Catching On Fire Page 4

  Once the financial stuff was in place, it was amazingly easy to purchase our domain name and web hosting service. Pete gave me explicit instruction on uploading the website, so even that wasn’t too tough. Suddenly we were “out there.” I’d never felt more hopeful – or more terrified – in my entire life.

  Chapter 10

  The responsibility of publicizing the site landed on my shoulders. I made a bunch of t-shirts from our download and gave them away at the University at Buffalo’s (UB’s) Student Union right before our website went live. UB had a huge population of international students and I tried to target them. (Though, deciding which students looked like they might be from abroad proved more difficult than I imagined. Apparently internationals have no problem assimilating quite nicely.)

  I figured the t-shirts were one of the few ways I could reach an international audience – since I wasn’t sure our website would be easily found in other countries. Of course, I wore huge sunglasses and bound my chest when I handed the T-shirts out. I was paranoid someone might recognize me and make the connection between the T’s, the website, and me. Once the website went live the next day, I was never going to allow myself to be publicly associated with the Glyphs again.

  I posted pictures of the t-shirt on flickr. I put a short video up on YouTube and a bunch of other video file sharing sites. And, of course, I made sure the Glyphs had their own pages on all the social networking sites.

  Then, we waited.

  I kind of hoped it would be awhile before our message boards really caught on. I had projects piled up to my ears at the ad agency where I worked.

  My problem was, it took me three times longer than the more experienced copywriters to get my work done. How did those brilliant ideas fly out of their brains so quickly and consistently? I sat thinking for hours before I came up with anything good enough to present to my boss. I carried the same workload as everybody else…I just worked long into the night to get it all done.

  Sometimes I worried that my employers would notice I was too slow and only marginally competent. To establish job security, I became extraordinarily attentive to detail. I even managed to catch several serious errors made by the more experienced staff members. It wasn’t what I was hired to do, but I figured I’d at least earned my salary in the errors I helped the agency avert. Nobody was going to fire someone who saved their butt.

  However, the time and attention I had been devoting to our website were definitely interfering with the quality of my work – and my quality of life. I wasn’t getting enough sleep or exercise. I was grabbing whatever food was fast and easy. Kim, my family, and my other friends were starting to complain that they never got to see me. Worst of all, I really didn’t have anyone to share my troubles with. The fleeting moments I had with Jim were mostly all business. I didn’t tell another soul anything about the Glyphs. I wasn’t used to shouldering such immense problems all by myself.

  I didn’t have much time to catch up at work because the week after the website went live, things really heated up.

  Chapter 11

  Our t-shirt transfer downloads became hugely popular. (Great…my first enormously successful ad campaign has to be one I can’t put in my portfolio.) Aside from being a bit unusual, the download wasn’t really all that exciting. I wondered if people might be attracted to it because deep in their subconscious, everyone saw the Glyphs – and just didn’t realize it.

  By the second week we were getting messages posted on our private boards. It appeared there were several different sections of Glyphs and that most people only “saw” one or two of them. Jim and I had been seeing the same two sections, but there were four more. At first, the Glyphs cyber community was fast and furious at filling in the blanks. By shortly after Thanksgiving, that pace was crawling to a halt. But, there were still plenty of blanks.

  I put several questions up for a vote, with the community arriving at the following conclusions:

  · The Glyphs we’d identified so far were accurate.

  · The Glyphs had something to do with averting manmade climate change.

  · The source of the vision came from somewhere within the “Horton Hears A Who” system.

  Jim invited me to his place to discuss the results to date. He was going to NYC for the holidays and wouldn’t be back for three weeks. I parked a couple blocks away. He answered the door on the first knock.

  “Hey, you’re right on time. Should I check your basement for pods?”

  “Veeerrrry funny, Dr. Bennell…nice digs.”

  “An encyclopedic reference?”

  “I don’t think you can count movies as encyclopedic. Dr. Bennell was a character in the extremely old movie you just referred to – making your comment characteristically anachronistic.”

  I was surprised that his house truly was a house and not an apartment. Apparently, though poor, a med student has access to a considerable amount of credit. He owned his home. It was small, but cute and sparsely furnished in no discernable style. It looked like he picked up whatever was cheap, functional and comfortable.

  “Patients don’t like their physicians to live in hovels. Makes ‘em nervous.”

  “Do I smell something wonderful?” I spied a table rather elegantly set for two. I didn’t realize dinner was part of his plan. I mean, it was dinner time, but I didn’t necessarily think that would have dawned on him. I guess I had to give him credit for better social etiquette than I’d imagined.

  “You do smell something. Whether it’s wonderful or not I can’t predict. My cooking skills are…erratic.”

  “Erratic is better than nonexistent. You’ve got one up on me.”

  We had a very pleasant dinner, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. The meal was delicious with the possible exception that it needed salt. I figured, being a doctor, Jim probably drastically reduced his salt intake. There wasn’t even a shaker on the table. I could have really used some, but being polite (and fearing a lecture), I didn’t ask for any.

  Not only was dinner delicious, it was quite fancy. It obviously involved a lot of planning and work. The fact that he would go to all that effort melted me. He really was incredibly thoughtful, willing to put himself out for others.

  Neither of us brought up the Glyphs during dinner, but after I helped Jim clear the dishes we got down to business.

  “I’m guessing, since there hasn’t been any uproar in the press, we might not have to be quite so concerned about security.” Jim ventured.

  “I wouldn’t have parked only two blocks away if I didn’t somewhat agree…but I do think it would be wise if we remained alert and careful. It could be that the website isn’t yet on the radar of whatever natural enemies might be out there.”

  “I think you just like playing Mata Hari.” He winked.

  “No. I like being careful. Remember, Mata Hari didn’t have a happy ending.”

  “I don’t think it’s entirely appropriate to talk about happy endings when the subject was also a prostitute.” An off-color comment from the conservative Dr. Kirkwood! He was getting mighty comfortable around me.

  “Ho, ho, ho.” It was a really bad, really low pun, but I couldn’t resist.

  “Why, Ms. Shannon, I never!” Jim broke into mock horror.

  “I’m sure you do some time.” We both laughed.

  “We’re never going to get anything accomplished if you insist on having a personality.” He teased.

  “Hey, you started it. But, I agree. Strictly business from now on.”

  “Okay. We’ve got most of the formula. We even think we know it has something to do with averting manmade climate change. But…I don’t get the whole ‘Horton Hears A Who’ thing you put up on the website. What the heck is that all about?”

  I hadn’t elaborated much when I posted that question. I figured those who got the same vibes I did would know what it meant. It wouldn’t matter if anyone else understood. Amazingly, though, the vast majority understood.

  “It’s a concept that’s been
around forever. You see it in literature, science fiction. Even scientists have touched on it.”

  “Touched on what?”

  “The idea of beings within a being…microscopic civilizations around us…within us…our civilization being housed within another living being. I was going to call it the ‘Russian Nesting Doll Theory,’ but I was worried the mention of a specific nationality might put some Seers off. Then, I thought of ‘Horton Hears A Who.’ Between the book and movie, that message has been translated into dozens of languages and reached billions of people.” I could sense that he was going to find this very difficult to swallow.

  “You’re kidding, right?” He gave me that look that set me to wondering if he had the power to have me committed.

  “No. Really. That book’s got international recognition.”

  Jim gave me a look that said this was not something about which he wished to kid around.

  “I’m dead serious. The Horton Theory is consistent with a lot of other theories out there. The Gaia theory. String theory. Christianity.”

  “By what twisted logic are you supporting your harebrained idea with science fiction, physics and religion?” Beyond disbelief, his voice was getting a perturbed edge to it.

  “I didn’t say those philosophies supported the idea. I said they were consistent with it.” I shifted in my seat and leaned toward him. Maybe if I could get him to focus on what I was saying, rather than his internal opposition, he’d at least see I had a point.

  “As I understand it, the Gaia theory suggests everything on Earth is part of a complex, self-regulating system designed to sustain life. To me, that sounds like Earth is functioning like a living organism – which would be consistent with us living within a larger being. And the Gaia theory isn’t science fiction; it was first postulated by a scientist employed by NASA, for heaven’s sake.”

  “String theory is a bit beyond my comprehension…and I’m not sure if the string part fits in exactly…but string theory requires the existence of at least nine dimensions –plus time – for it to be a workable theory. I figure those nine dimensions could be the levels of life within life. Are you familiar with string theory?”

  “No. Not at all. I’m just the anachronism, remember? You’re the encyclopedia.”

  “Ha. Ha.”

  Jim just sat there staring at me with a patronizing look on his face, so I soldiered on. “From what I understand, many of the older theories of physics break down at the atomic…or, I don’t know…maybe it’s subatomic…level. When you get that small, stuff that should be stationery isn’t. At that level, stuff moves, almost like it’s boiling. And string theory provides a plausible framework for how that is. I imagine that might be what our universe could look like if it were just a subatomic speck within a larger organism. I’ve even seen a scientist explain the dimensions as possibly being coiled around one another.”

  I could see that dragging hard science into the conversation loosened up his resistance just a tad. Though, quite honestly, I thought the whole string theory thing was the farthest stretch. But, perhaps that’s because I couldn’t get my tiny brain around physics to save my life. I didn’t understand string theory. I just had a general notion that the Horton theory would not be inconsistent with string theory.

  “And Christianity? How the heck is your Horton thing at all consistent with Christianity?”

  “The mystery of the Divine Trinity…the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Three people in one. It certainly explains how three people can be the same being. Maybe the Father is the main being, the Son lives inside Him and the Holy Spirit live inside the Son. I’m sure that no theologian would buy into that interpretation today…but, at one time, the Church wasn’t too enthusiastic about the Earth revolving around the Sun either.”

  Surprisingly, Jim seemed to be finding the trinity example the most convincing of all. Maybe he was incredibly religious (with one helluva an open religious mind). He sat silent for awhile staring into his coffee.

  He finally spoke, stirring his coffee slowly, still not looking at me. “We’ve got over a thousand people from the website who voted for your Horton theory. It could be mass hysteria, but…it really doesn’t matter, does it?”

  “No. As far as I’m concerned, all that matters is that we fill in the blanks and get the Glyphs to someone who can do something with them…but, I do think you sort of agree with ‘Horton?’”

  He finally looked up and, very earnestly, into my eyes. “What makes you say that?” It was as if he was looking to me to tell him what he felt. As if he thought I might hold a key he had lost access to.

  “The fact that you’re no longer so concerned about security. You’ve mentally ruled out that this is coming from anyone on Earth. So you must believe that the source is otherworldly.”

  “I think I may be avoiding admitting to anything so I don’t have to doubt my sanity. Thank you very much for pointing out that I might be a whacko.” A slight smile crossed his lips.

  “You think I’m a whacko?” I raised my eyebrows in mock surprise.

  “I think you are definitely whacky. Fortunately, I rather like that about you.”

  He smiled at me and I thought we might have had a moment of something akin to deep affection. But, Jim quickly shook it off.

  “So,” he picked up his pen, “what do we do now?”

  Chapter 12

  I was extremely agitated on the drive home. Jim and I had our first strong disagreement. I thought we should try to get the Glyphs info into the hands of the academics at UB. That way, Jim could monitor the interest level while he was working on his doctorate. He didn’t want to even consider approaching anyone until we had every blank filled in. And he was uncomfortable with nosing around.

  I was nervous about how long it might take to fill in the blanks. We were no longer making any headway on filling in the pieces to the puzzle. Most Seers visiting the website now had the same blank spots that we did. It seemed that some areas were just more difficult to visualize than the others.

  Jim thought I should try to organize a face-to-face meeting of the community…that maybe we could somehow hammer it all out if we sat down together in a room. While I thought the idea had merit, I wasn’t ready to abandon the layer of security that anonymity gave us.

  When it came right down to it, I guess we were both protecting ourselves from the same thing: Publicly being associated with a bunch of screwy looking Glyphs. There was a high probability that non-Seers would think we were nuts, no matter how many people saw what they did not.

  I had to come up with something, though. Basically, no one had filled in any blanks in the last week and a half. We had to find new people.

  I decided to put a message out to the Glyphs community asking them to actively seek new Seers. It wasn’t much of a plan. But, it was all I had. And it would have to wait until tomorrow. Kim and I were going to be driving way into the boonies. I’d post the message from there. No reason to get totally complacent about security.

  Chapter 13

  “He made you dinner?!” Kim looked at me like I’d just won the lottery.

  “Don’t get too excited. I had to listen to how great Kiku was through half the meal.” I needed Kim to drop the notion that there might still be a chance for Jim and me to be more than friends. How was I going to banish that thought from my brain if she kept bringing it up?

  “I met someone.” Kim had a devilish glimmer in her eye.

  “You did! Without me to vet him?”

  “He’s fine. You’ll like him. He passes Rachel’s First Law of Love with flying colors.”

  My First Law of Love was never to date someone you wouldn’t want to marry. I was always explaining to Kimmy how her various boyfriends were totally unsuitable for marriage. It’s a wonder she was willing to put up with me as a friend.

  “Who, what, where, and when?” I wanted every detail. This was a nice mental distraction from the stress of work – and of the Glyphs.

  “His name is Bill Burton.
He’s a rep with our computer service at work. He came by to install some upgrades. We got to talking. He invited me to lunch. And I’m going to dinner with him on Monday.” I’d never seen Kim with such a huge smile. She usually worked hard to minimize her smile. She thought her teeth were too big. (Of course, they were not.)

  Bill sounded like a great guy for Kim. Considerate, intelligent, gainfully employed – and apparently not all that funny. Since she snorted when she laughed, Kim hated dating funny guys. She didn’t know how to get around the dilemma of either snorting, which embarrassed her to no end, or not laughing (if she could hold it in) and seeming dull. I wished Kim had more self confidence. Her snorty, little laugh was adorable.

  During the long drive to Kim’s uncle’s Christmas tree farm Kim filled me in on every single detail about Bill. She’d never been so enthusiastic about a guy. Maybe, deep down, she realized all the other guys in her life had been losers. I think she honestly felt that was all she deserved. I could be wrong, but I thought I heard a spark of confidence in her conversation. I was liking this Bill already.

  It didn’t take us long to find perfect trees, saw them down and lug them back to the car. A thin blanket of snow made it easy to drag the trees…and really put me in the holiday mood. Everything was so beautiful out here. The air was fresh and crisp. The snow was still clinging to the pines, weighing their boughs down ever so slightly.

  We stayed and visited with Kim’s family for awhile. Kim’s cousins were in middle school, so we started a snowball war with them. Mostly we just ran like hell trying not to get pelted. It was great exercise and the kids had a blast. Afterward, Kim’s aunt put on a pot of hot chocolate and served us fresh biscuits with homemade preserves.

  We chatted for over an hour. I think Kim’s aunt was a little lonely for girl talk. They were isolated out here on the farm. She was probably too busy to notice most of the time. She farmed, raised three kids, canned, tended the animals and managed to find time to volunteer with an organization that assisted the elderly. It was an idyllic life. But, it was a hard life, too. Kim’s uncle worked two jobs as well as tending the farm. At any given time, the family was just one health crisis away from disaster.