I'm walking down the street, and it's really not that dark out. The fog's finally gone, and soon the moon will rise, and since it's just a bit past full, there'll be plenty of moonlight. There are other folk walking about, some carrying lanterns or flashlights, and there's less a sense of foreboding than there is one of "Hey, you can really see the stars tonight".

You won't be able to see the stars if you get eaten by a grue.

I mean, that's just what I'm thinking. Meanwhile, still seems dark.

It's dark inside my new apartment. But after a few reminders of how solid my furniture is, I make my way to the my bag sitting by the front door and fumble around until I find the storage box. Unlocking it is a trick in the dark, but with a little more help from a shapeshift my eyes see much better in the dark, and finally I can reach in and pull out my newest toy.

Portable Sun [tm] Flashlight. Still in its box. I rip off the cardboard and screw in a few triple-x batteries (manufactured locally with The Power of Porn, garunteed to run for several years at least), then flick the on switch.

Ow. My eyes hurt. I point it *away* from my face. And, on second thought, shift into a form with slightly less sensitive eyes.

I was THIS close to finally getting my hands on Clippy's stainless steel neck and -- POOF! He's gone. And the whole city is dark.

Powers based on the manipulation of computer programs do not work when the power goes out. Damn, it's dark out here. Pretty stars. And I think I hear something moving in that alley. Time to make my way carefully back to the Folly.

There's a noise. My alarm clock seems to be going off.

That's weird. I don't have an alarm clock.

I grope for the chain on the bedside lamp. It does nothing.

I grope for the noise. I grab on to a lumpy cold thing. It's vibrating and making a Godawful racket. It feels like -- no, it can't be -- an old-fashioned windup alarm clock. I run my fingers over the case. ACME ALARM CLOCKS. Dear God, has the mad scientist set off the Merrie Melodizer again? Taking no chances, I stumble out of bed, step on the cat, who screams and runs away, and throw the damned clock out the window.

There is a faint "Meep meep!" below, followed by a sound that I immediately identify as that of a coyote being hit on the head by an alarm clock.

I crawl back to bed, pull up the comforter, and drag three pillows over my head. Morning cannot come fast enough.

I don't think I see a grue. But if I could see, which I can't, because it's dark, I think I would be seeing a dancing stand-up bass. And also a singing banjo. But it's dark, so probably, I'm just seeing the blood vessels in my closed eyelids. I hope.

Sang Sacre Zoo 2:00am Last Night

The supervisor arrives on the scene where a couple of workers are already running the beams of their flashlights over the remains of a mangled heavy duty metal holding cage.

"What happened here?"

One of the workers swings his flashlight around to illuminate the supervisor. "It's the Grue we had for the special exhibit. When the power went out, the electrified cage lost power too and..."

"What happened to the back up generator, why did the cage lose power?"

"Someone forget to prime the fuel lines."

The supervisor takes in the news, trys to think clearly in the face of this disaster. "We have to get it back before anyone finds out about this. Does anyone even know what this Grue looks like?"

The worker shakes his head. "We had to keep it in the dark and the Infrared equipment for the display hasn't come in...."

"Great. Just frelling great! Well, we have to do something. You there," The supervisor points at the other worker who is busy gaping at the twisted metal of the cage. "Yeah you in the red shirt. Go to the back room and get the tranquilizer guns."

The supervisor looks back at the cage and mutter under her breath, "God help us all."

I arrive at the bar without incident. It was actually a very pleasant walk. Phred's got candles lit on all of the tables, and a couple of lanterns on the bar. The candles actually make the place look more romantic than seedy for a change.

We're actually doing a pretty good dinner business tonight, what with folks not being able to cook on their electric ranges, so the penguin is scurrying back and forth between the grill and the tables, serving the customers. Phred is manning (er, trolling?) the grill, and Phrancis is behind the bar. I step behind the bar, and start drawing a Yeungling.

"Hey, boss, I got a question," Phrancis says, sotto voce. "How come the beer is still cold with the power out?"

"What, Phred never told you? C'mon, follow me. I'll show you our back up system." We step into the back and head downstairs to the basement and over to the keg cooler. The cooler is just an insulated room, with a small opening at one end. Standing on the sill of the opening is a bright red, 3" tall figure, dressed in white shirt, shorts, and sneakers, holding a tiny tennis racket. Tiny horns stick out from underneath his headband. He waves at me, then swats at some invisible object with the racket.

"Hi, boss. When is the power supposed to come back on?"

"I don't know, Avi. Soon, I hope. I want you to meet Phrancis. Phrancis, this is Avogadro. He's a Maxwell's demon. He and his brothers work for me, too. Mostly they take care of the air conditioning in the summer, but they're on-call for emergencies like this."

"Hi, Phrancis. Pleased to meet ya." Avogadro continues to swat at invisible things with his racket, first a forehand shot, then a vicious two-handed backhand.

"What's a Maxwell's demon?"

"They're temperature controllers. They can see the gas molecules in a space, and they have great hand-eye coordination. The hotter a molecule is, the faster it moves, so they use their rackets to swat the fast movers out of the cooler. Works great!"

Another demon appears in the opening, and Avogadro hands him the racket, then leans on the side of the opening, sucking on a teensy bottle of Gatorade, and kibitzing his comrade's form.

"Hey, Dalton, is that all you got? My Aunt Tilly hits harder than you..."

"C'mon, Phrancis, we've got customers upstairs..."

this is Avogadro.

BWAH!!!!

Below me, in the street, I hear somebody falling into a pit. With a faint cry of "XYZZY!". I curse, grab my little axe, and head for the door. I step on the cat again, and realize the tiny flaw in this plan.

Where did I leave my battery-powered lantern?