This Refracted Parallel

By Nick Zentor

After working hard for 8 months on 3 different projects, Zek Stone needed to take some time off, but a local stickler for robotic details got in the way and made things unnecessarily complicated. Before he could settle the date in court, something extraordinary occurred in late May which involved a discovery made while working on a project in 2015 and it led him to recall the shadow wars of 2017.

After 40 years of exile from his home-parallel, lost within the sub-parallels of the shadow earth Aton 5, he was growing tired of working himself to death, but there were still problems that had to be resolved, and no way to avoid it. Despite the fact that he had delivered a "Defense Report", it became obvious, after another 8 months of fending off domestic spies and defending his rights to a healthy, well-balanced life, that he was still stuck within the shadow earth of Aton 5.

He realized the problem was quite complex, and was about to go back to work on it, when something extraordinary occurred and suddenly, he was out under the full moon in the early summer, late at night, chasing a wild-man into another shadow realm.

His physician had suggested that he needed a nice vacation, with fresh air, sunlight, and exercise. Well, he got it alright, chasing a genuine mystery, only the moon-light would have to suffice, until he could see the forest for the trees in the light of another day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Zentor
• Release date: May 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005735753

Nick Zentor

I was born in another parallel of Earth just a few years before John Kennedy was assassinated and I was transferred to this parallel after a motorcycle accident in late 1982. After 3 years of homelessness, I was inspired to become a science-fiction writer and committed myself to the task once I had managed to find a job and a place to plug in a typewriter. I worked on the job like a good robot for 10 years while writing science-fiction on my free time.After failing to get any books published due to a low demand (every publisher explained how they were selling less books every year), I decided to get into small-publishing and accessed the local copy-outlet to publish my own books. But I didn't have enough money to print more than a handful at a time, and almost no one was interested in buying any of it.It wasn't until 2004, after I managed to save enough money for a new computer, that I began to make some real progress. I was able to do a much better job with book-making and the quality of my books improved. But still they did not sell, so I simply small-published them at my own website online and offered them for free through the website. The website was up until 2008, when I lost my apartment and spent some time homeless again.Aside from writing science-fiction, I started working with 2d computer graphics and animation in late 2004, and got into 3d computer graphics and animation in 2009, after finding another apartment. I've been working with 3d computer graphics, trying to go somewhere there, but I've had problems paying for the software.I wrote "Fool's Errand: Redemption" as the last book in the Temspace-Variant Series in 2015 and turned it into an ebook in 2017. Because I am also a 3d computer graphics artist, I decided to try my hands at my first ebook cover and produced the cover for "Fool's Errand: Redemption" to go with it.

Book preview

This Refracted Parallel

Nick Zentor

Episode 19 of the Multivertical Man

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After working hard for 8 months on 3 different projects, Zek Stone needed to take some time off,

but a local stickler for robotic details got in the way and made things unnecessarily complicated. Before he could settle the date in court, something extraordinary occurred in late May which involved a discovery he made while working on a project in 2015 and it led him to recall the

shadow wars of 2017.

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For all of Humanity that Rages Against the Machine

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Copyright: Coldpost-85, 2021

All Rights Reserved

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Contents

Introduction: The Episodic Adventures of the Multivertical Man

Prologue: More Turtle Blues versus Fascist Rabbits

Chapter One: This Mad Parallel

Chapter Two: The Edge of the Aton 5 Matrix

Chapter Three: Mysteries of the Multiverse

Chapter Four: Blue Moon in Early June

Chapter Five: Base Camp to Another Parallel

Chapter Six: Dreaming of a Nightingale

Chapter Seven: Light Work on a Vacation

Chapter Eight: The Refracted Lens

Chapter Nine: The Eskapes Emporeum

Chapter Ten: A Home Parallel State of Mind

Chapter Eleven: A Case for Treason

Chapter Twelve: The End Game

Afterlogue: Episode 20: Impending, Imminent, and Unavoidable

Afterword: The Refracted Lens: Exposing a Pathological Liar

Information about M-Theory and the Aton 5 Parallel

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Introduction: The Episodic Adventures of the Multivertical Man

In the last crazy mixed up episode of the Multivertical Man, Stone was submitted to follow through as a spiritual counterpart for his original identity, while experiencing an identity crisis at the same time. He completed episode 16, 17, and 18 of the series, and was left hanging, the work completed finally, on the afternoon of Thursday, May 21, 2020.

The work was finally done, and he decided he needed to check out of the office early at around 4 pm on that day. With the project completed, there seemed no reason why he didn't deserve some down-time for all of his endless devotion.

But in spite of his definite need to take care of a personal problem which had been bothering him for some time, there were those who cared not the least bit about Mr. Stone's personal problems.

So began another episode of the Multivertical Man, entitled, This Refracted Parallel.

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Prologue: More Turtle Blues versus Fascist Rabbits

There were more technical problems which prevented the sharing of episodes 16 and 18 for 2 weeks after the work had been done, and those technical problems were, as usual, used against me by the forces of evil that enjoy forcing humans to be better robots and constantly use the fact that we haven't upgraded our systems to light-speed state-of-the-art spoiled-brat standards as an excuse for humiliating us and making us look stupid.

Well, since it does no good to complain I'll just take it from there and explain how this affected my disposition. I was busted back to the Junk Boat Office and my alter ego was knocked down for not being a perfect robot and role model for everyone's robotic kids.

But it wasn't just the simple fact that the delivery of my work was delayed, it was a much more complicated story, which began after my alter ego began to follow a lead into a mystery which had been buried since 2017.

Episode 19 began shortly after the event which led to the court-case, which was held later, in June of 2020. The court-case has been included in Chapter One to emphasize the kind of problems an independent 3d artist has to deal with outside of company projects, which complicate matters within the Aton 5 parallel all too often.

Chapter One is like a behind the scenes glimpse into the waiting-room red-tape suspensions a Multivertical Man has to endure while simply trying to escape the robotic program of Aton 5 and stand up for his Civil, Constitutional, and Human rights.

Chapter Two is where the actual episode begins, which is before the court-case, on May 25th.

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Chapter One: This Mad Parallel

or

How a Nosey Reporter Gave Stone More Work to Do

and Nearly Drove him Completely Bonkers in one Sub-Parallel Shadow Realm

The following court-case occurred on June 15th, 2020 and pertained to an event which occurred earlier, on May 21, 2020. It was closed to the public and private due to the nature of the subject, and only included direct family members and close friends.

Court Judge:

Mr. Zek Stone has been accused of neglecting the duties of his post by Miss Stenfort, on the date of May 21, 2020, and to prevent the loss of his post, Mr. Stone has accused Miss Stenfort of violation of his rights and defamation of character.

Defendants statement:

I worked for about 8 months on 3 different projects and all of the work was done early in the afternoon on a Thursday. I needed to take care of a health problem and I didn't think I should wait until Saturday, so I took care of it. I was punished for non-robotic behavior.

The defense was permitted to begin by questioning directly the prosecution's main witness, Miss Stenfort, to clarify the point of the case.

Where did you say all of this occurred? the defense, Mr. Quimby, said to Miss Stenfort, the woman who made the accusations against Stone.

At the complex, the apartment complex, she said.

The apartment complex? he said. You mean Stone has an office at the apartment complex, where he lives?

Well, yes, I mean, it's actually in his apartment, she said. He has a home-office in his apartment.

In his apartment? He was at the office in his apartment, not at the company?

Well, yes, she said.

Why was he at his home-office on a Thursday? he said. Is that typical for him?

Well, I don't know, I only know he was there on Thursday, she said. But that's besides the point.

Is it? he said. Do you know why he was there?

Uh, probably because he was goofing off, she said, and didn't want to do any work.

Is that what you think? he said.

Probably, after all, I caught him with his pants down, she said.

I see, he said. So you concluded that Stone was goofing off and didn't want to do any work because you caught him with his pants down on a Thursday afternoon, at his apartment, in his office?

Uh, yes, that about covers it, she said.

Do you remember the exact time? he said.

She thought about it and said, Yes, it was just around 4:30. While everyone else was still working, he just decided to take the day off and play his perverted games.

Is that what he was doing? he said.

Yes, she said. He was clearly in violation of the Aton 5 program.

Because of the time?

Yes, Stone is supposed to work until 6 pm, like everyone, she said. But he was goofing off, playing his perverted games, at 4:30, 90 minutes before his shift was up.

What were you doing at that time? he said.

She was taken aback suddenly, and said, I was busy, checking up on him. Somebody has to do it.'

Is that your job? To check up on Stone, to make sure he is always working when he is supposed to be working?

Well, it's one of my jobs, she said. It's not all that I do, but somebody has to keep that guy in line.

You work as a reporter, isn't that true? he said.

Well, yes, I work in the field of journalism, she admitted, and I do some reporting.

Isn't it true that you have hated Stone for years and have just been looking for an excuse to hurt him?

There was a dead-silent pause for a few seconds, then she said, He's a lazy liberal trying to sell socialist economic reforms which are bad for the economy. Somebody has to keep an eye on guys like him otherwise they'll turn everyone's kids into drug addicts and prostitutes. I'm doing human society a service when I keep an eye on a guy like that.

Is that what you really believe? he said.

That's it, she said. I'm not going to sit around doing nothing while a guy like that spreads his lies to my kids.

I see, he said. So you think that gives you the right to violate my client's Constitutional rights, by simply barging into his apartment whenever you like?

She wasn't quite sure what to say, until she said, carefully and straight to the point, I didn't have to barge in. I have permission to check on him, as part of an agreement we made.

According to my client, that agreement did not give you the right to violate his privacy any time you wanted, and that is what you did on Thursday, isn't it?

I caught him goofing off when he should have been working, she said. I'm not going to let him get away with something like that.

Can you tell me what Stone's working hours are? he said.

He works Monday through Friday, like everyone, she said.

Do you know what hours during the day that he works also? he said.

I'm assuming it is 10 to 6, like most in his field, she said.

That would be wrong, he said, and corrected her. Mr. Stone told me he doesn't work regular hours like everyone else, because of a problem he has with PTSD and insomnia. According to him, he simply works until he gets a job done, and then takes some time off when he's sure that the job is done, and the only time he stops working for any other reason is to let the computer's core cool and to get the necessary sleep when he needs it.

Mr. Stone, Miss Stenfort, he explained, is not a typical working-class robot, the way you obviously expect him to be. He is a devoted peace-worker with problems that make it difficult for him to conform to a robotic program, and so he simply does the work when he can and gets it done also, when it has to be done.

If there is any doubt about what I have said, he said to Miss Stenfort and the judge and the court, I have the records of Mr. Stone's recent work-history here, in this folder, to prove my point. Miss Stenfort claims that Mr. Stone isn't doing the work he is responsible for. I have proof here that she is wrong.

He handed the folder to the judge, the judge accepted the folder, opened it, and studied it closely.

Miss Stenfort, the judge said, after a minute, According to this, Mr. Stone has been actively working on several projects and is still in the middle of one at this time. The dead-line for the one he is working on now is June 1st. That would appear to give him another 10 days to get the job done.

Miss Stenfort didn't know what to say.

But he was goofing off, I saw him, she said.

Do you know what hours Stone put in between Wednesday and Thursday? Quimby said.

Uh, I.... I don't know... she admitted.

According to Mr. Stone, he said, "he worked from 10 am on Wednesday until 4 pm on Thursday, and only took 3 hours off in the morning, on Thursday, to let the computer core cool and have coffee and breakfast. After that, he went right back to work, at 9 am, without getting any sleep between Wednesday and Thursday.

According to Stone, he does 40 hour days now and then to get more work done in a shorter period of time. That was what he was doing on the Wednesday and Thursday in question, and he was at the end of that 40 hour day" when Miss Stenfort barged in and violated his rights.

He was at the end of that 40 hour day" in which he worked most of the time to get the job done he was responsible for. And Miss Stenfort would have us punish him for that, just because she has a grade-school level of intelligence when it comes to this level of social organization and doesn't understand the simple fact that humans are not perfect robots and they don't all have to follow a robotic program just to get a job done.

"In the professional field in which Mr. Stone does most of his regular work, getting the job done is more important than following a robotic program just to prove you can be a good robot.

You see, Miss Stenfort, your honor, and the court, Quimby explained, Mr, Stone simply doesn't go by the robotic program that everyone else does, because of his problem with PTSD and insomnia, but he does get the work done, as the records have proven.

At that, Quimby went back to his table and nodded to the Prosecution. I believe I've made my point for the defense.

The prosecutor appeared to be scowling at Miss Stenfort as she stepped up, but attempted a thin smile and said, Miss Stenfort, did you know about the problems Mr. Stone had with PTSD and insomnia?

Uh, well, no, she admitted.

Did you know that he worked on a schedule that was not the Aton 5 regular work-week, at the regular working shifts, like the 9 to 5 or 10 to 6 work-day?

No, I assumed he did the 10 to 6, like most in his field, she admitted. Nobody informed me of any privileges he had to follow another schedule... I didn't know about it.

The Prosecutor looked at Quimby, then at Stone, and back at Miss Stenfort.

Now that you do know, does it change anything? she said. After all, Mr. Stone is a peace-worker and apparently, from what we are being told, he does get the job done. As a professional with somewhat unpredictable hours yourself, can you say that it makes a difference now?

Stenfort looked down with a frown, and said, Nobody told me about any special privileges.

Stenfort was dismissed and Stone was put on the stand.

Mr. Stone, Quimby said, could you tell us exactly what you were doing on Thursday, May 21, last month of this year?

I just completed all the work necessary for the script in a sequel to the last episode for an ebook series I began working with in 2017, he said. "It had to be ready for publication at the end of the month, and I got it done a week early, so I decided to break off early that day, around 4 pm. I had been working for the past 8 months on 2 different episodes, a 3d project, and a defense report, my defense report, and I finally had all the necessary work done for publication.

I really didn't see any reason why I couldn't take the rest of the week off, after all that, and breaking off at 4 pm on Thursday didn't seem like a big deal at the time. Of course, I did forget about Miss Stenfort, since she rarely shows herself unless she thinks I'm in violation of her almighty robotic work program.

So you left the office early, at 4 pm, Quimby said, because all of the work was done? Was that the only reason?

Well, actually, Stone admitted, I did have personal, physical and biological reasons, pertaining to my health and well-being. My doctor told me that I was working myself to death and needed to take more time off to get out of the office. I'm sure she meant well and as it turned out, she was right. It helped to be more flexible. Working like a robot for too long was killing me.

So, it was an issue related to your physical health and well-being? Quimby said.

Yes, that's exactly right, Stone admitted. The doctor suggested that the tinnitus was related to being under too much pressure for too long and prescribed physical therapy, fresh air, and vitamins for relief.

Tinnitus? he said. I thought your problem was with PTSD?

Yes, but the tinnitus is something else, related to the physiology of my brain, he said, and it needs special treatment.

So you took time off early on Thursday to treat the tinnitus?

Well, yes, to try and relieve the pressure, he said and explained. "You see, I had been working on 2 different ebooks and a 3d project for the past 8 months, along with a defense report and my right to a new identity. On Thursday, May 21, I had finally completed all of the work and I simply saw no reason in waiting to treat my health issues.

I suppose Miss Stenfort thinks she has me for some kind of technical violation within her ethical program, but I was just practicing my right to check on my health. I don't understand why she insists on making a federal case out of it.

I have all of the legal documents here, Quimby said, picking up a folder from the table, related to Mr. Stone's health issues. He handed the folder to the judge and the judge opened the folder and studied