You get bored with that, then maybe you can dig out the monolith some more, and stare into its sleek black surface and see the edge of the universe. Rake some leaves into a mound, jump into it, then repeat. Some of the best times I had as a kid were doing simple things, like jumping in a leaf pile. But for now, just play at the part of the monolith that’s in our physical reality, over where we used to keep the compost bin. And, I’m pretty sure it exists in other dimensions that are beyond our comprehension. No, I didn’t measure it, I’ve just intuited those measurements from being in its presence. Give your mind a break and let the 1 ft by 4 ft by 9 ft foot monolith take over. Daylight is burning, you can do your homework later. Oh, you got homework to do too? Hey, at the risk of sounding irresponsible, just forget it. You can pause your video games, you can’t pause your childhoods! Neither can you pause the buzzing hum of the monolith. You should be outdoors getting messy, climbing trees, running around the towering black slab of alien metal we unearthed late the other night in a feverish haze. When I was a kid, it was NBA Jam, now it’s the Internet, or Angry Birds, or who-knows-what these days. Look what you’ve done, I’m sounding like my old man! I guess some things never change. Get your butts outside and play! I don’t care if it’s a game of touch football, or a bike ride, or if you just play around at the foot of the monolith in our backyard. Nope, you’re not gonna spend another minute cooped up in the house. What a surprise: it’s a beautiful day out, and I find you kids indoors.

The monolith game play