Who or What, Exactly, Goes There!

Genius left Wednesday morning to gallivant around various cities, a trip to culminate Saturday with an all-day booth-hosting gig at some technology rendezvous where he and other members of his college solar car team can possibly secure additional sponsors for their bright endeavor. He packed his gear and headed out into the frozen wasteland, not even looking back. "I'm only going to be gone four days," he said, as if he was merely running down to the mailbox to interrogate the rural carrier as to the whereabouts of various missing packages.

Wednesday night, I heard a regular hoe-down above my head in Genius's room. The Pony was in denial when I asked, "Did you hear that?" I could see it in his eyes. Yes. He heard it. But he has to sleep in the room right across the hall.

At first it was just an odd thump here and there. Mostly in the front corner of the room, by his dresser. No creaking of the bed this time. Then, after The Pony had gone up and was using 30 minutes of hot water in the shower, and Hick was in bed already, the ruckus intensified. It did not sound like a full-sized person. None of the heavy stumping across the floor as if no feet were attached, like Hick sounds moving around the main floor. More like a toddler prancing around on a stick-horse. An active toddler training a hickory Lipizzaner Stallion.

I know it wasn't the dogs. They had already scrabbled around the side porch to somewhere up the driveway. I heard their frenzied toenails click past, and I could hear their distant barking.

The overhead activity continued off and on, with less intensity, for several hours. Around 11:20 p.m., I saw a flash of light in the dark area between the stairs and my office. I always turn off the overhead and watch TV with just a lamp beside me. Surely I imagined it. Probably a reflection of some kind from the TV, light that had come from the television screen, hit the white wall behind the new couch, bounced off, and illuminated that area on the other half of the basement, past the stairs. Yeah. I'm sure that was the explanation, even though it has not happened before. Sometimes I reason like The Pony.

I fell asleep in the recliner, and woke up around 3:00 a.m. I always shut down my New Delly desktop overnight. Even if 3:00 a.m. is not considered "night" by some people. I made my way through the dark section, and beheld the monitor for Genius's new computer he had built over the holidays. It was on, when it had not been earlier in the evening. Not only was the screen lit up, but it was on his Zune music program playlist, playing music! What's up with that? I didn't HEAR any music, because the speakers were off. But that song was lit up, playing away as shown at the bottom of the screen. The song? "Pinch Me" by Barenaked Ladies. I've never heard it. I don't know the lyrics. But it was highlighted and playing silently.

That could explain the flash of light, the monitor coming on. But would it stay on for hours? I don't know. When I came out of my office after shutting down, and looked at Genius's monitor, it went off before my very eyes. I suppose he could have been burning the midnight oil, remote-accessing his playlist. I don't know how that crap works. I do know that my internet had shut itself down sometime between 10:00 and 3:00, because I had no access when I tried to check email before my shut-down routine.

Only one thing is for certain. Genius did NOT remote-access his room with his feet.