THE ZETA PROJECT
SEASON THREE
Disclosure: I don't own The Zeta Project. I don't own the characters… I wish I did though… Please forgive all butchering that I've done to Robert Goodman's characters and ideas.
This is my sixth episode and I'm not even half way through writing this series! I'm amazed that I've made it this far… I think it's just because I've been feeding off of the positive reinforcements I get from those of you who leave feedback. Some of you might have noticed that I like to rotate the themes of the episodes. Some are for plot advancement, some are long chase scenes, some are relaxed... I hope it keeps things interesting. My personal comment for this episode is that I hope you find this sarcastically funny and that no one takes anything too offensively. Oh, and for those of you who might remotely care… For two seasons now, I've actually held a summer job as a ride operator at a local amusement park.
I'd like to comment on the fact that any similarities of themes with Iglika's "You Need Me" chapter 6 and my episode 6 are completely coincidental. It is our belief that since we share the same love for the characters we've begun to think alike. (Great minds think alike, right?) For the record though, Iglika had her idea down in near-perfect writing while at the time I only had mine down as a draft. Please note that the theme of fairytales in both of our stories is used for different purposes.
And as a secondary disclaimer I'd like to apologize to the additional butchering I've done to E. Nesbit's fantasy story, Melisande. (You can recognize parts from it in my version of Rapunzel.)
"Capitalism 101" Ep. 6 Season 3
"You think these people would get a life… I mean I just can't understand why anyone would insist on standing in line for hours for a four minute ride on a cheap little kart powered by a lawn mower power cell! I mean, come on! Just look at how pathetic these people are! Half of these people probably can't even fold up their legs to get into the driver's seat! What, did they all forget all of the butt time they already did driving hours to get here? No, wait, I've got it—these people must all have short commutes to work so they don't get the every day thrill of being in a traffic jam at rush hour so they need to get their fill from this ride."
"We waited two hours to go on that other ride."
"That other one was worth the wait. This one you just drive around a little track going 4.6 miles an hour in a miniature car!"
"I take it we'll be skipping this one," Zee said, looking at the park map in his hand for the next closest attraction. However, as he looked up expecting another sarcastic reply from Ro he saw that she wasn't in front of him but was standing at the end of the line to go on the ride. He walked over to her and joined her in the line. "If you said that these people need to get a life, then why are we going on the ride?"
"It's part of the experience," Ro said simply, pulling herself up onto the que line handrail so she could sit and rest her feet. No sooner had she done so did one of the park attendants spot her and asked her to climb down. "This is going to be a long wait…" she moaned, leaning over the rail, her feet aching.
"Come in," Bennet's stern voice called from his office desk.
Meekly, Dr. Edmund opened the door, letting himself into the office. He closed the door behind him and took the seat opposite of Bennet's desk. This would be the third time he'd been in Bennet's office.
"I have your court arraignment date here in front of me. After today you'll be placed in a temporary protection program until the date of your hearing. In the court hearing, it will be determined if you will be granted continued federal protection, or if you will be convicted of treason in which case your protection will be limited to the services of the federal jail." The coldness and lack of compassion in Bennet's voice still made Edmund feel uneasy, even though he knew by now that it wasn't in Bennet's nature to sugar coat anything business related. Bennet must have realized that he was being a little harsh, and continued on a lighter note, "Things are in your favor, though, as the courts have voted in favor of granting clemency in another circumstance like yours in the past. However, that is not why I called you in--your lawyer will be handling the case details." Bennet then got right to the point, "The reason I called you into day is because this will be the last opportunity that you will have to speak with me or anyone else in this organization before the trial. After today, all communication will be through your lawyer. Do you have any last comments to tell me in private, or in general before you are escorted to your new waiting facility?"
There was nothing more that he had to say to Bennet. He'd already disclosed everything he knew under interrogation earlier in the month, after he'd turned himself in again… Running away from Colonel Lemack and Bennet that night at the restaurant had given him another chance to rethink if he really wanted to go through with this, and in the end he'd decided that he did and had found his way back to the NSA again. He could have gone into hiding again for another few months, but to what purpose? He knew that he'd be discovered by Brother's Day soon, and as his financial resources were running short. Without a job for the past few months, he was practically broke. There was no other way around it. He couldn't keep running forever as Zeta was able to do. Zeta would have to take the blame so he could stop running.
He'd made the choice again to go and seek out Bennet and to arrange another appointment for when he could speak with Lemack. It had been much easier to meet with Bennet the second time, and to make another appointment. Bennet had known he would try again, and had been expecting him.
Now he was in Bennet's office for the third time. There was nothing more that he had to say to him except, "I don't plan on changing my testimony, but I think you should know: Zeta is being sincere when he says that he doesn't want to hurt people."
"That's not your problem or concern though, is it?" Bennet stated plainly.
"I know it isn't. I just wanted to tell you before the trial. That's all."
"Thank you for your time, Doctor," Bennet stood up from his chair to shake Edmund's hand over his desk. After they released hands Edmund left the room to return to his escort. He felt a little better to have told someone the truth—that Zeta was telling the truth—but the guilt that he had for still turning him in lingered, weighing down on his chest. Someday though, he'd eventually forgive himself for this betrayal.
Bennet sat down heavily in his chair. Small hints seemed to be adding up, and they were all saying the same thing, "The synthoid is right." Lee left his team because she believed him. Edmund even agreed, despite that he'll be testifying against Zeta. What Dr. Selig said about having put a conscience module in Zeta still echoed in his mind as well. Three witnesses…
Zee looked around the park. Being in the middle of the summer during the peak hours, the park was filled past normal capacity. "Maybe next time we should come during the off season?" he suggested.
"Ha, that's a good one," Ro said sarcastically. "I didn't know you had a sense of humor."
How was it that she found him funny when he wasn't trying to be funny? "But wouldn't there be less people so the lines would be shorter?"
Ro burst out laughing. It almost seemed like a mad laughter—the kind of laughter that usually follows an absolutely ridiculous idea or suggestion. But what he'd said wasn't ridiculous at all.
"You think that the park owners care how long we have to wait in line?" Her tone clearly expressed that she did not think that they cared.
"Shouldn't they? Isn't that the purpose of the park?--To provide its guests with entertainment?"
Someone needed to send this robot through "Capitalism 101". "No! This park isn't here for us! It's here for them!"
"Do they like to come to the park too?" he asked.
He was completely missing the point, as usual. But rather than finding it annoying, Ro was actually finding it kind of cute. He reminded her of an inquisitive young child… "Zee, this park is here for one purpose… to make the owners money. Not to make us happy, but to make them happy as they become rich because suckers like us are willing to pay a fortune to come and stand around in the sun to go on their cheap little rides."
It made sense, but there was still something he didn't understand. "What does that have to do with the lines not being shorter when there's less people in the park?"
"Profits." The one word explained everything, but not in enough detail so that Zee would be able to understand why this word was so important. "Okay, here's the deal," Ro began to set things out for him. "If they kept the same level of service up during the off season, the lines would be shorter. But as they're interested in keeping their profit margin up, they cut back on expenses, thus making the lines remain the same length, even though there are less people. No, Zee, coming here in the off season would only mean there are less park hours for you to wait in line."
Only judging by how late the park closed and when it opened they could predict when was the busiest time to come. As the park was open 6:00 am to 1:00 am, they knew it was going to be crowded. During the off season, the park opened around 10:00 am and closed at 8:00 pm.
The line moved forward a few feet so they sluggishly moved forward to fill the gap—like a herd of cows grazing in a field. Zee scanned around the area again. There was a take-out restaurant nearby with several dining tables and chairs set out under large red and white striped umbrellas. Hungry people were gathered around each table, greedily eating their seven dollar hamburgers. The unfortunate people who couldn't find seating were eating standing up with their plates cradled on one arm, staring enviously at those people who did have tables.
Across from the restaurant was the exit for one of the other rides in the area. Every five minutes a group of people came walking out of the exit, and every five minutes a child could be heard crying as they were being carried away by their parent away from the same ride. "Those poor kids," Ro sighed, shaking her head. "Their parents completely drag them on those rides, even though it's clear that the kid's too young to enjoy it… And now we're stuck listening to them scream while their parents try to get them to shut up so they can take them on another scary ride so they can start the process over."
Upon just looking at all of the tired people waiting in line, the screaming children, and the guests upset at having to pay a fortune for the park food—as the park heinously didn't allow them to bring in their own and it was too inconvenient to go out to the car again—this place didn't seem to be "the happiest place on earth" to him.
Bennet checked to make sure that he hadn't left any of his files lying out on his desk, and shut his office door behind him. He walked down to the other end of the hall and pushed the call button for the elevator. Once inside he pushed the button that would take him to the ground floor. The doors opened and he stepped out onto the street level parking garage for the NSA. Rush was waiting for him, her arms crossed over her chest. "You're late," she commented.
"I arrived precisely when I mean to arrive," he answered plainly. He didn't need to explain himself and Rush knew better than to ask.
"So where are we heading?" he asked.
"An amusement park in SoCal," she answered, handing him the coordinates on a small holographic hand-held map.
"Anything scheduled at the convention center over the weekend?" Bennet asked, noting that the building was within a close vicinity to the park.
"Just a home gardener's convention." There wasn't anything that came to Bennet's mind that Zeta could want from attending the convention, but then he couldn't see what purpose Zeta could have at an amusement park either. He hoped that this mission, they might find out what it is that Zeta was after now. After the invasion at the cryogen lab, he'd discovered that Zeta was after Selig, but now that the synthoid had accomplished its mission, who or what was its next target? A small voice spoke in the back of his thoughts, "What if there isn't a next target? What if it was all an accident, and the synthoid is telling the truth?" Nonsense. Zeta is a machine, a killer. He can't possibly have a conscience… No one can program a machine to have a conscience. Dr. Selig was old. He must have been losing his sanity when he said that he had given Zeta a conscience. Robots can't be capable of mimicking human thought." What was he thinking? It was very possible that a robot could mimic human thought, if it had a highly advanced program telling it how to imitate and copy what it observed. It would take a genius to make such a module, and Dr. Selig was a genius.
In the past, there had been several places that they'd followed Zeta to without knowing anything else other than that he'd been there or was still there. Occasionally they'd find out what it was that he was doing, but it was usually after he'd left the area. This could just be one of those instances. They'd have to follow him, in hopes that they'll find some information that will let them predict where he might turn up next time. "We'll have to check it out, regardless of its innocent appearance," he told Rush.
His words were the same as an order to move out. "Yes sir!" They climbed aboard the vehicle and set off to go find Infiltration Unit Zeta.
Ro glared at the back of the people's heads who were waiting in front of them. In her mind these people didn't have names or faces. They were just heads, bodies… a numerical count of figures that had to be overcome before she could go on the ride. And they unfortunately did have as much of a right to be waiting in line in front of her as she had to be waiting in line in front of the people behind her.
Zee could sense her irritableness at having to wait so long but there wasn't anything he could do. He began to compulsively scan the area again. First he looked down the line in front of them, then to the people at the outdoor restaurant area, then the people getting off of the other ride, and lastly his gaze would usually rest on the general mass of people walking around until it was their turn to inch forward in line again.
"Stop doing that!"
Any other person might have found themselves asking "Stop doing what?" if they hadn't already realized for themselves that they were impulsively looking around the area every five minutes. It would be improper for him to answer her in this manner as he did know that he was routinely checking the area. However, he couldn't decide if he felt compelled to do this because there was nothing better to do or because he was actually worried that there might be agents staked out somewhere in the park.
"You look like you're an animatronic puppet from one of those other cheesy rides."
"I'm sorry, I was just looking around to see if there were any…"
"I know who you're looking for. But I've got news for you, they're not coming."
"How can you be so sure?"
"You think anyone who's been waiting in this line all day long is going to let them cut in line to get to us?"
"We certainly have done a lot of waiting. Are you sure that it's the best thing that we could be doing with our time at this point?"
"Look, Edmund's hearing isn't for another month, right? I think we've got some time to take a break and relax, 'cuz afterwards things are going to get really hectic and crazy."
"We may think that we deserve a break, but I'm sure Bennet would disagree."
"That man is overly zealous when it comes to his work. He probably needs to take a break more than us… actually he needs a month long all expenses paid vacation…"
"He's not going to get his break this month. I'm sure he's busy preparing for the court case, while we're just waiting for something to happen."
"You have a better plan?" Ro asked him.
He'd been thinking about the idea for a while, but had been hesitant to bring it up with Ro. "I was just wondering if it would be beneficial to try and track down some of the other heads from the design team and see if they could offer any assistance."
"After what happened to Dr. Selig? Trust me Zee, they're going to want to stay as far away from you as possible, and would want you to do the same."
"They wouldn't need to come see me directly. They could just pick up the phone or send an email…"
"Zee, Zee. Hold up. What makes you think they're going to tell you anything remotely related to Selig? To them you're the enemy. They're not going to tell you anything useful after what's happened. Edmund's our only chance because he was there and he knows the truth. He owes us the favor. Those other guys don't."
He accepted her reasons for the moment, but would still keep the option fresh in the back of his mind in case things did fall through with Edmund—which was seeming more and more likely to occur as time continued to pass steadily. Things with Edmund were going very slowly. First it'd taken a long time to locate him, and then once they found him they'd lost him to the NSA. Now they'd have to wait another month for his court appearance. Even then it wasn't guaranteed that they'd be able to talk to him afterwards or that they'd get what they were after. Also, while Ro insisted that he owned them a favor, what if he didn't want to grant them their wish? Or what if he didn't have the means to anymore? It wouldn't be too far fetched to think that the NSA might compensate his belongings—including the files they wanted containing the proper scans and passwords to get into the Sub Rosa terminal.
But it was hard to concentrate and worry about the small undermining details related to their plan regarding Edmund when there was actually a bigger threat to worry about--the NSA was really working hard on getting the semi-organics online again. He had no way of knowing the extent of their efforts, or if they'd had any success in finding any of Dr. Selig's old files, but he did know that the NSA had a constant opportunity to search for the files and they didn't.
It felt like a race, and they were still waiting to start running while everyone else had passed the first checkpoint already. Maybe if the NSA didn't have infinite access to their own files they could still both be waiting at the starting line for a fair race? But wait, why did this have to be a race? And why did he bother to ask himself questions to which he already knew the answer? They both wanted the same set of files. It didn't matter that computer files could be copied and distributed over and over again. The only thing that mattered was who got to those files first.
While the NSA was typically looking for information regarding the construction of the semi-organics, what would happen if they found what he and Ro were looking for—a set of schematics for a conscience module? Would they have the integrity to admit they were wrong about him being reprogrammed by terrorists, or would they cover up the evidence because of their own pride and will?
In truth, he wanted to believe that they would do the right thing, but he doubted it. He was an expensive piece of government equipment. He figured they'd just as soon reprogram him rather than go to the trouble of acknowledging that he could think for himself, and to try and explain that to the rest of the population. He was sure that it was his doubt in the government's integrity that drove his eagerness to try alternative solutions to finding the files. It would be a month before they'd be able to see if they could even get the security clearance they needed to find out where to start looking for the files themselves. After that they'd still have to go behind "enemy lines" to retrieve the information. The longer they waited the more in danger, or at risk they were at the NSA finding the files first. And all they were doing about the current situation was waiting in line to drive a little car around a short track at 4.6 mph.
It was several more minutes until they began to get close to what Ro defined as, "Being at the point in line where they were so close to getting on the ride that the ride was going to break down any second and everyone in line would be asked to return at another time." Zee had protested that for the ride to break down every single car would have to be out of order, but then Ro reminded him that it didn't have to be every car, but just the one in front of theirs, or a tree branch that suddenly fell onto the middle of the track.
"Are you going to drive or am I?" Ro asked as the people in front of them got into their little car and the car attendant started walking back to pull another car up for them.
He was a little surprised that she would ask to him if he wanted to drive or not rather than just telling him, "You're driving," or "I want to drive." He guessed that he should feel honored that she would offer this privilege to him, especially after they'd waited three hours for this chance. However, maybe she wasn't offering him the chance, but was just asking out of politeness and expected him to read between the lines and know that she was going to drive after all. Usually he did all of the driving, which might mean that Ro was really just hinting that she wanted to drive this time. Or maybe she was really sincere?
"I think you'd probably enjoy it more," he declined.
"I don't really care anymore. I've been waiting too long in line to care anymore. I just want to get on it, then get off." Denial. He could see it in her eyes.
The attendant stopped their car in front of them. Zee noted how it was especially efficient how there was a pedal at the rear of the car which controlled the throttle so the attendants didn't actually have to get into the car to move it. "You go ahead and get in first," he gestured to Ro. She didn't argue, but climbed over the passenger seat to the driver's side on the left. Zee climbed into the seat next to her, and was trying to sit down when he felt his legs lock up slightly. These seats really were tiny! As the attendant turned her head away from them for a second, his legs shrunk in length, and he was able to sit comfortably down the rest of the way into the seat.
"Did they design these cars for giants? I can barely reach the pedal!" Zee
was ready to argue that it really was for the munchkin cast from the Wizard of Oz, but the attendant began to deliver them the car operation spiel as well as the guidelines for the rides. Up most on this list was not to bump the other cars in front of them.
The green light lit up, signaling that it was Ro's turn to go. She floored it, but the car didn't immediately take off. It slowly began to move forward, and that was it. "This is so lame…"
Zee turned around and looked behind him at the cover over the little car's motor. He saw the computer consulate on the side and a small cable snaked out from his wrist. In a second, Ro's car sped up but if she hadn't known that he was tweaking with the speed settings for the car, she wouldn't have been able to tell that it was going faster. "Sorry, but even after recalculating the power output and input for the motor, and coming up with a more efficient solution, this is as fast as I can get it to go," he said, retracting his cable.
"At least you tried." Unfortunately while they now had the advantage of having .1 more mph speed wise, the people in front of them must have had helium pumped into their shoes and were taking their time getting around the course. No wonder it'd taken this long to get in line! Any slower and these people would be driving backwards!
"I wish we could take this off-roading…" Ro muttered. If she could she'd completely swerve around them off of the normal track area just to pathetically "dust" them at 4.7 mph. Unfortunately, even if Zee did change the car's computer program to allow it to go off of the track they'd never be able to pass this car at this slow speed before they made it back to the unloading platform.
It seemed to Ro that the ride was over before it really even began. They were helped out of their car then directed up the stairs and over the track to where the exit was. Had anyone paid any close attention to the tall dark haired gentleman heading up the stairs they might have wondered why he seemed taller at the top of the stairs than at the bottom.
"Someone owes me the last three hours of my life back, I'm just not sure who," Ro said, leaning over the railing to watch the other cars pass underneath them on the track. "This stinks, big time."
Zee promptly replied, "So where are we going next?" By now he'd learned that if he just naturally took all of her remarks to be sardonic before considering them any other way, he would be correct more of the time than not.
"How about we go check out that one ride, you know the one where you ride around in those little flying pirate ships."
The ride was completely on the other half of the park. Maybe her feet wouldn't be hurting her so much if she went on all of the rides in one half of the park rather than jumping from attraction to attraction, or should he say walking? Not that he minded. His feet never got tired.
"If that's what you'd like to do," he said pulling out the park map to find the quickest route. Ro didn't bother to look at it with him, but grabbed his arm and began to pull him along.
He eventually put down the map and gave up on trying to locate the quickest route as he'd already accidentally bumped into two people from not watching where he was walking—or where Ro was dragging him. Also, shouldn't he be able to figure out the quickest route from all of the walking they'd done already?
As he caught up to her side their pace slowed down to a slow stroll rather than a speed walk competition to see who could get to the ride first, to start waiting in line first. The effort it took for them to run over there was probably not worth the time they'd save from getting head of a few more people who were walking over to the same ride. Their walking slowed down even more as the crowd became thicker. Zee could no longer walk at Ro's side, but had to follow closely behind her as she led the way through the crowd.
"What's the hold up?" Ro asked, "Are we at a sci-fi convention and they're hading out free light sabers?" as the crowd was especially gathered around this one particular area and was now unwillingly parting to let them through. She eventually gave up and began to try and back out of the crowd. They more freely let her move out from in front of them.
Even Zee wasn't tall enough to see over their heads to find out what the commotion was. Whatever it was he didn't like it. Large groups of people acting peculiarly were never a good thing. "I don't like this, we should leave," he cautioned Ro.
"Don't you want to find out what's going on?" she asked.
"Not really."
"Let me climb up on your shoulders," Ro suggested. It didn't seem proper in this environment, or for a person her size. There were several little girls and boys sitting on their parent's shoulders with their arms wrapped around their necks, but Ro was much older than they were.
He was just bending over to crouch down and let her onto his shoulders when he suddenly straightened up. The PA system on the street turned on and the opening fanfare to a musical march began to play. In a broad voice an announcer began to address the crowd. Zee didn't bother to listen to the automated speaker. He knew well enough what was being said and why the crowd was gathered here now. He was surprised he hadn't realized it sooner. He'd even been staring right at the park map a moment it ago! The afternoon parade "Princesses on Parade" was starting, and everyone was gathered along the parade route.
"It's the parade," Zee informed Ro of his enlightenment.
"You think?" she asked, her voice sounding a little irritable as well as bored and uninterested in this fact. He wasn't sure, but she might even have rolled her eyes as she said this.
It had been less that a minute ago that she'd asked what the crowd was for and now she was speaking as if she had the park calendar and schedule memorized! He never thought ill of her whenever she suddenly put on this apathetic, "know it all" attitude though. He suspected that this was actually something that she learned from growing up in the girls homes. From what Ro had told him, the common attitude among the other girls who were living in the orphanages was that they were there because no one cared about them. While he was certain that this really couldn't be the case for anyone, he could see how it was an easy scapegoat for them to express their sorrows through. At the homes they were deprived of individual attention or of a close relationship with someone who would love them unconditionally. And, quite frankly, if they were placed in one of the homes it was because there was no one who could take care of them or would want do. In a way, it certainly did sound like they were placed there because no one wanted them.
He could imagine that growing up in an environment where no one sincerely cared about you would certainly make you not care about anyone, or anything else. For Ro, this was probably the case, whether she would admit it, or even knew that this was why she was the way she was. The fact that she never liked to admit that she didn't know something, or that she was wrong, was probably a result of how at the girls' homes there was always fierce competition to prove one's self better than the other girls. It made simple sense, really… they made up the lack of self worth and encouragement that they should have received from their caretakers by aggrandizing each other, and trying to prove their worth to each other.
In the beginning he'd actually connected these personality traits to her unwavering strength and courage. It was easy to put on a straight face and to act indifferently to a situation if you didn't let it get to you on a personal level. It was easy to turn a blind eye and keep on walking past the needy if you didn't even bother to acknowledge their existence. It was easy to pretend like you didn't need a family if you said that you didn't care to have one. Yes, to others it might seem like Ro never let anything bother her because she didn't care too deeply about anything. However, he knew that anyone who assumed this was wrong—which also meant that he'd been wrong. Or was he? Maybe when he'd first met her she really hadn't cared about anyone or anything else but herself, but now he was sure that this wasn't the case. He knew that it only appeared this way because she wouldn't allow herself to let anyone see that she did care. But why wouldn't she want people to see how kind and caring she actually was? –Because such traits were considered "weak" in the real world. It had to be more "girls' home" brainwashing propaganda…
He wasn't sure how he should react or what he should say in response to her comment. She didn't seem happy that the parade was starting, so should he even bother to ask if she wanted to try and find a spot to watch it from? He would have thought that it would be something that she might enjoy as an alternative to standing in line or walking around the park—but again, she didn't sound too pleased. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask. "They're not letting people cross the street until the parade is over. We could walk the long way around to get to the ride, or we could try to find seating and wait until it's over to cross. Or we could do something else entirely."
"How rude of them—making everyone walk all the way around! What, can't they just leave a break between the floats to let people through?"
"Liability issues. There was an incident several years ago where too many people were trying to cross in the break so the characters had to stop and wait for them to get out of the way. "
"So? Maybe they can add a break into their routines to fill up the time."
"The float behind the group nearly ran the characters over because it was unable to stop in time. It's much easier to not allow anyone through until it's over than to have to worry about such things again."
"How far out of the way would we have to go to get around this?" she asked next.
Zee didn't pull out the map as he had a clear picture of it in his head. "It's a long walk. It'd probably be just as much time to stay here and wait as it would for us to go around." Ro bit her lower lip as she evaluated the decision. Zee added another important piece of information to the equation. "If we wait here then you could be resting your feet rather than walking around."
"There's one problem with staying here though. I don't see how we can watch a parade when we can't even see over the heads of the people in front of us. Heck! I'm wondering how they can even see over each other's heads! Do any of the cart vendors wandering around here sell periscopes?"
He doubted it. He took a few steps back from the crowd gathered along the street curb and began to look for a bench or something to stand on. There were a few benches, but they were occupied with other tired park guests, who were resting their feet. Ro was looking around the area as well for something to stand on as well. She laughed, then tugged on Zee's arm, pointing to an object nearby, "Even the trashcan's taken!" It was true. There was a little child standing on the top of it. His parents were close by in case he wanted to get down as well as to make sure that he didn't fall off. There wasn't anywhere that they could watch the parade from or any open seating where Ro could sit down and rest her feet. There was one option left to try.
"Climb up," Zee offered. Ro looked to her side where Zee had been standing. Then her gaze lowered to where he was crouched on the ground. He looked like he was ready to tie a loose shoelace. She smiled, as she slipped her legs over his shoulders, and wrapped her arms around his neck. There was no need to ask first whether or not she would be too heavy, and there was no need for him to say that he could only hold her up there for a little while before he got tired. He stood up again. It wasn't that bad of a view. Of course Zee still couldn't see anything, and probably anyone behind them now, but if they really wanted to see the parade they could do the same thing or have just gotten here earlier to get a better spot.
The parade music was playing, but Ro couldn't see anything yet. No wait, the first float was emerging from behind a group of trees further up the street. As the float got closer the speaker on the light post closest to their section of the street began to play an echo of the music that was being played in the section of the street that the float was currently in. How clever! The music followed along with the parade by playing ahead of it!
The first float was very impressive. Hanging from a wire, strung from the tip of a twenty foot tall crescent moon, was the moon princess Diana. Below her on the base of the float was her beloved prince, Endymion. Diana spent most of her time trying to do graceful water ballet type movements as she hung from the cable, while Endymion walked in small circles on the base of the float, waiving to all of the young boys in the audience. The story of Diana and Endymion's romance (and their full length feature film) was actually a scarce, modern example of how a movie could be reasonably financially successful, even though it didn't stick to the original piece of work or "myth" in this case. Quite frankly, after making the movie remotely watch-able by the standards set by the day's youth pop culture, the only thing that remained true to the original myth was their names.
The next float was centered on the story of the young, dragon-slaying hero, Aerin. Aerin was actually more of a tom-boy than a princess, but her movie was popular enough to not only give her a place in the parade, but a whole thirty foot long animated "fire breathing" dragon float a well! Along the parade route the dragon would shoot little bursts of flames out of its nose until Aerin went up to "stab" it with her sword in which case it'd stop. She was accompanied by a whole contingent of men in shiny suits of armor as well as other cast characters dressed up in smaller dragon costumes who would act out small battles with the knights.
Following them was a dancing group of fairy princesses. Ro hadn't seen the movie to know for sure, but from what she could tell, the only thing that made these fairies princesses, was that the marketers had realized that if they said that any one character was a "princess", more than 75 of the girls who watched the movies would suddenly have to urge to buy any merchandise with the same character on it. Ro felt sorry for the fairy princes who were forced to wear tights as a part of their costume. They did a great job of acting like they enjoyed running around in their tights with their stage smiles.
The parade in general was typically geared more toward a feminine audience (as it was the "Princesses on Parade") but there were still some male cast characters walking along in the parade as well. However, these were practically limited to the princesses' princes. In the late 20th century, marketers and manufacturers had believed young boys to be the most easily impressionable market with the most influential buying power. However, within the next two decades after that, it was discovered that young girls actually had just as much, if not more buying influence than their counterparts. This discovery stemmed from the fact that groups of girls in the older age brackets, on average, spent more than the groups of boys in the same age brackets. Tracing their buying trends backwards, it was discovered that girls were actually more ideal to market to than boys. The girls spent more time shopping than boys did, which meant they were more exposed to advertising than boys were, and they spent more of their discretionary income on frivolous things per month, than the boys did. The untapped resource was immediately exploited shortly thereafter.
Ro had no idea why the princess theme was so popular with the young girls. Maybe each girl secretly dreamed that she was really a princess inside? However, if this really was the case someone needed to get them a reality check.
Next came the floats with the original group of princesses who had inspired the "every girl is a princess," scheme. Ro thought the effect these princesses had on such an impressionable audience (mainly due to the extensive promotion the princesses were given) was sickening. Did these people realize what kind of role models they were elevating? She guessed that if money is their incentive, then they can put whomever they want on display in a parade.
First in line was Snow White, who despite her innocent, sweet natured and naïve personality--could only scrounge up the heart of necrophilliac to spend the rest of her happily ever after with. Thank goodness Prince Charming saw some other redeeming qualities in her, such as her high-pitched childish voice, or else he would really have been disappointed when she woke up unexpectedly after he kissed her.
Next came Cinderella in her golden orange carriage. Cinderella, while not naturally a princess, had squirmed way into the royal family through hard work and by using mice as sweatshop labor. The important lesson to learn from her example was that if someone wished hard enough and dreamed enough they would still come up short, and only through the help of a long lost fairy godmother could their dreams fully be realized. Fat chance that anyone else in the world had a fairy godmother, especially one whom they didn't even know existed until they appeared right under their nose.
After Cinderella came Princess Aurora. Aurora never had to lift a finger for her happy ending. From being born into a royal family thus securing a betrothal, she really didn't need to be gifted with grace, beauty, and polite manners to get a prince to kiss her when she was asleep. What a role model. Or what about Belle? Had she even considered that she might be expected to pass down an heir if she married the beast? Ro decided she wasn't even going to go there.
Zee tilted his head up to try and take a glance at Ro and see how she was enjoying the parade. She was rather quiet as she watched the floats go by. He wasn't bored, but was actually wondering if she was. He couldn't make any kind of judgment as to whether the content of the parade might bore Ro or not as he couldn't see anything. She hasn't said that she was bored, so was he to assume that she wasn't?
The parade was half over by now. Shouts and cheers could be heard further up the street as the main "float" of the parade was coming. Actually it wasn't a float, but a group of twelve dancing princesses. Their costumes were simply stunning, as well as their jewel encrusted shoes—which hadn't been worn through yet. The movie these characters had come from had been an instant marketing hit when it was released. While the fairytale revival theme was quite popular, the only word to describe this fairytale story was "colossal." There were 12 different princesses meaning 12 different dolls (both princess and princes, actually making it 24 potential sales points), 12 sets of special dancing shoes, 12 different lunchboxes, 12 dancing princess key chains… Twelve of whatever a label or image could be put on. And miraculously all of the princesses had a different hair color, thus appealing to a wider range of girls. Naturally the girls with strawberry blonde hair would favor the princess who had the same hair color, and the girls with dark black hair favored the princess with the ebony black hair as well.
But, while all of the princesses were admired for their beauty and wardrobe, or individually worshipped because of their hair color, there was a favorite among all of the princesses. While Ro didn't have ash blonde hair or half of the other girls who admired her, Lina, the youngest of the twelve, was by far the most adored princess.
Despite being the most popular, Lina was actually not the hero of the fairy tale. Instead, the poor and lowly garden boy, Michael, had the most redeeming role in the fairytale. By being poor and humble he was not selfish or conceited as the other princes were, and thus did not get snared into the princesses' enchantment. In this version of the story, the princes were not executed, but became the princesses' dancing partners and remained trapped in their magical world.
When Rapunzel came through with her several hundred foot long braid of hair, tactfully being carried by several other cast members doing weaving motions with it back and forth on the street, Ro had decided that she'd seen enough of the parade. Also, the feeling of having a large paint can between her legs wasn't too comfortable. While Zee could hold her up there indefinitely she didn't think she could sit there for that long. Being a robot, he sure didn't come with any cushioning around the neck and shoulder area. "Let me down," Ro said, looking down at the top of his head.
He began to lower down so that she could easily climb off, but she had already slid her legs out from over his shoulder and dropped down onto the ground. "Is something wrong?" he asked leaning over to speak with her at eye level. His voice was hushed, as if he was worried that someone might overhear him.
"No, everything's fine."
"You don't like the parade?"
Despite all of her objections to it, it was very nicely coordinated and very eye-catching. "It's okay… But I'd only watch the rest of it if we had front row seats on the curb. Maybe we can camp out an hour before hand on the sidewalk to get a good view for when the parade runs again in the evening?"
"If you'd like to we can." Now for the next question, "What would you like to do next?"
Ro thought about it for a second. She was feeling relaxed from sitting down for a while, and didn't feel like walking over to the other ride at the moment. "Let's find somewhere where we can eat lunch."
He didn't bother to correct her, "Where you can eat lunch…"
Rather than pulling out their park map and looking under the restaurant guide Ro began walking around. If she picked up the scent of anything that smelled good she'd follow the smell to the restaurant. Or, if she walked by a restaurant and the appetizer menu displayed outside looked inviting, she might go there. Or maybe she'd just pick up some snack food from an overpriced cart vendor.
"Let's look in here for a sec," Ro said, tugging on Zee's arm as she pulled him into a small shop. The shop didn't sell food, but…fur coats? She'd pulled him into "Princess Furball's Coats." The shop didn't look like it was doing too well, as it wasn't very crowded.
In the story of Princess Furball, the princess is told by her father that she must marry an ogre, because the ogre promised her father lots of money for her hand in marriage. As the princess didn't want to marry the ogre she asked her father for bridal gifts that she believed to be impossible for her father to deliver. Aside for three dresses that were so finely woven they could be folded into a walnut shell she asked for a coat made of a thousand different kinds of fur, one piece from every animal in her father's kingdom. Hence the coat shop. However, in the middle of the summer, no one wanted to buy fur coats. The humane issue of whether the coats they were selling were made of real fur or faux fur was another issue.
After admiring a fox fur-lined jacket, Ro decided that it was indeed too hot for her to even considering buying such an item to wear in the evenings, or to save until the weather become colder as Autumn was getting closer and closer. They passed through the shop and came out into a small plaza on the other side. In the plaza there were tables set out. Tables, that usually mean that someone nearby would be selling food.
Ro looked at the sign over a large archway leading into a building. There was a guest greeter waiting at the front, holding sample menus to hand out. How nice. It was the "Princess and the Pea Soup" restaurant. The atmosphere inside of the restaurant, from what she could see through the arched doorway, looked nice, and the sounds coming from within sounded happy and cheerful. Clearly no one had brought their children in here from the lack of screaming and crying children who didn't want to finish their dinner before they could have dessert. "Here look good?" she asked Zee.
Why did she bother to ask? "Sure," he smiled.
The waiter smiled at the group in front of them as they approached her, and began to pass out menus to them. While pea soup was their main specialty, they did serve a variety of other soups and dishes. As the father of the party ahead of them took the menu, he had a moment in which he thought was cleverness and asked the waitress, "What's the difference between pea soup and roast beef?"
If only she wasn't being paid to put up with such comments and act like the guest had a pleasing sense of humor and that this was the first time she'd heard the joke. She could have rolled her eyes so hard that they might have stuck in the back of her head. This had to be the third time someone had told her that joke in the hour. There were two ways to approach this matter. She could either reveal the punch line and not entertain this guest in his "clever" moment, or she could do her job and humor him by pretending that she didn't know. Since guest service was the main goal for her employer, option one was out. There were a few ways to approach option two. She could pretend like she thought he was referring to something on the menu, or she could stand there with a dazed look on her face, or she could acknowledge it was a joke and ask what the answer was.
"Well…" she started to speak, but was interrupted by the man, "Anyone can roast beef." He'd been waiting for her to think about it for a second and as it seemed that she hadn't heard the joke before he couldn't wait to reveal the answer before she figured it out or someone else ruined the surprise, taking the credit for his joke.
She laughed heartily along with the man, but as soon as the man was out of ear shot, her laughter became broken and cold. Only Zee could hear her mutter, "Pervert," through her smile—full of clenched teeth.
"Two please," Zee said politely. She handed them their menus, then gestured for them to go ahead on inside where someone else would seat them. "Thank you," Zee said taking the menus from her. Wow. Someone actually said thanks! It actually made her feel good about doing her job.
"You're welcome," she smiled sincerely.