FanFic - Other
"Czech Your Dimensions"
Part 29
by John
Disclaimer: Roswell characters belong to Warner Brothers. No infringement intended.
Category: Other
Rating: PG-13
(It's been well over a month since the great break out occurred in Wyoming. Events since then have been kind of a mixed bag. The gang did drop most of the freed alien folk at the Evans cabin. Our heroes spent some time there getting the people oriented to this dimension as well as taking care of the gutters and the roof. Max wanted to make sure the summer home would be useable during the winter if necessary. Since Setoma's family was already in Roswell, he went back with Max and the others, as did Bilillia. Since Bilillia had at least been "free" in his own dimension, he was feeling like he could survive without much help in this one. He does plan to come back to the cabin regularly to help with re-settlement plans, as do Max, Michael & Isabel. The aliens they freed have some facts, stories, and legends about their origins that our friends are interested in. After finding out that he was indeed one of them, some of the group told Bilillia they resented his having been a guard over them. He has, however, convinced them that he was only trying to help them when the chance was given to him. It was decided the best plan is for these people is to not stay together, but take their spouses and eventually each go to different areas of the country. Too big an alien group in Roswell would not be a good thing for anyone. Of the two teenagers in the group, one will live with his parents, since they are among the freed survivors. The other teenager, a seventeen year old orphan girl named Tesylle, is going to stay with the Evans for a while. {You can read into that what you want.} It is hoped that the people can quickly be acclimated and sent off to find their destinies in our dimension. Remember; they really should have been part of it in the first place. They would have been, if the crash of the ship Max, Isabel, and Michael were in hadn't blown their ancestors ship into the other dimension and thus into years of oppression. Setoma's family is doing fairly well. It turns out that Mr. Bunker, the Computer Science teacher at the school, had to have a kidney transplant and will be out the rest of the school year. Alex knew just the person for the job and told the principal about Setoma. It was perfect, since he basically knew computers, having worked in the other dimension as programmer. The textbooks and other materials used in the classes are enabling him to study the differences found in the computers in this dimension as opposed to what he was trained on. He's easily staying ahead of what he's teaching. Setoma's son, Lotaire, is fitting right in as a senior at school. He's very handsome and all the girls are chasing him. He thinks not being forced to work with or be with just one girl is the greatest thing since rock music. The choice of girls and the music are two aspects of this dimension that he's decided he really likes. He did kinda make a pass at Liz, but that was rapidly put to bed by both Liz and Max. Lotaire got the message quickly and he is still friends with both of them. Liz does agree he's handsome. Setoma's young daughter, Whilea, is not faring quite as well. The kids at school made fun of her name and she's very shy by nature. Her only real friend is Devin. He has made a point of finding time to play with her and has been encouraging her to reach out more to kids her own age. Devin thinks she'll be OK eventually. Mrs. Evans has been showing Linka, Setoma's wife, the Roswell scene from a woman's standpoint and she seems to be fitting well. Linka has offered to help at the Crashdown when things get busy. She also likes to visit the mall, much to her husband's dismay. With the school teaching job providing money, Setoma's family was able to rent a house and give Michael back his apartment. Diane Evans was kind of sorry about that, as she was enjoying having Michael stay with them again. She always likes it when he does...kind of her way of saying "sorry we weren't there for you eleven years ago". Tesylle is still trying to comprehend all that's happened, but she's enjoying the family life she's found her way into. She may decide to go back with and live with a couple who are still at the cabin; a couple who had kind of looked out for her when they were captives. She's still undecided. As for Bilillia, (he answers to the name Bill now) it turns out that sheriff Valenti was looking for a part time deputy. With his military training and guard background (he wasn't real specific with the sheriff on what he had guarded) he impressed the sheriff enough to hire him. Doesn't hurt to have an alien type working in the sheriff's office, does it? Things seem to be as settled as they ever get in the B.S. Network's Roswell world. Max and Liz even talked their parents into letting them go "camping" together. We'd describe that "quiet time" experience, but Mrs. Zoombash would probably cancel us. Oh, it doesn't matter, does it? She's replacing us soon anyway. Hmmmm! Temptation! Ah, better not. We have a reputation to uphold. Instead, let's pause for another B.S. Network "imaginary moment" It's easy! Just take a minute and imagine Max and Liz "camping" together. (Pause for imagining! Picture of forest appears.) See? That was better than our describing it anyway, wasn't it? Yes, everything seems pretty OK. We had planned that our story would end here on this happy note. That was before we reread the teaser at the end of the last episode. Somehow, due to a slip up, we mentioned a problem circling around our friend Devin. That was supposed to be part of the plot for our new season of shows, the ones Mrs. Zoombash has decided not to renew our contract for. I'm afraid we'll have to cram that whole story into what little air time we have left...)

(Scene: The Whitman home)

Alex's Dad: Alex? Where's Devin?

Alex: That's an easy one. Anna's house, of course!

Alex's Dad: Your uncle called this morning. He thinks it's time for him to reclaim Devin.

(Alex suddenly feels like someone just punched him in the gut.)

Alex: No! He can't! We can't let him...I mean...Devin wouldn't like...oh dad, no! He can't take Devin back to Alamogorda.

Alex's Dad: I don't think we really have a choice. Your uncle did create him. I tried to tell my brother what Devin has become. How he's his own person now. How much we enjoy having him here. I wasn't speaking just for you either. I like Devin a lot and he's really no trouble. Your uncle says what I told him is impossible and we really ought to be tired of him by now. He said with as long as Devin's been here, we've probably seen everything he can do and heard every word he can speak about 200 times. He's surprised we aren't sick of him. He also thinks Devin's probably very unstable, since he hasn't checked in to get what your uncle called a "rebuild" for weeks.

Alex: I eliminated Devin's need to check in with the lab. He can take care of himself without having to do that now. We were going to rig up some phony check-ins so as not to tip off Uncle Aaron, but I guess we both forgot.

Alex's Dad: In any event, your uncle's coming Saturday to take Devin back with him.

Alex: We've got to talk him out of it, dad. He may have created Devin physically, but he hasn't had anything to do with what Devin has become. Devin belongs here, with his friends. Tell Uncle Aaron he can come visit anytime. If he takes him back, Devin is...

(Alex can't even talk anymore. He's almost in tears. If Devin has to go back to the lab in Alamogorda, Max, Isabel, and Michael will probably want Alex to remove the information packets in Devin's brain regarding their alien heritage. Alex knows, from having looked into it before, that he can't do that without virtually killing Devin as a sentient being. The facts regarding his friend's origins were some of the first things Devin learned after the accident that made him "alive". Alex knows that removing them would cause all his other memory patterns to collapse around the hole, essentially giving Devin a nervous breakdown. Devin would probably revert back to what he was when he came. He would be capable of nothing more that saying words he was pre-programmed to say, doing things he was programmed to do, and responding to stimuli in a pre-programmed manner. Alex feels like he would essentially be committing murder. There is no way; he just couldn't do it. To Alex, Devin isn't just one of the gang, he feels like Devin is his brother. Alex thinks to himself, "maybe if Uncle Aaron sees Devin...how happy he is here...he'll let him stay". Then reality sets in. His uncle won't understand that Devin now knows what it means to be happy...and sad...and how he experiences other human emotions. And even if he can see it, he'll want to examine Devin to understand why. That means getting into his brain electronically, examining and translating his thoughts and emotions. He'll force Devin to talk about his experiences. Exactly what must not happen unless he's de-programmed. Uncle Aaron will no doubt continue to treat Devin as an experiment, not the person he's become. This is the worst possible news. "I need to talk to Isabel", Alex decides...)

(Scene: Evans home. Alex knocks on the door and Isabel answers. It obvious Alex is upset. Isabel puts her arm around him and leads him to the couch.)

Isabel: Alex! You look awful.

Alex: I feel awful, Iz. The only thing that would be worse than what's happening is...is if I somehow lost you.

Isabel: What is it, Alex.

Alex: It's De...Devin! My uncle wants to take him back.

Isabel: No! He can't.

Alex: My dad says he can. My uncle did create him after all.

Isabel: (Pauses, contemplates for a moment.) You know what's funny, Alex? I'd almost forgotten he was "created". I hadn't really given any serious thought to what's underneath his skin for a long time. He's just Devin.

Alex: Exactly! He is Devin. Devin Whitman! He's a person, Isabel. What am I going to do?

Isabel: I don't know. Maybe you'll have to let him go. You could go visit him.

Alex: Aren't you forgetting something, Isabel?

(Isabel thinks for a second, then realizes what Alex is talking about.)

Isabel: He'll never reveal what he knows about us. I trust him completely. He helped us so much in Wyoming...

Alex: (Trying not to cry.) You're right. As long as he's in tact as he is now, as long as he's his own person, he'd never betray you guys. But if my uncle gets to him...starts to download his memory buffers...changes anything...there's no guarantee! The Catch 22 is that taking the information about you out of his memory would kill him. It's too intertwined with the part of his program that makes him sentient. I...I don't think I could bring myself do it. Please don't ask me to.

Isabel: It's not necessarily a given that your uncle would decode that information or even understand it if he did. Isn't that true?

Alex: Right! It might be in a pattern that he wouldn't even bother to explore. There is a risk there, but there's no way of knowing how great. I'm still hoping to talk my uncle out of taking him, but I'm not counting on it.

Isabel: Then it's up to us to decide? You're saying we essentially kill Devin or we risk being discovered.

Alex: That sounds way too simplified, Isabel. Suppose you knew Liz or I was about to be taken by the FBI and questioned. You knew they'd give us truth serum. Would you want to kill us? To me, Devin shouldn't be treated any differently.

Isabel: Does Devin know about this yet?

Alex: No! But I'm afraid I've got to be the one to tell him. He's no dummy. He'll know what it means. Remember when we put a self-destruct routine in him because you guys were concerned about this very issue? We took it out so he could talk to Setoma freely.

Isabel: Can you put it back?

Alex: That would be really hard since he's had so many other experiences since then. Those particular files are so deeply buried now it would be difficult to even find them much less cause some action to occur if they were referenced. (Alex shakes his head.) Listen to me. I'm talking like Devin's a computer. I mean he is; but...(Alex wraps his arms around Isabel) Isabel, this is so hard. Even if I could put that program back I wouldn't want to. Devin hated it. It was like we didn't trust him. There is one thing I'm certain of in all this. He'll want to know what you guys are thinking when I tell him about my uncle coming for him. I know that will be his first question.

Isabel: This is no longer a matter of can we trust him. I...I'm not sure what it's a matter of, Alex. I'm not making this decision alone. I can't speak for everyone, but as for me, I agree with you. We wouldn't try to knock off you or Liz, even if you were taken away by some authority. We can't treat Devin any differently. He risked his life for us in Wyoming. If he hadn't been there to help Michael, I wouldn't be here with you today. How...how could I look at him and say "thanks, but you're a threat now Devin so you're dead?" We need to talk to Max and Michael and we better get Liz and Maria involved too. This really affects everyone.

Alex: I feel better after hearing you say what you said. But I don't want to risk losing you guys either. I mean, I love Devin like a brother, but I love you guys too. Especially you, Isabel! If anything happened to you because of Devin, I couldn't live with myself. Devin is my bad, Isabel. I should have never messed with his program. If it wasn't for what I did he would never have become sentient and we wouldn't have this problem. This is all my fault.

Isabel: I'll bet if you asked Devin, he'd tell you he's glad you did what you did. I know I am! So is Anna Thompson, although she doesn't know it!

Alex: I...We shouldn't be forced to choose between life for him or safety for you. It just isn't fair!

(Life isn't always fair, Alex. Sometimes there are tough choices. What will the others think? Will they agree with Alex and Isabel, or must Devin give up his life so the rest can be safe? Obviously, we can't leave this issue hanging out there, so we begged Mrs. Zoombash for one more show. She said if we'd come take away all the bottles of Tabasco sauce you people have sent to her, she'd see what she could do. We're still not too happy about not getting renewed, but we will press on for all our loyal viewers. Stay tuned now for the B.S. Network's answer to Freddy Kruger. "Fiends"!)

Part 28 | Index | Part 30
Max/Liz | Michael/Maria | Alex/Isabel | UC Couples | Valenti | Other | Poetry | Crossovers | AfterHours
Crashdown is maintained by and . Design by Goldenboy.
Copyright © 1999-2004 Web Media Entertainment.
No infringement intended.