|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- GOODBYE POPCORN--CUP 20--"1678" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Goodbye Popcorn  ||  -------> (Cup SRgp020, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "You really have a birthmark like that?" Fake asked. "If you have to know, yes. Nothing I can help. I mean, I was born with it. It's not a tattoo or anything." "So how does Tavmatey know?" Fake asked. "Who cares?" Jerald said from across the room. "Well?" Fake asked. "I don't know. Maybe someone who knew me told her." "Who would tell me that? And I can tell you more things. Your personal number, your parents' address in Arctica, both your grandmothers' maiden names, your favorite foods, your deepest secrets." "Okay. Okay, enough. Let's be reasonable here. You're probably from an Earth alternate to ours. Although I've never encountered two Earths with duplicate people living on them, I suppose it's possible. Whatever, I'm not the Daptin you knew." "Fair enough." Tavmatey said. "Earths?" Fake asked. Daptin swatted his hand at Fake and said "Forget it." Fake raised her eyebrows. "And uh, Tavmatey," Daptin said, "while we're on the subject of secrets, just how did you go from being a Shirt coed to getting trapped inside a 40,000-year-old cup of coffee?" "It's a long story." "What year do you think it is?" Daptin asked. "1683, as far as I know." "It's 1678 to us." Daptin said, staring at the cup. "I was a Junior about three years ago, in 1675. Are you saying you met me eight years ago, in your experience?" "Um--yeah, that's about right." Tavmatey said. "It is 1678." Fake said. "There's no denying that." "Is she from the future?" Jerald asked. "I guess she is." Daptin responded. "Anyway," Tavmatey said, "I'm sorry. I guess you're not my Daptin. But you're similar enough to have the same lightning birthmark." "It doesn't look all that much like lightning." "Oh yes it does. I've seen it close up. Closer than you could ever have seen it." "Okay, fine. Very cute. That's great." "It's true." "Great." "So are you gonna get me outta here soon? I think I like you a lot better now, knowing that you're not the same Daptin I knew." "Why? What did he do wrong?" "Plenty. But you're not him." "Well, you can tell me all about it when we finally meet." Jerald walked over to Daptin and talked into the cup. "Watch out Miss Tavmatey--Daptin's girlfriend is a goddess named Spanking New Sarah. She's a very--" "Cut the shit." Daptin said. "Come on, let's get on with it." Daptin tried to open the door, but found it locked. "Damn!" Daptin said. "May I?" Jerald said, pointing his gun toward the window. "Go ahead." Daptin said with a sigh. "Ha ha!" Jerald said as he shot the window, shattering it immediately. "Okay Jerald--that's enough. Stop!" Daptin said. Jerald stopped firing, but then saw that some glass in a corner of the windowframe still intact, so he shot at it. "Stop it! That's not a toy." Daptin said. "You sound like my uncle." Jerald said, stepping through the windowframe. Daptin and Fake followed, finding themselves on a deserted street, with a lot of lights visible in the distance over to the right. "Tell me about this Spanking New Sarah." Tavmatey said. "For godsake, not now." Daptin said. "Which way?" Fake asked. "Well," Daptin said. "We have to see which direction Tav is louder in. Tell you what--let's test it at one end of this block, and then the other. Maybe we'll be able to hear a difference." "Um--actually, Elaine told me that I was somewhere in the downtown area of Boltpike. So why don't you head that way? Maybe you see the lights?" Tavmatey said. "Um--okay." Daptin said. "We can see downtown from here, but it's a few miles off. How did you know?" "Elaine briefed me on your route. She knew where this bridge came out." "I wish she'd have told us that." Fake said. "Just keep moving." Tavmatey said. "Remember, I don't know how much longer I've got." "Whatever that means." Daptin said. "What?" Tavmatey asked. "Nothing." Daptin responded. "So let's go!" Fake said. The three began walking toward downtown Boltpike. About a minute later, however, everything went wrong. It felt like the street dropped out from under them, and what seemed to be a bright sun was darting about relentlessly in the sky above them. A sound like a thousand touch tone dialings came to their ears. They all lost their balance and fell to the sidewalk under them. "What's happening?" Jerald yelled. "I don't know." Fake yelled back. "Super! Super!" Daptin yelled, attempting unsuccessfully to stand up. "What went wrong?" Fake asked. "I don't think this--" Daptin began, but then everything turned red. All they could see was red. They smelled a citrusy odor and heard distant windchimes. "Don't stop." Tavmatey said, much louder now. "Don't stop now." Before any of them could respond, they lost consciousness. Daptin awoke to find himself on a hill covered with freshly cut grass. He heard the sound of a distant lawnmower, but couldn't see where it came from. A light breeze blew, and a very normal sun shone down from a cloudless sky. Nearby, he could see a wooded area. The other two began to stir. "Well, we managed to fuck our mission up royally." Daptin said, not fully awake yet. -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----