It Doesn't Take A Rocket Scientist, Charlie Boone! - 3. Chapter 3

Max teleported their entire group to the edge of the port city, where the tour agency of their Molokar friend, Sefton, was located in a modest building with a large door in the facade that looked to be the roll-up type that fronted a garage. A sign out front showed a stylized, saucer-like vehicle with a bunch of heads popped up above the rim, flying just above some trees, with some weird-looking towers in the background. Underneath the illustration were several large words lettered in a blocky alien script. Charlie didn't have to be able to read the sign to imagine what it said: Tours-R-Us. See the Ancient Cities!

The huge alien looked up from his desk as they entered the building, offered the strange, gentle, grimace-smile that seemed a characteristic of his species, and clasped his hands together briefly in welcome.

"Ah, my friends! You return! To visit the ancient towers, perhaps? To seek the mysteries of the ancient ones?" He laughed, a deep, gravelly sound that made Charlie smile. "You know that Sefton is the guide to trust, yes?"

But then the Molokar's eyes fastened on Ragal and Casper, and Sefton lowered his voice to a loud stage whisper. "I not know these. Friends of Charlie?"

Charlie introduced the two, and Sefton rose from his seat and gave a polite bow to each. "Not know either of your kind, but am most pleased to welcome you to Engris."

"He's sweet," Casper whispered, looking up at Ragal, who raised a hand discreetly to cover his own smile.

"It is a fascinating place," Ragal acknowledged, nodding. "I'm not even sure the word 'mystery' covers it all."

Sefton looked pleased at that. "We think alike, I see."

Charlie beamed at the alien, and stepped forward. "Are you available for a trip?"

Sefton made a show of looking into every corner of the room, leaned over his desk and lifted a few papers laying there and looked beneath them, then shook his head. "Line appears to be short. You next!"

Charlie laughed. "We'd like to return to the same spirit dome you took us to before. Are you up for it?"

"Have no plans for the day. Trip would be excuse to get out and enjoy the darkness." Sefton stepped away from his chair and pushed it beneath the desk. "Can go now, if wish."

The big Molokar was dressed in casual but sturdy clothing that hinted at adventures to come, and wore a floppy brimmed hat on his head that struggled to cover his long ears. His image was every bit the one of the experienced interstellar explorer, meant to convince patrons at a single glance that here was a fellow that could be trusted to safely show them the mysterious, hidden cities of the ancients. Charlie knew from experience that that image was justified. Sefton was every bit as dependable and discreet as could be hoped for.

He waved them towards a door at the back of the room, through which they knew was the garage. That room held a saucer-like craft much like the one depicted on the sign out front, with a large open interior and no roof. There was no inclement weather on Engris to worry about, for the atmosphere was regulated, uniform, and completely unchanging.

They climbed aboard through a section of the circular hull that slid aside to admit them, and Charlie smiled at seeing that there were just exactly the right number of seats there as their party would need. It was always the same, no matter how many of them there were. The technology of the galactic races was masterful at accommodation, among the many other refinements that Charlie had come to expect.

The craft lifted silently, the big roll-up door opened, and they moved out into the streets of the city. The brightly-lit buildings and street lights showed them the way to the edge of town, and then the craft started out across a vacant section of the paved landing field towards the dark trees beyond. Sefton sat in a large seat at the fore of the craft, yet seemed to have little to do but watch the small cluster of instruments in the dash before him.

They reached the trees, and the craft slowly rose until it was just above the treetops. It moved away from the city lights, and powerful headlights lit at the fore of the vehicle and illuminated the way ahead. The treetops resembled palm trees back on earth, but were packed closely together, and they couldn't see even a hint of the ground below. That the surface was not uniform was apparent though, as the craft lifted to pass over hills and settled again into a valley beyond. Those that had constructed Engris had modeled it after a real world, and the surface was as detailed as any landscape back on Earth.

Once they were on course, Sefton turned his seat around to face them. "No time funny thing. Feel like I just saw you, but know time has passed. All are well?"

Kippy laughed at that. "It's been long enough for us that we missed you. But yes, we are all doing well."

"Is good." Sefton waved a hand over his shoulder, as if to take in the as yet still invisible city ahead of them. "You best business I have in some time. Wish more visitors would like to see cities of lost ones."

"You don't get a lot of business?" Kippy asked carefully, obviously not wanting to pry.

"Some. But only one booking since last time you were here."

Charlie was surprised at that. How on earth did the big man make a living?

Sefton smiled at him, apparently able to read the question in Charlie's expression. "I always want to be explorer. I already make my fortune before I come to Engris. Now just relax and enjoy occasional trip."

"Oh." Charlie grinned. "Didn't mean to be nosy."

"Not nosy to be curious. Only nosy to ask embarrassing questions." Sefton offered him another grimace-smile, and then turned the seat back to the forward console.

Kippy gave a tired sigh. "So much has happened in such a short time."

"That's the way it goes sometimes," Charlie responded. "How do you think I feel? All of a sudden I have this split-presence thing going on, where I can be in two places at once!"

Ricky laughed at that, and gently prodded Kippy with an elbow. "You'll really have to watch your guy now, Kip. He can be sitting right next to you, and be off flirting with another guy at the same time!"

Kippy gasped, and smacked Ricky's arm.

"What are ya hitting me for?" Ricky asked, looking surprised. "I'm not the one stepping out on you!"

Kippy glared. "Yeah, but you're the one that gave him the idea!"

Everyone laughed, and Charlie leaned up against his boyfriend. "I'm not interested in anyone else, Kip."

Kippy grinned. "I know that. It was just a good excuse to hit Ricky."

Adrian patted Ricky's arm, and nodded. "Mouth open, arm pain. Mouth closed, arm okay. Have we learned anything?"

Ricky pulled his finger's across his lips as if zipping a zipper, and leaned away from Kippy.

Charlie continued to smile a moment, and then sighed and put an arm around his boyfriend. They sat in silence, watching as the land below came and went. The treetops appeared ahead of them in the beams of the headlights, and passed beneath them without change, and they covered the dozen or so miles to the city peacefully before Sefton slowed the craft and pointed ahead.

Dimly visible in the faint glow around them, Charlie could see that the trees below were thinning. Gaps appeared between them, and then they simply ended. The transport crossed a section of level ground covered with paving squares, and the dark bulk of a city loomed out of the darkness ahead of them. The craft flew in among great cylindrical, steel-clad towers coated in a variety of pastel colors, and over low domes covered in mosaic patterns that teased the eye and caused them to blink and look again. Finally, a great open square appeared, and Sefton set the craft gently on the paving stones, and shut off the power plant. It was only then that Charlie became aware that the craft's drive had produced a discreet hum. With its termination, a silence of incredible proportions settled upon them, without even a breeze to give life to the surroundings.

The city had a faint glow, too, and they could make out the towers and domes all around them. Nothing moved, however, no matter where they looked, and the feeling of abandonment seemed clear. No one had lived here in more years than the boys could imagine, the city long empty of life even before the first humans had acquired fire.

For a moment no one said anything. The weight of years was apparent to them somehow, and the sense strong that those who had lived here were now the dust of ages. Charlie and the others looked slowly about them, knowing now what to expect, but still expecting more than simply nothing at all.

"I guess the parade is late starting," Kippy said, finally. " Maybe we're early."

Charlie laughed at that, and got to his feet. This was a signal for the others to also rise, and Sefton opened the entry in the side of the craft so that they could disembark. As they passed by, he handed each of them a small light. "Watch step, please."

"I guess you'll be waiting here?" Kippy asked the man, as he passed him his way out to the pavement. Sefton had never accompanied them to the dome on any of their previous trips.

"Of course. Spirit life best viewed from safe distance, I always say."

"Come on, fellas," Max said softly, leading the way.

Once away from the craft, a thought occurred to Charlie, and he stepped closer to the elf and stopped him. "You could have just transported us directly here from the ship."

Max looked over at him, and then offered a smile in the faint light. "Sure. But you guys needed to unwind a little, and I thought the trip here might relax you. Here on Engris, it's all the same time as far as Pacha and the others are concerned."

"Yeah, I guess. It just seems like we're not in the hurry we should be in."

"We're not in a hurry, Charlie. We have time to figure this thing, okay? And we need to have clear heads to do it."

Charlie smiled. "It was a relaxing flight. And it's nice to see Sefton again."

"Then it worked, right?"

Charlie nodded, and they started out again. He waved his light slowly over the structure of the giant dome as they approached, again noting the mosaic covering, set in intricate patterns of varying colors, each as bright and crisp as they day they were new. Nothing about the buildings looked old. It was as if the people had simply walked away yesterday, never to return. An as ancient as it was, it was still beautiful.

They entered the dome, and proceeded to the center, where the great shaft that stretched all the way to the core of the planet resembled a pool of dark water in the half light, Charlie played his light over it, shuddering just a little as he imagined the depth, and stopped a safe distance from the opening.

Kippy pushed his shoulder against Charlie's. "Think they'll come?" he whispered.

Charlie couldn't help smiling, his own body tingling a little to the same sense of subtle awe that his boyfriend was obviously feeling. It was almost impossible to come to this place and not sense something of its age and power.

"I think they'll know we're here. They said they always know where we are."

"Maybe we should call to them?" Ricky asked.

"We didn't have to last time," Adrian pointed out. "They just showed up."

"Shh," Max said then, holding up a hand. "I feel something --"

Kippy took a breath then, as if he sensed something himself, and nodded. Adrian moved closer to stand beside him. Ricky positioned himself next to his boyfriend and placed a hand on his arm, and the four of them depressed their hand lights in anticipation of what was to come.

A flash of light crawled over the lip of the great hole, and then a tall, wispy, glowing cloud of light rose up out of the tunnel and hovered in the air above it. It was like a mist that could be seen through, with tiny sparkles of light inside. They watched in silence as another of the same things rose beside the first one, and both wispy clouds moved away from the tunnel opening and approached them. The sense of expectation grew, and Charlie and Kip both took a step forward at the same time.

The two clouds stopped a few feet from them, and the sounds started. It resembled a multitude of voices, but heard from afar, and so many of them that it was a chorus, with each separate voice lost among the others. They had heard the strange sounds before, each time the spirits arrived, and the power of them to unsettle their nerves seemed now to have been lost. Instead, their anticipation only grew, and Kippy even gave out a small, delighted laugh.

The two shapes pulsed and flowed, and settled to the paving stones. Slowly, the many voices began to quiet, even as the misty clouds darkened and started to change form. Charlie could not pull his eyes away, even as the two forms took on arms and legs and heads, and the many voices ebbed away, until only one was speaking.

It was Billy, his face already wearing a smile. The other cloud solidified into Will, also wearing a glowing smile.

"It's so good to see you again!" Billy exclaimed, looking delighted.

"And you've brought back our new friends!" Will added, smiling at Ragal and Casper.

"Amazing," Ragal breathed, his eyes alight with fascination. "The way you two do that. A much easier return to this universe than my own, I must say!"

Casper took hold of Ragal's hand and pulled them both closer to Charlie. "They came from so far away!" the little alien said, smiling. "I can feel it! So very far!"

Kippy took a step towards the two new arrivals, and opened up his arms. "I wish I could hug you both!"

Billy and Will both laughed, and raised their arms, and Kippy gave a little gasp and looked over at Charlie. "Oh, I felt that!"

Max stepped forward then, and both spirits turned to face the elf. "Hello, Max," they said in unison.

The elf nodded. "Good to see you fellas again."

"We know why you have come," Billy said, his smile slipping away.

"But we cannot help you," Will followed with, immediately. "We're sorry."

"Crap," Ricky breathed, tightening his grip on Adrian's arm.

Kippy's jaw dropped, and Charlie took another step forward. "You know about Mike and Pacha and the others?"

Billy looked sorrowful. "We do. And that you need to find them in order to go to their aid."

"You said you always knew where we are," Kippy said then, his voice sounding strained. "All of us, you said."

"And that's true," Will returned. "We know where you are, and we know the state you are in."

"Then why can't you help us?" Adrian whispered, his disappointment clear.

Billy and Will glanced at each other, and then moved a little closer to Charlie. "Knowing where you, or Pacha and the others, happen to be is something we feel, Charlie. But translating that into a place we can tell you to go to is just not within our power. We sense where Pacha and the others are, we can see them, but we cannot point the way. To us they simply exist across an indeterminate portion of our altered space and time. The universe we now inhabit is not the same one that all of you do. They are not even remotely the same. Where we feel Pacha and Mike to be does not correspond with anything we understand in your universe. So we cannot tell you where to go."

Will looked unhappy. "It's not that we don't wish to help you. We just can't."

"But you can find them on your own," Billy said, quickly. "The power is within you."

Kippy shook his head. "I don't know where they are."

"Not you, Kip. Or, not just you." Billy smiled at Charlie. "You must lead the way."

Charlie was stunned at that. "Me? I have no idea where to go!"

"You will," Billy returned.

"And very soon," Will added. "It is an act that will require all of you to accomplish. But you must lead the way, Charlie."

A sense of pure dread overcame Charlie. "I don't know what to do!"

He felt a hand on his arm, and turned, expecting Kippy to be there. But it was Ricky, instead.

"It's on us," his friend said quietly. "I had a feeling...I think I knew."

Charlie stared at him. "You knew?"

"Uh huh. But I didn't know what I knew, if you know what I mean. I felt at the start of this that you needed me for something. Now I know what it is."

"And me," Kippy said, coming closer now. "You need me, too."

"And me," Adrian added, moving to stand beside his boyfriend.

"All of us," Ragal said quietly. "A group effort is what is required, I do believe."

"I'll help!" Casper added immediately.

"Geez," Max said softly. "I had a feeling!"

Despite the sudden new weight of responsibility that had been thrust upon him - and the fact that he had absolutely no idea what to do with it - Charlie felt an urge to laugh. " Well, at least if I don't know what to do, neither does anyone else. We'll all have to find out together!"

Kippy squeezed his arm. "I have absolute confidence in you," he said quietly. "If anyone can get us through this, it's you."

Charlie bit his lip, suddenly feeling subdued. "Thanks, Kip." He managed a smile. "I love you."

Kippy smiled, and put his arms around Charlie. "I love you, too, Charlie." He he gave a little sigh. "I know you can't work miracles. But I've kind of learned to expect the next closest thing."

Charlie nodded, and held onto his boyfriend. A miracle was about what they needed just now, too.

Max cleared his throat. "I think I saw this coming."

Kippy turned to look at him, perhaps slightly accusingly. "You think? I thought you knew everything, Max."

The elf looked surprised. "You never heard that from me, Kip."

Kippy frowned, and then visibly relented. "I'm sorry. I'm used to you saving the day, like the superhero in the movies." He sighed, and then winked. "One more cherished illusion shattered."

Max laughed at that. "We're gonna do our best, okay? Ragal is right. It's gonna be a group effort." He nodded. "Now I know why I had Keerby and the kids stay back."

Adrian frowned at that. "You said our group needed to stay small."

"Yeah, and now I think I know why." Max looked around at those watching him. "Us seven are all we need. Or, maybe, exactly what we need. Any more would be a distraction."

"I agree." Ragal nodded. "Charlie, we have already had the feeling more than once that some force adds members to our party when we most seem to need it. Perhaps limiting the size of our group now is to our benefit as well."

"Just enough to do the job, and no more," Ricky mused. "I can understand that."

"I don't know why I'm here then," Casper said, looking up at the faces around him. "I'll do anything I can to help...but I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Charlie smiled at him. "Don't worry about that. We're all in the same boat!"

Kippy looked over at Billy and Will, who had been watching them silently. "I guess that means you aren't coming with us?" he asked, a little sadly.

Both spirits shook their heads.

No," Billy said. "Our part in this is already completed, I think. You needed to come here and be told that we could not assist you." The spirit leaned closer. "It was important for all of you to hold out no hope that aid would come from another quarter. You had to fully understand that you seven, and only you seven, can do what is needed to rescue Pacha'ka, Mike, Bobby, and Kontus."

Silence greeted that pronouncement as the visitors digested the import of it.

No help from another quarter, Charlie thought to himself. That means no help from anywhere.

He looked over at Ricky, and nodded. "You're right. This is on us."

"We can do it." Ricky looked sure of himself, though Charlie knew his friend well enough to know that Ricky would make himself look certain, just to reassure Adrian. And to reassure himself.

Billy held up his hands then. "But first...we are here, and you are here, and time is not a factor. Despite your worries for your friends, and your need to get started...let's have a visit."

Casper reached up and tugged at Charlie's arm then. "I just had an idea. Can I ask Billy a question?"

Charlie smiled. "Sure. You can always ask questions."

Casper gyrated his head slightly on his short neck in his race's equivalent of a nod, and turned to Billy and Will. "You said you can see where they are?"

"Yes. But the space in which you live looks all the same to us."

Casper looked up at Charlie. "It doesn't look all the same to Murcha."

Kippy bent down, hands on his knees, to look more closely at the small alien. "You have an idea?"

"Well...maybe." Casper indicated Billy and Will. "I can see, kind of, what's in their minds."

Billy and Will looked at each other, and then came closer. "You can?" Billy asked.

"How is that possible?" Will asked.

Casper looked a little awed by their closeness, and Kippy quickly put a hand on his narrow shoulder. "It's okay, honey. They're our friends, just like you're our friend." He smiled.

Casper gave his rotary nod, and smiled, too. "I know." He smiled at the two spirits. "I can...well, I can see things in people's minds. It's how I know what illusions to offer them."

Kippy's eyes bounced up to fasten on Charlie's. "Can that help us?"

Charlie shrugged. "Hell if I know. What about it, Casper?"

"Well...Billy said that they can see where Pacha is. They just can't describe it to us. But if they can see it, I can get the picture from their minds."

Ragal also bent down so that he was closer to Casper. "That may be of help. I may be able to see what you see, and perhaps we can find a way to utilize the imagery to our benefit."

Casper's eyes moved from one onlooker to another. "We might not even have to do that. I...I might be able to give the image directly to Murcha."

Charlie stared at their small friend. "How?"

Casper smiled. "I think I said once before that I was good with machines."

Max grinned at that. "I remember!"

Casper gave a tiny laugh of his own. "Sometimes I can kind of see what is in Murcha's head. His thoughts, I mean. They're not like any of ours, and I can't get the same kind of imagery from him or Onglet that I get from all of you. Most of it is blurry, and doesn't make sense."

"A different method of thought generation, but one which eventually arrives at a meeting point with our own," Ragal offered, looking at Charlie.

"Right." Charlie nodded. "How will this help us, Casper?"

The little alien looked uncertain now. "Well, I can't see what Murcha thinks very well, but...I think I can put an image into his thoughts. I can't fool him with illusion like I could with people, because I can't really see how he reacts to what I'm doing. But I think I can place an image into his thoughts. If he has an image of the area of space where Pacha is, he might be able to match it to a real place."

Max blinked, looking slightly amazed. "I can talk to Murcha's mind, but I sure can't make anything out of the visual stuff I get. And I don't think I can put any imagery in there, either."

Casper circled his head again in a nod. "You're good with machines, Max, but it's because you can talk to them so well. I can't really do that. What I do with machines is more like...uh...share space?"

Ragal looked enchanted by the new ideas. "Casper, my boy, we have some talking to do when there's time."

"I'll sit in on that, if you don't mind," Max added.

Will held up a hand. "I can see where Pacha and the others are right now. Do you get the image, Casper?"

The small alien closed his eyes. "Oh. It's...it's like an ice planet. Snow, and...it's really dim, and...it looks cold." He opened his eyes. "This won't help us. Can you move upwards, away from the surface, until you can look out and see the stars?"

Billy and Will nodded as one, and closed their eyes.

Casper gave a little yip and staggered backwards, and might have fallen had Kippy had not steadied him.

"What happened?" Kip asked, his voice heavy with concern.

"It's okay." Casper closed his eyes again. "They moved so fast...it scared me!" And then he gave a little gasp. "Oh! I can see it. The sky! It's so clear!"

"You must get an image, and fasten it in your mind," Ragal prompted.

Casper gave his nod, and seemed to concentrate.

Charlie pulled the com from his pocket and opened it, set it to alert Murcha. In a moment, the artificial intelligence's avatar was gazing out at him. "Can I assist you, Charlie?"

"Maybe," Charlie said. "We may be coming back in a hurry. Casper may be offering some spacial imagery directly to your mind. I want you to analyze it and see if you can get a perspective on where it was viewed from."

If the artificial mind was startled by the request, there was no evidence of that fact. "I will do my best, Charlie."

"I don't need to go back," Casper whispered. "I can do it from here."

Charlie looked back at Murcha's avatar just as the teardrop-shaped eyes narrowed. "Remarkable. I am actually visualizing a thought image that is externally generated. I have never experienced such an event before."

"Just record it," Charlie said quickly. "Or, memorize it, rather, however you do it. We're going to try to use it to find Pacha and the others."

"If that is your mission, I suggest you get several perspectives, all taken from the same viewing point. A minimum of three, if possible. Each of the next two should be to ninety degrees in either direction from the first image."

Charlie looked over at Billy and Will. "Hear that, guys? From were you are with the first view, look in two other directions. First at ninety degrees to the first view, and then one-hundred eighty degrees from that one. Casper, you need to get those images, too."

Casper gasped again, and Kippy squatted and put an arm around him.

"It's okay," Casper said. "They just move so fast!" But then he turned his closed eyes towards Charlie. "Tell Murcha the second image is coming now."

"I have it. A most amazing experience, Casper. And now, one more, by turning one-hundred and eighty degrees, if possible."

That view was accomplished, and Murcha acknowledged receiving it. "How is this done, Charlie?"

"Beats me. Maybe Casper can tell you when we get back."

"Charlie, these images are extremely fine. Would it be possible to get more?"

Charlie frowned at the avatar. "I thought you said three."

"I said a minimum of three. But the more images we have of that sky viewed from the same point, the easier the job will be of determining an origin."

"Oh. Okay. Hear that, guys?"

Casper worked with Billy and Will to get a dozen more images of the sky around the planet where Pacha's ship was stranded, before Casper began to tire. "I think that's all I can do for now." he finally said, sagging in Kippy's arms.

Kippy hugged him, and kissed his cheek. "You did good."

Billy and Will were elated. "And we thought we couldn't help," Will said, smiling.

"I will get started on these images immediately," Murcha offered, and Charlie thought he detected a trace of excitement in the artificial mind's voice.

He gave a relieved sigh. This might be something. "Thanks, Murcha. Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated."

Murcha signed off, and Charlie put the com back into his pocket. Then he dropped to his knees in front of Casper, and placed a hand on the alien's small shoulder. "Thank you, Casper. You may have just helped to save four very special lives."

Casper's gaze looked grave. "They're my friends, too, Charlie. I want them to come home."

Charlie nodded, and stood erect again and smiled at Billy and Will. "Now it's time for that visit."

Kippy sighed, and reached up and squeezed Charlie's arm. "Just what the doctor ordered!"

Max looked over at Ragal, who smiled and nodded.

The elf gave a little shrug, and waved a hand, and a long sofa - long enough for all of them to sit upon - appeared just behind them. "Might as well get comfortable." He smiled at the spirits. "You good?"

Both of the immaterial boys laughed. "When you can float, who needs to sit?"