|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- FOREMAN ITTENER PIER--CUP 23--"YEEBER AX-76" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Foreman Ittener Pier  ||  -------> (Cup SRfi023, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "I thought I may have seen it. And if you do--I have a very lucrative deal to offer you." "Uh-huh?" "Yes--I think you'd be quite happy with the whole thing. First though--I need to know." I regarded the fellow. Something told me to trust him, but something else told me to fear him. So much power... But I decided to gamble. "Yeah, we have it." The expressionless scarecrow face stared at me for a few moments, and I tried to fathom what he might be thinking about. "Good." he finally said. "Is it?" "It is. Now the thing I referred to before exists about 25 years ago in Peeferkihint City. Can you get there with your method of time travel?" "I don't think that would be a problem. Just what are we talking about here, though?" "Well Ferrajalt, it's not an easy thing to describe. I guess it's safe to say that it's a building with some remarkable attributes." "Like?" "Like the means to go just about anywhere." "Can't we already do that with bridging?" "Bridging is pitifully limited." Carroll said. "This building I refer to--it can take you anywhere." "Okay..." I said slowly. "So what we're talking about is what--going back and doing what? Getting the building somehow?" "Yes." "How?" He looked at me in silence again, making me more and more apprehensive. Finally, he spoke. "There is a man named Stone Beverly, who is, at some point in the past, dying alone in his home." "Yeah?" "Yeah. He holds the deed to the building." "So how do we get it from him?" "He was very lonely toward the end. I'm sure that if someone provided him companionship in those last months, he'd give that person the deed and the box." "Box?" "Yes, the box. Uh, let me know how you feel about all this so far, and I'll get into details about the box." "Well I don't know. I mean, the idea of being able to go anywhere instantly appeals to me, and would certainly help me in my personal quests. Who wouldn't be bolstered by such power?" Carroll nodded. "But you have to understand," Isaid, "my companion is the one in direct control of the time travel method." "What was her name?" "You're asking for a lot, Mammock! I just hope you're not playing me the fool. Who knows what I might do." "I understand your concern, Ferrajalt, but if you've read my file you should know that I'm not the sort to swear on my name falsely." I sighed. "Her name is Lunatether." "Nice name." "I like it." After another bit of silence, Carroll spoke again. "So now, the box. It contains, I believe, 890 multicolored keys. These correspond to 891 doors in the building. The building is called Deep Violt C, by the way." "Why the extra door?" "That's something I'd like to find out." "Uh-huh. So where is this building now?" "It was destroyed in a terrorist attack a few weeks after Stone Beverly died." "What sort of attack?" "False air traffic control transmissions caused an enormous Yeeber AX-76 to crash into it." "Jeez." "We'll have to prevent that from happening, too." "Shouldn't be too hard." "Not hard, but involved." "Hmm. So what about these keys and doors? They all lead somewhere?" "As I understand it, if you have a key and a virgin door, you can unlock it to lead anywhere you might desire. Once opened, however, the door will always lead to the same place." "How do you know all this?" "It's a long, drawn-out, tedious story. I don't feel like reconstructing it right now." "Fine." "Oh! I sense your friend--Lunatether--on her way back." "Good." "How do you think she'll react?" "Probably not too bad." He nodded. "But let me get this straight--" I said, "we provide this Stone guy with companionship for a few months and we get a shiny new interdimensional building?" "In a nutshell." "So what sort of companionship does this guy need? Sexual? Emotional? What?" "I imagine all of the above. Thing is, though, he's gay--so it'll have to be another man." "Don't look at me!" "I wasn't. I'm merely giving you the facts." "So what are we supposed to do? Just... just get some guy to go sleep with this other guy?" "Something along those lines." "And then what--when he gives the stuff to this loverboy--we'll just take it from him?" "I was hoping you might know somebody to play the role. But if you don't, we could just hire a local denizen--offer him so much money he couldn't refuse." "I don't think I'D do it for any amount of money." "Well you're rich--superrich--royalty. You don't count." "Yeah, go on. Everyone loves prince-bashing." "Don't take it like that." "Yeah, yeah." He laughed a little. -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----