IMAGINATION'S PLACE
FICTION
"HELLO, IVAN!"
By; Speaker Gerald A. Polley
Even The Ancient One had to relax once and a while! One evening
as he surfed through the channels with the cable remote he hit the Russian
newscasts with English subtitles. They began a segment on the Russian navy,
and an officer began speaking. Suddenly the voice drew The Ancient One's
attention, and he studied the face very carefully. There was a scar on the
man's neck, somewhat faded now, but still recognizable. The Ancient One
smiled. "Why, Ivan!" he remarked, "Good to see you're doing so well! Increased
several grades in rank. Very good!" The Ancient One thought back to that
night many years before, when he and his companion of that time were heading
back across the Atlantic for home. Below them they saw a group of ships
in rather rough seas. "Odd!" The Ancient One thought, "Why are they trying
to maintain position in this weather?" He descended for a closer look, and
saw that one ship's bow was considerably damaged. His companion flying behind
him on her broom asked what was going on. "I think somebody zigged when
they should have zagged!" The Ancient One commented. "None of these ships
are damaged except that one. That could mean...oh oh!"
The Ancient One descended and shot beneath the water, his companion following.
"Oooh, this still gives me the creeps!" she remarked.
"Quiet!" The Ancient One instructed. "Listen!"
After a few moments they heard a faint "Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!"
"What's that?" his companion asked.
"Sonar beacon," The Ancient One answered. "Now we know what those ships
are doing up there! There's a damaged sub down here. Come on!" It took them
only a few minutes to find the sub. It's conning tower was smashed but the
rest of it looked like it was alright. "Damn!" The Ancient One questioned,
"Why don't they surface? They don't seem that damaged! Let's take a look."
They quickly entered the submarine. The Ancient One's companion held up her
broom. It quickly shrank to a silver pendant which she hung on a chain about
her neck.
They found men laying about the ship. The Ancient One found an officer
and knelt by him. "What's the matter?" he asked. "It looks like you've made
repairs. Why don't you surface?"
"Auxillary controls smashed!" the man answered. "The controls on the
bridge still work but it's flooded. They're all dead up there. We've got
power, but we can't use it."
"Come on!" The Ancient One told his companion. "They're not going to
last much longer if we don't get the air going."
They made their way to the bridge. Sure enough it was flooded. The Ancient
One moved bodies out of the way. "Well built, these Russian ships!" he remarked.
"Consoles haven't shorted. There! I've switched back main controls, ventilaters,
air freshers on line. Now, let's see if we can raise this old girl."
He unstrapped a man from a seat and let him float away, and then he got
another. "Over there," he said, "that panel. Find the main balast tanks.
Set the switches to blow and press the buttons."
His companion quickly obeyed. "Should I do the ones under them?" she
asked.
"No, no!" The Ancient One warned. "We might need those. Come over here.
I can't handle the helm and the planes and the throttles by myself. You get
on the throttles."
The Ancient One looked at a depth gauge. "Half power!" he ordered. His
companion pushed the throttles forward. "Half power!" she acknowledged.
The Ancient One worked the controls but nothing happened. Nothing indicated
they were moving. "Damn!" he cursed. He got a headset, plugged it in, and
began calling stations until the officer he had spoken to earlier answered.
"Yes!" he remarked, "What? What do you want? Where are you?"
"We're on the bridge," The Ancient One answered. "Listen. We've blown
the mains. We've got plenty of power. We're making good revolutions but we're
not moving. We're stuck in the muck. You've got to rock the ship, blow the
auxillery tanks alternately, til they're down to about 50%, then give them
everything they've got. We've got to break lose. Who am I talking to, by
the way?"
"Lt. Ivan Novochovich" the voice answered.
"Well, Ivan," The Ancient One continued, "go to it!"
After a few moments the submarine began to wobble a little, but The Ancient
One could tell, not enough. "Ivan!" he called, "You've got to rock her more
or we're not going to make it."
Ivan's voice came back "The engineer's afraid if we rock her too hard
she'll break up. "
"WE HAVE NO CHOICE!" The Ancient One answered. "It's rock her hard or
be permanent residents here. It's up to you."
"Yes!" Ivan answered. "Hold on! Hold on, everyone!"
The submarine began to rock back and forth violently. "Full throttles!"
The Ancient One screamed. "Blow 'em Ivan, blow 'em!"
Air bubbles and clouds of mud began to rise from beneath the submarine.
She trembled and suddenly lifted from the bottom. "We're up!" The Ancient
One cried. "Throttle back! Throttle back! Quarter power! Easy, baby, easy,
take it easy."
"What's the matter?" his companion asked.
"We've got tons of water," The Ancient One answered, "in the flodded
comparments at deep pressure. If we go up too fast and it can't escape fast
enough we'll explode! We've got to give it time to equalize. Get on the
phone over there. Set the frequency at 436 and start telling the boys up
there we're comin', to get their boats in the water. Most of these guys
are alive and their ship will be seaworthy, but they're gonna need help."
His companion quickly obeyed. "They're asking who I am," she explained.
"Tell them to stop worrying about it!" The Ancient One answered. "We're
saving their damned crew. It shouldn't matter to them who in the hell we
are! Tell them we should be breaking the surface about a quarter of a mile
to their stern, in about ten minutes, if I keep this rate of ascent."
A few minutes later the submarine broke the surface. The water in the
control room quickly began to go down, and in a few minutes it was dry. "Ivan!"
The Ancient One ordered, "Get up to the control room! We can't stay much
longer. You'll have to man it until your people get here."
"Coming!" Ivan answered.
A few minutes later he and two other men entered the bridge. "My God!"
one of them remarked, "I wasn't dreaming! He DOES have wings!"
"Gotta go!" The Ancient One remarked. "I think we'll save energy and
go out through the hatch. Have to be the side one. Up above is gone."
"Come!" Ivan snapped. In moments he had the bridge hatch open and The
Ancient One and his companion went out onto the deck. She took off her charm
and it again became a broom. "A witch?" Ivan remarked.
"Among other things!" The Ancient One answered.
"What are you?" Ivan asked.
"A friend!" The Ancient One answered. "Just a friend."
He spread his wings, ran down the deck, and soared away, his companion
quickly following.
"Good-bye friend!" Ivan called. "Good-bye, friend!"
The Ancient One's thoughts returned to the present. "Yes," he muttered
again, "It's good to see you're doing well, Ivan. It's very good!"
THE END