Jungle Jim
Chapter 46
XLVI
Few Antarians were still on the street, and those who still were were not stopping to talk to anyone. A quick "hello" was all one could get from most of them as they rushed toward home or in the direction of the nearest public vision screen.
"Where's everyone going in such a hurry," a Xarian tourist asked a young Antarian man who rushed by him.
"Home… to watch the vision screen."
"What's so important?"
"Jungle Jim. Today's his first show. He's going into the Nan-Torel. It's going to be on vision screen live. He's going to get eaten! I don't want to miss it!"
"Jungle Jim?"
"Where are you from, man," the Antarian yelled back from half way down the street. "Everybody knows the pawgor guy. That's Jungle Jim."
The Xarian started to ask something else, but the Antarian was already gone. So he did what everyone else seemed to be doing. He headed in the direction of the nearest public vision screen to watch whatever it was that the Antarians were all in a titter over.
At the edge of the public square, set into the wall of one of the public buildings, the Xarian found a large public viewing screen, already surrounded by a good-size crowd.
"Who's this 'Jungle Jim,'" the Xarian asked a man standing near him.
"You're kidding, right?" The Antarian answered with a smile.
The Xarian shook his head. "No. I'm from Xarius. I don't know."
"Oh. Well, he's one of the people from Eluymer. You know, the planet they call Urth."
"Is he one of the ones who helped rescue the children from the Ghors?"
"Yeah. He's one of them." The Antarian looked at the Xarian and grinned. "He belongs to the woman who kicked Hosk the Ghor in the crotch…"
"Oh! That guy! Yeah, I know who he is now! Is that the guy that's going to go into the Nan-Torel?"
"Yeah. It's his first show. Everybody thinks it'll be his last show. He's going to get eaten."
"Shhh," a woman in front of them said. "It's starting."
Suddenly a hush came over the crowd, as Jim came onto the screen. He was standing at the edge of the Nan-Torel.
"Hello Antar! Today is a big day for me, and I hope it will be a memorable one for you, too."
"That's a pretty safe bet," the Antarian whispered to the Xarian.
"Today, we're going to go into the Nan-Torel, a place where Antarians have rarely ventured, to examine closely some of the unique and beautiful plant and animal life that is so abundant there. Follow me as we walk into this wondrous wild masterpiece of nature."
Jim walked toward the edge of the jungle. As he did, he seemed to get further and further away from the cameras. Then he turned around and motioned to his camera crew.
"You're falling behind, guys."
Somebody said something from behind the cameras.
"Oh, for the love o'… Now's not the time to tell me this. You didn't think I was going to lug all the cameras in there and film myself, did you? Somebody's got to go along with me."
The crowd in front of the square was starting to chuckle among themselves. They understood the camera crew all too well. Jim might be ready to get eaten by wild pawgors or God knows what else. He was a crazy alien. But the cameramen were Antarians… and they were not.
"Cut! Cut!" Jim yelled, making a slashing motion across his throat to tell the cameramen to turn off the cameras. But then he seemed to have second thoughts, and he walked over and looked into the cameras again.
"Folks, it looks like our trip into the infamous Nan-Torel is going to be delayed…" Under his breath, he added, "until I can find a camera crew with some backbones."
By now, the crowd in front of the vision screen was laughing hysterically. This was almost as good as seeing Jim get eaten. And that still might happen… if he could find someone else crazy enough to go into the Nan-Torel with him and film it.
"This is Jungle Jim the Pawgors' Friend saying good-bye till next week," Jim said to his audience. "I'll be here… right here… next week… ready to take you on a trip that you'll never forget. I hope you'll be here, too. Until then, stay safe, and take time out to look at the world around you." The camera's went off, and the news commentators came on to go over what they had just seen. It seemed that the news crews were just as amused as the general populace. Jim's first show had not gone as he had planned. But it was already the big hit of the season.
tbc