“Good idea, follow me please,” and he walked across the concrete panels in the floor and into a room on the other side of the building. “All the tanks are overhead,” he pointed up at the ceiling, “about three hundred of them, but the real action is down here. I did have to overnight an extra chemical and put an extra tank in service for the vinyl. No extra charge. I’ll be right back,” and he stepped through a side door to the stairway.
“Does anyone have a clue what he is going on about?” asked Wayne.
“I think he’s being purposely vague,” said Amelia, “or he thinks we know a whole lot more than we do.”
“That’s not an uncommon mistake,” said Blackie.
“Well, we’re ready,” said the attendant as he stepped back through the side door. He drew back a curtain to expose a full-length glass wall that allowed visitors to view a large rectangular box made of transparent material. “When it’s through I’ll be back,” said the man, and he exited the room and went back to his kiosk.
A soft noise accompanied the movement of three very large pieces of equipment mounted high on the ceiling. They lowered to a point just above the top of the box and began to make whirring noises as each piece of equipment exposed three large disc-shaped heads that extended on multi-jointed arms from the main body of the devices.
“I think I know what those are,” exclaimed Wayne. “They look exactly like the equipment on page 182 of Reproduction World magazine. Those are printer heads.”
Within seconds the three-dimensional printers went to work. Every metal and chemical it needed to completely rebuild the Nomad was fed through a series of hoses either straight to the printer head, or to a small pre-mixing chamber if that was necessary. Every part was being printed right before their very eyes. The tires, then supports were printed for the frame and axles.
While this took place, another printer had been busily printing the wiring harness so that as the equipment was printed the wires would be printed onto their connectors. One head worked on printing the engine while another one printed the gas tank. The manufacturing speed was so fast they couldn’t keep up with all the parts being produced. The transmission was printed and connected to a universal joint and third member and differential.
Another printer was reproducing the dashboard while the fourth started on the seats – metal, wire, cushion and cover were deposited at the exact locations to make seats that would move forward and backward on their rails. A printer started depositing plastic in the form of a small box in the engine compartment complete with lead cells and a battery label on the outside. A second printer filled the battery with sulfuric acid and moved away as a third printer head added connectors to the battery lugs.
There was a flurry of activity as most of the heads began to print the outside of the car and one added chrome bumpers and trim pieces. Another printer swooped in to deposit plastic coated wires on the battery lug connectors and secure them to the wiring harness.
“What about…”
But before Wayne could finish all three of the three-dimensional printer heads pulled up and a fourth printer lowered into the box. It sprayed a perfect coat of original root beer brown enamel paint. When it was finished the printer lifted out of the box to make room for another device that lowered into the box and flashed light on all the painted surfaces. Several more coats were then added to reach the exact thickness of the original paint.
“That should be about it,” said the attendant who had entered the room unnoticed. “Spanking good job I’d say, and in less time than the typical valet takes to retrieve a car.”
“Yeah it looks perfect,” replied Blackie, who noticed all the band equipment stacked neatly in the back.
“You know, I looked over the data files for this transport early this morning when I first got in, and for the life of me I can’t figure out how the thing ever gets off the ground.”
“I hear that a lot,” said Wayne who was still staring through a translucent panel at a perfectly manufactured Nomad station wagon.
“I’ll lower the walls and you can inspect it,” said the attendant, “but no one has ever found a mistake. By the way, an official looking government chap was in early this morning asking if I knew anything about a transport arriving without proper entry papers. I told him I didn’t know of one but I’d be on the lookout. I expect he’ll be back to ask again and he’ll probably want an inventory of everything that parked in the garage yesterday. Not that any of that concerns you,” finished the man with a big smile.
“Thanks,” said Wayne. “While I’m looking at the Nomad maybe Blackie could settle up on the bill?”
“Right you are,” replied the attendant.
Blackie signed for the parking charge and added a tremendous gratuity. He knew the man hadn’t tipped them off for money, he was just being nice, but it was worth a lot to dodge the possibility of more jail time. Wayne honked the horn; Blackie thanked the man profusely as he left the kiosk and got in the car.
“The girls went to get our things, they’ll meet us downstairs at the front door,” said Wayne as he pulled away. “I’m going to park in the service area at the back of the hotel for a few minutes. I don’t think we want to be noticed. The last thing we need is a crowd of gawkers around the car drawing attention.”
“I’ll help the girls – meet us in ten minutes.” Wayne pulled to a stop and Blackie ran to the back door of the hotel.
“Yes, something unexpected,” Amelia was saying to the desk clerk as Blackie walked by. “Hopefully we can come back soon and tour the village. Thanks again.”
Blackie held the elevator door and they went up together. Joules was already packing the boys room. “Our things are packed,” said Joules to Amelia.
“I’ll finish here,” said Blackie, “you and Amelia grab your things and head down to the lobby. Don’t go outside until Wayne pulls up.”
Minutes later they were all in the Nomad.
“How is it?” asked Blackie.
“Unbelievable,” replied Wayne. “I’m going to pull to the back of the hotel again. We can park in the service area and make a jump.”
“The sooner the better,” added Joules as she caught a glimpse of a khaki uniformed man in Wayne’s rear view mirror, “the government man is next door.”
Wayne parked the car and Amelia activated the Jump Starter. No matter how many times they had seen it, the jump sequence was always mesmerizing. First the golden rings, then the white haze. Then silver flashes. Wayne looked translucent. Another silver flash, and Amelia was almost transparent. After another flash, the government chap opened the back door of the hotel and walked quickly toward the service area.
Wayne raised his hands above the steering wheel and mouthed the words, “Hasta luego,” as he made a small wave with the fingers on his left hand. A silver flash lit the white haze surrounding the Nomad like a singular lightning bolt does on a dark moonless night. The government man stopped walking and pondered the completely empty space in the service area thirty feet away where moments before a brown transport with four undocumented visitors had been parked.
“Here’s a great idea,” offered Joules, when the jump was finished, “how about the next time we leave someplace we do it on our terms, completely at ease and without so much angst? Is that possible?”
“Our record suggests that’s not going to happen,” replied Wayne. “But I think it’s a good idea. It should be on our list of things to work on.”
“Did anyone see Anonoi before we jumped?” asked Amelia. “We may have dumped him again. While we’re waiting for him to find us, let’s eat the hotel snacks I cleaned out of the refrigerators in our rooms. We could start with the cheese spread, pretzels and four tiny bottles of Sauvignon Blanc. Sounds delicious, right?”
“Then, there are macadamia nuts, roasted almonds, processed potatoes in the form of thinly elegant chips, chocolate-covered pretzels, authentic looking imported cookies, four types of liquor in tiny bottles, two cans of local beer, something calle
d cheese kwisps, nuts covered in chocolate and candy shell, sparkling water and something that claims to have essential electrolytes. We paid for this so eat up,” finished Amelia.
“Mark would love this,” replied Blackie. He was looking through the mound of snacks and decided nuts were his best bet. He wasn’t alone, they all chose nuts first, then cheese spread and it was downhill from there.
About the time they opened the small packages of chocolate-covered pretzels Anonoi appeared next to the car. Before they could ask him where he had been he asked them to stay put while he left again for a short time.
Wayne twisted in his seat so he could see Blackie and Joules, “We might as well stretch our legs, don’t you think?”
“Anonoi may have a different idea of what constitutes a short time,” commented Amelia who was now leaning against the passenger side of the car. It was getting dark and it looked like they would be sleeping in the Nomad.
“More stars and planets,” replied Wayne looking at the sky, “more places to get chased, attacked, and almost eaten.”
“I met Joules on one of those,” said Blackie who was standing near Wayne looking up in the sky, “and Mark met Nita out there somewhere.”
“Good point, but you must admit Joules is kind of scary when she does that deep fryer thing.”
Joules was standing only a few feet away and heard Wayne’s comment. She had a witty retort in mind, but she was laughing so hard she couldn’t talk.
“Wayne,” Amelia suddenly yelled excitedly as she joined him and Blackie, “look, look there everyone.” Amelia was pointing at the sky above them. “I recognize these star patterns; we’re in the Milky Way,” she exclaimed, “we’re close to Earth. Maybe Anonoi could take us there!”
“Earth is not yet a signatory to the intergalactic travel treaty. Desredeedese Shades are strictly prohibited from going there.” Everyone whipped around to see Anonoi hovering over the hood of the Nomad.
“Welcome back,” said Blackie. “I suspect there’s no loophole that would allow you to take us to Earth since we’re so close.”
“None I’m afraid,” replied Anonoi. “However, you are close enough that the Jump Starter might select Earth as your next destination if you were to jump. It is a somewhat hospitable planet.”
“What’s the downside?” asked Wayne.
“We now have a direct path to Centoria. If I take you, we can be on Centoria in two oscillations and you will be reunited with your friends. If you jump, you may end up on Earth, but you also might be flung across the universe. The probability of the second occurrence is high, as is the probability that reaching Centoria would be delayed.”
After much discussion the group decided to take the direct path to Centoria. Not only could they reunite with Mark and Nita, but they were sure Arton could be persuaded to help them return to Gafcon-49.
After their decision Amelia stood looking up at the sky. “It’s right there,” she commented, nodding toward the magnificent white swath of stars that looked painted on the sky. “But it will be there later. We’ll be back.”
While Wayne was opening the passenger side door for Amelia, Blackie was doing the same for Joules. Wayne slipped into the driver’s seat as Blackie took one more look at the Milky Way. “No one will ever believe this,” he thought as he climbed in the back seat and said, “Let’s go find Mark and Nita.”
Anonoi positioned himself in front of the Nomad and just like before the area immediately around them began to oscillate slightly while the adjacent areas remained completely still.
“He’s thickening,” remarked Joules as the area around them suddenly twitched, then twitched again.
Amelia closed her eyes. The area around them twitched again.
“Here we go,” announced Wayne, and the Nomad disappeared.
THE END
*************************************
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Visit my website at http://www.jumpstartingtheuniverse.com
Jump Starting the Universe Series - Book Three
WORLD EATERS
By
John David Buchanan
December 12, 2017
Thanks To:
My wife De Lynn for her support,
Ryan Orosz for artwork used in this series,
Brittany Koester for her help with editing,
Zachary Lawton and Preston Buchanan
for a read-review the final draft,
Thanks to everyone who took time from their busy lives to read the Jump Starting the Universe series, and especially those who posted a book review.
Book 1 - Jump Starting the Universe,
Book 2 - The Edge of Nothing and Everything
Book 3 – World Eaters
Text copyright © 2017 by John David Buchanan
Artwork copyright © 2017 by Ryan Orosz
All Rights Reserved. Published by John David Buchanan
CHAPTER ONE
THE COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT
There was no warning. The sky was torn apart leaving a gash that looked like a blackened lightning bolt. The tear rumbled across the sky parting the heavens, and a deafening thunder like the sound of a thousand raging elephants crashed through the air. The sound wave that followed shook everything everywhere: buildings, trees, animals and mountains.
Gigantic slabs of rock were blasted from mountain cliffs and crashed to the earth as if an ill-tempered giant had violently hurled them to the ground. Landslides occurred all over the planet. The sides of hills and mountains were shaken from their foundations and crashed into valleys and streams, buildings, homes and highways. The destructive sound wave wreaked havoc across the entire planet.
Every sentient being felt the shock wave deep in their chests, reverberating like a bass guitar being played ridiculously loud at a rock concert. Inhabitants of the planet watched in horror as the sky was rent open, leaving a gash from one horizon to the other. The gash didn’t close. It hung in the sky as far as one’s eyes could see, and it was no superficial scratch.
It was deep, deep enough to cut through their dimension right into the next one. It was deep enough to connect two very different and distinct worlds. So distinct in fact, it is impossible for them to co-exist in the same dimensional fabric. And yet, without their symbiotic relationship, both would be utterly doomed to destruction.
As the sound of thunder ended, everything, everywhere, went quiet, as if the whole universe had gasped and held its breath. The crashing rocks lay quietly in their new resting places, and the mounds of soil that went sliding off their moorings stopped, forming entirely new topographies. Building rubble was strewn over sidewalks and parking areas, and the resulting dust settled to the ground coating everything like pollen in springtime. Everything was still and quiet, and in that precise moment, the World Eaters came.
Between every universe there are razor thin slivers of dense space. In those slivers there are eons of time, and an expanse without limits, filled with gateways to other dimensions. Time, area and matter in dense space are unique, existing only for those who occupy them. No one from our space lives there or ever goes there. How could they when most don’t even know it’s there? How would they?
Beings from all over the universes slip from one to another, but none of them stop in between, in the dense space hiding in the folds of universes. They are traveling in their own space, intent on their destinations, using equipment designed to go from space to space, and know nothing of what lies in-between.
Our scientists have told us universes lie against each other like pages in a closed book, or are folded against each other like new bed sheets in their plastic wrapper, and there is nothing between them. They are right, and they are wrong; unequivocally wrong.
They came out from between the universes in space, where nothing was supposed to be. Like hordes of locusts beginning a seventeen-year cycle, they swarmed out of dense space and through the gateways, and ev
ery planet in their path was overrun.
In the unfortunate circumstance some of those planets were inhabited, nothing survived. It was the end for them. The end of all the inhabitants’ plans, hopes and aspirations for their future. Their future is rewritten, and the old one exists no more.
Out of dense space they came to reestablish a balance between the dimensions by siphoning matter from space into the dense space universes of an adjacent dimension. Our physicists witnessed the effects of their intrusions: the relentless increase in the size of our universe, gravitational shifts destabilizing entire solar systems causing them to crash in on themselves, and planets spinning out of their orbits to join other galaxies.
Every civilization has legends but all of them share one: one frightening legend haunts all those who study history and myths. Their ancients spoke of those who crossed the gateways. They left cryptic warnings of their existence and their unwelcome forays into our space and time.
Those who crossed over to intrude in our worlds were accused of every evil thing imaginable. But in the end, when the events of history were scrutinized and analyzed, their machinations were found to play the most essential part in maintaining balance; a tenuous equilibrium preventing complete destruction of our worlds and theirs.
Without them, every planet, every solar system, everything everywhere would cease to exist. In a single moment, the entirety of all physical things in the universes would collapsed inward on themselves in a violent repudiation of universal expansion. The World Eaters’ actions are the Cosmological Constant in Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
Even now, they will come without warning, without hesitation and without regret. They will come to siphon off the excess matter accumulating in our space, re-establishing a balance between the two dimensions, and preventing the collapse of our universes and the destruction of everything we know.
Jump Starting the Universe Book Bundle Page 64