The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Flash looked again at the stars on the screen, and thought again about the Shepherdess’ words.  

“This one is you,” she had said. 

Flash wondered what she could have meant by that.  As he stared at the dark area on his screen, his mind wandered back to his dream, and to the strange and beautiful meeting with the star Shepherdess. This was not the first time Flash had encountered a messenger in deep space who had offered guidance.

Although K.D. had plotted a course for Olo, Flash decided to act on a hunch. Perhaps he was responding to a subliminal message he had received in his dream, but it suddenly seemed clear. He changed his course and headed directly for the black hole. 

Maybe he would be lost forever in space… but then again, the Shepherdess said she would keep an eye on him. If he had misunderstood her meaning, surely she would intervene. Maybe he would be crushed… He and his ship compressed to microscopic proportions.  Or maybe this was indeed his path.  There was only one way to find out.  Faith doesn’t always appear to make sense until afterwards when you can see the whole picture. We move backwards through time, in a rear facing seat on the train. We only see where we’ve already been, and not what lies ahead down the tracks.

The K.D. head whirred and clicked, and an alarm sounded, accompanied by a flashing red light to warn of impending danger. 

“It’s alright,” Flash said as he reset the system with the new course.  Everything he did was unprecedented. 

His experience near the Mora Nebula had taught him that things can go wrong even when you are on course. So this was not really such a big gamble. 

His ship gradually accelerated as he approached the incalculable g-forces of the black hole.  Faster and faster, the mothership sped toward the blackness.  Flash was not afraid of the dark. He knew it was darkness that defines the light, and so he hurtled himself headlong into it, and was at peace. 

Anything and everything near the mothership was also caught in this pull, so any objects Flash saw appeared to be standing still. He had learned that the gravity in a black hole was so great that nothing, not even light, could escape it. He had never heard of a person entering one, so this proved to be interesting. As he sat, waiting to see what would happen next, he had an uncanny feeling of Deja vu. A great force that holds light inside…  Could this black hole truly have something beautiful at its center?  

There was no noise other than the usual sounds of his ship. No shaking. Nothing to indicate his speed except for the steadily growing number on the navigational computer. In a single glance, the number doubled… tripled, and showed no signs of slowing down. 

When black hole theorists depicted this on film or in animations, they showed everything as a blur, or all action in slow motion. Flash sighed and looked around the room. It was nothing like that at all. 


Or was it?  

This weekend I ran into Sarah Vaughn, who portrayed twin sisters Crystal Weightless and Gravity in the original adventures of Flash Meridian when she was 15 years old. She is now working on a comic called Sparkshooter. http://www.sparkshooter.com/

Flash Meridian found himself in that state between sleeping and waking. He knew he’d been asleep because he could sense a beautiful dream fading and the tangible details of his ship making themselves known. In this hypnogogic state, the two worlds merged for a bit. The lovely figure from his dream was superimposed over the control panel of the mothership. With his eyes closed, he could see her vibrant form unobstructed by physical objects. If he allowed his eyes to open ever so slightly, he could still see her layered over objects.

He dared not open his eyes further for fear of losing her completely, and he longed to return to that dream, leaving his body to lay, unconscious forever.  Consciousness returned, however, as it always had, but still, Flash lay still and thought of her. He held on to the image of starlight reflecting off of her silver gown. Of her long dark hair against the infinite blackness.  She had kind, soulful eyes that were both beautiful and sad. 

Flash dozed again and she was still there. Stars clung to the hem of her gown like children clamoring for her attention. Or like baby chicks running under a hen for protection. They swirled and played beneath her and Flash wanted desperately to join them. 

“Come,” she said softly and beckoned to Flash. The gentle word hung in the vacuum and grew. It reverberated as it advanced, becoming thunderous, and sweeping over and through Flash. He felt paralyzed, unable to move or speak. “Come,” she said again and the vibrations subsided. 

With a sigh, Flash realized he was waking now.  It couldn’t be stopped. 

“I’ve been searching for you,” Flash heard distinctly, and opened his eyes.  There in his ship, stood the figure from his dream. 

“I don’t understand,” Flash said. 

“I am a shepherdess of the stars,” she said. “They represent those that are lost.”

“Why were you looking for me?” Flash asked.  “I seek the lost, and bring back the strayed. I bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.”


Flash looked up at the stars displayed on the screen and asked “Does one of those stars represent me?”

“These ninety and nine are safe in my care,” she said. Pointing to a dark spot in the heavens, she said “This one is you.”

Flash looked closely at the screen and saw nothing there.

“A black hole?” he asked. “Yes, you are my little black sheep that wandered away. It took me a while to find you again. You have so much light inside you,” the Shepherdess said. 

“Then why am I a black sheep?” Flash asked. 

“First of all, that is a label you put on yourself a long time ago, so you might be the best person to answer that question.  Secondly, it’s not a bad thing to be!  You have a great force inside you that draws light and holds it inside making for a beautiful soul. Some people wear all of their light on the outside, and that expends a lot of energy.  Every day is made of equal parts of light and darkness. Darkness tells us what light is. It defines and delineates it. You can not have one without the other.  Black sheep…  White sheep…  Do you know what I call them?” the Shepherdess asked. 

Flash just looked at her and waited for the answer. 

“Sheep.  I must go now, but I will be watching over you.”

As Flash watched, she faded from his view, and her words echoed in his mind. It’s not a bad thing at all. 

Cook County News Herald, Saturday November 19, 2011

Jane Howard

Flash Meridian, traveler through space and time, is back! He has awakened from a 10 year cryogenic deep freeze during his flight back to Planet Earth, and his new adventures are being chronicled by alter ego Tim Young of Grand Marais. His experiences have remarkable similarities to the issues faced by 21st Century Earthlings and can be followed at http://flashmeridian.blogspot.com.

Flash Meridian, space traveler, moves in and out of time. He wanders the universe, pondering its mysteries. He picks up friends along the way and they float along together sharing what they are not certain is reality or dream.

As a boy, Flash Meridian lived with his parents on a Michigan farm. A contemplative and creative child, Flash always felt a longing for something he could not find in this world. Something he could not even name.

After being cryogenically frozen for the last 10 years, Flash Meridian has reappeared on earth. His alter ego is Tim Young, Grand Marais artist, college student, justice of the peace, caregiver for the elderly, community volunteer, father. Young discovered Flash when a daydream transported him into outer space in his 1962 Chrysler New Yorker wagon, known in the year 2014 as the Trans-Neptunian Interloper (TNI).

Flash is making his reappearance on the web at http://flashmeridian.blogspot.com and on Facebook. Some might describe his saga as an online sci-fi comic strip illustrated by creatively enhanced photos.

Making it into outer space

Tim was born on July 20, which, in 1969, was the day the first man walked on the moon. He grew up with dreams of being an astronaut, which came true when his journey merged with that of Flash Meridian:

Our story begins in the year 2104 when Flash Meridian, a pioneer in the field of warp travel, is lost in the outer reaches of our solar system. With greater distances traveled at greater speeds than ever before, it soon becomes apparent that the margin of error is also much greater than it had been previously. As Flash hurtles ever outward from the sun to deep space beyond our solar system, a search and rescue party is formed to bring him home.

How does Flash feel about being out in space, uncertain of whether he will make it home? “He really doesn’t feel at home here on this planet,” Tim says of Flash. In his cryogenic chamber, however, he falls asleep to the sound of human voices on the radio.

He treasured the opportunity he had to see things most people never saw. It’s just that space is very big.

Flash has a guardian angel who meets him in a dream and guides him through his darkest hours. “Who are you?” Flash asked the face, not yet sure whether she was real or whether she could hear him. “My name is HollyGram,” she answered.

“I am the one who has watched over you. You are my charge. When you were alone, I accompanied you. When you were weary, I brought rest. When you were happy, I celebrated.”

“Flash wasn’t sure what to think of all this. “Were you here in the TNI before?” Flash asked.

“I have always been here,” she replied.

“You put my ship on course. You brought me safely around Pluto… What about when I first went off course?”

“You needed the journey,” she said simply.

…Flash switched off his radio and computer, putting his life in the protective hands of his guardian angel. A sense of peace filled him while all the questions and fears fell away into nothingness.

The constellations Flash now saw fell from her gown, showering his dreams with diamonds.

The new adventures

The new adventures of Flash Meridian contain real life messages – about environmental responsibility, caring for animals, encountering the Divine – that apply to all of us, swirling together through the universe on Spaceship Earth.

Earth hung like a glimmering blue ornament against a backdrop of spangled infinity.

The computer screen read the current date, 1-14-2114. Could it be? Had he slept ten years?

“Welcome back, Flash Meridian,” came the voice through his headset again. “Relax,” it continued. “you are on auto-pilot, and we will bring you in.”

…Like a dream, or the dream of a dream, details eluded him, leaving him to wonder whether he was even now waking or sleeping. In this way, his dream continued to dream him while crews on earth worked around the clock to bring him back.

Flash couldn’t plan the details of his life any more than he could plan his dreams, so it seemed best to just enjoy the journey as it unfolded.

His mind raced on ahead of him into the unknown, but no earthbound human being could predict the future any easier.

…The one thing he knew for sure was that adventure awaited him. The details of that adventure would just have to wait to be seen.

The goal

“This is not work for me,” says Tim. “…This is play. It’s like breathing or dreaming. …It comes out naturally. I call it gripping the moving pen.”

What message does Flash Meridian bring? “Dream your dreams,” Tim answers. “We’re all poorer if you don’t.”

Tim believes that reality can often be portrayed most “real-ly” through art. “I believe we all have untold stories within us that no one else can tell,” Tim says, “and for me, that is what makes the universe infinite. The power of our thoughts and imagination give us an endless source of things to say. Things that are uniquely ours to tell. …What you have inside you is different than what I have inside me, and we need to hear it just as much as you need to tell it.

…You will be criticized along the way. Not everyone likes what I do. Not everyone will like what you do. Not everyone will get what we’re trying to say. So does that mean we shouldn’t say it or do it? No!”

While paying Flash Meridian a visit aboard the Mother Ship, the Procyon pilot was irradiated by a radioactive beam from space…

Instantly, he was transformed to a giant, 20 times his original size!

The saga continues…

Somewhere near the Mora Nebula, a major malfunction occurred…

Flash Meridian investigated the situation

His mission and his life were in jeopardy!

Using his ship’s momentum, Flash powered down all of his equipment and had no choice but to rely on his limited battery power to get him to safety. The poisonous gasses of the Mora Nebula were choking him and clouding his thinking.

As Flash guided his crippled ship away from the toxic Mora Nebula, the cold darkness of space enveloped him. The slightest movement created friction and the hint of warmth. The stars, while flung randomly against the black curtain of infinity, took on a pattern, and Flash came to believe that not one could be moved without destroying the effect of the whole. In this manner, his mind wandered while he piloted the TNI2 toward the mother ship for repair.

Flash looked around the cavernous underground landing strip, with its massive lid made of Martian ore, and a feeling of restlessness filled him.

“On second thought, Eva, I really have to be going. It’s obvious that things are going well here. I’ll just send a video feed to Ash and be on my way. You understand… The stars are calling me.”

“I envy you” Eva answered. But in a few months I’ll be heading back to Earth. Where are you going?”

“I’m heading to a little planet called Olo. I’ve been thinking about it for decades.”

“Olo…” Eva repeated with a far away look in her eyes. “It sounds magical.”

“It’s unique, Flash agreed, but isn’t every place?”

“I suppose.” she said, with a sigh. “The magic seems to wear off when you’re trapped under ground.”

Flash could feel it. An agitation. He had to move on.

Tell K.C. I couldn’t stay. He’s doing a great job here. Alpha Control is impressed with the development, and Colonel Lander really wanted to see it.

“You know this area is named after him, don’t you? This landing complex is built on the site of the original Lander Camp.”

With that, she pointed to a large sign overhead. ASH LANDER INTERPLANETARY TERMINAL.

And the mining operation is named for Krate Azimuth.

Flash smiled, happy that their early participation was recognized in this way.

“They’re pretty much rock stars here,” she said.

“They risked their lives to save me,” Flash mused, “they are real heroes.”

With that, Flash Meridian boarded the TNI2, and as the great roof glided open. He took off, a speck against the gaping window to the heavens. A homing device on his control panel sped him on a direct course for the mother ship which returned to full power as he approached it.

The TNI2 slowed and pivoted, then nestled itself into its mooring on the belly of the gleaming spaceship, and Flash was home.

The mothership had a comforting effect on Flash. He knew that everything he needed was right here, and that the Table of Elements stood by ready to supply him with any nourishment he may need. He felt happy as he emerged through the hatch from the TNI2 and heard the familiar clicking of the K.D. Head.

“How about a cup of coffee?” he asked the whirring orb with its ever changing yet static expressions.

“Certainly. There is an app for that.”

Flash noticed an alert message on the screen and opened it. An animated face appeared, and said “I am Chel-C, Barista to the Stars. What can I get for you today?”

“A nonfat Latte, please,” he said, realizing that this was only a piece of software. The human face seemed to suggest using proper protocol, and he enjoyed this new interface with the elements.

As always, the Flash Meridian saga incorporates the details of my real life. This week I am studying Rest and Sleep for an exam on Thursday.

People have asked me how I fly my cars in space. I gave a very rudimentary answer, realizing that the general population was not looking for a scientific explanation of the use of antimatter to launch and propel vehicles into and through space. Besides, in 2011 this technology is not yet feasible. I recently heard a “Stuff You Should Know” podcast that attempted to explain this, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words. My friend Bill managed to capture a video of his 1968 Dodge Polara being taken into space. If I get a copy of the video I’ll post it here, but here is a still from that footage.

Detectives later surmised that the ship that zeroed in on Bill’s car was from the vicinity of Ursa Minor, since the name Polara is a reference to the Polaris star. Chrysler chose the name in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race during the early 1960s.
One reporter for the Cook County News Herald claimed that the aliens were confused by the Polara nameplate, but Mopar fans like myself understand that these cars are simply out of this world.