by Tom Hoffman
“What does that mean, outside of space and time?”
Sophia gave a sigh of exasperation, but the truth was she thoroughly enjoyed knowing more than other mice did and was quite willing to display the rather staggering depth of her knowledge. “It means your mind, your true self, is not part of the physical world. It can exist without your physical body, but of course to interact in this world you need a physical body. Do you understand that?”
“I guess. So your mind is like a ghost living in your body?”
Sophia snorted. “Sort of, I guess, but it’s not all spooky like a ghost, it’s just physics. Anyway, every time you have a thought your mind creates an energy field. Shapers call it a thought cloud. A shaper takes one of their thought clouds, which is just an energy field, and compresses it into physical matter using the power of their mind.”
“That sounds a little dramatic.”
Sophia glared at Orville. “Dramatic or not, it’s true. They call the objects they create ‘thought forms’. Every mouse has the potential to be a shaper. It’s just a question of learning how to do it.”
“You’re not tricking me somehow are you? All this is real?”
Sophia looked at Orville with a dark frown. “I’ll prove it’s not a trick. Orville Wellington Mouse, I want you to think of a big number, but don’t tell me what it is.”
“Umm, okay. I’m thinking of one right now, a really big one.”
Sophia closed her eyes, then said, “Six million, three hundred and twenty-nine thousand, four hundred and seventeen.”
Orville’s legs got wobbly. “What? How did you do that? How did you know what I was thinking? That’s impossible!”
Sophia gave a groan. “If you had been listening to me you would understand why it is very possible indeed. Please listen carefully. When you have a thought, like thinking of a big number, your mind creates a thought cloud. When I look at you I see a puffy cloud floating out of your ear and I simply draw the thought cloud to me. When the cloud touches me, I hear your thought in my head, and I feel your emotions. If you’re really angry, then I feel really angry or if you’re really sad, then I feel really sad. I can also tell your mood by looking at the color of the thought cloud.”
Orville stared at Sophia, his eyes blinking rapidly as he processed this new information. Finally he grasped the full implication of what she was saying. He moved back a step, a look of horror crossing his face. “You know everything I’m thinking? All my private thoughts?”
Sophia was appalled by his accusation. “Of course not. That would be very, very rude of me. Shapers don’t do that. Ever. That would be like me sneaking into your room in the middle of the night and reading your diary. It’s just not done.”
Orville relaxed. “Oh, well, that’s good. Not that I have awful thoughts or anything. Just, umm, you know, some are kind of personal.”
Sophia grinned. “Oooooh, like what kind of personal thoughts? Do they have anything to do with how beautiful I am?” She batted her eyes then burst out laughing.
Orville snorted. “Seriously, are you saying I could learn how to be a shaper?”
“Orville, pay close attention. Why do you think you had a dream that I was from Quintari? How did you know that?”
“I don’t know. Wait, do you think I read one of those thought cloud things?”
“Precisely. Now you’re getting it. You read one of my thought clouds without knowing it. Now you just have to learn to see them and read them anytime you want, and then you have to learn how to compress them into physical objects.”
“Sooo... just to be clear, you could shape oatmeal cookies if you wanted to?”
Sophia held out her paw and two large oatmeal cookies blinked into existence. Orville plucked one from her paw.
“Creekers, I think I’m going to like being a shaper. Mmmm... these cookies are really good.”
“Look! There’s the falls. We’re here already. Are you certain you’re not mistaken about the glowbirds? You do have quite a vivid imagination you know, and this doesn’t seem like something that would actually happen.”
“Oh, and making oatmeal cookies pop into your paw does?”
“That’s a good point. Where do the glowbirds land?”
Orville looked up at the towering falls. They were magnificent, over four hundred feet from top to bottom, and made up of seven separate falls. The mist from the tons of falling water was transformed into brightly colored sparkling rainbows by the warm Symocan sun as it shone across the face of the mountain. The falls were a popular tourist attraction, mice coming from all over Symoca to see them. The High Counselor of Symoca himself had come to visit the falls when Orville was just a mouseling.
“See that big ledge on the third falls up? The glowbirds land there like clockwork every day at exactly twelve minutes after three, sit there for six minutes, and then all fly west at exactly the same moment.”
“How many times have you actually seen them do it?”
“At least six or seven times. At first I thought I was imagining it. There’s lots of other glowbirds flying around the falls, but these seven birds behave differently. They don’t swoop and soar like the other glowbirds.”
“What time is it now?”
“We still have an hour until they arrive.”
“Let’s sit on the benches and watch the falls.”
Orville and Sophia strolled over to a long row of wooden benches built to accommodate the summertime tourists. Orville plopped himself down on one of the hard seats.
Sophia gazed upward. “The falls really are beautiful aren’t they?”
“Do you ever hear a voice in your head that tells you things?”
Sophia turned to Orville with a curious expression. “Are you talking about your inner voice?”
“Uhh... I don’t know. Just a voice that tells you things?”
Once again Sophia knew a great deal about it. “It’s called your inner voice. I don’t really understand exactly how it works, but I can tell you what my shaping teacher said. She said the universe is infinite in size and infinite in depth. It’s made up of dreams within dreams, worlds within worlds, and selves within selves. I think what she meant was that we have a bigger self that’s deeper down and knows a lot more than we do. If we listen carefully we can hear what it says.”
“Oh, that’s kind of what I thought it was. Well, at least I know I’m not loopy. I was kind of worried.”
Sophia looked at Orville in surprise. “Loopy? You’re not loopy at all. I think you’re brilliant. I had to go to school to learn everything I know about shaping. They told me I was a shaping prodigy, but I still had to study really hard to learn all the things I know. You heard your inner voice without even trying. Plus, you’re good at finding puzzles.”
“What do you mean?”
“You find puzzles, like these glowbirds that land like clockwork at the same time every day. Most mice wouldn’t have noticed them, but you did. You found a puzzle. If you never found puzzles then you wouldn’t know they were there to be solved, and you’d never learn anything new about the world.”
Orville grinned. “Thanks for saying that about me. You’re the smartest mouse I know. ”
Sophia grinned, raising one eyebrow dramatically while trying to make her voice sound deep and foreboding. “Now it’s time for Sophia and Orville to solve... dun dun dun dun... The Puzzle of the Clockwork Glowbirds.” She gave a loud guffaw.
Orville laughed. “I like that. It sounds really mysterious.”
“It is mysterious. What time is it now?”
“Almost time. We should climb up the falls to get a better view.”
Orville and Sophia hurried over to the right side of the falls and found the trail leading up the mountain. Not wanting to miss the arrival of Orville’s mysterious glowbirds, they scrambled up the rocky path until they found a spot with a good view of the birds’ landing area.
“Whew, that was steep. I need a rest.”
“What time is it?”
<
br /> Orville pulled out his pocket watch. “Ten minutes after three.”
“Okay, keep still so we don’t scare them.”
Precisely two minutes later, exactly as Orville had predicted, Sophia spotted seven glowbirds flying toward the falls from the east and watched as they landed on the third ledge at exactly twelve minutes past three. The seven glowbirds sat motionless for precisely six minutes, then took to the air as one, heading west.
“See? I told you. Isn’t that strange? Creekers, I just thought of something – there are seven glowbirds and I found seven glowbird feathers on my dresser! Do you think that means something?” Orville turned to Sophia but froze when he saw her. Sophia was hunched over with her paws pressed tightly against her ears, her eyes squeezed shut. “What’s wrong?”
Sophia was shaking. “My inner voice. It just told me something. Something very scary. It said we have to discover the true purpose of the seven glowbirds or all of Symoca will be destroyed in a terrible war.”
Chapter 4
The Blue Triangle
With the arrival of the startling message from Sophia’s inner voice, the mysterious glowbirds who landed like clockwork on the falls had become far more than just a curious puzzle. Orville and Sophia spent the next few days discussing the glowbirds, Orville’s orange grove dream, and the mysterious dream objects which had appeared in his room. They both agreed there must be a connection between his dream, the seven feathers, and the seven clockwork glowbirds. It was Orville who came up with idea of looking for clues on the ledge where the glowbirds landed.
“There might be something there. I don’t know what exactly, but there might be something. If you think about it, the glowbirds are coming from somewhere and going to somewhere every day. We need to discover where they’re going and what they’re doing.”
The next morning the two best friends headed back to the falls to search for clues on the third ledge.
“What’s in your backpack, Sophia?”
“Just a few scientific instruments I brought with me from Quintari. I can take lots of different measurements with them – you know, like radiation, cosmic rays, and electrical fields.”
“Oh. I brought sandwiches and cookies.”
The long hike to the falls was arduous, but Sophia and Orville finally reached the trail leading up the mountainside to the third ledge. After an exhausting scramble up the rugged rocky trail they arrived at the third falls.
Orville looked out with some dismay at the narrow outcropping running along the rock face. It hadn’t looked quite so narrow when he didn’t have to walk on it. His knees were feeling a little weak. He called out to Sophia, his voice barely audible over the deafening roar of the falls.
“It doesn’t look very safe out there. It seems awfully high up and that ledge is really narrow. Maybe we could just look from here.”
“It will be fine. I use to rock climb all the time back on Quintari.” Sophia stepped out onto the jagged mantle, pressing herself against the rock face. “Just use the protruding rocks as grips and stay close to the rock face. Don’t look down or you’ll get dizzy.”
A very anxious Orville Mouse followed behind Sophia. Fortunately the ledge grew significantly wider after the first fifteen feet and Orville was able to relax.
“They land next to that scrubby little tree.”
“Hmm... I don’t really see anything. The ledge is covered with dirt and debris. I don’t know what I’m looking for though.”
“Maybe you should test for those cosmic ray things.” Orville had no idea what cosmic rays were.
“Good idea.” Sophia slipped off her backpack and dumped out an assortment of gleaming silver and brass devices, most with small blinking lights, colored tabs and round dials.
“You really know how to use all those things?”
“Of course I do. I learned all about them in my science classes on Quintari. I think I’ll test for radiation first, to see if the birds have been exposed to it.” Sophia picked up a narrow brass cylinder and pressed two colored tabs. The device emitted a slow and steady beeping noise as she moved it across the ledge. “Hmmm... nothing. No radiation signal. I’ll test for electrical fields now. Maybe the glowbirds have some kind of electrical grid guidance system. When I think about it, it’s quite obvious they’re acting far more like machines than living creatures.” Sophia picked up a sparkling green sphere, pressed three tabs and twisted a small brass dial. The device began to make a shrill whining noise. Sophia turned to Orville with a victorious grin. “That’s it! There’s a powerful electrical field right here on the ledge. I don’t see an obvious source for it though.”
Orville kneeled down, using his paw to sweep away the rocks and dirt. “Creekers! I found something made of metal!” Orville’s efforts soon revealed a three foot long blue metallic triangle embedded deeply into the rocky ledge.
Sophia’s lower jaw was moving back and forth. “There’s a symbol on it – a square with a spiral inside it. I’ve seen that before. Somewhere. Now where did I–” Sophia stopped in mid sentence, her eyes wide. “Oh, no. This can’t be good.”
“What is it? What does the symbol mean?”
“It’s the symbol on the old Anarkkian flag. This is bad.”
“Why is it bad?”
“It’s the old Anarkkian flag, the one they had during the Anarkkian Wars.”
Orville had a sheepish look. History was not his strong suit. “Umm, I can’t quite remember, what were those wars about?”
Sophia gave Orville a disapproving frown.
“Anarkkia was trying to expand its empire and invaded almost two hundred different worlds in several different dimensions. It was the worst war in history. Hundreds of civilizations were wiped out or set back thousands of years. Many civilizations never recovered and are still living in primitive conditions. Just look at Earth. It’s nothing like it used to be.”
“What do you mean, like it used to be?”
“When the Elders were here. Before they moved to Mandora.”
“Who? Moved where?”
“Orville! What do they teach you here? Fifteen hundred years ago, before the Anarkkian Wars, there was a civilization of rabbits known as the Elders living here on Earth. Their technology was extremely advanced and they played a major role in the battle against the Anarkkians. After the war they created their own peaceful world called Mandora in a dimension outside of space and time. It was only a few years ago that the existence of one of their ancient underground cities was revealed by Bartholomew the Adventurer. Bartholomew and his friends had uncovered a vast subterranean transportation network of gravitor trains beneath the ancient Fortress of Elders, along with thousands of functioning indestructible robotic rabbits called Rabbitons. There was also a rumor that some of Bartholomew’s friends were involved in deposing Counselor Pravus on Quintari. I can tell you that everyone on the planet was happy to see him go, but I don’t really know much about what happened.”
“How come I’ve never heard about any of this?”
“I don’t know, I thought you would learn all this in school. To be honest, I guess Muridaan Falls is kind of... ummm... out of the way. You don’t really get much news here. It’s nice though. I like it. It’s a pleasant change from a big bustling city full of a million mice and noise and traffic.”
“Oh. I feel kind of like a dimmer not knowing all those things.”
“You should look for history books at the Book Emporium. There’s probably quite a few books about the Anarkkian Wars, and you might even find some about the Elders’ move to Mandora.”
“That’s a good idea. I’d never even heard of the Elders before.” Orville stood up and gazed at the long blue triangle. “I just noticed something. It might be nothing, but the long triangle points in the same direction that the glowbirds were flying. Maybe they stop at other triangles along the way.”
“That’s it! You really are brilliant! Look at the ledge again, but this time tell me what you don’t see.”
“What I don’t see? Well, I do see rocks and debris and dirt and the blue triangle, but I don’t see... umm... I don’t see... bird poop! There’s no bird poop on the ledge!”
“Exactly! We know the birds arrive at the same time every day, just like a clockwork machine. There’s no bird poop so we know they don’t eat food like living birds do. I think they stop here to absorb energy from the powerful electrical field surrounding the blue triangle. They stop here to charge themselves so they can fly on to wherever they’re going, and it takes exactly six minutes for them to recharge.”
“That makes sense. But what do the Anarkkians have to do with this? You said that war ended fifteen hundred years ago. Why are the glowbirds still here?”
“I don’t know. Those are good puzzles though. We need to follow the glowbirds and find out where they’re going. Then we’ll know what’s going on, and maybe discover how to prevent Symoca from being destroyed in a terrible war.
Chapter 5
The Book Emporium
Orville gazed up at the newly installed sign hanging above the book store, a large red oval with crisp white letters reading:
MASTER MARLOH’S
BOOK EMPORIUM
“Here we go, my first day as a full-time employee.” Orville lifted the wrought iron latch and swung the door open. Master Marloh was standing at the long wooden counter examining a stack of paperwork.
“Good morning, Master Marloh. I like the new sign.”
“Thank you, Orville. You’re right on time, as I knew you would be. You have your work cut out for you today, my young friend. We have over a dozen large crates of new books to be unloaded and sorted.”
“I’ll get right to it. Oh, do you know if we’re getting any new history books? I was looking for books about the Anarkkian Wars or the Elders’ move to Mandora.”
Master Marloh looked up from his paperwork, removing his glasses and gazing with new interest at Orville. “Mandora? How in the world do you know about Mandora?”
