Prompt
Include in the Writing:
Prompt #1: Your protagonist is a contestant in a space-age game show he/she/they/it have three challenges to overcome to win the grand prize. What are the challenges? The Prize is life-altering and coveted by everyone on earth and our solar system. What is it? Only 3 people in the history of this game show have completed the challenges and won. Will your protagonist win? Will /he /she/they/it lose and why? what are the consequences?
#2 A Platypus
#3 The story must include the sentence - “He put his tongue in my ear and offered me pancakes ”
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The Story
“Oh Monotremata, why me? Why am I representing Earth?”
“Not just Earth but the entire Galaxy. Milky Way and our Solar System will be watching.”
“Not helping. You were the last winner, why don’t you participate?”
“Because the rules don’t allow. And besides, I believe you are the right candidate of this century,” Mau wanted to help but hardly could.
“Okay, give me till tomorrow. I will tell you,” being a Platypus was not the ideal species group at the moment and being Phil, the best of the platypuses, was even worse.
Phil couldn’t argue much with Abrax, the Mau or Cat in Egyptian, after all, he stood for the Galaxy the last time the contest happened. Abrax, a name fondly given to him by the Egyptians, meant “The great Archon”. The contest itself was for Zeus’ pleasure as if the seven dominion owed it to him. It happened at an interval of 4,500 years and the last time it happened, the Egyptians were evolving into a civilization on Earth. Humans, of course, were not even considered fit for the competition. Maybe, thousand more millennia of evolution should make them competitive.
“Alright, but time is of essence here. Purring around won’t help,” Abrax said.
“I understand,” as if platypuses purr but then who would say that to Abrax, Phil thought. The good part of winning the competition is the near godly recognition. Abrax’s victory was seen as a godly achievement by the Egyptians and hence cats are still considered sacred by them.
The matter that was weighing heavy on Phil was that in all three competitions so far, Cats represented Earth and were winners each time. This unparalleled achievement also granted them nine lives from Zeus. So, not only the victors but all of the victors’ species benefitted. That means nothing but a huge responsibility on Phil.
He just hoped tomorrow never came.
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Delaying the inevitable was not only foolish but suicidal. The dominions had to participate.
“Will you also be there Abrax?”
“Of course, I am an honorary guest. Not only me but also the ones who have won it before me.”
“Okay, I will go. What do I need to know?”
“That you will be in the arena. Now.”
“What? Wait. I need to unders….” Phil was already gone and Abrax followed.
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Next that Phil remembered was that he was in an arena with cheers so loud that even the dead would hope to be buried deeper. Phil saw Abrax seated around what seemed to be a seat lit by a star and so bright that he had to literally squint to see. Abrax had a naughty grin, obviously reacting to the you-put-me-in-a-spot look of Phil’s.
The arena was strangely asymmetrical. Phil was used to the symmetry that most objects on Earth represented. But asymmetry had its own beauty, no wonder, many of the ape species looked at asymmetry in what they called art.
The arena had seating just on the side where the heavily lit seat was. The other three sides were open and dark as far as Phil’s eyes could see. Just then something came in Phil’s line of sight. A huge monster culminated out of nowhere. He guessed it must be the other participant. He smiled at the thought of the monster being tricked by Abrax’s equivalent to land at the arena. Soon five other blobs of light manifested into strange looking creatures. They were all the representative of the seven dominions and Phil was the tiniest of them all.
“All rise,” a booming voice ordered and the arena went drop-dead silent; probably even the dead would have wanted to peek out of their grave and check what happened. Before anybody said or saw anything, the empty seat now had an occupant. Zeus was there but from where Phil couldn’t gather.
“The contest rules are simple,” the booming voice continued, “there will be three tasks and the winner will be saving their respective galaxies from the all – consuming – black – hole.”
‘Do they even know the average age of beings on Earth?’ Phil wondered. A black hole was something which happened over billions of years. Phil caught himself thinking. Where did he get that knowledge from? Besides, how can he understand what is being spoken, while the other creatures followed too.
“Are the rules understood?”
The other creatures nodded but Phil was surprised. That’s all? Winner saves the galaxy? What about the rules of not getting physical, etc. etc.? But he was too late to ask.
A thunderbolt from Zeus announced the contest open and the maddening cheers followed.
‘The Gods sure spoke little,’ Phil thought.
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“Here’s the first contest,” the pin-drop silence followed during each announcement, “each participant will receive a levitating gaseous concoction filled in a pliant body. The participant to first splinter any of the body among the participants will be the winner.” It definitely did not seem like a contest of gladiators that Phil had heard of on Earth. Of course, that was after all a primitive concept from the still-evolving ape species.
Phil looked at his neighbor and said, “Why the hell can’t they just say that the first to break any balloon that we are holding is the winner?” There was hardly any reaction from the monster or maybe it was just that Phil was too tiny to be heard.
The participants were moved and placed in a circular position with all facing all. Each of them had a balloon handed over to them. Phil thought there was no need of a weapon for any of them to counter him. Then the gong went off.
The other participants rushed towards each other and mostly all of them towards Phil. Then it went “pop”.
“Phil is the winner!” the booming voice thundered. Phil burst his own balloon.
“Not a very tough competition, I see.” Phil noticed a nod of approval from Abrax.
Now, to the second contest, “This levitating stone will be placed among the participants and the one to get it first wins the round.”
“That’s it? What’s the catch?” Phil said and for once all the other creatures looked at him. After all, Phil was no pushover and his reaction better be heard. But the announcement was not over.
“Participants, though, cannot use their visual, auditory or olfactory senses. Those will be blocked. The only senses that participants can use is cutaneous and telepathic. These are equally endowed senses for all participants.” The gong went off and before the chime could end, the participants’ eyes, ears and noses were blocked and they were rotated in their existing positions and left.
It took all of five seconds for Phil to get the stone and immediately the blocks were removed.
“Phil is the winner again! And now we will proceed to a break before the third and final contest.” The gong went off once more and the participants were levitated towards their respective sponsors. Phil came face to face with Abrax.
“How did you do that?” Abrax was astonished and so were his winning predecessors, Aharon and Berenike.
“That was simple. I am a platypus, my bill has electro-mechanoreceptors. In other words, much like your supreme visual and auditory senses my bill can locate electric dispersion from muscle movement of the smallest of creatures. I, in fact, close my eyes, nose, and ears underwater, anyways. I don’t need them. For my luck, that levitating stone had some kind of electric field, which I could sense even while I was rotated off my place. Then it was just to follow my mind as far as the directions were concerned.”
Video showing Platypus' sixth sense
“That is indeed scintillating,” Aharon said.
“Very nice, Phil. Let’s get you some grub,” Berenike said. “You mean that literally, right?” Phil said to a thunderous laughter.
They sat around a table. “Phil you may get a bit shaken by the customs of the person waiting you. Don’t let that get to you.”
“What do you mean, Abrax?”
“What the hell was that?” Phil said and stood away from the waiter while Abrax chuckled. “He put his tongue in my ear and offered me pancakes.”
“No, he just licked you much like canines do on Earth. Pancakes, of course, he offered you. He is your waiter.”
“Damn it. What other customs do I expect?” Phil’s protests were lost on the waiter who had a dumb grin plastered on his face.
“This should do,” Abrax said. Phil took sometime to come back to normal while Abrax, Aharon and Berenike continued to chuckle about his experience.
“Now that we have won two contests, do I need to stay put for the third? Haven’t we won already?” Phil asked.
“Don’t let your guard down. No part of the contest should be taken lightly.” Berenike almost chided Phil.
“Got it.”
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“Now we move to the third and final round of the contest. The winner of this round wins the contest.”
“Damn it, Berenike was right.”
The announcement continued. “Thereafter, the ones with most wins will be the runners up and so on. Each of the seven dominions will be opened behind the participants. It is required of each participant to go home and come back here. The fastest to do it will be the winner. You all have a go.”
All the participants were on a hovering board and the open dominions were now visible. All of them were ready to shoot. Phil was lost. He did not navigate himself here then how would he know how to go home? Besides, which of the dominion portal was his? He was certain that there had to be an explanation for this but the other participants appeared least bothered. He tried to gather his mind and think once. Maybe, it he applied his mind he could see the path.
Phil went back to the conversation with Abrax before he started from Earth, but that’s all he remembered. And the hovers of the other participants fired up and they whizzed ahead. Then something happened. Their hovers lost power and then the booming announcement followed.
“Phil wins this round and he is the universal winner!”
Zeus’ thunderbolt went up again and the games ended.
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Epilogue
“Told you, you could do it,” Abrax was happy.
“Yeah and I love the recognition. Human’s aren’t that bad, now are they?” Phil said.
“You deserve it. Other dominions would be dreading Earth by now,” Abrax said, “so tell me more about your recognition.”
“Oh, these humans love us platypuses. My picture is on the stamps and the coins on my home country. They have special task force to keep us safe. Humans dressed like us represent us in their own sports contests.”
“Heard of it, they call it the mascots, if I am not wrong,” Abrax pitched in.
“Yes, correct. The humans are making us known to others of their species on other continents. And Zeus, he got a constellation to the south named after us – Bhavtat, the Platypus.”
“Perks of winning the contest,” Abrax smiled.
“But what the hell. How did I win the last contest,” the winner did not know how he won.
“What did think of when you were asked to travel to Earth?”
“I thought of our last discussion where you naughtily took me to the arena without explaining anything.”
“Where did that discussion happen?”
“Here, at my place.”
“So, you travelled home and came back. So, you won.”
That’s when it struck Phil that travel in any form was acceptable. That’s how he won. “Oh, I get it now.”
“Good. Now, I am off to being god," and Abrax gave a godly wink, "enjoy your victory!”
“I will.”
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This story is written in response to @tygertyger’s Electric Dream contest which can be found here.
Image Courtesy: Pixabay
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