alison and tried to establish a connection with her mind.

When she first suggested this, he laughed, until they succeeded at it. That was so many years ago, and it was repeated so often that it had almost become second nature. Alison's mind told Montage that the Ccloff was taking her into the Grand Room. That had to mean that she was going to see her parents, because they were the only other ones allowed in there. Montage felt a sharp pain on the top of his head. His best guess was that Alison was put down now, and not very gently. Ccloffs were not known for gentleness. For that matter, only the Torps were. Montage caught random thoughts from Alison, but thought that the
best course of action for him was to wait until she returned. He wished her luck until then as his only transmission. In a way, Alison was glad that Montage was not going to be monitoring this meeting because it took some concentration to keep 'his line' open. She needed all the concentration for herself, mostly to show the guard-Stegs that they were wrong. They kept insisting that she was from a race of half-wits that would one day show itself. Alison thought, 'Half-wits, hah!'

The Ccloff left the room as her parents walked in. She looked up, wondering if she was going to have a stiff neck later, and saw softness in her father's eyes and a tear in her mother's.

             “What is this, Father? Mother?”

             “Alison, do you remember the day that you became aware of where you were?”

             “Of course I do, that was the day that I asked you why we were so different.”

             “Yes, I told you it was because I underwent a new medical treatment. That is not the truth."

             “Are you going to tell me what is now?”

Alison was watching her speech now, it always had to be just so around her parents.

            “I was afraid that this would become too difficult. Would you take the rest of this Merkim? I cannot."

            She watched her mother lumber out of the room. Alison wanted to try to help her, however, her father told her to stay where she was.

             “All right Father, you have got the floor.”

             “I want, your mother and I want, you are going on a journey."

             “That is interesting, to where?”

Alison strained to catch every guttural syllable that her father said. She knew that she had to translate them into her language once she heard them. A message from Montage was coming in, but Alison knew that it was merely a sarcastic missive. ‘You can't do it. Listen, translate and remember everything? You may as well give up now Alison. She sent her own message to Montage. It was not very nice, but it was heartfelt. ‘Shut up, or we will be feeding scraps of pink monkey to the little animals
outside!' As this echoed in Montage's mind, he swallowed hard, causing his Adam's apple to swell. He visualized somebody cutting his head off and gutting him. He also pictured the oven and the little animals outside, as he ran all six of his hands over his pink belly. Alison caught this thought and sent him a picture of himself being broiled over an open fire. Montage got the message and Alison returned to her previous activities.

             “You will be going many light years from here, to Earth.”

             “Why are you sending me there?”

             “That is your home planet.”

             She smiled, “I knew that, but wondered if you were going to tell me.”

            “Have you not seen the differences between you and your mother?”

             “Of course I have.”

            “We were once Time Adventurers and found you there. You were abandoned in...”

            “Father, this seems too difficult for you, you can leave that out. I'm going to Earth, fine. Do you know where?”

             “Well, Suffolk County on Long Island, New York is where I want you to begin. Just go to this town called Copiague, if there is nothing that you like there, go elsewhere. We just want you to be happy.”

             “Can I take Montage?"

             “The monkey? We have not discussed it, but I suppose so. You do know that his species is not found on Earth, and that you will have to hide him?”

             “Hide him? All right, that should not be very difficult considering what I have been told.”

            “What's that?”

            “That Earthlings are half-wits."

            Her father smiled, “Oh, that myth. Some are, most are not. They do the best with what they have. Of course, you are superior to them, but do not let them know.”

             Elated, Alison said, “I do not intend to.”

Merkim saw certain properties in his daughter that he identified as independent. Alison was independent, but she was also possessed so many other qualities. Most women would have been proud of her, even slightly intimidated by her intelligence.

She could be sarcastic to the point of causing pain, and had built her body enough to be competition for the current Ms. Universe. Two of Alison’s other qualities were the ability to play upon a person’s vulnerabilities and her stubbornness.

             “That is good, there is something else that I want you to do Alison."

The magic word. When her father called her Alison, she knew that what he had to say was very important.

             “What is it father?"

             “I want you to go into town and find a Time Adventurer. This man is going to be your bodyguard, so choose someone that you will not mind being around for long periods."

             “Fine, anything else?”

             “Yes, be happy and know that your every action is being monitored. Although we can do nothing if you are in trouble."

                                                                    



A note from the author:

Thank you Audrey. I'm always looking for ways to get my name out there. Oh, Chillicothe is a tiny town about an hour from Columbus. When I first flew in here 16 years ago (American Eagle, an extremely tiny plane); I had been warned that there would be culture shock, but nothing like I experienced, Well love makes you do odd things. When my brother in law asked what was in my bags, my computer was the heavy part, I just said dead bodies and walked on. The look on his face was priceless.
sincerely,
Rob

Robert Polans' Bio:

Robert Polans, Author

Bio: Born June 26, 1950

The family moved quite a bit to many places in the US, but mostly settled in Broooklyn, NY then L.I. NY.

Schools: High school was JFK High School graduated in 1969 from there I went to Nassau Community College at night until about 1976.

Work: I worked in furniture manufacturing, setting up factories with my dad until he died in 1970. I was VP and Assoc. Ass't. On the factory floor, I had my own work space. I was in charge of cutting the fabric for the operators to sew. Once I could, I became a writer full-time.

I think I began writing crime to understand what we did in real life and to some extent I do. Also an editor. I suppose I can blog, but have never had the desire to.

I have been married for sixteen years, writing since 1986. Most of my "stuff" was on disks from an old word processor that one day decided to start formatting everything. I've recently started putting it on computer. I have an unfinished (as of yet) crime drama series, the first book Calla's Curse is finished, now for the others. There might be a fourth, during a bout of writers' block I wrote a story one year in the future. Considering that the stories begin in the late 60s to early 70s, there are really three to ten year intervals between them.

 

Therein Lies The Squatting of the Toad