by P. J. Hoover
“It’s about time you showed up,” Andy said.
“Yeah, we’d just about given up on you for dinner,” Gary said.
“I wasn’t sure I was gonna make it either,” Iva replied.
“So, how was your date with Jonathan?” Andy asked.
Iva rolled her eyes so far back in her head, Benjamin thought she might fall off her chair. “Good heavens, Andy. I did not go on a date with Jonathan Sheehan.”
“Well you guys were gone all day,” Andy said. “I just figured that maybe it was a date.”
Iva chose not to respond.
“Really, though, how was it?” Heidi asked.
“You guys wouldn’t believe Fortune City,” Iva said. “It’s amazing. Once we’re allowed to leave the city, we’ll definitely have to go.”
“So, do you still want to be an oracle?” Andy asked.
“Well, their jobs are really cool, but most of them aren’t married and don’t have kids,” Iva replied.
“Why?” Heidi asked.
“I asked Kyri,” Iva replied, “and she said it was because they couldn’t stand to live with some of the futures they might see for their loved ones.”
“What do you mean, some of the futures?” Andy asked. “Isn’t there only one future?”
“Oh, not at all,” Iva replied. “When an oracle sees the future, it’s only the most likely future to occur given the circumstances at the current time. There’s no guarantee that it’ll come to be. Anyway, the job itself is great. The oracles get visited by every type of person you can imagine. Everyone wants a glimpse at their future, no matter who they are.” Iva went on to describe in detail some of the other basic aspects of the city—the size, location, appearance. Nobody thought to ask her if she’d visited an oracle herself.
She asked about the museum, and Benjamin described the large Geodine to her, and presented his idea of looking for a teleporter signature in the Ruling Hall.
Iva thought it was a great idea. “I think we should start on it first thing in the morning,” she said.
Benjamin sighed inwardly with relief. Finally. Someone else besides him wanted to find the keys too.
“What’s the urgency?” Andy asked. “It’s not like there’s a time limit.”
Iva sighed. “Well, actually, they is. There’s something else I need to tell you about Fortune City. I didn’t just observe other people consulting with the oracles.”
“You didn’t?” Gary asked.
“No, it wasn’t long after we entered the city gates that a messenger came and told me one of the oracles wanted to see me. Kyri was really excited and said it was quite an honor. So, Kyri, Jonathan, and I went to the complex where the messenger led us. The messenger told Kyri and Jonathan that they weren’t allowed to come with me, so I went alone.”
Iva took the time to give a brief smile. “Jonathan was really mad he wasn’t invited to see one of the oracles, but you know the telegnostic world is really a woman’s world. Anyway, even with all his arguing, he still had to stay behind with Kyri. The messenger led me to the very top floor where I entered the only room up there. A woman sat in the center of the room on large pillows. She motioned for me to join her on the cushions. She wasn’t old—much younger, in fact, than I would have expected. She didn’t tell me her name, but she knew mine.”
“So, what did she say to you, this oracle?” Andy asked.
“Well, I didn’t know it until the end, but this oracle was not just any oracle. She was The High Oracle, the strongest Telegnostic in all of Lemuria,” Iva replied.
“You talked to the High Oracle?” Gary asked, his jaw dropping open. In class, even Kyri spoke of the High Oracle with awe.
“Actually she did most of the talking, and what she did say was rather brief,” Iva said.
“Which was?” Benjamin said, very interested in what Iva had to say.
“Which was that finding the keys was critical to the survival of Lemuria. And she told me that we weren’t the only ones looking for the keys. ‘There are those who would take the three keys of Shambhala and use them for evil purposes,’ she said. ‘You must not let this happen, Iva Marinina. You have been selected as an ally to Benjamin Holt for your telegnostic abilities. The Alliance must find the keys before the guardian does.’ I asked her who the guardian was, but she said she couldn’t tell me, only that the guardian was in our midst and actively looking for the keys and would stop at nothing to possess them and their power.”
“So that’s not bad news,” Andy said. “Maybe this guardian person knows where the keys are hidden. Maybe we can just wait around for him to get the keys.”
“Actually, after Bangkok, I don’t think anyone but Benjamin can access them,” Iva replied.
Benjamin looked at her and cocked his head.
“Remember how I couldn’t get the compartment open,” Iva said.
“You probably just didn’t know how,” Benjamin replied.
“No, I don’t think so,” Iva said. “I think somehow, only you can retrieve them.”
“Maybe his DNA has been coded into the keys,” Gary said.
“How could my DNA have been put anywhere?” Benjamin asked. “They were hidden hundreds if not thousands of years ago.”
“So who would the Guardian be?” Heidi asked.
“How about Hexer,” Andy suggested. “Remember? He was the guardian of the Emerald Tablet.”
“I doubt it,” Benjamin said. “I don’t think he ever leaves that room.”
“Yeah, I don’t think it’s Hexer either,” Iva replied. “I can tell he’s above suspicion.”
“That’s exactly why he should be a suspect,” Andy said.
“You know, now that I think about it, I felt someone—not Hexer—following us around the whole time we were in Fortune City,” Iva said. “I thought I got a quick look at his face once, and then sensed his presence the rest of the time.”
“Had you ever seen him before?” Heidi asked.
“No,” Iva replied. “And after I saw him, he made sure to stay out of sight. But I’ve sensed his presence before; I think when we were in Bangkok. There was definitely something familiar about it.”
CHAPTER 22
The Records Department is Really Boring
Benjamin, Gary, and Andy got up early, but still didn’t manage to beat Iva and Heidi to the dining hall. The girls were engaged in a deep conversation with Leena Teasag. She walked away once they approached.
“You know, I hope you’re not telling her anything,” Benjamin said. “She could be the Guardian for all we know.”
“Leena Teasag is not looking for the keys of Shambhala,” Heidi said definitively.
“How do you know?” Andy asked.
“You haven’t said anything to her have you?” Benjamin asked Heidi.
“No, Benjamin,” Heidi said. “I haven’t said anything to her.”
“So what were you just talking about then?” Benjamin asked.
“None of your business,” Iva replied.
“What do you mean—none of my business?” Benjamin asked. “Here we are trying to find the keys, and you’re telling secrets to the cleaning lady who could, for all we know, be after the same thing we are.”
“You know what, Benjamin?” Heidi said. “Just drop it. Okay?”
“Just don’t tell any more secrets to Leena Teasag,” Benjamin replied. He was half joking and half not. Someone was following them around, and they had no idea who it was.
They’d agreed to meet at eight o’clock, but here it was only seven forty-five and Iva was impatient. “Just hurry up and eat. We need to get to the Ruling Hall,” she said.
“Hey, mind if I come?” Jack asked, teleporting directly onto Benjamin’s shoulder.
“Do you always teleport?” Heidi asked.
“Of course not,” Jack replied.
“I’ve only ever seen you teleport,” she said.
“It’s convenient,” Jack said.
“And addictive, apparently,” Andy a
dded.
“So we’re heading back to the Ruling Hall?” Jack asked as they started walking down Mu Way.
“Yeah. Do you know anything about the records department?” Benjamin asked.
Jack shuddered. “We’re not really going there are we?”
“Well, yeah, actually we are,” Benjamin answered. “Why? What’s wrong with the records department?”
Jack shuddered again. “Think about it. What do they store there?”
“Records,” Andy said. “So what?”
“Right,” Jack replied. “Records. Billions and gazillions of records.”
“We need to look up the teleportation records,” Benjamin said.
“That’ll be like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Jack said.
“No, I actually researched it a little bit last night,” Gary said. “If we cross reference the approximate date the first key was moved and factor in the telemagnifier strength of the key, we should be able to narrow it down to only a few hours searching.”
“When did you have time to do research?” Andy asked.
“After I finished the science experiments I was working on for Mr. Hermes,” Gary replied.
Benjamin wasn’t sure exactly what he expected when they walked into the Teleportations Records Department, but after Jack’s reaction, it most certainly wasn’t this. The Teleportations Records Department was nothing but a big empty room. The door automatically closed behind them as they entered, and Benjamin walked to the center, with Jack still on his shoulder.
Jack shuddered again. “See? What’d I tell you?”
“It’s empty,” Andy said.
“Empty?” Jack asked. “Have you not noticed the walls?”
Benjamin looked to the walls and saw that they were in fact flashing light, just like the Geodine at the museum had been doing. Yet if the museum teleporter Geodine had been recording current teleportations, Benjamin wasn’t sure what these lights meant. The walls were a constant stream of flashing lights upon lights upon lights. Red, Blue, Green, Purple. Every color imaginable flashed on the four walls and the ceiling. Benjamin looked down and even saw flashes below his feet.
“You know, as much fun as you guys are gonna have and all, I probably still should be going,” Jack said. Benjamin grabbed at his shoulder but wasn’t fast enough. The Nogical had vanished.
“So how are we supposed to get information?” Benjamin asked.
“There should be an access terminal around here somewhere,” Gary said, walking the outer boundary of the room. He stopped in a corner. “Here it is.” he punched a few keys on the holographic control panel. “Now check with your Geodine and tell me the date the first key was taken from Shambhala.”
Benjamin got out his Geodine and activated it. Quickly he found the spot where the key moved from Tibet down the River Ping. “It was about four thousand years ago,” Benjamin said.
“Great,” Gary said. “Now what power rating do you think each key has?”
“I have no idea,” Benjamin said. “I didn’t know it had a power rating.”
“Weren’t you listening in homeroom when Proteus talked about power ratings for telemagnifiers?” Iva asked.
“When was that?” Benjamin asked.
Iva rolled her eyes. “My necklace is a three, Gary, so, to be safe, let’s just input a ten for the key. I’m willing to bet it’s actually higher than that, but ten isn’t very common.”
Gary finished entering the information. “Great. So we’re looking for a level ten telemagnifier being teleported about four thousand years ago. Anything else?”
Benjamin shook his head.
“Don’t forget to put in the teleportation source location,” Iva said.
“Right, got it,” Gary said, adding the information. “I’ll just make it all of Tibet to be safe.” He pushed a final button on the keypad. “Okay, here goes nothing.”
Gary wasn’t kidding. Nothing happened and nothing changed. Benjamin looked around the flashing room. “So what happens next?” he asked.
“I’m not really sure,” Gary said. “Except I think we just watch the flashes and wait.”
For the better part of an hour they waited. Benjamin sat on the floor, leaning up against one of the flashing walls. Jack had been right. Could this be any more boring?
“Don’t fall asleep,” Iva said. “And you’re blocking one of the walls that way.”
“I’m wide awake.”
“Liar,” Heidi replied. “I can read your mind.”
“How much longer is this gonna take?” Andy asked.
“I would have thought based on the search criteria, we would have seen something by now,” Gary said. “Wait! What was that? Did you guys see it?”
“See what?” Benjamin asked, propping his eyes open.
“The cyan flash! That’s what I programmed our positive search result to look like.”
“A cyan flash?” Andy asked.
“Cool color,” Heidi said.
Gary hurried over to the pad. “I’ll repeat the last minute of search results.”
Just as Gary had said, a bright cyan flash lit up the room. He hurried over to the place on the floor where the flash had come from. Sitting down, he pressed the spot and enlarged the record which caused the flash. “Here it is,” he said. “We can zoom in on it and watch the source flash and the destination flash.”
The spot enlarged until a large map was displayed on the floor. “This is a teleporter record up close,” Gary said.
“It looks just as boring as I thought it would,” Jack said, reappearing.
“You certainly pop in at the most opportune moments,” Andy said.
“And why shouldn’t I?” Jack asked. “You didn’t expect me to sit around here waiting with you guys did you?”
“No,” Andy sighed. “I just wish I could have come with you.”
“The telemagnifier gets teleported here,” Gary said, pointing to another area in Tibet, just north of Nepal, at the head of a river.
“It’s in the Himalayas,” Benjamin said. “That’s the Himalayas.”
“In the mountains?” Andy asked. “In Tibet? You mean it never left Tibet?”
“But where in Tibet?” Heidi asked. “What’s there?”
“Narration on,” Benjamin said, as he pulled his Geodine out of his pocket. “What’s right here?” he asked, pointing to the spot on his Geodine where the flash had occurred.
“That is classified information which I am not programmed to divulge,” the Geodine answered.
“What do you mean, not programmed to divulge?” Benjamin asked. “You’re mine, aren’t you?”
“It is not a question of ownership,” the Geodine said. “My programming does not allow me to discuss the location to which you pointed.”
“Well, how do we find out where the second key of Shambhala went then?” Heidi asked.
“Maybe we go to the library,” Gary suggested.
It was noon, and everyone was hungry. Using the public teleporters to save time, they headed to the dining hall.
While they ate, Iva brought up the subject of the first key. “Now, where did you say you put the key?”
“I have it hidden away,” Benjamin replied.
“Hidden where?” she asked.
“Away,” he said. “Why does it matter?” he asked.
“But you have it somewhere safe?” she pressed.
“Yes,” he replied emphatically. “I put it where no one will find it.”
“Not even me?” she asked. “Is it hidden well enough that I couldn’t even find it?”
The food levitating to Benjamin’s mouth dropped to the table. “Well, I hadn’t thought of that. I forgot about how good you are at finding things.”
“Yeah, and if the guardian is as gifted as Iva at telegnosis, he’d be sure to find it,” Heidi said.
“He or she you mean,” Andy corrected.
“Yes,” Heidi sighed with annoyance. “He or she would be sure to find it.”
; “I think we should check on it,” Iva suggested, shoving her chair out without waiting for a reply.
“I thought we were going to the library?” Gary said.
“After we check on the key,” Iva replied.
Once they finished eating, they headed to the boy’s dormitories. Heidi and Iva had never seen the boys’ room and didn’t even try to mask their amusement.
“Look how small your room is,” Heidi said. “You guys have four beds to a room here?”
“Well, yeah, don’t you?” Andy asked, sitting down on Benjamin’s lower bunk bed.
“Are you kidding?” Heidi replied. “Iva and I have a room twice this size, and our bathroom is easily four times as large as yours.”
“So you don’t sleep in bunk beds?” Benjamin asked.
“No way,” Heidi said. “We each have a queen sized bed, with a canopy.”
“Yeah, well I’m glad I don’t have a canopy bed,” Andy said. “Talk about girly. Bunk beds are cool.” He stood up and promptly bumped his head on the upper bunk. “Ow!” he said, rubbing his forehead.
“They do seem pretty cool,” Iva said. “So, where’s the key? No, don’t tell me. Let’s see if I can find it.” She walked directly over to the wardrobe, opened the bottom drawer, and lifted out a small box. “It’s in here,” she said.
“Yes it is,” Benjamin said, “but you can’t open the box I bet. It’s DNA coded for only me to open.”
“But couldn’t I just walk out with the entire box and worry about opening it later?” Iva asked.
Benjamin’s face fell. “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” he said. “Well, I suppose, but the guardian doesn’t even know we have the first key yet.”
“You don’t know that at all,” Iva said. “In fact, I think we need to assume the Guardian does know we have it. And you need to keep the key with you at all times. That’s the only way we can make sure no one steals it.”
“I guess that’s not a bad idea,” Benjamin agreed. He opened the box, took out the key, and placed it in his pocket, immediately aware of the extra weight. It sat next to the toy car Derrick and Douglas had given him before he left. Thinking about the car reminded him of the telekinetic car chase his brothers had been having at home before he left. He smiled at the memory, and instantly missed his family.
