The trio of adventurers gathered in the living room of the Cassell residence and toasted each other on good fortune.
“So, you located the third sensesuit computer Moriana was using?” asked Markman.
John Paul sat with his hands folded in his lap. “Yes. We were eventually able to identify the conjoinment signal between computers and triangulated the location from that.”
“So that’s it. You have them all. What will you do with them?”
“They will be returned to the custodians on the plane from which they were stolen.”
Cassiopia intervened. “What plane is that, John Paul?”
“Cassiopia….”
“Okay, okay. Too many questions, I know….”
Markman said, “So after all this time we now know that even though it was the future, I was visiting a real place with real people, but I don’t get it, Trill told me he was a computer representation of a real person….”
John Paul nodded. “It was the sensesuit computer. It was tasked with taking information from alien worlds, even alien dimensions, and translating them as accurately as possible so the user could understand. In reality, the only person who wasn’t real on Crillia was you. You were a computer image projected by the sensesuit computer, but just as solid and real as if you had actually been there.”
“That all gives me the creeps,” replied Markman. “And so, because Moriana got the Salantians to attack early, they were defeated both on Earth and on Crillia, which saved the Crillian people who will now be our friends and allies for the foreseeable future,” said Markman
“The Crillians had become too passive and trusting a race. Even though they were so much more advanced than Earth, they had left themselves open to invasion. It was indeed lucky for them that Earth was drawn into the war.”
“And my last trip inside the sensesuit; because of the Salantian defeat people from Earth never needed to escape to Crillia. So Crillia was never inhabited by humans. Everything was changed.”
“It is a massive change to the timeline we saw. The massive explosions from the power cores on Crillia never happened. Crillia was not blown from its long-term orbit, upsetting the stability of our entire solar system.”
“Isn’t it incredibly dangerous changing a timeline, John Paul?” asked Cassiopia.
“Not when the original timeline has been altered by evil,” replied John Paul.
“One other thing I don’t understand. Why was the sensesuit computer programmed to visit the future Crillia and not the present?” added Cassiopia.
“That was done by Moriana. When the efforts with the Crillian scientists began to sour, they began searching the future for some of the answers they needed.”
“John Paul, if those guys could possess people, why didn’t they just possess Professor Cassell while they had him to get their answers?” asked Markman.
“Because, although they could possess someone’s body, they could not possess their mind,” replied John Paul.
Markman sat back and locked his hands behind his head. “Those guys were like a car wreck that never ends.”
“And so you see what my agency is up against every day, Scott.”
“And what about us, John Paul? Where do we fit in now?” asked Cassiopia.
“The missions you’ve seen so far have been somewhat haphazard and improvised. That is not the way we usually operate. The war necessitated a somewhat reactionary posture. Generally speaking, we are much more stealthy in our approach. If you’ve ever seen that old TV show, Mission Impossible, our missions are very much like that, complex little schemes in which we remain invisible while achieving the desired results. The two of you could be designing and participating in those kinds of missions. With Cassiopia’s mind and Scott’s abilities, I can’t imagine a more effective combination. It rather excites me to think about it.”
“But if we did this, and gave up our lives, where would we live, John Paul?” asked Cassiopia.
“Actually, that part is fairly simple. Since you are still considering joining us, you can remain on temporary status for as long as you need. What we like to do in these cases is set you up in an environment as close to the one most suited to you to further indoctrinate you to our system. In your case, we happen to have the perfect castle-styled complex available. It’s a somewhat modest estate of 50 or 60 rooms, but the underground complex associated with it is operational and extensive. We use these types of properties so that during missions an entire support staff can take temporary residence while operations are underway. Security and a bit of isolation is paramount, although this particular estate remains a serviceable villa. The property is currently listed under fictitious owners who are rumored to travel extensively. You would have a good deal of privacy there, and you would not be far from the Culpeper laboratory.”
“Wait. You want us to move to a… castle?” asked Markman.
“To the extent to which you would be comfortable doing so. The main building is stone masonry. I would hope that is acceptable. It is fully furnished, although you are welcome to redecorate in any way you choose. You would also be close enough to your residence here to travel back and forth without much difficulty.”
Cassiopia sat with a dazed look on her face. “But…but….”
“Yes, Cassiopia,” asked John Paul.
Cassiopia suddenly realized she wasn’t sure of what to say.
John Paul continued. “I would suggest the two of you take a long weekend and visit the place to see how you feel about it. Obviously there is more than enough room for Professor Cassell’s work and the TEL.”
Markman’s head began to nod uncontrollably. “That sounds…good. We could do that.” He looked at Cassiopia. “We could do that, couldn’t we?”
Cassiopia stared back dumbfounded. She stood. “I think I need some more wine. Would either of you like some?”
Both Markman and John Paul shook their head. Cassiopia marched off, still in a daze. Markman and John Paul watched her disappear around the corner.
Markman gave an exaggerated nod to John Paul. “She’s thinking about it.”
“I believe she is,” replied John Paul.
Markman sat back and sighed. He looked up at John Paul with a fresh expression of interest. “John Paul let me ask you something personal.”
“Go ahead. Nothing can shock me in this household.”
“How do you buy an engagement ring? Do you just go pick one? Or, do they need to go with you to tell you what they want? And if you just go pick one, how do you know what to pick? And, how much should you spend? I have no idea.”
“So, have you finally asked her?”
“Yes. It wasn’t the best time and place, but she said yes, and I think she was serious.”
“What did she say, exactly?”
“Well first she said; of course I’ll marry you, you idiot.”
“Ah, yes that does sound like her. I would take that as a serious offer, were I you.”
“I’m not going to ask again. Why push my luck.”
“Well, it’s about time, anyway. I was starting to think you were waiting for Medicare to kick in.”
“Yeah.”
“With regards to picking the ring; knowing Cassiopia as well as I do, I am sure she would be pleased with anything you chose. However you would be better advised to take her with you. It would make her happier. As for how much you should spend, I would guess ten thousand would be a nice round figure, and you should purchase a crystal companion ring for her to wear in place of the expensive one. I know you can afford that, but we would provide you with that amount if you’d prefer.”
“How do you know I can afford that?”
“Oh my Boy, I’ve been over all your financial records thoroughly. We can’t take a chance on one of our agents having a credit card rejected during a mission. That’s a joke, of course.”
“You’d give me 10K for a ring?”
“Just say the word. In fact, I’ll just go ahead and deposit it for you.??
?
“Won’t you guys go broke doing that kind of thing?”
“Not at all. We produce our own bills.”
“Wow! Doesn’t that damage the economy?”
“Not at all. We release an equal or greater amount of gold with every distribution.”
“Wow.”
“Actually Scott, were you officially one of our agents, money would no longer concern you. Whatever you wanted or needed would be provided, always.”
“Wow.”
“Giving up one’s life deserves supreme compensation.”
A dog barking in the backyard interrupted the men. They paused for a moment to see if it would stop. It did not. Something seemed peculiar about cadence of it. They rose from their seats and headed in that direction in time to see Cassiopia enter the hallway just as her father emerged from the den going in the same direction. They reached the back door window and stared out, aghast. There in the backyard, Core with its top and windows down was driving rectangles around the back yard. The TEL robot was seated in the passenger seat, one arm draped over the door, its head turning from side to side watching the scenery go by. The beagle chased close behind, barking all the way.
“Oh my God,” said the Professor. “Once again this is your fault, Cassiopia. I have told you time and time again you have dabbled in the robot’s programming too much. Now the thing has stolen a car.”
“No he hasn’t, Father,” replied Cassiopia sarcastically. “He’s in the passenger seat. The car has stolen itself. He’s just along for the ride, or perhaps he’s been abducted?”
“Abducted? By a car? You can see the robot’s enjoying himself. He’s hardly a victim.”
“Really, Father. A machine can’t be enjoying itself.”
“It can after you’re through with it.”
Markman and John Paul stood behind the pair. They looked at each other and Markman rolled his eyes.
“Well, it looks to me as though they’ve become friends,” said Markman.
“Oh my God! That’s it! I told the two of them to learn to work together, so they’re experimenting driving around the back yard!” said Cassiopia.
Markman looked over at John Paul. “She could get the Statue of Liberty to wave, if she wanted to.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” replied John Paul.
Cassiopia turned back to Markman. “Scott, you did close the gate when you brought the car back here, didn’t you?”
“The gate? Geeez, no I didn’t close the gate.”
“Ahhh!” Cassiopia charged out the door headed for the back gate, her father worriedly ambling along behind her.
“God, I hope she gets there in time,” remarked John Paul.
“You? Can you imagine what will happen to me, if she doesn’t?”
“Perhaps I should go now,” said John Paul, and he hurried back toward the living room.
Markman followed after him. “So, I’ll let you know how this turns out. It is your car, after all.”
John Paul paused at the front door. “No, Scott. It’s your car. You know, somehow I get the feeling this is something that could only happen at the Cassell residence.” He glanced down the hallway and hurried out the front door.
Markman looked worriedly out the living room windows but saw no convertibles with robots passing by. He plunked down on the couch, grabbed the football and began flipping it up. He reached for his drink on the coffee table but lost focus on the ball and had to juggle with both hands to catch it. Tossing it back in the air, he reached again for his glass and froze in shock as the glass jerked forward and slid obediently across the table to him, coming to rest in his grasp. The falling football glanced off the side of his head and went bouncing across the floor. Dazed, he sat up straight and placed one hand over his mouth in disbelief. He gazed at the glass and mentally retraced its path to be sure it had really moved of its own accord. When all hope of alternate explanation was lost, he buried his face in his hands and moaned, “Oh, no…”
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