A Girl and her red notebook by D.A. Sanford - HTML preview

The news rules

It’s that time. Let me rephrase that, Its always that time this is a little different, It’s an election year. Calls, fliers and such are a nuisance. The problem is that we no longer have news on this planet. It is the people on the supposed news channels. They are no longer reporters or journalists, they are commentators.

Each side has their stations and they bring on people with the same opinion to back up those opinions. That reasoning is the same reasoning that they use to date fossils. They date the fossil by the layer of soil that it is in. They date the layer of soil by the fossils found in it.

They sway the masses like the wind shapes the dunes. I love to just have my music as background noise. Not that I need it. Our children make all the noise I need. Or should say they did.

My two boys are grown and on their own. My daughter is going to college in the spring.

Soon I will only have myself.

I sometimes feel that I am so alone even though my daughter is still living in our home. I have a longing and a crazy idea. I have been doing as much research as I could find, which is not much. I try to jump to where my husband and Hero have jumped to but I know deep down that I will get it right one day.

Until then, I have to listen to them telling me how bad the world will be if their opponent gets elected. I say their opponent deliberately because their candidates play for their channel and give sound bites.

Even after the election is over, they start the whole thing over the day after. That is why I made jumps more frequently during this time. Now though, I don’t jump much. After you have someone to travel with and you lose them, travel is not the same. No one to share the sights and experience.

There are a few planets that are permanently blocked. There is one that the elderly man wrote about

He wrote

After my first wife died, I used the watch frequently. It showed me that I had to wait for quite a while to pass it on. I got this crazy idea that maybe, just maybe, I could jump to the universe she went to. Never found it.

It was on one of those random jumps that I found myself in the closest thing that could be mistaken for hell. No, it was not a fiery planet. Worse. When I exited the jump, I was immediately bombarded by a global news broadcast.

Even In the remote area that the watch chose for the jump point. There are self propelled giant screens that can sense the presence of a person and will station over that immediate area. It is the source of the loud broadcast. One half of the screen is an attractive couple and the other half is a constant bombardment of videos.

The videos are of what is happening on a neighboring planet. It is showing massive global wars. The footage of the carnage, very vivid, shows buildings destroyed, dead animals, women carrying their dead child while crying and body parts. All the while the armies are fighting.

The attractive couple are constantly saying how bad that planet is. That planet did not listen to them. See this is what will happen to you, to us, if you do not conform to what

we say. We only say what is right for you. If you do not listen we have to do an intervention and help you see the truth.

Across the bottom of the screen is a constant red line with the number of interventions carried out yesterday and that ninety eight percent have been returned to their senses.

It does not say what happened to the other two percent.

I still have not moved from the jump point when I see on the frame of the screen in front of me, flashing lights. On the screen the couple are momentarily gone and the screen shows the flashing words “Breaking News”

The couple return and they look very concerned. The man reads from a paper he is handed.

“This just in, there is a person in the vicinity of the woods outside the safety zone. It is not known for sure but we have determined that he is the forefront of an invasion from that planet. They want what you have and are willing to take it from you. An intervention squad has been dispatched.”

The female then says that they have live footage of the alien spy that is looking for the perfect landing site.

“We now show you that live footage.”

The half that was showing the war footage now showed the lone invader, ME. Not wanting to even know what an intervention is I step back into the jump point. The last words I heard were,

“It looks like he is running. We must destroy that planet before it takes …”

I was through the jump point and back home. I placed those coordinates in the permanent barred memory. I sometimes wonder what happened to the other planet but did not try to find out. I picture in my mind that the other planet was the same but opposing views. I would be willing that, if you were to unlock that site and return, you would find that both planets are dead. Mutual destruction by the news knowing what is best.

After rereading that entry from the elderly man, I gave up on the quest to find where my two were. I also learned that all I needed was to change the channel to some other non-news channel but most of those are very opinionated. Global warming, heritage theft, and downright racist bias.

The best solution is to turn the damn thing off and listen to the old music that I grew up with. I sit here in the room I am most comfortable in, reading my red books and copying my tales that I have been writing in my successor’s note books.

Soon I will make that jump to their universe. I now feel that my tale is almost done. Only a few more entries to be made.

Nothing worse that an old hippie

Now that I am older, I make sure that I’m always doing something for a few hours of the day. Between walking around, reading, visiting with my sons. On those college semester breaks, I do things with my daughter. I especially enjoy the interaction that has been developing between myself and the little boy and his family.

I am doing what the elderly man did for me. I started writing in a notebook and leaving it for him in the same clear box that my mother made for me when the elderly man started leaving his tales.

Even though I am now the elderly woman to him, I found out why he would always walk, write and talk to both my mother and me. His tale is still in the forefront of those memories of his tales.

He wrote

We jumped and landed on a parallel version of our own world with the exception that this world had not moved from the hippie generation. All around us were the peace, love flower power and tripping. Even the air had the overpowering sent of incense, Jasmin. I turned to my wife and asked if she really wanted to explore.

We started to walk.

It didn’t take long to see that a world that has more interest in “chilling” and getting high does not have the ambition to take care of themselves. Every other shop is a state-run drug store. I don’t mean those that have a pharmacist filling prescription, I mean they dispense drugs. These are the hard ones like cocaine and the opioids.

Being stoned all the time, conversations are simple. All they can get out is sentences that are the same

“You chillin man?”

“I’m chillin so much, I’m frozen”

“cool”

“You’re chillin, man”

It was obvious that the intelligence level has dropped. I let my curiosity get the better of me. I said to her that we should go in and see what is inside. We go in and find that it is

nothing but a kiosk. We watch as someone goes to it and they put their palm on the screen and it dispenses a package.

The more we look the more it is obvious that AI governs this world. It has to be. Who makes things.? Where does the food come from?

Looking around, we find the back alleys. There are driverless vans delivering things to workerless unloaders. Totally automated.

The world is a machines logical, calculated plan for the ultimate comfort of the population. The only thing is, the initial program was created by a hippie. The programmer used his own blissful life as the base and then let the AI do the refining.

Their food is delivered, they don’t even need to order. Every thing is free so no need for a job, even the original programmers job was no longer needed. AI entertainment through three d imaging, the dead stars could be seen in new productions. New music from old bands.

The population was growing stagnant. To control that, the AI made them go out for their drugs.

We realize that there is no point in going further. We return to the jump point.

My curiosity got to me. My husband, Hero and I jumped to that planet.

It was somewhat like he wrote. But when we went to the city, there were people walking around . They were walking and talking with what seemed like high interaction. We did not see those drug shops. As a matter of fact, when we tried to go into a shop to look around. My hand passed through the door knob. My husband touched the building, it was a hologram. Even the people were not real.

When we did that, something happened. By disturbing the images, the AI sensed us. In a synchronized response, all the people turned to us.

“You’re real! Real humans! Dude let me help you chill. You chillin man? “

We start running back to the jump point as those imitations come after us.

“We can’t let you go. Please don’t go. I’m lonely.” The AI said through it’s holograms.

They tried to grab us but they were not solid. Hero tried to bite them but was showing frustration of biting air. As we jumped, the clingers just disappeared.

Machines are fine, helpful. Even AI programs but …

Chapter true joy

With the riches that we had inherited and what we had gathered, we decided to start a family. We did have a fulltime nanny so my husband and I could still make jumps as a couple. We now limited jumps to adventure. Low risks.

The nanny never knew about the jumps. We would give her a paid month off . She needed to let us know in advance. During those times, we would jump as a family.

Usually to the goblin planet. Sometimes to others that were peaceful. Hero’s planet was one. Those packs would respect our children. They were under Hero’s protection.

They also, go figure, would ask to go to the graveyard planet. They liked to see the different displays. We had explained to them that these were once alive but they died.

They wished to be put here. They each had their own favorite and we would look at others. As they said, these people wanted us to visit them. We would look around but always visit their favorite.

My daughter loved the woman with all the gold.

The most favorite was always the goblin world. We all felt at home there and would spend a week there. Whenever we went there it was true joy. I would remember the legacy that the elderly man’s first wife started but the one tale that he wrote about his experience with that world always comes to mind when we went there.

He wrote

There were many a time that I jumped between the time my first wife died and before I met my second. I can tell you that the true joy of the jump is the sharing with someone.

Yes, my writing is sharing but in person sharing is what I mean. There were many adventures I had with my first wife that I cherish and a few that I wish I could forget but the joy of taking my family on a jump to the goblin planet was the best .

To see the utter joy that my sons had on their face when ever we went was priceless.

They had friends there. It was like visiting those out of state relatives that you really like.

It was also a joy to see the progress that they were making in their world. All across their world, they lived in peace. The respect that they never got as slaves, they made sure that it was given and received.

They were now at a place in their development that they were a force to be reckoned with. No slaver, now, would ever dare to try to land on that planet. Some had tried. They died and the people had reversed engineered those ships and weapons. They now had a planetary defense force that rivaled the best out there.

The neighboring planets has mutual peace pact. They enjoy a beneficial trade goods exchange.

Every time that the jump point opened, we were greeted with respect but greeted as family. My sons all had things they wanted to do. On this planet, they could be let go to run free. They would be under the watchful eyes of the mothers on the planet.

It, unlike my home planet, was not uncommon to have any mother scold some way word child, including mine. The word would always get back to the parent. They are children, so lectures on behavior would be common. They would get a double dose from a friend’s mother then their mother.

Unlike the world that we called home, where you would most likely get a visit by the police if you dared to stop their angel from beating the snot out of your child. Then you would get a notice that they are suing you. On the goblin planet, you are effectively everyone’s child. Most parents were once slaves, corporeal punishment is very rarely an option. Getting a spanking, most children wished for because lectures would go on far longer and be more painful.

These people have treated their world with the same respect. They will reuse something until there is nothing left. An item that breaks, usually will be broken down and repurposed for other uses. Especially if it has small wheels. The children make coaster carts from a few old boards, some scraps of rope and useable wheels. They race downhill. Get bumps and bruises. Occasionally broken bones but mostly they have fun.

It’s the second ultimate joy to watch free people enjoying themselves.

You ask, what is the first ultimate joy? That is for you to find out.

My husband and I visited that world often when we were first married. We found out that the ultimate joy happened three times for us. When each of our children were born. This was confirmed each time when we took each baby for their first visit to that peaceful world.

All the people would faun all over that baby. We would all get hugs and the baby would be held and talked to by almost every woman as if it was her own. My two sons and daughter were always greeted as family.

The true joy is knowing that you are welcome.

On my last visit as an old lady, I was still greeted the same way but that time as a venerable elder. I did tell them that the next jump would be by my daughter and a new man. They will carry the news of my final jump.

All those wonderful people told me how much I meant to them. How I changed their life and how the memory of me will live on as is the memory of the elderly man, his first wife, his second wife, their children, my husband and Hero.

Before I opened my jump point, quite a few of the elder goblins came up to me. With a smile that only the old could understand, they each said the same thing.

“We’ll see you after we make our final jump.”

We kissed and hugged. There were no tears. We all knew that we would meet again.

I felt the warm joy as I jumped home.