Kilroy Owns the Night: Day 27 (Surreal)
The sound of pouring liquid became a waterfall.
“Is somebody making margaritas?” I asked.
“Shut it down!” Vrex shrieked.
“Shut what down?” Mercury demanded.
“The Still,” I said. “Harmonic Still of Threx-9. Converts organic matter into alcohol.”
“That's cool,” she said.
“Until it runs out of ingredients.”
“That’s not cool.”
A crate beside us collapsed into dust. From a pipe overhead, amber liquid sprayed across the cargo hold. Max caught a mouthful and spat.
“Bourbon,” he said, astonished.
I wondered whether this counted as an open bar. The floor buckled. A vine erupted through the grating, sprouted grapes, then withered into gray powder. It was the most surreal gardening demonstration I'd ever witnessed. My nanochip flashed a warning about the still: AVAILABLE ORGANIC MATTER INCLUDES PASSENGERS.
“Everybody out!” I yelled.
Max leveled his blaster at my chest. “The Encyclopedia first.”
“Dude, we're about to become happy hour.”
Mercury grabbed his wrist, twisted, and sent the blaster skittering beneath a console. Max slammed his shoulder into her. She twisted his fingers until he dropped to the floor. Gorpl and Vrex bolted for the cockpit.
“Don't let them launch!” Mercury shouted.
I pulled the crystal from my pocket. Its rainbow light flickered against the walls. My nanochip offered instructions, diagrams, and seventeen pages of safety warnings. One sentence stood out: THE PROCESS CANNOT BE STOPPED WHILE THE RESONANCE CHAMBER REMAINS SEALED. Somewhere beneath my boots, machinery began to scream. Then the ship's emergency lights turned red. And the cargo hatch locked itself.
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