The interview

 Welcome to the Spot Writers. This month’s prompt is to write a story involving a penguin.

This week’s contribution comes from Chiara De Giorgi. Chiara is an Italian author and currently lives in Berlin, Germany. She writes fiction, with a focus on children’s literature and science fiction.

 

The interview

by Chiara De Giorgi

Photo by Ian Parker on Unsplash

On a world far from ours, covered in ice, penguins were once the most evolved species. They lived in penguin-friendly communities and were equipped with extraordinarily advanced technology. One day, a space mission successfully returned home, and the crew members became world heroes. They were constantly invited to talk shows and various events. One of them became a star for teenagers around the globe, because he sparked in them the desire to dream big. His name was Lieutenant Flip Flipper. This is the transcript of the interview he released when the popular tv show ‘Frostbite’ invited him over shortly after his return.

  

Frostbite: So, Lieutenant Flipper… or what shall we call you?

Flip: ‘Lieutenant’ is fine, for the time being… or even just Flip, I don’t care for titles. Besides, Space Command had to invent a brand-new position to authorize my actions during the mission. My new qualification wouldn’t mean anything to anyone outside the Force.

Frostbite: How intriguing! Can you tell us what happened out there, or is it classified?

Flip: I can tell you most of it. It was an exploratory, reconnaissance mission. We set out to study a small, icy planet: our telescopes had detected enormous similarities with our planet, so there was a chance of discovering life forms similar to those we have here.

Frostbite: More and more intriguing! What were your expectations when you left?

Flip: Well… We were open to all possibilities, but we thought it most likely to find a species similar to us, but less advanced.

Frostbite: Why less advanced?

Flip: Well, it's not like anyone has ever visited us from up there, is it?

Frostbite: (laughs) That’s right! So… What did you find?

Flip: This is what happened. When we were about to enter the orbit of the planet, we were attacked. We did not see it coming, our radars did not detect any presence. And yet. BUMP! A giant ice monster struck the ship repeatedly, causing some of our security systems to freeze.

Frostbite: Oh, my! An ice monster?

Flip: That’s right. It was scary and we had no idea how to deal with it. Our ship was not a warship, the few weapons we had on board were not adequate for such a threat. Two possible scenarios lay before us: we would crash on the icy planet with our damaged spaceship and remain stranded there until another mission could reach us - provided it made it in time before we ran out of supplies and provided it was not torn to pieces by the ice monster.

Frostbite: Brrr… That sounds scary. What was the second option?

Flip: Our engines could fail before we entered the gravitational field of the icy planet, and we would drift into infinite space forever. Sixteen penguins trapped for eternity in that tin can.

Frostbite: Another terrible option. What did you do in the end? Because the spaceship came home and all of you are in good health, thankfully.

Flip: I managed to convince Commander Frostbeak to let me fight the ice monster. Before joining the Force and the space programme, I trained with Master Iceblade until I became his most promising disciple.

Frostbite: (gasps) Master Iceblade! Which means you are…

Flip: Yes. I am a ninja warrior astronaut. Or, as the Force named me, Cosmic Ninja Flipper.

Frostbite: Please, tell us what happened next!

Flip: Sure! Thanks to the advanced ninja fighting techniques I learned from Master Iceblade and my trusted swords, I exited the ship and began to slice up the monster. In the meantime, the mechanics on board worked on fixing the ship’s systems, so that we could enter the asteroid’s atmosphere.

Frostbite: You make it sound awfully easy.

Flip: (sighs) It was not easy. The cable that kept me attached to the spaceship snapped almost immediately, so I had to propel myself and space-slide on my belly in such a way that I always stayed at a reasonable distance from the ship, otherwise I would be lost in Space. At the same time, I had to skip the icicles that the monster threw at me, and make sure it did not do further damage to the ship. Every bit that I sliced off it, I had to redirect so that it would not hit the ship. I had to be in several places at the same time, and my focus had to be perfect otherwise we would all end up dead. I used each and every one of the tricks Master Iceblade taught me.

Frostbite: This is an incredible tale, Lieutenant Flipper - or should I say Cosmic Ninja Flipper - and yours was an incredible feat!

Flip: I must agree here. When, finally, the ice monster was reduced to a bunch of innocuous ice splinters and the spaceship had safely entered the planet’s atmosphere, I allowed myself a moment to silently thank my Master for all his teachings.

Frostbite: Of course. Did you talk to him, once you were back home?

Flip: Yes, we met, and I could properly thank him.

Frostbite: He must have been so proud of you, Cosmic Ninja Flipper!

Flip: (blushes) Thank you. I did what anyone in my position would do.

Frostbite: Don’t be so modest. And you have another great accomplishment to add to your list, don’t you?

Flip: (smiles) So I’m told.

Frostbite: Yes! Thanks to your heroic deed, millions of young penguins now want to follow in your steps. The Force has never had so many requests to join, and the same is true for the ninja schools around the globe. It looks like you are the spiritual father of an entire generation of explorers and defenders of the penguins. How does that make you feel?

Flip: (hesitates) To be honest, this makes me happier than the victory over the ice monster. To create is always better than to destroy.

Frostbite: Well said, Cosmic Ninja. Thank you for sharing your story with us. I expect this is just the beginning and your actions will become the stuff of legends.

Flip: That would be very cool.

Frostbite: Before we close this interview… Would you mind giving us a demonstration of your skills?

Flip: I’d like that.

Frostbite: That’s fantastic!

(Props: An ice cube launcher is brought in.)

Flip: (cracks his neck and stretches his wings while bouncing slightly) Start launching the ice cubes! Anytime…

(A merciless hail of ice cubes comes crashing down on Cosmic Ninja Flipper, who, with astonishing agility, spins and flashes in between the cubes, slicing them cleanly and precisely with two swords that no one saw him take. Soon he is standing amidst a mountain of ice shards. He is not even out of breath. The swords are gone, and no one saw him put them away.)

Frostbite: Wow, that was almost mesmerizing. You are certainly the hero of the day.

Flip: I know! And you haven’t seen anything yet! Watch here.

(He spins around in the middle of the pile of ice shavings faster and faster, until the shavings are lifted and begin to swirl, forming a vortex.)

Frostbite: (lifts wings in front of beak for protection, all feathers ruffled) What are you doing? Is this how it’s supposed to be?

Flip: Yes, yes. No reason to be alarmed.

(The ice shards, still swirling, assemble to form a large, thick, and frightening ice creature.)

Frostbite: (with a frightened voice) I don’t mean to question your actions, Lieutenant Cosmic Ninja, but will you at least explain to us and to our public what is happening here in the studio right now?

Flip: Of course! I’m afraid I left out a very small detail in my story just now. When, out there in Space, I smashed the ice monster to smithereens, it reassembled itself in less than one second. I sliced him up again and again and it pieced itself back together every time. After ten times of this happening, I was exhausted, absolutely unable to slice the monster up an eleventh time. So, I formed an alliance with it. Our pact was that it would let us go, and in return I would help it reconstitute itself here on our planet. A ninja astronaut does not break his word. So, here’s the monster. Soon, all the ice covering the planet we call ‘home’ will give rise to more ice monsters. That is all.

Frostbite: But… But…

Flip: Yeah, I know. I said there was no reason to worry… What can I say. I lied. An astronaut ninja should not lie, but… Well, I’m sure you understand, given the circumstances.

(The ice monster crunches down the left camera and the camera-penguin. The public screams.)

Frostbite: What… What will happen to our world?

Flip: (sighs) I suppose our era has come to an end. Posterity will remember today as the beginning of a new era for our planet. And I will have been its initiator. Eventually, my deeds will truly become the stuff of legend.

(The last camera goes off.)

 

This is how ice monsters are said to have become the dominant species on the penguin world. Legend? Truth? One day, perhaps, all doubts will be resolved. Meanwhile, many young ice monsters dream of becoming Cosmic Ninjas and conquering new planets.

 

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The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/