Bug-girls, bee boys, fairies and frogs- all happily swarming a street filled with flowers, people, and flower people.
"Did you see our big fish?" Apparently the giant floating sculpture on the square was what Daniel was referring to. Leaving the porch and it's jars of spirits, they rounded the next corner into the open plaza, and Arlo could now see that it did rather resemble a fish, but he was now engulfed in another current of the ever-feathering fractal strands of Lakeland's ongoing Wednesday parade, and found himself surrounded by a colorful assortment of insect people- bug-girls, bee boys, fairies and frogs- all happily swarming a street filled with flowers, people, and flower people.
"There's Jasper... and his gang. He always has a bunch of fans that follow him around... they're hoping his brilliance will rub off on them, same thing we all hope! I'd like for you to meet him... he's the nicest kid you're likely to ever meet." Daniel motioned towards the shady side of the big fish.
With an unkept afro that seemed to defy gravity itself, it was clear which one of the gang was Jasper. Amidst a small cluster of wheel-less bicycles, he and a helper seemed to be making adjustments on one of the smaller bikes, as a small boy waited and watched in anticipation.
Jasper thought as much about safety as he did about gravity- he always made sure everyone had helmets with visors or goggles, and would kindly insist that they be worn. He realized the novelty of his inventions, and acted like a responsible parent to all of the children who were naturally attracted to his amazing gadgets, always repeating the safety tips for operating his devices to the newest riders, while trying to explain the way the thing worked.
"Light moves out-ways... everything else wants to go in-ways. You don't make 'em fight, you let 'em dance." Jasper was jiggling on the plastic housing that was attached to the front fork of the little bike, making sure it was at the correct angle and well secured.
"Don't let this front tilt any further than this... you'll go too fast if it moves in past here. The back ones don't move as much, but the front gravvie gets bumped in too far... if you run into something. Bring it to me if it moves off that mark, and we'll set it back."
Jasper put on a motorcycle helmet and eased himself onto the bicycle with care, knowing that the impressionable young boys were watching carefully. With the flick of a lever on the handlebar, he floated around the base of the giant sculpture into the sunlight on the far side, testing the speed of the bike before circling back and turning it over to the child.
Listening to Jasper, Arlo was imagining rays of light dancing with everything else in vibrant little eddies under the bike inside the curious plastic boxes, and he realized why Daniel had been unable to explain the technology earlier. It was indeed baffling, and Jasper's own artful analogy must have barely hinted at the science or physics of these gadgets.
Daniel had managed to get Jasper's attention away from the bikes for a moment. "Jasper, this is Arlo- he's all the way from Hill Valley, and Arlo… this is Jasper, our prized inventor."
Jasper smiled. "Hill Valley... wow. Did you drive?"
"Yep, I fearlessly drove the dreaded highway... it wasn't too bad- I only got robbed once or twice!" Arlo smiled at his own quick-witted response.
It was a good one and they all got a good chuckle, but Arlo was itching with questions about the floating inventions. "How high will these things go? I mean... it's basically a flying machine, right?"
"I've got some RC's, but no riding 'em yet... still working on horizontal... in the testing stage right now."
Arlo was happy to at least know what 'RC' meant. "Nice, remote control. What's the highest you've taken it?"
Jasper looked over at one of his friends. "We don't know... I've lost five of 'em. Straight up, never see 'em again! But I'm guessing they're on their way to the Sun right now... so yeah, pretty much as high as you want."
Turning towards his gang, Jasper pointed at the group of bikes floating in the shade of the giant fish sculpture. "Hey Dart... is that blue trainer pretty tight? Yeah that one."
A boy wearing a purple toga and sandals floated the bike over, and Arlo noticed that this 'trainer' bike had one box on the front fork like the others, but had two side by side where the rear wheel had been.
"You can take this one... if you like, it's a trainer. Rides just like a regular wheel bike...but here's forward, and here... is the brakes. Take it home and ride it around over in Hill Valley and freak some people out... If you like." Dart handed a helmet to Arlo, and produced a pair of aviator goggles. "Keep the bugs out of your eyes! This one's pretty fast, so be careful." Jasper agreed. "Yeah it'll go faster than you want... just take it slow. Turn these gravvies in like this... and it'll fit in the trunk of your car, then pop em out, and you're ready to ride."
Arlo couldn't believe they just wanted him to take this amazing device home, but Jasper assured him that it was a gift. "You'll have to wear your helmet… and be careful, I really don't want anyone getting hurt, I'd feel bad."
After Jasper had gone over his usual safety tips with Arlo, Daniel suggested that he take it for a ride around the square and up to the library. "I'll meet you at your car and help you load it in, I'm gonna walk... see you in a bit!"
It rode just like a normal bicycle, and Arlo noticed that the melody coming from the bike had a different sound than the floating cars, perhaps a more electronic quality that distinguished it's movement around the sharp sloping roads and grottos of Lakeland.
After a few times around the square, Arlo made his way back to the street where he'd parked earlier, and saw Daniel waving from the sidewalk. Stopping in the street, he looked around with a puzzled look.
"I think someone stole my car." Arlo was kind of kidding, but was puzzled where it could have gone.
Daniel was having difficulty repressing a smile, pointing with a tilt of the head. "That's it... right where you left it."
Arlo had forgotten, during all of the excitement, about the free paint job that had been offered earlier. He realized that Daniel was right, it was his car.
Daniel began explaining that the car wasn't really painted- how the teenagers take several photos of the car, pick a design from their computer and 'project' an energy of some sort onto the car. Their device- another brilliant Jasper creation- was mounted onto the handlebars of a gravvie bike, so they could travel around town. It didn't use any paint, but somehow rearranged the molecular structure of the car's existing finish, compelling the targeted surfaces to reflect certain wavelengths of the light spectrum while retaining others, thus creating the illusion of pattern and color.
They were both laughing now. With a vibrant light-eating emerald green body and yellow-green stripes, Arlo's car was masterfully done, and quite realistically 'painted' to resemble a big ripe watermelon.
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Images for this chapter of Fictionarium generously provided by Wendi La Fey- @ image source
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FICTIONARIUM; Where ordinary life may not be the greatest idea.
Original story by @therealpaul
Intro @therealpaul/introduction-to-the-fictionarium-a-fictional-tale-of-ordinary-life-s-looping-programs
CH 1@therealpaul/ordinary-world-daily-life-suited-for-someone-else-fictionarium-chapter-1
CH2@therealpaul/lady-destroys-dmv-office-with-verbal-kung-fu-living-in-fictionarium-world-2
CH2.ptII @therealpaul/beaulah-s-epic-dmv-rant-part-ii
CH3. @therealpaul/original-story-fictionarium-chapter-3-the-lights
CH4 @therealpaul/fictionarium-chapter-4-the-news-three-primary-types-of-tin-foil-hats-discussed
CH5. @therealpaul/fictionarium-chapter-5-the-screwtape-emails
CH6. PART I @therealpaul/fictionarium-chapter-6-lakeland-part-i
CH6. PART II @therealpaul/fictionarium-chapter-6-lakeland-partii
CH6. PART III @therealpaul/fictionarium-chapter-6-lakeland-part-iii