Mr. Darcy and the Space-time Continuum
* * * * *
Space, the new frontier. This is the journey of the starship Venture ...
its mission: to confuse Mr. Darcy, to introduce him to strange people and even stranger places, to brazenly go where no 19th century English gentleman has gone before...
* * * * *
Darcy’s astonishment soon turned to laughter. Speaking to himself, for he gave no thought to the people before him and the place he found himself as being real, Mr. Darcy said aloud, “How glad I am this is just a dream! That means I did not propose to Miss Bennet, and better still, she did not turn me down! ... obviously it is a dream, for what woman would turn down an offer from me?”
Mr. Spot, the man with the funny ears, declared, “Captain, he seems either to be unaware of our presence or is ignoring us.”
Dr. McCrete sniffed, “By George, I know one way of getting his attention.” Walking over to the man, he tugged on Darcy’s arm. “Well, he feels real enough,” he said, and flapping his arms in front of Darcy’s face, he queried, “Hey, you, can you see us?”
Darcy was shocked at the impertinence of this little man. “I say, sir, will you let go of my arm? Certainly, even in my own dream, I am allowed to determine if I am to be addressed in such a fashion or not.”
The captain directed his communications officer, “Aurora, contact Starship Command. Inform them of what’s happening and that further details will follow as they become available.”
Turning to see who was being addressed, Darcy saw a lovely dark-skinned woman staring at him in disbelief. “Well, at least there is one pleasant thing about this dream,” he thought.
Stones spoke to Darcy again, “You are not dreaming, man, you are on the starship B.I.Z. Venture. Now will you answer me -- who are you??”
“Not a dream?! Are you mad, sir? What else could account for what I am seeing?!” And for the first time, Darcy turned around and saw the main viewer. “Good God! what is that?!” This dream was becoming ever more fantastic!
Captain Kurt had had enough of being ignored, however, and demanded, “OK, mister, listen up and listen good! You better start giving us some answers, or into the brig you go until you’re ready to talk!”
“What sort of barbaric place is this?... threatening guests with being thrown into whatever a brig might be! And where are your manners? Have you no common decency to offer a gentleman tea?” He thought, “If this is my dream, I may as well teach them how to properly greet a stranger!”
The captain shot back, “Tell me who you are, and how you got on my bridge, and I’ll gladly throw a dance in your honor.”
“My word, it is just as I observed to Sir William Lucas -- every savage can dance!”
The captain, turning to Mr. Spot, muttered, “He has given us everyone’s name but his own.”
As if this was the most common occurrence, having someone suddenly appear on the bridge requesting tea, Mr. Spot calmly replied, “Perhaps, Captain, we should offer him tea.”
“Very well, then, Mr. Spot, let us serve our guest tea and see if we can get some answers! Aurora, I suppose you can “ring for tea” down in the mess hall.”
* * *
its mission: to confuse Mr. Darcy, to introduce him to strange people and even stranger places, to brazenly go where no 19th century English gentleman has gone before...
* * * * *
Darcy’s astonishment soon turned to laughter. Speaking to himself, for he gave no thought to the people before him and the place he found himself as being real, Mr. Darcy said aloud, “How glad I am this is just a dream! That means I did not propose to Miss Bennet, and better still, she did not turn me down! ... obviously it is a dream, for what woman would turn down an offer from me?”
Mr. Spot, the man with the funny ears, declared, “Captain, he seems either to be unaware of our presence or is ignoring us.”
Dr. McCrete sniffed, “By George, I know one way of getting his attention.” Walking over to the man, he tugged on Darcy’s arm. “Well, he feels real enough,” he said, and flapping his arms in front of Darcy’s face, he queried, “Hey, you, can you see us?”
Darcy was shocked at the impertinence of this little man. “I say, sir, will you let go of my arm? Certainly, even in my own dream, I am allowed to determine if I am to be addressed in such a fashion or not.”
The captain directed his communications officer, “Aurora, contact Starship Command. Inform them of what’s happening and that further details will follow as they become available.”
Turning to see who was being addressed, Darcy saw a lovely dark-skinned woman staring at him in disbelief. “Well, at least there is one pleasant thing about this dream,” he thought.
Stones spoke to Darcy again, “You are not dreaming, man, you are on the starship B.I.Z. Venture. Now will you answer me -- who are you??”
“Not a dream?! Are you mad, sir? What else could account for what I am seeing?!” And for the first time, Darcy turned around and saw the main viewer. “Good God! what is that?!” This dream was becoming ever more fantastic!
Captain Kurt had had enough of being ignored, however, and demanded, “OK, mister, listen up and listen good! You better start giving us some answers, or into the brig you go until you’re ready to talk!”
“What sort of barbaric place is this?... threatening guests with being thrown into whatever a brig might be! And where are your manners? Have you no common decency to offer a gentleman tea?” He thought, “If this is my dream, I may as well teach them how to properly greet a stranger!”
The captain shot back, “Tell me who you are, and how you got on my bridge, and I’ll gladly throw a dance in your honor.”
“My word, it is just as I observed to Sir William Lucas -- every savage can dance!”
The captain, turning to Mr. Spot, muttered, “He has given us everyone’s name but his own.”
As if this was the most common occurrence, having someone suddenly appear on the bridge requesting tea, Mr. Spot calmly replied, “Perhaps, Captain, we should offer him tea.”
“Very well, then, Mr. Spot, let us serve our guest tea and see if we can get some answers! Aurora, I suppose you can “ring for tea” down in the mess hall.”
* * *
Darcy was about to have tea in a most unforgettable setting, and Captain Kurt, Mr. Spot, and Stones were about to go from trekking through the stars to entertaining what was to them a very strange character indeed.* * *
Dream? Nightmare? Or incredible adventure? . . .
Watch for your first look at the starship Venture, coming soon!
Noe
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