by Steve LeBel
Next, he focused on getting the fires put out. On a planet with so much plant life, there was no shortage of oxygen in the air, which fed the rapidly burning forest fires. Bernie had extinguished Billy’s forest fires before by changing the air to carbon dioxide. But he couldn’t use that solution again. The heavy gas could easily flow into a valley and kill the people there. For the same reason, he couldn’t snuff the fires by removing the oxygen.
Instead, he created massive thunderclouds above each raging fire and let them deliver sheet after sheet of torrential rain. And, for good measure, he created storm fronts and sent them to chase the volcanic ash and poisonous gases that had already been released.
As Bernie started to catch his breath, he felt the earth tremble again. It didn’t take long to locate the new epicenter, which was close to the site of the second volcano. A fifth volcano, another supervolcano, had exploded. He saw gases escaping and knew magma would soon follow. His first thought was to plug it as he had done with the first four, but a fifth volcano meant something else was going on.
Billy must have created a network of fault lines under the mountain range. If he plugged this volcano, it would just build up pressure until the next one blew. He needed to fix the real problem.
Bernie spent three more hours searching the earth under the mountain range. He found the fault lines and fused them one by one. In addition, Billy had created a continent-long strip of hot magma just below the mountains. Every time a quake opened a crack, the magma was ready to emerge. It wasn’t until he cooled the magma under the mountains that things began to quiet down. The number of quakes gradually subsided, and there had been no new volcanoes for the last two hours.
Bernie was so exhausted, he almost forgot about the fault lines in the ocean. He found them on both sides of the continent. Bernie fused those lines as well, but by now he was drained; all he wanted to do was sleep. Even the gods paid a price for using their powers.
Oh, no! Alcandor! Was he okay? Bernie sped back to the Senate. The sun was nearly down, and people were milling about in the street. Some wept, while others wore expressions of hopelessness. Everywhere, buildings had suffered from the quakes. The side of the Senate Office Building had collapsed, along with part of its roof. Bernie’s heart pounded as he scanned the wreckage, but he found no bodies.
Bernie quickly moved to Alcandor’s home. The building had buckled in one section. He found Alcandor pacing in his study.
“Alcandor! Thank goodness you’re safe,” Bernie exclaimed as he materialized. There was no longer any pretense between them. Bernie appeared as his true self.
“Bernie, I’m so glad to see you. You’ve been gone so long. I… I was worried about you too,” Alcandor said, as they embraced.
“What happened?”
Bernie explained the supervolcanoes and what he had done to stop them. He explained the superheated magma below the mountains, the fault lines he repaired, and the forest fires he extinguished. When he finished, he asked, “Tell me about the people. Did we lose many?”
“We were lucky. Gondal had the wits to send everyone out of the building before it collapsed. We used our signal system to tell people in nearby towns to keep out of the buildings during the quakes. So far, it appears we have injuries, but no known deaths.”
“Thank goodness.”
“You put on quite a show,” Alcandor said with a twinkle in his eye.
“I’m sorry about that,” said Bernie. “I didn’t think about what people would be seeing when I looked for the source of the problem. I hope it won’t cause difficulties for you.”
“I don’t think many people understood what they were seeing. In any case, leave that to me. It looks like you could use some rest. In fact, I think we could all use some rest,” Alcandor said wearily.
“I agree. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Bernie was exhausted, but the relief he’d felt when he found Alcandor unharmed had taught him a valuable lesson. He must do whatever he could to keep Alcandor safe. That was his greatest priority. And he would find a way, no matter what…
As he began to fade away, Alcandor’s voice sounded in the background.
“Good night, Bernie. And thank you again for saving our world.”
A Time of Peace
The fallen stones and rubble had been cleared away, but the Great Chamber didn’t look ‘great’ at the moment. Nevertheless, all the seats of the amphitheater were filled. Gondal stood on one side of the center stage and next to him stood Alcandor. The Great Protector hovered in the center.
Gondal bowed his head to the god and then said, “Great Protector, again, I thank you for your service to our people and to our world. We saw the volcano you dealt with. Alcandor told us of the others and explained how they caused the earth to quake, which caused so much damage.”
“I am glad I could help, Leader Gondal. I am sad to see what this has done to you and your people. I wish I could do more.”
Gondal lowered his head and said, “The only thing that can help us now, Great Protector, is time. We need time to heal. Time to nurse our injured back to health. And time to rebuild our buildings and our society. Can you grant us that, Great Protector?” Gondal asked of the god who hovered above him.
The Great Protector’s eyes looked sad as the god lowered his head. Then he abruptly lifted his head, as a half-smile spread to his lips. “Actually, Leader, that is something I can do. I can grant you a time of peace and it shall last for 1,000 days. But when that time is over, the evil will still be here. Perhaps you can use the time to heal and to rebuild.”
Although the senators should have learned their lesson, there were more than a few who could not resist calling out “Hear! Hear!” and stomping their feet.
“Thank you, Great Protector. Thank you. We will make good use of your gift,” said Gondal as a lump rose in his throat.
Alcandor Makes a Request
“Bernie, if you grant us this 1,000 days of peace, won’t that mean we won’t see each other for a while?” asked Alcandor.
“Yes. That’s the way it works. When I advance time in your world by 1,000 days, it will prevent Billy from being able to get to you. But it also means that time is lost to me. I won’t be able to see you until it’s over.”
“As I understand it, there won’t be much time that has passed for you, is that correct?”
“Yes. Only one day will have passed for me.”
“You once offered me the chance to visit your world. I would like to do this when the time of peace has passed.”
Bernie brightened. “That’ll be great! I can introduce you to my friends. I know they’d love to meet you. And there is so much for you to see. You’re going to love The Museum.”
“But how will I communicate on your world? I know you learned our language, but isn’t that because of the special powers you have on my world?”
“Yes. On my world, no one will be able to understand you, not even me.”
“You said you still have your old schoolbooks. Are they something I could use to learn your language?”
“That’s a great idea. I’ll bring some books and a dictionary too. You might find some of the books boring, though.”
“Why?”
“Most of the reading primers are Dick and Jane and Spot. Things like ‘Look, Jane. See Dick build a universe. Good, Dick. Come, Spot. See Dick’s universe.’ and stuff like that.”
Alcandor started laughing. “I guess that proves we’re related. We have Dick and Jane, too.”
“I’m not sure that proves anything.” Bernie chuckled. “Dick and Jane are one of the Great Mysteries. They seem to pop up in universes everywhere.”
“Still, it’ll be like seeing old friends again,” Alcandor said with a smile.
Not Cool
Bernie viewed Alcandor’s world from outer space. Even from this distance, the scarred landscapes were clearly visible. It was fortunate he’d been on the planet when the volcanoes started. If he’d arrived later, it would have bee
n much worse. Still, the volcanoes had done plenty of damage with the quakes and the fires.
Bernie prepared himself to grant the time of peace. Moving a universe 1,000 days into the future was a simple thing. The challenge was to make sure you weren’t forgetting anything, because, once done, it couldn’t be undone.
He asked Alcandor to help by using the rock in case he discovered problems before Bernie did. Bernie opened part of his mind to the rock in Alcandor’s study. Another part of his mind he reserved for the gaia.
Well, thought Bernie, I guess I’m ready.
“Hello, Gaia. How’re you feeling today, girl?” Bernie had not studied shimmers or auras, but it didn’t take training to see the distress in the gaia’s aura. Normally, her aura should have been a soft blue-green color. “Hmm… That doesn’t look good,” he said as he looked at the weak aura. “I don’t like those flecks of red either. Those volcanoes were hard on you, weren’t they, girl?
“It looks like you could use a little time of peace too,” he said as he gently moved his time lever forward. Slowly, as the days flickered by, Bernie watched her aura grow brighter as Gaia regained her strength. With another part of his mind, he watched Alcandor’s rock. Day after day, the rock stayed where it was. Bernie allowed himself a smile, taking vicarious pleasure from the gentle days that passed below. Each day that passed became closed to Billy. As soon as Bernie left the universe, the Past Barrier would cut it off to both of them.
Then, several days passed when Gaia’s soft aura did not improve. Bernie slowed time to observe more closely. More days passed. Gaia’s aura seemed weaker than before. Something was wrong. Bernie suspended time. Nothing anywhere in the universe moved. Only Bernie was exempt from this.
He scanned the world. The northern polar ice was slowly rebuilding. Hints of new green could be seen where the fires had raged. He saw people in the towns and villages frozen as they went about their business. He even saw Alcandor reading one of Bernie’s schoolbooks. Bernie allowed himself a smile when he noticed Alcandor was now reading at a fifth grade level. Nowhere did he find anything wrong.
In School, they classified the gaia as one of the Great Mysteries. The gods didn’t do anything to create them. They were an independent creation that would, in their own good time, come into being on almost any living planet. Efforts to transplant them or create them on demand had proven unsuccessful.
Bernie had learned to trust this gaia. She’d given him warnings before when things were not right. She alerted him when the planet’s rotation had been accelerated. She had tipped him off when Billy moved the planet closer to the sun. No words were required—if her aura was weak, then Bernie looked for problems. When her aura became stronger, he knew he had resolved the problem. What was she trying to tell him now?
Cautiously, he advanced time a few more days. More red flickers in her aura told him of additional suffering. “Yes, Gaia. I can see you’re trying to tell me something.” Bernie slowed time to a complete stop.
Gaias weren’t entities that existed solely within the biosphere, he recalled. They extended into the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and even the pedosphere. Bernie scanned the atmosphere for any differences from his original design specifications. He found none. He repeated the process with his ocean. Again, nothing out of the ordinary there, other than a high presence of toxins in the ocean, caused by the recent volcanoes. Still, it should not bother Gaia. Finally, Bernie looked to the earth. It didn’t take him long to find the problem.
Not far below the surface, he found the heat. As he went deeper into the planet, he found greater and greater temperatures, far beyond anything he had done. The planet’s crust was being slowly melted from the inside. Billy had overheated the planet’s core, and the heat was radiating upward, layer by layer, on its way to the surface. As it got closer, oceans would evaporate and every living thing on the planet would fry.
Bernie closed his eyes as he took the anger he felt and moved it once again to another place. He could fix the problem, he knew. But sooner or later, he would miss something and arrive too late. With his anger safely tucked away, the only thing he felt was sadness.
Billy, Billy, Billy, he thought. You are such a bad boy.
The Kids Prepare
“It’s hard to believe they look that much like us, Bernie,” said Lenny. “Are you sure there isn’t more?”
“I don’t think so. The only thing that’s different is the greenish tint to their skin. They don’t age, so there’s no gray in their hair.”
“Then all I need to do is to bring my makeup kit and lighten up his skin,” said Suzie. “But what about communicating? Even if you gave him books, how is he going to know how to pronounce anything?”
“I left him a dictionary with pronunciation guides, and I borrowed a voice recorder from Lenny’s OWT collection and used it to record myself reading one of my books out loud. He can use the book and the recording to figure out how to pronounce things.”
“That’s expecting a lot, Bernie,” Suzie said.
“He’s really smart. You’ll see. I can’t wait for you both to meet him.”
A soft clucking sound reminded Bernie there weren’t just two people who wanted to meet Alcandor. “You too, Sissy,” he added, which turned the clucking into a purr.
“When are you pulling him out?” Lenny asked.
“Today’s Friday, so I’m going to bring him out tonight. Then we’ll have the whole weekend together.”
“Where’s he going to stay, Bernie? Have you told your mom about him?” asked Suzie.
“I told her a friend is coming to spend the weekend. She’s going to cook dinner for us.”
“Did you tell her where he’s really from?” Suzie asked.
“No, I just told her he’s someone I met through work.”
Lenny chuckled. “Well, that’s true.”
The Extraction
Bernie tingled with excitement. Suzie met him after work, and they strolled together to Bernie’s home. Twice, Suzie had taken Bernie’s hand. And once, when she laughed at something he said, she gave him a playful bump in his side with her shoulder.
As they approached the edge of town, Suzie became nervous about being this close to the wilds. “There’s really nothing to be afraid of.”
“All my life, I’ve heard about beasties and wild things in the woods. I can’t help being afraid.” She held Bernie’s arm with both hands.
* * *
As Bernie approached his home, he was observed by tiny eyes. This was something different. The boy had never brought anyone home before. Who was this girl? Why was she with him?
Maybe he would come to the woods again, and they would find a way to ask him.
* * *
Suzie, like other gods, had heard things about the project homes in Section Five. When she entered Bernie’s home, she was relieved to find it neat and clean. She guessed Bernie’s room wasn’t that way, but it was good to know Bernie’s mom kept a tidy home. The few decorations had been chosen with taste and an eye to usefulness. Obviously, Bernie’s mom didn’t have any money to waste.
Bernie left Suzie in the family room/dining room/kitchen while he disappeared into his room. He returned carrying the viewing window that led to Alcandor’s world.
“This is exciting. You’ve talked so much about your universe. This is the first time I’ve ever seen it.” She bent closer to the viewing window and let her awareness enter the universe.
“Oh, Bernie. I’m so sorry,” exclaimed Suzie as she saw the world before her. “I see why you’re so upset with Billy.”
“Let’s not talk about him. I don’t want to think about him at all this weekend.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Bernie positioned the viewing window over the couch. “He’s going to be heavy once I pull him through. I want to make sure he has something soft to land on if I can’t hold him. Plus, my viewing window isn’t as big as the ones at work, so it’ll be a narrower fit for him. Ready?”
�
��Oh, yes. I can’t wait to meet him.”
Bernie moved close to the window, as he had many times before when he worked for Good Shimmer Imports. This time, instead of fetching books from another universe, it would be a person. Not so much different, but definitely heavier.
Bernie’s head and arms disappeared as he reached into the viewing window. Then, in one smooth motion, Bernie pulled out and back from the window. As he did so, he brought a man with him. The extra weight of the man unbalanced Bernie, and they both fell backwards onto the couch. Before Suzie could start worrying someone was hurt, she heard both of them laughing.
It was an infectious laugh, and soon Suzie found herself caught up in it as well.
“Don’t worry. Going back is a lot easier, because I have all my powers on the other side.”
They untangled arms and legs until two distinct people stood in front of Suzie. She smiled at Alcandor and did a small curtsy. “Welcome to our world, Lord Alcandor. I trust your journey here was a pleasant one.”
Alcandor flashed a delighted smile and bowed back, “Thank you, Lady Suzie. I can truly say I have never traveled so far in so little time. Nor have I ever been greeted at the end of my journey by a more beautiful young lady.”
“I understand you perfectly,” said Suzie. “I was worried you wouldn’t be able to learn our language from Bernie’s books,” she said as the rest of his words sank in, which caused her to blush.
“I told you he was smart.”
Alcandor beamed with the compliment.
Bernie watched as Suzie and Alcandor looked at each other. Alcandor had never seen another god besides Bernie. Suzie, for her part, was considering what she needed to disguise Alcandor. Suzie spoke first.
“Bernie told me you look just like us, but this is remarkable! You look like a distinguished gentleman from the Section Two district of town. I was worried about explaining your lack of a shimmer, but you have one! I’ve never seen an off-worlder with a shimmer before. Your shimmer not only looks normal, but it’s well-defined and very sophisticated.”
