Operation Tenley Read Free Page A

As long as she was careful not to attract the attention of Superintendents from any of the other planets, she could quietly reduce the human population. Or even, some believed, eradicate it altogether.
    Pennie glanced up. May His Return Be Swift was written above a gigantic hologram clock that never stopped counting the days, hours, minutes, and seconds that the Superintendent had been gone: 32506 days, 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 31 seconds.
    Eighty-nine years.
    And counting.
    At first, when the Super failed to return from vacation on time, it was assumed that inclement galaxy weather was to blame. There was no reason to worry; the Super had stored enough Universal Source Energy (USE) for just this kind of emergency. The fairies could go on doing what they did; granting miracles, fulfilling wishes, doling out lucky breaks, and so on. Until the distressing number of natural disasters began. Then, rather than wishes and miracles, the fairies needed to protect humans from harm. And for that, they relied on large amounts of USE, which was rapidly diminishing. Only the Superintendents of the many different planets were given access to the highly guarded USE. So after weeks and then months of no word from the Earth’s Super, during which time the fairies’ wings began to break off, panic set in.
    Search parties made up of the strongest fairies were sent and returned without success. Finally, they could wait no longer. The Superintendent’s right-hand fairies—those who had been left in charge, known as The Original Eights—were forced to come up with a plan. A different energy source had to be used to keep humans safe. And so, after days of difficult and complicated meetings, a plan formed.
    Technology.
    It would save the world after all.
    While Mother Nature continued her onslaught of disasters, the fairies began to harness galactic electrical energy, mostly comprised of cosmic rays and other high-speed particles that travel faster than eighty-seven times the speed of light. Combined with other kinetic and magnetic energies, they were able to create tools so advanced they could even be effective from their asteroid belt in outer space. With these tools, a Fair One—as the fairies would now be called—could monitor and protect their clients—as humans would now be called—almost as well as they could with USE. The Protection Plan wasn’t perfect. Tools, after all, can rust and break. But it was the best The Original Eights and their Fair Force could do until the Super finally returned.
    If he returned.
    Because although everyone still hoped for his swift return, after so much time away, it was becoming more difficult to believe. Some argued he had simply abandoned them. Others were more suspicious, citing jealous Supers from other less dynamic planets who may have wanted to watch Earth fall back into a barren state, leaving their own planets to shine the brightest.
    The thought of all that history made Pennie restless. Her client could be in trouble right now. She sighed at the perfect image of the smiling Fair Ones and threw her slushie into the bin.
    “Whoa, whoa,” Laraby protested, reaching in for her stroon. “Never know when you might be needing one of those.” He slipped the stroon into his pocket and stepped back in line. Another number was called over the loudspeaker.
    “That’s me.” Laraby held up his ticket and flashed a quick smile. “Good luck, Fair One.”
    “You too, and thanks.” Pennie watched Laraby disappear into the crowd. Another number was called. This time, it was hers. “ Please proceed to Window B. ”
    “Excuse me,” Pennie said, navigating through Fair Ones on her way to the window.
    When she reached Window B, she found it occupied by a bald Fair One. With a long red beard.
    “Hello again.”
    He turned around. Then frowned. “You must have the wrong window. And there seems to be no one at this one anyway.” He tucked his head in through the empty space to make sure.
    “But it said