Episode 153: Present
You may not have noticed, but there have been other characters present within the story of Flash Meridian’s adventures. They have been here all along, from before the beginning. Like that ghost of a whisper Flash had sensed before meeting Bucket, someone has been lurking in the shadows of every word.
Timo woke one morning with this very thought in his head. Like Flash Meridian, he lay in his comfortable bed. He faded between dreams and a room whose curtains blocked the light of a new day. The drapes were haloed by soft sunlight that seeped in around the edges. It was a friendly light that welcomed him. It was a patient light that allowed him to slip back into dreams, yet offered the possibility of parting the fabric and flooding the room with the full light of day.
Creatures were also present with him, nestled into the bedding, and occasionally making their presence known by shifting positions, or putting their faces so close to Timo’s that he could feel their warm breath on his cheek and nose, or the tickle of their whiskers on his skin.
One of these creatures was white, with black spots that seemed to move independently across his body when he walked, and the other being more eager to communicate, more anxious to play.
Another participant lurked deeper still, a shadow of the shadow beneath the words. While nearly invisible, they were the most important person in this story. Nearly invisible, yet I see you, dear reader, on the other side of the page.
You join with the fishlike aliens, flitting about in the air around me, sometimes sending messages from your table to mine, and I am grateful.
Episode 152: Angel Tree
Suddenly the silence was broken by music. Bucket had followed him, floating above the great chasm Flash had just crossed over.
I found the invisible bridge! Flash called to him.
Yes, you did, Bucket answered, You could have just asked.
You knew where it was?
Of course.
And where am I now?
You are right here, Bucket said.
But am I still on Olo? Flash asked.
Of course.
And can I go back across the bridge?
If you want to.
Flash was unsure what to think. The myths about the bridge seemed exaggerated. He thought it would take him to another world… another dimension. It turns out it was just an ordinary, magic, invisible bridge. Nothing settled on it. No dust or water droplets would collect on its surface, betraying its location. Flash had walked onto it with his eyes closed. It would require a lot of faith to step back onto it with his eyes open. It was completely imperceptible, even though Flash thought he remembered where it was, or what angle it took across the gorge. That chasm was so deep, he could not see the bottom of it. It faded to blackness in its depths, and Flash understood why no one came back that way. The little whale was too small to carry him, so he thought it best to explore on this side of the bridge. He walked, and the calf floated along. They were joined by Bucket and the sphere. This was a part of Olo he had never visited. He followed a narrow path over jagged terrain, high in the mountains. The trail wound its way to the very top of a spire. At the summit, he came upon a tall tree, whose branches spread out like wings on either side. Beings flew about in the treetop. They were not fishes. They were not birds. These were humanoid figures, with broad, feathered wings, and lovely, joyful expressions.
One of these angelic creatures swooped down and alighted in front of Flash Meridian. They stood face to face, and looked into each other’s eyes. Light seemed to emanate from the being. It placed its hand on Flash’s head, and peaceful waves rippled through his body. His inner child felt it, and Flash was reminded again that time was a construct that he had outgrown. He’d seen the picture of his life before crossing the invisible bridge. His life was not linear, but a painting he could move freely about in. The presence of his child self was proof of this. Because Olo was a painting of his life, this pinnacle was also part of him. The winged person didn’t speak. Words were not necessary. It just smiled. When it removed its hand from Flash’s head, all self doubt and concern was gone. Flash felt empty, in the most wondrous way. The being held its cupped hands above its head, and Bucket settled into them, with the sphere still aboard. Bucket and the sphere made soft chirping sounds which grew more exuberant. They sang together, and Bucket was filled with more love than he could hold. The trauma of his past loneliness evaporated into the thin air. The angel then turned to the whale and blessed it, too, before ascending again into the treetop.
With this, Flash began his descent down a staircase which spiraled along the outside of the peak.
One step at a time, he went slowly down the mountain, treading on translucent steps. As they made their downward spiral, they took him around and around, giving him a panoramic view of Olo in every direction. There was no handrail, just a smooth vertical stone wall on one side, and a sheer drop on the other. Flash had to focus, and this kept his head clear, which was his goal when he set out to walk on the plain. He hadn’t realized that he would be making this pilgrimage, and yet, here he was, transfigured, or at least blessed. There was a repetition to this journey. Step after step, nothing seemed to change on the seemingly endless staircase. The whale and Bucket glided patiently by his side. Flash wasn’t bored or discouraged about the distance, nor was he afraid or tired. He thought again of the slow moving transformation that took him from a small child to an old man. When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, he was surprised at how quick the journey seemed to pass.
I thought it would take longer, he said to his companions.
He wasn’t home yet. The foothills and the plains stretched between him and the castle.
The white whale came looking for her calf. When she reached the troupe, she lowered her pectoral flipper to the ground so Flash could climb up onto her back.
They sailed over the forest, and Flash felt refreshed, despite his long trek, and his earlier excursion to the mother ship. The shadows were getting long, and objects were backlit against a colorful curtain of sky.
Flash didn’t tell anyone about finding the invisible bridge. Whenever he heard the tall tales people told after bridge combing, he only listened and smiled, waiting to hear about the chasm and the Angel Tree. Besides, who was he to say the stories he overheard weren’t true? Maybe the experience, like the book, was tailored to the traveler.
Book
The 2nd edition of the Adventures of Flash Meridian includes many new Episodes, illustrations and other F.M. goodies, as well as The Adventures of Mr. Pumpkinhead.
Flash Meridian
Episode 151: Spark
With the pod put safely back in storage, Flash went for a walk. He felt that he needed to clear his head.
He was very fond of the mother ship, which had carried him so far, and through situations that he thought would be the end of him. It was now an empty vessel, devoid of personal belongings, and he had no plan to return to it again. Why would he? There was nowhere he wanted to go. He didn’t remember where the ship came from. Deep inside, he remembered. The way an adult remembers their first step. It’s in there, and began a lifelong journey of steps, like the ones Flash took now. His inner child walked with him, remembering only the cave, and then waking up to spectacular colors and fresh air that surrounded and filled him. Flash’s prehistory was preserved, rather cryptically, on the cave walls. The drawings and paintings withstood time, and the destruction of the planet. There was no urgency to revisit them or understand them. They were safe, and they just were. This moment was all there was. This was the only moment that existed anywhere. It was not the most important, it was all. Flash kept walking. Not to get anywhere, but just to be. He kept putting one foot in front of the other, aware of the beauty beneath him. A patch of diamonds reflected the universe back to him through their facets. Another step, and those joyous lights were replaced by others. He would never see them in the same way again. It wasn’t sad that the diamonds gave way to garnets, and garnets to rubies. They came in and went out of his field of vision the way the sumptuous air entered and exited his lungs. Their only purpose was this moment.
With a clear head, Flash came face to face with a sheer cliff that rose abruptly from the flat ground. He turned to see that he was not alone. The black and white whale calf hung silently in the air.
Tears welled up from deep in his core, and streamed down his cheeks. He was not sad. Not afraid. He was just here in this moment. The calf nuzzled Flash’s shoulder, almost knocking him to the ground. Instinctively, he reached up and scratched the whale’s face. He had thought he was alone. This playful presence reminded him that he was part of it all. He was one spark reflected by a diamond amidst a sea of jewels, his only purpose to shine that sliver of light for a brief moment, whether or not anyone saw it.
Flash found himself at the base of a steep blue cliff, the top of which was the cobalt plateau. He saw no way to climb it, so he turned around and headed back across the plain. He remembered the day he floated up into the sky. It took no effort at all. Once again, he stretched his arms out, closed his eyes, and tilted his head back. The light was bright red through his closed lids, and hot on his skin. He wasn’t trying to fly, or levitate, he was just recalling that feeling on that extraordinary day, while fully experiencing this one. A feeling of gratitude filled him, and it felt almost like floating. Floating high above the painting of his life, and the cast of characters that assisted and accompanied him along the way. The view was incredible, even though his eyes were closed. To one side, he could see the wooly mammoth and saber toothed tiger, surrounded by a ring of giant mammoths who waved lettuce leaves from the ends of their dancing prehensile trunks. Off to the side of them, the mer creature also waved vegetation up to him, gazing up through huge, unblinking eyes. Next to him, an enormous octopus unfurled its tentacles. Whales swam through his field of vision, blocking his view from time to time. An enormous yellow whale passed by, and in its wake, Flash could see still more friends gathering and waving up to him. Archy grinned and patted his suit, and was engulfed in a cloud of dust. The king and queen were there. Aino and Jewely unfurled their wings and rose up from the plain along with a flock of robins and Bucket, who cradled the sphere inside him. Another whale slid into view with Mad and Luuu on its back, laughing and waving. Flash‘s parents and brothers were there, smiling. The shepherd of the stars also looked up, squinting in the bright light. Many others were visible, completing the picture of his life. He carried them all inside of him. His heart seemed to swell and he realized that every one of them was indispensable in getting him here now. He felt like his heart would burst. Placing his hand upon his chest, he felt the child he had been, and still was.
He had been walking with his eyes closed for some time. He felt the firm, flat crystal surface beneath his feet.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a landscape far below him. The view was one of floating, but he felt a solid surface beneath him. He had found the invisible bridge. He was not afraid, yet he had a decision to make. No, he didn’t. Like he had done in the cave, he just kept walking straight ahead.
Even here, he was not alone. The black and white whale calf with migrating spots accompanied him silently, and Flash was glad for the company. When, at last, he reached the other side, he stepped back onto visible ground, and the baby whale, playful as ever, did an arial somersault. Flash laughed, and asked What should we do now?
Episode 150: Anything Else?
Pumpkin season was coming to an end, and the director of the museum had an idea for a new exhibit. When he saw Flash in the cafe one day, he asked him if he had any interesting items from his travels that the Ololian public hadn’t seen yet. Flash thought for a minute, and said Yes, I have a few things in the mother ship. A black furry hide that I picked up on a frozen planet, and a cup that I chiseled out of the ice.
Anything else?
Flash thought hard. He closed his eyes and visualized the interior of the ship.
I could unplug the K.D. Head, he said. No one is using it up there.
And so Flash planned a trip up. He was excited to visit it again. He didn’t miss flying through space with no known destination. He’d done that already. He found his destination on Olo. Still, he had a lot of memories connected to the mother ship.
I’ll look around while I’m up there, and see what else I might have.
Flash told his family about his plans to revisit the mother ship, and asked if anyone would like to join him. Mad and Luuu were busy. Bucket had developed a fear of going back into space. Poikani wasn’t really interested in going, and so once again, Flash was going to go alone. He readied the pod and took off without making a big deal about it. He lifted off and rose high above the crimson plain and the cobalt plateau. The reef like mountain spires towered above him for a moment, but he zoomed past them, rising to a vertical ascent. In no time, the blue sky went black, and he felt the familiar silence and slow motion effect of weightlessness. The homing device on the pod did all the work, drawing him to the mother ship, which awoke after her long slumber, to welcome him.
Flash was flooded with memories of other times he had looked down on the glistening planet he had come to love so much. He understood the images so much better now. When he looked at the fish head, or the woman hanging clothes on the line, he now thought of the friends he had there.
Flash knew he was not leaving like he had twice before, and yet he already missed Olo. He would be right back.
The pod was attracted to the mother ship, and docking happened automatically. He felt a soft thud, and then heard the clicking and slight jostling of the locking mechanism which secured the pod and sealed the hatch.
He floated up into the larger ship, which was down from the pod, as the pod was nestled into the underside of the mother ship.
Upon entry, he immediately saw the black hide, which was draped over his chair. He laughed to himself when he saw the Wizzzer, View Master and Etch-A-Sketch, which he had forgotten about. When he lifted the hide, the Olo ball rolled out, and bounced on the floor.
I might as well have a coffee, he said, and that old friendly voice responded, Certainly.
A cup dropped from somewhere, and the aroma of fresh coffee filled the cabin.
An alarm beeped softly, and turning to the computer screen, he saw that the table of elements was still missing the molecules it took to produce the sphere, the toys and the ruby.
The ruby…. Where is that ruby?
He found it between the cushions near where the toys had been.
For all the familiarity of this spacecraft, Flash felt a little uneasy. He just wanted to get back to Olo.
He finished his coffee, cancelled the alarm and disconnected the K.D. Head.
Come on, sweetheart, he said to the now dormant head like orb, and moved everything into the pod, securing it for the brief trip back.
He did one last scan of the cockpit, partly to see if there was anything he had missed for the museum, and in part because he wasn’t sure if he would see the interior of this ship again. He did see something on the floor under the control panel. He picked it up. It was the joke book prize from the Cracker Jack.
When is clay no longer clay?
He put it in his pocket and floated down into the pod head first, like a slow motion dive, and swam into position in the pilot’s seat. The K.D. Head was strapped into the copilot’s chair. It was strangely quiet, and had no face, being powered down. He remembered the time when this object had been his only companion. It had informed and warned him. It had entertained and comforted him. He simply plugged it into a port on the instrument cluster. It flickered and sprang to life. Simulated life, but you know what I mean.
Flash released the locking mechanism, and the pod tumbled gently from its docking bay.
He had a clear view of the mother ship now. Its lights twinkled against a dark background, and on the underside, it reflected a distorted yet vibrant reverse view of Olo’s surface.
Flash didn’t linger. The pod dropped, and swooped into position to re-enter the atmosphere. Soon he was enveloped by blue light, and sailed high above Olo’s ocean, losing altitude quickly. The speeding pod left a vapor trail in the thickening air as the ground seemed to rise toward him in his descent.
He slowed, and circled the plains, and touched down near the hangar where the pod was kept.
Bucket hovered outside the pod to greet Flash as he stepped onto the sparkling crystal tarmac. He was happy to hold those familiar objects again, and helped Flash deliver them to the museum.
Episode 149: Halo
Bucket was about to present a series of trivia questions that would reveal the locations of Olo’s portals. We know about the one beneath the arch… the one that Flash had used to reunite with Luuu after finding his inner child. This was the one that Archy traversed from the great beyond.
It had been a long game. People were getting tired, and the spaghetti squash wine made everyone forget the questions as soon as they were asked. In fact, they forgot that they were playing a game. Attention turned toward a table where a banquet had been laid out. The location of the portals remained a secret known only by Bucket and the dragons.
Everyone had a good time, and that’s the important thing.
Like the portals, there were other unseen features and objects on Olo.
I’ve told you about the bridges between the spires of the reef like mountains. Well, there was rumored to be an invisible bridge up there, somewhere. It was made of crystal, probably diamond, that was so pure that you couldn’t see it. There were no inclusions, no particulate matter to stop the light, nor did it reflect light, no matter how bright a beam was projected onto it. Imagine solidified air. It was like that, or so it was told. It was solid. You would trip over it, or run into it, if it lay across your path.
The Ololians played a game they called Bridge Combing, where a group would split off in the dark of night to search for it. Later, they would gather at a table, telling fantastic stories of stumbling across the bridge, and tall tales of what happened when they found it.
The invisible bridge was cemented into Ololian culture. Whenever someone transitioned… left their life on Olo for their next chapter, they were said to have crossed the invisible bridge.
Perhaps that’s why no one could find it. Everyone who solved the mystery went across it, and didn’t come back. Whatever lay on the other side of the span must be incredible if no one returned.
The next morning, the courtyard was filled with well wishers who had come to see the king and queen off. Buffy and Skip stepped off a small dock like balcony and onto the back of the white whale. The royal whale was the only one that had retained its original white color. The rest sported every color you could think of. In time, the baby whales were adorned in gradient hues. Deep rich tones at their dorsal ridge faded to a lighter shade of that color on their bellies. When this younger generation began producing offspring, many of them wore dazzling patterns in both of their parents’ colors.
A black whale calf with white spots that seemed to migrate across its body appeared at Flash’s balcony one day. It was too small to carry a rider, and just seemed to want to play or visit. There was something familiar about this little one.
The king and queen were setting off on a tour of Olo. They would fly low, just over the treetops, making sure everything was ok. People would come out of their homes and wave up to them. They would call greetings up to the royal couple, and some of them would ask questions. Without advance warning of where they would eat dinner, the whale would set them down near a table, where they would feast on delicious but simple foods, and immerse themselves in deep conversations. These were diplomatic trips, but without any fanfare or fuss. Buffy and Skip wanted to know how the other Ololians lived, what they thought about, what caused them concern. Their goal was to blend in, though this wasn’t really a possibility. There was always great respect and genuflection, which the couple received graciously.
That black and white calf came back to Flash’s balcony day after day. All of the whales on Olo were friendly, taught by their family to interact with, and allow the people to climb onto their backs. This, and other instructions, were embedded into the language their ancestors knew. Without the whales, Olo would have retained its drab appearance. Their importance could not be overstated. While the king and queen had been on the planet before the transformation, and couldn’t recall another home before coming to Olo, the whales were a part of this landscape, literally emerging from the dusty soil.
One morning, Flash stood on his balcony, watching the morning light rake across the plains. The rays turned the crystals on in silent explosions of brilliant color. The little whale bobbed up and down playfully. Poikani entered Flash’s apartment, looking for the sphere. When he saw the calf, framed by the open doorway, and backlit by the sunrise, forming a halo, he froze. There was something about this young whale, beyond the color and how the patches of white traveled across its body.
Flash had wondered whether this might be Lem, in another form, come back to see him again. Poikani had no doubt.
Something caught Flash’s eye, moving slowly down the foothills toward the cobalt plateau. It was Buffy and Skip, returning home. When they reached the edge of the crystal plain, the calf turned away from the castle and raced to meet them. This was the calf of the royal whale.
The Best Is Yet To Come
It’s a bit strange to think that I have been writing one story for 25 years. Like my life over that time, the story has morphed to fit the lay of the land my path has traversed.
In the early days, I was mentoring creative young people in a wide variety of mediums. Photographs of them were the seed from which The Adventures of Flash Meridian grew. Those young humans also grew, and went off to settle in their own sector of the universe.
I wasn’t done, and so I adapted. My daughter, who was four years old when I began this project, morphed from the powerful little space girl to K.D. Bazinga, to the KD Head, to Flash Meridian’s daughter, living in the mountains of Olo.
I had to find the new characters in my mind, and so I populated my own universe with a floating bucket, a humming sphere, a benevolent king and queen, and my pets, who have comforted me in that world and this one. They have been joined by many others who have flown, swum or walked to my doorway. I lift the iron latch and pull the heavy door open to welcome them in, as I welcome you, reader.
As I, the writer, have gone through the transitions of life, the story has also changed in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. I grieved the losses along the way, unaware that the best was yet to come.
Episode 148: Why Not
On the day Flash first met Buffy and Skip, it was as though they were wearing blinders. They were unable to see the beautiful world around them. They could only see a set of outdated rules that fought to keep them blind. It is natural that foundational teachings would stick. As their eyes slowly adjusted to the light, they had no alternatives. Just pain and disorientation. Flash had felt pity for them, unable to see that he, too, was blind.
Unlike him, they were able to quickly throw off the cloak of tyranny they had been forced to wear. He searched instead for the home he so desired, unaware that the crimson plain was his own welcome mat.
He had wanted to intervene on their behalf. To advocate for them. With all of his uncertainty and fear, he cast himself in the role of champion. Here were two people who survived the destruction of their entire planet, by orbiting above the annihilation of their world. Not only had they survived, they did so smiling and waving.
His let me show you how to… quickly turned to how did you do that? He had left Olo, feeling he was not a hero, but a threat.
He still had lessons to learn on his journey before he was ready to return. There were still others for him to learn from. Lessons of humility and humbleness.
Life on Olo was very different from life on earth. On Olo, there were no corporations. No advertising. There was no greed. Olo had no political parties, no medications, no junk mail. If you offered a television to an Ololian, they would probably ask what is it? When you told them, they would glance at the holograms, and then back at you with a quizzical look. They preferred to live their lives rather than watch simulations of strangers living lives on a screen. They would rather ride a whale than watch a documentary about whales.
I don’t mean to say that everyone on Olo is happy all the time. They feel every emotion. They grieve losses. They avoid uncomfortable situations. They lose their toys. Like I said, it’s just different. I’m not even saying life on Olo is better than life on earth. It’s not a competition. Flash preferred it, though it took some getting used to. Old habits die hard.
Unnecessary ideas and desires were slowly stripped away, and replaced by an Ololian mindset. At the same time, Flash retained his unique individuality. Because Olo was a painting of his life, he couldn’t have felt more at home. Actually, the line between self and the universe had blurred. He was reminded that while he was in the universe, the universe was in his body. He and the universe were one.
Flash hadn’t anticipated what life would be like if Lem transitioned, and went traveling in another dimension… If Bucket, Poikani and the sphere made other friends, and went their separate ways. Oh, they came to visit him in the castle from time to time, or he would meet them in the courtyard or out on the plains, but most of the time, he had to keep himself busy on his own, or with new friends. Change was the one thing that seemed to stay the same. It was that highway of life with its entrance and exit ramps. He just kept drifting down that straight stream. Who was the gondolier that propelled him, silhouetted against the panoramic scenes of his past experiences? He was comfortable on the soft cushions of his rear facing seat, and felt an urgency to appreciate every new day… every new moment he glided effortlessly into and through.
Everyone came to the castle one evening, Bucket, Poikani, the sphere, along with Mad and Luuu, Jewely and Aino. They raised their glasses (all but the sphere) to the wonderful, winding paths that brought them together for whatever time they would share. Bucket led a trivia game, which, thankfully to Jewely and Aino, was comprised mostly of questions about Olo. There were also questions referencing their time in the mother ship, and of their lives before meeting each other. This wasn’t unfair to those who had always lived on Olo. The stories were well known, only these questions went deeper, to lesser known facts hidden beneath, or before the holograms. Often, the subject of the question was the only one who could answer, and everyone else listened eagerly to the new information they would divulge.
A knock sounded from the door to the hallway, and Aino opened it to Eeli and Aada, who asked to join in. Of course they were welcomed with open arms. Any casual onlooker would have no idea that two in the group were royalty. They were just friends who had come to have fun.
Bucket just knew things, the way the book did. Maybe this is what Lem had sensed about him. Such knowledge in another kind of person would be intimidating and potentially dangerous. In someone like Bucket, it was wonderful.
Bucket knew the location of the secret hiding place Flash’s brother had found in the farmhouse when they were children. He knew the exact weight of metal the table of elements was still missing since the production of the sphere. At this, the sphere beeped and whirred loudly. It vibrated until Poikani reassured it with a soft voice and gentle pets. Everyone laughed good naturedly. They played for hours, and then someone (I think it was Eeli) suggested they open a bottle of spaghetti squash wine.
Why not?
Episode 147: Historical Documents
One day, there came a knock at Flash Meridian’s door. When he opened it, the corridor was empty. An envelope lay on a golden tray on the floor. He brought it inside and opened it. Unfolding the paper, he saw that it was an invitation from the king and queen. That very evening, they would host a viewing of historical documents in the library. The ornate lettering swooped about the page in reflective gold ink.
As the light began to fade behind the mountains, Flash made his way down the winding staircase in the tower. Holographic fishlike beings and small, winged humanoid figures swarmed in a cloud above him, darting in and out of focus as night slowly shrouded the castle walls.
Flash felt a growing anticipation. The formality of the invitation was unusual and the cryptic message intrigued him.
To what historical documents could the invitation refer? Olo’s history was told in holograms, which were familiar to everyone. They played out every day, to one degree or another, and were featured even more deliberately on festival days, retelling the cataclysm that inverted the structure of every particle of Olo.
Many new stories populated the history that grew on a daily basis since then, and up to a moment ago.
Could the documents be from another world? Perhaps a gift from the alien king and queen who had recently visited?
With each step, Flash descended deeper into a sense of wonder, and of wondering.
at last, he reached the main level, and passed through galleries that now twinkled only in the light of glowing crystals. Everything was still brightly lit, but the quality of light was different than daylight, of course. One gallery was carpeted in red, with tapestries and paintings in every color, but primarily shades of red. This room was lit by glowing rubies. Another, cloaked in mostly green, was lit by emeralds, and so on.
The library shimmered in every color, but was lit by clear diamonds. The brightness of this room presented in contrast to the softer hues that led to it.
Flash stepped into the library, and the queen approached him, looking radiantly angelic in a white gown.
Thank you for coming, she said in a soft whisper, and touched her cheek to his, first on the left, and then on the right.
Your majesty, he whispered in response.
It was an intimate gathering. No one was excluded, but those who were meant to be there were in attendance. Everyone was welcome, but it was, perhaps, not everyone’s cup of tea. Speaking of tea, Flash was offered a cup, and one was poured for him. The steaming brew was poured for him from an unadorned iron teapot.
When the king welcomed the group, he did so in a soft voice. This was a solemn occasion, and of course, it took place in a library.
He briefly recounted Olo’s much loved and celebrated history, and then, in an even quieter tone, explained that Olo had a prehistory that was not portrayed publicly. It was not broadcast in the courtyard or over the crystal lowland beneath the castle, but kept safe in a vault below the castle.
Not everything from before was lost in the upheaval, he continued, your cave predates that time, he said, looking at Flash.
These few documents also remain. He motioned toward a table, on which three boxes, or cases, sat. Under transparent sheets of diamond, lay the discolored, but still legible sheets. The calligraphy was illuminated by colorful illustrations.
Everyone took their time reading what was written there, which I will share with you now. They read the following:
The Chronicles of Olo
1
Long, long ago and far, far away, there was a planet which was occupied by only two people. The planet Olo, had strict rules banning anything fun. The two remote occupants secretly rebelled in their hearts, against the harsh decrees under which they lived. No music. No touching anything, ever. No self actualization. Just the rulebook, the study of which, took up much of their time and permeated every thought, dictated how they felt and what they were, (and more importantly were not) to do. Below the surface, there lurked something big. Something loud. Something colorful and happy. They were both aware of it but denied that it was there. Like a whale, or a pod of whales, it threatened to surface on their tiny, tiny planet, shattering the only world they had ever known, breaching and blowing crystal fragments into the atmosphere and transforming their dull gray vistas into something resplendent and unrecognizable. They had both found tiny pieces of this crystal in the dirt. They would look at them, wipe the colorless dust from them and hold them up to see the light of stars refracted through the sparkling facets. Marveling at the beauty, they would put the jewels into parcels and send them to each other from a safe and acceptable distance. The tiny planet pulsed with a vibration that spoke to them. The rulebook said that they must stand very still and count the pulses with a waving arm outstretched before them in case they were ever to have to lead a crowd in appreciating the sound. But when they were alone, traversing the dusty surface of Olo, they instinctually responded by laughing, singing and something that almost felt like dancing. This, the rulebook forbade and so they looked away ashamed. “We have everything we need right here in the rulebook,” they droned into the monotonous air. “We are blessed and happy!” their voices echoed. “Happy! Happy!” they bellowed into the emptiness. “Blessed and happy!” they cried, long, long ago and far, far away.
2
The first fragment pulled from the colorless dust of Olo was a white tooth shape. On earth, teeth were generally considered a part of a face. A detail, really, of one feature of the face. What set this tooth apart was that it had a complete face of it’s own. This leads the viewer to contemplate the ramifications of having a complete face on a single tooth. Were a person, dentist or not, to examine the mouth part of the face within the tooth, would they find there a complete set of teeth? If so, would those teeth have faces of their own? One might be caught in a never ending sequence of faces and teeth, caught like the paddler on the river Styx. A green car was also among the initial fragments… The treasures unearthed and sent discreetly… Each holding the mysteries of what lurked beneath the surface. But there the two inhabitants lived, on the surface, heeding the decrees to never go deeper. Still, they felt the rumbling vibrations, and they knew there was something there. Something wonderful. Perhaps something awful, yet they were entranced. While they sat still, as they were taught to do, they felt the tremors that threatened everything they had ever known. They dared not divert their gaze from the rulebook. While their faces stared, oblivious, their hearts raced in anticipation. Face, upon tooth, upon face, upon tooth, upon face, upon tooth, upon face, upon tooth, upon face… And so they dared not move. They dared not divert their gaze. We are happy… Blessed and happy! they droned in spite of themselves.
3
A planet, even a small planet, is a big place for two people to live all alone. They had been told that they were never truly alone, but that the writer of the rulebook watched them every moment, keeping an account of their every deed so that one day he could judge them. And so they learned to act correctly at times. Still, a part of them wanted to act incorrectly, disturbing the tranquility of the planet with loud voices, blue jeans, laughter and tennis shoes. The young man even considered eating a Wednesday evening meal without wearing a necktie, though of course he didn’t say this out loud. The steady, rhythmic waves were continuous and unchanging, though they seemed louder when there was no other sound to compete with them. The young Ololians sometimes wondered how it might be if a syncopated beat were added. Or a touch of discord every once in a while. “We choose rather to err on the side of boredom. We choose the bare minimum. We choose what is outdated because it has stood the test of time.” Heads bowed to the colorless dust that choked them, they chanted “Blandness… blandness… We are happy and bland… I mean blessed.”
Here was a part of the story Flash had not read in the book. He had wondered how Buffy and Skip could have gotten such a different message than he had on that first day when he walked the yellow path away from his spaceship. His eyes welled up with tears. There were hidden chapters of his own life that he had kept private as well. Their vulnerability and nobility in sharing these sacred documents made him love and respect the royal couple even more. More than he could express.