“What do you mean?” Paul asked. “The same power exists in other places?”
“Why, yes, of course. It’s even here in Reality Prime—though thankfully not the dark and sinister version that exists in the Thirteenth. Ever heard of luck?”
Master George continued, excited, not bothering to wait for anyone to answer. “The Chi’karda is essentially the power of conviction, of belief, of strong choices. There have been instances where wonderful things have occurred, where the tiny world of quantum physics has fundamentally changed because of an overwhelming, powerful display of Chi’karda. Some call it a lucky break, good fortune, a windfall, a crazy coincidence. Oh, it’s happened plenty, but in the Thirteenth, the Chi’karda has mutated into something hideous.”
“Man,” Paul said. “That is just plain awesome.”
“Awesome?” Master George asked, his tone suggesting he felt exactly the opposite. “I assure you, there’s nothing awesome about it once you know what Mistress Jane intends to do with this dark Chi’karda.”
“Who is this Mistress Jane?” Sofia asked, glancing at Tick then at Master George. “Norbert told us she went looking for you in Alaska. He said she threatened him.”
Master George’s face grew dark. “Mistress Jane is the most foul, despicable, wretched creature to ever walk the folds of the Realities. She was once one of us, someone who worked toward understanding and unity. But she betrayed us for hopes of glory and power. We have many spies in her camp, and we’re certain she plans to annihilate the Reality system in its entirety. You have no idea the ramifications of her twisted plans.”
“The tree,” Rutger said through a yawn.
“Pardon me?” Master George replied.
“The tree, the tree! Use your analogy to explain what she wants to do.”
“Ah, yes.” Master George turned his attention back to the kids. “Imagine the tree for me again, if you will. One of the big branches we talked about—one of the main Realities that shoots off from the trunk of Reality Prime—is now under the control of Mistress Jane. Using the dark Chi’karda of the Thirteenth Reality, Mistress Jane plans to sever the other branches from the trunk, if you will, destroying them entirely. Then she can conquer Reality Prime and rule the known universe. If that happens, she’d be able to create her own twisted Realities at will, essentially recreating the tree for her own purposes.”
If the other kids in the group were anything like Tick, all Master George saw at that moment were wide-eyed stares. Tick had a feeling they underestimated the horrible intentions of Mistress Jane.
“Oh, poppycock, we’re getting too deep into all of this,” Master George complained as he paced back and forth in front of the fire. “All you need to know is there are different versions of the world we live in called Realities and all of them are important in their own way. Mistress Jane plans to use her newly discovered powers to destroy life as we know it. And we, the Realitants—and I mean we—must stop her.”
“How?” Tick and Paul asked in unison.
Master George smiled. “Ah, yes, how indeed. It’s time for the fun part, my good people. I have something to show you.” He walked through a small door in the far corner of the room, reappearing a few seconds later. In his hand he held a long golden rod, at least three feet in length and several inches in diameter; it shone and sparkled in the firelight, polished to perfection. Up and down one entire side were a series of dials and knobs and switches, a small label below each one. Once he returned to his lecture spot, Master George held the rod high for everyone to see.
“This, my friends,” he said proudly, “is a Barrier Wand.”
Oohs and ahs sounded across the room.
“This instrument—and the Chi’karda Drive within its inner chamber—is the single most important invention in the history of mankind. I say this without the slightest pause, knowing it’s true. It is the only way a person can travel from one Reality to another. It harnesses and controls the power of the Chi’karda—manipulates it, bends it, wields it, shapes it.”
Master George ran his hand down the length of the device. “This is how we control travel between the barriers of the Realities—what we call winking, because it literally happens in the blink of an eye. Without this Barrier Wand, and the few others like it, there would be no study of the Realities, no travel between them, no . . . Mistress Jane problem, actually. If we can remove her Barrier Wand from the Thirteenth Reality, she and her twisted powers will be trapped there for a very long time. Enough time for us to devise a more permanent solution to the problem.”
“How does the Barrier Wand work?” Paul asked.
“Oh, yes, thank you for asking.” Master George held the golden rod up so everyone could clearly see as he pointed out the controls running down the near side. “You simply adjust the doohickey here, then the thingamajig here, then the whatchamacallit here, and so forth and so on. It’s simple really. Trust me—it does work. With this Wand, you can control the Chi’karda to such a degree that it will transport you between Realities.”
“Ooh, can I see it?” Sofia asked, her hands twitching with curiosity to hold the Wand.
“Of course. Come on up, all of you. Have a look!”
Tick shot out of his chair, grimacing at the coldness of his still-damp pants, and got to Master George first. He laughed out loud when he was close enough to read the labels on the instrument. “I thought you were joking.”
“Joking about what?” Master George asked.
“The most important scientific discovery of all time, and the first dial is called the Doohickey?” Tick pointed to a neatly printed label on the Wand.
Sofia chuckled as she pointed at a small switch. “And there’s the Thingamajig.”
“That’s for a very important reason, thank you very much,” Master George said, momentarily pulling the Barrier Wand away from the kids. “It’s so spying eyes can’t figure out how it works. We’ve labeled them that way on purpose.”
“Ingenious,” Paul snickered.
Tick looked over at Sato, still sitting on the couch, arms folded in defiance. “Don’t you want to see it?”
Sato stared at the floor. “Leave me alone.”
Tick shrugged, then surprised himself when he let out a huge yawn. He glanced at his watch, surprised to see it was almost three o’clock in the morning.