AN: The challenge prompt for this week fit the story, so here's chapter 2. I'll see how long I can continue this way, but in any case I promise to finish this with my take on why the dome is there.
Dusk was falling by the time the four youngsters had finished their tale. They had brought the Bishops back to Joe's and Angie's house, where they were now all sitting around the living room table. Walter was nibbling on a cookie, staring into space. Peter nodded at the kids approvingly.
"Hats off to you, you've really been busy and found out a lot that can be useful."
"Yes, but what does it all mean?" Norrie asked.
"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" Peter cast her one of his megawatt smiles, and the girl blushed under his attention.
Walter had finished his cookie, washing the rest of the crumbs down with a gulp of orange juice. Then he stood up. "I would like to see this mini dome now," he announced.
"Absolutely," Peter agreed. "Nothing but a new pair of eyes to see if any clue has been overlooked."
The black egg was still flashing pink stars. Peter knelt in the straw surrounding it, careful not to touch the surface. He paid particular attention to the monarch chrysalis hanging from its inside wall.
"Amazing," he said. Then he turned to Walter. "What do you think? Accident or design?"
"I don't have enough information at present to answer that question," Walter replied loftily. Then he motioned to Joe. "Show me where you put your hands."
The four kids stepped up to the sphere and put their hands on the surface. Once again pink dots of light filled the air over their heads, forming themselves into slowly revolving constellations. Suddenly Peter had an idea.
"When are your birthdays?" he asked the group of four.
"April 19," Angie said.
"January 20," Joe chimed in.
"October 30," Norrie volunteered.
"June 21," Junior replied. "Why is that important?"
"Peter, that's brilliant!" Walter exclaimed.
"Hang on..." Joe was quick on the uptake as usual. "You think our zodiac signs have something to do with this?"
"I believe they do." Peter rose from his crouch and stood between Joe and Angie. "It can't be a coincidence that your birthdays are all three months apart. And if I'm not mistaken..." He looked up at the glowing pink dots over their heads, then nodded. "Yup. You're all standing right under the constellations that correspond to your individual signs."
"But what about the butterfly?" Norrie looked at the chrysalis that was closest to her own hand. "There is no Zodiak sign that's called Butterfly or Monarch or something."
"Yeah, that's a bit of a puzzle," Peter admitted.
"Nonsense, son, it makes perfect sense." Walter now also stepped closer and stood next to Norrie. "Belly and I were dabbling in astronomy, back in the 70s. It was all the rage back then." He started humming a few bars of 'Aquarius', until a stern look from Peter brought him back on track. "Anyway, we found out that the sun spends a lot more time in the constellation of Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer than in the adjacent one of Scorpio. We therefore drew up a new calendar with thirteen zodiac signs, including that of the Serpent. And that is precisely where the chrysalis is located."
Peter looked a bit skeptical. "You really think this arrangement has something to do with a possibly - or should I say probably - drug-induced theory you and your lab partner came up with over thirty years ago?"
"Yes," Walter confirmed. "And if you require further proof, these kids' birthdays correspond to their particular signs under both the traditional calendar and the new one Bellie and I created. Of course, accommodating thirteen signs instead of twelve moved the dates around quite significantly. Sometimes they only overlap a few days. But they all fit."
"Well, that answers one question," Peter agreed. "That butterfly is there by design. And I bet something interesting will happen when it hatches."
Another AN: The theory of the 13 zodiak signs is not mine, I found it on a blog by Astro Bob. PM me if you'd like the URL, I can't post it here.
