by E. R. Mason
Cassiopia came down the blue antistatic ramp, pulling at her hair to see if it was really so tangled. A moment later, Rogers burst through behind her. The Professor sat up erect and called out, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” He looked up, saw Cassiopia dressed only in shoes, panties, and bra, and Rogers only in socks and panties, and nearly fell out of his chair. He sat speechless and gaping as they bumped into each other at the bottom of the ramp.
Rogers turned and broke into uncontrolled laughter. Cassiopia looked annoyed.
“What’s so funny?”
Rogers tried to catch her breath. “I don’t believe it! That was awesome! Let’s go again!”
Cassiopia stood with her hands on her hips and rebuked her. “Ann, don’t you realize how dangerous that was?”
Rogers was unconvinced. “Cass, we just went skydiving!”
“Oh my Lord.” The Professor slapped his head and turned away in embarrassment.
“You broke a bottle over that guy’s head, and then they shot at us!”
The Professor clasped his hands over his ears. “Oh, I don’t want to hear any more.”
“Yeah, but he deserved it. He was coming after you, you know.”
“Well yeah, after you offered me to him.”
“That’s was just to distract him, and it worked didn’t it? You know, I think he really liked you!” Rogers began laughing so hard she had to bend over.
Cassiopia thought about it, and against her will spit out a laugh. She tried to compose herself only to break into laughter once more, until both women stood nearly naked, laughing uncontrollably. Cassiopia realized it was the first time she had laughed so hard since the crash. The Professor shook his head and mumbled under his breath, as the Tel stood idly by watching the scene with intense interest.
When they had regained their composure, they straightened up and tried to look serious, and finally recognized they were without clothes. Since only her father was present, Cassiopia shrugged it off. Rogers did not seem to care. She handed over her door control and headed for the exit. Cassiopia plunked both controls on her father’s desk, ignoring his strained look, and followed.
“We’ve got to take a time out and get control of this if we’re going to try again,” she yelled as she disappeared around the corner.
The Professor rolled his eyes. “Oh boy….” He turned back to the control console and began the shutdown procedure. Within seconds, the door flashed back to white and the hum of equipment faded.
In Cassiopia’s bedroom, a pair of oversized jeans and an Einstein T-shirt fit Rogers well enough to get by. She pulled them on and asked, “Why don’t you just leave both doors on all the time? Why bother shutting down the other door at all?”
Pulling on her clothes, Cassiopia replied, “It’s a problem I haven’t told you about. It’s kind of a long story. We should go over it later.”
“I’ll need to go into town and pick up some more stuff, anyway. I need to borrow some shoes.”
“I have a pair I think will fit. I’ll stay behind and get organized. You can use the van.”
When they were dressed and done exchanging the more memorable moments of their misadventure, Cassiopia gave Rogers directions and handed her keys.
“This is an odd key ring,” remarked Rogers.
“It’s a tie-down ring from the baggage compartment of the crash. It’s the only souvenir I saved.”
Rogers looked at it and then back at her. “Are you getting past it?”
“Yes and no. It’s why we’re here, so it’s not over yet.”
Together they thought of Markman. Rogers gave a sympathetic stare and shook her head. “Maybe there is a chance.”
“If there isn’t, we’ll make one.”
Later that evening, they met in the Professor’s study and talked seriously about the day's events. Rogers, wearing newly-purchased jeans and a gray T-shirt, was now a believer. Cassiopia sat in tan, loose-fitting eveningwear, appearing as determined as ever. The Professor finally briefed on all that had happened, looked like a man in over his head. The Tel stood in the corner seemingly indifferent.
“Father, we called for the SCIP door, but didn’t get it.”
The Professor nodded. “I tried to tell you downstairs. It was my fault. The software that controls the filtering for the inner door froze up. I had to shut down everything to reset it.”
Cassiopia looked confused. “A filter? What’s a filter got to do anything?”
The Professor smiled. “There really is no inner door, Cassiopia.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because the primary door and the inner, secondary door are one and the same. The inner door is just a phase-shifted displacement of the primary door. So, by filtering out the phase shift, we can effectively eliminate the reflection of the primary door, making it inaccessible.”
“Oh, wow! And so have you corrected the problem?”
“It will take another attempt to be sure.”
Rogers asked, “Why do you need to shut it off at all? Why not just leave it on?”
Cassiopia replied, “We had a problem in the past with something unexplained coming out of the door while we were in there. It was serious. Things happened on this side of the door that were very undesirable.”
“What kind of things.”
“People kept telling us they were seeing us in places we had not been. It was as though some subconscious part of us was exchanging places and causing trouble from time to time.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“There were records broken into at the University. Scott was seen in places he should not have been. It was even said that I danced at the Men’s Club!”
Rogers laughed, then stopped abruptly and thought about it. “That’s spooky.”
Professor Cassell added, “We can’t be sure shutting down the inner door will be completely effective at preventing that, and if you take too long returning to the door after you recall it, there’s a chance problems could develop then, as well. You two will need to try to get back quickly once you call for the door.”
“We’ll keep that in mind, Father. Trust me.”
Rogers pulled at her new T-shirt, trying to make it more comfortable. “Professor, can I take a camera in there and get pictures to bring back?”
Professor Cassell shook his head. “You would be wasting your time, Ann. Dreamland is made up of thought-matter. It can’t be photographed. There is light, but no image, so what you get with both a film camera and a digital camera is a blurred image.”
“But you guys said you take the Tel in there. How can the Tel see?”
The Professor laughed. “Good one! You could also ask how does a computer see a man in a white ski suit on a snow-covered mountainside, or how does it distinguish a real image from a reflection? The Tel uses forty-seven different inputs to create its vision, and it can modify and enhance each of those inputs as necessary, all in microseconds. It has infrared, special contrast, high-frequency scanning, several types of radar, sonar, edge detection, other audio scans, and so on and so on. I’m sure the imaging engineers who designed him each understand their own contributions, but I seriously doubt anyone fully understands what a Tel sees. It is a massive jumble of digital information. He sees a lot more than we do, and his ability to interpret it is incredible.”
Rogers pushed her hair aside. “So we will go again tomorrow, then?”
Cassiopia looked back in earnest. “Are you sure you want to?”
“Are you kidding? I can’t wait. I don’t completely understand what you guys have conjured up down there, but it’s better than Disney.”
Cassiopia nodded. “After a good night of restful sleep, we can try it in the morning. We should both be relaxed and refreshed. That should make for a very stable, docile environment in there. Once again, we’ll plan for a very short trip, in and out. And then we can look ahead at trying to create a more targeted environment.”
Rogers stood. “I am ready for some rest. I think
I’ll turn in.”
Cassiopia escorted her to her room. Inside, Rogers dumped her packages on the floor and sat on the corner of the checkerboard bedspread. “Does the TV work?”
“Yes. It’s cable.”
“Sometimes I need it to get to sleep.”
“Do whatever you have to for a good, restful night. We’ll need it tomorrow.”
“Cassiopia, I’m curious. If you don’t mind my asking, why did you choose me to help?”
“I couldn’t go in there alone. My father needed to be out here to monitor the equipment. The Tel travels well in Dreamland, but I needed someone trained to react to danger. I also needed someone who cared about Scott, and who I could trust. Does that answer your question?”
Rogers smiled. “I’m glad it was me.”
“I hope you still feel that way when it’s over.”
Chapter 16