Jump Starting the Universe Book Bundle

by John David Buchanan

  They walked back toward town but before reaching the hotel Mark veered off onto a side street and everyone followed his lead. “This is the place,” said Mark. “This is the perfect place to meet the Shade. Blackie could stand over there in the middle of the roundabout,” pointing ahead of where they were standing, “and we could sit in that upstairs restaurant,” he said pointing to the restaurant just east of the road. “I think we should meet the Shade here.”

  “We already have,” replied Blackie who nodded toward the very spot in the middle of the roundabout Mark had suggested. “He’s there now, can you see him?”

  The Desredeedese Shade hovered over the center of the roundabout, this time in full view of everyone. Blackie wondered if there was something different that allowed everyone to see him, or was it just because they knew where to look and were looking properly. He didn’t know, but at that point it didn’t matter.

  “Change of plans,” said Mark. “It won’t do any good for us to hide in the restaurant; he’s already seen us. You don’t think he’s been following us all day, do you?”

  “Probably; he did say he was sent to watch Joules,” replied Wayne.

  “I don’t like that one bit,” said Joules who stepped toward the roundabout.

  “Wait, wait a minute, Joules,” said Blackie gently grabbing her elbow. “If what he said was true, and he’s not supposed to interact with you, he’ll leave if you approach; he has orders. Besides, he won’t have forgotten what you did at the restaurant last night – Shades aren’t as thick as Shumbrans. Let me go talk to him. I’ll see what he wants. Okay?”

  “Okay. But you tell him the lady with the fire in her hands said she’s not particularly happy about being followed.”

  “I can do that,” replied Blackie, “I’ll just go have a little chat with him and see what he wants.”

  Everyone agreed there was no use going up to the restaurant, and that Blackie should go meet the Shade. Blackie moved close to Wayne and whispered, “If something goes wrong, don’t let anyone put themselves at risk. And watch Mark, he’ll try to intercede; it’s the curse of being a big brother.” As he finished Blackie turned and walked into the street and right to the middle of the roundabout where Anonoi was waiting.

  As before Blackie didn’t hear anything audible, and yet he did hear the Shade’s question clearly, as if he were wearing headphones that blocked all external noise. “You are the spokesperson?”

  “I am this time,” replied Blackie. He wasn’t sure how specific he wanted to be until he knew the Shade’s intentions. “Don’t volunteer anything,” he thought. A moment passed before the Shade responded, a moment during which Blackie feared Shades might be telepathic. “Let him read,” he thought, “there’s not much in here.”

  “We do not ordinarily invade the privacy of other beings’ minds,” said the Shade, “but I was tasked to watch, and help keep safe the young woman traveling with you, and you, her friends. Based on what I’ve seen, I do not believe you will intentionally put her in harm’s way. Because of that, there will be no more invasions. The tall one is the pilot, yes?”

  “Yeah, you could say that. I suppose you could call Wayne the pilot,” said Blackie who felt a little better since the Shade admitted using telepathy. It seemed to be a gesture of honesty.

  “The redhead is a warrior,” stated the Shade, “does she know she is Centorian?”

  “That’s Nita, she just recently found out,” replied Blackie.

  “They are honorable beings. The other man, he is your protector?”

  “You mean Mark. Mark is my older brother. In our family makes him my guardian, protector, defender, bodyguard, and occasional abuser.”

  “The dark-haired woman, she understands the stars and holds the transporting device; she is the leader, yes?”

  “Amelia is too modest to be called our leader, and she will be the first to tell you we work as a team. But you’re right she is much more likely to understand deep discussions of the stars than any of the rest of us.”

  Blackie and Anonoi chatted for a few more moments, and then Blackie went back to the group who were standing right where he left them.

  “Well, what did he say?” asked Mark.

  “He said a lot. I think he really is here to help. Oh, and he wants to talk to Wayne.”

  “Me? What does he want to talk to me about?”

  “I don’t know, Wayne. He asked if you were the pilot and I told him yes.”

  “What did you tell him that for?”

  “Because he saw you driving the Nomad, and you were at the wheel when we Jumped to Volcanon and to Lindone. So technically, flying a transport across who knows how many galaxies or universes qualifies you as a pilot, Wayne. I can’t dispute his logic. Anyway, we chatted for a moment about our group and then he asked to speak to you. If you want to know what he wants you’re going to have to ask him, because I don’t know.”

  “Man, I’m glad we’re not in my ‘58 Chevy,” said Mark who immediately dodged a left jab from Wayne.

  “It’s safe, right Blackie?” asked Amelia.

  “I think so,” replied Blackie, “I wouldn’t put a good bass player in danger on purpose – bass players are too hard to find.”

  Wayne grinned and turned toward the roundabout.

  “He said he’ll stay out of your head,” yelled Blackie as Wayne crossed the street.

  Without turning, Wayne gave a thumbs up signal as he stepped onto the roundabout. Anonoi was near the middle where Blackie had left him, looking like the wispy smoke that hangs in the air after a fire cracker explodes. “You wanted to have a word?” said Wayne.

  “Blackie said you are their pilot. Desredeedese Shades are not permitted to interfere with a transport or ship like yours, unless it is a matter of life and death, or the pilot has given permission. Do I have your permission?”

  “Permission for what?”

  “I can shift time and space,” replied Anonoi. “I believe I can shift the transport, with several small moves, from Lindone back to Gafcon-49.”

  “Show me a shift, just me first, then we’ll see about the others and the Nomad.”

  “As you wish.”

  Wayne turned to toward the group with an uneasy smile on his face.

  “I don’t like this,” said Mark, “something’s not right.”

  No sooner had he spoken than the air around Wayne and the Shade began to shimmer oddly, like it was vibrating, and then they disappeared.

  “WAYNE!” shrieked Amelia, who instantly ran toward the roundabout. Mark sprinted after her and grabbed her just before she stepped in front of a transport that came flying around the carriageway. As soon as it passed, Amelia dashed across to the center of the roundabout and stood there speechless. The rest of the group joined Amelia and Mark, but no one said a word.

  There was dead silence until Mark offered an observation, “There’s no sign of a struggle; it doesn’t look like he resisted. Should we wait?”

  “Five people standing in the middle of a roundabout are going to attract attention,” offered Joules, “and we don’t have entry permits to legally be on Lindone. Maybe we should go back to the hotel and wait.”

  “You mean leave him?” asked Amelia.

  “Amelia, let’s assume Mark is right, that there wasn’t a struggle and Wayne went willingly. He won’t expect us to stand here in the middle of the roundabout waiting. How about we visit that restaurant?” said Nita pointing to the place Mark originally intended for them to hide. “We can have a drink and be here when Wayne returns.”

  Amelia wasn’t sure what to do, but Nita’s suggestion felt less like abandoning Wayne, so they climbed the stairs to the restaurant. When they asked the hostess to seat them near a window overlooking the carriageway she asked, “Are you expecting someone else?”

  “Yes,” said Joules immediately, “one more, but we’re not sure when he will arrive.”

  Momentarily a waitress took their drink order and when she returned asked if they would l
ike to see a menu. “Not me, I’m not hungry,” answered Mark grumpily.

  “Just drinks for now,” responded Nita.

  “What do you think Blackie,” asked Amelia, “is he alright?”

  “He’s okay. I think he’s okay.”

  They sat in the restaurant the rest of the afternoon sipping tea and straining to have normal conversation. In the back of their minds Mark, Blackie, Nita and Joules were all having essentially the same thought – we should stay here until Amelia wants to leave. Occasionally they discussed how incredible it was that they found the ring, or how fortuitous it was to meet Goshwam in the desert just after Blackie became ill and needed medical help.

  As Mark was prone to say – what are the odds of that? But there was a shared albeit unspoken restlessness about how many of the situations they encountered that either ended positively, or with little or no real damage. Each of them felt a sense of foreboding that they were overdue for something bad to happen. Amelia would have called it reverting to the mean.

  With the sun dropping toward the horizon Amelia decided they had waited long enough. She somehow knew they were all waiting on her to make the decision to leave. “I think we should go to the hotel,” she said. “If Wayne returns,” her voice cracked slightly, “he will know where to find us.”

  Mark signaled for the waitress to bring the bill. “Sorry we loitered so long. Let’s pay the bill with this,” and he handed her his credit card. “We kept your table way too long,” he added, “let’s put thirty percent on the total.” The waitress smiled. It had been a slow day and they really hadn’t needed to turn the table.

  “Thanks very much,” she said, placing Mark’s card on the table when she returned. “Please come back.”

  Without another word everyone stood up when Amelia did and walked back to the hotel. “I’d like to cleanup before dinner,” said Amelia, “maybe we could just eat here in the hotel restaurant this evening?”

  “I’ll get a quick shower and come back downstairs to hold a table,” said Blackie as they entered the hotel elevator. “Everyone okay sitting outside?”

  An hour later everyone was sitting outside watching the last vestiges of a pink and purple sunset. They sat at a table for six, leaving the empty seat on the side facing the building. As they watched the sunset and waited for the waitress to return with their drink order, the door behind them opened.

  Wayne casually stepped out on the patio, “Having dinner without me? I expected Mark wouldn’t wait, but really, all of you!” he said as he sauntered toward the table.

  “Wayne Granada, how dare you come waltzing in here wearing a tam 'o shanter pretending like nothing at all has happened?” yelled Amelia as she got to her feet with a rather fierce look on her face.

  “But nothing did happen,” said Wayne who was totally caught off guard by Amelia’s response.

  “So, you disappearing into thin air without as much as a tiny explanation about what was going to happen is NOTHING?”

  “Exactly what did happen?” asked Blackie.

  Wayne looked relieved that Blackie had joined the discussion. “He said he needed my permission to shift the Nomad through space since I’m the pilot – that’s on you Blackie. So, I said okay, show me, just me. The bloke is dead literal, he didn’t give me time to say anything else, he just shifted.”

  “What’s with the hat, Wayne?” asked Mark.

  “He first took us to a nondescript little hamlet on a nearby planet where absolutely nothing was happening. I said kiddingly, what else you got and he shifted us again; I’m telling you the bloke is dead literal. Anyway, that time we ended up in a pretty cool place. I saw this great haberdashery and tah dah, I got this stylish hat.”

  “You mean to tell me you left us without a word, without so much as a hint of what was going on and went shopping?” asked Amelia who was still glaring at Wayne.

  “Amelia, I didn’t think it was a big deal; I was only gone thirty minutes or so.”

  “Actually, you were gone six hours dude,” interjected Blackie, “it’s almost dark. We all thought the worst but no one was willing to say it. Amelia was scared out of her mind.”

  “Six hours? Six? Oh man, I’m really sorry, honestly. We left so abruptly I didn’t have a chance to explain and I promise I thought it was no more than thirty minutes – forty max. If I’d known how much time had passed I wouldn’t have gone larking about.”

  Amelia left her seat and walked around the table toward Wayne who saw the look on her face and took a small step backwards. “Wayne, …you…you…,” and she lurched forward, grabbed him into a tight hug and started to cry.

  Wayne, who had thrown his arms out to his sides when Amelia lunged forward now had one arm still straight out but with his other hand he was patting Amelia on the head. Looking at Mark for some guidance all he got was an 'I don’t know' kind of shrug.

  “I’m really sorry,” he said, and hugged her back. Mark gave him the 'good move' nod.

  Before Wayne returned, meeting for dinner seemed to be just a formality to fill up the evening. Now that Wayne was back safely, everyone realized they were really hungry; especially Mark. After ordering dinner, they discussed their options.

  “I think if we decide to use the Jump Starter, as soon as we get in the Nomad Anonoi is going to get close enough to Jump with us. The assignment to look after Joules is no light matter to him,” offered Wayne. “It won’t be easy to slip away and he’s not leaving of his own volition.”

  “And if we happen to lose him, there goes our only real chance to get back to Gafcon-49,” replied Mark. “We might Jump and go there by accident, but who’s willing to take that chance? There are a lot of planets out there. Who knows where we would end up? And there’s no way we’re trying black market transportation; that’s a ticket to troublesville.”

  “Joules, we know you don’t like him following you. There’s a chance we could slip off and make a Jump without him, but all that gets us is rid of him, and not closer to your home, and I think that’s where we all want to be,” suggested Nita.

  “What do you think, Joules?” asked Blackie.

  “I think I need to get over it. I’ve cooled down a little and I realize it’s not all about me,” she said. “My dad was only trying to protect me, and you. If cooperating with the Shade is our best shot at getting all of us back to Gafcon-49 safely, I say we take it and the sooner the better. I can’t imagine how worried my mom and dad must be.” After a short pause she added, “I suppose your families are worried too. Do you think he could take all of you home as well?”

  “I’m sure there are limitations to how far he can shift things,” said Amelia, who was now standing next to Wayne blotting her eyes with a dinner napkin. “The extent to which time and space can be bent is dependent on the amount of force being exerted on them. If the distances in space between here and Alphus Nebulum or Earth are large, a shift of the magnitude necessary to take us there may be beyond his capabilities.”

  “I think Amelia is right, Anonoi told me he thought he would have to use several small shifts to get us back to Gafcon-49,” replied Wayne. “His description of it sounded like hopping on closely spaced rocks in a creek to get from one side to the other.”

  “What was it like when he shifted?” asked Amelia.

  “It was eerie; kind of hard to explain. Everything around us suddenly seemed shimmery, like the way still lake water looks when the sun hits it from a low angle and a breeze jiggles its surface. Then the space immediately around us just stretched out toward our first destination. That’s when he told me to step forward and when I did I stepped right into that mundane little city.”

  “Could you see it as you approached?” asked Nita. “How did it feel?”

  “No, I couldn’t see it; all I could see was the space around me stretching out and forward, with Anonoi and me near the front edge. When Anonoi drifted forward and told me to take a step, I walked right out of that shimmering space from Lindonika and right into that other city
. It seemed like all the stretching was going on behind me, but I did have an odd sensation, not painful or anything like that, just odd, like I was being stretched a little.”

  “We’ve got to use that in some song lyrics,” said Mark. “I can just see Buster singing about bending space and time and getting stretched. He may not understand it, but he’ll do a bang-up job and it might even give his stage writhing better context,” he finished, smiling at Wayne and Blackie.

  “Are you daft? I’m not sure our audience is ready for songs about bending time and space,” offered Blackie, “they barely listen to the ones we play now.”

  “Based on our last gig maybe we need a new audience?” suggested Wayne.

  “Should I mention the fact that our audience is on Earth, probably in a galaxy far, far away, and we currently have a slim to little chance of getting back there?” responded Blackie.

  “He’s such a realist sometimes,” said Mark turning to Joules, “and,” he said turning back to Wayne and Blackie, “you’ve forgotten the crowd we had at the lake concert. They seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit.”

  “He’s right,” said Blackie to Wayne, “they did look like they were enjoying themselves. Is that what we’re calling our jam session now, the lake concert?”

  “Sounds good to me,” said Wayne. “But no one on Earth is going to believe it.”

  “Maybe we’ll do a themed CD,” said Mark. “We can tell the entire story of this crazy trip in songs and no one will question them because it’s just lyrics. Who questioned Major Tom? Someday when everyone finally realizes the whole album was true, the joke will be on them,” he finished with a triumphant smile on his face.

  “As much as I hate to admit it, that’s a pretty clever idea,” said Blackie, “and I think we should discuss that more, but right now shouldn’t we be working on our plan to get off Lindone and back to Gafcon-49.”

  “Getting off Lindone; see that’s a great song title,” said Mark. “So is Back to Gafcon. Suddenly we’re covered up in new material.”

  “So, our 'pilot' needs to meet with Anonoi and let him know we’re ready to go with him,” said Blackie trying to divert the conversation back to the previous topic.” Turning toward the table, he found the girls had taken their seats and were watching them with amused looks on their faces.