Dr. Scopes hung her head. “The Syntropitron is also missing.”
“Missing?”
“I took an inventory of our critical equipment following today’s energy disruption and noticed it was gone. Professor McGillum must have stolen it.” Her face twisted with disappointment. “Who knows the extent of his deception?”
“This … this … is an act of mutiny!” Dr. Khatri squeezed his eyes shut, furious. “Four innocent kids disappeared into thin air thanks to that man’s recklessness!”
“Actually, five.” She winced. “A boy named Isaiah Yoon is also missing from the school’s manifest. Security footage shows him approaching the defunct lab before the evacuation.”
Dr. Khatri hung his head. “How am I supposed to explain this to their families?”
“We’ll find them. I promise.”
“Where could they be?” Dr. Khatri asked the ceiling, a note of desperation slipping into his voice. He looked down. A wide, oval patch was charred into the tile floor. In the center, a single, splintered drumstick spun, round and round, until it finally slowed to a stop.
21
STATION LIMINUS
Dev didn’t have a headache like Isaiah, but his mind was spinning as he tried to make sense of everything that was happening, everything they were seeing. He studied the three unusual faces before them. “I’m sorry, but where are we, exactly?” The field trip had definitely veered off course. Waaaay off course.
Shro cocked his head. “Station Liminus, of course. Did Finto not debrief you?”
“I don’t know who that person is, but I’d really like to speak with Dr. Mohan Khatri,” Dev said, trying his best to sound assertive. Something told him his rules for surviving middle school didn’t apply here. Wherever here was.
“Who?” Quirg waddled closer, a look of disdain creasing his face.
“My father,” Dev said, his pulse thrumming. “Catastro-physicist and head of Quantum Studies at NASA. I need to speak with him. Now.” Dev swallowed. “Please?” he added.
“I’ve never heard of such a person,” Shro said apologetically. “Have you, Your Eminence?”
The secretary shook her head, her silver hair glinting in the bright Station lights.
Isaiah’s eyes landed on Shro’s lapel. A pewter pin in the shape of a thirteen-pointed star gleamed. He gasped. “Wait … who are you?”
“Ah, how rude. In my excitement, I failed to properly introduce myself.” Shro bowed, displaying his muscular, slightly hunched back. “I am General Shro. My realm, Hasz, exists within Dim3. I lead the Dimensional Defense Department here on the Station. To ensure the safety and liberty of all.” He thumped a fist to his chest proudly.
“Right, that clears up a lot,” Tessa muttered.
Shro stepped aside. “And I assume you’ve met our youngest delegate, Duna of Mertanya from Dim10?”
The cadets smiled politely. “Sort of.”
Shro nodded. “And of course, Her Eminence, Ignatia Leapkeene, who hails from L’oress of Dimension 1. She is secretary of the Multiverse Allied Council, also known as the MAC.”
“So, she’s, like, the Big MAC?” Lewis asked, trying not to chuckle at his own joke.
Maeve gave him a withering glare.
Ignatia regarded the children as though they were exotic animals in the Menagerie. “Where are your supplies?” she asked. “We were told you would be bringing state-of-the-art equipment.”
“Equipment?” Dev replied. “Our instruments are right here.” He lifted his saxophone.
Lewis waved his drumstick. He had only one now. The other must have gotten lost during their journey.
Ignatia leaned down to get a better view. “And those will aid in plastocyrene terraforming efforts?”
“Probably not, but they help us play a wicked version of Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You,’ ” Lewis said. “Does that count?”
“Queen who? Do you refer to the silent monarch of Klapproth?” Ignatia asked, her horns flashing a vivid cerulean.
“Um, no. The band.”
Ignatia inspected her necklace. “Is my translator scrambled?” She tapped the tiny, multifaceted blue stone that hung from a delicate chain around her neck. “I cannot understand a single thing these Earthlings are saying.”
Shro shook his head. “I believe our translators are working just fine. However, there does appear to be some confusion. Are you the Earthling envoys, or not?”
“Maybe?” Dev offered. “Our teacher Mrs. Minuzzi said we should be ambassadors during our field trip. Is that the same?”
Ignatia shook her head, mystified. “Are you skilled in essential knowledge spheres, able to make valuable contributions to the multiverse?”
“We floss flawlessly in formation during our half-time routine. So, yeah, I’d say we’re pretty skilled.” Lewis demonstrated the dance move, then served up his signature smile, dimples and all. That always helped in situations like this.
“I knew this was a bad idea …” Quirg muttered, exhaling sharply through the six nostrils that ran in two rows down the middle of his plump face.
“Quiet!” Ignatia commanded. “If I require your counsel, I will request it. Until then, please keep all unsolicited feedback to yourself.”
“Yes, Your Eminence.” Quirg nodded meekly.
Ignatia’s horns darkened to a deep wine hue. She was clearly losing her patience. “Duna! This exchange is becoming rather vexing. Please orient these small humans. It appears that even Earth’s ‘best and brightest’ require a refresher course in Multiverse 101.”
She turned to Shro and Quirg. “I have pressing matters to attend to. As I’m sure the rest of you do as well. Please return to your regular posts.” She directed a pointed look at the cadets. “If you’ll excuse me, I will see you all later at the official hearing.”
“The hearing?” Dev asked, scratching his head.
“Do not worry, Your Eminence,” Duna said assuredly. “I will bring the Earthlings up to speed. I’m sure they are well aware of their duties while visitors on the Station.” Duna gave Tessa and the others a kind smile. “It will just take a little while for them to adjust.”
“Fine.” The secretary nodded curtly. “But remember, their time here is not infinite.”
Lewis scuffed his boot on the shiny floor. “And I thought Coach Diaz gave lousy pep talks …”
22
EARTH
“This field trip is a complete disaster!” Coach Diaz declared.
Mrs. Minuzzi whimpered in agreement. She wrung her hands and shuffled anxiously back and forth along the sidewalk behind the Gwen Research Center’s parking lot.
“Mrs. Minuzzi, Coach Diaz, please calm down,” Dr. Khatri said, speaking to the chaperones in a hushed voice outside the muster point. The buses hadn’t been authorized to leave until all students were accounted for. Benni, one of the drivers, had led his bus in some meditation and mindfulness exercises, but after waiting nearly an hour, the kids were growing rowdy and bored in their seats. A paper airplane flew out the bus window, whizzing by Dr. Khatri’s head.
“I assure you we are doing everything in our power to locate the missing students,” Dr. Scopes said.
“Missing? Did you say missing?” Mrs. Minuzzi almost fainted.
“Perhaps I used the wrong word. They are here, somewhere. The Gwen Research Center is a large facility. The quiver and subsequent energy surge caused a lot of disruption. The students were likely just frightened and sought cover. We have a team sweeping each building,” Dr. Khatri said.
“You should both join Miss Panos on the bus and return to school with the children. We will notify Principal Brant and apprise her of the situation,” Dr. Scopes added.
“This better get resolved quickly. We have a very important band practice this afternoon,” Coach Diaz said, tugging at the whistle hanging around his neck. “Regional championships are right around the corner. If we’re going to have a shot at winning, we need our best musicians. Including your son.”
; “I understand.” Dr. Khatri nodded, feeling an ache in his chest as he thought of Dev. “Locating the children is our top priority.”
Dr. Khatri’s assistant hurried across the parking lot, looking frazzled. “Sorry to interrupt. There’s a call for you on line one.” She held up a cell phone.
“Pamela, please take a message,” Dr. Khatri said. “I’m in the middle of something right now.”
“Sir, the mayor is on the phone.”
“How did she find out her daughter is missing?” Dr. Khatri shook his head.
“She doesn’t know that Zoey is missing, sir. Not yet,” Pamela said quietly. “Apparently, whatever happened this afternoon was not limited to the Center. The entire city of Conroy is going haywire. Even the surrounding counties have reported outages and extended flickers.”
“ Really?” Dr. Scopes asked.
Pamela tucked her hair nervously behind her ears. “The mayor’s team suspects that the massive energy surge that followed today’s quiver may have originated from our facility. She’s … not happy.”
It was possible that the quantum collider, once activated, could have caused the surge. Rupturing a dimensional membrane was bound to have some ripple effects. Dr. Khatri sighed. Things were worse than he thought, but he couldn’t lose his head now. His son and now an entire city were depending on him.
“Thank you, Pamela. Dr. Scopes, please escort Coach Diaz and Mrs. Minuzzi back to the buses. They should return to the school at once. I will take care of everything else.”
Pamela nodded and handed him the phone.
Dr. Khatri cleared his throat and pressed the button for line one. “Mayor Hawthorne, to what do I owe such a—”
Before he could continue, Valerie Hawthorne barked, “I need answers!”
23
STATION LIMINUS
As soon as Secretary Leapkeene departed from Gate Hall with Shro and Quirg, Duna turned to the kids. “Since this is your first journey across the Threshold, I am sure you have many questions. And I am here to answer them.”
Duna had a warm demeanor and a confidence that Tessa found reassuring. She felt the anxiety that had been building in her chest slowly dissipate.
“You’ll come to see that the multiverse is astoundingly, wonderfully diverse. As Shro mentioned, I hail from an Earthlike variant known as Mertanya, located in Dim10. Most Mertanyan people, such as myself, identify as nonbinary, meaning not exclusively male or female. Therefore, we use the pronouns they/them.”
Maeve nodded. She knew a few kids at school who used gender-neutral pronouns; she would make sure to use Duna’s correctly.
“I’m fifteen years old and proud to serve my dimension as the youngest delegate in the MAC,” Duna continued. “When I’m not on duty here at the Station, I enjoy racing hoverdiscs, reading holographic novels, playing AstroBlasters, and cooking enparillos with my ninth grandparent, Nooni.”
“Ooh, tell us more about enparillos!” Lewis said, giving his rumbling stomach a pat.
“Enparillos are crescent-shaped pastries filled with minced riverbeast meat and lots of spices,” Duna replied with a wide smile. “Nooni’s are the best in the multiverse.”
“I don’t know what a riverbeast is, but that sounds pretty delicious to me.”
“Everything sounds delicious to you,” Maeve said.
Lewis grinned. “You’re not wrong.”
Tessa regarded Duna. Aside from frilled ears and closely-cropped green-tinted hair, they looked like a typical human teenager. A small blue translator dangled from a chain around their neck, alongside a collection of other necklaces with hammered silver tags. They wore a white shirt adorned with dozens of important-looking badges, putty-colored jodhpur-style pants, and the raddest high-top sneakers Tessa had ever seen. She instantly liked Duna’s style.
“And now I would like to get to know all of you.” Duna asked each of them their names and listened intently as they replied. Tessa almost revealed her true identity, but caught herself before she slipped. She knew she’d have to tell them all the truth at some point, but this didn’t feel like the right moment.
Shortly after they’d finished their introductions, a device on Duna’s wrist buzzed. “Ah! Time to go. This way!”
The cadets picked up their instruments and followed, eager for more information.
“The Station can be disorienting and overwhelming at first,” Duna said as they walked.
“That’s the understatement of the year …” Dev replied, looking around the breathtaking building in awe, wishing his father were there to see it, too. The pearly white floors shone. The ceilings soared, curving and faceted with interlocking panels that glowed with simulated sunlight.
“Why are there so many doors? And where do they go?” Dev asked, pointing down the hall.
“They lead into and out of each dimension, of course,” Duna said, as though it were the most obvious fact. “Most dimensions have multiple access points, which is why there are so many doors.”
Tessa bit her lip and stopped walking. “I feel like we need to back things up a bit. What are these dimensions everyone keeps mentioning?”
Maeve paused too, nodding in agreement. Generally, she didn’t like to admit that she didn’t know everything about everything. But she felt like they needed to understand the full scope of their situation. “And the multiverse?” she added. “What is that all about?”
Duna came to a halt. They looked surprised, but not disgusted or flustered like Ignatia and Quirg had. “You really don’t know about the multiverse?”
The cadets stared at Duna blankly.
“My dad has talked about ‘many worlds’ theories before,” Dev said, “but I thought he was just geeking out.”
“Plus, during our tour of NASA, Dr. Scopes denied anything of the sort could exist,” Isaiah added, still irked by the way she had dismissed his clearly valid question.
Duna shrugged coolly, looking undeterred. “Okay, well, I guess we have more to cover than I thought. Gather round.” They pulled a small circular device from their pocket and tapped the illuminated glass surface. “This is called a lynk. It’s like a more sophisticated version of the smartphones I’ve heard you use on Earth.”
“Which none of us have at the moment, because we left them at NASA,” Lewis lamented.
“I’ll use it to demonstrate some of the basics.” Duna scrolled and tapped the lynk a few times. An image sprang to life. “Picture if you will a balloon, like this one.” They held up the screen for the kids to see. “You have these on Earth, right?”
Tessa nodded. “Yup. They’re used for special occasions, like birthdays or parties.”
“Exactly. Now imagine there are thirteen balloons, all different colors. Each one represents a different dimension, or verse. Together, they represent the multiverse. The balloons formed, or were inflated let’s say, in the wake of a major astronomic event. I believe you call it the Big Bang.” Duna checked to make sure they were following.
“The balloons all contain the same basic foundational particles, but each one developed slightly differently, forming the unique worlds in which you and I live.”
Tessa thought about Zoey. She and her sister were identical twins with the same DNA, but with each passing year, they became more and more different.
Duna continued their explanation. “Because of their shared origins, the planets within each balloon abide by roughly the same laws of physics and exist within similar solar systems, but each has varied atmospheric conditions, temperatures, landforms, and so on. For example, Klapproth is primarily aquatic. Jelingor in Dim12 has three moons. My home planet has an orange-hued sky. Calweh in Dim11 is highly gaseous.”
“Just like you, Lew,” Maeve said.
“Har har. Very funny.”
“Over the course of the last few billion years, these differing characteristics caused diverse life-forms to evolve and flourish in each dimension. Which is why delegates like Quirg and Xol look dissimilar from myself.”
“It reminds me of themes and variations in music,” Dev said. “If you take a core group of musical notes, then arrange and play them differently, you’ll get a variety of related melodies.”
Duna’s russet eyes sparkled. “I am not well-acquainted with Earthling musical theory, but the concept seems correct. Each dimension is a variation on a theme.”
Duna tapped their lynk and another image appeared. “Now imagine that each of the thirteen balloons we just described has a string attached to it. These strings all connect at one central point, where they are tied into a knot of sorts. This knot is Station Liminus, the place we’re standing now. It’s the only juncture where all thirteen verses meet, and that makes it quite special.”
Dev looked down at his feet and the floor below in awe. The ideas Duna was describing were slowly crystallizing in his mind. He was giddy with the possibilities, in awe of the sheer vastness of the multiverse. He was also startled and unsettled by how quickly his entire understanding of the world could be dismantled and reconstructed. It took his breath away a little.
“Most dimensions access the Station through a network of constructed portals or gates, like the one you traveled through today,” Duna said. “However, the balloons—or dimensions—are floating in space, in the center of a mirrored room of sorts. Even though they are tied together, the balloons sometimes drift and bump up against each other. Where they touch, additional gateways can form, linking one dimension to another, though usually only for a limited time. We refer to these as Rips.”
Isaiah was instantly reminded of Uncle Ming. He had always suspected that his uncle had accidentally slipped from their world and into another. His pulse raced. Maybe he had been right all along …
Duna looked thoughtfully at the group. “I would advise you not to travel through Rips, due to their volatile nature.”
“What would happen if we did?” Lewis asked.
“You could end up somewhere rather inhospitable with no clear path home. And you might suffer more extreme cellular mutation and degradation.”
“Did you say ‘mutation’?” Tessa asked, fidgeting with her mesh suit, hoping her body hadn’t grown something like snakeskin during their accidental journey.
Mission Multiverse Page 10
