Man Obsessed

By Ben Revermann

By all accounts the moon shouldn't be there. The circumference doesn't make any sense. In order for the moon to maintain its orbit (obviously, to anyone of a scientific mind) it would have to be hollow. For billions of years it's slowed the Earth's rotation to a point near perfection. Without it, life on Earth would be plagued by five-hundred mile an hour hurricanes; catastrophic earthquakes and minute long days.

Dr. Davis knows all of this. When he was fifteen, he suspected it.

Now fifty-five, he lives alone. His house is littered with scientific journals. The boxes in his hallways are stacked to the ceiling. With no time to clean, any woman who set foot in his house would run away screaming.

Dr. Davis is standing in his living room/office. Although he calls every room in his house his office he does most of his work here. The dry erase board is sitting on a tri-pod. He's looking at it.

A week before he'd been fired for teaching his theories about the moon. With a little money saved he can now focus all of his time on it. The night of his firing he had made a discovery.

Crunching the numbers for the millionth time tonight he is able to prove how long the Earth lived without the moon. This discovery would make every scientist in the world stand up and take notice. He doesn't care about that however.

Dr. Davis wants to know how and why the moon is there.

Casting this new discovery aside he thinks a thought, the first thought of many that will eventually lead him to the answer. This is why he's contacted.



The Alien appeared in his living room and stood there for five minutes, unnoticed until it finally cleared its throat. Dr. Davis turns around startled, and asks, "Can I help you?"

The Alien smiles, "Yes you can. We're not here to hurt you. We need you to stop what you're working on."

Dr. Davis asks him, "I'm close aren't I?"

The Alien smiles again, "Yes sir"

Dr. Davis shrugs and turns back to his dry-erase board, "Well, you can tell whomever that I won't stop."

The Alien is surprised, it has been a party to over a hundred of these meetings and until now it has never been blown off. It tries again, "I must insist sir, that you stop what you're doing."

Dr. Davis continues with his work, "I've devoted forty years of my life to this. I knew I was close before you said anything. I've sacrificed having a wife, children and a social life so I'm not going to stop now. What can you offer me?"

The Alien is again surprised, "How could you know I have something to offer?"

"Because you first said you're not here to hurt me." he says while continuing his calculations.

The Alien accepts this as obvious, "We can give you a new obsession."

Dr. Davis is amused, "Such as"

"We can turn your mind in a direction other than the moon. You could be a world class composer, or an evolutionary expert. Would you like to write screenplays?"

Dr. Davis is unimpressed, "Why don't you just erase my mind?"

The creature tells him, "We can't do that. We can however give you other things to think about. As a bonus, any alterations to your brain would include a free tour of our spaceship. All you have to do is agree to let us change your mind for you."

"And I wouldn't be interested in the moon anymore?"

"You'll always be interested in the moon, and the reasons for it. You'll just be more interested in other things."

Dr. Davis thinks for a minute, "How about you just tell me what I want to know? How is the moon able to be there?"

"Because then we would have to kill you."

Unfazed Dr. Davis asks, "Couldn't you just tell me and then give me another obsession?"

The Alien nods no, "If we told you it would be catastrophic. Humanity can't handle that. If you know, nothing, not even us could stop you if you were able to continue with your work."

Dr. Davis faces the Alien, "So my options are get a free tour of your spaceship and have a new obsession; or find out why the moon is there, then die."

The creature nods yes.

The funeral for Dr. Henry Davis will be held on Tues. May 18th at St. Mary's Catholic Church. Followed by his burial. Afterwards, dinner will be provided by the University of Minnesota. No known relatives exist. Co-workers say he was a man driven by his work, a man obsessed.

* * *

Ben Revermann lives in southern Minnesota with his wife, four children and three dogs. 
He hopes to one day make his living using the written word.