The Twinning Project

by Robert Lipsyte

  1957

  BRITZKY was scared, but watching Alessa try hard not to show how scared she was made him feel braver. The two of them sat in opposite corners of the cell, which was so small that their feet touched when they stretched their legs out. He let the bottom of his shoes touch hers, as if by accident. She didn’t pull hers away.

  The sandwiches tasted like paper, and the milk was starting to turn sour, but they finished everything. Even the green Jell-O. Britzky’s sick and dizzy feelings were gone, but he could tell that Alessa was exhausted. She needs my help.

  “Where do you think we are?” said Britzky, for something to say.

  “Abducted by aliens makes as much sense as anything else,” she said. “But why would they want us?”

  He didn’t want to scare her, but it made him feel tough to say, “You kidding? Suck out our brains, steal our blood, send us back with pods. Loads of reasons.”

  It didn’t scare her. “Where do you get stuff like that?”

  “Mindblender.com. It’s the best site for alien intel.”

  “Intel?”

  “Intelligence.” He felt good, on a roll. “The government’s been keeping all this stuff a big secret.”

  “Sounds paranoid,” said Alessa.

  “You’re not as dumb as you look, Todd,” said Dr. Traum.

  Britzky turned so fast he banged his head against the wall. The cell door was open and Dr. Traum was standing in the doorway. “Actually, I’ve never liked that word, alien. It marks people as not belonging. Who is to say who belongs and who doesn’t?”

  “What are you going to do to us?” said Britzky, trying to keep his voice steady.

  Dr. Traum waved his question away. “Talk to me about Tom. Did he ever mention his father?”

  “His father disappeared two years ago,” said Alessa, “in a plane crash.”

  “Don’t tell him anything,” said Britzky.

  “Did Tom ever think he heard voices? His father’s voice?”

  “Tom’s not crazy,” said Britzky. He liked the way Alessa looked at him, scared but admiring.

  “You’re right,” said Dr. Traum. “Tom’s not crazy.”

  His voice was soft, almost gentle, Britzky thought. Stay sharp.

  “Tom doesn’t know the truth about his father, who is the most dangerous man in the universe. If we don’t find John Canty in time, we may not be able to save the planet.”

  “From who?” asked Britzky.

  “Who’s ‘we’?” asked Alessa.

  “I’m hoping you can persuade Tom to tell us what he knows,” said Dr. Traum.

  “He’s here?” said Alessa.

  “He’s here with his twin brother.”

  “Twin brother?” they both said.

  FIFTY-EIGHT

  THE UNION COUNTY (N.J.) HOSPITAL FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE

  1957

  SITTING between the twins on the cell floor, Alessa felt small and useless. She was surprised that she didn’t like feeling small. She had gone back and forth so many times between feeling scared and feeling excited that now she was exhausted. She looked from one twin to the other. They were dressed alike—wrinkled dirty blue shirts and chino pants—but if you looked hard enough, you could see differences.

  The one on her left sat up straighter and filled out his shirt. Bigger muscles. The skin on his face was tanner, as if he spent more time outdoors. There was a tiny white scar above his right eyebrow. His hair was shorter. He spoke a little more slowly. He was the nicer one, the basketball player, the one running for class president, the one who had come up with Tech Off! Day.

  The one on her right—the thinner and paler one— talked faster and tougher. He was the Tom she had met first, the one who had been on YouTube, who had bombed Britzky, the violinist, the smarter one.

  She wondered which one she liked better. Why was she thinking that? What’s going on?

  “What’s going on?” she said.

  The twin on her left said, “I’m Eddie. I’m sorry I lied to you, and . . .”

  “C’mon, Eddie,” snapped the twin on her right. “Just answer her question—if you know the answer.”

  “Tom!” said Alessa. “Now, you cut that out. We need to work together here.”

  Tom’s mouth shut.

  Alessa was surprised and a little thrilled at her power. Britzky gave her a wink. “Go on, Eddie,” she said.

  “Dr. Traum is an alien,” said Eddie. “He thinks we know where our dad is. Dad’s a rebel leader against the monitors, which is what the aliens call their scouts on Earth.”

  “Wow,” said Britzky. His eyes were wide. “I knew it. I knew it! Is your dad an alien, too?”

  Alessa thought Britzky had never looked so happy.

  “Yeah,” said Eddie. “Dad quit the monitors when the alien scientists started talking about destroying the Earths.”

  “How do you know that?” said Tom.

  Eddie said, “Grandpa told me.”

  “He didn’t tell me.”

  “You wouldn’t have believed him,” said Eddie. “On your planet he’s supposed to be senile.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Alessa. “You said Earths. Are you guys from different planets?”

  “There are two Earths,” said Tom. “One is in 1957, where we are right now, and the other is in 2011.”

  Britzky rocked back against the stone wall. “This is so cool. Are you guys aliens, too?”

  “Half alien,” said Eddie. “Our mom was a human. She died when we were born.”

  The cell door opened, and Dr. Traum walked in, followed by Duke, who stood in the doorway with his arms crossed.

  “It’s time, people. In a little while, our station ship will be touching down. If we don’t have John Canty by then, you’ll all be coming back to Homeplace,” he said.

  “Your planet?” said Britzky.

  “Excellent,” said Dr. Traum. “You know, I was always under the impression that you were challenged.”

  Eddie said, “If you haven’t caught Dad so far, what makes you think you’ll get him now?”

  “Us,” said Tom. “We’re the trap. They expect Dad will come to save us.”

  Dr. Traum nodded. “We’re counting on it. He knows it would be much better for you if we settle this all here and now, so you can go back to your lives.”

  Alessa said, “How can you let us go? Aren’t you afraid we’ll tell everybody?”

  “Who would believe you?” said Dr. Traum. “You’d end up here for the rest of your lives, with the rest of the insane. You’d better hope John Canty does the right thing. If we have to take you to Homeplace, you may never see your own homes again.”

  “What’s Homeplace like?” said Britzky.

  Alessa thought he sounded interested.

  Dr. Traum ignored him. “Duke, call me if anyone remembers anything about John Canty. I’m going out to wait for the station ship.”

  “Sure. Where’s Earl?”

  “He’s picking up the fifth member of”—Dr. Traum chuckled—“the seventh grade version of those cartoon heroes, the Justice League of America.”

  FIFTY-NINE

  THE UNION COUNTY (N.J.) HOSPITAL FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE

  1957

  ONCE Dr. Traum was gone, Eddie winked at Tom over his shoulder.

  Get ready to disappear.

  He began bouncing his pink rubber ball against a wall of the cell.

  “I know that game,” said Duke. “Ace-King-Queen.”

  “We call it Chinese handball,” said Eddie.

  “Why?”

  Eddie shrugged. “That’s its name. Wanna play?”

  Duke looked around. “I’m supposed to be guarding you guys.”

  “It’s not like there’s anyplace to go,” said Tom.

  “Yeah.” Duke grinned. “Let’s see the ball.”

  Eddie flipped it to him. Duke bounced it hard. “Good rubber.”

  “There’s not enough room to have a real game with all of us in here,” said Eddie. “Le
t the rest of them go out in the hall.”

  “Forget it,” said Duke.

  “In a real game I’ll beat your can blue,” said Eddie.

  “In your dreams,” said Duke.

  “Believe it,” said Eddie. “I’m going to win. Big.”

  “Duke’s chicken,” said Britzky. He flapped his arms and squawked.

  “Duke can’t think for himself,” said Alessa. “Better call Dr. Traum, Dukey, ask him what you should do.”

  “We can play out in the hall,” Duke said to Eddie. He jabbed a finger at Tom, Alessa, and Britzky. “Don’t move. Stay where I can see you.”

  The game started slowly, Duke serving to Eddie against the concrete wall outside the cell.

  Tom had never seen Eddie in action before. His brother was quick and graceful, moving to the ball as it bounced off the wall, his feet skipping sideways or backwards, his body curling over, his arm swinging his hand like a paddle to slap the ball back. How did he get so good? Tom wondered. We’re twins. I’ve never been good at sports . . . Maybe because I never tried.

  “Start cheering,” whispered Tom to Alessa and Britzky. “Loud.”

  Duke was grunting and sweating just to keep up with Eddie, who wasn’t even breathing hard. Tom realized that Eddie kept placing the ball so that Duke had to run and stretch to get to it. He’s trying to make Duke concentrate on the game and forget about me.

  Tom started edging toward his backpack. He signaled Britzky and Alessa to make more noise, jump around.

  “Go for it, big guy!” yelled Britzky. “Nail it.”

  Alessa stuck her pinkies into her mouth and whistled.

  They waved their arms. Stomped. Patients in other cells howled louder and banged their tin cups against the bars.

  Eddie slapped a hard shot that Duke was barely able to return, then began hitting little baby shots that had Duke bending over, huffing and puffing. Eddie hit a weak shot that Duke was able to slam back hard. Eddie, apparently off balance, banged it so far out of bounds that Duke had to run down the hall to get it.

  Eddie glanced over his shoulder.

  Go, Tomaroon.

  Tom grabbed his backpack.

  Alessa and Britzky were screaming and dancing. The patients were howling and banging.

  Tom found the CloakII and turned it on. The power indicator light went from green to yellow.

  SIXTY

  THE UNION COUNTY (N.J.) HOSPITAL FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE

  1957

  A BREEZE encircled me. I could feel the light waves being distorted. I couldn’t see my feet. It was working! But I had only a few seconds. I tiptoed past Alessa and Britzky, out of the cell, then into the hall, past Eddie, and down the stairs.

  The power indicator turned red, then blinked off. My feet reappeared. Whew. Just made it.

  I was on the ground floor of the asylum. I trotted along a dim hallway toward a barred glass door that looked as though it opened to the outside. I wondered if it would be locked, if there would be an alarm.

  Where’s the tunnel?

  I spotted a green door marked AUTHORIZED PERSON­NEL ONLY. It was locked.

  It took the TPT SafecrackerPlus about two seconds to pick the lock. What do you expect, I thought. 2011 against 1957.

  The door opened into darkness. I turned on my cell phone flashlight.

  I was in a small machinery room. There was a trapdoor in the floor. I pulled it open. A ladder led down to a dirt floor. I climbed down. The ceiling there was high enough for me to stand up. It was a tunnel. It had to be the tunnel to the guardhouse.

  Go back and get the others. But then what? Could the four of us take Duke?

  I started back up the ladder.

  The trapdoor slammed shut.

  I pushed and banged on it. I couldn’t open it.

  I sat down in the dirt.

  Think . . . My friends are upstairs, and a spaceship is coming to take them away, and I’m down here trapped in a tunnel under an insane asylum on a stupid planet because I’m so smart.

  Not smart enough, not bad enough. What a dumb jerk you are, always thinking you’re smarter and badder than everybody else, and when it really matters, you mess up big-time.

  Stop whining. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

  If this is the tunnel to the guardhouse, I could try to escape from the guardhouse. But what could I do out there? How would I get back to help everybody?

  What should I do?

  Don’t cry.

  I did the only other thing I could think of to do. I did it to give myself courage. I took out my fiddle and started to play.

  I played my half of the dueling violins from Riverdance.

  Ten times. I didn’t care who heard me, even if it was Duke or Earl or Dr. Traum. I was like a crazy person myself.

  I finished, exhausted, and dropped to the dirt. Suddenly, I heard an echo far away of violin strings zinging and popping.

  Only it wasn’t an echo.

  It was the other half of the duet.

  Dad’s half.

  I jumped up and started playing, loud as I could, until the music bounced off the ceiling and walls and floor of the tunnel and surrounded me.

  Dad appeared in the tunnel. He looked thinner and grayer than I remembered. But it was Dad—it was his smile, the way his eyes twinkled. I wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me around the shoulders.

  Now I was crying. It was hard to get the words out. “I never thought you were dead.”

  “I’m sorry I put you through all this, Tommy.” He bent over and put his forehead against mine.

  “You had no choice. You did it to save us all.”

  “I had a choice, Tommy. I did it because I thought it was right. I’m not sure I had a right to make things even harder for you and Eddie.”

  “Sure you did. We’re rebels, like you.”

  He squeezed me hard. When I looked at his face again, his eyes were wet.

  I said, “You’re an alien, aren’t you?”

  He laughed. “Whatever that means. Aliens don’t think they’re aliens.”

  “My real mom died.”

  “She was wonderful.”

  “So what are Eddie and me? Like, half-alien, half-human?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Do we have, you know, powers?”

  Dad nodded and said, solemnly, “You do.”

  “Like what?”

  “You’ll find out when it’s time.”

  I said, “What are we going to do now?”

  “Make a deal,” said Dad. “They want me. They’ll let you and Eddie and your friends go.”

  “Forget it! We’re going to fight them together.”

  He kissed my forehead and rubbed my head with his knuckles. It felt good. “You’re a fighter, Tommy, but this is not the time.”

  “What’s going to happen?”

  “They’ll take me back to Homeplace. But there are people there who will help me escape and come back to you.”

  “And then what?”

  “Keep doing what I’ve been doing. Organizing humans to save their planets. Fight global warming, fight starvation, disease, war. I’ve been waiting for you and Eddie to join me and start a revolution of kids saving the Earths.”

  “Eddie started already. Tech Off! Day.”

  “I know about that. Tell him how proud I am.”

  “Can’t you tell him?”

  “Someday I will,” Dad said, smiling. “Count on it.”

  “Couldn’t the alien scientists just fix things?”

  “Maybe. But we would have to convince them that people on Earth would really change their ways and not destroy themselves and the universe along with them.”

  I said, “How could we do that?”

  “By starting the process on the Earths.” He hugged me again. “We’d better get going. You need to get back to Eddie’s house. Grandpa’s there.”

  “Am I going to see you again?”

  “You’d better believe it. Now go.
” He pushed me toward the ladder. Together we opened the trapdoor and went upstairs.

  I watched Dad walk out the front door of the asylum. Then I dug out the TPT SafecrackerPlus again. I felt sad but strong. I knew what I had to do.

  SIXTY-ONE

  THE UNION COUNTY (N.J.) HOSPITAL FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE

  1957

  JUST before the sky went dark and a terrible roaring filled the asylum, Britzky saw a small pale face through the bars of the cell window. A kid his age, but ghostly. He couldn’t tell if it was a girl or a boy. An alien? Britzky shivered, and then the entire building shivered. The huge noise sounded like a tornado. The face disappeared.

  In the hallway, Duke grabbed Eddie. “Let’s go. The station ship’s here. C’mon, you guys.” He signaled to Alessa and Britzky to follow him. “Hey . . . Where’s the other twin?”

  Instead of answering Duke, Eddie said to Todd, “Put a hat on him.”

  Britzky didn’t even pause to think about it. He lowered his head and rammed into Duke’s stomach. Duke slammed backward into the stone wall, headfirst, and slid down to the floor.

  “You can start on my team!” yelled Eddie. “Let’s go.”

  Britzky and Alessa followed him out into the hall and down the stairs. On the first floor they saw Tom opening cells and waving patients toward the front door. He ran to them. “There’s a tunnel out of here, down a trapdoor in that room near the front door. Go. I’ll meet you outside the fence.”

  “I’m staying with you,” said Eddie.

  “Me, too,” said Britzky.

  “No, go on. Get these people moving into the tunnel so we can get lost in the crowd and get out of here. It’s what Dad wants.”

  Eddie froze. “Dad? You saw him? You talked to him?”

  “Hurry!”

  Britzky pulled Eddie and Alessa toward the front of the asylum. Through the glass door, they saw lights blinking in the blackness of the sky, red and white lights. A door in the sky slid open, and they looked up into the belly of a spaceship.

  An open elevator came down. Merlyn was standing on the platform. When it reached the parking lot of the asylum, Dr. Traum stepped on. He was gripping the arm of a tall thin man with graying black hair.