soph-goat-stories

[soph-goat-stories]

Zamba at Zambo

Zamba was another special girl, and from another era. Zamba would have been 247 years old by the time Zelda was born, and 225 by the time Zoodoo was born. It just was not in the cards for her to ever know those two, and perhaps she never would have wanted to. Zamba was exceptionally bright, but in a way that only a young child could be. Since her birth she had gained considerable knowledge of the world already. Proving to be a rather bright girl for her class, she always had responded confidently, quickly, and accurately to questions on just about any fact that she had once heard. She didn’t necessarily have a photographic memory, but still had the ability to relay accurate factual information or any memorized non-factual information with considerable reliability. There was more room in her brain for growth and malleability when it came to knowledge retention and capacity to plan and critically analyze, yet her distinct personality was already set in stone. When asked about her “favorite” anything, she already had an answer at the top of her head. Zamba did exhibit keen understanding of others’ emotional states, though at times decided to act against predisposed notions of politeness in spite, contempt, or for reasons she couldn’t comprehend at that moment in time. She sometimes avoided debates that would arise, understanding how they could get out of hand, but wholeheartedly enjoyed being correct. 

Zamba could predict some elements of the future based on her current modest trajectories her brain could manage. She assumed that people would act according to the change in their environment, and know that for a fact, so she understood the future as flexible and ever changing, and she was right. But Zamba could not predict the details. The flying helicopters dropping fresh water weekly by the doors. The drones piling in dumpsters alongside old personal vehicles. The people meeting in support groups to share information and cash for fleeing hurricanes and fixing their properties. What Zelda was 5 she saw for the first time the news document 2 hurricanes within one year of each other occur in upstate New York, a previous safe haven for those from the southeast. And though Zamba was this way, the creatures at Zambo knew from previous experience that humans of her age could not survive in the conditions they were predisposed on putting her in. 

After moving to a new state due to better job opportunities in the Solar Boost field for her parents, Zamba had worked her way through the social insecurities of the first day at her new school. At the end of one day the bell rang and she heard sharp whispering from some adults around 25 feet down the hall. She was curious as to what they were concerned about, and carefully approached them. What are you whispering about? They looked down in surprise and quickly hushed, motioning for her to pass ahead and help herself to basement lunch food. Zamba hesitated, but decided to inquire herself without being noticed. She hid behind a protrusion on the wall and staggered between some cleaning supplies. She heard the adults, and one she recognized as a class visitor as well, talk about how Zamba herself was subject to being expelled! 

Zamba was not incredibly emotionally attached to her school, and knew she was capable of teaching herself about the world, but knew this was a bigger deal in bigger ways. There was no way she would have upset any student besides the ones she would occasionally bully. Unfortunately she did not make out some details of the conversation due to the passing line of children heading to lunch, but she knew her plan: demand from the principal the next morning answers. She needed to prepare for whatever was about to happen, tell her family, friends, and if possible fight against the decision. She didn’t want to deal with negative outcomes from her family, who are already surprised at how she had turned out. 

However little did she know the word “expelled” was a code word for “Admitted”. Quite an opposite meaning, but in this case it meant both. The thing that she was going to be Admitted to she would only be able to know on the spot, at the time of Admittance. The few educators and staff of the institution on her case were precisely the type of people with the scrutiny to decide of which child in the school was fit for Admittance. The thing to be Admitted to was a special school that no one had ever heard about besides the educators carefully undercover (though known to use code words to speak outside of closed doors). They went through the program themselves, and came out with special intuition about the future. They needed younger people to learn the same knowledge and be educated on why it was necessary to keep it a secret. Zamba was more or less the type of student who could understand this, even at her age, though would need to be edged out of deviant behavior and her passion for being open about her thoughts before she was allowed back into regular society. 

Zamba left the hallway where she heard to conversation and went about the rest of her day, went home, and had dinner with her family. She kept the conversation she and her utterances of a secret, of course, daring not to spark any drama among her sensitive household. The next day she came back to school with some skepticism that whatever she had heard about was even important. It made absolutely no sense to her why she would need to be expelled, and honestly her name used could have been for another Zamba. Maybe she was overthinking all of this and didn’t have anything to worry about overall, and her life would continue normally. However her concerns came to a head when she heard yet another utterance of her name once through a small hole between two administrative rooms, once during recess in her classroom, and once in a dream she had overnight, where all she could hear was the word “expel”, and at a room with dark drapes and a conference table. Now Zamba was officially worried about this, and decided to finally seek out an answer from the administration. She remembered the few professors who were originally conversing about her a few weeks back, and approached one of them after school one day with a simple question. “I have heard rumors about me being expelled, is this true?”. The educator was taken aback, but then leaned forward and in a low voice said “yes”, you must prepare immediately. Come with me.

And then Zamba followed them to another room hidden by a curtain against the wall she was previously unaware about. The educator, tall and serene, and dressed in a uniquely dark coat with a purple tie, admitted her into the doorway centered in the wall, and they went through together. Then Zamba couldn’t believe what she saw: a gaping hole, black all the way through, inside the wall that they now stood before. What she was looking at was the Black Hole, the hole that changed any individual walking through it by way of simple physics, and maybe a hint of magic, though debated. Suddenly they were in a new cavity. She thought she saw some gooey maroon substance on the walls before turning her attention back to the strange administrator, who was eying her suspiciously, drawing a blade out of his coat pocket. This made her heart beat even faster, and as she began to tremble, her legs jerked like a spark and she flew down the hallway underground. This is where she finally confronted Zidi for the first time, who was the messenger for Zambo, and who would be the ultimate director of her travels and tests to prepare her for the real world.

[soph-goat-stories]

Zoodoo and the Land of Ooboo

There once was a respectable young woman named Zoodoo that became famous as a young girl five years Zelda's junior, though by the time Zelda was 13 Zoodoo was already 30. They never crossed paths. 

Zoodoo never asked for much, as wasn't particularly special from the outside, but inside she was deeply unique. Zoodoo was different than others because deep within her largest artery right where it met her heart, she had a flakey chip of green cherry wood that gave her a special task. It is not to remove it, but at minimum acknowledge it and let others finish the job. Once she did, the people at the Land of Ooboo would have fulfilled their prophecy of keeping all cherry trees alive for eternity. Zoodoo didn't have to worry about risking her life or health, and it wouldn't hurt with proper anesthesia. It would be a simple operation. But how would Zodoo, unaware that there was even a Land of Ooboo, know about this chip, and understand what was going on in real time out of her control? 

Like Zelda, Zoodoo had to take her own journey. Expect this time it would be only a few feet underground, right where the soil line meets ground level. Zoodoo would unexpectedly shrink to the size of a grape, moving through at at most 2 mph through sometimes rocky and dusty, dirty terrain, and encounter many obstacles. This adventure met her with less leeway, and though it took place at home, it was just as unexpected and challenging as Zelda's.

A firm, but tired messenger finally found Zoodoo sitting on a large rock at the park near her home. He had come from a little higher up from the land of Oozoo, and his name was Roozoo. He told her her role, briefly that is, and somehow persuade her to accept her task. Being more naive than Zelda, Roozoo didn't run into as much questioning. He did not tell her about the Cherry Chip specifically because he did not have perfect evidence of its presence in her, and against common law of Oozoo he was unable to question it. Roozoo instead notioned to her the pathway for which she must take to discover for herself if she did have anything suspicious inside of her, and anywhere inside of her. The radar Roozoo was using under her nose was just a little too weak. Though Zoodoo was intimidated, she was always hopeful of finding special meaning in her life and finding her place. She knew it was her best opportunity. Being only 8 or 9, she had never encountered many non-human beings like Rozoo, including animals. Maybe he was human, but there was just something funny about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. But Roozoo had a firm goal in mind, and gave her some helpful advice as to where initially to go. He told her she was special, and he was only a messenger for a bigger and greater place she has never been. Who else was she to trust? Her parents were of course unaware of this ever occurring, and that she was unique. They were still mending to unspecified tasks and muttering about how "lost" and  "doomed" the New Generation was. Zoodoo always liked challenges, and again always dreamed of standing out. Her pride swelled when offered another challenge here, not that she really knew what she was really getting into. 

And then many things changed for Zoodoo and her world shrank.

…

Unlike Zelda, who was just old enough to understand the difference between danger and safety most of the time, Zoodoo was unfortunately far too young to be taken on such a dangerous journey to find that small chip of Cherrywood and not put her life at high risk. Roozoo came from another planet and didn’t quite understand that on the Green and Blue Planet young people actually don’t have fully developed brains, unlike his place, and thus couldn’t strategize their way through obstacles as easily or without huge luck. Yet not everyone can be as lucky to be chosen for their journey, even at a later age, than Zoodoo. 

Zoodoo had already shrunk to about the size of a grape, and was aware she was now exceptionally small by the huge size of the vegetation and piles of dirt around her. From what she remembered before this huge and rapid transition there was a pile of rubbish piling next to an inactive ant nest, small pits of pure soil that were now about as heavy as a large rock. Zoodoo immediately hid under a curved leaf resting on the ground and started to weep. In the process of finding her special place in life and apparently some confusing secret about the land of Ooboo she has put herself in grave danger and separated herself from her family and friends. Worse, she was so small hardly anyone could even notice her. This challenge was far more than she anticipated.  Her old friend Roozoo told her she was special, and she was already starting to feel like she wasn’t special at all. She remembered how serious Roozoo took their conversation, and she should have asked more questions before starting. Zoodoo rested there and busied herself with studying her surroundings and didn’t feel any better, but was definitely tired enough to fall into a deep sleep.

Zoodoo woke up and eventually made her way down a cavern in the soil created by a stream of water where the dirt was firm and easy to transverse. She walked for a considerable amount of time and actually made her way about 20 feet into a pit of dirt and stones that provided a fresh pool of water where she could have a drink. She rested there and didn’t contemplate much for a little while before she noticed that it was starting to get dark. Unlike most girls her age Zoodoo was unafraid for the darkness. Since The Great Fall about half a decade ago society had had trouble running electricity the same way as before. For some reasons Zoodoo couldn’t really understand there just wasn’t enough power available to run the generators, generators already running so efficiently that there was hardly any waste, yet it would never be enough. They were always and set up in convenient center ports with easy access and reliable transport, with free carriers to discharge a designated electricity to and from home, but often people ran out by the time night fell. Zoodoo grew up in a place that was dark about half the time, and delighted herself in candles, as lamps, and billowing yellow flames from campfires to stay warm and see things at night. She contemplated the darkness in this different scenario, where instead of homes, streets, and other buildings being illuminated by the bright moon and starts there was now mainly piles of dirt, rocks, and edged grass destructively poking out of the soil top. A bright glow coming from of course above her showed her in the distance were familiar looking homes, yet no one knew she was there. Amidst pangs of loneliness, Zoodoo felt safer in the darkness, and immediately fell asleep yet again against a rock. 

[soph-goat-stories]

Zelda and the Land of Zorax

There was once a girl named Zelda. She was a very special girl. Not only chosen, but chosen as the next legend of Zeldax from the land of Zorax. Zelda was always a little calmer than most young people her age. She dressed casually and avoided making trouble. She usually thought to herself and was not outspoken about her opinions, though she did have them. The Elders in school would often encourage her to be open about her thoughts on the curriculum, even half-heartedly, though some of them didn’t believe the New Generation would have the opportunity to flourish in the future. 

The Little Man (his real name was Zeld) came down to the blue and green planet to speak to her of her tasks. Well, both up and down and through his own long journey. After lunch on her back porch, he appeared from the side of the house and confronted her. There was no way she could have known he was from another planet besides his mildly spiky facial features and odd smell. 

She responded to The Little Man with only questions and some staring, but after he committed to some probing, she agreed to follow him downstairs, underneath her home where the raccoons lived, and into a hidden door and further down dark, damp steps that creeked and buckled, nearly giving way to her. She felt her heart beat faster in anticipation and noticed how moist her face felt, but all-things-considered was alright. Being a rather athletic girl for those in her class, she could handle the unexpected climb about 100 feet down, and utilized the physical challenge to ease her mind, though Zelda never intentionally prepared for this journey. She was a little regretful not to ask how long it would take before they were already well on their way. The stairs seemed a lot easier to descend than climb.  

She and the Little Man finally finished. He told her her final goal was to find a mirror that she could reflect into and understand herself better. It was completely unique and she would be fully aware she found it, and it would tell her the secret to the land of Zorax. The least she could do was look. After all, she was the lucky chosen girl of the legend of Zeldax, and must maintain some strength to pass onto future legacies down the road. Again, this mirror would be plainly obvious, and it would be entirely possible to discover, though only after a long and winding journey. 

However for some reason Zelda was confused. Why would this Little Man leave me here, all alone, to find my way underneath the porch to god-knows-where, only to disappear again above my home? Why am I the chosen one? What types of terrain she was unaware of would she encounter? Was there anything underneath her home that would not be known from the green and blue planet? What was the purpose of this long, deep journey she must take, and what else unexpected will she encounter? Did she bring enough bottled water? Well, she had many more questions spinning through her head, but she luckily did not forget bottled water. It came in the canister dropped off from the morning by U.E.A-24. Zelda meddled at some of these questions and spurted out concerns for a few minutes in front of the patient Little Man. He was naive of the fact that she would be so concerned of all of this, not that any blame could be left on either of them. 

But rest your head. “Everything will be alright, just follow me through the second tunnel underneath the porch, the one with the green moss growing on the ceiling” said the Little Man. However little did they know this small journey, the one before Zelda would take herself, would take over three times longer than expected. They entered into a new sandy and dry cavity filled with bright yellow light as if inside a lightbulb. Wind whipped past their ears drowning them in noise, but they could see a dark pit about 50 feet ahead of them that must contain vegetation and thus water. They made their way over there, stopping once for some rest against the blizzard of sand and dust. Zelda had to squint to keep the dust out of her eyes. She sighed. Is this what I can expect this entire journey? It’s already greuling. But the Little Man must have heard her, and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. They continued. 

And so it began. The Little Man gave her a hug goodbye, a water bottle, a packet of lighters, and directions to the nearest green tree plot ahead where she could find a nice big trunk to rest onto. Zelda admitted the Little Man was at least somewhat trustworthy, and kind. Holding her breath, she stepped out into the desert space that she was recently unaware was just underneath her home. She mildly regretted the trip, but never felt a strong attachment to the blue and green planet to begin with, especially after hearing those concerns from some of The Elders. Zelda could at least get some alone time to grow as a person and forget about all the problems at home. 

…

Last time we left off Zelda was left alone by the Little Man resting upon a tree trunk in a desert-type arid space. Opening her eyes once again, she still couldn’t resist breaking a sweat. Among her was probably about 500 feet of windy and yellow sand and beyond that was unintelligible. It was an extremely sparse with barely any trees or vegetation, and mostly sand whipping up in small dumes with every gust of wind. She sneezed, and stood up. Now was an opportunity to actually think about the task given to her by the Little Man, telling her that she was the current Legend of Zeldax, and that she needed to find a unique mirror and stare into it to discover her place for her legacy, hinting that well that was just about everything she needed to know to understand herself. Zelda thought about Zeldax, and what that really was. She had no idea. With every minute passing she felt more alone and incredibly warm and itchy. Though the journey to this place with the little man was on the brink of being fun, and certainly enchanting, she was starting to feel nauseatingly uncomfortable with what was happening. She had enough sense to know she shouldn’t over-think any of this before reaching a place with more natural resources and hopefully an easy pathway to that dang mirror. 

Zelda took another walk for a couple of hours to enter into another dark and damper cavity which had a similar appearance to one of those large fibercrystal sewage pipes under her home city that dated back about 100 years. The other end of this tunnel was more narrow than the end she entered into, and about the size of a loaf of bread. A good size however to safely peer into, she dared look. In front of her about an arms length was another separated space that was indeed comprised of more trees and green herbs of sorts, and from what she could tell supported more advanced life. An animal with a shape similar to a cow but about the size of a cat was walking a little ways to the right, and though dainty and cute it was somewhat terrifying. From what she could tell there was a shiny substance covering its top half, and on the bottom half was a pattern of a few warm tones meeting to it’s head. 

It reminded her of the aging cat her family still owned a few hundred feet above her head. They kept it in just a few rooms, a small and stealthy creature with brown fur and dark eyes, and an animal that she swore was keener than her. Her family was actually breaking the law in keeping such an animal. Her parents said before she was born that the government banned keeping any domesticated animals and encouraged hunting them in order to bring down their population. After The Great Fall about 50 years ago domesticated animal populations skyrocketed, but because their meat contained traces of permethyol they couldn’t be hunted. Being a girl of about 13, Zelda felt a certain awe and inspiration from cats, knowing they were both illegal to keep and unconditionally opportunistic, incredible survivalists among all odds. She couldn't quite explain the rare but pleasant feeling of connecting with a non-human animal. 

This creature she saw was the only visible living thing there besides herself, excluding the audible chirping erupting all of a sudden. She thought to herself it was best not to lose sight of it. Meanwhile Zelda couldn’t even get through the small hole at this end of the tunnel without harming herself in the process, but she didn’t have a choice. She decided to step back and kick the hole numerous times to dent it, wearing down her thin shoes, but eventually thanks to the rust and bacteria already eating at it, she broke the hole into a bigger gap and thus could fit through it. Zelda then carefully slipped into this new forested section of this strange land underneath her home, and squatted next of the tunnel again, resting there and staring at her new companion for about 30 minutes, which was lazily eating herbs the entire time underneath some shade from a tropical-type of plant. Some forgotten cluster of trees swayed in the wind and helped her relax.

She then heard a sound of a large bird, and breaking out of this spell for a minute she dared look behind her. She saw a good sized group of about 40 beautiful blue-black birds spinning around a fat corpse, pecking at it, and calling to their group of her presence. Zelda got a peak at what they were eating at, it looked like a striped lump of glittery material with a bloody feline face. Her heart skipped a beat and somehow subconsciously she knew she had to get out of this place as soon as possible. But the tunnel was gone!

…

Zelda looked behind her again in search of the tunnel, or maybe even the mirror the Little Man told her about, but nothing was there. She immediately started running away from the pack of aggressive birds still flying in circles and screaming in angst. She was still located in this forested area but luckily contained open patches of space. This space was actually more of a void with gradient white flooring and kind of a foggy atmosphere. Though Zelda thought she knew enough about the physical properties of the world before this journey, nothing could possibly prepare her enough for her encounter with this space from the green and blue planet. At this point Zelda was running on her own adrenaline and not thinking very thoughtfully about where she was going, but stepped into this space that was about 100 feet in diameter intermixed between forest. The birds were no longer visible or heard, but something about this new place was easing her mind in a way, some kind of grey misty void, but turning into more of a sandy area without much of anything until the horizon. What was going through her head at this time would be difficult for anyone to comprehend without direct experience, but now Zelda again began to break a sweat. She was obviously terrified, but comically alone in such an inhumane area underneath her home. She began to think that her familiar Blue and Green planet made a lot more sense than she once thought. Running for a few minutes further towards the brightening horizon, she realized that something about this new region was serene and it actually began to calm her. Zelda always had an affinity for the desert and open space. She remembered taking trips to the desert to visit family friends at a Leftover Friends’ Camp out in Arizona a few times, in part to deliver water, and in part to reconvene and chat with familiar faces. Zelda took a moment to think about the mirror the Little Man explained, picturing it in her mind as essentially the oldest mirror that could have ever existed, with some kind of dull pearls lining the outside, smaller than a typical full-length mirror, and oval-shaped with a handle. The actual glass of this mirror would have to be worn and dull, dusty and scraped. Maybe there was some chance that that was what it really looked like and she would recognise it. Maybe the Little Man was right, that this mirror was somehow tied with herself and her prophecy. Somehow if this was true it would change everything she knew about the Blue and Green planet as well, or what some people still called Earth. 

Suddenly a person appeared near her, an upright shadowy figure breathing just as heavy as her. Night was falling in this region at this time, and as they approached her the face of this individual looked rough and old. They carried a luminous thin box on their belt beaming light on it’s corner. Zelda would never know that this person was alive before The Great Fall, even with the casual hints. She knew that before The Great Fall cell phones were still in use and on the market. She read something about that in school that around the time of the Great Fall there was one group of people called the Hacking Company (headed by two individuals Robot Mass and Tower Street) that broke into the cellphone networks and essentially hacked every individual cellphone user. They chose the perfect time for it, right at the end of Water Bill Season when most folks were scrambling to conserve their water rations. Mobile companies obstructed the production of these boxes for a few years while they struggled to figure out how to recalibrate their systems, but by this time cell phones were no longer popular, and especially at the time of the Great Fall more often than not people where dealing with problems closer at hand and came across near-death experiences more than before, so families and friends kept their companions close and formed new groupings without much focus on what was happening out of their communities. Once a good 30 or 40 years passed after the hack happened, few even remembered cellphone at all. 

Though Zelda would normally have been grateful for some company at this time, something about this person frightened her, maybe in the way in which their age and clothing style didn’t fit together, or maybe their look of determination and seriousness. They produced an aura unfamiliar in the least. Finally she approached this person and came to grips with her current situation. He opened his mouth and started to speak, but it was painfully difficult for Zelda to determine what he was saying. 

…

Zelda looked up again at this strange man. Who was he? He was uttering words familiar to her, but not exactly what she was used to. After about a minute of intense uttering from him, and only blank stares from her, she finally asked his name and why he was there. He responded in similar gibberish, and held up his phone with a code. Entering in the code of four digits, he wrote a note on the screen. It wrote “Lacey”. She was lucky to understand the writing. At least she could acknowledge him now. Zelda knew names were especially important in her community back home. Someone’s name indicated a personal strength of character, mind, or spirit. Zelda in Old English may have been a fictional adventure character. Zelda remembered that old conversation, not that it really meant much to her. Lacey sounded like lace. Maybe he was soft and intricate too. But he also seemed tough and trustworthy. So you are Lacey? Finally I know your name, my name is Zelda. I am here on some kind of journey, but it’s hard to explain.

“Huh?”

Zelda. She went on again to explain her purpose, but stopped when he finally turned away from her. There were a few uncomfortable moments of silence, and Zelda learned how to better empathize with his confusion, though still wanted his backstory. They uttered phrases to each other back and forth like this for a few minutes, until Zelda had enough, getting tired of nuances, and eager to hop into yet a new place. She sat down on the sand next to a rock where she rested her sack that held not unpleasantly warm water. She sat there near this man for a while, watching the edge of his tattered jacket sway in the wind, revealing the glowing phone on his hip where he entered the code, and a few beeps emerging from it. After about an hour of rest from pure exhaustion from both, Lacey decided to show her a new path. He led her through the great desert where they were into a brown valley with leaves scattered alongside the ground, and grey tree trunks everywhere under a billowing grey sky. It became a bit dark and chilly. Zelda shuttered, expecting something evil of sorts to happen to her along this path, but to her surprise nothing really happened besides the walk. They kept going into this valley and woods, where they heard hoots from owls and chirps from birds, meowing and barking of other creatures, and the like. Zelda always loved the company of animals, and the presence of familiar living things underneath the porch gave her hope for her future. The man took her through this wooded area for another hour or so, just on a slow but steady walk, brushing back some branches and vines in their way and stumbling here and there on rocks or thorn bushes. Some of the woods reminded her of recreational spaces at home where local children played games, and older individuals went for walks. She wondered if where this man came from people did the same. Of course communication was limited to only utterances of familiar words. 

Finally they came across a pathway into a greener and sunnier place, which opened up into remarkable rolling hills lined with a red-picket fence and a rugged soil pathway stamped out by years of pressure from feet and vehicles, though few recognizable markings. Lacey took her to this open and sunny space and guided her down the path and in and out of patches of woods for a little while. They saw a fork in the road and decided to turn left. They crossed a stream. Crouched under bunched of amber and orange leaves on low-hanging branches. They saw a cotton-tailed rabbit scatter out of their way, and packs of birds flying upwards and away. Zelda because a little less restless in this area, where she felt the comfort of the soft breeze and sunny beams of light shine on her in the open space, and the crunchy leaves under her thin soles in the woods. Lacey was kind enough to show her around the easiest paths, and she trusted him in his decisions to take them both somewhere safe and productive for her task. Though all of this was pretty random, Zelda couldn’t imagine that this man wasn’t somehow tied to all of this. She breathed a sigh of relief when he finally took her to a wooden cabin with a warm fire pit and bed to rest. Zelda drank some water. Something rang a smooth melody on his phone as soon as she shut her eyes to sleep. Lacy took the call and spent the rest of the night chatting away with familiar voices.