Chapter Four

"Cousin, look!"

Larry walked over to the television–which was extremely large yet flat–and smiled down at Balki. "What is it?"

"Over six-hundred channels! You could watch television forever!"

Suddenly, Larry leaned over the back of the chair and blinked. "I've seen that guy on TV before, but where?"

"I don't know where. I must have gone to the bathroom and missed him," Balki replied.

"The show you are watching is called The Bronson Pinchot Project," R.O.B. informed them.

"Balki, that guy doesn't look familiar to you at all?" Larry asked.

Balki quickly turned off the TV in boredom. "Nope. Never seen him. Cousin, what you find in the future?"

Larry grabbed his friend by the wrist and showed him something on a nearby desk that resembled a smaller television. "This little computer is like a tiny encyclopedia! I can look up whatever I want to on it by typing it in that box at the top," he said excitedly.

"Cousin, will it tell us of Mypos? I want to know what has changed since nineteen-eighty-six!"

Larry smiled. "I'm not sure, but I can try it."

"Fabulous! You look while R.O.B. shows me where the bathroom is. I want to see how plumbing had changed!"

"You do that," Larry clapped Balki on the back before returning to the small televised encyclopedia. He couldn't believe that he was ready to jump right back in the egg and go home when there were so many amazing things and devices in the future! "Okay, Mypos; let's see how the sheep herding business is," he mumbled as he typed in the small Mediterranean island.

Suddenly, the image changed to reveal a news article dated in two-thousand-ten.

"Mypos–now known as Atropo–was a small Mediterranean island known best for its sheep-herding and farming. In two-thousand-eight, a group of settlers calling themselves Ky-Dels took over the island, forcing the Myposians off their land and re-naming it Atropo. The land is now known for its tourist attractions, such as mega-million dollar casinos and elaborate stage shows. 'Atropo is working to become a foreign version of Las Vegas,' Atropo's mayor Liki Bopado stated in an earlier interview…" Larry stopped reading and ran his hands through his hair nervously. How on Earth could he tell his best friend that the land he called home and his family were completely gone?

"Cousin, you are not going to believe this, but R.O.B. show me the bathroom and says all the plumbing is motion-aggravated! The toilet flushes by itself and the sink faucet drips water without me turning it on! What you find about Mypos?"

Quickly, Larry turned the televised encyclopedia off and stood up. "I tried looking it up, but I think it's broken. Maybe we can try it later," he lied. "Why don't you watch some more television and I'll let Bianca know her–thing–needs repairing."

Balki looked at Larry puzzled before he nodded his head and smiled. "Okay."

As soon as Balki began his endless channel-surfing, Larry dashed to the other side of the house and into the garage like a madman. "Bianca!"

Bianca was working inside the egg, lying underneath the blinking dashboard. When she heard Larry's call, she shot up, hitting her head. "Ouch. Larry, what's wrong?"

Larry helped her to her feet and stared at her, panic-stricken. "We've got to go back home now!"

"Why? What happened?"

"I was looking up things on your encyclopedia computer thingy–"

"It's called a laptop and the encyclopedia is called the internet–"

"Laptop, internet, whatever! Balki asked me to look up Mypos and I did! Bianca, Mypos doesn't exist anymore! It was taken over by some tribe called the Ky-Dels! We have to get out of here as soon as possible. He's asking me what I found and I don't have the heart to tell him! I can't tell him! What are we going to do?" Larry said, his voice cracking from the sheer anxiety.

"Larry, calm down! Call Balki down here and I can send the both of you home. I worked out the problem I had earlier and now he doesn't have to know."

"You did?" Larry asked.

"I did," Bianca smiled.

"You did?" he repeated, sounding more hopeful.

"I did! " Bianca laughed.

Larry laughed along with her and hugged her with relief. Thank God for great news!