Universal Remote

There was nothing odd about the boy except that he had an overwhelming desire to visit the Holy Land of Mecca. Being a Moslem from a wholesome traditional family in the Middle East he felt drawn to the customs of the Holy Quran that Originated from Islam. His culture had a modern language that had replaced the Islamic language along with the robed dresses of veiled women & Fezes still worn by Egyptians. He still remembers his Grandfather who protested the removal of his favorite hat with the tassel that complimented his curled Turkish mustache. It’s the devils law! He had protested the readjustment of the entire way one had to dress, & reform to the Tanzimat vocabulary. The young adapted it like adding spice to Türkiye chi since it was simpler than the old script with a expressive alphabet of French derivatives rather than Arabic. Women loved western wear and wearing makeup while young Yildiz remembered how his grandmother excepted the change of not having to walk three paces behind his Grandfather with her head bowed in accordance. With all the changes that took place, they celebrated Ramadan underneath a setting golden Sun. A meal of lamb in a house that sat along the Bosporus Sea was as sacred as his Mother’s prayer beads that hung over Oriental rugs along with evil eye decorations. Going out to the boat docks where old men sat & smoked fruited tobacco through their hookahs, Yildiz would sit & read his Astronomy books. He yearned to learn more about the stars and travel to the land of Arabia where the square object that he felt fell from space was located. As the Sun sunk over the horizon into a glowing orange ball he waited until the star configurations became visible. There in his notebook he drew what he saw above with the moon as his light. His father understood his boys past time being named after the stars as he was a lawyer who had said that good men follow the stars, while the corrupt follow a different configuration. Reaching the age of 18, young Yildiz attended a trade school specializing in computers & number systems. He became obsessed with programming his star charts into his computer system mapping galaxies of stars onto one larger interstellar connection that felt like a glance through inner space. Once the program was marketed he planned on making a profit big enough to create his own Observatory as big as Tubitak that he visited to gather information. The internet was a web of connections that together with a touch screen he could navigate anywhere through his charted cosmos. He preferred writing programs for his Chrome box that sat upon his desk flashing pictures after pictures from a higher satellite that made earth’s surface look like a pinpoint. One night when all was quiet, he received a odd serge of electricity that felt like magnets coming from his screen. The image on the screen flashed a overhead projection of the black cube of Mecca with the white robes of pilgrims swirling around. It was a extreme feeling as if the cube was communicating with him. There’s something there, he said as he touched the image that became watery when touching. This is something he added onto his touch screen, he named water touch. This program brought in enough lira to help feed his family that his father bragged was the work of a genius. The Chrome box adapted well to his programs while he called it cyber swimming as his hand could touch a Universe full of galaxies, then pull in its solar system planets moons & Suns! His mother being half Russian was amazed by the watery inventions she called the Matryoshka dolls of galaxies as she was in bewilderment of tiny worlds inside worlds wrapped as a baby in diapers. That is correct, he told his mother, as a younger galaxy can be identified by its interstellar dust. A younger galaxy has more white dust covering its body as a diaper! My good son, you are so inquisitive always entertaining with such charisma! In the following days it became harder & more distressing to move away from the computer screen as it continued to portray the image of Mecca that pulled him into a hypnotic trance. It wasn’t normal for it to repeat the same image, as Yildiz wondered if his Universal star program had found something else. He thought it was trying to tell him something, a message that he had to decipher. Knowing that the Arabic were masters in Astronomy he wondered if the strange rock in Mecca was an asteroid fallen yet it didn’t explain how it conformed to a perfect square. There were several conversations about this he discussed with his group of friends who met at the mosque they used for a evening classroom. Many felt it was a gift given by Allah & calling it an asteroid was a insult to the most Omniscient. You must go to where your heart desires they group said as if they could see something there out of sight. The Arabs were first at mapping the stars, be careful if you journey to Mecca, not a single bird is said to fly near its presence. An elder said while his bearded silhouette shadow looked enlarged on the candle lit wall. Following his desire, Yildiz boarded a plane taking him over the desert where he could see below the terrain appearing more surreal with camel caravans & tents. His flight landed in Jeddah City where he hoped a bus to the Sanctuary of Kaaba. There he found the site of the slice of heaven he searched for. Following the trails of worshippers that led to the stone he bumped into a man who spoke to him in Arabic. Not knowing the language he used hand signals indicating he was mute. The man seemed caring, wanting to help seeing he was all alone. There was something about his face, as if he had seen him before, Yildiz couldn’t place it. Standing near the stone it became Omnipotent as he again felt powerful surges of electricity. It must have been a force he wasn’t aware of. He looked around for the kind man in the circles of people, yet he had disappeared into the crowd. The tall mountain of Jabal al Nour beamed within the valley where he went to climb overlooking the holy site. He couldn’t see the vicinity well after climbing for an hour to it’s peek due to incoming rain. He hadn’t counted on that as the only place for shelter was inside the cave. The sky became suddenly dark as thunderous clouds moved in. Instantly there was a streak of lightning that flashed so bright it beckoned him with a jolt knocking him against the stone slabs. Poor Yildiz had passed out inside the structure that had been a place of retreat for the profit Mohammed. Above in the sky were faces of Angels looking through the clouds as Gabriel had done thousands of years prior. When he woke up he saw a different environment than the enclosure he fell unconscious in. At first he thought he was back home in the caves of Cappadocia having tunnels of interwoven Paleolithic caverns built by the Phrygians. The cave interior he was in had water canals that Cappadocia hadn’t, making his location as perplexing as he felt. Searching for the entrance that led out to a trail of watery mazes that became too deep to navigate. Filtering his hands through the water he could see it was rich in carbon & limestone. While trying to call for help on his cellphone that’s battery had drained he saw a distant figure darting through the passages. Running after him in seeping water led him to a outlet where a river crossed flowing as fast as his consciousness was spinning. He stood still for a moment gasping the thin air when a frail boat holding a little being rowed through. When he stopped using energy that made the craft float, Yildiz could see the being was an alien. The boat stood over the waves 🌊 while the alien froze with a startled expression on his face. He was just as surprised on seeing a human. Their eyes met uncertain on what to do. With his bright eyes he motioned for him to step on board as his consciousness warned the cavern was to deep to go about unguided. Stepping on the hovering boat he found a place to sit as it had not a stirring wheel and seemed to drift on its own. The floating allowed Yildiz to fall asleep while the guide found his cellphone to examine. When the boat stopped at the cave entrance he woke up looking out at a vast sea of landscape he was unfamiliar with. Feeling afraid as he had no idea where he was. The being felt his confusion indicating with his walking stick where he said through telepathy the word, home. Exasperated for air alien & man walked on what appeared to be a Martian sea of orange sand. A transparent structure stood in the distance where when going inside the air was much more breathable. A taller being of similar appearance to the boat entity greeted them with bright eyes upon seeing the human companion. They communicated in a unknown language that sounded high pitched & scrambled. Inside the dome were hanging plants that glistened from watery dew that gave off carbon dioxide from bubbling vaporizers. The boat guide left after explaining how he had found the man in the water channels. Sitting him down upon a sand blasted seat he sat looking around the strange atmosphere. The tall alien walked over to him to get a closer look. Having never encountered an alien being before, Yildiz was set back at his appearance. His bright eyes beaming down met his as he began a blending telepathy. He seemed to search for a language buried inside his mind. Once he located the language he was able to speak in his language. Asking him how he traveled to the caves, he said in his thoughts that he had fallen into a crevasse while being a pilgrim in Mecca upon the mountain of Jabal. Talking through brain waves was a sensation that felt entirely different, as vocal chords were not needed. Yildiz remembered a bolt of lightning jilting him backward then all became blackness. The inner words were in slow motion as if his memory was being examined with an invisible magnifying glass. Looking down at the aliens feet he could see he had six feet that moved as two as well as six arms. The alien wondered how he had landed from his fall upon the soil of his world. Yildiz asked what world he was on, the alien answered, the 4th planet from the sun. He wanted to get back home immediately. The alien said that there must be a hidden portal that he somehow slipped through. Suddenly the boat guide appeared to give the man’s cellular phone back that he had forgotten. Explaining to the tall Being that he restored its energy by setting it on a space asteroid. It’s illuminated light shone onto the palm of his web like hand. Showing him a picture he took of a certain brick he found within the cave. The boat guide said he had never seen such writing upon the red carbon stone. The six hands of the taller being looked closer at the writing that he said were magical spells written by Ancients upon the third planet according to the tablets he had read in the museum. While the two aliens were conversing, Yildiz, now just a Earth man saw they had his mobile phone. He motioned for them to give it back. The webbed hand of the boat guide put his phone into his palm smiling to reassure no harm was done. Of course it had no signal but the camera worked as he saw too the strange brick. The boat guide again left while the interrogation with the tall one continued. The stone writing could just be how you crossed worlds, Tall being gestured. We must find this stone to where it must have a portal. Agree! The earth man said as word had gotten out a strange man was found from the 3rd world. The domed dwelling soon filled up with curious eyes of little beings who wanted to play as pets do. The tall being said his name was Hung named after the number six named after all his digits. He was a leader to the race that the Earth man wanted to know more of. Hung brought out a space suit he told was found in an old rocket ship that had crashed years ago. Explaining to him he needed it to go outside since the carbon terraform was low of oxygen. Putting it on he demanded on finding the portal of the red stone. Heading outside they journeyed following the directions given by the boat guide. A Barron museum stood among the sand portraying sand sculptures where one stood resembling Hung. They worship me as I have the arms & legs of a diety. He smiled as the tall sculpture glistening in the Martian Sun. Looking at the Sun through his helmet he couldn’t believe he was standing upon the ground of an entirely different world. Tossing his mobile phone to Hung he asked for a few pictures once he returned home. It was nice to make friends as Yildiz wondered if this experience was really what he was searching for. As the sun sank into the horizon the temperature became much colder as the cave entrance was detected. He wanted to know more about what the boat guide did, as Hung explained how he searched for cuttle fish that appeared giving nourishment needed to survive. He wanted to know more too of the crashed rocket, as the space suit had what appeared to be an American flag emblem. He also found in its pocket a few old Mars bars that were preserved enough to eat with an empty stomach. The mineral water in the canals was drinkable as it quenched his thirst. Finding the brick stone inside the winding cave walls Yildiz ran his gloves upon the dripping limestone that echoed through the cave walls. There was nothing there that indicated a exit, he found disappointing. Hung then set upon the walls his many fingers as if psychically searching with his tiny suction cups. The wall began to morph and blur with Hung’s hands slipping through the dimension. This it it, my friend, I hope this leads you to your home world. Yildiz stepped through the wall when the portal portrayed an image of the structure of Mecca appearing in a warping display. Allahu Akbar! The wall spoke as Yildiz transpired back at the religious site. He had no time to say his thanks, grateful to be back somewhere he was familiar with. He had lost his purse with passport somewhere in the transaction, as he sat in the sand looking at his cellphone photos. He smiled at the pictures he had taken. Having the signal switch back on, he saw for a second Hung sitting in the cave entrance while a sandstorm blew outside. He wondered how he could see being on the other side of an interdenominational phenomenon with visual contact. He hoped he would be ok while sitting out the atmospheric storm. The image then went blank while his camera switched back to viewing the rocks & sand of Jeddah. After going to his embassy explaining that he lost his belongings, he made his journey back home. Finding a library he along with his companions found among the books a copy of the writings upon the mysterious brick. It was a manuscript in the ancient book of the dead that had been inscribed onto the stone by Pharaoh Thutmose 111. Yildiz thought it could have been that old and wondered how a magic spell written that long ago in 1400 BC could have any effect. There were many spells written that were used to transform not only reality but into shape shifting forms of animals that only the Gods could manifest. Yildiz looked up at the figure standing before him, his face resembling the friend he had encountered with his name meaning six. He smiled at the librarian, looking to see if he too had six limbs, yet he had stepped away. Yildiz turned the books page revealing a photo of the Pharaoh who was said to have engraved on the stone. His resemblance was astonishing as he matched the face of the robed man he bumped into while praying to the Kabbalah. Maybe the man you met was Muhammad! A colleague suggested. No, this man was much older as a spirit of the Pharaoh was powerful enough to have created a door that travels from one earthy body to another. The stone inscribed passports had allowed entrance into the Afterlife. As he researched more he found that each spell was numbered as he wanted to travel to Egypt to learn how a transformation into a fantastical creature could be obtained. Don’t dive too deep into the magic, you don’t want to become a dark sorcerer. His friends joked. Showing the Librarian his photo he had of the brick he was encouraged to write of his encounter. His spacesuit disappeared at the embassy as it was being analyzed & kept secret as there wasn’t a known crash landing upon an alien surface. After giving a lecture about his experience, walking outside he looked up at a bright star that seemed to blink its light like a distant friend. He then dashed away in his car as he heard the moan of an sand storm as if it were miles away.