Rom #2

Rom #2 “Second Coming” The second city of Earth now feels the impact of Rom’s arrival, his ability to land in an area and render it so utterly surreal one’s mind struggles to calculate what to do at all. Here is the mysterious toy-being an enigma yet, not proven a force for good or ill save by the context of his own word, that aliens have secreted themselves in entire human life spans to live like us, among us, waiting for a sinister day when they can use our budding technology to relaunch their schemes on Galador and the universe at large. How could any race be so thoroughly-going evil? What is Rom’s story is a lie, a cover to some other horrible reality?


Only one person, Brandy Clark, age twentysomething in quiet Nowhereville, is even privy to the question: to all outsiders, there is no personal encounter, only a meeting with a war machine at war. Was there any better analogy for what a military must bear: to be assumed an enemy for one’s ways and mission, yet to be a human longing for freedom and life one day outside of duty? Yet have you ever known a soldier who could not stay home until all the brothers and sisters are returned? The language barrier. and a visual misfortune that makes Rom’s neutralization of the enemy appear to be brutal murder, make his dutiful action, without the benefit of diplomatic communication, a vile strike from the skies.



(There is much here about the struggle over word meaning and perception of such
entities as our armed forces, abroad; imagine, now one soldier, two hundred years from his life, two hundred years a weapon, alone without benefit of yet one friendly voice, and agitators lurking in the works.)


So is the state of noble Rom’s struggle when he lands inside the Laserium, a laboratory and apparent demonstration facility for the state-of-the-art laser. Herein may be something yet that makes the danger within wrap ‘round his solitary mission, but Rom only knows he’s detected a Dire Wraith, of the sort that murdered the peaceful Galadorian expedition and threatened his precious home planet.
Now, smashing through the ceiling and alighting on dissipating jet pods, he encounters, among the people he considers innocent though susceptible to Wraith manipulations, the disguised head of the facility, himself the victim of a crime!


Archie Stryker and his band of thugs took this job counting on a low-security clean sweep of the vault, upon the threat of death to one easily isolated and controlled man. Rom is a force for which no normal man can possibly repair; great is their fear, particularly if they are familiar with the rumored disintegrations of people in nearby Clairton...in Archie Stryker’s hands, the Wraith dirty work is nearly done for them, but, though they are built so deadly as to cause him actual harm, Rom succeeds against the lasers.


However, once again he takes his leave without explaining to the executive branch of law enforcement---and in such a rogue status as to make his appearance at the White House a bad idea, if he even yet realized he could go there. Rom remains, essentially, a vigilante, and if the people do not perceive his innocence, then the populace he wishes to save becomes one more liable factor.
Now, however, prepare for the simple entry stage left of Steve Jackson, arriving at the Clark residence to talk to the one eye witness everyone wants to call crazy....his girlfriend.