by Miller, Tony
“Oh yes, nomenclature is a system of names or words to describe various objects or phenomena found in a particular field. In this case, Para-normal investigations, or ghosts in particular. And as I was saying, the point of light is called an orb.”
“An orb? Like in a circle of light?”
“Exactly, albeit a small one.”
He tapped the button for the next picture. Picture ten through four hundred was much the same, with the points of light increasing and occasionally flaring. Then the battery had evidently run down.
“Damn, I’m disappointed, Stanley. I had hoped to have concrete proof of my conversation with Anne.”
“Well, Charlie, you may be in luck yet. I have a theory I’ve been kicking around in my head. If I’m right, we may be able to bring our Miss Anne to the camera party.”
“Stanley, why could I see her and yet the camera couldn’t? As I recall, my eyeballs and a camera lens are dependent on reflected light.”
“There is a major difference, Charlie. Your eyes are tethered to the most sophisticated computer in existence, you. Not your brain, but you, the user of the brain. You compensated, Charlie, and that was my first clue. We’re going to make Anne appear the same way science made black holes appear, but first go get some sleep, and I’ll do some research and make a few preparations.”
CHAPTER NINE
Charlie was exhausted and just ripped off his clothes and stumbled into his bed. Ah, the sheets felt cool, and his pillow was magnificent. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
For approximately four hours he did not dream. Then he heard his name. “Charlie,” a soft female voice whispered. “Charlie, it’s me.” Charlie was in total blackness. His eyes were open, but there was only total blackness. He blinked; nothing. Then he thought he could see a minute point of light. He squinted and strained to see it. “Charlie.” The voice seemed closer. The almost imperceptible point of light didn’t grow, but seemed to glow instead. The room became lighter, a twilight grey, almost like being in a great fog. Then there was more light, but nothing to see.
“Charlie, it’s me. Turn around.” Charlie turned slowly around, and there was Anne only two feet away. As Charlie gazed at her, her eyes filled with tears and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Charlie could plainly see they were tears of joy, by the radiance of her face.
She stepped to him and slowly touched his face. Her touch was warm and soft. Charlie’s hand automatically went up to touch hers. Anne’s other hand went up to his face, and she pulled him slowly to her lips. As his lips lightly touched hers, her warm lips, he could taste the salt of her tears. His arms went around her, and he pressed his lips to hers. She responded feverishly, and they both became lost in the tastes and smells, the warmth and the overwhelming feeling of love.
Their lips gently parted and they simply held each other, his lips to her ear, and hers to his. When Anne whispered, “I love you” into his ear, there was such a strong intent that it caused Charlie to choke back a sob.
“Oh, my god, I’ve missed you. I’m so sorry. I was so stupid.” She began to kiss all over his face. Charlie was bewildered, and yet there was a haunting feeling that he knew, and yet didn’t know why, there was such a seemingly strong feeling of love between them. “I love you, Anne, more than I’ve loved anything, but …” He choked back a sob. “I don’t know why.”
She held her hands gently to each side of his face. Charlie was mesmerized by the sensation of her soft and feminine hands. Anne looked deeply into his eyes and said, “You will soon.”
CHAPTER TEN
Charlie awoke from his dream. He padded to the bathroom and peed. He then hurried back to bed, pulled the covers over his head, and tried to go back to sleep to recover the dream of Anne. After a while he realized it was no use, he was wide awake. He looked at his watch. It was two o’clock in the afternoon.
He wondered what Stanley was up to, so he got up. He jumped in the shower and let the hot water beat down. He closed his eyes and could still see how real Anne’s face was in the dream. He could recall her smell and the softness of her touch. It certainly was the most pleasant and real dream he’d ever had.
He finished his shower, stepped out, dried himself, and then ended with a vigorous toweling of his hair. This last always seemed to be what woke him up. He pulled on his favorite old pair of Levis and a tee-shirt that said, ‘I’m With Stupid’ with an arrow pointing up to his own head. It was funny when he bought it, especially the small print that said Multiple Personality Association. He pulled it off, and found another plain black one, as it wasn’t funny now. He slid his feet into his well worn sandals, ran his fingers through his still damp hair and went downstairs to see the wizard, or Stanley, as he was called.
Sitting on Charlie’s couch, Stanley sipped on a glass of water, while intensely reading some notes in his hand. His deep concentration was broken when Charlie entered the room announcing, “super geek patrol, with a weirdo warrant for a one Stanley Alexander Myers, aka Stanley, as his friends call him or smart ass Myers, as I sometimes call him; the only man who can sit on an ice cream and tell what flavor it is. So what’s cooking?”
<><><>
“Sit down, Charlie, I’ve some bad news.”
Charlie sat down, his mirth suddenly dissipating.
“Okay, what is it?” Charlie said a bit abruptly.
“We must go over some basic laws of physics to understand the parallel universe and to further explore the phenomena of Anne.”
“So, what’s the bad news?”
“You are, Charlie. This time it’s vital you actually understand it, not just memorize to pass a test.”
“You’re not an afternoon person either, are you, Stanley?”
“I’m serious, Charlie, I can’t do it alone. You have to learn the basics so we can work as a team, agreed?”
Charlie was now suddenly somber.
“I will do anything I have to do to understand the Anne phenomena, as you say. I just don’t know if I can understand physics, even if I tried. It is endlessly complex. It’s easy for you.”
Stanley stood up and stretched. His six foot two lanky frame seemed to bridge floor to ceiling. He looked around. Charlie’s house smelled like a locker room.
“Charlie, you can understand the basics of physics, I promise you. It’s actually simple. The complexity comes when you try to understand a lot of things at once. The trick is to take one thing at a time.”
“Easy for you to say, Einsburg.”
“It’s Einstein, you nitwit.” said Stanley.
“I was just screwing with you. By the way, what’s a nit?”
Stanley sighed. He couldn’t help but smile at his funny friend. Charlie’s constant humor attack probably kept him from taking science too seriously.
“A nit, Charlie, is the offspring of a tiny bug, a louse, like you, and it bugs you to no end and leaves you constantly scratching your head. Your wit is much like that, Charlie!”
“Why, thank you! By the way, Stanley, I just had the most realistic dream about Anne. One of those dreams, you know, that seems too real. I’ve had realistic dreams of flying and, man, they were awesome. It was like that, but even more real. Damn, I hate it when your kidneys wake you up out of those super great dreams. Makes you want to have them removed.”
Charlie’s eyes seemed to literally shine with excitement despite his lack of sleep.
“So, really, Charlie? You want to have your kidneys removed for waking you out of a good dream?”
“Kidding Stanley.”
Stanley sat back down on the leather couch and put his feet up on the coffee table, knocking some of Charlie’s ghost magazines to the floor.
“Oh, happy day, for you, as I was going to remind you of all those complaints of yours, of wet dreams and big erections waking you up. I remember your complaints specifically. ‘It took so much skin to accommodate my boner that I couldn’t close my eyes and also, I jumped out of bed and pole vaulted out the window.’ These are
problems, Charlie, but I know a surgeon who will remove two organs for the price of one. It’s a kidney and boner surgery package. Such a deal. Shall I make the appointment?”
Charlie gave him the finger.
“Is that the number of friends you have since your dog died, mental age, or IQ?” Stanley oozed his best sarcasm.
Charlie laughed. “Okay, you win!”
“Oh, good, now tell me every detail of your dream as it may be important.”
“You’re not some dream pervert, are you, Stanley? He smiled broadly.
“Give it up, Charlie. You’ll never beat me with your wit. Now, Charlie, tell me about the dream.”
Charlie made his way to the kitchen. The sink was piled high with dishes and yet Charlie seemed oblivious as he pushed some aside and made room for the coffee pot. He put the beans in the grinder and as it screamed away he added water.
Soon the best smell in the world permeated the house. Only baking bread could rival it.
You could hardly smell the dirty socks littered around the house.
Stanley waited patiently until Charlie returned.
<><><>
Charlie told him every detail.
Stanley seemed to be in deep thought as he mumbled seemingly to himself, “yes, that makes sense.”
“Charlie, let’s discuss a little physics. Have you ever heard of a parallel universe?”
“Not really, but then parallel parking didn’t interest me either.”
“Well, Charlie, one of the latest theories in physics is that there must be a parallel universe to this one for this one to exist.”
Charlie pretended to snore.
“Let me explain parallel a bit. Hmmm, okay, first a universe is basically all the things associated with a person, place, or thing. The physical universe is all the things that make up the physical universe. There would be matter, which has mass, occupies space, continues through time and is convertible to energy. This is important, Charlie, to understand how to get to Anne.”
“Okay, Stanley. So, matter is something you can measure and weigh, right?”
“Right.” Stanley acknowledged.
“It occupies space? Hmmm … oh, duh …, like it takes up space, like an unemployed roommate,” Charlie joked.
“Uh, oh yeah, what was the time thing?”
“It would continue through time. That would mean, Charlie, that a physical object continues to exist when you look away from it. Forget about it, look, and it’s still there.”
Charlie laughed.
“And what is so funny, numb nuts?”
“In your case, there’s so much you don’t know about, that the majority of the physical universe would be missing. That would be the Charlie universe, all things associated with Charlie. Tits and ass and ummmm …”
“So, Stanley, oh great guru of worthless information, where’s all this crap going?”
“To your first physics lesson, Charlie.”
“The old wax on, wax off thing?” inquired Charlie derisively.
“In a sense: the on and off part, opposites, Charlie, the yin and the yang, up and down, in and out, positive and negative. In eastern philosophy they hope for a personal epiphany in the student. But as slow as you are at realizing anything, we may not live that long.”
“What?”
“No wax on, wax off, I’m just going to tell you. Is that okay, Charlie?”
“Please do.”
Stanley stood and began to pace. He stopped and turned.
“Remember in your science classes, during those moments that you were awake? You may remember that the physical universe or the real stuff, as you say, is made up of matter, the stuff that has mass that can be measured and weighed, occupies space, and is convertible to energy.”
“Convertible to energy?” Charlie raised an eyebrow.
“I shouldn’t have said convertible. No Charlie, not a vehicle that helps you pick up chicks.”
“Stanley, I just wanted a clarification of ‘convertible to energy’ in the view of physics as interpreted by you, my guide through the parallel universes of boring to more boring.”
The floor creaked under Stanley’s foot. He stopped and began to make it squeak intentionally just to irritate Charlie.
“It may soon cease to be boring, Mr. C.”
“Uh oh, I know I’m in trouble when you start calling me Mr. C. It’s like my mother using my middle name.”
Stanley began a repetition of squeaks with the floor. Feeling he had sufficiently irritated Charlie, he paused.
“Okay, Mr. C, convertible to energy means that a log, say, can be burned up and converted to energy. All physical objects contain tremendous amount of energy. The atomic and hydrogen bombs were just science releasing the energy from some matter. Don’t worry too much about that. It’s only important that you understand that the physical universe, the seemingly real stuff, is made up of matter or particles that have mass which can be weighed, measured etc.”
“Okay, wait a minute, Stanley, you said seemingly real stuff. Are you going into that meta physical, mumbo jumbo thing?”
“No, Charlie, pure and simple science.”
“Okay, go on, so we have real pieces of stuff called particles.”
Charlie gestured with his hand in the little sideways bye- bye to convey give it to me.
“Okay Mr. C, there are particles, there’s energy, and some say that particles are made up of small waves of energy. Nevertheless, there has to be some space for them to exist in, and they must continue through time. That pretty much sums up the physical universe, pretty simple.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask about the parallel universe to the physical universe. That has got to be one long explanation since physics has just discovered it.”
“Nope, Charlie, it’s just as simple. It is a universe that runs parallel to this one, but made up of opposite material. Are you ready to go one step beyond Steven Hawkins and the top physicists of the world?”
“You are one arrogant megalomaniac, Stanley.”
“Did you learn that big word in a psyche class, Charlie?”
Stanley stood and Charlie could see the contempt oozing from Stanley’s face.
“Damn, Stanley, you scare me sometimes. You seem to hate psychiatry, and I’m afraid people are going to think you are some kind of nut if you keep saying things like that.”
“Oh, really, Charlie? And who would label me a nut; a psychiatrist perhaps or perhaps a wannabe shrink?”
Stanley continued.
“If you research their history you will find a track record of dismal failure in helping anyone in a positive way. True science would reconsider its basic assumptions and correct itself toward predictable results. Psychiatry refuses to do that. It chose instead to mask itself in the veil of science and became a widely accepted pseudoscience through social manipulation, as conceived by Sigmund Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays.
“That, my dear Charlie, is psychiatry’s only value, manipulating the public for elitist groups or governments. Their propaganda is effective, but their ridiculous psychological theories can be dispelled by anyone with an IQ over eighty, with a still functioning mind not yet numbed by anti-depressants. They’re nothing more than gossips at the water cooler of life, and like many gossips, create chaos and destruction.”
“I didn’t mean to make you cranky, Stanley, or get off the subject. So where were we?”
Charlie got up and poured two coffees. He returned and handed Stanley one.
“Perhaps it wasn’t off the subject at all, Charlie.” Stanley seemed to disappear into his own mind for a moment, then returned with a gleam in his eyes and a small smile on his face.
“I want you to think of your car. Can you do that, Charlie?”
“Think of my car?”
“Se Habla Español, Charlie?”
“Okay, Stanley, I’m thinking of my car!” Charlie responded sarcastically.
“Are you, Charlie?”
“Yes, damn it, I am.”<
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“You’re thinking of your car?”
“I hate it when you do the all knowing magician trick bullshit!” Charlie replied with irritation.
“This, oh simple one, is just that: Think of your car!”
“Okay, I’m thinking of my car!”
“So, Charlie, when I asked you to think of your car, did you create a mental picture of your car?”
Charlie stood and went over to the window.
“Yes, I did, Stanley, my man.”
“So, who is looking at that picture?”
“What?”
“Simple question Charlie. Who is looking at the picture of your car? I’m not.”
“Okay, Stanley, it is I, Charles Johnson, who’s looking at the picture. I’m also looking at my real car!”
Charlie gestured out the window where he was looking at his car on the driveway. Stanley walked over and drew the blinds.
“Ok, I get the picture!”
“Very good, Charlie. So, when I asked you to think of your car, you created a mental picture of your car and looked at it. Is that right?”
“Uhhh … yep!”
“So, the mind must be a huge storehouse of mental pictures of every experience, wouldn’t you say, Charlie?”
“Okay, I can go with that.”
“Can you remember your first kiss, Charlie?”
“Of course.” Charlie grinned.
“Any deaths in the family?” asked Stanley.
“Yeah, a grandmother and some pets.”
“Did you look at some mental pictures when I asked you that?”
“Okay, I get the point that the mind is made up of mental pictures,” Charlie said getting slightly irritated.
“Would you agree then that it was you who looked at them?”
“Yes, yes, yes, I looked at the pictures, okay?” Charlie noticed a bit of a mischievous gleam in Stanley’s eyes.
“So, Charlie, if you looked at the pictures, that would imply that you were separate from the picture, for if you were not separate, that would imply you are the picture, would it not?”
“Uh, yep, I would be separate from the picture.”
