She didn’t tell them about Floppy. Some things are better as a mystery. But she kept the carrot wand, which now sat in a glass case in her quarters, and every time the crew got too serious, she’d tap it against the bulkhead.
The transmission from deep space wasn’t a mathematical proof or a desperate cry for help. It was a faint, rhythmic thumping, like a bass drum in zero gravity. When Dr. Aris Thorne, chief linguist of the Odyssey , finally isolated the pattern, he sat back in his chair, bewildered.
He tapped the wand against the stage. A shockwave of pure, silent mirth erupted outward. The ship’s pink walls rippled like water. On the Odyssey , Dr. Aris Thorne suddenly snorted coffee out his nose because he remembered a pun from fifth grade that he’d never found funny before. Two engineers in the engine bay collapsed into giggles for no reason. The ship’s cat, Schrödinger, chased its own tail for an hour. Bunny Girl--39-s Strange Alien Adventure.rar
The bunny’s button eyes swiveled, focusing on her headband. A pulse of amusement rippled through the ship. I AM A CUSTODIAN. A WEAPON. A GOD. BUT MY CREATORS CALLED ME ‘FLOPPY.’ I AM THE ENTERTAINER OF REALITIES. I MAKE THE STARS LAUGH SO THEY DO NOT COLLAPSE INTO MELANCHOLY.
“It seemed like a good idea,” he said, weeping with laughter. She didn’t tell them about Floppy
The wand on the stage levitated, twirled, and a real, holographic carrot materialized in the air. Lia caught it. It smelled of saffron and ozone. She held it up to the cylinder.
The airlock hissed. Lia drifted across the void, her tether line snaking behind her like a silver tail. The alien ship’s hull was warm, humming with a language she couldn’t hear but felt in her teeth. She found a manual hatch—a circular iris that, when touched, irised open with a wet, organic sigh. The transmission from deep space wasn’t a mathematical
Hesitantly, she pressed [OFFER CARROT].
Not an alien. A stage .
When it stopped, Floppy was glowing faintly. THANK YOU. NOW I HAVE ONE JUMP LEFT. WHERE DO YOU NEED A LAUGH?
Lia, to her credit, did not scream. She was a professional. Instead, she asked, “What are you?”