The Chronicles of Gordon Sykes: Volume One - New Worlds

CHAPTER ONE: ESCAPE.

Gordon Sykes was feeling strange.

Indeed, within himself he was feeling quite lost.

Why was he here, in such a strange featureless place?

Regretfully, he couldn't quite understand what was wrong.

The face which kept appearing over him, was extremely disturbing, to say the very least. Quite ugly too if the truth were known. It did go away for long periods of time though. This pleased Gordon no end.

During the absence of the face however, he could hear his name being called, over and over again.

This was equally as annoying as the ugly face had been.

Gordon was losing his tolerance with both, by the minute.

Gordon Sykes did not like being bullied, or shouted at. He had decided this long ago; he was fairly sure that he thought he had decided this. In any case. Even if he had only this minute come up with this dislike, he was definitely not going to be bullied any longer, especially by this unpleasant face, or the grating voices.

Gordon? The voice again...

Gordon. Gordon Sykes?

Gordon?...

Gordon?... Gordon Sykes?

And so it went on, and on...

Gordon Sykes vaguely remembered he had been somewhere else, exactly where, would come to him presently, he was certain of that, but for now, he would concentrate solely upon not being here any longer. He really must go.

Gordon Sykes didn't like here... Wherever here was. In fact here, was horrible.

The voice and especially the face, were too much for him, much too much.

Through his squinted eyes Gordon saw... Nothing.

Everything was white, a very bright white, for as far as his vision allowed; perhaps for ever.

Gordon Sykes could somehow remember being the master of his own world. True, it was not completely clear to him, but somewhere in the depths of his mind he could remember things going very much better for him.

Gordon tried concentrating. It hurt a little to do too much concentrating, so he just let himself drift a little in free thought, as he liked to think of it.

Then, suddenly it came flooding back.

Gordon remembered that he had lived in his own mind; he had created a world of his very own. And, he had enjoyed every single moment in that well ordered world.

Gordon Sykes would return there, to his very own world.

A world of instant changes and as fast as lightening decisions.

Ah yes. Finally, Gordon Sykes was back.

His first change would be no ugly faces.

He recalled the extremely annoying ugly face that kept staring at him.

Gordon was unsure why he had been so interesting to this face.

It didn't matter, she was gone now.

The voice or voices too, were gone. Gordon mentally rejoiced.

Soon the face will be replaced by more beautiful ones; everywhere there will be only beautiful faces. Gordon Sykes felt at last, or again, free.

As quickly as he possibly could, Gordon created in his own new world, a beach, a long clean white beach. Of course he made the ocean a soft blue-green, with five feet tall rollers crashing in; just off the rim-line of his sandy beach. The creamy mixture of surf and sand flushing together and then pushing forward with each new wave. Now that's more like it, he thought joyfully.

Gordon spread down a towel, a huge beach towel.

He was delighted because he had made it a bright red towel. Gordon liked red.

He lay down upon the towel and stared up at the sky... Oops. Silly me; he had forgotten all about the sunshine.

Stupid man, he rebuked himself. No point having the power to create my own world of beauty, if I am going to forget things. Instantly there was the sun, high and bright, set against a clear blue sky. Gordon even remembered to make the horizon shimmer, just a little bit.

There, now I can think about all the plans for my exciting new world.

I can decide what comes next. And then, I shall create...

Fifteen seconds later Gordon Sykes was fast asleep.

In his dreams, which were more like dreams within dreams, Gordon felt himself being pulled, pushed and somehow pressed into thoughts and imaginings he had no desire to follow. The places he saw and the sounds he heard became somehow confused. He was absolutely unsure of himself one moment, yet strong confident and all-powerful the next.

These were his dreams; somewhere deep within his mind of minds, he felt it was so. Gordon tried to push back, against these sensations of loss, of despair. The joy of new and exciting possibilities replaced them, but not completely.

He could see in this dream some magnificent buildings. Realizing that the changes he could create were equally fantastic. In his mind, his buildings were beautiful too. Gordon did feel though, that to change all the pillars in the entrance halls from being vertical to laying horizontal, just so he could make a point, was at best childish and achieved no possible advantage whatsoever.

Indeed, he felt somehow silly to have done such a thing. Although these thoughts did cross his mind, it did not stop him from behaving recklessly, nor did he put things back the way he found them.

CHAPTER TWO: A MODERN CITY.

Gordon Sykes awakened slowly. The warm sunshine on the white sand, with the crashing, swishing sounds of the ocean, were somehow fainter than they should have been. He opened his eyes wider. Gordon concentrated harder, but still, from a distance he could not quite determine, he heard a voice. Someone was calling; calling his name.

Gordon was certain that he had not created any other people, not yet. Not in this brand new world of his.

He listened again. All his attention was focused; this time he knew, he remembered; THAT voice. That damned annoying voice, calling his name, again and again, over and over.

How? This would not do. Gordon was beside himself with something close to rage. He was far too angry to try and work it out; how had this voice found him so quickly, on his own quiet beach, in his own new world.

Nevertheless, it had found him. The ugly face and the voice simply had to go forever.

Gordon Sykes was extremely taken aback by this turn of events, so he did what any self respecting person would do. Gordon immediately created a huge boom box music player.

Suddenly, there were the massive tones of Carmina Burana; invading every other noise, occupying it and finally drowning out every other sound.

Gordon had to admit, albeit reluctantly, that this loud music was a bit too noisy, even for him, but it would have to stand for as long as THAT voice kept calling his name...

Gordon tried to think. He tried very hard indeed. The music ploy had worked.

Almost instantly the world about him became clearer; vivid again.

Gordon realized he would have to get even further away from faces and voices.

Gordon must go deeper into his new world, further than he had ever done before. His escape so far had almost failed; it was still accessible by whoever was pursuing him.

Gordon Sykes loved the beach. He loved the ocean, but to make his world more secure from uninvited people, perhaps he must find another place.

The mountains, Gordon thought. I also like mountains, very much indeed.

I shall build a whole city in a lush green valley, high, high in the mountains.

Inaccessible from any direction, unless of course, I decide it should be so.

Yes, that is where it will be.

Gordon had decided.

A momentary guilty thought raced through Gordon's mind. Am I being sacrilegious to create my own world in this manner? Gordon was taken quite by surprise, by this pious thought. He pondered. He pondered hard, and then at once the answer came to him.

Bugger it... So what...

Gordon's logic was foolproof.

Men had been building cities for centuries. His city however, could be built by him simply deciding it should be.

Was that so wrong?

That was the last time Gordon gave such things the slightest thought.

The sounds of Carmina Burana faded as Gordon squinted and concentrated.

This was how he created things, Gordon could remember that.

Certain now that the voice and the face had been left far behind, Gordon Sykes' mind took him high into the mountains.

He was already pleased with himself for having made such a bold decision. Gordon looked all around at the place he had created.

It was beautiful, even if he thought so himself.

The valley had an even dip falling down from the mountain tops, running all the way from east to west; both ends firmly plugged by more rounded hills which ensured total seclusion, but enabled the sun early access to the whole length of the valley from early light in the mornings.

Although already high, the lie of the land was such that as the sun would rise in the east and shine down upon the valley for most of the day; then finally setting gently in the west, slipping snugly behind the rounded hills, ensuring a perfect sunset every evening.

Gordon felt a certain pride.

This is a very good spot to build a city, he thought. If I should decide to grow grapes for wine, or grow any other fruit, this will be the perfect place to do it.

Gordon did have slight reservations. As he thought about growing grapes and other things, he was not completely certain that he actually knew how to go about this.

In any case, he thought he didn't know, but then again, the more he thought about the possible intricacies involved, the more he was convinced that all he had to do was create a small group of people who did know how to do these things. Therefore, the problem would quickly be resolved.

Perfect! Problem solved.

Gordon Sykes practically danced with joy, at this dynamic revelation. Better get to work, he thought. Gordon was nothing if not a hard worker.

He became aware of the short conversations he was having with himself and felt oddly embarrassed.

Why do I have to keep talking to myself? I could create as many people to talk to as I wish. There will be special people, Gordon decided, just for me to talk to.

One thing Gordon Sykes could not abide was people who dither. People who dance on the edge of making up their minds. Equally, he was not going to become one of these people himself. The last thing Gordon wanted was to end up arguing with himself.

After all, this would be extremely time consuming and irritating. I have a city to build, Gordon reminded himself.

A strange pressure kept causing Gordon to shrink back slightly from his busy activities. Unable to exactly pinpoint what this pressure was, or how it came about, Gordon did his level best to ignore it. The fact that it was only occasionally there, bothered him. He was fairly certain that it bothered him. He wasn't quite sure; which actually bothered him even more.

Gordon stood quite still, surveying all the land which spread in front of him.

Indecision? Not at all. Gordon created a road. A very long, very wide road, which ran from where he was standing at the western end of the valley, all the way through to the eastern edge, ending at the foot of the hill at that end.

This will be useful for all the busy cars and trucks, Gordon mused, because once those crops are planted and the grapes are ready for picking, everyone will need to get from place to place.

After a few moments Gordon stared at the road. Not sure what, but something wasn't right. He stared a little longer, and then decided to get on with something else.

This was again one of those moments when he must be assertive.

Gordon remembered well the Chicken or the egg situation. He had seen people arguing over this dilemma for hours.

Very well, Certainty is what is required.

People, or the houses they will live in?

Perhaps the people should build the houses they are going to live in, but then; where do they live while they are building the houses?

Gordon hated this kind of problem.

It was about then that Gordon came to realize he was quickly losing the plot.

What in the hell am I thinking? He was very angry with himself. I'm not here to build the damn city brick by brick. Think it done man... Good Grief! Stupid idiot! Gordon was quite disgusted with himself.

There it was again, that odd pressure; it was as if it came from deep within his head. Gordon Sykes did not like this sensation; not one little bit. Equally, it was very hard to ignore.

My city! My refuge! Gordon focused again, this time only upon his city. Slowly the pressure in his head faded, until he felt his mind become clear again.

Almost the instant the pressure was gone; Gordon gave it no further thought.

He shook his head, stared out at the wide valley; squinted his eyes and created from his thoughts. There, all along the road from its eastern end, right up to where he was standing, appeared the most fantastic houses and other buildings.

Off to each side like the legs of a giant centipede ran dirt tracks right into the open areas of the valley which Gordon had earmarked for the crops.

Running between some of these tracks were beautiful woods, thick with every kind of tree Gordon could remember; oak, ash, chestnut, pine and a few others. Gordon was not particularly worried whether these trees could actually grow in the same place or not. They looked just fine where he had put them. And that is where they will stay.

Yes indeed; Gordon yelled out. He was pleased. So pleased was he, that he made up his mind right there and then that the people could wait.

Gordon felt a desire to take a closer look at all he had created so far.

Scratching his head in curiosity, Gordon then created a magnificent open top Lamborghini.

Gordon Sykes sat proudly in the driving seat and floored the throttle, the engine screamed in the predatory way only a Lamborghini can; something between a growl and a cry of victory. Twice more Gordon floored the accelerator, slipped it into Drive; then like a bat out of hell, shot down the wide straight road. The ride was phenomenal. So wonderfully smooth; as Gordon drove faster and faster the feelings of the moment stole every other thought from his mind.

Except one.

In the back of his mind, Gordon felt it nagging at him, like an itch he couldn't scratch. The road? What was it about the road? Gordon mulled the problem over.

Then the answer dropped, like a massive penny.

Of course. What a fool; LINES! He shouted at the top of his voice. The lines in the center of the road, useless man, make the lane markers... Come on Gordon, don't be such a twerp. THINK man... Gordon laughed maniacally and at once created neatly drawn white lane markers, the entire length of the wide road. Eight lanes altogether, four in each direction.

Gordon pulled the car to the side of the road.

He looked all around and felt something, was it pride, or something else?

Gordon wasn't sure what he felt at that moment, except tired; very, very tired.

He let his head fall back onto the headrest.

Yawned hugely, loudly.

Gordon Sykes, fell fast asleep, again.

CHAPTER THREE: WHALES ARE PEOPLE TOO.

When Gordon awoke he was vaguely aware that he had been somewhere else, a few minutes? No, it must have been hours ago.

He had been driving, he was sure of it. As sure as he could be anyhow. Ah well, no matter. Gordon looked all around, until he saw that he was in a room. A very large, well appointed room. The décor of the room was not modern, but not really olden worldly either.

Gordon Sykes problem was not really with the décor. His problem was that he had no recollection of creating this room, or the décor. To make matters worse he also could not remember having created any people yet either.

So, who had made this room? Where was this room and how did he get here?

Normally these events would cause a person great anxiety. To be honest, Gordon was slightly more perplexed than usual.

However, Gordon decided, there would be an excellent answer to this conundrum; if not, he chuckled, I shall create one.

Gordon jumped out of the bed and walked over to the window.

His surprise was only exceeded by his joy. The large bow window was on the second floor, ahead of him was the entire valley, running all the way east with magnificent views of well, everything. It really was beautiful to look at.

As he looked down at the grounds in front, he saw the house had a large entrance with a huge circular driveway. The top edge of the drive squeezed through a double gated entry, which was closed off with a huge ornate iron gate.

A momentary doubt ran through his mind, if he had not created this, who had? The thought was fleeting. Gordon was far too excited with his house to think negative thoughts. Perhaps I did create it and have simply forgotten, he mused. Yes, that will be it.

All his two-way speculations left his head, the very moment he saw the car.

His Lamborghini was sitting there, shining in the midday sun, just a few yards from the front door steps. From his perspective the Lamborghini looked like a wild animal basking in the sunshine, like male lions do. He grinned, remembering the thrill of