Learning Curve

Hey Everyone,

I'm trying to learn how to use Adsense. It's a bit of a learning curve for me. I should probably do a search on tips and tricks, but I might wait until I get my new computer.

A few months ago I was using my computer at the kitchen table, and I accidentally dropped it when my wife put the food out for dinner. It landed screen side down and shattered the screen in two places. One big splotch of blackness on the righ side, and a small thin black line on the left. Also the "y" key hardly works, and I have to press really hard every time I use a "y".

I've been using it anyway for the last couple months, but it's getting to the point where I can't see much on the screen. So I've got a new laptop in layaway. Hopefully, I can get it paid off soon. Annywa, I also was able to get a new digital camcorder. It's not the most sturdy, a Vivitar Twist 610, but it should do the job for my instrument videos.

The other exciting thing I'm working on is a new project called Family Band. I am going to be teaching group music lessons to families and neighborhoods, maybe even churches. We'll see how it works.

God bless,

Willly

New Music Updated

Hey Everyone,

I just updated some of my music, you can check me out here at http://willyminnix.blogspot.com or at soundclick.com or on my facebook page.

God bless,

Willy

I Went Down To The Cross Roads - Short Story Orignally Published in the Christian Sci-Fi Journal

I Went Down to the Crossroads, and Tried to Flag a Ride…

Willy Minnix

There was this watch sitting on a desk. It was a nice watch, a Bulova, in fact. This particular Bulova had a couple of interesting features, interesting at least for someone who wasn’t used to wearing such types of watches. One of the things that the owner of this watch, a blues musician named Barry Watkins (known to his few fans as Barry Walker), particularly liked about this watch was the miniature pulsimeter dial that he thought gave the watch a look of authority. There was also another dial surrounding the edge of the watch that one could use to… well no one really knows what those dials are for, but they look good. This one did rotate, Barry had owned watches before (much cheaper watches) that had the same dial but didn’t rotate.

A hand picked up the watch, although the hand didn’t belong to Barry. Barry was in the shower at the time. Yes, even bluesmen need to shower once in a while. You might think that the hand belonged to a thief, but in this case it did not. The hand was very pale and the veins underneath the skin pulsed with a golden glow. A second hand came up and pulled out the watch stem. This hand also was slightly strange with the pale skin and veins pulsing with the golden glow. The hands adjusted the watch back fifteen minutes and then set it down on the table.

The next time we see this watch is around Midnight at a place where the C & G railroad line used to cross the Yazoo and Mississippi railroad line, what used to be called the Yellow Dawg, or simply the Dawg, way back in the 20’s and 30’s. They moved the Dawg further north and renamed it the Illinois Central, just like in that old Doobie Brothers song. The locals always thought it was a crying shame that them railroad men would name a Southern Treasure after a Yankee town, but that’s the way the ball drops sometimes.

These two railroad crossings were immortalized in the now sacred blues tune made famous by one Robert Johnson. This is the Cross Roads. The one that begins “I went down to the cross roads. Tried to flag a ride…” Everyone thinks it’s about two street crossings, but it isn’t, as any real blues aficionado will tell you. And Barry Watkins-Walker was a true blues aficionado.

Barry wannabe-Walker knew everything about the blues. He could tell you about where Robert Johnson drank the poison that finally killed him, he could tell you who Charlie Patton was and what songs of his influenced B.B. King. He could even tell you what brand of guitar strings Sonny Boy Williamson (the first not the second) was reported to use. He knew vague things like what amp setting Eric Clapton used when he recorded “Sunshine of Your Love.” And that wasn’t all he knew. He had a thousand bits of blues trivia floating around in his head. He could play every song that Robert Johnson wrote, not well, but he could still play them. Most of Eric Clapton’s and Stevie Ray Vaughn’s songs too.

While most of the locals were convinced that he sucked and that nothing short of a miracle would ever help the boy out, there was one person who was a huge Barry Walker fan. That was Deloris Farriday. Deloris was kind of a town outcast of her hometown of Moorehead, Mississippi, mainly because she was black and Barry was as white as a sheet. “It just ain’t done in these parts,” so the old folks say.

But they were happy. Deloris liked the way Barry sang, and liked the songs he wrote about her. One song began, “Oh I love my delta queen, oh I love my delta queen, she may be black as the night, but I love my delta queen.” Not very original, but it made her feel pretty special. Not often does a well-to-do city boy come to the Delta, and not often does the same well-to-do city boy romance a poor African-American girl like herself. Barry Walker, though he was short on talent, and long on trivia, was also big in heart, at least in the opinion of Deloris Farriday.

But that was all later, it all started something like this.

“You mean you’ve lived your whole life in Moorehead, Mississippi and you ain’t never heard of Robert Johnson?”

“Nope. Can’t say I have.”

Barry, brushed a long strand of corn yellow hair out of his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. “What kind of music do you listen to?”

Deloris sat at the bus stop waiting on a bus to take her to Angola to visit her grandma for the weekend. She had always had a bit of a curious streak in her, and the white boy with the battered guitar case and fancy watch seemed too much for her to let slide by without finding out what he was doing in Moorehead. Now here he is talking nonsense about some dead musician named Robert Johnson. She had a cousin named Bobby Johnson, but he wasn’t dead and he wasn’t no musician either.

“Well, I listen to most of the stuff they play on the radio, some R&B, some hip hop, rap and the occasional country song now and then. But I’m not much into music. I want to become a lawyer when I get out of school.” Deloris seemed slightly defensive about becoming a lawyer, which made sense since most folks in these parts just laughed at her and said things like “Girl, ain’t never been no black girl from around here become no lawyer, and I can’t see that happening anytime soon.” But she didn’t care. It was her dream, and everybody needed a dream didn’t they?

Well, this answer didn’t sit too well with Barry. He scratched his head. “Girl, I’m gonna have to educate you on the finer details of true American culture: the Blues.” The words flowed out of his mouth like smoke. He spoke the name of his favored music like one speaks of a religious experience, as if merely speaking the name might shake the world if not invoked correctly, or as if savoring a choice delicacy like in them fancy restaurants down in New Orleans. Barry was lost in his own savoring, until he noticed that Deloris wasn’t all that enthralled. “I guess not everyone starts out as a blues fan, but once you’ve been bitten, there ain’t no going back.”

Deloris looked at him askance. “I have heard blues music. My cousin Navin plays in a blues band on Saturday nights at Thornton’s Juke joint. But Navin ain’t that good and most of the time him and his buddies are too drunk to play much of anything. I told Loretta Thornton, her daddy owns the place you know, that if they wanted Navin and his friends to play half way’s decent, they shouldn’t let them get all liquered up before they go on.”

“I see that you haven’t bore witness to real blues music. Please if you will, allow me to bestow some truth upon your pretty black ears.” Barry smooth talked with the best of them, and was rewarded with a slight blush from Deloris.

“Alright. I suppose the bus ain’t here yet. If you want to play sumpin’ that’s up to you.” She smiled and gestured to his guitar case.

Barry laid out his guitar case and pulled out a 1936 National guitar. If Deloris had any clue what a valuable piece of equipment Barry was traipsing around the county with she might have either been impressed or recognized Barry’s foolishness right off the bat. As it was t just looked like any other old guitar to her.

Barry took out a blue piece of bottle neck out of his case and put it on his ring finger of his left hand. And without further ado he launched into a rousing rendition of “She’s A Little Queen of Spades,” by Robert Johnson. Now as stated earlier in this tale, Barry wasn’t all that good. But fortunately for him, he was slightly better than Deloris’s drunken cousin Navin. And so, the fact that she was somewhat impressed encouraged Barry enough to ask her out on a date when she got back from visiting her grandma, which of course led to some interesting talk around town. This being the modern area though, Barry didn’t have to worry much about getting lynched or anything, but they still got a lot of harsh stares as they walked around town or drove around on his motorcycle.

Anyway, I should probably be getting back to the point. The next time we saw the Bulova, it was about midnight at the crossroads where the Southern used to (not no more) cross the Dawg. This is the place, baby! This is the spot where Robert Johnson sold his soul to Satan, Old Scratch, that cloven-foot devil, Lucifer his-own-self. Now Barry, you see, wasn’t much for religion. Wasn’t much for believing in Heaven and Hell, and wasn’t much for thoughts of God and the Devil, neither. But he did believe in Robert Johnson. He also believed that something must have happened to Johnson. Every legend has some sort of beginning. He’d be just as happy if Robert Johnson sold his soul to aliens, as long as the blues was there.

All the tales of the time say that Robert Johnson was the worst musician and biggest wannabe in Mississippi. He would harass and bother all the other high caliber musicians by bringing around his battered guitar. Where they would jeer and tell him to get lost. Anyway, the story goes that at some point ole Bob shows back up in town, only now he’s the biggest badass guitar player that ever strutted into a juke joint. Robert claimed that he went down to the crossroads, now, on a full moon and sold his soul to the Devil to gain his powers of bluesification.

Some folks corroborated Johnson’s tale by saying that he spent a nights in the graveyard, what folks in those parts called the bone-yard, learning from a strange blond haired grey-skinned guitar player. Other’s said that it only appeared like a night, but Johnson was actually missing for a while, and that single night he claims to have spent there lasted at least a decade.

There were one or two old timers, now well into their 90’s, who were young when all this was reported to go down. And Barry, being the diligent bluesologist that he was, had interviewed them all. All their stories seemed to be believable. Or at least, it seemed to Barry that they believed what they were saying. Some told about how Robert was a regular attendee (mayhap even a Sunday School teacher) of one of the local Baptist churches, in some tales it was a Methodist church, and in yet another tale it was a Pentecostal church. At any rate, all the tales agree that he attended until his wife and first born child died. The death of his family darn near drove Bob right out of his mind with grief. It wasn’t too long thereafter that he disappeared.

Barry wanted to find out all about Johnson, even to the point of selling his soul if that’s what it took. He longed for immortality just like his idol. Who cares if his debatable soul had to languish in an even more debatable hell? Anyway if there was a hell, everything was reversible, wasn’t it? He knew in the legends that Faust was screwed, but Daniel Webster got his boy off, right?

Barry double checked his watch, and reached into his pocket to feel for the black cat bone. He had a piece of John the Conqueror (pronounced for you Yankees, “conkah”) root in the other pocket. He wasn’t a seventh son of a seventh son, but you can only be what you are, the old crone that sold him all that stuff, and the bag of mojo hanging around his neck, had said.

Any rate, he was now under a full summer moon, awaiting the coming of the Lord of the Flies. Well, he had one minute left to go, and if it was all true he should be here any minute now. In all his research Barry had never found out why exactly this particular cross roads was the place where Satan liked to hang out, but did that really matter? Probably not. The fact was if it was true, then Barry would be rich and famous in a matter of months, maybe even weeks.

These thoughts as well as all the scraps of history Barry cold remember were floating around in his head, when Barry thought he could see something glowing up a head in the fog. Perhaps he thought, is that someone’s tail lights in the distance? Was he going to be interrupted in his quest? Hopefully it wasn’t a cop. The last thing he needed was to explain himself to some county mounty.

But the lights grew in form as he watched and he realized that the lights were golden in color and looked to be pulsating even as they grew larger. He glanced at his watch again and then back up to the lights. His palms began to sweat and he unconsciously reached for the black cat bone in his pocket. He didn’t know what to expect. After all, it appeared that all the legends were true, and here came Satan; Satan, the baddest dude in the history of bad. This could go really, really wrong if Barry wasn’t careful.

The creature that appeared before him was unlike anything he’d heard in any of the legends. He was frightening beyond all of Barry Watkins-Walker’s imaginings. The creature stood easily seven feet tall. Was male, but with an effeminate heroin chic quality about him. His skin was pale white, almost translucent, and the veins in his body were visible beneath his skin. The veins glowed with a strange golden shimmer. The eyes had that same type of glow, and Barry realized these were the lights that he had seen moments before coming towards him in the dark. The being’s long hair gleamed with a light of it’s own in the darkness. Barry took a step backwards in alarm.

“Greetings mortal.” The being did not open his mouth, but the sound exploded in Barry’s mind like a trumpet. No, it was more like the guitar orchestra that Brian May was famous for. Enormous! Barry sank to his knees. “Rise! Thou art not permitted to kneel, mortal.”

Barry climbed back on his unsteady feet. He fondled the black cat bone again, this time taking it out of his pocket and holding it with both hands.

“Why art thou here, mortal?”

“I… I…uh, I want to be a blues god.” Barry stammered.

“Thou mayest one day attain the glorification of godhood, Barry Watkins, but dost thou know what it is that thou asketh?” The voice boomed in his head and made him flinch with each word, yet the mouth never moved an inch. The King James grated against Barry’s sensibilities of gutter slang. It hurt almost as much as the disembodied voice.

“What? I don’t understand you,” Barry whined.

“What is it you seek, mortal?” The voice commanded.

“I want to be the best blues player of all time. Like Robert Johnson.”

“Do not waste my time with your puny dreams, mortal. I will ask again, what is it that you seek?”

Barry was unsure of himself now. Was the god creature deaf as well as mute? Surely this wasn’t Satan. Where were the horns, where was the tail. Barry looked down at his watch, five minutes had passed. He was wondering when he could go home, if he would go home. He knew if he didn’t answer the god-creature soon he would likely be slain right here in the middle of the crossroads. “I want immortality.”

“Ah, so that’s the truth of it, is it?” The voice seemed to calm down a bit in Barry’s head. He wasn’t sure if it was getting quieter or if he was adjusting to the sound.

“Shall I show you immortality then?” The creature was wearing a black leather outfit resembling the one that Mick Fleetwood wore on the Roumers album cover. Except this creature was not wearing a billowy pirate shirt as Fleetwood wore. He reached into the skin tight vest and pulled out a crystal ball about the size of a softball. How it was carried in the vest, Barry couldn’t see. But as the creature brought the ball closer to Barry, it began to glow of its own light.

The ball began to hover above the palm of the creature and floated around its body. It made a compete circuit around his body three times going first around the head, then the waist and then the lower legs before it began floating towards Barry. Once it got to Barry it made its circuitous way around his body, starting at his lower legs, then ending directly in front of his face.

“Watch, mortal, for you will see your future.”

Barry gazed within the depths of the crystal. He couldn’t be sure of what he was seeing. The mysterious golden glow, like golden lava that was pulsing in the creature eyes and veins was within the globe as well. And with each passing second it grew more powerful, until Barry’s face and hair was awash in the glow. Slowly out of the boiling lava images began to appear within.

***

Not long after selling his soul to Satan, Barry meets Robert Jameson. Robert is an A and R man for Atlantic records. He has worked with the big named blues men all over the world. When he heard Barry playing in Silky O’Sullivan’s in Memphis, he knew he just had to sign him. It was really a freak accident that Jameson was anywhere near Memphis at the time, except his car broke down in Little Rock on the way from Austin to Chicago, and by the time he got back on the road it was already much later than he planned. He thought it would probably be a good move to stop for dinner in Memphis, see if anyone worth listening to was playing and get on to Chicago in the morning.

When he heard Barry’s first song, he knew that he was experiencing magic. You see, Robert had the lucky, or perhaps unlucky depending on the way you look at it, distinction of having signed five other acts who had also sold their souls to Satan in exchange for immortality. Three of those bands were now washed up has-beens, but whoever said immortality was forever?

Before the night was over, Barry had a date with some bigger executives at Atlantic records, and though he didn’t know it yet, was onto a successful career as a blues god.

***

Barry’s new band is called Barry Walker and the Howlin’ Bone Yard Dogs. They had played 130 gigs over the past year, but this New Year’s gig was the Mack Daddy of all gigs. They are playing at times square in front of millions of crazy drunks. It is the thrill of a lifetime to say the least. And like every other gig of the 130 they had played, Deloris is backstage hanging around in the wings. This time however she’s making time with Barry’s new manager Jerry Stevens.

Barry met Jerry at a dinner for uppity ups in L.A. at the premiere of White Hot Blues, a movie starring a number of the famous Hollywood Celebs. It was about a pair of young thieves stealing one of Elvis’ guitars from Graceland. Barry thought the movie was pretty good. But what was monumental was being introduced to Jerry. Jerry had managed a number of famous bands over the years and was currently looking to manage the next up-and-coming thing. Barry just happened to be that next up-and-coming thing.

Thanks to Jerry, the Howlin’ Bone Yard Dogs were able to play this New Year’s gig as well as the previous 130 before that. But also thanks to Jerry, Barry and Deloris were growing further and further apart as photo shoots, press conferences, radio promotions, late night TV interviews, and of course, the concerts and wild after parties began to take their toll. Not to mention the hellacious drug and alcohol addiction that Barry had acquired during the course of the year.

Deloris missed the sweet guy that used to sing her songs and write her love letters. One night around gig 110, Deloris mentioned this to Jerry who was all ears and sentiments. He made sure Deloris new that he was always there for her if she needed anything. It wasn’t long before he was more than just there for her.

So it’s no surprise to Jerry when he gets fired from being Barry and the Howlin’ Dogs manager after the New Years show.

***

Sex, drugs and rock n’ roll always take a toll on a person, sometimes quickly and sometimes it takes ‘em slow. But in the end it always takes ‘em. Barry finds himself on his twenty seventh birthday at a hospital with serious kidney failure resulting from Hepatitis. Two years later Barry dies in an entirely different hospital.

***

As Barry is being dragged into the pit of Hell, he passes a being very similar in form to the first one he met at the cross roads that night so long ago, though this guy’s slightly different.

“Welcome to Hell, mortal.”

“This can’t be. I don’t belong here.” Barry looks at the being as fear creeps into his voice. He’s still wearing the hospital gown that he wore when he died.

“It is, Barry Watkins. And yes, according to the contract that you made with our master, you do belong here.” The creature never once opened its mouth, until the words finished forming in Barry’s head. After the being “spoke” it flashed Barry a grin filled with pointed teeth. “Take him away!” It shouted, this time using its mouth.

At the pronouncement of the word, two other demons fly up and drag Barry screaming down to the lake of fire.

Some where in Chicago, a young man with a guitar, puts ear plugs into his ears, and attempts to play the last hit of the Howlin’ Bone Yard Dogs, “Don’t drag me down screaming when I go!”

***

Barry tore his eyes from the gazing crystal and looked at the being in the Mick Fleetwood getup. “Is this true? That’s not how it will be! Why did you make it show me those things?” Barry blurted these things as a single question.

“The mirror serves the maker. I cannot make it show anything that is not true. The choice is yours Barry Watkins. You must decide if immortality is worth the cost.”

“But that’s not immortality, I die.”

“No one ever truly dies, Barry Watkins. All souls are immortal, yours as well as mine. What you do with the soul is up to you.” The voice had quieted to a whisper in his mind, but the eyes glowed brighter in the darkness.

“I don’t want this.” Barry pleaded with the creature. “This isn’t what I wanted.”

“Very well. Good day to you then.” The creature plucked the orb from the air and placed it back into his vest. He turned around and walked away.

Barry watched for a moment stunned into immobility. Far in the distance a golden stream of fire shot off into the night sky, like the tail of a Fourth of July rocket. Two other golden trails shot off to the right and to the left. Barry followed these with his eyes until the glow faded out.

While he was still gazing into the heavens, he heard a shuffling from in front of him. He could see two red dots of light coming towards him from out of the bushes. The form of a creature very much like the one that had just left appeared before him, only this guy looked slate gray with scarlet glowing in his veins.

“So you’re the great Barry Watkins!” The creature smiled. Barry could see the moonlight reflecting off of jagged teeth. This creature spoke like a normal man, and not with the voice of a god. “What can I do for you?”

Barry heard a snap, looked down at the Bulova and noticed that the crystal had cracked. He could make out the time as twelve fifteen.

***

“I went down to the cross roads, fell down on my knees, asked the Lord above for mercy. Save poor Bob if you please.”

Fairies - Short Story Orginally Published in the Christian Sci-Fi Journal

Fairies (the Atrium)

Willy Minnix

Volume XV

Volume XV Aug 8, 20-

I have decided to name my little people fairies after the mythic creatures of English legend. This is my first journal entry concerning them. They stand now at approximately one inch tall and are for the most part green haired with very tan skin. I wanted to adjust their DNA to make them sprout wings, but I haven=t quite figured out the proper genetic codes yet. I have, however, corrected my earlier mistake by programming them with a pain sensor to keep them within the atrium. The unfortunate accident I had last year with Kobold is now avoidable. I gave his remains a decent burial after I got them away from the dog. I had hoped to remove the perception of pain from my fairies, but it seems to be a necessary sensation. In order to use it to proper effect, the sensor in the new breed gives them an aversion to salt water. I built a salt water moat around the atrium out of Plexi-glass. I bought a population of miniature salt water fishes from my friend Maxwell.

Maxwell=s mind is amazing. He developed a complete ecology including plants, plankton, small invertebrates, small fish and large fish. It took him about five years to get it all perfected. I am using some of the same techniques to develop plant and animal life for the atrium. I have a colony of miniature rabbits, squirrels and birds that I bought from Xelcon Industries. And I have figured out their methods of cloning other species. I have now added a collection of local wildlife, cats, dogs and cows and pigs from a near by farm. I should have some sheep, goats, ducks and chickens by the end of the year. I haven’t been able to get samples of many larger animals yet. Perhaps if I can gain funding someday I can do more.

There are now forty-seven fairies of the new stock and fourteen of the earlier stock. The gestation period of the Breed two fairy female appears to be around three weeks. It should take about 109 days for them to be ready to breed. I based that on our average life-span of 100 years. A human can potentially breed at 12-15 years so I figured fifteen percent of our life-span is on the development of the reproduction system. The average life-span of the Breed II fairies should be about one year. Since they have no medicine, and must survive by performing manual labor, their lifespan might be shorter still. Their gestation period seems to be about 2 weeks and three days. There haven=t been enough pregnancies to be certain. But the computer is monitoring all vital signs.

Already, the fairies from last year are now elderly. Elf 1 (Affectionately called Elfy) walks with stooped shoulders and gray hair. She was the mother of Kobold. Her husband, Centaur is very sick, but I have not been able to tell what his illness is. I am working on a new stock that for all wants and purposes could live as long as a human, but I am not sure yet if I should implement them. The early fairies would see this new stock as immortal. I have some growing in the Petri dishes now, but I may freeze them. I do not know if the long lifespan would be good for our experiment. We shall see. If they live for too long, that could cause quite a problem with the experiment. I believe I will shorten their life spans, before they develop much.

Already the fairies are displaying a remarkable intelligence. I have noted that they have discovered eighteen of the thirty-eight edible plants and twelve of the twenty-two inedible plants. They have not yet begun to hunt any of the miniature animals, nor have they planted any seeds from the plants. I did notice that new plants are sprouting from their rubbish heaps, but if they noticed I do not know.

I am rather pleased at how well the atrium is running. Who would have thought that a project I started for the junior high science fair all those years ago would run so smoothly? It is fully capable of replenishing water and air. The rest seems to take care of itself. It is a completely enclosed eco-system. The earth is full of full-sized worms, however, and I am afraid of how they will react with the fairies, but the fairies have not yet found the worms. I do not know if the worms will eat the fairies, or vice versa. I never had a problem between the worms and the other animals, so I doubt there will be a problem between the two. I did contact Xelcon, to see if they had any larger animals, but at this time there are only elephants, and they are quite expensive. Hopefully, one day I’ll be able to afford some further populate the atrium.

Volume XV Aug. 12, 20-

Centaur died this morning. Tonight, Elfy died as well. She seemed heart broken. She moped around most of the day. Toward evening she just sat and stared at Centaur’s dead body. I wasn’t really aware until today how much like us they really are. I was so fascinated to find that the other fairies had a brief gathering about the bodies. I am interested in learning if they would invent a way to dispose of the bodies. I was amused when some of the younger fairies began lying around mimicking Centaur and Elfy. The older ones just prodded the corpses. Tomorrow we’ll see if they dispose of the bodies.

Volume XV Aug. 13, 20-

Today the fairies moved to another part of the atrium. I guess instead of burying the corpses they moved out of smelling range. Today I believe I witnessed the first signs of an intelligible attempt at communicating. In the last three days some of the babies matured and I have seen the older ones pointing at things and speaking. The way the atrium is designed I can’t make out any words. I emailed my friend Maxwell’s cousin who designs sound systems. He is working on a miniature sound system so I can hear the fairies. I am excited to find out what kind of language they are developing.

Volume XV Aug. 18, 20-

Disaster today! I was babysitting my nephew Alex when he found his way into my basement. I was taking the dog out at the time. He actually climbed into the atrium and made off with one of the younger fairies. I finally got the fairy away from Alex, but found that Alex broke the fairy’s leg. So I gave him (the fairy, not Alex, though it would be nice to sedate Alex!) a mild sedative (I found that diluted Ambasol seems to work well) and set his leg. I will put him back in the atrium when he is healed.

As if that whole episode was not enough, Alex poured soda into the Petri dishes drowning my newly formed third breed of Fairies. Who knows what consequences today might bring?

Volume XV Aug 25, 20-

Maxwell’s cousin, John, broke his foot last week, and was not able to come by until today to install the sound system. I am excited to learn their language now! It seems that (unbeknownst to me) Alex dropped a four inch toy knight, complete with shield, sword and dagger into the atrium during his little romp. The fairies have somehow (I still haven’t figured this out) moved the knight to the center of their little village (another recent development), and every once in a while, they point to it. Tonight I am going to put Gnome (the fairy with the broken leg) back in the atrium while everyone else is asleep.

We did manage to install the sound system; now up and running. We even have it imputing data into the program Maxwell designed to catalog their words. The installation process was quite an adventure in and of itself. It caused quite a stir when Max realized that we had our microphone turned on and the fairies could hear our voices.

In the few hours since we hooked up the monitors, we have been able to learn the words for “tree,” “land,” “fruit,” “knight” (or whatever they think Alex’s toy is), “you,” “me,” “give,” and either “go” or “there.”

Yesterday, three fairies died and were taken to where Centaur and Elfy died. Three days ago, four babies were born and one of the mothers died. She too was taken to where Elfy and Centaur died. I guess that is their burial ground now.

There is some more good news. Four of the breed three fairies survived Alex’s assault with the soda. I think that their life spans will be severely shortened though, because they appear to have some birth defects: most notably elongated arms, and legs. They have blue hair, and yellow skin. I do not know if that is due to their genetic arrangement, or the birth defects, or due to the fact that they are still infants. They have buds on their backs, and extra skeletal structure around their shoulders. It appears that I finally got the wing formula right.

Other exciting news: Edmund Scientific sent me a large box of equipment for free. I sent a letter to them earlier this year with pictures of my project. They liked the project so much that they decided I was worthy to receive a scholarship of sorts. Thanks Edmund Scientific.

Volume XV Aug 26, 20-

The most interesting development today: Last night I placed Gnome along with the four breed three fairies in a secluded part of the atrium, and they made their way back to the village. It appears that the villagers welcomed Gnome back as somewhat of a hero. Three of the fairy men carried him around on their shoulders throughout the village. Also interesting to note, one of the mothers who lost her baby a few days ago has taken in the three babies from the breed three group.

I have learned twelve more words, and the computer has analyzed their sentence structure. Their language is a subject object verb language. The word “Chugris” which I had thought might mean “there” or “go” means “go.” I heard the fairy Pegasus telling one of the children “Givanta chugrata.” I believe that must be the singular you form. “Chugris” is the singular he or she form.

There are now sixty-seven fairies living in the village. Today I saw one of the fairies beating on a tree with a crudely made axe. Another fairy was using the knights’ dagger as a saw. It didn’t seem to work very well, being plastic, but the fairy didn’t seem to mind.

Volume XV Oct. 5, 20-

This last month has been quite disturbing. I think I am seeing the rise of a new religion among the fairies. I also saw the first murder this week as well. Not long after Gnome returned to the village the other fairies began building him a larger hut facing the toy knight. It was the first time I saw the fairies laying any type of foundation for a hut. The fairy with the plastic dagger came to help and Gnome flew into a rage. He grabbed the dagger and started gesticulating wildly towards the toy knight. The other fairy shouted back and reached for the dagger when Gnome plunged it into the other fairy’s stomach. I was so stunned! How could this happen? I tried everything in the engineering to make these creatures peaceful and good. And now this!

After Gnome killed the fairy he pointed to the mother of the breed three fairies and spoke to her. He then addressed the whole crowd and pointed to the statue repeatedly. He pushed one fairy face down towards the statue and proceeded to rant at the others. Soon all of the fairies were kneeling to the knight.

Over the next few days, the fairies finished Gnomes new hut. That day he moved in and the mother of the breed three Fairies moved in with him. It appears that the young breed three fairies are called Gutamwith (M), Gwithna (F) and Kank (F). They are calling Gnome “Dwevna” which at first I thought might mean father, but now the whole village calls him that. Maybe that is his name, and I never noticed before. But yesterday one of the older fairies called him “Djwuvi” and he got angry about it. He is quite cruel sometimes. He beat one of the fairy’s who was working on the hut. Now a couple fairies come around and fix up his hut and yard daily. They also bring him food. Incidentally, they have started hunting the miniature animals Maxwell placed in the atrium. I missed how that came about. I think it happened around the same time as the murder.

They are really developing so rapidly it is hard to keep track of everything. The computer has a very detailed list of their language and I am learning so much of it. But it isn’t at all like English. Maxwell seems to be picking it up very quickly. But he took a few linguistic classes in school.

Every day Dwevna gathers all the villagers together and “preaches” to them and points to the toy knight a lot. I wish we knew enough of the language to make out his “sermons.” Dwevna picked out a few of his friends to help bully the others too. Another interesting turn of events is how the breed three children play into the whole affair. It seems that Dwevna has lifted them up as little gods or something. All the villagers bow to them three times a day, and whenever a fairy passes one of the children they bow.

When Dwevna isn’t haranguing the villagers he is teaching Gutamwith, Gwithna and Kank. Gwithna seems to be the most intelligent, but Dwevna pays a lot of attention to Kank. I’ve also noticed that Djuagi (the foster mother of the breed three children) is pregnant. I believe Dwevna may be inventing a writing system, because lately he and the children scratch in the dirt with sticks. I haven’t been able to make anything out though.

Volume XV Dec 3, 20-

Much has happened in the last month. I don’t know where to begin. My last entry was ended with the writing system. I got to see an example of the writing that Dwevna scribbles on the ground. Apparently Dwevna had been copying the letters “Made in China” off the back of the toy. The letters are becoming quite different now from what they were, but Dwevna it appears believes these letters were descended from on high.

Djuagi had a baby this last month, and so has Kank, and Gwithna is pregnant. I believe they are both Dwevna’s children. Kank and Gwithna have also sprouted wings! I was so excited when I found out. I believe the wings develop when the breed three females become pregnant. I believe Gwithna is carrying Gutamwith’s child. But I am not sure. Kank is also pregnant again with Gutamwith’s child. I am almost positive about this, because I observed them mating.

Volume XV Dec. 3, 20-

More on the writing system: It appears not to have vowels (though it uses the letters from “Made in China”), but it has developed twenty consonants. We just finished programming the alphabet into the computer along with the information from a scroll that Dwevna has been working on. I think he may have seen some of our notes while he was in the lab. Last night we stole the scroll and scanned it before putting it back. It seems to be a book of his religion. From what we’ve made out my nephew Alex is a god named Guwaki and I am his consort Tuigna. It seems Dwevna remembers more of his adventure in “Shovwuath” (heaven?) than I thought he would. He is having the fairies build more statues of the knight (which is a representation of Guwaki in battle array). They have been carving them out of stone. There are many of the fairies that I knew by sight that have disappeared. I want to search the backside of the atrium, but there is a malfunction with a couple of the cameras on that side.

A note about working on the atrium: We concocted a mixture of nitrous oxide gas that works well on knocking out the fairies. We are now able to put them into a sleep state (usually after they have already gone to bed) which gives us the time to work on any adjustments to the atrium.

Dwevna is starting to look old. More and more Gutamwith is taking control of the village. There is definitely a hierarchy developing. I would not be surprised if Gutamwith sees himself as a god. The villagers are really competing for the favor of Gutamwith. His justice is very cruel. He had one villager flayed for not bowing quickly enough to him.

I’ve counted one hundred and fifteen fairies. The village is becoming extremely large. One of the most interesting things I’ve found is many of the new fairy buildings are built up instead of sprawling. They are starting to build out of a type of brick made from a mixture of clay and grass. When consulted about the new building plans Gutamwith replied “Tu, chu jala, qualathi oli.” “Yes, build up, that is where the gods are.” I almost feel horrible about being one of their gods, but in a way they are my children, and I provide for them. I’m not all that religious, but still the whole thing is uncomfortable.

A large stepped altar is being built and I believe they are going to put the toy knight there. Perhaps I should do something about this.

Volume XV Dec. 10, 20-

Well, last night I did something about the knight. After most of the fairies went to sleep, I fed some of the sleeping gas through the air system, and I reached in and took the knight. It was on top of the stepped altar and in back of a large table. I took their other idols as well. I hope I didn’t make a mistake, but I couldn’t stand being their god anymore.

The cameras are fixed now, and I found 82 fairies on the other side of the little river in a new village built among a miniature pine tree grove. There are numbers of holes they dug. The holes are covered with branches and have a descending entrance down into the holes. I also found tools fashioned of glass. There must have been glass shards in the soil when I built the atrium fifteen years ago.

I also took the liberty of looking at the additional scrolls that Dwevna has written. The paper is very interesting. It is almost like cloth. He wrote the “entire” history of his people stretching back to the “dawn of time.” But he was one of the first fairies I made! Well, he was in the second breeding, but surely he would know that he had no grandparents or ancestors. Maybe he just has an active imagination. It also seems that he has written a complete history of the gods. It’s all rubbish. I also found a scroll that Gutamwith has been altering. I scanned all the scrolls, and had the computer translate them. Their language is becoming so easy for us to translate now. I also took a sample of their paperwork, and tools to study.

Volume XV Dec. 12, 20-

Yesterday was awful. I came to the lab and saw Gutamwith standing on the stone altar addressing the crowd. He said a few things about the gods ascending to heaven. I couldn’t see what was behind because he was in the way. When he was finished he turned around and plunged a stone knife at the table. When he moved out of the way I could see one of the fairy children tied to the table with the knife in his chest. I was so mad I kicked at the atrium and all the fairies were thrown to the ground. One good thing, Gutamwith fell off the altar, and broke his neck.

Dewvna is so decrepit now. I do not know who will lead them when he’s gone. There are now one hundred and twenty-five fairies in the first village.

Volume XVI

Volume XVI Jan. 15, 20-

I have been busy with the end of the year and the holidays to write of the fairies. It appears that more and more fairies are defecting to the village across the river. The leader is a young fairy named Kwialig. Already their language is taking on a new form. We had to reprogram the computer to catalog it separately now, in case it develops into its own language. Maxwell said that this phenomenon is common in language development. (As a side note: I enrolled in a linguistics class at the local college to further my understanding of this science.)

In the first village, now called Kolaki, they have raised up one of Gutamwith’s sons by Kank, called Dguiel, to be their leader. He is still a child, but they worship him like a god. I had thought that with the death of Gutamwith, this cult would die out, but it just morphs into something else.

In the second village (I still don’t know what they call it) Kwialig is doing a good job of developing. They have discovered how to irrigate and farm (something the first village still hasn’t figured out). And what is truly remarkable is they’ve invented kilns and forges. They are even making their own glass. I don’t know how they figured it out but it’s remarkable.

I am going to have to spend the next few months away for my job, but Maxwell is going to keep an eye on the atrium for me. I’m afraid I’ll miss so much.

Volume XVI June 28, 20-

I can’t believe what I’ve missed. Both villages have grown into thriving cities. It seems there is a trade agreement between Kolaki and Bar (as the second village is called). There are now nine smaller villages that have branched off the main two. Kwialig of Bar is much older now and has a wife and twelve children.

Over in Kolaki, Dguiel had four sons by Gwithna and twelve children by Gwithna’s two daughters, a son and a daughter by his sister Pfuifali and two children by his mother Kank. The Kolaki’s are a decadent lot. They’ve also learned how to brew a type of alcohol and it is the rage of the town. Kwialig has banned its import into Bar. I thought this was hilarious, because you can’t have alcohol in Bar. Maxwell says that I’m not funny. He says it’s really pronounced B’var. I disagree. Maxwell doesn’t have much of a sense of humor.

My real disappointment is that in my absence child sacrifice in Kolaki is rampant. It seems most of the children sacrificed are of the second breed descendants or a few of the first breed ancestors. I believe Dguiel is trying to kill off all non-Gutili (which is what they call Blue Haired, Yellow skinned fairies). It is succeeding. I can’t really count all the fairies now. There are far too many.

Maxwell and I rented a warehouse where we are building a larger atrium. The most interesting recent development came by way of Maxwell. His uncle is a professor of sociology at our local university. Maxwell had him visit one evening. Since then we have received funding from a few universities interested in our research. We’ve both been able to quit our jobs. We are also helping another college develop their own atrium. When our new atrium is finished we will transplant the entire original atrium into a spot on the new one.

There is a village near the moat (to them, the sea, I guess) that is populated solely by the first stock fairies. They have black hair. I guess the two left after Centaur and Elfy died bred and had a number of children. They must have started their own village out there while I was away. They are good fishermen. Which makes sense because I had not bred the saltwater aversion into the original stock? They seem to be prospering by trading fish and nets to their neighbors in the other towns.

Volume XVI June 30, 20-

I’ve noticed that Kwilig walks around in his garden a lot talking to himself. I wonder if he’s going crazy like Dwevna did. I never mentioned it, but Dwevna was dead when I returned from work. They interred him near Centaur and Elfy’s resting place. It has become a necropolis for all the villages. They build houses of stone for the dead there.

Volume XVI July 7, 20-

Today Dguiel was murdered by his son Squ’avni. I guess that makes him the chief of Kolaki now.

Volume XVI July 8, 20-

Today Squ’avni sent raiders to attack the traders from Bar. They murdered all the traders and took their wares. I need to do something about this but I don’t know what to do. Maxwell thinks we should just let it play itself out. He said history proves that somebody always comes along with a moral code. And soon our little world will develop one too. It bothers me that Maxwell finds the backbiting and murders funny.

Volume XVI July 20, 20-

Today was horrible Squ’avni sent an army of fairies to Bar. We saw it coming but we didn’t know what to do about it. They’ve been making weapons on both sides for weeks now. This morning at 11:35, the army of Kolaki sat out, forded the river and clashed with the army of Bar in the little valley just south of Bar.

There are four hundred and twenty seven dead fairies in that valley. It looks like both sides were beaten badly. I have to do something about this.

Last night I noticed Kwialig talking to himself again. I tuned a microphone in to hear him. “Soga gwa la ki la’kli kwala, so mavafi porkeliak togwa.” “If there’s anything good beyond the heaven’s please save us.” He was begging for help and I didn’t do anything.

Volume XVI July 21, 20-

I did something that will probably make Maxwell mad. Tonight Kwialig was praying in his garden and I switched on the speaker to the atrium. I said, “Shigwakwi kwalkwe. Tosukwi nokaliaksuvatha.” “I am a friend. Love one another.” I couldn’t think of anything better to say. Both villages were a bustle of activity. It was something. It appears that I woke everyone.

Volume XVI July 30, 20-

Well, my little announcement has sparked a new religion. But it has also stopped the fighting. Perhaps I have ushered in a golden age. Maxwell was quite angry at first, but I got him to cool down a bit when I explained how much money we’d lose if the fairies all killed one another. He seemed to appreciate that, even though he said that I’m just a sentimental fool. At least now we can devote more time to the new atrium. We’ve actually got a really good start on it. We should be finished in about three months.

This new atrium will have veins of ore in the rocks, for the fairies to mine. We’ve got samples of various rock from the geology department. In fact we have two geneticists, a geologist, a linguist, a botanist and a biologist on the team now. We also have a few sociology students and engineering students who come over twice a week to help out.

The only problem I see with the new atrium is the sky. I can’t think of a way to make it look like it hasn’t changed from the sky in the present atrium. But we are discussing it. I’m sure we’ll come up with something.

Volume XVI Aug 4, 20-

I guess Kwialig is seen as somewhat of a prophet. He is very old now and is led around by his sons. They seem to be very loving. Kwialig has written a number of plates on goodness and the nature of goodness. I think he will leave a strong legacy behind. Interestingly enough, Kwialig has adapted Dwevna’s script to be used on glass. He has invented a way to create glass plates and writing instruments which can be used to catalog their holy literature.

Volume XVI Aug. 15, 20-

The new atrium is coming along a lot quicker than I had originally planned. The sky problem was solved by a team of astronomers and engineers from MIT. They have the sky programming running from a separate computer which mimics real space and will incorporate the old sky as well. Holographic projectors built into the walls of the atrium will project the image of the sky onto the overhead dome. The sky will gradually shift from one sky to the next over a period of five fairy generations or approximately four years.

Built in mist machines will mimic rain. In the original atrium I had a rudimentary sprinkler system that my dad helped me build to water the plants. My dad is a plumber, and it was pretty good, but this new sprinkler system is pretty astounding. From what I understand of it, a computer determines exactly how much rainfall each plant will need and will adjust the rain accordingly. Under sea filtration tubes filter out the saline in the sea, and recycle the water to the overhead filters. The entire unit should be self sufficient for about one full year. One of the project heads told me that it should only lose 1% per year; which is pretty amazing! I had to refill my water every couple weeks.

A retired science professor from Harvard, Dr. Giles Tulley, has donated a flock of seventy-five species of miniature birds. The old atrium only had a few types of animals. This new one will have approximately one thousand new animal types, as well as a number of miniature insects and worms. We are going to leave the large worms on the old atrium and see what happens. As it is now, the fairies eat the worms.

We’re having a bit of a problem miniaturizing our own insects. Insects breathe through their skin, and the smaller they are the harder it is for them to breathe for some reason. The biologists are working on it, and think they’ll have it figured out by the end of the year. Our first attempt at adding insects was to incorporate extremely small insects that we already have. A common gnat is to the fairies about the size of a butterfly to us. So we’re still working on it. One of the professors suggested that we introduce a few regular sized insects and see what happens. It’s not a bad idea, and it would probably provide an additional food source. The insects we bought from Xelcon are ok, but they tend to have messed up mating cycles. So we are continuing to work on our own insects.

On another note, we’ve been able to purchase a bunch of large animals. We now have, though not on the same island, four elephants, two tigers, two whales, two dolphins, a shark, seven varieties of cattle, horses, two rhinoceros, two hippos and two crocodiles. Also among the birds that professor Tulley gave us are two vultures and two eagles. The biologists are trying to figure out what the best way to incorporate them into the atrium is. One of them suggested developing a pacifying genetic agent that will allow them to peacefully co-exist for three or four generations. From what they explained to me, the genetic code will wear out gradually with each generation, until they are back to their normal state.

Volume XVI Aug. 20, 20-

Kwialig died today. His son Bagwali is taking over for him. The fairies buried him in his garden. He is the first I know of not to be buried in the necropolis along with the rest of the fairy ancestors. Speaking of the Necropolis, it is very interesting to not that some sort of priesthood has developed a small village outside of the burial ground. This priestly village is made up from holy men from each of the villages, and is the only place where there seems to be perfect peace between the villages.

On another topic, there seems to be a baby boom. Most families in both cities are having ten or twelve children. When we move the atrium we are going to take a census.

Volume XVI Sept. 3, 20-

Today we moved the atrium. It is fantastic. Professor Thomson (one of the geneticists) has added a colony of small people he calls widgets, who we’ve dubbed dwarves because they’re slightly smaller than the fairies. We placed them about seventy-eight feet north of the original salt sea island that I built. Professor Stratman, one of the sociologists suggested that we build the new atrium to the dimensions of a typical football field, since we had the room. We have developed five islands for each of the projects that are slated to be studied. The bottom island to the left of the map is the original atrium island, now dubbed the Salt Sea Island. The top island above this one is now called Thomson’s island because this is where we placed the widgets.

Off to the right of Thomson’s island are two islands that Professor Holman from Cornell is working on. We’re not sure what he’s going to put there yet. He said it’s all very hush-hush, but we’ll probably know sometime next year. I heard it had something to do with dinosaurs, but who knows? He’s a bit strange, but then again most of us working on this project are weird anyway.

South of Holman’s island is an island that we decided to leave empty except for animals. Sylvia Dupree, a senior in the anthropology department from our local university, and one of the prettiest girls on the project, is developing it. I don’t know much about what she has planned, but perhaps that would be a good excuse to ask her out on a date.

Next week, I have been asked to be part of the new board of directors to oversee the direction of the atrium. Professor Stratman told me that there is a good chance that by the time I get my master’s I could be asked to lead the team. By the way, I started working on my master’s courses this month. I was a bit nervous at first, because it had been at least five years since I graduated college, but with all the brainiac’s around here, getting through it shouldn’t be a problem.

This is a rough map of the new atrium.

Volume XVI Sept. 4, 20-

I just got back from my first date with Sylvia. Oh man, is she wonderful. I asked her out right after the first board of directors meeting today. The meeting took place in the office building next to the warehouse that the atrium is housed in. It was pretty boring stuff. We decided to get a security system in place, talked about funding and other things that bore me to tears. The whole time I was in the meeting though, I couldn’t help but think about Sylvia. By the end of the meeting I decided that today was the day I would ask her out. Why not? I’m on the “board of directors”. And she’s not that much younger than me. So I did.

I kind of fudged a bit when I asked her out. I’ll admit I’m a bit timid when it comes to girls. I guess being a super geek has its disadvantages when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex. So I approached her when she was adjusting some sensors for her island. And asked her what she was doing. I can’t remember at all what she said, because my heart was pounding so much. I knew I was going to ask her out, and was so nervous about it. My palms were sweating, and I thought I would have an asthma attack. I must have looked a little foolish because after she finished speaking, I forgot to respond, and she asked me if I was all right. I came out of my shock long enough to blurt out, “Yes! Well, that’s all very interesting. Would you like to tell me more over dinner tonight?”

I couldn’t believe it. I finally asked this beautiful girl out on a date, and she said yes! It was great. She asked me if I would help her finish her work, and we spent the rest of the day together. She kept smiling at me, and looking at me with her beautiful blue eyes. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It was great.

But not as great as having dinner with her. We talked and talked and discussed a bunch of stuff that I can’t even remember now. But I can’t remember ever having such a coherent conversation with a girl (at least a pretty girl) without being too nervous to talk. She’s so great though and smart. I do remember that.

At the end of the date when I walked her home, I wanted to kiss her so badly, but I was too nervous to. Instead I kissed her hand and she smiled at me and touched my cheek. Even at such a simple gesture I felt like I was floating all the way home. I think I’ll ask her out again tomorrow.

Volume XVI Sept. 5, 20-

I asked Sylvia out again today, and we went to the movies. It was nice. She held my hand during the movie, and kept looking at me with a big smile on her face. I don’t know what such a beautiful girl could be thinking when she sees me. I’m not that handsome. But maybe she’s more attracted to my personality. Who knows? All I know is that she likes me. When I took her home tonight she kissed me on the cheek. I couldn’t believe it. Before I left, I kissed her on the cheek too. But it was kind of too hard because she stumbled back. She laughed at me and pushed me off her stoop. “Go home! I’ll see you tomorrow.” She smiled at me with her intoxicating smile.

I’ve never felt this way about anyone. All I can think of is her. She makes me feel so wonderful inside. I haven’t even really kissed her yet.

One thing about all this romance stuff, however, is I find it so hard to concentrate on my work. Maxwell was teasing me today that I will likely forget something important, and kill-off all the creatures.

All is going well with the new atrium. All of the mammals, including the fairies and the dwarf-widgets, are tagged with a miniature tracking device that gives us not only the creature’s whereabouts but also their vitals as well. Each one of the creatures were placed in a suspended animation chamber for a couple days, long enough for us to get island from the original atrium affixed in it’s place in the new atrium. The other islands were populated on the same day that we re-inhabited my island. We did mess up a few of the buildings when we switched over the atrium. Maxwell, invited a few of his friends who build models to come fix what was damaged. They did a really good job, and so far none of the residents have noticed.

Another interesting thing that I noted today: I thought the Kolaki were savage, but Dr. Thomson’s dwarves are vicious. They have taken to eating one another. I’m not sure how long they’ll last. They are funny looking. They are about half the size of a fairy, so about two inches tall, and are squat creatures. They have hair all over their bodies, and wear the skin of things they kill around their midsections. Thomson said that he programmed them with all the basic survival skills they would need to know to adapt right from the U.S. Army survival manual. From what I understand, while they were still developing, he had a small monitor that would flash photographs that explained how to perform various survival skills. While the dwarves bodies were in a state of cryogenic freeze, their brains were absorbing all the needed info the good Doctor thought would be useful in their lives. Also, his dwarves are hardier than my fairies. They have an almost immortal lifespan of 25 years, as opposed to my extremely short life span for the breed one and two fairies.

I discussed with Dr. Thomson what he would do if they killed each other off, and he said that that was science. But again I posed the monetary question, and he agreed that something should be done. I believe he plans to incorporate some larger predatory animals onto his island to give the little beasts something else to kill instead of themselves. He special ordered a set of lions from Xelcon after our talk. These lions would not be genetically altered, and should be pretty vicious.

Volume XVI Sept. 5, 20-

One of the people from Xelcon called today for Dr. Thomson and said that they were out of lions. They said they had a rash of wolverines, however and asked if they would suit his purposes. I was in the office when they called, and he asked me what I thought. I said that perhaps we could adjust the wolverines genetically to live in a tropical environment. The guy from Xelcon said that the wolverines were very hardy, and should probably adapt on their own. I am not sure if that is true or not, but they gave us a discount on them anyway. We’ll see. I know wolverines are pretty tough, but they’re naturally a cold climate species.

After talking with the Xelcon guy, he put us on with one of the directors. It appears that they have developed an interest in our project and want to come for a visit in November. That should be really informative, because they wrote the book on miniature clonization.

On my island there is a new development, in the glass making process in Bar. It seems that one of the villagers has developed a machine that will stamp their writing onto the glass. This should lead to a renaissance of sorts I would think, just like the printing press did in our history.

Another interesting thing happened today, someone from the Department of Defense dropped by unannounced today. We gave them a tour of the facilities and they asked if the “miniature people” could create “miniature tools” that could be used by NASA. I doubt they were concerned much about tools for NASA as they were for miniature weapons that could be used by spies or some such. We told him that they were in effect still at the caveman stage of development, though that’s not entirely true of my fairies. But close enough for government work! Ha! I’m so funny.

I didn’t get to see Sylvia today. She called in sick. I went by her house tonight and brought some soup, and her roommate told me that she would appreciate it. Hopefully, she’ll be better tomorrow.

Volume XVI Sept. 6, 20-

Sylvia came back to work today. She said it must have been just a 24 hour virus. She kissed me on the cheek again for bringing over the chicken soup. We’re going out later to dinner again. Maybe I’ll finally get that first kiss with her tonight.

Speaking of viruses, something has made Dr. Thomson’s dwarves very sick. About half the population is really ill. We aren’t sure what is going on, but so far no one has died. The “specimens” as Thomson calls them, look a bit “green about the gills.” I guess for all their survival training they don’t know how to combat the common cold. If that’s what it is that’s bothering them. I can’t be sure. One of the biologists nabbed one and is running tests on it.

Well, I’ve got to go, I have to write a report for the board of directors about my future plans with the fairies.

Volume XVI Sept. 6, 20-

Just had to put in this update. I did get my first kiss with Sylvia tonight. It was amazing. Her lips were soft with a hint of peach on them.

Volume XVI Sept. 14, 20-

Well, I had my meeting with the board of directors again, and laid out my plan for the future of the fairies. I announced that the best plan is to continue to allow them to adapt and grow as their culture allows, and to continue to research and make notes of the developments. This is the safest course, because I really don’t know what to do with them other than that. Oh, yes, I cloaked this in a bunch of collegic jargon, but essentially I’m just giving them permission to keep studying my creatures.

I also took Sylvia over to my parent’s house tonight for dinner. They really seemed to like her. Next month we’re going to Virginia to meet her parents. I hope they like me. She’s the most incredible thing that’s ever happened to me. Even better than my fairies! She is so kind and beautiful. I feel like I could just get lost in looking at her for hours. Actually, I do get lost in looking at her for hours. She just laughs and kisses my nose when I’m entranced.

Volume XVI Sept. 25, 20-

I asked Sylvia if she dated much before me, and was surprised that she said no. I couldn’t believe that someone as pretty as she is didn’t have a thousand guys beating down her door. She said that she did get asked out a lot, but didn’t accept many offers. She is kind of old fashioned about those things, and wanted to wait for “Mr. Right.” I told her that I’m not sure I’m much of a Mr. Right, only some geek that likes to play with fairies! She told me that was ok with her. And then she shocked me by saying that I’m just what she’s always been looking for.

I know it’s kind of early in the game, but I think I’d like to marry her. Someone like Sylvia has got to be a once in a lifetime deal. We’ll see how things go by Christmas. Maybe I’ll tell her how I feel about that by then. Maybe she’ll be feeling the same way as well.

Volume XVI Oct. 1, 20-

Dr. Holman’s creatures arrived today. We gassed the atrium and opened it up to put in the creatures. Dr. Stratman and I assisted Holman in placing the beasts onto the islands. He dedicated the larger island to house his micro versions of dinosaurs, the largest being about the size of a big hamster. He had many specimens: triceratops, brontosaurus, pterodactyls, and even a tyrannosaurus rex about the size of a field mouse. On the other island he placed some strange little creatures with large eyes. The creatures looked kind of humanoid but also kind of froglike. He calls them “Frolians.”

Volume XVI Oct. 2, 20-

I decided to try my hand at drawing a Frolian. They are the strangest little creatures I’ve ever seen. They eat fish raw from the little stream which flows from the mountain on Holman’s second island. (The stream is a pretty interesting invention. It is fed by a filter running from the sea, but it also collects water from the rain machines.) I am not an artist, but I think the picture gives a pretty accurate depiction of one. I finally got Holman to fess up that he crossed the DNA of a human with a frog to create the creatures. They have the mottled skin of a frog and long limbs, but they walk upright and seem to have rudimentary mental functions. We’ll see if they actually develop into anything of importance.

Volume XVI Oct. 15, 20-

Sylvia took me to meet her parents in Virginia this week. They are very nice. I really like her dad a lot. He was very interested in hearing about the project. I had a number of pictures on my laptop that he enjoyed. It turns out that both of her parents are English professors, and published authors. He told me that I should write a book about the project. I told him that I would like to, but I’d have to check with the board of directors. He said that it could be a very good way to raise money for the project. This might be a great idea, because our initial grant is only good for one year, and it’s always tricky getting funding when you have so many people to go through.

Dr. Dupree said that he would be happy to assist me in editing the book whenever I get around to writing it. I am not sure what to write about, but I’ve kept my journals since I started in Jr. High, so something should jump out at me.

I also asked Dr. Dupree about my relationship with Sylvia. I asked him how he knew that Sylvia’s mom was the right one. He said that the moment he first laid eyes on her, he knew. I told him that that was how I felt about Sylvia. From his smile, it seemed to me that he didn’t mind that at all. “Son, if you’re good to her, that’s all we really care about. Just don’t break her heart or I’ll have to hurt you.” I could tell that he was joking, but he’s a pretty big guy. I don’t doubt that he could.

Now more than ever, I think I should ask Sylvia to marry me. Maybe we could get engaged and get married in the spring after she graduates.

Volume XVI Oct. 19, 20-

I bought a ring today. It’s so beautiful. I hope Sylvia likes it. It is platinum with a half carat diamond in the center, surrounded by baguettes. I’m going to ask her tomorrow night. I’m taking her to a really expensive restaurant in the city. Please let her say yes!

In other news, the descendants of my Breed I fairies have taken to the sea. Over the last couple weeks they constructed little boats, and are able to sail within the islands. They have already established trade routes with Dr. Holman’s Frolians and with the Dwarves on Thomson’s island. I’m not sure what happened during that first encounter between the dwarves and the fairies, but I plan on watching the tapes to find out. It should be interesting. Whatever happened, the dwarves decided not to eat them.

Volume XVI Oct. 20, 20-

SHE SAID YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t believe it. She said yes! I’m getting married!

Volume XVI Oct. 21, 20-

I was too excited to write much yesterday. I took Sylvia to Antoine’s yesterday. I can barely afford to eat there, but it was worth it. They had a small quartet playing all sorts of great urban-fusion-jazz. The galapodian player was amazing. I wish I could play like that. Sylvia took galapodian lessons when she was a kid, but never got very good. She was almost so interested in the music that I didn’t get a chance to propose. But right after dinner, I asked her. She was speechless. At first I thought she was going to say no. But then she threw her arms around me and kissed me about four million times!

I was so happy that the ring fit. I just kind of guessed at her size, but it was perfect. She looks so beautiful wearing it. Today she was showing it off to everyone at work. She said she showed all her classmates at school too. So now we have to set a date. We’ll probably get married right after school is out.

Volume XVI Oct 23, 20-

Sylvia gave me a really rare coin today. It was a Chinese coin dating to around 500 AD. It’s amazing holding something that old in my hands. It’s also remarkably well preserved. She said her dad gave it to her for her high school graduation and she wanted me to have it. It is one of the old sting money coins, but made out of gold. She said that it had belonged to an emperor at one time. It is on a necklace made out of red silk rope. She put in around my neck but told me that I should probably put it in a drawer or something when I get home, because the silk is at least a couple hundred years old. I told her I would, but I’m still wearing it right now. I can’t bear to take it off.

Well, it seems like peace won’t last much longer. Both fairy villagers from Bar and Squ’avni are building weapons again. The Kolaki (I found that they call themselves by a name other than the name of their town. Still not sure what it means.) are making theirs out of stone and wood while the Bar fairies build theirs of glass and wood. For a wonder, the dwarves seem to have stopped fighting one another and are expanding their village. The new trade that the fairies from the fishing village bring them is really advancing their society.

Maxwell thinks I’m foolish because I am angry that the fairies are fighting again. Those of us in the lab seem to be split into two factions: those who don’t care if they fight and those who do. Maxwell says we can just make more. The money argument doesn’t seem to faze him anymore. He gave an interview for a local television program recently. Since then he acts like he’s famous. I have a feeling he thinks the fairies are mere toys! We had a heated argument over it this morning. I said he doesn’t care as much about them because I created them, and he didn’t!

I must do something. I’ve invested too much money and time to see them destroy each other. I’ve been watching them kill each other for the last year or more, and I see each gory detail in my dreams at night. And not only are they content to kill fairies from other villages, they are killing fairies in their own communities. I regret having made them.

Volume XVI Nov. 5, 20-

Sylvia and I talked about the fairies tonight. She said she wonders if it’s like having children. I said that it probably is. She told me that she was initially attracted to me because of how much I cared about the fairies. She said that it seems like I’d make a good dad. We talked a lot about having kids, and decided we both want kids but not right away. Maybe we could wait a year or two.

She agrees that we should do something about the fairies. She suggested moving one group off to her island. Perhaps distance would bring peace. I think it’s worth a shot. I have to come up with some kind of reason to tell the board though, or they might stop us.

Volume XVI Nov. 18^th, 20-

We had our board meeting today, they agreed that it might be a good idea to separate the fairies, and came up with a really creative way to do it. We can access the atrium from underneath, rig up a device that will split the city of bar away from the rest of the island. Instant earthquake! The board believes that this will be a perfect chance to study what happens in societies where natural disasters occur. Over a two week period, the island will drift across the “ocean” and collide with Sylvia’s island.

Sylvia has been working on an assortment of cross-bred animals and plants, but there are no intelligent inhabitants. As an additional note: on all the islands, the animal life has flourished. It is astounding how much growth this atrium has. It is becoming difficult to keep track of everything. We talked in this new meeting about upgrading the video equipment next year so we can keep track of the developments.

I also talked to the board about the possibility of writing a book. They loved the idea, and said that we should produce a series of books if the first one does well. Each book could tell about the various developments on each island.

Volume XVI Nov. 25, 20-

I started my book today. I got a lot written, about three chapters. I think I will keep it simple. I’m just going to tell about the development from Jr. High science project to where we are today. I am going to include a lot of pictures of the project. I think the pictures speak for themselves. I know that I’m not Shakespeare, so I shouldn’t try to be too verbose. I sent the first two chapters to Sylvia’s dad.

Volume XVI Dec. 25, 20-

Merry Christmas! Sylvia and I decided to set our wedding day today. It was kind of our Christmas present to each other. We’re going to get married June 14^th, next year. This will give us plenty of time for her to finish school, and for my book to come out, which is supposed to be released in May, if I can get the last chapter finished. I can’t wait. I love her so much. She means everything to me.

I need to get back to work on my book. The publisher is breathing down my neck. He called me today! It’s Christmas for heaven’s sake! Oh well. I guess they’re excited too. Seems like there’s a whole rash of interest in the Atrium since Maxwell appeared on TV a while back. Just about all of the board of directors has been interviewed about it at least once. I’ve been interviewed four times already. I get lots of mail and phone calls each day now. I’m sure it will just be crazy once the book comes out.

Volume XVI Dec. 29, 20-

I finally finished my book today. What with the holidays and everything, I wasn’t sure if I would, but it’s done. I sent the finished manuscript and photos to Sylvia’s dad. He told me that he would talk to his publisher next month and see what can be done about it. I feel pretty good. Not only did I create this great atrium project, but I’m also going to be a published author. Not bad for a guy who was delivering pizzas not two years ago.

Volume XVII

Volume XVII Jan. 21, 20-

Mom died today. She had a heart attack while she was doing the dishes. The medi-droids came within the first ten minutes, but it was already too late. The doctor at the hospital said that she must have died instantly. Her funeral will be on Wednesday. She was looking forward to the wedding. I’m going to miss her so much.

Volume XVII Jan. 23, 20-

The funeral for mom was held today. The minister was very kind. He gave a beautiful message about heaven and the immortality of the soul. I hope that is true. If anyone deserves to be in heaven mom does.

Dad held up rather well at the funeral. It’s just us now. I told him I would check up on him every night.

Volume XVII Feb. 19, 20-

I got dad a job working at the Atrium today. He’s going to be the supervisor for the maintenance crew. Dad’s background in fixing things will come in handy. We gave him a decent salary, with benefits and a budget. He should do well. I don’t want him to waste away and be lonely with mom gone. He’s doing well though. He’s taken to the wedding plans with gusto.

Sylvia and I have asked the pastor that did mom’s funeral if he’ll officiate at our wedding. He said he’d be delighted. He’s going to give us marital counseling starting next month.

Volume XVII Mar. 3, 20-

We found out today that the Breed 2-3 fairies call the island Brakion. Harriet Jabronsky one of my team members named the fairies of Kolaki this because they are essentially a hybrid of the second and third breed of fairies.

It appears that citizens of Bar are flourishing in their new environs. They live a very peaceful life, and keep to themselves. They have very good trade relations with the citizens of Zolfai, the fishing village, which isn’t a village anymore. The commerce that they’ve accrued with trade between the dwarves, Frolians and both Bar and Squ’avni has turned their little village into a sprawling city that measures probably eight feet deep by at least ten or fifteen feet along the coast. They have built a great stone wall to separate the outskirts of their town from Kolaki. Watchtowers have been built about every foot or so.

Their fear of Kolaki hasn’t stopped their trade with them, however, even their trade in slaves. Kolaki seems to be the biggest importer of slave labor. They are so fierce. Luckily, neither the dwarves of Thomas’s island no r the Kolaki-ites are sailors. The two races would ignite a fierce war, I’m sure.

Zolafai is a very interesting place. All of us on the project are watching it closely. It is the only place where people get along reasonably well. The town leaders have created a police force that makes sure everyone is getting along. In the town we have witnessed many new breeds of creature. A number of Thomas’s dwarves moved to Zolafai to work, and have taken fairy wives. We weren’t sure if they could cross breed, but it turns out that they can. The first generation of the children is growing up at the south end of Zolafai, and they are a sight to behold. They are quite large even as children. They will probably grow to a height of two and a half inches by the time they finish growing. They have thick hair and bluish skin.

We have also noted the first Frolian-Fairy couple and are interested to see if they can successfully breed. I’m sure as time goes by we’ll see Dwarven-Frolian-Fairy combinations of all sorts in the great melting pot that is Zolafai.

One last interesting note about Zolafai, they use some of Dr. Holman’s dinosaurs as beasts of burden throughout the city. Holman is pretty proud of his creatures. It appears that he will be leaving the project to go work at another project in Nevada. They need his expertise in dinosaurs for something they are working on. Like always, he’s very secretive about it, saying it’s all very “hush-hush.” I think he just likes to feel important. We’re having a going away party for him at the end of the month.

Volume XVII Mar. 10, 20-

Sylvia and I got back from our first marriage counseling course today. It was great. We really found out a lot about ourselves that we didn’t know. We also took a marriage compatibility course, and found out that we match each other very well. It was pretty exciting. One of the exercises was fun. We were asked to sit back to back with a brain scan device over each of our heads. We were asked a series of questions and the machine monitored our reactions. Our brains patterns were so similar it was wild. It’s showed that we complimented each other in so many ways. Wherever my responses showed a deficiency hers were strong, and vice versa. It was really exciting stuff!

Volume XVII Apr. 14, 20-

Science is so amazing to me. I just read an article today that NASA has invented a doorway that allows a person to step from Houston to Mars and back again in only 10 seconds! Or maybe it’s 20. I’ll have to read the article again. I’ve got to contact my friend Pelton Swift at NASA and see if we can have a look at the project. It’s probably top secret, but we let them look at ours. I would think turn about’s fair play.

Still working on the Hybrid IV project. Sylvia and I are compiling what we jokingly refer to as the “catalog of good things.” It’s really just a collection of wise sayings and proverbs from around the world. We asked Dr. Thomas Sullivan, the religion professor at the college, to help us. He is giving two classes credit for helping with the project. So there’re a total of 35 people working on the project. I haven’t told the board of directors yet. They still don’t know what we’re up to. We would like to keep it that way. If they knew what we were really doing, I know they’d try to pull the plug.

Dr. Sullivan is also helping us with the genetic manipulation of Hybrid IV. He has helped us decide what traits to enhance, what ones to minimize and what ones to eliminate all together. The “catalog of good things,” will be used in the neonatal conditioning process before we inseminate the surrogate mother.

Volume XVII May 14, 20-

My book was released today! It seems like there were already a lot of preorders for it. I was told that the initial download was estimated at 10,000 copies. This will be great!

We’ve been a little stressed out lately. Sylvia is preparing for finals, and we’ve got the wedding coming up so soon. I’m trying to be supportive. I just can’t wait until it’s all over and she’s mine for good.

Volume XVII May 25, 20-

My publisher called me today and gave me some preliminary figures for the book sales. It seems that we should be able to fund the research for another by what we make this year.

Just 20 more days! Can’t wait.

Volume XVII June 13, 20-

Tomorrow’s the big day! I’m so nervous I can’t sleep.

Volume XVII June 15, 20-

Wow! I don’t know what to say. It’s only been two days, but being married sure is wonderful.

Volume XVII July 9, 20-

Great news! My agent called today and said that some people in Pheonix-wood, want to make a movie out of my book. Will wonders never cease?

Volume XVII Sept 14, 20-

Sylvia told me that we’re going to have a baby! So much for waiting two or three years. Sylvia and I were both virgins when we got married. I know, it doesn’t happen anymore these days, but we’re both geeks, so what can I say? We were really nervous about that whole thing and put it off for as long as we could. We were so nervous on our wedding night that I wasn’t sure if we’d have sex or not. But we did, and now WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY! I can’t believe it. I guess we were having so much fun we forgot to plan this out a bit.

It’s strange, I almost feel like a father with the fairies. But with all the generations that have passed, I feel like a great-great grandfather. I wonder what it will be like to have a real baby in the house.

I guess Sylvia will take some time off, but she probably won’t step down form the job. I wouldn’t think she would anyway.

Volume XVIII

Volume XVIII May 14, 20-

Sylvia gave birth to a beautiful baby boy today! We named him James after my dad. He’s so tiny. He’s at least one hundred percent larger than the fairies, but he seems so much smaller somehow.

The birth was perfect. The doctor Cronotized the baby directly out of the womb and he materialized perfectly in the materialization chamber. Sylvia said she didn’t feel a thing. The doctor was especially pleased. He said that the Cronotization process captured the entire placenta and cauterized it in the transfer. Now Sylvia and little James are both in great shape. I’m looking forward to some rest as well. We’re taking three weeks off from the project.

Well, I am. Sylvia will probably take a year off.

Volume XVIII Dec 7, 20-

I’ve been working on the Hybrid IV for two years now. I cloned my own DNA for this particular fairy. I have altered every single strand that might produce evil, violence and war. This fairy will be one to lead them to peace and freedom. I could take the murder, but the slavery has sickened me. I am thankful Maxwell is concentrating on his own project and I see little of him now. His callous jokes about the fairies makes me sick. These creatures have proven themselves capable of great art and science. They have produced beauty that humans have never conceived of. It is as if our good qualities were distilled to the essence, but along with the good, so was the evil. All their advancements were gained on the backs of their fellow beings. Yes, the new fairy will change all that. I will call him Genesis for he will bring a new beginning to everything.

I probably could have avoided a lot of the problems over the last couple years if I had just impregnated the Breed II fairies with the Breed III stock. This way they would have appeared to be a natural descendant of the others and the whole godhood of the Breed III’s would have never came into play.

But I was probably mistaken in going forth with my plans after Alex screwed everything up anyway. Oh well, what’s done is done.

Volume XVIII Dec. 20, 20-

Genesis is undergoing neonatal conditioning before I place him in the subject I have chosen. He will learn to be full of love and goodness. The subject is called Malakalia by her friends. She lives in Borkoin, the glass city. She and her husband are peaceful. They will raise Genesis well.

Volume XVIII Dec. 21, 20-

Tonight Malakalia was impregnated with Genesis. She should give birth in about a week.

Volume XVIII Dec. 25, 20-

Malakalia gave birth to Genesis tonight. She named him Kolakrien, “He will save Kolaki.” I’m amazed that she came up with that name herself, as I didn’t say anything to her. Kolakrien seems to be healthy.

Volume XIX

Volume XIX Jan. 29, 20-

Kolakrien is growing into a strong young man. He is so full of goodness. Why didn’t I think of doing this at the beginning of the project? Already other villagers are following him, and he is barely an adult in their society. He will turn the infrastructure of Brakion on its head.

Volume XIX Feb 17, 20-

Today Kolakrien and his companions went to Kolaki, that city of slavery and evil. But they were chased out. They were received well at Bar, however. I really think Genesis will change things.

His life span will be much longer than the others, as long as our life spans in fact. They will pass through countless generations before he dies. That should insure a permanent change.

Volume XIX April 10, 20-

Kolakrien was arrested today in Kolaki. I am going to free him tonight when everyone goes home.

Volume XIX April 22, 20-

I couldn’t bring myself to write for the last two weeks. After the leaders of Kolaki arrested Genesis (Kolakrien), I wrote that I would free him. Before I could do anything, they led him to the center of the city and beheaded him! I was so angry that I hit the dome of the atrium. A large piece of the projector cracked off and landed in the ocean. The resulting flood completely obliterated Kolaki and submerged a number of other fairy settlements under water. The other scientists have asked that I be removed from my project. MY Project! They say I can’t remain objective.

There was a hastily planned meeting of the Board of Directors and it was decided that I should handle the media related to the project. I’ve also been asked to step down from the board. Seems like I’ll never be chairman after all.

Thankfully, Sylvia will now take my place on the project next month when she comes back from maternity leave. There is still hope yet.

My mother was a very religious person. She had a painting of Christ on the wall. Dad never moved it after she died. He just left it hanging there gathering dust. It’s the one where he’s in the garden praying, golden light shining down on his face. I saw it when I went to visit dad tonight, and it makes me wonder.