“You’d rather we were captured,” said Lily, “and killed by them, you… selfish… bolts for brains!” She searched to conjure up more insults to spurt his way.
Stanley remained mute, watching the white dots, twitching his bushy moustache.
“How close are they, Stanley?” asked Rose.
He paused before replying. “Fading. Thankfully… we’re out of their radius. We should be safe. For now.”
“I wouldn’t trust him. He lied to us before, so he’ll do it again.”
“When will you give it a rest? You… primitive.”
Lily scrunched her face, hands on hips, about to unleash a verbal outburst. But before her words could carry her venom, Stanley paced towards the door, dabbing the beads of sweat from his brow. He blissfully ignored Lily’s brewing frustration, but he couldn’t proceed through the door as it slammed shut, almost making contact with his nose. Stanley was taken aback, and glanced at Lily’s frown.
“Did you… do that?” he asked.
Lily huffed and blew strands of her hair aside. “Maybe I did.”
“Lily can do things that I can’t,” said Rose.
“No… nor I. How extraordinary.”
Stanley walked over to Lily’s side. He began to click his fingers inside her ghostly head. She instantly wafted her hands, as if trying to swat a fly. “Get off! I’m not a plaything, you know!”
“Stanley, about our mother,” said Rose. “We wish to find her, as soon as possible. Professor Pei said that with her touch Lily may become a true spirit, and I… well I might too, or be sent back home. Back to Earth.”
Stanley sighed. “Pei, huh?” He looked at them both with friendlier eyes. Only the sounds of the vessel were audible as he mused over the facts. “All right, I’ll take you.” He removed a cloth from his top pocket and dabbed the perspiration on his face, then pointed his index finger at the ceiling. “Under one condition! You, and you, will help me get my module back.”
“Deal!” replied an ecstatic Rose, unsure what she was agreeing to, though she didn’t require a second thought.
“All right,” said Lily, unable to make eye contact. “Maybe I’ll forgive you, when we find her.”
“You do know where this module thing is, don’t you?” asked Rose.
“I have my suspicions. And according to my tracker, we should arrive in less than six hours,” he said, spinning around and walking towards the door. Holding out his hand in front, he began to open it with slight hesitation, looking over his shoulder.
Lily gave him a smile that was almost expressionless, followed by a small nod.
He returned the nod, smiling. “Follow me. I have something to show you.”
* * *
Intricate and confined, the room the twins entered was much like the rest of the vessel; it all had function and purpose, without any wasted space. Odd, thought Rose, that Stanley lived and ran such a vessel, and yet his tower was quite the opposite, apart from one singular room.
He stood in front of a steel apparatus. Two wheels with handles featured at either side. At the centre were two eye viewers, and he pressed his face against them and peered inside. He took hold of the handles and began to turn the wheels clockwise. “What’s your mother’s surname?”
“Ashworth, Violet Ashworth,” said Rose, taking a step forward.
Stanley paused and peered outside the viewer. “Rose… Lily… and Violet…” He thought for a moment. “There’s a pattern there.” His gaze returned to the viewer, turning the wheels anticlockwise and cheerfully sang:
“We are spirits, together you’ll see,
We are free to live by the sea,
We are spirits, never alone,
We are home, home sweet home.”
Then: “Ah-ha, there you are, Mrs Violet Ashworth, aged thirty-one. And may I say… quite the golden girl. You have her eyes.” He faced the twins with a sheepish glint in his own.
“Can I see?” asked Rose.
Stanley stepped away from the instrument and placed his hands under Rose’s arms. With a slight groan from the slender man, he lifted Rose up to take a peek.
Lily got a close-up of Stanley’s bright blue eyes. She thought he was quite handsome, in a rugged, middle-aged kind of way, and without the dirt, grease and whatever he carried earlier.
“It’s Mum… It’s really her, sis!” said Rose.
“Would you like a look, Lily?” asked Stanley.
“Of course.”
He placed Rose down and turned her around on the spot; a further prolonged groan ensued. Rose noticed he had streaks of silver hair protruding from his usual jet black with sporadic curled ends. It made him look distinguished.
“She looks just the same,” said Lily.
“That would have been taken soon after she passed away,” said Stanley. “How did it happen?”
“We happened,” said Lily.
A moment of silence was observed for their mother. Then, arms severely aching, Stanley set Rose down. “Oh… I see. Childbirth, huh?”
“And complications,” said Rose.
“Yes, indeed. Childbirth is a journey of life, death and all in between. There is none to blame but your fate.”
“Is there any more information?” asked Rose. “Like, how long will it take to find her? And which sector?”
“According to this, she’s lives in Sector BL-903. The database is usually up to date. And with our current speed, I should imagine we’ll arrive in two, maybe three days, tops.”
“What about portals?” asked Rose. “We were told not to use them. Should we not?”
“Possible, but I strongly advise against it. The Govern have more than likely configured the portals to detect you. Tracing you would be as easy as… devouring you.”
Rose glanced to her side and touched a steel pipe, giving it a tap. “So this vessel –”
“Bella Air. Yes, carry on,” said Stanley.
“This, Bella Air can take us to her; it’s safe? I mean, we’ve flown before, and we heard terrible sounds, like a storm.”
“Yes, yes and yes. All will be revealed shortly. But fear not, I’ve lived and breathed engineering and science since I wore nappies. I designed and built her to sail such airs.”
Rose smiled, nodded and observed Stanley remember something. “Ah… I have more to show you,” he said, then pushed and held a button adjacent to the apparatus. A circular photocopy of their mother came through on cream speckled paper. The twins stared with curiosity as he stepped over to a shelf and took hold of a circular brass object with a chain necklace. He sprang open the lid, where an arrow perched inside. He then placed the photo comfortably within the base, and the lid closed snugly with a light click. Returning to the twins, he held the object out in front.
“A compass?” asked the twins simultaneously.
“Not just any compass. This is a Hopkins special. See that?” he said, looking at them both in succession, pointing to the arrow. “That’s the direction to your mother. And here, the distance in kilometres.” He pointed to the row of static digits, which revolved from zero to nine. The last digit moved, barely a millimetre per second. “Keep it safe,” he said, and gently placed the necklace around Rose’s neck.
“Wow, thank you. It’s… amazing,” she said, holding it closely as the arrow jerked.
“Now,” said Stanley, “I’m going to take us out of the sector and into the spirit atmosphere. You can make yourselves at home. Just don’t tamper with anything, okay?”
“Sure,” said Rose, nodding, and stared at her mother’s picture.
Lily looked up at Stanley. “The atmosphere, is it as fierce as it sounds?”
Stanley smiled. “You’ll see, soon enough.” He turned and walked towards the control chamber, only to stop in his tracks and observe a framed picture on the wall. He tapped: tap, tap – tap, tap – tap, tap. Pausing for a moment, he frowned, emitting a thinker’s hum, and then he continued through the door.
* * *
Rose didn
’t hesitate, she explored the interior like a new discovery. Machines appeared throughout, never blatantly displaying their function, but looking mighty impressive nonetheless. The living quarters featured lavish furniture and gadgets: she saw a cuckoo clock, a train set and toy planes that flew in circles on strings. Further down and along a small hallway, the twins discovered two cabins with single beds, and the smallest bathroom they’d ever set eyes on.
A narrow set of steps led the twins up into a kitchen, where Rose snooped inside cupboards. Tins were held in containers, with all the labels displayed forward. Many kinds of herbs, spices and other oddities filled jars. Her father had never used most of them in his cooking, but he always said “K.I.S.S” (Keep It Simple Stupid), which made Rose smile, just thinking about it. Her expression loosened: Does he know yet?
After further snooping along the upper deck, the twins returned to the living quarters to further their investigation.
Stanley entered. “Girls, follow me,” he said, before returning to the control chamber.
She followed and sat beside the circular window to peer across the industrial revolution; a sight barely visible at such an altitude.
“Hold on to your seat, Rose,” said Stanley. “Lily… as you were. And enjoy the show.”
Rose looked up through the window. The blue sky was darker, almost black. Space?
Stanley pulled a lever. Above, the blackness was punctuated by a line of light as the expansive sector doors parted. The vessel rose up into the entrance bay then travelled along a circular tunnel of rotating yellow lights. Another lever pulled, the exit opened. Deep rumbles of thunder bellowed. High-pitched whistling winds engulfed the vessel’s exterior, while lightning flashes lit the interior. The turbulent air shook those onboard with a mighty quake. The wind howled, rushing across the windows as if the vessel was sailing through a tornado.
Rose gripped her seat as she and Lily stared through the glass in astonishment, observing the exterior of a contained world. Their entire view was taken by the mass of steel known as IR-294. The sector they had now departed stretched as far as the eye could see.
The potent gusts of the relentless storm rocked Bella Air from side to side. Stanley pulled more levers, then pushed the wheel forward, propelling the vessel into the sector stream, he told them, known for its constant air-vortex. Bolts of lightning danced through the churning clouds in search of a strike. Some struck a large spike attached to the sector – the conductor doing its job.
They pierced through the golden white clouds and out the other side, the decibels now dimmed to a bearable level. She then noticed the hazy sun. Its warmth was felt.
Stanley turned a circular dial to a notch that read Destination. To his right, he looked upon a key panel displaying letters and numerals. He pressed BL-903, followed by Store. He then entered TU-939 and pressed Destination.
CHAPTER NINE
Domino Galaxy
After three hours of restless sleep in their cabin, the twins had returned to the living quarters. Rose had her head in a book. She looked closely at the pictures, trying to decipher who the people were; people of Earth.
She thought about never going back; and never seeing her father again made her feel sick. I wish I could tell him, she said to herself. Tell him everything.
Lily observed the spirit atmosphere through the window, admiring the cloud funnels twisting in the distance. The sunlight was fading and the spectacle took on a menacing appearance.
“What are you looking for, Rose?” asked Stanley.
She glanced up, witnessing his inquisitive posture leaning on the door frame. “I just… found it. Is this you?”
Stanley walked closer and tilted his head to view the person in question. “Huh, I guess I do look like my father, more so every day it seems. Strange… we’re not even genetically related,” he said, stroking his moustache.
“You weren’t brought up by your real father?”
“I was adopted; well, abandoned first.”
“Why?”
“My mother wished a better life for me. At least that’s what I believe. There, that’s me, the little swot with the flat cap,” he said, pointing at a black and white photo. “Had my first flight that day, passenger of course. Probably around your age. How old are you?”
“Nine, nearly ten.”
“Yes, about that. My father took me to Farnborough Airfield, where we flew in an Avro Avian,” he said, revisiting his firmly embedded memory with warmth.
“Where’s your father now?”
Stanley gave the photo a closer inspection. “On Earth, alive and well, last time I checked. He married and fathered two children.”
“How did you die?” asked Lily, bluntly.
“You know of World War Two?”
“Kind of.”
“Yes, I do,” said Rose. “I’ve seen footage on television, and read some books.” She pulled an awkward expression. “But it seemed so… pointless.”
“I flew a Hurricane fighter plane. Shot down in my prime, I was.” He shook his head and looked through the window, appearing to relive the moment. “Still… a worthy cause to fight for your country and those you love. That’s never pointless.”
“What about your mother?” asked Rose.
“I know nothing of her.” He frowned, sighing. “I don’t see the point in searching. If we ever do meet, it will be her own doing.” He knelt by the set of drawers where the photo album had been withdrawn and gave it six consecutive taps, followed by a displeased groan.
“Why do you do that?” asked Lily, with a perplexed expression.
“If you ever find a book titled Stanley Hopkins II, inform me at once. I’ve gone and forgotten where I hid the bloomin’ thing. But I left myself a clue to its whereabouts.” Stanley reached into his top pocket and brandished a small piece of paper. It read:
JOURNAL
TAP, TAP – TAP, TAP – TAP, TAP
“I’ve been tapping Bella Air for over a year,” he said, annoyed.
“If we find it, we’ll let you know,” said Rose. She placed the photo album down and had a thought. “Stanley?”
“Yes…” he said, as he walked to the opposite wall to straighten a row of picture frames, most of which featured Bella Air’s conception.
“I don’t understand. How does all this exist?”
“The photos you mean, or… everything else?”
“Well, these photos are from Earth, aren’t they?”
“Indeed. I took that album from my last visit. Rather, I obtained a copy.”
“A copy?”
“Once a year, every spirit is granted one return ticket to Earth. Equipped with a Particle Reader, spirits are allowed to take samples from their past life. Mind you, no more than the set VDM: that’s Volume of Duplicated Mass.” He turned and looked at the collection of photos that adorned his wall. “Of course, not all wish to return; painful memories, you see. And it’s not always been an option.”
“How come?” asked Rose.
Stanley stepped over to a cosy-looking rocking chair; placing his hands onto the arm rests, he sank into it and rocked. The chair creaked each time. He soon stopped. “Not until they invented a means of travel. I say they: I speak of Francis Herbert and his lifelong colleague, Samuel Henderson. They made the impossible, possible!”
“So, all things in this world are copies from Earth?”
Stanley sighed. “Oh dear… we’re going to need a history lesson, aren’t we?”
Rose smiled. “I like history.”
“Boring…” said Lily, rolling her eyes, arms folded. Nevertheless, she would listen.
Stanley stood and clasped his hands together. “Where shall we start?” He rubbed his palms and paced back and forth. “I know just the ticket!” He dashed out of the room and returned with the cage the parrot had landed upon and where it remained, albeit looking rather disturbed and restless.
“Brunel…what have I told you. Never make a mess on here.”
“Angry A
mnesh! Angry Amnesh! Pheeew!”
“Oh… you haven’t been introduced,” said Stanley, taking the parrot onto his arm. “This is Brunel. Brunel, Rose and Lily.”
“Rose! Lily! Welcome aboard! Welcome aboard!”
Rose laughed at the talkative bird. “Why did he say Amnesh?” she asked. “He said it in the tower as well, before attacking one of them.”
“Ah, I see. You attacked our intruders, huh?” Stanley looked closely into the parrot’s black eye. “You gave those bounty hunters a good Brunel bashing. At least you’re good for something.”
“Bounty hunters? Is that what they are?” asked Rose.
“Yes, no doubt working for the Govern. You’re highly valuable to them. But to answer your query, Amnesh used to be my nickname. Many called me it after a vessel of mine hit the deck. I took a hefty blow to my nut in the process.” Stanley rubbed his head. “I suffered amnesia, and my memory hasn’t been the same since. And this feathery critter caught on. Silly bird.”
“Silly bird! Raaaaaw! Silly bird!” squawked Brunel, as he flew off Stanley’s arm to perch on top of the cuckoo clock.
Stanley brought the twins’ attention back to a spherical cage, covered with octagonal steel shapes. “Now… what’s this?” he asked, spinning the sphere on its axis.
“A cage?” guessed Rose.
“Try again.”
“A globe?”
“Correct, Lily,” said Stanley, “it’s –”
“Rose.”
“What?”
“My name is Rose.”
“Right! Now, this globe represents the spirit world, Kiian. Each one of these is a sector, see. And we’re travelling around about here,” he said, pointing to a small shape. “And we are going to here.” He pointed to another.
“How big is it?” asked Lily.
“Kiian? Hmm, I believe it’s about the size of Mars. So, pretty big, but not ideal.”
“Why not?”
“Well, consider Earth’s population. Fortunately, not all spirits come here. Some prefer to stay on Earth. One benefit is that you don’t age there.”
“What about me?” said Lily. “I did.”
“Yes, but you’re… odd.”
“No more than you.”
“So, you can live forever?” asked Rose.
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