Sliding Into Antar
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One Good Turn…
Chapter 41
XLI
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Max walked forward and stood facing his Aquarian double for a moment, then he smiled… "I know I speak for all of us from the ship when I say thank you. You've made this an extraordinary visit. I wish there were some way we could repay all your kindness properly."
The Aquarian Max gave his double a satisfied grin then turned and watched as some of the children, including his and Liz's, ran through the palace lounge yet again chasing Jung-Jo, who was enjoying the romp through the underwater palace as much as the children were enjoying chasing him. None of the Aquarian children had ever seen a pawgor… or any other kind of land animal for that matter. Jung-Jo was a completely new life form for them. But he had taken no time at all to grow on them.
"You could leave that incredible pet here," the Aquarian Max said with a smile. "The children would be in seventh heaven."
Max smiled and raised one eyebrow slightly. "I'm afraid if I returned to our Antar without Jung-Jo my own children wouldn't let me back into the palace… I would have to get Jung-Jo back before they would ever talk to me again."
The Aquarian laughed.
"Oh, I'm sure that's not true," the Aquarian Liz said, "I know your children must miss you, too. And Max was kidding. He knows you can't leave one of your crew behind."
Max smiled. "He is like one of the crew, actually. We've gotten so used to him being underfoot all the time."
"Yeah but he's a great foot warmer," Liz added, putting her arm around Max cheerfully.
Max and his double both jumped, as Jung-Jo trotted through again, this time with the Aquarian Michael's youngest daughter, Serina, who appeared to be little Jayyd's double, holding onto his tail and giggling hysterically as Jung-Jo pulled her around through the palace. And the other children were not far behind.
"Actually, I might not be able to get much work done if he stayed," the Aquarian chuckled. "The thing is, Liz and I… and Michael and Maria… and Isabel and Alex… and Tess and Kyle… all grew up on earth, so we've seen land animals before. These children have never even seen a dog or a cat… or a bird. For them to actually get to play with a real land animal, one that hasn't existed here for a hundred thousand years, is worth every Kyrin I may have to pay for that little shopping trip."
"Um, I don't know," Max said, "Some of us can get really carried away when we're spending someone else's money."
The Aquarian Michael laughed.
"It must have been weird for you," Liz from the New Granolith said, turning to her Aquarian double, "Coming from earth to a water planet and living under the sea 24/7."
The Aquarian Liz smiled and put her arm around her Max tightly. "Yeah, it's different. But I never really questioned it. If Max had lived in a volcano… I guess I would have jumped in with him."
Liz from the ship nodded and smiled understandingly.
The Aquarian Michael looked at his Maria. "Would you have followed me if I lived in a volcano?"
"Sure," Maria said, teasingly, "If it was a dead volcano and if I was dressed in a fireproof suit just in case." She looked into Michael's eyes, and a grin slowly spread over her face… "I followed you here, didn't I? I guess I'd follow you just about anywhere, Spaceboy."
Michael smiled.
"When we came here," the Aquarian Liz said, holding her hands up for everyone to see, "Their doctors offered to give us the same webbing that Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess have now… right here between their fingers. But Maria and I decided not to change. Some day we may go back home for a visit, and Mom would freak if I had webbed hands. The idea of her little girl going to live under the sea… never mind on another planet… never really took with her."
"And your dad?" Liz asked.
The Aquarian Liz smiled. "He just wanted to make sure that Max would take good care of me… and keep me happy."
"I had to put it in writing!" the Aquarian Max said.
Liz looked surprised. "You mean you guys have never been back home since you came here… even once?"
Her double shook her head. "The factory at Chanesio is working on a large, intergalactic ship for us, but it's still at least two years from being finished. Max doesn't trust the ships we have now to make that kind of voyage. They're getting kind of old."
"Most of them were built around the 1930's or 1940's, earth time," Max said, "They're sixty to seventy years old now… some of them may be even older. I don't intend to lose Liz in space. Jeff would kill me!"
Max from the New Granolith smiled.
"I wish Liz's spheres worked here," Michael said, shaking his head, "They only work in our own dimension. If they worked here we could send you home for a visit in the blink of an eye."
"Spheres?"
Michael nodded. "In our dimension, we found these four spheres on a little moon off Jupiter. This guy named Shaqor, from a far away planet called Xarius, gave them to a girl named Maya when they were still both very young… twelve or thirteen thousand years ago, and she left them on that moon. Anyway, it turned out that Maya was a very distant ancestor of Liz's, and the spheres responded to Liz."
"What do they do," the Aquarian Liz asked.
"One of them opens a portal to anywhere you want to go… well, almost. It'll take us to earth and back or to another planet… or even into the past, but not into another dimension. Otherwise, we'd be home already. Another one is like a protector thing. Another one lets you see things that are somewhere else. And the last one helps you find things that are lost."
"So, let's see if I have this right," the Aquarian Isabel said, "With these spheres, you can find something, then ask to see it, then go get it, and if there's danger, you'll be protected."
Michael nodded. "Well, the sphere of protection has to be asked to protect you… and the sphere of the portal… the one that takes you places… kind of doesn't like me, I think. If I ask to go somewhere, sometimes I step out into a river or something; and if I ask it to take me to someone, I may find myself in the bathroom with them or in some other embarrassing situation… unless I'm really, really specific with my instructions."
"Michael learned how to be very specific very fast," Liz said, smiling, "I let him use my spheres once to go on a long trip."
"Do you have these spheres with you now?" the Aquarian Max asked.
Liz shook her head. "I don't need them. I just have to call them. They work wherever they are… but only for me or for someone that I authorize to use them… and only in our own dimension."
The Aquarian Max looked at his own Liz… "It's possible that these spheres exist here, too, in our dimension. They may be on that moon."
"But we would still have to wait until the ship is ready in order to go there and find them," Liz said.
Max nodded.
"Maybe not," Michael said, "If Maya in this dimension was related to your Liz, and if she left her spheres on that moon, maybe your Liz could call them."
Liz from the New Granolith looked at Michael, and her jaw dropped. "Michael! That's a great idea! They could go home anytime they wanted then!"
"That's what I was thinking."
"Hold out your hand," Liz said to her Aquarian counterpart. "Ask for the sphere of the portal."
The Aquarian Liz did, but nothing happened. After trying a second time, she gave up…
"It's either not there or it doesn't respond to me, I guess."
"I'm sorry," Liz said, "It seemed like a good idea."
Michael closed his hand into a fist and groaned dejectedly… "Lousy sphere! I can get over ours dumping me in a river. It's got a twisted sense of humor. But you don't even care what happens to Liz!"
"This isn't our dimension," Liz reminded him softly, "Maya may have never existed here. There may not be any spheres here."
"I know," Michael grumbled, "But…"
As Michael spoke, the air in front of him shimmered momentarily, and a portal appeared. No one was more surprised than Michael…
"It came! You did it, Liz! You do have the spheres in your dimension!"
"I am not of this dimension," a voice from within the portal said, "I came because you called me."
"Me?" Michael asked, "You mean… you're our sphere… from our dimension?"
"I am."
"I thought you couldn't function in another dimension."
"I cannot."
"Then how are you…?"
"I cannot function here… in the way that I was designed… but I never said that I could not appear."
Michael looked at the portal. "So you can't take them to earth… or take us back home?"
"I cannot."
"So you just came to torture us?"
"Torture is not a part of my personality."
"Personality!" Michael exclaimed, "Is that what you call dumping me in the river when I asked to be taken to one of my children?"
"He was in a boat… on the river. There was no room in the boat for you. I obeyed your request. I took you to him. You did not wish to sink his boat did you?"
"Yeah, well… I guess… but you seemed to enjoy it a bit too much."
The sphere did not reply, and Max snorted. "It does have a sense of humor!"
Michael scowled. "Yeah, well, it wasn't you that stepped through and fell into a river on another planet, Max!"
"Why ARE you here?" Max asked.
The portal seemed to shimmer for a moment, and Michael feared that it was about to leave…
"No! Don't go!"
"I was not going; I was calculating. I cannot function in this dimension, but the spheres of this dimension exist, and they can."
"Well, they don't seem to want to answer," Michael said, " So I don't guess they'll do us any good."
"They cannot hear you."
"What do you mean?"
"I checked on the spheres. They are in the cave on the moon off Jupiter… just as I was in my dimension. But in this dimension, a meteor has destroyed the cave, and large parts of the meteor lie near the wall where Maya hid the spheres, deep underground. Something in the meteor is preventing it from hearing anyone call."
Michael nodded. "Then it can't help us. They would have to go there and dig it out… when their ship is ready in two years… Just how do you HEAR anyway? I've always wondered about that."
"The word 'hearing' is not accurate. No word exists for the way we perceive. It is a connection with a mind that we are in tune with. But there is another way that the sphere of the portal in this dimension may function for them. I can relay the call. Right now, it does not come, because it cannot perceive the one calling."
"Then it could take them to earth?"
"Yes."
"And bring them back?"
There was a pause. "Only if I relayed the message again."
There was a long silence. "Listen," Michael said at last, "You didn't take all that stuff I said before seriously, did you… about the twisted humor and torture and all?"
Michael could almost feel the sphere's satisfaction. "It is okay. Being offended is not part of my personality. There is much that you do not know about us. We have the capacity for… enjoyment. But we are loyal. I would never let Liz fall into a river."
"Oh, I'm so lucky!" Michael exclaimed, "I'm special!"
"In a way," the sphere replied.
"So, listen… would you, you know, be willing to relay messages if these people want to visit their families on earth sometime? And would you answer their call to relay a message when they're ready to come back?"
"I belong to Liz… and to Maya and Shaqor. One of them will have to ask; if they ask, I will do it. Liz gave you permission to call me, but she needs to give permission for anyone else."
"I do!" Liz said excitedly.
"You will have to give me your instructions," the voice from the portal said, "I will convey them to the sphere in this dimension. You will not be able to talk to the portal when it appears… nor it to you."
"Is this safe?" the Aquarian Max asked, "I mean, if the sphere here can't hear us, is it possible that it might not be able to bring us back?"
"It is functional in every way except perceiving your thoughts," the portal said.
"I'll go now!" the Aquarian Liz exclaimed excitedly. "I want to see Dad and Mom. Would you ask it to take me to the CrashDown… on earth… in Roswell… New Mexico?"
The portal disappeared. Fourteen seconds later, another portal appeared.
"Are you… our portal?" Liz asked.
There was no response.
"Liz," Max said with a worried expression on his face… "Maybe I should go with you."
"It'll be fine, Max. I'll be back in an hour… or two. Three at the most."
The Aquarian Max looked at his double.
"It'll be fine," Max said. "If it doesn't bring her back, we'll go get her for you in the New Granolith. It would take about a week, round trip. But the spheres have always been dependable. If ours believes that the one here can function normally, I think we can trust it."
The Aquarian nodded then hugged Liz and kissed her… "Take care of yourself, Liz."
"I will. I'll be back before you miss me."
"Not possible."
Liz smiled then stepped into the shimmering ether of the portal and disappeared.
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Jeff Parker wiped the sweat off his forehead again and stuck a spatula under each one of the burgers on the grill, deftly flipping them over. Since Michael had left, Jeff had gone back to doing most of the grilling and cooking himself… but he had to admit that he sometimes missed Michael, even now; Michael certainly had a way with rush orders! Jeff sighed and turned around to look for the buns. Finding the package, he laid four buns out on the grill and pressed them down slightly for a few seconds then scooped them up and flipped them onto platters. Then he laid the burgers on them and added the particular accoutrements and fixings that made each one whatever it was that had been ordered. Finally, after a quick look to make sure that everything was exactly what had been ordered, he picked up the tray and carried it to the service window, ringing the bell for a girl to pick it up.
Jeff barely looked at the girl with the antennas on her head and the alien-themed apron as she smiled and picked up the platter. But when he turned back around to prepare the next order, something flashed in his mind… the face… the smile. For a moment, Jeff's heart stopped. He was sure of it. He spun around and gazed through the window at the girl who was placing the orders on the table. A second later, Jeff flew out of the kitchen and across the dining area and scooped Liz up in his arms, spinning her around and around, to the surprise… and apparently the delight… of all his patrons.
"Liz? Omigod! When did you get back?"
"Just a little while ago. I came straight here."
"You hear that?" a girl at a table nearby whispered to her companion. "She just got back into town and first place she comes is to the dinah to work."
"Yeah, but they really, really appreciate the girls here. Ernie throws me a apron an' sez 'Hope ya had fun. Now get yer arse back to work.'"
"The other girl chuckled. "If Ernie had you in his arms, it'd be cause youse broke somethin' and he wuz takin it out in an equal number of yer ribs." She smiled and sighed, as she watched Jeff spin around and around with Liz in his arms, tears streaming down both of their faces. "But if Ernie looked like this guy… and treated me like that… I could cut him a lot of slack."
"I think you better set me down, Dad," Liz said, "The customers are staring."
"Let them stare. Come on. I want to hear everything. I'll get Marge to cover for me here for a while. Let's go upstairs."
Jeff put Liz down then took her by the hand and walked briskly toward the CrashDown's lounge, where Marge was taking a break. A few moments later, they were upstairs in the apartment.
"Nancy! Nancy, I have a surprise for you! Where are you?"
Nancy came out of a back room, with a handful of books. When she saw Liz, she gasped, and the books fell precipitously to the floor, as she rushed to her daughter, hugging her, kissing her, and crying. After a couple of minutes, she leaned back and looked Liz over…
"Is Max taking good care of you, Dear?"
"Funny! I thought Dad would be the first to ask me that. Yes, he's taking very good care of me, Mom! And before you ask, Yes! I'm happy! Very happy!"
Liz looked at her mother again. "You're not disappointed, are you, Mom? You thought I left him and came home to live?"
Nancy smiled and hugged Liz again. "No, of course not! Though it would be great if you lived here again."
"I'm a grown woman, Mom. Grown women get married and move out of their parents' house."
"But not off of their planet," Nancy said, giving Liz another kiss.
Liz grinned. "Okay, you got me on that one. But I'm really happy. You have to believe that!"
"Where is Max?" Jeff asked. "Are the others here, too? Are Maria and Michael here?"
"I came by myself this time, Dad."
Jeff looked at Liz, and his eyes seemed to widen… "By yourself? Did you have a pilot?"
Liz shook her head. "I didn't fly. Well… actually, I'm not exactly sure what it was. I stepped through a portal and I was just here." Liz proceeded to tell Jeff and Nancy all about their visitors from the other dimension and about the strange sphere that talked… and the one that had brought her here.
"You see, if this works like it's supposed to, we can come here any time at all to see you, just by stepping through the portal."
"But it sounds like you took a big risk," Jeff said, "I'm surprised Max didn't stop you."
"He wanted to come with me, but if something didn't go as planned and the sphere didn't show up to take us back, I didn't want him to be stranded here, too. He's needed there."
"You mean that could happen?" Nancy asked. "You could be stranded here… with us?"
Liz smiled. "Mom!"
"I was just wondering. I didn't mean I was wishing it."
"Well, Max… the one from the other dimension… seems to trust his sphere a lot… I mean, Liz's sphere. It actually belongs to her. And this one, we think, will respond to me once we find it and dig it out of the cave it's buried in on a little moon off Jupiter. But that's at least two years away. Until then, I have to call my double's sphere and tell it where I want to go, and it passes along the information to my sphere."
"Kind of like a booking agent, huh," Jeff said with a grin.
Liz laughed. "A lot faster, though! And a lot less hassle! You know what this means, Dad? You guys could come see us!"
"In an underwater world?" Nancy protested, "I'm not too sure about that! I never liked being enclosed. I can't see myself underwater."
"That way you could see your grandchildren," Liz said, dropping the bombshell.
For a moment, there was silence, then Nancy sat down, pulling Liz down beside her on the sofa. "How many? How old? Boys or girls? What are they like?"
"I'm not sure I have enough time, Mom. I kind of promised Max I'd come right back. He's worried about me coming here alone."
"He should be!" Jeff said.
Liz stood up and called the sphere of the portal from the other dimension; and in seconds, something began to happen in the room. The air shimmered, and something resembling a large, borderless mirror that one might easily get sucked into and be lost in stood in front of them. It was the portal. Liz looked at Nancy then at Jeff. "I could send you back here in a few hours… or whenever you're ready to come back."
"Wait a minute," Jeff said, picking up the phone beside the sofa and dialing a number hastily…
"CrashDown Café! Marge speaking!"
"Marge… would you close up for me tonight? I've got to go somewhere. I'll be back before opening time in the morning. There's a bonus if you'll do it."
"Sure, Mr. Parker. You have a good time. It's nothing bad, is it?"
"No… No, it's not bad. Thanks, Marge!"
Liz turned to the portal… "Would you ask my sphere to take the three of us to Max, where it found me before… please?"
The portal disappeared and another one reappeared in fourteen seconds, just as before.
"This would be our flight," Liz said, taking Jeff with one hand and Nancy with the other. "Are you ready?"
Both of them nodded silently, then Liz stepped into the portal with them by the hand.
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Max saw the air shimmer, and he knew that the portal was appearing. But what happened next was totally unexpected…
"Mr. Parker! Mrs. Parker! I… wasn't expecting you. Welcome to Antar."
Jeff smiled. "We wanted to see how well you're taking care of our little girl, Max."
"Very well," Max's double from the other dimension said for him. "Trust me on that!"
Jeff looked at Max's double then at the others. "This could take some getting used to, seeing two of you."
Max hugged Liz. "Did everything go smoothly? You're okay, right?"
Liz nodded, as she hugged Max back and kissed him… "I just stepped through. That's all there was to it. Smooth as silk."
Max looked at his double from the other dimension and held out his hand, a big smile on his face…
"Thank you! This is something we never, ever expected in our wildest dreams. It's going to change our lives so totally for the better."
His double from the New Granolith took his hand in his and smiled back…
"You know what they say… One good turn deserves another. We owed you."
End of Chapter 41
tbc…