“And what . . . ?”
“What do you do with her?” Future Simon said. “Ah, that’s where things get sticky. First, take this.” He handed Simon a bottle of water and a breath mint. “It’ll help get the taste of octopus ink out. Seriously—ugh.” Future Simon nodded as Simon swished fresh water around in his mouth and spat it out.
“Second, I want to compliment you; this was a tough day. A tough week. You’ve had to deal with a lot, and you did great. I’m proud of you, Simon.”
Simon nodded. “Thanks. But if you’re really me, aren’t you just complimenting yourself?”
“Hey, learn to take a kind word, okay? I guess I was uptight when I was you.”
“Uptight? Are you kidding me? This is the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen!”
Future Simon shrugged. “Just you wait.” He glanced at his watch. “Not much time left; you did this by accident and have no idea how to keep the time passage open.”
“Can’t you just . . . I don’t know, come here—”
“Come here on my own? Nah, it doesn’t work like that.”
“But why? If you’re the future me . . . you must know how to do this per—”
“Perfectly?”
“Could you stop finishing my sentences for me? It’s annoying.”
Future Simon smiled. “Sorry; I just remember this all so well. My Future-me did that, and it bugged me, too, but we’re running out of time and you’re too frazzled to make good use of it.”
“Okay,” Simon said. “So why can’t you come back?”
“Time travel isn’t easy to do, but it might also be dangerous. We’re not exactly sure if changing the past can mess up the future, but why risk it? It’s better for you to handle it; move forward, not look back.”
“Is this really the time to sound like a fortune cookie? Fine. So what am I supposed to do?”
“Just listen for a few minutes. You did great here. Don’t worry about the woods.” He looked around and whistled. “Though . . . wow. Nice mess. It’ll be fine; the woods will fix itself. Eventually.”
Simon nodded, relieved. The destruction around him was awful.
“When I disappear, my time-stop on Sirabetta will wear off, and you’ll have to take over; a simple thump on the head from a gravity-arm will do the trick. After that, it’ll be harder to keep control of her; she’s a feisty one.”
“No kidding.”
“But as long as her tattoos are covered, she can’t use ’em. The ink’ll work in a pinch, but there are better methods. And as long as you’re within about eight feet or so of her, she’ll stop shifting back and forth between old and young. She’ll stay thirteen. I’m warning you, she’s not going to be happy about this.” He chuckled. “She’s going to be a handful.”
“Wait,” Simon said, rising to sitting position. “Why am I going to have to take care of her? I’m just going to turn her over to the Council and then to the Board, right?”
Future Simon shook his head. “Sorry, pal. That’s the most important thing I have to tell you. All those renegades you’ve fought . . . they’re nothing. They’re pawns. Even Sirabetta has no idea what she’s really involved in. The Board of Administration is the true danger.”
“What?”
“Yeah. They’re behind everything. Not all of them, but enough that they’re a real threat to the whole Union. The whole universe. But especially you, right now. You have to take care of Sirabetta on your own. Well, you and your friends, of course.”
“What? Why? How?”
“Think about it,” Future Simon said. “Where did Sirabetta go after Bio to get work on her tattoos done?”
“Greygor said Chemistry, to see a mad scientist Order member named LaCurru.”
Future Simon nodded. “So what should you do to get rid of those tattoos?”
“If it’s up to us, not the Board . . . I guess I’d take her to Chemistry, have their Keeper—Olvero, I think—help us find LaCurru or some other way to remove them.”
“There you go,” Future Simon said. “It won’t be easy.” He looked away, his face and shoulders sagging. “But be strong. The fate of the universe is on your shoulders and all that.” He shivered. “The burden gets heavy at times, but we can handle it.”
“Wait!” Simon yelped. “What is this about the Board? I thought they were the good guys. The ones who kept this all together!”
“I—” Future Simon shook his head. “I can’t tell you about that. You’ll have to find out on your own.”
“But why? I need all the help I can get, and you know everything about this!”
Future Simon looked miserable as he shook his head. “Sorry, but my Future-me never told me when I was you, that is, your age. Understand?”
“Nobody could understand that!” Simon moaned.
Future Simon chuckled. “I remember saying that. So funny.” He held up a hand. “And I remember getting mad at Future-me for laughing at something so serious. But it’s like I said before: we can’t risk ruining the future by changing the past. We’re pretty sure that you can’t, thanks to something called a causality loop. Interfering in the past only causes the proper future to happen.”
Simon shook his head. “You must know I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“It’s like all those Greek tragedies you’ll get around to reading in school. An oracle tells someone that something bad’s going to happen. The person changes their whole life to keep that bad thing from happening but, in trying to change it, actually causes it to happen.”
“But I’m not Greek!” Simon shouted.
Future Simon sighed. “Sorry, man. Can’t do it.” He reached down and helped Simon to his feet. “Don’t forget that,” he said, gesturing to the Book.
Simon mentally summoned the Book, and with Sirabetta no longer competing with him, it leaped right into his outstretched hand. He felt something odd through his mental connection with the Book.
“The Book’s acting funny around you,” Simon said. “What’s going on?”
Future Simon smiled. “That falls safely under the ‘can’t tell-you’ heading.”
“Great. So glad you stopped by. Is there anything else you can tell me?”
Future Simon looked up into the sky. “Hey, Greygor. Remember to plant your feet to fight the spins, okay, buddy?” He looked back at Simon. “As for you, keep a firm grip on the Book, and Sirabetta’s BOA tattoo on her palm won’t work. But don’t let her touch it. And . . .” He shook his head. “Nope, I think that’s all I can tell you.”
“Please, you’ve got to tell me more,” Simon said. “The fate of the universe is a lot for a twelve-year-old.”
“It is,” Future Simon said, “but you’re no ordinary twelve-year-old. Look at what you’ve accomplished! You’re the Keeper of the Order of Physics, you’ve stopped all sorts of villains, and you’ve mastered incredible abilities from Biology, too. You’re using your abilities in ways that the other Keepers never dreamed of, and you’re just getting started! You’ll do fine, Simon.”
Simon paused and thought about what he said. He’d come so far in just a few days. Maybe he could handle this. But still . . . “Can you at least give me a better hint? A few small clues? Greygor broke the rules to help us out, and that turned out fine.”
Future Simon looked away. “You’re really being a pain, did you know that? Fine. I guess I can tell you a couple of small things to help you out.”
Suddenly, the air around Future Simon started to distort. “Oh, right,” Future Simon said. “I just remembered—this is why my Future Simon never told me more. Sorry, Simon . . . and good luck!”
The air tore open again, making that awful ripping noise as Future Simon was sucked through the hole and off to his future existence.
Simon stared off after him and realized something; Future Simon had said he “was Keeper of the Order of Physics then” in the past tense. As if he wasn’t anymore. What did that mean?
He remembered something else and whipped h
is head around toward Sirabetta as she suddenly found herself back in the normal timestream.
For her, no time had passed since she had wiped away some ink and was preparing to use another attack tattoo. She was thus shocked to find Simon gone from where he’d been and, instead, standing several feet away, holding the Book.
“What the—?” was all she managed to say before the dusty stink of space-time bending sent her into a coughing and sneezing fit.
Simon marshaled his energy and, as Future Simon suggested, formed a small gravity arm to conk Sirabetta on the head and knock her out. He then took a deep breath as a strong gust of the Breeze blew around him, filling him with renewed vigor. Soon he felt strong enough to wrap a gravity coil around Sirabetta and lift her up. Though she was still unconscious, her body kept shifting back and forth from thirteen to thirty-three every minute or so.
He made sure his gravity-grip was tight enough to keep her arms and legs pinned and to keep her wet suit from falling off. He made her body hover above him; luckily, the ink clinging to her face and arm was caught in the gravity field, keeping it from dripping. Simon kept her three feet above him and, as Future Simon had said, she stopped her age jumping and remained thirteen.
Great, he thought. Keeping a crazy supervillain within eight feet of me is going to suck. Not to mention her being a girl . . . going to the bathroom’s going to be tricky.
With Sirabetta floating above him like a girl-shaped balloon, Simon rushed through the wreckage of Dunkerhook Woods in search of his friends. He was relieved to find them standing around the still-unconscious Krissantha, Preto, and Aleadra. Targa was focusing her adrenaline control on them, lowering their heart rates enough to keep them from reviving. Alysha was nearby, ready to zap them if they stirred, and the others were on full alert to back them up.
“You’re all awake!” Simon shouted, running toward them. “You’re okay!”
“‘Okay’ is a relative term,” Flangelo said.
Indeed, as Simon got close enough he saw just how battered they all looked. Seeing Simon’s face crinkle with concern, Alysha mustered a smile. “I’m bruised, I’m exhausted, and my clothes are a mess. But at least it’s over.”
“About that,” Simon said, clearing his throat. “I’ve got some bad news.”
CHAPTER 47
THE MORE IMMEDIATE FUTURE
Simon had to repeat his story several times as his friends struggled to understand what had happened.
They didn’t doubt his explanation of his battle with Sirabetta; the evidence was all around them. More than half of the trees and bushes of Dunkerhook Woods had been torn to pieces or badly burned during the struggle. Fortunately, the fight had been far enough away to leave his friends unharmed.
They weren’t too surprised by his ink-spitting ability; it fit in with his octopus-powers-theme. As for what Simon learned about Aleadra . . .
“Sirabetta’s mom?” Alysha said. “That’s pretty lame. I mean, cut the cord, lady! Let your daughter fight her own battles.”
The part they had trouble grasping was that whole Future Simon bit. He showed them the way Sirabetta now changed back and forth in age when too far from him, which only added to their amazement. Even considering the week they’d had, it was a pretty abnormal thing to witness.
“Normal?” Simon asked. “No offense, but we’ve left normal far behind.”
“True, true,” an aged man’s voice said. “Normal and even strange are left by the wayside when you deal with space-time.”
“Ralfagon!” Simon, Alysha, Owen, and Loisana shouted at the same time.
Targa leaned in toward Flangelo. “Is that their grandpa or something?” she whispered.
“Grandpa?” Eldonna said, ambling along just behind Ralfagon. “Have you got a lot to learn.”
Simon introduced everyone, and Targa gave Ralfagon a respectful apology. Her dealings with Aleadra had taught her not to take any ex-Keeper lightly.
“No offense taken,” Ralfagon said. “Now, young Simon, it seems you’ve been busy with your new role as Keeper.” He gazed around the wreckage of the woods. “I think we have to work on your self-control, though.”
Simon and his friends took turns describing their adventures thus far, ending with Simon once again explaining what Future Simon had told him.
“Ah. What a frightening warning from your future self . . . most alarming, really.” He rubbed his chin.
“How did you know to come find us here?” Alysha asked.
“You’d be amazed just how much noise your little scuffle made for ears that are attuned to hear it,” Ralfagon said. “I’d have been here sooner, but the sound gave me quite the headache. Wound up programming the Gateway to the wrong setting.”
Eldonna sighed. “We ended up in Amsterdam, where the Order of Physics used to meet centuries ago.”
“Yes. That place certainly has changed,” Ralfagon said. “Not that I was in the Order back then. I don’t think so, at least,” he added.
“So what do we do now?” Simon asked.
Ralfagon frowned. “Simon, I’m afraid that is up to you; you are the Keeper of the Book of Physics, the holder of astounding Biology powers, and the captor of one very ill-tempered, age-changing villainess.” He gestured to Sirabetta. “I trust in your skills and your wisdom.”
“Hmmm. You’ve redecorated since I’ve been here last.” Everyone turned to see Gilio and his own Book.
“Gilio?” Ralfagon said in surprise. “How fortunate that you showed up!” He put a hand to his head. “Wait, I didn’t call you, did I?”
“We could definitely use some first aid,” Simon said.
Gilio grinned as he gave Ralfagon a friendly embrace. “I didn’t think your Book called me here for my advice on tree care, Bloom.”
Alysha rolled her eyes. “Everyone’s a comedian, today,” she muttered.
“The Book?” Simon and Ralfagon said at the same time, while the Teacher’s Edition of Physics floated and flashed blue in greeting to the Teacher’s Edition of Biology, which flashed green in response.
“Ralfagon, you wouldn’t believe the things Simon has been achieving with that Book,” Gilio said. “Not to mention my own. Beyond anything I’ve ever heard of.”
Simon smiled and looked away, uncomfortable with the praise.
Alysha rubbed her back. “Didn’t someone mention healing?” she asked.
“As you can see, you’re definitely needed here,” Eldonna said to Gilio.
Gilio smiled widely and gave a showy bow to Eldonna, who blushed. He used one of his formulas to sedate the captured villains completely, and then he tended to the injured while Simon and his friends relayed all that had happened.
“I wish I could do something for the woods,” Gilio said as he surveyed the devastation. “But that would take far more energy than I have right now.” He frowned at the unconscious Aleadra. “She was my Keeper,” he said with a sigh. “A good friend and adviser.” He shook his head. “Sad.”
“Worse, what do we do with them?” Simon asked. “We can’t hand them over to the Board of Administration.”
“No, we certainly can’t,” Gilio said. “And frankly, I’m not sure if it’s safe to take them prisoner in the domain of Biology. There might be more traitors in the Order. And who knows what other tricks Aleadra has up her sleeves.”
“I’ll bet the BOA freed the traitors we already turned over to them,” Owen said.
Ralfagon patted Simon on the shoulder, ducking under the still-unconscious, still-gravity-wrapped Sirabetta bobbing in the air above him. “My boy, you’ve got your work cut out for you. But I will do all I can to help you.”
“You know we’re in,” Alysha said.
“Yeah, to the Order of Chemistry or wherever,” Owen said.
Kender frowned. “This is turning out to be a lot more dangerous than I thought,” he said. “I almost died. We all did.”
“If the Board is behind Sirabetta, nothing’s going to be safe,” Simon said.
Targa folded her arms. “So what’s the plan?”
“If someone can keep an eye on these bad guys,” Simon said while gesturing at Krissantha, Preto, and Aleadra, “I’d say the next step is Chemistry. Alysha, Owen, and I are supposedly away on a school trip for at least a few more days, so we can go. We’ll get these tattoos off Sirabetta before she kills someone. Maybe get some info out of her along the way. After that, who knows? We’ll have to figure it out as we go along.”
Standing there in the shattered remains of Dunkerhook Woods, they put together the beginnings of a plan. The world as they all knew it had changed, and it could be a long time before things got back to normal.
But at last Simon knew he could handle this. His friends and he were up to the challenge; they were stronger, wiser, and more resourceful than just a few short—actually, they felt very long—days ago.
And no matter what the future held, Simon Bloom knew he was ready to lead them.
PLANT MY FEET, INDEED
I sighed as the image of Dunkerhook Woods faded away and the green light went out. This Chronicle of Simon Bloom was over.
I was staggered by how much Simon and his friends had faced, and by how much lay ahead. I wondered if they’d visit again before going to the Order of Chemistry.
I turned away from my Viewing Screen and recalled something Sirabetta said. She mentioned having me “taken care of.” And she’d said it in a tone that did not imply a nice muffin basket. What could she have meant? Hopefully, her current difficulties would keep her too busy to come after me.
There was a knock at the door. Was it Simon and his pals already? As I opened the door, my smile dropped. “Willoughby Wanderby?”
He aimed his formula at me, spinning me violently into my living room. Luckily, I struck my reclining chair, which was padded enough to keep me from harm.
Wanderby stomped into my living room. “So you’re the spy helping those fools fight us. I have a message for you from Sir. It will involve a bit of dying, though.”
The Octopus Effect Page 24
