by Marty Chan
“Mr. Tesla, I think the attack may be coming sooner than you think. I have to find Amina before she can come at you again.”
“Or is it because she may have answers to your questions?”
“Either way, we need to catch her,” Ehrich said.
Tesla nodded. “Come with me.”
The scientist led Ehrich to another room that contained an array of devices in various stages of completion. They were prototype weapons. The tables littered with coils, gears, and metal parts reminded Ehrich of the Mary Shelley novel, Frankenstein. What kind of monsters was Tesla creating?
Tesla counted his steps to a nearby lab table and began rummaging through the materials. On the table sat a strange box of gears, cogs, and doughnut-shaped toroids. For a moment, Ehrich was reminded of his childhood. His father had taken Dash and him to attend the show of a touring magician, an old friend of his father’s. The magician had made an orange tree grow in a clay pot before the audience’s eyes. Ehrich’s mouth dropped as he watched leaves sprout instantly on the branches, and he was the lucky recipient of the orange the magician had plucked from the tiny tree.
When they went backstage, Ehrich snuck away and examined the clay pot. He understood the magician would never reveal the secret of the tree, but he had to see for himself how it worked. He was able to pry off the back cover, revealing an intricate mechanism that whirred and pushed out fake leaves on the branches.
Here, in Tesla’s lab, the device before him seemed similar, but instead of the internal works pushing oranges out, they controlled six toroids. Ehrich recalled how the oranges were driven by a central gear mechanism. He reached into the mechanism and played with one of the gears. The cog slid down the bar. Ehrich tried to pull it back up. He was great at theory, lousy at practise.
Tesla glanced up. “No, no, no. Don’t touch that. Careful.”
Ehrich pulled back his hand. “Sorry, sir. I just thought I might have seen this design before.”
“Not possible. This is my original creation.”
“I’m sure I’ve seen this mechanism before. Is it meant to push these coils out?”
The man stroked the high cheekbones of his face and smiled. “Yes, how did you know?”
“The gears are connected to the centre rotating bar. I imagined they had to power something, but there is no engine, only these coils.”
Tesla looked as delighted as Dash did when the magician produced the oranges. “Toroids, not coils, but you are correct.”
“What are the coils, I mean toroids, supposed to do?” Ehrich asked.
Now it was the scientist’s turn to create some magic. He flicked a switch on the box. The toroids crackled with electricity. Ehrich stepped back quickly, but his companion was nonplussed.
“One… two… three… One…” Tesla counted as he made his way to another station where a prototype pistol was mounted. The weapon looked like a volt pistol without the electro-dart chamber. Instead, an antenna protruded from the top of the barrel.
He aimed the gun at a clothes-dummy target standing amid the remains of other targets. A sizzling bolt of blue energy shot across the room and struck the target.
Tesla smiled, “The world’s first wireless electric generator. The range is about twenty feet. Not enough to revolutionize the world, but enough for a squad of hunters in a firefight.”
“Is that what you wanted to show me?”
“No. If you are going up against dangerous illegals, you might need to be equipped with more than just your wits. Ah, here.” Tesla picked up a volt pistol which also lacked an electro-dart chamber.
“Where are the electro-darts?” Ehrich asked. “Am I supposed to lug the generator with me?”
“No darts and no generator. You can fire ten times before the pistol requires recharging. Give it five minutes and you’ll have another round of five. Let it sit for an hour, you’ll have full power.”
“And what happens when I run out of power?”
Tesla smiled and gripped the barrel of the pistol like a makeshift club. “Any device can be turned into a weapon, when you are desperate.”
Ehrich smiled. “Thank you, sir. Should I organize the island guards to help search the grounds and labs?”
Tesla shook his head. “If the Dimensional had the means to slip out of Demon Gate and get on this island, I have little doubt that she would have used those same means to spirit herself away.”
“Then we’re going to have to look for where she might go,” Ehrich said.
“And do you have an idea of where?”
“Her sponsor’s,” Ehrich answered.
Museum of Curiosities
The day after the attack on Tesla’s lab, Ehrich travelled to Manhattan to begin his search for Amina. It hadn’t taken long for him to find her sponsor’s place of business. Dime museums tended to be located in the Bowery. It only took asking a newsie or two to locate the building, which was in the shadow of the Third Avenue elevated railroad.
The sign on the Bowery establishment promised some kind of scientific enlightenment, but the Museum of Curiosities was more sideshow than education. The rundown three-story building rivalled even the seediest of Bowery businesses in dilapidation. Inside its principal showroom, various display cases held curious abnormalities. Ehrich leaned closer to examine a mummified fish with the head of a howling infant. Beside the case was a table of petrified bugs. The fossilized insects ranged from giant millipedes with moth wings, to spiders with crab claws, to a cockroach with three heads.
A rustling caught his attention. Ehrich sensed someone was watching him through the red curtain of the doorway behind the counter.
“Hello? Anyone here?” he asked.
The curtain parted and a German shepherd padded out, growling. Ehrich stood his ground. The dog’s hackles raised as it bared its teeth.
“Easy, there. I don’t mean to hurt you. Just wanted to look around.”
A meaty hand snaked through the curtain and waved at the dog. “It’s all right.”
The dog stopped growling as the rest of a giant man emerged. Ehrich thought that he was a bit of a curiosity himself: The buttons on his striped shirt threatened to pop off and take out an eye. The tufts of purple hair that sprouted above his ears almost seemed to have a mind of their own, waving around every time the man shook his head or spoke. He peeked over his silver-rimmed spectacles at Ehrich.
“Ah, you’ve come to see the marvelous curiosities nature produces. Well, behind the curtain are wonders no man or woman has ever seen elsewhere. And you’ll never see their ilk ever again. All it will cost you is a shiny little dime.”
“Actually, I’m not interested.”
“They always begin as sceptics, but they always leave as believers. Let me give you a taste, son.” He clapped his hands.
A few seconds later, a woman’s leg cut through the slit of the curtain. Ehrich’s gaze wandered up the fishnet stockings to the emerging tight, red corset that hugged her slender torso. Then a black-gloved hand and arm, a bare shoulder, until—Ehrich’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. The woman sported a lumberjack’s beard. Golden hair cascaded down her back, but all Ehrich could do was gape at the cobalt-blue beard which wriggled on the woman’s face. On closer inspection, he realized that the facial hair was actually a mass of writhing blue caterpillars.
“No doubt, you can see a bearded lady at any museum, but no one has ever seen one like this, and that is just a fraction of what lies behind the curtain. One shiny little dime for the wonders of the world. What do you say?”
“I’m not sure if you have what I’m looking for. Are you Mr. Serenity?”
“Indeed I am. So my reputation precedes me—I’m flattered. How did you hear of me?”
“Word on the street is that you have attractions that no one else does.”
“Son, if I don’t have it here, no one does.”
“I’m interested in a girl,” Ehrich said.
The bearded lady wiggled her corset down an inch. “Women a
re much more interesting.”
Ehrich smiled. “I’m sure you are, but I need to find this girl.”
Mr. Serenity narrowed his gaze and waved the bearded lady to the back. “There is a brothel two blocks over.”
“No. You misunderstand. This girl has information I need. I was told she might be here.”
“May I ask why this girl is so important?”
“Isn’t this the Museum of Curiosities? I’m here to satisfy mine.”
The man’s jowls rippled as he shook his head. “Look elsewhere.” He stepped around the counter with the German shepherd at his side.
“Okay, but if the girl should happen to show up, let her know I have this.” He thrust his hand into his shirt and pulled out Dash’s medallion by the strap.
“Does this image mean anything to you?” Ehrich asked.
Mr. Serenity blinked once. “Never seen it before.”
“Any idea what it might mean?”
The dog barked, cutting into the silence.
“You know what, son? I have some books in the back. I might be able to find some information to help you. Wait here.” Mr. Serenity lumbered behind the counter and through the curtain. The German shepherd eyed Ehrich, then followed its master into the back.
Ehrich paced around the cramped lobby, examining the other curios in the shop. Many of them appeared to be obvious fakes. Was Mr. Serenity merely a shill posing as a sponsor for a quick buck or two? Time seemed to pass forever, and Ehrich began to fidget. Had the old man run off on him? He finally decided to investigate.
Beyond the curtains was a narrow hallway bracketed on both sides by a series of surprisingly large display areas. The first two areas were unoccupied. In the third, the bearded lady reclined on a divan. Opposite her was a thick-necked giant with talons for hands perched on a trapeze. Ehrich nodded at him.
In another space, two women were conjoined at the hip with a scorpion tail rising from their back. Next to them was a morbidly obese man with octopus tentacles for arms.
He found a set of stairs at the far end of the hall, and followed past the sleeping quarters on the second floor to the offices on the top floor. Down the hall, Mr. Serenity stepped out of a doorway. “Impatient, aren’t we? I think I’ve found something.” He held up a book and beckoned Ehrich over.
“Come in, son. This is truly remarkable.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll show you in my office. Après vous, as the French people of your dimension say.”
Mr. Serenity’s tiny office contained a roll-top desk littered with papers and a bookshelf bursting with dusty tomes. Ehrich stepped over a pile of books. Something didn’t seem right about the office. For an instant, the desk flickered like a mirage and the perspective seemed off. How could the desk be so far away in such a tiny space?
“I think I’ve seen enough,” Ehrich said, and turned around.
A barred door slammed in his face. He pulled on it but it held fast. When he turned around again, the office was gone, replaced with an empty cell.
“You’re going nowhere, boy,” Mr. Serenity said.
Things Heat Up
Ehrich drew his volt pistol. “Open the door now.”
Mr. Serenity laughed and shook his head. “Go ahead and shoot.”
Ehrich pulled the trigger. Electrical energy flew from the doughnut-shaped end of the barrel and lit up the bars of the cell door, but dissipated quickly. Mr. Serenity grabbed the bars of the cell door and smiled. Ehrich fired at the man, but the door absorbed the energy. Mr. Serenity didn’t even flinch as the electricity danced around his fingers. He drew a small crossbow pistol from behind his back. The bowstring was taut, holding a cruel barbed dart, and ready to fire.
“A remarkable cell, don’t you think? Loves to absorb energy, but ignores physical projectiles. Now put the gun on the floor and kick it out.”
Ehrich considered Tesla’s suggestion that any device could be turned into a weapon, but he wasn’t desperate enough yet. He needed answers more than he needed to fight. He placed the pistol on the wooden floor and kicked it through the bars.
“You wait right there while we figure out what to do with you.” Mr. Serenity picked up the weapon and walked away.
Ehrich tested the bars of the door, which was solidly locked. He examined the room for any other exit, but found none except for a small window—far too small for him to squeeze through. Even if he could climb out, the ground was three floors down. A heated discussion in the next room attracted his attention.
“I say we kill him,” a gruff man said.
Mr. Serenity answered, “No, he’s a member of the Demon Watch. If he dies, they’ll come after us.”
“They’ll come for us anyway if we let him go.”
“I don’t think so. He wasn’t with the others. Why did he come here by himself?”
“Someone check the street. There might be others spying on us.”
A woman’s voice cut through the chatter. “Enough. If they’re going to look for him, the best thing to do is not be here when they find him.”
Mr. Serenity disagreed. “We told the asset to find us here. We can’t abandon the post.”
“I say we hold the hunter until the meeting,” she said.
“Then what?” Mr. Serenity asked, his voice lowering.
“Then he’s a liability.”
Mutters of agreement. He stepped back from the cell door. Was Amina the asset? Or was it the red-skinned girl? What was her connection to this collection of freaks? And what was so significant about her book? He could wait in the cell until she showed up so he could ask her the questions, but he didn’t know what the Dimensionals would do to him after she arrived.
He needed to get out.
He knelt down and cracked open the false heel on his right shoe to retrieve his lock-pick set. Then he reached through the bars around to the keyhole. He slipped the hook pick into the keyhole and carefully slid it around, feeling for the tumbler, hoping to catch one of the lock’s pins. No luck on the first try. Again. No success. Once more. Nothing.
A few dozen failures later, Ehrich began to doubt himself. He knew that he couldn’t perform under the pressure of being watched, but when no one was looking, he could usually pick any lock. Now, a different kind of pressure was making his hands tremble. He wiped the sweat off on his wool trousers and inserted the pick into the lock with a growing sense of impatience. He jammed the instrument, lodging the pick in the lock mechanism. After several minutes, he was unable to pull his hook pick free. He punched the cell door.
“Sakes alive!” he nursed his sore knuckles.
Once he recovered, he ran his hand along the rough wood walls, hoping to find another way to escape. On a shelf above the door, a “Cyclops” eye on a copper box stared at him. He cocked his head to the side and scratched his head. Why hadn’t he seen this before? He climbed the bars and pulled down the device. No wires were connected to the machine, but inside the mechanism was a metal spindle that operated a series of tiny gears which spun a carousel, like the one in Amina’s book. In the middle of the unit was a tiny light bulb and what looked to be a strange tiny photograph. When he examined the stamp-sized, translucent picture, he saw Mr. Serenity’s office. The lens magnified and projected the image over the cell walls. He had fallen for an illusion. He needed to be more careful in the future about taking things at face value.
Nikola Tesla’s advice rang in Ehrich’s ears. If you want to convince people of something, you have to give them a show. Give them the illusion of what you want them to see so you can get what you really want. Ehrich needed his own illusion, and he knew just how to make it.
Ehrich leaned the device against the wall and pulled apart the innards. He yanked out the spindle and removed the gears to give him some space. Then he used his tension wrench to lever the lens from its housing. He tore strips from the bottom of his shirt and piled them on the floor near the wall, where the sunlight was hitting. He used his tension wrench again to scrape wood sh
avings off the floor and piled them on top of the cloth strips. Then he knelt to the side, focussing the sun through the lens at the kindling. He stayed as still as he could, resting his elbow on his knee, keeping the lens over the pile of wood shavings. Time inched along as slowly as the bead of perspiration now starting to roll down Ehrich’s temple. His hand ached, but he refused to shift position for fear of losing the sunbeam. He glanced out the window at a puffy cloud lazily floating in front of the sun. He cursed under his breath, but waited for the cloud to pass.
Several minutes later, his patience paid off as the kindling began to smoke. He gently blew on the pile until a wood shaving glowed red. He blew again, turning the ember into a small flame that spread to the other shavings. He coaxed the little fire to life and now the cloth strips lit up. The flames no longer needed his help. He pushed the pile of burning strips against the wall and flames licked up the surface. Ehrich fanned the fire, feeding the flames until the wall darkened. Smoke wafted up.
Mr. Serenity would surely notice the smell, Ehrich thought. Flames now scaled the wall like a swarm of ants.
“Fire!” Ehrich yelled. “Help!”
Mr. Serenity was the first to respond, running to the cell door. As soon as he saw the growing blaze, he fumbled with his key ring until he found the key he needed. When he tried to open the cell door, however, the key wouldn’t turn.
The lock was still jammed with Ehrich’s hook pick. Oops.
Ehrich grabbed the cell bars and shook them. “Get me out of here!”
Mr. Serenity turned the key the other way. Nothing. The flames grew higher.
“Water!” he shouted down the hall. “Fetch water!”
“No, open the door!” Ehrich called after him.
Mr. Serenity had left the key in the lock. Ehrich grabbed the key, trying to dislodge it. The wood cracked as the fire grew larger. The key refused to budge.
The first of the water buckets arrived and the caterpillar-bearded lady swung hard, throwing water through the cell bars and against the wall. Hiss. Another bucket. More hissing. The flames climbed. There was no way they would douse this conflagration in time. The freaks formed a line down the hallway, passing buckets to the bearded lady. Water splashed through the bars, dousing Ehrich more than the flames. He gritted his teeth and yanked hard on the key until it popped out. The lock pick dinged against the floor. He scooped the hook pick up, then inserted the key and turned it. The lock sprang open, and he pushed the cell door. The octopus man shoved him aside and stormed into the cell. His belly expanded and he leaned forward, vomiting a powerful spray of water. The fire hissed out.
