Ming & Leopold: A City in the Sky

By Arlene Klasky

The year is 2299, and Ming and Leopold are Good Witches. Though they appear to be eighteen and twenty-one, they have lived a millennium. Leopold, born in Russia, became an orphan at age twelve. His cruel aunt and uncle sent him away as a child to be a soldier in the Russian army.

He and Ming are in love, but Leopold's PTSD from

• Language: English
• Publisher: Klasky Cuspo Inc
• Release date: Jan 24, 2024
• ISBN: 9798218298340

Book preview

Ming & Leopold

Ming & Leopold

Ming & Leopold

A City in the Sky

Arlene Klasky

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Klasky Csupo Inc

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

1 The Jungle

2 Urbanmania

3 The King

4 The Plan

5 Train Ride

6 Free Grid

7 TXIGRL

8 Council

9 Thirty Days

10 Wind, Water, And Witches

11 Grid Spongers

12 Wide Awake

13 Meeting Ethan Lee

14 An Eventful Night

15 The Third Tier

16 The War Room

17 Lonnie

18 The Caves

19 Enter Jesper Stone

20 Three Weeks

21 Electrical Insectzzzzzzz

22 Jamie

23 Ascending Oz: The War

24 Then Light

About The Author

Copyright © 2023 by Arlene Klasky

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Printing, 2023

To Jarrett and Brandon and Brandon and Jarrett,

my wonderful sons…

Love is forever!

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Gabor Csupo, who I met in Sweden. He was a Character Animator and I worked in Special Effects Animation. We fell in love and Gabor moved to Los Angeles and we married. We had two boys that were my inspiration for characters in our early animated series Rugrats and Rocket Power for Nickelodeon. At Klasky Csupo’s peak we had 550 employees and it was a creative wonderland. We were surrounded by such talented artists from around the world.

Thank you to Lynn Hightower who taught me the art of Novel Writing. I am forever grateful. Also thank you to my current small Klasky Csupo creative and financial team. To Megan Pearson, a talented Creative Producer, John Eng for his exceptional artwork on the book cover, Alex Mesrobian, comedy writer extraordinaire, and Blanca Camacho who is better at math than I and manages my finances so well.

Also thank you so much to Tracy Kramer, my wonderful, wise Manager and Phil Daniels, my trusty friend and Attorney who helps me with all things legal. I have a wonderful team.

1

The Jungle

Deep in the Amazon jungles of Brazil, something epic was about to take place. Two Good Witches that had lived a millennium sat cross-legged on a roughly hewn woven blanket beneath the stars. The year was 2299. One of the witches was a beautiful woman who appeared to be eighteen years old. She had auburn hair that flowed to her shoulders and piercing blue eyes. Her name was Ming and she was of Eurasian decent. Across from Ming sat Leopold, a strong, ruggedly handsome young man who had a shock of dark, wild hair and un-shaven stubble on his face. He looked to be twenty-one years of age and was of pure Russian lineage. There was a third person who sat with Ming and Leopold. He was an elderly Indigenous white-haired Shaman from an ancient Indian-Witch-tribe. The Indian had been their guide and tracker for the past decade. He wore native dress, with beads, stones, feathers, and small animal bones that adorned his clothing and bountiful braids.

The three witches faced each other in a powerful, spiritual triangle. Ritual herbs, used to lure spirit souls, burned in a small stone pot at the center of the blanket. Smoke arose from the bowl then dissipated into the ether. The evening was hot and steamy. There were faint sounds in the distance of exotic birdcalls, howling monkeys, and wind rustling through damp trees. With their eyes closed, the three witches meditated on a prescient event and were willing it to happen.

Ming and Leopold were of the Highest Order of Good Witches. They had come to South America in search of something so crucial to our planet, that without it, the world teetered on the brink of disaster. A deep chasm between wealth and poverty had grown like a cancer across the seven continents of Earth, and the have-nots, were silently losing the battle.

In the year 2016 there were seven billion people on the planet and one billion could not afford electricity. Almost three centuries later in the present, half of Earth’s population was void of electrical energy.

Ming, they are nearing, I can feel them. Something has shifted in the atmosphere. Draw them to you, they must sense the power of your empathy to reveal themselves, the Shaman said.

The Shaman then chanted softly in a hypnotic repetition that was of an ancient dialect.

"A bequa sue oro weho etro," Ming and Leopold repeated the Shaman’s words.

They seemed to understand the Shaman’s native tongue.

A faint droning buzz was heard in the distance that cut through the exotic cacophony of the jungle. The buzzing grew louder and Ming raised her hands, palms up and out-stretched. She prepared to receive something precious. Leopold tried to restrain himself from allowing his mind to wander, but it did. He needed to focus. His heart rate rose, and he broke into a damp sweat. With head down and eyes closed, Leopold gripped his mop of hair with both fists in anguish.

Get a grip a#shole don’t screw this up, Leopold muttered to himself.

Disturbed, the Shaman opened his eyes and peered sideways at Leopold for a brief moment. It was critical that Leopold use his powers to help Ming and the Shaman create a peaceful aura around their camp; too much was at stake. Fighting his anxiety, Leopold tampered down hard, slowed his heartbeat, and returned to a meditative repose. The Shaman was satisfied that Leopold’s disruptive vibrations had been quashed, then he lowered his eyelids.

As clouds broke overhead, moonlight reflected down on the three witches’ painted arms, hands, and faces, that had been stained by colorful fluorescent jungle plants mixed with clay. Their body designs depicted powerful symbolism that connected man to Earth’s creatures and the greater Cosmos.

Like dots in the distance, a swarm of deep blue glowing Electrical Insects approached through the trees. As they reached camp, the swarm suddenly changed course. They transformed into a looped-eight formation and swirled five feet above the witches’ heads.

Ming opened her lids and peered up; she was deep in a witch’s trance. Ming’s eyes radiated a soft yellow glow, then rolled back inside her head. Ming’s mind locked on to the primordial soul of one particular Electrical Insect. Ming and the E-Insect were two of the many divergent species that shared an existence on planet Earth. In that single heightened moment, their two spirits miraculously connected, and the Electrical Insect landed softly in Ming’s right palm.

The insect’s glow in its inert state faded on and off intermittently in one-second intervals, unlike the constant electrical charge the E-Insect radiated during flight. The still insect’s appearance mesmerized Ming, like an exquisite translucent jewel. In a quite state the E-Insect’s color was a deep, stunning cobalt blue. Its body was as transparent as an x-ray, and Ming saw the internal architecture of its organs and blood canals. The moon lit the insect’s sheer veined wings that were the texture of luminescent, fine Indian silk and reflected hints of glittered silver. Down the center of the insects back, like a mohawk, was a strip made of dozens of swaying tentacles called cerci, or antennae, that picked up sound waves to detect danger or sense a potential mate.

On either side of the insect’s bulbous head sat two large bulging eyes that shimmered like pools of black and green oil that never mixed. The insect’s eyes undulated in ocular motion and took in the world around it, especially Ming who was seen as if through a distorted fisheye lens.

Slowly Ming gently wrapped her fingers around the insect in her right palm and drew the tiny, exquisite, winged creature, the size of a wasp, to her heart. At the same time, she covered it with her other hand and felt the thrill of their bond.

Then things changed, and Ming’s reverie turned to fear. The insect gave off a powerful electrical charge in a last-ditch effort to resist being subdued by a witch’s spell. The e-current caused Ming’s body to seize, tremble, and twitch.

She tried to exit the trance, but the tiny creature fought to overpower her. A force tugged Ming’s mind into a dangerous place and threatened to override her witch’s powers. She was losing her connection to the Cosmos. Ming’s faculties had been pulled into the depths of the E-Insect’s soul, where neither human nor witch should tread. These two species’ boundaries had been crossed and Ming was not winning the battle. Leopold painfully watched Ming as she struggled. He worried the insect might permanently damage Ming’s gray matter: her brain cells.

Ming, let go of the d#mn trance or let go of the insect. Don’t dive deeper. You’re losing yourself, Leopold said.

I’m trying, it won’t release me, Ming said breathless.

Ming’s powers were scrambled because of the depth she entered into the E-Insect’s world. She fought to pull herself back from the edge and out of the trance. Her witch’s powers had been pierced. Leopold placed a hand on her knee to absorb some of the shock away from Ming and onto him. It had worked, a sharp excruciating jolt traveled up through Leopold’s arm deflecting him, as if the insect wanted Ming all to itself. Leopold removed his hand from Ming’s knee, then took powerful cleansing breaths and managed to expel and shake off the insect’s energy from his body.

Stay with me Ming, don’t let go of our world … our reality. Realize where you are; in the Amazon jungle with me, Leopold said.

Yes, the jungle, Ming repeated distantly.

Ming finally connected to the frequency in Leopold’s voice and switched her focus to calm the insect’s fears and dragged herself out of the trance. The yellow glow from her eyes quickly disappeared and her pupils settled back into their proper position. Ming’s soul had broken free of the trance, though she was still clearly shaken. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

I’m back Leopold, thank you, love, Ming said softly.

Ming, my child, what did you see, the Shaman said.

In my mind’s eye I was being pulled down a tunnel into darkness: an underworld. I lost control of my senses and powers. Then at rapid speed I scanned what appeared to be magnified glimpses of small prehistoric creatures. It seemed to be a scientific description of how these Electrical Insects evolved genetically over the eons, from microcosmic organisms into what they are today. I saw coding that must have mathematically explained the insects’ biology and electrical energy output. I believe the insect in my palm transferred vital knowledge to me, Ming said.

Ming you need to remember everything. When you’re ready, telepathically download the data to me. The information will help us decipher how to care for the E-Insects. For starters, we need to learn their mating habits and capabilities, Leopold said.

Leopold was relieved Ming had managed to exit the trance. He would be desperate if she became as dysfunctional as he was. He depended on her strength, her sanity …her love. There was much to accomplish now that they finally had in their possession an Eternal Electrical Insect.

Ming and Leopold had searched for centuries to find the missing swarm of Electrical Insects. For their plan to be set in motion, they needed both a male and female of the E-Insect species.

From observing the insects’ wing flaps, I’ve determined the creature in your hand is in fact a male of the species … as are all the others in the swarm above us, Leopold said.

Well that explains it. So where are the females? Ming said.

That’s the million-dollar question, baby. Wait … did you just impose your feminist perspective on this poor little male Electrical Insect?

I did … I also wrestled him down and won.

Like I always said, girls rule.

Leopold had the supernatural ability to compare the E-Insects’ wing flaps per minute with their soaring speed. Male Electrical Insects flew faster than the females of their species. Hence a male had the capacity to catch up with a female to procreate. Their speeds were measured centuries ago in China and Ming had shared that information with Leopold.

In the 1300s Ming traveled with the Circus Witches and Gypsies through Europe. In Paris they met the French adventurer, Dr. Cyril Baudelaire. He had discovered an Electrical Insect nest in Zaire and brought it back to Paris. He entrusted The Circus of Witches and Gypsies with his rare find—an Electrical Insect nest. It was decided Ming and another Circus Witch would deliver the E-Insects to the great Scientist Ziang Ziong in Beijing.

Before Ming began the journey, Baudelaire asked her to cast dual spells over the insects. The first spell was that the E-Insects live eternally so they could survive the long journey to China. The second request was that Ming halt the E-Insects’ procreation, so the size of the swarm could be contained during their continental trek. Ming was successful at casting the two spells. Baudelaire, a Humanist, and Ziong, a Futurist, wanted to harness the insect’s electrical energy for the benefit of mankind and bring the planet out of the Dark Ages.

When Ming arrived in China along with a fellow Circus Witch, Professor Ziong asked her to reverse one of the spells. He wanted the Electrical Insects to begin to procreate. That spell never came to be. There was a large Earthquake that destroyed Ziong’s laboratory in a hidden cave outside of Beijing. Ming and the Electrical Insects tragically were buried under nine thousand tons of rock….

While trapped, Ming went into a powerful deep sleep and when the cave was unearthed centuries later in 1800, being an Eternal Witch, she awoke. The Eternal E-Insects only needed moisture from the air inside the cave to exist. While Ming recovered in a Beijing hospital, the swarm was stolen. There were rumors the E-Insects had been whisked away to the Americas by a thief.

For the past five centuries, Ming and Leopold had been on a mission in Central and South America to find the swarm, though it meant being separated from The Circus of Witches and Gypsies, their surrogate family. The couple had hoped to grow E-Insect swarms in the natural environment of a rain forest, but things had just changed.

These astonishing winged creatures hold the power to light up our planet. Protect this precious insect with your lives. I see only darkness for the human race without him, said the Shaman.

The Shaman’s powerful sage prophecy echoed in Ming and Leopold’s ears. For the planet to survive the level of poverty and disease caused by war that had battered humanity for eons, the world must rely on one basic element: electricity. This natural energy was fundamental for industrialized nations to remain prosperous. Third-world countries that had a swinging door of dictatorships were even more vulnerable without electricity. Basic human needs: light, warmth, cooling, refrigeration, and travel were not met for lack of electricity in a growing number of nations across the globe.

Ming and Leopold had to leave the jungle immediately and take the male Electrical Insect with them. They needed to find a female E-Insect to succeed in creating Electrical Energy Farms that would be owned by the people to replace power plants controlled by corrupt governments. To do this Ming and Leopold needed help from their old friends, The Circus of Witches and Gypsies.

Blessed Shaman we are grateful for the years that you led us through the jungles of Brazil to find the Electrical Insect swarm and for your belief in us, Ming said.

Our mission is accomplished here. Thank you, Shaman, Leopold said.

Godspeed, dear friends. I will be sending affirmations into the Universe for your success in rescuing our planet from the poisonous greed and inhumanity that has gripped it, the Shaman said.

2

Urbanmania

It was the dead of night when Ming and Leopold raced in a small lime green, driverless hover-cab, headed to the most populated, chocked, metropolis on the planet: NYC. Ming was focused on the Electrical Insect she carried in a woven pouch beneath her leather jacket, while Leopold’s thoughts drifted elsewhere. Memories filled his mind from the years he wound up alone in NYC centuries ago without Ming. It was the result of time travel, one of Leopold’s supernatural abilities.

After leaving Kennedy airport, the two saw glimpses of newly constructed futuristic buildings, alongside centuries old architecture, decayed and in ruins. As Ming and Leopold peered through the cab’s windows, buildings became staccato fragmented blurs, lit occasionally by hints of moonlight. Strangely the towns and landscapes they passed were almost completely void of electricity and the night was pitch-black.

I don’t recall this cityscape ever being without lights at night, Leopold said.

Were there rolling blackouts when you lived here before? Ming asked.

Rarely and never covering massive swaths of urban design. I don’t get it, we’ve traveled twenty minutes in an eerie darkness.

Headlights from the taxi revealed only a narrow view of what was immediately ahead on the tarred speedway. Ming was anticipating a reunion with The Circus of Witches and Gypsies, their dearest friends from the past. Leopold though became fixated on his familiar anxiety that slowly began to build inside him. His heart rate rose as he metaphorically visualized himself being catapulted from the peacefulness of nature in the Amazon, like a slingshot, to a burning h#ll of urban chaos. He reached in a pocket for his Black Panther retro Fidget Spinner to calm himself. Ming glanced down at Leopold’s hands and took note. She sensed that returning to civilization was affecting Leopold … and not in a good way.

Their zero-gravity cab exited the highway and its speed slowed, but only slightly. After traveling in relative silence, Ming and Leopold were startled by harsh electronic beeping, accompanied by lime green diagrams, icons, and text that flashed wildly across the broad front window of the cab. Immediately a woman’s lilting Irish voice addressed them through the sound system.

Obstruction ahead, prepare to crash … prepare to crash … prepare to crash.

Simultaneously an animated graphic burst onto the front window as the other information disappeared. The hover-cab’s heat sensor technology detected a group of humans that were advancing toward the hovercraft. The graphic visually described that the beings were still beyond the range of their cab’s headlights.

The hovercraft’s technology reacted to the oncoming danger and immediately flipped, then spiraled out of control. Ming and Leopold caught sight of a roving gang of teenagers through the taxi’s windows, that were only a graphic representation, seconds before. As the cab’s brakes abruptly screeched, the vehicle spun and rolled. Ming instinctively placed a hand over her chest to protect the E-Insect in the woven pouch beneath her jacket. She felt the male Electrical Insect’s vibrations quicken and sensed its fear.

The teens had created a human wall across the road as they marched relentlessly toward the hovercraft to block it. Like a simulated army in a video game, each character had their right arm and hand outstretched as if they were superman attempting to stop a moving train. The teens wore ripped thrift shop grunge and beat-up army boots. They had no fear on their faces, only smiles, as if out for a Saturday night of wilding.

The ten street kids, male and female, were keenly aware that NYC driverless hover-cabs were programmed precisely to avoid collision. The spinning vehicle had auto redirected and continued to dodge the scraggly gang who kept coming. The hover-cab was now locked in a tight space, surrounded by steel girders on a campus of abandoned factories. As Ming and Leopold tumbled inside the air-born vehicle, they saw images of steel, brick, and cement through the cabs glass portals that rushed at them.

The taxi crashed against a large steel column, then ricocheted off and slammed into a cement wall. Ming and Leopold tried to brace themselves inside the cab with hands and feet as their two large duffle bags knocked them about violently. Hideous crushing sounds of metal, plastic, steel, and cement pierced their ears. All the while Ming continued to safeguard the vital male Electrical Insect beneath her jacket with a hand clutched to her chest. Leopold tried to protect Ming, the love of his life. He draped an arm around Ming’s shoulders and gripped her tight.

When the hover taxi’s air jets shut down, the cab dropped like lead, with an encore of a singular loud bang. The cab landed upside down on a gravel road while Ming and Leopold were thrown against the metal and glass interior. Leopold cushioned Ming’s head with his forearm and took the harder knock to his own skull. His vision became blurred. Clear plastic airbags deployed ten seconds late after the cab finally crashed. It was the final insult as if balloons had arrived after the party was over.

Darling are you ok? Ming said.

Sh#t, I’m seeing double and about to puke, Leopold’s speech was slurred.

We need to get you air and out of your upside-down Batman pose, Ming said.

From outside the cab Ming and Leopold heard muffled teenage laughter and swearing. The doors of the cab clicked, unlocked and opened. Two teens reached into the cab’s interior; their arms and hands were covered with tattoos, leather bracelets, Goth jewelry, and black nail polish. They looked like fugitives from a 1980’s Metal concert. One male with heavy dark eyeliner was dressed entirely in black, except for his red plaid kilt. He also wore a ripped leather jacket, spiked choker, and modified platform army boots. A black knit cap was pulled over his shaggy dyed red hair. The teen added sound effects to silence as he popped airbags with a wickedly sharp knife that was to close for Ming and Leopold’s comfort.

The other male’s head was shaved at the sides with a limp mohawk that hung over his 1960’s cat-eye sunglasses. His black T-shirt had a deranged yellow happy face graphic on it with two black holes as dead eyes and a bold x for a mouth. The black x symbolized being politically silenced by the man.

The intruders quickly unclipped Ming and Leopold’s seat