After weeks of preparation and speaking in school classrooms, the crew was ready to leave the pull of Earth’s gravity to join the mothership, which was fully assembled except for the refurbished TNI which would dock with it in the vacuum of space. It was only left to pack their personal belongings, and after a good night’s rest, take off for Olo and destinations unknown.  

“Speaking of packing, did I mention the state-of-the-art laundry facilities aboard the ship?” K. D. asked in passing, “An efficient dishwasher, too.  Our limited water supply will be continuously filtered and reused,” she said. “All moisture within the confines of the ship”.

“And drinking water?” Flash asked.

“Yes, drinking water, too.” she replied.

“What about leaks or spills?” Ash wondered aloud.

“All moisture. If it’s in the ship, it will be recaptured, refiltered and reused. It will water the plants, and all plant material will be composted and reclaimed. Everything must be recycled and reused, including what our bodies consume. As vital as this is on Earth, it is even more important aboard the ship.” K. D. continued,  “There is no other option.”


“Can you imagine what the Earth would be like if we as a race had learned that lesson a couple hundred years earlier?” Flash mused. His dream in the cryo-tube came back to him. So many questions lingered regarding his 10 year journey in the TNI. Questions that didn’t really need answers. Everyone needs a little mystery.  At the end of the day, what are all the answered questions anyway?  They are just over.  Finished.

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.



That night Flash didn’t sleep much. He rarely slept on the night before a trip. He’d have plenty of time to sleep along the way. The schedule of day and night, and breaking life up into 24-hour time periods would lose their relevance soon anyway. His mind raced on ahead of him into the unknown, but no earthbound human being could predict the future any easier. Every life is fraught with change.

Photo by Liz O’Phelan
Today I spoke to the 8th Grade Business Tech class at Cook County Middle School in Grand Marais, MN. Thanks to Jane Gellner and the students for having me. After the speech, we viewed samples of the Flash Meridian blog, projected on that white wall behind me.

Video by Madeline Young

“i want to go with you,” Ash said.



The lead scientist working on the mother ship was named K. D. Bazinga.  She was familiar with the experience of space travel from early childhood, as her father had been an astronaut.  

Everything she knew about technology had been learned while Flash lay in suspended animation, so together they were a seamless storehouse of knowledge.  She talked Flash Meridian and Ash Lander through the finer points of the large craft and explained how the refurbished TNI would dock with it, allowing excursions to the surface of planets without landing the mother ship.



“You would be the perfect person to round out our crew,” the men said, and K. D. happily consented to join them. 



“What’s our time frame?” Flash asked.

“The mother ship had to go up in pieces and be assembled in orbit.  We’ll rendezvous with it in the TNI.  We should be ready to launch soon.” She replied.

“Where to?”  Ash asked. 

“I thought we’d head to the planet Olo,” Flash said. “the sonic pulses have intrigued me for a long time.  I’d like to know if there is any life there.”



“That’s in the Griz-boom region, said K. D., though it’s not really called that anymore. It’s just a speck in the Cornerstone constellation.”

“it was downgraded about the same time as Pluto.” Flash chimed in, impressed at K. D.’s knowledge of the heavens. 

“We’ll have to do a system scan on the TNI”, Ash added, “I have some questions about the electrical system.”



“We have a lot of work to do,” Flash agreed, anxious to move ahead with their launch. 

The following weeks went by quickly as the ground crew and astronauts performed tests on the equipment and readied themselves for the journey that lay before them.

Ash traced an intermittent electrical failure to an auto start component which left hired mechanics perplexed. “Tear it out”, Ash said. “We don’t need it”. A jumble of wire was removed from under the control panel, and the problem was solved. “It’s that much less weight we’ll be carrying, too”, he said, knowing that this would only be an issue until they were free of Earth’s  gravity.

“Auto start?” he muttered, shaking his head.  No one in the hangar claimed it as their idea. 

K. D. charted the route to Olo, scanning for asteroid concentration. The near-Earth debris would be trickier to navigate than the vastness of space along the rest of their path. 

MEANWHILE



A thriving community was established on Mars. Ash and his team had been instrumental in setting up Nomicon’s operation there a decade earlier.

Another new song by Jeremy Chase (Ash Lander), performed on the Flash Meridian set.

Here’s Jeremy performing a new song on the set of The New Adventures Of Flash Meridian. Recorded on my Flip Video Camera and titles added in iMovie.

Last night I saw the movie The Green Hornet. The quick version of my review is that I loved it. I have the original tv show with Van Williams as Britt Reed and Bruce Lee as Kato in my DVD collection, and I even have the original radio show episodes in mp3 format. So yes, I am a nerd. And I am a big fan of superheroes. But those early episodes, while groundbreaking at the time of their original release, seem flat nowadays. No offense. Even the old Superman tv show is dull, and Superman is my favorite. I love it when a new spin is put on an old character, making it relevant to today. I don’t mean simply adding the line “I miss my Nintendo” to William Golding’s Lord of the Flies for the movie version, either.

Seth Rogen plays Britt Reed, who is also the title character, as a lovable buffoon who figures things out eventually, but doesn’t lose that childlike naivety that let’s us relate to him.

One of my favorite messages to dole out in life is “Believe in yourself,” but Seth’s character believes in himself to the point that it made me cringe and fear for his safety. His unspoken reliance on Kato (played by Jay Chou) is like a comic book version of a guardian angel, and I kept routing for Britt to recognize and appreciate his need and Kato’s ability and willingness to help, even though it put his own safety in jeopardy.

So yes, I can see it as a story of redemption. Of love. Integrity. It’s also a really fun way to spend a couple of hilarious hours of entertainment. And I just wouldn’t be Timouth if I didn’t mention the 1965 Chrysler Imperial. The Black Beauty is a star of the movie. It’s cooler than the original but maintains the identity of the car from the TV show.

It’s campy, ridiculous, beautiful and my favorite movie I’ve seen in the theater for a long, long time. Bear in mind, however that my favorite movies include the Austin Powers and Brady Bunch films. I came into this movie with low expectations, while I couldn’t wait to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which, for me, bordered between tedious and anesthetic.

The 3-D in Green Hornet was unnecessary, and distracting in my opinion, but a lot of people seem to like it.

I have a feeling the best is yet to come… I know a happy ending is written for me.

Here’s a clip of a new song by Jeremy Chase (Ash Lander), for the New Adventures of Flash Meridian. Check back later for the full song video. ©2011, Slack Action Demos