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[Story] [Science]
Escape From Oobleck
By Winston Wong
Blake stared at the glass on his space suit as
the countdown began. The Blizzard was about to
take off for a scientific exploration of the planet
Oobleck. The Blizzard's bottom engine roared to
life as the gargantuan ship rose into the earth's
atmosphere. Everything was a-ok as the ship went
into full gear. Blake strapped himself into some
new clothes and watched the inside of the ship
awaken. The plutonium reactor of the ship was
powering a giant city across the galaxy at 1000
miles per hour with ample excess energy to spare
for relaxation aboard the ship. It was definitely
a much better improvement over the old fossil fuel
satellites that failed to make it to Oobleck during
previous attempts. As Blake rushed down the hall
he collided into his best friend Will and the
Blizzard designer and weapons officer Dr. Jordan
Frieze. Will piped up, "Let's get some chow before
we have to put up with the rush. "Yeah, nobody
likes waiting in line for the only dollar priced
restaurant on the ship" Dr. Frieze added. Everyone
agreed so they ambled down and were able to find a
table with Rob Hart, the recreational manager.
Right when they were all settled a huge blob of a
man slammed down four plates full of food. "I'm
Ifso Fatso, your waiter for today. This is all we
got until the food thaws and just remember, no
jokes cuz' I've heard them all." Everyone
chuckled and began to dig in. All of a sudden a
deep voice boomed on the overhead. " This is your
captain speaking. Pilots report to your stations
we will be expecting turbulence."
Blake cussed as he and Will put on their heavy
space suits. He was not very happy about his lunch
being interrupted. An assistant handed him a heavy
chain gun and put an air lock on his oxygen tank.
There was complete silence until a sudden jolt
shook the ship. Flying animals classified as
Shrieks because of the noise they made plunged into
the ship at full speed. Blake and Will watched the
gunners try to fend off the attacking creatures
until a red light in their helmet caught their
attention. They both leaped into the blackness of
space and saw that one of the engines had been
clipped. Them and two other marines rushed to the
spot to make repairs. Will worked quickly as the
other two men were hit by space rocks and flew
backwards. Blake was growing impatient and
hastily ignited the engine which blew Will to the
back of the ship. Blake hurried and pulled his
friend to the medical bay to find he had multiple
burns on his body.
When the swarm passed, Will was put in a coma
and rushed back to Earth on a shuttle. Blake
collapsed from fatigue onto his bed until a bump
nearly shook the brains out of his head. He looked
outside from a window and saw an endless sea of
green. He rushed outside barefoot and nearly
screamed like a girl when his foot touched the ice
cold ground. It was completely frozen solid! The
landing had been a success. The ingenious work of
Dr. Frieze had not failed the team of explorers.
Work on examining the Oobleck took place
immediately. Unfortunately a secret leaked out
about Oobleck being used as an energy source.
About a week after the takeoff of the Blizzard,
a man named Melvin Portage (aka Alfred the Killer)
signed a contract with Osama Bin Laden to take the
place of the explorers and to men Oobleck as an
energy source for the Al Qaida terror network.
Fortunately the CIA heard about the plot and told
the explorers to prepare to lave the planet.
Blake was sleeping when he was warned about the
pirates. He jumped up and ran to a temporary wall
as a giant black ship sprayed flames onto a spot of
Oobleck covered with gasoline. It had to be the
terrorists. They had thousands of men come forward
and charge at the mostly defenseless explorers.
Tanks came forward and started to shell the entire
base camp forcing the explorers to flee to the
sanctuary of the Blizzard as an emergency smoke
screen was put up to hinder the terrorists while
the personnel aboard the blizzard gathered around
Dr. Frieze to try and determine an escape plan.
The terrorists were beat back again and again by
the Blake and his force of marines. The attacks
came on a daily basis so it was no surprise to hear
gunfire. But one day more than just the terrorists
came tapping on the door. A giant Oobleck monster
over 20 feet high plodded to the Blizzard. Blake
and his men opened fire but nothing happened.
Knowing that the team was running out of time the
captain made the ship lift off. The terrorists
were not expecting such a move and began to fire.
In the midst of the fire a liquid nitrogen tank
was hit and exploded sending the liquid over the
planet. Blake and the crew leapt for joy as they
journeyed home without any more trouble.
[Animation]
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