85 A Sudden Joy

Suddenly, Flash realized why the faces in the crowd looked so familiar. He recognized first one face, and then another. A haunted feeling overcame him. These were the faces of people he had known on Earth. He had not only known them, but these were people he held resentment toward.

They smiled and waved at him, and Flash swallowed hard. Lingering disappointments and misunderstandings flooded his mind. Dormant grievances bubbled up into his conscious mind for the first time in decades, and he was surprised by the freshness and clarity of the memories.

They cheered and welcomed him, unaware of the bitterness Flash recalled upon seeing them.

These thoughts were not all-consuming, but ran in the background, a soundtrack to the colorful Ololian vistas, and otherwise celebratory mood. Some of these real or imagined wrongs stemmed from so far back in Flash’s history that they formed part of the foundation of his life. He wanted to forgive and thus release himself from the cynicism he felt.

And so Flash smiled and waved at the dissipating crowd, dotted with the shadows of hovering whales, and pierced by brilliant beams of colored light.

Flash caught the gaze of a woman who stood nearby, and he approached her.

“I know you,” he said.

“I love you,” she replied, and embraced him.

They stood for a few moments in each others’ arms, and the hurt seemed to melt away.

“You love me?” Flash asked.

“I have always loved you.”

Flash only looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. He remembered being dismissed and avoided by her. He remembered the reprimands and accusations leveled by her.

Yes, he remembered, but it no longer mattered. He found that without trying or even realizing it, he had forgiven everyone. The injustices he had taken so personally actually had nothing to do with him. These happy, cheering people were unaware that he even harbored bad feelings toward them.

Flash felt a lightness in his spirit, and he was as happy to see these people from his past as they were to see him.

Maybe it was something in Olo’s atmosphere, but here another major transformation had taken place with a suddenness and ease.

The colors of Olo suddenly seemed brighter, the hues more saturated and beautiful.

Even his physical body felt lighter. The sadness of his daughter’s departure dissipated. Flash closed his eyes and basked in the light, feeling the warm and cool beams penetrating his flesh. He delighted in the sensation while a wash of color illuminated his closed eyelids. Everything else seemed to fall away. Attachment and desire, plans and worry were dispelled in the breeze.

When Flash opened his eyes again, he found himself hovering, like the whales, above the glorious stretch of crystal. Below him, loved ones waved, and their happy voices faded as he rose.

Flash wasn’t afraid, suspended high in the air. He had actually had dreams of just this… flying with no machine or glider holding him aloft. This was very different than experiencing weightlessness in a spaceship, or during extra vehicular activities.

The people on the ground looked small from this height, but Flash Meridian was not alone. A young whale approached him, curious, and when it came within arms reach, he stroked it with his fingertips. It’s gentle eye looked wise and Flash wondered to himself whether it was the power of forgiveness that made them lighter than air.

The TNI2 looked like a toy from this height, and he could see the huge images in the land that one was unaware of when standing on them.

He had no goal in mind. No destination. Flash just reveled in the moment. The thought crossed his mind that every single moment is unique. Life is not a path or journey, but an opportunity to enjoy in the here and now.

True, some moments are more unique than others. Less predictable, at any rate.

We don’t always realize the power that we have. The influence. Our actions send ripples out that may reach distant shores, bringing gifts that we were unaware of.

We don’t ride the fabric of the universe, we are a stitch within it. Do you feel out of place? Impossible.

Arts & Culture | Will Moore- Fri, 04/14/2017 – 12:31pm

In 2000, Tim Young began the adventures of Flash Meridian – an ongoing episodic sci-fi story accompanied by comic book style artwork and local music. It’s been 17 years, but Flash is still around, and Young feels more connected with his character than ever. WTIP’s Will Moore brings us a look into the story’s origins and Young’s creative process.

wtip.org

84 Welcome Home

There was so much to take in. The cheering crowd, the laser lights, the whale, the royal couple. But Flash was focused on the baby.

Lem stayed in the ship while Peck disembarked and wandered into the crowd.

When Flash stepped out from the shadow of the TNI2, the colors bounced off of his silver suit, and he was engulfed in intense beams of dancing light.

At first, the light felt hot and seemed to shoot right through his body. Then he noticed that the blue beams pierced him with a cool sensation. Each color had its own temperature. This was secondary to the dazzling visual effect, and he took it all in as he walked toward Buffy and Skip. The baby stared, wide eyed at the happy commotion. Lem remained aboard the pod.

The King and Queen were in their finery, perched upon the back of the white whale, surrounded by their adoring subjects. Flash could not help noticing how different they appeared than the last time he saw them. Their confidence was apparent.

These thoughts bubbled up through his mind effortlessly, and then dissipated, laying the mental groundwork for everything else he would see and hear.

The whale tipped forward, gently lowering its rostrum toward the ground, and its tail fluke waved slowly in the air above the throng. As the riders slid, arm in arm, down the dorsal ridge, their royal robes fluttered and billowed. Moments later, they stood before Flash Meridian in the very spot where they had first met. The three shared a firm embrace, and the accolades from the masses were deafening.

In retrospect, Flash likened it to John Frum’s return to the island of Tanna, an historical fact, which many in the 21st century had dismissed as misguided fantasy.

The trio then turned, to look out over the crowd, waving.

Skip leaned toward Flash and said “welcome home.”

The whales began dipping their noses or pectoral flippers to the ground, allowing the people to climb up onto their backs.

At first glance, as Flash looked out over the Ololians gathered on the crystal plain, they seemed familiar to him. He had a feeling of déjà vu which flickered noticeably in his mind, but passed with the commotion of the scene.

The baby became heavy, and Flash’s arm began to ache. So much so, that he had to put her down. He was shocked to see that she could stand on her own. She looked so big standing in front of him. Whenever he glanced away, and then looked back again, she was bigger than she had been only a moment before. Was it something in the Ololian atmosphere that was causing this rapid development?

Flash turned to Buffy and Skip in a panic, and said “Look at my daughter! She has suddenly grown so big!”

Skip only smiled and said “Isn’t it funny how they do that?” And waved to the crowd.

Flash looked at Mad and said “I’m not ready for you to grow up yet.” But it was too late. An adult woman looked back at him.

The crowd began to disperse, and Flash said “What should we do now?”

“I’m going to the mountains,” Mad said, pointing toward the colorful peaks in the distance, and with that, she was gone.

What could Flash do? He loved his child, but she had grown so quickly, and left him standing there.

Buffy noticed the bemused look on his face and asked “what’s the matter?”

“Everything has changed,” Flash said.

Buffy only laughed and reminded him “You are on Olo. Everything changes here.”

It was true. Flash had seen the entire planet transform from a dull gray sphere into a vibrant paradise before his very eyes. In the short time he had been away, throngs of people had appeared where there had been a population of only two.

“You have to accept the changes,” The queen continued. “It won’t ever be the way it was. Enjoy every day. Every minute. Every breath, because the next one will be different than the last. Every breath, no matter how sweet, must be exhaled to make room for the next one. You are packing a lot of life into a short time.”

Her words resonated with Flash. He couldn’t be sad that his child had left. He was happy that she had come into his life at all. She was a portent of more wonderful experiences that still awaited him.

83 Fanfare

The fanfare of the whales heralded Flash’s return to Olo. As the group drew nearer to the outer layer of atmosphere, the smaller whales dove through into the bubble of air. They stirred the surface so that wisps of vapor rose into the vacuum and then dissipated back into the exosphere. Larger whales followed, plunging into the air, and began their descent toward the planet’s surface. Flash parked the mother ship in orbit and watched them for a while before preparing to enter the TNI2.

He had to pack things for the baby. Peck and Lem didn’t need anything.

Flash was reminded once again of childhood family vacations. His mother would remind Flash and his brothers to use the bathroom before they embarked on a road trip, and she always prepared a bag of snacks.

Flash looked around the cockpit, and was amazed by the unlikely family he had assembled.

You could say they were his chosen family, but upon reflection, he had not chosen any of them. They had chosen him. Sensitive Lem, impulsive Peck, and baby Mad who was the offspring of his heart.

I love all of you, Flash said as he opened the hatch to the awaiting pod.

The mother ship was flooded with light, and sweet Olo filled the view from the greenhouse.

Flash floated through the hatch with the baby in his arms. She cooed as he secured her for the trip, and covered her with the hide. Peck and Lem followed.

The TNI2 was jettisoned from the larger ship as the last whales followed the others down.

None of them knew quite what to expect. This was a concern for Lem, but not for Peck, who strained to see, wide eyed and trembling with excitement.

Flash opened the book to calm Lem’s mind.

He read aloud that the Ololians were gathering on the great plane. The first of the whales were coming into view, and the whole planet celebrated their return. Across the plateau, the inhabitants of Olo built structures out of gems. Some assembled buildings, while others created sculptures, depending on how the pieces fit together.

Flash held the book up so that Lem could see images of the colorful edifices which danced in vivid, saturated light.

Many were elaborate with ornate features, but even the simplest pieces arranged by children made a strong and vivid impression.

Each crystal was mesmerizing in itself.

The blood red ruby that Flash saw in his first hour on Olo caught his attention even in its darkened state, but when he raised it into the light, it enchanted him.

A television set can be a beautiful piece of furniture, but when you turn it on, it can transport you with stories brought to life by light.

The Ololians were masters of the art of turning these stones on.

Flash closed the book as the TNI2 grazed the outer atmosphere.

The baby was asleep by the time the TNI2 descended into the air.

Flash could make out familiar shapes on the the painted surface of Olo, and the approach felt like a homecoming, even though he had only been there once before.

The colorful ground appeared in greater detail as they fell, and soon Flash could make out the towers, the castle, and their landing site on the plain.

It was a cloudless day, and the plateau shimmered in the full light of afternoon.

The whales hung like chromatic clouds over the merry crowd below. Everyone felt a joyous abandon as all eyes turned upward.

Something was moving through the midst of the happy throng, which parted for it.

A pure white whale glided just above ground level, and on its back sat Buffy and Skip, the queen and king of Olo. The hovering whales also parted as the TNI2 approached.

The small spaceship touched down where the colors all came together, near the small crystal castle that the royal couple had assembled.

Flash unfastened the baby and opened the hatch. Everything shimmered in the reflected light of crystals. The dancing colors were brighter than before because the structures that dotted the area were beacons focusing the light onto the ground below. The light was intensified and then reflected back up into the sky and on the underside of everything.

82 Mad

Happy birthday Madeline!

Flash felt happy journeying through space with his child and his friends. He felt fulfilled and content. The time passed quickly, and suddenly one day, he looked up to see Olo shimmering on his viewing screen. The trip back always seems to go so much quicker than the trip out.

Flash held the baby up to the window. She reached out toward the rainbow colored sphere as though it were a toy, and this gave Flash an idea. He called upon the table of elements and asked for a tiny, soft replica of Olo. Out bounced a rubber ball, that was a detailed globe of the actual planet. The closer Flash looked at it, the more detail he saw. With a magnifying glass, he found the cobalt plateau where he had touched down. The baby just put the ball to her mouth, cooing and giggling. Peck looked on with interest, and Lem napped.

Watching the baby with the ball, Flash noticed how quickly the baby was growing. When she first came, she mostly just slept and ate. Now, she looked at things. Sometimes she grasped things and put them in her mouth, as she did with the Olo ball. At times, she looked so intently at Peck and Lem, that Flash felt sure there was an unheard conversation going on between them. Come to think of it, the baby communicated with him non verbally, too.

This all crossed his mind while he gazed out on the surface of Olo. This colorful little planet had changed so much, so quickly. What did it mean? Then he realized how quickly he was changing, too. Like the whales had done with Olo, his daughter had brought color into his life, and he knew he would never be the same again.

Flash thought of how short a human lifetime is, especially as he looked out on the universe. It goes by in the blink of an eye. It seemed to Flash that no time had passed since he was a tiny baby like this one.

Nothing ever stayed the same.

I’m a completely different person than I was when I left Earth, he mused aloud to Peck and Lem. And yet, he said, looking at the baby, in a way, I haven’t changed much at all since I was her size.

I’m just mad about you,

he said to the child who was teething on Olo.

As the mother ship sailed closer to its destination, Flash’s anticipation grew.

He bounced the baby on his knee and read to her from the Ololian book. Lem an Peck listened along. They all longed to set down and experience that world in the flesh.

It was no real surprise to Flash when his radar screen detected a group of objects approaching his ship from behind. What did surprise him was the size of the group. Nearly one hundred whales, from huge bulls to newborn calves gained upon him until finally the pod surrounded him.

These whales looked different than the dozen he had seen when he left. No longer snow white, they sparkled in bright color, each in its own hue.

The little calves, which were about the size of the TNI2, playfully circled the mother ship, and then darted away, flipping their bodies into weightless somersaults before coming back to do it again.

By this time, Olo dominated the view from the mother ship. Superimposed over the brilliant landscape, were rich tones in the shape of whale bodies. At times a large whale came close to the spaceship, eclipsing Olo completely.

Then an enormous yellow whale moved into position facing the viewing screen. The inhabitants of the ship could see nothing but yellow, until the front of the whale began to dip, and The planet seemed to rise above the dorsal horizon of the giant. Once again, the song began. Those ancient tones that Flash knew so well, sounded more joyous than before, and once again, he was spellbound. The baby stared, wide eyed and silent, and it seemed she forgot about the Olo ball she still clutched with her tiny fingers.

The song grew as another whale joined in, magnifying the sound in a way that Flash would never have thought possible.

More large whales joined the chorus. The calves rolled and played, making clicking sounds as they learned the language of their ancestors.

I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of love, light, peace and joy. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are one.

81 Cardiomyocytes

Flash Meridian and Peck explored the lifeless planet from above. The experience reminded Flash of footage he had seen of submersibles exploring deep ocean shipwrecks. The difference was that even the most inhospitable regions of earth teemed with life. Tube worms and blind shrimp crowded the edges of thermal vents deep below the surface of the sea. Here on Ino, no living thing stirred.

I’ve seen enough, Peck said, and so the pod rose, leaving the desolate landscape behind.

The mothership gleamed and blinked not only guide lights for docking the TNI2, but also a welcome to the travelers returning home.

The small craft once again chased its host ship in orbit until it was in position to slowly, gently dock and be secured into its moorings.

The silver hatch opened, and Lem peered down at Peck and Flash.

Anything? she asked, wide eyed.

Nothing, Peck answered.

They floated up into the cockpit of the mothership, and immediately noticed that something was different.

A bright object hovered above the control panel, and Flash recognized it as one of the sparks that swam like fishes after Lem and Peck arrived.

It was hard to see details, it was so bright, but Flash moved closer and his eyes adjusted. It did not look like a fish anymore. It looked like a human baby.

Flash instinctively pulled it close to him. He felt connected to it, and just stared at it.

He instantly felt a bond with it that he did not question.

I can’t explain it, he said to Lem, I feel so connected to it.

That’s because it is your child, Lem returned.

How is that possible?

Sperm and eggs are not the only cells that can make your children, Lem explained, this child was made from cells of your heart.

Time stood still for Flash Meridian now that his daughter had come into the universe. He found himself just staring at her, and everything else went away. Millions of years of evolution had led to this. He was destined to fly through space, and so privileged to see the wonders of the universe first hand, but his purpose was for the cells of his heart to have offspring. Flash always seemed to do things in an unconventional way. So what? His dreams were coming true.

As Flash sped back towards Olo, he passed Pangea, the ocean planet and the frozen planet, all of which were important on his journey, but he barely noticed. To Flash, the most beautiful thing in the universe was the little bundle of stardust he held in his arms.

80 Ino

Flash felt like everything was coming together for him. He just needed to stay the course.

The mother ship sped toward Olo, and Flash enjoyed the trip. Lem and Peck kept him company, and they looked forward to seeing Olo for the first time.

Midway through their journey, Flash noticed that Peck was staring out the window. He seemed distracted, so Flash asked him What is it, Peck?

That is our planet, Ino, he responded with what sounded like a whimper. Flash looked out and saw a gray sphere. It looked forlorn. Lem did not join them at the window.

Would it be safe to visit? Flash asked.

It’s a dead place.

Is it safe? Flash asked.

Peck only shrugged.

We would be safe in the TNI2, Flash offered, Would you like to see it again?

And so it was decided that they would visit Peck and Lem’s former home.

Flash was curious. Peck and Lem were filled with cautious nostalgia.

The planet looked empty. Its gray surface reminded Flash of Earth’s own moon.

Peck looked forward to seeing the old place again, and talked excitedly about what life had been like there, in happier times.

Lem remained quiet, and told Flash I know it won’t be the same.

Peck described carefree days playing with his friends, the cozy house he shared with his family, the lush green landscape.

Flash had a hard time picturing anything living on the barren sphere they were approaching. Even the atmosphere was gone.

We won’t touch down, he announced.

Flash parked the mothership in orbit high above the bland stillness of tiny Ino, and couldn’t help thinking of the first time he saw Olo. What Flash took to be destruction then, turned out to be rebirth. He longed for something similar to happen here.

So much sadness enveloped this place. It hung in eerie silence. Flash and Peck prepared to enter the TNI2 to pay their respects. Lem would stay aboard the mother ship. She looked through the hatch as the other two readied the pod. She stared, frozen, when she saw the view of Ino scrolling by below them.

Lem, he said, and reached up to stroke her soft neck. She turned away, the hatch closed, and the two felt a soft bump as the pod was jettisoned. They dropped with no atmospheric friction, and cruised over a desolate expanse of gray.

I don’t recognize anything, Peck whispered.

They flew over a plain of flat rock that was broken up by what at first looked like boulders or mounds. Circling the area, Flash saw openings on the other side of the features, and realized that they were structures. Buildings.

That is my home, Peck stated. Or was my home.

Rows of vacant buildings stood, crumbling, with empty doorways and windows that looked out to the nothingness, like open mouths and gaping eye sockets.

A ping sounded, accompanied by a message on the computer screen. Here in the endless night through which Flash traveled, he was reminded that back on Earth, in the cycle of day and night of his home planet, it was his birthday.

It’s never too late for a new beginning.

79 Arc

It occurred to Flash that he may have made a mistake leaving Olo. He understood that mistakes are only made in hindsight. In any given situation, we do the best we can, and when faced with a choice, the strongest motivator wins out. Buffy and Skip had been the only other residents, so there was no place for him. Now, those who had been dormant had risen from the ground, and many others had been attracted, as he had, to the beautiful little planet. Was he too hasty in departing?

He longed for the colorful planet which had attracted him since before its transformation, and he read in the pages of the Ololian book that its inhabitants longed for him, too.

An uneasiness came over Flash Meridian. He was no longer satisfied to be alone in the mothership which had been his home for so long.

Every second, he sped further from Olo, with no destination in mind.

He glanced at the K. D. head for a moment, and then instructed it “Take me back to Olo.”

The ship began a subtle but definite change of course, arcing in an enormous curve that would send him back in the direction he had come. Unlike the violent slingshot he had chanced in the original TNI, this was practically imperceptible. Not as agile as the TNI2, at least the mothership was maneuverable.

There was more gravity pulling Flash deep into the cushions of his chair, and his arms felt heavy, but when the ship eventually pulled out of the turn, everything seemed exactly as it had been before. Nothing had changed, yet everything had changed. For the first time since escaping the black hole, Flash knew where he was headed.

It would be a long trip, but not as long as a journey into nothingness.

The ship knew the way back to Olo, so, in a way, Flash felt like he was just along for the ride. He could eat, read, exercise and sleep while the onboard computer did all the work.

The trip now reminded Flash of summer vacations he took with his family when he was a child. Not only because of the anticipation he felt about his destination, but also because those were carefree road trips with his father at the wheel. His mother would say “Go to sleep, and when you wake up, maybe we will be at Grammy’s house.”

Flash was so anxious to arrive at his destination now, he told himself

Try as he might, Flash was unable to fall asleep. He reached for the book. Before opening it, he looked at the cover, remembering the day he retrieved it. It had been so precious to Buffy and Skip, and then they cast it aside. Now it had become precious to Flash.

He couldn’t understand how a book could speak so specifically to him, or how a book could write itself the way this one did.

Parts of the book read like movie scripts, telling of colorful characters and grand adventures. Other parts of the book read like an Ololian newspaper. Still other parts were like personal letters from loved ones. He could always find what he needed in the book.

One thing he never saw in its pages was a list of rules.