the pursuit

by fred flynn

it seemed a lovely evening, perfect for a walk in the park or a stroll around the neighborhood. but later that night aliens invaded earth. the aliens departed as quickly as they had arrived. at first it was not clear what, if anything, the purpose of their visit had been. but as dawn rolled over the earth, the shocking truth was revealed. the aliens had stolen the money of the one hundred wealthiest persons on earth! mr bob fates, mr harold mucklenberg, the inventor steve jones, the countess of peruvia, and ninety-six others - who had adorned the pages of fortune magazine and vanity fair and similar publications, who had been the subject of endless documentaries and profiles in the media - left penniless! reactions to this astonishing event varied. some were horrified. many professed amusement. others took to the streets, brandishing signs with the slogan “not enough!” and demanding that the aliens return and take even more plunder from the next most wealthy. but to president garver of the world federation, it was no joke, and he was charged with the responsibility of pursuing the thieves and retrieving the stolen goods. he decided to call in the two greatest heroes on earth, whom he had relied on to pull his chestnuts out of the fire on countless occasions before. spaceman jones, the bravest of them all, who could face down any adversary, no matter how formidable or terrifying, with exemplary sangfroid. and mr walter worldsaver, the outwardly ordinary looking guy, the cool and canny customer who had cracked many a conundrum in the past and always seemed to find a way. i don’t need to tell you fellows what to do, president garver addressed the duo. but i am counting on you, and planet earth is counting on you. spaceman jones and walter worldsaver wasted no time in palavering. they climbed into betsy, spaceman jones’s battered but serviceable spacecraft, and took off. the aliens had seemed to be heading north, toward cygnus a, so jones tried that direction first. they entered the black depths of deep space. it is peaceful out here, isn’t it? walter worldsaver observed. yes, it is, spaceman jones agreed.