Is That A Monster in the Closet, Charlie Boone? - 4. Chapter 4

The Lollipop's landing tube descended, and Frit and Pip stepped out onto the deck of the terminal bay. They looked about quickly, and then grinned at each other.

"Seems safe!" Frit called.

"I don't feel anything bad!" Pip added.

Inside the ship, Charlie nodded to himself, and turned to the others. "Everybody ready?"

The two elves had insisted on being the first to go out, saying their powers of detection would quickly look around where mere eyes could not. Pacha had allowed this, even though his own powers were superior in strength to those of the two young elves. Charlie suspected that Pacha had already deemed the terminal station to be safe now that Murcha had taken control of the place, and so felt it was okay to indulge the two elves in their desire to be helpful.

Briefly, Charlie patted the satiny surface of his space suit, again marveling at how light it was. Murcha had directed them to a room they had not seen before, where each of them were presented with a suit. They were apparently available in only three sizes - small, medium, and large - with each size being rather at the extremes of each designation. Kontus and Ragal were each given large suits, the humans and elves each received a medium, and Pacha was presented with a small.

None of the suits fit at first, all being too large for everyone concerned. The suits were all alike in that they were black, one piece, opened down the front with some kind of nearly invisible seal, had two arms and two legs, and had feet built into them like a pair of toddler's rompers. The magic happened after you put them on.

After Charlie donned his, he pulled up the excess material so he wouldn't trip over it and stepped into a side chamber, where he was directed to close his eyes and keep them closed. That done, a battery of amazingly powerful lights of differing frequencies began to play over the suit, which quickly began to shrink and customize its fit to Charlie's body. It was the same sort of technology that the tailor had used on Keerby's color suit at the pirate market in order to fit it to his body, but all at once, and much quicker in action. In mere minutes, the suit fit Charlie as if it had been made especially for him. And Murcha had assured them that the suit would remember the fit, and that he would store them after this trip was done, for future use.

After their suits were fitted, they received gloves and helmets, which had apparently been made by the automated services just for them. The helmets were simple round globes, very lightweight, and transparent almost to the point of invisibility. Each had a gray collar about the bottom. The collar fitted into a similar arrangement at the neck of the suit, simply pressing into it and sealing automatically.

The gloves were almost filmy, and Charlie found that they gave his hands and fingertips a nearly perfect tactile sense, almost as if he was barehanded. He pulled the gloves on, and the tops seemed to bind some way to the sleeves of the suit, forming a seal. A tiny panel on the inside of his left forearm activated, and the air inside the helmet grew noticeably fresher. There were no oxygen tanks or other external devices, and Charlie barely felt the weight of the helmet. It was like wearing a pair of pajamas. Yet the suit would provide him with a breathable atmosphere pressurized to Earth normal, a comfortable temperature, allow him to communicate with the others, and provide protection against a host of ills, not the least of which was radiation of all forms.

A small, flat reservoir in a pocket on the right hip of the suit supplied water for drinking. In a vacuum or a hostile environment, what was inside was all there was. But in any atmosphere that contained hydrogen and oxygen, the flask had the ability to draw those elements from the atmosphere to make new water. Murcha assured them that the atmosphere on the planet would be more than rich enough to allow them to have ample drinking water. All they had to do to drink was turn their heads to one side and sip off a small tube, like a soda straw.

A reservoir in a pocket on the other hip carried a nutritious liquid that would handily supply their bodies with what they needed to keep going, although it would only carry enough to maintain one for about three days. Once ingested, it expanded in the stomach, not only providing nutrients, but also giving one the impression that he had eaten his fill. A similar straw on the other side of the helmet allowed them to access this liquid. A three-day supply was not much, but Pacha assured them that he could teleport replacements from Lollipop as needed.

Mike was given an additional small box, one with rounded corners and studded with tiny sensory gear on five sides. Illia would ride there, and have access to enough investigative technology to keep them apprised of their situation. The flat, unadorned face of the box simply bonded to the back of Mike's suit, and Illia seemed quite satisfied with her place there. Mike said he could barely feel its presence between his shoulder blades.

Murcha and Onglet would remain aboard Lollipop, already working on the analysis of the encrypted patterns of energy that comprised the planetary defense shield. The two of them, working in tandem, hoped to provide enough mental power to shorten the time needed to breach the shield and allow the ship to land. Charlie was not worried about needing the ship just yet, as he knew that the scans of the surface of Erenar had showed no life, and that Pacha could easily teleport them all back to the ship at any time. Or Frit or Pip, for that matter.

They were each also provided with weapons, in the surprisingly deceptive form of a small wristlet, which looked more ornamental than functional. It was one-piece, bore no controls of any kind, and was light and scarcely noticeable once put on. Yet Murcha assured them that the tiny intelligence inside was smart enough to assess the needs of most offensive and defensive situations, and provide the needed support.

This was their first up-close look at Moth personal military technology, and Charlie had to admit that it was stunning. There were other things stored in the tiny arsenal of their ship, the brief descriptions of some of which were frightening. Charlie had allowed for the necessity of the wrist weapons, but had resisted taking anything more dangerous along. They were amateurs here, playing about in a dangerous pool of dark water, and no lifeguards were handy. The last thing they needed was a mistake with something that could erase sizable sections of cities if mishandled.

They took turns descending the boarding tube, two at a time, until all of them were standing in the terminal bay. The place was enormous, and constructed all of gray steel of some sort, smooth of finish and deftly put together without any signs of welding or rivets. One thing Charlie had already learned about the technology of star travelers was that their things all seemed finely made, assembled with an art and strength reserved only for the best items back on Earth. Quality was a given out here, not an expensive luxury. The better a technology became, it seemed, the easier it was to provide finesse to its products.

"That way," Pacha said, pointing at a large archway to one side.

Charlie couldn't help smiling. Pacha was riding in the crook of Mike's arm, his tiny spacesuit looking like doll clothing, and the koala's face just adorable within the faint shine of his helmet globe. As probably the most dangerous individual among them, it was a counterpoint that Charlie found amusing, and certainly one that would not be at all apparent to any onlooker. Pacha would be their Ace card, just as Max often was when he was along.

Frit and Pip immediately bounded towards the archway, and the rest of them turned to follow. The cavernous bay was well-lit, looking as if it had just opened for business that very day. Charlie took a long look at the boxy cargo carrier as they passed it, his instincts telling him that nothing that looked so clumsy could possibly fly, but his intellect reminding him that in space, aerodynamics were an unnecessary consideration in design.

They reached the archway and passed through, and arrived in a spacious corridor with many other corridors and doorways along its length. The overhead seemed unusually distant, and the doorways they passed were also of a height, suggesting that the Athonar had either been a very tall people, or one for whom the excess use of space was not a consideration when it came to their off-world constructions.

The corridor eventually opened into another spacious room, this one with transparent outer walls that gave a stunning view of the darkness of space beyond. Stars crowded across the inky sky, and for a moment no one could move, so stunning was the vista beyond.

"Well," Kippy finally said, his voice sounding rather small, "these people certainly knew how to impress."

Charlie laughed at that, and the spell was broken. They crowded before the transparent walls, admiring the distant stars hanging above the cool white plain that was the planetary defensive barrier. That plain stretched away from the window-wall, disappearing into its own curvature at a distance that took one's breath away.

"I wish I had a camera," Adrian breathed, shaking his head slowly back and forth.

"You do," Murcha's voice came to them. "Everything that happens around you will be assimilated by your helmets and stored here aboard the ship. You can review the account at any time later on."

Adrian grinned, and shook his head at Charlie. "This looks like it's going to be an awesome walk."

Charlie nodded at that, and turned his eyes to Pacha. "Where do we go next?"

The Kift pointed to a row of wide doorways across the room, all of which were closed. "Any one of them, I think."

"These doors are normally secured and require a pass," Illia informed them. "But Murcha has complete control here, and the locks have been deactivated. We can proceed unchecked at this time."

"Nice to have a master key," Ricky said, grinning. "Is there anything we can't do here?"

One of Murcha's sinister laughs came across the com, sounding particularly eerie within the confines of Charlie's helmet.

"I would advise you not to use the restroom facilities in that terminal station. I have detected a blockage of some sort in the main line to the recovery facility, indicating that a back-up of some sort would be initiated by clearing any of the receptacles."

Mike rolled his eyes. "I hate these budget holiday accommodations. Even the damn loo doesn't work!"

They laughed, and headed for the center door in the row of doors. It opened at their approach, parting in the middle and whispering quickly into the walls. Charlie stopped in midstep, and Kippy bumped into him from behind.

"What --?" And then he saw past Charlie, and gasped.

It looked as though the door opened directly onto nothingness. A vast well or shaft of some sort lay beyond, the far wall very distant, indeed. A myriad of lights played everywhere they looked, revealing immense machines and structures that they couldn't even begin to guess the purpose of, traveling down the walls of the shaft and disappearing into the gloom below.

"That looks kind of unsafe," Bobby muttered.

"It's an elevator car," Pacha revealed, sounding amused. "Not the car that will carry us to the surface, but one that will take us to that location. Apparently the Athonar liked an outside view most everywhere they went."

Mike moved closer to the doorway, and then turned and waved at them. "There's a floor inside. Come on."

They moved slowly forward, and entered the space beyond the door once they saw that there was indeed a place to put their feet. A large round platform of gray steel appeared, and it became apparent at the same time that it was held within a completely transparent tube that was invisible until you were right on top of it. Even then, it was barely there at all, and even Charlie felt uneasy as the doors closed behind them, and the platform began to descend within the tube.

It was almost as if they were sliding down the wall of the immense shaft. There was movement everywhere, as machines went about their obscure business, their true purposes lost in the immensity of time. That the terminal station was still functioning was readily apparent here, and Charlie briefly wondered if any of the machines they were seeing had stopped, even briefly, in the last twelve thousand years, to wonder where the people that had created them had gone. Everything they could see, all this motion and energy, had been going on just like this since the days when the Clovis cultures of early humans were hunting mammoth about the chill plains of waning ice age North America.

"Amazing," he whispered. "It's just...amazing."

Kippy moved closer and took Charlie's arm, squeezing it both comfortingly and for comfort. "Unbelievable," he agreed, staring out at the immense vista.

Kontus looked about as if he saw stuff like this everyday. "At least it's roomy. I hate cramped quarters."

Ricky and Adrian were also standing quietly together, watching the scenery outside, and Frit and Pip seemed subdued as well. Mike and Bobby moved closer, and Pacha reached out a hand and laid it on Charlie's other arm. "Remember what I told you, Charlie."

Charlie blinked, and then smiled. "About us meeting others out here? And that the main difference would be our levels of experience?"

"Yes. What you see about you is grand in scale, but in this case it is more an epitaph than a monument to greatness. Such scale as this exists all over the galaxy, among many peoples that live there. You need not fear it, or feel small next to it. All you need do is enjoy it."

Charlie nodded. "These people are gone, as far as we know. But the things they did remain behind them."

Pacha moved his head in agreement. "It is such as this everywhere in the galaxy, Charlie. The quicker you get used to it, the easier it will be for you deal with the situations that need your attention."

Charlie laughed at that. "I don't think any of us ever imagined where it would lead, that time we first saw your ship floating above Myer's Hill."

Mike smiled at that. "I know what you mean, Charlie, believe me. It takes some getting used to out here. But...it's a stunner, once you do. The galaxy is just jammed with people, rising, falling, and everywhere in between. Lost worlds full of stuff like this --" he waved a hand at the view beyond the invisible wall "-- at every turn. All sorts of blokes were here before us. And what they left behind is just waitin' to be explored."

Kippy smiled. "Like the Tower of Arimides?"

"Exactly, Kipper. Now there's a tale! Remind me to tell you all about that trip, okay?" Mike waved a hand again. "So it's okay to gawk a bit, but don't let it overwhelm you."

Kippy made a face at being called 'Kipper', a term he had asked the Aussie boy not to use. But he understood now that it was used fondly, and let it slide.

Charlie sensed movement to one side of him and turned. Ragal was standing there, watching them, a smile on his face. Charlie sighed. "Not you, too."

"It is wonderful, watching all of you deal with these new things. Your resilience is admirable."

"My brain feels fuzzy right now, to tell you the truth."

Ragal laughed his raspy laugh. "It will pass, Charlie. There is much yet left to do here."

Charlie watched the alien a moment before replying. Ragal was always cheerful, but he was just a little bit enigmatic, too. Charlie understood that the alien didn't know why he was there among them, but he also sensed that more was becoming apparent to the man as time passed.

"You know something about this place? I mean, something you didn't know earlier?"

Ragal nodded. "I have come to the conclusion that the purpose of my rebirth is twofold, to be accomplished within the framework of two events, separated by some bit of time. Erenar is that first event. What we accomplish here will steady in some way the path we must take to our ultimate goal. But that goal may be some time in the future yet. Perhaps even years."

Kippy stared. "You mean we won't move on from here to another place? We won't go looking for more of the puzzle? We'll be done...at least for a while...when we finish here?"

"Yes. Consider it a time to catch our breaths. Erenar is but the first step. The next one needs time to appear at our feet."

Charlie considered that a bit disbelievingly. "So we have to do something here, now, in order to accomplish something else, somewhere else, later on?"

"Exactly." Ragal's eyes twinkled. "Don't look at me like that, Charlie. I assure you, I am not playing games with you. As I said before, my kind are sensitive to the clues offered up by the universe. The ones I see here have suggested to me the probable course of future events."

Charlie sighed. "It's not that I don't believe you. I'm just trying to get it all straight inside my head."

Kippy sighed and squeezed Charlie's arm. "Not just you!"

Adrian laughed. "It's part of the fun, solving the clues and figuring out what's going on."

Ricky nodded. "I like puzzles, myself."

Charlie had to smile at that. "They are fun, aren't they?" He sighed, feeling better. As long as everyone was happy doing what they were doing, so was Charlie. "Then let's get going, and see what needs to be done here."

"I think we're getting closer to the answers," Kontus said, pointing below them.

Charlie looked down with the others. Their elevator was nearing the bottom of the great shaft, and about to head into a softly-lit tube in the machine-studded floor below them. Their speed became apparent as they neared the opening, and Charlie felt Kippy's grip on his arm tighten as they plunged into the hole.

"That was kind of thrilling," Pip said, grinning at Frit. "That's the fastest I ever went into a hole before!"

Both elves dissolved into laughter, holding onto each other tightly. Charlie grinned, wondering how he could ever have worried about the success of their mission.

Kippy sighed, and nuzzled closer to Charlie. It was a tribute to the tactile senses built into the material of their suits that the act was even momentarily arousing for Charlie to experience. He turned and smiled at his boyfriend, wishing intensely that the helmets weren't between them. He had to make do with an eye-promise, delivered with heartfelt emotion, one that Kippy picked up on immediately, and smiled broadly in response to. "I can wait," Kippy said softly, though there wasn't a bit of privacy on the group com they all shared.

The others seemed not to notice, though, being more interested in what was happening beyond the transparent walls. They had exited the tube on the other side of a massive wall, and were sinking into the center of the top of a broad, round structure. The elevator stopped, and the doors whisked open.

They exited the car, and found themselves in a large round room, one which seemed to go all the way around the central core. And a room which once again had clear walls all the way around it. There was darkness beyond those walls, but not a single star was visible. They moved as a group to stand before the transparencies, and then stood in silence at what lay beyond.

"We are inside the barrier," Illia informed them.

The clear walls curved inward at their feet, providing a more than adequate view. Beneath them, a planet spread out, its dark surface covered with lacy lines of light. Larger blobs of light occupied places where the lacy lines came together, forming a vast network that extended to every area of the visible surface. Charlie's first thought was that they were seeing cities connected together by roadways or railways or some other form of transportation system. But he immediately cautioned himself not to place human parallels on what he was seeing. The network could be anything, even things he couldn't imagine.

"It's gorgeous," Adrian said, sighing. "But why is it so dark here?"

"The barrier does not transmit sunlight," Pacha said. "Nor any frequencies in addition to the visible. Whether that is a permanent feature of the shield or simply one that was activated during the battle and never discontinued, we have no way of knowing. Some mid-expansion era weapons used bursts of coherent light, or other radiations as their destructive means. A planetary shield would need to guard against them, as well as solid projectiles."

"No gravity vortexes back then?" Charlie asked.

"Not at that time. The theory was known, but devices could not be made small enough to be transported on warships."

"A dark planet," Kippy said, shaking his head. "Night, forever."

"That kinda sucks," Ricky said. "I like my sunshine."

Charlie looked to his right, and spied a slender thread in the distance, rising straight as an arrow from the planet below, to vanish against the dark sky. The view was deceptive, and Charlie realized that the thread was likely a lot farther away than it seemed. "I think I see another elevator," he said, pointing.

"One over here, too," Bobby said, from another window off to the left.

"There are a number of them, spaced equidistantly about the equator," Illia informed them. "By the spacing between the seven we inspected, I would guess there to be about seventy of the structures in existence."

Charlie blew out a short breath, trying to imagine the resources needed for such a building project, and wondering if humans would be able to produce such marvels in his lifetime. "I wonder how many others are operational - if any?"

"We can do a count before we leave, if you like," Onglet said over the link. "It is easy enough to detect the operational terminals from those no longer having power."

"I'll keep it in mind," Charlie murmured, staring at the distant thread. "Thanks."

"Oh, look here!" Adrian said, from another area of the room.

Charlie turned with the others, and crossed to where Adrian was standing. The other boy's eyes were wide with surprise, and he pointed at the deck beneath his feet as they came up beside him.

It was a window, actually just a transparent section of the floor. Beneath them was what appeared to be a massive cylinder, stretching away towards infinity, toward the darkness of the planet below.

"Another window here," Mike said, from nearby. "I think they're set into the floor all the way around the room."

Charlie walked slowly about the core of the room, looking down through each window he passed, until he arrived back at the others, who were watching him expectantly.

"That's the elevator cable beneath us, isn't it?" Mike asked.

Charlie nodded. "I think so." The room they were in was a ring, which circled the massive cylinder, and the cylinder was evidently the cable which reached all the way to the surface of the planet, 22,000 miles below. "We're in the elevator car."

"I thought you knew that," Murcha said, sounding apologetic. "Or I would have thought to tell you. Are you ready to descend?"

The others laughed, and Charlie rolled his eyes. "I guess that means it works?"

"All systems check out as operational. Though I must say the last time the car was used was...well, a long time past."

Charlie smiled at that. "You're getting a little more diplomatic these days, Murcha."

"I am trying to be reassuring," the shipmind returned, and Charlie could detect a note of humor this time. "I do believe the system is safe to use, despite it's age."

Kippy grinned at Charlie, and then looked skyward. "Any idea how long it will take to get to the surface, Murcha?"

There was another bout of sinister laughter, which caused grins to appear all around. "Would you like me to tell you how quickly the car can move, or would you prefer just a time of arrival?"

Kippy's eyes twinkled merrily as he considered the question, and then he shook his head. "Just tell me how long. I think I can imagine the rest."

"The journey to the surface will take just over one hour."

Charlie whistled, able to do the math. "The ring we're inside wraps around the cable, and rides up and down on it, right?"

"Yes. The mode of travel is electromagnetic in nature. To descend, the car is drawn downward at ever increasing speed, with gravity providing a substantial assist, and then slowed magnetically. Think of it as a kind of vertical maglev train, to use an analogy from your own world. It's quite efficient."

Kippy stared around the circular room. "They must not have had to move a lot of people at one time. I'll bet you'd be pressed to get a hundred people inside this thing. You couldn't evacuate a world in a hurry using one of these."

"This would seem to be a personnel elevator, only. I have analyzed the next cars over to either size of us, and they are cylindrical in nature and much larger, with a viewing area similar to this one located at the top. But the main bulk of the car would seem to be designed to ferry cargo, and the capacity is considerable. I would hazard to guess that this car was designed for the rapid transport of personages of note, who might need to get back and forth quickly. It may be why it still functions. The shielding it once employed may have been stronger than that of the other cars."

Charlie smiled at the shipmind's enthusiasm. "I guess we're ready, then. Let's go."

There was a brief sensation of the floor falling out beneath their feet, and then the downward motion stabilized, and Charlie suddenly looked up at a new motion above them. There were windows in the overhead, too, which had been darkened when the car was nestled up against the underside of the terminal collar. But now they could see the huge round structure as they dropped away from it, a semi-circle ablaze with winking lights wrapped about the top of the immense cable, which diminished incredibly rapidly as they accelerated downward. The cable above and below quickly became a dark blur, one which hurt the eyes to look at for very long.

Charlie moved back to one of the outer windows, and the others followed along, spreading out so that each could watch the world below. Charlie was astonished to see that their motion downward was actually visible along the curve of the planet, an almost imperceptible rise of the limb of the world, most noticeable between the blinks of his eyes. Already their speed must be something respectable. The high-speed portion of the trip would take place beyond the planet's atmosphere, with the car having slowed considerably by the time it reached the first wisps of air, several hundred miles up.

Ricky came over and stood beside him. "Is this awesome, or what?"

Charlie smiled, and looked beyond Ricky, to see Kippy and Adrian animatedly talking together. Mike and Bobby, and Frit and Pip and Keerby, were clustered together doing the same. Kontus and Ragal seemed to have teamed up at a window, and were calmly watching the growing lights and tracks on the planet below them. Pacha was in his usual spot in the crook of Mike's arm, his eyes closed in thought.

"Don't tell me your boyfriend abandoned you," Charlie said to his friend.

Ricky cast a quick glance over his shoulder, and laughed. "Nah. They're just talking skwish stuff together." Ricky's cheerful expression faded to a more serious one. "That's what I wanted to ask you about, Charlie. I...uh...I think Adrian is getting some skwish, too."

Charlie nodded. "I already noticed."

Ricky immediately looked relieved. "Oh, good. I'm glad it's not just my imagination."

"No. Ragal said he sensed it in all of us, though I don't feel any different. Do you?"

"Not really." Ricky's smile came back. "Though with all the crazy stuff we've been doing for the last couple of years, who could notice a little more strange?"

Charlie grinned at that. "Gotta agree there." He looked out the window again, and gave his head a slow shake before returning his gaze to Ricky. "Sometimes I have to wonder if we can handle all this stuff. I feel like we've been very lucky so far."

Ricky dropped a hand on Charlie's shoulder and gave him a fond squeeze. "I've never felt like we weren't going to make it, Charlie. I mean, with Pacha, and Max, and Frit and Pip around...how can we lose?"

Charlie bit at his lip. "That's just it. We expect them to be able to handle everything that happens. And they may not always be around. And you kind of have to figure that, somewhere out here, we'll eventually run into someone that's even stronger than they are. The Beltracians were nearly as good as Pacha, remember? And the Moth were stronger than Frit and Pip."

"Charlie, are you worried about us? Because you shouldn't be. You're not dragging Adrian and me out here. We want to do this stuff." Ricky grinned. "We love doing this stuff."

Charlie looked across at Kippy again, and smiled. "Kip loves it, too."

"And you don't?" Ricky looked askance at him. "Come on, Charlie. Be honest."

Charlie laughed. "I love doing this stuff, too. I just think about the things that could happen to us out here, sometimes. If someone got the better of us, it would be just like we disappeared to our folks. They'd never know what happened to us. They sure wouldn't be looking up at the sky each night and wondering. They'd think something awful happened to us at home."

Ricky nodded. "I've thought about that, too. But I just don't feel like it's going to happen."

Charlie considered that, and nodded. "I don't, either."

"Then stop worrying. We're not being reckless out here. We have a lot of good thinking going on, and lots of great friends. And really, with Britannica Brain running the show, how can we lose?"

Charlie sighed, but couldn't help smiling. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. Just remember you said that when the huge alien battleships are smashing us with planet busters."

Ricky grinned. "Okay, I will, But until then, I'm like that guy on the Mad Magazine website. 'What, me worry?'"

"Nah. You're not like him. You're cuter than he is."

Ricky gently blushed inside his helmet. "So you're good?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I wasn't about to give up, or anything. I was just thinking a little."

"A lot, you mean." Ricky bumped his shoulder against Charlie's. "Sometimes you think too much. It's not good for you to focus on stuff that might happen."

"I get the message," Charlie returned, and patted Ricky's forearm. "Thanks."

They both turned and looked out the window again, staring down at the world beneath them. It was dark and mysterious, the lines and clusters of lights like a glowing spider web in the night. They were much lower now, and the edge of the planet had receded considerably. One of the blobs of light seemed centered beneath them now, with lines of light radiating in all directions. The idea that the lines were roads or transport lines of some sort was solidifying in Charlie's mind. Certainly, the elevators would be centers of a kind, and there would need to be a myriad of routes to access them.

"This place hardly looks abandoned," Charlie said, his eyes scanning the lights below.

Ricky shook his head. "No, it doesn't. It looks kind of busy, actually." He looked upwards, even though the action was totally unnecessary. "You sure there's no life here, Murcha?"

"We have not been able to detect any. Mid-expansion level technology was not up to hiding from modern sensory arrays. If there were somehow survivors here after all this time, they would be immediately detectable."

"If people were still here, their technology would be twelve thousand years more advanced, though, right?" Charlie asked. "Maybe they could hide from us."

"Granted. But the legends of this place do imply that it was abandoned after the Athonara and the Karchee decimated each other, and there is the gap of twelve thousand years to account for where no further information about either race has appeared. Erenar was supposed to be a trap for the Karchee, this world armed and defenses built expressly for that reason. But this was not an Athonara world, they just selected it for this purpose. It's remoteness from their other worlds was supposed to have been key to that choice.The Athonara would have had no use for the planet after the battle, and indeed, defending it further would have been an extreme liability for them in their depleted state. All the facts add up to this world having been abandoned. There are a considerable amount of energy readings still emanating from the surface, and we can see visible evidence that the technology is still active. My best guess is that these systems are still carrying out automated functions, but that no hands are tending them."

"So is the surface cold?" Charlie asked. "With no energy coming in from the sun here, it must be."

"It is not. Total conversion power technology existed even at that time, more than capable of warming a world. The surface temperature below is uniform, and would be chilly to humans dressed lightly, but quite livable. Your suits will keep you comfortable, have no doubt."

Charlie nodded. They were much lower now, more than halfway down, he figured, by his watch. More lines of light had appeared, thinner, and too faint to be seen from higher up. The planet was literally covered with them, yet the areas of darkness between them had to still be considerable, indeed.

"Any idea what the lines of light are? Roads? Rail lines?"

"Both," this time from Onglet. "And both still in use. Maintenance functions are still occurring, and even new facilities being constructed as needed. Supplies are still being transported from one place to the next. There is still a lot happening here, despite the absence of organic intelligent oversight."

"Isn't there a mind in charge of all this?" Ricky asked.

"There is," now from Murcha. "Quantum intelligences were available at that period, though of a much earlier generation, and not yet sentient in the manner that we are. It was no trouble to overpower the one that oversaw the terminal above, and the ones here on the planet are no tougher. The planet is apparently separated into zones, with each zone under the control of a single mind. There is a network that binds these minds together, and our initial probes suggest that this network is much closer to overall sentience than are the individual components. We are still treading lightly here, as a result. This group mind is heavily defended from trespass, and we do not wish to set off any of the safeguards in place. So I have to tell you at this time that we will not have total control on the surface as we did at the terminal station."

Charlie gave a short laugh at that. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

"We will not have immediate access to individual machines here. There will be a delay while we take more surreptitious routes to accomplish what we may need to do."

Ricky grinned. "So when the huge, many-armed bastankulator comes roaring at you, run, and don't wait for Murcha to stop it."

"Actually, that would be an advisable course of action."

Charlie laughed at his friend's words. "Bastankulator? What the heck does that do?"

Ricky shrugged. "Bastankulates, of course. You know how these alien machines are."

They laughed over that, attracting the attention of the others. Kippy's eyes flashed briefly at Charlie, and then he came over and nuzzled up against him. "Are you having fun without me?"

Ricky laughed as Charlie put an innocent expression on his face. "Me? Would I dare to do that?"

Kippy pouted, but it was playful, not serious. "Yes. Just because Ricky is taller than me, and has bigger muscles, is no reason to throw me over like that."

Adrian arrived then, and placed himself under Ricky's arm. "You leave my boyfriend's muscles alone."

Ricky laughed, and puckered his lips at his boyfriend.

Mike and Bobby were right behind Adrian, and Mike immediately patted Bobby's arm. "See? This is how it's done. You pretend you're jealous, and your boy-guy kisses you to show you there's no reason."

Charlie immediately turned his head and blew a kiss at Kippy's cheek. "Forgive me, my love. It was just a single moment of errant lust."

Kippy smiled, and gently smacked Charlie's arm. "Oh, shut up."

Pacha, still in the crook of Mike's arm, opened his eyes and looked around. "I believe we have encountered the edge of the atmosphere. Does anyone else besides me hear it?"

"I do," Kontus said immediately. "Faint, but it's there. The exosphere, I would guess. Next to a vacuum, but enough change in sound to prick my awareness."

"I hear it, too," Ragal acknowledged. "I have sensed the car slowing for some time now. I would say we have nearly arrived."

Charlie looked out the window again, and shook his head. Yes, they were much lower now, but still well above the surface. "You guys have some great ears. I don't hear anything different."

But ten minutes later, they all did. A gentle humming sound, as the car descended through the ever-thickening atmosphere.

They watched as the terrain below began to show more detail, and could make out mountains, lakes and rivers, and even individual lighted areas within the great clusters of lights. Away from the lighted areas, the ground was cloaked in darkness, a deeper night than they had ever seen before. As they dropped within a mile of the surface, great complexes of buildings and other works began to sort themselves out, and in the last thirty seconds of the trip they realized that there was not a single tree, plant, or any other sign of floral life visible.

A lit ring with a spray of buildings all about it seemed to rise to meet them, though Charlie knew it was only the car coming down to rest. There was the faintest sensation of impact, and then they were down. Charlie looked at the tiny chronometer on the inside of his helmet collar - the trip had taken just over an hour to complete.

They were silent, watching out the windows. They could see across a vast section of illuminated landscape, one dotted with a variety of structures, from what looked like storage tanks to graceful spires with no immediately discernible purpose. The ground was paved with a white material, smooth like finished concrete, and with the same hard look about it, yet plainly not that material, but something else.

In the distance, something large rushed by, visible between two large buildings, but moving so rapidly that it was just a blur. In a moment it was past, a brief flash of yellow lights at the tail end sparkling at them, and then gone. Charlie thought he heard a faint rumble for just a second, but the soundproofing of the car was probably excellent, and it could have been his imagination.

There were obvious walkways between the structures, even little squares here and there, and wider bands that had the look of roads. Yet nowhere was there any life to be seen, not on foot, in the air, or even growing along the side of the walkways, as might be seen on Earth.

Nothing at all.

Kippy blew out a faint breath. "This place is dead."

"I sense no life within range of my sensory array," Illia said then, from her box on Mike's back, "though machine activity is extreme. I suggest we be careful once we leave, as some of the machinery here seems to be moving about at high speeds. Be alert, especially on large expanses of open ground."

Ricky grinned at Charlie. "There's a cheerful assessment."

Adrian smiled, and pointed out the window. "Is this a Halloween sort of place, or what?"

"It's creepy," Frit said, coming up. "I sense all sorts of things going on out there, some of which I can't even describe."

"It's weird," Pip agreed. "We need to be careful."

Keerby just shrugged when Charlie looked at him. "It's temporally stable here. Nothing for me to do but keep up the differential rate between this frame and the one in effect back on earth."

Charlie laughed at that. "I take it to mean that time is passing slowly there compared to here?"

The elf smiled. "For every week we spend here, one minute will pass back home."

"How can you do that?" Adrian asked, looking amazed. "Doesn't it all have to equal out, somehow?"

"Oh, it will. That's the nice thing about time. It's flexible. There is an equalization going on even now, which I suspect takes place in some part of the black place we went through to get here. The Cooee?"

Charlie nodded. "The difference is somehow dumped there?'

"I'm not positive yet, but it seems a good guess. It could even explain the differences in frames there, like the one that Bobby experienced that messed up his time. Most of that place seems to exist in no-time naturally, but some places run in different temporal frames. This could be the result of time manipulation by people like me, out here in the temporally active universe. The compression or dilation of time has to equalize somewhere. I guess a place that is intrinsically no-time would be a great place for the universe to dump the differences. It's like a neutral pole, and easily absorbs the excess."

Pip sighed, smiling at Keerby. "Told you he was a prodigy."

Keerby looked embarrassed, and Charlie just nodded. "You're doing a great job. Thank you for coming with us."

"It's okay. I'm having fun!"

Charlie looked around, and spied Ragal standing by himself, off to one side. For once the alien was not smiling, and even looked to be concentrating on something. "Ragal? Everything okay?"

The man's eyes came up and met Charlie's, and he frowned. "Someone else is here."

"I am linked to the sensors aboard Lollipop, in addition to those in my own sensory pack," Illia spoke up. "I detect no life anywhere on this planet."

Ragal shook his head. "Nevertheless, someone else is here. I feel...we need to be cautious, Charlie."

"I already planned to be careful. We'll be even more careful now." Charlie let his eyes circle the group. "Got that, everyone? Stay together, no exploring on your own. Not even for a second. Stay safe."

The others nodded, and Charlie knew that they understood. In a way, the guys had become old hands at this kind of thing, even though their experience was still limited to a few adventures beyond the Earth. It didn't take much experience with the unknown to develop respect for it, and respect was the best sort of caution there was.

Charlie sighed, turning his eyes back to Ragal. "Any more idea on why we're here?"

"Well...no. Nothing concrete. But I am beginning to suspect that this other I detect has something to do with it."

Charlie turned to Pacha, who had been silent thus far. "What about you? Can you sense this other that Ragal says is here?"

The Kift closed his eyes, and immediately shook his head. "I do not sense that there is another person here. I do sense that there is something unseen here."

Charlie's eyes widened at that. "Unseen?"

"Yes. It could be a life form. It could be something alive but not intelligent on our level." The Kift's eyes shifted to Ragal. "It could be almost anything."

Charlie looked over at Frit and Pip. "What about you guys?"

Both elves looked unsettled. "I just get that it's creepy here," Frit said.

"Scary, even," Pip added. "Everybody, watch your step!"

Charlie nodded. "No use putting things off. We might as well go on out."

The others turned and headed back towards the core of the car.

Kippy leaned up against Charlie, and gave out an almost cat-like purr. "Mmm. You sure know how to show a guy a thrilling time, Charlie."

Charlie laughed, but circled his arm about his boyfriend and pulled him close. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Yes, dad."

Charlie sighed, gave Kip another squeeze, and then started him after the others.