The engine began to cough. I leaned against the shoulder, made a shivering and stopped. The lights flickered and went out all over. I got to the obscenities. I was in the middle of nowhere, on a provincial road, in Chubut, a thousand miles from the nearest human and thirty meters of a bridge that spanned a creek unknown.
was two in the morning. It is the habit that one has to travel at night, to go quiet.
I opened the hood and stared at the mysterious jumble of iron and wires usually underneath. I tried a cell phone call, but he was an orphan of any signal.
In the distance, howled dogs, squawking about birds, horses brayed and the sky began to brighten.
I looked up and I stayed with my mouth open watching the show.
A hundred feet above my head and slightly to the north, filled with an immense subject, lentejoide, luminous dial. It was a buzz finite, as a wasp, which was changing from high to low.
is my neck stand up every hair on your body. I managed not to anything more than to watch and entrust myself to God.
The infernal machine stopped spinning. Your floor is a circular hole opened and from there emerged a tube of strong white light that is projected onto the floor. The tube
saw off a being.
I started to shake. Chest beat me to explode right there.
Being made contact with the surface and I started coming here. He humanoid form: head, trunk and extremities. Glue or beak or horns or scales. That calmed me down a bit. Do not know why.
When I have ten meters, I hear yells
- What do you do, Turco?
I crouched to look good, as if below look better.
- Carlitos?
- Yes, Charlie, Charlie. How andás old man? So long.
- But Charlie, the whore who gave birth. How do you turn down so a flying saucer? Do I want to die a heart attack? Piece of asshole! I told
really angry and as natural shock after so much tension. The second were fused in an embrace.
After many years of brokerage, one has a bar with friends in every town he plays. With Carlitos we saw every time I went down to Comodoro Rivadavia to take the orders of shoes, what happened quite often because in the area, Commodore is an important point.
We got together to play ball. After playing we were a sitting with beer and peanuts that could last until twelve o'clock. We talked about everything. Bah, politics, football and women. For us men, talk of all talk about those three things. But Charlie was different. He liked me, cosmology and biology, and many times, when all were going, we stayed a while talking about these things. He told me his, I brought mine and together we speculated the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
It's funny, but I never knew his name or where she lived, and it occurred to me to schedule your phone number.
A good day was not over. And there was no way to contact you. He had brought a boy who had long gone to live in Buenos Aires. No one knew anything about him.
"Tell all" I said. What is that infernal machine full of Martians?
-No. Rest assured that I come alone.
He told me that the sightings were first, then contacted him. Gradually we were explaining that the galaxy is full of advanced worlds, they can build interplanetary spacecraft capable of traveling from one world to another in a few little minutes. All those worlds are as a country where traffic from one world to another is very common. That together form a great community. Earth is closest to this technology and for that reason were beginning the first contacts with humans, for our imminent integration into the community of worlds be more harmonious.
"There just asked me to participate in the project," he continued. The program was tempting, I would go with them and live there, learning all he could, until the earth was "about to candy." Then, along with many other earthlings who were in the same, we would be the first link with Earth. So long everything and left.
I looked at him as if what had just told off as normal. Anyone would have thought I was crazy, but there was the gadget that, floating over our heads.
"Come, let's take a walk I am telling you.
- A return where? "I watched with horror.
"Wherever you want. This ship can go anywhere.
"You're a fart. I do not I get there or with forceps.
He laughed at me as if I were a young child who is afraid of planes.
-Dale, dale. Come that nothing happens.
finally agreed.
We stand more or less beneath the ship. Carlitos got a kind of remote control of a bum wearing the suit, said the ship, and pressed a button. Immediately opened two holes in the floor of the nave and two tubes of light were projected on us. I felt like I jalaran shoulders. To mitigate the rising panic, I shouted a joke from one tube to another.
- Che! If I now I shit up In your tube also feel the smell?
-No. But if you shit on you over and go to hell.
We laughed.
landed on soft ground, which seemed to foam lined with leatherette.
The cabin was a large circular space was four ephemeral consoles on the perimeter, in front of which stood out paths seats, very comfortable.
"This ship is four. Most girls do not do, "he said.
circle on the wall were twelve circular windows that seemed to be open. I went out and tried to neglect the one hand, but foolishly I bumped into something solid, more transparent than glass. Carlitos
laughed.
"I did the same the first time. Seem to open windows but are actually just displays that convey what is on the other hand, three-dimensional images.
"That gave birth to him," I muttered Diogenes Fontanarrosa emulating. Thereafter, I would say the same thing many times, who bore him.
-Che, "And this ship is yours? I asked.
"No Turkish. In these worlds, the relationship between objects and people is never of belonging or ownership, but of use. People use things, not have them. Everything belongs to everybody belongs to nobody and nothing.
"Oh, I thought that brothel.
"Yes," he said looks like a big mess, but if you think about it, the better. Look what happens to us. So that each person can use a car when you want, it would be necessary to manufacture thousands of millions of cars. Each would have its own, but the vast majority of those cars would be unused most of the day. These guys are like ten thousand million and a million ships enough for everyone that wants to use, have one. When they stop using the back and some machines are responsible for verifying its operation and reconditioning to new, as if the room a hotel, after being one and comes next.
"Sure, it's cheaper.
"Exactly.
- What if you like you want to have one for you just say that because you sing the balls? "I operate
vocal cords balls.
We both laughed.
The ship, which was a little minutes was vibrating a bit, then stopped.
"Look," he said, "I live here.
- How? Do not tell me that this thing was going.
"Oh, yes. Get used. Within minutes you almost anywhere.
I looked out the window and saw a sandy beach and sea lavender violet. The people bathed as if in Mar del Plata. Some water sports, others lay in the sand. There were many small groups of people talking and everyone was naked.
- Are all naked?
"Yes," he said, "What's wrong? If you do neither cold nor hot.
"Let me fuck, che. And these, what? Are you on holiday?
No. This is normal. Life here is like being on vacation all the time. The machines do everything. The people engage in recreation, art, study, travel, and above all, interaction with others. They develop strong bonds and everyone wants the best for others as if others were their children. That is the key to the organization of these worlds. And the key to happiness.
In the next two hours we visited four worlds. All were different, people were different, the climate was different and the characteristics of places too, but everywhere people were on holiday. What I was showing was a paradise. Had somehow managed to get the machines do everything: services, design, needs assessment, subsequent production and maintenance. Almost nobody did anything.
addition, the worlds were wonderful, like perfect gardens, tended by gardeners Japanese.
"This is like paradise," he said.
"Yes, but you also have the best things of hell. You do not know how to take here.
"Do not say, ché. Look at you.
"Yes, they are totally uninhibited and do everything they come in they want and like.
- And you how are you doing? Can you fuck with the Martian?
"No need. Here there are many human doing the same thing myself. Interact with them the best.
I kept thinking about all that I was seeing. He must be really wonderful to live in those worlds.
-You really got lucky huh?
- Did you see? -Me said curtly.
After a long time to wonder after wonder, we were back in Patagonia. Down below I could see my car with the hood up. Turkish
"Look," he said in a tone of revelation and mystical-To access this, besides making spaceships, men need to learn to be more emotional, more cooperative, more altruistic. "There are
fried-foreclosure.
The ship was stationed in the same place as before and we got through the tubes of light.
-Che, very nice all, eh, "I said.
"Yes you see? He was thinking while watching the dark horizon of the plateau.
- And you? How are your things? He asked.
"Look, as usual. Traveling back and forth, giving birth to my customers orders are placed, then giving birth to the factory and then deliver them to the client giving birth to me to pay them.
- And still going to play ball?
"Yes. Always. You know that I play the ball in every town of Patagonia. I always carry in the trunk.
A Carlitos
's eyes lit up - Do you have a ball here in the trunk?
-Si.
- Oops! Dale, sacala a while.
I extracted the ball from the trunk of the car and right there, Charlie began to make "little game." Three, four, five, and was going forward.
"You do not know how long you do not play ball," he said with real enthusiasm.
We got to play ball for a while the dark, under insufficient light of a crescent-hit side.
"Come," she said let's make some arches.
The skinny like a kid.
"But is not shit, Carlitos.
- Pardon? Canchera said. He took the remote control waist, pointed to the ship and immediately went on a light as day, coming down from the lighting fixture floor a circle of fifty yards. We
arches with sticks, and there in that vortex of Patagonia, we played a "head" in the light of the flying saucer.
ended up exhausted. We threw ourselves on the grass face up next to each other.
"My kingdom for a soda," he gasped.
- You know that I have nothing fresh in the car? Took the thermos with hot water to mate, nothing more.
- Do you have to do mate?! Yes
Want to mate?
- Already, Turkish!
went to the car to look for things. While I was preparing mate, played to sit in the chair.
When the mate was ready I said "Come
. We're going to bridge that, and we kill the side of the creek.
Mateando stayed a while and throwing pebbles into the water. Carlitos celebrated every puff like a delicacy.
-Che, "he said To play, keep going everyone?
"No, some people came and went further.
- The heron is?
- No, I think they got married and we saw no more. Which is coming is peeling.
- Peeling ...!
- That yes, every time you move less. It's a motherfucker, play stopped. It looks like a statue. One day he goes into a dove on the shoulder in middle of the game.
We laughed for a while recalling peel.
- And the baby?
- This also comes. "You were when you put him in the bathroom?
- Yes! With the fat Flora wanted to flip.
- Yes! ... And the crooked he spent the fat lining the bottom of the door.
- Yes! ... And the baby wanted nothing.
We spent time recalling anecdotes. Carlitos was on. He laughed uproariously. We both laughed.
And it came after a last story, the laughter died down until we drain into an immense silence. Carlitos was
looking at the horizon hanging from the railing of the bridge.
-Che Turco said after a long silence, "You know that the air smells?
I looked at him as asking.
"Yes, it smells. And the smell of the air than on other worlds. This is unique. Brings me to my old, how will it be? I left without saying a word. That beast! No?
"And, yes.
"And I bring those Sundays when we all got together at my grandmother. Iban my uncles, my cousins. Do not know how we played with my cousins.
There was a movie in the air that only he saw. But he was in his eyes that was watching. Again after a while. He put his hand on my shoulder and said.
"I have to go, Turquito.
-Si. I know, I know.
We hugged. I could feel his hand on his back by getting a grip on my sweater. That disarmed me. It clouded my eyes and I wanted to stay there, hugging and cuddling.
Then we parted. He also had cargaditos eyes. Turquito
-Chau. Take care. Carlitos
-Chau, chau.
turned and marched toward the flying saucer. There, it was stopping slowly, like a ball rolling up slow. He pointed to the ship with remote control and pressed a button certainly. The ship began
turning, turning red, then yellow, then white. Humming, shining and spinning more and more, while Charlie watched her from the grass. At one point they shot straight up to speed in three seconds incalculable and was lost among the stars. Carlitos
turned and turned to the bridge.
"What happened" I yelled.
"Nothing.
He stopped at the railing, watching the stream. He threw the remote control to water. The gadget went down, made some balloons and we saw no more.
I looked desperate.
"They can go to the bitch that bore them," she said, her voice cracking in the middle.
Now I saw him roll down his cheek a tear whole.
And even with the dim light of the crescent, tears shone brighter than the stars.
