Really Part Of The Last Chapter

 

Looks like Roops' place!

Now that OZ was awake and talking and seemed fine, the first thing we wanted to know was could he still get us online. At that time, we didn’t know what had become of the rest of them. We only knew that he was changed somehow and seemed very willing to do whatever he could to be of assistance. He wasn’t buzzing or humming either. 

OZ took his chair over to the computer desk and sat beside it. He laughed when he saw what he had made. It was like he could remember but it was still all a surprise to him. He sat down and looked like he was waiting, hands clasped in his lap like a child.

So, Doug switched on the machine by just tapping it. It woke and waited also. I don’t understand how, but it went online when he punched in a request for a browser.

Doug said, “let’s see if we can get ahold of Roops.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. “Where is the power to connect us coming from OZ?”

“It’s just in the air Elvin. Something is helping me. I am not sure, but when I want to make that connection, I can,” OZ said. It was still weird to see him smile. He didn’t really have lips. Did I ever mention that his ears were kind of pointy? Well, they were, and he had dead white skin and those shiny black eyes. He still wore his trusty Carhartts. I never did find out what happened to the black suits.

“Ok, I guess. All we can do is see how it works,” I said.

Doug went ahead and typed in what they used to call an e-mail to Roops. Then we had to sit and wait to see if he picked it up. Pretty soon he answered. He had a bell that went off when he got a message, usually from one of his ET buddies.

He wrote, how the heck are you getting online?

Doug wrote, OZ is still able to hook us up. I don’t know why.

There followed a lot of back and forth on what the ET he called Pete had told Roops about the fate of all the other Thumbies. He had to explain about the artificial hive mind that they had made when they all got together to create their airborne server. He also explained that it was not allowed and they had been destroyed wherever they stood and that OZ was the only surviving Thumbie. This bit of news implied some serious repercussions. We would have no more technical assistance. We humans were back to doing things human style. Slowly and painfully, for the most part. There was only so much one Thumbie could do by himself.

Doug explained how OZ was transformed and that we were still getting to know him in his new form and personality.

About then there was a nice polite knock on the front door. It was still a shock to have anyone come to the house. We all sort of jumped. Last time someone came to the door it was Denise. But before that it was those two Thumbies butting in.

Doug got up from the desk and went over to the front door and opened it.

Standing on the porch were two guys. They didn’t look happy.

“Are you Doug Simpson,” asked one of them. We had seen them in town. But, not together.

Doug stood back, asking them in and said, “yeah, that’s me. What’s up?”

The link to all, In the tenth year of the pandemonium.docx