This is part II of this series, to read part I click here,

After traveling down a kaleidoscopic wormhole, for what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Merl wakes up on the beach of what he can only guess is a distant alien planet. Merl notices a small tower in the cove across the coastline.

Hiking over to the building in the small peninsula, Dr. Merl doesn’t know if he is hallucinating or what, but the small castle-like tower appears to have grown an almost face-like appearance and looked to be winking at him. ;)

Merl meets a wizard who calls himself Citizen Patient. Discussions about isolation, what planet they are on, and the year transpires briefly between the two:

C.P. references a primitive species of aliens who were so unsanitary that they transmuted an animal virus from pigs to humanoids. Then, years later, governments used it as a biological weapon to enhance WWV. 

“But wait,” Dr. Merl said, “we’ve only had WWIII, you’re saying there was a WWV?”

“Yes", explains Citizen Patient, “and now, in this planetary reality, almost all of the afflicted lifeforms have returned back to a natural balance. That’s why it’s named the Island of Equilibrium.”

C.P. gives Dr. Merl a dusty book appearing to be an antique. Once the book opens, it reveals a holographic map to various map points in the multiverse! C.P. quickly explained that some of the points have clues to finding Zona Raveo. But wait, how does C.P. know about Zona Raveo? 

C.P. looks at Dr. Merl like a newb and says;

“What are you kidding me, man? You’ve never heard of nor been to Zona Raveo??!! Where did you say you were from again?”

Dr. Merl explained his home is called “Planet Earth.”

“Never heard of it.” C.P. replies. 

It’s so dark in the dank smelling castle, that Dr. Merl can’t see, and so asks C.P. if he can open a shade to let in some light. Just as he is about to ask him what type of cannabis strain he favors…

“Sure.” says C.P. as he floats, not even walking, towards the window. Mysteriously, C.P. then vanishes into the curtain and the map spontaneously combusts again like the first piece of parchment from Dr. Merl’s laboratory.

Dr. Merl jumps back in order to save his nose and eyebrows from getting seared off. Another practical joke or a tricky magical prankster, eh? 

He walks outside to get some fresh air after the intense experience. Somehow, Dr. Merl is able to photographically recall the holograph inside his mind’s eye after seeing the map for only a few seconds. More than just inside of his thoughts, Dr. Merl can almost make out the 3D image against the waves of the ocean and blueness of the sky.

Climbing to the top of the outside of the tower, the surrounding area looked very isolated with no apparent buildings in the distance. Traveling to find another colony, perhaps stranger than the wizard Citizen Patient, would not be a fruitful endeavor. 

Lucky, Dr. Merl has a prototype of his handheld MIGHTY volcano vape, with some Fluxflower he pre-packed in a futuristic vacuum container for just this possibility. He doesn’t have a full-size capacitor like in the lab, because the first wormhole grabbed him too quickly. Yet, the micro-capacitor was installed on the motherboard and was prime for testing.

“There’s no time like the present,” Dr. Merl thinks to himself. 

Merl attempts to dial the MIGHTY vape to 4.20, but it will not stabilize and keeps bouncing between 419 and 421 degrees fahrenheit. Using the power of the Flowerflux, Dr. Merl attempts to hit the apparatus in one massive gulping inhalation. He holds in the Protostone Fluxflower, closing his eyes, and meditating intensely on sliding back into his home dimension based on where the location would correspond on the holographic multiverse map.

Exhaling and opening his eyes slowly, this time, a small bubble appears over the water in front of him. Morphing and expanding larger, the membrane begins swirling into a portal. The gateway starts moving towards Dr. Merl, who hasn’t flinched an inch. He feels oddly tranquil and at peace, which could also be due to the indica pre-roll he toked, and wanted to share with C.P., right before attempting the Fluxflower slide. 

As the bubble engulfes Dr. Merl, he slips off the edge of this dimension to another reality. It feels like he is free falling into oblivion.

Where will Dr. Merl end up next? Keep up with FNM’s Daily Nugs Blog for his next adventure!