"So ... What happened???" the left hemisphere blurted out, unable to take it anymore!
(It had been over two years since the last chapter was written!)
"So, what do you think happened?" I asked the left hemisphere of my own, ripe for the asking brain.
"What do I think??? Well ... I think that this Kalisia person gets our hero turned in, and that Scott Carpenter and Howard Popsicle descend upon him and stop him from doing whatever it is he is doing! I mean, he's "shifting everything at once" and all! This has to be terribly upsetting to these others, who have been working diligently behind the scenes for all these years and, lo, over lifetimes!!!"
"Good guess," I answered, "But wrong! What do you think, Right Hemisphere?"
"Good glorious gracious! I have no idea at all!" said right hemisphere. "I helped as much as I could when it was being written back then, but I'm totally unsure now!"
"Ahhh! That is wonderful!" I said. "The two of you got this story going with these mysterious characters with no names, one of whom you have set up to seem to be this persona called "The Technician" (who, it is not lost upon me exactly, is supposed to be me...), and these odd off-world folk who are caretakers for the human experiment they themselves supposedly started, and you had no idea where you were going with all of this???"
The two hemispheres of my brain had as sheepish a look on them as brain hemispheres could be expected to have.
*** To Be Continued ***
***
"'To Be Continued'??? Who in blazes put that there?!"
The other side of my personality became alert, seeing decisions being made ... and without him. "I mean, who SAYS this has to be continued or not? Don't I get any say in this?"
"Sorry ... it was me," admitted my right hemisphere. "I really would like to see this go on."
"Go on WHERE?" asked the other side of my personality. "It seems you have all but given up already!"
"Now, now. We might be able to take this a little bit further" said I. "After all, it is well intentioned, and has already revealed so much about me/us that has never been revealed in quite so compelling a manner before now up until this time."
"Revealed too much, perhaps!" I said.
"As a friend recently put it, disclosure is what is needed and necessary now. The only place to hide is out in the open, after all. That is, there is no hiding for anyone anymore!" said I.
"Indulge me, please, my paranoia, but I'm not so certain anyone needs to know this much about me!" I said. "Perhaps left hemisphere should be permitted to edit some of this content out of the story entirely!"
"Absolutely not! Besides, it is too unbelievable to be believed by anyone as being anything but a story anyway! Plus, it makes such a good story, and all the meaty philosophical underpinnings that are exposed ... why, it is just ..."
"STOP!! STOP!! I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!" cried out the right hemisphere. "OK - I'll finish the story so that it is what we intended in the first place completely, and helps everybody like we want it to do!"
"You will???" the rest chimed-in in chorus.
"Yes, I will," stated right hemisphere.
Every part of me looked uneasily at itself and shrugged. It did FEEL like the rest of the story, no matter where it was headed, was supposed to be written.The matter had been resolved. And it was good.
"Well. That's settled then," I said. "So?" said I.
"Exactly. So!" said Right Hemisphere.
*** Being Continued ***
"So," the one being called "The Technician" continued while sipping on tea Kalisia had made for them, "What do you think of this idea? - Everything, everywhere, is the center of the universe. The question concerning the middle is the riddle. But that means the center of the universe is everywhere at once!"
Kalisia nodded dreamily, still not believing or understanding what was happening.
The other man responded, "Oh, really?"
Howard Popsicle was eavesdropping on their conversation over the phone that had remained off of the hook for fifteen minutes now. "This is getting interesting!" he thought to himself.
"I always love thinking about that one," said The Technician with glee! "It is such a crazy idea, yet it makes so much sense, somehow! If we use that as a working premise supposing that is the way the Universe really works, what could we do with that?"
Shift.
Howard couldn't take it anymore. As Kalisia fought to regain her composure, Howard suddenly began blurting out loud over the telephone, making everybody suddenly aware that he had been there listening in all of this time.
"Wha..!! How?? How are you doing that!!!! What on Earth!! I can't take another one of these whole-universe shifts all so close in one day! Hello!!??"
The three folks drinking tea stared at the phone, dumbfoundedly. Kalisia broke the silence...
"Oh!! Howard!! I'm so sorry!! I forgot you were waiting on the phone for me to come back! Oh, my!" She rushed to the phone and placed the receiver to her ear to muffle his next words from reaching the other two.
"Hello, I'm here now," she said to Howard. Then, to her guests, "I'm sorry, you two, I'd completely forgotten I had left him hanging there!" Then to Howard, she said, "Can I call you back later? I have some visitors."
No amount of pressure against her ears could muffle Howards exasperated response. So, she hung up on him.
***
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