Professor
Oxbrain
Episode IV
Oxbrain
and his two students return to Athens after their world-saving adventure.
El Diablo resurfaces.
Oxbrain realizes that he must face his archenemy one more time.
He gallops into the night for their final showdown.
Will he be able to save the world once again? Or will his jaunt be just
A Lope in the Dark?
By
John T Sherman
Illustrated by Amy Stanford
____Oxbrain,
Trini and Toby reached Athens in their amazing anti-gravity machine at
around midnight. They circled above for a while, searching for a suitable
place to land. At last, they found an empty, abandoned silo at the edge
of town.
_____After hiding
their anti-gravity machine inside, the three of them agreed that it would
be best not to talk about their adventure, for if the powerful schemers
of the world heard about it, they would use all means at their disposal
to get those machines, and thus wreak havoc on the world.
_____Oxbrain resumed his teaching
the next day, and Trini and Toby returned to their studies, like before.
_____The fall semester brought in
many more new philosophy majors, mainly because of the interest generated
by the Department's celebrated bovine professor, who proffered puns and
tested his students with crosswords. Yes, soon he would need a larger
lecture hall to accomodate the growing number of future philosophers.
As for Professor Waysmart, he kept himself busy with plans for a new Philosophy
Building, which he insisted was necessary to accomodate the growing roster
of students in the Department that he chaired.
_____ Oxbrain's
idyllic existence, however, came to an abrupt halt one morning when he
saw the news headlines as he walked into his office:
Businessman
Discovers Island in Atlantic
Claims Ownership
_____ Although
El Diablo wan't mentioned by name, Oxbrain knew who was behind
this press release. He saw the shadowy hand of his archenemy, and an apparent
attempt to cloak his sinister plans under a veil of legitimacy.
_____ Perusing the paper further, Oxbrain
came across another suspicious article:
Ships
Tow Giant Iceberg to Florida
To Boost Ice Shortfall in State
_____ "That's
no reason to tow an iceberg halfway around the world. What is he
up to?"
_____ And
yet another odd news item:
Hot-air Balloon Club Meets on Getaway Island
_____ "What?
Has El Diablo suddenly become a hot-air balloon enthusiast? And started
his own club? Hah! But what is he really trying to do here?"
Oxbrain paced his office in deep thought.
_____ He
decided to wait until dark. Storm clouds gathered overhead. As soon as
he left his office, it started to pour, and his fine gray suit turned
wet and muddy. He walked up College Avenue as cascading rain obscured
the restaurants and taverns lining the street, their windows hinting at
the gaiety within. How he wished he could stop and partake of the warmth,
the laughter inside. (Perhaps he would see some of his own students there!)
____grClip
clop, clip clop. He walked on, past senatorial oak trees, piquant
gift shops and avulcular bookstores. Clip clop, clip clop.
His hooves glistened in the rain and the feeble street
lights.
_____ As he reached the edge of town, he followed a vaguely familiar dirt road that snaked through coarse brush and abandoned farmsteads until, finally, he stood before the dark outline of an abandoned silo that held -- in its rusty innards -- a magical machine that would take him where he had to go.
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