Galatea - Episode 1: The Gift That Never Was

[ButchyBoy]

This latest story o mine is written in form of a radio drama script (kids, ask your grandparents). I am going to try and keep to a schedule with this one. A new episode will be posted every week by Thursday 8pm eastern time. Enjoy.
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GALATEA

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and Gentlemen, this station takes pride in presenting to you a new and exciting radio series, featuring the adventures of a fantastic and amazing new personality.

MAN 1: Look! Riding away! A girl of silver!

MAN 2: It's a statue come to life!

VOLTAIRE: It is the outlaw Galatea! After her! After her!

GALATEA: (in an echoy voice) Many thanks for the shards Captain! Till we meet again! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

ANNOUNCER: And now.....Galatea! A girl pure of heart, strong of will. And yet, she is a girl who is not human, but a robot, an android, a machine in the form of a human. Galatea....created to be the consort to a king, but now has devoted her exsistance to helping those in need. As our story begins, we ask you to come with us on a long journey. One that takes us millions of miles into space, and far into the future. Here we come upon the planet, Pangea. Back on Earth, it is the year 2345. But, here. Let a native of the mystery world, one Dr. Eric Tanner take the story from here.

(Music: Soft and slow)

TANNER: Pangea. It's the only home I've ever known. My great grandparents came here from a place called Earth one hundred and fifty years ago. I remember my parents telling me how they left a world ravaged by war, hunger, famine, over-population. They set out into space, not knowing they would find this place. But find it they did, and it was a paradise. It still is for the most part, even with our current troubles. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Pangea was one of 10 worlds those travelers discovered, but this was the largest. The name of our world came from a super-continent that was once the largest mass of land on Earth, before Mother Nature did her own dividing. A continent of a long long ago past. I suppose it was the past, a simpler time that my ancestors craved for so much, that made Pangea the way it is now. We've never had a...President.....or a Congress. I've only read about them in books. No, Pangea has a.....I guess the term on Earth was....Royal Family. One hundred and fifty years ago, a man named Phillip Aquarian was the man most responsible for getting the other settlers through it's first major crisis, a horrid wind and rock storm. And it was Phillip Aquarian who discovered the powerful crystal-like mineral that would power everything on this and the other worlds. He named it Pangeium. And in turn, the people named him King. King Phillip the first. His wife, Paulette, of course became Queen. And so it has gone for a century and a half. The Aquarians, along the the Elder Council has ruled Pangea, with all of its towers, and estates, and palaces in the cities, and even the peasants who live on the outer rims, the workers who mine the Pangeium, have lived like Kings in their own modest way......until now.
Our current ruler, the man who has sat on that throne for the past twenty years, King Phillp the fourth, has taken gravely ill. No one is allowed to see him, save his most trusted aid; Minister Darrian Crane. I sincerly doubt that our good King Phillip truly knows how Crane and his right arm, the black-hearted Captain Kavos Voltaire, have turned Pangea into their own little playground, while peasant and noble alike break their backs serving them, paying tax after tax, all for "the health of the king". And those who don't pay.......their land seized.....families torn apart.....fathers and mothers in jail......childern sent to work in the mines or worse. And so it has gone on for six months now. And that is why I, Dr. Eric Tanner, scientist, have speeded up devolpment of my lastest AI project. After spending nearly half my life, two years ago, I finally made the breakthrough I had hoped for. An android capable of not only passing as a human being, but thinking and reasoning for itself. And for the past two years, I have taught this machine everything I know about what it is to be human. I've given......her, beauty, poise, grace, as well as all the emotions, good and bad, and will, that's most important, free will. And now at last I am ready to give his majesty a gift, a gift so rare, a gift to be called....

GALATEA: Good Morning Father!

TANNER: Oh! Galatea, you startled me. I didn't see you.

GALATEA: That's because you've been daydreaming in front of that window all this time.

TANNER: I was just making an entry into my audio-journal actually.

GALATEA: Well that can wait now. This day is too important. Come, I've made you breakfast.

TANNER: All right I'm coming (He begins walking, but returns to recording in his journal) She resebmbles a young adult woman who looks to be twenty years of age. Long blond hair in curls, rather pettie figure, her skin is a bit on the pale side. I never could give her a decent tan.

GALATEA: Now Father, put your journal down, and come eat, or i'll take that away from you.

TANNER: And as far as free will goes.......I seem to have gotten that in spades! (Sits down) Breakfast looks lovely. And did you do everything I asked Galatea?

GALATEA: Yes Father. I've had 12 hours of down time, and yesterday I practiced the curtsy and greeting I'm to give King Phillip IV 4,264 times. Will he like me?

TANNER: King Phillip? Oh I hope so. I'm hoping giving you as a gift will cheer him back to health. I'm afraid his heart has been broken ever since Queen Felicity was killed two years ago in a shuttle explosion on her way to Caprica, one of our sister worlds.

GALATEA: Yes, sister worlds. We have nine of them; Aquaria, Caprica, Liberty, Nebula, Pandora, Reyna, Sagetteria, and the twin worlds, Yin and Yang.

TANNER: Well, the King will certainly be impressed be your knowledge.

GALATEA: But Father, you said yourself, I'll need to be able to do more than just recite things like a trained bird.

TANNER: My, you do have a good memory. I didn't think you were active when I mentioned that. Now listen Galatea, you will be able to do great things. Now I don't know what they are, I only know they will come to you in time. I believe in you, Galatea. Always remember that.

GALATEA: Yes father, I will.

TANNER: Good girl. Now, I'm going to finish breakfast. You go down into the workroom, and bring up that dress I made you.

GALATEA: Yes father, right away.

(GALATEA gets up and leaves, and there is a knock at the door)

GALATEA: The door Father. Should I....

TANNER: No, you go downstairs. I'll get it.

GALATEA: Yes, Father.

[ButchyBoy]

GALATEA: (Thinking to herself) I feel so strange inside. I suppose it's what humans call.......butterflies in my stomach. Although there are no butterfiles here, nor do I have a stomach. Only a central processing unit, and many wires leading to and from it. I just don't know how this meeting...this.....presenting of myself as a gift will go. What if the King rejects me??.......(In a lofty voice)....Take this......creature away. How dare you insult the King with such a toy! (Back to her own voice) But King Phillip is not like that.....is he? Now you must not think of such things Galatea. This is for Father. Everything he has worked for depends on this day, on me doing my best. Well here we are back in the workroom. I shall miss this place. Perhaps the King will alllow me to visit from time to time. Ah, here is the closet (opens it) and inside....(gasps)....oh, Father what a beautiful silver dress you have given me to wear. Oh look, it seems such a perfect fit. I'm going to change into it right now. He'll be so happy. Wait a minute, what's that on the screen in front of me? Oh, Father must have left on the monitor to the house again. I'll just turn it off.....oh, but who are those men with him. They look like they have the uniforms of the King's guards. But it's too soon. The presentation is hours away. I'll just turn up to sound to hear what's going on.

TANNER: ...........and I've told you, this is a mistake! I am to see the King on personal busniess....alone!

GUARD: I'm sorry, Doctor, but I have my orders. We are to take possesion of whatever it is you intend to give to the King and present it to him oursevles.

TANNER: On whose athourity???

VOLTAIRE: Why, mine of course Eric.

TANNER: Captain Voltaire, I might have known.

VOLTAIRE: I'm so glad you know how to address me properly.....Doctor.

TANNER: What's this all about?? Why are these men here??

VOLTAIRE: You know as well, as I do Eric, the King is very ill. He can't just see anybody right now.

TANNER: He'll see me, or know the reason why he can't!

VOLTAIRE: Eric.....Eric. Is that anyway to talk to an old friend.

TANNER: Oh yes some friend. You take my work and twist it. Those robots you have serving as your "warriors" were meant to help the people of Pangea, not beat them senseless until they pay your tributes!

VOLTAIRE: Now Eric, you yourself put those.......what do you call them......Three Laws of Robotics.....into my troops. They've just been defending themselfs against the more...violent section of our population.

TANNER: Yes, I've seen how you forced those poor souls into a fight. You make them attack at the point of a sword. Well, your not getting your hands on her! Not now, not ever!

VOLTAIRE: Her is it......Well Eric, I see you have been busy. Don't I get even a little peek?? Hmmm?? No answer eh? Your just going to give me the silent treatment now eh? Well here is my answer to that!

GALATEA: That man all dressed in black, the one Father calls Voltaire, what is he doing?? (Gasp) He's drawing his sword right at....FATHER LOOK OUT, LOOK OUT!!!! OH HE'S BEEN RUN THRU!!! NOOOO.....FATHER....NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! (Her voice begins to break) Oh no!! No no no!!!

VOLTAIRE: You men.....take as many bots as you can, and search the grounds. We're probably looking for a young girl, any girl you find on the grounds, bring her to me!

GALATEA: (Sobbing) Oh Father, what have they done to you??? And why??? Why have they done this??? What's that....Your.....your alive father, but only just. Are you trying to speak to me. I can....I can hear you Father.....my ears can hear you.

TANNER: (in a gasped wisper) Galatea......my creation...run....RUN FOR YOUR VERY.....VERY....UGGHHHH.....LIIIIFFFEEEEEE!!!!

ANNOUNCER: And so Galatea does run. She's runs from the murderous Captain Voltaire who has just taken the life of her beloved creator, the man she calls "Father". But where will she go, where can she go? And with her Father lying dead, who in all of Pangea can she rely on now?? Don't miss the next thrilling installment of.......Galatea!

(Horses riding hard)

VOLTAIRE: There she goes! The outlaw Galatea!!! After her!! After her!!!

GALATEA: (echoy voice) I ride for justice, and the people of Pangea!! Till we meet again Captain!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

ANNOUNCER: Galatea is a copywrited feature of Fembot Central.

[kb7rky]

Now *THAT'S* interesting!

Doug

[FrankNStein]

Now, now there, Butchy. Some of us are old enough to remember those days. (CBS had its Radio Mystery Theater in the 70's and Westwood One had its throwback to Lights Out and Scifi Dramas.)

Course now all one has to do is check out SciFi's Seeing Ear Site, and we'll pass on the Grandparents interrogation part.

Frank L. Tatum
"Beter Living Through Technobabble"

[DollSpace]

Awesome stuff; keep writing!

Rynnie