The young engineer looked puzzled. “This is the prototype of the Pattern Disruptor, Lord Roxton. It’s to be placed into larger production after it’s been fully tested.”
Enid leapt to her feet. “That’s not what I requested--we’ve no time for such nonsense!”
“But Professor Challenger,” the youth whined, “it’s an untested prototype.”
Summers called to Enid and Roxton from across the room. “Professor Steiner is ready for us.” With the disruptor in one arm, Roxton guided Enid away with the other. As he did, he spoke sternly to the engineer:“Sonny, by supplyin’ us with only one gun, you may well have doomed this expedition to failure before it even got started. I hope you haven’t cost us our lives, as well.” He and Enid left the astonished youth and joined Summers in front of the portal.
“ I overheard part of your conversation,” said Summers. “But you needn’t worry, Lord Roxton. I’ve brought a few weapons of my own.” He removed a small crucifix and a dark red flask from the pouch at his side.
“ Father, is that blood?” “The flask is made of ruby glass. It’s holy water.”
Roxton nodded, cradling the pattern disruptor in his arms. Its weight was amazingly reassuring. “ Time to go,” Enid said, and she motioned for Steiner to throw the main switch. An uncomfortable humming filled the warehouse, as the great steel ring shimmered into life. Enid was hurrying toward it when Roxton caught her gently by the sleeve.
“Excuse me,” he said. “I’m all for lettin’ ladies go first, but under the circumstances, I think it best I--” She smiled. “Your chivalry remains intact, Lord John.” Then she quickly turned, exclaimed “Now follow me!” and leaped through the portal.
Across the laboratory the ceiling lights flickered and dimmed, as the massive generator which powered the portal sputtered and labored under the strain of Enid's passage. “Blast that child,” grumbled Roxton. “That’s what comes of givin’ ’em the vote!” He clasped Summers by the arm, and the two men jumped through the huge glowing ring together. They hurtled through the dimensional opening as though they’d been shot from a cannon, and tumbled and rolled when they hit the surface of the world on the other side.
“My neck,” cried Summers.
“Your foot is in my face, Padre,” said Roxton. They stood and surveyed the world around them. There was almost no light here, and yet the two men had no trouble seeing. They found themselves on a huge expanse of charcoal-coloured plain that felt soft and resilient beneath their feet. Not only did this dark plain stretch into the distance, but in various places it also twisted up to form a ceiling above their heads. This grey ceiling hung low in some spots and soared in others, and all around them, huge tunnels snaked away at impossible angles.
A strange mist hovered above the surface of the plain, and here and there were dense patches of shadow. Close to where they stood was a deep abyss that spiralled into the colourless fabric of this world. In the distance they could see several more of these strange whorls.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Roxton. He could both hear and feel a gentle breeze blowing past his face. He looked back and realized it came from the direction of the portal, a distant hole of bright light several yards behind him. “And yet, it reminds me of some South American caves I once explored with young Malone. Except for these whorls in the surface, and there’s even something vaguely familiar about those.”
“ That would support one possible theory about this dimension,” said Summers, gazing into the distance. “The spirit world should have no physical substance---at least, not as we understand it. What we think we perceive with our senses in this place may very well be constructed from the mental images we brought with us to this world; an amalgamation of our past experiences, hopes and dreams, even our fears. Or perhaps some preconceived notion of how this world should appear.”
“Is this how you imagined it, Father?” “Not in the least. And since I’ve never seen the caves Malone and you explored, either, I can only assume that what I am perceiving in this world has been spun from your memories.”
“ Or perhaps those of Malone,” Roxton suggested. “He and Challenger preceded us here,” said Summers. “Perhaps the construct of this dimension was set upon their entrance into it.”
*** “ So there you are,” said Enid, slowly approaching the two men. “For some reason I was thrown farther into this dimension than you, about a furlong from here.”
Roxton frowned. “Yeah, well the power to the ring dropped right after you charged through like a mad elephant.” “Hm,” Enid muttered, “energy flows into this world like a river ... so a stronger current would carry me further-“ Absolutely remarkable!” Summers said, staring at the approaching girl's blanched face. Enid's hair was as black as ever, but her skin was now snow-white, her blue eyes a dull shade of grey. Summers turned to Roxton, and for the first time since the two men had arrived, the priest took a good look at the hunter’s washed-out features.“There’s no colour in this dimension!”
“ Colour is a property of light playing upon the surface of various forms of matter,” said Enid, “--physical matter. Clearly there’s nothing physical about this world. No matter as we know it, and far too little light.”
“But we appear to have physical bodies,” said Roxton. “Why are we as washed out as the surface of this place?” “ By coming across the barrier that separates this incorporeal world from ours,” said Summers, “we have lost our own corporeality.”
“ Possibly,” said Enid, “but we know this dimension is consuming all the earth’s heat and light. Perhaps this place so completely absorbs light that there’s nothing left to be reflected. Hence, no colour ... in our faces, or the face of these tunnels.”
Summers checked his vial of holy water. Both the glass and the liquid were now clear.“Amazing,” he said softly. As the trio of explorers conversed, the dimensional doorway behind them was steadily closing. The gentle breeze died away and Enid looked back, just in time to watch the opening shrink to a narrow slit of light before it blinked out.
“ Oh no,” Enid moaned; and then she collapsed.
***
Enid sat next to Father Summers in the gloom of their charcoal world. “I feel so foolish,” she said. “ Nonsense, Professor,” the priest said. “Feeling better now?” “Quite, thank you. Help me up?”
“You gave us both a good scare,” Roxton said, extending his hand to Enid. “Are you sure you're all right?”
“I'm fine,” she said. “Besides, we cannot afford to lose any more time.” Roxton nodded and shouldered his disruptor. “Well, in that case, I think it's time we move out. We'll head in this direction,” he said, pointing to one of the larger tunnels in the distance, “and then take--”
“ One moment, Lord John,” Enid interrupted. “Please don’t forget who’s leading this expedition. My first order of business is to take some readings.”
“I beg your pardon,” said Roxton, “but I assumed that what with your claustrophobia--”
“I’m fully recovered now,” she said, “and I assure you, I shan’t faint again.” “ I’m sure you won’t, Enid,” Summers reassured her. “I have every confidence in your ability to prevail under any given circumstances.”
“Careful, Father,” said Roxton, sulking. “Don’t forget that women have been the downfall of men since the time of Adam.” “ I assure you, Lord John, my admiration for Professor Challenger stems from her remarkable talents and tenacity,” Summers said, and, were it possible in that strange realm, his companions would have seen his face crimson in embarrassment.
“ Thank you, Father,” said Enid, removing a compass from the pouch on her belt. “Just as I imagined: the needle is spinning like crazy. No magnetic poles here---probably no up or down, either! You know, Father, you may be right. Perhaps we were changed by crossing over. Otherwise, the inner-ear would be affected; our sense of balance would have been thrown off.”
A flash of light, like heat lightning on a hot su
mmer night, brightened the tunnels for a split second. And the surface they were standing on quivered beneath their feet.
“ This world may be growing unstable,” Enid said. Either way, we're running out of time. Let's find Ned and my father, and get out of here.
“ My thoughts exactly,” said Roxton. “With any luck, we’ll be back at the Albany in a couple hours, recountin’ this tale over a bottle of brandy.”
“ Lord John,” said Enid, smiling, “please lead the way.” ***
The party of three had been walking through the dim light of the tunnels for almost two hours when they saw the dark silhouette of something slowly approaching them in the mist.
Roxton levelled the disruptor. “That’s close enough!” “Lord John,” cried the figure. “It’s me, Malone!” The two men ran to each other and clasped arms. “Am I glad to see you,” said Malone.
“What in blazes have you been up to, young fellah?” asked Roxton. “I’ve been trying to find my way out of this godforsaken place. The opening we came through closed up the moment we entered. But Challenger couldn’t give a fig. Enid, your father’s changed. I swear he’s notthe same man he was. He says he’ll never leave this world. And he refuses to help me find a way out.”
Enid looked at Summers, half expecting him to say something, but the priest only nodded, deep in thought. She turned back to Malone. “Ned, the barrier separating this world from ours is apparently permeable. It allows light and energy to seep through. When you and my father entered this dimension you somehow upset the balance between the two worlds. This place has now become a giant sponge, absorbing all the light back on earth.”
“ That explains why these tunnels have grown brighter,” said Malone. “Everything was black on black when we first arrived here.”
Roxton said, “Durin’ the two weeks since you left, Malone, the sky over London has grown dark. Yesterday there was frost on the--”
“ Two weeks?” asked Malone. A flash of light illumined the reporter’s puzzled features. “I know it’s impossible to tell the difference between day and night in this place, but I’m positive,”-
--he tapped his watch--”Challenger and I arrived here little more than a day ago.”
“Time must move slower in this crazy world,” Enid said. Summers remarked, “One needn’t be a mathematician to realize, then, that it’s been over a day since we ourselves left London. We’re running out of time here.”
Another brilliant burst of light shot through the tunnels. “These energy flares seem to be coming more frequently now,” said Malone.
“ The energy drain on our world is increasing,” cried Enid. “Ned, take me to my father. We have to find a way to leave this place before it’s too late.”
They found George Challenger sitting with his head bowed, his magnificent black beard crushed against his barrel chest, and the smoke of the grey mist curling about that marvellous cranium of his. Standing before him was the form of his beloved wife, Jessie, appearing younger and more radiant than Enid had remembered her.
Challenger looked up and saw his daughter ’s confused and frightened face. He quickly arose and hugged her. “Please forgive me, Enid. Things will be different now. We’re all together once more.”
*** Enid could still feel her mother ’s penetrating gaze after she turned away. “I understand perfectly well, father. Actually,” she said, “I take that back. This is all too wonderful for me to comprehend. But it still doesn’t change a thing. You and I don’t belong here. We have to leave this place. Now!”
“Then you truly do not understand,” said Challenger. “ Not I, father, but you!” cried Enid. “You fail to see the gravity of our situation. Your entrance into this dimension created a disturbance that’s depleting the light from our world; and our own entrance to find you has only exacerbated the problem.”
“ She’s right, George,” said Summers. “The spiritual has its place in the physical world---every person, rock and tree holds a spark of the divine. But the same cannot be said of the reverse. The physical has no place in the spirit world. Our presence here is upsetting the balance between the two dimensions.
“Thanks to you, father,” said Enid, “the skies over London have grown cold and black. Please, let’s go home.”
“I am home,” Challenger said stubbornly. “I cannot leave.” “ Nonsense, George,” said Summers. “Each of us has an appointed time to live. Your wife has had her time, but your life is not over yet. You do not belong here anymore than we do.”
“I’m sorry, Monty, but I’ve made up my mind.” “The fate of the world hangs in the balance,” Enid cried. “Have you abandoned all reason?” “ Perhaps I have,” he said. “The same way I so often abandoned you and your mother.” He waved his daughter away. “Please, Enid. I’m tired of fighting the world’s problems. My place is here now.”
Summers shook his head and walked off, but Enid continued to plead with Challenger:“You can’t abandon the world now--not during the time of its greatest need!”
“What is the world to my George?” cried Jessie Challenger. Enid ’s mother slowly descended through the mist and hovered before them. “What does George owe the world? It never appreciated all he did for it. It belittled all his splendid achievements and scoffed at all his discoveries. Time and again the world sneered at the great Professor Challenger. Why should he abandon me and his own happiness for those miserable ingrates?
“ I’m surprised at you, mother,” said Enid. “All great men have been misunderstood and criticized at some point in their lives. Father was simply paying the price of his own fame.”
Jessie dropped her head in shame. “I’m sorry, Enid. My love for George is so great, and my bitter words were born of the loneliness I so often endured. I lived without your father for so many long years while he was away, always saving the world, it seemed. And now that we’ve been reunited I cannot bear to see him leave me again.”
“ Yes, Jessie, I neglected you for so long,” said Challenger. “And dear Enid, you felt my neglect as well as anyone. I wronged you both.”
Enid tried to deny the fact but her father was insistent. “That is why you stopped speaking to me,” he said, “because Iwasn’t there on the night your mother died. Do you know where I was that night, Enid? I was in a hot air balloon hovering over New Mexico, trying to make it rain there. Picture that, Enid: when his family needed him the most, the great Challenger had his head in the clouds!” He covered his face with his hands. “That will forever be my greatest failure. Indeed, it is the blackest moment of my life. Something for which I’ll never forgive myself.”
“ Life continually calls upon us to make choices,” said Enid. “For good or bad, you made a choice to serve mankind through the furtherance of science. Was it the right choice? Who knows-
-I certainly don’t! But you cannot live in regret. Once we make our choices we must live with them. We can’t always be looking behind us. Not if we want to move forward!”
Challenger lifted his head and looked into Enid’s eyes. “ Father, I know you had to make sacrifices in the name of science---sacrifices which took you away from the people you love. I’m asking you to make one more. Leave this place. We don’t belong here. Come back with me now!”
“Perhaps for a time,” Challenger said, patting his beard, “until I can find a way to balance our two worlds.” Jessie drew near to her husband. “Please, George, you mustn’t leave me again. Icouldn’t bear it! And youshouldn’t even entertain the idea---certainly not after you abandoned me in life. Could you be so cruel as to abandon me here, too?”
“She’s right,” Challenger said to Enid. “My place is with Jessie.”
Enid began to weep. “Why do you fight me at every turn, mother? You were always so patient and understanding. *** From a short distance away Roxton, Summers and Malone had been observing the exchange between the Challengers. Lord John turned away and asked, “Is this heaven, Father? Where a man is constantly reminded of his past mistakes?”
“Then what is this place?” asked Malone. “ I’m not sure,” said Summers. “But I have one possible theory. Jewish Cabbalistic writings describe seven distinct worlds, or heavens. And even in our own Bible, the apostle Paul wrote that he was caught up in ‘the third heaven.’ The first heaven is undoubtedly the earth’s upper atmosphere, possibly outer space, as well. Saint Paul described the third heaven as paradise, the home of the living God. But no mention is made of the second heaven. Obviously it occupied some region between, a netherworld, perhaps. I am beginning to wonder if we haven’t been trapped in this in-between region. If so, we could all be in grave danger. Either way, we must convince Challenger to leave here with us.
“ Enid will convince him, I’m sure of that,” said Malone, without taking his eyes off the beautiful young woman in the distance. “I’m starting to realize what an extraordinary lady she really is.”
“Ned, my lad,” said Roxton,“I do believe you’re on the hook. But fair warning, you may find her quite a challenge.” “ We’re running out time here,” Summers said nervously. “We’ve now been gone almost two days by earth time. I wonder what’s happening back in London?”
“At the rate things are goin’ here,” said Roxton,“there’ll be snow on the ground by the time we get back.”
“Or another ice age,” said Summers. “Please tell me, Lord John, how does that disruptor of yours operate?”
*** “ We cannot predict the future, father!” said Enid. “Things happen every day that are beyond our control---despite our best efforts to prevent them!”
“ Enid, how can you of all people suggest that I leave your mother now that I have found her?” asked Challenger. “It was my preoccupation with science---I remember you called it my ‘obsession with saving the world’---that took me away from her once before. I shan’t repeat my mistake.”
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