Chapter 2

Merlin lay in bed, feeling weak and having difficulty breathing. He had been having problems doing anything for the last few weeks. He almost couldn't get up the tower stairs to his room a few times, and yesterday, Simon had to carry him up. Sharp pains stabbed his chest. He closed his eyes to try to sleep and never opened them again.

Ralph awoke in the middle of the night, but he wasn't at the MIB facility. He could feel rough linen bedclothes rather than the soft sheets he was used to. The bed he was in had a lumpy mattress stuffed with material he couldn't determine. He could smell a mixture of strange herbaceous odors. He pulled the blanket aside, looked down at his body, and saw that he was wearing a long white nightgown. He got out of bed and felt strange. His body felt weak and ached. He felt old, even older than before the little green guys regenerated him. He walked over—barely able to pick up his feet—to the open window with no glass and looked out. He was in a high tower, part of a castle. With the help of light from the full moon, he could see the long castle wall stretch away from the building he occupied to another tower. The moon reflected on the water in the castle moat far below. Two guards walked across the drawbridge over the moat. Where on Earth was, he?

He turned away from the window and slowly shuffled to the fireplace. The fire had burned down, and only a few embers remained glowing. The room was cold; he could feel it in his bones. He lifted a log stacked next to the fireplace to place it on the embers. The log was so heavy. He also put on a second heavy log and blew on the embers to get the fire burning again. Using a poker, he pushed the embers around. At last, the logs caught fire, and the heat from the fire began to warm him. It also lit the room so he could better see more details.

He was in a large round room with a sizeable four-post bed on one side and several tables full of various-sized ceramic jars and glass bottles on the other. Tall shelves against the walls held many scrolls and boxes, bottles, and jars. A large stuffed chair and footrest were next to one of the tables, heaped with scattered scrolls. Suit was draped across the chair. He shuffled across the room, touched Suit, and said, "Suit transfer now." Suit began to pulsate red, disappeared, and reappeared on Ralph. He felt the tingle of the connection.

He asked, 'Suit, where are we?'

'We are in your room and laboratory.' Shocked, he jumped when he heard Suit answer in Pam's voice.

Ralph exclaimed, 'My room, this is not my room. I don't live in a castle.'

Suit said, 'Merlin, you have lived in this castle for 23.25 years.'

Ralph asked, 'Why did you call me Merlin? I am Ralph Hinkley. You know this. We have been together for a long time. And why are you speaking with Pam's voice?'

Suit said, 'Ralph Hinkley left over 50 years ago. He, Pam, and the new baby left together to return to their world. I am speaking with Pam's voice because when you received me, you said you wanted to call me Pam and to have me speak with her voice.'

Ralph sat on the chair and placed his hands over his face, still confused about what was happening. He felt a long beard, at least six inches long, on his face. He put his hands in his hair, felt long, stiff hair, and followed it down to his shoulders. He asked, "Is there a mirror I can see myself in?"

Pam said, 'There are no mirrors in this period; the closest thing is a polished brass plate. There is one on the table.'

Ralph went to the table and found the plate. He took it over to the fire and saw a blurry reflection of an old man with long gray hair and a long gray-white beard. It was Merlin from the picture that M had shown him. Somehow, he was in Merlin's body. But how could this have happened?

Suit had said he, Pam, and the new baby left over 50 years ago. If this is all real, that must mean that he will go back in time, find Pam, and she will have the baby there. 'Our baby boy,' he thought and smiled.

Ralph sat on the chair and put his feet on the footrest. He felt so tired, but he needed to think about what had happened and how he got into Merlin's body 1500 years ago. His mind drifted, and he fell asleep. He awoke in the morning when someone came into the room calling for Merlin.

A young man in his early 20s with dirty blond hair and a short light brown beard entered and was shocked to see Merlin sitting on the chair in the red suit. He exclaimed, "Master, you shouldn't expose the red suit like this!" and quickly threw a robe over him.

Ralph looked at the young man and asked, "Who are you?"

The young man replied calmly, "I am Simon, your apprentice, remember, Master?" As though this question was asked regularly and started tidying the table.

Ralph said, "Don't call me Master. That sounds ridiculous. Call me Ralph."

"Why would I call you Ralph? Your name is Merlin," Simon replied.

"No, I am Ralph Hinkley, and I just happen to be inside Merlin's body. Somehow, I don't know how," Ralph said.

Simon stopped cleaning the tables and said, "Ralph Hinkley, the red-suited Hero from another world who had all the adventures you and Pam told me about?"

Ralph exclaimed, "Pam, Pam is here? Where is Pam?

Simon said, "You are wearing Pam. That is the red suit's name—Pam."

"Oh, I was speaking of my wife, Pam Hinkley. I am looking for her," Ralph explained.

"Yes, that was one of the stories you told me," Simon said.

Ralph sat up, put his hands over his face, and said to himself, "How on Earth did this happen?"

Simon squatted beside the chair and sympathetically said, "It is all right, Master; I am here to help you."

Ralph stood and shouted, "No, no, no, don't call me Master! You are not a slave. Call me Ralph."

Simon said, "Okay, I will call you Ralph, but don't tell King Arthur that, or he may think you are possessed and have you killed. To him, you are Merlin."

Ralph said, "Listen, Simon, you must help me. I am Ralph Hinkley from 1500 years in the future. I was at the MIB facility and got sick. I remember being in bed and calling for help, but no one came. I woke up here. I don't know how I got here. I don't have any of Merlin's memories. You must help me with what Merlin has been doing and who he regularly interacts with."

Simon looked at Ralph with his mouth open. "Master, I mean Ralph, you really are the Ralph Hinkley?" Ralph nodded. "You traveled around in carts that needed no horses or donkeys to move them; there are flying machines that take people in the sky?"

Ralph replied, "Yes, those are cars and airplanes."

Simon asked, "If you are in Merlin's body, where is Merlin's mind? Is it still there somewhere?

Ralph said, "I don't know. Let me see if I can contact him telepathically." Ralph closed his eyes and telepathically called Merlin. He got no answer. He put out a deeper telepathic probe and could feel a weak presence, but he still got no response.

Ralph told Simon, "I feel a weak presence, but Merlin is not responding."

Simon said, "Very well. Let me tell you about Merlin. He has been having trouble with his memory for the last year. It has been getting worse. He forgets what he is working on and forgets who people are. He gets lost in the castle. Pam tries to help him, but sometimes, he forgets that the suit is talking to him and thinks an invisible woman is speaking. He is also out of breath most of the time and very weak. Quite often, he cannot get up and down the stairs."

Ralph said, "The memory problems sound like Alzheimer's disease."

Simon asked, "Is there a cure in your time for this?

Ralph answered, "No, there is no cure for this. He will eventually forget everything: how to care for himself, how to eat, everything. It is very sad."

Simon said, "But you seem not to be having any problems with this."

"Yes, this is strange if it is truly the problem. Perhaps my mind inhabits a different part of Merlin's brain unaffected by the disease. Do other people know that Merlin is having memory problems?"

"Oh yes, everyone knows. They believe it is because he is so ancient. Eighty years old is very ancient," Simon replied sadly.

Ralph said, "In my time, that is the average age for people to live to, and many live into their 90s and even early 100s. Suit, or rather Pam, has probably been helping to keep him healthy. It is theorized in my time that with the help of the suit, we Heroes may be able to live to 140 years. It will be interesting to see if I reach that age."

Simon said, "I will take you around the castle, point everyone out, and explain what is happening. We can say that you are trying some new magic to help your memory."

Ralph said, "That will be great. Thank you so much for helping me. I don't know how long I will be here, but we can help each other while it lasts."