The Boy Who Played With Dark Matter Read online

  "Do you see all these paper books around you?" Zadie asked. "These books were my father's books. He was what the International Government considers a terrorist. When the IG took over, they used a new technology to erase the memories of anyone over 10 years old. They thought that it would erase any threat to their power. But there were children who were alive and knew the truth. They didn't have their memories erased, but they knew better than to let on that they remembered. My father was part of a group that sought out and hid all the paper books they could find. They wanted them saved so that the truth would never be completely forgotten."

  "Your dad was a terrorist? Is that why he is gone?"

  "He was a terrorist according to the International Government, but he was no terrorist. He was just a man who wanted to live in a world based on truth rather than lies. Luckily, he was never discovered. That is why his library remains. He left our world when a tram derailed in the Dakota Province. Now I am the keeper of his library, and your father has helped me in this task. We want the truth to last so that one day the International Government will not be able to hide its lies and its manipulations. One day the truth will be known, and maybe … maybe … we might be free," Zadie answered.

  "Nimueh said that the fate of our last freedom rests on my shoulders. If we aren't free, then how can that be?" asked Zeddy, uncertainly.

  "We do have one last freedom. At least some of us have it … the freedom of knowledge. It is all that we hold on to in our hope that we can persevere. We have the knowledge, and maybe one day people will be able to know the truth. I have always prayed that they might," Zadie said with tears in her eyes.

  Zeddy thought of all that had transpired that day. His father was missing. His neighbor was the Lady of Avalon, an ancient witch. His government was based on lies. His whole life had changed in less than eight hours. He thought and thought. His feet paced back and forth in the tiny room without his knowing. There was something that linked it all. Knowledge? Knowledge! Nimueh said it was his power! He was almost scared to find out what that meant.

  "I know you must feel overwhelmed, Zeddy. This is a great secret to carry. You will have to be very strong. We must protect the knowledge in these books. We can do it, but for now let's go get ready for bed. Maybe after a good night's rest things will look brighter. We still have each other," Zadie told her son.

  'We still have each other, but that isn’t the same as having a daddy, too,' Zeddy thought as he gave his mom a warm smile to reassure her.

  7 ZLOAT

  After his shower, Zeddy took the violet crystal and the little book of magic from his pocket and put them in his backpack. He had the feeling they were going to come in handy, even if he didn't know how to use them. Then Zeddy lay on his bed for several long minutes staring at the ceiling, just hoping his mind would go blank and he could stop thinking about all the things he had learned. As he gazed at the white ceiling, he thought he saw something from the corner of his eye. He looked over near his lamp, expecting to see a moth fluttering near the lamplight. But he didn't see one. "I must be tired," Zeddy thought to himself.

  Although his father was often away on business, tonight the house felt especially empty and kind of scary. Zeddy walked across the hall and peered in at his mother lying in bed, reading an old paperback book. No matter how many books were converted to digital form and paper copies recycled, Zadie read the same ten paper books over and over. She said she loved the way a paper book felt and smelled. She said it made reading 'real'. Although Zeddy often snuck across the hall to watch his mother read, it always made him smile to see how engrossed in the story she would become. He coughed lightly to get her attention.

  Zadie looked up from The Count of Monte Cristo to see Zeddy standing in the doorway.

  "Are you okay, dear?" Zadie asked.

  Zeddy was ashamed to say that it felt creepy to sleep in his own bed, so he cautiously asked, "Mom, can I sleep in here? It just feels … I don't know … weird tonight. Can I?"

  "Of course, Zeddy. You know you're always welcome to sleep in here, honey," Zadie answered, as she held out her arms for Zeddy to come snuggle with her.

  She, too, felt the strangeness in the house, and Zeddy's warm hug felt nice and comforting. She pulled back the sheet, and they lay down snuggled together like only a mother and child can snuggle. Zeddy nestled his head against Zadie's shoulder, and she wrapped her arm around him. She picked up her book and began to read aloud from The Count of Monte Cristo, as Zeddy laid there, eyes closed in thought. He wanted to immerse himself in the story and float away on the smuggler's ship with Edmond and Jacopo. He wished to be any place where his mind wouldn't be swirling with so many new thoughts and fears. As his mother read, he began to drift on the smuggler's ship to that delicious place between awake and asleep. Blue and golden stars began to dance in the dark behind his eyelids, and Zeddy felt himself float up and up.

  As Zeddy floated through space and time, past stars and planets, he found himself floating to a world that looked relatively familiar. For an instant, he seemed to float right along the border of night and day. Then, as he passed from space to planet, he could feel the warmth of the sun in the brilliant blue sky. He looked down at the bright green grass spattered with purple and violet flowers. He dropped softly to the grass and lay there, looking up at the ethereal sky he had just passed through. All around him, white butterflies flittered and fluttered. They were so translucent they almost appeared invisible.

  "Let's play Zloat," a little voice beside him whispered.

  "How?" asked Zeddy.

  "Whoever catches the most zutterflies in an hour wins. You have your net already. See how many zutterflies you can catch," the little voice whispered.

  Zeddy looked down and found a butterfly net held tightly in his grasp. So he set off catching zutterflies, one after another. They seemed so easy to catch. As Zeddy filled his net with glowing, humming zutterflies, he realized that he was floating higher and higher into the air. The zutterflies carried him up like a hot air balloon.

  "What should I do?" Zeddy asked, waiting for the little voice to answer.

  "You won this game. Go ahead, float in the air till the zutterflies get tired. Then you will float back to the ground, and I'll be waiting for you," the little voice answered.

  Zeddy floated in the blue sky, every now and then pulling back the blue to peek out at the vast dark universe with its glistening stars and spinning planets. He smiled and laughed. He felt happy and free, and there was an odd security in this new place he had found. He almost wished he could stay forever. Soon the zutterflies began to tire, and Zeddy floated down, down, down. As he settled back onto the plush green grass, Zeddy closed his eyes and listened to the quiet. The glowing of the zutterflies still twinkled behind his closed eyes.

  "What is a zutterfly?" Zeddy wondered out loud.

  "We are something new and strange, but we won't hurt you," the little voice whispered.

  "Are you a zutterfly?" Zeddy asked as he continued to lie in the verdent green grass with his eyes closed against the warm golden sun.

  "I am," the little voice answered. "My name is Zmally. I know it is so nice here on Zamira, little Zeddy, but I need you to wake up now. Wake up…. Wake up…."

  Zeddy slowly opened his eyes, squinting in order to see into the darkness. What an amazing dream! It seemed so real! And that little voice! It told him to wake up, but he wondered why a voice in a dream would tell him to wake up. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. He was about to try to go back to sleep when he saw something from the corner of his eye.

  Zeddy turned his head to see what was there, and he couldn't believe his eyes. A silvery glowing zutterfly from his dream floated up to his face and nearly lit on his nose. Zeddy sat upright, swatting one hand in front of him and reaching for the light switch with the other.

  "Wait, little Zeddy. Do not be afraid. I just helped you dream of playing zloat on Zamira so that you would not be afraid of me. My name is Zmally, and I am a zutterfly
from Zamira," the little glowing zutterfly said.

  The zutterfly was unlike anything Zeddy had ever seen. It almost appeared to be made of clear Plexiglas – harder than real glass, but not quite solid plastic. It was translucent, but at the same time appeared almost white. It flittered and fluttered and cast an odd glow into the darkness. But, much to Zeddy's amazement, when he turned on the lamp, the zutterfly disappeared.

  "Where are you? Zmally? Are you here?" Zeddy whispered loudly, scared it had all just been a dream.

  "I am here, Zeddy. But until you learn how to find me in the lights of Earth, you will need to turn out the light to see me," Zmally answered.

  Zeddy turned out the light, and Zmally glowed in front of him again, fluttering very near his face. Zeddy smiled, relieved he had not dreamt all of the events from this magical night. As he focused on the glittery zutterfly, Zeddy asked, "Can you tell me about Zamira?"

  The zutterfly settled on the pillow next to Zeddy. It began to tell him of the warm, beautiful planet Zeddy had just visited in his dream. Zamira was a land full of zutterflies and all kinds of floating, flying things. There were people there, as well, very similar to Zeddy and his mother. Zeddy listened intently for any hope that Zmally might mention his father or someone who would want to take his father.

  "I don’t mean to be rude, but exactly what are you? I know you said you were a zutterfly, yet I'm not even sure what that is. Is it some kind of butterfly?" Zeddy asked as he tried to focus on the flickering, fluttering glow.

  "I'm not sure how I compare to your insects here on Earth. On Zamira, I'm a dark matter zutterfly," Zmally answered.

  "What exactly is dark matter?" asked Zeddy.

  "It's what I am made of," answered Zmally. "I'm only a dark matter zutterfly. I don't know how to explain what I am here on Earth. I'm sorry I can't answer better than that."

  "I bet Professor Zenith will know what you are," Zeddy said with confidence. "Do you know how you got here?"

  "Your father brought me back here in his pocket, but I escaped in the morning light and hid until I knew I could trust your family. There are many people in the universe who would want to capture me and study me, as zutterflies are rarely seen outside the deepest depths of space. But I trust you now, and I know you are the key to my return to Zamira," Zmally answered.

  "My father brought you back in his pocket? Does that mean he has been to Zamira before? Is he there now?" Zeddy asked eagerly.

  "I know he has been there, but I am not there to know if he is there now. When he was there and captured me, it was very quickly, I think. You see, time does not have much value on Zamira. The only time that we keep track of is the amount of time it takes for our king to return – a glorious day we still await," Zmally answered.

  "Your king? How long has he been gone?" Zeddy asked curiously.

  "I believe it will soon be 200 years since he left on his adventure. It must be an exciting one to stay gone so long. He is missed very much by our people."

  "Are you sure he is coming back?" Zeddy asked, trying not to sound rude.

  "Oh, definitely. He is the Z-King of Zamira. He taught us how to speak this language of yours and the language of his forefathers, and we taught him to speak the language of the World of Z. I have observed you today, and I knew you would respond much better to this language than my native language. All of our words begin with the letter Z, and this can be confusing for people not fluent in our language. I hope it is to your liking that I speak this language," said Zmally meekly.

  "I am thrilled to be able to talk to you!" answered Zeddy. "I hope that I can find a way for you to return home, but I am so very tired right now. Tomorrow I’m to begin an exciting adventure. Would you like to come along to see if we can find you a way home?"

  "Oh, yes! That would be most excellent! I do appreciate your kindness. I know I have trusted the right Earthling with my safety! I will repay you whenever I can," answered Zmally exuberantly.

  "Can I put you in my backpack so that I can find you tomorrow in the light? That way I can make sure you are safe and know where to find you," Zeddy asked.

  "Of course," answered Zmally. "It would be my pleasure. I'm awfully tired, too. I have had a long, tiresome day."

  Zeddy slowly got out of bed and held out his hand for Zmally. Much to Zeddy's surprise, Zmally didn't weigh a bit. Zmally actually didn't feel like anything at all!

  "How weird and wonderful!" Zeddy thought to himself. "Maybe this is the puzzle I have to solve. Amazing!"

  Zeddy slipped Zmally in his backpack and whispered, "Good night, Zmally! We'll figure all of this out tomorrow!"

  "Good night, Zeddy! Thank you for your help!" Zmally answered.

  "Thank you for being part of my amazing adventure," Zeddy whispered in reply, as he turned to go back to bed. He could only hope that the rest of his dreams would be as beautiful as his dream of Zamira.

  8 A NEW FRIEND

  The morning came quickly, and Zeddy and Zadie were up before dawn. They dressed quickly and ate a small breakfast. Zeddy checked the new laws for the day, but fortunately the 20 new laws all had to do with appropriate use and disposal of plutonium. Zeddy's father had mentioned that plutonium was used to make nuclear power, so Zeddy assumed the new laws were a result of the radiation that was detected in the Nevada Province a couple of days ago. Zadie, too, was relieved that they didn't have to contend with anything too demanding from the IG today.

  As promised, a small box was waiting for them by the front door. Opening the box was exciting, yet scary. Inside the box, there was a map with explicit directions on how to reach 777 Zarancher Lane in Livermore. Four unlimited tram passes for all of Amerasia lay on top of a stack of papers. Judy Zitch must have had connections everywhere, because the box was filled with hundreds of different identification cards and papers for Zeddy, Zadie, Zane, and a man who must have been Professor Zachary Zenith. Zeddy and his mother realized that this journey was not going to be simple, and that it may be a long time before they return home.

  "Are you ready for this, Zeddy? It's going to be a big adventure, I think," Zadie asked her son.

  "I'm ready, Mom. We have to do this to find Dad. Besides, I have a new friend I have to help get home, too. They're both counting on me," Zeddy answered.

  "A new friend? What do you mean?" Zadie asked suspiciously.

  "Come and see," Zeddy answered.

  Zeddy picked up his backpack and motioned for his mother to follow him.

  "Zeddy, what are you talking about? Who is this new friend? Why are we going to the bathroom?" Zadie asked, as she hurried after Zeddy into the bathroom.

  Zeddy shut the bathroom door and turned to look at his mother. He held his finger up to his mouth to indicate that she needed to be quiet. She wanted to ask him what was going on, but Zeddy waved his finger at her again requesting that she be quiet. Zadie crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Zeddy impatiently. She wasn't sure how she felt about this whole situation. Zeddy turned off the light, and Zadie's temper was about to flare when she noticed that there was a strange glow coming from Zeddy's partially opened backpack.

  "Zmally? Hi, there. I want you to meet my mom. She's going on our journey with us, and I think it's important for you guys to meet before we leave. Do you mind coming out to meet her?" Zeddy asked softly into the backpack.

  "No, I don’t mind at all. I would love to meet your mother," a little voice answered from inside the backpack.

  At the sound of that little voice, Zadie's mouth dropped open in utter disbelief. She was shocked and a little horrified at what could possibly be glowing in that backpack and talking to her son. As she was about to reach out and grab Zeddy to run screaming down the hall, a most magical thing happened. A butterfly, well, maybe a butterfly, emerged from the backpack. It was the most amazing thing Zadie had ever seen. Its wings and body were invisible yet not, and it gave off the most beautiful light that shimmered silver, gold, blue, and violet all at once. It fluttered up and out of the backpack
and landed on her outstretched arm.

  "Mom, this is Zmally. He's a dark matter zutterfly from Zamira. He wants to go home, and I told him we would help him. Zmally, this is my mother Zadie," Zeddy said, as Zadie stood mesmerized by the glowing creature on her arm.

  "Hello, Zeddy's mother Zadie," Zmally said in a kind little voice.

  "Hello, Zmally," Zadie said in disbelief.

  The little bug's wings flittered and fluttered, and its glow was indescribable. Zadie could not believe her eyes, but she knew it was real.

  "Mom, Zmally is from Zamira. He said that Dad brought him back in his pocket from Zamira. So that means Dad was there, but that doesn't mean he is there now. Maybe Nimueh misunderstood, and Dad was there but isn't anymore! That may mean he is with this professor we're trying to find. Maybe we'll find him today!" Zeddy said excitedly.

  "You mean your father did go to this other world and brought Zmally back here? How could he do that? And why?" asked Zadie in confusion.

  "I don't know why, but don't you think that might be a sign that Dad is okay Since he brought Zmally here, I hope we can return him!" Zeddy answered.

  "I hope that, as well," Zmally said happily.

  Zadie stood there in disbelief. Her husband traveling to another planet, bringing back dark matter zutterflies in his pocket, disappearing? It all seemed so strange, but she knew Zane's determination to find the truth and find a way out of the IG's control. Maybe this was part of his plan? She stood there in silence, until she remembered they were standing in the bathroom in the dark.

  "Why did we have to come in here to meet?" Zadie asked curiously.

  "I haven't figured out how to find Zmally in the light," Zeddy answered. "Until I do, we'll just have to find him in the dark."

  "Zmally, can you see us in the light?" Zadie asked the zutterfly.

  "Why, yes, I can! I didn’t think of that! Even if you can’t see me in the light yet, I will keep track of you," Zmally answered, with a cheerful pink glow added to his glimmering.

  "You must be happy!" said Zeddy. "You’ve turned pink! And now I don't have to worry about losing you! But just for the trip, do you mind riding in the backpack? I would hate for you to lose track of us on the tram."