“WHAT IS THIS PLACE?” asked Willy.
Joe’s talking smart-watch gave us the answer. “Welcome to the American Museum of Natural History’s Rose Center for Earth and Space and the Hayden Planetarium.”
“This is where New York City keeps its stars,” I remarked.
“I thought that was Broadway,” said Joe.
“Not those kinds of stars,” I said with a laugh. “Our kind. Constellations. Galaxies. Spiral nebulas.”
“Daniel’s right,” added Emma. “There’s too much light pollution in this city from all the skyscrapers and cars and flashing signs for New Yorkers to see the real stars. The sky never gets dark enough. So they come here to see the heavens splashed across the curved ceiling of that giant sphere.”
“The Hayden Planetarium is the most technologically advanced space theater in the world,” added the smooth-talking Tour Guide App in Joe’s wristPod. “It presents hyper-realistic views of the night sky, as seen from Earth, using the world’s most advanced star projector: the Zeiss Mark IX, custom made for the museum.”
“Um, Joe?” said Dana.
“Yeah?”
“Can you turn that thing off?”
“Why?”
“Because I have an idea that I don’t want it to hear.”
Joe tapped a switch on his wrist gizmo. “Good-bye, Joe,” it said as it faded into sleep mode. “I hope you find your pizza.”
“Don’t worry,” said Joe. “I’m a man on a mission.”
“What’s up, Dana?” asked Willy.
“This is where they filmed that movie—Night at the Museum.”
“With the dinosaurs coming to life and junk?”
“Yep.” Dana turned to me with a sly twinkle in her eye. “So, Daniel—what’s one of the best ways to get your creative juices flowing? To make sure all your powers are fully restored?”
I shrugged. “I dunno. I guess I could take a nap.”
“Or you could do something way better. You could go inside the museum and play with all the toys. The dinosaurs and woolly mammoths. The Easter Island head statues, the big blue whale…”
“Um,” said Emma, “you want Daniel to, basically, goof off when he’s just been promoted to Number 1’s number one enemy?”
“Exactly. A little creative playtime may be exactly what you need, Daniel. You’re too tightly focused. You need to loosen up, kick back, and let your imagination run wild. Face it—you need to have a little fun.”
I realized Dana was right.
Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to walk away from it for a little while and throw yourself into some completely different creative endeavor.
Like having a blast inside the American Museum of Natural History when no one else is around, except a few security guards, who I could easily mind-bend into taking a quick catnap.
It was definitely time for another “night at the museum”—Daniel X style!