text: [Themes: sci-fi]
  
  "We're here for a reason," you say, kneeling down on the floor and folding back the hem of Harlan Zamora's jacket.
  
  "How can you mess with a rotting corpse?" asks Margaret.
  
  "How?" You pull up a small radio the size of a cigarette pack and hold it up for Margaret's inspection. "With utter determination, that's how." You stand up and slide into the captain's chair. "Now all we need to do is press this red button here and we should be able to reach Andrea Laughlin's personal radio."
  
  "And then what?"
  
  "What do you mean?"
  
  Margaret leans up against the control panel. "What if you get hold of Andrea? Do you really think she's going to come back to Lozano's Island if you she knows you've invited her? I mean, how desperate would she and the others have to be to just walk into an ambush? She gave that radio to Harlan Zamora, not to the crazy girl who murdered her henchmen. She's only going to come if she speaks to Harlan, my dear."
  
  "Oh. Yeah. You've got point there, Margaret, my love."
  
  "Sandra," says Esmeralda, "although I still think you should simply contact the authorities and let them have Captain Zamora's confession, I can help you with your communication with Andrea."
  
  You sit up. "Really, Esse? How?"
  
  "There is an advantage in using a modulated electronic wave form as a speaking voice. It shouldn't be hard for me to alter the pitch of my voice to a low enough register that it sounds like Captain Zamora's."
  
  "Wow! Do you think you can imitate his speech patterns?"
  
  "I never forget things like that," Esmeralda says in Harlan Zamora's voice.
  
  You and Margaret look to each other, your jaws gaping in surprise.
  
  The next half hour is spent planning what to say to Andrea. You and Margaret agree that "Harlan" should mention being shot in the leg and left to die by a traitorous Jay Kelly. It's also pretty obvious that you'll need some kind of bait to lure Andrea and company back to island.
  
  "Jay couldn't have hauled off the membrane, right?" asks Margaret. "It's probably still somewhere on the ship. And that apparently is a major component in their immortality scheme."
  
  "Good thinking, Margaret," you say, handing the portable radio communicator to Esmeralda. "Here, Esse. We might as well try and call Andrea now."
  
  "Very well, then," says Esmeralda, taking the radio into one claw and pressing the red button.
  
  There's the sound of static. Then nothing.
  
  You feel crestfallen, but Margaret encourages you to waite another twenty minutes before trying again. The second time is unsuccessful as well. Ten minutes later, Esmeralda makes a third call.
  
  "Harlan, is that you? Over." says Andrea Laughlin's shocked voice.
  
  "Yes," says Esmeralda in Harlan's voice. "Your man, Jay, double crossed me and shot me in the leg after that Acosta girl attacked the Elizabeth Proctor. I was in and out of consciousness the past few weeks, mostly living off of two canteens of water and some rations I keep in a compartment in the cockpit. I had a bad fever for a while, but it's finally subsiding. Over."
  
  "God! That must have been terrible. Well, are you still on the island? Over."
  
  "Where else would I be, Andrea? I have the membrane, in case you're interested. It manage to survive all the chaos. Would you still like to have it? Over."
  
  "Well, that's a stupid question. Of course I do. I'll tell John. I'm pretty sure me and him and Jay...well, maybe not Jay...we can make it out there in about a day. Can you walk? Over."
  
  Esmeralda chuckles in a dry, husky voice. "Is that sarcasm? Over."
  
  "Fine, then. We'll be there by tomorrow afternoon. John doesn't like using his own rocket ship, but these are extenuating circumstances. Just hang tight, Harlan. Try not to die. Over and out."
  
  There's another crackle of static and the radio goes dead.
  
  You stare at Esmeralda with, beaming. "And the Oscar goes to Esmeralda! Wow, Esse, if ever I underestimated you before, I'll be sure never to make that mistake again!"
  
  "I think," says Esmeralda, "it would be a good idea to find the membrane."
  
  "I'm pretty sure it was in the steamer trunk my father kept in his study."
  
  It's not long before the three of you are able to locate the trunk in another room in the ship. You open the trunk and see a bunch of manila envelopes and folders stuffed with papers. Removing them, you see the the faintly glowing green veined tissue of the membrane lining the inside of the trunk.
  
  You look to Margaret. "Do you think we could use it? I mean to bring someone back to life..."
  
  "Do you really want to take that risk?" she replies.
  
  > try and Resurrect Harlan Zamora
  At first you're not sure about handling the remains of Captain Zamora, but then Esmeralda takes his head in one claw and his feet in the other and quickly lifts his corpse and sets it down inside the steamer trunk.
  
  "I guess we just wait and see what happens now," you say in a shaking voice.
  
  It's only about thirty seconds before the mold-covered side of Harlan Zamora's face begins contorting. Initially, his movements are like the reaction of a dead animal being run through with an electrical current than a human corpse showing signs of life.
  
  His eyes spring open. They dart around in a seemingly random pattern, focusing on nothing.
  
  Harlan's Zamora's whole body suddenly tenses up and then starts shuddering. He coughs out in a dry, hacking sound as if his lungs were chocked with dust. Then he talks.
  
  "Whu-u-u-u....Whu-u-u..." he croaks.
  
  "What's he trying to say, Esmeralda?" you ask.
  
  "Sandra," Esmeralda replies, "I'm afraid I'm not fluent in the languages of the dead."
  
  "What...is...this...?" Harlan finally manages to ask.
  
  "He just talked!" says Margaret, excitedly. "My God, this is an absolute miracle! A dead man just talked!"
  
  "Shhhh..." you say, putting your finger to you lips. "Let's here what else he has to say."
  
  "What...is...this...?"
  
  "Apparently, not much besides that," says Margaret.
  
  "I think we need to answer his question," you say, crouching down beside the steamer trunk and looking Harlan in his now-steady eyes. "You want to know what this is, Captain Zamora? We found your body in the cockpit of your rocket ship. We put you in the membrane you mentioned in your confession video. Is there anything we can do to help you?"
  
  Harlan Zamora sits up slowly. "Buttons. On console. Combination."
  
  "Buttons. Combination. For what?"
  
  "Destroy all this. Elizabeth Proctor. Burn, witch, burn..."
  
  Your eyes go wide and you look to the others. "Destroy the ship? Why would he want us to do that?" You look back to Harlan Zamora. "Do you mean that we're to press a combination of buttons on the console to blow the ship up?"
  
  Too your shock, Harlan's eyes dart to you. "Yes. Burn, witch, burn. Kill the others."
  
  You take in a slow, deep breath. "Kill the people who hired you? Is that what you mean?"
  
  "Yes."
  
  "Um, you'll be happy to know then that we contacted those folks. They're on they're way. Should be here tomorrow. They want the membrane we put you in."
  
  After what seems a lifetime, his eyes finally blink. "Combination. Buttons. Timer."
  
  "I think he means we can set the ship to explode on a timer," says Esmeralda.
  
  "Oh," you reply, "I see how that might come in handy. If we know when they're going to land, we can set the ship's bomb to go off right then. But, Captain Zamora...Harlan, what's the combination of buttons we need to press?"
  
  Harlan makes a kind of dry, chuckling sound from the back of his throat. "Two blue on top plate. One green on bottom plate. Three red on mid plate. Two blue on..."
  
  You begin, to your dismay, to realize he's still going on. After about five minutes of this detailed combination, he finally falls silent.
  
  "Esse," you say, "did that sharp robot brain of yours get all of what he said?"
  
  Esmeralda nods. "Yes, dear. I have it all stored in my memory banks."
  
  "Well, that's convenient," says Margaret. "So, are we supposed to get Esmeralda here to set the combination so we can get the timer running to blow these evil people up?"
  
  "Pretty much," you say. "But first I think we need to call Andrea back to get a more specific time as to when they'll actually be here. Esse, do you mind talking to Miss Laughlin as Captain Zamora again?"
  
  "My dear girl," says Esmeralda, "I most certainly do mind. But I have stayed with you through thick and thin all this time. If this is the course of action you're now determined to take, I will not hinder you. But one thing."
  
  "Yes?"
  
  "After I contact Andrea again and get a more specific E.T.A. and after I set the timer on the ship's bomb, I seriously advise we all proceed to the auto gyro and vacate the island immediately."
  
  "Oh. Yeah, I guess that might be a good idea. We don't know how powerful the bomb could be."
  
  "Or, for that matter, how much of the radioactive materials from the ship's atomic batteries might be released into the air as a result of the explosion. When we get back to the mainland, I think we should at least anonymously warn the authorities about the possible danger posed by Lozano's Island."
  
  > The Flames of Hindsight
  It's not difficult for Esmeralda to set the timer on the ship's bomb for just a little after Andrea said she and her compatriots would be arriving at Lozano's Island to pick up the membrane. Rather than stay and watch the fireworks, you all opt to immediately get into Patricia's auto gyro and leave the island for the mainland. Before going, though, Esmeralda removes the mini radio from Harlan Zamora's corpse so she can retool it to so it can be used as a standard radio transmitter.
  
  "We don't want the marshal to be able to trace the radio signal back to us, so this will allow us to warn him of the impending explosion but still retain our anonymity," say Esmeralda as the three of you head for the auto gyro.
  
  "What kind of radioactive debris is going to be release into the atmosphere?" you ask.
  
  "Well, dear, I don't know for sure if any will be released, as the shielding for The Elizabeth Proctor's atomic motor might be such that the bomb won't effect it. However, if the explosion is strong enough than I should imagine that the fissionable materials that make up the battery might be torn into small pieces that could get blown into the upper air currents. I have learned enough about rocket ships over the years to know that many precautions are taken to make this unlikely, but again we don't know how severe the explosion will be."
  
  You, Margaret, and Esmeralda soon seat yourselves in the cockpit of the auto gyro and head for the mainland. Esmeralda has the aircraft land in a field just a few miles north of Virgil and then contacts Marshal Beche with Harlan Zamora's radio. To further the deception, she again speaks in Zamora's voice. The marshal does not seem pleased about the report of a bomb going off and potentially releasing radioactive materials into the air, but Esmeralda then ends the call and destroys the small radio.
  
  "There," she says. "Perhaps if we're lucky, nothing further will come of this. Although, Sandra, I'm certain you and I will need some sort of alibi."
  
  Through news broadcasts on Patricia's televisor you all find out that Marshal Beche was able to get explosives experts to deactivate the bomb several hours before it would have gone off. Apparently, the presence of the marshal's auto gyro scared Andrea and the others from landing their rocket ship, but not before Beche's people could identify the space vessel. Soon the outlaws are brought to justice, and just in time considering they recently lead an attack on the Port Authority Building on Straus's Island, which lead to the deaths of several innocent people.
  
  You turn from the televisor screen and look to Esmeralda. "We didn't need to set the bomb after all."
  
  "I'd say it's all for the best," Esmeralda replies.
  
  "But you mentioned we'd need alibis."
  
  "Dear, you're no longer enrolled at the Ursuline Academy. They'd want to know where you were in all this."
  
  "Don't worry about that," says Patricia, coming into the room. "I'll just say your parents had me look after you while you were studying abroad with your robot tutor."
  
  Your shocked at what you've just heard. "You'd do that for me?"
  
  Patricia sits in an armchair and lights a cigarette. "Believe it or not, young lady, I fee very bad about what happened to your frog-bat."
  
  "He wasn't a--"
  
  "We appreciate your kindness," Esmeralda interrupts.
  
  You sigh, bewildered. You always hated Patricia, but now she's gotten you off the hook for not reporting your parents' murders to the authorities and instead pursuing a campaign of vengeance against the people responsible. You still don't like her, especially since you don't think she should be with Margaret, but you're beginning to feel your hatred for her ebb just a little.
  
  The End