There are many worlds willed into existence by a sudden burst of energy, by the stroke of a pen swaying on paper, life emerging on a canvas, or ideas set in motion. All destined for a greater cause yet the universe spins out of control, why? By the will of influences hidden in secrets no one was meant to know, but do? How is anyone to know? Professor Knows, “Glad of you to come,” he welcomed a group of five young faces as they entered a bright extensive lab. Tables decked in chemistry with tubes twenty inches high cluttered the surface. Sweet aromas enticed their curiosity as the professor lectured a quick tour around the lab, herding them along.
Data scrolled in every monitor at
every station while chimes of unstable chemicals boiling into one harmonized in
the air. The kids wondered in amazement as the professor opened their minds to
endless possibilities. Fumes rose from their glass tubes as it swirled into
miniature tornadoes, vanishing in midair then fading in a dim cry. “Remember
kids,” the professor concluded as they reached the end of the tour, “The
solution to any problem is always simple, only our teachers cloud our better
judgment with their corruption,” he paused, “Or was it our leaders who teach, what’s
the difference?”
Two blue rubber gloves came out from
the side of his coat pocket as he turned to reach for a cylinder oozing fog.
“Behold,” he pronounced as he turned back around, “The power of the universe.”
He held the small cylinder with tongs up high in the air for them to praise but
the kids remained silent, unamused. The professor kept the cylinder up high in
the air, allowing them time to process his bold statement. He stood waiting,
looking around to puzzled faces, and still another minute of silence.
“Behold the power, the power of the
universe,” he repeated but to same results. He leveled the cylinder down by his
side and pondered for a moment. The kids turned to one another with the same
question in mind. “Of course,” he mumbled underneath his breath as he made his
way around the table. He carefully set the cylinder down on its podium then dramatically
began signing his statement out loud.
“We’re not deaf.” said the oldest of
the bunch, Riler. The others smirked and giggle.
“Very well then.” the professor replied
with a sigh of relief.
“What exactly were you holding?” asked
a girl who stood in the back, Ali.
“Good of you to ask,” he answered enthusiastically,
“Behold, the power of the universe.” He sarcastically gestured them over,
“Gather children, gather.” The kids huddled by the table as the professor
explained the mysteries behind the cosmos. Scrolls magically unfolded, spilling
onto the floor with letters sliding in the end, stating theories and thesis.
The kids drifted into space as he began to write mathematical formulas on the
blackboard, solving advanced algebraic equations far beyond their youthful minds
could comprehend.
“And thus, by countering the pull of
gravity to the tangents of space I was able to create a chemical engineered
element capable of opening a wormhole to another dimension. It’s simple Physics
simplified to a more advanced basis really.” He leaned back to double check the symbols he had written on the board. The symbols represented a message read
in science and alchemy. The kids did their best to follow the professor but
were too lost to even ask.
“You’re just making things up.” interrupted
the second oldest, Miles.
“Am I?” the professor answered,
“Who’s wearing the coat then?”
“How would you know if it works?” questioned
Noel, a shy but intuitive boy.
“But of course it works!” proclaimed
the professor. “Has history not taught you that?”
“Prove it then.” Riler suggested.
“Such eager minds yearning for answers,”
Knows replied, “And the people wonder why they’re being monitored.” He grasped
the cylinder with the tongs again then added, “You might want to step back, if
any of the slime gets in your skin while…” he sparked an alarm amongst the group,
“Just stand back, okay?” In an instant the chemical splattered all over the
blackboard, simmering as it spread.
The kids gasped as the splatter
morphed into breathing swirling colors of deep green in shades of blue. Slowly
and magically, the slime grew into a glob engulfing the board with its portal;
opening a dimension behind its veil. They stood in awe for no words came to
mind. “Who dares knock at devils door,” he turned to look at the kids, “What do
you say?” He asked the littlest of the crew, Zoh.
Each turned to one another, asking
without saying, questioning their fear as curiosity called their name. The
professor stood by the portal, arm out, waiting for someone to answer his plea.
Zoh reached for the professor and the others followed soon after. Together,
they stepped into the swirling breathing whirlpool and entered a vast field of
bright flowers riddled in oceanic green hills. Riler turned and noticed the
portal was gone, replaced by a tree as massive as the eye could see.
“Where is it?” Riler scouted through
the vines, searching for the way back home. “Where’s the portal?”
“Gone, apparently.” was the professors reply. “No point in fussing about it now. Let’s just keep moving forward.”
“To where?” Ali asked in her small
little voice.
“To the horizon.”
Noel was the first to venture off into
the fields, disappearing among the flower beds of an unknown Eden. “Stay close
kids,” the professor instructed as he observed the missing particles in the air.
The girls hung by the shades of a massive rose bush while they braided their hair,
interweaving them with mesmerizing pedals and twigs. Riler nagged at the
professor as Miles watched Noel be lead into the wild by a mysterious invisible
butterfly. Noel was gone before he knew it, but to where they never knew. Wind swift
by while Miles stood dazed. He turned to the group who seemed lost in their own
special haven.
“Wait, guys Noel is gone.” Miles slowly
addressed the situation at hand.
“But I had said to stay close,” the
professor replied as he stood next to Miles, scouting the perimeter.
“Where exactly would he have gone
though,” questioned Riler. “There’s nothing but flower beds and mountain hills.”
“I think I saw him over there,”
added Ali pointing to the opposite direction. The professor took a look at the
direction Ali mentioned and became puzzled. Riler prompt him to make a
decision, prolonging his clarity for a solution. At last the debacle was
settled, Ali lead the way with the professor and the others following behind, venturing
deeper into the fields, passing an array of beautiful flowers in a variety of hypnotic
colors.
The search party came to an abrupt
end as the grass swallowed them whole, sinking them deep into the sea. They
were running out of air but they couldn't break the surface. It wouldn’t be
long before they reached the bottom of the ocean when they suddenly realized
they were never sinking, they were upside down; swimming to the ocean bed
towards a sharp metal spear that broke in the abyss. They balanced themselves in
the water, figuring what was up and what was down. The professor swam towards
the spear when a school of bubbles caught his attention.
Riler couldn't hold his breath any
longer as he desperately kicked in the sea. They each swam to his aid to
prevent him from breathing in the ocean but they were too late. Riler gasped
for air, swallowing the ocean whole. Surprisingly, the water tasted just like
air. A question appeared in the professors face when Ali, Zoh and Miles began
to breathe the water. “Water has oxygen, I suppose, but without gills?” The
professor, Riler, and Miles swam to the metal spear as Ali and Zoh questioned
where they were.
As they floated near the spear, they
came to find the spear was held by a hand. That hand was connected to a colossal
man frozen in time. He stood cemented upon his throne among his kingdom. “I
don’t believe it,” said Miles in the water. Darkness crept away, shedding
light to a city lost at sea. To their surprise they floated above a city only
remembered as a legend, Atlantis.
Coral reefs sheltered a culture
buried at the bottom of the sea as tiny critters roamed the ocean streets. The statue
once guarded man, now protected the voiceless, those who abide to the ocean
current. Far beyond the borders of the abyss came a group of sharks sniffing
the water for food. The girls inched their way closer to the professor as they
swam near the cliffs. The sharks kept their distance until the tides suddenly
changed.
The ocean current began to build.
The surface turned mad with ships crowding the sea. Echoes rumbled in the
tides, upsetting the balance. Decapitated bodies fell into the sea, inviting
the sharks for dinner. The crew became alarmed. They scattered around, searching
for a place to hide as the sharks appeared feet away. Fortunately, an abandoned
submarine lay close by. They swam as fast as they could with the sharks right
at their tail. The professor twisted the lever and with Riler’s help they
managed to enter the submarine and escape the sharks sharp bite.
The hallways drummed as the sharks hammered
at their door. “Let’s get out of here,” said Riler. They fastened their seat
belts as the professor switched the ignition. The motor jammed as the sharks
pounced on the submarine. The professor tried again and as the alpha shark ran
into the submarine, the motor started; skyrocketing them away. The girls turned
to their side as they dashed through the lost city of Atlantis.
Zoh noticed a small figure guarded
by mermaids near the capital of the city, waving them away as they quickly passed
by. She looked around and became puzzled. Ali turned to her and held her hand
for she too knew something was odd; masking her own need to be held. The rumble
up above continued until it faded, along with the statue and the city. They
adjusted themselves in their seats as the submarine entered the walls of another
abyss, leaving behind a forgotten comrade.
The submarine became cooler the further
they propelled into the darkness of the unknown. The professor gestured his way
around the controls, pretending to steer the ship. The remaining kids stared at
the small window forgetting the difference between sea and sky as diamonds
appeared twinkling in the dark. It wasn’t long before they noticed the sea had become
a blanket of breathing, wondering specks of light inhabiting the fate of someone’s
existence. When did they enter Space? They never knew, but would it make a
difference if they did? They crowded around the professor for answers,
explanations, accountability but he looked at them as they looked at him; lost
and intrigued.
The alarm blasted through the
speakers, amplifying in the halls. Up ahead, a belt of meteors stood straight
for them and there was no way out. The kids searched the submarine to gear
themselves for impact. Unfortunately, there were no suits in sight; but they weren’t
going to give up. Riler and Ali went their separate ways, desperately searching
for an escape pod. They raided the submarine inside out, finding nothing but
the imminent truth. “What do we do then, professor?” Zoh asked as she stood by
the wheel, pulling on his coat. He turned to her and smiled for he knew the
answer.
“Nothing.”
The impact knocked them to the
floor. The professor held Zoh underneath him, forgetting the other two. Meteor
rocks fired like bullets in the zero gravity air, destroying everything in its
path without having anything to slow them down. Debris hung in the vacuum of
space as the submarine split into bits. They hung in a cluttered mess,
surviving fatal blows, all while breathing in the universe. The professor and
Zoh drifted in space alone until they found a sense of ground. “Look over
there,” the professor pointed. A shooting star disappeared as quickly as it
came. So they found a way after all,
he thought.
“How are we doing this?” asked Zoh
as she tip toed in nothing. They weightlessly floated away deeper into space,
accompanied by warm orbiting lights.
“My guess would be the coating from
the slime.” the professor answered moments later, remembering he had a
companion. “Watch this.” he later added, changing the subject. He attempted to jump
in an empty pool then fly away. “It’s like you’re swimming but you’re not, see?”
Zoh looked up at the professor as he grew smaller. Her smile reflected upon his
face for he had never seen such oblivious bliss.
His voice was beginning to drift as
he swam away. “Look around you kid,” he began, “Everything is upside down. Left
is right, right is left. Backwards is
the new forward, haven’t you heard?” His voice trailed off and she could no
longer hear him, “If you try to make sense of things you will never know what sense
actually is because your sense of sense is what doesn’t make sense in the first
place. Confusing, isn’t it? BUT now
we’re just being redundant.” His laugh trailed off, leaving Zoh behind in a sea
of stars.
And so, Zoh did what the professor
had advised her to do. She pretended to fly into a weightless gravity and swim
towards to shore. She took her time crossing the galactic horizon across
infinite parallel worlds not knowing where she was but knew where to go. The
professor soon appeared, sitting on a moon; waiting for her arrival. She
emerged out from the shores of space, and joined the professor in a sandy moon
as he enlightened her of a new world. “Took you long enough,” the professor
said as he held her hand.
Together, they wandered across the
moon with the professor lecturing Zoh on all the planets in the sky. He pointed
left then right then left again. Up, down, and back around; every direction had
its own unique beginning. “The brighter ones are old because they’ve used up
all their fuel,” he commented, “It’s the dim ones that store all the answers.”
He beamed at Zoh whose eyes held many.
Zoh followed every direction the
professor aimed, feeding her mind his numerous adventures. Her bright wide-eyed expression lit every
star and fueled every twinkle. “Fate my dear may change but destiny always remains
the same. Care to know where yours leads?” he smiled. “I, Professor Knows,
know,” he declared as he pointed to a mysterious door with no nob. The two
stood by the door as the cracks creaked the hidden adventures that reside
behind its silver hinges.