Helen pressed her leg lightly against Joe to get his
attention. However, Helen's musical voice, just by itself, always
caught Joe's attention. "Joe, can I change the radio station? It's
not that I don't love classical music. I do. However, I really do
want to hear when my friend Melody leaves the moon, and is on the way
back to earth. She and the other astronauts have beat Sam Raccetts
record set in 2066 for how long an astronaut has stayed on the moon."
Helen felt energized while sandwiched between her best friends Bob and
Joe.

Joe divided his attention. While part of his mind focused on
driving them to their concert performance in his ancient white camper
truck, another part of his mind focused on answering Helen's question.
"You sure can. I even give you permission." He turned his head
slightly so he could alternately see the road and her reaction.

Helen laughed. "I'm sorry I told you about my fifth grade
English teacher and her 'may I' game." She reached forward and
swiftly punched the code sequence needed for her favorite news station
on the truck radio touch pad control panel.

". . .waiting for the signal to liftoff. It's t minus 2
minutes and counting. Brad, while we're waiting, tell our listeners
why we named the lunar module by the name 'Grayjay'."

After a short period of static, Brad's monotonic radio voice
began. "We gave it the name Grayjay because of the Canadian grayjay.
The grayjay, a cold weather bird, adapted itself to the cold weather
in Canada and along the Rocky Mountains in the northwestern United
States. One of our astronauts, as a child, lived in Canada, and we
decided to name the lunar module after a Canadian bird. The fact that
the grayjay also nests along the Rocky Mountains and this lunar
expedition will explore mountains on the far side of the moon strikes
me as an interesting coincidence."

"Sorry to interrupt, Brad. It's 15 seconds to liftoff.
Countdown will begin right away."

"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1..."
". . . Grayjay failed to lift off. Grayjay failed to lift
off." The announcer's voice held the clear tones of tight emotional
control. "We know at this time only that the main engines ignited and
then immediately shut down. This station will make special alerts as
we receive them."

"What!" cried Helen. "Something went wrong. Oh, I hope
they're okay."

Bob shrugged his shoulders. "Well. . . you can't do anything
about it. You should relax. Don't worry about it."

Joe laughed. "Bob, we all cope with anxiety differently.
Helen worries. Not everyone can be as rational as you."

Bob replied, "I don't want her to worry. I'm trying to
explain why she shouldn't worry." He shifted into his objective mode
voice. "Look. Either your friend is okay, or she is not okay. If
she is okay, then we don't need to worry. If she isn't okay then we
can't do anything about it, so why worry about it? We should worry
only if it will help us solve the problem we are worried about. So,
why don't you distract yourself for now? Besides, I believe everyone
can and should be completely rational."

Joe shook his head. "My friend, you don't understand emotions
yet. Emotions motivate our responses to perceived situations. After
we become aware of our response we can choose whether or not we should
follow through with it."

Bob meditated silently for a moment before speaking. "People
can and should learn rational emotions. Your emo. . . "

Helen interrupted, "Joe, you two will never settle that
discussion. So, don't argue with him now. Instead, tell me what you
think happened on the moon."

"Well I can't. We only know that liftoff failed. That
implies something went wrong with either the liftoff engines, or with
the fuel. Perhaps Bob does have a point this time. Let's think of
other things for a while."

Helen glared at him for just a second, but then laughed. "We
can at least check the news after the concert. I want to hear it. I
need to know that Melody is safe."

She paused, then continued. "I know, Bob, you'll just say
it's so I can decide what I should feel. Well . . . I can't help it.
I have to know!"

Bob grinned. "You know me very well. But that's not what I
intended to say. I'm curious about Melody. Tell me how you know
her."

Helen looked affectionately toward Bob. "Thanks for asking.
During my high school years, I formed an anti-smoking organization.
Someone in our small group found out that Melody, already a famous
astronaut, shared our concern about the growing power of United
Tobacco Company. I contacted her and she actually came to our high
school to speak to us. She and some guy named Grant encouraged us by
keeping in touch with us by video phone the rest of the year. They
taught us some history about tobacco smoking. Smoking rates had
fallen to about two percent of the population due to the Allen Carr
clinics that appeared in cities all around the world. But all these
clinics closed after their near total success in curing the world of
smoking. Several years later, smoking rates begin to climb again,
and, as we all remember, the tobacco companies then merged into
United Tobacco Company."

Bob asked, "Did they tell you how to re-open those clinics?"

Helen replied, "No, they knew students would not have the time
to run such a clinic. I'm sure they hoped that later we might work
with them to help. But I'm still a student. Perhaps I'll contact
them later."

At this thought, Helen again exclaimed, "Oh, I do hope Melody
can safely return to Earth!"

Joe commented, "If I were you, the first thing I would have
said to Melody is that I liked her name."

Helen looked puzzled. "Why?"

Joe grinned. "Aren't you telling me all the time how much you
like melodies?"

Both Bob and Helen laughed at this. Helen smiled. "Thanks
guys. Now I feel better."

Helen continued, "We must be close to the concert hall. Oh,
there it is!" She pointed straight ahead through the window. "Oh, I
hope we do at least as well tonight as we did last time."

As Joe turned into the parking lot, he responded to Helen.
"Plan on it. You'll keep getting better and better until you perform
perfectly almost every time."

Bob spoke up then. But, if you don't do better tonight,
please don't let it bother you."

Helen smiled. "Thanks, guys."

Minutes later, Helen, by leaning against the heavy door of
the large concert hall, slowly pushed it open. Once inside, she looked
around the room. Pulling a small black box from her pocket, she
pointed it at the far walls. Bob, following her in, very carefully
placed their beloved instruments on the floor next to her. "How does
it look?"

"It looks good, Bob. My sounder box tells me that we'll have
great acoustics."

Bob nodded and pointed to his right. "There's their stage.
It's perfect. We walk up only two steps and we are on stage across
the room from the doorway.. Where's Joe?"

"Right here. It's not easy to keep up when I'm lugging this
heavy archaic sound equipment, and you guys only have to carry one
double oh eighteen sized guitar, my fiddle, and the basket containing
the donation jar and flyers."

Bob turned to Joe. "After we get rich, you could buy some
ultra-light quality modern equipment. That is, unless you are having
fun showing off this hundred-year-old stuff that you inherited from
your ancestors."

Joe responded, "Well, I'm only keeping it now for sentimental
reasons. Besides, it's better quality than anything we can afford."

Helen tapped Joe on his arm to get his attention. "Well, Joe,
you are the tallest and strongest of us. I thought it made sense for
you to carry the heavy stuff." Helen smiled at him.

Joe looked directly into her blue-gray eyes. "Is zat so? Well,
I may be strong, and exactly 188 centimeters tall, which is at least a
centimeter taller than both of you. But I'm no Superman. Which reminds
me, I have in my truck the Superman comic collection you loaned me.
Ask me after the concert about it."

Bob laughed. "Joe, you too? I knew that Helen gushed over
Superman, but I didn't know you cared. Did you try to fly when you
were a kid too?"

"Huh! Well. . . Before kindergarten, I jumped over a log
trying to levitate. Because of that, I got a grass reed stuck in my
throat about a centimeter from my windpipe."

"Bob, don't you ever dream of flying?"

"Sure. One time I dreamed I built my own airplane and flew it
all over town, and people looked up and said, 'Look up in the sky.
It's a plane!' "Bob grinned in spite of his intention to look serious.

She smiled in return. "I never said I thought I really could
fly. It's just that when I'm asleep I forget it's impossible."

Bob shook his head. "I see." He briefly clapped his hands
twice. "Well, enough of this. We need to set up."

Helen saw a small table near the stage, and dragged it to the
entrance. Using both hands, she picked up the donation jar from her
basket and placed it on the table. Next she arranged the flyers that
advertised their availability for future gigs. Helen paused a moment
to pick up one of their flyers to admire it. Bob did a really good
job when he designed this one. Their name, "Vocal Strings", almost
seemed to jump out. She like the way he used musical notes to make up
the letters. Below their band name were pictures of the three of
them. Joe, being the blond handsome guy, stood slightly behind and
between them. Helen ran her fingers over the three figures in the
picture, tracing out Joe's wavy blond hair, Bob's curly black hair,
and her own long straight light brown hair. Sighing, she put the flyer
down. She needed to set up the chairs.

"I see you've fixed your broken strings."

"What?" Helen turned around to see a young man pointing at
the flyer. Helen laughed. "Oh, you mean our name change. Yes, we
are no longer the "Broken Strings." Every few months we change our
band name. We'll probably change it again soon."

Helen walked across the room to get the concert hall's chairs
to set in front of the stage. The young man followed her, and
together they set the chairs in neat staggered rows in front of the
stage. When they had finished, she thanked the young man and asked,
"Could you do me a favor?"

When he responded by looking questioningly at her, she
continued, "Could you point out the donation jar to new people coming
in?"

The young man smiled. "Of course. I'll be glad to do it."

Next, she helped Bob and Joe set up the sound system. While
Bob played his guitar, Helen walked through the rows of chairs,
signaling to Joe how to adjust the sound.

During this testing period more people began entering the
hall. Some sat down immediately while others congregated in small
groups in the back of the hall. Helen looked to Joe to see if he
needed any additional sound checks. Joe signaled the all clear. But
unexpectedly, instead of sitting down to play, he followed his all
clear signal by an exaggerated pointing at the entrance to the Hall.
Helen turned her head to look. Two tall men, dressed in very formal
suits, had just entered the hall. One of the two wore an unusually
bright red vest, while the other distinguished himself by his top hat
and fancy sash belt tied to his side.

Helen quelled the impulse to tell them that they did not need
to have such formal dress for this concert. It would probably only
embarrass them. As she drew nearer Red Vest smiled and waved to her.
She reached them just as Top Hat, addressing his friendly companion,
complained. "Cato, they don't even have an entrance fee! It's just a
donation. What kind of concert is this?"

Helen stood speechless for a moment, wondering what she could
say to such an insult.

Cato's smooth mellow voice showed his agreement with Helen's
feelings. "Will, I think having a donation jar is an excellent
idea." He extended his hand to Helen. "I'm Senator Cato Irving. My
irritating companion is Senator Will Bellum. I'm sure we'll both
enjoy your performance."

Helen's eyes opened wide. She had almost insulted an U.S.
Senator! Even she had heard of the Senator Cato Irving of the ethics
committee. Why were they here? Surely they were not here just to
critique her performance? As Helen shook Cato's hand, she noticed the
time on his expensive looking watch. Smiling at Cato, she apologized.
"Thanks. I don't mean to be short, but now I have to run. It's time
for us to start." As she turned away, she had a second thought.
Turning her head back to look at Cato, she said, "I'll introduce you
after the concert."

As Helen jumped up onto the low stage, Joe's watch chimed to
signal beginning time. He took the microphone. "As senior member of
our group, I get to make the introductions. I'm Joe Athens.
Sometimes we call the guitar player Bob, sometimes we call him Bam,
and sometimes we refer to him as 'just the best guitar player on the
planet'." Joe pointed to Helen. "Helen, our lovely singer, the most
beautiful lady in the world, also answers to the name 'Hat' Can you
guess why?"

Joe paused, then smiling at the audience, said, "I will give
you this hint. Her last name begins with the letter T."

Taking a firmer hold of the microphone, Joe continued, "Today
is Saturday, July first, 2090. Why am I reminding you of this? It's
so that when I tell you that today is both Bob's and Helen's birthday,
you will remember it. Of course, I'm not permitted to tell you what
year she came into the world."

Helen winked at Bob. They had literally run into each other
in the doorway of the music appreciation computer lab. She fondly
remembered being helped up by Joe as she and Bob untangled themselves
in the doorway. Calling them "The Three Musketeers" expressed only
weakly the extent to which their friendship had since developed.

After the concert, the trio took their bow with grace,
accepting the audience's enthusiastic applause. Helen felt warm with
pride in her singing today. She glanced over at Bob, and caught his
appreciative nod; he'd felt it too.

She reached for the microphone stand with one hand. "Now I'd
like to intro. . . Yow!" Helen crumpled to the stage floor as a
monstrous blue spark of light leaped from the direction of the
microphone stand to her fingers.

When she opened her eyes many faces crowded her view. She lay
on some soft mat and darkness still obscured her vision. A commanding
mellow voice filled her awareness. "She's awake! Give her room!"

She felt her head with her hands. "What happened?"
"Some kind of electrical fault knocked you out." Bob, looking
worried and concerned, took her hand. "You scared us a lot by passing
out like that. How do you feel?"

She looked around. She found herself backstage behind a heavy
curtain which blocked most of the light. No wonder she couldn't see
very clearly! She began to feel a bit better. "I'll be fine in a
minute. May I have a glass of water?"

Joe addressed the crowd around him. "Thanks for your concern,
folks. But now we need to pack up our gear and clear the hall."

Except for the young man who had helped Helen place the
chairs, the crowd dispersed. He stood, head slightly bowed, looking
at them as if to ask permission to speak. When Joe nodded his head
slightly, he said. "That electric spark didn't come from the
microphone. I saw it come through the window. It flew in a straight
line past the microphone stand right into her hand."

When he saw that their only responses were looks of
astonishment, he turned, walked slowly away, pulled apart the heavy
curtain, and left the hall.

Meanwhile, Senator Bellum and his companion had walked through
the exit door on the opposite side of the hall. Senator Bellum said
quietly to his companion, "She promised to introduce us. She didn't
keep her promise."

His companion smiled. "You know, Will, you can be such a
jerk."

Will heard the smile in his friend's voice. "Yes. We make a
good investigative team for the ethics committee. I jerk the people
around, and you look for guilty responses. We've caught more
wrongdoers than anyone else has."

Senator Cato replied, "True, but tonight's singer is not
under investigation. We came only to enjoy her singing."

Senator Bellum answered. "You are right. However, we do need
to maintain our reputation."

Helen heard their remarks as a silent voice in her head.
Believing the voices to be only her imagination, she said to her
friends, "Those guy dressed in formal dress were U.S. senators. Why do
you suppose they came to our concert?"

Joe grinned. "Because I invited them."

Chapter 2

Later that night Helen dreamed she flew through the air. She
flew about 6 meters above and along a highway. She looked down at all
the cars and took pride in being able to soar above the crowd.

She wondered briefly what made her different. At that instant
she noticed a blue spark of electricity flying along beside her. From
the way it flew, sometimes hovering, sometimes zipping along, she knew
it was alive. "Who are you?" she inquired.

In answer the spark grew brighter and came closer to her. It
flew straight to her hand, and entered her fingers. She felt it
travel up her arm, into her chest, and then up toward her head. Helen
felt dizzy for a moment. Then the spark flew out through her eye, and
hovered a few centimeters from her. A voice formed in her head. "I'm
an explorer from another world. I followed your trail. I absorbed
you. We are now one person. You fly above the crowd only for this
reason."

"What do you mean? What is your name?"

"My name is what I am. What I am is my name."

"Do you mean you have no name?" Remembering a naming ritual,
she placed her hand above the cool blue spark. "I pronounce you
'Sparky'."

Then she saw her house below her and dove down to fly into the
window. She saw the blue spark follow her in. As she alighted on her
bed, it hovered around her. "Sparky, what are you doing here?"

The blue spark answered silently, "I live here now."

Helen opened her eyes and sat up in bed. She turned and
looked at the clock. 2:35. "Oh brother", she thought. Then she
lay back down and closed her eyes, waiting to go back to sleep.

"What did that dream mean?" She meditated on her brief dream.
Did that electric shock have some permanent effect on her?

"Not in the way you think." The silent voice surprised her.

"Omigosh", she exclaimed, "I'm talking to myself. That
electric shock gave me a split personality."

"No", said the voice. "You are my split personality."

"Hey. I'm the original! How could I be your split
personality?"

"When I absorbed you, I became you. You are now part of me,
but split off from the rest of me."

"Does this mean I've lost my mind?"

"Of course not. You are still you. You still make your own
choices."

"You changed me! You made me into a different person?"

"There's no cause for regret. We are both much greater than
we were before we merged. I'm grateful to you. Before you, I could
barely see your world. Through you I can know everything about your
world."

Helen thought, "So this is what's meant by a lucid dream. I
know that I'm dreaming because what's happening is clearly
impossible."

Helen drifted back to sleep. At the edge of consciousness, she
heard the silent voice again. "Nothing is impossible to us."

Chapter 3

The sunlight reflected glaringly off the beach sand. The trio
enjoyed their regular Sunday morning stroll down their beach. They
didn't really own this section of beach. But Helen thought of it as
their beach because they had searched for it and found it. They
wanted to find a beach where visits by other people would not spoil
the natural beauty of the beach.

They walked north, Helen in the middle, Joe on her right,
nearer the ocean, and Bob on her left. "Look at those seagulls
wading in the surf. How cute they are!" Helen's voice showed her
amusement.

The trio continued to walk up the beach as they talked while
enjoying the ocean breeze. Suddenly, Helen turned, walked up the
steep sandy hill a short distance, and stood still in the loose dry
sand.

Both Joe and Bob stopped walking immediately. While waiting,
Bob entertained himself by looking in all directions, never resting
his eyes more than a few moments in any direction. Joe chose to turn
towards Helen. He admired her beauty, and took a moment to just
stare. Helen had straight light brown hair that came down to her
waist, blue-gray eyes, nicely shaped ears, and a very cute nose. He
especially admired the way her zest for life beamed out from her.

Finally Joe found his voice. "What is it? Why did you stop?"

She gave him a blank look. "I'm just trying to figure
something out." Then on impulse, she kicked the sand, and a coin
flew out, making a soft plop sound as it landed by Joe's feet.

"Wow", Joe bent over and scooped up the coin. "How did you
know about the coin?"

Helen stared at her friends. "I didn't."

Bob replied, "Co-incidences like this happen all the time.
There's no way she could have known about the coin."

Bob noticed the approaching beach-walkers first. "Looks like
we've got company".

Joe turned and looked in the direction Bob faced. He laughed.
"Hey, it looks like our kind of people. They like lonely beaches also.
I wonder how they found our beach? Helen, Are there any valuable
coins in their path?"

As Helen followed Bob's gaze she remembered how Bob had found
their beach. Bob had acquired coastal maps from the national
oceanographic institute and they had all spent several hours scanning
the map of the coastline. Finally, Bob found this one spot that had
not yet been developed and might never be developed. Ever since, they
had walked here each Sunday morning.

Next, Helen considered Joe's last question. She knew Joe liked
to tease her, and wondered how she should respond. Suddenly she had a
clear vision of the people walking in the distance.

Her voice took on an odd, far-away quality. "A man and a
woman . . . we don't know them . . . The man has red-orange hair and
is smoking a cigarette . . . He's wearing white shorts and . . . an
extra large light green t-shirt . . . with Maxwell's physics
equations on it . . . She has short blond hair and is wearing
flower patterned . . . matching skimpy bikini bottom and top."

Bob and Joe looked at each other, then at her. "All that and
no really valuable coins?" Joe joked uneasily.

Helen looked confused. "Huh? I'm not joking. I can see them
clearly."

Joe and Bob exchanged glances again. Bob looked troubled.
"Helen, are you claiming to have super vision now? It's not like you
to tease us like this."

Joe clapped his hands as he responded to Bob's comment. "Just
goes to prove how super Helen really is." Joe's grin turned into a
frown as he thought of another possibility. "Helen, could that
electric spark that hit you last night have made you farsighted?"

Helen answered, "Of course not. I didn't think they were that
far away. However, I did have a strange dream about Sparky last
night."

Joe merely looked puzzled, while Bob exclaimed, "Who is
Sparky?"

Helen continued, "I dreamed I talked to the electric spark
that knocked me out yesterday. I named it Sparky."

Bob grinned. "Now I get it. I bet the spark said it gave you
super powers. Will you show us a new super power every day from now
on?"

At that instant, she felt Sparky speak silently to her. "Since
we became one person, you are as a goddess."

Helen shivered. "What an idea! I thought you didn't read
fantasy. What made you think of it?"

Bob replied, "Well . . . You do sometimes dream about flying.
Also, I knew you were very concerned about your friend Melody up there
on the moon, and the spark giving you super powers would be a wish
fulfillment dream that you could rescue her."

She shrugged. "I don't have wish fulfillment dreams. Freud's
dream theory is just another Freudian mistake."

"Helen!" Joe exclaimed, "You made a pun!"

Helen laughed. "I made it by accident." Helen pointed to the
approaching beach walkers. "Anyway, let's move upwind of those folks
so the cigarette smoke won't harm us."

Bob ran his hand through his dark hair, and shrugged his
shoulders. "The wind's coming from the ocean. We'll have a good
excuse to go swimming and wait until they reach us. Then we'll see
if you are just making this up."

Helen immediately began to wade out into the waves up to her
waist. Bob and Joe followed her.

As the two beach strollers came alongside them, Bob confirmed
her unlikely description. "Gee Helen, even with the recent merger of
the tobacco companies into United Tobacco Company, only 10 percent of
the population are smokers. And those Maxwell equations! What did
you see to guess that? I didn't even know you knew any physics."

Bob paused briefly, then continued, "You don't know any
physics! The only explanation that makes sense is that you knew
these people in advance. You planned this with them! You told them
how to get to our beach. Isn't that it?"

Joe commented, "I don't think Helen would do that. It's less
likely than her guessing everything right.

Helen didn't hear their comments because she had focused
intently on the couple walking by. "Doesn't he know it's against the
law for people to smoke on the beach? I wish he would put that
cigarette out."

As she spoke, a huge wave formed immediately in front of her.
The wave reached chest level on Bob and Joe as it sped to the beach.
The strolling couple turned their heads toward the ocean just as the
wave reached them and doused them.

"Wow!" Joe said, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Well, you got your wish, Helen," Bob laughed. "That
cigarette is definitely out now."

All three friends rushed through the receding waters to the
beach to see what help the soaked couple would need. As she easily
passed the other two, Helen briefly wondered why they struggled so
hard to wade through the water.

She reached the couple first. She observed the man lying on
his back, with his eyes closed, and the woman kneeling by his side,
with her hands covering her face.

As Joe and Bob came up behind her, Helen asked, "Are you
okay?"

The man opened his eyes. He moved his left hand forward as if
to push them away. Then seeing their response, frowned, and said,
"Thanks. I appreciate your stopping. I tried to stop a tidal wave. I
may have broken my wrist again."

Helen said, "Can we get you to a hospital?"

The woman, who had uncovered her face and looked at them
wonderingly when Helen first spoke, now smiled and asked, "Would you
do that for us?"

Bob answered, "Of course. We'll be glad to. We can all fit
in my car. By the way, my name is Bob and my two friends here are
Helen and Joe."

Joe smiled and extended his hand toward the kneeling woman.
"Provided you tell us how you found our beach."

The woman grasped his hand, and pulled herself up. As she
gained her balance, she skillfully turned her grasp of his hand into a
handshake. "Thank you. You are angels to do this for us. I'm Angela,
and this is my husband Victor. He got the map and directions to this
beach from one of his friends."

Bob glanced toward Helen. Did she mean Helen? He asked
Angela, "Who is his friend?"

Angela looked sharply at Bob. "Why would you want to know?
You don't know him."

Bob nodded his head. "Right. Apologies. Now you know that I'm
no angel. But you definitely are. Is Angela your original name? Were
you always a little angel to your mom?"

Angela shook her head. "No, I wasn't." Then she smiled as
she said, "I'm pretty sure she never thought of me as her angel. And,
yes, Angela is my birth name."

Angela continued. "My mom believed God put at least one angel
to live in every community."

Bob looked puzzled. "Then did she name you 'Angela' in honor
of the local angel?"

Angela grinned. "Not exactly. She hoped that, because of my
name, the local angel would pay special attention to me."

Meanwhile, Joe extended his right hand to Victor to help him
get up. Victor extended his left hand and Joe awkwardly helped him to
a standing position. "I'm glad you changed your mind and let us help
you."

Victor's face showed his surprise at Joe's words. Then he
laughed. "Oh no, you misunderstood. When I signed that I tried to
push away the water, you thought I meant to push you away. No, no. I
never intended that."

Joe smiled. Then staring at Victor's bright red-orange hair,
exclaimed "I've never seen anyone before with your color hair. Did you
eat so many carrots that the color went to your head?"

Victor grinned at Joe's question, but didn't say anything.

But Angela did say something. "Joe! If you insult my husband
that way again, I won't want to have anything to do with you."

Immediately Helen reached out to Angela and softly touched her
shoulder. "Angela, I'm sure Joe meant well. When you get to know him
better you'll realize that."

Joe replied, "Gee, Angela, I didn't mean to upset you. I
sincerely hope you give me at least a second chance." Joe smiled.

Angela looked at Joe. His teasing smile puzzled her. He
seemed sincere, but also seemed to be making fun of her. Did she
misinterpret his intent?

Angela shook her head and spoke to the trio. "It's ok. And I'm
so glad you stopped to help us. I can't drive. I didn't know what to
do."

Bob expressed his surprise. "Why not? All you have to do is
steer the car. Anyone can do it."

Angela shook her head. "The first time I tried it, I drove
off the road into a fence."

Bob nodded his head. "Did you figure out why?"

Angela replied, "When I saw the fence, I couldn't take my
eyes off it until I crashed into it."

"Then you knew that the next time you should keep your eyes on
the road?"

Angela paused before answering. "I waited several months
before trying again. The second time when I came to a curve in the
road, and saw the warning sign, I felt dizzy. I drove right into the
warning sign. Victor persuaded me to try again. The third time, we
tried that two lane road into the country side. I had thought that if
we took it, I wouldn't have to worry very much about other traffic.
Ha. I didn't think about the people who live along that road. When
I saw the first car coming toward me, I froze. If the other driver
had not swerved at the last instant, I would have hit her. After
that I decided that I shouldn't drive a car."

Joe said gently, "Is it that you are afraid to drive now?
There are people who can help you with that."

Angela looked troubled. "I think it's more than that. I
remember that my vision blurred when I saw that car coming toward me.
And why did I get dizzy when I looked at the curve warning sign?"

Angela continued, "I don't want to talk about it now. Let's
go."

As they walked, Helen talked with Angela. "We're musicians.
Our band is called "Vocal Strings", but we are thinking of changing it
again. I'm just waiting until I hear a better name. I'm their
singer, and Bob and Joe play guitar and fiddle."

Angela smiled as she replied, "I'm an accountant at the
university union store. Actually I'm part of the accountant team
there. I mainly keep track of inventory and re-order when things get
low."

Helen felt the need to do Angela and Victor a favor.
Irrationally, she couldn't help feeling as if she had caused their
problems. "Angela, would you like me to help you practice driving?"

Angela smiled her delight. "That would be wonderful. Give me
your telephone code and I'll call you when we can get together."

As Bob started his car, the car radio came on. "Grayjay is
still stranded. So far we have no confirmation as to why. We only
have hints that the fuel tanks were damaged. Tune in the 6:00 news
report for more." Victor leaned back, carefully resting his injured
wrist against his stomach. "It's too bad about those astronauts. I'm
guessing rocks from space punctured some of their fuel tanks either
before or after they landed on the moon. It looks like they are truly
stranded on the moon."

"Not good! Do they have extra fuel available?" Helen showed
her worry.

Victor replied, "I don't know. Even if they did, they would
have to fix the leak in their empty tanks before refueling them."

Joe said, "Perhaps we have a spare rocket ready to rescue
them."

Bob chimed in, "Joe, I think it's only in fiction that there
are spare rescue rockets. This is only the 21st century. Safety
concerns still make the rockets so costly that they can't have more
than one at a time."

When they arrived at the hospital, Bob pulled the car up to
the front door of the emergency room. "Victor, you and Angela go on
in. We'll find a parking place."

Helen spotted a possible parking space, and a problem. The
car in the adjacent space straddled the line taking up too much of the
parking space they wanted.

Then she had a wild idea. "Hey Bob, I bet the three of us
could move that car over a little bit."

Bob laughed, "Okay, if you say so. Do you have super strength
now as well as super vision?"

Bob stopped his car just short of the two spaces. Then led by
Helen, the three of them stood, with bent knees, under the back bumper
of the other car, with Helen in the middle. "Now at the count of
three,lift and shift to your right. One, two . . . three."

As Joe and Bob grunted, straining to lift the car, the car
rose and slowly moved about 30 centimeters to the right. Bob and Joe
looked at each other in astonishment.

Helen ran around to the front of the car. "Hey, come on you
guys, don't stand there all day admiring your work. Come help me lift
this end of the car."

Chapter 4

Melody Armstrong, standing on the moon's surface, watched the
dials of the oxygen extractor. They had lost essential oxygen when
the liftoff failed. This oxygen extractor had been one of the new
devices they were to test. Now their lives depended on it working
well.

The oxygen extractor operated very simply. Melody would put
moon rocks into the machine. Then Hydrogen reacted with oxygen
compounds in the moon rocks, producing water. Next an electric
current split water into oxygen and hydrogen. Unfortunately, not all
the water and hydrogen could be recovered.

First some of the water stuck to the walls of the machine and
to the remains of the moon rocks. Second, Hydrogen reacted with other
compounds in the moon rocks. And some of the hydrogen simply leaked
through the supposedly air tight joints of the machine.

Her suitphone rang. Melody smiled when she saw first the
Earthlink signal, and then Grant's face on her phone monitor. "Hello,
Gaunt", Melody said as she opened the connection.

"Hello, Melody. I don't have much to report on my
Anti-tobacco broadcast site as yet. I have made some progress
setting it up, but I'm not having any luck finding someone to program
it." Grant didn't comment on Melody's use of his nickname instead of
his proper name. Grant had gotten used to people first calling him
gaunt Grant, and then eventually, just Gaunt.

Melody expressed her confidence. "I know you'll solve this
problem as quickly and as easily as you solve all problems that come
to you. Did you check out that high school group we worked with
several years ago?"

Grant replied, "Yes. None of them remained activists. It
seems that college life kept them too busy. Even their leader, what's
her name, has filled her days and nights studying music."

Melody laughed. "I'm guessing that you don't have your
computer name directory handy. Otherwise, you'd know her name. It's
Helen Troy."

Melody continued, "It seems to me that many people would jump
at the chance to program an internet broadcast website. Is it true
that you invented the protocols for internet broadcasting?"

"Not quite. The basic rules were set a hundred years ago. I
merely organized and simplified them so that we could license and
control the content of internet broadcasting. And for five more
years,I keep the sole right to grant licenses for internet
broadcasting, provided the courts agree with my choices. But now I
have a question for you."

Melody guessed what Grant wanted to know. "The oxygen
extractor is working well. We should have enough oxygen for liftoff
in a couple of days."

"Great! How is the hydrogen holding up?"

Melody expressed her worry. "I'm only losing about one part
in a hundred of the hydrogen for each cycle of the oxygen extraction.
It looks like we'll have enough hydrogen left for liftoff but just
barely."

"Hmmm . . . It would be good if you found some rocks rich
with water. Then you could obtain more hydrogen and make sure you had
more than enough hydrogen for liftoff. I think that the survey showed
some water bearing rocks about a mile from you."

Melody laughed. "When you read about the presence of water,
you didn't bother looking at how much water was found, did you?"

Grant's face showed his embarrassment. "You are right. I
guess I jumped to the conclusion that it would not have been reported
if it were not of practical importance. Silly me. I should be used
to what other scientists find important by now."

Grant continued, "But you don't really need to worry about
running out of water do you?"

Melody agreed. "That's correct. Lucky for us that we can
recycle our water supply. We could stay here almost indefinitely
except that we would run out of food in one more day. We might have
to go hungry for a day or two before we can lift off."

Grant changed the subject. "Did you discover why the Oxygen
tank failed at liftoff?"

"Sure did. But the oxygen tank didn't fail. The hydrogen
tank is the one that failed. We had re-designed the hydrogen tanks
to cut off if the airflow exceeded the safe amount. However, the
hydrogen tanks still had settings calibrated for Earth. On the
airless moon, because the air initially flows more quickly, we needed
to re-calibrate. We've fixed the problem now."

"Then why did you lose oxygen?"

"Because the oxygen continued to flow into the reaction
chamber until the computer system responsible for monitoring the
reaction shut off the oxygen tank."

"I see." Grant said it in a way that made him sound like an
expert on the moon rocket.

Melody grinned. Gaunt may not be a rocket scientist, but he
definitely knew his electronics. Melody exclaimed, "Hey Gaunt, you
haven't asked me about your invisible alien detectors!"

Grant gave one of his rare smiles. "That's right. I haven't.
That's because I can see from my instruments that you've already
deployed them. I can assure you that no invisible aliens have landed
on the moon anywhere near you."

Melody laughed again. "You know that I don't believe in your
invisible aliens. Unlike you, I never saw a saucer flying toward the
full moon suddenly vanish. I'm surprised that you convinced the boss
to let us bring your detectors to the moon. How are they supposed to
work anyway?"

"They continuously emit low intensity radio waves to get a
radar picture of the surroundings. They monitor the distance between
themselves and points on the moon."

Melody said, "I still don't get it. How will knowing the
distance between the detector and places on the moon tell you if there
are invisible aliens?"

Grant replied, "The way an alien would make itself invisible
would be to make any light or, in this case, radio waves, go around
it. The radar signals would suddenly go a longer distance to reach
their target. It would be as if the background target suddenly moved
farther away. Yet there wouldn't be any corresponding Doppler shift."

Melody said, "Now I get it. You check to see if everything
stays in the same place. If something appears to move, but doesn't
really move, you know an invisible alien has intercepted your radar
signal."

Grant agreed. "Yes. I will let you know if any aliens,
visible or invisible, have landed in your neighborhood."

"Okay, Grant. It's a deal. See you when I get back home."
Melody smiled as she cut the connection. She wondered how such a
brilliant person like Gaunt could believe in such nonsense as
invisible aliens. She remembered again that many times Gaunt had
sold electronic systems to Supermarket chains at cost in order to get
his designs spread across the country. Were any of them alien
detectors?

Chapter 5

Bob sat in the school cafeteria, occasionally taking a bite of
lasagna, as he transposed several sheets of music using his circular
"key changer." Just as he finished transposing the last line, his
cell phone rang.

"Hello Bob, this is Angela. Is Helen there yet?"

"No, not yet? What's up?"

"I needed to tell her, tell all of you, that you can come at
14:45 to make your recording."

"Whoa! What recording?"

"Didn't Helen tell you? I asked Victor to do you a favor, and
make a recording of you three performing your music. Victor thinks he
can give you a chance to earn lots of money by selling your music
worldwide."

Bob hesitated a moment before speaking. "How much would it
cost. We wouldn't be able to pay you any time soon."

"We're not asking for money. You didn't ask for money when
you chauffeured us to the hospital. We're just returning the favor."

"Thanks. That's very nice of you, Angela. I'll tell the
others."

As Bob gathered up his music and shut down his music laptop
computer, he saw out of the corner of his eye that, across the room,
Joe had just entered the cafeteria.

Joe waved, and rapidly traversed the room to sit across from
Bob. Bob pushed across the table to Joe the two milks, peanut butter
sandwich, apple and banana that he'd earlier gotten for him.

Just then Helen strode into the cafeteria to meet her friends.

Bob spoke as she approached. "Hello Helen. Are you going to
get lunch?"

She replied, "I'm not hungry."

Joe teased, "Are you sure it's not just that you don't want to
go down the line because everyone will notice this?" Joe brushed his
hand lightly upward against Helen's mismatched solid yellow shorts and
dark red blouse.

She glanced down at her clothes and smiled. "No, of course
not." Then she frowned as she remembered. "I'm still a bit riled from
getting this speeding ticket on my way over here." She tossed a
yellow slip of paper down onto the orange tabletop.

Joe looked puzzled. "But you don't have a car!"

Helen smiled ruefully. "That's true, unless you count when I
drive Bob's car. The traffic cop interrupted my jogging to give me
this ticket."

Bob picked up the ticket and looked closely at her. "You look
serious. Surely you're joking. Why did he give you the ticket?"

She replied, "I think he got mad when I told him he should
get his speedometer fixed."

Joe looked wondering at her. "And why did you tell him he
should get his speedometer fixed?"

Helen grated out her answer. "It tagged me as jogging twenty
meters per second along the sidewalk."

Joe reached across the table, and took the ticket from Bob.
"Wow. Hey! This isn't really a speeding ticket. It's only a warning
ticket. It says that if you're a public nuisance again, you'll be
subject to a fine. May I keep this ticket for my 'Helen Archives'?"

She smiled at him. "Of course you may. Thank you."

Joe continued, "Did you find any really valuable coins while
you were outrunning a racehorse?"

She looked at him, a look of puzzlement crossing her face.
"Why would I?" As she realized Joe's meaning she grinned. "Quit
teasing me.

Bob changed the subject. "Helen, don't you have some other
news for us?"

"Indeed I do. Remember that guy we met on the beach and took
to the hospital? "She paused as she looked at them to see their
reaction. At Bob's smile and Joe's inquisitive look, Helen continued,
"Victor owns a recording studio, and he's asked us to be recorded on a
disc, free!"

"What!" Joe exclaimed, "How can you be so lucky?"

Bob answered for Helen. "Angela convinced Victor he should do
us a favor."

Joe laughed. "I suppose this illustrates how women run the
world behind the scenes." He smiled his teasing smile.

Joe continued, "So, when do we get to do this recording?"

Helen said, "I don't know. Angela's supposed to call me to
tell me the exact time."

Bob recalled his previous conversation with Angela and
responded, "We're supposed to meet Victor at his home, right after our
next tutoring session, at 14:45. He's setting things up, even as we
speak."

Surprised by this comment Joe stared at Bob. "You sly dog. You
knew all the time, and didn't even tell me!"

Enjoying the moment Bob smiled. Not often did he have the
chance to tell Joe news. "I didn't know until just a few minutes ago.
Angela called me."

Bob looked at his watch and added, "We'd better hurry if we
want to use our scheduled time at the music lab."

The three friends hurried to the music lab. As Helen answered
the pretest questions on the computer, she found herself daydreaming
about the recording she would be doing afterward. She didn't notice
that she'd automatically answered correctly all the pretest questions
about pre-tonal, tonal and post-tonal theory. If she had been more
alert, it would have surprised her because she had not yet studied
the topic.

After the computer session, Helen met Joe and Bob in the
parking lot. Bob already sat in the camper truck on the passenger's
side. Joe held the driver's side door open for Helen so she could
slide in to sit in the middle.

The trio arrived at Victor's exactly on time. "Hello folks.
Glad you could make it. Come in." Victor held the door open for them
with his left hand. While Victor had not put his right arm in a sling,
the trio easily noticed that he tried to not use it for pushing or
pulling.

"Let me show you my equipment." Victor led them into a small
room whose walls were covered with glass cabinets holding electronic
equipment. "I designed the door and walls to make this room
soundproof."

"You will perform there." Victor pointed to three small stools
in the center of the room. Taking care to not bump their instruments,
Bob and Joe each perched on a stool, and Helen stood between them.

"We will be ready in exactly twenty seconds." Victor flipped
a switch, and then pulled a cigarette package from his shirt pocket.

Helen interrupted. "Victor . . . I'm allergic to cigarette
smoke."

Victor looked at her in surprise as he turned slightly and
streched his left arm to flip a switch to his right. He looked at
the cigarettes in his hand, and slowly put them back into his shirt
pocket. "Are you really allergic to cigarette smoke?"

"Actually", she admitted, "Everyone's allergic to cigarette
smoke. It's just that some people don't know it."

Victor stood silently a few seconds. "I wondered about that.
Do you really think I'm killing myself with these cigs?" He looked
expectantly toward Helen.

Helen could only nod her head.

Victor stood silently a few moments as he reconsidered why he
smoked. Finally, he said, "Well . . ., shall we resume the
countdown?" He flipped some more switches. "Twenty, nineteen . . . "
At ten he stopped counting and used his fingers to show the number of
remaining seconds.

Joe and Bob, at the same time, began to play. Helen's lovely
voice harmonized immediately with their playing. Victor smiled as he
listened to their playing. They performed so beautifully! Surely this
would make the top hundred.

With the recording completed, Victor spoke to them. "It's a
very good recording. Thank you all. Now I need to record your
answers to a couple of questions. Next I can submit everything to my
producer. If he likes it, then we all might be a bit richer. I'll
let you know when Grant sends me his evaluation."

Victor led them into another room obviously designed for
photography. He instructed them to sit on a long couch and look
expectantly into the video recording camera.

After they were seated, Victor said, "Now I will ask two
questions, and each of you will answer the question in turn."

"The first question is: 'Why did you become a musician'?"

Bob answered first. "On my 7th Birthday, my grandfather gave
me a piccolo. The next year, in a school play, I used it to play the
ending part of 'The Stars and Stripes Forever.' Later I learned how to
play other musical instruments." Bob turned to Helen, swinging his
open hand toward her as if to say, "your turn."

Helen said, "I've always loved music. My mother sang
professionally, and she sang to me all my life, including before my
birth. That may be why I have a natural perception of intervals. It
wouldn't have made sense for me to go into any other field of study."

Joe grinned at Helen before taking his turn. "I had a high
school sweetheart, a beautiful girl in the church choir. I wanted to
impress her. So I began to study the fiddle. But she moved to
Sweden."

Then Joe smiled as he added, "But now I know how to play the
fiddle."

Victor returned his smile. "Good. "Then he asked his second
question. "What do you want to be doing one year from now?"

Bob answered first. "I have my eye on being an instructor in
the school of music here at the university."

Next Helen answered. "I see myself as joining some opera
group. I had expected that when I finished school, I would become an
opera singer. If that doesn't work out, I can always support myself by
teaching music."

Finally, Joe answered. "I haven't thought about this yet. I
will be out of school. Perhaps the three of us would continue to play
as a band, and support ourselves by playing at various special
events."

After the interview, Victor gave Joe the first disc already
made by his recording equipment. "Here's your copy of the recording of
the music and interview. Later today, I'll email a copy to Grant so
he can evaluate your performance."

Joe replied, "Thank you, my good friend. We appreciate your
faith in our music."

Victor combed his red-orange hair with his hand. "I wanted to
do you guys a favor for helping me out yesterday. And it looks like
I'm doing myself a favor also. Thank you again."

Bob turned to Helen, "Are you ready to go?"

"You and Joe go ahead. I promised to give Angela some driving
lessons."

Bob smiled as Angela suddenly appeared in the doorway. "And
here she is. She must have known we were done. Helen, you are just
too good for your own good. See you later at Joe's place for our
regular practice session?"

"Sure. See you in a few hours." She gave them goodbye hugs.

As the guys drove away, Joe asked, "Bob, will you help me
locate opera singer prospects for Helen?"

Chapter 6

Helen asked Angela, "Did you have any particular place in mind
for test driving?"

As Angela hesitated, Victor started to clasp his hands
together. Then as pain coursed up his right arm, he decided to skip
the sign language. "Why don't you practice at the abandoned military
school."

"That's a good idea. Let's go, Angela." Angela picked up her
round baggy white purse and led Helen out the door to Victor's dark
green pickup truck.

Helen noticed a large cardboard box in the back of the truck.
"Is it okay if we leave that box in the truck?"

"Sure. That's only an empty box Vigor, I mean Victor, planned
to take to the recycling place later."

Angela's face flushed red as she apologized. "I sometimes
forget and use my pet name for Vigor, . . . oops, there. I did it
again!"

Helen smiled her understanding. "I like it! How did you find
Victor?"

As they climbed into the cab of Victor's truck, Angela
answered, "I didn't. He found me. Six years ago, he attended a
summer engineering music conference in Belgrade, Brazil at the hotel
where I worked as a maid."

Helen interrupted, "Belgrade? I knew about the Belgrade in
Europe, but I didn't know Brazil had one."

Angela paused, then replied, "It's not a very old city. I
think they built it about thirty years ago and named it after the
European city."

Angela continued her story. "Vigor had forgotten some
important papers in his room and had rushed back to get them. I had
just finished straightening the blankets on his bed. He walked in
just as I walked through the door to leave. We ran into each other.
When he saw me, he stopped just in time, but I didn't. Maybe I
wanted to run into him." Angela smiled at the memory.

Helen echoed Angela's smile. As she made herself comfortable
sitting in front of the inset steering wheel, she noticed that the
truck had one long couch seat just like the newer models had. She
asked, "Angela, did this couch seat come with your truck originally?"

Angela replied, "I don't know. We bought it second hand. The
couch seat and the three seat belts were in it when we bought it."

Helen acknowledged Angela's answer by nodding her head. Then
she pointed to the drive buttons on the dashboard. "If you wish to
go faster, push the forward button. If you want to go just a little
bit faster, then just jab it. It you want to go a lot faster, hold
it in. If you need to slow down, push the back button or step on the
brake. But be careful with the back button. If you use it to slow
down by holding it in, after you stop, you'll find yourself going in
reverse. It's better to stop by stepping on the brake. And this red
button on the left is the off button. Press it after you've parked
the car to turn off the engine."

Helen waited while Angela mentally processed the information.
"Seems simple enough. Actually Vigor explained that part before. He
even told me that I could start the engine by giving three quick jabs
on either button. Also, he told me I should never hit the panic
button." Angela pointed to a three centimeter by three centimeter
square set in the middle of the dashboard.'

Helen frowned slightly as she looked at Angela. "Well, if
you see yourself about to run into another vehicle, you should hit
the panic button. It tells the truck's computer to take over
driving the vehicle. You usually want to do this in case of
emergency. The computer can decide how much to brake or speed up
quicker than any person can. After the emergency is over, the
computer stops the car so that the driver can resume control."

Angela acknowledged by nodding her head back and forth. "But
what I need help on most is actually driving."

"Yes, of course. Let's go." Helen gave the forward button
three quick jabs.

A computer voice responded, "You are not authorized to drive
this vehicle."

Both Helen and Angela laughed out loud at their forgetting
about this lock on the truck. Through her laughter Angela managed to
address the computer. "Attend to me computer V S."

The truck computer answered. "You have my attention, Angela"

Angela replied in a formal voice. "Please authorize the
current driver to drive this vehicle today and all future days."

The computer acknowledged, "Authorization is granted."

When they arrived at the abandoned school, Helen stopped on
the side road that ran around the parking lot. Helen opened her door,
and looking at Angela, moved her hand in a counterclockwise motion to
signal that they should change places.

As Angela climbed into the drivers seat, she asked, "Now what?
what should I practice doing?"

"Since you know the basics, let's just drive on this side road
that runs around the parking lot until I tell you to stop."

"Okay", Angela agreed. "Remember, you promised to not
criticize my mistakes."

"Of course. I'll merely have you repeat until you get it
right." Helen smiled to show her friendly intent.

Angela pressed the speed forward button on the dashboard, "I
hope I don't run off the road."

Helen looked sharply at Angela. "Angela, please focus your
complete attention on the road where you want the truck to go. This
is very important."

Angela gave Helen a weak smile. "I'll try." After she'd gone
half-way around the circle, she turned her head to talk to Helen. As
she did so, sudden dizziness made her jerk the steering wheel.

Alarmed, Helen reached out to tap Angela on the Shoulder.
"Angela, stop!"

Angela stepped hard on the brake, and the truck lurched to a
stop."

Helen spoke as calmly as she could manage. "You just did the
first brakes test. Let's see if we can stop more smoothly."

Helen got out of the parked truck and removed the large empty
packing box from the back of the truck. She placed this on the ground
about a meter off the road.

Helen walked over to where Angela still sat in the driver's
seat. She placed her right hand on Angela's shoulder and looked her
directly in the eye. "Angela, please don't take this as criticism.
I want you to stay calm, keep your eye on the road, and keep control
of the wheel when you have to turn your head."

Suddenly, Angela felt something flow from Helen's fingers.
She felt it travel upward from her shoulder into her neck, then
disappear. Angela felt an amazing calmness. "Helen! What did you
just do to me? I don't feel nervous anymore."

Helen stepped backward in surprise. "I didn't do anything.
But I'm very glad you aren't nervous anymore. Are you ready to start
again?"

At Angela's nod, Helen said, "Drive around the circle.
When we come back here, stop at the box."

The first time Angela stopped at the box with a noticeable
jerk. Over the successive tries her stops become smoother. Finally,
Angela said, "I've got it".

Helen replied, "Indeed, you do." She smiled at Angela. "How
come this truck runs so quietly at idle?"

"You noticed that?" Angela showed her vicarious pride, "Vigor
takes very good care of his truck. What do we do next?"

"Drive into the parking lot. We'll practice pulling into
parking spaces."

Angela consistently parked over a line, putting half the
truck in the adjacent parking space. After four such tries, Helen
asked Angela, "Angela, how are you deciding when to turn the wheel?"

Angela replied, "I turn the wheel when I see the first
boundary line go past."

"I see. Angela, next time I want you to try this. Pick a
parking space. Try to see both the first and second boundary lines at
the same time. Turn the wheel when it will put the truck exactly
midway between the boundaries. Drive as slowly as you need to do
this."

After ten more tries, Angela felt confident. "Hey, I've got
it. Thanks Helen. I'll practice driving as much as I can this week.
Come next week and I'll show you how much better I've gotten at
driving."

"Sure. You can begin your practice by driving back home."

Angela began the familiar drive back home. After only a few
blocks, she saw a man trying to hitch a ride. Her previous practice
still sharp in her mind, Angela stepped gently on the brake pedal.
The truck slowed and stopped.

Helen lowered her window, and asked the man, "Where are you
going?"

The man leaned over to peer into the cab. Then he
straightened up and addressed Helen. "Just throw me your purse."
As he pulled out a wicked looking gun he added, "And be quick about
it."

As Angela jabbed the forward button, and held it in, Helen
heard a silent voice in her mind saying, "It's okay now." At the
same time the man apparently threw the gun at her. She flinched,
but the gun had already vanished.

"Good going Angela!" Helen looked back toward the man as the
truck continued to accelerate away. The man just stood there staring
at the truck. After a few blocks Angela slowed the truck, pulled
over to the side of the road, and stopped. White-faced, she turned
toward Helen. "I think I need to lie down for a moment. He might
have shot us."

Helen opened her door as she faced Angela, "slide over and
lie down while I drive us back."

As she walked around the truck to the driver's side, she
wondered about their escape. It had been impossibly easy. "That's
because I took his gun away from him and ate it." Helen stopped in
mid-stride. Then thinking the silent voice to be just her
imagination, she resumed walking.

"I am real. Think of some tests to prove it to yourself."
Helen smiled at this. How sophisticated could her imagination get?

Chapter 7

As they drove back home, Angela recovered her spirits. "Helen,
could you stop at the Vanity Shop? I'd like to buy a replacement for
a mirror I broke last week."

Helen glanced over at Angela. Angela smiled as she sat up and
refastened her seat belt around her. Helen replied, "Just tell me
where to find the Vanity Shop."

Angela pointed through the windshield. Just turn left at the
light, and go about a block to the shopping center on your right.

Helen replied, "I remember it now." She looked ahead to the
traffic light. It looked strange. She saw the red arrow for the left
turn signal but also saw, as if in a tunnel, a sequence of red arrows
that at the end of the tunnel changed to green. Bemused and
distracted by the strange looking red light, Helen didn't stop for it.
She drove into the intersection just as the red arrow signal changed
to green left arrow.

Their truck entered the intersection at the same time as
another car. Angela screamed, "No! No! No!" as she saw the car
headed right toward them. Almost by accident she swung her arms
around and swatted the panic button on the dashboard. Immediately,
All the side windows rolled down.

Meanwhile the passenger in the front seat of the car, Mike
Long, reached out calmly and pressed the panic button while the
driver, Dan Austin, belatedly pressed the brake pedal as hard as he
could.

Mike watched the action as if in slow motion. He barely
noticed the windows of the car swiftly roll down. He did notice two
women in the green truck and watched the driver put her left hand
through her open window as if she could stop Dan's car with one hand.

Mike stared at Helen, fearful that the next second would see
her hand crushed. Instead, both vehicles, under control of their
computers, attempted to avoid the collision.

The car made a 450 degree counterclockwise turn. At 180
degrees through its 450 degree rotation, when it faced away from the
truck, the car accelerated forward briefly. At 360 degrees through
its rotation, Mike felt the brakes take hold. Mike stared forward at
the truck. The car completed its 450 degree rotation, and he needed
to look through his open side window to keep the truck in view.

The truck made a full 360 clockwise degree rotation. At 90
degrees through its rotation, it accelerated away from the car for a
brief instant. At 270 degrees through its rotation, the brakes took
hold.

Both vehicles had slowed significantly, but not enough to
completely avoid collision. Mike could see it now. In another half
second the side of the truck would strike their car. He attempted to
slide as far as he could away from his side window, but his seat belt
jerked him to a stop.

The expected impact never came. Mike, catching his breath,
looked wonderingly through his open side window at the green truck.
Both vehicles had stopped. He could see Helen and Angela through the
truck's open side window. They were staring at him. Mike did not
notice that Helen's hand rested lightly on his open window ledge.
Mike grimaced, and weakly waved to Helen.

With the vehicles stopped, Dan saw that they needed to clear
the intersection. He triple punched the forward button on the
dashboard to start the engine. He looked to his right to check on
the truck. He noticed the driver of the truck holding on to their
window, while staring at Mike. He thought to warn the driver to
remove her hand, but immediately forgot about it because the need to
clear the Highway intersection dominated his thoughts.

Dan glanced upward at the traffic light. It flashed red in
all directions. Of course! The car's computer had transmitted the
emergency code to the traffic light.

Dan drove his car forward through the light, turning left,
back the way they had come, so he could park his car in that shopping
center they had just passed.

In a daze, Helen started the truck, followed Dan, and parked
the truck in the adjacent space to the right of the car. She looked
to her left to meet Mike's stare.

Dan opened his door, and walked around his car to address
Helen. "Are you alright?"

Helen broke off her stare with Mike, and looked at Dan.
"We're fine. Both of us are fine. We were all extremely lucky this
time. We should take it as a lesson for next time."

Angela quickly opened her door, so she could get out to face
Dan. "You drove very recklessly! We could have all been killed!
It's a miracle that we're not all dead! Your guardian angel won't
always be there to save you." Turning to inspect Victor's truck she
said, "I don't understand how we escaped the collision?"

Helen wondered too. What really happened? Then she heard or
imagined she heard a quiet voice within her say, "I stopped the
vehicles from colliding." She snapped her head sideways to get rid of
the voice. Could anything be done to stop her silent auditory
illusions?

Mike and Helen emerged from their respective vehicles at the
same time. All four of them now stood in front of the two vehicles.

Mike addressed Helen and Angela. "I'm Mike Long, and my
companion is Dan Austin. Dan is the CEO for United Tobacco Companies.
I'm his right hand man, responsible for public relations and shooting
any trouble that arises. We came a week early to vacation before the
big event."

Helen frowned, but politely asked, "What big event?"

But Angela, excited, answered. "Oh, you must mean the big
Shoppe Faire next Monday at the fairgrounds. Almost everyone who has
anything to sell will be there advertising their wares. I myself will
be there representing the university Union store. Helen, you should
come to my booth at the Faire."

Helen shook her head. "First I've heard of it. I don't think
I'm interested in the faire."

Angela turned toward Helen. "You won't be free that day?"

Helen replied, "Oh, I'll come see you, Angela. But I have no
intention of seeing these two gentlemen ever again."

Mike responded, "I understand. We almost killed you. I'm
sorry. I don't blame you for never wanting to see us again."

Helen shook her head. "No. That's not it at all. I hate
tobacco and cigs. I won't have anything to do with people selling the
cigs. I wish you understood that cigs kill people."

Mike started to respond, but then changed his mind.
He signaled Dan and they both got back into their car. Helen and
Angela watched them drive out of the shopping center.

Angela turned to Helen. "Now I feel relieved. Helen, what do
you think just happened? How come we aren't dead?"

Helen frowned. "I don't know, and I don't want to think about
it. Let's go buy your mirror."

As they approached the Vanity Shop, they saw a small boy
sitting on the sidewalk in front of it. As the boy looked up at them,
they saw the tears in his eyes. Helen asked, "What's wrong?"

The boy started to cry again, and through his tears explained.
"I came to buy a present for my mom, but just as I got here, the wind
blew my M-note out of my hand. I couldn't see where it went. Now I
don't have any money to buy my mom's present."

Helen smiled. "I think I can fix that." She reached into her
pocket and pulled out a flat wallet. Opening it, she pulled out her
last M-note. Giving it to the small boy she said, "This will replace
the one you lost."

The boy looked up at Helen, and smiled his thanks. "Oh, Thank
you very much! Are you the Goddess of Beauty?"

"What?" Both Helen and Angela spoke as one.

The boy pointed to a billboard behind them. "Isn't that you?"

Helen and Angela quickly turned to look in the direction he
pointed. They saw the billboard set about four meters off the ground
on the edge of the parking lot. On it a picture featured a woman
dressed in a toga like an ancient Greek citizen. She cradled a
shallow dish of white stargazer lily flowers in her two hands while
looking up at the night sky filled with stars. The Caption at the top
of the Billboard read, "The goddess of beauty shops first at the
Vanity Shop."

Angela exclaimed, "Oh my goodness Helen, she looks just like
you!"

Helen addressed the young boy. "No, that's not me. I think
the goddess isn't a real person."

Angela added her comment. "Sometimes Helen acts like an
angel, but I know that she's a real person."

The boy nodded his head. "That's what I thought. But when I
saw you, I wanted to make sure." The boy turned to go into the shop.
Helen and Angela followed him in.

As they entered the shop, Angela rushed over to speak to the
woman at the checkout desk. "Who was the model for your goddess of
beauty ad?"

Surprised, the woman looked up at Angela. "We didn't have a
model. My husband paid a friend of his to find the most beautiful
woman in the world. Myself, I think it's kind of silly, and haven't
paid any attention. Why do you ask? Do you know someone who it looks
like?"

Chapter 8

Later Helen met Bob and Joe for music practice, greeting them
with the announcement, "I almost got killed today, twice."

Stunned silence greeted her announcement. After a few moments
Joe replied, "I'm very glad you survived."

Bob followed with "What happened?"

Helen replied, "I ran a red light, and almost drove Angela's
truck into another car. Luckily the truck's panic computer programs
saved us. I don't quite understand how. Earlier than that, a gunman
threatened to shoot us if I didn't give him Angela's purse."

"And I daydreamed Sparky talked to me again."

Bob laughed at this. "And what did Sparky tell you?"

"Sparky claimed to have eaten the gunman's gun and to have
blocked the collision. Sparky also said we should do some tests to
prove it exists."

Bob commented, "Well, perhaps your subconscious suggested
these tests because it wants to exorcise this Sparky."

Joe added, "Have you thought of any tests to prove or disprove
that Sparky is real?"

Bob responded, "I know some tests. They won't prove anything
for sure, but they may help show how unlikely Sparky is."

Bob continued, "Helen, will you cooperate with us in these
tests?"

At her nod, Bob said, "Okay, what I want you to do is pretend
you know Sparky is real, and you can talk directly with Sparky. I'll
ask Sparky some questions, and you tell us its answers."

She nodded assent. Bob asked, "Sparky, can you do
arithmetical calculations faster than Helen?"

She said, "Yes, I can." Helen looked surprised at her own
words.

Bob echoed her surprise. He paused a moment. "Tell me what's
eight to the eighth power."

"Sixteen million, seven hundred seventy seven thousand, two
hundred and sixteen."

Joe grabbed a pen and his notebook. He wrote down a number at
random and showed it to Bob. "Ask her to factor this number."

Bob looked at the number and took the pen and notebook from
him. "Sparky, tell me the prime factors of 9823862349264."

"Sixteen divides it. The odd prime factors are three, twenty
three, and lastly, eight billion, eight hundred ninety eight million,
four hundred twenty six thousand, and forty one."

Bob, pen still in hand wrote down the numbers as Helen spoke.
Then both of them looked at Helen in awe. Bob said "Joe, will you
have your calculator confirm these numbers?"

Joe picked up his pocket calculator from his work desk,
punched in 9823862349264, and then pressed the factor button. The
calculator confirmed Helen's answer.

Joe turned off his calculator, and turned to her. "Well super
lady, which is it? Are you a super fast calculator, or does Sparky
really exist?"

Helen frowned. "I don't think either of those are possible. I
don't know."

Bob said, "Well I'm out of ideas for the moment. Joe do you
have any suggestions?"

Joe replied, "This is a toughie . . . Wait, I have it. Let's
ask Sparky to prove itself."

Bob turned to her, "Okay Sparky, what can you do that would
prove to us you exist?"

In answer, Helen yelled as she began to float toward the
ceiling. Bob stared at her as she floated upward. "This is not
happening. This is not happening. I'm dreaming it."

When she reached the ceiling, Joe voiced his question.
"Helen, how did you do this?"

She yelled down, "I'm not doing this! Hold on a minute."
For a long while they watched Helen floating near the ceiling with
her eyes closed and an expression of total amazement on her face.

Finally, she floated back down to stand between them. "Bob, it
helped tremendously that you had me pretend that Sparky is real. It
help make it possible for me to accept that Sparky really is real."

"Sparky really is a person. Sparky can control
gravito-inertial and electro-magnetic fields. I see everything much
more clearly now. I am Sparky! Sparky is me! Yet, Sparky is more
than me."

Bob raised his eyebrows. "Really? why did Sparky evolve the
ability to levitate?"

Helen looked forward without seeing. "Sparky's family lived
in a neutron star. Their metabolism is based on sub-atomic particle
interactions."

Bob said, "I see . . . Just kidding."

Joe said, "Then you really did have supervision yesterday!
How well can you see now."

Helen replied, "I can see in all directions at the same time.
Whenever you move, I actually see where you will be in the next few
seconds. I realize now that's part of the reason I had the collision
accident. I saw the green light in the future, before it turned
green. At the time, I didn't know how to interpret what I saw."

Bob responded, "It's not possible to see into the future!"

Helen replied, "You're right. I don't really see into the
future. It's just that I see what I anticipate, and I can anticipate
very accurately almost everything now."

Helen continued, "And I can see or feel the exact distance
between objects that I look at. You and Joe are standing 78.125
centimeters apart. I notice so many details that I never noticed
before!"

"All my senses are hyper! I hear your heartbeat. I can tell
you the chemical composition of things I smell or taste. I caused
the ocean wave that sprained Victor's wrist again. And I cured
Angela's proneness to dizziness. I didn't realize it at the time."

Helen continued, "And I know everything there is to know about
human biology! When Sparky absorbed me, I learned everything that
Sparky learned. Sparky learned the complete basis of life."

Bob voiced his skepticism. "Maybe Sparky knows everything
about your biology, but I doubt he knows everyone's."

Helen reaffirmed her claim. "Sparky understands all possible
variations of my biology. Now I also know every emzyme that might
have been used in any person's body and I know how they work together
to maintain life."

Joe stared at Helen, wondering if this person before him still
remained the Helen he knew and loved. He addressed Helen, "If you and
Sparky are now one person, are you still a woman?"

Helen smiled warmly at Joe. "Would you still love me if I
weren't? But you don't need to worry. Sparky has not changed my
gender. Sparky is neither male nor female. However Sparky does feel
feminine to me. But of course, she should. Sparky is me!"

After a pause, Bob said, "Well . . . Either I'm dreaming
this remarkably lucid dream, or we have a very interesting time ahead
of ourselves."

Helen laughed. "How can it be your dream. It must be my
dream."

The three friends stared at each other for a few seconds.

Finally, Joe broke the silence. "Glad to hear that you are
still the most beautiful woman in the world. Now you truly are the
goddess of beauty."

Sudden insight came to Helen. "Joe! You were the one who
arranged for my picture to be on the billboard by the vanity shop!"

Joe grinned. "Indeed. I thought it only fair for your face
to launch a thousand sales."

Helen blushed. "At least my name isn't on the billboard.
Most people won't know its a local person."

Bob interjected, "Unless you become famous because of your
superpowers. What can't you do?"

Helen paused. "I don't know. But I feel that I can do
anything that I can imagine doing. Why don't you test me?"

Joe said "Could you make us rich by crushing coal to diamond?"
She paused a moment with the blank look in her eye. Then she opened
her hand out toward him palm up, fingers curled slightly. A small
diamond immediately took shape in her cupped hand. She shook her
hand gently, as if she were rolling dice. Joe watched, fascinated,
as the diamond slowly grew larger than any diamond anyone had ever
seen. He did not expect it when Helen tossed the diamond toward him
and he almost missed the catch. He lifted the diamond closer to
study it carefully. "Tomorrow we'll take this to the jewelers for
evaluation!" He put the diamond in his pants pocket.

Bob said with evident tension, "We see you can levitate and
make things from nothing. Sparky told you it could manipulate
electricity and magnetism. Can you, for example, make Joe's phone
ring?"

Joe's cell phone rang. Joe looked at Bob, shrugged his
shoulders and pulled his phone from his pocket, and placed it to his
ear without bothering to look at his caller ID. "Hello . . . "

"Hello", said Helen's voice on the phone. Joe spun around and
stared at her.

"This is fun", said Helen and the phone voice at the same
time. "Now I can carry my cell phone in my head. I'll let the
telephone tracking system know where I am anytime I travel so that
everyone will be able to reach me any time of day or night, no matter
where I am."

Joe stared at her a moment longer, then sighed and pressed the
disconnect button.

Helen continued. "Thanks guys. Earlier I had hoped you would
help me forget about Sparky. I didn't expect you to prove to me that
Sparky not only exists but has also become one with me. Thank you
again for helping me. Bob, earlier you suggested that I dreamed
sparky because I wanted to make sure Melody is safe. But now I
really can make sure Melody is safe." She smiled her gratitude.

Bob stared at her for a few more moments. Then he turned to
Joe. "This is too much for me. I need a rest. I'm going home. Our
practice session tonight is canceled. Please call me tomorrow
morning. Helen, do you want to stay awhile, or do you want me to give
you a ride home?"

She smiled. "Maybe I'll just fly home."
Bob's laugh showed his tension. "You do that . . . On
second thought, if people see you fly, they will be asking you to
teach them how. Maybe you'd better learn how to be invisible first."

Helen said, "Invisible." Then she began to turn transparent
and fade from view.

"No! This can't be happening." Bob yelled as he clenched his
fists. He spun around and walked out of the house without saying
another word.

Joe, although excited, spoke more calmly. "Helen! Are you
making the light go through you?"

She reappeared. "No. Sparky said the light goes around us."
Then Joe and Helen walked out to his porch, just in time to see Bob
drive away.

Helen sighed as she said, "Well . . . I know how Bob feels."
She turned to look at him. "See you tomorrow morning."

Joe reached out to catch Helen's hand. "Bob made a good
point. You shouldn't let everyone know about your powers. With your
good nature, you'd be doing super favors for everyone in the world,
and have no time for yourself."

Helen paused, thinking it through. "Perhaps You're right.
But I think I don't really have cause for worry. Who would believe
that I'm practically a goddess now?"

Joe smiled. "You've always been a goddess to me. But be
careful. If someone who has public credibility discovers you, and
announces you, you'll have thousands of people asking you for favors.
You've always done anything people have asked of you, provided it
fell within your power. And now you have apparently unlimited power.
Please be careful. Please keep your powers a secret."

Helen nodded, pulled Joe to her, and gave him a lingering
goodbye hug. Then she fell upward into the sky and faded out of
sight in seconds. Only a slight breeze signaled her departure.

Chapter 9

Melody watched the group assemble into the main chamber of the
moon rocket. Abner, the team leader, looked worried. Melody wondered
what could possibly worry Abner. She had thought Abner never worried.
The other three astronauts took their places. Carol sat directly
across from her, next to Abner. Calvin sitting on her left showed
his impatience by shifting his weight almost constantly. Jonathan,
sitting on her right, simply looked forward directly at Abner.
Melody imagined that anyone but Abner would have felt nervous at
Jonathan's stare.

Abner cleared his throat. "I've just received an update from
Earth. They want us to lift off a day early." Abner held up his
hand to ward off the expected questions. "I know that you think this
isn't possible. But it is, provided we change our flight plan and
leave non-essential gear on the moon."

"We'll take a coasting orbit back to earth. Instead of
taking a direct path back, we'll simply reach moon escape velocity,
and fall into orbit around Earth. Then it will be a simple matter to
refuel the Grayjay from the Earth orbiting space station."

Calvin jumped to his feet so quickly that he had to grab a
support to avoid flying to the ceiling. "But why? We wouldn't get to
Earth any sooner. If we waited until we had more fuel, we could go
faster. We might even get there quicker if we waited." Calvin looked
toward Melody as he said this last.

Melody nodded slightly to indicate that Calvin had the right
of it. Then she asked Abner, "What's the real reason we are asked to
leave a day early."

Abner's face turned slightly pink. After a few moments, he
sighed, and said, "The president wants to make an Independence Day
speech as we lift off. He wants to use our liftoff as part of his
speech."

Melody turned to look at her neighbors. Jonathan scowled his
feelings. Calvin looked pensive. Carol seemed about to ask a
question, and Abner's face showed his readiness to tackle their
objections.

When Abner turned toward Carol, she blurted out," But why?
We'll have to coast three days in this small craft just so the
president can make a nice speech!"

Abner nodded his head affirmatively. "Consider this to be
only a request. The final decision is up to all of us. Think it
over. Let me know later what you decide."

Chapter 10

Early the next morning, Helen, sitting on the roof of Joe's
apartment, patiently waited for him to wake up. At last he stirred,
opened his eyes, rolled out of bed and dressed. Only then did she
float down through the ceiling into Joe's bedroom.

"Wow", said Joe as he noticed her floating down. "So, now you
can go through things."

Helen's feet touched the floor. "Not exactly. Sparky eats the
things we go through, then afterward restores them as they were.

Joe pulled the diamond out of his pants pocket. "I've had
second thoughts about trying to sell this diamond. The clerk would
want to know where it came from." He handed the diamond back to her.
"Here. Take it back."

She took the diamond in her hand. Joe stared at the diamond
as it slowly sank into her open hand and vanished.

"So . . . How come you're here so early? If you had come
any sooner, I would have still been in bed."

She smiled, but didn't mention her waiting for Joe to wake
up. "I didn't go home. First I visited the university union store.
Some people will be a little disappointed that now the store's out
of cigarettes." Helen grinned. "Then I flew to the memorial hospital
and secretly cured everyone in immediate danger of dying."

"Wow! And how long did that take? Did you do any surgery? I
wonder how much money the store lost on the cigarettes. "

"I converted the cigarettes to 'Helen's super nutritious
chocolate covered peanut butter patties'. I also converted the
display cases to accurate plastic representations of healthy and
unhealthy lungs. The store didn't lose any money. I made enough of
the peanut butter patties to exactly pay for the cigs I took away."

"Gee, Helen. Don't you know there's no such thing as super
nutritious chocolate covered peanut butter patties?"

She grinned, "Not until I invented them."

Helen continued her story. "At the hospital, none of the
serious patients were in need of surgery. Besides, with today's
technology, if surgery were the answer, they wouldn't be in danger
of dying. For most of the patients, I only needed to make minor
improvements in their metabolism and give them the particular
nutrients they needed. After taking a few minutes to cure the
serious patients, I helped the other less serious patients."

Helen paused, then looked directly at Joe as tears began to
form in her eyes. "Joe, I want to visit the hospital regularly from
now on. Two of the patients would have died of emphysema. Cig smoking
caused their emphysema. I don't want anyone else to die from
emphysema like my uncle Ed did."

Joe stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Helen and
held her until he felt her move to disengage. As they separated,
Joe held her shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes. "You
know, Helen, now that you can do just about anything, you can do
something to stop people from smoking."

Helen's face lit up. "Thanks Joe. You are right! I will do
something! But right now, I want to give you a present."

Helen held out her hands palm up. Joe watched in amazement as
several tiny copies of musical instruments grew in her hands.
After a few seconds, Helen handed them over to Joe. "I remembered
your wishful look when we looked at instruments like these last
month."

Joe smiled his biggest most sincere smile. "Thank you Helen.
But please don't make a habit of granting my every wish. I could get
spoiled that way."

Helen laughed. "Oops. Perhaps when my powers aren't such a
novelty, I'll be more careful."

Joe grinned. "But since you do have these fantastic powers, I
have an idea how we can use them to earn some petty cash."

Helen looked puzzled, and waited for Joe to continue. "Since
you can make these tiny instruments, you can repair busted musical
instruments and equipment. We can repair musical stuff at less than
half the price of any competitor. How does that sound to you?"

Helen laughed. "So now you want me to make full sized musical
instruments and equipment! Should I start with your sound equipment?
I can make it a lot lighter now. Do you want me to advertise for
you?"

"Ah, no. Not yet. And I don't need or want the whole world
to know. I'll just tell a few of my friends on campus, and let them
know they can tell others about us. I don't want this to be a big
business. We can ask Bob if he wants in on it too. Oops, I'm
supposed to call Bob right away."

When Joe made the call, Bob answered on the second ring. "Hey
Joe. I'm sorry I didn't make it out to your place last night. I must
have forgotten. Well . . . I didn't totally forget. I had one
heck of a dream about being at your place!"

Joe echoed, "A dream?"

Bob answered, "Yah. I picked up on Helen's dream. I dreamed
she had gained all sorts of super powers. Can you imagine? I never
dreamed impossible things like that before."

Joe paused, wondering what he could say. "Eh Bob, did you know
you left your guitar at my house?"

Bob responded, "I don't think so. I think its here."
He looked on the shelf where he usually put his guitar. "It's not
here!"

Joe replied. "That's because it's here."

Bob responded, "Thanks for letting me know. Don't yet
remember when I left it. Why else did you call me?"

Joe replied, "You aren't awake yet, are you? Today's our
fourth of July gig. Do you want to meet us over here, or should we
come pick you up?"

Bob remained silent a few moments. "Might as well come pick
me up. I'll be finished with breakfast by the time you get here."

Joe replied, "Okay. See you in about twenty minutes."

When Joe and Helen reached Bob's home, they saw him studying
his guitar books and swinging on his front porch swing. Bob jumped
up and gathered his books when he saw them. He then dashed out to
the white camper truck. Helen opened the door for him, and he leaped
into the cab.

"I've figured out some possible songs for us to do." Bob
named his candidates and asked them their opinions about it.

Helen said, "Well those are all good classical fourth of July
songs. I like the lyrics of some of them. And I want to start off
with a couple of songs I just wrote." She handed Bob some music
sheets. "And here are the music sheets for them."

He took the sheets and put them in his folder while still
looking at her. "Tell me how you came to write these songs."

"Remember, on the beach, when Angela felt insulted by Joe's
comment about Victor's hair? Well, I thought about it, and decided
to make up songs about insults and friendship.

Bob looked at the songs she'd just handed him. He nodded in
appreciation. "Yes. These are good. I'm surprised you didn't
include some anti-cig songs."

Helen nodded her head. "Yes. I wanted to include some, but
couldn't figure out how to fit them into the fourth of July theme."

Bob replied, "Yes. I see how that would be difficult. You
said you liked the lyrics of some of the songs I chose. Does that
mean you won't sing the ones you don't like?"

"Which would you rather I do: Change the lyrics of a song I
don't like, or not sing it?"

Bob replied, "I would rather you not sing it of course. If
you change the lyrics, then you should change the tune also. And of
course you should sing your own songs first. Which of my songs do
you like the lyrics to?"

"I like 'Designs in the sky', 'Whose birthday is it', 'Our
Country's Birthday", and 'Yankee Doodle'."

Bob moved those songs to just below her music sheets. After
he did this, he asked, "Joe, do you agree with her about the choice of
songs."

He answered, "Sure do. I agree with almost everything Helen
does of course." He smiled at both of them.

As Bob closed his folder of music sheets he looked out the
window. "Here we are at the park already. I wonder if the stage
will be out by the lake like last year."

Joe turned onto the one lane driveway that entered the park.
"We'll know in a couple of minutes." They followed the driveway down
and around the park until they reached the parking lot by the lake.

"Well, look at that! They didn't put the stage by the lake,
but on the lake! How are we supposed to get out to it?" Joe didn't
answer his rhetorical question. The arrival of a busload of park
service employees to the lake dock answered his question for him.
Joe shook his head once in a "come this way" gesture, and led the way
down to the dock.

As they came to the dock, the park service employees prepared
a ferryboat for use. After about fifteen minutes, one man started
the ferryboat's engine, and all but six of the employees left the
dock to prepare the rest of the park for the holiday programs. The
remaining six employees stepped onto the ferry, and found seats for
themselves. One of them took the pilot's seat.

Immediately after boarding Bob moved to the back of the
ferryboat where, by standing up, he could get a good view of the
ferryboat's forward direction. He remained standing and supported
himself by one of the metal bars connecting floor and ceiling. He
stared in the direction of the floating stage in the middle of the
lake.

Joe called out to him, "Hey Bob, are you in a hurry to get
to the stage. We are early you know. Besides, nothing will happen
until we get there."

Bob replied, but Joe could not hear his reply. Turning to
Helen, he said, "I can't hear him. Is it because he's in the back
of the boat?"

Helen replied, "Yes. He said that he's looking at the
stage." Let's go to him.

Bob turned to watch his two friends walk up to him. "I'm
just thinking about their set up." He pointed to the stage. "It
looks as if they set up the sound equipment yesterday. One advantage
of a big gig like this is we don't have to bring any of our own sound
equipment. Of course the disadvantage of a big gig like this is we
aren't allowed to use our own more familiar sound equipment." Bob
grinned.

Helen laughed. "Maybe I should personally inspect their
sound equipment to make sure it is up to par."

Joe added, "We will have plenty of time to do that. We are
scheduled to begin in about 40 minutes. Although I suspect we should
just stay out of the way while the park guys run the sound checks."

Bob replied, "Bet they won't do it as well as you and Helen."

Helen giggled. Why Bob, you actually made a compliment."

Bob traded glances with Joe, then replied, "Oh, you noticed.
Bob Paused, then continued. "Actually I made it accidentally. Did
you like it? If you did, then after the concert, I can figure out
lots more."