He sees you when you're sleeping:
Nicholas looked out the
window to the world spinning below. "So beautiful. so, so ever so
beautiful," he murmured softly. He looked around to the steel and plastic
around him and then back to the world below.
It hadn't always been like
this, on a cloaked space station orbiting Earth. No, up until four decades ago
they had been based in their hidden Antarctic base, having moved there after
humanity had begun exploring the North pole, forcing the abandonment of the
base there.
"See something
Santa?" a small female voice asked.
Nicholas turned to the
female Alp and smiled. "No Siri, just admiring the view."
"Nervous?"
"After so long in the
sleigh?" he chuckled, shaking his belly. The elf doctor kept reminding him
to leave off the cookies and milk but he couldn't help it. He felt obliged to
eat the things, and besides, he needed the burst of energy. He had been doing
this job for centuries now. He and the other Santas. He smiled slightly. He had
been the first though.
He looked at her
reflection in the glass briefly. "No, I'm fine. The equipment test
out?"
"Yes Santa, of
course," she said with a smile and flick of her long pointed ears. He
snorted. Of course it did. It wasn't like the bad old days centuries ago when
they had first started this project.
Over a thousand years ago
the Alps had crashed their ship on Earth. They had attempted to live with
humanity, but the barbaric humans had either hunted them or worshiped them.
They had withdrawn further and further north into what later became known as
Scandinavia. Meanwhile the barbaric humans had taken the nature of the elves
and created stories about them, demonizing them as nightmares and such. It was
ever the way of his people, to see a threat in something they do not understand.
At least until the past century. Now, hopefully, things were changing. They
were starting to explore, to see with fresh eyes the wonder of new things. He
hoped it would last.
When the Alps had
retreated, they had left stories of themselves in their wake. Their species
name had mutated into elf, even he thought of them as elves from time to time. Sometime
in the past, he forgot the exact date, they had started interacting with proxy
humans, taking in humans who had been abandoned or orphaned, and raising them
as their own. There had been dark stories of changelings but he knew they
weren't true. After all, look what they said about him! He chuckled softly,
remembering some of the movies and books the other humans had made about him.
He had been one such waif.
An elf family had taken him in, taught him their ways and raised him as one of
their own. He in turn had traded for goods and materials for the elven
community when he had come of age. At first they had needed a lot, but their
stubborn use of their ship's recycling systems and greenhouses they had
eventually created had helped them taper off their needs more and more every
year. Eventually they had a surplus of material.
The crash had scattered
their population and destroyed much of their technology. But they clung to some
of it. Out of boredom and to stave off insanity some of the long lived elves
had taken up hobbies, whether it be science, or engineering.
Frustrated by the lack of
appropriate materials they had turned to making things of wood. Some had made
toys, and the humans of the day had traded them or given them away to children.
Thus the myth had been born.
Seeing a positive impact
in human civilization, the elves had encouraged the practice. They constructed
a base under the ice inside the remains of part of their ship. As human society
grew the elves became increasingly uneasy about direct interaction, preferring
Santa to do it for them.
They clung to their tech,
and when human civilization had started to catch up, they had begun rebuilding
their own from human materials.
They had tiny probes that
allowed them to view people from afar. Cloaks to hide their people and
equipment, much like this great station. It was quite large, enough to house
the hundreds of elves, their craft, and most of the adopted humans.
Their medical science was
state of the art, each of the elves were old, centuries old. Nicholas himself
was ancient by human standards, blessed by good food and elven medical science.
But even he couldn't deliver all the presents now, even with their time and
dimensional shifting equipment. Thus, the Santa legion had come to be.
When he had first started
out, oh so long ago, he had used a sleigh craft drawn by specially bred
reindeer when he and others had traded in Scandinavia and Germany, it had
become his calling card. Elven scientists had salvaged anti-gravity harnesses
for his reindeer and sleigh, rigging it to expand his ability to trade. He
smiled fondly, remembering their first wild ride. The reindeer had pissed
themselves senseless until they had gotten the hang of it. He chuckled. They
hadn't been the only ones!
Over time they changed
their practices, instead of trading he took some of the waste or broken bits.
But the elves insisted on some form of compensation, so he delivered toys and
goodies for children. It became a tradition he at first hated, but now loved.
Seeing the smiles on the children's faces made him feel like he was walking on
air.
To make it easier on him
and to keep with the traditions building around him they limited his deliveries
to one night a year. Fortunately one of the elven scientists had recovered and
rebuilt a dimensional shifter that not only slowed time, it allowed him to pass
through walls or down from the ceiling as needed.
That Clarke guy had it
right Nicholas mused, advanced technology really was indistinguishable from
magic. He shook his head. Still, even with all their vaunted technology he
could no longer do this job alone. So the legion had been born. At first a few,
and now sixty Santas. Men and even a few women in the adopted human side grew
up wishing to fill his boots. It amused him a great deal to think of what they
would think a few hours into the job. But he had to admit, despite the
exhaustion, he knew he would feel elated, completed, and thrilled when the
evening was done. It was the same every year.
In the 19th century, the
elves hadn't liked the humans continued interest in war so they had moved the
base to Antarctica when humans began to explore the northern wastes. Their
sense of safety hadn't lasted long, they had become uncomfortable when the
humans started whaling off Antarctica.
The turn of the 20th
century found a quickening in human development, which had in turn restored
some of the long lost Alp tech. It had also
frightened the elves into exploring space once more. In 1947 they made
contact once more with their species. A shuttle crashed in America, but the
main explorer ship had successfully hid behind the moon.
Spurred by this contact,
some of the elves had returned to their home, but others had elected to stay
and continue their work on Earth with the Santas, refusing to abandon the
charity they had started. He understood their thinking, his people needed a
positive role model and treasured their sacrifice.
In order to fuel the demand
for materials, they still recycled, but now imported raw material from the
asteroids in the system. If humanity only knew what they were doing to help
them! He wished he could make them understand, but knew they were still young,
still ever fearful of what they don't understand.
They had also started to
become greedy, something the elves hadn't expected, it was still foreign to
their nature. The holiday was becoming commercial, which bothered some. There
were trends some didn't like, he hoped something would alter them. He reminded
himself to talk to the psych department when he got back.
They, like him saw his
role as beneficial to humanity, encouraging charity, humility, and many other
good qualities. He knew it did, at least around this time of the year. Despite
the greed, people really did help one another. Every little bit helped,
bringing the positive spirit out in everyone.
"Is the list
finished?" He rumbled, tugging on his belt.
"And checked
twice," Siri replied with a smile. "The probes report excellent
results this year. The encouragement of recycling and the modification of human
responsibility as stewards of the environment seems to be holding."
"Good," He said
as he nodded. He heard a click of hooves. He turned to see one of the
genetically engineered reindeer being led by an elf walk by. He nodded again
and then returned to his mussing.
"We'll be ready for
you shortly Santa," Siri said and then withdrew.
He snorted softly and
nodded. He adjusted his hat and then straightened to his full height. "Time
for another night of magic," he murmured with a twinkle as he strode past
elves who nodded politely to him.
He entered the shuttle bay
and smiled to his loyal crew as he stepped up to the sleigh. His wife gave him
a kiss and a smile, better tonic than any bottle of rum.
He took up the reins and
nodded to Siri. She nodded back and stepped back with the others as he flipped
switches and the field around his craft and reindeer began to form, bending
space around them.
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"
