King of Oz

         Sam Adams was a paranormal researcher for the “Cosmos Institute”, a paranormal research center in Berkeley, California. They considered themselves the real “X files” and consulted with governments, corporations, and private citizens around the world. They sent a team to the field to investigate each claim submitted for verification and charged fees for their investigation. 90 percent of the time they uncovered an elaborate hoax. They published their findings on their website,” The Cosmos Institute Investigates.

         Maria Lee, the founder of the institute finally had to hold a press conference to announce their preliminary findings. She was a plain-spoken woman who carried a lot of respect as she used to be with both the CIA and FBI working in their “X Files” shops – which did exist but were secret agencies. She knew a lot of things that she could not talk about.

         One of her key researchers was Sam Adams. He had been there from the beginning and she knew that he had some suspicions about their work but so far he seemed loyal and trustworthy.

         Sam Adams was excited at hearing of the letter and mysterious package.
He was often lost in thought, thinking back on his favorite books he read as a child, and had recently begun re-reading the classics of his youth.

         He loved the Chronicles of Narnia and often thought that Narnia was real,That Oz was real, and that Middle Earth happened as well, and Harry Potter existed in an alternate universe. He imagined finding portals to other worlds.
{
indent}One day they received a mysterious package, an old-fashioned pocket watch, a key, a map, and a cryptic note. The note read,

         “Open the key in time and find the door to the other worlds. Follow the map to the doorway. ” The map indicated that they were to go to Medford, Oregon, and inquire at a local realtor in the Medford Town Center shopping mall. They were to speak to Joan Smith who would give them directions to the property and the deed to the property as the deceased owner had willed it to the Cosmos Institute.

         Maria gave the case over to Sam Adams and his assistants and told them to look into it. They drove to Medford about a six-hour drive and spent the night. Sam was accompanied by his two assistants, James Jones, a black gay man in his late 30s, and Maria Shah, a vivacious immigrant from Mumbai, India who had a crush on Sam.


         Sam Adams had grown up in a dysfunctional family in Eagle Creek next to Medford, in Southern Oregon. His father had taught at Southern Oregon State University, and his uncle, who had left the property to them, was a mad genius, An SF writer who claimed that Lovecraft, CS Lewis, and Frank Baum all were writing about real places and he was determined to find the gateways to other worlds using the power of the legendary Necromicron. He also claimed to be a distant cousin of HP Lovecraft and had inherited his secret papers which filled his Eagle Creek mansion.

         Maria did not tell him the truth, that there were other worlds, and Narnia, Oz, the Harry Potter world, and Wonderland all existed in parallel dimensions as did Atlantis and he          r home world of Sirius. She was one of the first pure-blood Atlanteans left and was part of a secret society dating back thousands of years.

          They had long been waiting to find the gateways to other worlds that were hidden in plain sight all over the earth. Once they found them, they would open the world to the universe and help humanity reach the stars but only after welcoming her Sirian countrymen to come back and conquer the earth again.

         They met with Joan who told them that all she knew of the property was that it had been owned by a retired Professor McGregor who was originally from Oxford and taught Shakespearian English at Southern Oregon University and the Shakespeare festival for a few years before retiring and becoming a hermit in his abandoned mansion. She had never met him but he had sent them instructions. She recommended selling the property as it had to be gutted but it had killer views and there were lots of interested buyers. Or they could build a vacation rental property and use it for their weekend retreats and staff vacations which a lot of Bay Area companies were doing these days. In any event, she could facilitate a sale and redevelopment.

         There was power on and some rudimentary furniture. They decided to order pizza and then try the various keys thinking that it was a waste of time and that the institute should sell the property as Joan the realtor had recommended saying that it needed to be a total gut job but it had killer views so should fetch a good price. Sam thought that would be a good investment for the institute which had inherited lots of strange things over the years.

         They tried the key on all the doors, but nothing worked until they came to a wardrobe. They tried the key and it opened and they saw the tempting sight of a tropical beach beckoning them. They walked through the door and disappeared.

         They found themselves on a deserted beach next to a ruined castle. They wondered where they were and what to do when they saw a bird looking at them. The bird spoke up and said,

         “Welcome Humans. We have been waiting for you to return and serve as King of Oz, Welcome. Come with me.”

         Sam turned to Maria and said,

         "Frank Baum was right. Oz does exist"

         They went with the bird to meet the remnants of the old Oz resistance who were waiting for them.

         Thus Sam Adams became King of Oz. Maria Lee welcomed the news and contacted Sirius and prepared for the coming conquest of the human race, bringing it into the Sirian Empire.