Any Ol' CanChapter 2
"Look Carlos, when you look through the can it seems to be lying on it's side."
Carlos peered into the can. "And I can see the scorch marks on the ground close by. I can't see much, but the distance seems different. I wish I could see more."
"How about that periscope you made. Do you still have it?"
"Yeah it's in the garage. It is thin enough to go through the can I think." Carlos turned and started toward the garage, Cole following behind.
Rummaging through the clutter on his workbench, Carlos latched on to a three foot tube and proudly proclaimed, "I found it!"
They carried the can out into the yard. Carlos handed it to Cole. "Here, hold it while I use the periscope." Cole held the can and Carlos carefully fed the tube of the periscope through the can and peered into the eyepiece.
"What do you see"" Cole asked excitedly.
"It certainly is not here! It's in an open area. I can see trees in the distance. It's hard to see. The can is lying on the ground and my view is very low."
"Can you use the periscope to move it?"
"No! The periscope's end is here. I have nothing to push against. Hmmm. Maybe I can rig something that will extend from the periscope. Let's get a coat hanger."
The rushed back into the garage. Carlos grabbed a coat hanger and pliers and started bending and cutting the hanger. Soon he was able to slide it over the periscope tube. "That should do it!" he exclaimed. I can move the ends from here. That will lift the periscope at the other end."
They took the can outside again. Cole held the can solidly while Carlos carefully pushed the modified periscope through the can. Peering through the can, Carlos twisted the hanger. "It works! I can see further. Wow!"
"What do you see?" Cole asked excitedly.
"There are trees and shrubs nearby, but I don't recognize any of them. They don't have leaves like any around here!"
"Where do you think it is?"
"I dunno. I know its not around here, that's for sure."
"What happened? What caused this?
"I don't know for sure but I have a theory."
"What's that?"
"Well. Our can got struck by lightning. A tremendous amount of energy went through our can."
"It sure did!"
"From the looks outside the other can, it also got hit by lightning. I think that both cans, identical cans, got hit at the same time. The surge of energy broke through the very fabric of space and made a hole between the two places."
"You've been watching too many Star Treks. That's crazy!
"Do you have a better explanation?"
"Well. No. But if that's true, where is the other end of this hole.
"That I don't know. It may not even be on Earth!"
"Maybe that's the Moon?"
"No, not the Moon; nor any other planet in the solar system. They are nothing like this. We know that. I really don't recognize any leaves in the other place and I can see several trees pretty well. That's why I don't think it's on the Earth."
"Where then?"
"I have no idea. Hey, I see a pond close by."
"Maybe we ought to get some of your bugs from there."
"I was just thinking the same thing. Boy would that get Mr. Abernathy."
"How far is it to the pond?"
"Looks like about 20 feet or so."
"How do we get to it. We can't crawl through, or even reach through."
"I know. I've been experimenting. I can use the hanger to push the periscope and ground and move the can." Carlos concentrated, twisting and pushing the hanger at his end. "There I've got it lined up with the pond. Get me a piece of pipe by the garage.
Carlos held the can while Cole got several long pieces of pipe. Carefully he screwed them together for more than the needed length.
"We'll have to push it through blind because I can't get the periscope and the pipe through together. The pond is big enough we shouldn't miss."
As they pushed the pipe through, Cole listened at the end for the sound of the pipe entering the water. "It's in," he shouted. "Now how do we get the water."
"We can siphon it," Carlos said. "I'll suck the water into the pipe and then point this end down and the water should come right through."
"Be careful. Who knows what's in that water if that is another planet."
"Or another, dimension, or reality..."
"Now you have really have watched too much Star Trek!"
Carlos was too busy trying to suck water into the pipe to respond. Suddenly he pulled his mouth away. "It should be coming now." In a few seconds there was a gurgling sound and then water started flowing out of the end of the pipe.
Cole grabbed some nearby cans and held them under the end of the pipe. After several cans were filled, Carlos lifted the pipe to stop the flow.
"Let's take a look at these under the microscope," Carlos started toward the garage, Cole following with the cans.
Carlos took the microscope and a box of fresh slides off the shelf. Carefully he took a dropper and got a sample of the pond water, placing it on the slide. He slid the thin cover glass on the liquid and placed the slide in the microscope.
Peering through the eyepiece, Carlos adjusted the focus. "Wow! We've got some good ones!" he exclaimed. "Here look while I check the books."
Carlos searched through the Biology Book, occasionally looking into the microscope.
"Can you find them in there?" Cole asked.
"Doesn't seem to be in the book, and I can't ever remember seeing any thing like them. They're similar to some of the ones in the book, but definitely different." Carlos started preparing more slides. "Wait till Mr. Abernathy sees these. This is one science project he will never forget!"