PARTY on my private island. It will be a week long, starting with the release of the toys. I have already sent out invitations to my favorite stars of the world to include, famous actors, musicians, singers, sports stars, and models. In fact, I would definitely invite you, Yumiko, however there is no press allowed - I do apologize.”
Y – “WOW! So you heard it here first - a super exclusive private release party with the world’s superstars attending!!! Sir Bristol Bennington, thank you so very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to join us here on F&B’s KNOW NOW show. Please join us again! And folks at home, join us on Christmas Eve for the big launch of the PLUSHEMZ toys - it is sure not to be missed!”
BB – “My pleasure Yumiko!”
Y – “Next, we have Governor Swarzenegger live discussing his newly accepted campaign for vice presidency with his running mate for president Sarah Palin,”….
DECEMBER 24TH, 2002
Rocinha Favela, Rio De Janeiro, Brasil
The Arrival of the Phoenix on Earth
In a fiery rage, the Phoenix sent by Orchid, rushes to Earth and crashes down with a massive burst of white light just south of Rio De Janeiro, Brasil, outside an orphanage in Rocinha - a favela (a shanty town made up of mostly bricks and metal siding with the average median income equal to $100 a month). The population is close to 70,000 people, but those are only the documented ones. Many more are not born in a hospital and have not been accounted for. Within this favela lies an orphanage that houses lost, abandoned, and orphaned children resulting from their parents’ deaths from gang-related, drug warfare that is rampant.
When the Phoenix reached Earth’s atmosphere, a massive earthquake is felt around the world, with exception of the orphanage. Not enough to cause mass destruction, but a shake that almost occurs as an above ground shock wave rather than a below ground, massive tremor. Lying at the doorstep of this orphanage, is the unclothed, unconscious baby girl; steaming, but unburned with a slight ring of fire around her. A large, weathered, black woman named Mãe do Mar (Mother of the Sea), dressed in a white gown with various ethnic beads around her neck and wrists, smoking a cigar, immediately comes outside due the commotion outside the door and sees her lying there! The sight of a ring of fire and this little baby lying in the middle of it is a sign she had envisioned many times over from her spiritual dances that she performs at her ritualistic meetings. Mãe do Mar is a high priestess in an Afro-Brasilian spiritist practice called Condomblé, brought to Brasil from West Africa, where millions of Africans were forced into slavery from the 16th thru the 19th centuries. They brought with them, a very complex mix of religion, mythology, and an elaborate ritual system introducing it to the new world. There were many rituals and offerings over the centuries utilizing various types of foods, animal sacrifices, cigars, cachaça (Brazilian rum), flickering candles that almost never go out, and rhythmic drumming. The fire and the drumming are the mediums that connect the earthly world with the spiritual world. The foods and drinks are the offerings to the spirits to bring not only safety to the community, but powerful spells, as well.
Mãe do Mar believes the spirits have sent a messenger, as she knows the time has come.
Mãe immediately takes a large puff of her cigar and exhales the smoke over the girl (protecting her from evil spirits). The smoke surrounds her body then swirls up into the night reflecting blue and amber colors from the fire on the ground and the full moon above. She then grabs a blanket and starts to cover her when she notices a birthmark in the shape of a phoenix on her upper arm, glowing.
She proceeds to cover her up and carry her in to her own crib in a tiny 5’ x 5’ room made of stacked bricks. It has a clean, swept, dirt floor and a small window left open from spacing of the bricks and overlooks the ocean from above the mountain side. Mãe lights many candles in the room to rid any evil spirits from invading this, now sleeping, mysterious baby girl. It is essential to live on the mountain side in the hot, humid, tropical setting that southern Brasil has to offer, for it rains a small amount of time almost everyday and then it is sunny and hot the rest of the time. As the tired, old woman of the orphanage looks out the window above the exhausted and sleeping, mysterious baby from her doorstep, she re-assures herself of the good she is doing while admiring the romantic orangeish glow of the hillside at night, right on down to the base of the mountain where the ocean reaches the shoreline. Surrounded with the orange glow of flickering candles, Mãe do Mar wonders... Is the end near?
DECEMBER 9th, 2012
Hong Kong, China
The Last Toy That Almost Wasn’t
A massive, modernly constructed super-factory, 5 square-blocks large, is in it’s final stages of production to the entire line of artificially intelligent toys. The last on the assembly line of 2 billion toys, is a koala bear, almost complete, needing only his super video-tech eyes, is bumped off of a conveyer belt by a loose screw in the leg support. The remaining constructed toys moved along, but the moment that the screw popped out, the very spot that this particular koala was, caused it to bounce off with ease. The toy had been crossing a pivotal section of the conveyer belt, that the now loose support leg, caused it to shake such that this last remaining toy was bounced off of the rubbery conveyer belt. On to the floor it went.
Immediately one of the factory workers rushed over to place it back on the conveyer belt as the koala was discovered, but it was too late. All the other toys had completed their process right down to the final step - the installation of the high definition video camera eyes. The Koala had only received one and hadn’t reached the final stage. The floor worker immediately phoned the supervisor and questioned what he should do. The supervisor answers his phone, only thinking that now everything was ready to ship and he will receive his $100k bonus, with which he can pay back his bookies and have an evening with two “working girls” at a local club. Annoyed and angered, he shouts back into the phone, “Package it and ship it!!! (Chu huo!!!)” The factory worker does what he’s told and removes the damaged eye, grabs a staple gun, and staples the open space shut of the right eye on the toy where normally one of two HD video eyes would go. So with staples and only one eye, the final toy is placed in it’s time released packaging, boxed, and placed on the truck. This batch of PLUSHEMZ are to be taken to the airport and flown to Brasil. There was a name printed on the tag, labeled Kimi, a girl with no last name, in a Rocinha favela orphanage. This toy will be hers for eternity.
Over the next 2 weeks, this shipment of A.I. toys go from truck, to plane, to another plane, finally landing in Rio De Janeiro, Brasil and then carried to many various local shipping trucks to be spread around the hillsides of the underprivileged.
DECEMBER 23RD, 2012
The truck that Quala is on arrives at the base entrance to Rocinha Favela. Looking into this favela is not very inviting as the streets are stained and dirty with trash, raggedy dogs, urine, rotten food, and broken furniture sitting out in the street. There are many pathways that lead up a long hillside within the favela as a maze twisting through seas of plywood and brick box houses with dirt floors and fires in coffee cans used for cooking. There’s no need for warmth, as it’s December 23rd, the beginning of summer in Brasil. It is hot and sticky at 90 degrees with 85% humidity. Quala is lifted out along with 12 other PLUSHEMZ toys destined for the orphanage at the top of the hill. A young boy in a sweaty tank top, short shorts, and flip-flops hoists the box of toys over his back with straps almost like a backpack and heads off up the winding favela pathway.
After a long trip, the final toy, the one-eyed koala, finally arrives at the orphanage. All of the other toys were immediately spoken for, with the exception of the koala addressed to a girl named Kimi. The old woman of the orphanage chose this final toy for her mysterious doorstep wonder of 10 years now. Mãe Do Mar decided to nickname this little “doorstep” girl, who had no name to this point, … Kimi. Previous to this moment, Kimi had only been given nicknames of affection, since Kimi has never spoken to anyone prior to this d
ay and never wanted a name.
This delivery happened somewhat late in the evening, so all the children in the favela woke up on December 24th to these amazingly complex packaged toys.
... (transitioning to Kimi’s room – with a view that zooms in from above as she lies in bed waking up from a fetal positioned sleep) ...
(As she hears commotion from right outside her room...) Adjusting her eyes by blinking from blurry, to less blurry, to clear, she discovers that she has some special condumble ceremonial clothes laid out. She has grown up practicing this belief through teachings from her beloved divine step mom, and realizes it is not only Christmas Eve, (which, they too, celebrate in there own way) but there must be a special ceremony about to take place. As she gets dressed, she smells musty cement and the sweet smell of tropical flowers that grow on the top of the mountain. She puts on a tiny blouse top and a flowing, linen skirt that doesn’t quite reach her ankles. There’s a pair of tiny sandals on the floor, and as she gains a little confidence, she stretches out of the bed and slides her feet into the sandals.
Just as she sits up, her hair, which is normally long, thick, and wavy, is now pig-tailed through many large African beads extending out to the sides of her head just above her ears. Mãe Do Mar did this as one more reassuring protection against evil spirits, as well as adorning her with many protective beads and a figa around her neck, a clenched hand symbol that further protects her. For the first time, the little speechless girl feels like a princess, but does not know why.
She walks into the front room. The room goes silent as she creeps forward with her slim, petite silent walk, donning her new hairstyle. This scene would make anyone stop - even the adult caretakers of the orphanage. Her bigger than normal hazel eyes gaze upon the crowd. She feels like she knows what’s about to happen, but just at that moment, there’s something else in the room that has also captured everyone’s attention.
Instantly Mãe Do Mar says, “Everyone, this sister to you all, now has a name. The answer to our questioning chants and prayers has taken place. I want everyone to welcome…, KIMI.”
(She will now no longer be called “menina” or other nicknames.) “Kimi?” The silent newly named orphan girl says to herself.
“Kimi, as you are only in the first stage of your beautiful life, we present to you this new toy that is solely yours.” Before this day, her toys were simply hand made paper kites, old beat up soccer balls, and homemade dolls of yarn and cloth. Kimi says nothing, but feels at least she has something to cling to that belongs to her, without the worry of it being taken by the other neighborhood kids. “Kimi, this is a toy that will come to life tonight on Christmas Eve. It will be your best friend and teddy bear, it’s a Koala, but you will probably want to name it, as everyone else has named theirs.”
Kimi grabs a marker and writes on the PLUSHEMZ box a name for her new toy. Not knowing how to spell koala, she writes, “Quala.” Kimi says nothing, but is familiar with what everyone is saying, in the slang Portuguese language mixed with African dialect of the favela, and with the condumblé clothes everyone is wearing. No one, however, is familiar with her new look or has ever seen her without hair covering her face.
Kimi, perhaps the most middle-aged of the group of children in the orphanage, retreats back to her tiny room. Still saying nothing, and a little confused as to what is happening, but is excited about one thing… her new koala toy in its really hi-tech packaging. The box with the toy, is a little over 2ft high, about 1.5ft wide and deep, with windows in the front and sides. She can barely stand while carrying it due to its weight and awkward size.
She lifts the toy package onto her single-sized bed, and does nothing else all day but gaze into the one open eye of a koala that almost seems like it’s looking right back at her. It seems like Quala is studying her. Kimi falls into a deep sleep, hugging the package that is now laying down sideways with the koala facing Kimi.
As Kimi sleeps, she begins to dream. As she dreams, she is the celebrated center of attention during the final day of Folia de Reis (a 12 day celebration that starts on the 12th of December and ends on the 24th, Christmas Eve). For 12 days, people sing and dance in the streets of the Favela, singing songs of Catholic and Condumblé comparisons. They go door to door for 12 days of Christmas caroling mixed with a bit of Halloween, but rather than wearing Halloween costumes, they mimic the 3 Kings and wear crowns with colors of green and gold. The music played has a very African style of drumming and dance on this final day of celebration, the Folia De Reis, and ends with the whole town grouping together at the Orphanage with a big ceremony led by Mãe do Mar. There is a large circle of burning candles, offerings of bottles of Cachaça, cigar smoke throughout, and the sleeping Kimi lying on a bed covered with leaves of the Bananeira (Brazilian banana tree).
Throughout the Favela, news has spread over the years, about this little girl, how she arrived, and what the spirits have spoken to Mãe Do Mar. The end is thought to be near and Kimi is the key to human survival on Earth and the Heavens. There are also many people in the Favela that know about Kimi’s phoenix tattoo that grows along her arm each year, many of whom have adorned her with many gifts to ward off evil spirits from them and their loved ones.
This night, Christmas Eve, 2012, everyone is excited about the release of their PLUSHEMZ Toys. Not only are they adorning Kimi with gifts and offerings, but in return, wish to have their companion toys blessed by Kimi to rid of any evil spirits for the new year. Everyone has lined up in a large circle, 5 to 10 people deep, with offerings of rum, cigars, lamb, and chickens, all to appease the devil and his workers. All the offerings are laid out around Kimi; heads of chickens are cut and the blood spilled around the bed. The blood trails in and around the candles, which, from time to time ignite the small spills of rum causing a bluish flame that rises up out of the blood. Drumming and African style dances are performed and the people hiss to scare away any immediate evil spirits. Kimi, still sleeping and unaware of what is going on, has her eyes twitching and her body shaking. She is in her own dream state, which is exactly what everyone was waiting to see. It means the communicative spiritual state has been reached. The ritual picks up in pace. Once again Mãe Do Mar takes a large puff of her ceremonial cigar and blows the smoke over Kimi, allowing her a safe journey into the spirit world where she will learn what is to become of her life - what her destiny will be. Then, she will be guided back to her Earthly human shell and awakened.
KIMI’s SPIRIT JOURNEY
10pm within the circle of ritualistic practice
“Hello? Anyone here?” The sky is a bright, almost illuminated white, and Kimi is walking as if floating in an all white environment, similar to walking on a cloud and being in the middle of the cloud. The only difference is everything is clear with nothing on the horizon. She walks in an emptiness of white. It is the crossover point of arriving at the spirit world to the gates of the spiritual side.
“Hello little bubble gum,” A rugged, 50’ish white man says, looking that of a pirate, only instead of the puffy knicker pants, boots and tricorn hat, donning the look of a Harley Biker. He has a long, braided, black ponytail and huge hoop earrings, moustache and goatee. He is short and chubby with big arms and wearing a bandana that pretty much covers his eyes, smoking a cigar bringing with it, a nutty, wood smell all around him.
K - “Are you a pirate?”
P - “Ha ha ha, no I am no pirate, my father makes me wear this. I am so happy to finally meet you, Kimi. For 10 years I have observed you and am so proud that you have turned out the way you have.”
K – “What?” (feeling very wierded out at this point) “Who are you?” (inside, Kimi finds herself talking without any of the inhibitions she carries on Earth. For where she is now, carries with it no social distortions or even the feeling of cold or hot. Her clothing now changed, wearing what she always imagines as being very beautiful - a self projection.) Kimi is in an all white flowing sun dress with her hair in the same beaded pigtails, but with only all wh
ite beads. She is barefoot, but she can’t feel the ground even though she is grounded.
P – “I am the son of the father of space and your Earth is my final destination. Things have gone very wrong in the whole collection of galaxies, stars, and planets. I am here to bring things back to order. And I need your help to fix this Kimi.”
K – “My help? And how do you know my name? I have always felt like I can take on the world, even at my age, but this sounds weird, and you are too. What is it you want? (She feels like getting the heck out of this weirdo’s way...)
P – “It is hard to explain this all to you in a short time. What I have been doing has taken millions of years to accomplish, and I know I only have a few minutes to talk with you because the Orchid is coming to meet you soon. She is a beautiful goddess who brings the balance to my work here in the element that you humans call space. We are in the hallway of a black hole that is between my space and her space, called the heavens. I cannot continue any further, and I surely mean you no harm, I just need your help. Orchid is working to take over my space and I am trying to bring back the universal order my father and I once had. You are the key to unlocking the gates of the heavens and allowing me and my father to restore proper order in the universe. I will send you a message later, but now I must go, but be very wary about what the Orchid is going to tell you. Goodbye Kimi.”
K – As the pirate man fades into the distance, Kimi shouts, “Wait, what is your name?”
P – “Just call me Vivaldo…, little bubble gum.” (his voice was heard, but he could not be seen)
Kimi thinks to herself, mind racing with questions. Little bubble gum? I’m no little bubble gum, and what flavor? I hope not regular flavor… I like watermelon.
(Suddenly drumming could be heard and a white mist of fog spreads around. Even though Kimi can’t see the ground, she feels tremors from something large beneath her.)
A huge African Elephant’s trunk from way above her comes into view as if greeting her in a respectable way. Then, coming into full view as the mist dissipates, a beautiful woman walks down the length of the trunk and hops off. This woman is surrounded by four giant floating sea horses ridden by well armored Samurai Monkeys, they lower their heads and the mysterious woman speaks.
O - “Greetings Kimi, I am Orchid. It is so nice to finally meet you - you are the manifestation of the phoenix I sent to earth. It’s the reason you have the birthmark of the phoenix continually growing on your arm. Don’t be afraid - we must go this way (pointing behind her) . There are many things I must tell you while we meet in this spirit realm. Your physical body is still at the orphanage. Only your mind has traveled here to meet us.”
(As they progress deeper into the spirit world, Kimi speaks out.)
K – “Are you my mother? I have dreamt about you... I feel like I know you.”
O – “ I’m not your mother, but I do have a hand in why you are you. We are in desperate times and your help is essential. Growing up without parents was unavoidable, as you were chosen as a savior. Life on Earth will never be the same when you return. Many challenges are ahead.”
K – “I understand… For some reason, I have known about you my entire life, but always thought of it as a dream.”
O – “Kimi, you are the physical embodiment of myself, my spirit, and my essence. You are the most powerful woman in existence right now in an earthbound state. You have all my love and care as if I were your mother. Kimi do not let that stop you from believing in exactly who you are and the love for you that people around you have.”
K – (with tears rolling down her face) “I will, I have always dreamt and believed this. I trust you - but, what exactly is about to happen to make me so important?”
O – “Young Kimi, dry your tears, I am here for you always! I am so sorry that things have come to this… Without you there would be no solution other than to give up on the life that you see on earth. Yes things would still exist, but not the humans or the mammals. I have empowered you with infinite knowledge and strength. What I cannot provide you with, is the ability to conjure up at thought, an army that can support you to the fullest, such as these Samurai Monkeys that support our existence through the souls of the actual sea horses and monkeys on planet earth. The more the mammals are depleted or endangered on earth, equally affects us in the heavens. Their souls are our souls here at the edge of space.
I know that you have spoken with Vivaldo, the self proclaimed “pirate.” He and his father have always had alternate ideas for existence of any form in the universe. He is at war with the universal laws established by the gods, manipulating the souls held by all insects on earth. He is creating his own insect army to take over the spirit world ridding the existence of all life on Earth, except for insects.
Now you know what is at stake, but you have the souls of every mammal on earth and in the heavens to support you. Mammals on Earth are only a shell and can’t help you physically. Knowing that they are alive means their souls are helping you from the spiritual side, giving you and us here in the heavens, the power to end this war in the spirit world.”