1.

Hector scanned the packed auditorium, once again amazed at the turnout, as he made his way up to the podium. He had expected a large showing, but never in his wildest imagination would have guessed it would be standing room only with up to five rows deep in the back and distinguished scientist sitting in on the steps down the aisle way.

            “Thank you for the flattering introduction, John.” He finally spoke as the applause started to dwindle. “Friends, colleagues, and distinguished guests. I am quite honored that you could all join me this afternoon, and to be honest a bit stunned at the overwhelming turnout. While the study of colloidal alloy bonding has been a lifetime passion of mine, I was always under the impression that I was in amongst only a handful of enthusiasts.”

            The audience exploded in laughter and, strangely enough, stood in unison for a standing ovation. Hector smiled widely and soaked in the applause for a few moments, before motioning his loyal listeners to have a seat again.

            “My, such enthusiasm makes what I am about to say a bit more difficult,” he continued when the applause died down a bit, causing those still clapping to hush immediately. “After much deliberation, I have decided not to talk about the development and applications of the DQ-17 compound as outlined in the white papers and studies you were presented with.” There was an immediate murmur of shock throughout the auditorium. “Now, now. Those of you who are truly interested in it can read through your handouts in detail, but I am sure you will agree that some new findings, discovered by my associate, George Pearson, not more than seventy-two hours ago, are a bit more interesting.”

            With that, the curtains behind the podium opened to reveal George, dressed in a black suit, standing behind a long table draped in black skirting. He looked a bit nervous and gave the impression of a bad magician working a seedy nightclub. On the table was a large punch bowl filled with a reddish liquid, a paintbrush, a spray canister, and an eclectic collection of everyday items, including a bowling ball with a set of five pins, a large wooden mixing bowl, and a pair of reading glasses. Behind the table were some larger items, amongst which was an oversized steel door attached to a wooden framed-out door jam, and a two-hundred-gallon oil drum.

            “My dear friends,” Hector continued, “what you are about to witness will not only astonish your brilliant minds, but hopefully entertain you as well. For what I am about to present will most definitely seem like a magic show, but I ensure even the most critical skeptics, there is no trickery here, but a true scientific phenomenon, which I wish to explore in more depth in an open forum that I will call a Q and Q. Mainly because at this point I can assure you that I don’t have the answers, and I truly feel the findings are too important to hold back while one individual lab conducts further research. So without further ado, it is my pleasure to present George and his amazing Invisi-View solution!”

            George smiled awkwardly at the smattering of a few lonely handclaps throughout the auditorium as the audience adjusted to the change in agenda and highly unorthodox approach.

2.

“You know I met your future self last week,” John said to break the ice, as he and Roy began their first training session.

            “Excuse me?” Roy replied.

            “In fact, we were sitting right here in this spot, looking down at you and Gina practicing your dream painting,” John continued.

            “What are you talking about?

            “An older you, mid-thirties or so, and me, sitting right here discussing God and man.”

            "So what did the older me say?” Roy asked.

            “You told me to take the man out of God and put the God into man.”

            Roy just looked at John curiously.

            “I knew it went against all I believed in as a Catholic priest, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense, and the more it explained what is happening.”

            John went on to explain to Roy about the difference in religions and the magical powers of positive and negative projections.

            “I taught you all this, yet you’re teaching it to me now, for the first time.” Roy took in this knowledge more calmly than John expected.

            “Weird, isn’t it?”

            “Yes, but truth be told, I think we are in for much stranger things than this.”

            “Amen, brother.

3.

As George began to clear away the mess resulting from the two-hour demonstration, Hector took the podium again, waiting patiently for the murmur of hundreds of amazed scientists to settle down.

            “As you can see,” he began, “the applications and significance of these finding are enormous. Imagine the structural benefits from a skyscraper made entirely of steel, with the application applied to where the windows should go. Eyewear, braces or even casts, and bandages invisible to the naked eye. Rundown, dingy industrial plants given an architectural makeover with a few drums of DQ-17. The possibilities are endle—”

            “Catastrophic!”

            “Excuse me?” Hector said as all eyes in the auditorium turned toward the latecomer standing by the rear doors.

            “I said, the only possible benefits of your finding will be chaos and destruction.”

            Hector squinted to see if he recognized the fragile old Mexican or Native American man, whose voice seemed so eerily familiar.

            “I’m sorry, Mr.?”

            “Mr. Walker.”

            “Yes, Mr. Walker,” Hector confirmed, but the name did not jar his memory. “I understand that this is an open discussion for our invited guests— chuckles erupted throughout the auditorium—“but I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand where you’re heading with your statements, or should I say accusations.”

            “I’m talking about warships, bombers, and tanks invisible to the eye. I’m seeing gangs walking the street holding invisible handguns, rifles, or Uzis. We’re talking about whole cities disappearing from missiles and bombs armed with your solution, not to even mention the devastating side effects caused by the instability of all the items tainted with your product.”

            “Again, Mr. Walker, I am open to all points of views from both our distinguished guests and those who kindly join us from off the street. And I already stated we need to conduct extensive research before we release any related products. But since you broached the subject, why not enlighten everyone in this room on your credentials and what knowledge you have of the devastating side effects of my instable compound.”

            “It would be my pleasure, Dr. Rodriguez, and please do accept my apologies for my highly unorthodox and rather rude entrance.”

            “No offense taken, Mr. Walker.”

            “Please call me Poppy,” the man said, unleashing a lighting bolt of fear and remembrance that surged through Hector’s body, causing him to fall to his knees and pass out, right before the walls started tumbling down throughout the lecture hall.

4.

Roy wiped away the last of the teardrops that straggled to the goose bumps on his cheek, and looked around the room to notice he was not alone on the exhausting roller coaster of emotions he’d just endured during the past fifteen minutes.

            He was tempted to chalk it up to some kind of manic nervous breakdown brought on by the most stressful month of his young life. Not just the dreams, running away from home, and finding and falling in love with his soul mate, but more so the cumbersome weight that rested on his shoulders.

            Knowing that all life as he knew it depended on him and the small group of soul savers in the room to lead the way when the world met its demise.

            Sitting here, watching the youngest of the group, a girl five years his junior and not even a teen yet, have full mastery of her special skill shamed him beyond compare. He was supposed to be the captain of this team. Not so much by desire or even popular election, but from assigned responsibility and luck of the draw.

            His role in the master plan was to wrap all the other gifts together and paint, both figuratively and literally, the big picture of what it all meant. To lead those who wished to follow to a new oasis, where they could learn and practice with each of the other evangelists.

            Yet he felt he was the slacker in the group. The least prepared in the most important assignment of his life, or for that matter, anybody’s life. Sure he had made inroads over the past two weeks, to at least break down and discovers his special skill. He could now make clouds disappear, almost at will, albeit with too much concentration required to do it effortlessly. But he was still light years away from accomplishing what John had told him his future self had done.

            Everyone else in the group seemed to have come along much faster with their gifts. John was a master public speaker, both convincing and trustworthy with his new sermon. Patti, of course, was an expert Intuitive, having championed her gift before she even came out here.

            But sitting here listening to the pure unadulterated emotion that seeped through every angelic syllable that glided naturally from sweet young Julia’s mouth hit Roy hard.

            Never in his life had one human being been able to reach inside him and take hold of everything that was hidden deep in the bowels of his consciousness, rip it out, and lay it on a table, exposing it for all to see, and then replace it with the deepest feelings of soothing tranquility. From the first electric note of her astonishing aria, a spine-tingling shiver ricocheted through his body, keeping beat to the harmonious rhythms she shaped.

            Even the amazing night he’d shared with Gina paled in comparison to the glorious energy that Julia bestowed upon him and everyone in this room tonight.

            “My god, that was the most amazing thing I have ever heard, or should I say have ever experienced,” a strange voice erupted from the back of the room, breaking the long silence that had made poor Julia sheepishly take a seat on the floor near the rest of the group following her powerful performance.

            With that every head in the room turned toward the door to see Poppy standing with a large man in his mid-forties, wearing a ruffled navy blue suit, dingy white shirt, and no tie, leaning back while holding his hand to his heart and looking toward the ceiling. Roy’s first impression was that of Fred Sanford from the old show Sanford and Son, calling up to his dead wife in heaven that he was finally coming.

            “Dr. Rodriguez, I presume,” Patti announced, as she stood to greet him. “How nice of you to join us. We are all anxious to hear about your journey.”

            “As I am to sit down and talk to all of you,” he answered. “But please, first join me in applauding such a fine performance.”

            With that everyone realized that they were so overtaken with Julia’s music that they had forgotten to clap, or even acknowledge she had finished. They all stood in unison, applauding wildly, whistling and individually approaching, hugging, kissing, and patting her on the back and shoulders, thanking her for the experience of a lifetime.

5.

“So there I was, lying face up on the floor by the podium, walls tumbling down beside me, and thousands of well-respected doctors and scientists screaming and running around in a panic, like madmen. I looked up and saw a big chunk of the auditorium ceiling break loose and plummet straight at my head.”

            “What did you do?” Julia asked, enthralled by the story.

            “The only thing I could do,” Hector answered. “Closed my eyes, and in the split second before it hit, prayed that this was all just a dream.”

            “How close did it come to hitting you?” John asked.

            “Don’t know. I just laid there for a few moments, positive I was dead. Everything suddenly became very calm. Not a sound. Lost all sensation. At least I couldn’t feel the hard stage floor I was lying on anymore, felt like I was floating. When I finally mustered enough courage to open my eyes, I was greeted with complete darkness. I was alone and dead, cut off from all existence. Left with only the memory of the strange old man who pushed me into oblivion, just like he did in the nightmares a few months back.”

            Poppy smiled as the rest of the group looked at him and shivered, from memories of their past nightmares.

            “I laid there for what seemed like an eternity, staring straight into nothing, when slowly my eyes began to make out shapes in the darkness.”

            “What were they?” Roy asked, causing Gina to giggle quietly.

            “Not quite sure, but I felt around, and that’s when I slowly realized…when it started to make some sense…. That somehow I…I was…” Hector paused dramatically as if he were about to reveal the secret everyone was looking for.

            “You were what!” Julia, John, and Roy all exclaimed anxiously.

            “I was…” He paused again, but continued quickly as if to avoid having a hole burned through his eyes by the intense stares from the group. “I was in my hotel bed. It was all just a dream.”

            Gina and Poppy now smiled even harder, causing Roy to blush a bit from being roped into the story.

            “But, man, I tell you. I never had a dream that felt that real. Caused me to jump out of bed, and beeline it straight to the mini-bar. Must have looked like a Viking on his first pillage. I was so anxious to get the door open I broke the key right off in the lock, and man did I need a drink.”

            He looked around and added to clear the record, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not much of a drinker. But I felt it would calm my nerves, because I was shaking pretty bad. So I quickly threw on some clothes and ran downstairs to the bar. But wouldn’t you know it.”

            “The bar was closed,” Patti jumped in.

            “Yeah. I was about to head back upstairs, but I looked at my watch, which said 12:30, and decided, what the hell, I’m already dressed. So I walked to the seedy pub across the street. Moseyed right up to the bar and said to the bartender, ‘Give me a shot of tequila. No, better make it two shots.’         

“Now the bartender sees me walk in alone, looks around the empty room, and cracks, ‘They both for you, bud? Because I don’t mind pouring, but don’t like washing glasses.”

            “I was going to say fine, just keep them coming, when out of the blue I hear that eerily strange familiar voice boom out. ‘No, one of them’s for me, bub.’ ”

            He laughed. “I don’t know who was in more shock when Poppy emerged from the dark shadows behind the pool table, me or the bartender who thought we were alone.”

            “Think it must have been you,” Poppy added. “You turned two shades paler than you already were and almost fell right off your stool.”

            “Well, can you blame me? Just got through convincing myself that it was all just a dream, and then there you are again, ready to blast me into oblivion for yet a third time.”

            “And we all know how hard you are to convince,” Poppy said, toying with him.

            “What do you mean?” Roy asked.

            “Took a half a bottle of tequila and the rest of the night to get Hector to even start to comprehend what I was saying. And they say you have to be smart to get your PhD,” Poppy joked.

            “Pompous and stubborn, but not necessarily smart enough to accept facts that don’t have scientific proof as backup,” Hector agreed.

            “So what happened next?” Julia asked.

            “As Poppy was saying, we argued until after daybreak about the strange occurrence that is taking place. I even thought for a while that this sweet old man was a psycho-psychic stalker, following me around and somehow planting these bad dreams into my head.”

            “So what convinced you he wasn’t?” Patti joined in.

            “Three things really. One, he seemed sincere and did not at all appear to be a psycho. Two, the images of the day on the beach seemed so real that deep down I knew it was more than just a dream. But most importantly, the number 3 reason was simply that everything I was involved with over the past couple weeks defied explanation, and it had been weighing heavy on my mind during this time that I was playing with a phenomena that was well over my head and that I shouldn’t be tampering with it.

            “So to answer your question, sweet voice, after it finally sunk in that there may be some truth to the fact that my work on the DQ-17 project was actually going to cause a cosmic blemish, or at least be the scapegoat for it, I immediately called George and told him there was a problem with the finding and that I was postponing the conference. Would have been here earlier, but I spent the last week and a half making excuses and destroying all evidence of the project before it falls in the wrong hands.”

            “Can George and everybody be trusted?” John asked. “I mean, can they re-create the solution?”

            “I destroyed everything. Even if they had photographic memories, it would take years to put everything back in place and get to the point where we were. Besides, I trust George fully.”

            “If you think it’s OK, then we trust you, Hector,” Gina said.

            “Except for the one fact,” Roy added.

            “And what would that be?” Gina asked.