The Dark Planet

  the fact that he knew it was wrong. He was encouraged to make

  a great many things. But making human beings was strictly

  forbidden. It was a line we were never supposed to cross."

  Dr. Kincaid smiled then, thinking of something he could say that

  might encourage the boy.

  "You were the only one, did you know that? He never made

  anyone else."

  "You hid me, didn't you?" asked Edgar.

  "Yes, we hid you," said Dr. Kincaid. "The commander couldn't

  know. No one could know. The whole project would have been

  in jeopardy. We had to keep you a secret. And that proved very

  difficult. There was so much work to do, and Dr. Harding had no

  idea how to raise a child. He was always, in so many ways, a

  child himself. He wanted you, so he made you, but he didn't

  think about what it would mean, how it could compromise every

  thing. So I helped him take care of you."

  Isabel and Samuel looked at Edgar. They couldn't believe what

  they were hearing. It all sounded so unimaginable: a boy not

  born but made, like Atherton had been made.

  "There were some very close calls near the end. Dr. Harding

  was--well, he was having a lot of problems keeping track of

  every thing. He became angry at times. His behavior could be

  hard to predict. At some point he decided he wanted to show

  you to the world. You were his greatest creation, greater by far

  than even Atherton--that's what he used to say."

  "I agree," said Isabel.

  "Me, too," said Samuel.

  "And Atherton was the perfect place to hide me," said Edgar.

  "From anyone who might find out. Even from my own father."

  "Dr. Harding was not your father," said Dr. Kincaid. "He was

  your maker. There's a big difference."

  "It doesn't seem different to me," said Edgar, wanting more than

  anything to be normal like everyone else.

  "I'm sorry, Edgar, but you're wrong about that. I don't want to

  scare you or hurt you, but you must understand--I brought you to

  Atherton and hid you from Dr. Harding precisely because you

  were made. Dr. Harding never would have hurt you, but Dr.

  Harding was of very limited power on the Dark Planet."

  "But he was the greatest scientist who ever lived!" said Isabel.

  "He must have had power to burn."

  Dr. Kincaid looked at Isabel with a sort of sad smile. "Being

  smart doesn't make you powerful, young lady," he said.

  "Ambition and greed, those will make you powerful. And there

  were plenty of both at Station Seven."

  "What's Station Seven?" asked Edgar.

  "So many questions," said Dr. Kincaid. He held up his walking

  stick as if to say enough was enough and he would talk about

  what he pleased whether they liked it or not.

  "Dr. Harding crossed a line that was not to be crossed when he

  made you. There were people I couldn't protect you from,

  people who would have had other plans for you if they'd found

  out. So you see, it does matter that you were made in a special

  sort of way. It matters very much."

  "I still don't see why it makes any difference. So what if I don't

  have a mother? I had a father." Edgar pointed to a wicked

  scrape on his arm he'd gotten while climbing. "I bleed just like

  everyone else. I've got skin and bones and a brain. Who cares

  how I got here?"

  Dr. Kincaid's mind was scrambled with conflicting ideas. The

  next part was very hard for him to say, but the truth was the truth

  and the boy was old enough to know for himself.

  "Sometimes a maker unmakes. Things are taken apart and

  examined, remade, changed, tinkered with. Resurrected. It's

  what scientists do, Edgar. And there were plenty of scientists at

  Station Seven who would have done just that if they'd

  discovered you."

  Edgar was appalled. And that word--"resurrected"--what did that

  mean? Had he died and come back to life, is that what it

  meant? Had he been broken down into pieces and put back

  together again? It couldn't really be true. "I don't want to talk

  about this anymore," said Edgar.

  Dr. Kincaid quickly changed course.

  "We couldn't reveal your existence, Edgar. Atherton was

  assumed by many--most, actually--to be a catastrophic waste of

  time and resources. There was great excitement at first. Isn't

  there always at the start of something new and promising? But

  after decades of work and trillions of dollars with no end in

  sight, nearly everyone stopped believing. The Dark Planet was

  dying and the satellite world of Atherton was nothing but a

  fantastic idea that would never amount to anything useful."

  Dr. Kincaid's shoulders slumped noticeably, as if the weight of

  tremendous pressures Edgar knew nothing about had settled

  over him all at once.

  "But I never stopped believing in the power of Dr. Harding and

  the making of Atherton," said Dr. Kincaid. "Even after all the

  mistakes--and there have been many, to be sure--a hope still

  remains."

  Dr. Kincaid grew more animated as he came to the heart of the

  matter. "I am sure of one thing."

  With a groan he stood and edged closer to the fire. His watery

  eyes sparkled in the light of the flames. "There is a way to

  discover the true reason why Dr. Harding made Atherton. And

  for you, Edgar, to find out all you could ever want to know about

  your maker. Your father, if that's what you choose to believe."

  "Tell us! Tell us what you know!" said Isabel.

  Then Dr. Harding said something that almost surprised himself

  at the sound of it, something he had long given up all hope of

  achieving.

  "We could reconnect."

  Samuel was the first to understand what Dr. Kincaid meant.

  He'd been thinking about it already without saying it out loud.

  "You mean with the Dark Planet? Reconnect with them, so they

  know where we are."

  "But how would we do that?" asked Edgar. "What does that

  even mean?"

  Dr. Kincaid turned more animated still and began pacing back

  and forth.

  "There was once a way to do it--to actually go to the Dark

  Planet--but that way was cut off."

  Dr. Kincaid glanced toward the entrance to the cave. Hidden

  inside was a locked, round door, and behind the door lay a

  secret place. The children had known it was there but were

  under no circumstances allowed to enter.

  " Inside Atherton. That's where the path used to be."

  Edgar still had his hand on Isabel's and he felt it shudder. Isabel

  had journeyed through the inside of Atherton with Samuel at her

  side and nearly lost her life.

  "Deep inside Atherton--deeper than any of you have ever dared

  to go--there used to be a path, a tunnel if you will. In its place is

  a pile of rubble no man or beast could break through."

  "And at the end of the tunnel?" asked Edgar.

  "The docking station," said Dr. Kincaid. The words had no

  meaning for Edgar, but he felt the power they held over Dr.

  Kincaid. "I have long been certain we could never go there

  again. But tonight has made me t
hink differently."

  "What do you mean, differently?" asked Samuel. For once

  Isabel seemed unable to open her mouth. She was holding

  Edgar's hand tighter, because she knew what Dr. Kincaid was

  getting at.

  "I know what he means," said Isabel. "He means to send Edgar

  by another way."

  The words stabbed Dr. Kincaid. Did he really mean to put

  Edgar in great danger in order to have a chance at reconnecting

  with the Dark Planet? It went against every thing he believed,

  and yet, knowing Edgar could climb as he did, Dr. Kincaid

  couldn't help but imagine the unimaginable.

  "It's all right," said Edgar, standing and moving toward Dr.

  Kincaid. "The truth is, none of you can stop me. So long as

  there are places on Atherton where I can climb, I can't even stop

  myself. So if I'm going to climb down there anyway--and trust

  me, I am--I might as well be of some use."

  "But do we want to reconnect?" asked Samuel. "What if they

  come here? What if they destroy Atherton like they destroyed

  the Dark Planet?"

  It was an excellent question and a real concern. It hung in the

  air for a good long time before Isabel broke the silence.

  "Are there children on the Dark Planet?"

  Dr. Kincaid didn't hesitate when he answered.

  "There are many, many children."

  Isabel, Samuel, and Edgar glanced at one another. They all

  seemed to be thinking the same thing.

  "It's up to you, Edgar," said Isabel. More than anyone else it

  was she who would worry. "I think you're probably right. No one

  can stop you from climbing, not even your closest friends. And if

  you won't listen to reason, then let's at least make the risks

  you'll take worthwhile. Maybe there's something down there,

  something that can help."

  Samuel nodded but didn't speak. He wished more than ever

  that he, too, could climb so that he could see the docking station

  for himself. He longed for adventure of the kind Edgar would

  have.

  Dr. Kincaid sensed there would be no better time to reveal a

  little more about what Edgar was planning to undertake. "We

  need to talk with Vincent. There are things down there Edgar

  will need to avoid."

  "What kind of things?" said Isabel.

  Dr. Kincaid wouldn't answer. He simply smiled with a renewed

  spirit and departed into the night to search for Vincent.

  As his figure turned to shadow he called back, "To bed with all

  of you! Come back at the crack of dawn for a plate of Black and

  Green and the beginning of what we must do!"

  And then he was gone.

  Isabel, Samuel, and Edgar were left to wonder what sorts of

  creatures might be hiding on the underside of Atherton.

  CHAPTER 3EDGAR'S SECRET

  REVEALED

  Morning came stark and glaring through Isabel's window at the

  crack of dawn. She bolted from her bed and peered around the

  corner of her tiny room.

  "I was beginning to wonder when you'd wake," said Isabel's

  mother. Isabel turned with a start and saw her mother looking

  through an open window.

  "You scared me," said Isabel. She tried to run her fingers

  through her long, tangled hair without much success. "Where's

  father?"

  "He's already out in the second-year grove tying up the

  remaining rows, but he'll be back for breakfast."

  Isabel's mother held up a basket. Inside Isabel could see ripe,

  juicy figs and a loaf of bread. Not long ago fresh figs were rare

  indeed and bread hadn't even been known among the people

  of the grove. How quickly they'd all become accustomed to

  such extravagance.

  "I want to stay, but I can't," said Isabel. Even she couldn't resist

  tearing a piece of the bread loose and fetching one of the many

  figs. "Dr. Kincaid wants to see us this morning about something.

  Edgar and Samuel are going to be there, too."

  "Your father expects all of you in the new field by mid-morning,"

  said her mother. "Don't be late."

  Isabel smiled and nodded as her mother handed over the

  basket of food.

  Her mother stepped aside and Isabel darted past, taking a bite

  out of the fresh fig and the piece of bread.

  "Clean your teeth along the way. And don't come back for

  dinner if you haven't washed up."

  Isabel half trotted, half walked down a line of first-year trees as

  she finished the fig and bread. The first-year trees were barely

  taller than she was, but they ran in long lines all the way down

  to the edge of the lake. She stopped at one of the trees and

  snapped a little twig off, something she would never have done

  to a first-year when mean Mr. Ratikan was running the grove.

  But the lake seemed to feed the trees like never before. They

  were vibrant and healthy and didn't mind being picked at now

  and then.

  She used the twig to scrub her teeth, working it into the corners

  and along the sides. When she was finished she put the twig in

  her mouth and chewed on it. The twig turned a little soft and

  Isabel could feel her teeth growing squeaky-clean as the bark

  lifted bits of bread and fig. She spit out the twig and ran for Dr.

  Kincaid's cave.

  As Isabel came nearer the water's edge she could see way out

  into the middle. It was the bluest water one could imagine,

  bright and sparkling, teeming with new life. Cleaners, once

  dangerous creatures that roamed on land devouring every thing

  in their paths, now lived in the great blue lake at the center of

  Atherton. Some of them were getting big--really big--but those

  stayed very deep in the lake and didn't taste very good, or so

  she was told.

  Isabel glanced down the shoreline and saw the herds of sheep

  on a long, grassy plain. She made her way toward Dr. Kincaid's

  unusual home and ascended the path between the cluster of

  giant, egg-shaped rocks until she reached the opening of the

  cave. In place of the fire was a table set for five. Edgar, Samuel,

  Dr. Kincaid, and Vincent were waiting for her to take her place

  at it.

  "I told them to wait," said Samuel. He was struggling to speak

  through a big, sloppy mouthful of Black and Green. "But they

  wouldn't listen."

  "He took the first bite!" said Edgar, who had also just taken an

  enormous chunk of black meat slathered in green pudding.

  Vincent stood and pulled out Isabel's chair. His long, thinning

  hair was pulled back in a tail. His nose had been broken and

  had healed wide and flat against his face. "An excellent hunt

  last night. Please, join us. And by all means, take as much as

  you like. There's plenty more inside if we run out."

  Isabel sat and filled her plate with fresh Cleaner from the lake. It

  wasn't much to look at, but Black and Green was everyone's

  favorite food. Better than rabbits or sheep or bread. Even better

  than figs.

  Dr. Kincaid took his walking stick and twisted its top hard and

  fast. With a click, the end of the stick popped free.

  Edgar felt a sudden pang, remembering how the sculptur
e of

  Mead's Head had operated in much the same way within the

  House of Power. He looked toward the lake and wondered how

  far below the surface Mead's Head now lay, and how many

  Cleaners were swarming around it.

  "Are you absolutely sure about this?" asked Vincent. His eyes

  spoke volumes as he stared at Dr. Kincaid. This is a foolish

  idea. It won't work. There is still time to change your mind.

  "Of course I'm sure," said Dr. Kincaid. "And besides, it's already

  decided."

  He stole a glance at Edgar and the boy looked up. He was

  slurping down a handful of green pudding and only nodded with

  excitement. He appeared to be trying to bulk up for a long

  journey.

  "Ahhhh, here we are then," said Dr. Kincaid.

  He had removed a piece of rolled-up paper from the inside of

  the walking stick.

  "You're full of surprises," said Edgar. "Is it a map?" asked

  Samuel. "Does it lead inside Atherton?" There had long been a

  dispute between Samuel, Edgar, and Dr. Kincaid about going

  back inside. The way was locked, though, and the boys didn't

  know the combination. Samuel was overwhelmed with curiosity

  about the inside and wanted to show it to Edgar. It was the one

  place in the world he knew better than Edgar, and he knew his

  friend would love it inside.

  "It's dangerous," Isabel said warily, "and there's nothing much

  to see, anyway." Things hadn't gone well for her on the long trip

  across the inside of Atherton. She had no interest in seeing

  firebugs and cave eels and rivers of fire. And the Nubian! "Why

  would anyone want to go back in there with those giant winged

  creatures with razor-sharp beaks ready to snap you up? No,

  thank you."

  "It's not so bad," said Samuel. He knew Isabel's fear was

  warranted, but he couldn't help wanting to go. He would do it

  against his father's wishes and those of Dr. Kincaid and

  Vincent, if only he could find the combination. "You want to go

  there, don't you, Edgar?"

  Edgar had stopped eating, and wiping his face with his hands,

  he pondered the idea before answering.

  "I'd rather go to the Dark Planet."

  "You don't want to do that, Edgar," said Vincent. He looked at

  Dr. Kincaid in disbelief. "You didn't tell him he could go there,

  did you?"

  "Of course not! Only to the docking station. That was all I said."

  And so it was that everyone at the table had conflicting ideas