More Molly's Munchies

A couple of days after returning home, Molly was sitting in her 7th grade class listening to a guest speaker who was a scientist talk about alternate universes. The young girl was bored stiff. She had her chin resting in her hands. “Different choices… same people….”
“HO!! HUMMM!!” Molly’s eyelids started to fall, then “Huh? Wha’d he say?”

Most of Molly’s classmates giggled at her. They knew she’d been falling asleep.

The visiting scientist was very tolerant of young people. Quite old, he knew that sometimes he spoke over their heads. He hobbled over to the pretty blond-haired girl’s desk and patted her head. “Curiosity is nothing to be laughing at, kids.” He scolded them “Now, tell us, cutie, what is on your mind?”

“Well, sir, you said something about size differences. Does that mean another universe could have things be smaller in it?” asked Molly.

Nodding, the aged scientist replied “Theoretically, yes. There could be people in other universes twice our size, or even ten times our size. Actually, there is nothing really to say such people might not exist in our own universe.”

“Sorry, sir, but I was thinking the other way.” Molly said. Two days of going over it in her mind had only made her wish to be able to find a place like that again.

The scientist had privately fantasized about people smaller than him all of his life. “Looking to find some toy people, little lady?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Uhh…not exactly…Mr. Scientist.” Molly answered “I was wondering if it was possible that it might be a lot smaller.”

Shrugging, he replied “Anything is possible. Now…quantum realities….”

Molly lost interest again. She hung back just a bit and it was all the encouragement the scientist needed.

“Something…unusual…happened to you, didn’t it?” the scientist asked.

Molly nodded and replied “Uh-huh.”

“Tell me about it.” The old man requested kindly.

Molly jumped up onto her teacher’s desk and told the scientist everything that happened the day of her cousin’s wedding.
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“Today we celebrate the five thousandth anniversary of our landing on Venus.” The president of the Sol Federation announced.

The crowds surrounding the capital cheered.

“I also wish to welcome the Overlord of Sirius, whose people helped us survive those early years.” The President continued.

The group of feline officials acknowledged the cheering crowds.

“Two months ago, we honored the seven billion people who died that day. Today, we celebrate the fact that we the descendants of those three hundred who survived have rebuilt what was lost.” The president declared.

The capitol city rumbled and thundered with applause.

“In a few years we’ll pass the seven billion mark! Here…around Sol…humans are on Venus and the replaced Earth, Mars can be seen in our skies! ---“

That was when the Scientific Advisor interrupted “Mr. President, I’m getting a report of trouble out near Saturn.”

“IS now the time?!?” the president complained at having his speech interrupted.
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“This is very interesting.” The old scientist commented “I was here two nights ago. I found a weakness in our universe and traced it here.”

Molly thought that was interesting and replied “It was the same night as the wedding.”

“That is fascinating.” The scientist observed. His hand-held device started beeping and flashing. A scale lit up, flashed zero, jumped to 20, then went down again. He asked her “Molly, where exactly were you?”
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“Do you realize the importance of today?” the President asked coldly.

The Advisor stood straight and tall “OF course, sir” he answered “But, the location of this disturbance is identical to the rip that brought the Disaster.”

Even after 5000 years, the word Disaster meant only one thing. Quakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods still killed people on the rebuilt, repopulated worlds. But none of them brought the human race near extinction. Only She had done that.

“You are not to discuss this with anyone.” The President ordered “Quietly --- order a ship to take a look. They’re just --- ahh --- investigating a --- umm---distress call.”

The Scientific Advisor looked distressed “One ship?” he asked “One? What if---”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” the President snapped “I order to never say She is back publicly. It was FIVE THOUSAND years ago. We’ve come too far! Done too much! For Her to return is impossible! It was a freak event! Never to be repeated!!”

It was a skeptical and nervous Advisor that contacted the admiral in charge of the Saturn area. The admiral was ordered to call up the entire fleet.
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Molly watched, with a sense of mischief, as the old scientist picked the reception hall’s lock. “Ain’t this illegal?” the little blond girl asked innocently.

“No sassing your elders.” The scientist retorted “Now, do you want planets to play with or not?”

She loved the taste of the tiny balls and the way they crumbled and squished in her hands. Besides, even if there were people, they were just part of what made the planets so tasty. Molly finally nodded and said “I want more!!”

“That’s the spirit, little lady.” He grinned “I’m getting the strongest signal from that way.”

Molly nodded and rushed ahead “There’s the same blue light!” she shouted excitedly. She rushed ahead.

“Hold on.” The scientist cautioned. He grabbed the preteen’s elbow and held her back.
Molly giggled at the warning “Oh…come on, sir. It’s not like anything can hurt me. What’s gonna happen? Some little toy planet gonna bite me before I bite it?”

“Well…I suppose…” he replied. The scientist cracked a smile at the girl’s retort. He let go of the cute blond and, agreeing with her said “No, little lady, I suppose you wouldn’t be in any danger. Why don’t you-uhmm-run along and-ahh-play?”

Molly bounced up and down delightedly “Yeeeesss!” she squealed. She was actually being given permission, and by a pretty important man, to make toys and snacks out of planets.

“Just one thing, before you go.” The old scientist said

Molly hesitated at the edge of the blue light and turned, giving him an impatient frown “Whaa---at?” she grumbled

“Bring back samples…” he said.

Molly looked at him curiously, then smiled “That’s a good idea!!”

“You might be able to use this plastic bag.” He suggested “Think of it as a …umm…shopping trip.”
Molly squealed again, hugged the old man, grabbed the bag and charged into the blue light.
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Molly was excited about being back in her playground. It took her a moment to get her bearings. Far in the distance, she saw the glowing ball that she now knew was a Sun. She knew she would have to travel a long way to get near it. That was where her favorite munchies were. The first thing that caught her eye was a basketball size object. It was bright blue in color.
Molly liked the smaller balls, which the old man had convinced her were planets. But, looking down at this one, she decided “You’ll make a good sample for Mr. Scientist.”

Molly crouched down beside the ball and rested her left hand on top of it. She could feel it slowly turning under her fingers. That moment, she started to really believe the balls actually are planets. It made her palm tingle to feel the toy planet rotate. After a minute or so enjoying the sensation, Molly walked her fingers across the blue ball, forcing it to move. Grinning at her new toy the young blond girl rolled it along to a spot in front of her and leaned over a little further. Each of Molly’s hands took one side of it and she stood, taking the bright blue ball with her.
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The inhabitants of the Sol System called Molly’s first new toy the Planet Uranus.
Aboard the flagship of humanity’s Saturn fleet, Admiral Brown had just signed off with the Science Advisor. She had little respect for the man. And disliked his ability to order her around. “If there was ever a reason for a coup.” She grumbled.

“Beg pardon, Admiral.” A young lieutenant said.

Admiral Brown didn’t care for her navigator either “Mr. Panthernight, do you not have duties other than to listen in on private conversations?” she asked coldly. Scowling, the admiral ordered “Have the fleet break orbit and search space between here and Uranus.”
The Admiral flipped on the intercom and announced “All hands, all ships, Brown here. We have a rescue mission. Set course to search the largest area in the shortest time.”

“Strange… turning out the whole fleet… shouldn’t a rescue be handled by the Guard instead of the Navy.” The young navigator observed, intelligently.

Brown glared at the lieutenant with loathing “This ship is named for your grandfather, not you, Panthernight!” she sneered “Your job is to obey orders, not question orders above your station!”

“Yes, ma’am!” He fired back angrily. “What course should I set?”

“We, Panthernight, are heading for The Dent. I trust you know where that is.” The Admiral ordered harshly.

Unable to completely suppress a chill that traveled down his back. “Aye aye.” He squeaked.
As near as human science could tell, one area of space between Saturn and Uranus had to be the source of the creature that had eaten the largest moons of Jupiter, Mars and Earth. And, quite by accident, dumped an ocean of water on Venus that made it habitable. Humanity called that place The Dent.
It was a rippling, twisting region of space over a hundred thousand miles in length. Every starship knew to stay at least a million miles from it.
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Molly strolled along carefree and happy. She found a good first toy, which she was cradling against her belly. Studying the basketball-sized planet, she decided on a little game “Hmm, wonder if I can spin you on my finger the way my brother does it.”

It took a bit of trial and error, but the basketball planet was soon spinning on Molly’s middle finger. Even before becoming the gigantic girl’s toy Uranus was the fastest spinning object in the solar system. Now, as Molly giggled at her success, Uranus was now spinning several times a second. Molly’s delicate fingers nudged it along and it spun ever faster. “Heh! Fun! Heh-Heh!” she laughed. Walking around aimlessly, Molly amused herself for quite a while, then lost control

Uranus bounced around space wildly. The incredible spin Molly had given it sent it speeding off a hundred times faster than it had ever moved while orbiting the Sun.

Molly’s eyes followed the bouncing ball. As her hand un-cramped she set off in pursuit. Skip-running, Molly caught her toy. It was still bouncing, so the cute blond put her hand under it and the ball simply fell onto her palm. Her arm bent a little with the weight. She grinned at the captive world and said “You’re mine and you’re going home with me.”

Molly informed the blue globe of its fate in a sweet voice “Don’t worry, little planet, I decided not to eat you. But, you’ll be a lot of fun while I head for the good stuff.” With that, turned her wrist and gave it a little push. She tossed Uranus out ahead of her and set off toward where the bright glowing ball was. Her basketball bounced up right into her waiting palm. Molly would never be a star player, but she could certainly keep one ball under control. Then, at a jog, she dribbled her way toward the inner Solar System. Every few steps, the blue planet would bounce into her palm and she’d gently push it away again.
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“Captain, we’re in range of The Dent.” Lt. Panthernight reported.

“Report, Captain.” The Admiral ordered as she entered

With both senior officers present, Lt. Panthernight preferred to address his CO. His discovery was shocking “Ca-ca-captain. I-i- was sc-scanning-uhh-Uranus is m-missing.”

“Lt Panthernight, you are familiar with the concept of world moving around the Sun?” asked Brown, in a blatantly insulting tone “It is called revolving.”

Turning from the panel, he announced “Uranus is now in the Saturn area.”

“Order the entire fleet there! NOW!” Brown ordered sharply.
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Molly smelled water. She paused, still bouncing the toy planet under her hand. She didn’t even need to look. She turned her head this way and that, finally spotting a large brown ball. “Why would water be there?” she wondered. Molly changed directions for it.
“This one’s big!” she exclaimed. She actually had to look up at the top. “Even on my tippie toes, I couldn’t reach the top.”

Molly stopped bouncing her blue ball. Then, when a bounce didn’t reach her knees, she trapped it under her right foot and held the planet in place. The pretty blond girl reached into the ring surrounding her latest find. “A water fountain!” she exclaimed happily. Then she moved her shiny, red lips into its path.
Mmmmmm … slllrrrrupppppp ….Mmmmmm ….GULP! …. Slllrrrrupppppp … Mmmmmm …. slllrrrrupppppp
Over and over again, she sucked in mouthfuls of icy, cold water for over a minute. Feeling refreshed, Molly leaned back and allowed a last mouthful to slide town her throat. With her thirst quenched, Molly looked around. It was time to get down to business. She had some serious planet hunting to do. First, the young girl slid her foot down the side of her basketball-sized planet and gave it a careless tap with the outside of her foot.

Uranus rolled to a stop a few million miles away.

“What was that?” the 7th grader asked herself. Something had buzzed by her ear. She turned her head to find a tiny, barely round object. It was grey colored and tumbling lopsidedly. Molly watched it closely as it crossed her vision. A smile slowly spread across Molly’s face, revealing her teeth.
Molly’s left hand came up, she extended her index finger and caught it, allowing the lopsided ball to land across her knuckle. “Aww….” She cooed “Ain’t you cute. Ohh…light as a little butterfly.”

“Down the hatch!” Molly declared. Then, she brought her finger close to her mouth and flicked the candy-sized world between her waiting lips. It tumbled in, rolling along her tongue. She trapped it there by pushing her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Her voice came out garbled, expressing her delight “ –Ummy –otta find more!”

Quickly finding three more about the same size, the pretty blond cupped her hands together capturing one after another. Soon, just by walking around, Molly had scooped up seven more of the, to her, candy-sized worlds. She licked her lips and eyed her haul greedily. “JACKPOT!” the young girl celebrated.

“Daddy would call it gluttony if I ate you all at once. Plus, I promised some of you to that nice old man.” Molly said to her munchies. Then another, delicious, scent attracted her attention. Molly’s nostrils flared reflexively, seeking the source. For the moment, though, she had to secure what she already had. She was grateful to the scientist for giving her the plastic bag. All seven fit in quite easily. She tilted her hands and allowed them to fall into the bag. Even their combined weight meant little to Molly.
“But-ter-scotch?” the 7th grader wondered, out loud. That was her favorite flavor.
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Colonel Simpson had been commander of the Titan base, home of the Sol Federation’s Saturn fleet, for ten years. He did his job very well. He had to, to hide his true beliefs. Humanity had gone back to the evil ways. While his unbelieving subordinates scurried about futilely, he calmly entered a code.
“Sir, is it true?” a young enlisted man whispered. At his superior’s nod, he caressed the symbol in his belt.

The monitors showed images of what was happening in space above them “Colonel! Activate the weapons!!” the panicky second-in-command shouted.

“Corporal, stun the major.” Simpson ordered calmly.

Obeying his commander far faster than he ever had, the enlisted man shot the other officer. “What now, Eminence?” he asked.

“A moment, my son.” The Colonel smiled. Then he turned and said “Computer, program Simpson four-two-niner, password three-M-T-A-three and execute.”

Every control panel shorted out. Only life support and the monitors functioned. Everyone in the dome rushed around looking for the source of the malfunction.
“Eminence, is it wrong to know fear?” the corporal asked.

Giving the youngster a paternal look, Simpson replied “Not at all, my friend. Would you share the view with me?”

“T-thank y-you, s-sir.” He replied, gazing at the three screens that displayed the image of a young girl.

The Colonel’s eyes widened as he, too, looked at the screen “She reminds me of my niece.” He said.

“Respect, Eminence” said the corporal “None of us could look that heavenly.”

Tears of delight leaked from Colonel Simpson’s eyes. He drew the young man’s attention to the left-most screen “Look, my boy, I do believe She has noticed our little world. See… Her Hand is coming this way.”

“What…do you suppose…will She do with us?” the corporal trembled slightly.

Simpson gripped the man’s shoulder “Whatever She wants… Whatever She wants. We are Hers.”
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“So you’re the butterscotch.” said Molly to the approaching ball. It was a very light brown, and much larger than the others that were now secured in her bag. Even still, she realized it wouldn’t even fill her palm. Through the skin of her right hand, the pretty blond felt a chill. She withdrew her hand without touching the little world. “Don’t want you to melt in my hands. Never thought I’d find ice cream here.”
Molly bent slightly at the knees and leaned forward. Her mouth opened widely enough and Molly waited as it rolled along.
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Humanity’s greatest base, carried around as Titan orbited the ringed Planet Saturn, was completely helpless as the moon entered an engulfing darkness. People had been on Titan for over three thousand years. Now, it was gone. Forever.
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Molly’s mouth couldn’t quite open wide enough to allow the little world to enter. Its top and bottom stuck on her rows of perfect teeth. She groaned slightly at the dilemma. Quickly enough, she resolved the minor problem. Bringing her hand to her mouth, Molly gave it a sharp tap with her fingers. Leaving residue on both sets of teeth, the world tumbled in.
Freed to close, the 7th grader’s mouth shut. As it did so, Molly’s taste buds absorbed the flavor and she moaned with pleasure. Other than a little crunch when she chewed, which she liked anyway, Molly decided it was just like ice cream. After she was finished, she felt a little bit of cold drip down her chin. Molly caught the dribble on her finger and licked it clean.

“Well, looks like that’s it for here.” Molly commented. The Saturn system had nothing else large enough for Molly. She made sure the plastic bag was securely on her shoulder and went to retrieve her basketball.
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For once, the Admiral didn’t rebuke the navigator “Well…it appears Titan just didn’t have the time to fire. We will be prepared. Describe this --- creature --- for us.”

“Well, Admiral, she’s … a girl.” Replied Smythe.

Admiral Brown snarled “Sergeant. That is not what I meant.”

“I’m serious, Admiral.” The other woman replied “What we have is an ordinary schoolgirl. Blond hair. Grey eyes. T-Shirt says –something--- Middle School. And, she’s wearing a blue-jean mini-skirt that doesn’t reach her knees---”

Cutting her off, the Admiral roared “SERGEANT!!”

“ADMIRAL!!” Smythe yelled back “One more thing! She’s SIXTY-FOUR THOUSAND MILES TALL!!!”
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“Got her locked on!” the chief firing officer reported. The entire fleet was aimed to fire their primary weapons at the approaching giantess. Everyone near a viewscreen stared in fascination as the Planet Neptune-propelled by a kick-sailed high over the fleet into the Inner Solar System.

Aboard the SFS Panther, young Lt. Panthernight was shaking his head. “This isn’t right.” He argued “She’s a kid.”

“And you would have us allow that monster continue her vorish rampage across our Solar System?” Admiral Brown asked coldly.

Lt. Panthernight turned sullen and muttered “All numbers, huh?”

“Exactly right, Pathernight. Now either shut up or get off the bridge.” Brown fired back. Then ordered, “Captain, put everything but minimal life support into the charge. And fire as soon as the order is sent.”
All the ships, more than two hundred, and each several miles in length lit up with tightly controlled power. As one, or close enough, they cut loose.
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A spot in front of Molly lit up with a bunch of tiny lights. Hundreds of them. The combined flash made her cover her eyes. Molly bounced to her feet to get a closer look. She wondered, out loud “Fireflies?”
Surprised by a sudden, sharp pain Molly gripped her left bicep with her right hand and cried out “OWWW!!”
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It had been decided that one focused beam, right to the gigantic girl’s head, had the best chance of- as the President’s Scientific Advisor put it-“Liquidating the threat.”
Lt. Panthernight was sincere in his belief that the whole thing was rather cold-blooded. And he really believed the “operation” was unnecessary. He couldn’t do much, but he would try. So, just as his ship –which was more powerful than any three others-fired; he restarted the main engine. It robbed the beam of some of its force.

The ship’s pilot screamed in terror and the ship turned wildly “She’s coming this way!!” she panicked.

“Watch those fingers!!!” The massive ships desperately tried to move out of the way. But, none of them had enough time bring their engines back to full power. The incoming hand swept the entire Fleet away as if they were flies. Several exploded as they were caught directly. Crashing into the huge palm, or one if the fingers, the effect was the same.

One ship, the SFS Panther, though not at full power managed to maneuver. It survived, but its fate was a strange one. The ship managed to dodge between two fingers capable of seizing a planet. By accident, the Panther landed on one of the fingers. In the relative calm, the bridge crew watched the huge girl’s face close in.

“We’re on the inside!” Lt. Panthernight yelled. He pushed the pilot out of the way and threw in the controls. The ship avoided destruction by mere seconds. The cause of its near destruction? The gigantic girl was rubbing her cheek.

The navigator didn’t have much time to consider where the ship was going. As it happened, the Sol Federation’s largest ship was speeding down the length of her body. He wasn’t ready for a bump in the huge shirt that was caused by one of the skirt’s belt loops. The Panther slid, out of control, until it caught on something.

“What happened, Lieutenant? Where are we? What is that on the screen?” Admiral Brown demanded. All they could see was a wall of pink flesh.

Under the guise of ‘investigating’ Lt. Panthernight spun the external cameras. He had always liked legs. “Well, I’d say we’re about ten thousand miles above her knee, sir.” He replied. It was the longest stretch of leg flesh he had ever seen. He hid a smile by hunching over the controls. Luckily, he was recording.

“What caught us?” the Captain asked.

The navigator answered “Not sure, sir. Can I look around more?”

“Proceed.”The cameras found that the SFS Panther had been snagged by what was taken for a massive rope several hundred feet thick.

“I guess we’re at the bottom of the skirt we saw her wearing.” Lt. Panthernight thought out loud. “Wonder what’s up that way.” He manipulated the camera controls again.

Everyone on the bridge was completely terrified at the situation. No one protested the change in view. They were all staring at the screen when one of the youngest members of the crew came in and said “WOW! Nice view!”

Panthernight replied unthinkingly “Always been a leg man, myself. Can’t beat the upskirt---Ooooops.”

“I think that will quite enough, Lieutenant.” Admiral Brown declared “Kindly get us moving.”

The navigator hid a blush, replying “Aye, sir.” But nothing happened. Color drained from his face “No response from the engines.”

“Engineer! We need full power!” the Captain bellowed into the intercom.

The response came back defeated “Sir, we don’t have any engines left.”

“You have thirty minutes to repair them, Engineer!” The Admiral snapped.

The reply was chilling “No, sir. You don’t understand. We probably lost our engine a thousand miles back during that collision. There’s nothing to fix. Just a gaping hole in the ship. We’re dead in space.” Humanity’s largest, fastest, most heavily armed super-dreadnaught could only go along for the ride wherever the gigantic girl chose to go. Its crew would be helpless bystanders, witnessing whatever She chose to do.
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After swiping at the fireflies, Molly examined her arm. There was a black mark on her bicep about half the size of a dime. It hurt like hell, but it was fading. She licked a finger and rubbed the spot. That was when she remembered the ring of tiny bits of ice ahead of her. Molly walked up to the edge of the ring and scooped out a handful. She held the collection of ice pellets to her arm. The throbbing quickly faded. Then, just like at the ringed planet, she opened her mouth and drank in her fill.

“I see planets up ahead!” she said gleefully. After a few minutes rest, and another several gulps, Molly set off again. Her destination? The Inner Solar System.
Molly was unaware of the tiny hitchhiker she was bringing with her. The bottom of her blue-jean mini-skirt had a loose thread. Eventually, she’d probably see the little imperfection. But, she would probably never notice the miniscule ship that was hanging from the loop of thread. It swung around on the little loop with each movement of her leg.
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Fifty centuries of progress had passed. In the early years after the Disaster, humans were aided by the catlike Sirians. Now, the two races worked together as equals. There was always a friendly competition as to which race would make the next great discovery. The Sirians had developed the technology to create matter directly from energy. But, humans, who had lost so many planets, improved on the technology and could actually build worlds.
While Venus, now Humanity’s homeworld, filled; the great rebuilding began. First, a replacement Moon was built. It was the easiest since it was the most well known. The new Moon was moved into Earth’s empty orbit by Sirian ships. That was in the year 2615 PD. A new Mars reclaimed its spot in 3067 PD, and finally in 3692 PD a new Earth settled into place with the Moon by its side.

Now, in the year 5000 PD, Venus shared its orbit with three completed, inhabited, planets. Mars had one, directly opposite it. Though, the Red Planet was kept in its original form.
The government, hoping to avoid panic, hid the destruction of the defense fleet. Word got out, mostly from an SOS sent by surviving ship. A civilian, in his own small ship, had sent back pictures that showed the damaged SFS Panther dangling from a girl’s skirt. From far Ymir, one small lonely base revealed the loss of Titan and the massive gaps in Saturn’s rings.
Reporters were quick to wonder why there was so sign, anywhere, that the Fleet had done any damage to the gigantic girl. One thing was clear. Eight worlds had no protection against what was coming. “Mr. President! Mr. President! Who’s to blame for the destruction of our Fleet?” one reporter yelled

The President ignored both and said “Everyone, please remain calm. I am certain this crisis will pass relatively quickly and is no where near as extreme as the rumors say.” Once the shuttle was sealed, the President ordered “Get us the hell off this planet! NOW!”

“Of course, sir.” The shuttle pilot said, saluting. He was also a believer, as was the captain of the Federation’s flagship. He cast his eyes toward space and whispered “Praise to Molly.”
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As if in answer to the prayer, a blond girl emerged from the Asteroid Belt. She walked up to her basketball and told it “You stay here. I’m going to collect some goodies.” She bent over, gave it an affectionate pat, stood again, and headed off. Nothing could stop her. Not even another bunch of nasty fireflies.
“Wow!” Molly exclaimed gleefully. “So many little toy planets! And they’re all mine!” She rushed after the closest one, eager to start her collection. Looking down at her first munchie, she thought how familiar it looked. It rolled along completely unaware of how helpless it was. Molly studied it as it traveled past her feet, within inches of her toes. And the more she looked the more familiar it seemed.

Finally, Molly indulged her curiosity. She lifted her right foot over the little red world, spread her legs enough and placed it in the proper spot. The orbit of Mars carried it from left to right, and as the gigantic girl had placed her foot right in its path, the replacement world rolled into the trap set for it.

“Perfect!” Molly celebrated with a grin. She felt it tap the instep of her foot. Even the tiny hairs on her ankle tingled at the contact. She swore right then, to let all the toy planets come to her rather than snatching them. This red one, though, had her really confused.
Bending down, Molly moved her left hand over the tiny, trapped planet and gently closed her fingers around it. Lifting the strangely familiar ball, she stood again.
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Aboard the SFS Panther, still crippled and hung up on the relatively tiny string, the crew all felt the ship move. Lt. Panthernight twisted the camera controls.

“Well, don’t keep it a secret.” Adm. Brown demanded.

The bridge crew watched in awe as Mars*the Planet* that is–Held by a set of slender fingers, was lifted past the ship.

“What we felt, Admiral,” the Science Officer explained “was the gravity of Mars tugging on us as it passed. Truly fascinating.”

The navigator, turned cameraman, reported “Switching to the probe camera. Wonder what She’ll do with it.”
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“I just can’t believe it.” Molly commented “I ate you. I know I did. Two days ago.”

“Now, how could you be the same?” the huge girl asked. Bringing it close to her face, Molly studied it using eyes that were nearly the same size. Using her free fingers, the curious 7th grader rolled the planet around on her hand. Different parts of the planet presented themselves to her view as she toyed with it. Surprise crossed her face when she realized that it had exactly the same patches of ice on its top and bottom.

Molly couldn’t understand this, at all. “I guess I can’t eat you-” she said to the little red world.
In protest her stomach rumbled again. It even sounded angry.
“Oh..stop it.” She laughed “I was going to say-until after I show it to that scientist. Maybe he can figure out how it came back.”

Molly could now easily see her next munchie. But-as it turned out-this one had a little friend. Molly squealed in delight and bounced up and down. Remembering that she already had possession of one delicacy, the young blond calmed herself. She pushed one of the bag’s handles off of her shoulder, allowing it to fall open. She put the hand holding the red planet into the bag and released it.

She smiled into the bag and said “There, now you won’t be lonely while I get more.” Then she closed the bag and tucked it back into place. The young girl reached her next stop a short time later. And, again, as she stood over the two little munchies, her mouth hung open. She recognized them. This place was full of surprises. One look-a-like was-possible-but now-there were three.

“This is just cool.” She swung the plastic bag off her shoulder and put it down beside her. Then Molly sat with her legs out, pushed them open and waited. The pretty blond watched with a growing smile as the pair rolled through the opening between her feet.

Molly watched as first, the small grey ball rolled past the point of no return. She glanced at the larger, blue-green one. It still had a bit of traveling to do before joining its friend. But it would be hers soon. In the meantime, Molly’s eyes stayed glued to the grey world. It continued its journey, unaware of the trap it was in.

Following its every movement, the gigantic girl licked her lips in anticipation as a planet 2000 miles across rolled into the bare skin of her left leg. Molly felt the gentle impact, like a tiny tap. It hit just at the point where her calf muscle bulged. The muscle twitched involuntarily. She frowned at first, thinking the moment was ruined.

But, the tiny grey world reacted in a surprisingly delightful way. Staying in contact with her skin the entire time, the little thing slid up the length of her calf until it trapped herself inside the bend of Molly’s knee “Awww--Ooops- Poor little planet. Got yourself into something you can’t get out of.” She cooed “Don’t worry, you’re mine now.”

Molly was reaching for the grey world--She was still curious about how it came back. But just as her thumb touched it, the blue-green world attracted her attention. It bumped into her left heel. Her hand moved away from the grey one, it wasn’t going anywhere, anyway. “Guess my leg moved.” Molly concluded “Sorry about that, little planet. Why don’t you come on in.” she offered, invitingly.
She moved her foot, widening the gap again, but the planet just sat there. Molly’s smile faded slightly. Her request turned into an order “I said–COME HERE– Don’t make me grab you.”
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Bouncing off the gigantic girl’s heel had stopped the Earth cold. It was still rotating, but it stayed in the same place.
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“OH well.” Molly sighed after a few seconds. She stretched forward. She had been acting a bit. The cute blond really didn’t mind grabbing the blue-green world. In fact, she rather looked forward to it. “Gotcha!”
Her fingers just barely reached, but it was enough. Actually it worked better than Molly planned. Her toy planet launched itself in a straight line. The gigantic girl emitted a surprised squeak as it buried itself under her skirt.
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The crew of the SFS Panther watched the sudden entry of Planet Earth. Then witnessed a finger and thumb wrap around the globe’s equator, though not quite all the way around. Planet Earth disappeared from the direct view of the ship as it was pulled away.
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Finally, in firm control of both her latest playthings, Molly lifted them to her face. One cradled in each hand.
First, she studied the little grey planet. Molly gently pushed it off her palm and used her fingers to turn it. She studied the tiny globe with eyes that were almost its size. She twisted it this way and that; playing with it for quite a bit longer than it took to see every angle and surface. Her random motion meant she probably saw parts of it a dozen times.
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The crippled warship looked on while the Moon, and then Earth were pushed around, over, and through the gigantic girl’s fingers.
“At least some people are escaping.” The captain observed quietly. That could be seen as ships fled the Girl’s captive worlds.

The Science Officer wondered “What-exactly-is She doing?”

“Well-she looks like a young girl.” Lt. Panthernight offered “So, let’s start there.”

Everyone froze, afraid of how the Admiral would react. Luckily, she approved “Continue, Lieutenant. Any reasonable theory might help.”

“Alright.” The navigator sighed “Any kid likes to investigate something new and different. They’ll flip it around, touch it all over. They’ll stick their fingers in any hole they might find.”

Brown interrupted “And how does this help destroy Her?”

“Ma’am, I doubt we can.” Panthernight replied. Actually, he was sure they couldn’t, but that wouldn’t help. “But, if we could talk to Her…Somehow make Her aware of our existence…Then, she just might go back wherever she came from and never return.”
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Meanwhile, after considerable touching and examination, Molly had definitely decided that these little planets were exactly the same as the ones she munched on just a couple of days ago. She put them down --- one on each leg --- and toyed with them, rolling them all along her bare skin. She was so glad she’d picked out the short skirt today.
As she played with the little planets, Molly wondered how they could be the same ones she’d eaten. Thinking out loud “Well, we do have a mystery on our hands, don’t we, my playthings?” she commented absently. It took a second, but Molly realized what she just said and burst out laughing.

“Welll.l.l, that not true.” She giggled. Then, after picking up the planets and holding them to her face, the cute blond added “It is true that you’re my playthings-But…its not a mystery on our hands. OH noo! You two…you’re the little mysteries-IN-my hands.”

Molly burst out again, that one was even funnier. Her whole body shook with laughter. She didn’t want to damage her toys so she put the planets down in the circle of her legs. The 7th grader could laugh herself silly and they would still be nice and safe. Molly didn’t want them damaged. “I … funny…” she chuckled as the waves of humor faded.
“So…(hehe)…what do ...(haha) … I do, now?” she wondered. Her hands immediately sought the trapped planets. It only took a moment of groping. She was looking off into the distance. But one hand closed around the small grey world. The fingers of her other hand flicked the larger one, bouncing it off her leg. It bounced back into the fingers and she pushed it again. An amused smile settled on her face
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“And… precisely how, …Lieutenant, do we reason with something whose idea of fun is playing basketball with Neptune?” Admiral Brown asked.

“Now, she asks a logical question!” the exasperated navigator groaned.

Brown turned on him and said “That does it! Panthernight Out!”

“Uh-oh. That don’t look good.” He said, ignoring the order.

Looking at the viewscreen, the captain asked “What?”

“Well…” Lt. Panthernight replied “There’s …ahh… one more thing kids tend to do with things they find.” On the viewscreen, the crew watched numbly and came to the same conclusion.
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“Gotta admit, I am feeling a little hungry.” Molly commented “It’s been a while since lunch.” She took a tempting whiff and sighed.
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The blue-green globe sat there, perched on the huge girl’s hand, giving off an aromatic scent. Earth’s fate, plus that of over a billion people still on its surface hung in the balance.
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What finally happened, was that Molly still wanted the mystery solved. She reached over and grabbed the plastic bag that she was carrying around with her. Looking inside, she saw it still held the seven moons she’d taken from the big, ringed world. They were the smallest of the collection. Mars and The Moon, both made fair handfuls.
“I don’t know why.” Molly said to the blue-green world “But you and your little friend are special.”

Getting to her feet, the huge girl added two new planets to her collection. She had only barely decided not to devour the pair. That moment really could have gone either way. Even now, though the bag was closed, Molly couldn’t help bouncing them around. True, the toy planets were fun to play with. But, they were also delicious. “Got nearly a full bag.” She noticed.
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The largest planet in the Inner Solar System was named Europe, after the original continent on Earth. Like all the other inhabited planets, it was built using Sirian/Human technology. It was planned to comfortably support 30 billion people. But, only a century old, Europe carried just ten million.
A long dark shadow fell upon Planet Europe. Very quickly, the shadow completely engulfed the planet. A moment later a hand came in and snatched it out of its orbit.
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Molly didn’t even bother with a close study. “No mystery about you.” She said as she looked down. Stomach grumbling, and mouth watering, the pretty 7th grader bent over and just swept it up. Her left hand caught it and as she stood up, Molly’s right hand came in from above, clamping the planet in place.
Had she taken the time, Molly would’ve noticed the size difference. But, almost before she realized it, Molly had taken three greedy bites out of her latest captive. “Mmm! Tasty!” she exclaimed, still chewing. Her fingers nudged it around a little, displaying an untouched surface.

“Little bit like grapefruit.” She commented, after swallowing. Another bite followed, some juice squirted on her cheeks. While chewing, Molly spotted her next target. It would take a couple of minutes, but that didn’t bother her “Plenty of time to finish you off.” Molly told her meal. Double-checking the bag that contained her collection, she set off.
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Back on the 7th grader’s homeworld, the old scientist who had given Molly her second chance at planet munching had settled himself into a chair and drifted off. His space hole finder fell off his lap with a thud and something inside the gadget crunched. He was woken by the soft thump of a body hitting the floor.
“Dammit!” Molly cursed as she picked herself up.

The scientist ran over to the small girl and fussed “Are you alright, dear?” He gave her arms gentle squeezes by way of checking.
“I’m fine.” She replied, looking down. It had been several hours since Molly had seen anything that was bigger than she was. Redirecting her gaze, she complained “There were still three more!”

Patting her on the head and glancing at the bag, he chuckled lightly “Well…little lady…looks like you’ve already made quite a haul. Maybe you shouldn’t be too greedy.”
“I wanna go back!” Molly snapped “What went wrong?”

Admittedly curious, the old man retrieved his space hole finder and discovered it was dead. He inspected it briefly. “Nothing serious, just a loose connection.”

“Come on!” Molly growled, bouncing on her toes.

“AH!” the delighted scientist exclaimed as he pushed the loose wire back into place.

As soon as the machine came back to life, the green glow reappeared in the room. Molly didn’t hesitate, she wanted those three other planets. She set the plastic bag, full of the other toy worlds she’d found, on the floor and ran through. “Keep an eye on them.” She told the old man “Be right back!”
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A little over a year had passed for Humanity. The aftermath of the Second Coming was still being dealt with. The entire fleet had been wiped out, swatted like so many flies. Saturn’s Rings were seriously reduced in size and the planet’s moon count was reduced from 53 to 39. Two of which were confirmed as eaten.

The Inner Solar System, which had numbered 8 worlds, now numbered 4. The Federation had a new President. The presidential yacht had last been seen flying directly into the gigantic girl’s mouth. Over a thousand members of a fringe cult were jailed or executed.

For months, images of the gigantic girl’s actions were viewed again and again. Top scientists debated the what, how and why of every action.
“I’m a teacher, and I think I can explain.” A member of the audience said. “Though unbelievably huge, as far as I could see Her behavior was that of an average kid playing in and exploring a new playground She---
The show was cut off and in hours pictures of the huge girl vanished from the airwaves.
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The pretty blond girl rarely looked anywhere but down in this wonderful place. So many things to investigate, and play with, and …well…. She just smiled and licked her lips. “Ah-ha!” Molly exclaimed. A dozen long, running strides brought her standing over yet another blue-green goodie.

“Well, you’re a bit more than a handful.” The 7th grader commented. Her hand came down, fingers spread wide and encircled the little world and started lifting it. Molly hadn’t quite decided what she would do with this planet, nor had she fully stood when, shockingly, she got poked in the shoulder. She stammered “HUH! Who?! Wha?!”
The reply, in a girl’s voice, was “Who are you? And what’s more…What’re you doing with MY planets?”

“Say what!?” Molly questioned as she turned. As normal, when she was in this place of toy worlds, Molly looked down. She was in for a surprise…The End, for now