The Conoco File

Sailors Paradise

Part IV: The Conoco File

 

 

            Protons disintegrating and turning themselves inside out, electrons bouncing around wildly, neutrons disappearing and reappearing, an iron like compound, highly magnetized formed from compounds of atmospheric atoms exploded outward and filed miles and miles of the atmosphere over Nimbia in the magnetic fog, and then reversed its process over and over again, drawing in wormholes, vortexes, and pan-dimensional doorways, all unknown to science.  One of the largest events of its kind was occurring this day, as a solitary sailboat known as the Uncle Tom sailed at full speed for its centre.

 

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            Conoco sat on the deck of the fast moving sailing vessel, which pitched and yawled over the gentle waves of Nimbia.  Conoco was a Bombay cat, all black, with brilliant yellow eyes, a highly muscular body, a handsome, sloping face, and soft floppy ears that detected any and all breezes like sheets in the wind.  Today was an especially good day, he had eaten tuna and had fresh water and treats from all of the yacht’s crew.  Unknown to the feline, today was his birthday, and he was enjoying a full day of attention.  After some of the fanfare he was allowed to relax, which is what he was doing right now.  His tail twitched slowly as he gazed across the sea, enjoying the ever present breeze.

            After a while, Conoco began to notice a lot of binoculars being held to the crew members’ eyes, and all of the men staring off at some fixed point on the horizon.  Ever the curious cat, Conoco looked in the general direction and saw a large white cloud sitting on top of the ocean up ahead.  It was rapidly getting larger, and simultaneously he could feel the static electricity in his fur rise to a highly uncomfortable level. His first reaction was to start preening himself with his rough tongue.  It didn’t seem to help as it sometimes did.  Instead sparks zapped his tongue and he quickly quit this venture, as his eyes rolled up to see that the boat had in fact entered the cloud.

            The men were banging on equipment, and Captain Jenkins had ordered the sails furled until the weather passed.  It was about this time when Conoco felt himself falling asleep, similar to one of his numerous naps he would take during the day, but he quickly was startled awake as he felt the uneasy sensation of zero gravity.  The ambiance and view of the boat melted away, and before him rose a stairway into the sky.  Having a strong desire to know what was at the top, Conoco ran quickly up the stairs, until his legs needed a break.  He stopped and looked up, there was no end in sight, but he knew he had to keep moving.

            An hour later Conoco had reached the top of the stairs in the sky, and he was standing in front of a closed door with an English style handle.  He stood on his hind legs and pulled the handle down, causing the door to swing open.  Conoco trotted through the door and found himself in what could only be described as a kitchen.  Four plates sat on a table, with steaming turkey, potatoes, dressing, cranberry sauce, and salad emanating the sweet and comforting odor of a delicious dinner.  Conoco jumped up onto the table and started licking the gravy on the potatoes, and helped himself to a turkey breast.  He ate to his hearts content and then jumped up onto the counter where the sink was.  Several glasses were in the sink filled with fresh water, which he lapped up greedily. Then he jumped down and setoff to explore some more.

            Out of the kitchen he walked and found himself in a foyer beyond which lay the front door of the house, which stood ajar.  As Conoco walked through the front door he felt sleepy again, and the whole world changed again before his eyes.  Now he saw he was in a field of fresh flowers.  It was Autumn, it smelled like New Hampshire, and the leaves were every shade of red, gold, silver, and purple.  A mouse caught Conoco’s senses and he sprinted at full speed after it but failed to catch it.  So he spent the afternoon smelling the flowers, eating grass, puking, eating more grass, and finally retiring for the evening under a log, where he slept until dawn the next day.

            The next day the weather was not as clement as it had been when he had arrived.  A cold-front had passed in the early morning hours, brining an icy wind, and buckets of rain and hail.  Conoco camped out under his log, drinking the rain water as it pooled in the fallen leaves around him.  He was hungry, but there was no food, and he had never been a successful hunter.  So he sat there, all day long, until it once again became dark, and he slept through the night again. 

            The following day was sunny and warm once again, and Conoco was starting.  He snacked on the onion grass and flower petals and caught a bug or two, but he knew he must move on.  Once again, as he passed through a hole at the bottom of a tree his world disintegrated around him and he found himself floating through space, but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t breath, but fortunately this horror only lasted a few seconds, a the next thing he saw was that he was inside a room with a bunk bed.  He scrambled under the bed as a man with a flashlight tried to grab him. 

            Conoco remained under the bed for sometime until another man came, and he had food.  He came out to eat, and was pleased to find that the two men were friendly. One even pet him and kissed the top of his head with affection.  It was clear that he was now on a spaceship, but where his master was, was indeed the new mystery.

 

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            A team of investigators from planet Earth disembarked on the research vessel which waited in the calm waters of Nimbia.  The four men of the team were all members of the UNSUBR, and their mission was to seek out the magnetic fog and determine the whereabouts of the missing crew of the sailboat Uncle Tom.  They had recently received news of the discovery of Conoco aboard an American Naval Spacecraft, and knew that their mission might be more challenging than other in their careers.