ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

Back in 1999 I began writing an adventure story for my 5th graders, and it had a completely unique feature.

Each student received a copy of the newest chapter every few weeks, which they would place into large three-ring binders I provided. The unique features was simply this; the main character — a 5th grader — was given neither a name nor a specific gender. For example, the first sentence in the story below looked like this when the kids got their copies.

Poor (n) ___________ was sitting at the desk in (p) ____ room, frantically working on an important Social Studies report about the history of early America.

Whenever the students were given copies of a new chapter, they would take a few minutes to fill in their own name in the blanks preceded by (n), and the appropriate gender pronouns wherever they saw the blanks preceded by (p).

This activity not only made them the star of the story, it taught them how to us the possessive form of their names, and all the various pronouns that would be needed.

He, him, his, himself — she, her, hers, herself.

Then, in the class' reading groups, I would read one page aloud from a student's personal copy, then switch to a different student's copy, and so on. This gave each student their "moment in the sun" during our reading groups.

The purpose of this project was to teach the kids that good writers imagine themselves in their stories, so that they can describe exactly what the character sees, hears, and feels. I called it "Writing in high definition”.

As for the story itself, it’s a pure “wish fulfillment” yarn about two time-traveling 5th grades (one from the year 2058, the other from the present) who team up to research their history reports — by observing history itself!

When you read the chapters I’ll be posting in the coming weeks, please forgive the unrealistic notion that two 5th graders would ever be allowed to travel through time — completely without adult supervision and with absolutely no regard for “altering the time line.”

So, folks, send your mind back to when you were a 5th grader, and enjoy —
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__ CHAPTER ONE ~ Strange Visitor from Nowhere

Poor Laura Richards was sitting at the desk in her room, frantically working on an important Social Studies report about the history of early America.

The report was due the next day. She knew that the report should have been started a week ago, but the young 5th grader had put off doing the assignment until the last minute, and now she was desperately trying to get it done before tomorrow's deadline.

Laura had been working for over two hours, but the report was only half finished. Her teacher, Mr. Cook, had instructed the class to make their reports at least ten pages long. But Laura only had five pages finished.

"How is that report coming along?" Laura’s mother said when she appeared in the doorway of her child's room.

Laura looked up and tried to smile. "Hi, Mom. Ummm . . . It's coming along okay, I guess."

"How much have you gotten done so far?" Her mom asked.

"Five pages," she said, looking nervous.

"Only five pages?" Laura's mother gave her a worried look. "Didn't you say that it had to be ten pages long?"

"Yes Ma'am, it does," Laura said quietly.

"And your bedtime is in thirty minutes," her mom said sternly.

"Aaaah, Mom! Please let me stay up a little later tonight. I've got to finish this report! I'll get an F in Social Studies without it!"

Her mother looked shocked. "An F? Is your grade that low? Why didn't your teacher tell me you were doing so badly?"

"Well . . . he did . . . sort of," Laura said in a timid voice. The nervous 5th grader reached into her book bag on the floor and pulled out a wrinkled progress report. When her mom looked at the progress report she immediately noticed that the date on it was seven days old! The Social Studies grade was a D!

"I'm ashamed of you, child!" Here mom said angrily. "You were supposed to give this to me the day you brought it home."

"I'm sorry," the embarrassed youth said in a barely audible voice, knowing that her mom was both upset and disappointed.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to stay up late and finish that report, won't you?" said her mother.

"Yes, Ma'am, I guess so," Laura answered quietly.

Her mother picked up a pen from the desk and signed the wrinkled progress report, then she slipped it down into the book bag and said, "Be sure to give that to your teacher, along with your Social Studies report in the morning. When you get home tomorrow, we'll discuss your punishment for letting your grades get so bad." Mom turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Oh, great! Laura thought to herself. Now I'm in big trouble. If this report isn't perfect, I'll be grounded forever. But this Social Studies book is so boring! I just know my report will be a complete disaster!

Laura sighed wearily and began working on the report again. An hour crawled by slowly, but she only managed to write another three pages. At that rate it would be close to eleven o'clock before the report was finished. And she was already getting so sleepy that her eyes would bare stay open.

Suddenly Laura noticed a strange light in the room, a light which seemed to be coming from behind her. Puzzled, the young 5th grader turned around and saw a weird blue glow that filled the far corner of the room at the foot of the bed. The glow was getting brighter and brighter — and it began to take on the shape of a human being!

Frightened by this eerie glow and the strange shape, Laura dove to the floor and scrambled under the bed.

Gazing through the narrow gap beneath the bed, she was startled suddenly by an even brighter flash, so bright that it blinded her for a moment.

Laura squeezed her eyes closed for a few seconds and then opened them again. The glowing light in the corner was completely gone. But the corner of the room was not empty!

Through the gap beneath the bed saw a pair of the strangest boots she had ever seen. They almost looked liked roller blades without the wheels.

Cautiously Laura crawled under the bed until she could peek out at the person who was now standing in the corner of her room. It was a young boy, about ten years old. He was slim and pale-skinned, and he had wild, red hair that stood straight out from his head like a dandelion, four inches in every direction. He wore a pair of sleek, wrap-around sunglasses and a loose-fitting windsuit that was made of a pale blue fabric which sparkle faintly.

Two odd objects were clipped to his belt on each side of his waist. They resembled cell phones — sort of.

The boy didn't notice Laura peeking up at him from beneath the bed near his feet. He took one quick look around the room and then spoke in an annoyed voice.

"Ah, man! I messed up again! I must have punched in the wrong date."

He whipped off the sunglasses and touched them to front of his metallic blue shirt, and somehow the sunglasses just stayed there when he let go! He looked down at an electronic device on his wrist which resembled an oversized digital watch with buttons and glowing lights.

As he did so, he saw Laura’s face beneath the bed. He was startled for a moment, but then a big smile spread across his face. "Well, hey!" he said in a friendly tone. "What are you doing under there? Hiding from somebody?"

Laura was still shaken by the boy’s mysterious and unexpected arrival. Slowly and cautiously she crawled out from under the bed and stood up to face the strange boy. She stared at him for a moment, they she spoke slowly in an awed voice.

"How . . . did you . . . get in here?

The boy suddenly looked embarrassed and said quickly, "Yeah, I guess I've got some explaining to do, don't I?" His pale face suddenly flushed red. "Oh, wow, this is really embarrassing."

"Embarrassing?" Laura said, feeling more confident as she realized there was no reason to be afraid. "It's a little more than embarrassing. It's illegal. You better start explaining fast. When my mother finds you in here, she'll call the police and have you arrested for breaking and entering!"

"Police?" the boy said, suddenly looking nervous. "Hey, stay calm, okay? I can explain everything. Just give me a chance, please."

Laura was about to call out to her mother, but then she realized that Mom might have a hard time believing a story about a weird kid who just blinked into the room in a flash of light. It was just too incredible!

Before Laura could decide what to do, the boy started speaking quickly in a low voice.

"Look, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I came here by mistake. I set the date wrong on my anywhen device." He held up the electronic mechanism which was strapped to his wrist. "It's kind of tricky to set these things correctly."

Laura didn't know what the boy was talking about. What did setting the time on his watch have to do with the fact he had just appeared out of thin air?

The boy saw that Laura was confused, so he said, "I'm sorry. I'm not explaining this very well. Let me start over. You see . . . I'm from the future. The year 2058, to be exact."

"The future?" Laura mumbled in amazement. She knew that Mom would never believe that story, either. This was getting more incredible by the minute!

"Right," the boy said, grinning as if there was nothing unusual about what he had just said. "And this thing on my wrist — " he held up the mechanism on his arm again " — is an anywhen device. It lets me travel back and forth through time."

Laura starred at the boy as if he were crazy. A time machine — on his wrist? That was impossible! But then again, so was the fact that he had just appeared out of thin air!

"I need to sit down," Laura said, feeling dizzy. She walked over to the desk and sat down carefully

"I know this all seems pretty bizarre to you, but there's no reason to be scared of me." Then a sudden thought came to the boy. "Hey, wait a second! I forgot to even introduce myself. My name is Jonathan Maximilian O'Malley. My friends call me Jon-Max."

Jon-Max stuck out his hand, and Laura shook it briefly before remembering to introduce her herself.

"My name is Laura. Glad to meet you."

"Same here." Jon-Max glanced at the closed door and remembered what his new friend had said about her mother calling the police to report a stranger in the house. "Hey, I wish I could hang around here and chat, but I guess I better get my anywhen device set correctly so I can be movin' on."

"Where exactly are you supposed to be going?" said Laura.

Jon-Max grinned again. "You mean where and when am I supposed to be going. Remember, it's a time machine. I'm going back to the year 1492, to the place where Christopher Columbus landed on his first voyage to America."

Laura was still struggling with all these new and fantastic ideas: time machines and boys from the future who appeared out of nowhere. "You're going back to . . . 1492?" she said in a dazed voice.

"Right," Jon-Max said. "I have to write a Social Studies report about the history of early America. So, I'm going back in time to get the information I need. Students in the year 2058 use these anywhen devices to travel back and actually see what life was like in the past."

"Anywhen device? Why do they call it that?"

"Because it will take me to any date in history and any location I want to visit. Get it? Instead of just taking me anywhere, it also takes me anywhen. Any time period I want to visit."

This was quite a lot of new and unusual information for Laura to digest at one time, but she was doing pretty good, all things considered. "Okay, now let me see if I've got this straight. You're a student . . . from the future . . . traveling back into the past . . . to write a Social Studies report?"

"You got it," Jon-Max said. He was studying the device on his wrist again. He seemed to be talking more to himself than Laura when he said, "I guess I'm going to have to ask Gidget and Gazmo to set the date for me. I thought I could do it myself, but I must have screwed something up."

"Gidget and Gazmo?" Laura said with a puzzled look. "Who are they?"

The boy pointed at the two small objects clipped to his belt, one on each side of his hips, the ones which Laura had thought might be cell phones. "These are Gidget and Gazmo, my life guard units. They protect me. They're miniature computers that do all kinds of amazing things."

"Like, what kind of amazing things?" said Laura.

"Well, they keep me safe, and they guide me during my time traveling trips. They can make me invisible or put holographic disguises around me so I'll look just like the people in the time period I'm visiting."

Laura’s eyes were aglow with excitement as she looked at the two amazing devices the boy wore. "Wow! That’s cool! What else can they do?"

"They tell me things about the time period I'm visiting. You know, important information about the people, the cultures, or the historic events that are taking place."

Laura looked confused. "They tell you this stuff? How do they tell you?"

"Well, they have several ways to give me info, but the simplest way is like this." Jon-Max looked down and spoke to the object on his left hip. "Gidget? Who was the President of the United States in 2023?"

Laura was startled when a pleasant female voice suddenly spoke from the air around her . "The president in 2023 was Joseph Biden, who first took office in 2020. Prior to his term, Donald Trump was in office, and prior to that, Barack Obama served two consecutive terms from 2009 2017. His Vice President ws the same Joe Biden who won in 2020 — "

"Whoa, Gidget, that’s enough," Jon-Max interrupted. “I just wanted to show Laura how you guys worked".

Another voice, one that sounded like a male this time with a deep voice, spoke from the air. "Jon-Max, you know that Gidget always gives you more info than you asked for."

"That's true, Gazmo," Jon-Max said, speaking to the object on this right hip. "But Gidget just wants to do a good job."

Laura was staring in amazement as her stood there and watched a boy from the future having a casual chat with two tiny computers that he wore on his belt. Laura felt a little dizzy again as her overloaded brain tried to deal with everything that had happened since this strange visitor from nowhere had appeared so unexpectedly.

Jon-Max was looking around Laura’s room. "Hey, you've got a really cool room." He noticed the books, papers, and pencils on Laura's desk. He looked puzzled for a moment, and then said, "What's all that stuff?"

"You mean my homework? It's a report I'm writing for my 5th grade Social Studies class. It's about the Native Americans and the discovery of America."

"No kidding?" Jon-Max said. "Hey, what a coincidence! I'm in the 5th grade, too. And my report is about the same subject as yours!"

Laura chuckled and said, "Yeah, that's pretty funny. But you're luckier than I am. I have to use that boring old book to do my research. Your way of getting the information is a lot better."

Jon-Max glanced at the Social Studies book and shook his head in sympathy. "Yeah, I see what you mean. The pictures aren't even in 3 D, are they?"

"Nope. Just plain old flat pictures."

“And it probably doesn’t talk to you, does it?. I mean, you just have to read it.”

Laura smiled and said, “Nope, it definitely doesn’t talk. The teacher doesn't want us to become too dependent on computers, so we have to hand write this report.”

“Hmmmm. Doesn’t sound very exciting.” Jon-Max took a deep breath and huffed in out with a weary sigh. "Well, I've got a lot of work to do, myself, so I guess I better get going. Sorry I startled you by zapping into your room like that."

Laura smiled as her said, "Aaaah, that's okay. I was getting kind of sleepy anyway.”

Jon-Max walked over to the corner where he had first appeared. He spoke to the two little devices on his belt.

"Okay, Gidget and Gazmo. I admit it. I screwed up. I shouldn't have tried to program the anywhen device on my own. Please set the coordinates to take me to the beach where Christopher Columbus landed on his first voyage."

The two voices, one male and one female, answered in unison. "All set, Jon-Max. Just punch the button when you're ready."

"Thanks." He looked at Laura as he plucked his sunglasses from the front of his shirt and put them on with a quick, smooth movement. He ran his fingers quickly through his halo of red hair, then he grinned at Laura and said, "Well, I'm ready to go. Nice to have met you. So long!"

"Good bye, Jon-Max. Be careful, okay?"

Jon-Max's finger was poised over the button that would send him off in a flash of blue light to the year 1492. Just as he was about to punch the button, a funny look came over his face.

"Hey, . . . wait a second," he said slowly. "I just had an interesting idea."

"What is it?”

"You said you needed information for a report on the same subject as my report, right? And you said, your Social Studies book is kind of boring."

"Sure. What about it?"

"Well, I was just thinking that . . . maybe you'd like to . . . come with me. We could do our research together."

Laura’s eyes grew wide as her realized what Jon-Max was suggesting. "Really? Are you kidding me? I can go with you? I mean . . . it wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"Trouble?" said Jon-Max. "Heck no, it wouldn't be any trouble at all. I'd enjoy the company."

Laura could barely contain her excitement at the thought of going back in time and actually witnessing some the greatest events in history. But then suddenly her excitement vanished. In a defeated voice her said, "Oh, heck, what was I thinking? I can't do that."

"Why not?" Jon-Max said, looking disappointed.

"My report is due tomorrow. I don't have time to go back with you and find out all the stuff I'd need to write a good report. That would take hours, wouldn't it?

Jon-Max smiled. "More like days. Maybe even weeks."

"Weeks!" Laura said, looking shocked. "I can't just disappear for a few weeks without my mother knowing where I am! She'd be worried sick. She'd think I’d been kidnapped or something!"

Jon-Max laughed loudly. "Oh, that's not a problem. You just don't understand how time machines work."

"What?" said Laura

"Think about it for a moment. Even though we might spend days or weeks visiting he past, the anywhen device can bring us right back to almost the exact time we left this room."

"Wait, a second. Say that again." Laura was getting confused.

Patiently Jon-Max explained. "We can stay in the past as long as we want. When we get ready to come back, we just set the anywhen device to bring us back to the time we left. It will be as if we only left the room for a few seconds."

Poor Laura's over-loaded brain wrestled with all these wild ideas for a few seconds before she finally understood. Then her said, "Well . . . it's all pretty new to me, but . . . I guess you know what you're doing."

"Great! So, let's get started. No, wait. I almost forgot. You better grab a pair of sunglasses. The flash is pretty bright when we make the jump from one time period to another."

"Good idea," said Laura, remembering the bright flash that had started this whole crazy experience. She opened a draw and took out a pair of sunglasses. "I guess I better get my pencil and notebook, too, so I can take notes."

Jon-Max chuckled. "No need for that. Gidget and Gazmo will record any comments we want to make during our trip into the past. We won't have to waste time writing stuff down until we create out actual reports."

"Oh. Well, good. That really makes it easy," Laura gazed at the devices Jon-Max wore on his belt. "Wow . . . I have got to get me one those."

Jon-Max smiled reassuringly. "Trust me. Everything will be fine. You're going to write a Social Studies report that will knock the socks off your teacher and all the kids in your class!"

With that, Jon-Max pressed the button on the anywhen device. The room was flooded with blue light as he and his new friend vanished!

Laura and Jon-Max were off on a wild adventure that would take them into the past and bring the two 5th graders face-to-face with the people who had been part of America's earliest history!


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

2058 doesn't seem so far in the future now!

The 5th grader in me enjoys it! I remember reading a series in BOYS LIFE about a pair of cub scouts who find an abandoned time machine and start exploring!

Good story so far!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

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Thanks for the kind words, Gord!

When I first started writing the chapters back in the late 1990s, the year 2058 was more than half-a-century away!

But when you consider the technological advances we've seen in the fifty years prior to that (1950s to 1990s), we have no idea just what might be possible in the next 25 years!

After all, AI systems might start cranking out new innovations at an amazing speed!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Fun & entertaining story, Bruce. I think you should contact Hollywood and turn this into a weekly television series. Something along the lines of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories.

[Bud Brewster]

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Thanks for the kind words, Mike!

As you read more of the chapters you'll see how much it seems like Quantum Leap in some ways.

I should probably change the title, because "The Fabulous Adventures of Me!" is based on the original idea that the students in my classes were given their own copies and had to fill in their own names wherever they saw this —

(n)_______________________________

— so that they each became the character which Jon-Max accompanies on the time-traveling adventures.

I gave new chapters each week to my students for fourteen years. They really enjoyed it, a few students even wrote their own original stories as well!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)