Warpy

By wdhenning

Prompt from "The Ultimate Science Fiction Smack Down", Round 3, January, 2022. 'Write a science fiction story that contains the following three things: a cat; a BDO (big dumb object); a cooking recipe.'

I worried about my precious son, only seven years old, like any mother would. Benjamin had no friends his own age. Not unexpected, since we spent the last Earth year-and-a-half at a Mars archeological dig site and there weren't any other kids. What most worried me was the one friend he had, an alien artifact with apparent artificial intelligence capabilities.

Still, it felt good to be back in our old Earth home.

Peeking into Benjamin's room, I watched him play with Warpy, what he named the artifact, a silvery hollow cylinder with external alien markings, about the size of my water bottle. Warpy followed him everywhere. Hovering in mid-air with no apparent thrust, it emitted a low hum every time it moved like the light-sabers in the old Star Wars movies. Light seemed to bend around it as if it warped space itself. When I touched the cylinder, my entire arm tingled.

With his usual bushy hair and happy glow, Benjamin sat cross-legged on the purple rug next to his bed, forming a circle with Rex, his stuffed dinosaur; Rufus, our orange tabby cat, who laidcurled up in a sunbeam, unconcerned with everything; and Warpy. Twenty brightly colored cards laid between them, face-down in a four-by-five rectangular arrangement. Benjamin demonstrated how to play the memory game, where you turn over cards, trying to match the pictures on the other side. "Now you try," he said to Warpy.

When Warpy took its turn, the chosen cards flipped over on their own, as if by telekinesis. Benjamin joyfully cheered when his friend obtained a match. "You did it!" I didn't know whether to be happy or troubled as the artifact learned the game.

We discovered Warpy three days ago and over a hundred-million kilometers away on Mars. Deciphering the alien script was my crowning achievement as a linguist. That led us to the dig site where we sought a hinted space-warping artifact like it was the Holy Grail. It was actuallyBenjamin who found it when he snuck into the caves, or rather, Warpy found Benjamin.

But, we were betrayed. One of the project managers attempted to take Warpy and my son at gunpoint. Understandably scared, Benjamin wished we could go home. Then, in an incredible event that defied description, a shimmer of bright light engulfed Benjamin, me, and Jake, who was with us, and we reappeared here in an astounding instant. Teleportation by spatial distortion, Jake termed it.

After I reported the event, a fleet of police hover-cruisers surrounded us in flashing red and blue lights. Reams of yellow warning tape wrapped my property, and they placed us under quarantine.Then the black trucks showed up, filled with people in black tactical suits. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been surprised. This was a really big thing, like one of the biggest things in the history of humanity. And my son happily played a game with it. Go figure.

"How's Benjamin doing?" Jake asked from the couch after I tiptoed into the living room. His sparkling blue eyes, mussed sandy-brown hair, and comforting smile warmed deep parts of me. I met Jake at the Mars dig where he worked as the site engineer, and we became instant friends. Benjamin took to him as well, and he became like a father to my son. Sometimes, I wished that role would become permanent.

"He and Warpy are playing cards." I replied, shaking my head and grinning. "As if it was themost natural thing in the universe."

Jake's smile faded. "You know they will eventually come for Warpy. And maybe Benjamin too."

As if by prescience, the front door burst open, shuttering as it slammed into the doorstop. Four men and two women wearing black suits, sunglasses, and stern frowns burst in.

"Dr. Jessica Lang?" a man said as he thrust an ID card in my face. "I am agent Smith of theEETA. We are here to confiscate the AAO and take your son into protective custody under authority of the UNSA."

At his bedroom door, Benjamin gasped. Agent Smith turned and glared back at him over the top of his sunglasses. I went into mama bear mode, blocking Smith's path and poking a finger into his chest. "That's my son! Nothing happens until someone explains to me what is going on. First off, what the hell do those acronyms mean?"

Benjamin gasped at my use of the word 'hell', which was on his 'bad words' list.

"Earth Extraterrestrial Threat Authority. Alien Artifact Object. United Nations Space Administration," the agent growled. "Now stand aside, Ms. Lang."

"I don't think so!"

Two other agents grabbed my arms and yanked me aside. Enraged, I struggled against their vise-like grips, flopping my dark hair back and forth. A look of wide-eyed fear overtook Benjamin, and he shouted, "Mom!"

Agent Smith ripped off his sunglasses and glared at the floating artifact before turning his eyesback to Benjamin. "Son, you and the AAO have to come with us." He motioned, and an agent approached with an open metallic case.

"Please, no." I pleaded, unable to escape. Jake stepped forward, only to have another agent stop him with an outstretch palm to the chest.

This was so much like our experience on Mars, and it had to bring back traumatic memories to Benjamin. But instead of withdrawing in fear, my son narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, taking on a defiant pose. "Let Mom go!"

Grinning unpleasantly, Smith said, "Or what, kid?"

"Or Warpy will get mad."

"Sure kid." Smith turned to the agent holding the case. "Take them."

Before the agent took a second step, a blue halo surrounded Warpy. Jagged bolts shot out from its shiny surface, arching through the air and painting the room in electric blue. Two bolts struck the agents holding me, and another the agent with the case. They flew back as if pushed by an invisible force and landed in heaps on the floor, convulsing in jerky movements.

Putting on an angry sneer, Agent Smith flashed out a pistol from beneath his jacket. But before he raised it, a voice called out, "Stand down, Smith." A man with a wrinkled face and grayhandlebar mustache stood at the threshold in casual jeans and shirt. He leaned against the door frame with folded arms and furrowed brow while an identification badge swung from a lanyard around his neck.

"We have jurisdiction, Brinne. The AAO is hostile. You saw what it did," Smith replied, turning back.

"You were the hostile one, Smith. Until the UN officially deems the artifact a threat, this is our case." Brinne stepped inside and motioned outside to the yellow tape and flashing lights. "Take your henchmen and find someone else to harass."

Smith huffed as he left, narrowing his eyes in implied scorn. Brinne smiled and wiggled his fingers in a sarcastic wave.

I dropped to hug Benjamin, drawing him tight against me. Brinne bent down to one knee, coming to eye-level with us. No malice did I detect in his green eyes. "So, you are Benjamin?"he said.

Benjamin nodded. "Yeah. And this is Warpy."

Casting his eyes toward the hovering artifact, Brinne said, "I see. Do you talk with Warpy?"

"Yeah, but it is not talking." The boy tapped his forehead. "I hear thinking in my head."

"Interesting. Well then," Brinne smiled warmly, "Tell Warpy hello and sorry about the other men."

Benjamin smiled in return. "Okay."

We stood. Jake put a comforting arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him.

"I must apologize for Agent Smith's behavior, Dr. Lang." Brinne bowed his head. "That was unacceptable. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Inspector Angus Brinne of the UNTIU."

"What is it with you people and your acronyms?" I replied with undeserved acidity.

Angus sighed. "A hazard of the job, I am afraid. It means United Nations Technology Investigative Unit." He paused for a moment in thought. "I hesitate to ask, but would all of you accompany me to a medical facility? We need to check for potential health effects."

Scowling, I formed an angry retort, but Jake interrupted with a gentle voice, "He's right, Jess. We don't know what we are dealing with."

"Can Warpy come, too?" Benjamin asked.

"Of course," Angus replied with a grin. "And we can check that, umm, Warpy is okay, too."

The medical exams were mostly boring, but Benjamin, Jake, Rufus, and I were all deemed perfectly healthy. Warpy would go nowhere without Benjamin, and neither would I, despite their attempts at separation. They ran all sorts of scans on the artifact, but always with us present. I overheard one scientist say to Mr. Brinne, "Strange. There is much more to the device than we can observe, like it also exists in other dimensions. And it seems to have a mental link with the boy."

After scores of tests, Benjamin announced. "Warpy wants to go home."

Nodding, Mr. Brinne said, "It has been a trying day. I will take you all back."

"Warpy says he will take us home."

With that, shimmers of white light caressed, then the living room appeared around us. It all seemed like magic.

Jake grinned. "They're probably freaking out now."

True to his word, a knock came from the front door. Upon opening, the agent outside said, "Sorry to intrude Dr. Lang, but Inspector Brinne wanted to confirm that you arrived safely."

"We did," I answered. "Thank him for his concern."

*****

Despite daily trips to various facilities, always teleporting back home, cabin fever set in. The media that joined the police outside made us feel even more imprisoned. And when you're bored and anxious, what better time for unhealthy snacks?

"Would you like to help me make cookies?" I asked Benjamin.

He lit up with a smile. "Yeah! Can Warpy help too?"

Baking with an intelligent alien artifact? "Sure, why not."

I placed my phone-viewer on the kitchen counter and swiped my finger across the transparent screen, scrolling through my recipes. There, classic. "Chocolate Chip Cookies," I announced.The recipe, passed down in my family for generations, was so old that the measures were in imperial units. I converted to metric in my mind. In this age of instant food, baking was slowly becoming a lost art.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup melted butter, cooled

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1 T. vanilla

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup bread flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. kosher salt

2 cups chocolate chips

Chill dough for 30-60 minutes. Drop heaping table-spoon sized scoops on greased cookie sheets. Preheat oven to 325F and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Warpy came to my side, hovering over my viewer as if reading along. Not wishing to be left out, Rufus jumped onto the counter, letting out a low rumble as he leaned up against my arm. Not stopping there, Rufus sauntered over to Warpy, rubbing himself back and forth against the alien artifact. As if electrically charged, cat-hair stood up and Rufus became an orange fuzz-ball. Neither one of them seemed to mind.

Benjamin helped stir the ingredients together, flinging flour all over the counter, himself, and me. Rufus wisely retreated from the kitchen. After a demonstration, Warpy helped scoop raw dough onto the baking sheet, but did so telekinetically. Watching globs of dough float from the bowl to the sheet brought a smile to my face. How unusual was this?

When shimmers of heat rose from the baking sheet while it sat on the counter, I said, "Benjamin, tell Warpy that we will use the oven to bake the cookies."

After two batches, Jake appeared, saying, "What is that wonderful smell?"

"Chock-chip cookies!" Benjamin exclaimed with glee. "And we helped."

Picking up a warm cookie, Jake took a bite of the chewy-gooey goodness, rolling his eyes back. "Oh, this is good." He scanned up and down my body with a mischievous smile, then patted his cheek. "Got some on you."

Touching my cheek, my fingertips came up white. With a grin, I snatched up a pinch of flour and tossed it at him. "Got some on you, too."

"Oh, yeah?" Jake returned the favor, tossing flour back at me.

Then it became a full-scale, giggling, flour war. We made a mess, but it was the release we all needed, although I am not sure what Warpy thought of it.

But the fun was short-lived.

Inspector Angus Brinne let himself in. I couldn't help but notice his grim expression. "There has been a development. Please come with me."

Benjamin held the tray of freshly baked cookies up to the inspector. "We made cookies."

After glancing left and right, twittering his handlebar mustache, he picked up a cookie and took a nibble. Then his eyes widened, and he stuffed the remainder in his mouth. "Delicious! Thank you, Benjamin."

We crowded into the command center van, parked outside, with several seated technicians. Rows of view panels lined the inside walls. I figured we could use all the allies we could get, so we shared cookies with everyone nearby until they disappeared.

"We have a visitor," Angus said, pointing at a viewscreen. "This object appeared in Earth orbit fifteen minutes ago."

The screen showed a long cylindrical object floating in space with strange markings on its shiny metal surface. "I recognize the script. They are similar to those that led us to Warpy."

Jake asked, "How big is it?"

A technician answered. "The BDO is over a kilometer long. Electromagnetic emissions are disrupting communications all over the planet. And look at the stars just behind it. This thing is bending space like a gravitational lens."

I wrinkled my forehead. "BDO? Another acronym?"

Holding a finger up, Jake answered, "I know this one. Big Dumb Object. An old science fiction term for large mysterious objects of apparent alien origin. Although, in this case, it is probably only two-thirds right. I doubt it is dumb."

Benjamin glanced at Warpy, who hovered above his shoulder. "Warpy says his mommy is here."

Every other jaw in the van dropped. Could Warpy be a child?

"What else does Warpy say?" Angus asked, kneeling down.

Benjamin turned his lips down. "Warpy wants to go home."

The van's rear door flung open, ending the discussion. Silhouetted by the bright daylight behind him, Agent Smith stepped in and removed his sunglasses, scowling. "Dr. Lang, you and your son are under arrest. And the AAO is hereby confiscated."

Drawing his eyebrows down, Angus stepped forward. "What is the meaning of this, Smith?"

"The UN has designated the AAO as a probably threat." Smith grinned. "This is our case now, old man."

My heart raced as two additional black-suited agents stepped into the van and approached me. Jake came to my side and grasped my hand while I pushed Benjamin behind us.

As the now familiar white shimmer engulfed us, Jake grinned. "Not today, Agent Smith."

We reappeared in a strange place. Smooth gray walls arched high, at least two-hundred meters, in a circular shell. At one end of the long cavity, a bright warm-colored light shone like a miniaturesun, casting shadows from the countless cylindrical shaped objects attached to the shell in disarray. Conduits of blue pulsing light lined the walls in well-organized bundles, passing through pyramid shaped junctions. This could only be the alien starship. The air was warm and thick with humidity, enough so that wispy clouds formed above us. I presumed that the environment was produced for our benefit.

Swirling vapors coalesced before us in roughly the shape of a person. Warpy left Benjamin's side to race circles around the apparition, humming as it moved. I held one of Benjamin's hands, and Jake held the other.

The figure spoke not audibly, but in our minds. "Benjamin, Jessica, Jake. Welcome."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My designation cannot be understood by human minds. You may call me Origin."

"Warpy called you mom?"

"In a way, it is so. I created the one you call Warpy."

"So Warpy is an artificial intelligence?" Jake asked.

"Once a level of sentience is achieved, the term 'artificial' becomes meaningless."

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Why are you here, Origin? What is your purpose?"

"We have been observing your species for some time. A most curious blend of characteristics you have, both malevolent and benevolent. Warpy was placed such that humanity would discover it after achieving a basic level of spaceflight. Then judgment would be made."

My gut tingled at the implications, and I gulped. "What is this judgment?"

"Inconclusive. Humanity shall be left to continue. But we will be watching. You shall be returned to your home."

Benjamin took a step forward, lifting innocent eyes to the apparition. "Can Warpy come over sometimes to play?"

"If Warpy so wishes, it shall be."

I smiled as Warpy bobbed up and down. My son had made a most unusual friend, and in doing so, may have saved humanity.

We returned home, and Origin departed with Warpy. Eventually, the chaos died down and life took on some level of normality. Jake married me and became the father Benjamin deserved and the husband I desired. True to the promise, Warpy returned from time-to-time to play with Benjamin. And we made more chocolate chip cookies.