Benjamin Franklinstein Meets Thomas Deadison

by Matthew McElligott

  “We wait.”

  It didn’t take long. Soon Victor heard the sound of an engine approaching. He felt the pallet shake beneath them as they were lifted off the floor.

  Through the small airholes, they watched the floor pass beneath them. They crossed the loading dock and were set down inside a truck. More pallets of boxes were stacked around and above them, and the light from the airholes grew dim. Finally, they heard the workers pull the door shut and the truck rumbled to life.

  “I think we made it,” whispered Jaime. “I’m going to call Dr. Franklin and let him know where we are.” The light from her cell phone illuminated the inside of the box like a candle. “Hmm…”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “All I hear is static.”

  Victor pulled out his own phone. “Me too. It’s possible all these Infinity Bulbs are causing some kind of interference.”

  She turned off her phone and Victor did the same. For several minutes they rode on in silence.

  “Can I ask you something?” said Victor.

  HOW TO HIDE IN A CARDBOARD BOX

  “Shoot.”

  “Even here in the dark, you’re wearing your sunglasses. Isn’t it hard to see?”

  Jaime didn’t respond. If he hadn’t been sitting just inches away, Victor might have guessed she hadn’t heard his question. “Sorry. It’s none of my business.”

  “No, it’s okay. It’s just that…I don’t usually talk about it. I’ve been wearing these sunglasses for months now, and it feels weird to take them off.”

  “How come? Are your eyes sensitive to light?”

  “It’s not that. Remember when I said I don’t cry?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, that’s not exactly true.”

  Suddenly, it hit him. “Oh,” Victor said softly.

  There was a long silence, and then Jaime went on. “All my life, my parents have been training me to be strong, to be a Promethean. When they went missing, I had to help keep things going. It’s been a lot to deal with.”

  “Why do you have to keep things going?”

  “The Order is full of some of the smartest people you’ll ever meet. Geniuses. But most of them have their heads in the clouds. There are a lot of things kids know about computers that grown-ups don’t have a clue about. I help them with that stuff.”

  Victor thought about the times he had tried to teach his mom to text. “That can’t be easy.”

  “It’s impossible. Most of the time when they get stuck on something, I just end up doing it myself.” She sighed. “Now, somehow, I’m in charge of the whole Promethean Underground communications network. I have to at least look like I have everything under control.”

  Victor shifted his body and tried to turn his foot, which had fallen asleep. “Is that your parents’ specialty, communications?”

  “No, electricity. They’re engineers. They specialize in big stuff, like power plants and generators.” Jaime sniffled. “Or at least they did.”

  “They’re going to be okay.”

  “How do you know?”

  “The Emperor needs them alive. Somehow, they’re part of his plan.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

  “I guess so.”

  Jaime sighed. “I’ll take it. Hey, listen to that.”

  The truck had stopped. Victor heard the back door open.

  There was a scraping sound above them. Someone was removing the box directly over their heads.

  Jaime pulled the side flap open. “We’re blocked in over here,” she hissed. “All right, new plan. We’re probably at some supermarket or something. As soon as they open the box to investigate, we’ll jump up and catch them by surprise. If they grab us, we’ll scream like we’re being kidnapped.”

  Victor felt their pallet being dragged across the floor and then lifted up into the air. He could see a man’s feet through the airholes.

  Incredibly, the man was carrying them away!

  “There’s no way this guy thinks we’re lightbulbs,” Victor whispered.

  “Shhh!” Jaime hissed. “Just get ready to run.”

  Victor watched the floor as they were carried down the ramp from the truck, across a long room, and into an elevator. The elevator descended, the door opened, and they went down a long hallway. They passed through a second doorway and entered a carpeted room. The man placed the pallet on the floor, as gently as someone would set a baby into a crib.

  With one quick motion, the top of the box was ripped away. Victor tensed, ready to jump. He never got the chance. A blinding light beamed down into his eyesr.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The Emperor Revealed

  “Don’t bother trying to hypnotize them, Thomas. Your power will not work on them, although I am not sure why.” The voice was old and had a foreign accent.

  “As you wish.”

  The light dimmed. Victor’s vision was dappled with a kaleidoscope of color. Through the spots he could just make out the figure of a man staring down at him.

  “Help!” Victor screamed. “Help! We’re being kidnapped!”

  Dark laughter echoed through the room.

  “Don’t bother,” said Jaime. “We’re not at a supermarket.”

  She was right. As Victor’s eyes adjusted, he began to make out details of the room and the man standing above him—Thomas Edison!

  “Shall I remove them from the box?” asked Edison.

  “I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” said the other man. “Children, won’t you please come out and join us?”

  Victor looked at Jaime. She nodded back. Cautiously, they stood up and stepped out of the box.

  They were in a lavish study, lined with scarlet velvet wallpaper and heavy curtains. Large oil paintings hung along one wall, on either side of a heavy door. To the right, antique bookshelves alternated with marble sculptures on dark wooden pedestals. An enormous globe, as tall as a tractor tire, stood in the center.

  It was all so unexpected that it took Victor a moment to notice the bizarre spectacle behind him.

  Hundreds of monitors were mounted on the back wall, spanning the entire length of the room. They showed a constant stream of video. On them, Victor could see office workers, city streets, and even the insides of people’s homes. Several monitors focused on the Infinity Unlimited factory itself, including the loading dock.

  Victor realized that they had been watched the entire time.

  Across the room, a small, wrinkled man sat in what appeared to be an oversize antique bathtub. He wore a large, curved hat and an old-fashioned military jacket. The top of his tub was covered so it formed a desk. On the desk sat a pile of papers and what looked like a large remote control.

  The bottom of the tub stood on four short legs, each ending with a foot shaped like a lion’s paw. Victor had seen bathtubs like that in movies and old photographs.

  But these legs were moving.

  Clunk-clunk, clunk-clunk, clunk-clunk.

  “Welcome to my home,” said the man. The bathtub rocked ever so slightly from side to side as the short mechanical legs carried him forward. “You must be Victor, and of course I recognize Jaime Winters. You, my dear, are the spitting image of your mother.”

  The man smiled as he spoke, but there was nothing friendly about his tone. Jaime scowled at him.

  “I assume you already know my assistant, Thomas Alva Edison?”

  Edison nodded.

  Victor concentrated on the withered old man in the bathtub. There was something oddly familiar about him.

  “So who does that make you?” said Jaime, her voice cool and calm. Victor had to admit, the sunglasses were great for hiding emotion.

  “You may call me the Emperor,” said the little old man. He tipped his hat in her direction.

  The hat.

  The accent.

  The Emperor.

  “You’re Napoléon Bonaparte!” gasped Victor. “Emperor of France. One of the greatest generals in history.”

&n
bsp; The old man raised an eyebrow. “One of the greatest?”

  “But…,” Jaime stammered. “But you’re…”

  “Dead?” said Napoléon with a chuckle. “Surely you of all people should realize that death does not always mean the end.”

  “That bathtub you’re in,” Victor said. “It’s a Leyden casket, isn’t it?”

  “Mais oui!” the Emperor answered. “You are correct. I live forever, thanks to the Order!”

  “But the Modern Order of Prometheus only preserves inventors,” said Jaime. “You’re not an inventor.”

  “True, true,” said Napoléon. “I suppose I am the only member who does not have that distinction. Now, we need to get the two of you to your quarters. Thomas?”

  Edison walked across the room and pulled open a pair of curtains, revealing a door made of metal bars. Behind the door was a small cell. He pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and motioned for Jaime and Victor to step inside.

  “I would not attempt escape, if I were you,” said Napoléon. “The preservation process has transformed Mr. Edison, giving him remarkable power. He will be happy to demonstrate it, should the need arise.”

  Edison took a step forward, and Jaime stumbled back into the cardboard box, onto her back. “Don’t touch me!” she shouted. She struggled to stand, but her foot slipped and she fell again, ripping the box.

  “Now, now,” Napoléon muttered, “there is no need for panic. He will not hurt you…so long as you do as I ask.”

  THE EMPEROR’S MOBILE LEYDEN CASKET/BATHTUB

  “Shall I carry them, my Emperor?” asked Edison.

  “That’s their choice. Children?”

  Edison took another step toward Jaime. “We’ll walk,” she said with a sigh.

  Jaime stood up and followed Victor into the cell. As Edison began to shut the door, she blocked it with her hands and called out to Napoléon. “How long are you going to keep us here?”

  “Not long,” he answered. “A day at the most.”

  Jaime stepped forward, but Edison pushed her back. She tumbled to the floor of the cell. The door slammed shut.

  OTHER INVENTORS PRESERVED BY THE ORDER

  Inventor and Year Preserved Invention

  1799 - Jacques Montgolfiere Hot air balloon

  1810 - Joseph Montgolfiere Hot air balloon

  1848 - George Stephenson Steam Locomotive

  1852 - Countess Ada Lovelace Computer programming

  1871 - Charles Babbage Mechanical Computer

  1872 - Samuel Morse Electric Telegraph

  1896 - Alfred Nobel Dynamite

  1943 - George Washington Carver 300 uses for peanuts

  1943 - Nikola Tesla Tesla Coil

  1953 - Mary Anderson Windshield Wiper

  1985 - James Alexander Dewar The Twinkie

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Trapped!

  For the next hour, there was nothing for Victor and Jaime to do but watch as Napoléon went about his business. People came and went, receiving orders from the little man in the bathtub. Jaime recognized a number of them as missing Custodians of the Order.

  “Hey, it’s Ms. Aldini!” Jaime exclaimed. “Help!”

  Ms. Aldini turned her head slowly and looked at Jaime and Victor. Then she turned back and continued with her work. She left the room with papers in her hands.

  “I don’t think she even recognized us,” Jaime said. “Did you see the look on her face?”

  “Blank, just like the looks on your parents’ faces,” Victor said. “Hey, I wonder if our phones work now.”

  “I already checked. Still blocked.”

  A clock chimed, and the Emperor abruptly ordered everyone but Edison to leave the room.

  “Bring me the microphone,” said Napoléon. “It is time for another broadcast.”

  Edison walked over to a tall cabinet and opened it. It was filled with knobs, gauges, and bulbs, all glowing different colors. He picked up a wireless microphone and delivered it to the Emperor’s tiny, gnarled hand.

  “Alert the factory and tell them to warm up the harmonic supertransmitter,” said Napoléon.

  Edison typed at a keyboard. Several minutes passed, and then a light on the cabinet turned from red to green. Edison looked up and nodded.

  The Emperor took a deep breath, placed the microphone to his lips, and spoke in a soothing voice.

  “Listen to me.”

  The colored lights pulsated and the voice echoed inside Victor’s brain.

  “I can hear his voice in my head,” said Victor. “It’s louder and clearer than ever. You’re sure you can’t hear it?”

  “No,” said Jaime. “Just his whispering from over there.”

  “Relax and prepare for your orders.”

  On the wall of screens, people all throughout Philadelphia paused and stared off into space. “He’s hypnotizing the entire city!” said Jaime.

  “See that monitor showing the library?” said Victor. “Watch the lights near the door the next time he says something.”

  “Focus your mind.”

  “I saw it!” whispered Jaime. “They got brighter for a second.”

  “It’s definitely the Infinity Bulbs,” said Victor. “He’s using light to broadcast his messages. Now everyone in the city can hear his commands.”

  “Except me,” said Jaime. “How come I haven’t been hypnotized?”

  Victor studied Jaime’s face. “You never take off those sunglasses, do you?”

  “Never.”

  “That’s why! Your sunglasses block the light from the Infinity Bulbs.”

  “But lots of people wear sunglasses,” said Jaime. “And everybody turns off the lights at night when they go to sleep. So how come they’re hypnotized?”

  “Maybe it has to build up over time,” said Victor. “For example, I’m allergic to cats. After I got my first allergy shot, I didn’t notice any difference. I had to go back again and again for more shots before I stopped sneezing all the time. The point is, it took a while for the treatment to work.”

  “So since my eyes are never directly exposed to the light…”

  “…the hypnotic effect never gets a chance to build up.”

  THE EFFECT OF POLARIZED LENSES ON INFINITY BULBS

  Jaime adjusted her sunglasses and let out a low whistle. “Wow.”

  Across the room, Napoléon was concluding his broadcast.

  “You will be contacted soon with important instructions,” he continued. “You may now return to your lives.” He slumped against the back of his tub and motioned for Edison. The microphone fell to the floor beside him. “I’m suddenly tired, Thomas. Please walk with me to my chambers.”

  The tub turned and trudged across the room. Edison turned off the machine, then dashed ahead and pulled open the door. Once the little man was through, Edison followed, shutting and locking the door behind him.

  “I have an idea,” said Victor. “If only we could get to that microphone.”

  “Who says we can’t?” said Jaime. She gave the cell door a shove and it swung open.

  Victor was speechless.

  “It’s an old trick,” said Jaime, motioning to the latch plate in the door. “Remember when Edison came at me? I pretended to fall back into the box. Then I grabbed a little piece of cardboard. Just before he closed us in here, I jammed the lock with it.”

  HOW TO JAM A LOCK WITH PAPER

  “So, this whole time…”

  “…it was open,” said Jaime. She stepped out of the cell and into the room. “I didn’t dare say anything until the coast was clear. So what’s your plan?”

  Victor ran to the wooden cabinet. “If we can figure out how this thing works, we can contact Ben and Scott.” He studied the console, looking for the power switch.

  “How?”

  “Remember, they hear Napoléon’s voice inside their heads too. If I can get this microphone to work, I can tell them where we are.” Victor flipped a switch and the console lit up.

  “But won’t all of Phi
ladelphia hear your message too?”

  Victor shook his head. “Remember, everyone else in the city only gets Napoléon’s messages subconsciously. They don’t hear the actual words.” He ran to where the microphone lay in the middle of the room, picked it up, then stopped short. “Oh no!”

  “What?”

  “How can we tell them where we are if we don’t know where we are?”

  But Jaime didn’t respond. She was looking past Victor.

  Edison and Napoléon were at the door.

  “You are at Seventeen Parker Avenue,” said Napoléon with a sly smile. “Please tell your friends to come at once.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The Emperor’s Plan

  “But before you call your friends,” said Napoléon, “I want you to see something.” He picked up the remote control and aimed it at the monitors. Instantly, an image of Jaime’s parents filled the wall. They stood beside a console at the base of the supertransmitter. Behind them, Victor could see the blades of the turbine spinning in the pit.

  “I’m sure you recognize this lovely couple,” said Napoléon.

  Jaime glared at the Emperor.

  “As you can see, your parents are under my control. When my master plan is complete, I will have no further use for them. If you cooperate, you have my word that they will be released unharmed. If not, well, we may have to consider less pleasant options.”

  Victor noticed Jaime’s lip begin to quiver.

  “So here is what you will do,” continued Napoléon. “Send your message as planned to Dr. Franklin and his friends, and tell them to come at once.”

  “Never,” said Jaime. “We’d be leading them straight into a trap.”

  “That is true. But consider the alternative. Thomas, hand me the microphone.”

  Edison took the microphone from Victor and gave it to the Emperor.

  “Now watch.” Napoléon motioned to the screen. “Mr. and Mrs. Winters, please take one step toward the turbine.”

  The camera followed Jaime’s parents as they stepped toward the pit. The whirring blades spun just a few feet beneath them.