"What happened?" Zeddy asked.
"That's the problem," the professor answered. "I always have trouble with WIMPs."
12 WIMPS ARE MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
"Wimps?" Zeddy asked. He was confused. He thought that wimps were weak people. He had never heard of wimps in space. He also knew his father would have never let him call someone else a wimp, not even an alien.
"Wimps?" Zeddy's mother also asked. "How do you know that there are wimps in space? Is Zamira populated by wimps?"
"I know what you're thinking," Prophesy began. "I'm not talking about wimpy people. I'm not talking about a lack of physical strength or a lack of courage. I'm referring to Weakly Interacting Massive Particles."
"What are those?" Zeddy asked.
The professor scratched his shock of grey hair. He didn't know quite how to explain scientific theory to a young boy.
"For centuries scientists have been trying to explain how the universe keeps expanding, and why the universe doesn't simply stop expanding beyond the mass of the original star that exploded in the Big Bang Theory. We had no real explanation for where the original matter came from that keeps pushing the universe further and further from its point of origin. Finally, we realized that there must be some reason for this discrepancy. That is where WIMPs come in.
"WIMPs are what scientists believe are the basic units of dark matter. Dark matter is an invisible substance that makes up for the missing weight and mass in the universe. Weakly Interacting Massive Particles are thought to be invisible, electro-magnetically neutral particles that rarely interact with matter, and have their own gravitational forces. It is the secret that your father was searching for. It is what we both thought we would discover through Zamira, because it constantly changes shape and size, and its weight is always fluctuating. Proving the existence of dark matter would be the biggest scientific breakthrough of this century," Prophesy explained as best he could.
"So, did my father go to Zamira?" Zeddy asked.
"He tried," said Prophesy sadly. "We have spent our time together over the last two years in the Nevada Province. We were searching for a way to get to Zamira, since shuttling there would be impossible even for a robot. There is no way to carry enough fuel. I believed that we would be able to open a portal between our world and Zamira, if we harnessed enough power to create a controlled vortex whose trajectory was aimed towards Zamira."
"How can that be possible?" Zeddy and Zadie simultaneously asked.
"Oh, yes. Let me see. If we used power to open a door in the time/space continuum, then we could travel to Zamira," Prophesy tried to explain.
"So you wanted to travel across space and time without having to use a spaceship?" Zeddy asked.
"Why, yes, my boy! Your scientific mind is wonderful! I am afraid I don't talk to many people anymore. It's hard to remember that other people aren't thinking about the same things I am thinking about," Prophecy said solemnly. "So you see, your father and I built a machine to do just that. We built a giant reactor and a spinning mechanism that would imitate the creation of a vortex. But we had no one to go, once the machine was up and running. The IG demanded that one of us go. Before I could volunteer, your father stepped into the vortex.
"As he entered the vortex, the nuclear reactor began to melt. As much as we studied dark matter, we overlooked the importance of dark energy in our calculations. Dark energy is supposedly more powerful than any other force in the universe. Scientists believe it may even be more prevalent than dark matter. In fact, it may be the actual force that created the universe as we know it. All our planning was worthless. Our equipment began to explode and catch fire. I ran up the stairs and grabbed your father, pulling him out of the vortex before he was trapped wherever it opened. We barely escaped. The facility exploded, and we were lucky to have survived. Your father was exhausted, and I was afraid he may have been exposed to some sort of radiation. I put him on the first tram to the hospital, but apparently he went home to both of you. I am sorry that I don't know more to tell you. I would like to tell you that maybe the radiation made him suffer from temporary memory loss, or maybe he needed time to think it all through. Unfortunately, I believe that the IG must have picked him up because our experiment was a failure. That is why I think they will come here next," said Prophesy, with tears beginning to form in his eyes.
Zeddy's head was reeling from the new information. He looked to Zadie for some kind of answer, but she only stared blankly at both the professor and her son. Then Zeddy remembered his zutterfly safely put away in his backpack. It had told him that it was a dark matter bug. Could Zmally be the connection to help Professor Zenith realize the truth?
"I have something that I want to show you," Zeddy said, slipping off his backpack. "I have something that certainly is related to this dark matter that you're talking about. You'll have to turn out the lights, though."
The professor went to the switch on the wall as Zeddy opened his backpack. In the dimness of the room, the little zutterfly began to glow deep inside the backpack. Slowly, the bug made its way up to the opening, as Prophesy looked on in disbelief.
"What is that?" the professor asked.
"This is Zmally," Zeddy said. "He is a zutterfly, a dark matter bug from the planet Zamira."
Zmally began to glow in the most beautiful shade of violet that they had ever seen. It swooped and swirled around the room, leaving trails of purplish light behind it as it moved.
"That is amazing!" the professor exclaimed. "Never in my wildest dreams have I ever imagined a creature such as this."
"It is quite beautiful, isn't it," Zadie said.
"It is an exquisite creature," Prophesy continued. "And you said that it was from the planet Zamira?"
"Yes. Last night it helped me dream of Zamira, the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Then we talked after he woke me up. He said that Dad brought him back in his pocket from Zamira. Unfortunately, Zmally was scared of us and had to observe us for a while to learn to trust us," Zeddy said.
"He spoke to you? In English? And he said your father brought him back from Zamira?" Prophesy asked, scratching his head.
"Yes, he said Dad brought him back from Zamira; and, yes, he speaks English. The Z-King of Zamira taught him English and another language, but he said Zamiran is a difficult language for outsiders to understand, because everything starts with the letter Z."
All these years, the professor had searched for dark matter. He had discovered Zamira and studied it with Zane, hoping to find the answers to the dilemma that had puzzled scientists for years – the existence of dark matter. And they had actually done it! He and Zane had created a portal between Earth and Zamira! If only Zane were here to share in this moment. This magically transparent zutterfly was the answer to all his life's work. Maybe …
13 IDEAS TURN INTO REALITY
The zutterfly fluttered down to land on Zeddy's hand. Its wings slowly moved up and down in the smoothest motion that Prophesy had ever seen. It was absolutely amazing. This was the mysterious dark matter he had dreamed existed for so many years. It was here, within reach; and it was absolutely astonishing! He wanted to reach out and touch the little zutterfly resting on Zeddy's hand. Prophesy was so excited that his hands were shaking.
"Zmally, this is Prophesy, a friend of my father's. He is very interested in meeting you," Zeddy told the little zutterfly.
"Hello, Prophesy," Zmally said as he flew from Zeddy's hand and floated in front of the professor's face.
"Why, um, hello," said Prophesy in a shaky voice. "I have been looking for dark matter for many years. I never imagined it, I mean you … imagined you … you would be a living being."
"Why have you been looking for me? Do you wish to capture me and study me in your laboratory?" Zmally asked, fluttering back as he spoke. The zutterfly was unsure of this new man and his intentions.
"You are the mystery that has baffled all the scientists on our planet for hundreds of years. We have made assumptions about you that
your mere existence disproves. We thought you were made of some unknown subatomic particles or… I don't even know what. It's all so inexplicable! I don't want to experiment on you, now that I have met you. But I do want to know more about you. May I ask you questions?" Prophesy asked hesitantly.
"You may," Zmally answered. "But for the time being, I will stay over here with Zeddy. Before you question me, know that I do not trust you yet. You are a scientist. You have wanted to find me. Why would you change your mind now about wanting to experiment on me?"
"You are very intelligent and wise, Zmally. I understand your reservations. It's just … you see … now that you are here and real and responsive … I cannot imagine experimenting on something as magnificent as you. Is all dark matter created as zutterflies?" the professor asked quietly.
"No. There are all types of dark matter bugs and creatures. Zamira is full of beings. I heard you say that you were the first on earth to discover Zamira. Why did you believe that Zamira would help you find dark matter?" Zmally asked suspiciously.
"Um, the planet … it … um… changes shape and mass and … to be quite honest … well … it was just a scientific guess. Our scientists have guessed that dark matter makes up the missing mass in our calculations of the universe. Does it?" asked Prophesy eagerly.
"Dark matter makes up some of the existing matter that, in your calculations, you think doesn't exist. We creatures of dark matter have powers that seem to defy those laws that your world believes govern the universe. But do not feel poorly about your misunderstandings; many planets misunderstand creatures like me. We are one of the last mysteries of the universe. We and dark energy," Zmally said very rationally. "Dark energy is much more responsible for your miscalculations than dark matter creatures. In fact, we get most of our powers from dark energy. It is vast and inextinguishable. I can feel it everywhere, but Earthlings can only use the dark energy that was created for them. That is, if they were lucky enough to have some created for them."
Zeddy, Zadie, and Prophesy all looked at each other. The revelations of the past 36 hours swam in Zeddy's head making him dizzy. Zadie and Prophesy were beginning to feel almost as overwhelmed as Zeddy. What did all of this mean? Was there really some set of rules or regulations for the universe that people from Earth could simply just misunderstand? What was it that created these rules? There were so many questions that they all wanted answered.
"By the way, Zeddy, I was wondering if that was your Rosetta crystal in your backpack." Zmally asked.
"Rosetta crystal? Do you mean that crystal Nimueh gave me?" asked Zeddy, stooping to search in his backpack for the stone.
"Ah. Nimueh? What a wonderful Zamiran creature! I did not realize she was still on Earth! She must have given you your dark energy. What a wonderful gift! Surely it will help us on our way to find your father and my way home," Zmally glowed pink and happy, humming around the room again.
Zeddy pulled the crystal out of his backpack. It was small and smooth and a very pretty shade of light purple. His mother noticed the same hue in Zeddy’s dark eyes, when the sun lit on them. Such a pretty looking crystal, to contain something called dark energy. Zeddy had to wonder if it was, in fact, evil, as it turned pink on touching it. The crystal didn’t feel evil, but he thought about the contradictory stories about Nimueh in history. Then he thought about what his mother had revealed to him about the International Government. He began to think that maybe he should follow his heart, and his heart was telling him that this crystal was something that was helpful and powerful, and just for him. As he looked down at the crystal, it began to change color again. The pale pink began to darken into red. Suddenly, the zutterfly also began to glow a bright red. It was no longer the beautiful colors it had once been. This red was dark, almost a warning.
"Someone is here," the dark matter bug told them. Zmally and the crystal continued to burn brighter then dark red.
Zeddy, Zadie and Prophesy were shocked by three loud knocks at the front door. The professor had been expecting no one. The loud knocks could only mean one thing: the IG.
14 FEAR KNOCKING AT THE DOOR
"KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!"
The sound was terrifying. Zeddy, Zadie, and Prophesy looked at each other in panic. They scanned the room, but there appeared to be no way out, except the door from which the knocking came. Massive fear gripped the three, as they stood there, paralyzed. The Rosetta crystal in Zeddy's hand glowed almost blue now. It was cool to the touch, but looked as if it could burn through metal, like a blowtorch. Zeddy almost dropped it, but he realized the temperature of the rock hadn't changed. It had to be a warning. Zeddy, Zadie, and Prophesy exchanged glances that let each other know they all agreed on one thing; those knocks were not something they wanted to deal with … ever.
"What should we do?" asked Zadie in a panic. "I can't let them take my son. He's just a boy!"
Prophesy replied quickly, "No! They mustn't! And we have to hide the crystal and the zutterfly. If they find those here, they will never believe that the explosion at the project was accidental. They will think we are hiding the discovery for ourselves. That alone would be life in prison for Zane … and me. If not worse … "
"So what do we do?" Zadie said as quietly as she could, with her heart pounding in her ears.
"KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!"
Whoever was knocking at that door was beginning to get impatient.
"Mom, we can hide under some of this equipment! Prophesy, you will have to go talk to them. Act natural. You know, like you were busy researching and lost in thought. Act like you don't have a clue what could be going on that they would need to talk to you. We need to hurry up, though. I've got no clue what to do if they bust down the door!" Zeddy said bravely, taking command.
"Good thinking, my boy! Excellent plan! Get Zmally and hide! I will be even more distracted and absent-minded than usual. It will work … surely, it will work," Prophesy's voice trailed off, as he tried to erase his own fears of what was to come. After meeting Zeddy and Zadie, and after seeing the amazing dark matter bug and dark energy crystal, Professor A. Z. Zenith was sure he had to do whatever he could to protect them. With Zane gone, it was his duty to take the place of the man he thought of as his own son.
Zeddy whispered for Zmally to come with them, and the dark matter zutterfly willingly flew into the large cabinets Zeddy and Zadie were squeezing into. Zmally knew danger when he felt it, and what waited outside that door was definitely dangerous. Even the little zutterfly thought that no good could come of it, if these were the people who had Zeddy's father. He was growing very fond of this brave Earthly boy, and he began to think of how he could help if the situation became even more perilous.
Prophesy waited till the trio was nestled in the large supply cabinets that had long sat empty due to his never-ending lack of supplies. He quickly switched off the computers and steadied himself as he turned to walk down the hall. Again the loud knocking bellowed its command to come down the hall. Prophesy took a deep breath and walked quickly down the hall.
"Coming! Coming!" Prophesy called out as he hurried down the hall. "Who is it, please?"
"Doctor Zenith, this is the International Military Police. We need to speak with you regarding the explosion in the Nevada Province. Open the door, please," a deep voice called from outside.
"May I see your identification?" called Prophesy, stalling as best he could. "I'm sorry, but one can't be too careful!"
"Slide open the panel on your door," called the deep voice. "You may look through to see our identification cards."
"Why, thank you," Prophesy answered shakily.
Prophesy slid the panel over slowly. Three bulging men stood outside his door, wearing the grey military uniforms with gold insignias of the International Military Police. All three had dark sunglasses and shaved black hair. Each man was the exact same height and build, and they looked more like robots than humans. Detective Hassle, Senior Detective Madden, and Special Agent Ire all had proper IMP identificatio
n cards, complete with the International Government's stamp of authenticity. Taking a deep breath, and a gulp for good measure, Doctor A. Z. Zenith opened the door.
"I do apologize. I hope you weren't waiting long. I was researching, and I just sometimes get lost in my studies. Being a scientist, I don’t get many social calls," Prophesy smiled as best he could, stepping out the door and pulling it closed behind him.
"I am Special Agent Ire. We need to speak to you about the details of the explosion in the Nevada Province. We also need to make sure that you have not been contaminated by radiation. We will need to go inside now," the deep voice said, eyes hidden by the black lenses in his glasses.
"It's such a lovely day, and I have been cooped up all day. Might we do this on the veranda? I have some lemons. I could make lemonade," as the professor tried his best to lead them towards the garden veranda.
"We need to do this inside, if you please, Doctor. Now," Special Agent Ire demanded.
"Well, you see, the house is quite the mess. Not having any visitors, well… as I said before, I am unaccustomed to visitors," Prophesy kept trying to dissuade the agents.
"Now," Ire commanded, grabbing Prophesy by the arm in a most painful way.
"Yes, very well, then. Perhaps it is rather hot out here. The longer I stand here, the more I notice it. Do … do come inside," Prophesy said, backtracking to the door and hoping the hand grasping his arm would loosen.
The three IMP followed Prophesy into the dim hallway and across to the study he used to greet his few visitors. Computers lined the walls, but there was a comfortable brown velveteen chair, couch, and love seat. They were worn with age, but at least if he got to sit in the chair he would be out of Ire's agonizing grasp. Prophesy headed towards the chair, and, once he was seated, Ire released the older man's thin arm. Prophesy breathed a sigh of relief as the throbbing arm fell to his side.
Ire sat on the couch which was positioned closest to the chair. A second IMP sat on the love seat facing the professor, and the third man stood in the study doorway.
"Now," said Ire, "let's discuss the explosion that occurred during your project's accident in the Nevada Province."
The Boy Who Played With Dark Matter Page 5
