The Teacher's Assistant

A New World

When it was taken out the room dimmed and sound became muffled, the air felt heavy. The object itself was shaped like a small pyramid, it was black, very black; so dark it was as if it emitted its own "negative light" like it could produce shadows. But there was more, its perfect symmetry, its sharp edges and dense black complexion all added an element of deepness to it. Looking at it was like staring down into the deepest of ocean ravines. The possibilities presented by the unknown, danger, discovery; it sent a tickle up Peter's spine.

"You want to hold it don't you?" The professor asked, reading Peter's mind.

Peter was caught in bewilderment, he didn't know who this mysterious man was. The black pyramid was like nothing he had seen before and he didn't trust it, or the man holding it.

He hesitated.

"What? You scared of my little black pyramid Peter?"

A flash of hurt pride flew across his face and Mr. Devine noticed it with a touch of pleasure.

He wanted to grab it badly, yet something held him back. Paralyzed by his dilemma, he made no reply.

"For another day maybe." The professor forced a brief smile that hide his teeth. He shut the black pyramid back up in his briefcase and the room filled with light again.

Peter awoke as if he had been in a trance. He felt strangely disappointed that the professor's mysterious object was gone and a coward for not taking it.

Mr. Devine walked over to him, "Do you want to know why I am here teaching at this high school and not a renowned college?

"Yeah I actually would like to know a lot about you." Peter answered.

The professor laughed.

"I am here Peter because people are afraid of new things; they don't like risks or danger, they prefer to sit inside this little box, this universe and twiddle their thumbs..."

"You can hardly call the universe a box. We don't even know where it ends." Peter interrupted.

"Well it is a box, in fact not only is it a box but it is just one of a trillion other boxes. There is actually an infinite number of other universes out there all parallel to one another. There is no more value in one grain of sand in a desert than our world to the next. You see we give ourselves to much credit as humans. From our perspective we seem rather clever, we have cars, and planes, spaceships and computers; but if you were to look at it from the perspective of parallel universes, you would find ourselves inventing new ways to achieve nothing.

Einstein, the hero of the modern world, he was an idiot. See, an idiot is a smart person who denies the obvious, while a stupid person simply doesn't see the obvious. Einstein was an idiot, in fact, he was the greatest idiot because he saw the most of the obvious and denied it. He championed the world we live in, this box; but he ignored the reality in which we dwell. I have not ignored this reality, I have championed it and escaped the box!" He paused, "So to speak...

The main point here is, people, they don't like new things, especially new things that open into the unknown..."

The professor went on not giving Peter a chance to speak.

"There is a certain feeling of security that comes with ignorance and humanity has fallen in love with it. I am at odds with this general feeling, that and a mishap at my old university have caused many leading scholars to displease of me. I didn't mean to harm anyone...But risks must be taken in order to get anywhere. I was so close...I won't make the same mistake twice, I know I won't."

Peter was stunned but mostly confused, "You hurt someone?"

The professor didn't acknowledge his question.

"How would you like to travel outside of this box Peter?"

It was at this point Peter realized was talking to an insane man. He was beginning to doubt "Mr. Devine" was a teacher at all. For all he knew this man had just wandered off the streets. He began to back out the door.

The professor didn't say anything until he was just a step away from being out, "You would make the first man on the moon the joke that he really is. You would put to shame that pathetic step, that ridiculous fuss of underachieving scientists celebrating their own wasted effort. You would be a hero... Or you can go to the lunch room right now. That's where you are supposed to be. I heard you are rather popular there?" He said slyly with a mean grin. "You like being made fun of? Not being able to hit back, knowing they will always win because there is more of them. They move like a pack don't they? And what is one stray against a pack?"

Crazy or not, the professor was poking in places he had no right. Peter angrily spun around. The professor could see the fire in the boy's eyes. He didn't give him the chance to open his  mouth and quickly went on with a much more pleasant tone, "You would get money, more than a little stature in the world, not to mention admiration and respect from everyone."

"Yeah? Would I? Or would I end up dead? Tell me what happened at your old college? You said people were harmed!? Or maybe you don't have an old college? Maybe you just walked off the streets fresh off a shot of heroin?"

The professor turned away from Peter unfazed by his accusations, he gazed out the classroom window. "What happened?" He mumbled to himself just loud enough to hear.

"Well Peter, I think they saw to much. Not everyone is suited for this task; some people react differently to the outside dimensions. As humans we think we are it and there is nothing more. Witnessing something outside or from an alternate angle can be overpowering for certain individuals."

"What did they witness? What were they unable to handle?"

The professor still stood in the window, his tall figure cast an abnormally long shadow across the empty room. He turned to face the boy in his classroom, looking down at him with those dark eyes; yet Peter noticed a touch of pity in them, or was it sorrow perhaps?

"They saw themselves Peter. They saw who they were not from the inside, but the outside, a spectator of their own being." His voice was grave when he said this as if the thought of seeing one's self disturbed him.

It was at this moment that something about the professor, despite his wild theories and previous rant, touched Peter. He wasn't sure what it was and it frightened him how serious the situation felt. He took a step back towards the door.

"Well thank you for the offer. I have to leave and even if you could travel into different dimensions and see yourself I would not be the type to handle it." Peter then paused, "I also have a family and I would miss them."

The professor didn't move or seemed changed at all, he stood there as if he had known the answer all along. With a bit of sarcasm he grunted, "Have a good lunch."

Peter left the room and shut the door.

Thank you for reading! Leave a comment and let me know what you think and if you'd like the next chapter's posted!