by Pam Stucky
“This is Bloo. He was one of the oo’broo who rescued your mutants.”
“Rescued!” said Eve under her breath. Aly hushed her with a stern look.
“I am pleased to meet you, Bloo. Thank you for showing the young ones back to our home, we are grateful.”
“It seems you already owe us,” said Bloo. “And now you want us to tell you where to find your valuable rocks. You ask very much. As always.” Bloo’s skin whirled through a variety of colors and patterns.
“I’m no expert on Klyvnini skin changes,” whispered Kata, “but I’d say he’s angry.”
Aly cleared her throat. “I am sure, Ambassador Mroo and Bloo, that you can agree our species each help the other whenever we can.”
Ambassador Mroo’s skin erupted in swirls of blossoming color. “It is not so! The oo’broo are always accommodating the ah’broo. You have nothing we need. We give everything.”
Aly took a deep breath. “Ambassador, we do not have anything specific to give at this time. We would ask that you consider this a diplomatic request and treat it as such.”
The oo’broo did not reply, though their skin spoke volumes.
Finally, Ambassador Mroo broke the silence. “What is your second question?”
“We are wondering whether you, Bloo, believe you might be able to find the exact spot at which you first found our friends?” Aly asked.
The kaleidoscope on Bloo’s skin calmed. “Of course. We have superior memories, as you know. We have two brains. We forget nothing.”
Ambassador Mroo broke in. “For what purposes? Why do you need to return to this place? Is it ‘special,’ too?”
But Aly had had enough. “Would you be able to take us there?”
Ambassador Mroo’s skin cycled through blues, grays, browns, deep red, even a plummy purple, but he did not speak. Aly, too, stood her ground, saying nothing more. Waiting.
“We do not have the stones,” Mroo finally said.
“No one does?” asked Aly. “Are you certain of this?”
“We are done here,” said Mroo. As quickly as they had arrived, the Ambassador and Bloo floated away into the dark depths of the ocean.
“Floating seaweed!” said Aly, fury in her voice. She looked at her guests. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me. I sometimes just cannot understand the Klyvnini. And I suppose they probably feel the same about us. I don’t think we’ll be getting back your stones, and I definitely don’t think they’ll be taking us to the spot where they found you—if they could even find it themselves.”
“Do they really have two brains?” asked Eve.
“They do, but it doesn’t always seem like it,” huffed Aly.
“So they won’t be helping us at all?” asked Ben.
On the delegation’s return from the conference room, everyone had gathered again in the living room while Aly, Emma, and Eve brought the others up to date. Bek was again relishing his role of host, having brought out a sort of dark, sweet tea for everyone to try.
“It doesn’t sound like it,” said Aly, dipping something round and cookie-like into her tea.
“This is really good,” said Chuck, following Aly’s lead.
“You and Charlie, you’ll eat anything!” Eve said, laughing, but then her face turned serious. “Without the help of the Klyvnini, we will never find the place where we got here. It’s literally in the middle of an ocean. We’re going to have to find another way.”
“Those Klyvnini don’t sound too helpful,” said Ben.
“Or smart,” said Chuck.
Aly nodded. “I suppose that’s true. If I’m honest, they don’t seem as intelligent as we are. But that’s how it is with all species, isn’t it? We are the smartest on our planet, and I imagine your species is the smartest on yours, but are you smarter than we are? Are we smarter than you? Surely there’s a species out there far more advanced and far more intelligent than any of us; does that make our intelligence worthless? Does that make our knowledge and our existence any less important?”
Chuck shrugged. “I guess I see what you’re saying. Still, they seem pretty uncooperative.”
“It can be difficult working with the oo’broo, because their view of the world is so different from ours,” said Aly. “As I said, some of them don’t even believe the above-ground people exist. Or the sky. The universes, the galaxies. The moon. To them, those things are all just imaginary fantasies, and why would they believe them to be anything more? Still, we can’t ignore their existence, and it’s our duty to treat them as we would want to be treated.”
While Aly was talking, Emma was distracted, her mind churning on the matter of getting home. “Are there elevators on every planet?” she asked Eve and Kata, hardy realizing she was interrupting another discussion.
Kata shrugged. “We haven’t seen every planet yet. There’s no way to know.”
“Every planet you’ve been to so far?” Emma asked.
“Well, that’s sort of a circular question,” said Kata. “We’ve gotten to almost every planet by using the elevators, so by definition, there are elevators on those planets. But we all got here using the dark galaxy stone and magnets. I have no idea whether there are elevators here. And even if there are, there’s no saying whether they have stops at our planets.”
“But if there are elevators, then they should be attached to hubs, right?” Emma pressed. “And if we can get to a hub … well, it wouldn’t be our Hub, but at hubs, everything is possible, so …”
“Good thinking, Emma!” said Ben. “If we can get to a hub, that’s definitely one step closer.”
“Does every hub have a Dr. Waldo and a lab, though?” said Chuck, skeptically.
“No,” said Ben. “But if all hubs are like our Hub, then once we find one, we should be able to build our own lab. After Vik destroyed everything in the old Hub, I helped Dr. Waldo recreate everything from scratch. Remember? I think, maybe, I could create a lab, or, I don’t know, maybe even a Dark MATTER.”
“Using the power of intention,” said Charlie, nodding and grinning like a fool. “Yes! We can find a new hub and it’s all ours! Bwa ha haaaa!” He twiddled his thumbs like an evil scientist.
Aly was listening to this conversation with deep interest. “You create things in this Hub with the power of intention?” she asked, doubt tinging her tone. “Your brains, you mean? No tools?”
“The power of our minds!” said Chuck with delight. “Yes! We just have to find a hub! Bwa ha haaaa!”
“That should be easy,” said Emma sarcastically. She liked the idea, but she knew finding a hub was not as easy as simply wishing for one.
Aly broke in. “Tell me more about these elevators and the Hub. How do you find elevators on your own planets?”
“On Earth, it’s a little easier because every elevator is in a lighthouse. A lighthouse is … well, it’s a building on the edge of the land near the ocean, that has lights and, I’m not even sure, I think fog horns, too, to help guide ships. Make sure they don’t crash into the land,” said Emma. “The elevator we first found was inside a lighthouse. But not every lighthouse on Earth is an elevator. And on most other planets we’ve been to, the elevators haven’t been in lighthouses. I mean, on Chuck’s planet they are, but that’s because he’s on a parallel Earth. So it’s the same as our Earth.”
Eve pulled her Universe Key rock out from under the neck of her shirt. “This unlocks hubs,” she said. “It looks like a rock, but …”
“… rocks are the foundations of the planets,” Aly said, half to herself. She reached out a hand and gently lifted the stone around Eve’s neck, rubbing her fingers over its surface. “Yes, I see. We have rocks like this on our beaches, too. Are you saying all those rocks will open the elevators?”
“No,” said Emma, “only some of them. They’re rare, but they’re out there.”
“When you’re near an elevator and you’re wearing a Universe Key, there’s this … there’s a vibration. In the air. You can sort of feel the pull of it,” sai
d Eve. “The key lets you know when there’s an elevator, a portal, nearby.”
“And remind me of the features of an elevator, a hub? I mean, how else you might suspect you were near one,” said Aly, the set of her eyes showing that the wheels in her mind were turning.
Charlie looked at Emma. “When we were on the island last summer, we went out one night to watch the stars. We thought we saw some weird lights,” he said. “Eve’s dad explained to us that it’s what they call a ‘thin spot.’ Looking back, we think maybe we were seeing through universes. Seeing lights from other worlds.”
Aly looked at Bek. Their eyes exchanged unspoken information; an agreement was made without a word being said. Bek nodded.
“Well,” said Aly. “I will tell you, because of my position I am familiar with something that may just be what you are referring to. There’s a place nearby that used to be the source of mysterious occurrences, or energies. People would go out and watch the skies for unexplained activity, flashes of light, that sort of thing. Some people used to report that they thought they could see whole cities in the sky. The government officially denied everything, of course, but we kept files. The place where people saw these phenomena used to be on public land. Then an eccentric writer bought it and built up walls around the land, and she’s been getting more eccentric ever since, though her books are selling better than ever. She seems to disappear for great stretches of time; no one sees or hears from her, and then she’ll suddenly return and put out a new book very shortly after. It’s incredible how prolific she is. Now that you have explained these elevators, I have to wonder if there is what you call an elevator there, and she’s using this portal to travel through space and time.”
“She’s traveling!” said Eve. “It sure sounds like it!”
“We have to go talk to her!” said Emma. “Maybe she can help us!”
Bek shook his head and held up his right arms. “She is a private, unusual woman. She might not talk to us. She hardly talks to anyone.”
“She keeps to herself almost all the time,” added Aly.
“The Void!” said Eve. “Maybe The Void has got to her!”
“The what?” said Aly.
“The Void?” said Bek. “You mentioned that once before. Why does that sound familiar?” His brow furrowed.
“The Void!” Emma repeated. “The Void, it’s this … it’s emptiness, emptiness so complete you can’t even imagine it. And the guy we were fighting against last time, when he started using elevators on his planet, he awakened The Void in the elevator.” Emma turned to Eve. “You don’t think he’s introduced this planet to The Void? I don’t want to face that again!”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” said Eve. “It might be completely unrelated to The Void. Tell us more about this woman?”
Bek looked at Aly. “We used to be close acquaintances with her, actually,” he said. “Back before she was famous. She was a writer with mediocre success. She writes possibility fiction.”
“Possibility fiction?” said Ben. “What’s that?
“It’s … well, stories about things in space, aliens, things that we don’t know could happen, we haven’t seen it, but maybe it could happen. Some people call it space fiction, but it doesn’t always take place in space.”
“Sort of like our science fiction or fantasy,” mused Emma. “Interesting. Go on.”
“Yes,” continued Bek, “that sounds right. She was always interested in science and would often come to our meetings and conferences. Even though her books didn’t sell too well at the time, she was well known, a friendly woman. But after she bought the land, her stories just took off. At the same time, she became more reclusive.” He shrugged. “We always figured it was the fame. It can be hard on a person, having everyone wanting to know all your business.”
Emma turned to Eve. “We have to get up there and talk to her. And we have to find a way to tell Dr. Waldo! What if this is The Void? If it’s still spreading, we need to let him know!”
With a nod to herself, Aly stood. “I think it’s time for us to get you all back on dry land.”
chapter twelve
“Outside! Above ground! Yes! Yes!” Chuck and Charlie were ecstatic at the idea of getting out of the fishbowl they’d been trapped in for the past several days. They danced and chanted their joy.
“Outside! Outside! Outside!” cheered Charlie, pumping his hands in the air.
“Fresh air! Dry ground! Fresh air! Dry ground!” exclaimed Chuck, swinging Eve around in an improvised square dance, reminiscent of Dr. Waldo.
Emma laughed and rolled her eyes. Dealing with twice the Charlie was sometimes annoying; still, she couldn’t help but love her twin and his otherworldly doppelgänger. Life would be much more boring without them.
“We must be careful,” Aly said, smiling indulgently at the boys’ antics. “Even with your bracelets on, Bek and I were able to discern there was something unusual about your appearances. Others on the surface will be able to see this as well. We need to keep you away from people as much as possible.”
“Is it crowded up there?” asked Ben. “Are we in a city, or out in the country?”
“We’re outside of the city,” said Aly. “And our population is not large, not like it once was. A powerful, rampant virus killed off more than half our people when Bek and I were young. It devastated our world. We have not yet fully recovered.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Eve. “That must have been horrible.”
“Aly was an only child, and lost both her parents,” said Bek. “I lost all my siblings, two sisters and a brother. New families were created as people came together to support each other. That’s how Aly and I met. She came to live with us.” He smiled, but his eyes betrayed an underlying sadness. He reached out to hold Aly’s hand.
“But that was a very long time ago,” said Aly, smiling but shaking off the conversation. “The point is, it is not crowded, but many people have lost so much within their lifetimes. The Ka’Jovo are wary people. We must be cautious.”
“Can you tell us more about this eccentric writer you were talking about?” asked Kata.
Aly stretched her arms out over her head and to her sides. A giant yawn escaped her thin lips. “Please excuse me! I have not had much sleep lately!” she said. “Yes. This woman, Gesil Eendu, was one of those who lost almost everything when she was quite young, younger than I was. She was placed with another family and seemed to be doing fine, but as with so many of us, I am sure it was difficult for her. Water churns deep in the oceans of the heart. We knew each other, of course; as I said, our population is small. When I became Ambassador, I often saw her at science events. She was always quite friendly. This is before she became so famous.” Aly shifted in her seat. “But then, that land I mentioned went up for sale. It was never technically public land; just unclaimed land. There was a lot of it after the virus. This particular land encompasses a wide, clear, open-sky area, so scientists and stargazers were known to go there often. When it went up for sale, Gesil bought it. There was a small outcry, as the sale had been conducted very quietly; many didn’t know the land was even for sale. Some small groups said they would have bought it for their own use if they’d known it was available, but whether that’s true is unimportant. Now Gesil has built a giant fence around it, and from what I hear she has built a small but functional house on the grounds, too. It seems the peace and quiet of having a secluded space are good for her. After she bought the area, she started writing prolifically and became one of our planet’s most widely read authors. She writes several books a year, more than you could imagine possible, and all with the most fantastic, unbelievable stories about space and other worlds.” Aly’s lips curled up on one side in a wry smile. “Perhaps we now know why?”
In the middle of Aly’s explanation, Chuck yawned too, a big wide yawn that the others could not help but catch. Soon, everyone was yawning and laughing at their own inability not to yawn.
“Our sleep schedules are complete
ly off,” said Kata, covering her own yawn with her hand. “We had no idea what was morning and what was night. You guys came back in the middle of our sleep—don’t get me wrong, we’re glad you did—but I think we all could use a little more sleep before we do anything else. I don’t want us making bad decisions because we’re too tired.”
“Good point,” said Aly. She looked at their borrowed clothes. “I see you’ve found everything you needed? Did you not bring anything with you?”
“We did,” said Emma, “but most of it ended up on the ocean floor. Charlie managed to save some of his things, but the rest of us lost everything.” She was glad she hadn’t brought anything too personal, but the loss of their technology and devices was an incredible blow.
“Hmmm,” said Aly, with a look at Bek. “I’ll tell you what. You all go back to sleep, and Bek and I will see what we can figure out. And we’ll work on a plan for approaching Gesil, too.”
“But I want to get up to the outside world!” said Chuck, just before he interrupted himself with another wide yawn.
Aly laughed. “Back to bed with you all. Sleep as long as you need, and Bek and I will work while you dream. We will get you home.”
Several hours later, the well-rested visitors straggled back into the living room, one by one. As they did, Bek fed them each a hearty meal, the first real meal they’d had since they’d arrived. Not knowing what everything in the kitchen was—including, at times, whether what they’d found was even food—they’d eaten warily. The hot stew and chewy bread Bek served them were more than welcome.
“This is the best food I’ve ever had,” said Chuck, eating as though he’d never eaten before. He ripped off a chunk of bread and dipped it into the stew. “Mmmmmm.” The juices dripped down his chin.
“So delicious,” said Emma. “I’d ask for the recipe but I’m guessing I won’t find the ingredients at home.” She poked at the various components of the dish. The meat looked like meat; the vegetables were similar to root vegetables on Earth. Still, the taste was, she thought with a chuckle to herself, literally out of this world. Or out of mine, anyway.
