Daily Archives: March 7, 2005

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“Me vs. Myself vs. I” by Singed Angel & Vertigo Xi’an Xavier

All alone in my Insanity.
Wondering who I should be.
Wondering which face is really me.
Three lives in one,
the stress has only begun.
Three voices in my head,
each wanting the other two dead.
I used to be considered sane,
but even that thought is slightly inane.
Even though I thought my will power strong,
I know I can't survive very long.
The voices continue with steady insistence,
despite all my ongoing persistence.
I want to destroy them all.
It is the voices that will cause my fall.
I was once sure of my identity,
but now I must choose who I should be.
Voices not my own - I condemn thee.
You've stolen every thought that was me.
These inner lives are the Abaddon of my inner mind.
Inner peace is what I can no longer find.
Not one original thing shall remain,
but the fear shall drive me further insane.
The voices, a constant intrusion,
poisoning my blood, I may need an infusion.
I used to know myself. I'm not sure anymore.
These voices send me, crying, to the floor.





by Singed Angel & Vertigo Xi'an Xavier
([email protected] / [email protected])

“The Shifting of Ragnarock” by Vertigo Xi’an Xavier

Introduction

1000 AD- After the death of Balder, the Norse gods realized that Ragnarok was near. The humans had stopped believing in them and their very existence was in danger. The only way to prevent Ragnarok, they decided, was for the humans to continue to believe in the gods' existence, even if it meant the humans had to believe that the gods were fellow humans. The gods traveled to Migard, now called Earth, and joined the humans as kin. Over the centuries, the gods were forced to change and adapt so that they could fit in with the humans. Our story begins now. It is 1999. The gods have been among us for nearly a thousand years. The new millennia approaches...


Chapter One

The old man looked like a wizard out of a fantasy novel. He had long, white hair and a long, white beard. Adding to the image was his full-length, red overcoat. He was about six foot eight with a medium build. Once closer, his eye patch can be seen. His companion, however, was a complete opposite. Standing five foot six and skinny as a sapling, he wore a Lords of Acid shirt and a five o'clock shadow.

As the pair walked down the road in the comfortable October afternoon sunlight, they talked of plans.

"I still say we should leave by four so we can get a good parking space," the small one was saying.

"James, I'm telling you, the game doesn't start until eight, and I can get us there in less than an hour. We don't have to leave until six. Otherwise, we'll just be sitting there doing nothing or three hours," the old man said.

"And we won't be the only ones, Logan. The Trout are playing the Sparrows this weekend, and the game will be packed. They're battling for first place," James shot back.

"Whatever," Logan gave up. "They'd just better let me bring my book-vue in."

The strange looking duo turned onto a path heading towards a house. An older woman sat upon the porch. "You two still arguing?" she asked.

"NO!" they both shouted.

"Meg, would you be a dear and get us some sodas?" Logan asked.

Logan and James sat down on the porch. Meg soon joined them with three bottles of soda. The two men never noticed their shadows. As the three began to talk, the shadows rolled off of the porch and around to the side of the house. The forms then rose off of the ground and began to take human shape. The first was six foot tall, wearing all black clothes with a black leather trench coat and fingerless gloves. He had a pale complexion with long, dark hair and a goatee. As he finished materializing, a scar running from his forehead, across one eye, and down to his jaw line became visible.

The second form was a child of about five years. She wore black jeans with a black tee shirt. On the shirt was a picture of a vampire cat. In her arms were two stuffed animals. One was an extremely worn cat. It had a name tag that said "Famine." The other was a dog wearing a tag that said "Hunger."

"K'we kill dem yet, Daddy?" asked the girl.

"Not yet, Hel. First we must gather them all together. Then we'll kill them all at once. All of those who left me imprisoned in that cave for centuries. Then I shall be free to wreak havoc upon Migard, making the humans my slaves and ruling in a castle made from the bones of their "world leaders." They shall once again learn to fear Loki, the god of all evil!"

"Bu'wen k'we kill 'em, Daddy?" she asked.

"In three days time, they shall all gather to watch a football game. Their enjoyment of violence has never subsided, making them predictable. All of them have received tickets to the event, and as it is sure to be a bloodfest, none of them shall miss it. The only one I have not been able to locate is that damned Thor, but one out of eleven I can kill later."

"Oh, lemme, lemme!" she pleaded.

"We'll see..."


Chapter Two

Randall thought he was the luckiest man alive. His home team, the Seattle Sparrows, was battling the Cleveland Trout for first place in the International Football League, and he had won four tickets to the game that were right on the fifty yard line, plus airline tickets, round trip, open ended, and rental of a house for a month. He didn't even know what contest he had entered.

He invited his friends Fred and Laya to go, and he would be bringing his girlfriend, Valerie. Girlfriends, he reminded himself. See, he actually had one-hundred eighty-three girlfriends. The difference was, they all resided in the same body. His only complaint about that was that it tired him, having to make sure she had one-hundred eighty-three orgasms at a time.

They had just finished packing and were getting ready to go pick up Fred and Laya on their way to the airport. Fred and Laya were siblings and as such, argued constantly. They were also the best of friends. The good news was that the house they were staying in was big enough that Randall and Valerie wouldn't have to listen to them. Besides, if Valerie had her way, they'd be making plenty of noise themselves.


Chapter Three

As Ben placed the "Closed for Vacation" sign on the window of the coffee shop he ran with his wife, Ida, he let out a sigh. "You think it will be okay, leaving for a week and announcing it to the world?" he asked his wife.

"Of course, it's not like we're in a bad part of town, and besides, the campus kids'll watch out for us. They'd better, otherwise they won't be able to manage that late-night, caffeine induced studying anymore," she laughed. "And even if something did happen, it's not like we'd go hungry or anything," she added as she made a golden apple materialize in front of her.

"True enough," Ben admitted. "I still can't believe Adam had to go on an emergency business trip to Scotland, and just gave us his game tickets. And he knows better than to buy non-refundable plane tickets."

"Yeah, we really lucked out. Dealing with college kids all evening for so many years, I think we need a vacation," Ida added.


Chapter Four

The lights went out in the windows of J&H Swords and Fishing Supply at nine o'clock. There was a sign in the window that said "Closed for the game. Why are you here?" Every weekend when there was a home game, the owners, Jared and Herman, placed that sign there before they headed towards the game. In the two years since the I.F.L. had formed, they had never missed a game. It was their belief that nobody within five hours of a football stadium should ever be home on Saturday night during football season.


Chapter Five

Homer loved it when the record company execs sucked up to him. He had brought in their last nineteen hit performers, and now he had another hot selection under his management. One they desperately wanted. Her name was Aiera, and everybody wanted to know her secret. Homer knew, but he wasn't telling.

The reason all the good acts signed with him was because he knew they should get to keep what they make, and not have to give ninety percent to a greedy manager. He charged a flat twenty percent of profits. No loopholes, no hidden costs. He was honest and therefore successful.

The company had sent him two tickets for the big game in Cleveland, one for himself and one for a date, wanting to show him a good time while they tried to get him to sign Aiera to their label. But again, instead of inviting a girlfriend, he invited Aiera to the game, since she'd been the reason he'd gotten the tickets. Besides, between scheduling tours, checking album sales, and scoping new acts, he didn't have time to go out on a date.


Chapter Six: Game Night

"James, here's a fifty, run down and get us each a couple hot dogs and a beer," Logan said as he handed a rolled up bill to James. They had been sitting in their seats for two and a half hours. Logan had read all of Neil Gamian's Good Omens in that amount of time, and was anxiously awaiting the game's start. The team had finally come out on to the field and started warming up. Logan couldn't believe how many familiar faces he saw in the crowd. Almost all the remaining major gods were there. It made him suspicious, for he didn't like having them together. He knew that the Earth's existence depended upon their survival. The only ones he didn't see were Thor, Loki, and Hel. He didn't know what had happened to Thor. Nobody had seen him in about thirty years. As for the other two, they were locked in a cave deep below the earth with Fenrir, the wolf, and the World Serpent.

Downstairs, James had finally gotten to the counter. "Six hot dogs and three beers," he ordered.

"I sorry sir, no hot dog left," the young girl behind the counter spoke in broken English.

"Great," sighed James. "Now what do I do?" He began to walk to another line when suddenly someone grabbed him and pulled him into a storage room. Before he knew what had happened, he was bound and tied to a chair. Then a light snapped on overhead.

James saw a pale man dressed in all black standing over him. Somewhere in a darkened corner of the room he herd a little girl asking "Can I kill 'em, Daddy, huh, huh, can I kill 'em?"

"Not yet, Hel, first we must get some information from him," said the pale man.

"Pleasedon'thurtmepleasedon'thurtmepleasedon'thurtme," James started repeating.

"Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jim. We're not here to hurt you, we're here to KILL YOU!" Loki taunted. "Now tell me, James, have you ever heard Odin mention someone named Thor?"

"Who'sOdinwho'sOdinwho'sOdin?" the bound man began.

"Odin! Oh, what's he callin' himself now? Hel?"

"Logan, Daddy!" she answered. "Can I kill 'em yet?"

"Have patience, my dear," said Loki.

"Awww, patience is boring!"

"Hesawmycomics,saidthatThorwassofake,that'sall,that'sall,"

"Aaa, I should'a' known Odin would be smart enough not to talk about the gods in front of a mortal."

"Whoareyouanyway?" James finally wondered.

"Why, James, you don't know me? I'm Loki, the god of all evil!"

"Oh,JesusChrist,oh,JesusChrist! Please, please help me!" James started chanting.

"Jesus Christ! What an idiot he was. Yeah, sure, his daddy may have been a god, but-his-mommy-weren't-no-virgin!" Loki let out an evil laugh.

James went back to his "Pleasedon'thurtme" chant. Loki just looked at him. Finally, he said, "Jimmy, when are you gonna get it? I told you I wasn't gonna hurt you. I'm just gonna kill you!" Loki drew his arm back and in an eye blink, his fist was through James' skull.

"Awww, Daddy! I wanned ta' kill 'em!" Hel whined.


Chapter Seven

Ben and Ida couldn't believe it. They hadn't seen Heimdall and the Valkyries in centuries, and they were with Frey and Freya. Even better was, they were in the seats directly in front of Ben and his wife.

"Bragi, Idun, long time no see!" Randall said.

"Uh, hu. It's Ben and Ida now."

"I see. I go by Randall and she goes by Valerie. The twins go by Fred and Laya. Man, it's been a long time!"

"A good three-hundred years, at least," said Ida.

"At least. So what have you two been up to these last few centuries?" asked Fred.

"Oh, nothing much. Ida and I run a coffee shop near Nevada State University. Campus kids pretty much keep us busy all year. What have you been doing?"

"He's a radar control tower watchman at an airport in Connecticut, Fred is a weather forecaster for a radio station, Laya has an advice column in the local newspaper, and I ride the horsies, and I'm hungry, and I am >Caa< >Caa< I'm flying away, and I want to go to sleep, and I want the game to start, and I attend psychotherapy on a regular basis, and I..." she rattled on, and on, and on.

"I think you get the picture," Randall said.

"Yeah," Ida agreed.


Chapter Eight

"Hel, my daughter, fetch the World Serpent. We have need of his talents," Loki said.

"Daddy, 'es not Serpent, 'es a Hamster," Hel replied.

"Whatever, my dear. Take him up to where Idun, Heimdall, and some of the others are sitting. Release him near them. He knows what to do." Loki again let out an evil laugh. "This is too easy!"

Hel left the storage room and began to maneuver her way through the crowd toward a closed concession. Nobody noticed a small child wandering around. When she reached the concession, she slipped into a door beside the closed window. Once inside she said, "'Ello, Fenrir, don' worry, you get fed soon." The large collie looked at her and went back to sleep. She went over to a glass aquarium and opened the lid. Then she took out the aquarium's sole occupant, a small brown and white hamster. "Come on Worldie, you get go get 'de apple lady. I bet you tink she teas good!"


Chapter Nine

Jared and Herman loved their end zone season tickets. They loved being able to see the players coming right at them, the ball flying toward them. "Hey, Herm, think we'll run out of beer before half time?" Jared asked.

"You crazy? We only got five each," Herman replied.

"Hey, don't you think it's weird how so many of the other gods are here?" Jared wondered aloud.

"What do you mean?"

"Look through the binoculars, over on the visitor's side, at the fifty yard line, in about the twelfth row. I see Frey, Freya, Bragi, Idun, Heimdall, and the Valkyries, Valerie or whatever they're calling themself now."

"Oooh, that woman freaks me out!" Herman exclaimed.

"Yeah, me too. Then, over closer to the thirty, up towards the top. Is that Odin and Frigg?"

"Sure looks like them. Wonder what they'd be doin' here?"

"I don't know about you, but I'd guess they want to watch a football game? Besides, last I'd heard, they lived in North Canton, about an hour from here."

"That only leaves Thor and Hoenir," Jared pointed out.

"Guess again," Herman said. "Check the vid screen."

"'Homer Norseblood, of Norseblood Celebrity Management,' well I can figure out what he's been doing the last few years. Who's the chick? She looks kinda' familiar."

"Her name is Aiera; She's some new hot singer. But you're right, she does look like someone I've met, I just can't remember who." Herman stared at the screen, in deep thought. Aiera had dark, medium length hair pulled back with a barette. She was six foot, two-ten, and in perfect shape. She wore black slacks with a short sleeve red blouse. "Wait a sec...Remember when Thrym stole Mjollnir from Thor..."

"Oh, my god, I don't believe it. He must have really gotten a kink, er, I mean kick from that frost giant."

"I'll say..."


Chapter Ten

Logan knew something was wrong. The first quarter was over, and James hadn't returned. Meg was beginning to worry, too. "Logan, every one of us is here. We can't find James. Something isn't right here. Why would we all show up at the same game on the same day?"

"What do you mean 'every one of us?' I haven't seen Thor."

"He's here... Or should I say she's here?"

"What do you mean 'she's...? Oh, I see... Oh, I don't want to know!"

"Well, it can't be a mere coincidence, can it?"

"You're right, it is not very likely we'd all attend the same game. But, I'm not going to try to figure it out, right now, I'm going to say 'hello' to everyone sitting right down there, and then I am going to try to find James." Logan got up and headed toward Randall and his group on the fifty yard line.

"Hello, children. It certainly has been a while since we've all been together," Logan said.

"Odin, you're here too?" exclaimed Laya.

"Nice to see you, too, Freya. It's Logan, by the way."

"Yeah, Laya, Fred, Randall, Valerie, Ben, and Ida. We were just commenting on how odd it is that so many of us would be here."

"All of us, my dear, all of us are here."

"Where's Thor, Njord, and Hermod? We saw Hoenir on the screen," said Ben.

"Njord and Hermod, or Jared and Herman, as they go by now, are in the end zone towards your left. As for Thor, if you saw Hoenir, you saw Thor. She was sitting beside him."

"She..?" started Ida.

"So that's Aiera's 'deep dark secret' that she sings about!" stated Randall.

"But why would we all be here? What could gather us all together, and why would it do that?" asked Laya.

"I see Famine, I see Pestilence, I see a girl, oh, hell, I wanna ride the horsie, we're in it deep, Randall, the voices in my head are telling me to kill a child, isn't that wrong? How much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?" Valerie raved.

"Famine and Pestilence! Hel's companions!" Fred exclaimed.

"And a little girl? Could Hel have taken the form of a child?" Ben wondered.

"Where could she be?" asked Laya.

"I don't know, but isn't Hel supposed to be locked in a cave with Loki and her animal siblings, somewhere deep underground?" Ida asked as she looked around.

"Yes, but they could have escaped," Logan realized.

"Well, we're definitely in for a hell of a game, quite literally!" said Randall.


Chapter Eleven

"I got a hamster, he used to be a sna,a,ake. He's my little brother, he'll decide your fa,a,ate." The young girl skipped as she sang. She loved playing with her brother, the World Hamster. She didn't have to leave him up by the old, rotten, good guys just yet, her Dad could wait for a little bit to get revenge. Why not, she had to put up with him talking of nothing else in that cave for over nine-hundred years! She wanted revenge, too, but she also wanted to have some fun. She bet her Dad wouldn't even let her kill anyone, no matter what he said.

Then she had an idea: "Waid a minnit, whad if I kill 'de gods for 'em. 'Dat'id make Daddy happy. Hey, Worldie, d'ya know 'ow I ken kill 'de gods all by my self? Hmm, I ken git Fenrir, I bet he help me!" Hel then set off back towards the consession stand again to find her other brother, the collie.

"'Ey Fenie, ken 'ou 'elp me? I wanna kill 'de gods on my own, wit'out Daddy, but I don' tink he let me. But he be happy if dey all dead, wite? If we do 'et on our own, Daddy shud be proad of us, wite? 'Ell 'ou 'elp us? Worldie 'reddy said 'e 'ould."

Fenrir let out a whine, then barked, "Arf! Arf!" in agreement.

"So 'ow 'ou wanna do dis, Fenie?"

"Arf, woof, aoooouuu."

"Das' wad I tout, too! 'Kay, les go!"


Chapter Twelve

"Meg, I want you to go and sit down there with them for right now. I have to go look for James, but I don't feel right leaving you alone when something strange is going on."

Logan was genuinely worried. They had started pushing Valerie to find out where Hel had gone, but all she would say was, "She go bye bye." Randall had said that Valerie's more child-like personalities had not begun coming out until after they had arrived in Cleveland. He couldn't even find the usual twenty-something personalities that normally were in control.

Meg let out a sigh of acceptance. "I suppose they'll have to fill me in on the details?"

"Yes, that would be best."

Logan walked down the steps under the grandstands to the concession area. He scanned the crowd of faces for any sign of James, but found none. Then he saw him coming out of a storage room. Logan didn't know what James would be doing in an "employees only" storage room, and decided to investigate the room rather than go after James.

When he entered the door, he found James's body with a hole through the front of his face. Logan had seen a lot of death over his centuries, yet a cold-blooded murder always made him sick to his stomach. Yet, he had seen James leaving the room.

Valerie may have seen Hel wandering the grandstands, but she wouldn't do something this violent this quickly, Logan realized. She liked to have fun with her victims, torturing them or coming up with a clever way of killing them. James had been killed in one strike, no tormenting involved. That wasn't Hel's style. That was more like...Loki!

Loki and Odin had once been good friends. Loki was a trickster, though, and often caused trouble for the gods. When his trickery caused Odin's son, Balder, to die and be trapped within Hel's realm, Odin had Loki locked within a cave deep below the Earth's surface along with his monstrous children. When the gods' council decided to abandon Asgard and live among the humans, the cave was sealed so that Loki would be imprisoned for all time. Or so they had thought...


Chapter Thirteen

The security guard opened the door for the scraggly looking delivery boy. The boy had brought up hot dogs, candy, sodas, and beer for the people in the press box. Homer Norseblood had called an order down about twenty minutes before.

The boy then started handing out everyone's orders. The guard didn't notice that he knew what everyone had requested. However, Aiera did.

As Homer took a bite of his hot dog and a sip of his beer, the boy seemed to hesitate, watching. Then Homer began to choke. As he fell, he spat out the words, "Poison, help me," and died.

While everyone ran over to try to revive him, Aiera took out Mjollnir and tapped the "boy" on the shoulder. As he turned, she saw his true, scarred face. "Excuse me, don't I know you?" she asked, and then swung Mjollnir, taking Loki's head clean off.

Loki's head went flying through the press box window, shattering the glass. It flew all the way out on to the field and landed on the twenty yard line as the Trout kicked a field goal. The kick was good, and Loki's cranium then went flying through the goal posts and toward the crowd, landing in Jared's lap just as he and Herman were taking drinks of their beers. Both gods began choking and were soon dead. Loki's decapitated head then said, "I have not completely failed! I shall have my revenge!" and died.


Chapter Fourteen

Ben, Ida, Fred, Laya, Randall, Valerie, Meg, and everyone else in the stadium saw everything that happened. They watched on the vid screen. They saw Homer die, Loki get decapitated and thrown about, and Njord and Hermod choke to death. Seeing Loki dead, they believed the threat over. As people fled the stadium in panic, Meg asked, "Well, should we leave or wait for Logan to get back?"

"Hmm, with Loki dead, I think we should just wait for Logan. I don't think we have to worry about anything," Ida replied.

Downstairs, Logan was just leaving the storage room as people ran for the gates in a mad rush to get out. Logan knew something must have happened. He began to fight his way through the crowd to get to where Meg and the others were. Suddenly, he tripped and fell on to the ground.

He glanced over near his feet and saw a hamster. "How the hell did that thing get in here?" he wondered. Then he saw a large collie making a bee-line for him. The dog was upon him before he could move. In the background, he could hear a little girl laughing. "Hell's right," he realized, as the dog tore his throat out. "Ragnarok is upon us!" he cracked out as he everything went black.


Chapter Fifteen

"I don't feel so good. Me too. Me seven. What do you mean, seven. Uuuussss ttttoooo."

"Uh, oh, I think Val's feelin' it too," Randall said. All the gods were feeling ill except for Meg. The stadium was abandoned, but they could hear the sounds of horns, screeches, and car wrecks outside. They knew they weren't the only ones sick.

"I think I'll lie down a bit," Ida said.

"I second the motion," Laya replied.


Chapter Sixteen

Hel knew her daddy had done something to the beer everyone was drinking. That's why when she got there, only the old lady was left. The beer had killed them all.

Now she had to figure out how to kill Frigg, for she was the only one left except for Thor. Thor wasn't there though. Fenrir was too full from Odin to eat the old lady. Hel looked at the World Hamster and said, "'Ey, Worldie, 'ya 'ungry?"

The World Hamster flew out of her hands and attacked Meg. Hel didn't know what to do then. She looked at Famine and Pestilence in her arms and asked them. "'Wat we do now? Nobody left to kill. 'Ost 'de gods are ded. 'Wat we do now?"

Her stuffed companions just stared at her blankly. "I know! We take over 'orld our selves!"

As the young girl and her companions skipped out of the stadium, she sang, "We gonna take over 'de 'orld, we gonna take over 'de 'orld, we gonna take over 'de 'orld."

When they passed Odin's body, with his dying breath, he rasped, "Oh, hell, there goes Midgard..."

“How Sleeping In Class Can Save the World” by Vertigo Xi’an Xavier

"Baaa." "One thousand six hundred and fifty-two."
"Baaa." "One thousand six hundred and fifty-three."
"Baaa." "One thousand six hundred and fiftyyyyyyyyyzzzzzzzzzzz...





At forty degrees below zero, you think that school would'a' been called off. But, no. We'd already used all of our snow days for the year, and nobody who worked at the school offices wanted to work extra days, meaning we had to come to school. Making it worse, the school's climate control system had shorted out during the recent blizzard.

So, not only was it freezing outside, but the AC was running full blast inside, and there was nothing anybody could do about it. They (the people who worked at the school) had said that we could wear our coats to class, but lucky me, my sleeve had gotten stuck inside the locker door, and it wouldn't open.

Well, I'd made it to my last period study hall when I began to get tired. I decided to lay my head on the desk to try to conserve my energy. Big mistake...





...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...





"Krack!" I woke with a start. Looking around the room I saw that ice covered the walls, desks, floor, chairs, and everything else in the room. All the other students were still in their seats, frozen solid. I got up to leave the room, momentarily faltering. My joints were stiff and my equilibrium was off balance.

I went to some of the other classrooms, but they were all in the same state. I knew others might be melting soon, so I decided to go and get medical help.

I thought I could get in my car and drive to the hospital to find some doctors, but after exiting the building and walking into the parking lot, I saw that all the cars were gone. So I walked to a nearby house. It was empty, just like every other house on the block. I then walked to where I remembered the hospital to be, but all I found was a mini-mall. I decided to steal a car, but not one "car" in the lot had wheels. "Delusions, after-effects of being frozen," I thought to myself.

I hopped into the driver's seat of a vehicle called a "Moller Merlin 8000," broke open the ignition box, stripped and twisted the red and blue wires, and was on my way...





...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...





Even though I was driving a wheel-less jet-car that could have passed as the Batmobile, I still believed everything was the same. However, after learning that the hospital, my neighborhood, and the police station had all been turned into mini-malls, I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore.

Finally, I decided to enter one of the mini-malls and try to find a security guard. First thing I noticed was that none of the stores had names: They all had serial numbers. Next, I noticed that everybody was walking in a straight line, entering the same stores, buying the same items, et cetera, like a human conveyer belt. Thirdly, I noticed the obvious lack of security.

As I slipped into line behind one of the "customers," I began to ask him about my observations. I was cut off short before I could finish, though. "Shh," he said. "Do what I do or you'll be absorbed by the Collective Intelligence."

"What do you mean..," I began.

"Just do it!" he shout/whispered. I did as he said.

When we got to his "car" he said, "Okay, you can talk now."

"No, you talk. Begin with an explanation of what the hell is going on around here!" I shouted.

"You know absolutely nothing of what's going on!"

"No."

"Okay, you're obviously what we call a 'free-minder.' Somebody who hasn't been brain washed and placed under the control of the Collective Intelligence. The CI was originally a computer-based virus designed by the military to take control of the minds of enemy soldiers, but it backfired. 'Bout two years back the scientist who designed the virus used it to convert himself into a living computer. He then took control of the virus and shaped the world into what you see before you.

"Only a few of us were able to escape being sucked into that maniac's arcade game. We're waiting until we can find a way to stop the CI, then we're attacking their HQ." I still stared at him blankly. "Hello, it's 2026, what's yer story?"

"Uh, I woke up in a popsicle called Washington High School."





...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...





His name was Flame, Nick Flame. Although in his mid sixties, he could have passed for forty. He was well built with dark hair going gray. He had an even, slightly raspy voice with a British spy style accent, reminiscent of Roger Moore. Together, along with two dozen other people, we had to stop a government-created, computer-based germ with the ability to control minds. Nooo problem.

My name was Xavier, Vertigo Xi'an Xavier. I fell asleep in study hall and woke up a 220 pound ice cube. Worse still, I woke up 32 years in a future where everywhere I looked there was a mini-mall. Not only did I have to save the world, I had to find a way to get back to my own time.

According to Flame, the government told everyone that complications with radiation levels and radon gas poisoning had killed everyone in the school. However, his band of rebels believed that the school was the headquarters for the CI. They believed the government had frozen the school, trying to stop a leak of a virus-prototype that could not be controlled. He said that since I did not have a coat on, my body temperature was probably lower and my somewhat compacted, curled up position had permitted me to thaw out more rapidly. That's why I was still alive.

The Rebels believed that the best way to stop the CI was to cut off its power source. Problem was, it had to be done from inside the school. It was decided that the entire group would attack from the front to draw fire, while three of us snuck in, found the CI's source of power, and shut it down. The team was made up of Flame, a man named Luceno, and myself, for I knew the layout of the school better than any of them. We would attack at dusk...





...Bang! Bang! ZAPOW! Boom! PZZZZZZT! Crash! YAIEEEEeee! Zap! SKKZIPPPT!...





We entered the school through the auto shop garage doors just as the attack began. Since we were already on the second floor (the school was built into a hill), we decided to check all the rooms with computers up there first. The writing lab was empty and there were no signs of recent activity (other than melting). As we entered the library, we looked out the windows. Our guys were getting slaughtered. We knew that if we did not win this time now, all of humanity was doomed.

Since we hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary upstairs (other than a few hundred half-frozen dead bodies) we headed downstairs. After checking the offices and still not being detected, I began to worry. It was then that I noticed a humming sound following us. "Shh...What's that sound?" I asked Flame.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Luceno?" Luceno didn't say anything, but suddenly aimed his weapon at Flame.

"He's CI!"

"BAM!"





...AAA! Zing! KAPOW! Bam! AARGH! Bzzzzzzit! YAAA! How Do You Stop Them?!...






After I picked up Luceno's weapon and Flame reloaded his, we were on our way. We checked the rest of the classrooms that I knew had computers in them, but we still didn't find anything. We knew that we had been detected by the CI, so we had to hurry.

I did not remember any other classrooms having computers in them, and we still hadn't found the CI's core system, so Flame and I decided to split up. He would take the top floor and I would take the bottom, searching every nook and cranny until one of us found the CI.

I started off in the business wing of the building and began to work my way down towards the main stairs. Nothing, same as the study halls, art wing, auditorium, gymnasium, and the restrooms. Flame was just coming down the stairs as I was going to go look for him. "Nothing up there," he said.

"Where could it be?" I asked.

"Maybe it isn't here at all," he said. "Maybe this was just a trap."

"Or..," I said as I looked toward the cafeteria. "They could hide anything in there."

"Lets go!"





...KaPow! WHAM! TaZing! YAIEE! ;rebel;terminated; PZZZZZIT! Crash! BZZAOW!...





We tore apart ovens, freezers, cash registers, and every other machine in the kitchen until finally, we were down to one last freezer. Slowly, I pulled the door open. A blast of energy came firing out, pinning Flame to the wall. I quickly pushed the door from another freezer into the beam, allowing the metallic surface to send the beam back to its source inside the box. Cautiously, I peered around the door into the freezer.

Inside, I saw hamburger meat, fish fillets (from the biology labs, no doubt), tomato sauce, frozen pizzas, and a human head. Where the neck should have ended, wires began. They ran off to somewhere in the back of the freezer. The energy beam was coming from the mouth. A few seconds later, the beam shut off, the mouth closed, and the eyes opened. Then it spoke.

"Thank you for bringing the Rebels here, Xavier."

"Wha..."

"Please, don't tell me that you haven't figured it out yet. I let you escape so that you would lead the Rebels here to their doom!"

"Yes, now as you stand here, open-mouthed, going into shock, the rest of the free-minders are being absorbed into my Collective Intelligence." I had moved around the freezer door to get a better look at the head. "For aiding me in such a predictable manner, your reward will be a quick death," it said as another beam of energy shot out of its mouth.

Before it could hit me, however, I ducked and swept out with my foot, side-swiping the head, sending the blast into last week's mashed potatoes. "Predict this!" Then the beam stopped, and the light coming from the freezer dimmed and shut off.

Flame came crawling out from around the freezer, with a pulled electric plug in his hand.

"We...missed...step...one." he said with a slight smile. We had won!





...KAPOWZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...





After disconnecting the head from the wires, I took it and helped Flame out of the school. The rest of the Rebels had already gathered near the doors. Someone took Flame and we returned to the base. Using what medical equipment they had there, they got Flame and the other injured troops into stable conditions. After seeing that everyone was okay, I went outside.

Since the CI virus was no longer controlling everybody, people were wandering the streets with absolutely no idea of what had happened or where they were. I knew that it wouldn't take long to get life into some semblance of order.





...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...





AfterWord

Right about now, you're probably wonderin' how I can be here now if I was still stuck in the future. Well, that's a story for another day...so for now...lets just say...

To Be Continued...

“Vespers” by Timothy Whitworth

There is a gentleness of going
a mellowness that autumn brings:
a turning, peaking, and reflection
Mirrored pools of memories,
in colors more vivid
than bygone days.
A rustling that forgets
the rage of yesteryear,
the sweeping boughs, the twisting gale,
the rain, the sleet, and snow,
the supple youth that bends,
but does not break.

In the season before she died
I saw a vine maple, radiant
in halo of warmest gold
Remembering her beauty
as a young woman
(when I was but a boy),
I saw her, old, more beautiful
than ever young.

Then I understood
"That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang."
In this same tree, once tall
"where late the sweet birds sang."
shaped now the way the wind blows,
I saw the dying beautiful
a fallen trunk on which to rest
and remember her
in gentleness of shade,
and the radiance of fall.

“Lauds” by Timothy Whitworth

There is a tree nearby,
a place of camouflage
In whose strong arms
there is another lodge
from which she peers
upon the neighborhood.

There is a ladder
leading from the ground,
from one world
to another.
There is a branch
that holds a rope
that holds a swing
upon which she sits
and sways from side to side
to and fro, up and down.

“Compline” by Timothy Whitworth

Never mind the cold that creeps
among silent sentinels
that guard this place
where green has gone away.
Today they cloister shivering
to embrace the gifts of winter.

From frost-bitten branches
they hold them:
pearls of ice drape from them,
this monastery of trees
once shade.
They do not hibernate or sleep.
but stretch,
sweeping wind and sky,
longing for longer days.

“Nones” by Timothy Whitworth

Afraid of none,
The assembly lifts its arms
to friend and foe--
to fate as well as fortune.
Branches spread to greet the frost,
In patience they await
what elements may come.
Eagerly they wait
with branches spread.

Wind does to saplings
what worry does to faces.
By morning, many fall--
whose little roots, like fingers,
had clawed the ground
that promised to hold them
straight and tall.

“Prime” by Timothy Whitworth

That tree invites the knife
whose bark is fleshy
wet and green;
Whose bark records a history
of nearly fifty years.

At least as many lovers
have sat beneath its branches
carving secret vows upon its trunk.
Words too sacred for others to hear,
this tree remembers.

Its roots have drunk
the bitterness of tears.
Beneath its weeping branches
anguished hands have wrung.
and songs of sorrow
have been sung.
The tale told here
is told no more.

“Matins” by Timothy Whitworth

The forest stirs and sings
Matins, Lauds, Prime
creeping crawling flying things
with wings, whiskers, and webs,
that clamor, converse,
and warble aloft,
lonely toads croak.

A canopy of leaves high vaulted,
chants a mass
more majestic than Mozart.
A more devout Te Deum
cannot be composed.
or congregation comprised.

A mighty fortress is an oak,
from wind and rain assailing.
with lofty branches reaching high,
o'er elements prevailing.
The canopy cathedral like,
the tallest trunk its steeple:
a spire higher than any
made by people.

“Nature vs Nurture” by R. Joseph Mooney

You over there!
Do you ponder lifes intricities?
Because I sure do;
That makes me smarter than you.
The man turned around and he told
Of all his thoughts his brain did fold.
I said to the man do you think your more intelligent than me?
I have a Harvard Degree!
The man then looked at me and said something so cruel.
"Do you think you have a special gift fool.
For I know many truthes.
One indeed will contradict you.
No one is endowed with it,
One can only cultivate it.
Now my friend don't you see?"
And I said, "Yes, I must take off this mask of ignorancy."

“Flight” by R. Joseph Mooney

From then to now,
Its been a facination-
The ability to replicate on in formation.
Of what one can do to,
Support its massive sinews.
Not near us of course,
But above.
Can we inhibit this love?
No I'd have to say,
It comes from the mind,
It'll always be that way.
Its one of our few human dreams,
Drawn in infancy,
That will be carried on our backs infinitely.

“Double Agent” by Karthik Venkatesh

Much of what I do
is a negation of my yesterdays.

to be drawn in by quicksand
is unpleasant.
centrifugal forces keep you hemmed in,
erase memories that you seek to escape to
eerie vapours cloud your judgment
the methane suffocates your spirit

the marshes expand like conquering armies
familiar landscapes vanish,
bare branches assume frightening forms.

Fear keeps me awake.

And in the stillness of one night
my little toe wiggles, prods me
to head for the underground.

Some of what I do keeps me alive.