The Navel of the World

by P. J. Hoover

  Leena Teasag slopped a tiny serving on his plate and helped the next person in line before he could ask for more—not that he really wanted any.

  The line ran out of bread just before Benjamin, and the milk machine only gave out soy milk. And the Jell-O dessert had bits of something in it that reminded Benjamin of science experiments gone wrong.

  Mutant fish or not, Benjamin finished his casserole in two bites—except of course for the heads—and began to pick at the Jell-O.

  “Can’t you fix the menus, Gary?” Benjamin flicked something green onto the table from the Jell-O.

  Gary smiled. “I appreciate your confidence. I already checked on my heads-up display, and it seems they’re locked out with some security protocol.”

  “Does that mean no?” Benjamin asked.

  Iva looked up from her spinach to take a sip of her soy milk. “Oh, are you done already, Benjamin?”

  “Of course I’m done. I had like one bite of food.” He looked at Heidi’s plate and licked his lips. She still had three large pieces of the mush meat with an entire loaf of bread. Maybe he should’ve gotten the meat.

  “You want to share any of that?” he asked her.

  “I’m hungry,” Heidi said and pulled her plate closer.

  He looked around the dining hall and spotted Ryan sitting with Jonathan, Suneeta, and Julie. Julie stared at Ryan—her new apparent boyfriend, ignoring the untouched food on her plate. Without hesitation, the loaf of bread on Julie’s plate began to levitate. Benjamin lifted it up high above everyone’s head, and started moving it toward their table, hoping nobody would notice.

  Just as it was halfway between the two tables, Suneeta looked up, spotting it. She looked at Julie’s empty plate. “Julie, I believe your loaf of bread is levitating.”

  Benjamin held it in place, trying to decide if he should continue moving it or return it back to the plate.

  Julie looked up. “Oh, my bread! Ryan, do something!”

  Benjamin felt Ryan began to exert his mind on the bread. Benjamin held on, not quite sure what to do. Ryan would know it was Benjamin. It tugged one way then back the other. Back and forth it went. Benjamin held on; at this point it was strictly as a matter of principle. He would not let Ryan beat him in another telekinetic duel, even if it was a piece of bread they were fighting over.

  Benjamin had the bread almost directly above his own table. Ryan yanked it back. Benjamin again pulled on it, this time as far as he possibly could, and then he decided to let it go. With a final pull of energy, the bread snapped back, just like a slingshot, heading straight to the table from where it had come. With a solid thud, it hit Julie Macfarlane right in the eye. She fell off her chair, landing on the floor. Benjamin cringed.

  Ryan’s face turned white and his eyes grew wide. He glanced around the room before finally daring to look down at the moaning Julie. Both hands covered her left eye, and she cried like she’d just lost her puppy.

  “Oh, my eye. Is it bruised? Is it horrible? Suneeta, can you see where it hit me?” And then she uncovered her face, bringing her hands down. Benjamin gasped and heard Ryan do the same. At least Ryan would be the one who had to look at her. Her left eye was black and blue, swollen and puffy, and was well on its way to swelling shut.

  Suneeta looked at her friend. “Your eye looks like a rotten tomato that is about to burst,” she said as if announcing the weather. “It is highly noticeable on your pasty complexion.”

  Julie’s hand flew back to her face, and she broke into a sobbing frenzy. When Benjamin turned back around, even Heidi and Iva were trying not to smile, and Heidi was cutting her loaf of bread in half for Benjamin.

  “Hey. What ever happened with that DNA scanning stuff?” Benjamin asked, changing the subject. He’d almost forgotten about it. And after Iva’s face fell, he’d almost wished he had.

  Iva took the green Peridot ring off her hand and dropped it on the table. “Nothing. I found nothing.”

  “Maybe you were doing it wrong,” Andy suggested.

  She whipped her head around so fast Benjamin thought she might break her neck. “I was not doing it wrong, Andy. I know how to scan the earth for DNA.”

  Andy cowered. There was just no other word for it. He shrank so far back in his chair, Benjamin figured he’d slide under the table next.

  “I didn’t mean to suggest you didn’t know how to do it,” Andy said.

  “How did you match the DNA?” Gary asked.

  Iva paused before answering. “I used the part of Benjamin that got imprinted on my mind through the Alliance bond.”

  “Maybe you should try joining minds,” Heidi said.

  Gary nodded. “That’s precisely what I was thinking.”

  “Joining minds?” Benjamin said.

  Heidi nodded. “We were learning about it in Empathy. And it’s nowhere near as hard as you might think. Josh and I practiced together.”

  “You joined minds with Josh?” Benjamin asked. “Isn’t that kind of…oh, I don’t know…personal?”

  Heidi rolled her eyes. “Well of course it’s personal. The very nature of Telepathy and Empathy is personal. Anytime your mind is connected that closely with someone it gets pretty intimate. Mentally of course.”

  “Wonderful.” Benjamin looked back to Iva. “Let’s get on with this DNA stuff. Iva, without being too intimate, what do you need me to do?”

  Heidi shook her head and looked away.

  The mind meld actually wasn’t that bad.

  Fine, it was awesome. Like he knew every thought in Iva’s head. And not only thoughts. Their powers combined, too. Benjamin felt his telegnostic abilities reaching out across the entire school. Almost out across the whole continent of Lemuria. He could see Proteus Ajax. And his telekinesis teacher The Panther. And there was Morpheus Midas in the Silver Touch. It was like anything he thought about he could find. And this wasn’t even the seeing-the-future part of telegnosis. Is this what it felt like in Iva’s mind all the time?

  Heidi had been right; combining minds was a personal thing. But Benjamin knew enough to keep his mouth shut and not mention it. Somehow, he didn’t think Andy would be too happy he’d been that close mentally to Iva.

  When they were done, Benjamin looked up and smiled. Iva smiled back. Andy did not smile. But he wasn’t the only one. When Benjamin happened to glance to the next table, he noticed Ryan wasn’t even looking at Julie and her grotesque black eye. Instead, his eyes were fixed on Benjamin. It didn’t take a telegen as good at Empathy as Heidi to sense the hatred coming off him. And it was directed right at Benjamin.

  When Benjamin, Andy, and Gary walked into homeroom Friday morning, all the girls were clustered in the back of the classroom. Benjamin stood on his toes to get a better look. “What’s going on back there?”

  Andy looked hopeful. “Cat fight maybe?”

  “Between who?” Benjamin said. “Julie and Iva?”

  “Or maybe Suneeta and Heidi,” Gary said.

  Benjamin couldn’t see over the gaggle of girls in the back of the room. They were all gathered around something. He, Andy, and Gary climbed up onto the table, and Benjamin quickly spotted Heidi and Iva in the front of the flock next to Julie Macfarlane. Their mouths hung open and their eyes were glazed over. Benjamin’s gaze followed the direction of their eyes. There at the front of the group was Nick Konstantin.

  “My ’eart is ’eld by the one

  Who, like a spider, a web has spun.

  It grows each day a little more.

  She is the one that I adore.”

  “Is he reciting love poems?” Gary raised an eyebrow and looked sideways at Benjamin.

  Benjamin nodded. “He’s doing something.”

  Andy hardly looked. “What an idiot—up there in front of everyone.”

  Gary looked back at the gathering. “The girls sure seem to like it.”

  “I think of ’er both day and night

  And then again at morning light.

  When I ’old ’er close, she wil
l see

  She ’as made a captive of me.”

  Nick finished the recitation, and the pack of girls erupted.

  “Ah, thank you, thank you.” Pompousness poured off Nick as he spoke.

  “That was just so wonderful, Nick,” Iva said.

  Still not looking, Andy rolled his eyes so hard, Benjamin thought he might fall off the table.

  “Ah, you liked it?” Nick asked Iva.

  “Oh yes,” she said. “Only a true poetic genius could make up poems with such feeling.”

  Every female eye in the class still focused on Nick. Some girls pushed forward, trying to interrupt Iva’s conversation with him. Julie Macfarlane was standing right next to Iva, batting her mascara’ed eyelashes frantically.

  “I would be more than ’appy to recite poetry each morning before class,” Nick said.

  This caused another loud uproar from the crowd of girls.

  “You have got to be kidding me.” Andy jumped down from the table and headed to the front of the room.

  Benjamin hopped down and turned to see Ryan Jordan watching from a different table, his eyes locked on Iva. Seriously, could Ryan really still think he had a chance with Iva? Benjamin figured the moon was more likely to fall out of orbit if Andy or Julie had anything to do with it.

  It took Proteus a good couple of minutes and some sharp telepathic thoughts to get the class under control. But finally the girls disbanded, and everyone sat down.

  “Good morning, Year Two Denarians,” Proteus said to the class. “We have a new student to the class—a young man by the name of Magic Pan.”

  “Magic Pan,” Benjamin said through the Alliance bond. “Doesn’t that sound familiar?”

  “Magic is the son of Lemuria’s new government liaison, Walker Pan,” Proteus went on.

  “Bingo,” Heidi said.

  “Government liaison.” Gary snorted. “More like ‘cheater’ if you ask me. It’s the guy from the chess tournament.”

  “Seems kind of like a strange coincidence,” Benjamin said.

  “Strange and weird,” Iva said. “And I don’t believe in coincidence.”

  Proteus motioned, and someone who looked like a young version of Walker Pan without the full beard stood up.

  “Welcome, fellow Year Two Denarians.” Magic Pan waved across the classroom. “I wasn’t going to even come to school this year until I heard about the problem.”

  “What problem?” Ryan called out.

  Magic feigned shock. “Why the menus, of course. The rumors were confirmed to me this morning at breakfast. It will be my sole purpose this year to get the menus back online.”

  It only took a second and then the class applauded—except for Gary who gave Magic the evil eye. But if Magic could get the food menus working again, who cared if he was potentially the son of the enemy?

  “How much longer must we walk through the food lines?” Magic said. “How much longer must we put up with sub-par service from unfriendly cleaning ladies? I tell you, I’ve had enough. The menus must come back!”

  This time the class erupted with cheering. And Magic became the most popular kid in homeroom.

  CHAPTER 8

  Chronology is Confusing

  “Hey, watch where you’re sitting.” Jack spoke up just before Benjamin sat down on him in lecture. “Can’t you see this seat’s taken?”

  Benjamin looked down at the small green Nogical. “You’re too small. Get up.”

  “Are you saying just because I’m small I shouldn’t have my own seat?”

  Benjamin grabbed for the Nogical but missed. “No. I’m saying you shouldn’t have your own seat because you’re not a student. Anyway, all you ever do in lecture is fall asleep.”

  “That’s not entirely true.” But after evading Benjamin’s reach, Jack levitated so Benjamin could sit.

  “What part of it’s not true?” Benjamin planted his bottom in the chair before Jack could change his mind.

  Jack settled down on the arm rest. “I normally stay awake for at least the beginning. And I stayed awake the whole time last year when Mr. Hermes talked about genetic engineering.”

  Andy plunked down next to Benjamin. “That’s because he kept using you as an example. If I remember right, you were standing on Benjamin’s head so Mr. Hermes would notice you.”

  “I wasn’t trying to get noticed,” Jack said. “I’m just very interested in genetic engineering, that’s all. Anyway, tonight’s lecture is going to be great.”

  “What’s it on?” Andy asked.

  Jack smiled. “I don’t have the time to tell you.”

  A bell chimed, and Mr. Hermes called the lecture hall to order. “Quiet down. We have lots to cover.”

  Not that anyone really needed to be told. Lecture might be late at night, but it was always full of cool things they never learned about anywhere else.

  “Who knows anything about chromosomes?” Mr. Hermes asked.

  Gary’s hand shot up like a rocket.

  Andy whispered to Benjamin and Gary. “Don’t boys have YY chromosomes and girls have XX?”

  Gary shuddered, still waving his hand in the air. “It’s XY that guys have and XX that girls have,” he whispered back to Andy.

  “Whatever,” Andy said.

  “You’re on the right path, Andy.” Mr. Hermes looked around, ignoring Gary. “Anyone else besides Gary Goodweather?”

  Gary kind of lowered his hand, but threw it back in the air when Mr. Hermes sighed and looked at him.

  “Yes, Gary?”

  Gary smiled, and the words fell out of his mouth. “Everyone has twenty-three pairs of chromosomes. Twenty-two of these are matched and the final pair determines if someone is a boy or a girl.”

  Mr. Hermes crossed his arms. “Almost correct, Gary.”

  The smile evaporated from Gary’s face. “What do you mean—almost correct?”

  “Every human has twenty-three pairs. Every telegen has twenty-four,” Mr. Hermes said.

  “We have an extra chromosome pair?” Gary didn’t even bother raising his hand.

  Benjamin couldn’t believe Gary didn’t already know this. Gary knew everything.

  Mr. Hermes pointed to a holographic display with little red and blue balls bouncing around on it. “The twenty-fourth chromosome pair is known as the temporal chromosome, and it determines if and how well a telegen can temporally phase.”

  Gary’s chin fell so far it would have hit the ground if it hadn’t been attached. “Temporal phasing! Are you kidding?”

  “What’s temporal phasing?” Andy asked.

  A long line appeared on the holographic display. “Time travel,” Mr. Hermes said. “The extra chromosome pair determines how well a telegen can time travel.”

  “See, I told you this would be interesting,” Jack whispered in Benjamin’s ear.

  “Nobody thought temporal phasing was possible until the birth of a telegen named Kronos. Born in Atlantis, Kronos discovered early on the ability to displace himself in time.” Mr. Hermes pointed to the display and a map of Atlantis appeared along with the image of a man in a white toga.

  “Kronos the Greek god?” Iva asked.

  Mr. Hermes nodded. “But not just Greek. He was known as Enki, Saturn, Shaneeswara, or even Nimrod. His control over time travel led him to be viewed as a deity—the god of time.”

  Heidi leaned forward in her seat. “So he made himself a false god just like the other Atlantian gods.”

  “Yes, and Kronos’s mother was Gaea, the original false goddess,” Mr. Hermes said. “In the midst of traveling every when in time, Kronos had six children, none of whom he could stand. I guess the feeling was reciprocated because one of the oracles of Delphi told Kronos his own child would kill him.”

  “So did they?” Andy asked.

  Mr. Hermes shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. We enter the age old debate of whether time can be altered. Once a timeline presents itself, can any actions we do now or anything we think to do in the future change what the timeline will b
e? If we travel back in time, can we change the future as we know it now?”

  Benjamin turned, half to Jack and half to Mr. Hermes. “So what’s the answer?”

  “The answer is that we just don’t know,” Mr. Hermes said. “It’s impossible to tell if an action we make now would have the ability to change the past.”

  “Did Kronos try?” Heidi asked.

  “Sure,” Mr. Hermes said. “The story goes—and here I think we diverge somewhat into myth—that Kronos ate his six children, or at least the first five of them. When he ordered his wife to bring him the sixth and final child Zeus, she instead brought him a stone which he ate. Now I myself think I would know when I was eating a stone, but I also don’t think I could eat another telegen whole. Or course, Kronos was fabled to be a Titan—a telegen who could make himself enormous. So I suppose Kronos could have enlarged himself, eaten his children, and then returned to normal size. But let’s not get caught up with details. Zeus grew up and forced his father to throw up the stone and the other five children, all of whom were still alive inside Kronos’ belly. The regurgitated stone supposedly was placed by Zeus at the center of the world and forms the cornerstone for one of the most powerful telegnostic cities of ancient times.”

  Iva’s eyes bulged out. “You mean Delphi.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Good, Iva,” Mr. Hermes said. “Yes, Delphi was the city formed around this stone, known as the Navel of the World, and is probably best remembered for the oracles who lived there.”

  “So can anyone time travel?” Benjamin asked.

  “It all depends on the flexibility of the temporal chromosomes.” Mr. Hermes fiddled with the holographic control pad and the red and blue balls reappeared. “They need to bend every cell in the body out of phase during the process. Some telegens can time travel whenever and wherever and however often they want. Others are limited; their chromosomes need more time to bounce back. Most telegens can time travel only with the aid of telemagnifiers, and even then only on a limited basis.” He stopped and thought. “Not that this is a bad thing. Time travel is kept under tight control by the government and all displacements need to be officially recorded in the ruling hall. Time travel telemagnifiers are not something you can buy; in fact, buying and selling them is illegal.”