They all stood and stared in silence for a moment feeling chastised by the man who was a mere baby compared to them, and realized why God had chosen Paul instead of one of them. Zimuel gave Paul a slight hug (the first sign of affection anyone had shown him since coming to Xhondar) and said, “Get a good days rest tomorrow, because if you think it’s been intense before, you aunt seen nothing yet.” Paul smiled and whispered so only Zimuel could hear, “Good try, but the word’s ain’t. I ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Zimuel shrugged and responded, “Well lil b, how bout u teech me good speekin.” Paul laughed, “You could manage to screw-up your grammar faster by just spending a few months in Louisiana.” He told everyone good night and headed back to his rooms deep in thought about just what his future was going to be like. He still wasn’t sure about where he was going to end up or exactly what it is that he is preparing for. He prayed briefly the prayer prayed by billions of believers everywhere, “God I know You have a plan, don’t you think it’s about time You let me in on it?” Then started singing, “Without Him I could do nothing. Without Him I’d surely fail. Without Him I would be drifting – like a ship without a sail.” Tears began to run down his cheeks as he remembered hearing his father sing that song, years ago. He then realized how much he missed music. He had not heard one note of music since he had arrived on Xhondar I. He planned to spend his one day of rest taking care of that.
At 0500 the next morning Paul was knocking on Zimuel’s apartment door. It was answered by a sleepy eyed Tlase, wearing a heavy bathrobe and a cup of some hot drink in her hand. “We need to make a trip back to Earth today. I just realized that I am about to go crazy from music deprivation. It doesn’t matter where we go, but I have got to get myself an MP3 player loaded with the music I like.” Zimuel entered the room disheveled from a night’s sleep. He had heard the conversation and commented, “We can’t just go popping in and out of Earth on a whim.” Paul, not to be deterred, said, “Well, Tlase went to Memphis for BBQ, why not go back there, or Nashville for some music?” Zimuel and Tlase sat on their white leather sofa and looked at each other, and then Tlase replied, “Not Memphis.” Paul knew he had won his argument, “He asked, “Is there any place in America that you would like to see. I can get what I need almost anyplace that has a Walmart or a good record store.” Zimuel and Tlase looked at each other and simultaneously replied, “San Francisco!”
It took them about an hour to get ready. Paul went back to his rooms and put on the outfit he had on the day he left Mississippi. The shirt was now tighter through the chest, back and arms, the pants almost fell off because of his 31 inch waist trying to wear a size 36 pair of jeans. He thought to himself that music wasn’t the only thing he needed to buy in San Francisco. He grabbed his leather motorcycle jacket. He couldn’t even remember what time of year it was back on Earth, but he remembered that San Fran could be a cold place certain times of the year. He met Zimuel and Tlase back at their apartments. When Zimuel opened the door, Paul was surprised to see them looking very American; actually more Californian than he did. They made a cute couple dressed in matching kaki-pants and blue button-down collar Oxford shits. Both had a lightweight jacket thrown over their shoulder. Paul realized he looked more appropriate for Jackson, Mississippi than San Francisco, but that would not tame his enthusiasm for the trip. He looked at them and asked, “Are ya ready? How do we do this?” Zimuel smiled and told him, “I’ll make the gateway going, I don’t want to end up in the bay, but you can bring us home. Let’s go!” The three of them walked down the short foyer toward the front door, the air in front of them blurred for a moment and they stepped out into an alley alongside a building facing Fisherman’s Warf. Paul looked around in amazement as they exited the alley for the sidewalk full of people. It seemed to be early afternoon and the weather was sunny, clear and in the high 50’s; perfect shopping and walking around weather.
The first thing Paul did was step into one of the small bake shops and bought half a dozen truffles. By the time he shared them with his two companions, Paul knew he would have to buy a larger quantity. He checked his wallet and found only another twenty dollar bill and a Visa card that he knew would be cancelled by now. To his surprise he found it was still active when he entered another chocolate shop and bought four dozen assorted truffles. He was planning to share them with the Elders. They walked around the clothing and gift shops for a few hours buying clothes that were at the height of fashion for this season. Soon Paul asked a man behind the counter if there was a good CD shop around here or a Walmart. He was informed that the nearest Walmart was a good distance from the downtown area, but that there was a huge used CD and book store about two blocks away. As they walked toward the store, they passed a pawn-shop and Paul realized that it probably would have just what he was looking for. He purchased a used MP3 player, a used HP laptop with a CD player, a pair of Bose headphones and all the connections he would need to down-load music to his MP3. He also saw a really nice, barely used Martin D35, dreadnaught, acoustic guitar with a case. Once again he whipped out the Visa card and rang up his $1600.00 purchase. Three of them looked like pack-mules as they walked down the sidewalk toward the used CD store. Only getting lost once, due to bad directions given by the truffle shop, they finally found the shop about an hour before it was going to close. Paul hurried to the CD section and felt like he had died and gone to heaven (Rock-n-Roll Heaven). He purchased Peter Frampton, Eagles, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Aero Smith, Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, The Allman Brothers, Duane Allman, Big Jack Johnson, Bonnie Raitt, J.J. Cale, Blind Willie Johnson, some Bob Seger and Joan Jett. For good measure he picked-up a few bluegrass CD’s and several Southern Gospel tracks. When he walked up to the checkout line the clerk thought he had lost his mind. He had over 40 CD’s of various types, including a double CD of Handel’s Messiah, and for good measure added The Winds of Winter, the 6th book of the Game of Thrones series. He once again placed his Visa on the counter as he said a little prayer about whether he had pegged it to the limit. It came close to another $500.00. Paul held his breath as he handed the cashier his Visa. The charge went through with no problem and Paul sighed in relief.
The three of them rearranged their packages before exiting the store. Paul slung the guitar over one shoulder, while Zimuel hung the laptop over one of his. They looked like they were carrying all their worldly possessions with them as they started down the sidewalk. Paul commented, “As I recall, this Visa only had a $1,000.00 limit, they must have raised it when you paid it off.” Zimuel shook his head and told Paul, “Computer realized that in the future you would need more than a thousand dollar line of credit, so she took the liberty of raising your limit. I hope you don’t mind.” Paul asked, “Exactly what is my new limit, and how is an unemployed 65 year-old who doesn’t receive his Social Security anymore going to pay this bill?” Zimuel answered Paul with, “There is no limit on your Visa and since the day you stepped-foot on Xhondar I, the Elders have assumed all responsibility for your needs.” Tlase looked at Zimuel and asked, “You haven’t told him yet have you?” He shrugged with an indicative no. “Tell me what?” Paul asked as he turned to look directly at Tlase. Zimuel quickly responded, “Soon Paul, you will have more than you could ask or imagine, and everything will be made clear to you, but for now, you’ll just have to trust me.” They reached a dark alley that looked private enough for them to return home with no one noticing. They were about 100 feet down the alley as a young man stepped out from behind a dumpster and pointed a gun directly in Tlase’s face, proclaiming, “I’ve been watching you for hours.” He growled, “You must have bought out every shop you entered. Too bad you’re not going be able to keep any of it. Now lay all that stuff over by the wall and get the hell out of here. One move and I put a bullet in the bitches head.” Before anyone said a word or even moved to lay-down their package, the young man dropped his gun and grabbed his chest, falling to the ground. A gateway appeared a couple of feet in front of them and the three hurried through. L
ater when the coroner did an autopsy on a 23 year-old John Doe, he will find an exploded heart, literally a ball of mush inside his chest. Back in Zimuel’s apartment, both Zimuel and Tlase looked at each other knowing neither of them had killed the young man. They looked at Paul with a look of bewilderment. He could sense their questioning mind and replied, “No one puts a gun to my friends head and threatens them; that young man was not about to let anyone go. He would have shot us all three in the back as we left; no witnesses. I spent 12 years in prison with guys just like him. They have absolutely no conscience and a human life means nothing to them.”
They said their good nights and Zimuel helped Paul carry his things to his apartment. He could tell Paul was very deep in thought as he told him, “You did what you had to do. I do believe that young man would have done exactly as you said.” Paul nodded his affirmation, as he said, “I’ve been in more fights in my lifetime than I care to count, and I’ve stabbed people, clubbed people, and choked people, but I’ve never killed anyone before. I know it was the right thing to do, but I took no pleasure in it. The sad truth is that my world is full of people just like that young man. I remember what you said about violence on Xhondar I. I felt it was my responsibility to protect my friends since it was my idea to go to Earth for a shopping spree.” Zimuel patted Paul’s shoulder as he sat his packages on his bed and told him, “Son, I was the last person to go through the training for The Power. It took me years to do what you did today. The way you stayed so calm and didn’t even flinch as the young man threatened us with a gun and then remained composed enough to form a perfect gateway in what should have been an incredibly stressful situation. To be honest with you, you scare me. I’ve been around the Elders for many, many years and the amazing things I’ve seen them do has left me somewhat complacent to it all, but there is something about The Power in your hands that is different, sort of like you were created to use it; everything about using it comes so naturally to you, while the rest of us have had to work on our skills for thousands of years to perfect them, you are doing things that some of the Elders still can’t accomplish. Don’t ever take it for granted. That much power must be used under great restraint; I believe the Bible refers to it as being Meek, which is power under control. I pray that you will always consider what you are doing before you do it.” Zimuel started for the door and just before leaving turned to Paul and said, “You make me proud. I’m honored to be a part of your life,” then left the room.
Paul was too wired up from his ordeal on Earth. He felt like he had ruined a perfectly good day, so he pulled out his laptop, MP3 and his two bags full of CD’s and began to work on his new project, hoping to get his mind off of what had happened in the alley. As he was loading his favorite song from a Stevie Ray Vaughn CD, Tightrope, he realized that he was hearing it over a speaker system inside his room. “Computer, is that you playing with my music?” In response to Paul’s question she replied, “I have been studying and communicating with that Earth computer you are using. It is not very smart. Why would you buy such a thing when you have me?” Paul felt a pang of guilt thinking he had hurt Computer’s feelings then shook his head as he realized that machines did not have feeling. The question was simply asked as a matter of fact. Paul answered, “This is Earth technology, I didn’t think any of this stuff would be compatible with you. Do you think you could do this better?” Computer hesitated a moment and answered, “I have studied your Earth computer, its CD drive, the little memory chip in your hand you called an MP3, as well as the plastic information devices that contain music. If you can wait till morning I can fabricate interface controls and software and do all that downloading from your CD’s in a fraction of the time it is taking you, and then I will be able to broadcast it anywhere you are and through your neurological interface, you can listen to it without those ear coverings you seem so fond of.” Paul smiled and replied, “Computer I think I love you! It’s been a long stressful day and I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow. I’m going to take a shower and get to bed. See ya in the morning.”
Paul woke up to the smell of toast and jelly. Zimuel was sitting at his kitchen table eating buttered toast with strawberry preserves. He had no idea where he got the preserves. Then he noticed Zimuel bobbing his head as he listened to Paul’s MP3 player. He looked around his room and saw all his CD’s neatly stacked on his desk. Next he noticed that his laptop was on and connected to Earth via the internet. He walked over to the little HP and typed in www.pandora.com and was thrilled to see his favorite website appear. He looked around and shouted, Computer, what have you done? Computer answered immediately, “I increased the capacity of your little music device in order to hold all 40 of your CDs, I then modified your Earth computer to be more compatible with Xhondarian technology. I don’t see how it could even work. It now has a faster operating system, over 100 terabytes of hard-drive and through my operating system you can now access Earth’s internet. It will operate much more easily now since you will be able to by-pass the fire-walls, security codes and pass-words that made it difficult to get all the information available on the net.” Paul shook his head and replied, “Do you mean to tell me that I can now connect with any computer on Earth and retrieve any information I desire, even if the sight is restricted or classified?” “Of course, the computers on Earth are not very smart, I can now control anything operated by a computer on Earth or in Earth’s orbit. Let me demonstrate.”
The screen fluttered a moment and a satellite image appeared of an impressive view of some military installation. There were a group of men gathered around a man on his knees. Suddenly one of the standing men swung a sword with all his strength and severed the kneeling man’s head. Paul flinched, “Where is this Computer, and how did you access it?” Computer answered, “I am using a Russian satellite and it is above a place called Syria. You seem very upset, did I do something wrong?” Paul thought quietly for a moment and replied, “No, you did very well. Can you send video of what just happened to someone without them knowing where it came from?” She confirmed his thoughts by saying, “I can do just about anything I want without them knowing who did it. What is it you want done?” Paul smiled and answered, “I want you to send the footage to the United States – Central Intelligence Agency then send a copy to Robin Meade at CNN; that’s a television news network. The whole world needs to see what these terrorist are doing in the name of Allah. Then get me the precise location of where this happened.” Paul walked over to the table and joined Zimuel for buttered toast and strawberry preserves and smiled as Zimuel was tuned-in and turned-on by the music from the MP3. After he finished eating, he reached over and gently removed the ear-buds from Zimuel’s head. “It’s time to run; do you think maybe I could borrow these from you for the next couple of hours? I promise to give them back when we finish our run. Computer can play the music through his speaker system while I’m in the gym, but even she can’t play music in the park. Thank you – you’re a real gentleman.”
As Paul headed for the door with his MP3 player in hand, Zimuel looked around and said, “Computer, I really must have one of those music things, how soon can you produce one for me?” “I’ve already started on it. For some reason I knew we would require more than one. It should be ready by the time you two return from your run.” As they started towards the park, Paul felt like a new man. He began his run with Walk This Way, and proceeded to I Love Rock-n-Roll. After that he listened to a mix of his favorite artists. After about an hour he removed the ear-buds and handed the MP3 to Zimuel, who grinned from ear to ear like a child as he put them on. For the next hour of running Paul was tortured by the worst singing he had ever heard, as Zimuel sang along to his newly found rock favorites. Paul was glad to be back so he could spare his ears. “I can’t wait to share this with Tlase. There is nothing like this in the rest of the galaxies that I’m aware of. Paul took his player back as they boarded the elevator to the weight room. Paul was greeted by Bhlani and asked, “What is this sound that Computer is broadcastin
g in my workout room? Is it something you asked for?” Paul nodded his affirmative and replied, “If it’s a problem I’ll ask Computer to stop.” Bhlani said, “If it won’t hinder your concentration while you work out I’ll just ignore it.” They were about half-way through a grueling workout when Paul noticed Bhlani tapping his feet and moving his body, with pretty good rhythm, to Bob Seger’s, I Love To Watch You Strut. He grinned as he noticed Paul laughing and shaking his head. “Dalhia is going to love this stuff. Can I borrow that thing, indicating his MP3 player, for a while so she can listen?” As Paul handed over his player and left to go eat some lunch, he realized that Xhondar I would never be the same; the heart of Rock-n-Roll was just beginning to beat on Xhondar I. He had to smile knowing that his mother back on Earth would think he was corrupting an innocent society. At least his MP3 had some Southern Gospel and Blue Grass Gospel on it, so Xhondar should not be completely ruined.
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