The Magic Factory

by Morgan Rice

  He stalked away with the box, went to his new room, and put the box upon the desk. Carefully, he looked through each material contained inside. The black matte fabric had not worked, and yet out of all of them it certainly looked like the one that would be most successful. Black, after all, was what happened when something absorbed no light at all.

  Suddenly, Oliver was struck by a moment of inspiration. Black absorbed no light, but white was what happened when all light was absorbed. Perhaps if he used white instead, it would offer him the least reflection because it was absorbing everything instead!

  He rummaged in the box and found some white material. Then he began the painstaking task of sewing a crisscross of wires into one corner of the fabric. As soon as he had a large enough sample area, he turned on the table lamp beside him and held the fabric under it.

  With bitter disappointment, Oliver saw that he hadn’t cracked it.

  He sat back in the chair and huffed. What was he missing? The wire seemed thin enough, and he was certain the white fabric was the best choice out of everything there.

  He searched in the box, pulling out the wire this time and inspecting it under the light. Perhaps there was something not quite right about it after all. The thinness was supposed to be almost imperceptible to the human eye and yet Oliver could more or less see it. Did it need to be thinner? But how? And even if it was, how was he supposed to work with something thinner than his eyes could see?

  He wondered then if Armando had any kind of microscopic device or eyeglass he might be able to use. If he wanted to make the wires even thinner, he’d need a microscope to do it. Surely the old inventor had some around. In fact, he could vaguely recall having seen one or two during the tour.

  The problem was, Oliver didn’t much want to go back onto the factory floor while Lucas was working. He didn’t want the gruff old man to notice him taking more items for his futile task. He didn’t want to hear, yet again, that he was going to fail.

  Then he remembered his class with Ms. Belfry. She’s encouraged him to step into the spotlight even though he was afraid of his classmates bullying him. This was no different really. If he could endure their taunts and cruel whispers, he could handle Lucas.

  He took a deep breath and left his room. Out in the corridor, Horatio the bloodhound looked up at him with his sad eyes. Oliver knelt down and patted his head. The dog sighed before falling back to sleep.

  Oliver headed out into the factory. Lucas was busy at his workbench. Perhaps Oliver could sneak past him unnoticed.

  In the shadows, Oliver scanned the factory floor to see whether there was a microscope anywhere nearby, or whether he could locate the place where Armando stored the tools.

  Just then, he noticed a cupboard mounted onto one wall. It was just like the kind found in shop class at school, the ones where they stored all the drills and screwdrivers. That must be it, Oliver thought.

  He made a beeline for it. But no sooner had Oliver stepped out of the shadows and begun to walk toward the tool cupboard, than Lucas turned sharply and glared at him. It was like he’d sensed him coming with some kind of sixth sense. Even from this distance, Oliver could see the coldness in his penetrating blue-eyed stare.

  “How’s it going?” Lucas barked nastily across the factory floor. “Still not solved it? What a surprise. I bet you go mad trying.”

  Oliver sucked his cheeks in. He was too determined to stop now, no matter how much Lucas attempted to undermine and discourage him. He went right up to the cupboard and opened it.

  To his delight, it was indeed a tool store. Inside there was a myriad of cutting tools; knives, pliers, screwdrivers, scissors, pretty much anything else someone might need. He selected several different scalpels of varying blade width, considering each one in turn. Then he discovered one was so thin, the blade was like a hair. As he pulled it from the cupboard, the blade glittered in the light. Oliver realized it must be made of diamond. Diamond was known to be the best cutting tool in the world. This was definitely the knife for his task!

  Overjoyed by his first success, Oliver closed the cupboard doors carefully and began to search for a microscope. He’d definitely seen one during Armando’s tour but he couldn’t quite recall where it had been. The tour had been scant at best. And he definitely wasn’t going to ask Lucas. The bitter old man would probably send him in the wrong direction just for his own amusement.

  Oliver retraced his steps through the factory, heading for the place he knew Armando had begun, then following the most logical route he could. There were several rooms that Armando had poked his head into before deciding there was nothing of importance inside, so Oliver ignored those, because he hadn’t even looked in them. Then there was the room with the Bird’s Eye View invention and another room full of half-finished automatons, but neither contained the microscope.

  Oliver stood in the corridor, baffled. The factory had so many strange corridors and side rooms it was impossible to orient himself.

  He began to wander a little aimlessly. Soon, he found himself standing outside the black-and-yellow-striped steel door. He looked at it curiously, and wondered again what might be inside. Probably the most incredible invention ever, Oliver reasoned, letting his imagination go wild. Whatever it was, it was something that only Armando had ever seen. Even Lucas had not been trusted to look inside. Oliver wondered if one day he might be allowed inside. Perhaps if he cracked the invisibility coat, Armando would reward him with a peek inside the secret room.

  Oliver needed to get back to the task at hand. He turned. To his surprise, Horatio the bloodhound was standing behind him.

  “What are you doing here?” Oliver asked, bending down to rub the old dog behind the ears.

  Horatio let out a whine. He turned and trotted, in an arthritic kind of way, to the end of the corridor and stopped there. He looked back expectantly, as if waiting for Oliver. Shrugging, Oliver followed the old dog. But before he reached him, Horatio took off in a trot again, disappearing around the corner. Curiously, and with the distinct impression he was being led somewhere, Oliver turned the corner also. And sure enough, Horatio was waiting for him, looking back at him with droopy, sad eyes.

  The moment Oliver came into view, Horatio disappeared through an open door. Oliver followed again. When he walked in the room after Horatio, he was stunned to see that he was in a room filled with microscopes. The dog had led him right where he needed to be!

  “Thanks, Horatio!” he cried, wondering both how the dog had known what he was seeking and why it had decided to help him.

  In response, the dog let out one of his sad sighs. Then he turned and hobbled away, his claws clacking against the floorboards as he went.

  Oliver wasted no time. He inspected each of the microscopes in turn. Some were very large and very powerful; others were smaller and more portable. He chose one that wasn’t too heavy, somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, and hurried out, excited to get to work.

  Horatio was snoring soundly in his basket as he passed. The poor thing must have tired itself out helping him, for which Oliver was very grateful.

  Oliver scurried past him and into his room, heading to his desk. He placed the microscope on its surface and then got straight to work, under the lamp light, using the ultra-thin diamond-bladed knife to slice the wires even thinner. It was an arduous, difficult task, and yet Oliver found it very satisfying to be so absorbed. Besides, it helped that he was absolutely certain this would make all the difference, that the invisibility coat he’d been trying to make for years was so close to actually coming into existence!

  Oliver became so focused on his work, he didn’t even notice the smell of food cooking when Lucas stopped for lunch, nor the fading light as sunset arrived. He was only dimly aware of someone poking their head around the door to check on him, and the sound of sizzling from Lucas’s frying pan as he cooked their evening meal. But he cared neither for his own growling stomach nor his fatigue as evening fell. And before long, Oliver drifted off to sleep
right where he sat.

  *

  Oliver found himself swimming in a deep ocean. It was very dark, the surface of the water barely visible high above him. Oliver treaded water as he glanced about him, his dark blond hair swishing as he moved his head about. Somehow, despite being underwater, he could breathe perfectly well.

  He blinked with confusion. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the ocean, he realized that he was surrounded by sea life. All around him were huge rainbow-shelled shrimp. They were at least four inches long, with bright green bodies and bright orange legs, and they were covered in a multitude of shimmery, multicolored leopard-print spots.

  Oliver reached his hand forward and touched one with his fingertips. It darted away, and at the same moment he felt a spark of electricity zap from the end of his finger. Oliver flinched backward, cradling his hand to his chest. Though the spark had caused him no pain, it had caused an echo of a sensation to rise inside him, something he remembered having felt before. Oliver looked at his hand and realized the feeling was the same power he’d felt when he’d broken the kitchen table. When he’d touched the rainbow-colored shrimp he’d felt the same surge of energy, of power.

  He looked up, focusing on the shoal floating all around him. He reached forward again, touching another. This time when he touched the creature he did not flinch at the strange sensation, like a bolt of electricity moving between them. And this time, a piece of information popped into his head as if physical contact with the animal had dragged it from the depths of his mind. It was the name of their species: peacock mantis shrimp. He’d read all about them once on a trip to the library. He could recall with vivid detail the entire chapter of the book he’d read, about their marvelous ability to see parts of the rainbow imperceptible to the human eye, about how they were extensively studied by scientists due to their ability to see circularly polarized light.

  Oliver withdrew his hand suddenly and at once the images faded. But the information did not, as if it was now seared into his mind, transferred photographically from the pages into his memory. It occurred to him that this information could be the missing link needed to succeed in creating invisibility.

  All at once, Oliver gasped and opened his eyes. It was dawn. He was back in his bedroom, slumped over the desk where he’d fallen asleep while working on the coat.

  He felt very strange indeed, with the lingering feeling of his power still crackling through his veins. He stared at his hand, at the pointer finger that had connected with the shrimp, overwhelmed by the experience of having information implanted into his mind from seemingly nowhere.

  His mind repeated what had happened in his dream, trying to understand. It had felt like more than just a dream. The powers that had been conjured during it were still inside his body. He could still feel them. Certain his magic powers had brought him the inspiration to help him solve his quandary, Oliver leapt up.

  He paced his room, mulling everything over. Odontodactylus scyllarus was the scientific name of the peacock mantis shrimp. He’d read it before, recently though, not just years ago in the library. Oliver clicked his fingers as he suddenly realized where he’d read the name. Armando’s study! The book he’d pulled from his shelf had been entitled Odontodactylus scyllarus.

  Oliver hurried out of the room and down the corridors. Of course, he immediately found that he was lost. He just couldn’t remember all the twists and turns of the factory, all the staircases and rooms coming off of rooms. Where had the library been?

  He felt like he was just running in circles, when at last he saw Horatio. The snoozy bloodhound seemed to be the only thing that stayed in one place in the whole factory, and once again he worked out where he needed to go in relation to the spot where the dog was dozing.

  At last, he found the library. And there was the book Odontodactylus scyllarus, sticking out from the shelf from where Armando had removed then replaced it, like some clue from the universe.

  Oliver snatched it up and began reading as quickly as he could. The passage on circular polarization was dense and difficult for even Oliver to fully decipher, but the important thing was that it was all about altering perception. Just like how the eye needed to be deceived into thinking it was looking at nothing in order to achieve invisibility, changing the circular motion of an electromagnetic wave just enough would create the same effect.

  He sat back, feeling giddy from the revelation. But his joy was short-lived. Even if he invented electromagnetic-wave-disrupting spectacles, they’d need to be worn by the person viewing the coat in order to work, since the process only worked in the way the eyes processed the information.

  Unless… unless there was a way of creating a sort of current that ran along the surface of the coat, one that pulsed out electromagnetic waves that were already circularly polarized!

  That was it!

  Oliver jumped to his feet, his mind working a mile a minute as he hurried back to his room. Even though he got lost several times on the way it didn’t matter because his mind was so busy frantically sorting through the theory, unmuddling the puzzle pieces in his mind.

  At last he returned to his desk, snatching up the coat. He’d already been halfway there with his design. He already knew the wires would be needed to create the electromagnetic wave, he’d just failed to make the link between how disrupting them could trick the eye of the beholder.

  Though the final step was theoretically complicated, in practical terms it just involved hooking up two opposing currents. After his periscope test, preparing a motherboard for a simple current was now remarkably simple for Oliver. Then it was just a case of tweaking everything until the currents were in perfect oppositional sync.

  As dawn gave way to morning, Oliver finished his task. He sat back and admired his handiwork. With the thinner wire he’d only been able to sew a small square of fabric. But this time he was absolutely certain he’d done it, that he’d solved the mystery of invisibility.

  Filled with anticipation, Oliver placed his hand under the lamp. Then he held his breath and very carefully, very slowly, laid the small square of fabric upon it.

  Sure enough, before his very eyes, a small square in the middle of his palm disappeared from sight.

  Oliver yelped and drew back. It was an instinctive reaction to a bizarre experience. His mind couldn’t comprehend how part of his hand had disappeared, even though he knew exactly how the science added up. It just seemed far too much like magic for his poor mind to accept.

  His yelp must have alerted Lucas, because suddenly he appeared at the door. He was holding a tray with a plate of toast upon it.

  “I hope you got a good night’s sleep,” he said roughly. “I’ve got some work for you to do today.”

  Oliver was on such a high from his invention he couldn’t conceal the enormous grin on his face.

  “What are you smiling about?” Lucas challenged. “We’re going to be very busy today. It’s hard work. Tough. You think that’s funny?”

  Still grinning, Oliver shook his head. “Is Armando back?” he asked politely.

  Lucas looked suspicious. His eyes darted to the messy desk, the open textbook, and all the additional electronic components Oliver had been working with.

  “Yes. Why?” he said with narrowed eyes.

  Though Lucas wasn’t the person he wanted to get validation from, Oliver couldn’t help but blurt out his achievement.

  “Because I did it! I invented invisibility!”

  Far from looking impressed, Lucas glowered.

  “Show me,” he snapped.

  Oliver was still so thrilled by having solved it, he readily showed Lucas the square of fabric under the light, and the way it made a matching see-through square in the palm of his hand.

  “It buzzes,” Oliver explained, “because of the current, which is a bit of a giveaway. So there’s still work to be done. But in terms of solving the first hurdle, well, I’ve done it.”

  He still couldn’t quite believe he’d solved something that had elud
ed inventors for so long.

  “Huh,” Lucas said. “Well, hand it here then. I’ll give it to Armando. He doesn’t want to be disturbed this morning. His day was very stressful yesterday and he’s tired.”

  Instinctively, Oliver tightened his fist around the square of fabric. “I’d like to show him myself,” he refuted.

  Lucas sighed loudly. “Look, boy, I need you on the factory floor. There’s some sweeping to be done. I promise you I’ll show this to Armando as soon as he’s free.”

  “Sweeping?” Oliver asked, disgusted.

  “Yes,” Lucas replied sternly. “Factory work is forty percent inventions and sixty percent cleaning up the mess.”

  Oliver was caught in a bind. On the one hand he didn’t want to disappoint Armando by not doing the work that he was actually assigned to do, but on the other hand he really would much rather spend the entire day sewing another tiny square on the invisibility coat than sweeping the floors!

  “Come on,” Lucas pressed.

  Finally, with some reluctance, Oliver stood and headed for the door. Lucas stopped him at the threshold, hand outstretched, palm up.

  “I think you’re forgetting something,” he said.

  The invisibility fabric. Oliver still had it clenched in his hand. The last thing he wanted to do was hand it over to Lucas.

  “I can keep it safe myself,” he said. “I’ll show Armando as soon as he’s ready.”

  Lucas didn’t budge an inch. Oliver realized then that it wasn’t up for discussion. Lucas was taking the fabric whether Oliver wanted him to or not. With a heavy sigh, he held out his hand and dropped the fabric into Lucas’s palm. Just as before, a little square of invisibility appeared in the middle of his hand, making Oliver blink with the illogicalness of it.

  Lucas turned the current on and off several times, staring as the patch of invisibility appeared then disappeared. Finally, he shoved the whole contraption in his pocket.

  “The broom is in the kitchen,” he said, his lips twitching into another one of his sly smirks. “I’m taking a break. When I get back, I want the factory floor spotless.”