CHAPTER FOUR ... (Continued)

Brother and sister readied to do battle with one of his older games, Ben reserving the newer ones for worthier opponents. As they lowered their visors, Alex and Nina moved closer to watch.

            Bessie’s eyes now fixed on the monitor, she reached out through force of habit, gripped her staff, and let go. Putting her handheld controller to work, she began humming a strange-sounding tune.

            Alex asked Nina, “What’s that, the latest top-40’s hit?”

            “Shush! It’s her spell song!”

            Making a rude sound, he turned back to the monitor.          

            The game opened to show gamers and watchers alike a broad topographic map of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the outlying area in July of 1863. Side boxes denoted the various battles which had taken place from July 1 through July 3.

Ben said, “We’ll do the one that everybody knows!” Sliding his pointer to the box marked Picket’s Charge, he clicked Play. Automatically maximized to Level 2, the scene changed to a much closer panorama of Cemetery Ridge above a wide valley. Icons atop the ridge represented the Union forces and spread out in the valley were those of the Confederacy.

            Upon switching to Level 3 both players jerked straight up. The large-scale original level rendered average sized objects too tiny to be seen. Whereas, now they could even make out distinctive facial features of the human-like icons. By now in 2018 processes had evolved to make these computer-generated images virtually indistinguishable from live humans.

            Ben exclaimed, “Hey Bean, it’s not only clearer than ever! My guys look totally real-life! Do yours!?”

            She waved a free hand. “Yes-yes, Butt Brain, but shut up and let me think!”

            Alex said from behind, “Bean, my I-pad’s ready. You want me to take notes, call out.”        

            “You sound faint for some reason,” she answered.

            Ben put in, “You sound perfectly clear to me, man.”

            Alex raised his voice. “How’s this!?”

            This always happened the instant Bessie activated her headpiece, the voices of others around her sounding far-off. Still having no idea why, she was too fully absorbed at this point to care. “Yes, that’s a little better.”

            Play began when the last of however many players there were, in this case two, entered which army they would lead. This being Ben’s game, he claimed first pick. “I’ll be Lee! I mean to attack your guys!”

            She tipped her head toward him. “Speak up, I can barely hear you!”

            He came back louder. “Clean the junk out of your ears! I’ll be General Lee!”

            She laughed, “I hoped you would! If you’d studied your history you’d know that General Meade won at Gettysburg!”

            Boisterously, he chortled, “I’ve studied it, all right, but I won’t blow it the way Lee did!” He entered his choice.       

After Bessie did likewise with Meade they both organized their strategies. When satisfied with hers, she next added a technique she had borrowed from a sci-fi movie. This one showed the main character hurtling through time and space on laser beams. Promptly imaging up her own, her now familiar golden glow-beam appeared. Sending it a shaft of thought and muttering, “Come on, move for me…move-move-move!” she aimed it down toward her forces on the ridge. She nodded - Good! Now I’ll get closer…!  Back to humming her strange little song, Bessie began riding the beam down like a toboggan. Suddenly, everything around her went pitch black.

She blinked inside the visor. Rising out of the darkness was a swirl of freeze-framed images; her parents and friends, trees in her yard, Saturn’s rings, and her physics lab, all these and more, blooming up on all sides like flower petals growing in fast-motion, then separating to fly out of sight as others replaced them. Quickly as this phenomenon appeared, it vanished.

The monitor still displayed the game. But behind it and all around, Ben, her two friends, and the computer room were gone. Occupying Bessie’s personal space was her and the chair, the monitor and a portion of the console, and a small circle of carpet beneath her feet. Where the ceiling had been was now cloudless blue sky. Directly below, deep green treetops were rising quickly to meet her. Reflexively, she exclaimed at the same time her mind did, “No-no-no, I’m falling! Stop!”

As if from down in a well she vaguely heard Ben ask, “Stop what!?”

Un-answering and looking down, she gasped, “What is this!?”

            She hung suspended just above several large oak trees behind the position of the Union forces atop Cemetery Ridge. Almost directly below were blue-clad officers on horseback, one of whom was handing out messages and sending them off. Arrayed in the wide valley beyond, flag-bearing ranks of soldiers in gray uniforms and a mixed variety of other clothes were moving toward her ridge. Everyone in this chaotic scene was moving without her using the handheld or giving them any vocal or thought commands.

Raised with computers, including VR accessories, since kindergarten, Bessie knew what was Computer-Generated and what wasn’t. Her heart leaped– These aren’t CGI’s! Her headshake cut off the next thought – They’re…real!? No way!

She meantime felt the presence of an amorphous something, an invisible bubble of sorts, close around her. She had sensed it with their old headsets, but never as strongly as this. Reflexively reaching out, she felt a slight yielding. A harder push made it solid as a brick wall.

Hunched over his handheld to her left, Ben was unaware of her struggles. Behind their chairs Alex and Nina saw Bessie pushing her hands out. Having witnessed her unusual antics before with these VR sessions, they thought nothing of it. But what she did next, they did.

Hands to the sides of her head, she uttered plaintively, “Can you guys hear me?” A pause. “Or even see me? Nina, are you there!?”

            Hearing the little note of desperation, Nina frowned, “Uh-oh!” Stepping forward, she squeezed Bessie’s shoulder. “Of course I’m here! What’s wrong?”

            Reaching back with her own hand, Bessie grabbed Nina’s-tight. “Something very strange is happening! I need some time to figure it out!”

His forces repositioned, what Ben saw through his visor was more vividly enhanced for him than Alex and Nina, but for all three, the monitor’s battlefield scene was strictly standard variety. He groused, “Figure what out? Quit screwing around and let’s play, OK?”

            Laughing, Alex joined in, “Right! You’re squirming like your butt’s burning! What are you doing?”

            Their voices distant, her answer was loud. “Alex, you never mind my butt! You better take some notes!” Fired up a moment ago to beat Ben at his own war game, she had all she could do to take in what was going on just below.

Rows of cannons with their firing crews and blue-coated infantry bearing long rifles stood in trenches or behind barricades of wooden fence. Half turning, she saw lower down a white clapboard farm house amidst a muddy meadow of trampled-down earth. Horse teams and wagons either moving or parked were everywhere. Soldiers hurriedly entering or leaving the house marked it as General Meade’s headquarters.

It dawned – I was in that house…or its replica! During her family’s tour of the national park last year she recalled being up on this very ridge too.

“Come on, Bessie, talk to us!” Nina asked.

Alex echoed, “Yeah, what’s up!?”

Unhearing, Bessie saw a mounted officer depart from the others and ride toward her, probably for Meade’s HQ. Close enough for her to see his handlebar mustache, he looked about Ben’s age. Chancing to look up, the trooper’s legs shot forward into the stirrups. Drawing back hard on the reins, he reared the horse to a halt. Yanking off his cap and shielding his eyes from the sun, he stared up at her, his jaw dropped wide open. Heart pounding, she saw him trying to say something or yell it up to her. Giving a start, she saw behind him the cannons abruptly thrown backwards by the recoil of their opening salvo vomiting flame and smoke.

Inside her bubble Bessie heard only her own breathing. Staring back down at the trooper, she saw him still holding his hat while turned in the saddle and looking back toward the cannons firing. which had erupted. Shaking his head to clear it, he rubbed his sleeve across his eye and looked back up at her.

Without the faintest idea what to do next, she slowly raised her hand…and waved. Her own jaw dropped as the trooper raised her his hat! Clamping it back on and jerking the head of his mount around, he dug his spurs into its flanks. Slapping the reins across its withers, he threw her a last backward look. Crouching lower over the saddle to spur his horse even faster, he galloped pell-mell down toward the farm house.

            About two minutes had passed since all of this had happened. A distant-sounding voice...was it Alex's?...or Ben's?... called distant-sounding voice, “Hey, under the headpiece! What's going on!? Earth calling Bessie!!”

It was too much! Springing up from the console, she yanked off the headband. Looking around around wildly, eyes wide and unseeing, she gasped, "Everything's blurry! Somebody-anybody - am I back!?" 

Nina grabbed her shoulders. “My god, are you okay!?”

            Clutching Maxwell in one hand, Bessie pressed her forehead with the other. “Yes! No! I don’t know!” Slowly, she realized she was back in the computer room. Looking at the monitor,   she started, “No, it can't be! That’s still showing…?”

His own headset off, Ben finished, “It’s still just our war game, Bean!” Seeing the condition she was in, his puzzled expression became one of concern. Dropping the Bean tag, he added, “What’s the problem, sis? I don’t get it!”

Taking a second look at the monitor still showing Gettysburg circa 1863, Bessie shook her head so hard, her long red hair flew in all directions. “No-no-no! None of you do! The problem’s not me!” Before any could answer she called through the doorway, “Dad, would you come in here!? Something’s very wrong with my headband!!”  

                                   

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

           

 

 

 

 

 

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

           

 

 

 

 

The Prologue shows a Triassic pterosaur being frightened by something, but the book’s title alone tells you what “it” was and how she got there. This next excerpt jumps ahead to Chapter Four. Rob Howard is showing wife Connie and their two teenagers Ben and Bessie a pair of his company’s latest VR (virtual reality) headsets, one for each to try out. Their good pal (especially Bessie’s) Alex Ricci is there too. (More italicized explanations are included).

                                                            *

Everyone sat in a semi-circle before the computer console, its large flat-screen monitor bathing the room in a pale blue luminescence. Atop the console were two sets of wireless hand controls for tonight’s video game contestants.

As Rob held up one of his new VR headsets, the others were surprised at how trimmed down it was from the old model. The brainchild of Marsh Perry, his inventive business partner, this prototype was far more user friendly in size and design than the original helmet and pesky trailing cables. Looking little more than a wide headband with a visor attached, its white elastic fabric betrayed only a slight bulge in back from the rechargeable power pack. The neural-sensor wafers for receiving and transmitting the user’s commands were hidden within the liner.

          He was explaining this when Bessie looked toward the doorway. “Hey, girlfriend, just in time!”

          (Her best GF Nina Manchester lives next door. Always practicing her modelling styles, she currently struts the runways at fashion shows in Madison).

          Grandly making her entrance, Nina made a swirling pirouette. Favoring them with a de rigueur pout over one shoulder, she arched an eyebrow. “Here I am darlings! Now we can start!” Ben and Alex greeted her wondrous presence with hoots and grins.

Shaking her head, Connie laughed, “Okay kids, settle down. Continue, dear, we’re all ears.”

Eagerly, Rob started again. “Thanks, sweetie. Anyway, other than a USB in back for recharge cables, these’re wire-less and the power packs are good for twelve hours. But mainly, the sensors on these babies are upgraded like you won’t believe. They transmit your voice commands more accurately than our older ones ever could. They even respond to…”

He paused for the right way to put it. Though savvy enough with cyber technology he lacked his partner’s technical acumen for using the correct terms.

“Screw it, call them your thought signals. Long as you keep ‘em simple this unit can usually translate them for the computer. You with me so far?” When all nodded, he nodded back. “Of course, our research team is already working to replace these headbands. They’re currently trying to fit all the apps into what amounts to over-sized sunglasses.”

          As he started to go on, Connie tapped his shoulder. “Dear, you’re excited and so are we but why not just hand them over? Our kids will figure them out.”  

          He laughed, “You’re right. After a couple of video games they’ll know more than I do.”

          Eyeing his kid sister, Ben grinned smugly, “Alex and I will, anyway!”

          Even though amazingly adept with her dad’s VR units, Bessie had never beaten brother-Ben in a single one of his video games. Her mind made up there’d be no waiting in line, not tonight anyway, she narrowed her eyes. “After I play, you mean!”

          Alex agreed, “Bean here should have first crack at using it before I do.”

          Scowling at hearing the Bean thing, a muted “Argh!” escaped her. With more important things on her mind she let it go just this once.

          (Tall and skinny starting her freshman year, Bessie was nicknamed String Bean-soon shortened to Bean. Now a curvier sophomore, the tag was no longer apt, but to her growing annoyance it had stuck).

          Muttering, “I knew this would happen…” Ben took his own and eyed it all around. “It’s okay Dad but I liked wearing our old helmet. It was like I was racing the Daytona 500!”

          Tone dripping with scorn, Nina retorted, “You guys are total idiots with all your hot-car racing and fighting your dumb war battles! Whereas…” Tossing him a get lost wave, she looked away, her nose tipped up. “…we women focus on more intelligent things!”         (Obviously, she’s crazy about him, this established earlier).

          Taking hers and tapping the visor mounted in front, Bessie smiled, “It’s exactly like the headband I wear when skiing. I like it, Dad.”

For Connie’s part, with a weekend coming on and especially these days with all the worrisome stuff going on out there, she was always happier when her two and their friends were gathered safe and sound under her roof. Waving “Okay, kids, have fun.” she left the room.

          Rob heaved his large frame up from the chair. “Give them a good run-through, you guys. Bess, if you find any glitches, Marsh would like you to note them down, OK? Oh, and here’s another thing, so listen up!”

He stressed not yanking off the headband before first reorienting to their surroundings here in the room. “One of our testers didn’t and mentally lost it for a bit. Anyway, you need me for anything I’ll be watching the sports channel. All set?” When they told him they were, he left too.

          Ben said, “OK Bean, put it on and let’s play!”

          “Wait, I want to name it!” As did many girls, she personalized her fondest possessions by naming them after favorite people, places, and things. Except, only Bessie Howard, one of the school’s best science students, could be so enamored with Albert Einstein she’d name her new VR unit after him.

          As Ben went into his groaning act, Bessie hissed, “Shush! I’m trying his name.” She said it slowly, “Al…bert! Al…bie! No, it doesn’t sound right!”

          The school’s very best science student, Alex ventured, “What about the famous physicist from way back, James Clerk Maxwell? You just now studied him, remember?”

          She nodded, “I’ll try him. Max…well! Maxwell! Ah, that’s good!”

          “That’ll work.” Nina said. 

          Ben let out an aggrieved sigh. “Now are you ready?”

          “No, there’s one more thing.” Her wizard staff leaned against the wall. Standing it up beside her, she stared at it for a long moment.

          Ben’s skills as a champion gamer made him nearly unbeatable even by Bessie and her gifted and talented friends. Impatient to prove it again tonight, he wasn’t having any of his sister’s witches and wizards stuff. “You’re wasting time! Why are you messing with that old stick?”

          Still in a vengeful mood for Ben ignoring her earlier at school, Nina fed him a look of utter disdain. “Because, dimwit, it’s magic and wizards do that!”

Turning from him, she urged Bessie, “C’mon girl, beat him!”

          Standing behind Bessie’s chair, Alex put a hand on her shoulder. Unconsciously placing hers atop his, she glanced up to see him giving her a puzzled look. He said, “You’re really good at physics and the same with astronomy, so I don’t get it.”

          “Don’t get what!?”

          “Why you always do this Harry Potter routine with your VR unit. Real science can’t possibly mix with all that magic stuff - can it?”

          Ben growled, “You guys going to just hold hands or what?”

          Seeing their joined hands, both quickly drew them back. Ignoring Ben and still looking up at Alex, she frowned, “It’s not magic, exactly, not how most of us think of it.” Looking away, she muttered, “Or…maybe it is, who knows?”

          Ben growled disgustedly, “Al, my sis a whack-job! What can I say?”

          Oblivious to his grousing, Bessie gripped her staff in both hands. Seemingly lost in thought for a moment, she nodded, “I’m good to go.” Leaning it back on the wall, she held up her headband, “So, Maxwell, what about you? Feel like winning a battle?” First holding it to her ear as if listening, she turned to Ben. “He says he’ll kick your butt! Let’s go!” With that she snugged Maxwell down around her head. 

          Ben fed his sister an evil grin. “You in a hurry for a whipping?”

          She whacked his shoulder. “This time, Butt Brain, you’re the one who’ll be whipped!”

                                        TO BE CONTINUED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi all and just to let you know; same as “Here and There” – Book Two, this science fiction novel is mostly in progress. Plus, I probably won’t be done with either of them ‘til next autumn-earliest. Anyway, since the novel is tailored to reach the Young Adult audience, the next question arises; will anyone who is older even bother to read it? Ruthie and I would really like to know, so we’d greatly appreciate your comments – whether yea or nay – following each of the novel’s posted excerpts. That said, here’s the first one. Enjoy.

                                                            *

Bessie Howard’s Amazing Adventures

Traveling Through Time and Space!

                              *

         

Prologue- Something Odd a Long Time Ago

          The torrential downpour had let up but another oncoming mass of dark thunderheads promised more rain that might last for days or even weeks. During this brief interlude the clouds had parted enough for a few slanted rays of Earth’s young sun to beat down on a Triassic beach of red-colored sand. Momentarily calmed, the sea rolled in on slow swells lapping the shoreline. Beyond it, palm-like cycads with slim woody trunks stood amid giant rain-soaked ferns bent way down.         

High overhead a winged red-crested reptile, its long narrow beak lined with sharp teeth, spotted a small amphibian scuttling across the sand. Eyes instantly locked on its prey the pterosaur banked into a turn and dropped in lowering circles.

          Its tiny mind perhaps suddenly sensing danger, the amphibian broke back toward the water in a side to side scurry. Splashing into the shallows, it dove to safer depths half a second before the predator could snatch it up.        

          Foiled and vaguely annoyed, the pterosaur angled its six foot wingspan to glide in a wide turn back to the beach. Landing atop a dune, it folded its wings and slumped into an ungainly crouch. Darting bird-like glances from side to side, it saw something glint nearby. Waddling clumsily over to the object, it looked down at it.

          An outwash of sand from the earlier heavy rain partly obscured a clear plastic bottle with a white cap. A portion of the exposed label read “250 coated aspirin tablets…caffeine free…325 mg”. The reptile gave it an experimental tap with the tip of its beak.

There came a flash and a loud “Pop!” Jerking up, the startled pterosaur moved back a few steps. Staring uncomprehendingly at what had materialized, it saw nothing the least familiar, neither the strange creature in the chair nor the computer monitor in front of it. As it reached down for the bottle, the reptile warily backed up another couple of steps.

          Holding up the bottle and looking back at the pterosaur, the odd-looking intruder wagged a finger as it spoke. The mouthed words could not be heard nor could the eyes be seen behind the tinted visor on its head-piece. Next clutching the bottle to its chest, it leaned back in the chair. After another bright flash and a resounding “Ker-rack!”…nothing was there!

           The incident soon forgotten and aloft once more, the pterosaur was again  looking for something down there to eat.

 

 

 

 

My previous post mentioned that our local newspapers are no longer accepting contributed articles. I still have travel pieces and humor columns on file that I couldn't fit into my current book, "Here and There - This and That". So, if these dumb newspapers don't want 'em, I'll occasionally post one of these extra articles here in my blog.

Meantime, Ruthie asked me last night over our pizza at Woodbine (their thin crust cheese, sausage, and mushroom is pretty good by the way). "Your "Bessie" science fiction novel has been in progress for quite awhile, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, for a couple of years, I guess. Why, sweetie?"

"Well dear, I'm usually not much for science fiction but it has some chapters that even I like. A lot! So, why not post these on your blog? After all this on and off stuff with writing it, posting bits and pieces might help you to finish it!"

"Good idea!" I said.

(A word of explanation; 16 year-old Bessie Howard has an amazing ability to travel through time and space while integrated into a computer with her virtual reality headpiece (or "immersive", or "augmented" reality, or whatever). Anyway, the bad guys working for a mega-computer corporation, Ultra - Tech, want her ability for themselves, so they come after her. Angered at Ultra for pulling this nonsense, Bessie and her pals counter-attack using her special skills and whatever else they can dream up. Which, it turns out, is quite a lot. Etc...etc., but I'll leave it at that for now).

Later this week I'll start by posting my prologue to - "Bessie Howard's Amazing Adventures" Travelling through time and space! Meantime, Ruthie will work on our Comments section to make it easier for you folks to do that. Any you do make are important to us.

See you soon.

Hi all. Currently, our "Here and There - This and That" paperbacks are getting to folks here in Adams County, plus, to friends and family members in Illinois, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Connecticut. Some have also picked it up through Amazon for Kindle and other e-books. So, our classic masterpiece is starting to get around. Sadly, the travel tales and humor columns will no longer appear in the Rapids Daily Tribune. We who contribute this stuff have been informed by the newspaper that due to a new corporate policy, our contributions will no longer be accepted.

Ruthie suggested, "In that case, how about trying to get our travel adventures into Wisconsin Magazine, AARP's Monthly mag, and some others?" Good idea, so we'll give it a go.

Meantime, Deb Wachholz has set us up for book signings at County Market on April 24th and May 1st, and Erin Foley, director of the A-F library, spoke of doing likewise. It's now available there for interested readers and for sale at the Historical Society Center.

Another good thing - Jen Sanderfoot, the helpful manager of Barnes & Noble at Madison's East Towne Mall, had me submit it to their Small Press Department for review. She's pulling for us too, Jen saying, "I liked you and your wife the minute we met. For some reason I also had a good feeling about your book. I'd like to get it into our store, so if you need my help, just ask."

It usually takes Small Press six weeks to decide yea or nay. Ruthie said, "Either way, it's all very exciting. But dear, we'll need a break from this stuff and soon. How about if I reserve us a bed and breakfast place for two or thee days? That's way out of town? Say, Mackinac Island?"

I'm for that. Plus, since neither of us have been there, it'll make another great travel story for Book Two. And that's it-catch you later.   

     April Fool's Day and whadda-ya-know, my book is finally published! Ruthie ordered four dozen to be shipped to us for local distribution and fine. Except, because of the large quantity, Amazon-CreateSpace won't get them to us for at least another week. Meantime, by ordering just one book, family members and friends will get their copies today or tomorrow.
     I whined, "That's not fair, sweetie! I'm the author but I won't have it before everyone else in the whole town does!" She shut me up by placing another order for just one "Here and There" to be mailed here.
      And so, for those of you following this blog and passing on encouraging comments, many thanks-it really helped! Catch you later.