by Lorijo Metz
Hayes tucked Charlie under his arm, strolled over and stood beside her. He grabbed one of her curls and began twisting it around his finger. “Normal,” he said, his breath tickling her ear and sending a thousand shivers up and down her arms, “is for girls like Joanne.”
McKenzie thought she was going to die—right then and there—die! Before she had taken another breath, he’d untwisted the curl from around his finger and gently tucked it behind her ear. “And, geezits-louizits, Mac—who the heck wants to be normal!”
“Not me!” cried McKenzie. “Geezits-louizits—not me!”
“Race you to the time field,” said Hayes.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“What? Afraid you’ll lose?”
McKenzie put her best racing face on. “In your dreams, Rudy Hayes.” She laughed. “Only in your dreams!”
CAST OF CHARACTERS
ON EARTH
Humans
Julianne Wells: (Julianne Anderson) Younger sister of H.G. Wells. Married Petré T. Revolvos (a.k.a. Peter R. Anderson and Prof. R.) in 1896. McKenzie Wu’s great-great grandmother
McKenzie Wu: Daughter of James and Georgianna Wu
Hayes: (Rudy B. Hayes) McKenzie’s classmate, lives with his Aunt Patty
Grandma Mir: (Miracle Madison) McKenzie’s Grandmother (mother’s side)
James Wu: McKenzie’s Father, inventor, married to Georgianna Madison (deceased)
Roony: (Joseph Roony) Assistant to Prof. Petré T. Revolvos (Assumes the identity of Professor R. after Revolvos leaves Earth.)
Wink Krumm: FBI Agent
Miss Chantos: (Stephanie Chantos) Head Secretary, Avondale School
Nurse Prickel: Nurse, Avondale School
Circanthians
Principal Provost: (Bewfordios R. Provost, B.R. Provost) Principal of Avondale High School. Traveled to Earth in search of his old mentor, Petré T. Revolvos, and the Corona-Soter (in Earth language, the Wheeled Warrior), a being in whom the fate of the entire Circanthian race rests.
Professor Revolvos: (Petré T. Revolvos, Peter R. Anderson, Prof. R.) Circanthian scientist and mentor to Bewfordios Provost. Arrived on Earth 1895; changed name to Peter R. Anderson and married Julianne Wells in 1896. Shortly after Julianne’s death, he faked his own death and returned to using the name, Revolvos. Earned several degrees and added the title of Professor. Over the years built several companies worldwide all under the name of Prof. R.
ON CIRCANTHOS
Circanthians
Pietas: A member of the Circa Septim (see glossary), which sent B.R. Provost to Earth.
Soliis: A member of the Circa Septim (Later on, spy for H.G. Wells and the Tsendi)
Tsendi
Abacis: The Advitor’s number one Tsendi.
Mallos: Forest Spy. First to discover arrival of McKenzie and Hayes
Humans
H.G. Wells: (Herbert G. Wells, the Advitor) Older brother of Julianne Wells, writer and failed inventor. Arrived on Circanthos, Earth-year 1895. Proclaimed “Advitor” by the Tsendi.
GLOSSARY
Taken from: Circanthian Made Easy, 3rd Edition, by Rudy B. Hayes
(New York: Courtright and Schwartz)
ADVITOR - According to legend, the coming of the Advitoris signals a new beginning for the Tsendi civilization. When H.G. Wells arrived on Circanthos, he fit the description and the Tsendi crowned him Advitor. Proving, looks can be deceiving! (Ch. 12)
ALBOLIAN TROGSITTER - A tennis ball-sized, aqua colored, amphibious creature with three, fat, round spheres. (In other words: a triple threat, tri-sphered frog that’s fantastically fast!) (Ch. 24)
ARAC-TELAE - The Tsendi word for particle-weaving. Translated it means, Web of the Spider. H.G. Wells claimed it was a form of magical deception. Unfortunately, he also discovered how to rid the Circanthians of their particle-weaving ability. A discovery that cost many Circanthians their lives and almost destroyed their planet. (Ch. 26)
ARAMEDIOS - Ah yes…Aramedios holds a special place in my heart! It’s where Mac and I first came face to face, or should I say, spears to face, with the Tsendi. Traditionally used as a neutral trading area before the Veni Commotos, Aramedios is about midway between the Tsendi and Circanthian settlements. Famous for its towering rock formations, it’s also great for stakeouts. (Ch. 13)
ARELO MINE - The ancient Tsendi mines where, before the Veni Commotos, the Tsendi mined for coraltea: an orange colored metal used to make armor and other useful, as well as beautiful, items. The collapse of one of these mineshafts is, unfortunately, what began the famous falling-out between the Tsendi and the Circanthians, a period in their history known as the Veni Commotos. (Ch. 22)
AZALIN - Flowers that grow in bunches of four or five in dry, rocky areas such as the Last Gathering. Azalin have thick, black stems and tiny, black, diamond-shaped leaves. The flower consists of one long, red stamen and three wide, fire red, ruffled-edged petals. Azalin have a strong, sweet, seductive scent similar to jasmine. (Ch. 19)
BERTLECOCK - A large, round, bird-like creature ranging from 15 to 25 pounds. Covered in short, brown feathers, the head appears small in comparison to the body. While their eyes are barely visible, their beak, which is black, can be up to four inches long. Bertlecocks build three-sided nests in trees and mountainsides. Rather than fly, they scrunch their three webbed feet into small balls and bounce from place to place. Bertlecocks can bounce almost a third of a mile before landing. (On another note: Circanthians claim the braying of a Bertlecock is the most annoying sound in the universe. Obviously, they’ve never heard Penny Nickels sing.) (Ch. 12)
BOREIS PEAKS – The northernmost point on Circanthos, (Although, according to Prof. Revolvos there really is no ‘northernmost’ as we understand it in Earth terms.) The Boreis Peaks and their ‘southernmost’ counterpart, the Isle of Iciis, are perpetually in the path of the Loonock, (a dead, dark moon) which blocks out most of the sans’ heat leaving them uninhabitable, with the exception of wild broshbonits. (Ch. 13)
BOTOOTO FROOT - From a distance, botooto froot looks every bit like a bunch of orange bananas hanging from a palm tree. While botooti (plural) are fruit, (Or froot, as the natives say.) you don’t peel them, as the skin is the best part tasting something like maple sugar. The inside is plain, but has a nice, juicy, melon-like texture and taste. Next to mosrack, botooto froot is my favorite Circanthian food. (Ch. 25)
BRINPIG - Short, fat, docile creatures resembling forest-green colored hedgehogs. Brinpigs shed their waste products through pores evenly distributed over their body. Like walking fertilizers shooting their loads to the wind, you don’t want to be near a brinpig when he decides to take a dump. The process happens so fast the expression, ‘like sleet from a brinpig’, is commonly used to describe anything unpleasant that happens much too fast. (Ch. 19)
BROSHBONIT - Your worst fluffy nightmare come true. Broshbonits thrive in cold temperatures and live primarily near the Boreis Peaks; however, since few fresh roots grow there, you can find them foraging almost anywhere on Circanthos raiding food supplies and local gardens. Broshbonits range in size from five to seven pounds and breed only once in their short, two loonocks (two year) lifespan, laying approximately three eggs, of which, only one will ever hatch. What looks like soft, white fur covering them from head to cotton ball-like tail, is actually a coat of strong, spikey needles, which they’re capable of shooting with deadly accuracy at anyone, or anything, they feel is a threat. Unless you can particle-weave, the only defense against a broshbonit is to stay very, very far away. (Ch. 14)
CERA SAN - San means sun in Circanthian. (This tends to be confusing for all concerned in my opinion—much like fruit and froot!) Cera san is the smaller of the two largest sans in the Dolviciis solar system. (Ch. 11)
CHARON - Loosely translated: the Circanthian word for soul. (Ch. 22)
CIR - Circanthian slang for male. Cirs love Cirvs. (Ch. 5)
CIRCA SEPTIM - The Circanthian civilization has never had rulers in the traditional sens
e; however, the Circa Septim (or Circle of Seven), consisting of the seven oldest and wisest Circanthians, acts as council for infrequent disputes within the individual Gatherings. Their primary duty is to deal with planetary tremors that most frequently occur just prior and right after the loon. The Circa Septim sent B.R. Provost (Whom I still think of as old Principal Round-Bottom) to Earth to find the Corona-Soter. (Ch. 9)
CIRCANTHIAN - One of two sentient species on the planet Circanthos. They’re sort of like us, except they have a sphere (roticolar) instead of legs. And they can particle-weave. (Ch. 5)
CIRCANTHOS - Circanthos is home to two sentient species, the Circanthians and the Tsendi. (Don’t ask me why they call it Circanthos rather than Tsendios. They just do.) It exists at the heart of the Dolviciis Solar System, a triple binary star system consisting of six suns.
Dolviciis 1 (D or Locent) is a yellow G type star, (like Earth’s sun, but approximately five times the size). Dolviciis 2 (D2 or Cera) is also a G type star and is approximately 3.25 times the size of Earth’s sun. The two stars exist close enough that under normal circumstances their gravitational pulls would send them crashing into each other; however, the existence of four other stars (two on either side of each san), each of them small, yellow stars less than one billion years old, create a uniquely balanced triple binary system.
If we were to line the stars up they would appear in this order: S1, S2, D1, D2, S3 and S4. The gravitational pull from S1 and S2, and S3 and S4 on either side of D1 and D2 create enough counter gravitational pull to keep the two larger stars stable. This also creates a unique orbital path for D1 and D2, for instead of orbiting around each other, they share the same orbital path.
S1 and S2, in traditional binary fashion, orbit around each other, as do S3 and S4. In addition, the small yellow binary systems share an orbital path around D1 and D2.
When six suns are orbiting so close together, so interconnected, the possibility of a planet finding a stable gravitational field is almost nonexistent. Circanthos exists at the only stable gravitational point in the entire Dolviciis system, the heart. With one large, G type star and two small yellow stars on either side of it, Circanthos is pulled both directions, accounting for its oblong, almost egg-like shape and frequent tremors (called tremos). Yet, it is far enough away from either side to maintain some structural integrity.
Circanthos rotates on its own axis every 23.25 hours. The gravitational pull from either side prevents Circanthos from rotating around either sun; but rather, the planet tilts following the rotational progression of the suns, while maintaining its position at the heart of the Dolviciis system. (Ch. 5)
CIRCOLAR - An ancient book discovered in a cave on the Aisle of Iciis. The Circolar contains, among other things, instructions for building a cortext, a pinicolis and a, rather incomplete, prophesy of what would result should someone build and use a cortext. Who or what created the Circolar is unknown. Last I heard from my sources on Circanthos, the Circa Septim has authorized a joint expedition of Circanthian and Earth scientists (McKenzie’s father among them!) to the Isle of Iciis in order to study this long unanswered and mysterious question. (Ch. 5)
CIRCOOMBRA - Circanthians once feared their charon (soul) would become lost should they attempt long-range travel through particle-weaving. A circoombra is a spirit or soul that has lost its host. What we might call, a ghost. (Ch. 22)
CIRV - Circanthian slang for female. Cirs love Cirvs. (Ch. 15)
COBACA FROOT - A very sweet, very addictive fruit (but, apparently, only to natives of Circanthos), which grows high in the cocombaca trees. The fruit ripens only once a loonocks during the loon. (Ch. 12)
COBRAIS - Sounds like cobra doesn’t it? Well, get that image right out of your mind—except for the tongue. Cobrais have forked tongues, tipped with body-numbing venom, which they spray with deadly accuracy. Chameleons, they live primarily in the Cocombaca Forest and resemble whatever leaf their hundreds of microscopic suction-like feet propel them to. Predators by nature, they hunt in packs using venom to incapacitate larger animals, which they then cover and devour live. (’Nibble live’ would be more accurate.) Luckily for their larger pray, cobrais are small, weighing no more than a few ounces, and easily shook off once the victim has revived. Once a cobrais has been shook, it is unable to produce venom for another four to five epoks (About two and a half days). (Ch. 12)
COCOMBACA FOREST - A forest of tall, pale-blue trees with shiny, red leaves, found only on one side of Circanthos. While nothing grows beneath the canopy, which begins forty to fifty feet in the air, Tsendi, tsootbas, soboli and a host of other creatures live in the towering, congested canopy. One other note: the underdown feather of a gemdoola bird is the only known thing in the universe that can slice through cocombaca wood. (See Moscos for more about the forest floor) (Ch. 5)
CONCENTRIC - Name of the Circanthian God who, I believe, but don’t quote me, lives in the Lapis Sea. (A blue-pool-of-liquid-deity you won’t find me swimming in any time soon!) (Ch. 2)
CORALTEA - An orange/bronze colored metal found deep in the Arelo mines and, at one time, mined by the Tsendi. Coraltea is soft, like gold, but when combined with sap from the Cocombaca tree it becomes as strong and light as titanium. (Ch. 22)
CORONA-SOTER - Translated literally, Corona-Soter means Wheeled Warrior. Need I say more? McKenzie Wu is the toughest girl on wheels. Can you believe it took old Principal Round-Bottom so long to realize that? (Ch. 5)
CORTEXT - A device that heightens one’s ability; or rather, a Circanthian’s ability to particle-weave, making it possible to travel long distances in a short period of time. (Blah, blah, blah…in other words, if you’re human, forget about it, it won’t work. However, as I discovered, you can hitch a ride.) (Ch. 5)
DORABACA BOOSH - A hardy variety of bush with red, holly-like leaves and bright, sweet, edible, yellow berries that grows mainly on the Circanthian side of Circanthos. Dorabaca berries, a mainstay of the Circanthian diet, are valued for their ability, much like mood-rings, to change taste based on a person’s mood. A bitter mood produces a bitter taste. Circanthians use them to train young ones to control their emotions. (Ch. 22)
EPOK - A period of one rotation from Locent san to Cera san, or Cera san to Locent san. One epok equals approximately twelve hours, while two epoks equal one very long day without a night. (Talk about jetlag!) (Ch. 11)
FLICKVIK - Fat, plum-colored creatures that have long, needle-like stingers and tiny, phosphorescent wings barely large enough to support bulbous, translucent bellies filled with sloshing, dark red liquid. Flickviks survive by sucking the blood out of corpses—the fresher the better. You can always find a flickvik hovering when death is near. (As Mac would say,“uglier than your worst mosquito nightmare.”) (Ch. 19)
FLOG - 1. I’m thinking the Creator’s first failed attempt at, well…life! Flogs look like a combination of tiny, hairless, upside down Tsendi with spheres instead of arms. The effect being something like a circus clown roller-skating upside down with his butt in the air and his head between his spheres. Flogs travel in packs, constantly smiling and drooling as if in anticipation of a wonderful meal. (Ch. 12) FLOG - 2. Circanthians often use the word flog, singular, when referring to anything in excess. (As in: “My, there appears to be a flog of stuck-up girls roaming the halls today.”) (Ch. 11)
FOCOOS - (Tsendi word) A feast celebrated by Tsendi families ten epoks before and right after the loon. Traditionally, the Feast of Focoos was a way to keep young ones home and safe with their elders during the tremos. (n/a)
GEMDOOLA - Translated roughly: diamond bird. The underdown feather of the gemdoola is the only thing in the universe that can cut through cocombaca wood. You don’t want to stuff your pillows with them! (Ch. 14)
GEMMEOS MONS – The Gemmeos Mons are home to some of the most beautiful gemmeos (gemstones) on Circanthos. Before the Veni Commotos, Circanthians used particle-weaving to mine the mons (mountains) for gemmeos, which they used to barter with the Tsendi. (Ch. 19)
GOOT - The yellow, red-ringed spots of a sparsotorp. (Ch. 13)
ISLE OF ICIIS – The Isle of Iciis is one of two major landmasses on the planet Circanthos. It is located directly in the path of the Loonock (dark moon), frozen and, previously believed, uninhabitable. I say “previously,” in that it was in a cave on the Isle of Iciis that Circanthian explorers discovered the first portal and an ancient book called the Circolar. Information concerning the former inhabitants of the cave and the creator of the Circolar is the subject of ongoing research for a team of Circanthian and Earth scientists. (Ch. 5)
LAPIS GATHERING - By the time Mac and I arrived on Circanthos, the Lapis Gathering was referred to as the Last Gathering. A gathering is like a village or a town. The Lapis Gathering, built into the side of a small mountain, was the last gathering for the hundred or so remaining Circanthians. (Ch. 11)
LAPIS SEA - The only body of water on Circanthos. There are inlets and rivers that run off it, but that’s it. You’ve never seen water so thick or so blue, and never tasted water so sweet. A bit shocking at first, but once you get used to it, like drinking Jell-O. One note: (should you ever travel to Circanthos) Circanthians do not drink directly from the ocean part, as they believe the Creator lives in the Lapis Sea. (Or maybe it’s more like vacations there, I’m not sure.) Anyway, drinking and bathing water is taken from inlets or Circanthian-made streams. One more note: Tsendi hold similar beliefs, but take it one step further and do not bathe in water of any kind. (Which explains a lot about their smell.) (Ch. 11)
LAPISERAIN TROGSITTER - A mud-colored, tri-sphered, reptilian-type creature that hides beneath piles of pebbles by the Lapis Sea. A trogsitter can remain still for hours blending with the pebbles it hides beneath so perfectly, by the time its prey realizes it’s not pebbles beneath it which are sinking; but rather, a trogsitter’s mouth—a mouth that is slowly swallowing its prey whole—it’s too late. If you want to describe someone as lazy or underhanded, call him/her a trogsitter. (Ch. 19)