The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Putty (30 page)

“Sissy. Are you jealous?”

Silence. Then, “
Ye
-
ye
-
ye
.”

Suzie drew in a long slow breath as she looked at the tiny creature in her hand. “I have a very important question, Sissy. Are you sure Candi is no threat to any of us?”

“
Ye
-
ye
-
ye
.”

“Then, Sissy, I think I should tell Lenny about this. If he understands what’s going on, maybe he can make it better. Is that okay?”

Silence. Then, “
Ye
-
ye
-
ye
.”

“Lenny, we have to tell you something,” said Suzie. Although she tried to interrupt, it was clear the best theoretical model for conceptualizing particles as they fell into black holes was more important. She had to poke Lenny to get his attention.

“What?” he exclaimed, blinking as if suddenly discovering himself in a brightly lit room.

“Sissy can talk,” said Suzie. She watched as Lenny began his eye-roll again. “No. Listen to me, Lenny. Sissy and I have been talking. She makes a ‘
ye
-
ye
-
ye’
sound for ‘yes’ and a ‘
pop
-
pop
-
pop’
sound for ‘no.’”

“I told you she makes random sounds. They don’t mean anything,” Lenny insisted. It was clear he wanted to get back to black holes and string theory.

The problem with these guys
, thought Suzie,
is sometimes you have to smack them really hard to get their attention.
So she said, “Sissy has been keeping you and Candi apart.”

Suzie watched Lenny’s expression go from impatient indulgence to full attentiveness in less than zero point four milliseconds. Lenny believed Sissy could affect his life.

“That’s nuts. Why would she do that?” Lenny asked doubtfully.

“She’s jealous of Candi.”

“How can she be jealous? She doesn’t have any feelings to be jealous with.”

This produced an alternating string of clucking and popping sounds. Lenny stared at the little piece of fur as he held stubbornly to his position.

“Lenny, you have an open mind about so many other things,” said Bernie. “Why can’t you believe she has feelings?”

“If you want to see Candi again…” Suzie’s voice trailed off. She knew she didn’t have to finish the sentence.

“I… I need to think about this,” Lenny said as Sissy crawled back on his finger.

And so he did. A lot.

Wicked Winds

Their world had no seasons. No extremes in temperature. No ocean currents flowing from the frigid north to the temperate zones. The ingredients needed to spawn hurricanes did not exist on their world. It had required the power of a god to create such a terrible force. And now the wild winds released their fury against an unprepared world.

Until now, protection from the elements had been unnecessary. Buildings were designed with open courtyards because it was important to let the Sun shine in. In a world where property crimes were unknown, entrances seldom had doors. Walls were built with many windows to give easy entry to the sun and the gentle breezes. There were no fierce winds to shutter out or keep at bay.

It was fortunate many buildings had been built of stone. Those buildings survived. Wooden buildings did not fare well. The people who sought shelter in buildings of wood were the first to die.

The people had no experience with such things. As the great storms approached, people thought they were thunderstorms. Getting wet was inconvenient, but nothing to be overly concerned about. And it was good for the plants.

By the time the first of the storms was upon them, the winds, unlike anything known before, brushed aside people and buildings alike.

A mother, rushing across the street to reach her young daughter, watched in horror as the little girl was blown over by the wind. As she ran to rescue her child, she herself was hit by flying debris and killed instantly.

A family, sheltering in their wooden home, died when a nearby tree was uprooted and crashed through their roof.

And so it began.

No one had ever seen winds so fast or so strong.

The deaths did not come from wind alone. The winds brought high water levels and mass flooding to the lower elevations of the coast. Many people huddled in their dwellings as the flood waters rushed down the main streets of town. They drowned in their own homes.

* * *

Leader Gondal banged his gavel and called out, “The Senate will come to order.”

Grim expressions were everywhere as the Senators took their seats in the crowded amphitheater. Perspiration still beaded the faces of some, due to the haste with which they’d traveled. They were anxious to learn anything the Senate had discovered about the wild winds that ravaged the land.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice.” Gondal knew the importance of setting expectations appropriately. “We have only one item on our agenda. Before we start, I must tell you we do not have many answers. Do not expect today’s session to result in decisions and action. We will instead recount recent events so you understand what has happened. Minister Wadov will tell us what we know so far.”

Wadov, seated behind the table on the raised dais, stood to address the crowd. “Thank you, Leader. I’ve tried to put these events in chronological order, but the breakdown in communication and the distances involved makes it difficult. I’ve done the best I can.

“The first sighting of the wind storms was made in Kazonit, located on the northeastern coast. Far out at sea, they saw a massive cloud front approaching. By the time it reached them, the sea had become extremely violent and huge waves crashed against the shore. The storm brought heavy, stinging rain driven by howling winds. The winds were so strong, they ripped up the wharves and blew them away. Several ships were capsized by the winds. The ocean itself rushed inland and flooded several streets. The southwestern part of the town, which had many wooden structures, was demolished. Flying debris inflicted further damage, including damage to stone buildings around the town. There were fifty-three lives lost, including one child,” said Wadov amidst a number of groans and laments.

“The storm continued inland to the town of Globet, fifty-five miles southeast of Kazonit. Reports from Globet indicate they suffered heavy winds and some damage, but no flooding, and nothing like the intensity experienced by Kazonit on the coast. Thank the Sun, no lives were lost there.

“Later the same day, the village of Maris on our southwestern coast was hit by a different storm. Their storm also came from the ocean, and they reported similar events. The town is smaller than Kazonit. There were thirty-one lives lost, including three children,” said Wadov. This time the groans were even louder.

“Less than a day later, on the northeastern coast, the town of Rabinit was hit by an equally severe storm. It began the same as the others. The wooden docks were destroyed almost immediately. Town officials moved people away from the coast and into the natural shelter of a large cliff which protected them from the direct force of the wind.

“Suddenly, the wind stopped, the rain stopped, and the clouds disappeared. Minutes later, the day was clear and normal. The storm just ceased to be. There appears to be no explanation.

“We believe at the same time there was another storm bearing down off the south central coast, near Guntamin. As soon as they saw storm clouds approaching, they began preparations. However, before the storm made landfall, it just disappeared. They claim it was the Sun who saved them because as the storm clouds dissipated, the Sun broke through and warmed the land,” Wadov said.

“Were there other reports?” Gondal asked Wadov.

“There was one report from a small village on the eastern coast. They saw a massive storm moving directly toward them at dusk, but they did not get the bitter weather they expected. It may have passed them by, but it was too dark to see what actually happened. We believe it’s possible their storm disappeared at the same time the storms at Rabinit and Guntamin disappeared. The timing was very close,” Wadov said.

“Have there been other reports or sightings?”

“No, Leader. All four sightings happened within two days of each other. There have been no new reports in the last three days.”

“Thank you, Minister Wadov. Are there any questions or comments from the other ministers?” Gondal looked toward both sides of the long table where the ministers were seated. “No? Then I turn to the Senators. Are there any who would ask questions or who wish to make a statement?”

“Yes, Leader. I am Senator Anitol. I represent the south central district of Vigiton. I would ask three questions. First, what caused these hellish winds? Second, what can we do to prevent them from happening again? And, if we cannot prevent them, my third question is what can we do to minimize any loss of life?”

Wadov stood. “Until we know the cause, the best thing we can do is be prepared. If another storm is sighted, keep your people away from wooden structures. Shelter them in your strongest stone buildings. Keep them away from low areas that could flood. And, if you have advance warning, move inland as far and as fast as you can. These storms appear to be strongest at the water’s edge. If you can’t escape the storm, then seek shelter and wait it out.”

Branton, the minister of science, stood next and said, “With respect to discovering the cause of these storms, we’ve asked both Speaker Zardok and Lord Alcandor for their thoughts. At this time, we have no answers from either. Until we know what caused these wind storms, it is pointless to speculate on what we can do to prevent them in the future.”

* * *

The Senators left the meeting with few answers. And little hope. Their world was falling apart. People were dying. No one knew what to do about it.

An Understanding

“Hey, Lenny,” Bernie said.

Lenny smiled as he took his seat at their table.

Suzie noticed immediately the kaleidoscopic green and orange elements in Lenny’s shimmer. “You’re in a good mood.”

“I should be. Candi and I have a date tonight,” he said as he stroked Sissy’s fur.

Suzie laughed. “Did Sissy have anything to do with that?”

“Yes, quite a bit actually,” Lenny admitted.

“You must tell us everything.” Suzie wiggled in pleasure.

“I wasn’t sure you and Sissy were talking,” Bernie said.

“We had a long talk. It might be more accurate to say, I had a long listen. Sissy had a lot to say. There’s a lot more to her than I thought,” Lenny said as Sissy purred.

“What did you talk about?” Suzie asked.

“Well, you were right about her, Suzie. She was jealous of Candi,” said Lenny. “She’d been doing things to keep us apart. I think I convinced her she doesn’t have to worry about that.”

“How did you do that?” Suzie asked, not willing to let Lenny off the hook so quickly.

Lenny’s face turned red as his shimmer added two new colors to the mix. “We talked, like I told you.”

“Do I have to ask Sissy what you said?” Suzie teased.

“Okay. I told her no matter what happens with Candi, I will still like her.”

“
Pop
-
pop
-
pop
,” Sissy said.

“Sissy says that isn’t exactly right, Lenny.” Suzie was grinning.

Lenny sighed as he said, “Okay, okay. I told Sissy it was okay for her to love me because I love her too. I told her no matter what happens with Candi, I will always love my little Sissy.”

Suzie watched as Bernie’s jaw dropped. They were both hearing words they never thought would come from Lenny’s mouth. Suzie tried not to laugh with delight.

“Is that right, Sissy?” Suzie asked her little friend.

“
Ye
-
ye
-
ye
,” came the sounds from Lenny’s little fur ball.

“We’re going to be better than ever. This morning, Sissy told me to get to work three minutes early, and when I did, I bumped into Candi. That’s when we made our date for tonight.”

“This is very interesting. If Sissy can tell you what to do, she’ll be a lot more helpful, won’t she?” Bernie asked.

“
Ye
-
ye
-
ye
,” Sissy said proudly.

Sauna, Anyone?

Billy found it increasingly difficult to get into Bernie’s universe. The idiot simply refused to go home before he saw Billy leave for the day. This forced him to come back late at night or early in the morning to get his swipes in. Today, he’d come in early.

Sitting at Bernie’s desk, he reviewed his plan. It was a good one, both simple and subtle, although the visualization was large in scope.

From his vantage point far out in space, Billy visualized the planet and its moon. Careful, so as not to disrupt any of the relationship parameters, he dragged both the planet and its moon closer to the sun. He made his calculations earlier, so it was quick work to move everything to the new position.

Not too much closer. Bernie mustn’t suspect until it was too late. At this distance, everything on the planet would come to a slow boil. By the time Bernie figured it out, everything would be dead.

Say goodbye to your plants, Bernie.

Suzie Intervenes

Ezrah read the memo from Shemal again. He’d been expecting it for some time. But still, he was sad to see it.

Shemal’s memo described Bernie’s poor performance on his universe project. Shemal claimed he had never seen anything this bad, and, recently, he had seen no progress of any kind. Shemal said he was making the recommendation with some regret, because Bernie was a likeable fellow with some positive traits. But, he concluded, there was no reason to believe anything would improve in the near future.