On New Years’ Eve, Frank had a hunch to book Imelda for a week to sit with little Jimmy. Wouldn’t it be amazing if he could ship himself from his musty science lab in Readfield, Maine all the way to Times’ Square in NYC? What a way to celebrate the passing of a new year! What a way to mark progress! This positive ray of hope was quite the contrast from the recent tragedy that befell the great city, known as 911. And this held some meaning for Frank. It was 11:50 pm and having cleaned his lab, stealing a sip of champagne, with a wing and a prayer… in an instant, the life-size image of the subway stairs were right in front of him. He folded up “Brigid” and put it in his knapsack. He did it! By the aid of his revolutionary invention, he had broken through the barrier of the image and found himself by the “1” Train, in the Times’ Square station.

During this bittersweet moment, little Jimmy was exhausting the plastic trigger of his new Ray gun, wearing out what was a simple mechanism.  A metal piece dropped.  The trigger was now stuck and the toddler cried in frustration.  Frank picked up the mechanism and noticed it was simply a magnet, and that he should immediately repair it to bring a smile back on little Jimmy’s face.  It was impossible to fix the piece back into place, as the magnet kept attaching itself to other things like TV remotes, nail clippers and paper.  Paper! It then dawned on Frank that if the image rested in the semi-dome was a developed black and white silver print of the landscape… along with magnets staggered from the thumbprint pad to filaments back to the silver image again, there might be complete impact and success!  Moreover, this might be the relenting force field in facilitating the human body to be sent to another environment.  He should have known of this!  It was definitely an a-ha moment.  Merry Christmas Frank!

The prime tool, or rather Brigid was thus far a black box – one by one by one cubic feet.  The side of the box is concaved-a shaped glass semi-dome.  This box is the portal meant to negotiate all the elements in play to making this fantastical travel happen.  The last piece of this machine would be a platform or landing pad made of gold and zinc combined (he melted his and Brigid’s wedding bands).  Now, this landing pad receives the imprint of your thumb, where it’s valleys and ridges act as the transmission and the human fats and oils from the skin is the gasoline thus transporting the individual in question who will travel to the desired locale.

One night, in a dream, a dream that felt like a nanosecond, Brigid visited Frank and reminded him of the importance of forging ahead for their son Jimmy, who at the time of her death was only 2 months old. “Oh Lover, get off yer arse… Frank get the kid a Nanny…a female hand is important…and make sure she’s a foreigner…everything foreign improves the American way. Don’t you think it right, Frankie?”

Exercise your mind during the season of hope and charity! Visit amazon.com and download The Transporting Device story.  It is a short Christmas week activity that will entertain you and bring an even bigger smile to your face.  Be sure to post your comment on www.facebook.com/transportingdevicestory.  Happy Holidays!

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Charlotte Urbanc of Georgetown, Ontario.  She is the lucky winner of the draw that was held from those who entered the $10.00 Tim Horton’s Gift Card Contest.

Thanks to all those who entered the contest by returning the postcard with intentions to purchase The Transporting Device for $ 2.99 on Amazon.com.

Best wishes to all for the Holiday Season.

Thirteen months previous, Science Professor Frank Leon was in his final stage of glory, having completed his grand and majestic invention.  He had spent several years on creating a portable camera device that was the only one of its kind.  It was a Transporting tool.  He called it “Brigid”.  “Brigid”, a machine, or more like a clone-cam, stores images in the memory of a chip that transfers you to wherever you desire to go, as long as the data is an image of a landscape or locale stored inside the device.  “Brigid” helps you travel, without cost, passports, security, long lines and countless other pains.  Call it a marriage of technology and sainthood, as St. Brigid was one of the noted Patron Saints of Travel.  Frank presses his thumb on the electronic pad of the device, and the image transmigrates into a same time, life-sized experience, in a place other than where you began.  

Welcome to my blog for my Science Fiction short story, “The Transporting Device”.  To read what it is about, click on the “About” link.  Every month, I will post an excerpt from the story.  I welcome your comments.  Please do not hesitate to post your comment.  Have a great day!

I am a resident of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.  I am 49 years old, and married to Dena Monachino.  I graduated with a Sales & Marketing Certificate from Sheridan College. I have a Facebook and Twitter account.