.....typing sounds....
"Bingo! Professor Zark Zenith."
"No way, his name is --- did you made that up, mom?"
"In fact, he is a researcher now at the famous Lawrence Livermore Lab, which is only a 40 minute drive from us."
"Are you teasing me, mom?"
"Here,” She hands the phone to Zeddy after dialing a 925 phone number.
"Is Professor Zark Zenith (Professor ZZ ) available?"
"Is this his grandson, Zachary?"
"Yes," he fibbed.
"Hold one moment, please."
"Zachary, I hope this can wait because if I keep taking family calls, I could lose this new job, since I just started today!"
"Professor Zenith, this is really Zeddy. My father, Zmack, is missing and we need your help!"
There was such a long pause on the other end of the phone, that Zeddy said "Professor, are you still there?"
"Yes, is this a practical joke? I think you need to call the police, not me."
"Please don't hang up, professor. I have reason to believe that my father has been transported into another dimension, and I heard you are an expert in this field."
Zadie grabs the phone and says, "Excuse me, professor. It is true that my husband disappeared under strange circumstances, but I apologize for my son's vivid imagination, and for bothering you."
"No bother, young lady. Would you and your son have time to visit my ranch in Livermore tonight? I'd like to invite you for dinner, and if you find your husband, by and by, please bring him, too. My address is 777 Zarancher Lane and my cell phone, in case you get lost, is 925-777-7777."
"That is easy to remember, but I can't promise to be there. My name is Zadie, and thank you for the invitation."
"It is nice to meet you, too, so please let me know by 5:30 PM and, hopefully, I will see you both at 7:00 PM."
It was a balmy summer afternoon as they drove past the giant wind mills towering along the rolling hills on both sides of the winding, windy Vasco Highway. Zeddy remembered his father reading to him, ‘The Man of La Mancha’, where Don Quixote fought ancient windmills when he was bewitched to imagine that they were his enemies.
The modern windmills were as tall as a 10 story building, so that if Don Quixote had to fight them, he would see them as huge giants in shining armor.
They were ahead of schedule, so they stopped at the watershed and caught a few frogs on the way to see the professor but, as they were about to leave, Zeddy said, "Don't move mom. Freeze! There is a large rattlesnake stretched out by your right foot."
Zadie looked down and froze, petrified, as a chill ran up and down her spine.
Zeddy found a long stick and used it to distract the serpent. Then his mom ran to the car.
"If your dad was here he would have caught that with his bare hands. For a second, I was afraid that you would try."
"I'm Quixotic enough to try, but I don't want to give you a heart attack."
"If you ever try that, you'll be more afraid of me than those venomous fangs, you understand?"
~Chapter 3~
The Secret Adventures of Zeddy continue as he relates his dream
Approaching the ranch, they felt a sudden surge of energy that made them speed quickly to the professor's front door, like watching a movie in fast forward. Once Professor ZZ opened the door, it seemed as if time no longer existed.
It was the strangest feeling.
The professor looked like he could be Zeddy's grandfather, since he had the same, but longer, white beard and puffy eyes, like they spent too much time reading into the wee hours, but of the color brown like his own, not hazel like his father's eyes.
Professor ZZ could read Zeddy’s mind. "Did you have fun catching those frogs?"
Just then a frog crawled out of Zeddy's pocket, which he caught and said, "yes, professor. Isn't she a beautiful specimen of the rare, red-spotted frog indigenous to this region?"
"Let's keep her in the creek in my back yard, where she won't go extinct."
As they walked to the creek, Zeddy asks, "Are you from the world of Zamira, or have you heard of it?"
"See that telescope? I designed it myself. Through it, you can see worlds that could once only be imagined. After dinner, you can see for yourself. Zamira does sound familiar."
"Awesome! Mom, did you hear that?"
"Yes, son. May I look, too," she asked, demurely.
"You may, however, I can't guarantee that you will discern every world that Zeddy sees, because part of the viewing device is designed to respond to the brain waves of its viewer."
Zadie says, "I recall that male and female brains are designed differently."
"And a child's imagination also works differently," adds the professor. "To build this, I used the recently discovered graphene out of a block of graphite, which is 100 times tougher than steel, but no thinner than a single atom; and since it is transparent, it is the perfect viewing agent and makes an excellent conductor for electricity. It's amazing that this perfect fabric of graphene had been hiding for so long in simple lead pencils."
"But a pencil breaks so easily. How can it be stronger than steel?"
"Excellent question, Zeddy. The graphene is in layers of the graphite, so it is the other elements that break. Anyone hungry yet?"
"Yes, I am famished," Zadie says.
"Me, too," Zeddy adds.
Entering the dining room, they inhaled a flavorful aroma and found a steaming feast laid out and wondered who had prepared it and set the table, since the ranch house was quiet as a mouse, and nothing but an empty table was there when they passed by that room earlier.
"Yummy, this is the tastiest!" as Zeddy ate the glazed brown turkey skin.
"That is not real turkey. It’s a veganized, turkey-flavored plant I genetically engineered, but I'm glad you both like it."
Zadie says, "May I grow that plant, too? Do you have any seeds you could spare? My step-daughter Zrachael and my grandson Zelwood are vegans."
"It is my pleasure to share some Zurkey seeds with you."
"Wow, this honey-glazed ham is even better than the Zurkey," Zadie declares. "I don't suppose this is also vegan?"
"Ah, yes, that is my crowning achievement, to make ham that is kosher so that even Israelis and Ismaelites can enjoy it without guilt. You will distinguish the zig seeds by their pink color. You have to use phosphate for fertilizer since the plant has glands that digest phytate."
In the den, Professor Zenith showed them three lazy-boy chairs saying, "This is where we can view the galaxies, using these glasses that receive and send signals to that tall, black telescope outside. It is like watching a movie in 3D with AI."
"What is AI?" Zeddy asks.
"Artificial Intelligence, which helps to fill in the parts we can't physically discern."
"You will notice little suction cups along the inside rim of the glasses that will pick up your brain waves, adding extra tastes, feelings, sights and sounds."
As soon as they relaxed in their chairs and put on their glasses, that gently self-attached, they instantly found themselves on the moon, looking back at earth.
Zadie grabbed the soft arms of her chair with shock because it seemed so real, and declared, "I can hear the most harmonic music of the spheres!"
The professor says, "To get to Mars, gaze in its direction and jump toward it, using the power of your imagination."
"Ouch! It's too hot on mars!" Zadie cried.
"Control the temperature. You can use the power of mind over matter. Learn to let go of your earthly perceptions. Think of this as a dream that your soul can control."
Within a few minutes Zadie was snoring, so the professor laughs and says, "Your mom is catching her Zs now," which made Zeddy giggle; a joke in which only the two of them could see the humor, and it made Zeddy crystallize that professor double Z was connected to the World of Z.
"How do I find Zamira?"
"That far-fetched planet is in the constellation, Libra, but it will t
ake you some time to reach that vastness."
"I want to find Zmally and my father there. Can I do that from here?"
"You can endeavor to, but it really depends on if you are a true metaphysician like your father. Did he teach you to astroproject or remotely view faraway objects? It will take a combination of both of these esoteric arts, so that they will be able to see you, likewise. One of the reasons I developed this system is to spark promising young talents like you to elevate and extend those innate powers."
Zeddy realized that they were communicating telepathically, so he thought about his father teaching him metaphysics, which the professor acknowledges by saying, "See that large, bluish star glistening yonder?"
Zeddy scanned in all directions and then heard the professor's voice, "Follow that star, it is Ztar, the key to Libra."
"Since it will take a while to reach the key Ztar, since you should remember that there are 1 septillion stars with 100 billion in the Milky Way, alone, would you like to play chess?"
"Sure"! Up pops a chessboard of transparent gold and silver pieces, like a table with an image of the professor looking at him from the other side, floating in space. Simultaneously, the theme music from 2001 A Space Odyssey permeated their ears.
"Silver goes first, so take your primary move."
Using his mind, Zeddy moved his Queen's pawn up two spaces.
"A powerfully aggressive, bold, opening move," the professor commented. “Did you consider that this game of kings has an almost infinitude of variables to plan and play out? The world champion became so as a teenager named Magnus Carlsen, who can easily think 20 moves ahead. The Mozart of Chess learned the game from computers and uses intuition more than logic to defeat his opposition. He is so bored by his competition that he plays several games at the same time.”
Waiting for the professor to make his 10th move, Zeddy merged his artificially induced space exploration with dreamland.
~Chapter 4~
The Secret Adventures of Zeddy continue as he relates his dream
At the crack of dawn, Zeddy and Zadie awoke to the whining and licking of a puppy as they pulled off their 3D glasses as Zigger jumped back and forth between their laps.
"I'm so embarrassed that we slept in a stranger’s house. How did Zigger get in here?"
The professor walked in, "Don't worry, you are safe here and don't be hard on yourself; you were exhausted from the drama of your husband's disappearance. I found Zigger in your Lexus, scratching to escape."
"Thank you for your hospitality, but we must zoom back home because of the new curfew that only allows leaving home for a maximum of 8 hours per day."
"Yes, I heard of that law", the professor says, and continues, "and to make matters worse, the international government just enacted an emergency law that we can't travel more than 60 miles from home without a special reason, such as a death in the family."
"Mom, I need to finish my chess game and find Zamira."
"Not now son. Perhaps we can do that if the kind professor will invite us again next weekend."
"But, mom!"
"Sorry, son, we need to zoom home now, because I also have to open the boutique and get ready for customers."
"I hope you don't mind that I packed you some zurkey and zam lunches from leftovers and here are the seeds I promised you. You are welcome to visit next Saturday, and please call me if you need any help. Zeddy, we can continue our chess game on your iPad, or if your mom will allow, take this Zpad, which is more dynamic."
"Thank you, professor. We look forward to zooming back here next Saturday."
Along Vasco Highway, where the giant windmills were grinding out electricity, Zeddy says, "Momma, I have a clever idea regarding that new law that internationalized all schools and limits the amount and type of food we can eat during lunch."
"What's that son?"
"We can plant some zurkey and zam seeds in the bushes by the play ground so I can sneak a piece off when I get hungry and if I get caught, you can use your dressmaking skills to make me an edible undershirt."
"You're a genius! How did you think of that?"
"In a dream last night, I was eating my tee shirt, and picking pieces off a plant at school, to eat."
"Keep it a secret or you might get caught. Let's plant those seeds on the way home, since no one is at school now."
"I have another idea, mommy."
"What's that, honey?"
"Home school me."
"Good idea but, unfortunately, that is part of the new school internationalization policy: No more home schooling. Regardless of that law, I want you to learn as much as you can when you are not at school, since they will only teach you to be a slave of the international government. Just tell your government teachers what they want to hear, exactly what they teach you."
"Yes ma’am! Guess what, my queen just checkmated Professor Zenith's king!"
"Cool, how did your queen do that?"
"Somehow, I knew each of the professor's moves ahead of time."
"Don't let anyone know that you are a pre-scientist or else the International Government might declare you as their eminent domain."
"What do both of the words 'eminent domain' and 'pre-scientist', mean?"
At first, the government only gave itself the right to take our land when they needed it, but from what we just heard on the radio, the International Supreme Court ruled that eminent domain includes persons, places and things. I believe I just made up the word pre-scientist based on the word, 'prescience' which means to have foreknowledge of the future."
"That’s scary, mommy!"
"With one exception, the International Government, in reality, now controls and virtually owns everything this 20th day of September 2020."
"What is that exception?"
"Our thoughts, yet they will soon attempt to control even those, and already have shaped what we think. The seeds of guilt have been planted if we think any thoughts of rebellion. Worse than mere seeds of guilt is the fear of life in prison, like those millions who have tried to challenge the system."
"I can be a rebel and win!"
"Erase that thought from your mind right now, young man! You would have to be the biblical Messiah to defeat that giant monster."
"I can do it, mom! If I can see each move of the professor before he makes it, I can see each move of my adversary, too."
"Professor ZZ is a kindred spirit, and only one man, whereas the International Government has hundreds of millions of brains, arms, legs, eyes and ears everywhere on earth."
"Then we have to get to Zamira in the constellation Libra."
"Son, it is ok to escape into your fantasy world, but don't get lost in there. Professor Zenith may be able to make that world seem real, but it will take another 200 years for the first probe to reach an inhabitable planet in that constellation."
"Mom, trust me, there could be a portal between this world and a parallel one. We could enter today as dad did."
"Trust me, son, most likely the International Government snatched up your dad, secretly, to interrogate him for one of his inventions. I told him to give those up, but he wouldn't listen to me."
Tears began to run down Zeddy's eyes, so Zadie holds his hand to comfort him and says, "Don't worry, your dad knows how to handle the Govs, since he had a run-in with them 30 years ago and got out of their clutches."
As they pulled into the driveway of the school, Zeddy says, "I have to pee very badly".
After that, they planted a few zig and zurkey seeds and Zadie says, "Shhhh, whisper, someone might hear us."
A man with black eyes and hair, dressed in black overalls suddenly appeared in front of their Lexus, accusing, "Why are you trespassing?"
"We had an emergency; my son had to water the bushes here where he goes to school. Who are you?"
"I'm the International Principal in charge of the conversion of this private school." Why are you so ignorant? Didn't you read the new laws? No child is allowed to use the bushes like tha
t anymore."
"How could I read 10,000 new laws in one day?"
"Ignorance is no defense. Here, you will have to take this ticket to court tomorrow and be prepared to pay a fine and do community service. Don't bother bringing a lawyer, since the new law 6616 outlawed all private lawyers and, regardless, you are not entitled to any defense."
That same chill went up and down Zadie's spine that she had felt from the rattlesnake fright. "That's it!" she thought, "The new laws are like infusing ordinary harmless snakes with venom."
"What a cute puppy. Where is your license to own a dog, according to new law 616?"
"I'll go get one now!"
"Too late! I'll take him to the pound and you can apply for him if you have a legal reason to own a domesticated wolf."
"Zigger is not a wolf," Zeddy cried, as tears ran down to his mouth.
"He is over 1 foot long, so he is not a domesticated fox. All dogs are either domesticated wolves or foxes or some breed thereof. What is this breed?"
"Zigger is a rare breed from Macao, a mix of a Portuguese and Macao", Zeddy says as he wiped his eyes with the Kleenex the principal handed him. He is exactly 1 foot so, technically, maybe there is a loophole that will allow us to keep him?"
"Hmm," the International Principal was stumped. Just don't tell anyone we had this conversation, and I'll allow you to take him home. Don't let anyone else see him unless you first get a license."
"Thank you, kind principal," Zeddy says, as his face lights up with joy.
"May we know your name, Sir?"
"Dennis Meniacle", but feel free to simply call me ‘Principal’. My son, Dennis Jr, will start school next Monday and I believe he will be in your class, so be sure to show up on time."
~Chapter 5~
The Secret Adventures of Zeddy continue as he relates his dream
That next morning, Zadie, says, "Son, go check on those hamsters your father is using as guinea pigs, in his lab, before they die of starvation."
As Zeddy feeds them, he notices the food box reads, 'bird seed', and that babies have been born.
Reaching down to pick up the baby hamster with a brown back and white face, he says, "Your name will be Zirus."Snatching up Zirus, he hears sounds from the hamster, "tweet, tweet, tweet", just like a bird whistles.
Running to his mom, Zeddy says, "Momma, look, daddy's experiment worked! This baby hamster whistles like a bird, so Zadie whistles a little tune, ' whistle while you work' and Zirus imitates her.
The Boy Who Played With Dark Matter Page 8