Tripods in the Hold by Clonesgirl
Warning: Remember in March 2001 there was a big kerfuffle over Tripod accidentally deleting 1,000s of sites? Apparently it was some sweeper program that ran amok over a weekend with nobody to supervise it. Well this odd piece of fic was written in response to a bizarre fic challenge at the height of the Tripod paranoia. Not to be taken seriously. With thanks to Jan for the challenge and Rod Serling's Twilight Zone for the inspiration.
"Archie, what do you mean 'great danger'? Talk sense!"
"I don't know, Horatio, but that's what she said. That there was great danger and that some places could be destroyed by a tripod thing. It was some kind of conspiracy or something."
"A tripod?"
"I know. It doesn't make any sense to me either. But that's what the fortune teller said."
"I can't understand it at all. Are you sure that's what she said?"
"Quite sure. She said that even we could disappear."
"Disappear where?"
"I don't know. But that's what she said."
"Archie, I don't like the sound of this."
"Well, it wasn't all gloomy. She said that people are writing about us in the future."
"How queer! After all, we are not heroes. No one knows of us, not like our good Captain. Now he's a real hero! They'll write about him!"
"Apparently they know of us in 200 years time and they write about us."
"In 200 years?!"
"Yes! Strange, is it not?"
"But what do they write?"
"She said they write of our adventures, but many also write of our love."
"Our love???!!! But it's a secret! How would they know? How could they possibly know?"
"I don't know, Horatio, but she said that we somehow existed both now and in the future."
"That is truly bizarre! But what is this tripod thing?"
"I don't know and she couldn't explain it. But somehow it was something that had brought people together, and now it was waging war on them and whole places had been destroyed overnight."
"What places?"
"She mentioned some book review places.
"Do you mean like journals, or newspapers?"
"I don't know. But she said authors are gone now too."
"What authors?"
"I don't know. She didn't name them. She also said that the work of artists had been destroyed as well."
"You mean paintings? Drawings and such?"
"Guess so."
"How terrible!"
"And even kind words that people had written about their dead children were gone now."
"Because of this tripod thing?"
"So t'would seem."
"Archie, we must be ready to fight to defend ourselves no matter what!"
"Fight a tripod?"
"Well, we could always take a canon to it!"
"Horatio, don't you think that would be like trying to hit an insect with a canon ball?"
"Well, we shall have a tripod hunt, and any that we find on the Indy, we shall show no mercy and throw them overboard!"
"Shh! Someone's coming!"
"Gentlemen, I see that I have caught you again! This is getting most tiresome."
"Well your quarters would be a lot more comfortable!"
"I've told you, we cannot always use my quarters. It is much too obvious."
"So we are forced to use the cable tiers. Anyway, we have to search the ship for tripods. You will have to order it, Edward."
"Did I hear you right? Did you say tripods?"
"Yes! And any that we find we have to throw them overboard at once."
"Just what have you two been imbibing?"
"Nothing! See?"
"Mmmmm..... Well, I can taste no alcohol there. Mmmmm.... None there either. So what is this nonsense about tripods?"
"Archie says there's a tripod and it's waging a great war and destroying hundreds of places, and maybe it might even destroy us. We have to hunt down this tripod thing and kill it before it destroys everything."
"Gentlemen, I despair. I really do. We are fighting the French and the Spanish; is that not enough? Good God, someone's coming!"
"Hands to quarters! Hands to quarters! Enemy ship astern!"
"Never mind the tripods, gentlemen, we have a real enemy to fight!"
"Horatio, we could search their hold and see if they have any tripods aboard!"
"Never fear, Archie! We shall hunt down this tripod thing and find it! It will never destroy us!"
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