zero plus nothing equals - 2. the lawn

by jeremy witherington

part two of 31

to read part one, click here

richard the lion hearted woke up. he rolled over and went back to sleep. he was walking down a long corridor lined with paintings of ladies in pink and white dresses playing croquet on green lawns under blue skies. miss cecily was defeating miss emily roundly at the game.and miss emily did not like it one bit. now, cecily, lady desdemona admonished cecily loudly, let emily win a game. it is the civilized and ladylike thing to do. i declare i do not care why i should, cecily retorted brashly, as i am feeling neither ladylike nor civilized this morning. lord randolph, who had been smoking a cheroot and observing the proceedings from a spot on the sidelines, guffawed loudly. i say, that is a spirited filly, his lordship announced to his chum and toady, the honorable bartholomew billingsley, who waa standing ready in his shadow, i do not care to be referred to in such terms, miss cecily shouted. and with that, she flung her croquet mallet in to the ground, narrowly missing hittting miss emily on her dainty foot, and flounced off. oh dear, what is to be done? lady desdemona muttered. i do hope she pulls herself together in time to be presented to the duke of g———— at sunset. no fear of that, lord randolph chortled salf-satisfiedly, and the honorable bartholomew billingsley laughed appreciatively. go after her, will you, lady desdemona implored richard, who had been observing the scene silently from the shade of the old oak tree. see that she does not do anything foolish. no fear of that, lord randolph shouted again, and the honorable bartholomew billingsley laughed appreciatively. again. what a bother, richard thought, but he did as lady desdemona commanded. the rolling lawn stretched out eternally down to the meandering river. richard encountered his old schoolfellow sir lancelot sitting on a rock, reading a slender new volume of verses from the poet laureate. did you see miss cecily go by? richard asked lancelot. i saw a flash of something pink and white go by. might that have been she? no doubt. be a good fellow and accompany me, will you. if she has committed some folly like jumping into the river i might need all the assiatance i can get. why, of course, old man. anything for a pal. but when richrd and lancelot reached the river, they saw only miss cecily’s straw bonnet, with its white ribbon, heading placidly downstream. what a great bother, richard thought bitterly. i shall probably have to resign my commission in the guards. and the worst of it was, that that cad randolph had been witness to his humiliation. do you think it worth diving in, richard asked lancelot, putting the best face on it he could. i do not see why not, lancelot replied. nothing ventured,, nothing gained. a trio of clouds passed overhead. next

zero plus nothing equals - 1. the room

by jeremy witherington

part one of 31

> isaac newton woke up. he was lying on a bed. in a room. a small room. there was nothing in the room except the bed - just a cot - he was lying on. and himself. he had a shirt and pants on, and socks and shoes. it was dark. he tried to remember where he was. he sat up. he checked the pockets of the pants he was wearing and they were empty. he got up off the bed and looked for a light or a light switch but did not find either. there was a small window with a shade pulled down and he raised it. it was raining out. with the shade raised he could see a little better, but still saw nothing on the floor. he knelt down and looked and felt under the small bed but found nothing. there was a door in the room. it opened on to a short hallway. there was another door across from the room he was in, and a door at one end of the hall with some lettering on it that he could not make out. a bathroom? at the other end of the hall was a door clearly marked exit. he went back into the room and lay down on the bed. why did everything have to be so complicated? he wondered, not for the first time. he went back to sleep. maybe everything will be revealed when i wake up again, he thought. the rain beat on the window. and the window began to shake a little from the wind next

are you even trying ? - 23. across

by nick nelson

part twenty-three of 23

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to begin at the beginning, click here

> billy drove the long black limousine across the desert. an enormous moon lit up the night sky.. the sun would not come up for another four hours. veracruz, or yucatan or morocco or macao, was still a long way away. beside him, juiet yawned. somewhere an animal howled. stop, juliet said. why? i want to get in the back and get some sleep. billy cruised to a stop. juliet got out, and johnny got out of the back seat, and juliet and johnny switched places. billy drove on in silence. another animal howled, either closer or just louder than the one before. neither billy nor johnny commented. johnny had already realized that billy was not the talkative type. neither was johnny. what was there to say? they would either be caught or they would not be. * i am sorry i could be of more assistance, capone told mr b. there was nothing you could do, mr b assured him. i am not blaming you. but i consider myself to owe you something. just let me know if there is ever anything i can do for you. i will keep it in my mind, mr b said. capone nodded, and got to his feet and left. the end

are you even trying? - 22. fall

by nick nelson

part twenty-two of 23

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> mrs worth looked up from the crossword magazine she had been flipping through, trying to decide whether to do a difficult puzzle, or a not so difficult one. can i help you, sir? she asked the visitor. i want to see my old pal johnny. is your old pal johnny expecting you? no, but i know he would like to see me. do you have anything to show that he might want to see you? no, but i know that he would. you will have to do a little better than that, sir. the director is a busy person. he is in conference now, in any case. i can wait. not in here. show some evidence that he might want to see you, or be on your way. gee, that’s harsh. are you going to throw me out? obviously, i am not going to pick you up myself and throw you out. but i have all the resources of organization a at my disposal at the touch of a button. how about organization b? i think organization a is capable by itself. can i leave a message? this is the modern age, sir. there are numerous channels and applications by which you can leave a message. i would like to leave a note, on paper, if that is all right with you. you want me to give you a piece of paper, and what, a pencil? no, i have it all written down. mrs worth shrugged. fine. just leave it on the desk. the visitor took a small piece of paper, folded in fours, out of his pocket and stepped up and placed it carefully on the desk. you see, he smiled at mrs worth, i came prepared. mrs worth did not reply. when the visitor had left and closed the door behind him, she unfolded the piece of paper. on it was written: highway 93. * buddy stopped the truck. there were no lights, or any other signs of life, visible on the highway. wait here,buddy told johnny. i will be right back. this is my last chance, johnny thought. he counted to sixty-six. the cab door opened soundlessly, and he climbed down. johnny ran. he ran and ran and ran. he came to the old house. it had no lights on, but he felt sure there was someone in it. he crept up to the window and looked in. juliet was sitting on a long sofa, and billy the kid was pacing up and down in front of an unlit fireplace. johnny tapped on the window. next

are you even trying? - 21. rise

by nick nelson

part twenty-one of 23

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> johnny bit into the ham and egg sandwich, and quickly rose to the top of the organization. johnny had what it took. it was all about the organization. the organization came first. he was tough but fair. if you played ball with him, he would play ball with you. he was loyal. as he climbed the ladder, he took old sarge, cookie, and mrs worth with him. old sarge was his bodyguard and chauffeur, , cookie was his chef and valet, and mrs worth was his secretary. johnny traveled all over the world. his name was never in the media, but he rubbed elbows with anybody who was anybody. it looked like he was on tap to take over the organization, when mister a retired. and then it all came crashing down. big as he was, johnny had an open door policy. it had always served him well. the humblest supplicants from within the organization and even from without, could come into his office, and plead his case, if they could get past old sarge and mrs worth. a guy came into the office, one rainy afternoon.. a big guy, a little out of shape, but looking like he used to be in good shape. not dressed too sharp, but not like a bum either. his red white and blue tie was neatly knotted. old sarge was in the waiting area, reading ring magazine. remember me? the guy asked old sarge. can’t say that i do, pal, old sarge replied, barely looking at the guy. old sarge was asked this question many times, often more than once in a day. you sure about that? and something in the guy’s voice … set off a distant bell in old sarge’s brain, maybe from back before he was old sarge, when he was just a little fellow running barefoot in the dust trying to catch snakes under a yellow sky… what can i do for you? he said, looking right at the visitor for the first time. i would like to see your boss. i think he would like to see me. all right, then, go through that door. the secretary might let you through. then again, she might not. thank you, the visitor replied. he went through the door, where mrs worth was waiting for him. next

are you even trying ? - 20. belong to me

by nick nelson

part twenty of 23

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to begin at the beginning, click here

> a tall stoop-shouldered individual was waiting for johnny in the shadows outside the office. i am old sarge, he said to johnny , and you belong to me. i’m hungry, johnny replied. can’t it wait until morning? i would rather not. old sarge stroked his long jaw thoughtfully. all right, he said, but then you owe me. i thought i already belonged to you. yes, but then you will belong to me and owe me both. whatever, i just want something to eat. all right, come over to the food court with me. we will see if cookie is still awake. if you are old sarge. how come you are not wearing a uniform? johnny asked as they walked along through the darkness, i only wear it on special occasions. johnny did not ask what the special occasions might be. they reached the “food court”, which looked like an all night diner, the kind you might find in pittsfield massachusetts or altoona pennsylvania. a fat man was waiting behind the counter. this is cookie, old sarge told johnny. he sat down on a stool at the counter. give this punk whatever he wants, within reason. after you get me a cup of coffee. johnny did not object outwardly to being called a punk. he sat down, leaving a stool between himself and old sarge. what will you have? cookie asked johnny, in a soft, hoarse voice. a ham and egg sandwich. and a peanut butter and a jelly sandwich. i can handle that, cookie replied. you want coffee? yes, please, johnny replied politely. neither sarge nor cookie commented on his good manners, and cookie moved away down the counter. johnny looked around, for the first time he noticed someone sitting in a booth in the corner. it was buddy, with a cup of coffee in front of him. he did not show any sign of recognizing johnny, and johnny did not show any sign of recognizing him, and turned his gaze back behind the counter. johnny noticed that there were no menus, or other signs, on the walls. next

are you even trying? - 19. big business

by nick nelson

part nineteen of 23

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

> go ahead, mrs worth repeated, what do you think the biggest business in the world is? bacon and egg sandwiches. speaking of which, i could go for one right now. that is not correct. want to try again? peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. i would settle for one of those. for someone whose life is about to undergo a radical transformation, you certainly have snacks on the brain. snacks? i am starving. neither of those answers is correct, mrs worth replied, ignoring johnny’s plea. want to make one last guess? no. why don’t you just tell me? kinetic promulgation. the biggest business in the world is kinetic promulgation, and you have have been recruited into its ranks. why me? i am not a kinetic and i don’t know how to promulgate anything. you don’t need any prior knowledge. you will be trained from the ground up. great, just give me something to eat. you have a one track mind, don’t you? i think i will assign you to the territorial expansion division. whatever. any questions? um - do i get to wear a uniform? why? would you like to wear one? i was just asking. you might wear one, after you are trained, and depending on your assignment. anything else? not really. i just asked about the uniform because you wanted me to say something and you would get all hot and bothered if i asked about food again. i have a question for you, mrs worth said, eyeing johnny with a steely resolve. shoot. what were you doing out on highway 65, desperately seeking transportation? i would prefer not to say. mrs worth shrugged. your brain will be scanned, and we will find out eventually anyway. be that as it may, johnny replied evenly, i would prefer to keep my own counsel at this particular point in time. have it your way. mrs worth pressed a button on the underside of her desk. wait outside, someone will come along for you. next