Chapter 6 "First Contact"

The time-traveling duo had gone halfway to the food court when Calvin spied something interesting. Sticking out of a short ceramic barrel was the handle of something that looked useful.

Naturally, Calvin just had to investigate. He ran over and looked in. "Hey Hobbes! Look at this!"

"What do we have here?" Hobbes reached over and looked in. It seemed to be attached to something that looked remarkably like...

"A backpack! Cool!"

To Hobbes' surprise it did indeed look like a backpack. "How interesting. Looks like this mode of carrying things is still seen as useful."

"Take it outta there and put it on the ground," Calvin pleaded. His friend did so - whereupon they found it was bigger than it appeared. "My! Not one of those dinky kiddy-packs."

"Yeah! And look at all these things on the outside!"

The exterior of the backpack had more bells and whistles than a kindergarten orchestra. There were expandable-mesh pockets, long and thin pockets, hook and D-ring straps, and flaps with all manner of strange symbols.

"This looks expensive," observed Calvin. He ran a finger along the 'cloth'. It felt as tough as steel. "Heck - it even feels expensive."

Hobbes felt it. "Ooh. Seconded. Try it on for size."

Calvin went to put on the backpack and discovered it had four straps. There were the usual two that came up from under your arms plus two more: one that went around your chest and another around your waist. That wouldn't have been a problem, except that on Calvin's short frame they now went around his stomach and just below his knees.

"Uhh, Hobbes? A little help here? I can't even walk with this thing on!"

"Let's see what we can do about that..." He discovered that the crossways straps could be moved up or down by press-and-hold alligator clips. Hobbes attached it higher up on the shoulder straps, repeating the performance for the bottom one. "There now. How's it feel?"

"It feels okay...but...I think I see why this got thrown away, Hobbes." Calvin pointed to the left shoulder strap. It had snapped right in the middle. And for that matter - so had the other side!

"Bother." Hobbes examined the frayed ends. "And us without needle and thread. Now what?"

"Wait!" Calvin's face lit up. "Didn't dad know some kind of knot for this? I saw him tie up a broken fishing line once. Here, lemme see that."

Between Calvin's memory and Hobbes' skillful tying the two managed to repair the backpack. The straps were secured with serviceable fisherman's knots, and although Calvin looked rather odd with such a huge backpack, it was wearable. He stuffed the map into one of the many pockets - minus the page that showed their level.

"Okay...now where were we going? Oh yeah. The food court. C'mon!"

"Wait a second. Might it be wise for me to...ah...change forms before we run into people? We've been very lucky so far, but I highly doubt that we will be the only ones at a future cafeteria."

"Point. Go ahead, I'll carry you in my backpack."

Hobbes closed his eyes and let his front paws fall limply by his side. Before you could even see it happening, he was back in his stuffed-tiger form, sitting mutely on the sidewalk. Calvin carefully placed him in one of the larger compartments and set off at a brisk walk.

The path itself was fairly straightforward. Soon Calvin saw several pairs of brilliantly colored 'signs' above the walkway. He noticed that in 2100 rotating signs were still used for outdoor advertising - except that they floated in thin air between two thin metal rods.

But signs weren't all he saw - there were people! About time... From where he was Calvin could only see that many wore incredibly different kinds of brightly colored clothing. He heard the babble of distant voices that signaled a fair-sized crowd.

Calvin read the signs out of curiosity, even though their meanings were totally lost on him. 'ONLY ValuWrap vending machines used here!' 'All food products molecularly certified!' "Huh...I wonder what that all means?"

Not far ahead a sort of entranceway was formed by two pillars along either side of the walkway. As Calvin approached it, a pleasant blue glow came from the pillars and a melodious 'bing!' sounded.

A sudden bout of uncertainty gripped him. All those strange people...how did they talk? Was English still the spoken language? Were people in the future mostly nice?

For a few seconds the young time traveler simply stood at the threshold. Half of him wanted to turn and run. But the other half whispered to go on and see the sights and watch how people acted.

Finally he decided the internal debate. Calling on all the five-year-old courage he had, Calvin put on a smile and stepped through the entrance and into the crowd.

The interior of the food court was shaped like a large twelve-sided cylinder. Four sides were open entrances, including the one Calvin had just entered. The rest were divided into upper and lower halves. The lower half was dedicated to what looked to be vending machines grouped by what was in them. Above them were dozens of advertisments for a myriad of goods, none of which were familiar to Calvin.

As for the people, their speech sounded like English, but the vocabulary of 2100 seemed a little different. Pronunciation was different as well. Clothing seemed a tad different from Calvin's time: separate shirts and pants seemed to not be 'in' for the large part. Most wore some kind of jumpsuit colored a shade of green or red. All seemed to be wearing a thick silver armband - what they were for Calvin couldn't guess.

Calvin suddenly realized he was standing in the middle of the street and had the presence of mind to step out of the way while he continued to observe.

Gosh...what do I want to learn about? Normally he would have gagged at the thought of actually learning something. But Hobbes had once told him that 'if no one makes you learn, it counts as fun.' Calvin had taken those words to heart.

There was so much to look at! And so much to hear! Finally he decided to stand next to one of the machines and observe as he pretended to read his map. And that was exactly what the young boy did.

In short order a red-suited man in his mid-20's appeared out of the crowd and looked at the gigantic screen on the front side of the machine. After looking for a moment he pulled up glanced at the whatever-it-was strapped on his forearm.

Instantly his face contorted into a snarl. "Blix! Not enough!" Quickly he looked at something else on the screen and checked his arm again.

"Glitching blix! Still not enough! I hate that pincher! He never gives me back the chips I loan him!" Looking disappointed and angry the young man stalked off, muttering "can' even get a nutri-bar now..."

Calvin tried to decipher what he'd just seen and heard. His best guess was that someone had not returned money the man had loaned out. Words like 'glitching' and 'blix' sounded like futuristic swear words. The young time traveler made a mental note not to say either of them.

Someone else came up to the machine, this time a much older man sporting a pine-green jumpsuit. He calmly looked at the front of the machine and reached for his armband. With only a cursory glance he tapped out several buttons on a small keypad.

Huh. Must be like practicing typing on dad's computer...you know where the keys are without looking.

A few seconds after the last number was typed a soft chirp came from the armband. The man opened a panel on the top and dumped several small square objects into his left hand. Calvin peeked around the corner and watched as he gingerly inserted them into a slot.

What are those things? Coins? And why are they all square?

When all the 'coins' were inserted the man tapped a picture of something small and rectangular and purple. A muffled sizzling sound came from within the machine, followed by a thunk. On hearing this the man bent over and reached into a bin sticking out from the bottom. He pulled out something and walked away, fiddling with the wrapping on the item.

By now Calvin was more than curious. The machine he stood by was obviously some kind of vending machine - but what did it sell?

Replacing the map page in his backpack, Calvin leaned around the edge of the machine to get a look.

The first noticeable thing was an enormous 'screen' at least as tall as he was. It was divided into sections that moved ever-downward and vanished offscreen. Calvin watched long enough to notice the same things eventually came around again. I get it! That shows what you can buy here!

Eight items were displayed in all, but most had no description or explanation other than their picture. About the only 'text' anywhere was a series of strange symbols on the leftmost parts of the separate sections. Calvin touched one of them to try and trace the patterns with his finger. At once the pictures stopped moving, and the one he was touching flashed a gentle white.

A closer look revealed the symbols were in fact shapes spaced like letters. The ones by the thing he'd touched were a white circle, a white vertical line beside a red vertical line, and a multi-colored triangle. As Calvin studied them closer, a hand suddenly gripped his shoulder!

Calvin froze like a statue. Uh-oh! He quickly glanced back over his shoulder, fully expecting to see a grim-faced policeman.

Instead the young time-traveler looked into the face of a kindly woman. She wore a jumpsuit the color of wintergreen gum and looked about Roslyn's age..

"Hi there!"

"Uh...hi."

"Never glimmed you around here before. What's your tag?"

So 'glim' isn't a bad word...does she mean my name? He assumed she did. "Calvin."

"Anita."

"N-nice to meet you Anita."

She squeezed his shoulder and nodded to the machine. "My glad. You looking for a munchie or two?"

It took Calvin a moment to decipher her words, but he figured it out: she thought he was trying to buy something from the machine.

"Oh! Oh yeah. I thought I had enough...but I forgot to bring any money."

Anita seemed surprised. "This vender isn't expensive - don't you have any chips?"

So 'chips' are their money, huh? Calvin shrugged sheepishly and pointed to his backpack. "A million pockets and not a cent in any of them."

A pitying look crossed Anita's face. In a flash she tapped out something on her armband and dumped a small pile of the squarish chips into her other hand, inserting them into the slots like the other people had done.

The machine made the zapping-arcing noise twice, and two objects dropped into the bin below. Anita retrieved them and handed both to Calvin. "Here. Have a couple."

Calvin's eyes boggled. He'd been handed what looked to be two candy bars, each of which was as big as two King-size Snicker's bars side-by-side. "Whoa! These are huge!"

Anita smiled. "Don't munch 'em both at once! Here - sit and comm with me for a cycle or two." She sat on a nearby metal bench, and Calvin climbed up beside her.

"So what's a mini like you doing out and around? I thought they didn't dismiss before oh-fifteen-hundred. Or do you have a home-tutor?" Calvin merely nodded. "Thought so. The learning centers never let you minis out early."

"Yep. My parents don't mind if I go exploring if my homework's done - just as long as I'm home in time for supper. Mom isn't too happy if I try and skip out on whatever she cooks."

Anita's eyes widened. "You still cook? Like with a...stove and all? And soil-grown food?"

"Sure! Well...at least mom does. Dad tried once and he burned everything. You've never seen anyone cook before, Anita?"

At this Anita gasped. "No! Everyone I comm with uses the food replicators or eats prefab meals. I've heard about people who still 'cook' the old-fashioned way, but it takes a lot more equipment."

"Well, I guess so. But mom's pretty good at it unless she cooks something nasty like asparagus."

"Incredible. I wonder what it's like...so what's with your fuzz-top? You get it gelled and set at a hairstyler's? I hear they're 'in' now."

Calvin grasped that question quick enough. "Aw - no. My hair just looks that way by itself. It's not a problem unless I have to go to something dumb like a wedding."

Anita smiled, then looked oddly at him for a moment. "You don't comm like a local at all. Where's your home?"

Oh boy. Think fast, Calvin. "It's...a long way off. My parents let me go exploring by myself."

"Well, you must be quite the explorer then! The closest living quarters are, what, two levels at least."

Calvin feigned indifference. "Aww, pfft. That's nothing. I walk lots of places. I mean, we have a hovercar, but I like to walk." He felt not the slightest guilt for telling two brazen lies in a single sentence. "And it gets me out of the house - if I'm not around, mom can't make me clean my room!"

This made Anita laugh. "You sneaky little mini!l;.,"

"Hey, what can I say? I'm a genius. So where do you live, Anita?"

"Oh...I work at the factory a few levels up. They have me as a computer repair tech."

"Okay - but where do you live?"

The question seemed to make Anita slightly uncomfortable. "Well...the company has places for us...I don't think you'd know about them..."

Without warning a gentle dee-ooh, dee-ooh issued from Anita's armband. She looked down and tapped a button, silencing it.

"Aw fritz. Calvin, I have to leave now. My next work cycle is starting." Rest-time is over." Anita began heading to one of the four corners of the food court. Small crowds were beginning to form there; apparently a lot of other people had to go back to work.

"Will I see you later?" Calvin called after her.

"One in a thousand, Calvin. But have a glad time exploring!"

Anita claimed standing room on what looked like a floating platform, jam-packed with people in red and green uniforms. The resulting scene looked for all the world like that in a crowded elevator in Calvin's own time.

"Double-blick, everyone! Only five minutes before the shift starts!"

"Hold on - I dropped my smartphone."

"Mind extracting your shoulder out of my face?"

"OW! Scan where you're stepping!"

"My bad!"

A few more people managed to edge on amid protests about personal space. Finally someone reached out and operated a simple control panel sticking up from one side of the platform. A translucent white field of light formed around the sides and extended all the way up to the floor above. While a fascinated Calvin watched, the entire platform rose smoothly up into the air, soon followed by the three others.

Had not the young time traveler been watching Anita until the last second, he would have noticed that one of them didn't go straight up. Instead it hovered back into a recess in the wall that suddenly opened and then began its ascent. In it's place another platform descended from above and came to rest at floor level.

The black-garbed man took one look at the food court and swore under his breath. And I'm supposed to search this whole area? How?!

The mysterious 'unknown' he'd been told to look for was, to quote his direct superior, 'an unusual person or entity' that might have passed through this area recently. Easier said than done.

A quick look-around proved fruitless. There were too many people moving about to get a close look at all of them. He toyed with the idea of questioning some, but rejected the idea as soon as it came to him. After all - they were only low-level techs and factory grunts. It would take something pretty strange to stick in their little brains...and as a group they hated 'spooks' like him anyhow.

Better try the local security terminal. Maybe the cameras saw something.

He proceeded to a panel in the wall, unobtrusively labeled with a 'Authorized Persons Only" sign in small print, and touched a small button on his badge. The panel received the authorization code and slid open noiselessly. Inside was a small computer terminal complete with a miniature vertical keyboard.

The officer called up the cameras for the four elevator shafts. "Computer! Run ICUO algorithm. Search: security video, localized, public lift platforms. Time: one standard hour to current capture."

Breep! "Valid input. ICUO program is now running."

That would run through the video and look for any highly unusual happenings captured by the security cameras, thus serving as extensions of the officer's eyes.

Sure hope this finds something...

Calvin stared up at where the lift had vanished. All he could see now was that the ceiling didn't have hardly any lights on it - the rest were all recessed into the walls.

Oh well. It was nice meeting someone from the future. And I got some free candy besides!

He observed the lighting scheme with interest for a minute before remembering that he had somewhere to go. Reluctantly Calvin reached heaved the backpack around and set it in front of him. But as he searched for the right page again, a figure among the crowd caught his eye. It was a policeman.

Calvin's blood ran cold. Uh oh! They followed me!

Fortunately he seemed to be busy with something at the moment...but at any second Calvin was certain he'd whirl around and yell 'freeze!'. To make matters worse, the crowd around him was rapidly thinning out as people went up on the platforms or walked out through one of the four exits.

Heart pounding, Calvin looked for a place to hide. Behind the vending machines? No way! I gotta get out of here! He hastily put his backpack back on and tiptoed toward the nearest exit, all the while nervously watching the officer. Somehow the archway seemed like miles in the distance. But despite his worst fears the officer was engrossed in whatever he was doing.

The instant Calvin had passed through the lights and heard the 'bing!' he was off like a rocket. He ran like mad, taking turns at random. Soon he was out of sight of the food court and still going.

Finally the young boy slowed down to a walk. His heart was still beating a tatoo on his chest, but the immediate terror had worn off.

Calvin looked around. He'd stopped in the middle of a nondescript length of walkway. Once again he was the only living thing in sight. Two tall potted plants next to a stately door were the only other living things.

With all sense of direction lost Calvin began walking just for the sake of moving. He saw that the walkway lead to a three-way intersection just ahead and mentally decided to turn right.

Rounding the corner, he came upon a man in a dull silver suit on his knees working on something in the middle of another stretch of walkway. Carefully Calvin snuck around behind and looked over his shoulder. The 'something' proved to be an open panel underneath a card slot much like one Calvin had seen at a hotel. More interesting was the fact that the panel was right next to a small, fancy elevator exactly like one in his time.

As Calvin watched, the man finished a small chip into place and touched a needle-like probe to the circuits leading into it. "Uh huh...good...good...good...annnd - good! Hah! That did the trick!"

The man placed the probe in a small toolbelt around his waist and reached behind him for an object resembling an oversized cellphone. He couldn't find it with his hands and looked back...right into Calvin's face.

"Hel-lo there..."

"Hi." Calvin reached down and handed the object to him.

"Thanks. Name's Max."

"I'm Calvin."

"Then hello, Calvin." Max reached back with his other arm and shook his hand.

"Fixing the elevator?"

"Almost finished." He began tapping out a message. "Tell my supervisor I got it working and...there."

"So what was wrong with it?"

For an answer Max reached into another of his toolbelt pouches. "That would be because of this little gizmo." He held up something for Calvin's examination.

In Max's hand was a hexagonal computer chip. On top it was colored coal-black with a golden lock symbol while the bottom sported hundreds of tiny pins.

"That's it? What's it do?"

"This beauty is the security processor. See, this card slot is one of the really secure kinds. In order to verify the cards being swiped, it needs one of these. It checks every little thing ten times over."

"Wow!"

"Yep. Pretty secure. Thing is, they do enough checking for errors or circuit wear that it's ridiculous. When they say they're broken you can always get a year more life out of them at least...but security inspectors don't like you doing that."

"If it say's it's broken, it's broken."

"Exactly."

"Can I have it?"

Max lifted an eyebrow. "You sure?" Calvin nodded eagerly. "Don't see why not. Just don't plug it into anything."

He dropped the processor into Calvin's outstretched hands. It was far heavier than it looked and felt rather warm to the touch. The ecstatic young boy gently unzipped the pocket Hobbes was in and gently placed his newfound treasure inside.

"Well...I had better get back for my next job order. Nice talking to you." Slowly Max closed the panel and stood up, rubbing his lower legs. He noticed Calvin examining the elevator. "You looking for a way down?"

"Yeah!"

With a look of caution on his face, Max around to ensure they were alone. "Anyone around the corner back there?"

"Just me."

"Good! I'll use my card." In a flash Max pulled out a silverish card and slipped it through the slot. A pleasant tone sounded, and the door slid open.

"Just keep this quiet, and don't stick around at the bottom. It's 'supposed' to be a reserved lift."

A mischevious wink told Max he needn't worry. He returned the wink and grinned knowingly. With a wave of his hand he began jogging off down the walkway.

Calvin bounded into the elevator. Inside it was white with chrome trim and quite small; room enough for four people at most. There were only two buttons to push - 'U' and 'L'. At the moment 'U' was flashing.Their meanings were obvious enough "U is for up, L is for...low? Whatever. I bet I know what they do." With an air of confidence he stabbed the 'L' button.

Softly the door closed and the elevator began a swift but gentle ride downward. "Oh, aren't I smart?"

After a moment of gratuitous self-congratulation, Calvin thought that now might be a good time to find out where he was going. He opened his backpack and extracted both Hobbes and the printed map. Hobbes he laid on the floor, and the map he began shuffling through.

"Okay...where the heck am I?"

"Well, I'm no Boy Scout, but I'd guess you're in an elevator."

Calvin looked to see his tiger friend lying on the floor, curled against the curved walls. "Hey Hobbes!"

"Hey to you too. What's this now? We're lost?"

"Uhh...we're not quite 'lost'...I just don't know where we are."

Hobbes rolled his eyes. "I hate to break it to you, but isn't that the exact definition of lost?"

"No! Lost is when you have no idea where you are at all and you're wandering around like an idiot. I know that both of us are still somewhere on one of these maps - I just don't know where we are on the map. That's all. C'mere, maybe you know where we are."

Hobbes twitched his whiskers. "I'm afraid I was in a dark little backpack pocket until ten seconds ago. Still...I suppose I'd better try. What level were we on before you got on this elevator?"

"The one with the food court."

"Good." The tiger stretched out a paw and leafed through the papers. "Hmm. This is a pretty small elevator...and these little round things with x's through them...Calvin, look at the walkways. Do either of them look like where you just were?"

Calvin looked closely. There were two likely places, but only one of them had a 3-way intersection leading directly into it. "There! That's it!"

"Ah, now we're getting somewhere." Quickly Hobbes looked at the map for the level immediately below the food court. "Hmm! It does right through! So it must end somewhere below that..." he grabbed for another page and compared it with the first. "...bingo. Found it. Calvin, our next stop is in a residential area."

Hobbes sat on the floor next to Calvin, listening as his friend was filled him in on what he'd missed. "So Max let you in as a little favor to a stranger?"

"Yep. And here we are."

"Fascinating." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"So what was that about 'it goes right through?' "

"I was observing that this elevator doesn't stop at level five, according to the map."

"Really? That's weird. Any idea why it's so small and fancy?"

"Simple. It isn't open to the general public. Just look at all the chrome trim - it's so polished you can see yourself in it. You wouldn't find this in any old elevator."

Calvin looked concerned. "So what about where we're going? Are there gonna be more people?"

"Definitely. 'Residential' means homes and homes mean people. Which means that...that you'd better carry me again." Hobbes sighed.

His friend patted him on the back. "Sorry pal."

"Ahh, it's not that bad. I won't perish from another stint or two as backpack filler. Let's find the quickest route to that museum first."

The pair examined the map together. The absolute quickest path was fairly straightforward, but Hobbes chose a series of detours he hoped would help Calvin stay relatively unnoticed. With the route chosen Hobbes gave a few quick tips to his young friend.

"Stick to the less-public areas unless the detours look dangerous. Be polite but mind your own business unless someone talks to you directly, and if they do say as little as possible except that you're going to the museum. 'Going exploring' isn't a great excuse, and the next person you meet may be nosier than Max or Anita. And for heavens sakes don't run - that's suspicious."

Calvin seemed to pay close attention. "Got it. Stay out of sight, mind my own beeswax, and don't run."

"Good boy. And add 'act casual' to that list."

"Okay. So what about my mission?"

Hobbes blinked. "Mission? What 'mission?' "

"Ho-obbes! I've got to get something to bring back to the present!"

"Don't you already have a few souvenirs?"

"Two candy bars and an almost-worn-out computer chip. Those are worthless! If I don't get something useful, I can't say I invented it and get rich. That's why we came here in the first place!"

His tiger friend sighed softly. That was their - or at least Calvin's - motive for this whole escapade. And as hairbrained and dangerous an idea as it was, Hobbes knew that his young companion would never abandon it until he found something or was in extreme danger. He took a moment to think and form a workable answer.

"Allright. Can it wait until we reach the museum?"

"Why? What for?"

"The future museum should have plenty of information on things that could be 'new' in our time but are 'old' and outdated now. Instead of rummaging through trash or trying to steal something, we might be able to figure out how to build something that will make you rich when we get home."

"I dunno, Hobbes." Calvin looked skeptical. "But...okay. But if we can't find something there, we're not leaving until it's suppertime or until we do find something. Deal?"

"Deal." Better that than having him running wild all over this place. "Shake on it?"

As paw and hand shook on the compromise, a melodious female voice came from some overhead speaker.

"Approaching - lower - floor. Please stay clear of the entrance."

In a flash Hobbes turned back into a plushie. Calvin crammed him into the backpack just as the door to the elevator opened. Cautiously he stepped out, looking left and right for people. He was lucky once again - there was no one around.

The room was set in the middle of a short hallway, with voices coming from behind several closed doors. Although the room itself was smallish someone had done well decorating it. All four walls were covered in an neutral purple-hued pattern, and a fancy placards next to the elevator door stated "Not for general access."

Calvin's ears picked up the swishing sound of a door opening. Two voices were suddenly loud and clear - and they were getting closer in a hurry.

Uh oh! Now where to hide?!

This time Calvin had even less options. There was nothing to hide behind, and the elevator required an access card. He could try to run - but that would almost surely end in disaster.

The voices were coming closer, from the hallway to the left. Only one thing left to do. Calvin flattened himself against the wall next to the entrance. It was only a cheesy movie trick...

But it worked. Two well-manicured gentlemen in handsome grey suits walked right past him. They were engaged in discussing some sort of business deal and were too occupied to notice much.

One of them suddenly stopped by the elevator. Calvin began inching to the side, trying to get out of his peripheral vision.

"Hold on Reginald. Let me see if someone's fixed the lift yet." In a smooth motion a silver card slid through the slot. To the apparent surprise of the gentlemen, the door slid open, and a soft voice intoned "Lower floor - going up."

"Ah! Finally. This should save us a bit of footwork. You first old boy."

Calvin darted off around the left corner the instant the elevator door shut behind them. Unfortunately he quickly found himself in a strange hallway in an even stranger building. He would have been lost entirely had not a nearby sign said "--Lobby" and correctly guessed there was a way in and out to be found in that direction.

There was indeed a door in the lobby. A two-seat receptionist's desk nearby was deserted and a placard hung over the front, stating "Out 2 break. Be back soon."

Without a pause Calvin tore out the door at top speed. He blazed a trail to the nearest turn and raced down a side path. The young boy ran the distance of almost a half mile, following the winding path through the level that Hobbes had outlined. Finally he arrived at a pair of the platform-elevators, panting hard.

A half dozen well-groomed men and women were waiting for the next platform down. They wore armbands of slightly fancier design and talked causally amongst themselves.

"...so what's on your schedule?"

"Not a ton. Maybe glim a holo-vid or two I've been wanting to see. You?"

"Go home and laze. That presentation was murder."

"You're lucky," muttered a short man, " that you don't have to keep working at home."

"What - did Bascomb give you another project?"

"As if I didn't have too much to do already. That dumb yes-man of his..."

Calvin stayed at the edge of the group, continuing to eavesdrop. Soon enough a platform came from the level below. Everyone boarded in an orderly fashion, including the young eavesdropper who snuck on near the edge.

A grey-haired man typed in several numbers on a control pedestal and pushed a green button. But just as the platform began to descend he happened to notice Calvin and looked quite surprised. "Well now, who's this?"

All eyes turned to the young boy. He quickly surmised that he was unexpected and perhaps unwanted here.

Act casual, buster, act casual. "Me? I'm Calvin."

The stranger raised one eyebrow. "Ah! And just where did you come from?"

Calvin's brain again raced for a good answer. Before he knew it, however, his mouth acted independently of his mind. With a wise-guy smile on his face Calvin heard himself remark "Well...my mother always said I came from the stork. Where did you come from?"

That remark caught everyone completely off-guard, Calvin included. The stranger goggled and turned beet red. Men and women laughed hard at his wholly unexpected and slightly naughty response.

Mercifully the ride down to the next lower level was a short one. Everyone except the man who had first questioned Calvin were still snickering and whispering that kids sure said the darndest things.

Finally the platform locked in place. Calvin remarked, "bye mister! Hope you find out where you're from!" and disappeared around the nearest corner.

Amidst renewed laughter the rest of the group went their separate ways, dispersing into the open plaza. Their workday was finished and most were looking forward to some entertainment. They would all forget the quick-witted boy by the end of the day.

All except for one man. That man, Bosco by name, had been intrigued. Although wished he could report the little upstart to his parents, he liked to remember things that piqued his curiosity...and this 'Calvin' certainly deserved a mental file of his own.