New World
In the deepest part of a child’s imagination, a whole new world is born. The sun was beginning to set on this summer night and little Alfred was in his room playing with some action figures. He was so wrapped up in his adventure that he didn't hear his mother open the door.
“Al, it’s time to put away your toys and get ready for bed.”
“Aw, mom, just five more minutes?” He didn't look up from the two men battling.
“Alright, but then I want your teeth brushed and in bed.” She smiled as she left her son’s room.
Al finished his story early. Nothing more anti-climactic than your mom telling you it’s bedtime. He placed his figures in their respective places on the shelf. He gave them a small salute and told them they had fought well today. Al walked towards the bathroom, the light sensors in the hallway picked up his movements and turned on the lights. When he opened the door to the bathroom, the lights came on.
Al climbed up the small step stool in front of the sink. He tapped the wall next to the mirror and it swung open. He grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste from the small shelves and closed the mirror. After a thorough brushing, he put everything away and went back to his room. The sun had fully dropped below the horizon when Al climbed into bed. His mother was right behind him.
“Now, I don’t want you up all night reading those comics.”
“Mo’om, I’m not gonna read any tonight.” He lied. She kissed his forehead and rubbed his hair. As she left the room, she placed two fingers on the side of the wall and the lights dimmed. Al waited a few moments before shaking off the covers and heading over to his desk. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out a tablet.
When he sat up in his bed, he turned it on. The screen lit up his face as he scrolled over each comic’s cover. Once he found the one he wanted to read, he pressed the center of the screen. The characters peeled off the pages and stood in front of him. Above their heads, letters started to appear to tell the story. After reading, he would swipe to the left, the picture would fall and a new one would rise.
Al swiped through the story of heroes, pretending he was right there in the adventure with them. When he got to the middle of the story, his heroes fell off to the side and a bald man, in a black suit covered in stars and crescent moons, came up.
“Stupid commercials.” Al rested his cheek in his palm.
“Hey, kids! If you love the worlds of your favorite comics as much as I do, then you'll love this!” The very excited man turned to show a table behind him. On the table was what looked like an aquarium with a light floating in the center of it. Slowly, circling around the light was a small blue and green ball. Al sat up from his hand and stared at the ad.
“You can simulate gravity in space with our new Gen-Six Sun Box and a rock from your own backyard!” The man stood next to the container, showing off the new product. After the commercial had finished, Al pressed replay and watched it over again. He memorized the ad and the bald man’s mannerisms to ask his mother for one. The following morning he put on his presentation over breakfast. Al recited and acted out the entire ad.
“I thought I told you not to stay up reading those comics, mister?” She tried to hold back a smile after she watched her son’s performance.
“And don’t forget parents, it’s educational!” Al exclaimed in the most excited voice he could make. He knew he had to save that for the end.
“Fine, what’s the number?” She laughed grabbing her phone.
The next couple of days seemed to drag on forever. Al would run to the front door every morning to check for his package. He stayed up late, every night, to watch the ad over and over. He was starting to drive his mother crazy by the fifth day. She told him he’d have to be patient and that it would take a few days to assemble his new toy before sending it. Finally, on the sixth evening, the doorbell rang. Al rushed to the front door and was met by a large package with a note taped to the top.
To Alfred Omega
We Hope You Enjoy your New World
Sincerely,
Gen-Six
Al pushed the box inside and ran to his mother, hugging her as soon as he saw her. It was somewhat of an ordeal to lug the large box up the stairs. Through sheer adrenaline and excitement, Al managed to get it to his room. He tore open the box and removed its contents. The large aquarium like box came out first and he placed it on his desk. It was glass all around except for a thick, black lid. He had some trouble lifting it off the box. After removing the lid, Al found a large glass lightbulb and the instructions.
He read over the directions very carefully. The first step was to find a rock. The only specifications were that the rock is smaller than the lightbulb. Al rushed down the stairs, passed his mother, and out into the back yard. It was getting dark out. He had some trouble searching in the low light but eventually found one the perfect size.
His mother stopped him on his way back up the stairs.
“I know you're excited about your new toy, but it’s almost time for bed. You need your rest.”
“I know it is Mom, can I please just put it together tonight and then go to sleep?” He held out his hand to show her what he had found in the yard. She nodded and smiled. He ran back upstairs to continue reading the manual.
The next step was to screw the lightbulb into the black rod that hung from underneath the lid. When he finally got the light bulb screwed in, he was told to put the lid back on top. Al grabbed the lid and could feel small droplets of sweat on his forehead.
“I’ve never worked this hard for a toy before.” He thought to himself.
He got the lid back on top and returned to the floor to read what to do next. There was a diagram to show him a small opening in the lid. He slid open the slot and placed his rock inside. The final step before turning on the light was to add water. Al went to the bathroom, climbed up his step stool and got some water into a glass he had sitting on the sink. When Al returned, he read over the directions one more time before pouring the small amount of water into the aquarium.
Finally, he closed the slot and flipped the on the switch. He could hear the quiet whirring of the mechanism in the lid. The lightbulb began to glow brighter. It was a bright, yellow color when it lit up fully. The rock and the water started shaking in the bottom of the aquarium. Al’s eyes widened as he watched the rock and water lift up. They were both floating and began to slowly circle the glowing light in the center. The water followed close behind the rock. Al’s jaw was hanging. He watched with enthusiasm.
The water caught up and smashed into the small rock. It looked as if the liquid was wrapping itself around the stone. As it spun around the lightbulb, the water held firmly onto it. That’s when his mother came in to see her son sitting in his desk chair, watching the aquarium. She looked into the glass case.
“Wow! You put all of this together yourself?” She leaned down and rested her hand on his shoulder. They both watched the small, liquid covered rock, slowly float around the light.
“What do you think?”
“I think my little man is pretty impressive. I’m very proud of you for putting this together. But you remember our deal?” She kissed him on the cheek.
“I know, I know.” He rolled his eyes and gave her another hug to thank her for the gift. Then it was off to the bathroom to brush his teeth before climbing into bed. His mother went to turn off the machine.
“Wait, you can’t turn it off. You have to leave it running for the veg.. veg.. veggie…”
“Vegetation?”
“Ya, that. You have to leave it on for that to grow.” She agreed to leave it on and tucked him into bed. She told him goodnight and left his room. Al rolled over onto his side and watched the small blue object circle around the light. He fell asleep watching it.
The next morning, he climbed out of bed and hurried over to see his little blue world. Except, it wasn't so blue anymore. It had only been one night and he was already beginning to see little specks of green growing. He was so excited he called down to his mother to come have a look. She came upstairs to see what all the fuss was about. It was too early to be as animated as her son was. She told him that it was very neat and that he needed to come down to breakfast.
Throughout the next few weeks, Al watched as the little green specks grew into one large spot on the rock. The rest was covered in the water. Al would come back every night to see if anything had changed. Pieces of the green spot would break off on their own. But for the most part, it stayed just the same. The small green and blue stone would circle the light, all day, every day. Al was starting to get bored with his new world.
So, one day he came up with an idea. He thought that if he could place smaller rocks in the aquarium with more water, maybe they would grow as well. He ran outside and grabbed a handful of different sized pebbles. He got back to his room, slid open the slot, and dropped the pebbles inside. They spun around the light, at different speeds. One of the larger pebbles, about a quarter of the size of the original stone, caught up with it.
On a green patch of the stone, a herd of triceratops was grazing in an open field. One looked up towards the sky. A giant asteroid was heading straight for them.