by Gary Urey
“Okay. Let’s go get it then.”
“No, you have to go to the temple without me,” Axel said. “If the Doctor captures both of us trying to steal back the GeoPort, then we can’t do anything to stop him. Warp to India tomorrow morning. Get the lay of the land and see if you can figure out how we get rid of the GeoPorts forever.”
“I don’t want to leave you again,” Daisha said, her eyes growing misty.
“Same with me, but there’s no other way. I’ve been inside the Doctor’s lair. Pinchole let it slip that they were keeping my GeoPort in the Monitoring Room on the third floor. I’ll figure out a way to sneak back in and get it. When I do, I’ll Warp to India and then we can be free.”
Without another word, they collapsed into each other’s arms, holding each other until the chirping fox sparrows in the backyard signaled the morning sunrise.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
DOCTOR STAIN
The Doctor and Pinchole met Stiv the Hacker inside a private conference room next to the Monitoring Room. She was young and fresh from UC Berkeley’s computer science program. Nerdy yet hip retro glasses framed her face, metallic blue hair sat in spikes on top of her partially shaved head, and a conga line of silver studs dangled from her ears. Colorful tattoos of exotic flowers and mystical creatures decorated her upper right arm.
After introductions, they huddled around her laptop, eager to see what she had uncovered concerning Daisha’s search history.
“I already told you over the phone that Daisha searched the term electron diffusion region,” Stiv said, “She also played around with Google Translate. She was particularly interested in translating Latin to English.”
“Who, besides the Pope, has any use for Latin?” the Doctor wondered.
“What words was she trying to translate?” Pinchole asked.
“Magnes and solis. Magnes means magnet, and solis means sun.”
Pinchole slapped a palm to his forehead. “Holy mother of Moses, Solace and solis sound exactly the same! Magnes Solace may not be a person after all! What else was she looking for?”
“She then googled the words magnet of the sun. The first hit was a place called the Konanavlah Sun Temple in India.” Stiv looked up from her laptop. “Didn’t they film scenes from an old Indiana Jones movie there?”
The Doctor let out an impatient sigh. “What does a temple in India have to do with anything?”
Stiv shrugged. “Don’t know. But she spent over seven minutes reading the page, so it must have been important to her.”
“Let’s slow down and figure out why the Konanavlah Sun Temple so piqued her interest,” Pinchole said, scratching his chin. He pointed to the article on-screen. “It says here the place is supposedly one of the most magnetic places in the world. This is very intriguing, if I do say so myself. Magnes Solis…magnet of the sun. Temple…magnetism. Electron diffusion region.”
“I can see the neurons inside your brain firing up,” the Doctor said. “Are you connecting the dots?”
“Her final search was Konanavlah Sun Temple latitude longitude,” Stiv added. “The answer Google gave her was 23.1483° N, 79.9015° E.”
With Stiv’s words, Pinchole’s knees buckled slightly. His face turned white. He grabbed the back of a chair to keep from falling over. “The girl did it,” he huffed. “She may know…where…”
“Stop blubbering like an idiot!” the Doctor barked. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying that a thirteen-year-old girl quite possibly figured out this puzzle and not me, a man with a PhD and dual majors in both physics and mathematics from Stanford University.”
“You should have gone to UC Berkeley,” Stiv joked. “Then you could have figured out whatever the heck you’re talking about long ago.”
“Pinchole, you have about three seconds to start making sense,” the Doctor demanded.
“X-Point, X-Point, X-Point!” Pinchole shouted, shaking his fists in the air. “Don’t you get it?”
Stiv leaned over and whispered in the Doctor’s ear. “I think he’s losing it.”
“What the hell’s an X-Point?” the Doctor asked.
“An electron diffusion region is sometimes called an X-Point,” Pinchole explained. “They’re places where the sun’s magnetic field connects with Earth’s magnetic field, creating a kind of portal in the atmosphere. We erroneously thought Magnes Solace was a person. Daisha figured out that Magnes Solis is a place—the Konanavlah Sun Temple, the Magnet of the Sun!”
The Doctor felt his stain flush with intense heat. Every ounce of his being wanted to run to the bathroom and dunk his head in cold water. Instead, he rushed over to the small refrigerator in the corner of the room, took out a cold bottle of water, and held it to his flaming face.
“Ignore me,” the Doctor said. “Finish what you were saying.”
Pinchole looked at Stiv. “Do you want me to continue with her in the room? I mean, this is top-secret stuff I’m about to reveal.”
“Do you trust her?” the Doctor asked.
“I guess, but…”
“Then I trust her. Besides, she’s smart enough to know how powerful I am.”
“This is all falling into place,” Pinchole continued, his voice squealing with excitement. “Daisha is a prodigy. She definitely inherited her brilliant mother’s brains, but I digress. As I have explained to you many times, geographical transportation works like this. We use big space magnets to capture the electrons found in the solar wind. Then we transfer the electrons to Earth via infrared lasers. The enormous energy gives us the ability to dematerialize the elemental composition of the human body to a stream of charged particles. GeoPort units then reconstitute those particles back to human form and transfer them to any latitudinal and longitudinal point on Earth. I now realize the GeoPorts only work because of an uninterrupted opening of an X-Point—an electronic diffusion region. Are you following me?”
“Wow,” Stiv said. “This is absolutely amazing. Keep going.”
“I know all about the scientific mumbo jumbo,” the Doctor said. “Please, get to the point.”
“The point is that the Konanavlah Sun Temple is a predictable X-Point!” Pinchole shouted. “Professors Jack and Tandala discovered one of these elusive openings, which made the Satellite Warp and geographical transportation possible. We don’t need Axel, Daisha, or the GeoPorts. Now that we know where we can find an X-Point, we can make our own GeoPorts!”
“Both of you are getting the cart way before the horse,” Stiv said.
“What do you mean?” Pinchole asked.
“You can’t expect to waltz over to India with a team of scientists and start messing with a revered holy site from the tenth century.”
The Doctor laughed.
“Did I say something funny?” Stiv asked.
“Not at all,” the Doctor said. “You just reminded me that I’ll need to take my checkbook along when we go to India.”
“You might have to grease quite a few fingers to pull this off,” Pinchole added.
The Doctor turned his attention to Stiv. “Since you know so much about our project, I want you to come to India with me as my personal assistant. What do you say? A girl of your talents will be a great asset to our operation.”
“You ask me like I have a choice in the matter,” Stiv said.
The Doctor smiled. “I like the way you think. Enjoy the ride. You are about to have a front-row seat on the greatest technological advancement and business venture the world has ever known.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” Stiv said, a flirtatious hint in her voice.
“I’ll need at least a week to assemble a team and all of the equipment we’ll need,” Pinchole said.
“You’ll be ready in three days,” the Doctor ordered and walked out of the room.
Chapter Thirty
AXEL
Axel and Daisha slipped out of the house and ran in the direction of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter. Boris trotted along with them,
stopping every so often to sniff a tree trunk and then mark his territory with a squirt of pee.
“This is a big mistake,” Axel grumbled, his eyes darting back and forth on the lookout for Pursuers.
“I will absolutely not leave Boris to run the streets and possibly get hit by a car,” Daisha said. “Or worse, have his previous owner, that disgusting Pursuer, take possession of him again.”
“Whatever. He’s just a dog. Someone would have noticed him roaming around without a collar and then taken him to the shelter. It doesn’t have to be us.”
A second later, Boris made a beeline for a soggy, half-eaten bagel lying in the gutter. The dog chowed it down in three quick bites. Watching Boris eat made Axel realize how hungry he was. He couldn’t even imagine how ravenous Daisha must be. When they finally hooked up, she mentioned that she hadn’t eaten since the day before. That means almost two days had passed since her last bite of food.
“I’m starving,” Axel said. “I wish I had some money.”
“Please, don’t mention food,” Daisha said, patting her grumbling stomach. “It just makes me sad.”
“I could try shoplifting a candy bar or something from the 7-Eleven.”
Daisha gave him a cross look. “Are you crazy? All we need is for you to get busted stealing a Snickers or Kit Kat.”
Axel nodded. They jogged in silent hunger until the Palo Alto Animal Shelter came into view. There were no cars in the parking lot, so they stepped up to the entrance. A large sign read: Only residents of Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills may surrender animals here. DO NOT leave pets outside of shelter when we are not open.
“Looks like we’re breaking rule number two,” Daisha said.
“We’ll have to find something to tie him up and get out of here fast,” Axel said. “If a Hummer full of Pursuers cruises by, we’re dead meat.” He rummaged through a garbage bin and pulled out a long piece of shredded twine caked with black grease.
Using skills learned from Boy Scouts, Axel made an overhand knot on one end of the rope, pulled the other end through the loop, and slipped it over Boris’s head. He then secured the dog to a bicycle rack.
“Boris isn’t going anywhere,” Axel said. “Let’s get out of here. This place is too wide open.”
“It’s hot,” Daisha said. “I’m not leaving him without water.”
Axel groaned. “Do you want to get caught? It’s almost seven thirty. The sign says the shelter opens at nine. People will get here soon. He’ll be fine.”
“I wish you could come with me, boy. But I don’t know if a dog could physically handle a trip through the Warp.”
“Besides that, only your DNA will make the GeoPort work,” Axel added. “The dog couldn’t go through even if he’d be fine.”
Boris whimpered and bit at the impromptu leash, his otherworldly dog sense telling him that they were about to leave.
“Let’s fly,” Axel said. “I don’t feel safe here.”
Daisha stroked the dog’s head, tears running down her brown cheeks. With Axel going back to the Doctor’s lair in search of his GeoPort and her Warping to Madhya Pradesh, India, and the Konanavlah Sun Temple, they both realized that there was a very good chance they would never see each other again.
“Don’t cry,” Axel said, reassuring her. “We’ll be together in India before you know it.”
A red Toyota Corolla with a missing hubcap wheeled into the parking lot. Axel and Daisha instantly shot to attention, unsure if they should run away or stay put. Before they’d agreed on a plan of action, the driver pulled the car into the handicapped spot directly in front of them. A middle-aged woman with shoulder-length brown hair and glasses turned off the engine, stepped out of the car, and limped over to them, assisted by a silver cane. She was wearing a white T-shirt that said DOG IS MY COPILOT in big capital letters.
“Can I help you with something?” the woman asked.
“We found this dog roaming the streets,” Axel answered, his heart pounding in his chest.
“He didn’t have a collar or anything,” Daisha added, wiping away tears.
The woman bent over and let Boris sniff her fingers. “Fine-looking animal,” the woman said. “I can tell by his black-and-white markings, pointy ears, and curly tail that he’s a purebred Karelian Bear Dog. They’re extremely rare outside of their native Finland. What’s more unique is that the dog still has his blue puppy eyes. They usually turn dark brown after six weeks or so.”
“You’re right,” Daisha said, studying Boris’s eyes. “I never noticed before. Actually, they’re more violet-colored.
“What’s a Karelian Bear Dog?” Axel wondered.
“They’re bred to hunt large game like moose and wild boar. The breed is also famous for protecting its owner from bear attacks. That’s where its name comes from. In fact, the Karelian Bear Dog is so naturally ferocious that park rangers in Yosemite sometimes use them for bear control. Where’d you find him?”
Axel and Daisha answered at the same time, but with different answers.
“Hoover Park.”
“Byron Street.”
“Well, what is it?” the woman questioned with raised eyebrows. “Hoover Park or Byron Street?”
“He was running on Byron Street, and then we took him to the Hoover Park Dog Run to see if his owner was there,” Daisha said quickly.
“I see,” the women said. “He could just be lost and not homeless. If we find an animal running the streets without tags, we put an ad in the pet section of the newspaper to see if anyone will claim it before officially putting it up for adoption. The person who paid a pretty penny for this Karelian will most certainly be on the lookout for him.”
The woman punched a series of numbers into the security pad, and the front door clicked open. “Please, wait right here,” she said. “We don’t officially open for another hour or so. Let me take a few minutes to get settled, and then I’ll put him right into the quarantine cage so our vet can check him out.”
“What do we do now?” Daisha asked when the woman disappeared inside the building.
“We carry on with our plan,” Axel said. “I’m going to get my GeoPort, and you’re going to India. The shelter will take care of Boris.”
“But what if they put an ad in the paper and that Pursuer who you knocked silly claims him?”
“Against my wishes, you forced us to bring the dog to the shelter. That’s all we can do.”
“Okay,” Daisha said. “But I want to stay with him awhile before Warping to India.”
“Do what you need to do, but don’t wait around too long. Wish me luck. After I get back my GeoPort, I’ll see you at the Konanavlah Sun Temple.”
“Do you remember the coordinates?”
Axel smiled. “23.1483° N, 79.9015° E.” He wrapped his arms around Daisha, hugged her with all his might, and then ran down the sidewalk.
Chapter Thirty-One
DAISHA
Daisha watched Axel vanish down the street. Her best friend leaving, combined with dumping Boris off at the shelter, made a lump form in her throat. The dog lifted his muzzle and let out a series of distressed howls, as if calling Axel back to them. It was of no use. Axel was gone, and now it was just the two of them.
“Me and you and a Karelian Bear Dog named Boris,” Daisha hummed, remembering the tune of some obscure song she had once heard on the radio but changing the lyrics to fit her present situation.
The hot morning sun blasted full force right in Daisha’s face. Boris was panting, his pink tongue flopping from the side of his mouth like a flimsy slice of bologna. A shady seating area ran along the side of the building. She untied Boris from the bike rack and led him to a bench. Instantly, the temperature dropped a good ten degrees.
“Good boy,” Daisha cooed and then slipped the leash from around his neck. “I don’t think you need this. You aren’t going anywhere.”
Boris barked and then returned Daisha’s act of kindness by licking her cheek.
“Doggy
kisses!” Daisha gushed and then wiped away the saliva. “For some reason, I can’t see you charging after a grizzly. Then again, considering the way you tore into that Pursuer who was trying to kill me, you really are fearless.”
A loud car engine roared from behind the shelter. Daisha ignored the commotion until she heard two car doors open and then slam shut.
“Henrik, tell me again why we are looking for this dog?” a deep voice grumbled.
“It is the least we can do for Loosha,” Henrik said, his voice thick with a foreign accent. “He is laid up in the hospital after that beating he took. Plus, he paid two thousand dollars for that stupid animal. I told him paying that much for a dog was a complete waste of pieniądze.”
“The moron went on a spending spree the moment he got the bonus from Stain for capturing the boy,” the other man added.
Henrik laughed a high-pitched squeal that made Daisha’s skin crawl. She perked up, her ears straining to hear the rest of their conversation.
“The dog has a GPS chip inserted under the skin,” Henrik said. “My device says we are very close.”
“With any luck, someone found the mutt on the street and dropped him off at this shelter,” the other man said. “We’ll claim him and then go looking for the girl, hopefully getting our own fat bonus.”
Before Daisha had a chance to digest what she had just heard, the two men turned the corner. They stared at her and Boris. Henrik held up a GPS device. The thing was beeping like a smoke detector whose battery was about to die. The other man pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. He studied the paper for moment, looked at Daisha, and then back down to the paper.
“It is Boris,” Henrik said. “We have found him.”
“It’s also the girl with her hair cut!” the other man exclaimed. “She looks just like the poster Pinchole passed out to everybody!”
Daisha didn’t wait around to hear another word. She turned and sprinted through the parking lot as fast as her weary feet could take her, Boris chugging right along with her. The sound of the men’s hard-soled shoes pounded behind them in hot pursuit.