LOVE IN THE PINE BARRENS: A LONG ISLAND STORY (THE OPPORTUNISTS)

    Ryan Scanners is a Teaching Assistant at S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook of no small stature.  He is a Ph.D student in the Atmospheric Sciences Department, and is currently teaching section one of Professor Cornelius Brown's 'The Impact of Climatic Changes on Undeveloped Areas' class.  Professor Brown is a Distinguished Research and Teaching Professor within the S.U.N.Y. system, and the top professor in the department.  Ryan Scanners dreams of following the career path of his mentor, in fact the very idea often pops up during the many erotic fantasies that Ryan engages in, often resulting in orgasmic climax.  Ryan has won awards himself:  he was presented with a certificate for Best Teaching Assistant of the Year, voted on by students and professors in the department.  The awards presentation marked the first time he met the President of Stony Brook University, Sally Summers-Jones, who he is secretly in love with.  Yes, Ryan has a girlfriend, Jenna Chung, also a Teaching Assistant but in the Mathematics Department.  Jenna provides Ryan with support, affection and helpful advice regarding statistics and quantitative forecasting.  However, Sally Summers-Jones is the woman that Jenna is not; accomplished, successful and an expert at grant writing and fundraising.  Ryan finds President Summers-Jones a handsome woman in the mold of Athena, the Greek warrior goddess.  The thought of this warrior goddess helping Ryan's career has led to many an orgasmic climax, both with Jenna in bed and in his many masturbatory sessions.

    As you can imagine, Ryan Scanners has both a public persona and a private one.  The question is would Stony Brook University value the up and coming Mr. Scanners as highly as they do if only they knew his private persona, the beast within?  This question is not an easy one to answer.  From this premise, begins this novel/short story.  One might take notice of the last name, Scanners, as a hint to one of the main plots in this story.

    On a warm April 20th day, Ryan was up at his usual 7am and beginning to dress when he receives a pop-up email from Professor Brown, his supervising professor.  Seems that a sudden fifteen degree climate change was occurring in the Eastern portion of Long Island, around East and South Hampton, and only in that area.  This was a phenomenon that was highly unusual for this time of year and that area.  What was rare, if not impossible, was that this climate change was only taking place in an area equal to 20 miles, and only in the wooded Pine Barrens area.  The rest of the eastern shore of Long Island was at normal temperature for that year.  Professor Brown told Ryan that he was always on standby, but this was the first time that Ryan was called into the department office immediately.

Ryan arrived at Professor Brown's office.  He offered to monitor the climate changes using the department's information technology and the direct line for the National Climatic Data Center of the U.S. Commerce Department, but Professor Brown had other ideas.  This was Stony Brook's neck of the woods, and the institution represented the only great research university in the area.  Ryan was in the closest proximity and could get 'the scoop' on what was happening by going to the center of the occurrence.  Professor Brown instructed Ryan to take his laptop and some climate measuring instruments and go to the environmental epicenter of the phenomena.  Ryan should leave immediately because there was no expertise on what could cause such a localized shift in climate, let alone how long the phenomena would last.

    Ryan Scanners jogged to his car with the instruments and laptop, and arrived at the Pine Barrens in 25 minutes.  While driving east down the Long Island expressway, Ryan could see there was a fog that had enveloped the Pine Barrens, giving the area an almost tropical effect.  Ryan did not know how only this secluded area could be responsible for what was an environmentally concentrated climatic system, or what could even be characterized as a climatic barrier of some sort.  The Long Island Pine Barrens is often referred to as a "fire climax" ecosystem due to the part fires play in Pine Barrens evolution.  However, this would clearly be the largest fire recorded since 1865.  Ryan was very excited, albeit cautious, and his previous night's wet dream of a sexual rendezvous with President Summers-Jones was now in the recesses of his mind.  Ryan exited the Long Island expressway and was now on one of the many dirt roads that traversed the Pine Barrens.  He was headed toward the center of the Pine Barrens.

    It was apparent to Ryan that he was the first one on the scene, and it was surprising to him that the local press had not been there first.  The fog became denser the further he traveled toward the center.  It was almost like a tornado effect with the denser fog clearly distinguishable from the thinner fog, albeit without strong winds.  Ryan had his car windows open, and the air felt more like he was in a dry, tropical climate, as opposed to the more humid temperatures of Long Island.  THE MOISTURE HAD BEEN PULLED FROM THE AIR, BUT HOW AND BY WHAT?  Could be a large fire pulling the precipitation downward, but this was some great fog that he was observing that shrouded the entire 20 mile radius, clearly creating the justification for his presence and professional observations.  THE HECK WITH THE DANGER!  

    Upon having this enigma in terms of his thoughts, Ryan was now in the center core of the eastern Long Island Pine Barrens.  The denser fog in the center of the Pine Barrens did indeed give the impression of a climatic barrier or wall.  Ryan wondered if climatic and satellite technology could indeed track any phenomena or environmental enigmas in the core of the Pine Barrens.  It was at this point that Ryan came upon a man walking the dirt trail who looked to be from one of the Native American tribes that settled on eastern Long Island many years ago.  Ryan stopped temporarily and asked the man what he knew.  The man, who confirmed he was of Algonquin origin, Shinnecock specifically, clearly stated that he lived in the area and observed the environmental, climatic phenomena taking shape.  He added that he was curious at first, his cultural teachings often spiritualized such phenomena, but often rare events such as this served as warnings of things to come.  He did not fear discovery, but he knew at his spiritual core that this was a warning and not a welcome mat.  He was the descendant of a line of Sachems within the Shinnecock tribes.  It was his spiritual estimation that to go to the center of the phenomena would be like walking into another man's vision.  This vision was not for him but for someone else, and that this phenomena was here, at this time, for some reason or grand purpose which was greater than humanity itself.  It was of the spiritual realm.  Ryan responded with a joke that maybe this was just some type of localized global warming effect.  The Shinnecock asked him if he was some type of expert from the government.  Ryan replied that he was on the faculty of Stony Brook University.  To Ryan's surprise, the Shinnecock let out a hardy laugh of familiarity.  He then told Ryan to be my guest and go further if he so chooses.  He then made a joke of his own and told Ryan that he hoped that Ryan had a few fancy tokens, coins, and maybe a song, to take to the center of the pine barrens.  The Shinnecock then turned and began walking out of the core of the Pine Barrens.  Ryan watched the Native American in stunned silence, until the great fog barrier began to obscure the Shinnecock in just a silhouette.  It was almost as if the Indian had been a vision of some sort himself.  Ryan was somewhat familiar with eastern Long Island Indian culture, and the Shinnecock often told age old stories of Sachems long past dead visiting the tribes as immortal wise men or Shamans.

Ryan continued his trek to the core of the Pine Barrens.  There was now an even denser fog that acted as a barrier within a barrier.  Ryan thought "what a climatic discovery."  There is nothing known to environmental or atmospheric science that could cause what Ryan was observing.  A few yards drive further and Ryan was stunned by what he saw.  He saw enormous Pitcher Plants that were about ten feet high.

    Ryan knew these plants as carnivorous plants that would capture and eat insects.  These pitcher plants were over ten feet high, so what would such plants capture and drown in their pointed plant hairs lining the inner surfaces of their thick leaves.  The leaves of these plants were almost like walls.  Ryan would not have exited his vehicle if not for the humanoid creature walking among these gigantic plants.  The creature seemed to be inspecting the gigantic plants.  It was at this point that Ryan noticed a bright light emanating from the core of the Pine Barrens, something of unknown origin.  At this point, Ryan exited his vehicle for he did not want to proceed further toward the bright light.  The humanoid creature was not stunned to see Ryan, but nodded its head almost as if it had a familiarity with Ryan.

Ryan Scanners, being the opportunist that he was, slowly and carefully walked toward the humanoid.  At this point Ryan noticed that he was in a patch of these enormous pitcher plants.  A few feet inside the patch of plants and the humanoid let out this high pitch scream.  It was a startling sound of both high volume and pitch.  Ryan stumbled backwards against the leaf wall of one of the plants.  The plant wall gave way and Ryan began to slide down the leaf of the plant toward its mouth at the top of the plant.  It was almost as if the plant swayed erotically so that Ryan could reach its mouth at the top.  While Ryan's tensely muscled figure was falling toward the mouth of the plant, his hand made contact with the pointed hairs of the plant as he was trying to brace his fall.  The downward pointed hairs began to pull Ryan inside the plant.  Immediately, Ryan thought "what if he drowned inside the plant like all of the Pine Barrens insects that had the misfortune of being attracted by the leaves of the pitcher plant."

    Ryan struggled to escape, but the more he struggled the faster the plant pulled him inward.  Right before his head was pulled inside the plant, Ryan caught a glimpse of the humanoid creature that had moved closer to Ryan's pitcher plant and was almost grinning prior to letting out a second high pitch scream.  The humanoids second scream seemed to spur a reaction in Ryan's pitcher plant.  What looked like a tentacle or a very thick stamen began to rise from the center of the plant.  The stamen made its stream toward Ryan's mouth.  Ryan's struggle to break free, along with his cry of pain, caused the pointed plant hairs to latch onto the sides of his mouth opening it.  The thick stamen of the plant went in and started moving its way down Ryan's throat.  Ryan began choking on the thick stamen when all of a sudden a viscous liquid began to pour from the plant into his throat and stomach.  Ryan's choking stopped and he went into shock.  This continued for five to seven minutes, and then the plant suddenly let go of Ryan.

    Ryan laid in the patch in shocked silence at the feet of the humanoid creature, which seemed to bow with approval to Ryan's strewn carcass.  Ryan passed out seconds later.  Six hours later, Ryan found himself inside one of the emergency rooms of Stony Brook University hospital.  Professor Brown was there and a figure that Ryan believed to be President Sally Summers-Jones was sitting in the background.  Professor Brown asked what had happened and why was Ryan found passed out in the center of the Long Island Pine Barrens.  Ryan Scanners, still in shock, slowly responded to the professor by asking if anyone had seen the mutated plants.  Professor Brown just shook his head in confusion and told Ryan that the climatic phenomena had dissipated soon after Ryan's arrival in the Pine Barrens, and he asked if Ryan had taken any reading and made any observations from the core of the phenomena.  Professor Brown noted that U.S. satellites had been unable to observe or measure anything meaningful.  At that point, University President Summers-Jones arose from her chair and told the professor that they should leave and give Ryan some rest.  She then led Professor Brown out by the hand and winked at Ryan before leaving the bedside.  As she exited, she asked Ryan to do lunch with her when he is released and ready to return to campus.

    Ryan went to sleep and awoke suddenly later that night.  Upon opening his eyes, Ryan noticed the Shinnecock that he had seen at the center of the Pine Barrens, now at the foot of his hospital bed.  Ryan had no words by which to speak.  The Shinnecock let out a sound strangely similar to the one made by the humanoid creature he came upon in the Pine Barrens.  The Shinnecock uttered one sentence after the sound: "I guess the vision was for you."  He then let out the same hardy laugh he had left Ryan with in the Pine Barrens.

    The next morning, at Ryan's wake up time of 7am, the head of emergency, Dr. Pelk, came into Ryan's emergency hospital room and informed Ryan that his physiology seems to have been effected by his short trek to the Pine Barrens on the day of the climatic phenomena.  He told Ryan that a growth, which he was unsure to be benign or malignant/cancerous, was forming inside Ryan's belly.  It was forming at an unbelievable pace.  A mammography and x-ray showed the growth to be growing outward, giving the appearance of a budding plant or flower.  He asked Ryan to be patient and optimistic.  Dr. Pelk then informed Ryan that there was a good side to all of this, a bunch of people including the press wanted to make Ryan famous since he was the only expert to observe the phenomena from the center.  Dr. Pelk then commented "At this point, your career is made.  You will be groomed for stardom in academia.  Especially when word gets out about the mysterious growth germinating inside your belly."

    Ryan had mixed feelings; he was worried about the nature of the growth.  Still, the opportunist in him told him that if he can get beyond this complication, the road to academic stardom is paved for him.  If he can get beyond the health concern, all of his dreams will come true.  Later that morning, Ryan's girlfriend Jenna Chung walked into the emergency room and gave him the sexiest wet kiss he had had in a while.  Ryan felt a lot better.

    A week later, Ryan was ready to return to campus.  Medical doctors could not determine what the growth was that was germinating inside the body of Ryan Scanners, only that it was not malignant/cancerous.  It did not effect other biological systems inside the body nor life functions, but it could not be extracted because it had grown outward and around different organs within Ryan's body.  The growth had leafed its way around the human organs, but it was not painful to Ryan.  It instead gave him a larger appetite and a thirst for milk, which was starting to add weight to Ryan's thin frame.  The first thing on the agenda of the heftier Ryan Scanners was to set up a lunch meeting with President Summers-Jones.  Upon arriving at the office of the university president, the administrative assistant informed Ryan Scanners that he was expected once President Summers-Jones heard he was coming back to the campus.  The President wanted to set up a meeting, but at the Presidential residence and not the office, for that day.  The Presidential residence was on the border of campus, and at 12pm Ryan rode to the residence for the 12:30 lunch.  Upon arrival, a subordinate greeted Ryan at the door and said that the President would see him in a few minutes.  A few minutes later, the President came in a tight but profession skirt suit and led Ryan by the arm to the residence dining room.  Ryan had fantasized about the day when he would be allowed to roam the Presidential residence free as the paramour of Ms. Summers-Jones.  The President led Ryan to a chair facing the dining room table and she took the chair facing him so that they could talk prior to having lunch.  Before sitting, she gave Ryan a rub on his shoulder.  She admitted that she heard about how they found Ryan in the Pine Barrens, and how even more fascinated she was with his story after being informed about the mysterious plant-like growth in his stomach.  She asked Ryan in a breathy voice what he thought it was.  Her eyes were wide and aglow as she spoke, and she waited upon Ryan's every word.  She assured Ryan that she was interested in Ryan's condition as both the university president and on a personal level.  She confided to Ryan that she felt a deep affection for all of her professors, staff, and teaching assistants, and it was only at times like these that she could openly express such affections........................................

The next Chapter was inspired by this picture of perched wetland isolated within the Pine Barrens.  Much like traditional Asian art, my story is inspired by formations that occur in nature.  "These isolated ponds, detached from nearby water sources and usually devoid of predatory fish, are important breeding habitat for a variety of amphibians."  The name amphibians, is derived from the Greek amphibios meaning "living a double life" reflecting a dual life strategy.  During their successful migration around the world, they have developed a variety of modifications that are specific adaptations to their environments.  They are ectothermic, meaning that they are animals whose body heat is regulated by the external environment but otherwise cold-blooded.  With this little introduction in mind, the second chapter unravels.

CHAPTER 2:  LOST IN THE PINE BARRENS, A CHARACTER'S DISINTEGRATION

    Jenna Chung is a Teaching Assistant in the mathematics department of Stony Brook University, and girlfriend of Ryan Scanners for the past two years.  She is an international student from Hiroshima, Japan.  Her great grandparents were killed in the Second World War, like many city residents, by the American atomic bomb that was dropped to end that long war.  Jenna was educated in Japan, bringing her superior skills in mathematics and computer science to Stony Brook University.  Jenna's academic specialization is the study of Algorithms used in computer software and micro-technology.  Recently, Jenna has divided her time between research and campaigning to become Director of the Asian Student Union.  The Director has an automatic seat on the Board of Directors of the Stony Brook University Wang Center of Asian Cultures and Commerce.  The Director plays a major role in shaping cultural learning on the Stony Brook campus and the surrounding Long Island community.  The current director, campaigning for a second term, is Mako Cho, also of Japanese ancestry and a mathematics Ph.D student as well.  The two women are close and often talk about their home regions and Shinto.  Jenna loves Mako as a person, but she thinks that Mako is way too traditional to be an effective leader to bring Stony Brook University into a more high tech transition period.

    Jenna also has had numerous open debates with Mako in the mathematics department.  Many of their fellow Ph.D students are amused by these debates because the women are such good friends sharing a common cultural heritage.  The debates are professional in nature:  Jenna advocates transitioning the department into teaching higher level mathematics exclusively on computers, microprocessors and computer software.   Mako is more naturally gifted, compared to Jenna, in mathematical theories/analysis utilizing traditional proofs.  The crux of the debate can be summarized by the following paraphrase:  Jenna advocates the saying "the ends justify the means" when it comes to mathematics, while Mako advocates the saying "the reward is in the struggle" toward a higher understanding of mathematics' most pristine states.  Jenna feels that Mako is too inflexible, and her perspective on the new math is more in line with the future of the field, as well as being more lucrative in terms of research dollars and the attraction of endowment funds.  Mako feels that Jenna too easily compromises her academic values for the latest trends.  Thus, the campaign for the Directorship of the Asian Student Union was born.

    Ryan Scanners experience with the Pine Barrens' phenomena was a stroke of pure luck for Jenna.  She was, of course, distracted with worry over Ryan's health first and foremost.  She would resign ten directorships to keep her steady boyfriend for the past two years happy and healthy.  The two met at the teaching assistant orientation two years ago.  Ryan was struck by Jenna's natural beauty, and Jenna found Ryan's all-american looks interesting in the 'I'd like to have a token American boyfriend to show that I've arrived' sense.  She also found Ryan to be humorous in a nerdish sense, especially his penchant for linking all conversation topics with weather and climate.  She knew the American saying that when you run out of interesting things to talk about, talk about the weather.  Ryan could be both interesting and talking about the weather at the same time.  Ryan also showed a keen interest in Japanese culture and Japanese discipline, his favorite topics being sushi and kabushiki gaisha.  Overall, Jenna found Ryan to be very cute.

    It was the day that Jenna planted the sexy wet kiss on Ryan that she began drawing impressions of the enormous pitcher plant emanating from Ryan.  Jenna had always been a good pencil drawer, doing art for relaxation.  Since her visit to Ryan in the university hospital room, the giant plant wrapped around Ryan was all she could think about.  At first, she drew only the thick tentacles around Ryan, but then she started drawing the plant in different stages of growth around Ryan's tight body.  Her pictures became more graphic, with the giant plant wrapping around Ryan's most sensitive and private parts.  The most developed of these drawings began to sport the head of Jenna herself near the mouth of the enormous pitcher plant.  She thought of how it would be to be so intimate with Ryan that she would be one with him, in the form of a giant plant.

    It was tribute day; the day that President Sally Summers-Jones had set aside for the university community to honor Ryan Scanners and to express their relief that Ryan had come back to the university family.  Ryan was scheduled to speak at 3 pm at the student union.  The union was packed to capacity when Ryan arrived with Professor Cornelius Brown, his mentor.  Jenna Chung arrived shortly thereafter and took the seat next to Ryan.  Ryan noticed Jenna's new ultra-sophisticated look for his grand hour:  she had dyed her hair with streaks of blond and her eyes were now fashionably blue with the new blue tinted contact lenses she was sporting.  Jenna looked at Ryan and batted her long and seductive false eyelashes.  She told Ryan that she wanted to show him something.  Jenna removed the final pencil drawing she had made and showed Ryan.  It was a graphic and seductive drawing of the enormous pitcher plant sporting the head of Jenna with tentacles and leaves caressing the head, chest, legs and private parts of Ryan.  Inspecting their seductive embrace in the drawing was University President Sally Summers-Jones.  The President expressed a warm smile of understanding, clearly accentuated in the drawing.  Ryan let out a hearty laugh and nod of approval, strangely reminiscent of previous experiences.  Ryan asked if he could 'have it', and both he and Jenna recreated the sexy wet kiss from the hospital room, which enticed some of the university family members to clap in both approval and admiration.  President Sally Summers-Jones looked back from her seat and sighed with relief that everything was o.k. with the student that the university had sent into danger.  The kiss was so intense and passionate that Jenna lost one of her blue contact lenses.  She now was sporting one brown eye and one blue eye.

    The University President noticed Jenna's eye.  She knew that Jenna was poised to say a few complimentary words about her boyfriend in front of the Stony Brook family.  The President did not want anything to detract from Jenna and the message the university wanted to convey at this event.  The university wanted to make it clear that Ryan and his girlfriend were model students by which to emulate, not to make Ryan and his girlfriend a public spectacle or freak show, to use laymen's vernacular.  The President then came up with an idea that hit her like a spark of electricity.  She was also wearing her blue tinted contacts.  If she was to remove one of her blue tinted contacts, Jenna would look less unusual because the ultimate authority figure was sporting the same eye look.  President Summers-Jones turned to the side, quickly put her finger up to her eye, and removed the right blue tinted contact to emulate the look of Jenna's eyes.  Both the University President and Jenna now had one brown eye on the left and one blue eye on the right sides of their faces.

    The speech and event to honor Ryan went off without a hitch.  Mako Cho was in the audience and noticed the eyes of both the President and Jenna.  She observed how Jenna had dyed her hair to reveal streaks of blond.  Mako felt like crying, but she wanted to appear strong for the Asian community that would be voting for her later that week.  She was scheduled to meet with Jenna Chung later that evening at the offices of the Asian Student Union.  That evening, Jenna arrived at the Asian Student Union main offices at 6:30 pm.  She walked into Mako's Director's Office, and immediately noticed the changes.  All around the office, including on the large desk that was the centerpiece, were colored pencil drawings of Kami, representing natural objects and processes.  There was a drawing of a moving stream, the sun, the moon, a waterfall, a chiseled rock, and Japanese sayings that alluded to purification rituals.  Behind Mako was a large colored drawing of the Sun-Goddess Amaterasu.  Jenna was stunned in frozen silence as she sat down with her one brown eye and one blue eye welling with fought back tears.  She sat there for a few moments in silence, when Mako came into the room and sat in her Director's chair.  Mako Cho extended her congratulations to Jenna and Ryan for their triumph earlier that day.  Mako added that they looked like a couple made for destiny, up there on the platform.  Mako told Jenna that Asian Student Union members had been there in force to support her.  Personally, Mako was a bit surprised by Jenna's new look, but understood that it was appropriate, and in the spirit of the event celebrating Ryan's importance and good fortune.  Mako Cho made it clear that no matter what the outcome of the election for the Director's Chair, she felt that their future collaboration would be in the best interests of the Asian community and the university.  Jenna replied that hopefully she and Mako would be on the same side of a debate one of these days, but to her surprise, Mako indicated that she did not think that would happen anytime soon................................

BREAKFAST AT THE DAWNING OF THE PINE BARRENS:  ADAPTATIONS, PERMANENT MUTATIONS, AND A SLICE OF GREY MATTER ON THE SIDE:

    Ryan Scanner's black comedy shifts ten years into the future like an Einstein-Rosen bridge across a black hole.  The point being that it is not necessary to fill in the details of the last ten years because assumptions can be made based on the previous chapters, coupled with a critical inquiry into the way our society functions.  All of the characters introduced have their positives and negatives, and all can find validity to their perspectives in the surrounding environment and greater society.  It should not surprise you to find out that Ryan Scanners is now an Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University on a tenured track.  However, the brightest academic star is now Jenna Chung, the girlfriend and now newlywed wife to Ryan Scanners.  The environment ALWAYS dictates the promotions.  It should not surprise you that Jenna Chung not only was the victor in the campaign for Director of Stony Brook's Asian Student Union, she is now the Director of the Wang Center at Stony Brook University.  She has played an integral role in shaping cultural understandings across institutional boundaries on the North Shore of Long Island.  She has also utilized her quantitative and computer skills to create networks between Stony Brook University and various Asian nations; such knowledge being helpful in attracting various high technology, computer based companies to the north shore.  It seems that ten years time has proven Jenna Chung's instincts to be right about many things; either that or it is a case of being around at the right time, in the right place, under the right environmental circumstances.  Now, what of Ryan Scanners in all of these developments and unraveling circumstances?

    Ryan Scanners at age 32 is an Associate Professor in the Atmospheric Science Department of Stony Brook University, on a tenured track.  By his calculations, he will make tenure in four to five years.  The plant that was germinating inside him, after his experience with the phenomena in the Long Island Pine Barrens, now seems to have reached maturity inside him.  Ryan has developed excessive drool from his nose and mouth whenever he is around flowers, plants or animals.  The drool is so pronounced that it drips to the ground whenever Ryan is around Flora or Fauna.  It was only a matter of time when Ryan began to notice the medium sized pitcher plants that were growing on the university grounds, particularly concentrated around the daily path that he took to his office at the Atmospheric Sciences Department, or the one leading to the lecture hall building.  His colleagues noticed the invading plants as well.

    Ryan Scanner's research began to take a new direction.  He felt his fame would lie in his research and writing centered on an existential perspective on climate and weather, as well as the human psyche's connection to weather and climatic changes/patterns on both collective and individual levels.  Ryan was so excited about this new direction for his research that he began to lecture about these topics in class.  His classes were heavily subscribed to, and other professors from various departments began to sit in on his classes.  His career seemed to be taking off right up until his dermatological discovery:  his arms and legs began to develop a leaf-like pattern.

    Jenna Chung, the wife, also noticed the leaf-like pattern right away.  It literally turned her stomach.  At least 10 doctors at Stony Brook University and in the New York area could not diagnose the medical anomaly.  What was forming on the skin of Ryan Scanner's?  Jenna Chung was concerned about Ryan's mental state as well as his physical state.  She asked a new professor and recent graduate of M.I.T., Mike Rainmaker, to keep an eye on Professor Scanners.  Jenna really liked Professor Rainmaker and was very excited when he was recruited from M.I.T.  He was a brilliant researcher and was an expert in the Information Technology field.  Mike Rainmaker was most interesting to Jenna because he had qualities that Ryan Scanners never seemed to exhibit:  he is the type of professional man that Ryan is not- accomplished, successful and an expert at grant writing and fundraising.  Jenna Chung found herself attracted to Professor Rainmaker physically and professionally.  After having a few conversations with Mike Rainmaker at faculty mixers and on the Wang Center Board, which they both served on, Jenna knew that Mike felt the same way about her.  It was an unspoken understanding between soul mates.

    Ryan Scanners noticed the different way that faculty members and students began to treat him when the leaf patterns on his skin became exposed to the outside world.  All members of the university and academic communities became more concerned with his appearance and condition, as opposed to his intellectual thoughts and work product.  Professor Scanner's classes became less popular, with a less than full classroom.  The new professor on the block, Mike Rainmaker, wrote and lectured about the climatic and environmental theories he had formulated on what exactly were the root causes of Professor Ryan Scanner's dermatological condition.  Rainmaker's theories were the subject of articles published in some of the top medical and atmospheric science journals.  His classes and special lectures were given in packed classrooms.  He received the highest possible marks for his teaching and research from students and peers.  Rainmaker literally became a star overnight, based on his analysis of Scanner's medical condition.  He even proffered quantitative theories on how long it would take for the condition to spread to all outer parts of Ryan Scanner's body.  The more he wrote about Ryan, the more Jenna Chung seemed to gravitate toward the highly charismatic Mike Rainmaker, and boy did Ryan Scanners notice.  Ryan never complained that Jenna never took on his surname after marriage, or even entertained the thought of an elongated hyphened name.  Ryan knew that Jenna had asked Professor Rainmaker to keep an eye on him, but she was insensitive to the change in his academic popularity and to his need to feel desired by her despite his skin condition.

    It was on the night that Mike Rainmaker gave his first lecture on his quantitative theory predicting the length of time it would take the dermatological condition to cover Ryan's entire body.  Jenna was repulsed by the subject, but she was also drawn to Mike's attention and commitment to her husband's condition.  She was also upset that Ryan decided not to attend this lecture involving a room full of people all concerned with the health of Ryan Scanners.  This was not like Ryan to stand up a crowd that had made him the object of caring and sentiment.  Jenna met with Mike Rainmaker after the lecture and thanked him for his concerns and assistance.  When their eyes met, Jenna knew.  Jenna had been having lunches with Mike to discuss the department and her husband.  Their eyes had met before in friendship, but never like this.  Mike knew also, like they had a natural synergy between them.  He took Jenna's hand and led her to his car parked nearby.  They arrived at his place and as soon as the front door shut, they began to undress each other while in a loose embrace.  The intimate encounter lasted for hours.

    A month later, Jenna was approached by outgoing University President Sally Summers-Jones.  The two had developed a professional friendship over the years.  President Sally Summers-Jones asked how Professor Scanners was doing, and Jenna answered that he was doing as well as can be expected.  The President then mentioned that she was speaking with Professor Mike Rainmaker two weeks ago at a university board meeting (Mike serves on the university board of directors as well), and Mike had spoken very highly of Jenna and had highlighted her simultaneous commitments to both her husband and the university community.  President Summers-Jones then stated that Stony Brook University was looking for a new University President who could integrate/merge the institution into the new high technology companies that were developing on Long Island, as well as create cultural integration between Stony Brook and the more traditional Long Island cultures, including the Native American cultures on the eastern tip of Long Island.  Jenna's eyes glowed wide with stunned fascination at the possibility of leading the great academic institution that was Stony Brook University.  A fantasy-like image passed through her mind:  it was she and Mike Rainmaker standing in the dining room of the University President's mansion, his arm around her shoulder, with Ryan Scanners as the young child suckling from her nipple as both she and Mike Rainmaker look onto him with loving admiration.

    Mike slept soundly in his bed that very night that Jenna and the University President were discussing the direction of Stony Brook University.  Mike awoke late at night with Jenna sound asleep at his side.  There, at the foot of the bed, stood the Shinnecock Indian that Ryan had previously visualized in the Pine Barrens and at the foot of his hospital bed.  The Shinnecock put his hands together as if beginning to pray and he uttered the following:  "Your vision has ended, other visions exist, and you should not walk into that which is not your own.  These are the teachings of the eternal Sachems."  Ryan also saw the familiar figure in his own room and was not afraid, but tears began to stream down his face and onto his leaf-like skin, like raindrops and dew falling on the leaves of a great, but old maple tree at dusk.  He finally understood that the vision was the Shinnecock.  An old day gave way to a new dawning.