Chapter Fourteen

    Sierra was a little bit of an introvert. She spent her days buried with her work and then staying in at home reading about history. Sierra enjoyed collecting computers. Dyan thought that her home looked like a museum. Sierra rolled her eyes.

    “You’re exaggerating,” Sierra said.

    Dyan’s train of thought stopped, “I’m sorry?”

    “Whatever it is you’re thinking, is an exaggeration,” said Sierra.

    “What?” Dyan smiled playfully. “I’m not thinking anything.”

    “You have that look on your face right now,” she said. “That’s the same look you have when you complain about how much stuff I have. You may as well be thinking it right now.”

    “Yes, well?” Her friend did not deny what was on her mind.

    “It’s none of your concern what I possess,” she said. “You said you have something for me?”

    Dyan set her bag onto the coffee table, “Yes, I think I have found something that might be important.”

    “What could it possibly be?” Sierra smiled.

    “My grandfather’s home is going through the recycling program,” she said.

    Sierra said, “I can’t believe you did that.”

    Dyan reached and her grabbed and grabbed the flat box, “I was wondering if you can tell me what this is.”

    Her eyes were fixated on the strange box. Sierra carefully took it from her hands. She carefully ran her fingers around the flat box.

    “Wow,” she whispered.

    “What is it?” Dyan asked.

   Sierra placed the box on the coffee table and sat down on the couch. She slid her fingers around the sides of the as though she was looking for something. She stopped at one spot Dyan heard the box click.

    Sierra opened the box, “What did you take this if you don’t know what this is?”

    “I’m not sure,” Dyan said. “I just had this feeling.”

    “No wonder these were addicting,” she muttered.

    “So?” The suspense is killing her. “What is it?”

    “This is a laptop,” she said as she caressed the little letters.

    “Weird, I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Dyan hovered over her shoulder. “How does it work?”

    “You turn it on with this power button, but it’s dead,” she pushed one of the keys. “I suppose you don’t have the power cord?”

    Dyan shrugged, “Well, no because I had no idea what that was let alone that it needs cord? What’s a power cord?”

    “Are you serious?” Sierra paused and looked at her.

    “I don’t use old technology,” she crossed arms.

    Sierra cleared her throat and stood up. She walked out of the room for a few minutes and then returned to the cord. She picked up the laptop and brought it over to her desk.

    Dyan watched as she hooked the computer to the cord and plugged it into an outlet. It was starting to come back to her. On the days that she saw her grandfather he would be working on this thing.

    “It still works. See the slow blue light?” Sierra was smiling.

    “I’m not sure if this is a good idea,” she was having second thoughts.

    “Why?” she said. “You bring this over to my place for me to look at and now you don’t want to know?”

    “Appreciate your help,” said Dyan. “It just seems like a device that just takes our precious time. Who knows what trouble this will bring?”

    “So, what are you going to do?” Sierra asked. “I know you don’t have electrical outlet.”

    Dyan side, “I don’t know.”

    “Let’s just turn this on and we will go from there,” Sierra pushed one of the keys “Maybe this is what is left of your legacy.” She looked at Dyan. “Maybe even your fortune.”

    “He wasn’t a wealthy man,” said Dyan.

    Sierra nodded, “There’s more to wealth and money.”

    The screen on the laptop came to life. The screen was blue with circles circling around each other. Sierra touched another key and grumbled.

    Dyan felt disappointed, “What is it?”

    Sierra looked at her hopefully, “Would you have the password?”

    “God, this is so complicated!” Dyan groaned. “Give me a moment.”

    “These don’t function on touch alone,” she smirked.

    “I know that,” Dyan growled at her. “I need a moment to figure this out. One of the recycle guys gave me this notebook from grandpa’s house. Maybe the password is in there.”

   Dyan grabbed the book from her bag. Sierra’s eyes and mouth wide as though she won a prize on a game. She eagerly held her hand out for the book.

   Dyan handed her the book. Sierra carefully opened it and looked through the pages. She smiled and closed the book.

    “That’s not going to summon any locusts is it?” Dyane joked.

    “This has everything you need to know about the computer,” Sierra smiled.

     “So, it is going to summon locusts,” Dyan nodded.

    “Not quite,” Sierra said. “I’ll show you how this works.”

    Sierra showed her the keyboard and enter the password from the book. Screen change to a blank screen covered with icons. They sat there staring at the screen.

    “Now what?” asked Dyan.

    “I’m not sure,” she touched a blank space on the keyboard making an arrow move on the screen. “I’m surprised this even turned on. It might even be useless.”

    “Well, it can’t be used with the technology we use today,” said Dyan.

    “Something compelled you to pick up this laptop,” Sierra began leafing through the Notebook.” We should trust your instincts.”

    “That’s why you’re my friend,” Dyan smiled.

    “I can see where you’re coming from,” Sierra not nodded.

    Something was drawing Dyan to the computer and she wasn’t quite sure what it was. There was a white icon with a picture of a human shadow in the upper left corner. She kept staring at it. Perhaps that was the key to knowing her recluse grandfather.

    “Let’s see what we can do with this laptop, though” the words just came out of her mouth. Dyan pointed at the mysterious icon, “What is this?”

    Sierra looked through the book, “We need Internet I think.”

    “I take it we can’t connect to the Internet?” Dyan asked.

    Sierra nodded her head. She moved the arrow over the human icon. When she clicked on it a blank dark green screen loaded onto the screen. A light green line went across the screen.

    “This is odd,” Sierra clicked on some words on top of the screen. “That’s on Uno. Uno life, Uno demand. One life? I’m not sure this is a game.”

    Sierra pointed it at the blue light flickering on the keyboard. It was next to a picture that look like a satellite. Light went from blue to red and red to blue.

    “Do you think it’s online?” Dyan asked.

    Sierra shook her head, “I don’t see how. If it is, it looks like we are getting a weak signal.”

    Sierra clicked on the icon on the bottom of the screen. The black box populated on the screen. White numbers and letters scrambled up the black box.

    The two sat back in their seat wide-eyed at this unusual display. Did they break the computer? The letters and numbers finally stopped.

    At the bottom of the message digits and letters there were was an actual sentence communicate with Uno

    Sierra typed: Hello?

    There was not a response. The fan on the laptop was the only thing that could be heard. Sierra watched the screen from for a little bit longer. Letters jumped up.

    Uno: Eli?

    Sierra sat up. She felt surprised. This technology was obsolete.

    Dyan sat in the chair next to Sierra, “That was my grandfather’s name.”

    “I know what his name was,” Sierra began typing and said, “That’s got to be a program on the computer. There’s Uno way this is online.”

    Sierra typed: Where are you?

    Uno: Is this Eli? Please respond.

    Sierra: Uno, I am a friend of Eli’s granddaughter.

    Uno: Eli doesn’t have children.

    Sara: It may have been 75 years or more since you both last spoke. Do you remember when you last spoke to Eli?

    There was not a response. Sierra began looking through the notebook. Was computer online or was it a program?

    “Now what do we do?” ask Dyan.

    “If this is real, I want to know what this is all about,” said Sierra. “I’m not finding anything in this book.”

    Dyan placed her finger in the notebook to stop here Sierra. On top of the page was written and a huge letters Celestial Manifestation. Sierra typed in: Celestial Manifestation.