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Knowledge Is Power

Written by brad328 :: [Friday, 31 March 2023 04:19] Last updated by :: [Monday, 17 April 2023 07:51]

 "I can't believe he's here again!" Sarah whispered angrily to her co-worker. "He owes hundreds of dollars in fines!"

"The fines mean he can't check out any books… but there's no rule he can't come in and use the internet." Brent replied to the bespectacled brunette.

"How about what's he's browsing… disgusting!" 

"He's not doing anything wrong… it's the middle of the day so there aren't any kids around. Just the regulars: Mr. Davis checking his e-mail, Mrs. Nelson checking Facebook to see what her grandkids are doing. Jim's updating his résumé again and sending it to the job search sites… hopefully he finds something soon."

"So, you're saying there's nothing we can do?" Sarah asked.

"Sarah, we're not cops… we're librarians." Brent answered. "Best we can do is ask him politely to not peruse those websites until IT can put the blocks in."

"Hey!" the man yelled at towards the counter the two were standing behind. "Can't you do anything to speed this internet up? It's taking forever to download these videos."

"Sir, you're not allowed to download or upload anything to public computers. It's a security risk." Brent said.

"And could you PLEASE keep the noise down sir… " Sarah added.

"I'm a taxpayer, I pay your salaries!"  the man angrily replied. "Stupid slow internet… as much as I pay in property taxes, this place should have better wi-fi than the Starbucks down the street."

"Which he was also banned from" Sarah whispered.

Brent and Sarah went back to their work of cataloguing the returned books and putting them on carts so they could be reshelved. Brent grabbed one of the carts and began putting the books back in the non-fiction area.  Sarah went into the back area near the break room to work on the kids' club activities she had planned for Saturday morning. She had booked a “science magician” as part of the entertainment for the day, so she also needed to call him back to confirm the time he would arrive and if the library needed to provide anything.

The man continued to use the library’s computer and wi-fi for the next hour and a half, bringing the total time to two hours… one hour longer than allowed. Brent walked over to him.

“Sir, you have been on the computer much longer than the 60-minute limit. It is time for you to finish what you are doing and log out.

“Listen Poindexter!” the man angrily yelled as he stood up. He was a few inches taller than Brent and about 50 pounds heavier. “You’re not the boss! I can use this computer as long as I want!”

“Well… no, sir… you don’t.” Brent continued. The sign clearly says it’s a 60-minute time limit. Plus, school is getting out for the day so there will be kids needing these PCs to do their homework.”

“I pay your salary, buddy!” the man retorted, poking a finger forcefully into Brent’s chest.

“I understand that but… ”

“But nothing!” the man said, shoving him to the ground.

The commotion brought Sarah out of the back room, to see Brent getting poked by the man… the yelling had already disturbed the patrons in the library… and when Brent was pushed down, Sarah saw red.

“That’s it!” she said angrily to herself. “I could call the cops, but someone else needs to teach him a lesson.”

Sarah quickly moved towards the stairwell and went downstairs to the rare books section in the basement. The only people who used this part of the library were college students, and they wouldn’t be here until late afternoon. Finding a secluded spot between the tall shelves, Sarah exclaimed:

Knowledge is Power!

A low rumble like thunder filled the room and Sarah was surrounded by a bright light. Her body changed, superhuman power flowed through her… and her body responded in kind, her physique transforming into something more powerful. Her clothes fell in tatters as muscles sprouted from her thin frame. In mere moments, Sarah became the Mighty Maiden of Microfiche, the Dewey Decimal Dynamo, and the Champion of the Card Catalog. A late night at the library cataloguing some old books led to her reading one of them. A phrase in Latin nearly jumped off the page, drawing her eyes and interest: Scientia sit Potentia. But when she said it outloud, it triggered the magic in the book and changed Sarah’s life forever.

While she hadn’t come up with a name for her alter-ego yet, it didn’t stop her from trying to help around the city for the last few weeks. And her super identity was needed again…

With speed faster than an Olympic sprinter, Sarah was a red and blue blur as she ran up the stairs. The man moved closer to Brent, who was still down on the ground, when she moved in between them.

“Sir! It’s time for you to leave!” she said forcefully.

“Or what?!” he laughed. “What are you, some sort of Super Librarian?”

“Don’t make me prove it to you.” she said.

“I’m quaking in my boots.” he replied sarcastically. He forcefully poked his finger into Sarah’s powerful and voluptuous chest. To his shock… and pain that shot through his hand… it was like poking a brick wall.

“Oww!” he shouted.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to keep your voice down.” she continued as she grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him above her head easily. “You already sound quieter way up there.” she giggled.

“Are you ok?” she asked Brent who was stunned to see the statuesque superheroine toy with this man.

“Umm, yeah… thanks.” he replied as he got up to his feet.

“If you could call the cops, that would be great. He won’t bothering the patrons anymore.” Sarah said as she tossed him down, his body skidding across the carpeted floor.

“I don’t think so Super Nerd.” the man said, getting up slowly. Charging at Sarah, he swung wildly at the heroine. She easily dodged his attacks but decided to stop moving. His fist connected with her chin, a blow that would knock out even the largest of men. But it was no more uncomfortable to Sarah than a mosquito bite. The man, however, yelled even louder in pain as he looked at his broken hand.

“What did I just tell you?” she growled angrily as the man grabbed a knife from his pocket.

“I’m going to slice you from ear to ear you bit-” but the man’s sentence was interrupted as she placed a hand over his mouth while the other pushed the metal blade down with ease, bending underneath her superhuman strength without even making a mark on her skin.

“Please be quiet!” she whispered forcefully to him, pointing towards the sign.

Grabbing him once again she pushed him down into the rolling chair he was using. Unplugging the wired mouse from the PC, she wrapped the cord around both of his hands. She saw the flashing blue and red lights from the police cars pulling into the parking lot so she lifted the man and the chair up and carried them to the waiting officers. Brent talked to one of the policemen and gave his statment both verbally and in writing. While he was occupied, Sarah slipped away to the basement and transformed back to her normal self. Her clothes, destroyed by her original transformation, magically reappeared.

“Sarah! I can’t believe you missed it!” Brent exclaimed as she walked out of the back room.

“Sorry Brent, I was stuck on the phone with the science magician… he wouldn’t let me get off the phone.”

“She was amazing!”

“Who?” she asked, with a small grin on her face.

“Umm, I don’t know… she never said her name. “I think the guy called her Super Librarian and Super Nerd… ”

“Oh my! Hopefully neither of those names will stick.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing just… can you imagine a superheroine named Super Librarian?”

“I don’t know, it sounds kind of sexy.”

“Really?!” she teased.

“I mean, librarians are pretty smart… it’s nice to have a heroine who projects intelligence in addition to strength.”

Sarah grabbed Brent’s hand and walked him down towards the rare books depository.

“So… a heroine who projects intelligence and strength?” she asked breathlessly.

“Umm, yeah… ”

“So you’re saying… Knowledge is Power!

Dream Background146

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