THE CYANOROD TALES: THE CYANOROD; CYANOROD - 2; CYANOROD - 3

CYANOROD   TALES

By  Forrest  Wayne  Schultz

The  Cyanorod

     This morning I received a telephone call from a lawyer informing me that I was the heir of Mr. Sam Jones, a man I had never heard of, who had lived near Jonesville, a town I had never heard of.  The estate consists of a beautiful historic country house and the 100 acres of woodland in which it is nestled plus a hefty stock portfolio plus a brand new BMW!

     The will contains no explanation as to why I am the designated nor does the lawyer have any idea.  After I signed the pertinent documents transferring the estate into my name, I got into my new BMW, and headed out to my new country estate where I was greeted by John and Joan Trimble, the couple who does the housekeeping and building & grounds work. 

-1-

     I was favorably impressed with the Trimbles, especially concerning the excellent job they have been doing keeping everything in tip-top shape.  But they were unable to give me any idea as to why Sam Jones had named me as his heir.  Since almost all of their work had been routine, their contact with Jones had been minimal, so that they never got to know him well.  All they could tell me was that he had been a recluse and that every day he had taken a long walk in the woods and spent the rest of his time holed up in his study with its large library of old books. 

     Of all the places on the estate to look for an answer to my question, it appeared that the study was the most promising.  Its bookcases contained the books he had been reading, the desk contained his files, and the computer on the desk may hold some secrets, though he had not used it much.

     While trying to decide where to start my investigations, I noticed on the wall an exquisite painting of an unusual medallion:  its center depicted (clad in shiny silver armor and ready for battle) a valiant knight whose right hand (fisted and placed upon his heart as a sign of submission to his king) held a very small bluish-green rod, which was the focal point of the painting.

-2-

     Since the knight was grasping this Cyanorod as though it were his sword, it appeared that he was about to wield it as his weapon.  As I was pondering this anomaly, the painting changed into a three-dimensional holographic projection with the Cyanorod extended in my direction beckoning me to pick it up and to wrap the palm of my right hand around it.    

     As soon as I palmed the Cyanorod I was transported into another world in a manner that was no different than walking out of one room into another!  There was absolutely no sound at all, no flashing lights, no shimmering air, no “woo woo” music in the background or any of the other phenomena associated with such a thing in the popular literature and films.  The mage who did this – if mage it was – is clearly a sophisticated one, not like the childish mages who add in all the extraneous stuff!!

-3-

     Upon my arrival into this new world I was told to insert the tip of the Cyanorod into a small recess in the center of the circle on the wall in front of me and to hold it there until it popped out, which took exactly 1.618 seconds.  I then palmed the Cyanorod, was told “well done”, and was returned to the study, whereupon I re-inserted the Cyanorod into the hologram, which then collapsed back into the painting on the wall.

     I was not told why this had happened or what the Cyanorod did.  Maybe I had just saved a planet or a galaxy or an alternate universe or something.  Who knows?  But I DO know that I did the right thing!  And that is what’s important!!

October 10, 2010

-4-

Cyanorod – 2

    As soon as I palmed The Cyanorod, there appeared on the wall in front of me a “movie” showing the scene of interest.  Our mission: to recover the Xenocube from the mansion of the Unman [who was referred to a long time ago by Ray Bradbury as “Something Wicked This Way Comes”].  We accomplished our mission before Bradbury died yesterday, i.e. in time to fulfill the prophecy.

     My partner in anti-crime is the indomitable Cara Coer [who was raised by her parents to emulate Cara-The-Feisty, the hero of Seabird].  She arrived at the scene as soon as I, following the instructions in the “movie”, hit the “Summon Cara” button on The Cyanorod.

     After Cara exterminated the Unman, I hit the “Retrieve Xenocube” button.  This opened the Xenovault and caused the Xenocube to rise and travel through the air and into the palm of the right hand of Cara, who used it to transport the Unman and his guards to the Xeno-Universe.  Cara and I then had a delightful conversation about her namesake and about Ray Bradbury.

June 6, 2012

-5-

Cyanorod – 3

     In the estate I inherited from my benefactor the house is mine to live in, the books are mine to read, and the 100 acres of woodland is mine to walk in.  BUT The Cyanorod is NOT mine to summon, nor is it mine to use as I please.  The Cyanorod appears only at its own discretion, not mine.  And, although I did wield it during its first two appearances, I followed its commands:  it told me what to do; I did not tell it what to do!  The Cyanorod is not magic and I am not a magician.

     This morning The Cyanorod made its third and final appearance to me and issued its last command to me.  This command is to bestow it upon Cara Coer, who henceforth will be its wielder.  Then Cara suddenly appeared and I performed this bestowal.  This concludes my tales of The Cyanorod.  To learn of The Cyanorod’s future acts you will need to ask Cara.  It has been nice talking to you and I now conclude with this:

     So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu !!

     To You and You and You and You and You  !!

October 28, 2017

-6-

I SAW A FANTASY IN MY WOODS !!!

I  SAW  A  FANTASY  IN  MY  WOODS !!

     As I was walking in the woods yesterday I saw a white stag who beckoned me to follow -- just like in fantasy stories. I could not believe it!!  How could a fantasy white stag be here in the real world?  But, I was about to follow anyway when I noticed that this deer had no antlers!  It was NOT a stag!   It was a doe, a female deer!  As soon as I noticed this, it changed into a young woman dressed in princess clothing who began to sing -- even better than Julie Andrews did in The Sound Of Music -- "doe, a deer, a female deer...!!  She then boldly proclaimed "Female deer now conduct people through the woods to their destiny just like stags have been doing!!".   

     Immediately after she said that, I saw her entry into the Mythosphere!!!

Forrest W. Schultz

July 27, 2017

DO NOT GET ON THAT PLANE !!!

DO    NOT    GET    ON    THAT    PLANE    !!!!!

    These words were suddenly delivered directly to my mind emphatically and authoritatively and with a strong expression of concern for my welfare!!  I immediately obeyed this command as I advanced to the front of the line and bought my ticket for the NEXT plane, which will be departing in an hour.  After this, to recuperate, I walked over to the nearby cafeteria and sat down to think about this strange thing that had just happened.

     I first contrasted what had just happened to me to what had happened to Alex in the Final Destination film after he had boarded a plane and was awaiting take off:  he was given a prophetic vision of the disaster which would happen to the plane.  He stood up, shouted out what would happen, and got off the plane along with the passengers who believed him.  While they were in the airport being questioned by the security officials, the plane exploded killing those on board.

     My experience was very different from Alex’s.  I was NOT shown what would happen if I got on board the plane.  I was simply told not to get on.  The reason for the warning could have been that some bad thing would happen to me on that plane.  Who knows?  Or the reason might be if I boarded that plane I would be missing out on a good thing that would happen to me on the next plane.  Immediately after I had that thought, I saw Joy walk up to the counter to purchase her ticket (for the next plane) after which she saw me, waved to me, and walked over to join me in the cafeteria.  (As she was walking over I hypothesized that maybe the purpose of the command was to have Joy and me be passengers on the same plane.) 

     Our conversation in the cafeteria and then later in the plane amply confirmed this hypothesis.   The result was not that we “fell” in love but that we rushed pell- mell into love and before the end of the flight I proposed to her and she accepted and ……. Need I say more??

Forrest W. Schultz             

July 14, 2017

THE QUEST FOR JANE SMITH

THE   QUEST   FOR   JANE   SMITH

    My friend Gil very hastily placed onto my desk a brand new super-advanced, super-fast computer plus a HUGE amount of cash to pay me to use this computer to collect as much information as I can on a woman named Jane Smith, who lives in Greenville (a small rural town which I have never visited), which is located about an hour’s drive from my house.  Because he did not want to prejudice me in any way, Gil did not tell me his purpose for this information.  Because I am retired, I have been able to devote my efforts full time to Gil’s quest, on which I am making rapid progress because of the excellent computer I am using.

     Speaking of computers, one of the first things I learned about Jane Smith is that she not only does not have a website or blog or social media page, she does not even own a computer (!) nor does she have an email address!  [She also has no cell phone or any of the other things like tablets, i-pads, etc.]

     Speaking of addresses, Jane has lived her entire life in the ancestral Smith house in Greenville, and all of her employment has been at the Smith Beauty Parlor in Greenville (Yes, they call it a beauty parlor, not a salon!), of which she became the Owner last year after the death of her parents.

     Her parents passed away on the same day:  her father died early in the morning of a heart attack, and her mother ten minutes later died of a broken heart!  Jane is their only child, so she now lives alone in the Smith house, which she inherited from them.  She also inherited their bank account and their seat on the local Chamber of Commerce.   This is the only organization to which she belongs, but in it she and her parents have contributed a lot to their community because it does many of the things done in other communities through civic organizations like the Kiwanis Club.

-1-

     Jane was homeschooled by both of her parents.  They both graduated from high school and after that educated themselves mostly by reading informative books and by viewing educational TV programs and VHS & DVD films.  In their salon Jane's mother was the cosmetologist and her father handled the legal, financial, and buildings & grounds matters. Because of her gynecological problems Jane's mother was unable to conceive until she was 40 years old, which is when Jane was born.  So, by then her parents were very well qualified both by their studies and by their experience to provide Jane with an excellent education, which they did.

     Jane's mother and a friend who designs women's clothing worked together to develop what they call an "authentically feminine" clothing and cosmetology 

philosophy, which is set into opposition to these four contemporary fallacious practices: 1. the flaunting of femininity in the "strutting your stuff" concept, which they label "hyper-feminine"; 2. the "sub-feminine" overreaction to this by those women who attempt to hide their femininity by wearing dull, drab, and dowdy clothing; 3. the "anti-feminine" revolt expressed by those women who wear men's clothing; and 4. the "androgynous" clothing rebellion against gender identity.  The details of and arguments for their philosophy, they say, will be found in a soon to be published book they co-authored entitled Clothing and Cosmetics For The Authentic Woman.  The foundation of their thought system is their conviction -- something rarely found in theology -- that God is beautiful & interesting; and that the Devil is ugly & boring!!

     This is all the info I have found so far.  I just now got a call from Gil telling me he is on his way here to pick up my report, so I need to hereby conclude it 

now.

Forrest W. Schultz

July 3, 2017

-2-

A MURDER PREVENTED: FOURTH ADVENTURE OF THE CYANOCUBE BEARER

A  MURDER  PREVENTED:

FOURTH ADVENTURE OF THE CYANOCUBE BEARER

By  Forrest  W.  Schultz

     A few days ago I was very impressed when I read the description of the opening of the story in a newly published book:  the main character overhears the planning of a crime. Then, yesterday, I was astonished when the same thing happened to me:  I overheard two men planning a murder!  While I was still in a stunned state, my angelic friend Michael suddenly appeared, slew the criminals, and transported their corpses to a nearby deeeeep river which loves to entomb bad guys!

     He then quickly spoke to me:  "Cyanocube Bearer, I am in a hurry.  I need to leave at once for a special mission, so I had to deal with these criminals immediately.  I have no time to say anything more.  I will get in touch with you as soon as my mission is completed. "Good Bye!!"  I replied.  "Goodbye, Michael and THANK YOU VERY MUCH and Best Wishes on your mission!!".  

     I thought about this as I walked home from the secluded spot in my woods where this had happened.  I know the woman who was the intended victim.  Her name is Debbie Clark. She was a classmate of mine in high school and is one of the finest human beings I have ever known.  (She was also the best looking girl in the class!)  She did not do any dating because she did not believe in it -- she liked to say, in the words of the title of a very thoughtful book, that she had " kissed dating goodbye", and had decided she would only spend time with a man if they were to spend their time discussing whether they would get married, which was the way things were done prior to the twentieth century:  they called it "courtship". Debbie still lives here and works here in her own home-based business, and she still is single. Since I moved back home several years ago (as discussed in my Third Adventure) I have seen her a few times in town, and on one of these occasions we had a brief chat.  As I neared my house, I saw a car pull into my driveway.  I was astonished as I saw that it was Debbie Clark!  She got right to the point, and said she wanted to speak with me about an urgent matter.  I invited her into my house where we immediately went to the living room and she began to speak. 

-1-

     She got right to the point.  She said, "I was getting ready to eat lunch when suddenly I had a vision of two wicked men in your woods planning to murder me, and as soon as they had completed their planning, the vision ended.  I felt that this was God warning me and directing me to your house to report it to you."  I listened attentively and remained calm as I prepared my reply.  I told her VERY emphatically that she must NOT tell anyone of her vision and she most NOT tell anyone what I was about to tell her!!  After she promised this, I told her that I overheard these two men planning her murder, after which I saw them being miraculously killed and their corpses transported away.

     Debbie was so grateful and happy that she said she wished to express her gratitude to me by inviting me to lunch at her home.  I immediately accepted her invitation.  AND after lunch she told me that this lunch was to express her gratitude to me and did not count as courtship.  If I wanted to court her I had to ask her.  I replied, "I do not NEED to court you.  I KNOW I want to marry you. Will you marry me?"  She very emphatically and enthusiastically said "YES".!  We decided not to have a wedding ceremony.  We went to a Justice of the Peace who is a friend of hers to get the wedding document, and now we are married.  

     We did not always live HAPPILY ever after, but we always lived INTERESTINGLY ever after!!

June 14, 2017

-2-