I drag my wagon in the kitchen, a setting all too eerily familiar to my recent subconscious memory.
It appears that the palace guards were on break, which is good, for otherwise, I might jump at the sight of one of them.
I open the pantry and step in. Such a dizzying array of foodstuffs! Sugar, flour, chips, jars of candy, canned pasta, canned vegetables, canned meat, canned mushrooms… Ahh, the syrup!
I load one of each of the flavors of syrup into the wagon. There is not an incredibly vast variety; I will have to go out and buy the rest.
I find some jars of ground coffee, and some jars of crystallized instant coffee. I turn my nose up at these. Only freshly ground beans will do.
I finally find a bag of coffee beans. Expired, probably, and not of a remarkably distinct variety. I nevertheless take them. I can go shopping for some gourmet roasted flavored beans later.
Finally, I open the refrigerator to get my milk.
My choice is between two percent or skim. Both pasteurized, both homogenized. Ugh.
In Austria, we only used raw milk, whole and fresh from the cow's udder – or goat's or sheep's, for that matter; we utilized a greater variety of lactating ungulates for mammary nutrition over there.
I take the two percent. I groan, but then I had been enjoying the practically ready-made Koopaccinos at Shellz for long enough; what was I complaining about? Still, if I was going to make them myself, I might as well make them the right way…
After I put the milk in the wagon, I turn around to close the refrigerator door. As I do so, I jump at a CRASH! from the wagon behind me.
Iggy. He had sneaked into the food pantry again. His head was covered by a potato chip bag. I would have to see about refilling his prescription.
"You are supposed to be in bed, Iggy!" I pull the potato chip bag off of his head.
"But I can't… sleep…"
Gadd's glasses. The swirls. Oh no. My nightmare had been a premonition!
I cannot not blink my way out of this nightmare. My eyelids refuse to block Iggy/Gadd's hypnotic swirly gaze.
I back off slowly from Iggy, but he continues to walk, zombie-like, in my direction.
What was the purpose? Why was Iggy doing this to me? Was it Iggy, or Gadd, or the glasses?
I attempt to solve it, but I simply cannot. This frightens me. I am supposed to be able to solve ANY problem, and I can't even think of how to BEGIN to solve this one!
I – uh, I have a thought, but it escapes me. My full powers of concentration are on the swirling.
Am I being de-geniusified? I attempt to generate a differential equation in my head for myself to solve.
Can't do it. Can't even compute two plus two.
I fall down onto my butt, the spikes on my shell digging against the kitchen wall.
My eyes burn from prolonged oxygen exposure. I open my mouth to tell Iggy to go away, to scream, to say something, but my vocal chords won't function.
Powers of elo-elo-what? Failing… This must be how… how, how what?
De-de-I'm de-whatified…
?
Yes, this one was a shortie, but there's more coming later! ;3
