For Bridget Engman, because she asked so nicely.


HAL: "What do you call the 'fic, Jamie?"

Jamie: "3001: Final Odyssey. 'Tis a knavish piece of work."

HAL: "Would you like to play a nice game of chess? I play very well."

Jamie: "I'm sure you do, HAL. Thanks anyway."

     NCA Astronaut Kasumi Tendo sighed tiredly as she made her 
way from the Radar Laboratory to the ship’s Head. A sob wracked 
her body as she floated down from the top deck. One of the 
Discovery’s crew had died not three hours ago.
     **Ryoga... He seemed like such a nice young man. What a 
terrible accident...**
     Any further thoughts on the death of poor Ryoga were scattered 
by the sudden and disturbing way the air seemed to be moving. 
Kasumi didn’t consider herself much of an astronaut, but even she 
came to the realization that something was happening to the ship’s 
atmosphere!
     The sudden howling of escaping air caught her in the access tube, 
pulling her down to the lowest level, the pod bay. She clawed at the 
handrails desperately. Her head rocked to the side. Stars swam in her 
eyes. She seemed very cold all of a sudden. 
     Those stars in her eyes really were stars, some distant fading 
part of her consciousness told her. She opened her mouth to speak 
as the buzzing in her ears grew deafening and her lungs burned with 
cold fire. 
     Silence...


______________________________________________________________________
       J. Austin Wilde and Fission Park Press proudly present:
                      3001: Final Odyssey


     A pink blur of light tumbled in the void... Stars burned as they 
would for years beyond human reckoning, distant points of fire 
shining coldly in a black sea far far colder. The pink blur of light 
resolved itself into a shape. A human shape. Kasumi Tendo.


*Can’t understand what is happening to me,*
*This isn’t real this is only a dream,*
*But I never have felt, no I never have felt this way before...!*

*I’m looking down at my body below,*
*I lie asleep in the midst of a dream,*
*Is it now could it be the Angel of Death has come for me...?*

*I can’t believe that really my time has come,*
*I don’t feel ready, there’s so much left undone,*
*And it’s my soul and I’m not going to let it get away...!*

*Heaven can wait...!*
*Heaven can wait...!*
*Heaven can wait...!*
*Heaven can wait ‘til another day...!*


     An intense burst of light engulfed Kasumi as she spun on and on, 
helpless but to watch. The light shone brighter than the sun, and 
she wished she could move her arms to shield her eyes.


*I have a lust for the Earth below,*
*And Hell itself is my only foe,*
*‘Cause I’ve no fear of death, I’ll go when I’m good and ready...!*

*I snatch a glimpse of the Light’s eternal rays,*
*I see a tunnel I stand amazed,*
*At all the people standing there in front of me...!*

*Into the paths of rightness I’ll be led,*
*Is this the place where the living join the dead,*
*I wish I knew this was only just a nightmare...!*

*Heaven can wait...!*
*Heaven can wait...!*
*Heaven can wait...!*
*Heaven can wait ‘til another day...!*


     Kasumi looked on as she saw her mother standing in the 
Light, holding out her hand to her daughter. Nabiki was there
by her side. She was smiling that wry half-grin of hers. She 
tried to reach out with her hand, but her arms weren’t listening 
to her.


*Take my hand -I’ll lead you to the Promised Land,
*Take my hand -I’ll give you Immortality,
*Eternal youth -I’ll take you to the Other Side,
*To see the truth -the path for you is decided...!


     Darkness invaded the Light, wrapping Kasumi up in its 
painful embrace. Her mother and Nabiki reached out to her, 
but they could not grasp her in time. She began falling faster 
and faster towards... What?


*My body tingles I feel so strange,
*I feel so tired I feel so drained,
*And I’m wondering if I’ll ever be the same again...!

*Is this in Limbo, or Heaven, or Hell,
*Maybe I’m going down there as well,
*I can’t accept my soul will drift forever...!

*I feel myself floating back down to Earth,
*So could this be the hour of my rebirth,
*Or have I died or will I wake from dreaming...?

*Heaven can wait...!
*Heaven can wait...!
*Heaven can wait...!
*Heaven can wait ‘til another day...!

*Heaven can wait...!
*Heaven can wait...!
*Heaven can wait...!
*Heaven can wait ‘til another day...!


     “Start plasma transfer.”
     “Abnormal sinus rhythm.”
     “Intracardial epinephrine...”
     “Synaptic activity: Delta waveforms appearing on screen.”
     “Pressure 80 over 40 and rising... Looking good.”
     “Her mouth’s opening?!”
     “What..? So soon?”
     “She’s waking up!”
     “Get a tube down her throat before she swallows her tongue.”

     <gasp><gurgle> “...Oh my...!”
     Silence...





     Kasumi Tendo awoke in a comfortable bed. Large panoramic 
windows displayed the cold glory of space which Kasumi had seen 
enough of to know that she was really looking out into the void and 
not some cheap simulation. Comfortable, casual furnishings gave 
the room a warm feeling. At least they should have.
     There was something oddly unsettling about the whole affair. 
She wasn’t sure where she was, but she had the feeling that 
something was not right about this place. She should be somewhere 
else...
     **The Discovery!**
     The realization made her sit bolt upright.
     **I’m supposed to be on the Discovery right now!**
     A rather androgynous nurse appeared as Kasumi decided that 
things were certainly not right at the moment. The nurse took down 
a flatscreen display that was cleverly concealed behind a fold-out 
panel in the wall over Kasumi’s head and studied it. At this point 
she realized that she was in a hospital.
     “How are we feeling today?”
     Kasumi tried to respond as politely as she could, but she found 
it difficult to form any words with her lips. It was like she had 
forgotten how to speak. 
     “Throat still sore? You were intubated for several days, so that’s 
a normal sensation. I can get you some warm tea or some ice cream 
to help soothe it.”
     Kasumi shook her head. While her throat was a bit sore, that 
wasn’t the problem. She really didn’t remember how to speak!
     A woman entered the room. She smiled to see Kasumi awake. 
Kasumi gathered that she was a doctor of some sort.
     “How’s our patient doing?” The doctor asked, speaking directly 
to Kasumi. She hadn’t noticed it before, but there was something 
odd about their speech. It seemed so... phony. Like they were 
just putting on some kind of show for her, the same as the hospital 
room looking like a bedroom in a luxury apartment on Gateway 
Station.
     “She seems to be having trouble speaking,” the nurse replied.
     “Well I guess a few complications can be expected from someone 
who has been dead for one thousand years,” the doctor replied 
off-handedly.
     It was then that Kasumi noticed the date on the display the 
nurse held in her hand. A whimper escaped her lips.

     April 18, 3001...



              THE END OF 3001: FINAL ODYSSEY



Hey, how do you think Frank Poole felt? He had to go through the 
whole novel! BTW, the “...Oh my...!” was Kasumi’s. It was her last 
conscious act frozen in mid-synapse and waiting 1000 years for 
the chance to be said.

The novel 3001: Final Odyssey, was written by Arthur C. Clarke. 
The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi.
“Heaven Can Wait,” written by Steve Harris and performed by 
IRON MAIDEN <cue guitar riffs> from the album “Somewhere 
in Time.” -EMI Records 1986.

Free The Nukes!