"It took a while, but here we finally are, Chicago, 7 June 1893. And there is the Ferris wheel. Shall we take a ride?"
Kate offers her arm to Jeffrey. He takes it. Together they walk up to the Ferris wheel. They find it's standing still. There is a crowd watching it, but no one in it. Is something wrong? Kate checks the omni, the light is green.
"There's George. Maybe he can tell us more." Jeffrey points.
"Kate. How nice to see you again."
"We thought we came to see if you succeeded in proposing the wheel to the exhibition people. You must have, it's here, but we see it's not running."
"No, we were a bit late assembling the whole thing. We're doing some trial runs today, and in a few days we will open for business."
"That's too bad. We won't be here anymore in a few days time."
"You can be the wheels first passengers. Come, we were just getting ready for another trial run." Ferris leads them to one of the cars. "Just take a seat anywhere. You are in for a treat."
"These are the little perks that make all the hassle worthwhile," Jeffrey says as the wheel starts moving.
"I don't think we've had much hassle so far."
"No, so far not much. So things can only get worse."
"Well, right now they're moving up." Kate smiles.
When they reach the top, the wheel stops.
"When do you think they'll call us home?" Jeffrey asks. He looks over the rail into the depth below. He used to love Ferris wheels and roller coasters as a kid. They have lost a little of what made them exciting: there is no roller coaster ride like voyaging.
"I'm surprised they haven't already. How long have we been gone? Three days. Someone must have noticed we're gone. Even if only Dad." Kate is holding on to her seat with both hands as the car rocks slowly in the wind. "I don't understand why they haven't called us back. They like you, so, I imagine they would want you back, and I'm sure they rather not have me bouncing around time. You may not know this of me, but I'm considered a bit of a loose cannon."
"I noticed when you pushed Columbus into the water."
"It got the job done."
"Yes, it did. Nice shade of green you're turning into, by the way. 'Fraid of heights?"
"Nope, it's this wind and the depth below me I don't like." Kate tries to give herself an air of thoughness by crossing her arms, but she quickly changes her mind and grabs hold of her seat again. Jeffrey chuckles. "Leave me alone or I'll make good on my promise of pushing you."
"That's what I've been meaning to ask you: isn't there anything in the Voyager Code about not trying to drown figures of historical significance, or break their necks?"
"You're not a figure of historical significance."
"I meant Columbus."
"Columbus can swim. That's how he ended up in Portugal in the first place. He shipwrecked six miles of the Portugees coast and then he swam to shore."
Jeffrey chuckles. He knew that of course, but it is nice to be around someone that can match his knowledge of historical trivia.
"The wheel is moving again."
The Ferris wheel completes its full turn. Kate and Jeffrey get out of their car.
"I thought you youngsters might like to enjoy the view from up there a little longer. How was it?" Ferris asks.
"I haven't really noticed any view." Kate tries to take a few deep breaths to relax her stomach.
"I expected you hadn't. Well, Kate, Jeff, I want to thank you for all your help. Especially you Kate, you are a woman after my own heart."
Kate laughs. "It was great working with you, George. I had a lot of fun."
"If you ever change your mind about becoming a teacher, you come and see me. I could hire you as one of my engineers. You could help me design more of these big wheels."
"Thank you, that's very kind."
Ferris extends a hand to Jeffrey. "Take care of her, you hear, she is a prize."
"I will." Jeffrey smiles.
------
"The Colombian Exposition was ..." Jeffrey starts.
"Is," Kate corrects. "We're at the Columbian Exposition now, so it is. If we still had been at that beach you could have said was."
Jeffrey gives her a questioning look.
"It's about tenses. You shouldn't refer to something that is happening now as if it happened in the past. Even if it did happen in the past for you."
"I guess English is not a very suitable language to use when you're talking time-travel." Jeffrey runs a hand through his hair. "Let me go on to say that the Columbian Exposition is held in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World. It is the first world fair with a separate area for entertainment. There is a zoo, funhouse mirrors, a wax museum, the Ferris Wheel, of course, and even a belly dancer from Egypt. All located here along the Midway Plaisance. Actually, Midway will become the common term for amusement areas at fairs, all named after this one.Or can't you say will either because it implies uncertainty, and we know for a fact that it is gonna happen?"
"No, I think you can use will, even if it does imply uncertainty, which I don't entirely agree with. But from this point in time on there's always something that can go wrong, requiring a Voyager to come by and give it a push in the right direction. Please, continue your story I won't say anything about the tenses anymore."
"You can be quite annoying, you know that."
"Just me?" Kate tries to sound surprised. "I'm just mentioning the tenses because they go wrong so many times among Voyagers."
"If you'd ask people what would be the main difficulties of time-travel I don't think any of them would list grammar."
Kate chuckles. "Probably not."
"There are some 200 buildings at the exposition, of which the Electricity Building was, is thought the most impressive. We could go there. Or we could go to see Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show. Unless you object to the Wild West so much you also don't want to go to shows about it."
"No, fine with me. Let's go there tomorrow. We could see the whole exhibition, but first do something about food and sleeping arrangements."
"I'd love to." It's been a while since he's eaten. "But, I don't know about you, but I don't have any money." Jeffrey pulls out the insides of his pockets to show he's flat broke.
"Well, let's see what we have here." Kate pulls a wallet out of her pocket and opens it.
"Where did you get that?"
"There was a man; he had it in his pocket."
"You stole it." Jeffrey sounds and looks accusingly.
"You're looking at me like that is some kind of crime."
"It is a crime."
"Yeah, I know that." Kate tries her best at a puppy dog guilty face to see if that can win her back Jeffrey's sympathy. When that doesn't seem to work she adds "doesn't mean you have to look at me like that."
"That class Bogg teaches, Basic Survival Skills, you must be getting top marks there." Wasn't there something in the Voyager Code too about steeling?
"Perfect score." Kate takes the money from the wallet and puts it in her pocket. She bins the wallet.
"Your Dad must be so proud."
---------
After their meal Jeffrey and Kate study the advertisments for hotel rooms. They end up in a place called The Castle and take two rooms on the second floor. The receptionist at the front desk apologizes that the rooms aren't nearer to eachother; they are so crowded with tourists. She asks them to pay for their rooms in advance. In the previous month several tourists have disappeared without properly checking out and paying for their rooms. Kate sees no problem in this and puts the cash on the counter. They receive their keys and go up the stairs.
The second floor hall is narrow and winding and has many doors. It takes them a while to find their rooms. They say good night and turn into their respective rooms. Despite the receptionist's claim the rooms are pretty near.
Jeffrey opens the door to his room and turns on the gas lamp. He immediately gets an eerie feeling about the room. There's no window in it for one. He goes back to Kate's room. She answers his knock on the door quick enough, but she's not happy to see him. She's half undressed and ready for bed.
"There's no window in my room," Jeffrey starts.
"Is that a slang term for bed?"
"No, a window with glass so you can look out of it."
"We're here to sleep, not look out of windows. Do you need a window to sleep?"
"No, on the plantation I always slept in a hut that didn't have a window or a bed. That's not the problem. I just had expected better from a hotel."
"This is not a luxery hotel; this is a tourist trap. You get what you pay for: the bare minimum. A bed to sleep in and a door to close. I suggest you do both and not wake me up again until tomorrow morning. If you're afraid of the dark you should sleep with the light on. 'Night." Without further ado Kate closes the door. Jeffrey knocks on the door again. Kate doesn't open it, but tells him through the closed door, "We have a green light here. We can sleep safely. Now, go to bed."
Jeffrey does as Kate has told him. He goes to bed, but leaves the light on. That doesn't help to shake the eerie feeling off. There is something about this hotel that bothers him. It's not just that his room hasn't got a window. How can there be so many doors in the hall way? He stares at the ceiling and the spooky shadows the gas light throws on it. It takes him a long time to fall asleep.
--------
A man sneaks into Kate's room through a secret door. He carefully closes the door, trying not to disturb the sleeping woman. He goes round the room in search of valuables. He tries to be quiet, but he makes a noise which wakes Kate up.
"Is that you, Jeff?" She scrambles out of bed to turn on the light. She hears the soft breathing of a person standing in the room with her. "This isn't funny, Jeff."
The man throws a scarf round her neck and pulls it tight. Kate claws at the garotte, to no avail. She looses consiousness and her body goes limp. The man picks her up and carries her off to another room.
