Word: dilly

dilly

\ DIL-ee \  , noun;

1. Informal.  something or someone regarded as remarkable, unusual, etc.: a dilly of a movie.

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The small group gathered around to watch in amazement as Jeremy worked.  His hands flew with lightning speed and almost mechanical precision as they flew over the two keyboards.  His eyes darted from one glowing monitor to the other and back again so fast that those watching wondered whether he really saw anything at all. 

                “How they hell does he do it?”  One of them whispered, hoping the sound wouldn’t break the programmers concentration.

                “No idea, but it’s sure something to watch.”  Whispered another. 

                “It’s suspicious is what it is.”  Mary muttered to herself.  She was new in the small software company, and was seeing their star programmer working for the first time.  She had to admit she was impressed, but there was something that didn’t sit quite right with her.  The guy was writing two completely different programs at once, and doing it both faster and better than anyone else could manage with one.  Very large red flags were being hoisted in her mind as she watched.

                After nearly an hour of nonstop typing, Jeremy finished the days work, and pushed himself away from the desk.  He cracked his knuckles with a smug grin on his face as he turned to face the crowd.  The people gathered waited for him to speak with baited breath, as if his next words would be the most important things they would ever hear.

                “What’s everyone looking at?”  He asked as if he had just become aware of them, “Is there something on my face?”  He made a show of picking at some imaginary piece of something stuck in his teeth.  “No?  Alright then, I guess the shows over, eh?  ‘Sides, don’t you all have stuff to do?”  He asked.  And just like that, everyone seemed to be suddenly reminded of the fact that they had their own assignments to take care of.  The crowd dispersed as the people chatted with each other, making their way back to their respective work stations.  Mary was the only one that didn’t.

                “Something you want?”  Jeremy asked when he saw she wasn’t moving.

                “How’d you do that?” She asked bluntly.

                “What?”

                “You know what I mean.  The programs.  How’d you write two at once like that?”

                “Oh, that.  Sorry honey, but a magician never reveals his secrets.”

                “Yeah, but you’re no magician, so spill.”

                “Oh but I am.  These fingers of mine?  They work magic.”  He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers in the air.

                “Really?”  She said skeptically. 

                “Yup.  You saw me work.  How could you think otherwise?”  He was obviously very proud of himself, but Mary was determined to find out his secret.

                “I saw something.  I just want to know what it was.”

                “Sorry, but no can do.  Well, maybe there is one thing…”  He said, looking her up and down. 

                “What’s that?”

                “Let me take you out to dinner some time, and I might consider telling you.”

                “Eh, sorry, but I have a boyfriend already.”  She didn’t, but he wasn’t really her type, and frankly, he seemed like a big jerk.

                “Too bad.  Well, in that case, sorry, but nothing doing.”  He turned to walk away.  Mary grumbled to herself.  She just had to know why he was able to do something so remarkable.

                “Alright, fine.”  She said, “One date.  And only one.”

                “Now that’s more like it.”  He said, moving in closer to her. 

                “Yeah, yeah.  Now, you have to tell me how you did that.”

                “Technically no.  We haven’t gone on the date yet, and I didn’t say I would, I just said I’d consider it.”

                “What?”  Mary exclaimed, maybe a bit too loud.  “B-but that’s…”

                “Hey, I didn’t say I wouldn’t tell.  In fact, I’m feeling generous, so I think I will.  But you do have to swear not to blab about it.”

                “I can keep a secret.”  She said with perfect sincerity.  Jeremy looked at her for a second, eyeing her up.

                “Alright then, come on.  We should go somewhere where we’re less likely to be overheard.”  He was already leaving even as he spoke.  Mary had no choice but to follow him.  They ended up in a supply closet.  Jeremy was very certain to make sure nobody was listening through the door before he started.

                “Ok, you wanted to know how I can program the way I can?  Well, it’s simple.  Computers talk to me.”  He said with a matter-of-fact tone to his voice.  Mary was unable to think of what that could mean.

                “Huh?”  She asked.

                “I mean it.  They talk to me.”

                “Yeah, ok.  They talk to me too.  It’s called a speaker.”

                “Sure, but the thing is, I can talk back.  And not with a microphone either.  I mean with nothing but my brain.”  He acted like what he was saying was the most normal thing in the world.  Mary just thought he was either crazy or joking with her.  She hoped it was the latter. 

                “So, what?  You’re psychic?”

                “Yup.  Technopathic to be precise.  I can talk with computers as easily as I am with you now.  Well no, that’s not right.  For me, it’s even easier to talk with computers, since I can just think it.”

                “This is a joke, right?” Mary said.

                “Nope.”

“Oh.  In that case, you’re nuts.”

“No to that too.  I’m being serious.  Hell, when I was programming earlier, I was just hitting keys at random.  The real work was all going on up here.”  He said, tapping his forehead.

“You do know how insane that sounds, right?”

“Hey, you asked.  I’m simply telling you what you wanted to know.”

“I see.  Well, in that case, you wouldn’t mind proving it, would you?”

“No sweat.  You got a phone?”

Mary took out her brand new cell phone.  Jeremy looked directly at it.  All of a sudden, the screen lit up, even though she hadn’t touched it.  She watched, completely dumbfounded as the password was typed in and the notepad app started itself.  A new note was opened and the words “told you,” appeared on the screen.  Mary tried to get a different app working, but the phone was suddenly unresponsive to her touch.

“How’s that for proof?”  Jeremy asked with a smug grin on his face.  “Oh, and you should probably stop charging it so often.  It doesn’t like that too much.  Plugging it in when it’s about to die is better.”

“How did  you know about that?”  She asked.  She had the habit of plugging her phone in every night, whether it needed the charge or not.

“It told me. “

“S-so you really can talk with computers then?”  She asked.  Her words very nearly got caught in her throat.

“Yup.  Comes in handy, especially these days, when just about everything is computerized.”

“I bet.”  She said weakly.  The implications of someone who could talk to computers like that was staggering.  There was so much he could do without any kind of repercussion, it was a little scary.  “And you’re not like, some kind of robot, are you?”

“Nope.  100% flesh and blood human.”

“But why use this power for programming?  Why not something else?”

“You mean like instant fame and fortune or something?”  He asked.  Mary nodded.  “Meh, I don’t care about that kind of thing.  This is much more fun for me anyway.  Well, I do mess with some stuff, but not too much.”

“So the only reason you haven’t made yourself a multi-millionaire is pure apathy?”

“More or less.” 

“Oh.”  Mary was hardly reassured.  She had to wonder if making programs was really the only thing he used his power for. 

“Anything else you wanted to know?”  He asked. 

“No, not really.”  Her mind was racing with too many questions to ask.  If she actually asked them, they would have been in that closet for the rest of the day. 

“Right.”  He said.  He stretched it out quite a bit, clearly not believing her.  “Well, in that case, let’s get out of here before people start spreading rumors.”

“Yeah, ok.”  Her voice was still weak, as it was bogged down by her thoughts.  Jeremy opened the door and held it open for her.  She left the closet, moving on autopilot. 

“Oh, one question.”  He asked before she could get too far away.  She stopped at looked at him, but said nothing.  “I’ll pick you up Friday at eight.”  He said, and walked away towards his workstation, leaving Mary to her thoughts as she shambled back to hers.

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11000101110001010100111001000011101001... What, you mean you can't read binary?  Oh well.  

Word: phosphoresce

 

phosphoresce

\ fos-fuh-RES \  , verb;

1. to be luminous without sensible heat, as phosphorus.

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                Kyle and Jill made their way slowly and carefully down the pitch black corridor, the beams of their flashlights showing no end to the rough hewn passage.  They had been walking for hours with no signs of an end, nor had the cavern sloped upwards any amount.  The soft, bouncy purple moss they were walking on cushioned their steps, lending an eerie silence to their passage, broken only by their own breath. 

                “How long do you think we’ve been walking?”  Jill asked finally.

                “No idea.”  Kyle said, “But I’d say it’s been at least an hour.  Why?”

                “Well, I’ve just been thinking.  There’s something, I don’t know, off about this place.”

                “Just one thing?  I can think of at least four or five off the top of my head.”

                “I’m sure you can.  But I’m thinking of something specific here.”

                “Ok, what?”

                “The air.  It doesn’t smell or feel like cave air, especially since there’s all this moss stuff growing.”  She said.  The air around them was cool but still.  It was also oddly fresh, like they were still on the surface.  There was also a distinct lack of normal cave smells.  There was a scent in the air, but it was nothing that could be identified.

                “Huh.  Come to think of it, you’re right.  I guess I was just paying attention to other stuff and didn’t notice.”  Kyle said, taking a deep breath.  “What do you think it means?”

                “Well, I for one am hoping it means that there’s at least one way back to the surface, but it could mean any number of things.”

                “If there was an exit nearby there’d be a breeze though.  There might be some kind of enclosed ecosystem down here though.”

                “Maybe, but there’s no sunlight down here.  How could anything survive without that?”

                “There’s animals at the bottom of the ocean.  There’s no light down there either.”

                “True…But still.  It just seems weird is all.”  She said, shining her light on Kyle, who nodded his agreement in response.  They continued walking in silence, both of them thinking about what might be waiting for them as they went along the tunnel.

                “Hey!”  Kyle shouted after another hour or so of walking, “Look, there’s something up ahead!”  He pointed excitedly.  There was a small dot of light coming from the distance.  It was hard to tell how far away it was, or how big, but it was something.

                “Maybe it’s a way out!”  Jill said.  She tried to run towards the light, but lost her balance on the springy moss and wound up on her face instead.  “Oh, right.”  She said, picking herself up off the ground.  Kyle chuckled at her fall, which earned him a razor sharp glair, which was lost on him in the darkness.

                “Easy there.  I’m excited too, but we still have to be careful on this moss stuff.”  He said.

                “Yeah, yeah.”  She responded wearily, as she got to her feet and found her footing again.  “Ok, let’s go.”  She said, moving at as quick a pace as she dared on the unstable ground.  Kyle followed behind, moving behind her just fast enough so as not to fall but still keep her from getting too far away.

                As they went, the light grew in size and clarity.  It soon became clear that it was not an exit.  The light was a blue-green color, and no breeze accompanied it.  It was bright enough that they soon no longer needed their flashlights though, and so shut them off to conserve the batteries. 

                The tunnel opened up into a brightly shining cavern of impressive size.  The place was at least twenty feet tall, and extended well past what they could see into the distance.  The ground as walls were covered with the bouncy purple moss they were walking on, with no apparent breaks in the cover.  The only exception was the source of the phosphorescent light that permeated the cavern.  The light was coming from large stalagmites that rose like pillars from the ground.  Stalactites hung from the ceiling like great stone chandeliers, also having the blue-green glow to them.  Nothing moved in the place save for the two spelunkers. 

                “Amazing.”  Jill said, looking around in awe at the place.  Kyle nodded as he took in the sights.  Jill looked at one of the towering rock formations with childlike curiosity.  “What do you think these things are made out of?  I’ve never seen rock that glows like this before.”

                “No idea.  Maybe we should chip some off and have someone take a look at it when we finally get out.”  He went up to one of the pillars to do just that.

He took out a small chisel and mallet he had brought along for just such an occasion.  He placed the tip of the sharp tool to the rock surface and got ready to break off a piece of the glowing rock.  Then something caught his eye and he stopped.  He looked carefully at the pillar and soon a broad smile crossed his face.

“Hey, Jill.  Want to see something cool?”  He asked.

“Sure.”  She said curiously. 

Kyle stepped back a bit and clapped his hands loudly.  As the sound echoed through the large cavern, the air was filled with light as the countless gossamer wings of glowing butterflies filled the air.  They fluttered around them, moving like a shimmering whirlpool as they began settling back onto the pillars of stone.  Some of them even alighted on Jill and Kyle, who stood as still as possible as they tiny insects crawled slowly across their bodies. 

“Wow.”  Jill said with wide eyed enthusiasm.  “Let’s do that again.” 

“Might not be a good idea.  We don’t know what else is down here after all.”  Even as he spoke, he was sorely tempted to clap again.

“I guess so.”  She was a bit disappointed, but she knew he was right.  “Still, do you think we should get a few of these little guys for when we get out?”

“Not it this case.  Or at least not yet.  We should wait till we have a way out first before taking any animal life.” 

“True.”  She looked down, and this time it was her turn to notice something.  “Speaking of which, don’t move.”  She said.

“Why?”  He looked down.  It was hard to see, but as he looked closer there was something on the ground that was not moss.

Both of them slowly knelt down to get a better look at the small creature.  It looked to be reptilian, and its hide was the exact same color and patterning of the moss it was standing on, giving it almost perfect camouflage.  Its body was small, squat, and flat with a short head with a narrow, dolphin like beak coming out of it.  Two black eyes looked around at its surrounding, moving about like those of a chameleon. 

“You almost stepped on it.”  Jill said.

“Yeah.  Think it’s dangerous?”

“No idea, but it’s probably best not to find out.”

“Right.”

“Well, I guess you were right.”  She said as she stood back up.  “There really is a whole ecosystem down here.”

“Yeah.  It even comes with its own light source.”  He said, pointing at the glowing butterfly colonies. 

“Which also doubles as part of the food chain.”  She said jokingly.  “Come on, let’s see what else is down here.”  She said, moving through to cavern slowly and carefully, both to avoid falling and to keep from stepping on something.

“Right.  You know, once we get out here, the boys at the biology department are going to have a field day with this place.”

“Yeah, really.  Oh, by the way, I call the butterflies.  You can have the lizard.”  She said.  It took a moment for Kyle to figure out she was talking about what to name the animals.

“Hey now, that’s not right.  It should be the other way around.  I found the butterflies, so I should name them, and you found the lizard, so that one’s yours.”

“Oh poo on you.”  She said, sticking out her tongue playfully.  “Ok, fine.  In that case, I bet I can find more new species before someone comes to find us.”

“Oh you’re on.”  Kyle said through his laughter.  With that, the two of them went in separate directions, carefully looking up and down for anything new in the blue-green light of the cavern.

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What's this?  A continuation of a story two weeks in a row?  My goodness, what is the world coming too?  Don't get used to it though, this probably isn't going to happen very often.  We'll just have to see what next week brings, won't we?

Word: spelunk

 

spelunk

\ spi-LUHNGK \  , verb;

1. to explore caves, especially as a hobby.

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               Jill hammered in the peg at the top of the narrow hole and secured the thick rope to it before slipping her harness on and tying herself to the other end.  Kyle had already finished with his rope, and was making sure all his equipment was firmly fastened to something on his person.  He leaned over the edge of the long, dark hole in the ground and shone his flashlight down it.  Even with the light of the high end flashlight, he was unable to see the bottom.

                “You did tell someone what we’re doing, right?”  He asked.

                “Sure thing.  I called at least three people, and posted it online.”  Jill said as she checked and double checked her own equipment.  “I think it’s safe to say that if something goes wrong, someone will notice our absence.” 

                “Just making sure.”  He said.  He wanted to be as cautious as possible.  This was a newly discovered cave system, after all.  They would be the first people to explore it, and there might be something dangerous down there.

                “Sure, sure.”  She said.  “Well, I’m ready to go if you are.”

                “Let’s do this.”  He said. 

They swung over the edge of the entrance into the narrow hole.  Taking short, controlled hops, they rappelled down the slick, rough stone surface.  Every so often, they paused to check their progress and to make sure everything was still where it should be.  Neither of them spoke as they descended into the darkness.   

“My god, how deep is this thing.”  Kyle said after an hour going straight down.

“A lot deeper than we thought.”  Jill said as she looked up.  The entrance had all but disappeared, and looked to be nothing but a single star in an otherwise black sky. “Hope we have enough rope.”

“Well, I still can’t see the bottom, so I’m thinking not.”  Kyle said, shining his flashlight into the depths.  “We’d better go back up and come back with more.”

“Right.”  She said.  She sighed, not to happy about the long climb up the slick surface they would now have to endure. 

Suddenly, she felt something happen to her rope, and she dropped a fraction of an inch.  She looked up, but saw nothing.  She brought her flashlight out and cast its bright beam along the length of the thick rope.  It looked like part of it had started to fray and break.  Her eyes widened in fear when she saw that.  Kyle looked up to see what she was looking at.  When he saw the break a pit formed in his stomach.

“Let’s uh, let’s hurry up.”  Jill said.

“Yeah, let’s.”  He said.  Suddenly, he felt the sudden, short drop she had.  His rope had also started to break. 

The two of them immediately started to climb back up.  It was slow going, since the walls of the cave entrance were slick and wet, even though it was jagged enough that there were plenty of hand and foot holds to use.  As they climbed, they did their best to keep their ropes taught, sliding them through their harness straps as they went.  All the while, they were aware of the sounds of their ropes slowly breaking. They tried to get up the walls to the point of the break, but the frayed part of their ropes was simply too high up, and the climb was too difficult for them to make with any real speed. 

Soon enough, the ropes broke.  Both watched in horror as the loose ends of their ropes fell below them.  Jill hugged the wall she was clinging to with a white knuckle grip.  Kyle was paralyzed to his, suddenly unable to move for fear of falling.

“So, what should we do now?”  He asked, looking up at the broken end of the rope and the still distant entrance. 

“Should we still try climbing?”  Jill suggested.  “I mean, we can’t really stay here.” 

“Right.  I guess not.”  Kyle said.  “Ok, here goes.”  His trebling hand left the rock he was holding and slowly made its way up to the next available outcropping.  He carefully pulled himself up inches at a time.  Jill followed suit, going even slower than he was.  “Ok, we can do this.  We just have to reach the other end of the rope, then we’re good.”  Kyle said, trying to reassure himself just as much as Jill.

Suddenly, as if by some kind of intelligence, both of their handholds came loose at the same time.  With nothing to hold onto, there was only one thing they could do.  Fall.  Jill let out an ear piercing scream as she plummeted.  Kyle’s throat was locked up in fear, and so nothing escaped his mouth, no matter how much he wanted to.  He closed his eyes, even though he couldn’t actually see much of anything in the darkness, and waited for the inevitable impact. 

The impact did come, but it was nothing like what either of them thought it would be like.  Instead of the hard, life-ending rock they were expecting, they hit something soft enough to break their fall without lethal force.  It was still not exactly pleasant though.  Jill groaned, her whole body in pain from the sudden stop.  Kyle just lay on the ground, not willing to move his aching body from where he was.  He was lying on what felt like some kind of soft plant life, or something similar.

“What was that?”  Jill asked.

“Simple.  We hit the ground, died, and are now in the afterlife.”  Kyle said without looking up.

“Yeah, that sounds about right.  But then, why does my everything hurt?”  She replied.

“I can think of a reason, but it’s not exactly a pleasant thought.”  He said. 

“Nah, I don’t think so.  It’ not very hot down here, and there’s no smell of sulfur and brimstone.”

“You really think it’s like the books?”

“Got any other ideas about it?”

“A few.  But we can talk about that later.  For now, why don’t we actually move.”

“Yeah, sure.  Just as soon as the feeling in my legs comes back.”  Jill said.  Kyle wholeheartedly agreed.  They lay there, unmoving as they came down off the shock of the impact. 

Once they were able, they slowly got up off the ground.  It was still dark enough that they couldn’t see much of anything.  Kyle got out his flashlight, hoping it would still work.  He let out a sigh of relief when it did.  They were still in the cave, or at least, that’s what it looked like.  What had saved them was a thick matt of what looked to be purple moss.  Kyle took a step on the soft substance, but lost his balance right away, toppling flat on his face.  This fall didn’t hurt at all though, and he was able to get right back up.

“What is this stuff?  It feels like we’re walking on one of those bouncy castle things.”  Jill asked as she jumped in place a bit.

“Some kind of new plant species.  Hold on, I’ll just take some.  Jerry can study it later.”  Kyle said, even as he busied himself collecting a sample of the odd moss.

“If we get out.” Jill said.  She looked up, and saw no signs of the entrance.  “It doesn’t look like we can climb out of here at any rate.”

“Maybe there’s another way out.”

“There’d better be.” 

“Well, we’re not going to get anywhere just standing around talking.  We came here to explore this cave, so come on.  Let’s go exploring.”  Kyle said.

“Sure thing.  Let’s just hope there’s nothing big enough to eat us here.”  Jill said, only half joking.

Carefully, the two of them made their way through the caves, the narrow beams of their two flashlights leading the way into the darkness.

**************************

What do they find?  Who knows.  I sure don't.  Ok, that's a lie.  Kind of.  I have some ideas.  Whether or not I do something with them is another matter entirely.