Sparky gestured at the unconscious Omanx as he said that.
“It's not 'space karate,'” said Galaxy. “That's not even—oh, never mind. Anyway, you think that my counterpart and I from this universe might have switched places?”
“Sure,” said Sparky, nodding. “Or, most likely, minds, seeing as you have the body of a teenage girl, even though you have the mind of an adult woman. That means that the mind of your teenage self is probably stuck in your original adult body in your universe, wherever that is.”
“Interesting theory,” said Galaxy, stroking her chin. “Only question is, why? Why did I switch bodies with my other self? Is this some sort of strange space anomaly or something? And if so, why weren't you and Space affected by it?”
“No idea,” said Sparky with a shrug. Then he smiled. “But that doesn't mean we can't figure it out. You two should come to my place. Because I love studying this stuff, I've been working on building a … well, I don't want to tell you just yet. You have to see it for yourselves. It's a secret to everyone.”
“All right,” said Galaxy. She looked over her shoulder at Space. “What say you, Space? Are you going to come or do you think your mother might kill you a little less painfully if you went home right away?”
Space tugged on the straps of his backpack, but then shrugged and said, “Sure, I'll come. I'm still not sure if I believe you, but now I admit that I find it interesting, so I'll tag along for now.”
“Oh,” said Galaxy, snapping her fingers. She looked back down at Sparky. “Sparky, I've got something I want you to see, in case you can help.”
Galaxy lowered her backpack off her shoulders and slung it around in front of her. Unzipping the top, she dug around for a bit before finding what she was looking for: The tiny silver disc from earlier, which she handed to Sparky, who took the disc and looked it over in the dying evening light.
“Can you tell me what that is?” said Galaxy. “I found it in my backpack when I got here. But I don't remember getting it from anyone, nor do I remember anyone putting it in there.”
Sparky turned the disc over, frowning. “What's this writing on it? I've never seen the language.”
Galaxy leaned a little closer to the disc. There was indeed some mysterious writing on its surface, faded and hard to see in the low light evening conditions. Galaxy, however, recognized it right away.
“That's the writing of the Starborn,” said Galaxy. She then looked between Space and Sparky. “Does your universe have Starborn, by the way?”
Based on the way the two stared at her blankly, Galaxy guessed that they did not. So she said, “Back where I'm from, the Starborn are an ancient space-faring race that visited every known planet in the universe. They vanished eons ago, well before any species in my universe discovered space travel, but they've left behind a lot of their artifacts and writing everywhere, which is the only way we know they existed at all.”
“How did they vanish?” Space asked.
“No one knows,” said Galaxy, shaking her head. “And no one has been able to succeed in translating their writing, either. It's completely different from the written form of every other language in the universe. The most popular theory is that their planet died due to excessive use of natural resources and then the Starborn themselves died off soon after. Don't ask where their planet is. No one knows that, either.”
“Your universe sounds very mysterious,” said Space. “And creepy. An entire race, just dying off like that?”
“That's not so strange when you consider how many species have died on Earth over its millions of years of existence, and then factor in the other planets in the universe with their own histories and species,” said Galaxy. “Anyway, Sparky, do you recognize the disc at all?”
“No,” said Sparky, shaking his head as he handed it back to Galaxy. “It looks like a CD, but it isn't built like one. Seems almost like alien tech to me. At least, I've never seen anything like it on Earth before, that's for sure.”
“It probably is alien tech if it has Starborn writing on it,” said Galaxy as she deposited the disc safely within her pack again. “The only question is, how did it get in my backpack and what is it for?”
“Who knows?” said Space with a shudder. “All of this talk about Starborn and dying races is freaking me out. Can't we just go to Sparky's house now?”
“Okay,” said Sparky, giving Space the thumbs up. “Let's go. My house isn't too far from here, so we should get there in no time.”
-
Sparky's 'house,' as it turned out, was an average-looking twenty-first century home set in a suburb full of other average-looking twenty-first century homes. It had a nice green lawn on the front, with some roses growing in the flowerbed against the house. There was even a car—not a hover car, but one of those old ones that Galaxy had read about, the kind that had four wheels—in the driveway, though Galaxy's lack of knowledge about old-fashioned cars made it impossible for her to identify its make and model. It was sleek and red, but that was about as much as Galaxy could tell about it just from looking at it.
“Here we are,” said Sparky, gesturing at his home as the three of them walked along the other side of the street. “Home sweet home.”
Galaxy did not know what she had expected to see. She had expected Sparky's house to look much more futuristic, due to the fact that he was a robot, yet the house looked so ordinary that she was confused by its appearance.
For that matter, Galaxy now wondered just who Sparky's parents were, prompting her to say, “Sparky, um, forgive me if this question might be offensive, but who are your parents?”
“Technically, I don't have parents like you humans do,” said Sparky. He stopped and looked both ways up and down the road, but there were no cars in either direction, so he made his way across the pavement, with Galaxy and Space following behind. “Instead, I belong to a couple who can't have children. They sort of adopted me, I guess.”
“That's pretty common here in Annulus City,” Space explained to Galaxy, likely upon seeing the puzzled expression on her face. “Birth rates have been falling over the years, so lots of couples, including same-sex ones, buy young robots to raise as their own. I actually grew up with one robot like that when I was a kid, though he left because he didn't get along with the rest of us.”
“Huh,” said Galaxy as she, Space, and Sparky reached the sidewalk and then went walking up the driveway of the house. “Back where I come from, that sort of thing never happens. Most couples tend to raise their own biological children. Practically no one raises robots as their children, although there are definitely some couples who do.”
“Interesting,” said Sparky, glancing over his shoulder at Galaxy as he walked. “Your universe is weird.”
Says the guy who comes from a universe where Doctor Discovery is an authoritarian science teacher, Galaxy thought in annoyance.
Aloud, however, Galaxy said, “So, Sparky, who are your parents, anyway? Could they be someone I know?”
“I dunno,” said Sparky with a shrug. Then he smiled again. “If we have the time, I could introduce them to you. They'd probably be happy to meet you two. Then we can go to the garage, where I can show you what I've been working on.”
“Okay, but can you avoid telling them that I'm from an alternate universe?” said Galaxy. “I know you two have been pretty accepting of that fact, but I can't predict the responses of everyone in this universe to the knowledge that I'm an adult woman in a teenager's body. So I want you to keep it mum for now, okay, Sparky?”
Sparky's shoulders slumped, but then he nodded and said, “Okay. I won't mention a word about you being from an alternate universe.”
“And neither will I,” Space said, jerking a thumb at his chest. “I don't think anyone would believe you if you said that anyway. I mean, I barely believe you myself.”
Galaxy rolled her eyes, but now they were at the front door. Sparky grabbed the doorknob (another oddity, because back in Galaxy's universe, very few doors ha
d knobs anymore), turned it, and pushed the door open. He then strode inside, shouting, “Mom, Dad, I'm home and I've brought two of my friends with me!”
“Welcome back, honey!” replied a feminine voice that likely belonged to Sparky's mother, though Galaxy didn't recognize it. It was followed by the clinking of dishes and running water. “Your dad's taking a nap right now, since he just got back from work, but you and your friends can get a snack from the fridge if you want.”
What kind of snacks do robots eat? Galaxy thought in confusion. Gears?
“Thanks, Mom, but I want to show my friends my garage project!” said Sparky as he turned down the hall to the right, which seemed to lead into the garage, with Galaxy and Space following right behind him. “I'll tell you about my day at school later!”
“Okay, honey!” said Sparky's mom (which were two words that Galaxy had never thought she'd actually say) from the kitchen, which was probably where she was, based on the clinking of dishes and the running water that Galaxy heard. “But don't touch your father's car. You know how he gets about that.”
“Sure, Mom,” Sparky replied as he pushed open the door to the garage and entered, gesturing for Galaxy and Space to follow.
Space followed without question, while Galaxy stopped and looked down the hall toward the kitchen. She was not interested in meeting Sparky's parents, but she was nonetheless intrigued by the idea of Sparky having parents at all. Though she never thought about it too much, Galaxy sometimes thought of herself as Sparky's 'mother,' seeing as she had created him back in her dimension. She wondered just how differently his parents had raised him in comparison to how Galaxy and Space had raised him back in her home universe.
Then Galaxy shook her head. While that's interesting to speculate about and all, you have more important things to worry about at the moment, Galaxy. Like seeing if Sparky's invention will help you get back home to your Sparky.
So Galaxy stepped through the threshold into Sparky's garage. The smell of gasoline and oil entered her nostrils, a scent that she actually found sickening, as most vehicles from her dimension did not use gasoline or oil as fuel anymore. She almost threw up, but didn't, because she knew that would not help her return home.
The garage itself was pretty wide open. There was another car—a blue one, but again, Galaxy could not identify its make and model, only noting that it looked rather sporting—near the garage door, which was currently closed. The garage was also a lot warmer than the rest of Sparky's house, probably due to the fact that it had no openings through which to let the hot air out.
On the other end of the room, opposite the car, was a strange-looking contraption that Galaxy had never seen before. It resembled a mirror of sorts, except it was perched on top of a box-shaped machine that reminded Galaxy of the Adventure's main engine. It was hooked up to the outlets in the wall, but it did not appear to be active at the moment. The machine also had a lot of strange, silvery-looking tape on it that Galaxy had never seen before, though she could tell it was what kept the mirror perched to the box.
Sparky was already at the machine's base, having deposited his own backpack on the floor. He was flipping switches and pressing buttons, of which there had to be at least one hundred. Space stood near him, watching Sparky's movements with an expression that told Galaxy that he didn't quite understand what all of the switches and buttons did.
Walking over to them, Galaxy said, “So, Sparky, what is that?”
“It's my dimensional mirror,” said Sparky, without taking his optics away from his project. “It's based off a theory I read in Professor Plagiaras's book, The Theory of Dimensional Travel. Assuming it works, it should allow us to peek into other dimensions.”
“Can it take me back to my home dimension, too?” said Galaxy.
“I don't think so,” said Sparky, shaking his head. “All it can do is let you see your home dimension. I don't have the parts or power for actually inter-dimensional travel, so you'll just have to content yourself with this mirror for now.”
“And … how did you construct a fully-operational dimensional mirror in your family's garage?” said Space, staring at Sparky's machine in disbelief.
“I saved up my allowance and bought the mirror, but the rest of the stuff I just found lying around the house or the neighborhood,” said Sparky. “Then I built my own based off the principles outlined in Professor Plagiaras's book, though I had to use a lot of duct tape to keep it all together. I haven't tested it yet, though, so I don't know if it actually works or not. It should, because I am pretty sure that I followed all of the principles right, but the book did say a lot of them are theoretical, so it might not work.”
“What will happen if it doesn't?” said Space.
“Dunno,” said Sparky with a shrug. “Professor Plagiaras's book didn't say, mostly because no one has actually tried to build something like this before. If I had to guess, though, I'd say it will probably explode in our faces or nuke the neighborhood. Or both.”
Space gulped. “If Mom finds out that I helped nuke a neighborhood, she's not just going to kill me. She's going to annihilate me.”
“Won't you be dead if it nukes the neighborhood?” asked Sparky, looking over his shoulder at Space.
“She'll still kill me,” Space insisted. “I don't know how, but I don't want to risk it.”
Galaxy stopped next to Space and frowned. “While this is interesting and all, I am not sure what good a dimensional mirror will do me. If it won't be able to take me back to my home universe, then what's the point of using it?”
“Well, if we can figure out how to make this work, then we can also figure out how to build a real portal capable of letting us dimension-hop,” said Sparky, turning his attention back to the dimensional mirror. “Professor Plagiaras's book says that this is the first step toward achieving that goal, which is why I built it. It'd be awesome if I was the first person to build a real functioning dimensional portal, wouldn't it?”
“Are you sure you're just a fifth grader?” asked Space. “Because you seem to know more about science than Mr. Columbus does.”
“It wasn't that hard to figure out,” said Sparky, waving off Space's praise like it was nothing. “I just read the book, visualized how Professor Plagiaras's principles would work out in a three-dimensional plane, and then threw it together with what resources I had. If I had access to the resources of an actual research lab or scientific institution, then I would be able to make a better one, but I think this should do the trick.”
“And your parents know about this?” said Space, who now sounded a little concerned.
“They sort of do, but don't really understand it,” said Sparky with a shrug. “They just think it's a fun little science experiment. I've tried to explain it to them before, but they didn't understand, so I've just sort of let them believe what they want.”
“Does using the mirror have any other negative side effects we should be aware of?” asked Space.
“Well, aside from nuking the neighborhood, there is always a possibility that it will create a miniature black hole that will swallow the entire planet,” said Sparky. “But Professor Plagiaras says that that only has a two percent chance of happening, and that's if you don't carry the two and divide by three.”
“Did you carry the two and divide by three?” asked Space.
Sparky stopped flipping switches and pressing buttons for a moment, like he was thinking about Space's question. “I can't remember. I've been working on this thing for so long now that even my memory files don't have anything about that. But I probably did. Mom always says I am a diligent and thorough worker, so I'm not going to worry about it.”
The look on Space's face told Galaxy that he was not entirely reassured by Sparky's answer. Neither was Galaxy, but she trusted Sparky to do the right thing and not get them sucked into a miniature black hole.
Then Sparky finished flipping the switches and pressing the buttons, stood up, and stepped back. “Okay, guys, it should start soon. I
don't know exactly what will happen, but I doubt we will get sucked into a black hole.”
“That doesn't exactly inspire confidence in me,” said Space.
“I'm sure that Sparky has done his best,” said Galaxy. She gestured at Sparky. “Just activate it and get this over with, all right? I want to see if this thing will work.”
Sparky nodded. He raised the machine's remote control, aimed it at the mirror, and then pressed the single red button on it.
As soon as he did, mirror's base made a loud, strange humming sound that vibrated through the air. It was especially loud in the cramped space of the garage, causing Galaxy and Space to cover their ears to avoid getting their hearing damaged, although Sparky just stood there as though the loudness didn't bother him at all.
Then, without warning, the mirror shone, despite the lack of light to reflect off its surface. It shone so brightly that Galaxy and Space had to look away. The lights on the ceiling dimmed and the temperature in the garage rose by ten degrees at least. Galaxy was even starting to feel sweaty. In fact, she almost believed that they would be cooked alive in here. Still, the possibility of seeing her old universe again—and possibly figuring out how to go home—made her stay put.
That was when she noticed the mirror's light starting to dim, which encouraged her to look in the direction of the mirror. The mirror's bright light had indeed started to dim, though it still hurt Galaxy's eyes to look at it directly. She wished she had some shades to wear, although with the light rapidly dimming, she decided that those would soon be unnecessary even if she had them.
“Is it going to explode?” Space asked, raising his voice to be heard above the loud humming noise. “Because it really sounds like it is going to explode!”
“Maybe!” Sparky replied, his voice even louder than Space's. He didn't sound nearly as afraid as Space, his optics reflecting the light from the mirror. “Or maybe not! Who knows? This is science!”
The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy: Season Two Page 20