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ClydeSight2.0!presents... "Tales from the Clyde Codex"
Do you know where you are?
Once, when Clyde was sleeping on the VCR remote (as he liked to do),
he accidentally started a tape that was in the machine. It was the 1990's movie "Mary
Shelly's Frankenstein."
The film was probably pretty good, but Clyde was so busy snoozing that he took little
notice of it. The only thing he did remember was that Frankenstein's creature was
born in November, in the late 1700's, during an electrical storm. Since dates mean
nothing to a cat, he quickly forgot that important piece of information. Here's what
is written in the original (1818) version of the novel:
"It was on a dreary night of NOVEMBER, that I first beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs."
The unconscious mind is a curious thing, especially in cats,
and the suggestion presented by the movie and this literary
passage lingered deep in Clyde's little mind, until it manifested
itself in the Time Rings. Catapulted through history, Clyde
was desperate for a place to land. This unconscious knowledge
gave direction to the Time Rings.
With a rainbow flash, the Time Rings deposited the hapless cat
in the middle of the Town of Ingolstadt, which is located in
Switzerland.
Not surprisingly, this place was also the setting for the most
dramatic part of Mary Shelly's novel (written in the early 19th
Century), where Frankenstein brought his unfortunate and nameless
creature to life. But, Clyde didn't know this because he never
read the book (even though it is on the Internet) and he had
slept through that part of the film.
When he arrived, Clyde was sitting on a hill overlooking the
town. It seemed like a nice enough place, and strangely familiar.
So, Clyde decided to look around at the houses and went to visit
the famous University of Ingolstadt, which is known even in
the 20th Century as a great house of learning. Clyde didn't
learn much there because it was closed for the "Novemberfest".
Novemberfest
was the Swiss answer to the German festival, Oktoberfest. Only
here, instead of eating wonderful German food and getting drunk
on German beer and wine, they ate wonderful Swiss food (like
Swiss Steak & Cheese sandwiches) and drank a lot of chocolate
and cocoa, because, Switzerland is so well known for its chocolate.
Lady Godiva, of the famous Godiva chocolate dynasty, is reported
to have ridden her horse, dressed only in chocolate, during
Novemberfest!
 Ingolstadt |
 An Ingolstadt House... |
 The University of Ingolstadt |
As Clyde wandered through the town, he noticed that the
weather was getting cold and damp and the sky threatened rain.
Since the University was closed, Clyde needed to find some shelter.
The month of November stuck in his mind, but he wasn't sure
why, so he shrugged it off and continued his meanderings until
he found a strange looking castle high up on a hill.
Now, people look at some places and wisely are afraid, but the
things that scare a human mean nothing to a cat. So Clyde was
not in the least bit put off by the fact that Ingolstadt doesn't
have a castle, or one nearly as scary looking as this place
was. All he was concerned with was finding a place to get in
out of the rain. He sauntered up the gravel path and found a
convenient hole in the wall to let him in. (The castle was a
bit run down.)
Clyde at Castle Frankenstein
The castle was huge, in spite of its appearance, and Clyde spent quite some
time wandering around its many rooms. He visited the kitchen first, in hopes of finding
a snack. Unfortunately, like the University, the kitchen was closed.
Then, Clyde went into the library and looked at all the books. They meant nothing
to him, since he couldn't read anything except computer manuals and Internet Web
sites. So, he left the library and wandered along the dark and musty corridors to
the art gallery.
Every castle has at least one art gallery, because it gives you something to look
at besides the cold, stone walls. And, Castle Frankenstein was no exception. It had
a lovely art gallery, which was a bit small, since it only had one picture, the image
of a pretty, yet unidentified woman. Clyde was captivated by the mystery woman's
beauty though, and sat for a long while by the picture, admiring it.
Who is this mysterious woman?
Clyde was suddenly snapped out of his reverie by the sound of a loud clap of
thunder! He was used to hearing claps, because so many people applauded his Concert
at CLAW, but a thunderclap is a bit different, and not nearly as friendly. So, alarmed,
the little cat bolted up the stairs to the highest point in the castle, the tower.
Most horror fans know that this is a really dumb move. But, one has to remember that
Clyde slept through his movie, so he wasn't all that wise to his situation.
He arrived at the top of the stairs just in time to see the occupant of the house,
and the person for whom the castle was named, busy finishing up some arrangements
in a type of crude laboratory. Clyde was shocked by what he saw!
There, on a low wooden bench, in the middle of the huge room, lay the figure of a
man, covered with scars and bruises, completely naked except for a bloody cloth conveniently
draped over his unmentionable parts! Of course, all of his parts were unmentionable,
since he was made up of corpses, but Clyde didn't realize it at the time.
Near this strange and inanimate being was another, very agitated and nervous man,
busy collecting instruments and hooking up wires to the body. As Clyde watched, he
decided that this was some new, decorative lighting scheme. He could not figure out
how the man was going to get the corpse to light up though. But, he also remembered
his Time Travel Clyde adventure with Thomas Edison, and the difficulties of developing
an electric light. So, Clyde figured, this scientist was simply on the wrong track.
Anyway, it all seemed very curious, and cats are suckers for curious things, so he
decided to hang around and see what was going to happen.
The storm outside had grown to terrific and violent proportions. Lightning flashed
and thunder boomed. The rain pelted the gothic windows. So great was the atmospheric
drain of electrical power that even the candles in the room dimmed, when suddenly,
a bolt of lightning tore through the roof and hit the inanimate being lying on the
table, conveniently bringing it to life! If being struck by lightning can make a
living person dead, then lightning striking a dead person must obviously bring him
to life. That's logic!
It's Alive!
Frankenstein was horrified at the sight and rushed out of the room in sheer
terror. He had never expected that he'd actually succeed in animating the being,
and the shock and horror of what he had been doing finally dawned on him. His shame
and disgust were beyond his ability to cope, and so, he fled. It is reported that
he went and took a nap, something which Clyde could understand very well, since he
was so fond of naps himself.
If Clyde had been of a similar mind, he'd have run away too, but, he wasn't sleepy
and he'd never seen a being made up of corpses come to life before. This seemed quite
curious and fascinating, so he decided to stick around and see what happened next.
The poor, hapless creature moaned and fell off the table onto the hard, cold, stone
floor. Clyde thought that must have really hurt, since the poor creature didn't have
any fur or paw pads to break his fall, and besides that, he landed on his head and
gave himself a nasty bump.
After a moment, the creature stumbled shakily to its feet, standing, or rather, wobbling,
erect. It looked around the room, and held its head as if it were in terrible pain.
That's understandable, considering it had been struck in the head by lightning and
then landed on the hard stone floor.
Slowly, and with awkward, uneven steps, the creature wandered about the room, looking
at things, staggering against furniture. There was no one there except Clyde, but
he couldn't see him because Clyde, having finally wised up, was hiding under a table.
The creature found a miniature portrait of the mysterious woman and stared at it
for a long time, while uttering small moans. He cocked his head and stroked the image,
but soon discovered that it was hard, cold and flat; it had no life, attractive as
it was. The face seemed kindly and gentle. But its half smile was but a frozen moment
in time. She wasn't smiling at him. He was cold, hurt and alone.
Mommy?
The creature turned suddenly as rain pelted the window. Clyde saw his face, and even
the cat was moved, for the poor creature was crying.
It was all alone, cold, naked, in a great deal of pain. No kind person was there
to hold him, or comfort him, or sing "Happy Birthday," even though it truly
was his very first birthday. There was little chance of him getting any ice cream
or cake, and presents were no where to be seen. This was a truly sad birthday.
Miserable beyond enduring, the creature sank to the floor, racked with sobs.
Clyde twitched his tail anxiously. He could not stand to see anyone suffer, and he
felt that if he had the courage to crawl out from under the table, and give the creature
a rub and a purr, it would feel much, much better. But, Clyde did not know this being,
and he knew to be wary of strangers, so he stayed put, watching intently with his
golden eyes.
After a while, the creature looked up and uttered a gasp. He had spied a large mirror
on the far side of the room. Carefully, he arose and went to it, amazed at what he
saw. Since Clyde loved mirrors, he couldn't resist jumping up on the table.
But the creature took no notice of him, he was too entranced by his own reflection.
He touched the glass and found it as cold and hard as the little picture of the
pretty woman he had seen. Then he noticed that every time he moved, the man in the
glass moved also. This was indeed a curious phenomenon.
Who do I see? Can it be me?
He finally realized that what he was seeing was himself. At first the creature
was pleased with what he saw, but as he noticed the hideous scars of the clumsy surgery
Frankenstein had performed, he became sad. He touched his scars, and they were very
painful and sore. He saw that he looked nothing like the beautiful, if mysterious
woman in the portrait, and, noticing Clyde, he realized that he didn't even look
like a cat!
Was he alone in this cold and dank world? Was there no one like him, to talk to him,
to give him comfort, maybe even an aspirin for his headache? Once more, he broke
down in sobs, and even Clyde's purring would not bring him comfort.
Clyde jumped to the floor where the creature was lying, hoping that the sight of
his adorable self would bring him some relief. But it was no use. The creature reached
out for him, but Clyde gave into fear and backed away.
Clyde - an adorable, but cautious, little cat
Looking up to the heavens beyond the shattered roof, the creature screamed and wailed
in agony.
Deeply moved by the creature's unendurable plight, Clyde was desperate to think of
what to do. All the events had jogged his short term memory of the Frankenstein story,
and he realized that if he did not intervene, this incident would end in terrible
tragedy. Then he thought of something.
He knew what lay ahead if he did nothing to alter the creature's future, but in that
puzzle lay the key. It was the future!
If Clyde could bring him into the future, where he knew Frankenstein's creature was
greatly loved and admired, if for no other reason, for sheer entertainment value,
then the creature would have a chance at a happy existence. While Frankenstein might
not have cared, Clyde's great heart and sweet spirit went out to this strange being.
Clyde rushed towards the far wall, and rubbing his combination Clyde Door collar
magnet and Time Ring activator assembly, summoned the wonderful Time Rings into action.
The far wall shimmered and glowed with rainbow light, then flashed as the door of
infinite possibility opened and the way to the future was clear.
Clyde was about to jump through, when he saw that the creature did not know what
was going on. It stood there, in the middle of the floor, blinking at the light,
then started backing away in fear.
Clyde could not allow the creature to escape, so he did the only thing possible,
he rushed over and scratched him on the foot with three of his fourteen front claws!
It was enough to get the being's attention, but not enough to seriously hurt him.
With a howl, the creature lunged towards Clyde! But Clyde was quick as a cat can
be, and bolted through the Time Rings, with the creature dashing in after him!
Come Back here, Clyde!
The Time Rings spun and swirled, performing their everlasting dance of history, twirling
Clyde and the unfortunate creature through the years, onwards and onwards into the
glorious future. But they overshot the 20th century entirely and landed in a place
Clyde knew very well because he'd been there in the past, the great Virtual Future!
Clyde was thrilled! This was an even better solution to his problem because the Virtual
Future was run entirely by computers, and everyone knows how friendly computers are.
And so it was in this case. The great compassionate future computers converted Frankenstein's
creature from mere flesh and blood into a fully rendered digital realization of himself!
As the last remnants of the Time Rings faded away, Clyde and the creature found themselves
standing on some future shore in the early dawn.
Wow, what a difference!
The creature looked at himself in amazement. As everyone knows, time heals
all wounds, and so it was in this case. Gone were the scars and distortions, gone
was all pain! He felt as if he had infinite possibility, he felt truly alive, truly
virtual! He even had on some spiffy, skin tight clothes made of lycra-spandex to
hide his unmentionable parts! He was beautiful, a real digital doll!
And there, at his feet, sat the sweet and patient Clyde, admiring his handiwork.
Yes, here in the Virtual Future, where everyone was happy, Frankenstein's creature
was assured of a life of comfort, digital challenges, and companionship, not to mention
adventures!
The creature smiled at Clyde and reached down to pat him, but Clyde bolted off. He
knew where he was going. He knew what was in the future, and who was waiting for
the creature, just over a grassy knoll.
The sun had fully risen when they arrived, and Clyde sat down for a rest. Together,
they watched the beautiful dawn of a new day of endless possibility. Then, Clyde
heard the sound of soft footsteps from behind, and he knew that it was time for the
creature to meet his destiny. He, and the being, turned around to see a beautiful
woman, more radiant and colorful than the woman in the Castle picture, approaching.
She was smiling, and held out her hand.
Mary Meets Frank
"Hello!" She said kindly. "My name's Mary. What's yours?"
Frankenstein's digital creature looked at her, bewildered, and held out his hand.
He did not yet know how to speak.
Mary smiled and said, "Oh, yes, I see. I remember now. Well, come along with
me, I will give you many things to say, words that people will listen to and wonder
over for centuries past and yet to come. Welcome, my dear friend. Your future has
just begun... By the way, where did you find this adorable little cat?"
And then, Clyde purred.
He just loves a happy ending.
Clyde, an adorable little cat.
The Creation Scene from
FRANKENSTEIN
or
"The Modern Promethepuss"
The complete composition is on the audio
cassette:
Symphonia Felina and Other Mewsical Masterworks,
available NOW from ClydeSight Productions.
(You can also see a new, updated Frankenstein Picture!)
The mysterious woman in the 
<-- ?--> 
Abso
the Cat of the Back
Fence Cat Club awarded ClydeSight2.0! his Technical
Excellence Award for "Frankenstein-It's
Alive", submitted to Abso's "Make a Monster"
Halloween Contest in November of 1999.
2003 - We have a NEW Frankenstein-It's Alive picture to scare you. Click here!
<--Visit ClydeSight2.0! the Fun and Games Cat Site!
<-- Visit ClydeSight Productions
Copyright © ClydeSight2.0! - 1997