You Can Call Me Al (5 page)

“
Al, as you call him, Johnny, was
carrying a small miniaturized sample of my semen. He later courted
your mother and they were married, then you were
conceived.”

“Now what are you telling me? That Al is my
father?” Johnny shouted.

“
No, Johnny, I am your natural father, Al
was just the instrument of my delivery.”

“Oh my God,” Johnny mumbled.

“
Al had to leave your Mom or else sooner
or later she would discover his true nature. That would have caused
her much distress. Al obtained a sample of your DNA while you were
asleep, I hope to clone you at my level and have a son.”

“I want to go home, I want to get out of
here,” Johnny sobbed.

“
Perhaps I have told you more than you
needed to know. I’m sorry, Johnny, I will make arrangements for you
to leave.”

“Now wait a minute,” Johnny said standing up
and trying to compose himself. “If my universe if just a large
laboratory ‘bubble’ as you call it, what would happen if someone
invented a space ship and flew it into the wall of the
‘bubble’?”

“
Due to the chemical and physical make–up
of the boundary, that would be impossible. A space craft entering
close to the limit of your universe would find itself moving
tangentially to the internal surface, it would continue around in
the enclosed space, never reaching the periphery.”

“This is so hard for me to understand,”
Johnny said exasperatedly

“
I know it is, Johnny,”
Roberterian
said somewhat sadly.

“Why did you have to bring me here to talk
with me?”

“
This realm directly interfaces with my
laboratory, so it is much easier for me to communicate and cause
certain actions through here.”

“I guess we will never meet face to
face.”

“
No, I’m afraid not, Johnny; but I will
have a replica of you, here at my level.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?”

“
I know that you are an extremely bright
boy with a high IQ. You like science, perhaps someday you will
study celestial mechanics. What you do with this knowledge is
entirely up to you.”

“Will we speak again someday?”

“
That is probable, but not likely anytime
soon.

“
Al now needs to return you to your own
realm. It has been such a pleasure talking with you even though I
know you feel distraught. Please don’t talk about Al or myself with
anyone, okay?”

“I’ll try.”

“
Goodbye, Johnny.”

“Goodbye.”

Johnny wanted to say “Goodbye, Father.” But
he just couldn’t bring himself to it.

“Come on Johnny, wake up! Breakfast is
almost ready, and then we are going to choose up teams for
paintball.”

Johnny sat up, trying to shake the sleep
from his head. One of his bunk mates, a boy named Brian, had
awakened him.

“Johnny, it looks like you slept in your
clothes all night. Are you okay?” Brian asked.

“Yes, I’m okay,” Johnny responded.

“Well, hurry up,” Brian said, as he dashed
from the cabin.

“
What a crazy dream,”
Johnny
thought.

The flashlight was still lodged in Johnny’s
right pocket, but his left pocket was empty.

“
The hand watch, where is it?”
Johnny
thought sleepily.

A cursory search revealed that is was not
among Johnny’s possessions.

“Well, who cares, it was nothing but trouble
anyway,” he said out loud to himself.

Johnny smelled the odor of bacon and eggs
wafting into his cabin. His stomach rumbled in anticipation. He
quickly changed into a pair of blue jeans and an old tee shirt.

“Yes, paintball! I love that game. I hope
that Al guy leaves me alone, I don’t need any help for this.”

Johnny ran out to join his camp
companions.

“
After camp is over, Mom promised to take
me to someplace really neat. I am going to hold her to that
bargain,”
he thought excitedly.

At a moderate distance away Al smiled as he
watched Johnny devour his bacon and eggs and get ready for the
paintball competition.

“
My time here is done for now,”
Al
thought.
“The boy needs to enjoy his youth.”

Back in the laboratory, Roberterian and his
fellow associate Verius looked upon the twenty foot diameter sphere
of the miniature universe.

“You know,” Verius pondered, “maybe we are
also in an enclosed universe with other beings looking on and
manipulating us.”

Roberterian replied, “Interesting concept,
Verius; that could be possible.”

“And maybe it goes on and on into infinity,
a universe within a universe within a universe and so on,” she
replied.

“I am hungry, let’s have dinner,
Verius.”

“Okay, my treat this time!”