And so everyone goes to lunch - and Ethan and Jim need Faunus' help in order to sort out a serious problem with Teddy. Later Jim, Ethan and Glen explore Memphis. . Then, the following morning, the 'Boss' and Faunus look for the unnamed singer.....
Please note that this chapter is intended for adults (over 18 years), and contains text adult text and images. Please do not view this chapter if you find such features objectionable....
"Come on, then Teddy !
Time to go....", Ethan said as he got up from his seat, and headed to the door with Jim.
Teddy very carefully closed his laptop, placed it in it's plastic bag, and waited for Ethan to pick him up, along with the bag holding the precious laptop.
"You're very quiet... is there anything up ?", Jim asked Teddy, as they walked down the corridor to the elevators.
"No..", Teddy replied tersely.
Ethan gave Jim a knowing look.
"Well here's the elevators - so you can press the buttons...", Ethan said brightly.
"..'don't want to...", Teddy said.
(this was odd, as Teddy loved to press the elevator buttons).
So Ethan decided to let matters rest until they reached Jim's suite.
Once in Jim's suite Ethan then decided to try and sort out what was wrong with Teddy.
Teddy was, as usual, sitting on his pillows.
"So... what's the problem, Teddy ?", Ethan asked, putting on his 'Thumper voice' in order to lighten the atmosphere.
"I didn't like the way you made fun of me when I was using my laptop...", Teddy said.
"OK.... but I didn't mean to make fun of you, Teddy.", Ethan replied, trying to be conciliating.
"Anyway, you used it a lot, so perhaps you might like to share with us what you were writing ?", Ethan continued, feigning an interest.
"No...", Teddy replied, obviously still angry.
"Come on Teddy.... let's have a look.", Jim said, taking the laptop out of the plastic bag, opening it, and switching it on.
Because Teddy knew nothing about laptops, there was no 'password', and the laptop opened at the word processing page that Teddy had been using during the meeting.
Jim read the first page, and quickly closed the laptop.
"Oh..... I'm really sorry.
I didn't mean to look at it.", Jim said, obviously deeply embarrassed.
"Give it to me !", Teddy said, with a degree of aggression that neither Jim nor Ethan had ever known him previously display.
Teddy couldn't keep hold of the laptop with his paws, and it dropped onto the bed.
Teddy then scuttled off the bed, went to Ethan's wardrobe, locked himself inside, and intermediately switched himself off.
"What the fuck was that all about ?", Ethan asked.
Jim looked very upset.
"Here... look..", Jim said, and handed Ethan the open laptop.
There were lots of meaningless letters - all in capitals.
These were followed by a series of short lines of text:
I LUV ETAN
I LUV JIM - repeated again and again.
"Oh my god.... poor little guy can't write...."Ethan said.
"Or spell...", Jim added.
"So what are we to do ?",... Ethan said.
"Get Faunus, and then we get out, and leave it to him...", Jim suggested.
And that is what they did.
But before they could make their escape, they met Faunus in the corridor outside Jim's suite.
After they had told Faunus what had happened, Faunus looked very serious.
"Really, boys, I though that you two would know better !", Faunus began, obviously making an effort to control his anger.
"I gave Teddy the laptop, and adapted his paws because he want to appear more like you two, with a laptop and cell-phone.
With so much going on, however, I didn't have time to teach him how to use it.
"But Faunus....", Ethan began, "he reads hieroglyphics and speaks ancient Egyptian.... how come he can't write and spell English ?"
"Because he has never had to - just like you two, when you first came here.
As I said, I have been busy, and haven't' had time to program him properly, but as you can see though, his heart - not that he actually has one - is in the right place, and although he was upset, he somehow wanted you to know his feelings for you...."
Jim and Ethan looked desperately sorry for themselves.
"Now remember - Teddy wants to be like a real person - so treat him properly.
His laptop and cell-phone are private property - so never look at them without his express permission - do you understand ?". Faunus said.
"Yes, Sir.", they both replied, almost in unison.
"So now I must go and see Teddy, and help to sort this out." Faunus said, quietly entering the suite, and leaving Jim and Ethan to go for their lunch - not that they really felt like having any lunch.
In the end however, after a long talk with Faunus,Teddy realized that it had all been a big misunderstanding, and then Faunus set about programming Teddy with better co-ordination for his paws, and perfect spelling and grammar, so that, unlike Ethan and Jim, he would never need a spell or grammar checker - ever.
This, of course, made Teddy feel, once again, like a 'very superior' kind of bear, and with his confidence restored, he was once again very much back to his old self.
After lunch Jim and Ethan went back to the suite where they found Teddy 'playing' with his laptop.
They tried to say sorry about what had happened, but Teddy insisted that it was 'no problem', and apparently wanted the whole matter forgotten - Faunus had obviously done his work well, but undoubtedly the affair marked a turning point with regard to the boys' relationship with Teddy, which from then on became more nuanced and adult.
Of course Ethan could never really be a real adult.... just like Teddy could never be a real human being - (or a real bear for that matter) - after all, if that did happen it would immeasurably 'spoil' them.
Their blissful, innocent charm lay in their strange imperfection.
"Watch'a doin' Teddy ?" was Ethan's first approach to Teddy - which was obviously a 'line' taken from 'Bambi', complete with a perfect 'take off' of Thumper's voice.
"I'm practicing on my laptop..", Teddy replied quietly.
"Faunus is going to do some work on my paws, so I can hold things better, and he's started teaching me how to write in English - with really good spelling.
"Cool..." said Ethan - and it was as if nothing untoward had ever happened.
"Well do you want to come with us to do some shopping, or do you want to stay here ?", Jim asked.
Teddy thought for a moment.
He then tapped away on his laptop, and held it up for the boys to look.
"That's great, Teddy.
And you wrote that so quickly - and with no mistakes." Jim said admiringly.
"But please, Teddy, don't stop talking to us...", Ethan said.
"Don't be silly.... of course I'll keep talking to you.
Now see if you can buy me something nice, and I'll see you later.", Teddy said, returning to his practicing.
And so Jim and Ethan made their way to the elevators.
As they approached the elevator doors, they met with Glen.
"Would you like to come and look round Memphis - see what's in the stores ?", Ethan asked Glen.
"Well yes, as long as you have your handguns on you.", Glen said, rather dramatically.
"And why would we need our handguns, Glen ?", Ethan asked.
"It's a very violent city...", Glen suggested.
"OK, Ethan, lets go back to the suite and get our stuff.", Jim suggested.
"That was quick !... What have you bought me ?", Teddy said, as Jim and Ethan, along with Glen arrived back at the suite.
"Yes.... well Glen says Memphis is very violent, - lots of crime and that - so we came back for our Colts", Jim explained.
In a matter of seconds Teddy looked up from the computer screen.
"Yes... you are correct..", Teddy said, very formally.
"Teddy ! Where did you get those glasses from ?", Ethan said, shocked to see that suddenly Teddy was wearing a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles.
"Faunus provided them for me.", Teddy said, as if it was quite natural.
"But you've got perfect 'bionic eyes'..... you don't need eye-glasses.", Jim said, unable to suppress a smile.
"No... I don't need them.... but they do look good....", Teddy said.
"This is getting silly....", Ethan said.
"Now boys... you be careful, and don't go 'playing' with any naughty, rough lads.", Teddy said, sounding a little like a middle-aged schoolmarm from the deep South.
"Let's go.... quick !", Ethan said, and they wisely left.
"Well, regardless of how stupid Teddy looked, I think it would be wise to take his advice - so we won't take the convertible, but instead we'll go by cab.", Jim suggested.
Cabs are easy to find in Memphis - good cabs, or good cab drivers more difficult.
However, if you wander around with a hand gun protruding from a richly tooled holster, and you look rich, - and there are three of you - young and fit, then you undoubtedly have a better chance of getting a good cab driver.
Al was such a driver, and was a useful contact for Jim during the time in Memphis.
Al had been driving a cab for very many years, and had seen many strange things, and three 'young rich boys' were nothing new to him, although an animated teddy-bear (wearing glasses) may have caused him to stop and think, but in this case Teddy was, as Teddy would now put it, 'surfing the net'.
Now, after Ethan had breathlessly explained to Al what they were looking for, Al suggested the 'Wolfchase Galleria' ('odd name', Ethan thought, but said nothing).
Now whether it really was 'the best', as Al said, or whether he gets a 'kickback' for each 'cab load' he delivered to the Mall the boys didn't know, and didn't care.
Regardless, Al would do very well from his association with his 'three young gentlemen', as he described them.
The mall was situated at I-40 and Germantown Parkway and featured Dillard's, JC Penney, Macy's and Sears, plus 120 other good quality stores - and that was quite enough for Ethan.
But before the Mall there was the compulsory visit to the nearest McDonalds.
Ethan ordered the cheeseburgers and Pepsi Max as Jim began the conversation.
"Now as one of the 'inner circle', Glen, I think I should let you know about some trouble we have had with Teddy, although really, I suppose, the serious trouble was with Faunus.
Glen looked surprised - and then thoughtful.
"Well I did notice a slight disagreement between Ethan and Teddy about the Teddy's laptop.", Glen began.
"Yes, well that got a lot worse when we got back to Jim's room - but I won't go into detail." Ethan said.
"Yes...but then Faunus found out about it, and he was very annoyed.
Of course he was quite right.
We treated Teddy badly - not really on purpose, but because we didn't understand what was really happening.", Jim explained.
"We wanted to tell you so that you wouldn't make the same mistake - so please, as far a possible, be nice to Teddy as he's seems to be going through a bad patch.", Ethan concluded.
"Well of course.... Hell ! I really like the little guy !", Glen said, with obvious feeling.
"So there was a problem with Faunus ?", Glen asked.
"Yes.. he was really angry.", Ethan said, as he made weird gurgling noises with his straw as he 'finished off' his Pepsi Max.
"So who is this Faunus guy... really ?", Glen asked.
"That's a difficult question to answer....", Jim began, "particularly as you don't really know our whole story - right from the beginning."
"So... why don't you tell me....", Glen asked.
"Well, mainly because you wouldn't believe me...", Jim replied, uncertain what to say.
"Come on Jim...by now I'd believe almost anything after the things that I have recently seen." Glen replied.
"You might as well, Jim, after all it's all coming out, little by little in these 'meetings'.", Ethan said.
"True....", Jim replied reflectively.
"Well to begin with I was not originally called 'Jim', but 'Markos' - it's Greek, later changed to 'Marcus' - Latin.
I won't tell you the whole story now, but when I first met Faunus I was a young Roman aristocrat.
Now it seems funny, but at the time Ethan here was one of my slaves.
I was staying at a villa - the 'Villa Pastoralis' - that I owned in the Italian countryside, near a place called Tibur.
Well, one morning this naked young boy came onto the terrace where I was having my breakfast with Novius, and some others.
I thought the boy was the son of one of the slaves working on the estate - but no - it was Faunus, come to help and guide me', and he has been with me ever since.
The odd thing was, I did not find Faunus, but rather Faunus sent Glaux, the owl, to Josh, and Josh brought Faunus to the villa.
It was all very strange - and it took me a long time to get used to having someone like Faunus in my life.
Sadly I don't think that any of us truly appreciate Faunus.
You see, without him none of us would be here - and that includes you ,Glen."
There then followed a very long silence....
"And who - or what is Faunus ?", Glen the asked.
That is a question that we have all been asking ourselves for a very long time.....
When I know the answer, I probably won't need him anymore.", Jim said.
"But I have said too much,
All I really wanted to say to you today, however, was 'be careful with Faunus' - it does not pay to anger him..... ", Jim concluded.
"But that's fascinating - you, as a rich kid, with your own villa, and that baby owl finding Faunus in the forest.! .... So tell me more..... How does the 'Boss' come into this ?". Glen then asked enthusiastically
"Well Glen.... I don't think that McDonald's is the time or the place for this.
If you really want to know more..... well... we could talk in my room, but remember, like the 'Boss' said, all of this is completely confidential." Jim said.
"I know... but don't think I'm pushing you.....
It's just that I want to understand a bit more about what's goin' on.", Glen said, almost apologetically.
"OK, then lets get on with the important stuff.... the shopping.", Ethan said, as he started to head to the door..
Al was waiting patiently for them.
He was hardly likely to go off without them, as Ethan had hired him for the whole afternoon - paying a small first installment and promising the rest of the agreed sum when they were dropped off at the hotel.
So, having refuelled with cheeseburgers, Pepsi and some chat, they entered the strangely named 'Wolfchase Galleria' mall.
"Well, it doesn't look anything special to me...", Ethan said derisively.
"That's true... they all look very much the same...", Jim said in agreement.
"And apparently, according to Al there is actually a Mr Wolfchase - who owns a large part of the mall.", Glen added.
"There.... told you it was a weird name !", Ethan said, not really sure of what he meant by that remark.
Ethan, however, wanting to get on the good side of Teddy, bought him a hard drive for his laptop, as he was anticipating that Teddy would be soon needing quite a few more gigabytes.
So then, at about the same time that Jim, Ethan and Glen started some 'serious shopping', Faunus climbed into the passenger seat as the 'Boss' started his immaculately polished, black Cadillac.
"I believe you had a problem with Jim and Ethan this morning....", the 'Boss' began, as if he was simply making and innocent remark.
"As it happens - yes, but how did you know ?", Faunus replied.
It was one of those very rare occasions when Faunus was taken completely unawares.
"Well you know that I always keep my 'ear well to the ground' - but in this case I received an e-mail.
Faunus was surprised.
"What, from Jim or Ethan ?", Faunus asked, presuming that maybe they had decided to put a good word in for themselves before Faunus had told the 'Boss' about the situation.
"Actually, no...", the 'Boss' replied laconically.
"It was an e-mail from a little bear.", the 'Boss' said, smiling.
Faunus shook his head in disbelief.
"So it seems that you had shown Teddy how to use the internet - and presumably my e-mail address was included on the laptop.", the 'Boss' commented.
"Yes Sir, your e-mail was included, in case Teddy needed to contact you in an emergency.", Faunus explained.
"And why did you decide to give Teddy a laptop ?", the 'Boss' asked, intrigued.
"Well, it's a bit complicated, Sir.
You see Teddy wants to be very much like Ethan and Jim, and they have laptops.... but also he wanted to learn more about this world - and also the world that Jim, Ethan, you and the others originally came from.
You see recently he has spent a lot of time on his own, in hotel rooms, and while he can watch television, he is very intelligent, and prefers to find out about the things that interest him in his own way.... so a laptop is ideal for him.
Unfortunately, even Ethan and Jim don't always realize just how clever Teddy is... and that's partly my fault.
If you remember, I originally designed Teddy to replace the 'imaginary' teddy-bear that had supposedly belonged to 'young Glen'.
When we 'lost' young Glen, Teddy was 'left over' - in a sense.
I had originally 'programmed' the 'bear' to appeal to a very young person, but when he arrived at the Penthouse, in 'Vegas, he immediately 'bonded' with Ethan, and Ethan 'bonded' with him - mainly because Ethan has a very, shall we say, 'youthful' personality.
So it is easy for most people to think of Teddy as just a fluffy kid's toy, and not a complex being with feelings.
And that's what happened about Ethan, Jim, Teddy and the laptop.", Faunus explained carefully.
"And you managed to sort it all out ?", the 'Boss' asked solicitously ?"
"Yes, I think so.", Faunus replied.
"That's good... so lets get on with finding the 'Sun Studio'.", the 'Boss' said, keying in the address (706 Union Avenue) into the Cadillac's navigator.
"So who are we looking for at Sun Studio ?", Faunus asked.
"It's someone called Jerry Schilling who hangs around a lot at the studio.
It seems he's spotted a young singer who he thinks I maybe able to use.", the 'Boss' explained.
When they got there a recording session was in progress.
It was nothing very important - just this young singer laying down a few tracks - supposedly as a gift for his mother.
This was the sort of studio where you could come in off the street, sing, and for a modest fee, leave the studio with a record.
The 'Boss' and Faunus tried to blend in, although their well tailored suites, and elegant shirts and ties made them stand out somewhat.
"So... who is this mystery singer ?", Faunus whispered, as the recording session got underway.
"He's called Aaron Presley - from a town called Tupelo - about two hours drive to the south from here.", the 'Boss' replied.
"I see.... and is he a well known entertainer ?". Faunus asked.
"Not so far.... What he needs is good management, and that's where we come in.
He's a bit like Jonathan Kent - the boy from Kansas.... 'small town boy' who needs a push.", the 'Boss' said.
"Yes... and that reminds me, what happened about Jonathan ?", Faunus asked.
"Well it's been left in the hands of 'our Franklin'.
Jonathan's finishing his grade at High School, and Martha Kent is getting everything organised at the farm, and then we'll arrange for Jonathan to come to 'Vegas."
Faunus nodded.
The recording had been completed, but the young singer stayed by the microphone, nervously playing withe the mike-stand, waiting to hear if the results were satisfactory.
The two songs that the young singer had recorded were 'My Happiness', and 'That's When Your Heartaches Begin'.
The 'Boss' had never heard either song before - but then he had no ear for music.
"Hello.... my name's Johnson.
We have a mutual friend who suggested that I come and listen to you singing.", the 'Boss' began.
As the 'Boss' spoke, Faunus followed him .
The 'Boss' turned, indicating to Faunus.
"This is one of my associates.... Don Picaro...", the 'Boss' added, by way of introducing Faunus.
"Pleased to meet you, Sir.", the young man responded, shaking the hand that the 'Boss' proffered.
"! was very impressed...", Faunus said.
"Well, it's still just something that I do in my spare time...", the softly spoken young man replied shyly, sounding embarrassed.
"Well I consider that you have a really professional talent there...", the 'Boss' added.
"Why thank you, Sir....", the boy answered, seemingly unsure what to say next.
"I'm Aaron Presley, Sir.", he said, by way of introducing himself.
"But I think you're not from around these parts, Sir...", Aaron added.
"No... actually I'm based in Las Vegas, in Nevada.", the 'Boss' explained.
Aaron looked surprised.
"So you are on holiday, Sir ?", Aaron said questioningly.
"No... not really.
I'm here to see, or rather to hear you.", the 'Boss' said.
Aaron they looked even more surprised, and just a little suspicious.
"As you may well have guessed, I'm here on business.", the 'Boss' continued.
Aaron nodded.
"I own a number of hotels in 'Vegas....", the 'Boss' began.
"Big, expensive hotels...", Faunus said, interrupting.
Faunus was concerned that Aaron should realize that the offer that the 'Boss' was about to make was not one to be lightly ignored.
"So, I want to make an offer to manage you, and give you the opportunity to develop your career in one or two of these hotels, where you could perform songs for the guests.", the 'Boss' explained.
"Well thank you, Sir, - that's quite something - but I will need to give such an offer a lot thought, and talk to my Pa, and my Mamma about it.", Aaron said guardedly.
"So, Aaron, do you work, - other than sing..", Faunus asked.
"Well yes, Sir.
My singing's like - only 'part time' -
In the day I work for the Crown Electric company - as a truck driver.", Aaron explained.
"And do you come from Memphis ?", the 'Boss' asked'.
"No... I was born in Tupelo, about two hours drive from here, but when I was thirteen my Mamma and Pa moved to Memphis.", Aaron said.
"And what would you say to working in 'Vegas ?", the 'Boss' asked.
"Well that might be difficult.
I've always lived with my Mamma and Pa - so I don't know what they would think about that.", Aaron explained.
"Well, no need to make any immediate decisions.
Talk to your parents about my offer, and if you want to discuss it further just 'phone me....", and with that the 'Boss' handed Aaron one of his finely engraved business cards, on which he wrote the hotel address, and hotel 'phone number.
They shook hands, and the 'Boss' left the studio......
That left Faunus to say goodbye - but, as expected, Faunus did more.
He briefly gave Aaron an indication of the salary involved, and many of the fringe benefits, and a subtle 'suggestion' involving an offer that young Aaron simply couldn't refuse.
As they left, Faunus noticed Aaron avidly watching their huge black Cadillac pull away from the sidewalk outside the Sun Studio.
"Do you think he'll take the bait ?". the 'Boss' asked.
"Of course... 'hook, line and sinker'..." Faunus replied.
Jim, Ethan and Glen arrived back at the Peabody Hotel before the 'Boss' and Faunus.
They had enjoyed their time in Memphis, but had mainly just been typical tourists, sightseeing, but not buying much.
Glen needed to shower and change before dinner, and left Jim and Ethan.
When they got to their suite, Jim and Ethan found Teddy sitting on the bed, thoughtfully attending to his laptop.
As soon as they entered the room Teddy quickly snatched up his new horn-rimmed glasses and put them on, intent on maintaining his intellectual persona.
"Hello boys..... how was the shopping ?", Teddy asked, tapping at the keyboard as he greeted them, to show that he could talk and type at the same time.
"We didn't buy much - just a few shirts, socks and things... but I bought you a present.", Ethan said.
Ethan then laid a small package gently next to Teddy.
"Well.... not very big is it...", Teddy said, as he let Jim open it for him.
"Oh ?... It's a little silver box !", Teddy said, obviously confused and surprised.
"Can you open it for me ?", Teddy asked.
"Oh no... it doesn't open, and you mustn't try to open it.", Jim said seriously.
"So what is it ?", Teddy asked, still puzzled.
"It's a 1 TB external hard drive..... for your laptop.", Ethan replied.
"I see....", Teddy said, obviously none the wiser.
"But it's not blue...", Teddy said, sounding disappointed.
"That's because they don't make them in blue...", Ethan said.
"But will it still work..... whatever it does ?", Teddy asked - thinking it needed to be blue to work with his laptop.
"Of course - we just use this USB lead to connect it to your laptop....", Ethan explained, as he plugged the drive into the one of the USB ports of the laptop.
"And it works ?", Teddy said, surprised.
"Yes... that's it - just plug it in, and it works.", Jim announced.
"And what does it actually do ?", Teddy asked.
"Simple, it gives you lots more space to save lots of files, pictures, music, videos - whatever you want.", Ethan said.
"Well thank you, boys.... that's really thoughtful of you...", Teddy said.
Meanwhile, in his suite, the Boss' was taking a 'call from Aaron - as expected.
Aaron, it appeared, had spoken to his Pa and his Mamma about the offer he had been made, and explained that they wanted to discuss the proposal.
They were very diffident about where they could meet to talk, as they were nervous about inviting the 'Boss' to their very modest home.
In order to solve the problem, the 'Boss' suggested that he had 'Don Picaro' pick them up in the Cadillac, and bring them to the hotel, where they could meet the 'Boss', and his 'nephew', Jim and have lunch and talk.
And so the arrangement was made.
Later, at dinner that evening the 'Boss' recounted his visit to Sun Studio.
"But it's the next line that's worrying.", Jim said.
Jim had a very bad night.
Not surprisingly he was dreaming about that terrible night.
The storm - the vision of Apollo with his arrows - the bloodstained body of his Dominus - the arrival of Glaux - and all his friends then swearing fealty to him as their 'lord and master' as Terentius placed the ring of the Dominus on his finger.
Finally there was the memory of trying to sleep knowing that the one person that he completely trusted was gone....
Jim woke up in a sweat, and quickly went and showered.
He noticed that his pillow was wet - with sweat or tears, or both.
That morning there was to be a second conference - which very much daunted Jim.
Ethan, however, woke up cheerful as ever, and Teddy was sitting on the bed playing with his new disk drive.
"For this meeting I will make up for what happened at the last meeting, and take minutes of what everybody has to say.", Teddy announced.
"That's fine, Teddy, but first get permission from the 'Boss'.", Jim said.
Ethan smiled, pleased that Teddy was so enthusiastic, and Jim, despite his difficult night, couldn't help smiting also.
And so, with Teddy happily pressing the elevator buttons, they made their way down to breakfast, and then to the conference room.
While Glen spoke to Jim, apologising for any upset he may have caused the previous night, Ethan helped Teddy onto the conference table, where Teddy proudly set out his laptop and external drive, and ostentatiously put on his horn rimmed glasses, determined to be the center of attention.
Novius also brought his laptop to the conference, and began discussing with Teddy arcane matters relating to 'download speeds' and 'gigabytes'.
Last to enter the conference room was the 'Boss', accompanied - perhaps rather surprisingly - by Zac, who presumably had flown in from 'Vegas.
The 'Boss' took his seat, opened a large, leather-bound notebook, and began to speak.
"Well, our previous meeting I thought was quite successful - however there are a number of other issues that I feel need to be discussed further.", the 'Boss' said, opening the meeting.
As the 'Boss' came to the end of his first sentence Teddy hit the return key of his laptop with a flourish - presumably 'showing off' that he was keeping up with his minute taking to the second, (excusing the pun).
The 'Boss' stopped, and gave Teddy a patronizing look.
"Teddy.... we all appreciate you keeping minutes of this meeting for us, but we would appreciate it further if you performed that function in a less spectacular manner - it's distracting.", the Boss said gently.
Teddy nodded.
"So, if you recall, we had doubted if the vehicles used by the so-called 'aliens' were actually 'nuts and bolts' objects, or were visiting us from distant planets or galaxies - particularly in consideration of the time that it would take, within the limitations imposed by the presumed theories regarding the speed of light.
This, of course, left us with the possibility that they were simply the product of a disordered imagination, hallucinations brought on by perhaps too many 'cheeseburgers', (at that point the 'Boss' gave a knowing look towards Ethan), or more seriously, holograms or 'projections' imposed on individuals' minds.
This, however, introduced the possibility that these 'aliens' could perhaps be 'inter-dimensional' visitors, who had developed some form of technology which enable them to move from one dimension to another.
Also, I think the last important point that was agreed at the last meeting was that these 'aliens' that we have met so far are connected to one another, in that both groups, the Greys, and those 'posing' as Ancient Egyptians both seem to share knowledge about us - knowledge of past meetings, and some knowledge of who we are, and our possible origins."
The 'Boss' then looked at Teddy, who had obviously kept up with his minute taking and was sitting waiting.
"So... I think I've said enough - so who wants to make a further contribution ?", the 'Boss' concluded.
Faunus then made a contribution.....
"Well, the last point that Novius made was that he considered that the 'alien' called Upuaut was not an 'Ineffable and Ever-Living Æon' - and probably not one of the Neteru - and with that I completely concur.
Equally I do not consider the 'Greys' to be beings from other planets or galaxies.
I have had considerable experience of such 'beings', who are usually termed 'elementals' - although I will not give details of such experiences in this company.
The term 'elemental' is not really very suitable, however, as it evokes ideas of the Classical elements of earth, water, air, fire, and later æther, which were part of Classical science and medical knowledge in the ancient world.
The elementals that I am referring to are are not directly associated with those basic elements, but refer rather to various forms of ‘Daimon'.
These Daimon are actually Platonic 'emanations'.
"Yes.... I agree completely....", Novius interjected.
"This concept is the basis of Classical philosophy and religion, and is undoubtedly the key to understanding this new phenomenon of so called extraterrestrials.", Novius added .
"Thank you, Novius... and please continue, Faunus." the 'Boss' said, obviously interested.
"The theory of emanations is a philosophical theory relating to cosmology which asserts that all things 'flow' from an underlying principle, or reality, usually referred to as the the 'ONE'.
Any teachings which involve emanation are usually in opposition to creation 'ex nihilo' - creation 'from nothing' - as emanation advocates that everything has always existed, and has not been 'created'.
The primary classical exponent of emanationism was the Neo-platonic philosopher Plotinus, and in his book, the 'Enneads', all things phenomenal and otherwise were considered to be emanations, (Greek: ἀπορροή aporrhoe (Ennead ΙΙ.3.2), from the ONE.
As I explained in our previous meeting, all 'sentient', and even some semi-sentient beings, are embodied 'life-forces'.
The form in which they are embodied determines how they appear to themselves, and to others.
Some 'life-forces' are embodied in what we consider to be human form - and are taken to be 'human beings' - some are embodied in what we take to be 'alien' forms, like the 'Greys', or maybe some more exotic form.
And not all 'life-forces' are the same.
However, both the 'life- force', and physical form are 'emanations', but the physical form is of a far lower 'frequency' than the 'life-force', and so the physical form can be easily manipulated - changed or altered - and that physical form includes thoughts, memories and emotions - all encoded in the physical brain."
Now in saying all of this Faunus had revealed a great deal about himself, about 'Roger' and 'Glen', and Dr. Brandt and Sigi - and much more....
Regardless, Faunus continued with his explanation.
"The various emanations proceed from the ONE in a hierarchical structure.
The emanations are arranged in ranking tiers, the first being of greatest purity and power.
The highest of these 'powers', as you have all almost certainly guessed, are the 'Ineffable and Ever-Living Æons' - often mistakenly referred to as the 'planetary gods', because in the past they were often linked to or associated with the planets that were known to those existing on the earth - and often the sentient human beings, in error, actually worshipped the planets." Faunus explained.
"Indeed, it is probably a hangover from that tradition that encouraged many of the low level elementals to suggest that they originated from various planets visible from the earth.", Novius added.
"True...", Faunus agreed.....
"And there, of course, Upuaut made an obvious mistake, because the 'real' Upuaut, honored by the ancient Egyptians, was not a 'planetary god', and therefore it was unlikely that he could claim to be one of the Æons.
Upuaut, as far as can be determined was simply a lesser 'netr' - a 'being' ranked as a high level elemental - a sort of anthropomorphized wolf or jackal - hence the mask.
"Er, excuse me Faunus, but that word - anthropomorphized - is not responding to my spell-check.", Teddy said diffidently.
"Not surprising, Teddy....
Remind me to sort it out for you at the end of the meeting...", Faunus said, smiling.
"Returning to the topic of 'elementals', one thing that our contact with Upuaut showed us was the truth of the often made remark that elementals cannot be trusted.
Lower level elementals are known to regularly lie - and often seemingly for no apparent reason.
In the case of the 'beings' that we are encountering, however, there is possibly a reason why they are not always being forthcoming.
It is my impression that, just like Brandt, they are searching for a simple means to travel through the 'space-time continuum'.
The search for that simple method initially attracted them to Montauk, and then on to the American South West, - Roswell and Area 51 - and then to Brandt himself.
Montauk, of course, was of no advantage to them, with its reliance on outdated, power-hungry and dangerous technology.
Brand, however - a psychologist and psychiatrist - was aiming to use the power of the mind alone to achieve the conquest of time and space.
After much searching, Brandt finally found Jim. - and ever since then the 'aliens' have been focusing in on us - but always trying to hide their true intentions and goals.", Faunus explained.
"Well, gentlemen, I think we are starting to bring matters together, however, at this moment I am afraid that we need to break for lunch - so perhaps we could reconvene at two ?", the 'Boss' suggested.
Time to go....", Ethan said as he got up from his seat, and headed to the door with Jim.
Teddy very carefully closed his laptop, placed it in it's plastic bag, and waited for Ethan to pick him up, along with the bag holding the precious laptop.
 |
| Elevators - Peabody Hotel |
"No..", Teddy replied tersely.
Ethan gave Jim a knowing look.
"Well here's the elevators - so you can press the buttons...", Ethan said brightly.
"..'don't want to...", Teddy said.
(this was odd, as Teddy loved to press the elevator buttons).
So Ethan decided to let matters rest until they reached Jim's suite.
Once in Jim's suite Ethan then decided to try and sort out what was wrong with Teddy.
 |
| Thumper |
"So... what's the problem, Teddy ?", Ethan asked, putting on his 'Thumper voice' in order to lighten the atmosphere.
 |
| Teddy at his Laptop |
"OK.... but I didn't mean to make fun of you, Teddy.", Ethan replied, trying to be conciliating.
"Anyway, you used it a lot, so perhaps you might like to share with us what you were writing ?", Ethan continued, feigning an interest.
"No...", Teddy replied, obviously still angry.
"Come on Teddy.... let's have a look.", Jim said, taking the laptop out of the plastic bag, opening it, and switching it on.
Because Teddy knew nothing about laptops, there was no 'password', and the laptop opened at the word processing page that Teddy had been using during the meeting.
Jim read the first page, and quickly closed the laptop.
"Oh..... I'm really sorry.
I didn't mean to look at it.", Jim said, obviously deeply embarrassed.
"Give it to me !", Teddy said, with a degree of aggression that neither Jim nor Ethan had ever known him previously display.
Teddy couldn't keep hold of the laptop with his paws, and it dropped onto the bed.
Teddy then scuttled off the bed, went to Ethan's wardrobe, locked himself inside, and intermediately switched himself off.
"What the fuck was that all about ?", Ethan asked.
Jim looked very upset.
"Here... look..", Jim said, and handed Ethan the open laptop.
There were lots of meaningless letters - all in capitals.
These were followed by a series of short lines of text:
I LUV ETAN
I LUV JIM - repeated again and again.
"Oh my god.... poor little guy can't write...."Ethan said.
"Or spell...", Jim added.
"So what are we to do ?",... Ethan said.
"Get Faunus, and then we get out, and leave it to him...", Jim suggested.
And that is what they did.
But before they could make their escape, they met Faunus in the corridor outside Jim's suite.
After they had told Faunus what had happened, Faunus looked very serious.
"Really, boys, I though that you two would know better !", Faunus began, obviously making an effort to control his anger.
"I gave Teddy the laptop, and adapted his paws because he want to appear more like you two, with a laptop and cell-phone.
 |
| Teddy Reading Hieroglyphics |
"But Faunus....", Ethan began, "he reads hieroglyphics and speaks ancient Egyptian.... how come he can't write and spell English ?"
"Because he has never had to - just like you two, when you first came here.
As I said, I have been busy, and haven't' had time to program him properly, but as you can see though, his heart - not that he actually has one - is in the right place, and although he was upset, he somehow wanted you to know his feelings for you...."
Jim and Ethan looked desperately sorry for themselves.
"Now remember - Teddy wants to be like a real person - so treat him properly.
His laptop and cell-phone are private property - so never look at them without his express permission - do you understand ?". Faunus said.
"Yes, Sir.", they both replied, almost in unison.
"So now I must go and see Teddy, and help to sort this out." Faunus said, quietly entering the suite, and leaving Jim and Ethan to go for their lunch - not that they really felt like having any lunch.
In the end however, after a long talk with Faunus,Teddy realized that it had all been a big misunderstanding, and then Faunus set about programming Teddy with better co-ordination for his paws, and perfect spelling and grammar, so that, unlike Ethan and Jim, he would never need a spell or grammar checker - ever.
This, of course, made Teddy feel, once again, like a 'very superior' kind of bear, and with his confidence restored, he was once again very much back to his old self.
They tried to say sorry about what had happened, but Teddy insisted that it was 'no problem', and apparently wanted the whole matter forgotten - Faunus had obviously done his work well, but undoubtedly the affair marked a turning point with regard to the boys' relationship with Teddy, which from then on became more nuanced and adult.
Of course Ethan could never really be a real adult.... just like Teddy could never be a real human being - (or a real bear for that matter) - after all, if that did happen it would immeasurably 'spoil' them.
Their blissful, innocent charm lay in their strange imperfection.
"Watch'a doin' Teddy ?" was Ethan's first approach to Teddy - which was obviously a 'line' taken from 'Bambi', complete with a perfect 'take off' of Thumper's voice.
"I'm practicing on my laptop..", Teddy replied quietly.
"Faunus is going to do some work on my paws, so I can hold things better, and he's started teaching me how to write in English - with really good spelling.
"Cool..." said Ethan - and it was as if nothing untoward had ever happened.
"Well do you want to come with us to do some shopping, or do you want to stay here ?", Jim asked.
Teddy thought for a moment.
He then tapped away on his laptop, and held it up for the boys to look.
'I would prefer to stay here, at the hotel, and practice my laptop skills - but thanks for asking....'Teddy had written perfectly.
"That's great, Teddy.
And you wrote that so quickly - and with no mistakes." Jim said admiringly.
"But please, Teddy, don't stop talking to us...", Ethan said.
"Don't be silly.... of course I'll keep talking to you.
Now see if you can buy me something nice, and I'll see you later.", Teddy said, returning to his practicing.
And so Jim and Ethan made their way to the elevators.
As they approached the elevator doors, they met with Glen.
"Would you like to come and look round Memphis - see what's in the stores ?", Ethan asked Glen.
"Well yes, as long as you have your handguns on you.", Glen said, rather dramatically.
"And why would we need our handguns, Glen ?", Ethan asked.
"It's a very violent city...", Glen suggested.
"OK, Ethan, lets go back to the suite and get our stuff.", Jim suggested.
"That was quick !... What have you bought me ?", Teddy said, as Jim and Ethan, along with Glen arrived back at the suite.
"Yes.... well Glen says Memphis is very violent, - lots of crime and that - so we came back for our Colts", Jim explained.
The city of Memphis ranks eleventh in violent crimes for major cities around the U.S. and has often led the nation in the number of violent crimes. One factor contributing to this is the fact that there are approximately 182 gangs in Memphis, and Tennessee has 8,400 gang members in the State. Most of this crime is alleged to be committed by teen boys."Let me 'Google' that...", Teddy said, showing off his almost instant familiarity with the Internet.
In a matter of seconds Teddy looked up from the computer screen.
"Yes... you are correct..", Teddy said, very formally.
"Teddy ! Where did you get those glasses from ?", Ethan said, shocked to see that suddenly Teddy was wearing a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles.
"Faunus provided them for me.", Teddy said, as if it was quite natural.
"But you've got perfect 'bionic eyes'..... you don't need eye-glasses.", Jim said, unable to suppress a smile.
"No... I don't need them.... but they do look good....", Teddy said.
"This is getting silly....", Ethan said.
"Now boys... you be careful, and don't go 'playing' with any naughty, rough lads.", Teddy said, sounding a little like a middle-aged schoolmarm from the deep South.
"Let's go.... quick !", Ethan said, and they wisely left.
 |
| Al - the Memphis Cab Driver |
Cabs are easy to find in Memphis - good cabs, or good cab drivers more difficult.
However, if you wander around with a hand gun protruding from a richly tooled holster, and you look rich, - and there are three of you - young and fit, then you undoubtedly have a better chance of getting a good cab driver.
Al was such a driver, and was a useful contact for Jim during the time in Memphis.
Al had been driving a cab for very many years, and had seen many strange things, and three 'young rich boys' were nothing new to him, although an animated teddy-bear (wearing glasses) may have caused him to stop and think, but in this case Teddy was, as Teddy would now put it, 'surfing the net'.
 |
| 'Wolfchase Galleria' |
Now whether it really was 'the best', as Al said, or whether he gets a 'kickback' for each 'cab load' he delivered to the Mall the boys didn't know, and didn't care.
Regardless, Al would do very well from his association with his 'three young gentlemen', as he described them.
The mall was situated at I-40 and Germantown Parkway and featured Dillard's, JC Penney, Macy's and Sears, plus 120 other good quality stores - and that was quite enough for Ethan.
But before the Mall there was the compulsory visit to the nearest McDonalds.
Ethan ordered the cheeseburgers and Pepsi Max as Jim began the conversation.
"Now as one of the 'inner circle', Glen, I think I should let you know about some trouble we have had with Teddy, although really, I suppose, the serious trouble was with Faunus.
Glen looked surprised - and then thoughtful.
"Well I did notice a slight disagreement between Ethan and Teddy about the Teddy's laptop.", Glen began.
"Yes, well that got a lot worse when we got back to Jim's room - but I won't go into detail." Ethan said.
"Yes...but then Faunus found out about it, and he was very annoyed.
Of course he was quite right.
We treated Teddy badly - not really on purpose, but because we didn't understand what was really happening.", Jim explained.
"We wanted to tell you so that you wouldn't make the same mistake - so please, as far a possible, be nice to Teddy as he's seems to be going through a bad patch.", Ethan concluded.
"Well of course.... Hell ! I really like the little guy !", Glen said, with obvious feeling.
"So there was a problem with Faunus ?", Glen asked.
"Yes.. he was really angry.", Ethan said, as he made weird gurgling noises with his straw as he 'finished off' his Pepsi Max.
"So who is this Faunus guy... really ?", Glen asked.
"That's a difficult question to answer....", Jim began, "particularly as you don't really know our whole story - right from the beginning."
"So... why don't you tell me....", Glen asked.
"Well, mainly because you wouldn't believe me...", Jim replied, uncertain what to say.
"Come on Jim...by now I'd believe almost anything after the things that I have recently seen." Glen replied.
"You might as well, Jim, after all it's all coming out, little by little in these 'meetings'.", Ethan said.
"True....", Jim replied reflectively.
 |
| Villa Pastoralis |
I won't tell you the whole story now, but when I first met Faunus I was a young Roman aristocrat.
Now it seems funny, but at the time Ethan here was one of my slaves.
I was staying at a villa - the 'Villa Pastoralis' - that I owned in the Italian countryside, near a place called Tibur.
Well, one morning this naked young boy came onto the terrace where I was having my breakfast with Novius, and some others.
I thought the boy was the son of one of the slaves working on the estate - but no - it was Faunus, come to help and guide me', and he has been with me ever since.
The odd thing was, I did not find Faunus, but rather Faunus sent Glaux, the owl, to Josh, and Josh brought Faunus to the villa.
 |
| Glaux Searching for Faunus |
Sadly I don't think that any of us truly appreciate Faunus.
You see, without him none of us would be here - and that includes you ,Glen."
There then followed a very long silence....
"And who - or what is Faunus ?", Glen the asked.
That is a question that we have all been asking ourselves for a very long time.....
When I know the answer, I probably won't need him anymore.", Jim said.
"But I have said too much,
All I really wanted to say to you today, however, was 'be careful with Faunus' - it does not pay to anger him..... ", Jim concluded.
"But that's fascinating - you, as a rich kid, with your own villa, and that baby owl finding Faunus in the forest.! .... So tell me more..... How does the 'Boss' come into this ?". Glen then asked enthusiastically
"Well Glen.... I don't think that McDonald's is the time or the place for this.
If you really want to know more..... well... we could talk in my room, but remember, like the 'Boss' said, all of this is completely confidential." Jim said.
"I know... but don't think I'm pushing you.....
It's just that I want to understand a bit more about what's goin' on.", Glen said, almost apologetically.
"OK, then lets get on with the important stuff.... the shopping.", Ethan said, as he started to head to the door..
Al was waiting patiently for them.
 |
| 'Wolfchase Galleria' |
So, having refuelled with cheeseburgers, Pepsi and some chat, they entered the strangely named 'Wolfchase Galleria' mall.
"Well, it doesn't look anything special to me...", Ethan said derisively.
"That's true... they all look very much the same...", Jim said in agreement.
"And apparently, according to Al there is actually a Mr Wolfchase - who owns a large part of the mall.", Glen added.
"There.... told you it was a weird name !", Ethan said, not really sure of what he meant by that remark.
A BRIEF EXPLANATION - Now if you have been reading the story of the 'Road Trip' - starting at Chapter 18 - 'Guns and Dixieland'.... we've certainly managed - finally - to get to Dixieland, and the 'boys' have their guns, but you may also have noticed that they have also done a lot of 'shopping' - so much so that Zac has sent a van to Memphis to pick up the excess that won't fit in the trunk of Jim's convertible and the Cadillac. The odd thing, however, was that Jim was supposed to go on this trip with just the 'Boss' and Max - in order to relax and rest after all the drama with Dr.Brandt - and yet a lot of his time has been spent with ETs, UFOs, Mormons, assassination attempts, alien abductions, Egyptian 'gods' etc. and by this stage almost everybody has joined him on the 'trip', including Glen, Novius, Josh and Glaux - and of course Teddy (see Chapter31)So, not surprisingly, with all the previous shopping Jim, Ethan and Glen mainly just looked around, and, as it is said - 'hung out at the mall'.
Ethan, however, wanting to get on the good side of Teddy, bought him a hard drive for his laptop, as he was anticipating that Teddy would be soon needing quite a few more gigabytes.
"I believe you had a problem with Jim and Ethan this morning....", the 'Boss' began, as if he was simply making and innocent remark.
"As it happens - yes, but how did you know ?", Faunus replied.
It was one of those very rare occasions when Faunus was taken completely unawares.
"Well you know that I always keep my 'ear well to the ground' - but in this case I received an e-mail.
Faunus was surprised.
"What, from Jim or Ethan ?", Faunus asked, presuming that maybe they had decided to put a good word in for themselves before Faunus had told the 'Boss' about the situation.
"Actually, no...", the 'Boss' replied laconically.
"It was an e-mail from a little bear.", the 'Boss' said, smiling.
Faunus shook his head in disbelief.
"So it seems that you had shown Teddy how to use the internet - and presumably my e-mail address was included on the laptop.", the 'Boss' commented.
 |
| Teddy's Laptop |
"And why did you decide to give Teddy a laptop ?", the 'Boss' asked, intrigued.
"Well, it's a bit complicated, Sir.
You see Teddy wants to be very much like Ethan and Jim, and they have laptops.... but also he wanted to learn more about this world - and also the world that Jim, Ethan, you and the others originally came from.
You see recently he has spent a lot of time on his own, in hotel rooms, and while he can watch television, he is very intelligent, and prefers to find out about the things that interest him in his own way.... so a laptop is ideal for him.
Unfortunately, even Ethan and Jim don't always realize just how clever Teddy is... and that's partly my fault.
 |
| Teddy |
 |
| 'Young Glen' |
When we 'lost' young Glen, Teddy was 'left over' - in a sense.
I had originally 'programmed' the 'bear' to appeal to a very young person, but when he arrived at the Penthouse, in 'Vegas, he immediately 'bonded' with Ethan, and Ethan 'bonded' with him - mainly because Ethan has a very, shall we say, 'youthful' personality.
So it is easy for most people to think of Teddy as just a fluffy kid's toy, and not a complex being with feelings.
And that's what happened about Ethan, Jim, Teddy and the laptop.", Faunus explained carefully.
"And you managed to sort it all out ?", the 'Boss' asked solicitously ?"
"Yes, I think so.", Faunus replied.
 |
| Sun Studio - Memphis |
"So who are we looking for at Sun Studio ?", Faunus asked.
"It's someone called Jerry Schilling who hangs around a lot at the studio.
 |
| Sun Studio Microphone |
When they got there a recording session was in progress.
It was nothing very important - just this young singer laying down a few tracks - supposedly as a gift for his mother.
This was the sort of studio where you could come in off the street, sing, and for a modest fee, leave the studio with a record.
The 'Boss' and Faunus tried to blend in, although their well tailored suites, and elegant shirts and ties made them stand out somewhat.
"So... who is this mystery singer ?", Faunus whispered, as the recording session got underway.
 |
| Tupelo - Mississippi |
Tupelo is a town in Lee County, Mississippi, and has a deep connection to Mississippi's music history. During the Civil War, Union and Confederate forces fought in the area in 1864, in the Battle of Tupelo. After the war, a cross-state railroad for northern Mississippi was constructed through the town, which encouraged industry and growth. With expansion, the town changed its name to 'Tupelo', in honor of the battle. It was incorporated in 1870. The area is subject to tornadoes. The racial makeup of the city is 58.7% White, and 36.8% African American,
 |
| Franklin |
 |
| Jonathan |
"Not so far.... What he needs is good management, and that's where we come in.
He's a bit like Jonathan Kent - the boy from Kansas.... 'small town boy' who needs a push.", the 'Boss' said.
"Yes... and that reminds me, what happened about Jonathan ?", Faunus asked.
"Well it's been left in the hands of 'our Franklin'.
Jonathan's finishing his grade at High School, and Martha Kent is getting everything organised at the farm, and then we'll arrange for Jonathan to come to 'Vegas."
Faunus nodded.
The recording had been completed, but the young singer stayed by the microphone, nervously playing withe the mike-stand, waiting to hear if the results were satisfactory.
The two songs that the young singer had recorded were 'My Happiness', and 'That's When Your Heartaches Begin'.
The 'Boss' had never heard either song before - but then he had no ear for music.
The 'Boss' then decided to use the opportunity while the young man was waiting for the results of his recording session to speak to him.Sometime later, the young singer suggested to anyone who would listen that he recorded the songs as a gift for his mother, but in that case he could have managed that far more cheaply at a similar establishment on Main Street. On the other hand, Sun Studio was expensive and professional. Probably he had wanted Sam Philips to hear his demo but, either by accident or design, Philips was not in the studio, whereas the 'Boss' was.
The 'Boss' at Sun Studio
"Hello.... my name's Johnson.
We have a mutual friend who suggested that I come and listen to you singing.", the 'Boss' began.
 |
| Aaron at Sun Studio |
The 'Boss' turned, indicating to Faunus.
"This is one of my associates.... Don Picaro...", the 'Boss' added, by way of introducing Faunus.
"Pleased to meet you, Sir.", the young man responded, shaking the hand that the 'Boss' proffered.
"! was very impressed...", Faunus said.
"Well, it's still just something that I do in my spare time...", the softly spoken young man replied shyly, sounding embarrassed.
"Well I consider that you have a really professional talent there...", the 'Boss' added.
"Why thank you, Sir....", the boy answered, seemingly unsure what to say next.
"I'm Aaron Presley, Sir.", he said, by way of introducing himself.
"But I think you're not from around these parts, Sir...", Aaron added.
"No... actually I'm based in Las Vegas, in Nevada.", the 'Boss' explained.
Aaron looked surprised.
"So you are on holiday, Sir ?", Aaron said questioningly.
"No... not really.
I'm here to see, or rather to hear you.", the 'Boss' said.
Aaron they looked even more surprised, and just a little suspicious.
 |
| Hotel Imperial - Las Vegas - Nevada |
Aaron nodded.
"I own a number of hotels in 'Vegas....", the 'Boss' began.
"Big, expensive hotels...", Faunus said, interrupting.
Faunus was concerned that Aaron should realize that the offer that the 'Boss' was about to make was not one to be lightly ignored.
"So, I want to make an offer to manage you, and give you the opportunity to develop your career in one or two of these hotels, where you could perform songs for the guests.", the 'Boss' explained.
"So, Aaron, do you work, - other than sing..", Faunus asked.
"Well yes, Sir.
My singing's like - only 'part time' -
In the day I work for the Crown Electric company - as a truck driver.", Aaron explained.
"And do you come from Memphis ?", the 'Boss' asked'.
"No... I was born in Tupelo, about two hours drive from here, but when I was thirteen my Mamma and Pa moved to Memphis.", Aaron said.
 |
| 'Club Jaguar' - Las Vegas - Nevada |
"Well that might be difficult.
I've always lived with my Mamma and Pa - so I don't know what they would think about that.", Aaron explained.
"Well, no need to make any immediate decisions.
Talk to your parents about my offer, and if you want to discuss it further just 'phone me....", and with that the 'Boss' handed Aaron one of his finely engraved business cards, on which he wrote the hotel address, and hotel 'phone number.
They shook hands, and the 'Boss' left the studio......
That left Faunus to say goodbye - but, as expected, Faunus did more.
He briefly gave Aaron an indication of the salary involved, and many of the fringe benefits, and a subtle 'suggestion' involving an offer that young Aaron simply couldn't refuse.
As they left, Faunus noticed Aaron avidly watching their huge black Cadillac pull away from the sidewalk outside the Sun Studio.
"Do you think he'll take the bait ?". the 'Boss' asked.
"Of course... 'hook, line and sinker'..." Faunus replied.
They had enjoyed their time in Memphis, but had mainly just been typical tourists, sightseeing, but not buying much.
Glen needed to shower and change before dinner, and left Jim and Ethan.
When they got to their suite, Jim and Ethan found Teddy sitting on the bed, thoughtfully attending to his laptop.
As soon as they entered the room Teddy quickly snatched up his new horn-rimmed glasses and put them on, intent on maintaining his intellectual persona.
"Hello boys..... how was the shopping ?", Teddy asked, tapping at the keyboard as he greeted them, to show that he could talk and type at the same time.
"We didn't buy much - just a few shirts, socks and things... but I bought you a present.", Ethan said.
 |
| Teddy's HP 1TB external USB Hard Drive |
"Well.... not very big is it...", Teddy said, as he let Jim open it for him.
"Oh ?... It's a little silver box !", Teddy said, obviously confused and surprised.
"Can you open it for me ?", Teddy asked.
"Oh no... it doesn't open, and you mustn't try to open it.", Jim said seriously.
"So what is it ?", Teddy asked, still puzzled.
"It's a 1 TB external hard drive..... for your laptop.", Ethan replied.
"I see....", Teddy said, obviously none the wiser.
"But it's not blue...", Teddy said, sounding disappointed.
"That's because they don't make them in blue...", Ethan said.
"But will it still work..... whatever it does ?", Teddy asked - thinking it needed to be blue to work with his laptop.
"Of course - we just use this USB lead to connect it to your laptop....", Ethan explained, as he plugged the drive into the one of the USB ports of the laptop.
"And it works ?", Teddy said, surprised.
"Yes... that's it - just plug it in, and it works.", Jim announced.
"And what does it actually do ?", Teddy asked.
"Simple, it gives you lots more space to save lots of files, pictures, music, videos - whatever you want.", Ethan said.
"Well thank you, boys.... that's really thoughtful of you...", Teddy said.
Aaron, it appeared, had spoken to his Pa and his Mamma about the offer he had been made, and explained that they wanted to discuss the proposal.
They were very diffident about where they could meet to talk, as they were nervous about inviting the 'Boss' to their very modest home.
In order to solve the problem, the 'Boss' suggested that he had 'Don Picaro' pick them up in the Cadillac, and bring them to the hotel, where they could meet the 'Boss', and his 'nephew', Jim and have lunch and talk.
And so the arrangement was made.
 |
| Aaron |
 |
| Sun Studio |
"Well Sun Studio doesn't look much from the outside, but the results seem quite adequate.
"And the new talent. ?", Ethan asked - eagerly interrupting.
"Well as I hinted at yesterday, we are here in Memphis to 'scout out', as Ethan puts it, some new talent for our entertainment operations in 'Vegas, and the young man that I had been told about was, in fact, making a recording just at the time that we visited the studio.", the 'Boss' began - before being interrupted again by Ethan.
"And what a coincidence !", Ethan said grinning.
"And...", Jim said.
"Well, a very pleasant, and may I say a very polite and respectful young man, who is called Aaron - and I will be meeting him and his parents tomorrow for lunch, in order to discuss matters.
Ethan winked at Jim.
After telling the 'Boss', Faunus, Novius and Josh about the Wolfchase Mall, and Teddy's new hard drive, the dinner concluded, and the group broke up.
"And the new talent. ?", Ethan asked - eagerly interrupting.
"Well as I hinted at yesterday, we are here in Memphis to 'scout out', as Ethan puts it, some new talent for our entertainment operations in 'Vegas, and the young man that I had been told about was, in fact, making a recording just at the time that we visited the studio.", the 'Boss' began - before being interrupted again by Ethan.
"And what a coincidence !", Ethan said grinning.
"And...", Jim said.
"Well, a very pleasant, and may I say a very polite and respectful young man, who is called Aaron - and I will be meeting him and his parents tomorrow for lunch, in order to discuss matters.
Ethan winked at Jim.
After telling the 'Boss', Faunus, Novius and Josh about the Wolfchase Mall, and Teddy's new hard drive, the dinner concluded, and the group broke up.
A little later Glen came to Jim's suite.
"Hope you don't mind, but I came to see Teddy's new hard drive.", Glen said apologetically.
"Yes... and the rest." Ethan said, obviously seeing through Glen's lame excuse.
"Well there it is....", Jim said.
Teddy looked up at Glen.
"Since when have you been wearing glasses ?", Glen asked.
"Oh, just since I got the laptop,
"Faunus says they help me...", Teddy dissembled.
"Well, they make you look very 'bookish' - smart....", Glen said, searching for the right word.
"True, but then I am a very smart 'teddy-bear'.", Teddy said self-consciously.
"So, Glen.... you asked at McDonalds about the 'Boss'.... and I think that's perhaps why you're really here.", Jim said, wanting to get on with things.
"Well yes.... you can't blame me for being curious.
"Sit down Glen.", Jim said.
Glen sat on the edge of the bed.
Teddy, who loves stories, left his laptop and moved over to where Glen was sitting.
"Go on, Jim, because I don't really know the full story.", Teddy said, as he climbed onto Glen's lap.
 |
| Ancient Rome |
"Well I doubt if you will believe what I am about to tell you, but as far as I know it is all true - but then I only have my memories, and a few things that the 'Boss', Faunus, Novius and the others have mentioned occasionally......
I was born in the city of Rome.
Later my parents moved to Athens in Greece.
 |
| Attacked by Pirates |
When I was a teenager my father was called back to Rome as part of his job.
On the way the ship we were in was attacked by pirates - my mother and father were killed, and I was sold a s a slave.
The man who bought me, who we now call 'the Boss', was then known as Gnæus Octavian Gracchus.", Jim recounted.
 |
| Gnæus Octavian Gracchus |
"Ah... so that's why Novius is always calling the 'Boss' Gnæus.", Glen said.
"Exactly...", Jim replied.
"And when did you say all this happened ?", Glen asked.
"Well, according to Faunus, and some of the research we have done, about two thousand years ago...", Jim said.
"Well, I'm not surprised that you said I wouldn't believe it.", Glen said.
I mean it's fuckin' crazy to say that you, the 'Boss' - maybe Ethan here, and Novius, and fuck knows who else is over two thousand years old !", Glen said, suddenly realizing the enormity of what had been hinted so often.
"I agree, Glen, but nobody's saying that.
It's to do with 'time travel' ....and 'alternative worlds'.
Faunus says it's just a matter of moving from one time to another, or one place to another, but not going through the time, or the space in between.
That's why there's all this business with the 'aliens', and before with this guy called Dr Brandt.
It's all about trying to get from us - or maybe more exactly from Faunus - the secret of 'time travel' - or more exactly, 'inter-dimensional travel'.", Jim said, sounding exasperated.
"He's right, you know, Glen.", Teddy said gently.
"He is... and that's the problem..", Ethan added.
"Yes...but there's a more serious problem.....
It's something that Novius told me a long time ago.....", Jim began.
"And what's that about ?", Glen asked.
"Well, its complicated.....", Jim replied.
"....'thought it might be....", Ethan said, apparently resigned to another long explanation.
 |
| Cave of the Cumaean Sibyl |
 |
| Publius Vergilius Maro |
"Well the 'Boss' - Gnæus - and Novius were, being Roman, very interested in prophecy - you know, foretelling the future.
The most famous prophetess in the Roman Empire had a temple, and a cave, near Gnæus' villa at Baiae, and Gnæus and Novius took me there a couple of times.
That's were the prophecy 'beloved - or favored - of the gods' came from, - which Upuaut used.", Jim explained.
"Yes... and where did he get that from ?", Glen asked.
"Telepathy....or maybe the pesky 'alien' really is some great æon' - who knows.", Ethan suggested.
"But anyway, the Sibyl would often make up bits of verse which were sort of adaption of bits of famous poems - to suite a particular situation.... and Novius, when he was teaching me about Virgil, told me about one of these adaptions.
"And who is Virgil ?", Ethan asked.
"Oh, just the most famous Roman poet ever....", Teddy replied as he adjusted his glasses.
"And who is Virgil ?", Ethan asked.
"Oh, just the most famous Roman poet ever....", Teddy replied as he adjusted his glasses.
"Now if he ever told the 'Boss' about it, I don't know.", Marcus said, ignoring Teddy's interruption.
"OK, then what did it say - this verse ?", Ethan asked.
"Well it was something like this:
' And now Marcus, again, leaves Athens for Rome,
Gracchus shall once more die a bloody death, Petronius shall ever smile,
and a little owl and a faun shall watch over the golden boy from the sea....
and all shall be retold - time after time,
as the Sybil weaves her endless, magical spell....'
"Weird !", Ethan said.
"So what does it mean ?", Glen asked.
"Marcus is Jim - but he can't leave 'Athens for Rome', as he's not in Athens - at least not now.", Teddy began, trying to be 'smart'.
 |
| Funeral Pompa for Gracchus |
 |
| Mausoleum of Gnæus Octavian Gracchus |
"In that 'other time and place' Gracchus - the 'Boss', did die a bloody death.
I organised his funeral, and after I had a huge tomb built for him - and then I became 'Dominus' - rather like a Mafia 'Godfather' in 'this time and place'.", Jim said, beginning to sound a little upset.
"So what it's saying is that things will repeat themselves ?", Glen said.
"Yes...in ancient times, in many civilizations, that's the way people thought.", Teddy confirmed.
(see Article - 'Time and Illusion')
"And you and Ethan are worried that's what might happen soon ?", Glen asked.
"Well, it is possible...", Jim said.
"I'm sorry, Jim.
I didn't mean to upset you.
I only wanted to know how you originally got involved with the 'Boss'." Glen said, trying to excuse himself.
"Well do you mind if we leave it there for tonight ?", Jim asked.
Glen looked to Ethan, who nodded.
"No, not at all...", Glen replied awkwardly.
"So what it's saying is that things will repeat themselves ?", Glen said.
"Yes...in ancient times, in many civilizations, that's the way people thought.", Teddy confirmed.
(see Article - 'Time and Illusion')
"And you and Ethan are worried that's what might happen soon ?", Glen asked.
"Well, it is possible...", Jim said.
"I'm sorry, Jim.
I didn't mean to upset you.
I only wanted to know how you originally got involved with the 'Boss'." Glen said, trying to excuse himself.
"Well do you mind if we leave it there for tonight ?", Jim asked.
Glen looked to Ethan, who nodded.
"No, not at all...", Glen replied awkwardly.
 |
| The Terrible Night |
Not surprisingly he was dreaming about that terrible night.
The storm - the vision of Apollo with his arrows - the bloodstained body of his Dominus - the arrival of Glaux - and all his friends then swearing fealty to him as their 'lord and master' as Terentius placed the ring of the Dominus on his finger.
Finally there was the memory of trying to sleep knowing that the one person that he completely trusted was gone....
Jim woke up in a sweat, and quickly went and showered.
He noticed that his pillow was wet - with sweat or tears, or both.
That morning there was to be a second conference - which very much daunted Jim.
Ethan, however, woke up cheerful as ever, and Teddy was sitting on the bed playing with his new disk drive.
"For this meeting I will make up for what happened at the last meeting, and take minutes of what everybody has to say.", Teddy announced.
"That's fine, Teddy, but first get permission from the 'Boss'.", Jim said.
Ethan smiled, pleased that Teddy was so enthusiastic, and Jim, despite his difficult night, couldn't help smiting also.
And so, with Teddy happily pressing the elevator buttons, they made their way down to breakfast, and then to the conference room.
Novius also brought his laptop to the conference, and began discussing with Teddy arcane matters relating to 'download speeds' and 'gigabytes'.
Last to enter the conference room was the 'Boss', accompanied - perhaps rather surprisingly - by Zac, who presumably had flown in from 'Vegas.
The 'Boss' took his seat, opened a large, leather-bound notebook, and began to speak.
"Well, our previous meeting I thought was quite successful - however there are a number of other issues that I feel need to be discussed further.", the 'Boss' said, opening the meeting.
As the 'Boss' came to the end of his first sentence Teddy hit the return key of his laptop with a flourish - presumably 'showing off' that he was keeping up with his minute taking to the second, (excusing the pun).
The 'Boss' stopped, and gave Teddy a patronizing look.
"Teddy.... we all appreciate you keeping minutes of this meeting for us, but we would appreciate it further if you performed that function in a less spectacular manner - it's distracting.", the Boss said gently.
Teddy nodded.
"So, if you recall, we had doubted if the vehicles used by the so-called 'aliens' were actually 'nuts and bolts' objects, or were visiting us from distant planets or galaxies - particularly in consideration of the time that it would take, within the limitations imposed by the presumed theories regarding the speed of light.
This, of course, left us with the possibility that they were simply the product of a disordered imagination, hallucinations brought on by perhaps too many 'cheeseburgers', (at that point the 'Boss' gave a knowing look towards Ethan), or more seriously, holograms or 'projections' imposed on individuals' minds.
 |
| The Multiverse |
Also, I think the last important point that was agreed at the last meeting was that these 'aliens' that we have met so far are connected to one another, in that both groups, the Greys, and those 'posing' as Ancient Egyptians both seem to share knowledge about us - knowledge of past meetings, and some knowledge of who we are, and our possible origins."
The 'Boss' then looked at Teddy, who had obviously kept up with his minute taking and was sitting waiting.
"So... I think I've said enough - so who wants to make a further contribution ?", the 'Boss' concluded.
Faunus then made a contribution.....
"Well, the last point that Novius made was that he considered that the 'alien' called Upuaut was not an 'Ineffable and Ever-Living Æon' - and probably not one of the Neteru - and with that I completely concur.
Equally I do not consider the 'Greys' to be beings from other planets or galaxies.
I have had considerable experience of such 'beings', who are usually termed 'elementals' - although I will not give details of such experiences in this company.
The term 'elemental' is not really very suitable, however, as it evokes ideas of the Classical elements of earth, water, air, fire, and later æther, which were part of Classical science and medical knowledge in the ancient world.
The elementals that I am referring to are are not directly associated with those basic elements, but refer rather to various forms of ‘Daimon'.
These Daimon are actually Platonic 'emanations'.
This may all sound extremely abstract and obtuse, but if we are to understand what these beings are who are contacting us, then we really need to understand the concept of emanations." Faunus explained.Plato - (Greek: Πλάτων Plátōn) was an Athenian philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, founder of the Platonist school of thought, and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He is widely considered the pivotal figure in the history of Ancient Greek and Western philosophy, along with his teacher, Socrates, and his most famous student, Aristotle, and his later followers, the Neo-Platonist philosophers like Plotinus and Porphyry.
"Yes.... I agree completely....", Novius interjected.
"This concept is the basis of Classical philosophy and religion, and is undoubtedly the key to understanding this new phenomenon of so called extraterrestrials.", Novius added .
"Thank you, Novius... and please continue, Faunus." the 'Boss' said, obviously interested.
"The theory of emanations is a philosophical theory relating to cosmology which asserts that all things 'flow' from an underlying principle, or reality, usually referred to as the the 'ONE'.
Any teachings which involve emanation are usually in opposition to creation 'ex nihilo' - creation 'from nothing' - as emanation advocates that everything has always existed, and has not been 'created'.
 |
| Plotinus |
As I explained in our previous meeting, all 'sentient', and even some semi-sentient beings, are embodied 'life-forces'.
The form in which they are embodied determines how they appear to themselves, and to others.
Some 'life-forces' are embodied in what we consider to be human form - and are taken to be 'human beings' - some are embodied in what we take to be 'alien' forms, like the 'Greys', or maybe some more exotic form.
And not all 'life-forces' are the same.
However, both the 'life- force', and physical form are 'emanations', but the physical form is of a far lower 'frequency' than the 'life-force', and so the physical form can be easily manipulated - changed or altered - and that physical form includes thoughts, memories and emotions - all encoded in the physical brain."
Now in saying all of this Faunus had revealed a great deal about himself, about 'Roger' and 'Glen', and Dr. Brandt and Sigi - and much more....
Regardless, Faunus continued with his explanation.
"The various emanations proceed from the ONE in a hierarchical structure.
The emanations are arranged in ranking tiers, the first being of greatest purity and power.
The highest of these 'powers', as you have all almost certainly guessed, are the 'Ineffable and Ever-Living Æons' - often mistakenly referred to as the 'planetary gods', because in the past they were often linked to or associated with the planets that were known to those existing on the earth - and often the sentient human beings, in error, actually worshipped the planets." Faunus explained.
 |
| Upuaut - Wall Painting |
"True...", Faunus agreed.....
"And there, of course, Upuaut made an obvious mistake, because the 'real' Upuaut, honored by the ancient Egyptians, was not a 'planetary god', and therefore it was unlikely that he could claim to be one of the Æons.
Upuaut, as far as can be determined was simply a lesser 'netr' - a 'being' ranked as a high level elemental - a sort of anthropomorphized wolf or jackal - hence the mask.
"Er, excuse me Faunus, but that word - anthropomorphized - is not responding to my spell-check.", Teddy said diffidently.
"Not surprising, Teddy....
 |
| Dr Siegfried Brandt |
"Returning to the topic of 'elementals', one thing that our contact with Upuaut showed us was the truth of the often made remark that elementals cannot be trusted.
Lower level elementals are known to regularly lie - and often seemingly for no apparent reason.
In the case of the 'beings' that we are encountering, however, there is possibly a reason why they are not always being forthcoming.
 |
| Roswell |
 |
| Montauk |
Montauk, of course, was of no advantage to them, with its reliance on outdated, power-hungry and dangerous technology.
Brand, however - a psychologist and psychiatrist - was aiming to use the power of the mind alone to achieve the conquest of time and space.
After much searching, Brandt finally found Jim. - and ever since then the 'aliens' have been focusing in on us - but always trying to hide their true intentions and goals.", Faunus explained.
"Well, gentlemen, I think we are starting to bring matters together, however, at this moment I am afraid that we need to break for lunch - so perhaps we could reconvene at two ?", the 'Boss' suggested.
First there is lunch with Aaron's parents - then a further meeting with the group to finalize matters - then the time for decisions. Later the 'road trip' comes to an end, and the participants return - with new agendas - to 'Vegas and Los Angeles. Undoubtedly it is a time for change....
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All text - © Copyright Peter Crawford 2021
All Images - © Copyright Vittorio Carvelli 2021
Graphic Design - © Copyright Zac Sawyer 2021