Ken gave the salesman the address, and was informed the items would be delivered the next day.
The last stop was at a bedroom store where she purchased some expensive sheets, comforters and blankets.
“What, the ones I bought aren’t good enough?” Ken muttered.
“Not for someone of my status and tastes.”
“You mean bratty and vain?”
“Hey! Who are you calling bratty!?”
Ken had to load everything into the car. It was hard to see out of the back window on the way home with all of the boxes and bags.
“You didn’t have to buy everything today.”
“You shouldn’t put off until tomorrow what you should do today.”
“I think that’s supposed to refer to something important.”
“Those things are plenty important.”
* * *
While Ken and Natalia were out shopping, the other tenants were at home, keeping themselves occupied. Katrina was eating a strawberry while watching TV with Alisa. Cassandra and Angelica were in their rooms, taking a nap.
Suddenly, Katrina stopped eating and looked up and around. It was like she had noticed some sort of odd scent in the air.
Three low-sounding beeps came from a watch-like device on her wrist.
Alisa looked around. “What’s that sound?”
It repeated.
Katrina per her strawberry down, and pressed a button on the device.
“What’s that?” Alisa asked.
“It detects changes in space-time within a five mile radius.” She looked at the some numbers on the device. “Just like I thought. It looks like there’s a ripple in space-time very near here.”
“Ripple?” Alisa repeated.
“Yeah. Like something’s playing around with the space-time field. Let me check with the higher-ups.”
She pressed a few buttons on the wrist device, and a small screen appeared in mid air. A moment later, a man’s face appeared on the screen.
“Cataloguer Fareblood. What can we do for you?”
“I’m at the junction A16TNK345B11—” Katrina stopped, took a deep breath, and continued, “—11Q5488IHJ73. I was wondering if you could check something out on this area for me.”
“What would that be?”
“I just detected a space-time ripple in my vicinity. Could you double-check that for me?”
“One moment.”
The man face disappeared, and then came back not long after.
“Cataloguer Fareblood, the ripple has been confirmed. Please see if you can obtain any more information.”
“Understood.”
Katrina switched off the device, and the screen disappeared.
* * *
Outside of Ken’s house, a portal opened in the driveway, and Silver stepped out. The portal quickly closed behind him. He glanced around at the surrounding yards, and behind him, across the street.
Satisfied that no one had seen him, he took a more leisurely look at the house and smiled nostalgically. “Boy. It’s been a long time.”
He walked toward the side door. It was at that time the door opened, and Alisa and Katrina were ready to exit. The both stopped the stranger.
“Hello!” Katrina said.
“Hello, Katrina. Is Ken here?”
“No. He was kidnapped to do some shopping.”
Silver glanced over to Alisa. “Hi, Alisa.”
“Hi,” she replied, cautiously.
“Um,” Katrina said, “how do you know our names?”
“Oh, I know a lot about you two. My name is . . . well, people called me Silver.”
“Silver? Because your hair?”
“Yes.”
Katrina eyed him oddly, and then shrugged.
“Was that you just a little while ago?” Katrina prodded the man.
“About what?” Silver smiled.
“The space-time ripple. I can sense something around you.”
Silver chuckled. “Guess I can’t hide anything from a Cataloguer.”
“Are you a manipulator, too?”
“Yes. I’m a Coordinator.”
“Wow! A real Coordinator!” Katrina exclaimed ecstatically. “Are you from Onemill like me?”
“You could say that.”
It was about that time when Ken and Natalia pulled into the driveway, back from their shopping trip. Ken, understandably, looked with suspicion at the unknown man.
He got out of the car and approached Silver.
“Can I help you?”
Silver looked at him, and if nostalgia could be shown on someone’s face, it would have been on his. He only did it for a moment, and recomposed himself.
“My name is Silver.”
“Silver?”
“He’s a Time Coordinator!” Katrina said.
“What’s a Time Coordinator?” Natalia asked.
“I’m going to second that,” Alisa added.
Silver kept looking at Ken.
“What can I do for you?” Ken asked him.
“It’s not what you can do for me. Rather, it’s what I can do to repay you.”
“I’m not following. Have we met before?”
“To me, yes. Maybe not from your perspective, but if you can believe it, you helped me out in my past.”
“The past?”
“Well, that would your future, though.”
Ken started humoring him. “So, you’re a time traveler?”
“Not specifically, but that’s one of the things I can do.”
“And you’ve come to help . . . me.”
“That’s right.”
Ken thought. “Going to tell me some winning lottery numbers?”
“No.”
“Show me where there’s buried treasure?”
“No.”
“Are you going to change my past?”
“No.”
“Then pray tell, how are you going to help me? You’ll have to forgive me for not believing in this ‘my future’ story of yours, or coordination, whatever it is. I just don’t see how you’re going to help me.”
Silver nodded, solemnly. His staff appeared in his hand.
“Sorry, Katrina, Alisa, Natalia.”
Natalia’s eyes went wide. “How do you know—”
She was cut off when Silver tapped the bottom of his staff on the blacktop of the driveway. In a split second, Ken saw everything take on a blue haze.
It was suddenly colder. Ken looked at his tenants, and saw everyone had stopped, except him and Silver.
“Did I catch your attention?”
Ken didn’t have a response. His mouth opened to give some sort of comment, but nothing came out. He only swallowed, concerned for his tenants, and what this individual had in store for them.
Silver shook his head. “Oh, don’t worry. They’re not hurt. I just had to stop time a little.”
Ken stepped back. “What . . . are you?”
“Like Katrina said, I’m a Time Coordinator.”
Ken took another step back. “What do you want with me!?”
Silver took a step forward toward him and grinned. “I already told you. You helped me, so I’m here to help you.”
“I still don’t believe you.”
“Yes, that’s natural. I mean, it really is unbelievable to have someone tell you that they’re from the future.”
“Right.”
“What if I was to prove it to you? I know a lot about all of you here now, and those that will be.”
“There will be more staying here!?”
“Kinda, sorta. You’ll see when the time comes.” Silver took another step forward. “Tell me, Kenaeth Adam Goldwrite, what did you think of Peter and Nathan?”
“What are you talking—”
He stopped. He had heard those two names before. But from where?
Then he remembered the dream he had, of that weird library.
&n
bsp; “It wasn’t a dream, Ken. It was one-hundred percent real. It will play a role in things to come. I really wish I could tell you more.”
“What do you want?”
“My, you’re more persistent than I remember. For the third time, I want to help you.”
Help, from a time traveler? Taken from Ken’s perspective, a strange guy appears out of nowhere, states he’s from the future, and wants to help him. Of all people in the world, he wanted to help Ken?
“I don’t need any help.”
“You will, and soon. I’m here to preempt that need.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
Silver grinned again. “Basic training.”
“Training? In what?”
“To be a Coordinator like me, and how to manipulate space-time.”
Ken looked at Silver like he had lobsters crawling out of his ears.
“Ken, that’s the only way. It’s not a game. It’s not a lie. It’s not fiction. They will be coming for you and me soon.”
“They!? Who are they!?”
“In a word? Antagonists. They’ll want both of us. Why? Because of what we can do, and because of one other thing. And that is, we have both been to that library.”
“And why is that so important?”
“You and I are special in that we are some of the few people in history who have been there. I’m sure you realize the harm that could be done if someone of less than altruistic motives would get access to it.”
“Peter said that only certain people have access to it. How could that happen?”
“Oh, you’re able to allow others into the Library. Well, maybe I should say ‘show them the way.’ You see, just because you have the key to a door, it won’t do any good if you can’t find the door.”
“Is it really that special to be able to get to the Library?”
“Yes. But it’s not only that, Ken. You are a person who has a unique signature that makes it easy for you to manipulate space-time.”
“You mean, changing time and so on?”
“You can do that, but it’s more like manipulating reality.”
“Reality?”
“That is the basis of space-time. There is much you can do, but a lot you shouldn’t. You’ll learn more as we start our training. I wish I could tell you more.”
“You said that already.”
“Did I? I’m sorry. I’m still concentrating on keeping this ‘temporal pause’ up.” Then he added, “You won’t be able to save them if you don’t.”
“Them? Is something going to happen to people I know?”
Silver pointed toward his tenants.
“Is . . . something going to happen to them?”
“Perhaps. But I only know what happens when you accept, not if you decline.”
There was Alisa, simply looking on; Katrina, with a smile; and Natalia, with a look of surprise. Silver had stopped time while Natalia was in mid-question.
Ken was trusted to look after them. He didn’t want anything to happen to them. He promised to himself that nothing bad would happen to anyone else he knew ever again.
No one else would have to die again if he could help it.
He said, almost instinctively, “What do I have to do?”
He was surprised at his own question. A time traveler? Space-time? Coordinator? Something was going to happen to his tenants?
There was a man standing in front of him, spouting a bunch of nonsense, and relating it to his tenants. But a small part of him was intrigued, begging to know more. If something was going to happen to his tenants, didn’t he have a duty to prevent it, if possible?
Silver nodded once in Ken’s direction. “We’ll start tomorrow. We still have some time.”
The blue faded, and everyone returned to normal.
“—my name!?” Natalia continued.
Apparently time had stopped, since Natalia continued from where she was interrupted.
“I know everyone here. Quite well, in fact,” Silver replied, as if the conversation between he and Ken had never occurred.
“Then what’s my favorite food?” Katrina asked.
“Strawberries,” Silver answered.
“Bingo! And what’s my favorite thing to do?”
“Perch on Ken’s head.”
“Correct! Wow, it’s like you’re psychic!”
“By the way, Alisa, have you set up the spatial expander to your room yet?”
After a surprised look, she smiled. “Not yet.”
“Wait,” Ken interrupted. “What is she going to do with her room?”
* * *
“What are we having?” Silver asked.
Ken was pouring coffee into a dispenser on the counter. “I don’t know. Probably spaghetti. And I guess I should ask: you’re not living here, right?”
“No way am I going to be living here. I’ll just go home when I need to.”
Cassandra, who had not let go of her sword, was eyeing Silver suspiciously. Angelica just shrugged when she met him, and went about what she was doing.
The real reason Cassandra was so suspicious was something about a birthmark on an interesting part of her body. Even when prodded, Silver was unable to confirm the exact location, as he was under the threat of having his neck ventilated.
Angelica was more than happy to show her birthmark off – much to everyone’s embarrassment.
Boing.
* * *
Ken woke up the next day. He showered, put on new clothes, and opened the door. He could see into Alisa’s room. She was sitting on the floor, working on some sort of mechanical project.
He stood there, remarking to himself that her room was far more spacious than he remembered. It had to be a hundred feet from the doorway to the window on the opposite side.
A hundred feet?
Ken tore down the stairs, and dashed outside to look at the side of his house in the area of her room.
It seemed completely normal.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Making his way back to her room, he asked two obvious questions.
“What did you do to my house!? Specifically, what did you do to this room!?”
She pointed to a cylindrical object about two feet tall next to the door. It looked somewhat like a futuristic lamp, with a small lampshade. It was humming, and glowing on and off with a sea-green light.
“It’s a spatial expander. It emits a low-level gravity field that alters spatial coordinates in closed-off areas such as this room. That’s why this room is bigger.”
“What happens when the power goes out?”
“That won’t be a problem. It’s a miniature fusion reactor.”
Ken took two steps back into the hallway. “Fusion . . . reactor . . . ? It’s nuclear!?”
“It has a standard output of one-point-twenty-one giga-watts. But don’t worry. It will last for fifteen to twenty years.”
“That’s not what I’m concerned about!”
Katrina fluttered down the hallway, her hair disheveled, and bags under her eyes. “Can you two please keep it down? I had a long night.”
“Sorry,” Ken said.
Katrina yawned, and went back into the living room.
Once she was out of view, Ken continued in a lower voice. “Don’t make any other weird things while you’re in this house! And we really need to talk about any other quirky equipment you have.”
“I’ll make a list.”
Ken put his right hand up to his head. A headache was coming on.
Wonderful. She was going to make a list.
* * *
Ken, Katrina and Angelica arrived at Matilda’s shop. Angelica decided to tag along, as she had finished her preparation for starting work. Cassandra and Alisa decided to remain at home to do the last of theirs.
Matilda had been expecting them. She had everything set up, including clothes
, furniture and a doll house. She had set up a little boudoir-screen and gave the first outfit to Katrina to change.
Even for a guy who knew nothing about dolls, or architecture, or even art in general, he was impressed with how detailed the doll house was. It looked like something that would be seen from an overhead shot in a movie. Half the house opened, showing all of the rooms. Ken looked closer.
“These bathroom sinks aren’t made of real porcelain, are they?”
“You’ve got an observant eye,” Matilda commended him.
Ken whistled, amazed at the degree of detail that went into it. “This thing must have cost a fortune. How much did you pay for it?”
“It’s actually a family heirloom. My grandfather was a doll and dollhouse maker. But he only made five of these before he passed away. Three were given away to friends and business associates, while I got two of them. I sold one of them to start this store.”
“I’m done!” Katrina said from behind the screen.
“Let’s see,” Matilda said.
Katrina stepped out from behind the changing screen. She was dressed in a Victorian style dress, complete with hat and umbrella.
“You look adorable!” Matilda and Angelica exclaimed in unison.
“That you do,” Ken agreed.
Katrina blushed. “Don’t stare so much. You’ll embarrass me . . .”
“You’re so cute!” Matilda squealed.
She must have put holes in the back of Katrina’s clothes for her wings, since they were poking out.
“So, shall we start?” Matilda asked, picking up her digital camera.
And so started about an hour of taking pictures of the doll-sized Katrina in various outfits and from several angles. She was very photogenic, and was always smiling, showing everyone a pure, vibrant side of her.
Ken would glance over to them now and then to make sure nothing funny was going on, but Angelica was there to also keep an eye on things, so he took a long look around the doll shop. He didn’t have an interest in dolls – his sister did – but he had to admit everything in the shop was well made. Everything from the dolls, to the clothing, to the accessories. Even the doll on the far shelf that was moving.
Moving . . . ?
He walked closer to a shelf near the far wall that had three dolls on it. Two looked identical, and the third was a little different from the other two, just the way the face looked. He peered even closer, but found nothing out of the ordinary, and assumed it was his imagination. He shrugged, and went back to the dollhouse.
It really was exquisite and he wished he had that kind of artistic talent.
“Okay. How about you change into the blue one?” he heard Matilda say.
“Okay,” Katrina replied.