Chapter 8
Escape
Baylor was standing next to me when the door burst open. Thanks to his lightning reflexes, he caused us to be invisible before we were noticed. The others weren’t so lucky. Andor came in and announced that due to the assassination of Dr. Smith, everyone present would be confined to their quarters indefinitely for safety reasons.
Baylor and I stayed on X-1 long enough to assure ourselves that Andor was really providing security and not part of a plot to kill any one else. It turned out that President Gambez was behind this move, which as he had planned would silence Ian, at least for the time being. Baylor arranged to have some of his associates Remain on X-1 in the invisible state, in case there were any further assassination attempts. We then departed for his home planet, Silva.
Silva was three hundred million miles away. The trip took less than an hour. Baylor explained that this was possible because we were able to travel in the special ‘between dimensions’ plane of existence. In this state we had no mass, so velocities up to the speed of light were possible.
As we approached the planet, I noticed it had four moons. Silva itself had a far bigger percentage of water than Earth and the continents were mostly green. There were no polar ice caps. The cloud cover was uniform though not dense, and there were no signs of storms.
We passed near the largest moon Uralis which was very unusual and enormous; it had an atmosphere, and was almost a third the size of Silva. Its only continent which had almost no cloud cover was a green equilateral triangle surrounded by a deep blue ocean. In the middle of the triangle was a large snow capped mountain. Except for the mountain, Baylor said the entire continent, which was about twice the size of Texas had been created by an ancient, very advanced civilization. Much of Silva’s current technology was based on the reverse engineering of machinery left behind by these people.
As we neared Silva, I was surprised at the choice of our destination. I had imagined we would be going to a major city, but instead we were coming down vertically like a helicopter in a beautiful forested area, sprinkled with lakes and streams. We landed on the flat roof of a huge building which spanned a waterfall. It reminded me of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous home ‘Falling Water’ except on a larger scale. The roof was beautifully landscaped, and centrally located on it was a large hexagonal swimming pool or fish pond of some type with a fern covered rock formation in the middle of it.
We were greeted by a very distinguished looking white haired gentleman wearing sandals and a long white sleeveless tunic, with a high buttoned oriental looking collar. “Master Lodi,” said Baylor, “I would like you to meet Dr. Robert Smith.” “Pease, Call me Robert,” I said, shaking his hand. “Alright Robert, I’ve heard a lot about you. It seems your presence has caused quite a commotion in the Federation. Come with me and we’ll discuss this matter.” Baylor explained that Lodi was the Chief Spiritual Counselor on Silva, and as such was the person in charge of all between dimension travel. This included obtaining approval for any clandestine ‘invisible’ activities whatsoever. Lodi led us to a very comfortable U-shaped couch near the pool. On a massive stone table in front of the couch was a feast fit for a king. “I’ve been expecting you, and after your ordeal today I supposed you would be famished.”
The food was delicious. There was a huge selection of delicious fruits of all sizes and shapes, and both cold and hot vegetable dishes. Although no meat was served, the varied textures and tastes of this vegetarian meal were extremely satisfying. Also there were various fruit beverages and water. I stuffed myself, while Baylor filled Lodi in on the latest conspiracy details. I had been lost in thought, and admiring the semitropical plants and landscaping around the pool for several minutes when in my peripheral vision something large broke the surface and swam toward us. I looked closer and saw that it was a person. Out of the pool stepped a gorgeous young woman with blue eyes, auburn hair, and a figure out of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit calendar, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Lodi stood up, handed her a towel and said, “Robert I would like you to meet my daughter Alia. She has heard all about your recent exploits, and has been eager to meet you.” “Father”, Alia said, as she rolled her eyes and started to blush. “Well it’s true; we don’t get that many celebrity visitors here at our home. Why don’t you take Robert on a tour, while Baylor and I discuss this Federation mess? Robert, you can stay if you wish, but I’m guessing that you must be getting tired of hearing about Federation problems.” It was a tough choice, but I picked the tour of paradise with a beautiful girl. As we walked, I had to ask, “I didn’t see you around the pool while we were eating. How did you stay under the surface so long?”
“I didn’t. I entered it from my bedroom. Come with me and I’ll show you.” I had been on this planet less than an hour and this dazzling woman was going to show me her bedroom. Who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth? I followed her like a puppy dog, but I couldn’t even imagine how she got into the pool from her bedroom.
We entered a large, covered, open staircase which descended to the main floor below. There was extensive use of many different types of natural stone for both the floors and walls. We entered a very wide and long curved hallway, which was marvelously decorated with paintings on the walls, and art objects on tables and in lighted alcoves. The outer wall was equally divided with long stretches of rooms and glass walls which offered spectacular views of the forest. One of the most beautiful views was of the stepped waterfall which continued under the house. We came to a large double doorway and Alia opened it.
This huge room was the main family living and entertaining space she said. It had to be over three thousand square feet. The walls adjacent to the doorway were lined with book shelves, and there were enough couches, tables and chairs to host a political convention. The main feature of the room, however took my breath away. The entire far wall, which had to be twenty feet high by about eighty feet long, was a giant aquarium. There were all sorts of brightly colored exotic looking fish, some of which looked familiar to me. There were beds of tall spiral kelp like plants, and perhaps fifty feet into this scene was a large, craggy rock formation which extended above the surface. Some kind of very efficient overhead lighting shone brightly, and the water was crystal clear.
There was a raised semicircular sitting area on top of a short wall which from the center of the glass aquarium. It was about twenty feet in diameter and enclosed what looked like a Koi pond of sorts. Alia asked me to sit on this pond edge. The water was several feet deep, and where it adjoined the aquarium, the glass extended below the level of the room’s floor, so that it looked like the bottom of the pond was part of the aquarium. The whole scene was so incredible that for the moment I forgot about the prospect of seeing Alia’s bedroom. “Watch this”, she said, as she pressed a button on the pond’s edge.
Silently the lower portion of glass wall bounded by the sitting area started to rise. It was barely distinguishable, but this area of the glass was double. It was as if a twenty foot wide clear gate was being raised. It stopped when the bottom of this glass gate was about even with the Koi pond’s surface. In a flash, Alia jumped in, swam under the gate into the aquarium, shot to the surface, and disappeared. I sat there in wonder not able to fathom what just happened. Meanwhile the gate lowered to its down position. I went over and sat in a couch pondering this, and all of the other unbelievable events in my life that had taken place over the last few days. You would think I would be used to seeing impossible things by now, but I wasn’t. In a few minutes the door opened and Alia came back in the room.
“Impressed?” She said. “Very,” I replied. “I understand now that this aquarium is actually the rooftop swimming pool, and the rock formation must be the island in the middle of the pool, correct?” “Very good, now why doesn’t the room flood and empty the pool?” “This must be a test. There is only one way to prevent flooding that I know of. This room had to have been pressurized when you raised the glass gate in order to balance the water pressure at the bottom of the pool. I’m guessing that when we came in the room you must have done something to start the pressurization cycle. After you disappeared at the surface, I noticed the gate closing. After it was fully closed, I assume the room pressure automatically returned to normal. Also, there would be no need to lock the doors when the room is pressurized in order to prevent loss of this pressure, because assuming that the pool is about twenty five feet deep, there would be around fifty tons of force holding those massive double doors shut. Although the physics involved is basic, to do all of this so quickly and silently, and to achieve the necessary tight seals, is amazing. On my planet this would probably not be possible.”
Alia looked disappointed. Her lower lip formed the most adorable pout. “Well, it’s my turn to be impressed,” She said, “You are definitely not what I had expected. This pool is my father’s design. Most of our guests are amazed, and can’t imagine how it works when they first see it. I had heard that you came from a rather primitive planet that only has one-dimensional travel; I wouldn’t have expected you to solve the mystery so quickly.”
Shall we continue the tour?”
The rest of the house was a huge split level structure built around the pool, which acted as an atrium to provide lots of natural daylight to the suites surrounding it. The wide hallway outside the living/entertainment area encircled the pool and all six areas adjacent to the pool. Each of these showcased one of the glass walls of the hexagonal shaped pool. Also each had a similar pond like entry to the pool. Alia’s suite had a pond the entire eighty foot length of the aquarium wall which she used for swimming laps. There was no raised sitting wall, so the pond coping was at floor level. This portion of the main pool had a lowered bottom and her indoor lap pool was four feet deep. The glass gate ran the entire length of the wall so she could enter the main pool at any point. The optical design of all of the gates was so good that you had to look very closely to notice they even existed. The six poolside areas consisted of the living/entertainment area, a dining/ballroom, in which the bowling alley length table could disappear into the floor, and four bedroom suites each of which was more like a complete home, with its own kitchen, baths and various other separate spaces. One of these suites was to be mine during my stay on Silva. There were many more suites and other rooms on the perimeter of the hallway which protruded from the outer wall like teeth on a huge gear. Alia showed me some of them, and they were as impressive as the inner suites, except with views of the forest, streams, and the huge waterfall which ran approximately under the middle of the house. One of these rooms was the home’s main kitchen and breakfast room, and was located opposite the family/entertainment room. All of them had decks which wrapped around their outermost walls.
After the tour, Alia and I went up to the rooftop to rejoin Lodi and Baylor. They were talking about whether or not to bring anyone else from X-1 to Silva. We joined the discussion and Alia pointed out that if Ian or anyone else disappeared, it could cause a major problem. It might seem to the general public as if they had abandoned their cause and were trying to avoid punishment for breaking Federation rules. This would surely slow down the momentum of the current support for their beliefs.
Lodi pressed a button on the table, and a large holographic video image appeared. He switched through a number of newscasts from different worlds in different dimensions of the Federation, and the reception was perfect. Even in full daylight the hologram was bright, opaque, and had real life color and resolution. Again I was amazed at the technology of these civilizations. Some of these broadcasts had taken place as much as one or two hours ago and were just now being received, due to the huge distances involved. Since these broadcasts were transmitted at the speed of light, which is 186,000 miles per second, the large delay times helped put the physical size of the Federation into perspective.
The story of my ‘death’ seemed to be the top news story. The public was outraged. The shooter was definitely linked to one of the Federation Council members present at the meeting. President Gambez was fit to be tied. He denied any knowledge of the plot to kill me, and claimed that the guilty Council member was just a horrific anomaly. He was sure there were no other members who would be involved in such a terrible crime.
We all agreed that considering the public outrage over my death, it would be an extremely foolish move on the Federation’s part to attempt to harm anyone else. The X-1 crew including Ian were probably not in danger at the present time. Also Baylor’s team on X-1 reported no indication of a threat from anyone on board. Baylor authorized them to move any endangered personnel to the ‘invisible’ state if necessary. I was relieved, as I was sure that three hundred thousand year old rules would die hard. I couldn’t even imagine a civilization lasting that long, but since it did, its traditions and rules must be as taken for granted as the sun rising every day.
It was starting to get dark, and two of Silva’s moons were shining brightly. One of the moons was the huge one Uralis with its triangular continent which was clearly visible. It definitely stood out as not being the work of ‘mother nature’. This was one of the many mysteries I wanted to ask about when the time was right. I hoped the frequency of my new adventures would slow down a bit, so there would be time to make these inquiries.
Lodi stood, stretched and suggested that we retire to the living room downstairs. Baylor said that it had been a long day for him and he should be going. He said he would visit X-1 in the morning to verify his team’s safety inspections and to speak with Ian. We saw Baylor off, and went downstairs. As we were heading toward the living room, we encountered Lodi’s wife Shelay, who said she had just arrived. She had been shopping in the nearby town of Asley. I could see where Alia got her good looks. Shelay was a tall, slender, strikingly beautiful blonde. Not that her father was plain looking. He was a very handsome powerfully built man, well over six feet tall. His physique was that of a man much younger than his white hair indicated. Lodi, Shelay, and I, went to the living room and sat on two couches grouped facing each other close to the pool wall. Alia excused herself and went to shower and get dressed.
It was dark enough that flood lights had come on in the pool, lighting the island and vegetation in a magnificent night time display. I noticed an assortment of beverages and food on a table in front of our couches. I sat on the couch facing Lodi and Shelay. I told them how amazing their home was, and how I was surprised at the remote location. They said they preferred the serenity of the forest, and their ground/air vehicles could take them anywhere on the planet in a very short time. They kept these vehicles in a storage hanger located next to the kitchen. It was similar to hangers on an aircraft carrier, with an elevator-like platform to bring them to the roof landing pad used by Baylor when we arrived.
I filled them in on the general facts of my life on Earth. Shelay asked if I was married or had a girlfriend. I said no, although there was someone I came close to marrying a few years ago. We had gradually drifted apart and she married a good friend of mine recently. The three of us met while attending M.I.T., and after she and I broke up, their friendship turned into a serious relationship. There were no hard feelings and I was the best man at their wedding. Other facts I shared were that my parents died in an automobile wreck while I was in graduate school, and I had no siblings or other close relatives. I mentioned the lack of ties on Earth benefiting me during this past week’s ‘Big Adventure’. I didn’t even miss my teaching position at U.C.L.A. or the government grant projects. I thought to myself, if I was eventually forced to return to Earth, maybe I should have my memories of this experience erased. How else could I ever be happy, knowing about all of this, and that I would never see any of it again? This place was a Physicist’s dream. I could learn more in a few months here than a lifetime on Earth.
I heard a quiet rustling of fabric behind me and turned to see Alia coming toward us. She was a knockout. Believe it or not she looked even more beautiful fully dressed that she had in her swimsuit. Except for the auburn hair, she reminded me of Audry Hepburn as she came downstairs in the famous scene from the classic movie Breakfast at Tiffanies. I know I’ve overworked the word breathtaking in my futile search for sufficiently grand superlatives to describe my recent experiences, but if I could only use it once, now would be the time. Alia was truly breathtaking. Her long hair was pinned on top of her head in a hairdo that looked like it would have taken hours to accomplish. Her long slender neck was beautifully set off by her prominent collar bones which were just visible above the tasteful neckline of a light pastel yellow, floor length gown. Her high cheek bones completed the picture and gave her a distinctively aristocratic look.
“My you look lovely dear,” Shelay said. “Thank you mother, as father said earlier we don’t entertain famous celebrities here very often, so I thought I should dress for the occasion.” “You do look quite wonderful Alia”, her father said, while I just sat there with a lump in my throat. Finally, I believe I used my overworked ‘b’ word, I’m not sure, but whatever word or phrase I used must have worked. She gave me a smile that would melt the hardest of hearts, and sat down next to me. I don’t know what perfume she used, but if it were to be suddenly marketed everywhere on Earth at the same time, there would be a baby boom to end all baby booms in nine months. I could hardly stand it, but I didn’t dare let my emotions show, after all this was their daughter, and I had no idea what the protocol was in a situation like this. As I sat there, I thought to myself, “Please Lord, don’t let them send me back to Earth just yet.”
As we sat talking I decided that the best way to ward off the disturbing effects of Alia’s close proximity was to try and clear up some questions I had which were bothering me. “Lodi, could you explain to me how everyone I have meet seems to understand and speak English?”
“Of course Robert, I’m surprised no one has explained this to you yet. Although from what I have heard about the confusion since you arrived on X-1, I imagine there hasn’t been the opportunity to acquaint you with many things which we take for granted. Most of the planets with interdimensional travel capabilities have advanced technologies which might seem like magic to the people from planets without these capabilities. On your own planet, if a person from the 1800’s could have traveled in time only one or two hundred years into the future, most of what they saw would have seemed like magic. In your case you have traveled to dimensions where the average technology is many thousands of years more advanced than Earth’s. Thank goodness you are a scientist, and hopefully will be able to cope with this fact.
Learning new languages or anything else for that matter is far simpler here than it is on your planet. We have perfected many methods for rapid learning. Alia for example learned English only two days ago, when I mentioned that you might visit us sometime soon. I didn’t know your visit would be this soon, and due to an assassination attempt. The only limitation to our rapid learning processes is that like conventional education it takes repetition and regular use to be committed to long term memory. I believe you have a saying on Earth ‘use it or loose it’. In Ian’s case, and many others on X-1, the study of your planet has caused them to ‘use it’, so they will be able to retain proficiency in English much longer than Alia would if she doesn’t either use it daily or have regular refresher learning procedures.” Lodi paused, and Alia gave me a quick glance, and smile. “Since you are now here in a safe place, I’m sure there will be time for you to learn many things about our culture and various technical advances.
Tomorrow Shelay and I have an all day conference we should attend. Perhaps you could just relax and enjoy the peace and solitude here in our home, I’m sure you could use the rest after all you’ve been subjected to. Also, Alia, would you have time tomorrow to help Robert learn more about our Silvan culture and history. “Of course father. I would be happy to do that. I was planning to be here most of the day anyway.” We talked for another hour or so then Lodi and Shelay excused themselves for the evening. Alia seemed as nervous as I was. I sensed a strong mutual attraction, but we had only just met and neither of us seemed to know quite how to proceed. We talked for a while and I said it had been a very long day for me so I should probably get some sleep. She seemed both disappointed and yet relieved. As she showed me to my room she mentioned that she was an early riser, and told me to come up to the roof for breakfast when I was ready to start the day.