Chapter 25
They weren’t in the air long before they began to see lights. At first, they were just a glow. The Spacer slowed down, as
though to give them time to see what they were flying toward.
“Colors!” Aradella said in awe. “Look at them.”
For people who spent a life with lanterns, the electric lights were fascinating. Red, blue, green, and mixtures of every color
traveled upward until the sky was radiant with them.
They leaned forward in their plush seats to see it all. As they got closer, the lights grew brighter.
“What are those?” Aradella asked.
Against the skyline were buildings many stories high. But they weren’t just taller versions of the houses they were used to.
These seemed to be separate boxes placed on top of each other.
As they flew closer, they could see them more clearly. The buildings were like a children’s game of stacked blocks. Some were
long, some short, some tall. They jutted out or were recessed. Some were flat in front and some were three sided. Some of
the cubes had dark glass in front, some had solid walls. Size greatly varied.
Besides size, they varied in luxury. A huge building that fairly sparkled with exquisite details would be next to four plain houses stacked on top of each other. Nowhere was actual poverty, but there seemed to be a great variation in wealth.
Especially striking was that each cube was a different color. The buildings were unusual and together, they were beautiful!
The Spacer slowly circled a building. Wide-eyed, they looked at it. The glass was such that they couldn’t see inside the cubes.
“They are houses stacked on top of each other, right?” Aradella asked.
“I guess so,” Mekos said.
When they reached the far side of the building, they saw a person standing on a balcony. They couldn’t tell if it was a man
or woman. The person strained so hard to see them inside the Spacer, that they ducked down to the seats.
“Time to put on the mask,” Mekos said.
She removed the mask from the bag, put it on and she changed to look like the person they’d seen on the balcony. Then she
looked at Mekos and concentrated until he looked just like her.
“This is very strange,” she said.
Ian raised an eyebrow. “Now both of you are equally unappealing to men and women no matter what planet they may be from. Good
choice.”
“Thank you,” she said.
When the Spacer circled another building, they saw three people on balconies.
“They look exactly alike,” Ian said. “I can’t tell one from another.”
Mekos and Aradella looked at each other. “And we look just like them,” she said.
“I’m beginning to understand why Qip had us do this,” Mekos said.
As the Spacer moved ahead, the buildings were closer together. They saw more people, and all of whom looked exactly alike.
“I think we’re headed into the center of town,” Mekos said.
The lights grew brighter, with more intense colors. On top of the buildings were huge round machines that sent colored lights into the sky.
“Look at that!” Ian said.
The lights showed shapes against the clouds. At first they were animals they recognized, but as the buildings grew more dense,
the shapes changed to faces. They didn’t know any of the people that were projected.
When they flew around an enormous stack of cubes, what they saw so startled them that they fell back against their seats.
A screen the size of three houses came into view. There was an older man’s face on it, and he had a circle of leaves about
his head. In brilliantly bright lettering, it said, Strategize a war with Julius Caesar.
“Those are laurel leaves but who is that person?” Aradella asked.
“And what does that mean?” Mekos asked. “Are they planning a war?”
“And asking for help to fight it?” Ian asked.
Suddenly, they were surrounded by several of the giant boards, each with pictures and writing.
Meet Tesla and his pigeon. Autographed beak prints given.
Reenact Omaha Beach. Win a 35 mm Leica and 6 rolls of Kodak film.
Elvis Live! Hear all your favorites. Free cans of Royal Crown Pomade.
“What is this?” Aradella asked.
“I think they’re announcing plays,” Ian said. “Like the ones on Abicis.”
They flew past more boards.
J.R.R. Tolkien talks tonight! Find out if you’re a troll or a Ranger.
Audition for Shakespeare’s new play: King Charles III’s Family Tempest
Tonight only!! Leonardo da Vinci will paint you smiling.
“These have to be the Earth things Qip meant,” Mekos said.
The Spacer went around three more boards.
Paul Robeson to sing “Ol’ Man River” 206 times.
Play “Name the Birds” with Charles Darwin
Gunfights at the Not O.K. Corral. Loud revolvers provided.
“What does all this mean?” Mekos asked.
They saw a huge sign that was very plain. The only thing on it was a symbol.
“I think Qip should have explained more about this place,” Aradella said. “He should have—”
She broke off because they went around a building and saw an even bigger board. On it was a picture of Sojee.
Watch Sojee break a witch in half. Get free gingerbread.
“This one is real,” Aradella whispered.
The picture of Sojee began to move and it showed him pantomiming breaking something. Then the picture changed and there was
Tanek.
Watch Tanek, Kaley & Sojee kill the Gingerbread Witch!
They were too shocked to speak.
When the Spacer was past the Sojee board, they saw a giant picture of Bree’s face and she looked like she was about to cry.
See Princesses Bree & Shay with their magic dresses. Will Kaley & her mother rescue them in time?
On the other side, they saw a handsome man.
Is Prince Bront bored with a bride who can do nothing but clean fireplaces?
“I don’t like this,” Aradella whispered.
The Spacer kept going. When a transparent shoe was shown on a board, Mekos groaned.
Watch Kaley try on a glass slipper & end up in a dungeon! Guess who saves her? Prizes given.
“This is not right,” Aradella said. “This is—” Suddenly, she put her hand to her mouth and let out a sound of pure horror.
The Spacer halted in midair. In front of them were two giant, bright boards. The one on the left showed Bree and Aradella
in the revealing costumes they’d worn on Abicis.
See Princesses Aradella & Bree fight it out in a play. Ian loses his leg!
“At least they got the most important fact right,” Ian muttered.
On the right, was a picture of . . . Aradella whimpered. It was her on the wolf.
Watch Mekos & Aradella kill Valona. See the princess ride a wolf! (Is that all she does with it?)
Mekos put his arms around her and buried her face in his shoulder. “Get us to Davro now!” he ordered the Spacer. Instantly, it did an abrupt turn and zoomed through the air so fast they couldn’t read more of the
brightly lit boards.
For all the speed of the Spacer, inside they felt no difference. The gravity was perfectly controlled. Mekos kept Aradella’s
face hidden so she didn’t see that they were speeding toward a solid wall painted purple. When the Spacer didn’t slow down,
Mekos and Ian drew back, breaths held.
At the last second, a wide door slid up and the vehicle went in and halted. Doors on both sides opened.
“We’re here.” Mekos stroked Aradella’s hair, then pulled off her mask. “That’s better.” He kissed her forehead. “Come on.
Let’s go see what we’re facing.”
Aradella was still unable to speak, but Mekos kept his arm firmly around her shoulders. The room where they’d landed was plain
with a single door open in one wall.
Ian flew to Mekos’s shoulder. He was trying to look brave but he hid under Mekos’s hair.
They went through the door and entered a room with couches, chairs, and a few glass-topped steel tables.
Unlike Qip’s place, the furnishings had straight edges, with seating covered in a bland beige fabric.
There were no “collections” as Qip called them.
The room was clean to the point of being barren.
They stood by the doorway in silence, not sure what to do.
From the opposite side came a person who resembled those they’d seen, but this one was different. For one thing, he gave off
a feeling of masculinity. He was tall and slim and had a mass of gray hair. But it didn’t age him. He looked somewhere between
Tanek and Mekos in age. He had on a long robe of a deep blue, with darker trousers beneath. He was carrying a round tray with
three glasses of a green liquid. One of the glasses was tiny.
“Hello,” he said in a pleasant voice, then looked at Mekos. “I am Davro, your uncle. Please make yourselves comfortable.”
Mekos, still holding Aradella protectively, led her to a couch and they sat down together.
“I take it you were traumatized by seeing yourselves on the playboards.” It wasn’t a question. He held out the tray. “These
will make you feel better.” He was staring at Mekos. “I see Vian in you. And Tanek.”
“And my half-fox mother?” Mekos took two glasses and handed one to Aradella. Ian was still hiding in his hair.
“I see her in the way you move,” he said. “Would your Never like this?”
“Ian?” Mekos asked.
Cautiously, Ian stepped forward.
Davro’s eyes widened. “You are . . .” He caught his breath. “Magnificent.”
Mekos grinned. “You know how to win his heart.” He downed his drink and it immediately relaxed him. As Aradella drank hers,
her look of anger lessened. Mekos took the little glass and handed it to Ian.
“You can actually fly?” Davro asked.
Ian had been holding his wings close to his body in what Mekos called his “lock-breaking position.” As Ian spread his glistening wings, Davro’s wide eyes showed his appreciation. Ian flew to land on the arm of the couch and downed his drink.
“We’d like to know . . .” Mekos said but he wasn’t sure where to begin.
“Why do you have us on your screens?” Aradella sounded more perplexed than angry. “You spy on us. For what reason?”
Davro’s blue eyes grew serious. “For entertainment,” he said. “I admit that I’m ashamed of what goes on here. My sister and
I are trying to change it, but we are hindered.” He withdrew a little round disk from his pocket and put a smaller one in