/ Chapter 9 – The Ties That Lash /

Frank stood stunned in the kitchen, the ghost of his father's enormous presence still occupying the room, his final words still echoing through the house. A small part of him was happy that he could go, but the rest of him felt gutted. He'd known it wouldn't be easy talking to his father, but he never thought it would go this bad.

Caroline appeared next to him. They'd been so quiet that he'd hardly noticed her and Athena in the room as he talked to his father.

"It's all right, Frank," she said softly, placing her hand on his shoulder. The motherly gesture opened the floodgate of emotion and he couldn't stop himself from openly crying.

"I didn't want to leave like this," Frank said. "But, I have to. He doesn't understand. It's not about him or the farm. I have to do this. I can't be here. I can't be what he wants me to be."

"I know, shhhh," Caroline said gently. "It's going to be okay. I'd hoped it would go better, too. But yes, it's clear he isn't going to understand right now. But we can hope that someday he does."

She walked over to the kitchen table, picked up her teacup and Sam's coffee cup, and began washing them in the sink. Frank moved to the front kitchen window, staring outside to give himself a chance to calm down. Hearing the water splashing in the sink was soothing, bringing memories of his own mother doing dishes. Frank wiped his eyes, a little embarrassed at his outburst, though releasing the emotion had helped. He avoided looking at Athena, hoping she didn't think he was a sissy or childish. His father had nothing but contempt for people who were too emotional.

He could see the west field from the window, the main tractor stopped where his father had apparently last worked. He wondered if that was where his father had received Caroline's letter the prior day.

Caroline dried the cups and quietly placed them back in the cupboard where they'd come from. She turned to Frank and smiled at him.

"Frank," she started. "I'll just ask you one last time. Do you still want to go? You don't have to, and I'll entirely understand if you don't. And I meant what I said – the offer is always open. You can come later, if you wish."

"Yes," he said quietly, and then more firmly, "I want to go."

Caroline nodded. "All right. Go ahead and decide what you wish to bring. Focus on personal items, rather than clothing or other such matters. We can supply you what you need in that area. Would you like Athena to help you, or would you prefer to be alone?"

Frank felt that it was finally safe to look over at Athena, who was smiling at him, apparently happy that he was coming back with them. That lightened his mood considerably. "Sure," he said to Athena. "I have some more stuff up in my room anyway I could show you."

"I'd love to see more of your projects," she said, improving Frank's mood even further. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of her wanting to see the stuff he'd made.

"All right, let's go on up," he said.

They walked up the stairs, heading toward Frank's room at the end of the house. Pictures placed by his mother lined the hallway, the lifelong memories seeming to reach out and pick at his mind, wanting a final thought given to each one of them. No pictures had been placed since his mother passed away, however.

It was only a handful of days since he'd left for the World's Fair, but somehow everything had changed. The bonds of his old life were slipping off as he felt pulled toward the new life he'd dreamed of. A strange feeling of visiting the house rather than living there had already begun to settle into him; his real home felt back in Tomorrowland.

Walking into his room, he could see the usual mess that drove his father crazy. Athena entered as well, looking around curiously. Frank looked over his shelves, holding things from over his entire life. He could even see his old baby rattle pushed into a corner of a shelf, all the way up to one of his most recent projects, a shortwave radio that he's used to talk to people all the way across the world. He wouldn't take that, however. He doubted Tomorrowland would lack radios, as much as he liked his shortwave. And it was kind of heavy.

Opening up his closet, he rooted around until he came up with an old duffle bag, last used on a fishing trip with his father. He smiled slightly at that. Although he wasn't much of a fisherman, he'd actually enjoyed designing his own lures to see what would work. That was one of the few areas where his father encouraged him. For some reason, his wacky lures worked better for his father than for him. At least they'd had something they could do in common and even have fun together on these trips. Fishing let his father remember for a preciously short time that he was a man that could enjoy life and love his son, with no other expectations, worries or anxieties. Frank was glad that he'd found a good memory to have of his father before he left.

"I'll hold the duffle bag while you fill it, if you like," Athena said, startling Frank out of his thoughts.

"All right," he said, sighing. He'd probably be here all day if he didn't stay focused. He started moving around his room, taking a few things here or there. When he came across one of his more interesting projects, he gave a short explanation to her.

When it came down to it, there wasn't much he really needed. For most of his projects, his memories of them were enough. He felt like he mostly wanted a clean break.

When he got to his desk, he stopped and picked up the picture of his mother, with the smile that he'd always liked. "This was my mother," he said, handing it to Athena.

She examined the picture closely, almost meticulously, making him wonder what she found so fascinating about it. But she simply handed it back and Frank placed it in the duffel bag. "You look more like your mother than your father," she observed.

He smiled. "Yeah. Though I think I mostly got Pa's size, which he said came from his father. Everyone said my grandfather was one of the strongest farmers around. I'm pretty strong, too," he said casually, secretly hoping to impress Athena.

She looked over at him, examining his body up and down with a serious expression, making Frank blush. "Yes, your musculature does seem larger than average for an eleven-year-old boy," she concluded.

"Well, almost twelve," he said with a crooked smile. "But come on, don't tease me."

Athena seemed to think for a split second, then a smile replaced the serious expression. "I'm sorry, I didn't intend to tease you."

He shook his head, then laughed. "You crack me up. There something about you saying those things in that British accent."

She abruptly changed the subject. "What's this device?" she said, reaching out and picking up a small, wooden sphere, with various lines going around it.

"Oh, that's a puzzle," he said. "It comes apart into different-shaped pieces and then you have to put it back together."

She turned it around in her hands, examining it from every angle. "This is very novel; I've not seen one like it."

"Do you want it? I won't take it with me."

Athena looked up at him. She examined his face for several seconds, thinking. "You wish to give this to me? As a gift?"

Frank blinked. "Sure. If you want it," he said, fairly confused at her reaction, as though no one had ever given her anything before.

She again looked closely at him, then smiled charmingly. "I'm sorry, it's been an eventful day. Perhaps I'm acting oddly."

"It all right," he said, warming at her smile. "I'm probably acting weird, too. But yeah, the puzzle is yours, if you want it."

"Thank you, I do very much."

Frank went around the room, picking up a few things here and there that had some sentimental value, but mostly leaving things where they were. He went to his bookshelf and grabbed a few of the books that he'd found particularly useful, as well as his note journals, and also grabbed a few science fiction books that were his favorites. He didn't want to get too loaded down, though.

"Well, I guess that's it," he said, looking around the room.

Athena nodded and then pulled the drawstrings of the duffel bag closed. He reached out and took the bag from her, and put it over his shoulder. He took one final look at his room, and feeling himself getting emotional, turned quickly and walked out of the room before it got out of hand. He heard Athena gently close the door behind him.

They walked down the stairs back toward the kitchen, where Caroline was waiting.

"All set?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah," Frank said solemnly, taking a final look around the kitchen. "But one more thing."

He wanted to write a note to his father. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil off the counter and considered what to write. There were so many things he could say, but few words came to mind. Dear Pa, he finally wrote. Please try and understand someday. It's not you or the farm. Sometimes things just have to go a certain way. Maybe I'll fail, I don't know. I love you. – Frank

He read back the note. It seemed completely inadequate, but it was something, and he couldn't think of how to say anything better.

As Frank approached his front door, possibly for the last time, he saw an envelope sitting on the entry hall table, with "Frank" written on it. Apparently that was the money his father mentioned.

"Do I need money?" Frank asked Caroline.

"No," Caroline said. "But I'll just suggest you take it anyway. Although things didn't go how you hoped, that was a small gesture from him to wish you well. He'll be happier you took it than if you don't."

Thinking about it, Frank decided she was right and grabbed the envelope. He also saw an older picture of his father, mother and himself in a frame, also sitting on the entry table. He picked it up, studying the three of them. It was taken three summers ago, the last summer of his mother's life. They were at the annual 4th of July picnic in town. Ma and Pa looked very happy in the picture, with their arms around each other and Frank standing in front with a goofy grin and a corncob pipe in his mouth. He also thought that summer was the last one his father had been happy.

He decided to take the picture, stuffing into his duffle bag. He was glad he'd taken a picture of the three of them. He also hoped that would send a message to his father that he really did care.

Frank walked out the door, feeling a little numb with everything, though that felt like a better alternative to breaking down crying again, which he did not want to do. At least, not until he was safely by himself.

"Is there anything in your workshop you'd like to take?" Athena asked.

He considered, but then sighed. "No. I think it's either leave it all or take it all, and I don't want to take all of it."

He slung his bag over his shoulder, walking over to the car, deliberately not looking back at the farm. Caroline opened up the trunk and Frank put his duffle bag inside, though he kept his father's envelope in his hand. They all entered the car silently. He couldn't decide whether he preferred the current silence or if some talking would help, but he couldn't think of anything to say anyway. In the end, he just stared straight ahead as the farm and a lifetime of memories faded behind him.

Frank idly played with the envelope in his hand as he looked out the window. He finally looked down at it, drawing his curiosity about what his father had given him. He opened it and there were a number of hundred dollar bills, but he was stunned to see that there was a letter wrapping them up. He separated the money and put the bills back in the envelope. The letter sat in his hand, feeling like a bomb with a hair trigger.

"Pa put in a letter," he said to Athena next to him.

"What does it say?" she said.

"I haven't read it yet," he said. He glanced at her. "I'm kind of afraid to read it. Um, would you mind just reading it over and telling me if it's more of the same that we heard in the kitchen? I'll read it eventually, but right now, I don't want more of that. I doubt there's anything personal in there that you didn't already hear in the kitchen. I hope this doesn't sound cowardly."

"Of course I don't mind. And I understand perfectly," she said.

"Thanks," he said gratefully and handed over the letter. Athena skimmed over it quickly.

"I believe you would wish to read it," she said.

"All right," he said. "And thanks again."

Dear Frank,

I'm writing this before you get here, because I don't know what I'll say after. If you're reading this, then you decided to leave. I'm sure I gave you my whole speech about thinking you should stay. I said my piece. I'm disappointed that you left. But as you can see, not surprised. I know you have talent. I wish you'd use that talent on the farm. I won't lie about that. Maybe if it doesn't work out, you'll want to come home. I love you, son.

Your Pa

Frank slowly folded the letter and placed it in his lap with sigh. He turned toward the window, just watching countryside and memories of his life fly by. It certainly hadn't been all bad, and he wished he could have conveyed that to his father somehow. He just belonged in the future, and the farm was the past. Not that farms in general were the past – people had to eat, after all. Just his farm.

He finally turned toward Athena, who was looking out her own window. He found himself watching her, just thinking about what she'd done for him. She turned to him, and he felt a little embarrassed for staring, though he didn't think she noticed.

"Thanks for everything," Frank said, leaning forward in a low voice, not wanting her mom to overhear. "I know you got in trouble for it, but you changed my life. I don't even know why you did it, but just… thanks."

Athena smiled in return. "You're welcome. However, I believe it's very possible someday Tomorrowland may thank you for choosing to come."

He smiled, feeling very shy and embarrassed at a compliment like that. "I don't know about that, but thanks."

They both fell silent for some time, both watching the road and landscape move around the car. Frank stared forward, trying to feel excited about his future, but it was difficult with thoughts of his father floating through his mind and making him feel sad. He idly wondered how his mother would have felt had she been around. Would he still have wanted to leave? He was fairly sure he would, but it was hard to say what her reaction would have been. He'd like to think that she would have been happy for him, and Pa certainly wouldn't have been as bitter. He had a sudden urge to visit her grave before they left, but knew that wasn't practical. He was glad he had good thoughts of her before he left. That was enough.

He noticed Athena looking at him, but he was feeling so out of it that he wasn't sure what to say. He saw her reach down into a pocket and pull out the puzzle he'd given her. As she turned it around in her hands, he felt it was good timing on her part; it was a good distraction from his own problems.

He was amused watching Athena work on the wooden sphere. She continued to examine it for a few minutes from all angles before she even tried to push on anything, slowly turning it in her hands. He was actually very impressed with her methodical focus; she seemed to tune out the entire world and devote herself to finding the solution by working to completely understand it before she even tried to probe it. She was finally ready to try taking it apart, and it was fascinating watching her gently push on a few different spots, until she found the first piece slide out. After that, she had the puzzle apart in about five seconds, practically exploding into her lap.

"Wow, you got that apart fast," he said, smiling. "But the tricky part is putting it back together. It's usually a good idea to do it slowly so you can remember…"

Frank's jaw then dropped as Athena took the pile of parts in her lap and put the puzzle immediately back together, in less than another three seconds. He just stared at her; he'd never seen anything like it. It was as though she'd previously memorized how to put it together and practiced it over and over until she could do it as fast as possible.

Athena looked over at him, examining his face closely. She smiled at him charmingly. "Did I do it quickly?" she said, in almost a silly-girl voice.

"Uh, yeah… really quickly," Frank said, blinking.

"Oh, I just remembered how it went back together," she said in a casual, off-hand tone. "Since it had just come apart, I just reversed the order. It would be more difficult if it had started disassembled."

Frank was still finding it hard to process what he'd just seen, but her cute smile was distracting him – it was just another way Athena was amazing, and what else was new?

She reached over and lightly touched his hand. "Thank you again for the puzzle," Athena said sweetly, giving him a very warm, pretty smile, making Frank feel short of breath. "I like it very much."

"You're welcome," Frank said, very pleased that he'd made her happy, and further feeling at that moment that he'd happily give her anything he owned.

Athena suddenly changed the subject, the puzzle vanishing into a pocket like a magic trick. "I'm happy you're returning with us. Now you can learn all about Plus Ultra and Tomorrowland."

Frank felt whipsawed out of his charmed stupor as he suddenly realized that she was absolutely right. He could finally get the answers to the questions he'd been burning to ask, or at least get some of them answered, even if there were probably still things he wasn't allowed to know.

"Mummy?" Athena called to the front.

"Huh? What?" Caroline said, apparently off in her own world thinking about something.

"Would it be all right if I began giving Frank the history of Plus Ultra and Tomorrowland?" she asked.

"All right," Caroline said. "But the short version, because we'll be at the travel pod soon."

As Athena smiled and prepared to speak, Frank felt his heart start thumping in his chest, excited that he was finally getting some background on what the heck was actually going on.

"In 1889," Athena started, "four very influential people decided to form an organization to improve the world, based on cooperation, progress, science and technology, but without interference from the traditional forces impeding progress. The four founders were Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Jules Verne, and Gustave Eiffel."

"What?" Frank said, amazed. "You're joking!"

"I'm not," Athena said with annoyance, in a very British clipped tone. "And if you want to hear the story before we run out of time, you need to let me continue."

"Sorry," Frank said, abashed.

"They formed a secret society they named Plus Ultra and started with three questions. One, what is the best possible future for mankind? Two, how could they make it real? And three, how to make people accept it? Of course, they didn't entirely agree on the answers, but it was a starting point. They agreed to work together to find the right answers. Not long after, they recruited other members to join the organization. Some of the most famous names in history belonged, including very wealthy people who provided the significant financing needed."

Frank started to open his mouth, his lips forming the word "who," but then closed it again at Athena's warning look. He could probably get more background details later.

"A key breakthrough came in 1899 when Plus Ultra scientists discovered previously unknown electromagnetic signals coming from a different planet, very much like Earth. This would eventually become the primary location for Plus Ultra to establish their experimental society, and was named Tomorrowland."

"Wait, you're saying Tomorrowland is actually on another planet?"

"Obviously, since I just said that," Athena said irritably. "May I continue?"

Frank grinned, very amused at Athena, who apparently had quite a bossy streak when she wanted to use it. Of course, he had seen her bossy streak at the fair, when she'd prodded him to follow her group. "All right, but you can't just throw out traveling to different worlds and expect me not to react."

Athena sighed. "I suppose not, but I am trying to get through this before we reach the pod. So, in 1908, Plus Ultra launched an experimental rocket, which allowed several explorers to travel to the new world. They succeeded in opening a rupture in space through the use of nuclear detonations."

Frank began opening his mouth, but Athena interrupted him.

"Yes, they had nuclear technology far before World War II, which you could have inferred from my story. Continuing, in 1926, Tesla developed a particle-beam technology that made it much easier to travel to the new planet. They figured out that the rupture and particle beams caused space to contract, allowing large jumps in distance without violating Relativity Theory. These experiments were somewhat disastrous; a large amount of damage was done to the new world in 1928. You'll learn more about this in school," Athena said, apparently anticipating that Frank would want more detail.

"By 1937, travel was perfected. Automated robots had repaired the damage and Tomorrowland was habitable again. Further construction of the city began, which is still ongoing, as you saw. The population has been increasing since then, as Plus Ultra has recruited new members and new families who share the ideals," Athena finished.

"Can I ask a question now?" Frank asked, a combination of amazed at the story and amused at Athena, who somehow made bossiness a cute and endearing quality.

"Yes," Athena said, now smiling.

"What was the pin all about?" he asked.

"The specific pin I gave you is a key that is given to potential candidates to lead them to visit Tomorrowland and learn more about Plus Ultra. Some were handed out at the World's Fair to people who seemed particularly valuable. The pin has the symbol of Plus Ultra. The tower represents progress, and the three pillars are Inquiry, Wisdom and Optimism. Inquiry, to continue the pursuit of knowledge. Wisdom, to use it for progress. Optimism, to believe progress is possible."

"Those are exactly the ideals I believe," Frank said excitedly. "I knew this was the right place for me. But it's really a different planet? Does it have a moon?"

"Two, actually, Isaac and Albert…" Athena started, but just then, Caroline pulled into the parking lot of the shoe factory.

Frank felt a little strange, thinking that his time of living primarily on Earth was coming to an end. The idea that he would be living on another planet was… he didn't even have words for it. When Athena said there was a wall keeping the wildlife out of Tomorrowland, it never occurred to him it was alien wildlife.

His mind was still buzzing with the possibilities as they exited the car, Frank slinging his duffel bag over his shoulder. As they walked toward the side entrance, Frank felt layers of responsibility falling away. There was no more burden of having to continue the family farm, no more having to plow fields, fix fences, harvest crops or otherwise have to do the work he'd grown up with. He respected the work, but it was for people who loved that life. Not for him. He had other work to do.

A wonderful feeling of lightness infused his mind, like a large workshop that had just purged endless amounts of old bric-a-brac, freeing up room for creating new and exciting things. It was almost too much to imagine that he might at last have time to pursue his passions, and give them the priority they deserved. He knew he would still have to go to school, but even that thought excited him. This was a place that respected achievement and innovation, and he knew he could now learn what he'd been burning to learn.

He smiled as he took one last look at Earth. He was about to become an off-world citizen. Frank walked through the door and into his new life.

Author's Note: You know what would be an ideal way to celebrate Frank's new life? Leaving a review! :)

The official story site is at www. frankandathena .com for discussions of the story! - T.K.