Mark dropped back in his chair. Beaten.
“Yeah.”
“Then whatever unpleasantness has transpired between you and Mr. Mitchell is immaterial. You both signed this contract, therefore you are forever joined together as principals in the…” He looked at the paper through half-glasses. “What is it you call yourselves? Ah yes, the Dimond Alpha Digital Organization.” He looked up at Mark over the paper and continued, “I have no idea what that signifies, nor do I care. What I do know is that between having signed this letter of intent and receiving our advance payment, your company has given Keaton Electrical Marvels the sole right to develop the technology you have created and named ‘Forge.’”
Mark wanted to scream, but he knew it wouldn’t do anything more than make him look silly. He and Courtney were in the large London office of Mr. Iain Paterson, president of KEM Limited. The company that was going to bring about the ruin of Halla. Of course, Mr. Paterson had no idea of that. As far as he knew, all he had done was license an impossible new technology from two teenage American kids that he hoped would revolutionize the electronics industry. He had no way of knowing that one of those kids was actually a demon who had manipulated Mark into igniting an explosion of technology that would change the future of Earth, Quillan, and Ibara. It was not the way things were meant to be. But Mr. Paterson couldn’t know that. Mark wished that somehow he could explain it to him. Maybe then he’d destroy Forge. More likely, Mark thought, he’d have him sent to an asylum for the impossibly strange.
“I must admit, I do not understand your position,” Paterson continued. Mark thought the guy was pretty arrogant. He wore a dark tweed suit with a vest that had a gold watch chain dangling from the right pocket. He held his head high and pointed his chin at whoever he was speaking to. “Why the sudden reluctance? Don’t you relish the opportunity to change the future of the world?”
Mark shot Courtney a glance. Paterson had no idea how true those words were.
“Or four worlds,” Mark muttered.
“Pardon me?”
“Look…Iain…pal,” Courtney interjected. Paterson visibly stiffened. He wasn’t used to having a young girl treat him so informally. “If you develop Mark’s technology, he’ll sue you. Simple as that. Do you really want to go through all that? Hmm?”
Paterson snickered. It was Courtney’s turn to stiffen. Snickering irked Courtney, especially if it was at her expense.
“It is most unfortunate that Mr. Dimond feels that way, but rest assured we are confidant in our legal position. A letter of intent was signed. Monies have changed hands.”
“We’ll give you back the money!” Mark exclaimed.
Paterson snickered. Again. Courtney stiffened. Again.
“We don’t want your money,” he said flatly. “We want Forge.”
Mark took a desperate gamble and said, “Well, too bad. You have the plans, but I’m the one who made it. I destroyed the prototype, and I don’t think you can duplicate it. You don’t have the know-how.” Mark looked at Courtney with renewed hope. “It’s true,” he exclaimed to her. “They won’t figure out how to build it!”
Another snicker from Paterson.
“Stop that!” Courtney demanded.
“Please, come with me,” Paterson commanded as he got up from behind his immense mahogany desk. He strode quickly across the stuffy office, opened the heavy wooden door, and gestured for Mark and Courtney to follow.
Courtney whispered to Mark, “Why do I think we’re not going to like this?”
They both got up and followed Paterson along the wide hallway of the headquarters of KEM Limited. Along either side of the corridor were glass cases filled with odd-looking devices that were on display as if in a museum.
“These are some of the projects we’re developing here at KEM,” Paterson explained.
One case held a series of six colorful cups.
“Plastic,” Paterson explained. “Durable, lightweight, inexpensive. Someday the majority of simple, everyday items will be molded out of plastic. Incredible, no?”
Mark and Courtney exchanged looks. They continued on until they saw a case that contained a round glass screen that looked like an ancient TV set. On the screen was an animated character that looked to Mark like a black-and-white version of Bugs Bunny.
Paterson commented, “Someday moving images will be broadcast into homes the way radio is today.”
Courtney sniffed. “Not exactly plasma quality.”
“Plasma?” Paterson asked, intrigued.
Mark winced. He feared that Courtney had just given Paterson another idea that was way ahead of 1937. He changed the subject by asking, “What’s that?”
In the next case was a small machine that looked like a tiny, old-fashioned record player complete with a small black three-inch vinyl record.
Paterson explained, “We feel that miniaturization will be key in developing future technologies. This small phonograph can be easily packed into a suitcase and transported anywhere. In the future, entertainment will no longer be restricted to the home or theater.”
Courtney laughed. “Nice. Put that thing on a chain around your neck, and you could run with it.”
“Why on earth would anyone want to listen to music while running?” Paterson asked, again intrigued.
“What do you want to show us?” Mark interrupted, changing the subject again.
“You have theorized that we would be unable to read your schematics and duplicate your work. Observe.”
Paterson pointed to the next case in line. What Mark and Courtney saw inside made them deflate. Lined up on a purple velvet pillow were six small items that looked like identical blue eggs.
“Are those what I think they are?” Mark asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew.
“Try it for yourself,” Paterson answered.
Mark called out in a clear voice, “Square.”
Instantly all six “eggs” writhed and morphed into six perfect squares. There was no mistake. It was Forge. Six times over. The people at KEM had succeeded in re-creating Mark’s prototype, proving they had the know-how.
The early dados had been born.
“You see, young sir,” Paterson said, proud of himself, “we are quite capable of reading and duplicating your plans. My suggestion to you is sit back and enjoy the spoils of your incredible invention. You are the father of a technology that will revolutionize our lives. You should be proud.”
Mark felt a lot of things. Fear, anger, embarrassment, frustration, confusion, and above all, nausea. There was a lot of nausea going on. Nowhere on that list was the feeling of pride.
Mark and Courtney left Mr. Paterson and took “the lift” (as they called the elevators in London) down to the lobby of the small office building. Waiting for them when they stepped off were Mark’s parents and Douglas “Dodger” Curtis, the feisty bellhop from the Manhattan Tower Hotel in New York City who had helped Courtney track down Mark. Dodger had become their guide to the territory, helping the aliens from Second Earth maneuver through the strange world of 1937.
“Well?” Dodger asked enthusiastically as soon as he saw Mark and Courtney.
The look on Mark’s and Courtney’s faces was all the answer they needed.
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Mark said, defeated. “We knew destroying the prototype didn’t change anything. It was dumb to think we could have talked them out of developing Forge. I’ve been doing a lot of dumb things lately.”
“Stop,” Mrs. Dimond said. “You couldn’t have known any of this would happen.”
“I got played, Mom,” Mark shot back. “I did everything Saint Dane wanted.”
“And it backfired on him,” Mr. Dimond added. “The Travelers beat his army on Ibara, and now he’s trapped there.”
“Yeah,” Mark said, sounding even more depressed. “Along with Bobby.”
The group fell silent.
“So what do we do now?” Courtney asked.
Nobody was sure of what to say
, until Mark finally spoke. “I think we go home. Back to New York. That’s where the flume is.”
Dodger offered, “The Queen Mary sails back in a couple days. I can book us return passage if I get a move on.”
“Can’t we just fly?” Courtney asked.
“How?” Dodger countered. “You got wings?”
Mr. Dimond observed, “I don’t think there’s regular air service across the Atlantic in 1937.”
“You mean people fly across the ocean on Second Earth?” Dodger asked. “Like taking the train?”
“Yeah,” Courtney said. “You get free pretzels, too.”
Dodger whistled. Courtney wasn’t sure if he was impressed by the idea of regular air service or free snacks.
“Do it,” Mark said confidently. “We should get back.”
“I’m on it,” Dodger declared, headed for the door. “Meet you all back at the hotel.” The little bellhop tipped his hat and was gone.
“We’re all tired,” Mrs. Dimond declared, always the mother hen. “We should get some rest.”
“You guys go,” Mark said. “I want to walk a little.”
“I’m coming with you,” Courtney declared.
A few minutes later Mark and Courtney were strolling along the southern border of Hyde Park, the massive expanse of green grass in central London. They looked like any other couple from 1937. Mark wore a dark gray suit with a fedora cap and a wool overcoat to ward off the November chill. Courtney wore a dress and a cream-colored overcoat. She even wore high heels and stockings. To her it was a costume for their meeting with Paterson. She didn’t think a stiff British businessman would take her seriously if she wore the pants and floppy wool hat she’d bought at Macy’s in New York. Turned out it didn’t matter.
The two had grown up since their adventure began when Bobby Pendragon left home to travel through the territories. They were now both seventeen…and felt around a hundred. They walked together along the sidewalk, their minds a million miles away from their bodies. For the longest time neither said a word. They walked past Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and on to the Houses of Parliament, where the famous Clock Tower with the bell known as Big Ben rose into the sky. Both stopped to look up at the immense tower in awe.
“Wow,” Courtney declared. “I had no idea. They should call it ‘Really Big Ben.’”
They continued along the river Thames until they reached Westminster Bridge. But their walk wasn’t about sightseeing—it was about taking time to think. Finally, on their way back toward Hyde Park, Courtney broke the ice.
“You know, maybe it’s a good thing we couldn’t stop KEM,” she offered. “At least now we know how things are going to play out. Technology on Earth is going to change. The dados are going to be created, but Bobby is going to beat them on Ibara. That’s all good, right? Who knows what might have happened if we’d stopped Paterson and his KEM geeks? We might have started a whole nother chain of events and Saint Dane might still be in business.”
“And Bobby might not be trapped on Ibara with him,” Mark muttered.
“Yeah, that,” Courtney whispered softly. “But it was his choice, Mark. He ended the war. Halla is safe from Saint Dane. Who knows? Maybe that’s the way it was supposed to be.”
“This is my fault,” Mark said.
“Stop!” Courtney shouted quickly. “You had no idea you were being manipulated. It’s not like you set out to invent something that was going to change the course of Halla. Come on!”
“I should have seen him coming,” Mark muttered.
“But you didn’t! Just like a whole lot of people all over Halla. What about me? I was fooled too, remember? Whitney Wilcox? Hello?”
“Except when you got fooled, it didn’t start a chain of events that changed the future of a bunch of territories and created a war.”
“Details,” Courtney said quickly.
“Really bad details.”
“Okay, so it led to a war, but it was a war that Saint Dane lost! Look at it this way, maybe he blew it. The way things have worked out, by getting you to invent Forge, Saint Dane set up his own defeat on Ibara. Now he’s trapped there. It backfired on him, Mark. Maybe you’re the hero in this whole thing!”
Mark stopped walking and looked directly at Courtney. “Do you really believe that?”
Courtney wanted to shout out, “Yes!”
She didn’t. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But it’s possible, right?”
“Let’s go home,” Mark said. “We’ll have plenty of time to figure things out on the boat.”
“I can’t believe we’ve gotta get on that tub again,” Courtney complained. “It’s nice and all, but it’s still just a floating hotel. Talk about claustrophobia.”
They had reached the Royal Albert Hall, the large round brick concert hall. Behind it was the small hotel where Dodger had found them all rooms.
“I want to walk a little more,” Mark said. “On my own.”
Courtney nodded. “Don’t be long. The sun’ll be down soon, and it’s getting cold.”
The two of them hugged.
“We did okay, Mark,” Courtney added. “Bobby would be proud.”
Mark didn’t respond. He wasn’t so sure he agreed. Courtney left him, headed for the hotel. Mark turned the opposite way and entered Hyde Park in the area known as Kensington Gardens. The trees were alive with autumn colors. Kids played pickup games of soccer. The air was turning colder, and Mark had to button up his coat to fight the chill. It was a beautiful day. Mark stood in the middle of a wide, grassy area and did a three-sixty to take it all in.
He had a moment. A brief moment. In spite of the fact that his best friend had sacrificed himself by destroying the flume so he couldn’t leave Ibara, and in spite of the fact that he felt embarrassed by having been duped by Saint Dane, Mark allowed himself a moment to think that the sacrifices might actually have been worth it. Saint Dane’s evil quest might be over. Halla might be safe. He even had the hope that they might have the chance to recapture some semblance of a normal life.
It was a great moment.
It didn’t last long.
“Hello, Mark,” came a familiar voice.
Mark spun quickly to see a woman standing near a thick oak tree, her hands shoved into the pockets of her long wool coat, her feet set apart defiantly.
Mark froze. The moment of bliss passed as quickly as it had arrived.
“You don’t seem all that surprised to see me,” Nevva Winter said.
Truth be told, Mark wasn’t.
In his heart, he knew he had been kidding himself.
He knew it wasn’t over.
FIRST EARTH
(CONTINUED)
The two stood facing each other. Mark didn’t want to talk to Nevva. She was a traitor. She was the enemy. What he wanted was to turn and run away. He didn’t. He didn’t want to show weakness.
“It’s over, Nevva,” Mark said, trying to sound as if he meant it.
“Is it?” Nevva asked while raising an eyebrow.
Mark thought that Nevva was beautiful. She had dark hair and flawless skin. Mark didn’t know how old she was. Maybe in her early twenties. Like Courtney, she wore a dress and overcoat that were stylish for 1937. When he first met her, she’d taken his breath away. Mark wasn’t used to dealing with beautiful women, especially women who were trying to bring about the destruction of all that existed.
“Where’s Saint Dane?” Mark asked, though he knew exactly where the demon was. On Ibara. Trapped with Bobby. Mark didn’t know if Nevva knew. He wanted to be cagey.
“You don’t know?” Nevva asked as she slowly approached him. “He’s trapped on Ibara.”
So much for being cagey.
“You must have heard,” Nevva continued while glancing at Mark’s Traveler ring. “Surely Bobby told you that he buried the flume on Ibara under tons of volcanic rock.”
“He might have mentioned something about that, yeah,” Mark said, trying to sound casual. He had given up on
cagey.
“Walk with me, Mark,” Nevva said with a small smile. She turned and took a few steps. Mark didn’t budge. Nevva stopped and looked back at him. “We need to talk.”
“Why should I talk to you?” Mark barked angrily. Casual wasn’t working for him either. “All you’ve done is manipulate me and cause us all grief.”
“I understand,” Nevva replied with sympathy. “But if you don’t, your grief will only reach new depths.”
Mark got a chill. The woman was heartless.
“Shall we?” Nevva said with a smile as she continued walking.
The last thing Mark wanted to do was follow the woman, but he willed his feet to move. The two strolled through the park, looking every bit like a normal couple enjoying the chilly autumn afternoon. Mark wondered if anybody could tell that every muscle in his body was so tense he felt as if he might snap in two.
“It’s a beautiful park, don’t you think?” Nevva asked.
“Do you really want to talk about the p-park?” Mark shot back. He winced when the stutter came out.
“Nervous?” Nevva asked with a chuckle.
Mark hated it when his stutter betrayed him. He thought he had it beaten, but it still snuck back at the worst possible times.
“No,” Mark said adamantly.
“Really? You should be.”
Mark tried not to react. He wanted to be cool. He wanted to be in control. He wanted to be able to handle anything Nevva had to throw at him. Or at least give that impression. He didn’t think he was doing such a hot job.
“Go home, Mark,” Nevva commanded. “Enjoy your life. You can’t do anything else for Pendragon. He chose to stay on Ibara. He wants nothing more to do with the plight of Halla, and neither should you.”
“That’s it?” Mark asked sarcastically. “That’s all you wanted to say? You want me to go home and pretend none of this ever happened?”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
Nevva smiled, but Mark saw no warmth. He knew she wasn’t concerned about his peace of mind.