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Harriet and Her Magical Video Game Powers - A Bedtime Story · Dad’s Bedtime Stories

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hello, friends from across the nation and around the world.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: I'm Martin, and you are listening to Dad's Bedtime Stories.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: In fact, you're listening to an episode of Dad's Bedtime
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Stories that almost didn't happen because I was on a
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: family trip and just got back now with very little
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: time to do an episode. As a result, I decided
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: that I would do a bedtime story Time episode. And
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: that's where I take one of your ideas for sort
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: of a standalone episode. I storyboard it, you know, make
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: up all the major points that I want to have happen,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: and you know, I use a little bit of AI
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: assistance to turn it into a story because I just
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: didn't have time to make my own today. I am
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: pretty happy with how this turned out, though. Let's check
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: out the story idea that inspired it from Harriet.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Hello.
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: My name is Harriet. I'm ten years old in punk Charlotteville, Virginia.
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: I'd like to suggest a bedtime story tie that is
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: about a girl who when she turns ten on her birthday,
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: she discovers that she has magic powers.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: I would.
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: Prefer if she had the powers of like video game
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: like she could pause, she could control people if they
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: got close enough stuff like that, and I would also
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: prefer for her name to be Harriet, but you can choose.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: Thank you. I love your podcast.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Bye well, Harriet. I hope you like what we came
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: up with. As I said, I spent some time storyboarding
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: the entire thing when I had a chance to, but
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: you know, the specific dialogue and stuff like that was
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: partially helped by AI in this case, so I think
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: it's important to be honest that. But at the same time,
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: I still think it's a pretty fun story and I
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: hope you guys enjoy it too. If you like the podcast,
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: don't forget to rate it and review it on whatever
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: platform you're listening on. Hit that like button if you're
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: on YouTube and I don't know, comment or whatever. Now
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: it's time to get as comfy as you can in
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: that bed, close your eyes, and imagine yourself doing what
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: the kid in the story does. Harriet had loved video
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: games for as long as she could remember. She loved
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: racing games, building games, adventure games, puzzle games, space games,
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: and even games where you played as a confused goose
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: whose main goal appeared to be stealing sandwiches. Harriet did
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: not simply play video games, though she studied them. She
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: learned every shortcut, discovered every hidden room, and tested every
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: suspicious looking wall to see whether it was secretly breakable. Tomorrow,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: Harriet would turn ten. She expected cake presence and possibly
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: a new portable game console if the unusually rectangular package
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: in her parents closet meant what she thought it meant.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: But she certainly did not expect her parents to sit
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: her down in the living room and tell her that
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: her family had magical powers. Harriet. Her father said, seriously,
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: there's something we need to explain before your birthday. Her
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: mother sat beside him, looking excited but also slightly nervous.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: Harriet lowered the controller she was holding. Am I in trouble?
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: No?
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: Her mother said, did you find out? I looked in
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: the closet. Parents glanced at each other. What closet? Her
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: father asked, never mind. Her father leaned forward and rested
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: his elbows on his knees. Harriet, there's no easy way
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: to tell you this, but the thing is every person
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: in our family, when they turned ten years old, that is,
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: develops a sort of special libility. Harriet waited for him
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: to smile, but he didn't. You mean like being able
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: to whistle really loudly or something like that, She asked. No,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: said her father, I mean a superpower, Harriet. You're you're
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: gonna get superpowers. Harriet just stared at him. Her mother nodded.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: Our family has descended from several ancient wizard families. She explained.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: The old magic has been passed down from parent to
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: child for hundreds of years. It's changed over time, though
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: we don't usually cast spells with wands anymore. Instead, the
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: magic sort of becomes part of us, and everyone gets powers.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: At ten, Harriet asked, Ah, usually during the night before
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: their tenth birthday, she explained. Harriet looked from one parent
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: to the other. So what can you do? She asked suspiciously.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Her father grinned. Her mother stood up. We thought you
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: might ask that. They led Harriet through the kitchen and
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: hewed into the backyard. Sunlight shone across the grass, and
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: a few birds watched from the fence, as though they'd
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: purchased tickets to whatever show was about to happen. Harriet's
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: mother raised one finger. She moved it through the air
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: as though she were drawing on an invisible sheet of paper.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: A glowing blue line appeared behind her fingertip. Harriet stepped closer.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: Her mother drew a round body, four tiny legs, two wings,
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: a curling tail, and a head with two small horns.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: When the drawing was complete, she tapped it. The glowing
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: picture shook itself, stretched, and popped out of the air.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: A tiny blue dragon flapped around Harriet's head. Harriet ducked.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: The dragon landed on her shoulder, sneezed a puff of
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: glittering smoke, and tried to eat a loose strand of
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: her hair. You made that, Harriet cried. I've always loved art,
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: her mother said. My power lets me bring my creations
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: to life. They only last a short time, though. The
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: dragon gave Harriet's ear an affectionate lick, then dissolved into
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: blue sparks and drifted away in the breeze. That was amazing,
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: she said. Harriet turned towards her father. So what can
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: you do well me, I'm h incredibly strong, really almost
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: invulnerable even He walked to the far end of the yard,
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: where a gigantic landscaping rock rested near the fence. It
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: was nearly as wide as the kitchen table. Her father
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: bent down, wrapped his arms around it, and lifted it
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: over his head. Harriet's mouth fell open. Her father tossed
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: the rock into the air and rose high above the
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: roof of the house, stopped and came hurtling back down.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: Harriet screamed a little bit, but her father just leaned forward.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: The rock struck him directly on the top of the
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: head and exploded into dozens of pieces. Her father remained standing.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: He was dusty, but he didn't look hurt at all.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: Harriet just stared at him. Her mother just folded her arms.
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: I liked that rock, Well, I didn't know alos to
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: demonstrate the true nature of my powers, her father replied.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: Harriet looked at the shattered rock that was scattered across
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: the ground. Now tomorrow I'm gonna get something like like that. Well,
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: your powers will probably match your personality, her mother explained.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: Mine came from my love of drawing. Your father's came
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: from his determination to solve every problem by hitting it
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: or lifting it. He had a rough childhood. I don't
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: solve every problem that way, her father protested, Well, not anymore.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: Her mother responded by simply giving him a look, a
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: look that meant sure you don't, honey. That night, Harry
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: had climbed into bed without knowing what to believe. Her
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: parents had definitely just demonstrated superpowers, unless they'd somehow arranged
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: an advanced hologram trained miniature dragon and maybe some sort
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: of exploding rock. Well, if not, everything they'd told her
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: had to be true. Harriet closed her eyes and tried
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: to imagine what power she might receive. Perhaps she would fly,
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: perhaps she would turn invisible. Maybe she'd be able to
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: control electricity, or speak to animals, or create animals out
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: of electricity. She hoped she didn't receive the power to
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: like organize closets or something like that. Her bedroom needed that,
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: but she certainly didn't want it as a power. Sometime
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: after midnight, Harriet woke to a strange humming sound. A
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: beam of light shone through the ceiling and surrounded her bed.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: Her blankets lifted into the air, and Harriet lifted with them.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: She floated several feet above her mattress, unable to move
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: or call out. The light became brighter, It rushed through
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: her skin and filled her body with a weird, tingling energy.
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: For a moment, Harriet saw glowing symbols spinning around her, hearts, arrows, buttons,
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: a health bar. Then the light vanished. Harry had dropped
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: onto her bed with a bounce. When morning came, she
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: wondered whether it had all been a dream. She jumped
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: out of bed and immediately tested every power she could
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: think of. She drew a cat in the air with
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: her finger. Nothing happened. Rabbed the frame of her bed
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: and tried to lift it. It remained exactly where it
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: was and exactly as heavy as she remembered. She ran
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: down the hallway as fast as she could, but she
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: was not super fast. Finally, Harry had climbed onto her bed,
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: jumped into the air, and stretched out both arms, but
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: she did not fly. She landed face first in her pillows.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: At breakfast, Harry had dropped into her chair. I didn't
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: get any powers, her parents looked up from decorating a
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: stack of birthday pancakes. Are you sure, her mother asked.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: I tried everything. I can't fly, I can't lift heavy things,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: run fast, or draw dragons. Well, did anything unusual happen
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: last night? Her father asked. Harriet told them about the
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: beam of light and the floating above her bed. Her
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: father pointed his fork at her, Well, that's the sign.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Same thing happened to me, he said, except I floated
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: into the ceiling and cracked the plaster. I'm sure you
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: have powers, honey, You'll just have to wait and see
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: what they are. After breakfast, Harriet opened her Presence. The
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: rectangular package was, as expected, a new portable game console.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: She was thrilled, but she still couldn't stop thinking about
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: her missing powers. Eventually, Harriet went into the big living
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: room and turned on one of her favorite games. On
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: the screen, a blocky adventurer stood in a forest, holding
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: a sword in one hand and a pickaxe in the other.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: Harriet picked up the controller, and a sudden pulse raced
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: down both of her arms. Bright energy burst from her
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: fingers and streamed into the controller. The television flashed. The
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: blocky adventurer shot out of the screen and landed on
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: the carpet beside her. Harry had dropped the controller. The
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: character stood perfectly still. It was nearly as tall as Harriet,
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: with square boots, square hands, and a sword that appeared
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: much sharper now that it was no longer made of pixels.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Harriet slowly picked the controller back up. She pushed the
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: movement stick forward. The adventurer marched straight ahead. She pushed
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: it left and the character turned left. She pressed the
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: jump button and the adventurer leapt into the coffee table,
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: knocking over a bowl of birthday candles. Harriet gasped, then
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: she smiled. Oh, she whispered, I definitely got powers. Using
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: the controller, Harriet guided the blocky Adventurer through the kitchen.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: Her parents were cleaning up breakfast when the character marched
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: through the doorway, swung its pickaxe and removed one perfect
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: cube from the wall somehow. Harriet's mother stared at the
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: square hole. Her father stared at the adventurer. Harriet held
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: up the controller. I think I figured out what my
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: power does, she said. Harriet's father slowly walked around the
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: blocky Adventurer. Can it understand us, he asked. Harriet looked
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: at the character. Hello. The adventurer stared straight ahead. Harriet
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: moved one of the controller sticks, and the character turned
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: towards her father. I don't think it does anything unless
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: I control it. Her mother stepped closer to the square
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: hole in the kitchen wall. Can you make it put
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: that piece back? Harriet examined the controller. I can try.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: She pressed several buttons. The Adventurer switched from its pickaxe
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: to a gray block, walked over to the wall and
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: placed the block inside the hole. It fit perfectly, and
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: as soon as it was placed, the little outline around
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: it disappeared. That's incredible, her father said, so your powers
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: connected to video games. Harriet stared at the Adventurer. But
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: I can't leave him standing in the kitchen forever. Well,
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: you should be able to send him back, honey, her
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: mother said. Magic still responds to focus and intent. Just
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: picture the character returning to where it came from or
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: something like that. It'll probably work. Harry had gripped the
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: controller and concentrated. She pictured the forest inside the game.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: She imagined the Adventurers standing beneath the blocky trees again.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: The character began to glow. A second later, it turned
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: into a streak of light and shot back into the television.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: On the screen, the Adventurer reappeared in exactly the same
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: place it had been before. Harriet's father clapped his hands.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: All right, now we need to test other parts of
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: your powers, maybe different games or something. Her mother gave
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: him a warning. Look carefully, of course, carefully, why would
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: I do anything? And carefully, he said, then he paused,
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: do we have like a dinosaur game or something. They
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: began with something that seemed safer though, a racing game.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: Harriet loaded one of her favorites, a game filled with
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: enormous ramps, impossible tracks, and cars equipped with rocket engines.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: Her mother looked at the screen. Ah, this does not
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: seem safer to me. Don't worry. We'll simply see if
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: she can bring something else out of the video game.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: Oh and Harriet, make sure you bring this one outside
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: the house please. He guided her over to the back door,
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: opened it up, and pushed her outside gently. Harriet selected
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: a bright racing car and focused on it with her mind.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: Energy rushed from her hands into the portable console once again.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: A streak of light shot out of the console and
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: formed itself into a rocket car. It landed with a
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: heavy thump. A full sized rocket racing car was sitting
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: in the grass. It had wide tires appointed front end
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: and two enormous rocket boosters attached to the back. The
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: sight of the car was decorated with glowing lightning bolts.
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: Harriet walked around in amazement. It's real. Her father knocked
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: on the hood. It certainly feels real. Harriet opened the
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: driver's door and climbed inside. There was no steering wheel,
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: or petals or gear shift. The dashboard was covered with
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: glowing lights, but the only way to control the car
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: appeared to be through the game controller. Her father climbed
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: into the passenger seat. All right, we should test it,
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: he said. Harriet's mother stood outside the car with her
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: arms crossed. BE very careful, guys, maybe just a few
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: meters forward and then stop it or something. That's exactly
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: what I was thinking, said Harriet's father. Harriet pressed the
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: accelerator trigger. The rocket boosters exploded to life, and the
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: car blasted across the lawn, smashed through the wooden gate,
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: and flew onto the road. Harriet screamed. Her father screamed
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: louder the break, he shouted, I don't remember which button
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: it is. Harry had pressed one, and the car jumped.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: It soared over a parked truck, landed on the other side,
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: and continued speeding down the street. She pressed another button
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: and the rocket boosters became even louder. The car shot
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: forward so quickly that houses became a blur. They crashed
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: through a stack of recycling bins, balanced over a flower
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: garden and knocked the giant plastic ice cream cone off
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: of the roof of a nearby shop. It landed in
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: the back seat. Her father twisted around. I've always wondered
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: how heavy that thing was. Dad, right, emergency, he said,
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: turning back around. Harry had tried to steer around a
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: delivery van. The car swerved, hit a ramp that someone
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: had left beside a construction site, and launched into the air.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: For a moment, Harriet and her father were flying over
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: the town. Ahead of them stood a water tower, and
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: they were headed directly for it. Stop, her father yelled.
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: Harriet panicked and slapped the pawse button, as she sometimes
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: did when she was in a particularly scary part of
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: a game. Everything suddenly became silent. The car froze midair.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: Her father froze beside her with his mouth open and
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: both hands pressed against the dashboard. Outside, birds hung motionless
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: in the sky. A construction worker stood below them, holding
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: a sandwich halfway to his mouth. Water pouring from a
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: fountain had become a clear, motionless sculpture that kind of
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: looked like it was plastic floating. Words appeared in front
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: of Harriet. Continue, Reset, load, Save, point. Harriet stared at them.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: She pressed the car door open. The car remained frozen
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: in the air, but Harriet was able to climb out.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: She stepped carefully onto nothing and well fell out of
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: the car flat onto her face about five feet down.
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: It'd hurt quite a bit, but nothing else around her moved.
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: She looked around at the water tower, which was only
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: a few seconds away from being smashed by the rocket car.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: The words continued to float in front of her face. Somehow,
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: well it probably I don't want to head continue, she said. Instead,
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: she selected load safe point, not sure exactly what would happen.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: A new window appeared. There was only one save moment
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: listed today's date. At ten forty two am. Harriet realized
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: that it was right around the time when the race
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: car had first appeared in the backyard. She selected it
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: hit except and the world stretched around her. Harriet flew
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: backward through a tunnel of light. She saw the car
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: racing and reverse, the recycling bins rebuilding themselves, the ice
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: cream cone returning to the shop, and the backyard gate
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: leaping back onto its hinges. Then she was sitting inside
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: the parked car again. Her father climbed to the passenger seat.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: We should test it, he said. Harry had remembered hearing
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: those exact words before this time. She held up one hand.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: I think we should find somewhere safer before we test
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: a rocket car, she said. Just think about what could
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: go wrong. I mean, who would be dumb enough to
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: do that? Her father considered this, That is an excellent idea.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: They climbed out. Harry had looked through the games on
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: her portable console. A racing car is probably not the
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: best thing to test in the middle of a town.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: Maybe something slower, her mother suggested. Harr had stopped on
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: the cover of her favorite space game. I have another idea.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Her mother looked at the picture of several space ships
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: firing lasers at one another. Is it a safer idea?
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: Dear well, I won't have any recycling bents, she said.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: As she selected a silver spaceship and focused energy flowed
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: into the console. The ground shook and a sleek spacecraft
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: appeared in the backyard, replacing the car that was there
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: before and crushing part of the fence beneath its landing legs.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: Her father winced, ugh, I guess we can fix that. Later,
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: Harriet pressed a button on the console and a hatch
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: opened on the side of the ship. Well, why don't
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: you both come with me, she said. Her parents exchanged
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: a nervous look, but they climbed aboard. Inside there were
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: three padded seats, glowing control panels, and a wide front window.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: Harriet sat in the pilot's chair with the controller in
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: her hands. Her parents strapped themselves in. Ah, honey, maybe
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: just a little test, like three meters off the ground,
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: and then we land again. Harriet pressed the launch button.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: The ship blasted straight upward. Her parents screamed as the
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: house dropped away beneath them. Harriet quickly discovered that flying
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: the ship felt exactly like playing the video game. She
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: tilted the controller and the spacecraft rolled smoothly through the sky.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: She flew over the town, crossed a river, and zoomed
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: to ward a nearby city. Tall buildings rushed past beneath them.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: Then Harriet pulled back on the controller. The pointed straight up.
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: Clouds flashed around them. The sky darkened from blue to black.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: A moment later, they burst out of Earth's atmosphere. Her
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: father stared through the window at the glowing curve of
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: the planet that is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen,
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: he said. Her mother just gripped both sides of her
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: seat with everything she possibly could, then quickly drew a
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: seat belt around herself and brought it to life. It
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: would be even more beautiful if we were still standing
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: on it safely, she said. Harriet just laughed and pushed
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: the ship forward. They flew through space, leaving Earth behind.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: Stars filled the window, and the Moon grew larger until
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: Harriet could see every crater and ridge across its surface.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: Guided the ship around the far side, and for a
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: few moments, Earth disappeared completely. Her parents became very quiet.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: Then the blue planet rose above the Moon's horizon. Harriet
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: slowed the ship so they could stare at it. After
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: a complete trip around the moon, Harriet's father cleared his throat. Oh,
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: this has been wonderful. Uh we are going home now,
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: her mother said firmly. Harriet turned the spacecraft back towards Earth.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: She entered the atmosphere carefully, remembering to slow down before
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: reaching the city. The ship passed through the clouds, crossed
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: familiar fields, and descended toward their neighborhood. Harriet landed in
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: the front yard. It wasn't the softest landing in history,
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: but only one garden decoration fell over. The three of
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: them climbed out. Harry had focused on the game, and
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: the spaceship dissolved into light. Before streaming back into the console.
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: She looked down at the list of games. There were
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: dragons to summon, magic, kingdoms to explore, underwater cities to visit,
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: and dozens of characters she could bring into the real world.
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: I wonder what else I can.
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: Do, she said.
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: Then Harry had yawned so widely that she nearly dropped
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: the console. Her legs suddenly fell weak. Her father caught
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: her before she fell. Ugh, you used too much magic,
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: he said, What do you mean, Well, your body only
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: has a limited amount of magic, he explained, you must
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: have used a lot creating all of those constructs. It's
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: time to rest, dear, you recover mod of the best
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: when sleeping. He carried her inside and placed her on
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: the couch. Harriet's mother covered her with a blanket. Harriet
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: closed her eyes. In her mind, she saw men us
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: and save points, game worlds and endless possibilities. She could
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: pause time, She could return to earlier moments in time.
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: She could pull almost anything out of a video game
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: and use it. She'd only been ten for a few hours,
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: but boy was she excited about what else it would bring.
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: Harriet smiled as she quickly fell asleep. Tomorrow she tries
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: something else. Good Night, everyone.
• 33:42
  Speaker 4: Us never Union name one in.
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: New York.
• 40:53
  Speaker 4: No more Union, no more.
• 44:35
  Speaker 2: Never mo in New York. Long Union m as