The floor-length robe that draped over her head and shoulders and body was a brilliant yellow, glowing like molten gold in the flickering light of the flames. Where her face should have been, a red mask floated, bright as fresh blood. Though it sparkled like shiny metal, its surface moved and flowed, creating subtle facial expressions, alternating between anger, sadness, excitement, confusion, joy, pain. Small holes, as dark as the deepest depths of the ocean, made up her eyes, and somehow Frazier knew she was looking at him through the mask.
“Mistress Jane . . .” was all he could get out.
The flowing, red metal mask solidified into a stark expression of rage, eyebrows slanted up from the nose like a big V.
“He did this to me, Frazier,” she said, her raspy voice bitter and tight. “I tried so hard to make him see—to work with him, to help him. But in the end, he looked at me and threw all of his powers against me. He hurt me, Frazier. I will always be in pain now.”
“Who?” Frazier asked. “Who did this to you? What . . .” He almost asked her what was hidden beneath the yellow robe, but he knew better.
She turned her red mask to look at the fire as she continued speaking. “But perhaps it was for the best. I’ve been reminded of my life’s duty. I’ve been reminded how cold and cruel the Realities can be. I’ve been reminded of the goals I set so many years ago. And I’ve been reminded of what kind of person it takes to accomplish . . . what we need to accomplish.”
“Yes, Mistress Jane,” he answered fervently. “I’ll be by your side. Always.”
“If I ever falter again, Frazier—if I ever doubt myself or doubt the things I need to do and the way in which I need to do them, I want you to do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I want you to say two words to me. Two words. It’ll be all the reminder I ever need.”
“What words, Mistress?” Frazier asked.
Jane looked back in his direction, the darkness of her eyeholes boring into him out of the shiny red mask of liquid metal. And then she told him.
“Atticus Higginbottom.”
~
Discussion Questions
1. Tick sees a film of his Alterant being destroyed in another Reality. Can you imagine seeing yourself going through something like that? How would that make you feel?
2. Mistress Jane changes a lot throughout the book. Was there any point you started to feel sorry for her or even like her? Do you feel like she’s pure evil? Why do you think Frazier stays faithful to her?
3. Tick’s parents let him go off on another Realitant adventure, despite the obvious danger. What do you think about their decision? Could you believe in your child enough to let them go off to the unknown like that?
4. Tick knows something is wrong when he sees Mr. Chu near the forest at the beginning of the story. If you met an Alterant of someone very close to you, do you think you’d be able to tell the difference? Even if they looked exactly the same?
5. Sato is sent on an incredibly dangerous mission to obtain a blood sample from a world inhabited by crazy people. Tick, Paul, and Sofia are also asked to do very difficult things. Think honestly about yourself: Would you have enough courage to do difficult tasks? Do you think you could solve Chu’s riddles?
6. What was your favorite part of the book? What would you change if you were the author? Who is your favorite character? Your least favorite?
7. How do you think it feels for Tick to know he has some kind of incredible power over science within him, yet no control over it? To know that if he loses control, he could hurt a lot of people? How would you deal with that kind of pressure?
8. If you had to guess, what would you predict for the plot of Book 3? What do you hope happens? What do you hope doesn’t happen?
~
A Glossary of People, Places, and All Things Important
Atticus Higginbottom—A Realitant from the state of Washington in Reality Prime.
Alterant—Different versions of the same person existing in different Realities. It is extremely dangerous for Alterants to meet one another.
Annika—A spy for the Realitants who was killed by a pack of fangen.
Barf Scarf—The red-and-black scarf that Tick wears to hide the ugly birthmark on his neck.
Barrier Wand—The device used to wink people and things between Realities and between heavily concentrated places of Chi’karda within the same Reality. Works very easily with inanimate objects, and can place them almost anywhere. Humans must be in a place with concentrated Chi’karda (like a cemetery) and have a nanolocator that transmits their location to the Wand in order to be transported. Useless without a Chi’karda Drive, which channels and magnifies the mysterious power.
Benson—A servant of Reginald Chu in the Fourth Reality.
Bermuda Triangle—The most concentrated area of Chi’karda in each Reality. Still unknown as to why.
Billy “The Goat” Cooper—Tick’s biggest nemesis at Jackson Middle School.
Chi’karda—The mysterious force that controls quantum physics. The scientific embodiment of conviction and choice, which in reality rules the universe. Responsible for creating the different Realities.
Chi’karda Drive—The invention that revolutionized the universe, the drive is able to harness, magnify, and control Chi’karda. It has long been believed that travel between Realities is impossible without it.
Chu Industries—The company that practically rules the world of the Fourth Reality. Known for countless inventions and technologies, including many that are malicious in nature.
Command Center—Master George’s headquarters in the Bermuda Triangle, where Chi’karda levels are monitored and to where his many nanolocators report various types of information. Heavily damaged by the forces of Mistress Jane and currently under repair.
Darkin Project (Dark Infinity)—A menacing, giant device created by Reginald Chu of the Fourth Reality. May be the source of a plague of insanity sweeping the Realities.
Earwig Transponder—An insect-like device inserted into the ear which can scramble listening devices and help track its host.
Edgar Higginbottom—Tick’s father.
Entropy—The law of nature that states all things move toward destruction. Related to fragmentation.
Fangen—The sickening abomination of a creature created by Mistress Jane, utilizing the mutated version of Chi’karda found in the Thirteenth Reality. Formed from a variety of no less than twelve different animals, the short and stocky fangen are bred to kill and ask questions later. They can also fly.
Fragmentation—What happens to a Reality when it begins losing Chi’karda levels on a vast scale due to entropy. Can no longer maintain itself as a major alternate version of the world, and will eventually disintegrate into nothing.
Frazier Gunn—A loyal servant of Mistress Jane.
Frupey—Nickname for Fruppenschneiger, Sofia’s butler.
Gnat Rat—A malicious invention of Chu Industries in the Fourth Reality. Releases dozens of mechanical hornets that are programmed to attack a certain individual based on a nanolocator, DNA, or blood type.
Grand Canyon—A satellite location of the Realitants. Second only to the Bermuda Triangle in Chi’karda levels. Still unknown as to why.
Grinder Beast—An enormous, rhinoceros-like creature with dozens of legs. Found in the Tenth Reality.
Hans Schtiggenschlubberheimer—The man who started the scientific revolution in the Fourth Reality in the early nineteen-hundreds. In a matter of decades, he helped catapult the Fourth far beyond the other Realities in terms of technology.
Haunce, The—A mystery of the Realities that Master George has yet to explain.
Henry—A boy from the Industrial Barrens of the Seventh Reality.
Hillenstat—A Realitant doctor from the Second Reality.
Jimmy “The Voice” Porter—A Realitant from the Twelfth Reality. He has no tongue.
Katrina Kay—A Realitant from the Ninth Reality.
Kayla Higginbotto
m—Tick’s little sister.
Klink—Guard of the Execution Exit at the End of the Road Insane Asylum.
Kyoopy—Nickname used by the Realitants for quantum physics.
Lemon Fortress—Mistress Jane’s castle in the Thirteenth Reality.
Lisa Higginbottom—Tick’s older sister.
Lorena Higginbottom—Tick’s mother.
Mabel Fredrickson—Tick’s great-aunt in Alaska.
Master George—The current leader of the Realitants.
Metaspide—A vicious robotic creature from the Fourth Reality that resembles a spider. Chu’s security force.
Mistress Jane—A former Realitant and ruler of the Thirteenth Reality. Has an uncanny power over Chi’karda.
Mothball—A Realitant from the Fifth Reality.
Ms. Sears—Tick’s favorite librarian.
Muffintops—Master George’s cat.
Multiverse—An old term used by Reality Prime scientists to explain the theory that quantum physics had created multiple versions of the universe.
Nancy Zeppelin—A Realitant from Wisconsin in Reality Prime.
Nanolocator—A microscopic electronic device that can crawl into a person’s skin and forever provide information on their whereabouts, including Chi’karda levels.
Nonex—When Alterants meet, one disappears and enters the Nonex. A complete mystery to the Realitants.
Norbert Johnson—A post office worker in Alaska who helped Tick and his dad escape an attack by Frazier Gunn.
Paul Rogers—A Realitant from Florida in Reality Prime.
Phillip—Owner and operator of The Stroke of Midnight Inn in the Sixth Reality.
Pick—Master George’s nickname for a major decision in which Chi’karda levels spike considerably. Some Picks have been known to create or destroy entire Realities.
Priscilla Persephone—A Realitant from the Seventh Reality.
Quantum Physics—The science that studies the physical world of the extremely small. Most scholars are baffled by its properties and at a loss to explain them. Theories abound. Only a few know the truth: that a completely different power rules this realm, which in turn rules the universe: Chi’karda.
Quinton Hallenhaffer—A Realitant from the Second Reality.
Ragers (Static Ragers)—An advanced weapon that harnesses extreme amounts of static electricity. When unleashed, it collects matter in a ball that can shatter whatever gets in its way.
Realitants—An organization sworn to discover and chart all known Realities. Founded in the 1970s by a group of scientists from the Fourth Reality, who then used Barrier Wands to recruit other quantum physicists from other Realities.
Realities—A separate and complete version of the world, of which there may be an infinite number. The most stable and strongest is called Reality Prime. So far, twelve major branches off Reality Prime have been discovered. Realities are created and destroyed by enormous fluctuations in Chi’karda levels. Examples:
Fourth—Much more technologically advanced than the other Realities due to the remarkable vision and work of Hans Schtiggenschlubberheimer.
Fifth—Quirks in evolution led to a very tall human race.
Eighth—The world is covered in water due to much higher temperatures caused by a star fusion anomaly triggered in another galaxy by an alien race.
Eleventh—Quirks in evolution and diet led to a short and robust human race.
Thirteenth—Somehow a mutated and very powerful version of Chi’karda exists here.
Reginald Chu—Tick’s science teacher in Reality Prime. His Alterant is from the Fourth Reality and founded Chu Industries and turned it into a worldwide empire.
Renee—An inmate at the End of the Road Insane Asylum.
Ripple Quake—A violent geological disaster caused by a massive disturbance in Chi’karda.
Rutger—A Realitant from the Eleventh Reality.
Sally T. Jones—A Realitant from the Tenth Reality.
Sato—A Realitant from Japan in Reality Prime.
Shockpulse—An injection of highly concentrated electromagnetic nanobots that seek out and destroy the tiny components of a nanolocator, rendering it useless.
Shurric—Short for Sonic Hurricaner, more powerful version of the Sound Slicer. Shoots out a heavily concentrated force of sound waves almost too low for the human ear to register but powerful enough to destroy just about anything in its direct path.
Slinkbeast—A vicious creature that lives in the Mountains of Sorrow in the Twelfth Reality.
Snooper Bug—A hideous crossbreed of birds and insects created by the mutated power of the Chi’karda in the Thirteenth Reality. Can detect any known weapon or poison and can kill with one quick strike of its needle-nosed beak. Pets of Mistress Jane.
Sofia Pacini—A Realitant from Italy in Reality Prime.
Soulikens—A mystery of the Realities that Master George has yet to explain.
Sound Slicer—A small weapon outdated by the much more powerful Shurric.
Spinner—A special device that shoots out a circular plane of laser, displaying video images on its surface.
Tick—Nickname for Atticus Higginbottom.
Tingle Wraith—A collection of microscopic animals from the Second Reality, called spilphens, that can form together into a cloud while rubbing against each other to make a horrible sound called the Death Siren.
William Schmidt—A Realitant from the Third Reality.
Windbike—An invention of Chu Industries, this vehicle is a motorcycle that can fly, consuming hydrogen out of the air for its fuel. Based on an extremely complex gravity-manipulation theorem first proposed by Reginald Chu.
Winking—The act of traveling between or within Realities by use of a Barrier Wand. Causes a slight tingle to the skin on one’s shoulders and back.
Acknowledgments
Somehow we made it to Book 2, so there must be a lot
of people to thank.
I’m extremely grateful to my agent, Michael Bourret. He has single-handedly taken my career to an entirely new level. If it weren’t for him, I’d never be doing what I love for a living. Thanks, Michael, and I look forward to more great things to come.
Just like last time, I owe a lot to Chris Schoebinger, Lisa Mangum, and everyone else at Shadow Mountain. It just baffles me how much hard work goes into getting a book in the hands of readers. Thank you all very, very much.
Thanks to Bryan Beus for his awesome artwork. You are one talented dude, and I’m honored to be partnered with you.
Thanks to those who read the manuscript and provided valuable feedback: My wife, Lynette, of course—she’s always first. J. Scott Savage, friend, fellow author, and constant lunch partner. LuAnn Staheli and her incredible middle school class. Danyelle Ferguson, a very talented and up-and-coming writer. Heather Moore, good friend and brilliant editor, and her son, Kaelin. And probably others. If I forgot you, please forgive me and call me for a free dinner.
Thanks to Lisa Guerrero, a cancer research scientist from Chicago, for her services as a consultant and science genius. She’s way smart, yo. Like, really, really smart.
Once again, thanks to the dude who invented football. I could never thank you enough. Oh, and I also really appreciate the guy who invented Tiger Woods.
Thanks to the cow that provided a very juicy steak at Hamilton’s in Logan, Utah, in February of 2008. You will be missed.
Thanks to the mother of Christopher Nolan for going through the pain of birthing him. I never thought I would say this, but Christopher is now tied with Peter Jackson as my favorite directors. You are both geniuses.
Last but never least, thank you to my readers. You’re what it’s all about. I look forward to sharing stories with you for a very long time.
The 13th Reality, Volume 2: The Hunt for Dark Infinity Page 32
