

Far Travels

The Gracchian Adventures, Book One

Published by Kristi Seibert at Smashwords, January 2011

Copyright 2007 Kristi Seibert

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**Smashwords Edition, License Notice** : This e-book is for the personal use of the original buyer only. Please purchase a separate copy for others to enjoy. Support the writers you like by buying their work!

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Chapter 1

Nigel Wooster's Basement

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Like many geniuses, Nigel Wooster lived in his own little world, not paying a great deal of attention to events outside his own sphere of knowledge. Still, when an alien from a far planet made a sudden appearance in his basement one hot and steamy Nebraska night, even Nigel took notice.

The basement was the coolest place in the old farmhouse, built long before the era of air conditioning and never modernized. Much of the basement was what used to be called a root cellar, lined with shelves to store apples, carrots and rutabagas over the dark winter, but there was also a roomy storage area with stairs that ascended to the back yard. This area was where Nigel had his chalkboards and massively powerful computer. The old-fashioned chalkboard next to an amazingly powerful computer might have seemed strange to some, but Nigel knew that the only truly important tool in that storage room was his own brain, and whatever helped it to function better, from the primitive to the modern, was what he would use.

Nigel had moved back to his parents' house after the Blood War in Europe ended and he became just another unemployed physicist looking for work. His parents had died years ago and most of the farmland had been sold at the time, but no one wanted the house and so it sat, lonely, with only mice and spiders for company. Then Nigel moved back and brought his cat, Roger, who was happy to make the brief acquaintance of the mice. Neither Nigel nor Roger took much notice of the spiders.

That portentous night, Nigel was, as usual, working at the maddening equations at his chalkboard. Before he had been laid off from his job as a researcher at the Advanced and Theoretical Projects Lab, Nigel had been involved in studying the behavior of quarks and neutrinos and other sub-atomic particles that didn't yet have names. Some of them behaved very strangely, seemingly outside the realm of what was possible. Just because he was no longer getting paid, Nigel saw no reason to stop doing his fascinating research.

When he thought he had figured the current problem out, he could go to his computer, tap into the simulated Quark Bombardment programs at the weapons lab, and see if his most recent theory could be borne out through the simulations. Even though Nigel had not worked for the lab for months now, his password remained viable, and Nigel saw nothing wrong with continuing to use it; after all, this was science.

The biggest problem with the equations, Nigel had come to realize, was that they implied that space could be folded like a linen sheet. Some of the particles behaved as if they could move from here to there without going through the space between: Instantaneous travel. Absurd, utterly absurd. And yet....Nigel stood lost in thought, his mind trying to wrap itself around a concept that all his training told him was impossible. Most mathematicians and physicists do their most important work when they're young; perhaps after a certain age, the mind simply isn't able to bend any more. Nigel was a young man.

Then Nigel was broken out of his reverie of traveling quarks by footsteps coming down the cellar stairs. The door at the top of the stairs had been left open to catch any hope of a breeze, and the first thought that ran through Nigel's head was that one of the neighborhood children was out exploring. The footsteps were light; it certainly sounded like a child. The only problems with this theory were that the nearest neighbors were five miles away, and it was well after midnight. Nigel customarily worked until two or three in the morning, then had scrambled eggs and toast-- the extent of his cooking ability-- and went to bed for nine or ten hours. A vampire might be more likely than a visitor at this hour.

When the person making the descent into Nigel's basement came into the circle of light, Nigel was astonished to see a small, otter-like character wearing a letter jacket from Nigel's old high school. The purple and white of the jacket made a nice contrast against the sleek dark fur. Unaware that his mouth was gaping open, Nigel simply stared as the creature waved a little hand, a paw really, and said in a squeaky voice, "Hello Nigel Wooster."

Though not meaning any discourtesy, Nigel was unable to respond. The creature seemed to take this in stride. It walked to the chalkboard and studied the equations for a moment. The only thought running through Nigel's head was that otters didn't know higher mathematics or particle physics and that therefore he must be dreaming. In fact, as far as Nigel was aware, animals couldn't even do long division.

The creature in the letter jacket picked up a piece of chalk, sniffed it and took a little taste. Then it dragged a chair over to the board and began writing in the universal language of mathematics, and the scales fell from Nigel's eyes, and now the only thought running through his head was a great shout, "OF COURSE!" The corrections that the furry one made upon the board removed the logjam in Nigel's brain, and the cascade that followed drowned out all other considerations, including the astounding oddness of his unexpected visitor.

At the end of an hour, Nigel knew that the small creature had given him the key to space travel, that space itself could indeed be folded. Nigel was the first Human to ever lay eyes on a Gracchus (for that was the alien visitor's species), but he considered this to be of little importance next to the mathematical revelation that the Gracchus had uncovered.

And the letter jacket? The Gracchus, named Quirinal, later explained that it was meant to reassure Nigel that the alien was a friendly emissary, just like some old friend from high school. Besides, the Gracchus thought that Earth clothing was fun.

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There were limitations to space travel as it was now understood by Humans. For any practical use, a Gate had to be constructed, and the Gate had to have the setpoint destination, or galactic address, programmed into it. Obviously, the Gracchus could travel without benefit of a Gate since Quirinal had arrived on the Wooster family farm without one, but it was hugely expensive in terms of energy usage, and even then a destination had to be pre-set. As Quirinal explained it, traveling across the galaxy without a Gate was like spending a hundred dollars to mail a piece of gum; it was impractical for any appreciable number of people or goods (and shipping was still expensive, even with a Gate). Plus, there was the problem of a setpoint. If the user didn't know the destination beforehand, trying to get anywhere by chance was like trying to shoot a housefly on the far side of the Grand Canyon. There was far more empty space than there were targets.

The Gracchus claimed that the Gate technology could extend to the limits of the Milky Way Galaxy, but not beyond, and the Human mathematicians who understood the concepts backed this up. However, within the galaxy, the distance involved was irrelevant. The home planet of the Gracchus, Gracchia, was about 50,000 light years away from Earth, as measured around the perimeter of the galaxy, but through an open Gate, goods and people could be moved in an instant. Naturally, all the inhabited planets were located in the spiral arms of the galaxy rather than in the core. The center of the Milky Way had too much deadly radiation for life to survive there.

There were yet more limitations. Out of the 256 planets that had been 'seeded' with the potential for intelligent life, Quirinal explained, only six, including Earth and Gracchia, had achieved the advanced level necessary for Gate technology, so the choice of destinations was small. Quirinal added that the Elihu race had an unfortunate habit of greeting uninvited visitors with laser fire, so be very careful how you set those Gate coordinates, and even most of the interaction among the friendlier species was confined to Gracchia.

The Gracchus would not give the addresses of any of the planets which had not yet achieved Gate-level technology; they believed that all societies should be able to develop without outside interference. Yet Quirinal said that once a civilization was on the brink of Gate ability, the Gracchus always helped out because a wrong step could easily annihilate half a planet. "And the one commodity that's in the shortest supply is always brainpower. We can't afford to lose any," Quirinal explained. Some people realized that Earth must have been under some sort of surveillance for the Gracchus to know so precisely when to step in. This made some Humans very suspicious of the Gracchus, but as the years passed and no alien invasion occurred, all but the truly paranoid relaxed. And even the paranoid were happier, knowing that some of their suspicions had been correct all along.

Only a handful of Humans were capable of understanding how the Gate worked, but then again, most Humans weren't clear on how electricity got to their homes, so the mystery didn't bother them. After the initial uproar and publicity over alien contact, most people on Earth eventually absorbed the fact and got on with their lives relatively unchanged. The Gracchus were greatly interested in trading with the people of Earth but seemed otherwise disinclined to interfere. Like the Europeans of centuries ago trading for spices, silk and porcelain from the Far East, trade with other alien peoples enriched the lives of Humans, but the essential day-to-day existence went largely unchanged for most of them.

Yet for Tom and Abby Ellsworth, the meeting of Humans and Gracchus was to set the course of their lives.

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Chapter 2

The Ellsworths on Earth

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When Oliver Ellsworth got home from work, he told Abby and Tom that he needed to have a private word with Gemma. The kids knew what this meant: time to go to the spare room over the kitchen and listen in on the adults.

Gemma was Abby and Tom's grandmother. When they were little, Gemma pronounced that it was ridiculous to be called 'Grandma Gemma'; it was too much of a mouthful. Simply 'Gemma' would do fine. She was their Dad's mother and had helped to look after them ever since they'd been brought to America as toddlers.

Adults always had serious discussions in the kitchen, at least in the Ellsworth family. Several years ago, Tom and Abby had discovered that by opening the air vent in the floor of the spare bedroom located directly above the kitchen, the voices of those below could be easily heard. They had also discovered that listening in on other people was usually pretty boring. Still, a couple of weeks ago, their Dad had told them that there was a chance he might be asked to open an office on Gracchia in the city of Aurelia, the major trading center. He worked for an arbitration firm, which Dad said was like being a referee for businesses, enforcing the rules and making sure everyone played fair without hurting each other in court. Dad was a lawyer, too, but he said that arbitration worked much better and simpler as long as both sides really wanted to be fair.

Abby and Tom were dying to know if they were going to go to Gracchia. They had every right to listen in on a decision that would affect them, too. And after all, they were eleven years old now, well into the double digits. Sometimes it seemed like their Dad didn't realize how old they were.

"...think this disruption will hurt them?" Dad's voice drifted up through the vent.

Gemma's voice was crisp and no nonsense. "Absolutely not. Oliver, it's a chance in a lifetime, take it!"

Sounded like Dad had the job offer to go to Gracchia.

"It's just...kids need stability."

"And you've given them a wonderful home. Don't worry, they'll be fine." This time Gemma's voice was softer, gentler.

Words like soft and gentle weren't commonly applied to Gemma, though they loved her dearly. More apt word choices would be crisp and lively. Gemma hadn't lived with them for several years now. She'd moved into a low maintenance condominium complex several blocks away with a declared need for more independence, though she still stayed with Tom and Abby when Dad had to be out of town. Sometimes Abby thought that maybe Gemma had moved out so Dad would be more likely to get married again, but Tom thought Abby was being silly.

Both Abby and Tom had been adopted from the orphanages after the Blood War. America hadn't been involved in any official capacity until after the war, although there had been unofficial advisors. Dad had been a lawyer in the Army, stationed near Paris, and as luck had it, the American Army encampment was almost next door to a huge orphanage, jammed with the innocent victims of a vicious war. The GIs gave all they could spare to the children, and ultimately, many of the children were adopted.

Occasionally one of the kids at school would taunt them for being 'Blood Orphans,' the name given to all the adoptees, and for a while the odious Tracy Bulworth had taken to calling Abby "Little Orphan Abby," but usually neither Tom nor Abby gave it much thought. Oliver Ellsworth was the only father they'd ever known. Not being genetically related, they didn't look at all like brother and sister. Tom was big for his age, with thick, wavy blond hair and freckles. Abby was small with dark hair that was stick-straight and golden skin. The only part of them that matched, in fact, was their eyes: Both Tom and Abby had blue eyes. This looked especially remarkable on Abby, and every now and then someone would ask her if her eyes were 'real'.

Sometimes it seemed as if their father worried that their earliest years spent in an orphanage had somehow left them fragile, but the truth was that Tom didn't remember those years at all, and Abby just barely remembered the gentle women dressed in black, the good religious women who had run the orphanage. During the war, all electronic records had been wiped out forever by the electro-magnetic pulse bombs, and there was no way of finding out who Abby's and Tom's birth parents were or even to know which side of the war their parents had been on.

"Oliver, there's something else." Gemma's voice again. "There's talk that the Repatriation Act may still go through."

"Nonsense," Dad said, but his voice was worried. "I can't imagine that such a thing would ever pass."

"You know that feeling is running high in Europe right now; they feel like it's an issue of national pride. And there are people in this country who want to establish better relations again and think this is a necessary step."

Tom and Abby sat back, away from the vent, and looked at each other. This was awful. Dad had told them about the Repatriation Act because he didn't want them to hear about it from the kids at school who might have the facts straight but the interpretation wrong. He'd said that some of the people in Europe wanted the return of the war orphans. There were hysterical claims that somehow the Americans had stolen the children. "But I'd never let them do anything to us," he'd reassured them.

Abby and Tom leaned forward again. Now their Dad didn't sound quite so sure. "The law...," he began.

"The law is whatever they say it is. Listen, Oliver, I don't think this is much more than a lot of hot air, but why take the chance? You have the perfect opportunity to go to Gracchia, which by Macready's account is a wonderful place. And let all of this blow over."

Macready was one of Dad's old friends from when he was in the Army. He'd been among the first Humans to go live permanently on Gracchia and sometimes he'd send them funny little gifts from there. Both Abby and Tom really liked him.

Tom had been thrilled about the possibility of going to Gracchia, Abby hadn't been so sure. Going to another planet was scary. Away from Gemma, home, friends and school. Well, going away from school wasn't so bad. But the possibility that they might be forced to leave Dad and home and return to the orphanage or get adopted by some other family in another country, that was horrible.

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Dinner that night was especially healthful: stir-fried vegetables, tofu and brown rice with only a little chicken thrown in. Tom and Abby had different ways of coping with their Dad's obsession with healthy food. After dinner, Tom usually drew on the stash of candy kept in the back of his dresser drawer. Once, he'd put some peanut logs in a box under his bed, then forgot about them for eight months. When he'd finally remembered them, they'd looked like they were covered in moss. Abby usually tried to eat something before dinner like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or anything she could cadge from Gemma before Gemma went home for the night.

Tonight, even if they hadn't eavesdropped, they would have known something was up. Dad had brought home two kinds of ice cream: chocolate with marshmallows and nuts and vanilla with a raspberry swirl and little chunks of milk chocolate. As they were eating their ice cream, Dad said, "Kids, you know I've mentioned that possibility of a job on Gracchia?"

Abby nodded, mouth full. "Yes, Dad," Tom said. The trick was going to be to look properly surprised.

"Well, I've decided to take the offer. We'll be traveling to the city of Aurelia on Gracchia in a month or so, after school lets out. We'll be living there for about a year, perhaps two at the most."

He continued, "We'll all need to get a Linguistic Mapping Device before we go."

Abby didn't have to feign surprise. She dropped her spoon on the floor, and Wilson the cat took a break from chasing bugs and came over to take a couple of cautious licks of vanilla.

"Cool! I can't wait to tell the guys I'm getting Limed!" Tom, at least, was enthusiastic.

"Limed?" Dad had never heard this term before.

"You know, L-M-D. Ling-something Mapping Device. The kids call it getting Limed," Tom explained.

Abby was distressed. "You mean that thing where they drill a hole in your head and put in a computer in your brain?"

"Abby, do you remember last summer when you cracked your tooth on a cherry pit?" Dad was attempting misdirection.

Abby nodded. She had been eating cherry cobbler that Gemma had made when she bit down hard on a cherry pit. One of her molar teeth had cracked, and she'd had to spend over an hour in the dentist's chair while he re-bonded the tooth.

"Well, getting a Linguistic Mapping Device is much less of a procedure than that was. The doctor does have to make a tiny hole, then he inserts the LMD and places it on the part of your brain that's responsible for language. Then it puts down tiny little filaments and talks to your brain." Dad held up a grain of rice left over from dinner. "The LMD is about this big. It won't hurt, I promise you."

"Of course, they have to drill a hole in your head too," Tom added helpfully.

"A tiny hole," Dad's voice was firm.

Abby supposed anything was better than being sent back to Europe.

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The Linguistic Mapping Device was one of the devices that had been made possible by the revolution in quantum computers began by Nigel Wooster with the assistance of the Gracchus. The massive amount of information that could be stored and accessed in a small amount of space enabled a person with an LMD to understand the spoken range of any foreign or alien language that had been programmed into it. The LMD couldn't capture the subtleties of language, the facial expressions and body language, but it was an invaluable tool for anyone traveling to a planet with five other alien races.

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Abby had one further question as they were cleaning up after dinner.

"Dad, can Wilson come?" Abby loved their cat.

"Of course Wilson can come," Dad smiled and scratched behind Wilson's ears. "He's indispensable."

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Chapter 3

Preparation

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The next month went by in a blur of activity. The Ellsworths received their Linguistic Mapping Devices one afternoon, and as Dad had promised, it was easier than going to the dentist. Her father hadn't mentioned that a small area of scalp had to be shaved though, Abby thought darkly. She also believed that she could feel the tiny legs of the LMD meshing with her brain tissue, despite the technician saying that the brain had no sensory nerves. Maybe her brain was different. Tom didn't feel a thing. Both of them hoped that getting an LMD merited more ice cream. They were wrong.

The Ellsworths had to pack clothes and store the personal belongings that weren't going with them. Since they were going to be gone only for a year or so, Dad had decided to rent out the house rather than sell it.

Abby agonized over every item, even the clothes that she had outgrown and should have given away long since. And though they were heavy, she had to pack her collection of Nancy Drew detective books. These had originally belonged to Gemma, and they were old even when Gemma was a kid. The pictures on the front of the books were pretty funny; everyone was always dressed up. The girls and women had skirts, blouses and pearls on, the men were in suits. Even the boys were well-dressed, unlike the boys Abby knew. Tom liked to make fun of them and sometimes the books were kind of silly. But Nancy Drew was smart; and Abby thought that maybe she'd like to be a detective, too. And just like her heroine, Abby had a father but not a mother. Except that Nancy didn't have a brother.

Tom had a much easier time of it. Shoes, socks, underwear, shirts, shorts, pants. There. Now for the important stuff: pocket knife, compass (he supposed it would work on Gracchia), survival in the wilderness handbook. Tom and his friends had gone on a camping trip last summer, and although they hadn't got lost or gone hungry, it was still good to know which bugs were edible. Just in case. Maybe Gracchia had similar bugs; the scientists now believed that Earth, Gracchia, and the other worlds had developed in parallel.

Wilson the cat strolled into the bedroom as Tom was packing. Wilson knew which bugs were edible. All of them. Since he was a speck of a kitten, Willy had been engrossed in the hunting and (sometimes) the eating of bugs. Wilson was a beautifully sleek, dark gray cat with a white spot on his chest, perfect for blending in with the shadows from whence he stalked bugs. He supplemented his diet with cat food, but for him there was nothing so thrilling as a freshly caught insect. Grasshoppers were a special favorite, nice and crunchy. Wilson especially liked to bring his prey indoors for his people to admire. Just now he had a moth in his teeth. He let it go and watched it flutter to the ceiling of Tom's bedroom, unconcerned to see his captive escape. Moths were fun to catch, but the dry, dusty texture was not very nice to eat.

Oliver had the additional problem of finding a suitable tenant to rent their house. Gemma would be around to keep an eye on things but getting a good, steady renter was very important. Oliver had less than a month now to find the right people. He even contemplated leaving the house empty, but he knew that unoccupied houses quickly became unhappy and developed problems with the plumbing.

Oliver placed a 'For Lease' notice in the local paper and put a sign on the lawn in front of their small, two story house. The results were not encouraging. The first response was from a group of young male college students who apparently wanted to use the house as a sort of informal fraternity for a year. They seemed a bit hurt when Oliver politely but firmly turned them down. He remembered his own college years. Good sanitation hadn't been a major concern. In fact, cleaning hadn't been any kind of concern whatsoever.

The second response was from a nice, normal young couple. This seemed to be promising until the end of the tour when the wife asked Oliver if she could paint the living room black. "For seances," she explained. Oliver declined.

Other people made appointments to see the house but never showed up.

Then one Sunday morning, the doorbell rang, followed by a vigorous knocking. The three Ellsworths were on the back porch eating breakfast in the morning sunshine. Abby was choking down shredded wheat while Tom had raisin bran, the closest thing to a sweet cereal his father would allow. Abby used to like raisin bran until her brother told her that the raisins were really dried flies. She knew it wasn't true, but the image stuck in her mind and closed her throat.

Dad put down his coffee and went to the door to see who could be knocking at such an early hour. Probably, he thought sourly, it was a group of square dancers wanting to rent out his house for barn dances.

He opened the door to find a small figure dressed in a red baseball cap, a leather jacket over a white t-shirt and blue jeans. Oliver couldn't see his face.

"I beg your pardon for disturbing your freehold on a morning of domestic tranquility," the small figure said, "but I've heard that you wish to lease your property, and I petition to be considered as a tenant." The voice was high-pitched and had trouble with some of the hard consonant sounds. To Oliver's amazement, the person stuck out a brown, furry hand. Then the stranger took off his hat, and Oliver understood: this was a Gracchus. Naturally, he had seen pictures of Gracchus on television and even live from a distance, but never before in person. This may have seemed odd since he was about to move to the native planet of the Gracchus, but there simply weren't that many of them on Earth.

"In fact," the Gracchus continued, "I have a business proposition for you. I have a residence in Aurelia that is currently unoccupied, and I know that you will be moving there in a matter of days. Perhaps you would consider a trade?"

A house exchange with a Gracchus. This opportunity was simply too good to pass up. That is, if the house was sized for Humans and not for the considerably smaller Gracchus. Oliver didn't relish the idea of having to bend over every time he had to go through a doorway. He'd have to get details.

Oliver recovered his manners and his voice. He leaned over to shake hands and said, "I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Oliver Ellsworth. Won't you come in?"

"Thank you. My current name is Prospero." The Gracchus moved his white sneaker clad feet into the house. "As you can see, I'm incognito this morning." He gestured towards his clothing, then took off his leather jacket. "All this clothing is confining though. I'm quite hot." Prospero had light brown, curly fur unlike the Gracchus who had made first contact with Nigel Wooster. As the Ellsworths were to learn, the Gracchus varied considerably in fur color and texture.

Oliver was struck by the name: Prospero. The only place he'd ever heard that name before was in "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare. Then Oliver recalled some of the background reading he'd been doing in preparation for the move. Branagh Dinwiddie, one of the Humans involved with building the Gate and among the first to travel to Gracchia, had been a huge Shakespeare buff and had introduced the Gracchus to the master's works. The Gracchus had taken to the Shakespeare plays with great enthusiasm. (Although, it must be noted, the sonnets were not a hit). The Gracchus changed names almost with the casualness that Humans changed hairstyles, and some of them had adopted names from the plays. Prospero, obviously, was one such person. Briefly, Oliver wondered what Shakespeare would have thought of small, furry aliens reading his works, then thought that the Bard would have taken it in stride. He'd known that there were more things in Heaven and Earth than were dreamt of in his philosophy, after all.

"Please, follow me. I'd like you to meet my children." Oliver led the way through the house to the back porch. This was a great opportunity for Abby and Tom to meet a Gracchus before the overwhelming experience of moving to a new planet.

"How did you travel here? To the house, I mean," Oliver asked as they walked. He knew that the few Gracchus on Earth usually had drivers and sometimes a Human bodyguard or two. Aliens on Earth still attracted attention.

"I rode my motorbike. Most exhilarating," Prospero said.

Oliver had no time to ponder the vision of a Gracchus on a motorcycle; they'd arrived at the back porch. "Abby, Tom, this is Prospero. He has a house in Aurelia on Gracchia that's empty and we're discussing the possibility of a house swap."

Tom and Abby stared for a moment. It wasn't every day your Dad brought an alien to the breakfast table. They saw a small person, about four feet tall, with short, wavy fur. His eyes were brown and were staring back at them with interest. The nose was brown also and protruded a little; they could see the nostrils flare as Prospero took in the scents around him. Once again, Prospero stuck out his hand. Abby was the first one to shake. "Hello Mr. Prospero." She smiled shyly at him. The fact that Prospero looked a little like a koala bear reassured her. Prospero tried to smile back knowing that smiles were a polite Human custom, and so he pulled back his lips to reveal very sharp white teeth. Now he looked considerably less cuddly.

"Nice to meet you," Tom said. He added, "Welcome to Earth."

Prospero replied with a string of growling syllables from the back of his throat. For an instant, Tom thought the Gracchus was going to attack, but then had the startling realization that Prospero had just spoken in Gracchian, and moreover, Tom could understand him. The LMD must now be fully functional. Prospero had said, "Thank you. Your planet is lovely and fruitful, long may it revolve around your golden sun." Cool.

Prospero continued, although in English again, "I see that you must have received your Linguistic Mapping Device already. Excellent. I must say, trying to learn English has been one of the more difficult problems I've encountered. It wanders all over the landscape like a grazing verdinger." Prospero rubbed one of his hands behind an ear. It made Abby think of Wilson cleaning his face.

Verdinger? Must be some sort of animal on Gracchia. Probably like a cow, Tom decided. Obviously the LMD couldn't translate things that were unique to an individual planet.

After an offer of coffee was politely declined, Dad began the house tour with Prospero. Tom and Abby went along, fascinated by the Gracchus. "I do have the choice of living in Gracchus House," Prospero said as they walked along, referring to the enormous estate that many of the Gracchus living in the city shared, "but I wanted to go out and live among the Humans. How else could I experience things like 'barbeque' and 'lawn care'? Tell me, is it true that the greenness of the lawn vegetation determines social status for Humans?"

Tom and Abby wondered what he was talking about. Their lawn had lots of beautiful dandelions; Gemma called them sunshine flowers. Abby loved them; after they were finished blooming they had puffy seeds that you could blow on and make a wish. Her father had once told her that the green leaves of the dandelion were edible, but she was pretty sure he was joking, and besides, sometimes the neighbor's dog peed on them. Yuck.

Prospero closely examined the bathrooms, turning the faucets on and off and flushing the toilet. The faucets were a bit of a reach for his arms, but they were adequate. He looked at the interior of the refrigerator and peered into the cupboards. Prospero even looked under their beds which for some reason made Abby want to laugh.

After touring all the rooms, Prospero produced a small cube from his jeans pocket. "Now, I'll show you the property on Gracchia, in the trade city of Aurelia." He pressed something on the side of the cube, and a three-dimensional image of a topless building leaped out of the cube. The holographic projection was about two feet tall and amazingly detailed. It was like looking down into a dollhouse. "Naturally, the residence has a roof," Prospero hastily added.

The house was oval, like a squashed doughnut, with a courtyard in the center. All the rooms in the house opened into the courtyard area where a fountain splashed. Abby was fascinated to see that she could see water moving in the fountain. For an instant, she almost thought she could see something moving under the water, but that was just silly. Yet the projection was almost like a little movie rather than a still picture. She looked for the bedrooms, trying to pick out which one she'd like to have. One of the small rooms at the back had a flowering bush growing outside a window. Maybe that one would be hers.

"Wow," Tom said. "Look, Dad, you can see right into the rooms. Is this the kitchen?" There was a huge room with a table at one end, and lots of different appliances at the other.

"Our food preparation and storage is simpler than your custom, but that room does function as a kitchen, yes," Prospero said.

The house looked more than adequate; Tom and Abby obviously liked it, and Oliver doubted that he'd find anything better. Plus, this way they wouldn't need to impose on Macready while looking for quarters. A house exchange seemed ideal.

Prospero liked the Ellsworths' house, and he and Oliver easily reached an agreement and arranged a move-in date for Prospero. The three Ellsworths walked him to the door where he put on his small leather jacket, adjusted his cap and hitched up his odd-fitting blue jeans. "There. Now I won't attract attention," he said. Tom wouldn't bet on that. Tom wondered if Prospero had something like diplomatic immunity if the police stopped him.

"Thank you for your kind consideration. I'll take good care of your residence in your absence," Prospero said. "It has a good aura."

"Next weekend will be our last," Dad said to Prospero at the door. "Would you like to have dinner with us on Saturday evening? We can go over any last minute details, I can give you a set of keys, and I know the children will have questions they like to ask. Bring some friends, if you'd like."

"Sharing of food!" Prospero exclaimed with obvious pleasure. "I'd be honored." He formally shook hands with each of them, put on a pair of goggles, and walked to the driveway where he'd parked his small motorbike. He drove off down the street with only a slight grinding of gears.

"Uh, Dad?" Tom said.

"Yes?" Dad was looking absentmindedly at the receding bike.

"What are we going to serve? And do you think that Mr. Prospero is going to invite a lot of friends?"

"Hmm. He mentioned wanting to go to a barbeque. We'll just throw some things on the grill-- fish, chicken, lots of vegetables. They're omnivores, like us, so we'll have a good variety," Dad said.

"Omnivores means they eat everything," Tom helpfully pointed out to his sister.

"I knew that," Abby lied. Sometimes Tommy could be kind of a show-off. "Daddy, can I make something for the barbeque?"

"Sure, honey," Dad replied, his mind still elsewhere.

Abby was happy. She'd create a new recipe just for the occasion. Since Mr. Prospero looked a bit like a bear, maybe she'd make something with gummy bears in it.

Tom wondered if his father remembered his sister's other experiments in the kitchen. He thought that maybe they were a reaction to too much healthy food. The pancakes with chunks of bubblegum. The sticky clumps of spaghetti with chopped dill pickles. Not to mention the pineapple and mayonnaise salad. Ugh. The memory of this last dish made Tom shudder. He was pretty sure his father didn't remember.

=============

The last full week on Earth was extremely eventful for Abby and Tom. The final day of school was especially memorable as the reality of their departure sunk in. They would not be starting school again in the fall with their classmates. Tom's friends spent most of the day in idle speculation about aliens and strange planets. Secretly, most of them were glad they weren't going. Talking about aliens was one thing, but actually meeting them was another. The one person who truly wanted to go was Tom's best friend Doug. The other guys were great, but Tom knew he was really going to miss Doug. By the end of the day, most of Tom's friends had managed to shake his hand or at least punch his shoulder goodbye. Even Braxton Winkler had said goodbye. Braxton was the class bully, and Tom had fought a running battle with him since the third grade. Still, he would miss even old Braxton, the creep. Braxton punched Tom's shoulder a little too hard in farewell.

Abby and her two closest friends spent a great deal of the last day of school in tears. Whenever one of them would recover, they would look at the others and begin crying again. The drama of one of their friends 'leaving forever' was quite pleasurable.

===========

The day of the barbeque arrived. Oliver wasn't sure how many friends Prospero was going to bring. Probably two or three, he thought. But just to be on the safe side, he'd make plenty of food. They had to clear out the deep freeze anyway so he'd grill all the meat, and he and the kids could eat the leftovers until they left on the following Friday.

Abby, rummaging around in the freezer, came across a large package of frozen bread dough, three loaves, whole wheat. She thought it would make a splendid base for her special dish. She insisted on having the kitchen to herself so the dish would be a surprise. Oliver, too late, remembered some of her other culinary explorations. Yet he couldn't possibly stop her from making something now; it might hurt her feelings, and Oliver would rather choke down a double serving of bubblegum pancakes than risk that.

Tom was delegated to mow the lawn. He comforted himself with the thought that they probably wouldn't have a lawn on Gracchia.

A little before five o'clock, an enormous blue Stratocar pulled up in the Ellsworths' driveway. Abby, looking out through the front window, was amazed as she saw twenty Gracchus pile out of the doors. Good thing she'd made a lot of gummy bear bread.

"Dad," Abby said, walking into the kitchen, "Prospero is here. He brought a LOT of friends."

Dad, pleased, took off his chef's apron and dried his hands. "Well let's go let them in! Abby, go call your brother downstairs."

He walked to the front door and opened it. Momentarily, Oliver was at a loss for words. The thought flashed through his mind that twenty trick-or-treaters had started five months early. There were maybe two dozen Gracchus on the doorstep, all talking at once. At the back of the group, like a parent, was a tall, very thin figure draped in a purple robe with many chains and amulets hung about its neck. This person had light blond fur and bright blue eyes.

Oliver recovered his aplomb. "Welcome! Please come in." Prospero, he thought, must have invited the whole Gracchus delegation. Oh well. He saw, to his relief, that some of them were carrying bowls of food.

Prospero fought his way to the front of the chattering crowd. "Oliver Ellsworth, my friend!" he exclaimed. "We cement the friendship with the sharing of food!"

Abby and Tom arrived, staring with fascination. "Abby, Tom, show our guests out to the backyard," Dad said.

Abby and Tom led the way through the house. Oliver stood beside the door and greeted each Gracchus filing past. Every one of them paused to shake his hand and introduce himself or herself, sometimes precariously juggling a bowl that seemed too large for small furry hands. Many of the Gracchus had on one or more articles of Human clothing: ties, scarves, belts, shirts.

"Titania," one especially small female said, extending a hand. That hand, Oliver noticed, had a beautiful emerald ring on one of the short fingers.

"Orlando."

"Constable of France." Oliver blinked at that one.

"Echegaray." Ah, they didn't all have Shakespearean names, then, Oliver thought. He'd been wondering if it was a requirement for a post on Earth. Or perhaps Echegaray was from one of Shakespeare's lesser known works.

"Beatrice." Oliver shook her hand and helped her to steady a bowl of what looked like potato salad. Beatrice was wearing a black velvet hat on her furry head and a Christmas wreath around her waist.

"Francottle."

"Tarquin."

Finally all the Gracchus passed. Oliver hoped that he'd be able to remember at least some of their names. The final figure approached, the one in the purple robes with chains and symbols draped about its neck.

"My name is Ebben," the person announced. Up close, Oliver could see that Ebben had a very sharp nose, almost rodentlike, with whiskers trembling at the sides. Oliver recognized Ebben as a member of the Elihu. Little was known about them; they were secretive and superstitious, known to be suspicious of outsiders. Oliver didn't even know if Ebben was a male or female; there were no obvious clues in the clothing or speech.

"Welcome to my home, Ebben," Oliver said hospitably. Unlike the Gracchus, the Elihu didn't want to shake his hand. That was fine with Oliver. He understood that different cultures had different rituals, and some transferred and some didn't.

"I'll proceed to the back premises directly. Prospero assured me that this bar- bee - kew would take place under the open sky." Ebben made a gesture indicating that it would walk around the outside perimeter of the house. "Your house may contain ghosts." Ebben said, and walked away. Ghosts? Not likely in an American suburb, Oliver thought. Perhaps the LMD mistranslated the term, and Ebben hadn't really meant ghosts.

Oliver hurried to catch up with Ebben who was now making its way through some shrubbery at the side of the house. He and Ebben were about the same height, but Ebben was much thinner and seemed to glide between the bushes without touching them at all. Oliver, on the other hand, kept getting his trousers caught on thorns. It was slow going.

They arrived in the back yard, which seemed to be full of Gracchus. Oliver saw Abby and Constable of France talking; she apparently was teaching him how to climb their elm tree. She dragged over a chair and proceeded to climb onto a lower branch; Constable of France, with considerably more difficulty, followed.

Tom was in the middle of a group near the table on the porch which was piled with food brought by the Gracchus. As Oliver grew closer, he could see that they were passing around Tom's trading cards, the cards with the pictures and 'facts' about alien cultures on them. They seemed to be causing the Gracchus great amusement; one would squawk loudly and read aloud a sentence from a card. Then the whole group would start gronking with laughter. None of the Humans had ever seen aliens laugh before, but it was unmistakable. Even Tom was laughing a bit ; he didn't entirely understand the cause, but the merriment was contagious.

"Here's one, here's one!" the Gracchus named Beatrice said, reading from the back of one of the cards " _'Because they are brilliant conversationalists, the Elihu are known around the galaxy as the life of the party_.' Ha! Hahahaha." Beatrice caught sight of Ebben and choked back more laughter. "Sorry, Ebben, but that's almost as funny as believing the Aeris are gentle vegetarians." The rest of the group broke up again into laughter.

After shooting a glare at Beatrice, Ebben lifted his gaze to the horizon, ignoring the rabble.

Prospero hurried forward. "Oliver Ellsworth, my friend, thank you again for the invitation. How can I help?" He took Oliver by the hand as unselfconsciously as a child and drew him into the house.

"Some of the Elihu are all right, but I'm afraid Ebben can be a terrible stick in the wet dirt. We needed him to drive the car, you see; the last time we attempted to drive one of your cars with Beatrice working the pedals and Constable of France steering we met with disaster. I hope you don't mind," Prospero said. At least that answered one question; Prospero had called Ebben 'him.'

Oliver had known countless Humans who were similar in demeanor to Ebben. Of course he didn't mind, and he said as much to Prospero.

"I will need your help in getting out more chairs, though," Oliver said.

"Of course!" Prospero called in a half dozen Gracchus and they wrestled all the kitchen and dining room chairs outside. Then, with Oliver holding up one end of the kitchen table and four Gracchus holding up the other end, they moved the table outside, too.

Abby came inside to take her contribution to the party out of the oven. The bread dough had baked to a crispy golden brown, and tiny gummy bear heads poked out here and there like shy jewels. Perfect! She put it on the cooling rack.

Tom and Abby brought a stack of plates outside. Since their usual tablewear wasn't going to be enough for the group, their father told them to get out the good china from the dining room hutch, too. "After all," Dad said with a smile, "it isn't every day we get dinner guests who have traveled thousands of light years." Tom agreed. He'd never really understood the concept of 'special' plates anyway.

Wilson the cat, ever audacious, joined the noisy party. He circulated among the Gracchus and got a fair amount of attention and petting. But the person who took the greatest interest in Wilson was Ebben the Elihu. He kneeled down and made noises of inquiry at the cat. Wilson tilted his head and reached out a cautious paw to touch the whiskers on Ebben's face, then quickly pulled the paw back. He meowed. Ebben meowed back. This went on for some time until Wilson got bored and wandered off.

Dad finished grilling the chicken which always took forever. The hamburgers, pork chops, and a small amount of fish were already done, waiting on a platter with a cover to keep the flies away. Abby brought out her gummy bear bread creation. Oliver was happy to see it looked fairly edible.

Even with all the chairs outside, there still weren't enough for everyone, so Tom brought out a large blanket for some of the guests to sit on. Everyone filled a plate with much discussion of the food choices and found a place to sit. The blanket was the most popular spot. The Gracchus didn't sit cross-legged but rather sat back on their legs in a sort of modified crouch. Tom thought it looked uncomfortable. Abby was thrilled to see that every one of the Gracchus had taken some of her gummy bear bread. She looked further; even Ebben had taken some! In fact, Ebben had taken some of her bread and a little fish, that was all. He must not be very hungry, Abby thought.

Most of what the Gracchus had brought was slightly weird renditions of Human food. The potato salad, for instance, had ketchup in it. There was a green tossed salad that looked normal but seemed to have maple syrup as a dressing. Tom and Abby's favorite was the bowl of uncooked brownie dough.

Even as everybody began eating, the noise level didn't diminish appreciably. Tom noticed that the Gracchus felt no shyness in eating off others' plates and sharing bites. They didn't try to take any of Ebben's food, however.

Prospero sat next to Oliver at the table. As soon as he sat down, Oliver perceived a problem. He rushed inside and brought out a large armful of books for the Gracchus to sit upon so his chin didn't rest on the table. Oliver ended up bringing out the entire encyclopedia and all the phone books besides to boost all his guests.

Abby finished quickly-- she liked playing with food more than eating it-- and walked over to where Ebben was sitting. "Mr. Ebben--" she began, but got no further.

"Young one," he said, "to use a hierarchical title is offensive to our kind."

Abby was mystified. What in the world did he mean?

Ebben continued, "To use a title in front of my name implies a quasi-unequal paradigm of oppressive modality fostered by a patriarchal hegemony."

Was her LMD not translating properly? Did it not work on the Elihu language?

"Have you been warned of the ghost problems on Gracchia?" Ebben said with a dizzying change of subject.

"Ghost? What ghosts?" Abby asked.

"Ah, I thought not. Even as the Gracchus believe themselves to be lords of the universe, they've not been able to control the seepage at the gates. Ghosts," Ebben said.

Beatrice, the Gracchus who had brought the potato salad, overheard this part and interrupted Ebben before he could elaborate. "Nonsense. Ebben, don't scare the child."

"Scare the child? You consider the truth to be frightening?" Ebben asked, his lip curling.

Abby looked from the Gracchus to the Elihu, wondering what was going on. They couldn't really be talking about ghosts. Could they?

Ebben abruptly turned away, dismissing them. He stalked off in search of more amenable company. Wilson moved in on the Elihu's plate of half-eaten food, sampling the fish with cat-sized bites.

Beatrice waved a hand in the air, brushing away the troublesome Ebben.

"Now, I understand that you made this wonderful carbohydrate masterpiece with the 'gummy bears'?" Beatrice asked Abby, taking her hand and drawing her away from the receding Elihu.

"Yes, I did!" Abby beamed. "But what was Mr. Ebben saying? Are there really ghosts on Gracchia?"

"The Elihu have a long tradition of exaggeration. There's no thing too small for them to worry about," Beatrice said.

"Now, would you explain this thing you call a lawnmower? I have promised Prospero that I would help to maintain the green integrity of your vegetation, and so there's much we must learn."

"C'mon. We'll get Tommy to show you; he's the expert," Abby said.

============

Oliver was glad to see that both Tom and Abby seemed to be at ease with the Gracchus. Sometimes Abby especially could be reserved around strangers. And yet the Gracchus were so friendly and interested in knowing more about Humans, it was hard to see how anyone could be uncomfortable for long around them.

=============

During the big cleanup later that evening, Abby related her odd conversation with Ebben to her Dad.

"He said that I shouldn't call him 'Mr.' because it was a sign of a patriot hedge or something like that," Abby said, putting away the clean silverware. "And then Mr. Ebben said that Gracchia has ghosts coming through the Gate."

"Oh. I wouldn't worry too much about that. He wouldn't walk through the house because it might have ghosts," Dad said.

Tom bagged the trash, three sacks worth. "The Elihu word for ghost is also their word for intruder or trespasser," he said, tying a knot at the top of the last bag.

"How do you know that?" Abby was curious.

Tom shrugged and lifted two of the bags. "Don't know."

"The doctor said that the LMD would operate a little differently in each of us," Dad said, picking up the last bag and opening the door to the garage.

"At any rate, we've nothing to fear from ghosts. And the Gracchus control the Gates; I don't think they'd allow trespassers."

============
Chapter 4

A Day in the Life, Gracchia

===============

The gradually brightening lights-- thousands of little chips-- in her bedroom ceiling and walls woke Abby up on this Thursday morning. She loved their house on Gracchia; and after only a month on this new planet, it already felt like home. Abby was eager to get up; this was the day at school that they were doing their class presentations on Vannevarian Art, and she was really proud of her project. She sprang out of her bed-- part of a large niche in the wall in the Gracchus style-- and began shuffling through her drawers for the right clothes. It was still very cool out and might rain later. This was the season the Gracchus called 'Cool Shyness' which eventually would change to 'Gently Warm Blossom.' They didn't have months, exactly, just change of seasons which all had funny names. Abby pulled out a favorite pink sweater for the cool day.

==============

Just after their arrival on Gracchia, Dad had announced that Tom and Abby would be starting school again in a couple of days. At first, Tom had thought his father was joking. After all, they'd just finished the school year on Earth, and both Tom and Abby were looking forward to summer vacation.

As Dad explained it, there were two things wrong with this assumption: 1) It wasn't summer on Gracchia. When the Ellsworths had arrived, the northern hemisphere (where Aurelia was located) was about sixty days past its winter solstice. In Earth terms, this meant that it was the Gracchian equivalent of February here. 2) The school year didn't exactly follow the same pattern as back in America. The school that Abby and Tom would attend had a month break for the Christmas holidays (Christmas came in early fall here) and otherwise kept a schedule of two months of school, two weeks off, throughout the year.

The seasons on Gracchia, while not being in coordination with those of the other Worlds except by chance, were similar in intensity to Earth seasons since the tilt of the planet's axis was close to the same. Bizarrely, there were still those who thought that all these planetary similarities must be due to pure coincidence.

The Gracchian year was close to the same length as an Earth year; it was longer by about three days. In fact, the length of a year on all of the 256 Worlds was the same to within one percent of each other. Most of the Humans staying for longer than a couple of days on Gracchia simply had an Earth chronometer showing what day and month it was back in their native solar system and used that as an approximate calendar. Humans simply imposed their seven-day week on their lives on Gracchia. It worked as well as anything else; the Gracchus were very relaxed about schedules and clocks. Wristwatches were worn as ornaments from Earth, not as timepieces. Naturally, each of the other species, too, had their own methods for marking time. The Aeris and especially the Elihu liked to divide time down into small increments and maintained a set schedule. The Nawak were more fluid, like the Gracchus. Humans and Vannevar fell somewhere between these two poles.

"In school, you'll meet the other Human children and make friends," Dad had said in a persuasive voice. "And I'll be busy setting up an office." Even before they'd left Earth, Oliver had consulted with Macready here on Gracchia about which educational choices he had for Abby and Tom. Oliver had trusted his friend when Macready wrote that the best school for them right now would be the one run by Miranda Tavish. 'She's sound,' were his words. Back when Macready had been in the Army, 'sound' was high praise. And he'd been right; Oliver thought Ms. Tavish was wonderful.

==============

Faintly, Tom could hear his sister stirring in the bedroom next to his, and he hurried up dressing so he could use the bathroom before her. Abby was always so slow.

The bathroom was one of Tom's favorite parts of the Gracchus house. He had experimented with the controls, and now the lights in the bathroom moved across the walls in shifting lines of light and dark blue; it was like being at the bottom of a swimming pool which was especially fun when he was taking a bath. When Abby was in here, she usually set the light controls to a rose pink, and Dad liked just a normal, boring white light. Tom and Abby had squabbled over which setting to keep with Dad threatening to impose his own choice on all of them until Tom had discovered that the preferences could be keyed to each individual's presence.

Also fun was the toilet. It looked more or less like a normal toilet if a toilet had been carved out of dark granite except for it was dry inside and didn't seem to have an outlet. If Prospero hadn't bothered to mention it, the Ellsworths might have thought it was out of use. After usage, a metal plate came across the opening and an automatic incinerator completely destroyed whatever had been left inside, and then the plate slid back, leaving an immaculate bowl behind. Without his father's knowledge, Tom had tried dropping various objects in the bowl to see what would happen. So far, the toilet had managed to incinerate a tennis ball, an old shoe and a ratty pair of shorts.

Even though the toilet didn't have water, the sink area had a continuous flowing stream. The warmish water came out of a spout, flowed through a small trough, and continued out a drain. Tom didn't know where it went or if somehow the water was recycled. He liked to find these kind of things out. The bath was similar, but on a much larger scale, and it formed a deep pool before draining. As a concession to Human preferences, the bath water could be made hot, though it was the trough that was warmed rather than the water.

In all, it was a most novel bathroom.

Tom did what he needed to do then washed and went into the kitchen for breakfast.

================

"Good morning, Tom," Dad said. He'd laid out placemats and silverware, and three bowls sat next to a pot of burbling oatmeal on the stove.

The kitchen wasn't novel except for the continuously running water in the trough sink. The appliances-- oven, stove, refrigerator and microwave were imported from Earth, adapted to use the Gracchian power supply grid.

"Abby's up?" Dad asked.

Tom nodded. "Bathroom."

"Ah. Help yourself to oatmeal."

Tom spooned a bowlful and added a liberal helping of sweet dried fruit. He declined to top it with verdinger yogurt, one of Dad's favorite discoveries here on Gracchia.

=================

After breakfast, Abby helped her father pack lunches while Tom cleaned up the breakfast things. She made a regular peanut butter sandwich for Tommy but added a few chocolate sprinkles for him when Dad wasn't looking. The bread was good, even if it was whole wheat. It came from a store here in Aurelia, 'Lady Macbeth's Bakery,' owned by a Gracchus. For her own sandwich, Abby used a red jam-- it tasted like orangy cherries- and crumbled a few graham crackers on the jam. Her Dad looked over this concoction with a dubious eye but said nothing. He sliced some Gracchian fruit and cubed some cheese for each of them and added it to their lunch sacks.

The food that the Ellsworths ate on Gracchia was a mixture of imported Human products like the peanut butter and the graham crackers, but also a great deal of the native foods as well. When they'd moved in, the local grocer named Vaux had given Oliver an information pamphlet with the heading 'Be Not Afraid: A Guide to Local Produce.' Vaux, a Vannevar with long black hair and reddish-brown eyes, said he gave the pamphlet to all the Human newcomers since they tended to be wary of strange fruits and vegetables.

Abby reflected that Vaux didn't know her father; she didn't think he'd ever met a kind of produce he didn't like. Every morning, Dad sprinkled some eyetles on his cereal, hot or cold. Abby's private name for eyetles was 'stinkberries.' Even though they were sweet after you bit into them, they smelled horrible, like old cheese. Dad said they were full of 'antioxidants,' but on Earth the imported fruit was too expensive. Now he could have some every day.

=================

"Bye, Dad!" Tom said.

"Bye, Dad. I'll see you this afternoon, " Abby reminded her Dad. He was going to stop by the school to drop off her class research project.

"See you then," Dad waved and closed the door.

Tom and Abby picked up Luke Whipple from next door. Luke and his parents had lived on Gracchia for more than a year, and he went to Ms. Tavish's school, too. Luke was twelve years old and had become Tom's best friend; Abby liked him, too. He'd helped guide them around the first few days.

" 'Bye, Mom!" Luke shouted back through the door at his Mom. Sometimes she tried to kiss him goodbye on the front doorstep. Luke hurried out to join Tom and Abby.

"Hi, guys," Luke greeted them.

"Hi, Luke," Tom said. Abby smiled; Luke was nice.

The street was filled with activity: people of all species walking to work, running errands. Infrequently, one of the brightly colored jellycars would go whirring by. A light fog had rolled in from the Blue Pearl Sea overnight, but the air was turning bright as the sun burned it off and began to shine through, though the coolness remained.

School was a short walk away, too close even to ride their bikes. It was funny in a way to have most of the people in the city on foot, but it felt okay since almost no one was in cars. Abby and Tom could walk almost everywhere in the small city of Aurelia; back on Earth Gemma or Dad had usually driven them. It was nice not to have to wait for an adult when they wanted to go someplace.

The schoolhouse didn't look much like a school as Abby and Tom had know them, and it didn't look like one of the softly rounded Gracchus buildings, either. It looked more like a modern art museum, all glass and angles. The building was saved from coldness by the rosy tint of the glass and stonework and by the large front door made from a dark wood with red undertones. Officially, it was called the Wooster Memorial School and according to Ms. Tavish had been built by the heirs to the Nigel Wooster fortune.

Outside the building, a girl with long, curly dark hair was waiting for them, Sara Vargas. She had a firm grip on the wrist of a small, thin boy: Luis Vargas, younger brother and all-around pain. Luis was nine years old and really should have been in with Clive Staples' class for the younger kids, but he was so intellectually advanced, especially in math, that he was in with the older kids. His social skills hadn't quite caught up with his brain.

"Hi Sara. What's up?" Luke asked.

Sara sighed. "I need you to talk to Luis."

"I just want to check on it!" Luis gritted through clenched teeth. "Let go!"

Sara explained, "Yesterday Kimmy told Luis that if he pulled out forty of his hairs and wrapped them around the seed of a womble fruit then buried it on top of Avoline Hill, the fruit from the new womble bush would make Luis grow taller."

Kimmy was their name for Andrew Kimble, one of the older kids, fifteen.

Abby noticed a small bald spot on the side of Luis' head. It made her think of her patch when she'd had to get the LMD, but Luis had done this to himself.

"I don't know how someone so smart can be so stupid," Sara said. "You'll be late for class if you go to Avoline Hill now anyway."

Luke took mercy on the smaller boy. "C'mon Luis. You know Kimmy was just being a jerk. He was teasing you."

Luis stopped struggling to get free. The opinion of Luke Whipple carried much more weight than the opinion of a big sister. Still, hope died hard. "But what if he's right?"

"Even if something like that was true, do you think Kimmy would know anything about it?" Luke reasoned.

Luis considered this. He wanted to be taller so much that it had caused him to overlook the fact that Kimmy wasn't the brightest student in class. "Probably not," he admitted: the triumph of reason over hope.

"Thanks, Luke," Sara said.

They all went into class.

==============

This morning was devoted to mathematics. Abby and Sara were in the beginning geometry group along with two of the Birnbaum triplets. When Abby and Tom had first started in Ms. Tavish's class, she had given them several placement exams to find out where they were academically. Tom was already in introductory algebra, but Luke was in trigonometry along with Luis and some of the older kids.

Ms. Tavish would call each group up to her desk and go over a new lesson, then the students would return to their desks and work on problems. She encouraged them to try to find a solution themselves before asking for help. Like Nigel Wooster, Ms. Tavish liked to use an old-fashioned chalkboard to present her lessons.

There were two mornings a week devoted exclusively to math. The other blocks of time were given to English, history (mostly Human but also some from the other species), physical and urban geography, chemistry and physics.

At least once a week, there would be a guest lecturer. The two best had been Macready, friend of the Ellsworth family, who had discussed the American Revolutionary War, and Carr Whipple, Luke's Dad, who talked about a play the class was reading, "The Merry Wives of Winsor." Mr. Whipple was a Shakespeare scholar and in fact made his living lecturing among the Gracchus.

For the most part, Ms. Tavish grouped them by ability rather than age, though often the two coincided. To Abby and Tom's surprise, one of the required subjects was learning Gracchian.

"Why do we need to learn Gracchian?" Abby had ventured to ask Ms. Tavish.

"You mean why do you need to learn Gracchian when you already have an LMD?" Ms. Tavish had asked. Abby nodded.

"Well, the first and most obvious answer is that you are illiterate in Gracchian and as such can't understand the richness of the written language. Secondly, pay attention now: What am I saying?" Ms. Tavish uttered some words in Gracchian.

"You said 'I apologize,'" Abby said.

"I heard, 'I nakedly apologize,'" Tom said.

"What I actually said was, 'I shave my fur,' " Ms. Tavish said. "That's how the Gracchus express an apology." Abby giggled.

Ms. Tavish smiled. "The LMD gives the meaning, but not the true flavor of the language. And so that's why it's a good idea to truly know it, not just have an approximate idea. You'll understand the Gracchus and their culture better."

Once again, Tom's LMD had picked up a little more meaning than Abby's had, just as back on Earth when he had understood the Elihu word 'ghost' also encompassed the concept of 'intruder.' Language was slippery.

Tom and Abby had already learned the basic Gracchian alphabet-- twenty characters, but some of them changed pronunciation if there was a little * above the letter-- and they'd begun to read primer books. These were very simple, like preschoolers would use; they had a word printed out in Gracchian, then a picture above of the object. Having an LMD while learning Gracchian more deeply sometimes got in the way, but mostly it helped.

The smaller kids in Mr. Staples' class studied Gracchian too, and in fact picked the new language up quicker than the older students, Luke had told them. "At least we're still kids," he'd added. "The adults seem to have the hardest time like their brains get ossified or something."

================

Abby was glad when lunchtime came. Math was okay, and at least it was a lot easier to understand when Ms. Tavish explained something compared with some of her teachers back on Earth, but still it was hard to concentrate on geometry for an entire morning. She couldn't believe Tommy was doing algebra already, even though he'd always been better at math than she. He'd shrugged it off. "It's clear to me, that's all."

Lunch at the Wooster Memorial School was an informal affair. The eighteen younger kids in Mr. Staples class went first because the kitchen/ dining area couldn't hold all the students at once. The dining area consisted of a long refectory table and a galley-style kitchen area with a large refrigerator and a couple of microwaves. Ms. Tavish and Mr. Staples always kept a few basics on hand, 'Mr. Staples' staples,' as they were called, for any kids who forgot their lunches or simply needed more food: fruit, bread and peanut butter, canned soup. The littler kids didn't do such a great job of cleaning up; they left the long table sticky with little handprints and smears of peanut butter.

The students could also go outside. There was only one picnic table out under the trees, but there was plenty of room on the grass and stone benches. This day in early spring was bright and beautiful; the fog from earlier that morning had burned off completely and the sky was clear so most of the kids opted to go outside. The grass was still damp, though, and Abby, Tom and Luke found an empty bench to sit and eat their lunches. Sara, followed by Luis, joined them. Five people on one bench was a bit crowded, but no one wanted to get wet on the grass.

"Are you guys done with your projects?" Luis mumbled, mouth full of sandwich.

Tomorrow a Vannevar artist was unveiling her latest creation, and Ms. Tavish's class was taking a field trip to see it. In preparation for the expedition, Ms. Tavish had given out a special assignment: everyone was to study some aspect of Vannevarian art and give a presentation in front of the class. Those projects were what Luis was asking about. Since the Vannevar considered every facet of life to be a possible canvas for art, the subject matter was plentiful.

"Keep it simple," Ms. Tavish had warned. "There is enough material for several lifetimes of study for entire universities. Art is the lens that the Vannevar use to view the world, and I want you to have some idea of how art affects their everyday lives. Choose just a simple aspect of it; don't pick a field like 'painting' or 'sculpture.' Those categories are too broad and they're more Earth-oriented than Vannevarian."

"I finished mine last night," Luke answered Luis. " Vannevar sports."

"That's not art," Luis said.

"It is to the Vannevar. Everything is to them, if you approach it the right way. Have you ever seen a really great baseball pitcher or runner? Even on Earth, that's a kind of art. The Vannevar just approach it more seriously."

"Luis, what did you do?" asked Abby. She'd finished her jam sandwich and was nibbling on the sliced fruit.

"Mathematics." Of course. "They have some really elegant mathematics."

"Elegant?" said Tom.

"It's a mathematical term," Luis said with a superior air.

"Abby, what did you finally choose?" Sara said, brushing crumbs off her lap.

"Food." Also of course. "I even made some kish-kish stew. Dad's going to bring it later."

Ms. Tavish came out onto the back steps and called them back inside for afternoon class.

===============

Tom went first. Originally, he had wanted to do a presentation on the Vannevars' attempts to control the weather, but this didn't offer much material since the attempts had been very short-lived. (There had been a couple of instances of catastrophic flooding). Instead, Tom's report focused on the influence of weather (uncontrolled) on Vannevarian music. There were Vannevar artists who composed pieces exclusively from the sounds and sights of storms moving across the great plains of their homeworld.

"These compositions weren't simply about what the audience could hear," he told the class, "but also could include flashes of lightning and showers of rain as a part of the music. When a new piece of music came out, audiences were advised what to wear, including what color clothing would best suit the purpose of the artist."

Tom had brought a large piece of sheet metal to class, one of the instruments that a Vannevar composer might use to simulate the sound of thunder. He shook it, and it made a convincing rumble. He had also brought along a super-soaker squirtgun for the rain effect, but Ms. Tavish said that it was unnecessary; they all understood the idea.

Sara told the history of kite flying on Vannevara. "The Vannevar don't call them kites. Their term for them is 'sky flowers,' and some of their artists have become famous for them," said Sara. She had made her own Vannevarian sky flower as an exhibit. It was truly beautiful, made of many shades of violet ribbons trailing from a gossamer cage.

Two of the older students, sisters named Shasta and McKinley Wannaker, had studied the Vannevarian art of face-painting, and Shasta demonstrated the art on her sister's face. The result was striking; McKinley looked more like a Vannevar than any of them would have believed possible with purple/red lips and amazingly elongated eyes. The Vannevars were the closest in looks to Humans anyway, and with the makeup and her naturally long, dark hair, McKinley looked like another species.

Abby went last as arranged. Just when she was starting to get nervous, her Dad tapped at the door of the classroom and poked his head around. He waggled his fingers at Abby, and she walked to the door and took the pot of kish-kish stew from him. He'd even remembered to bring the little paper cups and wooden spoons for the tasting.

"Thanks, Dad! You're the best," she whispered.

He kissed her cheek, waved at Ms. Tavish, and left.

Abby had found out that Vannevar cooking was a subject of serious disagreement. Hundreds of years before, duels had broken out between two warring camps of chef artists, the Utilitarians and the Sybarites. The history was long and complicated, but from what Abby could tell, the Utilitarians mostly confined themselves to eating root vegetables and other healthy things, and the Sybarites ate anything that stood still long enough and tasted good. The beliefs of each side offended the other. The issue had never truly been resolved, but most of the Vannevar people had moved on. Today, there were echoes of the long-ago Food Wars in the two major branches of Vannevarian cooking, or as they called it, Food Art. One side concerned itself with fulfilling nutritional needs sparingly and with little pleasure, the other, larger branch included all the spicy, elaborate and aesthetically complex foods that were traditionally thought of as Vannevarian. Abby decided that she liked this branch much better.

As part of her report, she made a large pot of kish-kish stew, made from Gracchian verdinger meat but seasoned with authentic Vannevarian spices that she'd bought from Vaux's Grocery. Dad had tried a bite after she'd finished it last night and expressed the hope that her schoolmates didn't think she was trying to kill them. The kish-kish stew was ferociously hot.

Abby explained the long-ago schism between the two camps and gave examples of food from each school of thought. At first, she was nervous about being in front of the class and her voice was a bit shaky. But after she warmed up to the topic, it was just like speaking to her friends, and she lost her momentary shyness.

"Kish-kish stew is a typical food of the Vannevar, complex and spicy" Abby concluded. "If you'd like to try it, I've made a batch." Abby gave a sample to Ms. Tavish and set out the paper cups and spoons for everyone else. The class left their desks and filed to the front for a taste. "It's really hot," she warned them.

Fortunately, the school's kitchen had a running water trough-type sink. The problem was that only a few people could use it at a time. Fred Birnbaum was the hardest hit by the burning stew; he simply poised his open mouth below the stream of water and let it rinse for about a minute. The only ones who seemed unaffected were Sara and Luis who didn't understand what all the fuss was about, and Tom, who hadn't taken any.

"Very good, Abby," Ms. Tavish said with a weak smile, eyes watering. "I see that you used the maximum amount of recommended spices: perhaps a bit strong for our tastes."

She cleared her throat and continued, "Now that you have had a sampling of the Vannevarian arts, let me tell you what they consider to be the highest art: that of negotiation."

"Like Dad!" Abby whispered to Tom.

"Negotiation is a broad term, and the Vannevar divide it into two classifications: the common, everyday form, and the high form, practiced by a few superb artists to negotiate treaties or even terms of war between nations, between cultures. They've done great work for the Gracchus," Ms.Tavish lectured. "I would encourage you to study their work further."

Neither Tom nor Abby could imagine that the Gracchus ever went to war with anyone. They were too small and furry for war.

Andrew Kimble raised his hand.

"Yes, Andrew?"

"But the Vannevar are dueling all the time. I know; I've seen them."

Ms.Tavish laughed. "That's just the negotiators at play. It's rarely serious."

===============

"I told everyone that it was hot," Abby said indignantly as she walked home with Tom and Luke. She felt like a poisoner.

"There's hot like a sidewalk in summertime, then there's hot like a nuclear bomb," Tom pointed out.

"True. But did you see the look on Wooly's face?" Luke said. "I thought he was going to cry." John Woolsey, aka 'Wooly,' was one of the older students and very good looking.

"No he wasn't!" Abby defended Wooly. At least now he knew she existed.

"Anyway, school today was fun," said Luke, deflecting the course of the conversation.

"And tomorrow's the field trip," Tom added.

================

After Abby and Tom left for school, Oliver spent a little time tidying the house and getting ready for work. He fiddled with the lights in the bathroom before reverting to his usual plain white light. Still, it was fun to play around with them a bit. In truth, Oliver was enjoying the novelty of the foreign house. He'd even tried putting an old sock in the toilet, just to see if it incinerated completely, and it did. Couldn't tell Tom or Abby, though. Being a father meant setting a good example. Thank goodness he didn't wreck the toilet; he wasn't sure how he'd explain that one.

He took a bath; Oliver was still getting used to baths rather than showers. On the whole, he thought he preferred showers. Yet at least for now, he had the leisure for baths. Business was still slow; arbitration was a matter of reputation and trust and it took a while to become established. The best advertisement was word of mouth, and he knew that things would pick up.

================

Oliver was able to walk to his office. Both Tom and Abby had been a little shocked at having to walk everywhere, he knew, but Oliver was enjoying it immensely.

His office was located on a small side street near the central business district. Unlike the retail shops, it didn't need to attract the walk-by business, yet had to be near the trading areas, convenient for his clients. On the way to his office, Oliver walked through the commercial district. Many of the larger two-story buildings housed an amazing assortment of businesses. One honey-colored building had more than a dozen tenants, including a bookstore with the latest in Earth literature, a 'Hot Drinks!' shop, a clothing store that seemed to be for Vannevars with a great deal of rich velvet in the windows, and what was probably a toy store, although it might have been a home décor center.

Oliver stopped by the bookstore. He had become friendly with the proprietor, an elderly Gracchus named Bob.

"Ah, let me guess, my friend," Bob said as Oliver came through the door. "You want the latest adventures of the Lady Marissa!" Bob brandished a book that showed an astonishingly well-endowed woman clutched in the embrace of a pirate. The book had been a runaway bestseller on Earth and was doing well on Gracchia.

"Or perhaps you seek to know the further exploits of Flint Razor?" Flint Razor was an independently wealthy international crime fighter. This book cover had a steely-eyed hero standing in front of what appeared to be an exploding bomb with a beautiful woman clutching the hero's bulging shoulder, seemingly unaware of imminent atomization. The Gracchus had eagerly read the works of Shakespeare, but they also had a taste for some of the lighter literature from Earth.

"I think I'm going to have to pass on both of those," Oliver said. "I think I know how they're going to end."

"Ah, you've read them already?"

"Not exactly. But I do need your help," Oliver said.

"Problems in love?"

This time, Oliver laughed. "No, no. I need to get some business cards printed to give out at the trade shows." Oliver got out his wallet and rummaged around. There. An old card from his job back on Earth. "Like this, only with my Aurelia address on it." Oliver scribbled his new office address and business name on the back.

Bob took the card and gently flexed it back and forth. "Good stock, non-dissolving. Yes, I could make facsimiles of this. You give them to others to keep in the money pouch?"

"Exactly. Then when and if they need my services, my name and address are there to remind them."

"Do you have the patent on this idea?" Bob asked.

Oliver smiled. "No. Many people on Earth use them."

Bob was excited. "This could be a big seller. You don't mind if I market the concept?"

"Please do. I'll stop in tomorrow, then?"

"Wonderful," Bob said. As Oliver left the shop, Bob gave him an absentminded wave of the hand. He was already designing cards on a spare piece of paper.

=================

The sign on Oliver's office door read "Ellsworth Arbitration. Trade Disputes Resolved." The message was repeated in different languages down the length of the door. There were sweet-smelling flowering shrubs in pots along the front of the building. Here on the street, the captured warmth made plants bloom more than a month before they would in the open field. His landlord was a Gracchus named Flora, and the name suited her; she had a marvelously green thumb.

============

Oliver had found this office with only a little difficulty. During the first week that the Ellsworths had been on Gracchia, Oliver had inquired in several buildings about vacancies, but all had been unsuitable for one reason or another: One had been located above a Vannevarian restaurant with spicy odors so strong Oliver's eyes had watered. Others had been too large or too small. In one strange case, Oliver had the distinct feeling that the landlord hadn't liked him for no discernable reason. Maybe the landlord didn't like Humans, maybe he was just having a bad day. No way of telling, so no use fretting over it.

The first place he had entered in this charming small building was a shop with charts all over the walls. There were dark coverings on the windows, and the only light came from a yellow globe hanging from the ceiling. A tall, thin Elihu was seated at the sole table. "You desire prognostication? Odds on the next Bonebreaker Race?" His whiskers quivered.

Was this a bookie's office? "Uh, no, sorry. I'm wondering if you know if there are any available offices in this building?" Oliver asked.

"Mere commerce doesn't offer the essence of chance. I'd suggest you try the woodworker," the Elihu said, not discourteously.

"Thank you," Oliver said as he turned to leave.

On impulse, he turned back. This was the first Elihu he'd spoken with since meeting Ebben on Earth. "Uh. Have there been any problems with 'ghosts'?"

The Elihu waved a thin hand. "Ghosts and rumors of interlopers." He turned away, dismissing Oliver. Oliver left.

Oliver had noticed a furniture maker in this same building. That must be what the Elihu meant by woodworker. But what in the world did the Elihu mean by ghosts? And what was the Bonebreaker Race? Oliver sighed.

The woodworker was a small, dark-furred Gracchus. She was in the middle of beveling a table's edge with a hand tool. Oliver looked around her shop while she finished; the place was filled with tables and chairs of all sizes, made with exotic wood with swirled, burled patterns. Or at least they looked exotic to a Human, but for all Oliver knew, these gorgeous woods grew like weeds down at the local vacant lot. He'd need a desk for his office; Oliver discreetly checked out the prices on the tables.

The Gracchus finished and dusted her hands off. Oliver introduced himself, explained that he was looking for an office and told her what kind of business he did.

"This.....arbitration? It doesn't involve duelling, does it?"

"Heavens no. I work impartially to solve trade problems. Without violence or lawyers," Oliver explained. He knew Gracchia had laws-- as any civilization did-- but he doubted that any planet had quite the profusion of lawyers of his home planet.

"Good. The Vannevar have a tendency to solve little problems with duels, you know. Even in fun, it gets tiresome."

Oliver didn't know. There was a lot he didn't know.

"Anyway, I do have a space available. My name is Flora; this building belongs to my family-clan," the Gracchus said.

She led Oliver out to the sidewalk and to the end of the building. "The space is off to the side; it's not a wonderful location for a shop, but perhaps it would be adequate for your needs." Flora showed him the door and added, "Take a look inside, see if it agrees with you. I'll be back in my shop."

Oliver opened the door into an elongated room. It had a single, large window looking out onto the street on its short side, then the room extended back with a series of small windows up high on the wall to let the light enter. The place was stark; the walls were unrelieved white and the floor made of dark stone. It put Oliver in mind of a monastery cell. Still, despite the lack of comforts, he thought it would do. And it had a small bathroom in the back. Oliver envisioned a few rugs, a bit of color on the walls, a nice desk made by Flora. He'd also need some furniture for his clients who might range in height from four feet to seven feet tall and whose weight would vary even more dramatically. Again, he could undoubtedly get advice from Flora.

================

Now, almost a month after meeting Flora and finding this place, Oliver opened his office door and looked around with pleasure. When he had first seen the office, he hadn't understood that the walls were embedded with the same tiny light chips as were in his house. With a simple push of a button, the walls were illuminated with a soft peach light that took away the starkness of the white paint. The floors had coverings made out of plaits of woven grasses. Oliver's desk was one of the tables he'd seen in Flora's shop, made of a warm, swirled chestnut colored wood. Flora had said that it came from an Albeartus tree.

Oliver sat at his gorgeous desk and looked at the case he was currently working on. He was confident it was close to a resolution:

=============

DANEGOLD AND HONORABLE

Name: Dannar Ericsson

Business: Danegold Trading Co. (Human)

Item in dispute: 1000 Cases Pickled Herring in Sour Cream

......................

Name: Cynwulf

Business: Honorable Trading Co. (Nawak)

Item in dispute: 10 Modified Hydrogen Fuel Cells

......................

Summary: The hydrogen fuel cells need never be opened; they are designed to work as a closed system. The Nawak have included a detonator inside the fuel cell that will explode if the unit is forced open. Ericsson says that having an explosive device inside the cell will violate import laws. Cynwulf says that Ericsson knew about the devices before agreeing to the deal and is trying to get the explosives removed so that engineers on earth can copy the Nawak fuel cell design.

Note: Cynwulf destroyed an electronic notebook belonging to Ericsson during the dispute. The Nawak have acknowledged this and have agreed to reimburse Ericsson for the cost of the notebook or deliver an equivalent replacement.

===============

Oliver spent the rest of the morning researching the European import laws. It seemed likely that Ericsson had a point, but he could not blame Cynwulf for wanting to protect their technology. Perhaps the Nawak could be persuaded to swap the explosive detonator for a tiny molecular de-bonder--of course, they were all tiny, they didn't work on a large scale. This could get around the European ban on explosives import while still satisfying Cynwulf. The problem was that molecular de-bonders were more expensive than the detonators and thus Ericsson would have to pay more of the herring. Still, the fuel cells would be a bargain and there was no equivalent to them on Earth. They'd fetch a good price. He'd go to Ericsson later and present this proposal to him.

Then Oliver realized that he had better hurry if he was to get the incendiary kish-kish stew to school on time for Abby's presentation. He rushed home, picked up Abby's project and sped to the classroom.

================

Walking back to his office from the Wooster Memorial School, Oliver reflected that Ms. Tavish was a very attractive woman. Maybe he'd ask Macready if she was seeing anyone.

================

When Abby and Tom got home, there was a note on the counter from their Dad: "Please stop by Vaux's market for vegetables and coffee. Thanks, Love Dad." Then there was an addendum: "Scoop out the litterbox NOW!" This week, that was Tom's job.

Abby walked along the curving corridor to Tom's room and knocked on his door.

"Tommy, Dad wants you to scoop Wilson's box!" she shouted through the door.

"Okay, I'll do it later!" Tom yelled back.

"I'm going to Vaux's. Want to come?"

"No, thanks. Wait!" Tom cracked his door. "Would you get some of the crezzle nuts?" Crezzle nuts were a favorite of the Aeris and of Tom, extremely salty. Vaux's market carried them.

"Sure. I'll be back in a bit." Abby grabbed a sack and left.

===============

Tom hurriedly scooped and bagged the waste from the litterbox. He dumped the bag into the regular Human toilet, and as usual it incinerated everything without a blip. Tom wondered if Wilson could be taught to use the toilet directly. Probably not, but it would be nice.

After doing the necessary chore, Tom heard a knocking at the door. That would be Luke; he'd promised to come over and tell Tom all about the Bonebreaker Race, one of the best and most exciting events held all year.

============
Chapter 5

Interlude

History of the Bonebreaker Race

================

Luke was one of those who had seen last year's Bonebreaker Race, of course. He hadn't actually been in the race because his father regarded it as too rough for a kid but told Luke that he could be in it when he turned fifteen. This was almost too far away to contemplate.

"It's hard to describe," Luke said. "The Bonebreaker Race is all about who gets the most points, but not just from speed. The teams can also win points for crossing barriers and solving puzzles along the way, as well as trying to hit as many checkpoints as possible. It's like a huge parade trying to move as quickly as possible at the start. Then later it's kind of like a scavenger hunt with the teams trying to find stuff. You might not even see all of the contestants at every checkpoint; they try to hit all of them, but you can miss a point and still have enough points to win the race, as long as you finish with your staff."

"Staff? What staff?" Tom said.

Luke followed Tom into the kitchen. Tom hoped that he could find something edible for them.

"Each of the teams is issued a ceremonial staff, about this long," Luke held his arms out shoulder width. "They use the same staffs every year, each one looks different. They each have a history attached-- some are regarded as lucky, stuff like that. "

Luke continued, "You can't win the race if you don't have your staff. So naturally, the other teams are going to try to take away the staff if they can."

"What did you mean when you said there was a scavenger hunt?" Tom asked, rooting around in the cooler. Ugh: soybeans in the shell. Where did his Dad find this stuff?

"The teams get extra credit for things they try to gather during the race, things that are on a list they get at the start."

"What kind of things?" Tom said. He discovered a loaf of not too old raisin bread. It might not be half-bad with some melted cheese.

"Oh, maybe like a red wool hat, for instance, or a green and orange fuzzy caterpillar or a ring with a square-cut gem. I've read that once a team bribed a judge to get the list of scavenger items before the race. Everyone knew they'd cheated since they arrived at the finish line with all the stuff that was on the list. No one else ever gets everything," Luke said.

Tom was indignant. "Were they disqualified?"

"Oh no, cheating and bribery happen all the time, and there's always the other team trying to take the other team's staff, if they can. Some checkpoints are just a simple scan-- the contestants are digitally identified as they pass through, but some of the checkpoints will include riddles, and if the contestants figure them out, they'll get extra points. Naturally, some of the contestants try to get the puzzles ahead of time," Luke explained. "It's just part of the game."

"Is there anything that _isn't_ allowed?" Tom asked, slicing the cheese and arranging it on the raisin bread.

"You can't actually hurt any of the other teams. That is, they can't cause bodily injury. I've read that in the early years of the contest, almost anything short of killing someone was okay, and sometimes they got really bloody. There really were broken bones in those races, lots of them. It happens now, too, but it's an exception. But trying to slow down other teams is allowed. One year one of the Aeris teams laid out a huge mud pit. They were able to scoot over it with a pulley system they'd set up ahead of time, but the other teams got bogged down in mud up to their knees. Or whatever body part they have instead of knees." Luke took the pieces of bread and put them in the microwave to melt the cheese.

"Did the Aeris team win? The one that made the mud pit?" Tom said.

Luke shook his head. "Several of the other teams made an alliance. Some of them managed to imprison the Aeris team in a cave until the race was over. That's pretty rare, though; mostly, it's every team for itself."

"Is there anyone who _doesn't_ cheat?" Tom wanted to know.

"Oh, sure. The Gracchus teams are pretty honorable. And so are the Nawaks, mostly. There are also the traps; sometimes the people who put the race together put out false clues before the race. There was one year when a mixed team of Aeris and Nawaks paid a huge bribe to get the checkpoint list ahead of time. The only problem was that the list was completely a fake and the team headed out into the wilderness and was gone for the day."

The microwave bell dinged and Tom took out the raisin bread bubbling with cheddar.

"I wish we could be on a team, Human kids, I mean" Tom sighed. Luke would be on a team when he was fifteen. Tom wondered if he would still be on Gracchia by that time.

"Me, too," Luke agreed. A race that involved speed, brains and ruthlessness. What could be more fun?

==============

In Human history, the first marathon runner was a man named Pheidippides. He ran 26.2 miles at his best speed from the battlefield of Marathon to the city of Athens to carry the message of Athenian victory over the Persians. This news probably prevented a civil uprising by some Athenians who were in cahoots with the Persians. After delivery of his message, Pheidippides fell down dead. Modern Humans ran the distance for fun.

The Bonebreaker Race also had its origin in the wars of Gracchia's past. During one particularly nasty conflict, a unit of Gracchus Blues had been airdropped behind the battlefront to destroy a weapons storage facility. The building was shielded and could not be damaged with aerial bombs. But after the troops had successfully fought their way inside the building, it was revealed to be a lab for advanced, experimental weaponry rather than a storage facility as they'd believed. And the intrusion of foreign troops had triggered a self-destruction sequence. The warning horns started shrieking, and the building's lights began to flash like strobes. On the run out of the building, one enterprising soldier grabbed a sheaf of blueprints off a table, rolled them up and shoved them into a rucksack as she exited the building.

The blast caught the Blues as they were still within shouting distance of the weapons lab. Of the twenty soldiers, four were killed outright, and two more died even as their comrades were attempting to staunch their gushing wounds. Of the remaining fourteen troopers, three could not walk unassisted, and no one was undamaged. They knew they would never make it to the rendezvous point in time for pickup, and their communication relay was utterly smashed.

The story of how eight of the troopers made it back through enemy lines with the weapons specs, six of the group dying along the way, was the foundation of the Bonebreaker Race. The weapons blueprints that the soldiers had purchased dearly with blood and pain were the key that won the war.

Few non-Gracchus knew the historical origins of the race, nor knew that the ceremonial staff given to each team represented the rolled-up blueprints. For most, it was just a great, rough-and-tumble competitive event.

=================

The next Bonebreaker Race would be held a little less than two months from now. The Gracchus scheduled it as the last big event of the Springtime, in the season of Full Bloom. Interest in the race was always so great even among the Humans that Ms. Tavish scheduled a holiday on the big day and the day after, too, for recovery.

Tom was eager to see his first Bonebreaker Race; even though Abby wasn't all that interested in sports, he knew that she'd want to hear about it, too.

==============

# Chapter 6

A Day in the Life, Continued

================

Abby liked going to Vaux's market. She wasn't particularly sorry that Tommy didn't come along, but she would have liked Sara's company. On Thursday afternoons, Sara usually helped out her Mom in the family's restaurant, House of Fire.

Vaux's grocery store was about as far from the Shop-n-Save back on Earth as Abby could imagine. The only thing that might tell a visitor that it was a grocery was the large sign outside that announced simply 'FOOD' in six different languages.

Abby didn't know it, but the store had been designed by a famous artist, a Vannevar architect named Vaudi. The building itself appeared to be melting. The windows drooped as did the glass in them. The second story balcony gracefully curved downward at its midpoint, and the eaves of the roof looked like they'd been left too long in the hot sun. The entire building except the drooping roof was covered in thousands of mosaic tiles that sparkled and winked. Luke had said that you could see pictures in the tiles if you looked the right way, but Abby hadn't seen anything yet, and Luke wouldn't tell her what the pictures were.

This afternoon, Abby paused for a moment outside the store and squinted at the walls, but she still couldn't see anything except for the sparkle.

"Hello young buckaroo," Vaux greeted her in English as she walked in the door. He liked to practice his English on the Human customers. Today Vaux had chosen to wear a ten-gallon cowboy hat along with a subdued outfit of green velvet jacket and shimmering scarlet pants. Earth-produced velvets were particularly popular with the Vannevar right now, supplanting the Aeris gossamer-light fabrics that had previously been all the rage. The Aeris weren't happy about the change, but fashion was fickle.

"Hi Vaux," Abby said. She opened her sack and began browsing. As usual, the store had a good number of customers inside: mostly Vannevars and Humans, but also a sprinkling of Gracchus and Aeris and a Nawak picking out some bread.

The store was jammed with goods arranged more for artistic effect than efficiency. Sometimes Vaux grouped things together by color. Today, all the fruits and vegetables were arranged on a slowly moving conveyor belt, and there was music in the background. A sort of conga line moved in front of Abby: eggplant, onion, red pepper, strange red orbs, mangelwurzels, broccoli, broccoli again, grapes, blue turnips, lettuce, stinkberries, whortlefruit. As she watched the display, there was a shift in the music. The fruits and vegetables moved backwards for a few beats, then resumed going forward.

As the line moved by, Abby plucked out lettuce and a green pepper. Then she also chose one of the strange round red vegetables (or was it a fruit?). Dad would be happy that she had found something new. She wandered around the store until she came upon the coffee, the blue cans arranged in a pyramid. After looking for a while but not finding them, she asked Vaux where the crezzle nuts were.

"Right this way, varmint," Vaux said. Sounded like Vaux had been watching old movies from Earth. That was one way to learn English, Abby supposed.

Vaux had put the crezzle nut bags in a front window display. The bags had been clustered together, and a toy cowboy on a plastic horse watched over them. It appeared that the crezzle nuts had been rounded up, maybe for a rodeo, maybe just to keep them safe from wolves. Abby thanked Vaux and picked out a bag for Tommy. Vaux moved the other bags in to fill in the gap.

Vaux made a note of what Abby had purchased; next time Oliver was in, Vaux would charge Oliver's spike.

"I like the line of moving vegetables, Vaux," Abby said as she prepared to leave. "I think you should keep it."

"Many thanks, ma'am," Vaux said with a tip of the hat. Then he said in Vannevarian, "Not only has the display filled my higher aesthetic needs, but vegetable sales are up. Beauty and commerce together. It is a happy arrangement." The Vannevar language was full of trills and whistles. It sounded happy to Abby's ear.

Abby walked home with a light step. She loved going to the store.

=============

When Abby got home, Tom showed her a message they'd received in their 'whirlibox,' as Mrs. Whipple liked to call the device because the machine made a whirring, bripping sound when it was printing. Luke had already left to run some errands for his Mom.

The whirlibox was originally used by the Gracchus to project three-dimensional representations of a messenger for long distance communications. They had modified the machine for Humans' use to send and receive written messages. Telephones had never caught on with the Gracchus; they still used the whirliboxes. Besides, modern telephone systems required satellites, something the Gracchians would never permit. The whirlibox also acted as a news service, though not of the kind Humans were familiar with. The Ellsworths hadn't yet had much experience with the news function.

This message was from Prospero back on Earth. They received some communication from him every few days, sometimes just to tell the Ellsworths what he was doing on Earth, but more often to ask them questions or answer theirs. The messages couldn't travel across thousands of light-years, naturally; that would take, quite literally, eons. Instead, messages going to and from Earth were electronically stored on capsules that were attached to the freight going through a Gate. After the cargo had gone through, the message was re-transmitted on the Earth side to the recipient. It wasn't super quick, but it worked.

Prospero's message was chatty. Gemma had taken him water-skiing. Prospero hadn't particularly cared for it. He wrote, 'The combination of moving quickly across a large expanse of water while getting spray in my face was not pleasant. In fact, I became quite nauseated.'

"Poor Prospero," Abby said as she read the message.

"He's probably too small and close to the water," guessed Tom.

Prospero concluded, 'I am taking care of your lawn and cut it to regulation height yesterday. Please put some fish from Gruben in the courtyard pool.'

Then as an afterthought, 'How are your studies of Gracchian going? Let me know when I can write to you in my native language.' He signed it "Prospero" in phonetic Gracchian. Abby and Tom could just puzzle out the characters.

"Why do you suppose he wants us to put fish in the pool? And who is Gruben? Maybe he owns a shop that sells fish," Abby answered her own question.

Tom said, "I'll bet the fish eat the algae and help keep it clean. Or maybe he wants us to have them as decoration. We'll ask Luke. He knows everything about Gracchia."

==============

That afternoon, Oliver spoke with both of the participants in his current arbitration case. Cynwulf the Nawak trader was agreeable to the solution that Oliver proposed. Dannar Ericsson was a bit more difficult to persuade, but as Oliver was talking to him in the Human's office, the replacement notebook for the one the Nawak had destroyed arrived. This seemed to make the Human more amenable, and by mid-afternoon, Oliver had closed the deal. With an arbitration fee of one percent of the value of the deal, to be paid equally by both participants, Oliver had done very well.

The next case on his agenda was an Aeris client, Foraye, who needed to renegotiate the terms of an agreement to produce a vaccine for the Human common cold. Trials weren't going well. Oliver did some of the preliminary research. Given the persistent Human failure in this field, he thought he could get an extension for his client.

When he had done as much as he could on the Aeris case, Oliver spent some time puttering around his office. He checked the schedule for the next trade show to be held in Aurelia. While Oliver didn't have any merchandise to sell, the trade shows were an excellent opportunity to meet potential clients. There had already been one trade show since the Ellsworths had moved to Gracchia. Each one specialized in some aspect of trade goods: food, entertainment, weapons, self-embellishment. That last category included everything from jewelry and makeup to clothes and certain medical services.

Eventually Oliver decided to call it quits for the day and stop by and see his friend Macready on his way home. He'd barely had time to talk to Macready since his arrival on Gracchia a month ago.

The city of Aurelia was roughly divided into sectors by the different species, though there was a great deal of intermingling. There was no rule about it; people just liked to live near others with whom they felt comfortable and shared cultural understandings. Macready was one of the exceptions; he lived in what was predominantly an Aeris neighborhood.

Macready's house was four stories high with a miniature tower on top, but narrow and graceful. It looked impossibly delicate and lacy, yet the materials were stronger than high carbon steel. Oliver wondered how the Aeris did it. Possibly they used some sort of nanotechnology engineering, though that was usually thought of as the province of the Nawak.

The sign over the front door read, "Macready's Kitchen." Macready ran a small school out of his house, never more than ten students, and classes were held around the huge table in the kitchen at the back of the house.

The door glided open in response to Oliver's knock.

"Hello?"

Oliver heard a voice from the back of the house, "Mansoor, you nitwit, you forgot your book again? At this rate, you're never going to find out who won the Punic Wars!"

A smile spread over Oliver's face. He'd recognize that voice in the middle of a London fog. He walked to the back of the house through a doorway into the enormous kitchen that held the aforementioned table and also a fireplace and a chalkboard with a map of Earth's Mediterranean Sea roughly sketched on it. Macready's back was to the room, and he was washing dishes at the sink while one of his students was packing up papers. Despite Macready's insults, Mansoor was laughing. "I'm sure you'll be able to give me a personal account of the Romans' ultimate victory, Mr. Macready," the student said.

"HA! I'll see you tomorrow morning, Mansoor. Give my regards to your mother," Macready said. Mansoor left, with a polite nod to Oliver on the way out.

"From the back, I see you have even less hair, old friend."

"Ellsworth! You tricky devil," Macready said, spinning around. "You should know better than to sneak up on an old campaigner that way."

"In the old days, I wouldn't have been able to sneak up on you. Running a school seems to have dulled your senses."

"These kids I teach should have their picture in the dictionary next to the definition of 'nefarious.' Never underestimate the deviousness of youth, Ellsworth."

===============

After the Blood War back on Earth, Macready had put in his twenty years and decided that he was ready to leave the military, try something else. Some Americans had seen an amazing lot of action for being officially noncombatants, getting caught in the fray while advising from a forward position. Macready went back to school and earned his teaching certificate. He couldn't believe the hoops the school of education made him jump through; it made the military look like a model of perfect logic. But his mother had been a teacher, and Macready felt the call. After a couple of decades of training recruits and then foreign troops, he wanted to help young minds. Only after Macready had earned his certificate and served his time as a student teacher, no one would hire him.

Before he left for Gracchia several years ago, Macready had stopped by the Ellsworths' house to talk to his old friend.

"They told me I needed a master's degree in psychology to deal with the troubled kids. But that was just an excuse. I think maybe they were afraid I'd bring an M-4 to class or a rocket launcher or something like that," Macready had said.

"Which would violate the school's no-weapons policy, I imagine."

"Some of those schools are so messed up, it would be standard battle gear, I swear. Anyway, long story short, I'm moving to Gracchia next month," Macready said.

Oliver was amazed.

Macready continued, "I took a long shot, applied for a resident visa. The day after I applied, one of the small furry ones showed up on my doorstep, a Gracchus named Desdemona. We talked for maybe an hour, and I told her my dream of being a teacher, perhaps opening my own school someday. She told me I was free to come to Gracchia whenever I was able and stay as long as I liked. I thought I was beyond surprise at this point in my life, but you could have knocked me over with a daisy."

Macready had cashed in his pension rights and left. But he'd still kept in touch with Oliver Ellsworth back on Earth.

==============

In Aurelia, Macready's Kitchen School was difficult to get into. It had a fine reputation as a tough school, one which produced students who could think on their feet. But in truth, there weren't any bad schools on Gracchia. Why would anyone send a child to a poorly performing school when there were other choices?

Now Macready brewed coffee for the two of them as they talked over old times.

Oliver took one sip of the coffee and his hair practically came off. Macready pushed the cream and sugar toward Oliver with a little grin but drank his black.

Eventually the conversation veered towards Ms. Tavish.

"Miranda?" Macready said. "No, she's not attached. Good woman."

"I think I'll ask her out," Oliver said.

"Courage, Ellsworth, courage."

"Speaking of which, have you ever tried kish-kish stew?" asked Oliver.

"You're not inviting me over to eat some, are you?" Macready said dubiously. He'd tried it in a Vannevar restaurant. He was still trying to forget it.

"No worry. But Abby made a batch for her class today."

"Now that will give her classmates an unforgettable experience." Macready poured more coffee.

Macready and Oliver talked about Tom and Abby, who Macready had known since Oliver had adopted them from the chaos of Europe, and Macready's students. Eventually it was time for Oliver to go.

"Tomorrow's Friday. Why don't you come out to dinner with Abby and Tom and me?" Oliver said as he was walking out the door. "I know they'd love to see you."

"Excellent." They made arrangements to meet at the House of Fire, Alex Vargas' Mexican restaurant, tomorrow evening.

=============
Chapter 7

Immortal Art

===============

Even by Vannevar standards, Valdivia was known for unconventional installations, and speculation had been rife throughout Aurelia as to what exactly her newest artwork was. Valdivia's last piece had included hot lava flows (not true molten rock, but a reasonable facsimile), and several of the spectators at the unveiling had to be treated for blisters. Ms. Tavish was hoping that this piece of art wouldn't be so kinetic.

The class walked to Ajincore Field, the site of the newest artwork, a large, wild park near the northwest edge of Aurelia. This was a fair distance to go on foot, and McKinley was heard to grumble, "You'd think the school could spring for a crocodile, but nooooo....." as the class walked along. A crocodile was a line of jellycars strung together. Usually they were used to deliver large amounts of freight, but sometimes groups of people used them to tour the city. They were very unwieldy.

The route to Ajincore Field took the class through the predominantly Vannevar part of town. Abby and Tom had seen some of these distinctive houses since their house was close to this neighborhood, but they hadn't been on exactly this route before.

Most of the Vannevars favored deep, lush colors even in their architecture. Many of the houses they passes were painted in shades of red and purple, orange and blue. Some of the houses had turrets and towers; they saw one cupola painted in red and lime green stripes, another with small pink polka dots on a silver background. There were balconies that looked as if they were made out of glass, shaped in fantastic arches and whirls. One of the glass balconies shimmered and sparkled in long drips from its edges as if it were lined with icicles. The impression was dazzling.

"Dr. Seuss!" Abby exclaimed. Her friends looked at her with puzzlement, and Abby blushed. "I was trying to remember what this," she gestured to the houses and stores they were walking past, "reminds me of. It's like something out of a Dr. Seuss book."

Sara, walking beside her, agreed, "Right. I loved those books. When I was a little kid," she hastily added.

" 'I lost my way to Solla Sollew,

where they never have problems,

or at least just a few.' " Luke quoted. "My Mom must have read those books a thousand times to me."

As they approached Ajincore Field, there were more and more people. It looked like Valdivia would have a good crowd for her debut.

Some of the Nawaks had ridden their bicycles to the site; they were stacked in a shiny row in a large, custom-made bicycle rack. Of the six sentient species living on Gracchia, only Humans and the Nawaks rode bicycles, and only the Nawaks considered them to be status symbols. For the Nawak, a bicycle was a symbol of sophistication and foreign glamour. One enterprising Human had set up a bicycle manufacturing plant on Gracchia that catered exclusively to Nawaks; they needed special frames and wheels to accommodate their long torsos, relatively short arms and heavy body weight.

Ms. Tavish gathered her class as they all arrived at the park. "Stay together, please." Mindful of the last Vannevarian art debut, she added, "We'll find a place with a good view of the exhibit, but not right next to it."

The class proceeded amidst the mixed crowd of people to the open area where a large object about twenty feet tall sat swathed in a shimmering cover. The crowd was composed of maybe half Vannevars, Tom estimated, but there were also many other Humans, and Gracchians, Nawaks and Aeris. He couldn't spot any Elihu; he'd heard that they didn't attend many public events.

Ms. Tavish settled the students on top of a knoll adjacent to the covered art exhibit. It was perhaps sixty yards away; probably far enough to be out of reach of any danger. They sat cross-legged on the grass and waited for the unveiling. The announcement had said that the presentation would be made 'past the midpoint of the flaming orb across the blue sheet of sheltering atmosphere.' This probably meant after noon. The Vannevar tended to be a bit vague about such things.

After a while, a subtle electricity shimmered through the crowd. A large Vannevar was striding towards the exhibit.

"That's Valdemar, I believe," Ms. Tavish said. "He's the life-mate of the artist, Valdivia." Local gossip had it that Valdemar had fought several duels for Valdivia, and all the girls in Ms. Tavish's class thought that this was extremely romantic. The general consensus among the boys was that Valdemar was an idiot.

Valdemar took a position next to the object and picked up the end of a cord that was attached to the shimmering sheeting. Valdivia came through the crowd and stood on a little platform next to her creation. She tossed her long mane of black hair over her shoulder and held up her arms for silence.

"We each have two arms, two legs, two eyes," she said, "but one heart."

Valdivia gestured to Valdemar, and he lifted the curtain from the sculpture lying beneath. "I call my piece, 'Underneath,' " she said in ringing tones.

As the curtain fell away, a large ball was revealed. It began to rotate slowly on its axis. The crowd stayed quiet, trying to understand what they were looking at. The ball seemed to be composed of many bits of cloth, fluttering as the sphere rotated.

A Human female close to the sculpture emitted a sudden shriek, "That's my bra!"

Could she possibly have said that's her bra? Tom was sure he had misheard. Maybe she had said, 'There's a flaw!' or even 'I feel raw!' Or maybe not.

Some of the nearby Vannevars were pointing to certain bits of cloth on the sphere and making comments, though none were as loud as the Human woman. The murmurs were picking up pace; the sound was like an approaching herd of wild horses.

Abby was the first one to see it. "It's Gracchia!" she exclaimed. "It's the world of Gracchia!" They had all studied the globe in Ms. Tavish's room, looked at the various landmasses and oceans. It soon became apparent that Abby was right. As the sphere turned, they could make out the continents, including the one on which Aurelia was located, and the various oceans and big islands. But what was really startling was that all these masses were formed from wadded-up bunches of underwear, a veritable mosaic of undergarments. A series of blue and green undershorts and socks formed the oceans. Snowy mountain ranges were created out of bras. One archipelago consisted of a line of tiny diapers. Valdivia seemed to have used underwear from all the species that wore them, judging from the wildly different shapes and sizes.

"Never have I been so glad to have fur," Abby heard a nearby Gracchus remark to her friend. The Gracchus and the Nawak were the two species that wore clothing as an option, not a necessity. Abby wondered where all the underwear had come from.

The murmurs and occasional cry of recognition from the assembled crowd suddenly turned to shouts of alarm. The spinning underwear globe was coming loose from its moorings, and the great ball was distinctly leaning to one side as it still spun around. Then with a loud snap, it left its stand and traveled rapidly towards the spectators. Ms. Tavish's class watched in amazement from the grassy hill.

"Wow!" Luis was the only one to say anything, but his comment spoke for all of them.

The ball gained momentum as it rolled along a sloping depression in the field. People in the crowd dived to the left and to the right to avoid being hit. Abby saw a woman chasing after the errant globe, shrieking at the top of her lungs; it was the artist Valdivia. She got a hand on it but it outran her and started to roll even faster as the slope increased. It seemed to be headed for a stream running along one side of the field. Pieces began to fall off the artwork very rapidly, leaving a trail of socks, undershorts, bras and panties in its wake as the underlying framework of the globe became visible.

Incredibly, the great ball reached the stream without running over anybody. It made a splendid splash in the water and bobbed to the surface, the wooden frame making it buoyant. Valdivia continued to follow her creation, running along the bank, trying to keep pace as it was swept downstream. She looked like a pretty good runner, but Tom doubted that she would be able to catch it.

Valdemar wasn't helping Valdivia to stop her runaway creation. "Sabotage!" he cried. "This work of art must have inspired envy and dismay; obviously, the intruders have come to destroy the inspiration for thousands!" Valdemar was pacing among the spectators, trying to gin up a reaction.

"Intruders?" Tom asked Luke. "What's he talking about?"

Luke shrugged. "There have been rumors all over town the last half-year. Every time something goes wrong, every time some kid falls off a bicycle or someone's milk spoils, they blame the ghosts, intruders, whatever you want to call them. It's like the boogeyman back on Earth, except for people half seem to believe it."

The crowd milled around in excitement; no one took the idea of sabotage seriously. They had been well entertained this afternoon. Ms. Tavish didn't know if she would be attending any more of these Vannevarian artwork premieres and certainly not with the class. They were just too dangerous.

============
Chapter 8

Adventures in Driving

===============

The jellycars moved at a slow pace on city streets. They had an internal governor that limited their speed to something slightly above a fast walk, making them less exciting than the kiddie rides at an amusement park. Tom and Luke were going to try to change that.

The Whipples owned a jellycar in a bright magenta color. Tom had petitioned his father to get one when he'd learned that the Gracchians allowed any competent person to drive one, regardless of age. Even if they were slow, Tom still would like to drive a car. The idea didn't go over well with Dad. The city was compact and the Ellsworths lived within easy walking distance of school and the shopping districts; why would they need a car? Tom wanted to tell his friends back on Earth that he was driving; he knew they'd be impressed.

The poky, slow jellycars-- so called by the Humans because of their bright, semi-translucent colors, and their rounded shapes-- became different vehicles once on the rails. Each jellycar had an electromagnetic system in the slot beneath the carriage of the car. When it was placed on a maglev rail, the jellycar hovered above the rail, and the almost frictionless propulsion meant that the car could travel at great speeds. But the maglev rails ran between the cities; within the metropolis, a jellycar had to move slowly.

Like most people, the Whipples used the jellycar mostly for trips outside the city; Mr. Whipple needed one to travel to his lecture and conference sites.

"Nearly off," Luke said. He was prying the door off a control panel located near the back of the car where Luke and Tom were jammed shoulder to shoulder. They were pretty sure this was where they'd find the speed governor.

Luke and Tom were at the Whipple's parking platform in the area behind the house. School had let out early after the expedition to Ajincore Field, and the boys had decided that this was the perfect time to explore the hidden potential of a jellycar.

"Careful," warned Tom as Luke jimmied the panel. Neither of them wanted to scratch the car.

"Almost." Luke twisted the door sideways and it popped off. "That's it!" A small flake of magenta jellycar had came off with the door. Luke rubbed a thumb over the spot.

"Do you think they'll notice?" said Tom.

"No, and even if they do, it looks like normal wear," Luke said optimistically.

Now that the panel was off, they could see a panoply of different colored chips protruding from a board inside. Tom had been doing some research on these chips ever since Luke had told him about the speed governor system. The information had been so easy to find, Tom wondered why other people hadn't experimented with the controls.

Now Tom reached out a finger to touch the panel. "The blue chips are all part of the maglev system. Don't touch those, or the safety failsafes won't let it run on the rails. The green chips control stuff like the retractable windshield bubble and the locking mechanism.

"Here." Tom touched the bottom row. "One of the yellow chips controls the speed off the rails."

"But which one?" Luke asked. There were four yellow chips, and each one had a different number of dots on it.

"Um." Tom gazed at the chips as if they would eventually tell him their code, but the chips remained mute.

"Maybe this one," Tom touched the chip with two dots on the top.

Luke glanced toward the house. No sign of Mom; she was still out running errands and should be gone for another hour, at least.

Luke could drive the car with his parents' permission. He'd asked his Mom if he could take Tom out to the Scopos River and back sometime. She'd given permission, but the jellycars were so slow, it was faster to ride a bicycle, Mom had reminded him. "I know, Mom, but Tom really likes the jellycars. And he hasn't been in one since they arrived."

"Well, all right then. But it's not going to become a regular thing," she'd said.

And now they were trying to remove the speed governor before the ride to the river. They'd test the new and improved jellycar, replace the chip and return. No one would be the wiser.

"Okay. Go ahead and try that one," Luke said.

Tom pulled the chip out of the board. The jellycar, on a slightly uneven surface, began to roll.

"Put it back! Put it back! That's the parking brake!" Luke was frantic. He leaped over the side of the jellycar and tried to stop the moving car with his hands.

Tom attempted to put the chip back in its slot, missed. He tried again, and the chip slid home. The car stopped, brake reengaged.

"You know, maybe we should do this somewhere else," Tom said.

"If we do it somewhere else and get stranded, then I'll be in even more trouble than if we mess it up here," Luke said. "Plus, we'd have to walk home."

"All right, then. I'll try the chip with three dots."

"Just be ready to put it in right away if it's not the right one."

Tom pulled the chip. The car began to emit a series of beeps, and Tom hastily replaced the chip. The beeps stopped. "What was that?" Tom asked.

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. A warning system? Try one of the other ones."

Tom removed the chip with one dot. Nothing happened.

"That's it?"

"Only one way to find out," Luke said. "Let's start it and go."

================

The car started fine; Luke could tell by the lights on the screen. The engine itself made almost no noise. He slowly pulled out into the street.

"Can you tell?" Tom said.

"Of course not. It's not like I can floor it here. We'll wait until we get out to the river." The Scopos River ran along the northwestern edge of the city, just a short distance beyond Ajincore Field where they'd been earlier today.

Both Humans and Nawaks on bicycles passed the slowly moving jellycar. Tom and Luke did go slightly faster than the walkers. Luke drove through the Vannevar neighborhood and out past Ajincore Field. There were still a number of people at the park trying to clean up the damage. The great underwear sculpture itself had been hauled out of the water. Tom wondered if the disaster really had been due to sabotage, but he doubted it; blaming it on some intruder was just an excuse.

Eventually they reached the Scopos. Luke took the bridge across the river; now they were officially out of the city. There was a road paralleling the river on this side, paved, but rougher than the city roads. The road was lined with trees and bushes, but no other people could be seen, and there weren't any houses. It was practically a racetrack.

Tom and Luke grinned at each other, and Luke accelerated.

=================

The jellycars were supposed to be undentable. They weren't.

The road heading north along the Scopos grew progressively worse as Luke and Tom went from a walking pace to a fast bicycle pace to a wild downhill all-out sprint pace. And then they went faster.

The wheels on a jellycar weren't like the wheels on an automobile or even a bicycle. The wheels were spherical, about the diameter of a basketball, and they were set in wells in the chassis of the jellycar. Just as a maglev rail kept the car hovering above the contact point, the wheel wells and the spherical wheels themselves didn't touch each other. The jellycars thus could go quite fast without a great deal of engine power. The speed governor was installed to keep people from racing through the city.

Luke and Tom were enjoying the wind in their faces as they raced along. The windshield was down, and the air was streaming by. There were a lot of bugs in the cool, damp air by the river, and Tom was certain that most of them were caught on his face. Every few seconds, he had to reach up and wipe another one away.

"This is great!" Luke whooped.

Tom just grinned some more and caught a bug in his teeth.

The disaster began when Luke caught a bug in his right eye. Semi-blinded, Luke struggled to keep his eyes open enough to see the road. He took his foot off the accelerator, but the car had momentum.

Tom spotted a beast in the woods, standing on its hind quarters and peering out between two massive trees. With an incredible lack of self-preservation, the creature shambled out into the road. "Look out!" yelled Tom.

Luke was unable to look out. Both his eyes were streaming tears and his right eye was completely screwed shut by pain. "What?!" he screamed.

Luke couldn't see to steer. Tom reached over and grabbed the steering column, sharply turning the car barely in time to miss the beast. Tom saw orange eyes flash and a hissing mouth of sharp teeth. The jellycar sloughed sideways and left the road, becoming briefly airborne before it reached zero velocity against a tree trunk. Both Tom and Luke were jolted forward, but the automatic stretchy harnesses kept them from bodily damage.

Luke held his fist above his right eyebrow, trying to consciously relax his right eyelid enough to be able to open the eye. "Oh no. Tell me we didn't just wreck the car."

Tom untangled his harness and scrambled out of the jellycar. He ran back to the road. There was nothing, no body in the road, no blood, no fur. Tom searched the side of the road and looked among the shrubs. Whatever that creature had been, they hadn't hit it.

Tom walked back to the car where Luke had managed to get out the bug. His right eye was red like a cherry popsicle and still watering profusely.

"What happened?" Luke asked.

"I saw something, some kind of animal at the side of the road, then it crossed right in front of the car. I swear the stupid thing had never seen a car before," Tom said.

"Did we hit it?" Luke said, getting out of the jellycar.

"No."

"Good. Let's see if the car is damaged," said Luke as he walked around to where the car was resting against the tree trunk. Nothing seemed to be wrong; the engine was still gently purring. Luke got back in and slowly pulled away from the tree. The car disengaged with a squeak of protest.

Standing at the front of the car near the point of impact, Tom watched. "Oops," he said.

"Oops?"

"There's a dent." 'Dent' was something of an understatement. It was more like a deep wedge shape in the jellycar's front side. Tom felt the car material. It was neither hard nor soft; it was firm but with a yielding quality to it. He tried to squeeze the dent out of the car but couldn't.

Luke got out to look. He sighed. "Come on, let's go home."

"Maybe we should put the governor chip back in."

===============

Both Tom and Luke were grounded for a week. House arrest, excursions to and from school only. There was no appeal granted. Not that Luke didn't try.

"You told me you had an accident the first time you took out Grandpa's truck," he reminded his Father.

Mr. Whipple remained unmoved. "It was meant to be a cautionary tale, not a record that you're supposed to beat. And I was sixteen at the time. Not twelve." There was no support from Mom either. Luke's parents always presented a united front when it came to discipline. There was no right of appeal for twelve year olds, Luke reflected as he went to his room. He was at least lucky that Dad had been able to pull out the dent with a toilet plunger. Not that they needed a toilet plunger in this house, but Mom was a thorough packer. Nothing from their house back on Earth had been left behind.

==============

No Human thought to look for traces of blood or fur on the underside of the jellycar.

===============

"Was it fun?" Abby asked Tom. She was in his room to commiserate. Tom also had been grounded for a week. He suspected collusion between Dad and Luke's parents.

"It was great. We would have been fine except for that animal crossing right in front of us," Tom said. He'd described as much of the animal as he could, but no one recognized his description. There were simply no animals on Gracchia with large orange eyes, and Tom didn't press the point very hard. It was too much like trying to put blame on 'The Intruder' like Valdemar had done at the art exhibit.

"Why did you want to take out the speed control?"

Tom shrugged. If Abby didn't know, he couldn't explain it to her. "To see if we could."

"At least you won't be grounded over vacation," Abby said, walking toward the door.

"But we'll miss the fireworks," said Tom with a long, lugubrious face. Tuesday on Gracchia marked the Fourth of July holiday. Since many of the Humans on Gracchia came from the United States, there was always a celebration. One anonymous benefactor had arranged to import a fireworks show from Earth.

Abby was sympathetic. "Maybe you'll be able to see them from the windows."

"Maybe."

==============

Dad and Abby left for dinner at the House of Fire. Dad had left a portion of vegetable, chicken and rice casserole for Tom along with heating instructions. Tom knew better than to ask if this healthy food was part of his punishment.

"Dad, why do boys like cars so much?" Abby asked as they walked along the streets of Aurelia.

Oliver reflected on his first love, an old jeep painted powder blue between the rust spots. "I don't know, hon. Maybe it's because we like to take things apart and see how they work. Curiosity, I guess. Some girls like cars, too, you know."

Abby nodded, face serious. "But boys are worse," she stated with certainty.

And there the discussion ended. They'd arrived at the restaurant.

=============

Alex and Marisol Vargas owned the Mexican restaurant House of Fire, located in the busy central district area of Aurelia. They were the parents of Luis and Sara.

Oliver knew who Alex Vargas was, of course. That is, Alex Vargas had been well-known on Earth before leaving for Gracchia. Born poor, he had built a chain of quick Mexican food restaurants across the United States and had been a millionaire before he was thirty-five. Then a fat woman had sued Taco Grande with the claim that the food made her overweight.

A jury of her peers awarded the woman ten million dollars. Alex Vargas didn't wait around for the award to be reduced by a more sane court. "I became rich by working a hundred hours a week for a decade," he was widely quoted as saying. "This woman becomes rich by eating too much. This is not justice." A judge refused to let Alex Vargas sell his chain of restaurants while the litigation was still ongoing.

Alex Vargas and his family left it all behind and disappeared from Earth.

==================

Running a restaurant on Gracchia had its challenges. The different species each had a unique eating pattern, and the Vargases wanted as many customers as possible. Humans ate out for lunch or dinner. The other major customer group was the Vannevars; they usually ate in large groups, and their meals came at unpredictable times and lasted for hours. Mr. Vargas requested that his Vannevar clientele call ahead: sometimes this worked, sometimes it didn't. The Gracchus liked their food plain and in large quantity but didn't eat according to any set timetable. Their mealtimes arrived when they were hungry, whenever that may be. There were a few Aeris and Nawak aficionados of Mexican food (the Aeris called it 'food of pain' for the chile peppers), and word of mouth seemed to be growing especially among the Nawak. Sadly, the Elihu were easiest to anticipate. They regarded public eating as unthinkable. It simply wasn't done.

Mrs. Vargas greeted Oliver and Abby at the door and led them to Macready's table. Throughout the restaurant were tables and chairs of varying heights, the better to accommodate a wide variety of patron sizes. The smell of onions and garlic and chiles drifted out of the kitchen and made Abby's mouth water. Poor Tom. Macready was sitting in the corner, in his hand a beer with a slice of lime. "But where is Tom?" Macready asked. He had a great fondness for the Ellsworth children.

Marisol Vargas listened as Oliver told Macready about Tom's and Luke's adventure with the jellycar. "I'm surprised that Luis was not involved," she said. "For once." She gave them their menus and left

Macready stifled a laugh. "I would have liked to have seen one of those glorified golf carts flying down the road. Still, penance must be due. He's grounded, I take it?"

"For a week. At least the car seems to be undamaged, and thank goodness they didn't kill an animal."

"Animal?" Macready asked.

Oliver took a sip of his water. "Tom said that they swerved to miss some sort of large animal crossing the road, something with big orange eyes. I don't doubt that he saw something, but I think the adrenaline caused him to see more than was there. Perhaps some large kind of rodent or another."

"Ah. And this took place where?" Macready's voice was casual, but his eyes were sharp.

"Out on the road alongside the river, on the far side of the Sun Bridge," Oliver said. Oliver recognized that look in his friend's eyes. In the past, it had usually meant that Macready was contemplating some unorthodox plan of action or unapproved sortie.

"Why do you ask?" Oliver added.

"No reason." Macready's gaze was now innocent and open, completely relaxed.

Apropos of nothing, Macready asked, "Have you given any consideration to becoming a permanent resident, applying for full citizenship?"

Oliver laughed. "Have a heart! We're still figuring out how the plumbing works."

Abby and Macready joined in the laughter.

They were quiet for a moment as they surveyed their choices. The House of Fire had menus in a variety of languages; these were printed in English on one side, Gracchian on the other. The offerings were a mixture of the familiar and the exotic: enchiladas made with a choice of chicken or verdinger meat, tacos came with a side of beans and berkin fruit. Berkin fruit was funny; it wasn't sweet at all but had a smoky, savory taste more like ham than anything else. The descriptions of the different dishes were long and flowery. A burrito was 'a tantalizing mix of tenderly cooked legumes with sweetly browned onion (sulfuric root vegetable). Includes a choice of fire-roasted verdinger from the grassy plains of Rubico or chicken (similar to wackenbird) from exotic Earth. Topped with melted cheese (lactose product) and fabulous burning green chiles to thrill and challenge your culinary horizons.' And that was one of the plainer descriptions.

When she came back to take their orders, Abby asked Mrs. Vargas if she could have half a chicken burrito, half verdinger enchiladas. "Of course," Mrs. Vargas said.

Macready ordered the enchiladas with a side of green chile made with roasted verdinger. Oliver got the combination plate with a chile relleno, an enchilada and a side of verdinger _mole_. Abby knew that a _mole_ sauce was made with chocolate. And people thought her cooking was weird. When she first heard of it, she had thought it was a mole sauce as in made out of rodents, but Sara had told her what it was and that it was pronounced mole-ay. She'd also said that the Gracchus who came to the House of Fire almost always ordered the _mole_ dishes because they were so crazy about chocolate.

While Macready, Oliver and Abby were waiting for their food, they discussed the Ellsworths' first month on Gracchia. Macready asked Abby how she liked her school.

"It's okay. It's harder than back on Earth, and Ms. Tavish makes us work a lot more while we're in school, but she doesn't give us much homework."

Macready nodded. "I know she wants her students to get out into Aurelia as much as possible, see the place, learn things firsthand."

"She's nice, too."

"I agree." Macready cast a significant look at Oliver who ignored it.

"I might have a Gracchus as a student within a couple of months," Macready then mentioned, taking a swig of his beer.

Abby was excited. She hadn't seen any children of the other species yet. "Really? A Gracchus kid?"

Macready shook his head. "Actually an adult. They go to school on and off their whole lives. The Gracchus say it keeps their minds awake. I think perhaps it might be a survival instinct as well; they live so long that they have to exercise their minds more than we do."

Oliver had heard that the Gracchus were long-lived, but this was news to Abby. "How long?" she asked.

"About two hundred twenty, two hundred fifty, something like that. About twice what we do, or what we have the potential for," Macready said. "That's why you don't see many Gracchus young-- very low birthrate.

"I've heard that one of the Gracchus children attends Vic Davis' school," Macready continued. Like Macready, Vic Davis was another unconventional teacher, a farmer who now ran a boarding school on Gracchia for the children of traveling traders. In the beauty of the peaceful Gracchian countryside, he ran a productive winery and vegetable farm while also teaching the roots of Human western civilization with special attention to the Greeks, a juxtaposition of philosophy and practicality that seemed very logical to the Gracchus.

"What do the Gracchus children look like?" Abby wanted to know.

Macready shrugged. "Like the adults, only much cuter. All young are cute so their parents want to keep them," he added.

Abby smiled. She was pretty sure Macready was joking, but it wasn't always easy to tell.

The food arrived. Oliver noticed that Abby ate her half burrito but didn't touch the verdinger enchiladas. He thought he knew why.

"Not very hungry?" Oliver asked his daughter with a casual air.

Abby made a show of finishing her mouthful and swallowing before she answered. Dad was big on manners, especially in public. "Umm. I thought I would take some of it home."

Verdinger enchiladas were Tom's favorite; he had ordered them on both previous visits to the House of Fire.

Abby quickly changed the subject. "Are you going to the fireworks on Tuesday?" she asked Macready. Mrs. Vargas arrived at the table to box the leftovers and deliver the tab.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Macready answered, grabbing the bill from Oliver's fingers quicker than his friend could blink.

==============
Chapter 10

Fireworks on the Blue Pearl Sea

==================

In mid-spring, Aurelia frequently experienced cloudy, rainy days, or sometimes the wind blew and howled through the streets, so Abby was relieved when Tuesday turned out to be mild and sunny. Since this was the day that Humans on Gracchia with an American background celebrated Independence Day, Dad had hung the stars and stripes next to their front porch.

That morning, the Ellsworths had received a message from Prospero on the whirlibox. He was excited to experience his first Fourth of July on Earth.

'I understand,' he'd written, 'that your countrymen express their joy of independence through explosive ordnance. Gemma has promised to take me to a good vantage point to view the controlled blasting. She assured me that I need not contribute to the event, but is it considered polite? Yours truly, Prospero. Addendum: have you put fish in the courtyard pool?'

Tom read the note to the others over breakfast. "Oops. We still need to buy fish."

Oliver was more concerned with the other part of the note; was Prospero planning on bringing his own explosives to the fireworks display? He got up from the table to send back a reply promptly. Last year while the Ellsworths were still there, the city officials had even banned sparklers after a two year-old had poked himself in the eye with one. Oliver could only imagine how they'd react to a Gracchus with some Gracchian version of fireworks. He'd write a note to both Gemma and Prospero to help ward off trouble.

When Dad came back to the table, Tom told him of the need to buy fish. "Could I, Dad? It'd be just a short trip, and I'd come home right after. Please?"

Tom had now served more than three days of his house detention without complaint, not trying to wheedle or cajole his way out of being grounded. Oliver was inclined to let Tom run this errand. "Did Prospero say why we need to put fish in the pool?" he asked.

Abby shook her head. "We think maybe it's something to do with the health of the pond. The fish might eat algae," she explained to her Dad.

"It could be important," Tom added. He collected the cereal bowls and took them to the sink trough.

"Well, all right. I'd like you both to go," said Dad. "I'll transfer ten credits to your money spike, Tom. If it's more than that, we'll get them together. And come home straightaway."

Every resident on Gracchia had a money spike keyed to the individual. Humans tended to think of them as some type of credit card, but of course they were not. Each person's spike was a store of value unto itself like a one-person bank, yet it was not connected with any centralized system. As such, it offered perfect privacy.

"Great! Thanks, Dad," Tom said.

=================

Luke had told Abby and Tom that the fish store was located close to the House of Ice, the soda fountain that was a favorite of all the Human kids. Abby hoped they never got their shipments mixed up. Some of the ice cream flavors at the House of Ice were pretty eccentric, just like the shop's owner, Florizel. She could imagine Florizel deciding to make a fish-food flavored ice cream.

The name of the fish store was, simply, 'WET.' That was how it was translated into English on its sign at any rate. Tom and Abby were greeted by the owner, a giant Nawak named Gruben. Unlike a Human style aquarium and fish store, there weren't glass tanks lining the wall but rather a series of large vats sunk into the ground. Abby counted twelve of them. She could see fish swimming around in them, but all the fish seemed to be dull, dark colors. Abby was disappointed. She had been hoping they could get some pretty ones.

"First," Gruben said in a low rumble, "Need to know the bearings of the pool."

Tom wasn't quite sure he understood the translation. "Bearings? You mean the location of our house?"

Gruben nodded. This seemed to mean yes, because he next pulled out a detailed map of Aurelia. Tom could find their house without difficulty, but, oddly, it showed a cobweb tracery of lines between many of the buildings, including their own. It wasn't obvious what the lines represented. Power lines underground? Magnetic fields? Tom pointed out their house to Gruben.

"Fish for your home water, yes," said Gruben.

"How much?" Tom asked the store owner. He didn't want to commit himself without knowing.

"Four." Gruben held up four fingers just to be sure he was understood. "Standard amount."

There was a standard amount of fish? Abby wondered.

"Okay, then. Yes, I'll buy the fish," said Tom.

The Nawak took a clear, lightweight container from behind the central counter and walked to one of the sunken vats. With one enormous hand dipped directly into the water, he ladled out a dozen or so little fish. Two more scoops and the container was swarming with gray fish. Abby saw that they were speckled with red, so they were kind of pretty.

Gruben handed the container of fish to Abby as Tom took out his spike, keyed it for transfer of four units and touched it to Gruben's store spike. The transaction was registered with a flash of blue light.

"Do we need to feed the fish?" Abby asked. She didn't see any containers of fish food for sale.

"Food fish, yes," Gruben answered.

Abby tried again. "What do we feed them?"

"Feeding food. Fish." His answer wasn't enlightening.

There was a problem with the translation or perhaps it was a cultural thing. This was the first Nawak Tom and Abby had met directly.

"C'mon Abby. You said it yourself; they probably eat stuff in the pool," Tom said to his sister. "Let's go."

"Thanks, Mr. Gruben," Abby said as they left. The Nawak politely held the big door open for the two small Humans.

He nodded at Tom and Abby then said, "Good food fish," as they left the store.

===================

When they got back home, Tom poured the fish into the pool, and he and Abby watched the small fish swim around. Most of them went directly into hiding among the vegetation, but some wandered here and there on the pebbled bottom. It wasn't obvious what, if anything, they were eating.

"Well, at least now we can tell Prospero that we put fish in the pool," said Tom. "It seemed so important to him."

The fish weren't very interesting, and eventually Tom and Abby wandered back inside to have some lunch.

=================

Abby was going to go see the fireworks with Sara and her family. They were taking a picnic dinner to the shores of the Blue Pearl Sea and would stay for the show. Abby wasn't going with her father because he was taking Ms. Tavish, first to the Theobroma Café for dinner, then out to see the fireworks. Tom thought it was pretty nice of his Dad to take out the teacher when he didn't have to, but Abby set him straight.

"He's asking her out on a _date_ ," she said.

"Dad? Ms. Tavish? But Dad's so old," said Tom.

Abby sighed.

=================

Mrs. Vargas had packed traditional Fourth of July-type food for their picnic on the dunes overlooking the water. There was potato salad, barbequed ribs, lemonade and watermelon. Well not watermelon, exactly, but some kind of red melon shipped from Gracchia's warm climes. It was very sweet. She had brought blankets for them to sit on, but also blankets to wrap around their shoulders because it was still cool spring; the season of Gently Warm Blossom hadn't arrived yet, at least not out in the open away from the stored heat of city streets and buildings.

Abby hadn't visited the Blue Pearl Sea yet, though it was a great favorite among the Human expatriate population; just about all her classmates had been here, swimming in the summer, going out on boats to the Gem Islands or just to enjoy the shoreline. The Wooster Gate was adjacent to the beach area, and the Ellsworths had passed it on their very first day on Gracchia as they traveled from the Gate to town on one of the large, slow cargo rollers.

Abby was grateful for the warmth of the blanket as she sat between Sara and Luis and gnawed on a smoked rib. It was funny to have Independence Day without the hot weather, but a picnic was still wonderful. A few other people had the same idea. One couple had brought along a portable grill in their jellycar, but they were having trouble keeping it going in the breeze that came off the water.

Abby thought she recognized her neighbor in the group of people, Human and Gracchus, setting up the fireworks platform. She didn't know this man's name, but she had seen him coming and going, and once she'd seen him leaving Vaux's market. He had caught her attention by the odd way he dressed. She'd variously seen him in: a Snoopy t-shirt with a kilt, a shiny blue suit, a pink raincoat, and once he'd even had on a beret. Dad had said that the neighbor man must be a bachelor. Today, he was wearing jeans and a long white shirt. The only odd note was the striped tie used as a belt around the untucked shirt.

Abby's attention was drawn back by Luis. "Did Tom say which chip he pulled to override the speed control?" Luis asked her. The story of Tom and Luke's drive along the Scopos River had been making the rounds at school yesterday. One rumor was that they had been airborne, another that they'd driven the car into the river. One especially outlandish rumor had it that Luke and Tom had run over a person and buried him in the woods.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?" Abby said. Boys and cars again.

Luis looked glum. "He won't tell me. All I know is it must have been a yellow chip."

"And Mom and Dad have put an extra lock on the controls for the car," Sara added, "so poor Luis can't see for himself."

"I'll bet I can figure it out, though," said Luis.

"Your feet can't reach the floor," Sara pointed out.

"Yes they can! The jellycars are made by the Gracchus and they're shorter than I am, stupid!" Luis was always sensitive about his stature.

"Knock it off, kids," Mr. Vargas said.

"Who wants a brownie?" Mrs. Vargas asked. It was hard to be angry with a mouthful of chocolate, and Mrs. Vargas made very good brownies.

===============

The light was leaving the sky even as the remains of the picnic were packed away. One of the advantages to having fireworks in spring, Abby reflected, was that you didn't have to wait forever for darkness so the show could begin.

"Mom, can Abby and I move over there by ourselves?" Sara pointed to a hillock closer to the fireworks platform.

"Of course. But take your brother," she said.

Sara rolled her eyes, careful that her Mom didn't see her.

The three of them moved their blankets over to the hillock. Abby didn't mind much having Luis around. He was okay, just kind of pesky.

There were a lot more people arriving at the shores of the Blue Pearl Sea. The majority were Human, but word had also gone round to other species; almost none of them had ever seen a fireworks display, and there was a great deal of curiosity.

================

Tom was bored. He wrote a message on the whirlibox to his friend Doug back on Earth, telling him about driving a jellycar but omitting the wreck. He sent Gemma a message, too. Maybe she could come for a visit sometime. Tom wandered around the house and the courtyard. Wilson, sitting on the edge of the pool, seemed to be interested in something in the water. Probably he wanted to catch the fish, Tom thought.

For dinner, he had bean roll-ups. These were made more palatable by a lot of spicy mustard, and Tom ate two. He wondered what his Dad and Abby were having for dinner. Undoubtedly something much better.

As dusk fell, Tom ventured out into the courtyard again. He surveyed the roofline. It looked sturdy enough. Tom dragged out a chair from the kitchen and balanced it on top of one of the massive planters, being careful not to crush the plants. Or not crush too many of them, at least. Wilson sat on his haunches and watched these proceedings from a prudent distance.

With great caution, Tom climbed on top of the chair seat. From here he could get a good grip on the eave of the roof and swing one of his feet up to the edge. Then it was easy to lever the rest of his body up.

The roof was gently rounded like so much of the rest of the house. Tom walked to the center of the curved arch and sat down. From here, he might be able to get a good view of the fireworks. Earlier, he'd thought about asking his Dad if he could come up on the roof, but sometimes it was better not to try for permission in the first place. That way, Dad couldn't say no.

"Hey!" Tom heard a shout. He looked around and saw Luke up on the Whipples' roof. He was waving and grinning.

"Hi!" Tom yelled back. "Great idea!"

"Great minds think alike," Luke shouted.

It wasn't possible to have much of a conversation this way, but at least Tom didn't feel lonely anymore.

===============

The chrysanthemum of light burst over the watchers' heads in cascading showers of red, white and blue. Rockets of green and scarlet shot up into the air only to turn into a shower of sparkling diamonds falling almost to the ground. The lights danced, twirled, exploded over the Blue Pearl Sea where the reflection from the water mirrored back the beauty. The crowd was loudly appreciative; people gasped, applauded and shouted encouragement. Abby had heard a couple of screams at the outset of the show, but she supposed those were from people who had never seen fireworks and hadn't been quite sure what to expect. Now everyone seemed to be entranced, and a few of the Vannevar and Aeris were dancing with their arms in the air.

The evening had grown even cooler with the disappearance of the light, and Sara, Luis and Abby were huddled together for warmth under their blankets. But it was worth it; this was the best show Abby had ever seen. She thought about the Vannevar and their concept of what constituted 'art.' This surely was great art.

================

Ten minutes into the show, Abby found herself wishing she hadn't had so much lemonade with the picnic dinner. Dad almost never let them have sugary drinks, so Abby had drank two glasses. Now her attention was increasingly drawn to the demands of her body.

Abby leaned over to whisper in Sara's ear, "I'll be right back." She carefully crept out from under the blanket; thankfully, Luis didn't say anything and didn't seem even to notice her leaving.

The three children had been sitting, like most of the crowd, with their backs to the lights of the Gate station, the better to see the fireworks. Abby walked to a little hillock in the direction of the Gate, hunched over, trying to be unnoticed. Behind a large clump of plumed grasses, out of view, she did what was necessary and prepared to return. Then, almost lost among the sound and light show, Abby heard a muffled boom coming from the Gate building accompanied by a bright flash of light coming through the small windows.

Abby froze. In the soft lights of the Gate facility, she could see her weird neighbor skulking along the side of the building. Though he was several hundred yards away, his figure was unmistakable in his white shirt belted at the waist. The neighbor man holding a sort of noose on a pole in front of him. Abby saw him lunge, then lift the pole. Now the noose was glowing blue; inside was a squirming creature, something that looked like a large rabbit. Then, bizarrely, the rabbit pulled out a pea-shooter and hit the Human in the leg.

The neighbor didn't drop his pole but ran limping around the corner of the building with his captive. A bright, brief strobe of light came from inside the building, and there was nothing more. Abby, now standing completely upright, had watched all this in puzzlement. The only noise she had heard was from the fireworks.

Abby walked back to where Sara and Luis were still watching the show.

================

"What?" Sara asked. When she turned her head to look at Abby, Sara's curly hair blew over Luis' face.

"Do you mind!?" he sputtered.

Sara ignored him.

"It's....nothing. I thought I saw something, that's all," Abby said, unsure of herself. How to explain that her neighbor was stalking rabbits outside the Gate building?

Then the next cascade of light filled the night sky, and all three of them looked up again.

Abby couldn't explain it to Sara, not now, not when she wasn't sure herself what she had seen. Abby tried to enjoy the rest of the show, but seeing her neighbor capturing rabbits (rabbits who shot back?) at night was deeply strange.

================

The grand finale went off without a hitch, a dazzling display of cascading lights in the form of giant flowers. After the last lights had faded, the crowd lingered for a while, reluctant to let go of the magic

But eventually, Mr. and Mrs. Vargas packed up the picnic basket and they made their way back to their jellycar. The Vargas' car was bright lime green, and large enough to squeeze all five of them inside. Mrs. Vargas extended the dome over the car once they were all in and drove away. She dropped off Abby at her front door.

"Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Vargas. I had a great time."

"You're welcome, dear," Mrs. Vargas said.

"Bye! See you tomorrow!"

==============

"Hi. How were the fireworks?" Tom asked as Abby entered the living room. He was sprawled out on the floor with one of his comic books. Dad was there, too, going over some papers from work in the light of one of the floating globe lamps.

"Oh, they were wonderful! I wish you could have seen them, Tommy."

Tom nodded. "I'll bet they were great."

"Did you have a good dinner, Dad?" Abby asked with an innocent air.

He smiled. "Yes, thank you."

Abby persisted. "How was the food?"

"Very good. I've never seen so many chocolate desserts in my life."

"What did Ms. Tavish have?" Abby asking, flopping onto her favorite overstuffed chair.

"She had the seafood crepes and sachertorte for dessert."

"Did you talk a lot?" Abby asked.

"Naturally. She's an intelligent, interesting woman.

"And now it's time for bed," Dad said, collecting his papers and getting to his feet. "Tomorrow's a school day, you know."

Abby gave up. Obviously Dad wasn't going to tell her anything important.

She didn't mention to Tom nor Dad about the weird incident she'd seen at the fireworks launching area; Abby didn't know herself quite what she had seen. It already had the quality of a half-remembered dream.

Abby had no idea that she'd witnessed a skirmish in the ongoing Gracchian effort to correct a dangerous mistake.

==========
Chapter 10

Meeting Pip

==============

The last three days of school before the two week vacation break seemed to last a dry eternity. Ms. Tavish introduced a new subject, urban geography, and told her class that she wanted them over vacation to try to observe how Aurelia was patterned: where the shops were, the housing, the transportation system. Perhaps it was interesting at some level to know how Human and Gracchus cities and towns were similar, but it was hard to pay attention during beautiful spring weather a few days before vacation. And Friday was worse. If a stranger had been observing the class on Friday, he would have thought that the students had some sort of compulsion to check the clock every few minutes.

No one was paying much attention to books. Tom saw Cassia Birnbaum staring out the windows with a glazed look in her eyes. Shasta and Wooly were passing notes until one of them was intercepted by Ms. Tavish. Even Luis didn't seem intent on getting ahead of everyone else.

Ms. Tavish too seemed happy as she dismissed school. "Have a good break, class. Don't forget absolutely everything you've learned."

Not only was Friday the last day of school before break, but it was also the last day of Luke's and Tom's home detention. Tom had made the case, successfully, that the detention ended on a Friday afternoon because that's when it had started, not at the end of the day.

After school Tom, Abby, Luke, Sara and Luis went to the House of Ice to celebrate.

==============

Full of ice cream and good thoughts, Luke, Tom and Abby walked home. Luke dropped off his stuff at his house and continued over to the Ellsworths' to talk about vacation plans with Tom.

Abby, sure that the boys were going to talk cars, went outside to the courtyard. This afternoon was golden and beautiful, warmer than it had been, and she was tired of being cooped up inside.

Wilson decided to go outside, too. The gray cat meowed at the door to the courtyard, and it silently opened for him. The interior doors were programmed to allow Wilson to come and go as he pleased, the fulfillment of a cat dream. The doors to the street, however, would not open no matter how much he yowled. Everyone had heard the rumors that some lost pets actually had been eaten. Dad had pointed out that this was no different from Earth.

Abby sat on the edge of the courtyard pool and let her mind drift. Maybe she'd re-read some of her Nancy Drew mysteries. Abby wondered if perhaps Sara would like to be a detective, too. They could practice tailing people. Abby would like to find out more about her mysterious neighbor, the man who ran around catching rabbits at night.

Idly, she saw that something had disturbed the fish. Probably they were just startled by her. Abby leaned back on her arms, closed her eyes and drowsed in the lazy sunshine.

Abby was abruptly brought back to life by a stealthy tentacle that extended out of the pool and wrapped around her wrist. Abby shrieked like a train whistle.

Tom and Luke came through the door like prize sprinters.

Abby was gulping for breath, unable to speak, but she pointed a dramatic finger at the pool.

"What!?" Now that Tom could see that his sister wasn't actually being murdered, he was impatient. "Abby, what is it?"

"There's a monster in the pool and it tried to drag me in!" Abby sobbed.

Luke and Tom peered eagerly.

"It's Pip!" Luke said. "Poor guy. I think you really scared him."

"I scared him!?" Abby was outraged. "What are you talking about? Who is Pip?"

"See, he's over there in the shadow of the fountain. He's gone sort of gray with white spots. The white spots means he's still scared," Luke pointed.

Abby and Tom looked, and Tom was first to make out a small octopus in the shadows. His body was no larger than a grapefruit, and his two large eyes were staring back at them.

"Look, Ab, it's an octopus!" Tom was thrilled.

Luke made a loud clicking noise with his tongue and trailed his fingers in the water. Pip made a tentative move towards him.

"Did you put an octopus in our pool?" Abby said. She was indignant, sure that the boys were playing a practical joke on her. Her arms were tightly wrapped around her body.

"No, no, Pip came over from our pool. I thought you knew about the octopusses-- octopi, I mean-- when you asked me where to buy fish. The fish is food for the octopus when he visits."

"Oh. So that's why Gruben kept saying that the fish are good food. Good food for the octopus, he meant," Tom realized. He bent down to the water for a closer look at Pip.

"He's probably been here lots since you moved in, but if you don't know he's here, he can be hard to spot," Luke said. "They can change color like a chameleon."

"What do you mean, he came over from your pool? Is he your pet?" Abby asked.

Luke laughed a little, still dangling his fingers in the water as Pip continued to make slow progress towards him. It seemed to Abby that the creature was watching her closely.

"I don't think that anyone could say that an octopus is a pet. They're more like people who come over to share your house once in a while," Luke said. "Almost all the courtyard pools are interconnected so the octopuses-- octopi, that is-- can come and go. And the entire system is connected to the Blue Pearl Sea. Didn't anyone tell you?

"It's quite a compliment when an octopus reaches out of the water to touch you, they almost never do that," Luke continued. "He must have liked the way you look."

Abby didn't much feel complimented. But now that Pip had come completely out into the light, he didn't look too threatening. In fact, he looked kind of cute in a slimy sort of way. Maybe having an octopus in the courtyard was okay. A new thought occurred to Abby. "That map we saw at the fish store, 'Wet,'-- that showed all the connections between the pools, didn't it?" she asked. Abby stepped closer to the pool.

Luke nodded. "Right. And traditionally, different neighborhoods carry different kinds of fish in their pools. Didn't you wonder why Gruben was showing you a map? He had to know where you lived before he could sell you the proper fish."

"Plus, like I said, he kept telling us that the fish was good food. It's just....when so much is different, it's hard to tell what you don't know," Tom remarked.

Pip had reached Luke. Luke slowly reached down into the water and ran his fingers over Pip's head. To Abby's and Tom's amazement, the octopus lost his white spots and turned a dark blue.

"He turned blue," Abby breathed.

"That means he's happy," Luke said. He continued to gently touch Pip.

"Can I touch him?" Abby had done a complete about-face. How could she have been scared of such a cute little thing?

"Sure. Just go slowly, no quick moves," Luke said.

Abby sat back down again and leaned over the water, extending a hand into the pool. The octopus drew back a little, then moved sideways and approached her. Pip reached out one of his eight tentacles, touched her fingers, then darted away a short distance, squirting water. He repeated this a couple of times.

"I think he's teasing you," Luke said.

Abby laughed, blue eyes alight.

"Once you've lived here awhile, you think of them differently," Luke said. "They're really smart."

"How smart?" Tom asked. He wanted to touch the octopus, too. Tom wiggled his fingers underwater.

"Even smarter than a dog," Luke said. "Different, though-- How do you measure intelligence in a species like this? They live in a completely foreign place, underwater, almost nothing in common with Humans or Gracchus for that matter. The ancient Gracchus considered them to be divine messengers and there were all sorts of laws protecting them. They still consider killing an octopus to be close to murder."

"But we eat octopus, don't we?" Tom asked. Pip was staying by Abby, ignoring Tom.

Luke nodded soberly. "I've heard that when the Gracchus knew that Human eat octopi, they were disgusted and some of them wanted to break off all contact with us."

Abby was by now a complete convert. "Eat an octopus? Yuck!" Pip allowed her to touch his head. She was fascinated to see that he had turned a darker shade of blue and had a kind of striped pattern on his head.

"Why are there octopusses on Gracchia?" Abby wanted to know.

"You mean, why do both Earth and Gracchia have the same animal?" Luke said. Abby nodded.

"A lot of the sea creatures are similar between the planets, especially some of the older species, like sharks. I think all the planets have sharks. Both Vannevaria and Nawak have a kind of octopus, but all the Aeris have is squid. I've heard that squid are smart, but they're really shy and won't have anything to do with people."

Abby had a further question. "How do you know Pip is a boy?"

Luke shrugged. "Pip, Pippa. I've never had to buy a present for Pip, so it hasn't seemed important."

"Well, I think Pip is a girl," Abby announced. Tom rolled his eyes. When they had adopted Wilson from the animal shelter as a kitten, Abby had been convinced he was a girl kitty up until Wilson had been neutered.

They stayed out in the courtyard until Dad came home and Luke had to go home for dinner.

The next day, Abby noticed that most of the fish were gone from the courtyard pool, and so was Pip. She'd have to ask Luke if he'd seen her dear little octopus and if he knew when Pip would be back.

================

That evening, Macready had been invited over for dinner. Knowing of his good friend Oliver's predilection for healthy food, Macready brought over an enormous gooey confection from the Theobroma Café for dessert so they'd have a balanced meal.

Usually, Dad didn't inflict his healthiest dishes on guests, but Macready was like family. Still, the vegetable lasagna would have been pretty good without the repugnant little squares of tempeh, Tom thought. Tempeh was like a stronger version of tofu for those who didn't find tofu awful enough. He mushed as many of them as he could into his napkin. If they had a dog, maybe he could have slipped it some of the tempeh. Wilson was a great cat, but he was too sensible to eat anything that hadn't had a pulse at one time or another.

"Macready, have you seen the Bonebreaker Race?" Abby asked over dessert. Tom, Luke and the other kids at school had been talking about it.

Macready swallowed a mouthful of chocolate cake and said, "Seen it? I've been in it! Great fun."

"You've been in it?" Tom was excited.

"There's a group of us, the MAFM, we decided last year that it just looked like too much fun to not be in the Bonebreaker Race. We're the first Human team."

"The maffem?" Abby asked. Was this like the Mafia? Not Macready, surely.

"The M.A.F.M. The Middle-Aged Fat Men," Macready explained the acronym.

"But you're not fat," Abby said. "Not very," she added, fairly. Macready was just a big man, barrel-shaped, more like the Nawak than anything.

Dad choked on his cake. Tom thumped him on the back until Dad could take a sip of water.

Macready looked over Oliver with a bright eye. "Steady on there, Ellsworth.

"In fact," he added casually, "I'd like to ask your father to join the MAFM. You don't have to be fat, necessarily. The Middle Aged Fat Men is a group of us who have reached a certain age of enjoyment in life. Expansive, open spirits: in a word, fat. We've had a Gracchus join us, too, though she can't make it this year."

"Dad, you could be in the Bonebreaker Race!" Tom said. This was great.

Oliver took another long drink of water. "The kids have told me about this race, but I'd like to hear about it from a firsthand source. What's it like?"

Macready shrugged. "Everything you've heard is true. It's a parade that also happens to be a race. It helps to have a sense of humor. No, that's not true: a sense of humor is essential. We could use that lawyerly brain of yours on some of the riddles, Oliver."

"Could I be on your team?" Tom asked Macready eagerly.

Dad shook his head. "Carr Whipple has told me that he won't allow Luke to participate until he's fifteen. I think that's a good rule of thumb. If we're living on Gracchia then, you can be in the race."

"Sorry, Tom. The law has spoken," Macready said.

"Then you should be on a team, Dad," Tom insisted.

"Well..."

"Is Ms. Tavish in the race?" Abby asked.

"Last year she ran one of the checkpoints," Macready said. "Plus, the checkpoints give aid to the racers if needed, bandages, food, water, that sort of thing."

Oliver thought for a moment. "All right. But keep in mind I'm not exactly in fighting shape, either."

Macready laughed and patted his comfortably full stomach. "Fortitude of the heart is more important than of the body. You'll do just fine, Ellsworth."

=================

Before he left, Macready had a private word with Abby.

"Still practicing the throwing technique?" he asked her.

Abby nodded. "I throw pretty good all the time now. It's hard sometimes to find things to hit, though. I wish we had a punching bag."

"As long as you remember to carry through. Like you really mean it."

Abby nodded again. Macready had taught her to hit, really punch something, if she ever needed to defend herself.

More than two years ago, right before he'd left for Graccha, Macready had come to the Ellsworths' house for a farewell dinner. Mostly, he and Dad had talked about old times, and Tom had asked lots of questions about aliens, but Abby had remained uncharacteristically quiet.

Abby was small for her age, and one of the big girls in her class had been picking on her. That day, the girl had shoved her down on the playground. It was done so cleverly that it looked like an accident, but Abby knew. She also knew that things would only get worse. So that evening, she hadn't felt much like talking.

Abby didn't think that anyone had noticed, but when dinner was over, Macready said, "Oliver, mind if I ask your daughter to give me a tour of your backyard? I've a notion to get a piece of land on Gracchia, and I need ideas."

If Oliver had thought there was anything odd about his old friend getting landscaping tips from a nine year old, he didn't let on. "Sure, let me turn on the back porch light for you." It was only seven o'clock, but evening came early in the fall.

Outside, Macready asked Abby about the names of the different trees. She knew most of them; the apple and the cherry were easy, and there were oaks, ash (the one tree Abby could never remember), and maple with its beautiful fall colors, too. Abby pointed out the pine tree where the robin had made her nest that spring.

After a while, Macready asked, "So why so quiet at dinner, young Ellsworth? Is your Dad's cooking getting you down?"

Abby laughed a little, then said, "There's a girl at school."

"And she's bothering you?"

Abby told him how she had been pushed down. "She tripped and shoved me, but it just looked like I fell down by myself. I didn't want to be a crybaby, either."

"Ah." They walked on for a few minutes, then Macready stopped and kneeled in front of Abby, his palms extended toward her. The night was completely dark now, and the only light came from the back porch. Their shadows were long and sharp on the grass.

"Hit my hands, hard as you can," he instructed her.

"Hit you?" Abby was startled.

"Hit me. Do it."

Abby drew back her right fist and punched his palm. Macready seemed to have barely felt it.

"Again. This time with your left."

This hit was even weaker than the first.

"I thought so. Young Ellsworth, you hit like a girl."

"But I _am_ a girl," Abby protested. For some reason, she felt like she might cry.

"And a very pretty one, too. But that doesn't mean you have to hit like one," Macready informed her. "First, we're going to teach you how to throw."

And so, Macready taught her how to throw a ball. Abby had thought that she knew how, but he told her she didn't.

"When you throw, you're throwing from here." He pointed to her elbow. "You have to throw from your shoulder and carry through. Don't just fling the ball, child, aim it, don't let your arm stop after you've thrown it, just let it flow through."

Oliver looked out the window and saw his old, scarred Army buddy playing catch with his daughter with one of Tommy's old softballs.

After about fifty throws, Abby thought her arm was going to fall off, and she still wasn't throwing the way Macready wanted her to.

"Bring your arm back, let it flow forward. Throw it hard," he said.

Abby's mind seemed to shut off. The ball balanced in her hand, and then it was as if her arm were no more than an unconscious instrument. She didn't think, she just threw, and it launched like a rocket right towards Macready. It made a sharp smacking noise on Macready's hand. Abby stared in surprise.

"That's it! Do it again." Macready tossed the ball back to her.

Abby fired it again. It flew smooth and true.

Of the next dozen throws, some were really good, and some were just okay, but Abby knew what it felt like to throw. Macready had been right. She hadn't known how.

"Now, hit my hand again. Follow through, just like when you're throwing the ball, and pretend like you're trying to hit something behind my hand."

Abby threw a punch with her right fist that landed a solid blow on Macready's palm

"Good! Now put your shoulder behind it."

Abby did. This one rocked Macready back on his heels.

"Excellent! I'd say you know how to hit. Pretty good for a girl," Macready smiled.

"If you need to hit someone, hit here," Macready stood and gestured to his midsection, "right below the ribcage. Directly into the solar plexus. It'll knock the wind out of him and leave him wondering what day it is."

Abby smiled. Then she stopped. "But violence is wrong. The teachers say so. Besides, I'll get in trouble if I get in a fight."

Macready kneeled down again so his face was level with hers. "It's better not to get in a fight, it's true. And never, ever start one. But if someone else makes you fight, take her out, hard and clean. Don't get angry, just defend yourself and get out. Understand?"

Abby nodded.

"What's this bully's name?" Macready asked.

"Tracy Bulworth."

"Next time you see Tracy, look her straight in the eye and say to yourself, 'I don't want to fight, but you'll be sorry if we do.' Got that?"

"Yes. I'll remember."

"It's possible she won't mess with you. Bullies recognize strength, and it scares them. But it never hurts to be prepared."

================

So Macready and Abby had a special friendship. Happily, she hadn't needed to use her newfound hitting skills against the dreadful Tracy Bulworth. Macready had been right. Knowing she could defend herself made all the difference Abby's attitude, and that time at least, she hadn't had to fight. From time to time, Abby did try to practice hitting; usually she just punched her pillow. But it was also very useful to know how to throw better than almost any other girl her age.

Besides being happy to see Macready because he was her friend, he always brought over something good for dessert.

===============
Chapter 11

Meeting the Neighbor

=================

Abby was glad that Dad was in the Bonebreaker Race, of course, but it was nice to get away from it, too. Tom and Luke especially talked of little else.

One afternoon during their vacation, Sara and Abby were playing in the empty lot adjacent to the Ellsworths' house. Luke and his parents lived on one side, and there was a kind of shallow ravine running behind the house; sometimes the kids would ride their bikes down the ravine when it was dry enough, but this happened seldom during the spring. The empty lot had been taken over by native shrubbery, a couple of scraggly trees and overgrowth. On the far side of the empty lot was a quiet, dark gray house with a white front door; here lived the neighbor that Abby had seen at the fireworks show.

The Ellsworths had seen the man come and go and saw lights on in his house, but overall, the man with eccentric taste in clothing was a quiet neighbor.

This afternoon on a warm spring day, Abby and Sara had set up a house under the largest shrub in the vacant lot. Its heavy branches arched up and out then swept down to touch the ground, forming a dome protected by thorny arms. The bush had leafed out enough to make the interior private; once past the outer defenses, the center was a secret cave, dappled in filtered sunlight. Both Abby and Sara had contributed to their private house: Sara had brought some chipped dishware from the restaurant, and Abby had rolled in a couple of stumps for seats and hung an old picture from her room on the bush's trunk.

It was a cozy house, and only Abby and Sara knew about it. Or so they thought. Luis had followed Sara one day and had seen her disappear into the interior of the bush. Later, after the girls had left, he took a peek inside their secret fort. How boring! They didn't have anything worthwhile: no firecrackers or chewing tobacco, just stupid girl stuff. Sometimes girls weren't worth the effort of spying.

Sara and Abby were drinking cola out of their chipped mugs.

"I think we should be detectives," Abby announced.

"You mean when we grow up?"

"No. Now." Abby burped gently.

"Umm. Okay." Sara was agreeable. "What do you want to investigate?"

"My neighbor. I think he's up to things."

"What things?" Sara asked. There was a little cola left in the bottle, and she split the remainder between them.

"I saw him at the fireworks show." Abby proceeded to tell Sara what she saw at the Blue Pearl Sea on the evening of the American Independence Day celebration.

"I remember you being surprised at something when we were there. But you think there is something sinister about catching a bunny?" questioned Sara.

"I told you I don't think it was a bunny; it shot back at him." Abby waved her arms in some agitation.

"He could be dangerous," Abby added.

Sara was logical. "But if he's dangerous, we could be in danger if he knows we know."

"But he won't know that we know he knows."

"What?" Sara hadn't followed that one at all.

"I mean we won't let him know that we're watching him," Abby said.

Sara wasn't quite sure about Abby's logic but was willing to go along. They would observe the bunny hunter. "Okay. So what do we do?"

"Let's look in his windows."

"Now?"

"Now."

================

Several of the skinny trees bordered the neighbor's property. They were beginning to leaf out in delicate shades of green. The leaves made them look sturdier than they really were.

"If we climb those two," Abby gestured to the two stoutest of the trees, "we'll be able to get a good look." She strode to a tree and began to climb. It swayed but held. Sara sighed and began to climb, too. This made her think of something Luis would do.

====================

If the trees had been just a bit stronger, disaster would have been avoided.

Abby reached a sufficient height on her tree to look in the windows. She was standing on a branch that was considerably thinner than her wrist but was holding.

"What do you see?" Sara called.

"Nothing," Abby replied in a disgusted voice. "There's too much reflected sunlight on the window. I'm going a little higher; I think the roof overhang might help me look in if I can just go up more."

Abby climbed cautiously, but all the caution in the world couldn't help the tree to hold the girl's weight. It began to lean over, tiring of its burden. Abby lost her balance and grabbed desperately at a branch. It came off in her hand with a loud crack and Abby dropped to the ground.

Sara shrieked.

Abby contemplated the clouds for a moment. One of the worst things about falling, she reflected, was that moment just before hitting the ground. She moved her arms and legs. Nothing seemed to be broken, but she did have a long, painful scrape on her left leg. It was bleeding.

"Abby, Abby, are you all right?" Sara scrambled down the tree and ran to her friend. She knelt on the ground beside Abby.

Abby bit her lip and showed the scrape to Sara who made the appropriate noises of sympathy. "Does it hurt very bad?"

Abby nodded her head. Somehow the sympathy made it hurt more, not less. She wondered if other detectives ever had to deal with the indignity of falling out of a tree.

They heard a door close nearby, and a figure appeared around the corner of the adjacent house.

================

Abby's neighbor looked like a nice man, Sara thought. He certainly didn't look dangerous. In fact, Sara was reminded a bit of Uncle Al back on Earth. He was dressed in a gray pinstripe suit, quite normal looking. The blue beanie hat was kind of strange, though.

"Good day. Is there anything wrong?" He had a nice voice, Abby thought. He didn't seem to be mad at them for breaking a tree.

"We were, um, climbing trees, and a limb broke," Abby explained. "I fell."

"She hurt her leg," Sara added. She didn't think they were in trouble, but it still could be a good idea to play for a little sympathy.

"Let me see." He knelt beside Abby's leg, and put a hand on her foot, rotating it gently. "Does this cause a pain response at all?"

Abby shook her head. Mr. Neudel took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then blew out. His nose twitched. It was almost as if he was the one feeling pain.

"Good. It doesn't appear you damaged your skeletal structure nor the fascia," he said. Abby thought his language was kind of odd, like maybe he learned it late in life. And what, exactly, was fascia? Abby didn't even know she had any.

"We should clean this dermal damage to make sure there is no door for opportunistic bacteria. Can you walk?" he asked. Abby's neighbor stood up and offered a hand.

She got to her feet, and Sara also stepped in to steady her.

"Good. I have a kit for aid first, excuse me, first aid in my house.

"My name is Neudel, Nicholas Neudel. You are I believe Abigail Elaine Ellsworth?"

Abby nodded and said, "Except my name is Abby. Everyone calls me Abby."

"Abby. And you are Sara Vivian Vargas?"

"Just Sara," she replied. "How do you know our names?"

"I have been involved in immigration," Nicholas Neudel said. This wasn't much of an explanation, but it seemed to satisfy the girls.

"So, Sara and Abby, let us tend to the leg."

Nicholas Neudel led the way around the side of his house.

Abby and Sara looked at each other. The neighbor certainly didn't seem to be dangerous at all, and he didn't seem to be angry, even though they'd almost been trespassing. They decided to follow Mr. Neudel.

================

"He seems nice," Sara whispered in Abby's ear. She was supporting Abby as they walked to Mr. Neudel's front door. Abby didn't really need help to walk-- her leg wasn't that bad-- but it gave them an excuse to have their heads together.

"I know," Abby whispered back. "But watch out for anything suspicious."

================

Sara wasn't sure what would qualify as suspicious. Mr. Neudel's taste in furnishings was eccentric, though. To begin with, he had a Snoopy throw rug in his entryway, and his living room wall was adorned with a giant painting of Elvis ascending to heaven. There was a green velvet beanbag chair as well as a good-quality leather sofa with the nice effect only slightly spoiled by the 'I Love New York' pillow upon it. The mantelpiece had a nicely arranged pyramid of Campbell's Tomato Soup cans upon it, each one precisely balanced. The pyramid was flanked by stuffed lions.

The whole living room teetered between good taste and kitschy Americana. Sara decided she liked it. The large windows looking out into the central courtyard revealed a fountain that had a spouting Statue of Liberty replica fountain in the middle; an inscription at the statue's base read, 'De Oppresso Liber', and water was cascading out of Lady Liberty's upheld torch.

Abby sat cautiously on the edge of the couch. She didn't want to get any blood on the nice leather. Now that the initial shock of falling out of the tree was over, the wound was starting to throb.

Mr. Neudel came back into the room bearing a white plastic box that was stamped 'First Aid' on its cover in big red letters. It looked as if it had never been used. He opened it up and took out a tube of antibiotic cream and a handful of bandages.

"Let's see now," Mr. Neudel said. He thoughtfully read the instructions on the tube, then squeezed out a quantity of cream directly onto Abby's wound.

"I think you're supposed to spread it around," Abby said. "Here, I'll do it." She reached down gingerly and dabbed the cream the length of the wound.

"Very good. Now bandages." Nicholas Neudel seemed to have a bit of difficulty separating the two pieces of paper enclosing the bandage. Sara helped.

"There." He applied it over Abby's wound. "Looks like we'll need a few more, though," Mr. Neudel commented as he regarded his handiwork. He rubbed behind one of his ears with a hand. The bandage looked comic, like a little bridge across the river that was her wound. They eventually used five of the bandages. This wasn't the way Sara's Mom would have done it, nor Abby's Dad, but it worked.

========

After the dressing of the injury, Sara, Abby and Mr. Neudel trouped into the kitchen for a snack. "Sugar has regenerative properties in the event of trauma," Mr. Neudel said. Abby wished that her Dad knew about this.

Mr. Neudel served them all cola and Oreos and told them a little about himself.

"I immigrated from a small Eastern European country to America and then to Gracchia," he said. Abby thought this was a rather odd way of putting it. Why didn't he just name the European country, she wondered. Still, it accounted for some of the odd mannerisms, and Abby knew that Eastern Europe had been left relatively unscathed by the Blood War that had ravaged so much of Western Europe.

Dad always said that customs were not a rule of nature, even though many people seemed to believe they were. She supposed this was what he'd meant. There were a lot of different ways of doing things even among Humans, let alone aliens.

Mostly though, Mr. Neudel was interested in hearing Sara and Abby talk about themselves and what they thought of Aurelia. He was a good listener, which in turn made Abby and Sara feel interesting. He asked them about school, their friends and people they had met in Aurelia. They told him about their excursion to Ajincore Park for the art exhibition.

"Ah, yes. I understand it was not a success."

"I guess not. It was interesting though," Sara said. She took another Oreo.

Abby craftily brought up the Independence Day fireworks they'd seen a week or so ago. "How did you like them, Mr. Neudel?" she asked. Abby half expected him to deny he'd been there.

"Beautiful, just beautiful," he said.

He didn't seem to show any signs of guilt, Abby thought. She wondered what Nancy Drew would do. Abby decided that a detective would make up some reason to see the rest of the house.

"Can I use your restroom?" Abby asked. Sara gave her a thoughtful look.

"But of course. It is just off the corridor over there."

Abby hobbled off to the bathroom. There wasn't anything suspicious in here. Mr. Neudel had towels with yellow ducks on them. That seemed kind of odd for a man. Maybe they came with the house. Abby washed her hands and left the bathroom.

She risked a look into a bedroom. Nothing suspicious there, except it was kind of weird that apparently Mr. Neudel slept in a large hammock. Oh well. Abby wasn't sure what there would be to find. Somewhere at the back of her mind she'd thought that maybe there'd one of those weird blue ropes laying about or maybe some dead rabbits hidden in the bathroom, but Mr. Neudel seemed to be a nice man. If he was running around capturing bunnies, he hid it well.

==============

Walking back to Abby's house, Sara asked Abby if she was going to tell her Dad about today.

"I'll tell him I fell out of a tree and the neighbor helped us. It's true, after all."

"Do you still think he's some kind of, um, rabbit poacher? Mr. Neudel, I mean."

Abby looked thoughtful. "Not really. Still, there's something going on."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, exactly," Abby said. "Doesn't he seem kind of odd, though?"

"Everyone's weird, if you think about it. It's just more obvious with some people. Maybe it's because he's from Eastern Europe."

"There's more to it than that." Abby frowned in concentration. A detail was tugging at the edges of her consciousness, but the more she tried to see it, the more it slid away.

"Well, let me know when you find out."

=================

When Dad got home from work that day, he noticed her leg with the three bandages plastered inexpertly on it. He was surprised to hear that their neighbor had cleaned out the wound and applied the bandages. It looked as if a child had done it.

"I hope you thanked Mr. Neudel properly," Dad commented. "He seems like a nice man."

"You've met him?" Abby was surprised. This was the first she'd heard of it.

"Of course. After we'd moved in, I introduced myself one morning. I think you and Tom were already in school."

"Oh. What did you think of him?"

"As I said, a nice man. He's from Eastern Europe originally, I understand."

"Did you see the fountain in the middle of his courtyard?" Abby asked.

Dad smiled. "The Statue of Liberty. It's a powerful image particularly for immigrants."

So Dad didn't find anything odd about Mr. Nicholas Neudel. Abby would have to keep an eye on her neighbor. Just in case.

==================

The rest of the vacation period passed uneventfully.

During the next week, Tom noticed that Abby was frequently studying the neighborhood with binoculars.

"Who are you spying on?" he asked her one afternoon. Tom had followed Abby out to the vacant lot to find her lurking behind a bush, binoculars trained on the neighbor's house. He wondered why she was using binoculars; it wasn't like the house was far away.

"No one. I'm birdwatching," Abby replied, lowering the glasses.

"Still want to be a detective?" Tom said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Abby said in an annoyed voice.

"Just asking." Tom went back inside the house.

In fact, Abby saw nothing of significance. Mr. Neudel did seem to have a lot of Gracchus friends, but there was nothing suspicious about that; this was their planet, after all. Then one morning she saw their neighbor leave his house with a lumpy duffel bag, and he was gone.

The only other item of note during the last week of vacation was another missive from Prospero. He and several of his Gracchus compatriots on Earth were going to take a trip to see the Grand Canyon. Tom and Abby pictured Prospero riding a mule down the steep trail and hoped that he would be okay.

===============
Chapter 12

# The Calm Before

===============

Now that Tom and Abby had learned the Gracchian alphabet and learned how to spell simple words, Ms. Tavish started them on slightly more complex books. One of them involved mythical creatures from Gracchus legends. Termex, gibbles, niss, yalu. All of these were frightening, hulking beings who preyed on the unwary. Usually the tales involved a Gracchus who didn't listen to good advice and foolishly wandered off where he shouldn't. The similarity to Earth fairytales was striking. Then there was the class of nasty creatures that floated among the treetops: ikola, duvex, traca. These somewhat resembled ghosts but were much more vicious. Abby didn't much like these tales, especially the stories about the floating spirits.

At least when she needed to ground her mind again, there was always math. That was enough to bring anyone back to reality.

============

The Ellsworths received another missive from Prospero. A few weeks ago, Prospero had reported that he and a few of his Gracchus friends were visiting the Grand Canyon. Prospero sent pictures, including one of him perched on top of one of the patient mules used to transport visitors up and down the steep trails. When Abby and Tom had visited the Grand Canyon a couple of years ago, Dad had made them hike on foot. He'd pointed out that the people on mules tended to be very large. Now Tom commented that the mule looked happy to have someone as small and light as a Gracchus on its back.

Abby thought the mule looked sad, as mules always do.

This latest communique from Prospero involved a neighborhood dog.

When Tom and Abby got home from school, it was waiting in the whirlibox. Abby picked it up and began reading.

"It's from Prospero," she announced to Tom. "Oh, no. He's having problems with Sunflower. I think it chased him, maybe bit him."

The Kennedys lived three doors down from the Ellsworths' house back on Earth. They had a chow dog that was the terror of the neighborhood children; the dog had the good sense not to pick on adults. Last summer, Sunflower bit Abby and spent two weeks in the pound where it bit another dog. Dad had pressed charges against the Kennedys, but they had received a stern warning from the municipal court judge, nothing more. It might have done more good if Dakota and Preston Kennedy had been the ones to spend two weeks in the pound; Dakota and Preston were free spirits who didn't believe in chaining up their dog, but perhaps they could have been made to see reason. Now it seemed that the dog was on the loose again.

Abby read the whole note out loud:

========

To: Oliver Ellsworth and Progeny, Gracchia (000010101010)

From: Prospero, Earth (000010111000)

========

My friends, are you enjoying the air of my Gracchia? I hope you received the two-dimensional images of my excursion to the Grand Chasm. ("I think he means Grand Canyon," Abby said). I send you regards. I need your advice in dealing with our neighbors' wolf descendant known as 'Sunflower'. It believes I am a prey object and has treated me accordingly. The neighbors are unresponsive to my requests for restraint of this animal. Your laws are numerous but unclear; am I allowed to use my Xenoth on the creature? Thank you for your wise counsel.

========

"Xenoth? What's a Xenoth?" Tom said.

"I don't know, but I wish I could have used one on Sunflower," Abby said. "Maybe it'll send him to the moon."

"I'll ask Luke. I'll bet he knows."

========

Over at the Whipples' house, Luke was in his bedroom working on a model airplane. He was close to finishing it; the body was built, the wings and tail attached. Now all that was left was some of the painting details and the careful application of the stickers. The plane was a replica of the Bell X-1, the airplane Chuck Yeager flew to break the speed of sound, Luke explained. He was into antique machines and had other models on the shelves around his room, old cars and ships and other airplanes and rockets. Tom looked at the Bell X-1 with interest. It looked like a rocket laid on its side complete with a sharp nose. The wings were almost an afterthought. Tom knew that wasn't true, but that was how it looked. It was hard to believe that in less than a hundred years, they'd gone from breaking the sound barrier to going faster than light across the galaxy. No, that wasn't quite true either. Humans didn't go fast now, exactly; they just were able to go through a quantum loophole. It wasn't the same.

After Luke had finished pointing out the Bell X-1's many interesting features, Tom asked, "Have you ever heard of a Xenoth?"

"Why?" Luke was interested. "Do you have one?"

"No. But the Gracchus renting our house back on Earth wants to use one on the neighbor's dog," Tom explained.

"I hope he does," Abby interjected. "Sunflower's a really nasty dog."

"Xenoth is just the brand name. They make these things that strap onto your arm like a wristwatch but look like miniature rockets. The ones I've seen can shoot out a sticky foam that hardens around whatever it hits. Instant freeze. Another kind gives out a sonic shriek when a button is pushed. I've never heard it but supposedly its so bad that people, um, crap all over themselves." Picking up a pair of tweezers, Luke carefully applied one of the insignia stickers to a wing, an encircled star with short striped bands to either side of the circle.

"Ugh!" Abby looked disgusted.

"I've heard they have other types, too," Luke said as he finished smoothing out the sticker.

"Like what?" Abby asked.

Luke shrugged. "Kimmy at school says that the Gracchus have a model that dissolves stuff."

"Ick. Dissolves like acid?" said Abby.

"No, the thing just disappears. We were talking about it one day-- this was before you guys came-- and Luis said that it must break apart the molecular bonds. I don't know if he really knows or is just guessing." Luke was now ready to apply the decal to the tail of the plane, number 6062, just like the original.

"So when Prospero asks if he can shoot one at Sunflower, what kind of Xenoth is he talking about?" Tom asked.

Luke thought about it as he carefully finished smoothing down the number. There. He was finished. Luke put his completed model up on the shelf next to its brethren in miniature. Finally he said, "I kind of doubt he'd dissolve the dog permanently. I'd bet that he has one that shoots foam."

Abby was a little disappointed.

===========

Luke walked Tom and Abby back to their house to get outside for a bit after finishing the close-up work on his model and to give his eyes something else to focus on other than small details. Luke seemed preoccupied.

"Is anything wrong?" Abby asked. She hoped that for whatever reason, the Xenoth thing wasn't a more serious issue than Luke had let on.

"No, not wrong exactly. It's just that Mom and Dad are considering becoming permanent resident s on Gracchia, not just temporary. They love it here, and Dad says that teaching about Shakespeare to a whole new group of minds reminds him of why he wanted to teach in the first place. I know he didn't much like working for he university back home. He was always getting headaches, really bad migraines."

"Don't you want to stay here?" said Tom.

"It's great. Mom and Dad don't worry so much, and so they let me go out and do stuff without having to know every single minute what I'm doing. Still, I'd always known that we were eventually going back to Earth. It takes some getting used to," Luke explained.

"Will you be a citizen, too?" Abby asked.

"A permanent resident, not a citizen. Or at least not yet. Citizen is a step above resident. I asked my Dad about the difference, and he said that citizenship has to be earned or something like that. This was right after he told me that we're probably not going back to Earth after all, and I wasn't listening that closely.

"At least we've passed the smell test already," Luke joked.

"What smell test?"

"Didn't you know? The Gracchus all have a great sense of smell; I've heard it's even better than a dog. When you applied to live on Gracchia, you had a visit from a Gracchus. They like to know what you smell like before they'll grant final clearance."

Abby was bewildered. "But the only one who visited us was Prospero and he was there to see if we could swap houses."

"Count on it. He was giving you the smell test. If you hadn't passed, if he didn't like the way you smelled, you wouldn't be here now."

"Besides, Ab, then we had all the Gracchus over for a picnic," Tom pointed out. He wasn't as bothered by the idea of a smell test as was Abby.

Luke went on, "My Dad has the theory that the Gracchus change their names so easily because their real identity, for them, is tied up in smells rather than a name. 'A name is more like an accessory instead of a defining label,'" Luke quoted in an imitation of his Dad's voice.

Abby thought about this. At least they'd passed. In some ways, Gracchia felt so comfortable that she forgot that it was a foreign planet, that there was much they didn't know about life here.

Abby and Tom wondered what it would be like to never go back to Earth. There were some things that they missed, like television and the movies, and they especially missed Gemma. Still, in some ways it would be hard to leave Gracchia. After only a little more than two months, it felt like they'd always been here.

============

Several days passed before the Ellsworths learned of the disposition of the Sunflower Case. Oliver had transmitted a message back to Prospero telling him to enlist Gemma's help. She was on the scene and could evaluate the best course of action.

Oliver knew how direct and unsentimental Gemma was. For a grandmother, she could be singularly bloody-minded.

As it turned out, Prospero froze the dog with foam from his Xenoth, then with Gemma's help, delivered Sunflower to the front lawn of Preston and Dakota Kennedy without further explanation. Eventually, a vet was able to free the frozen chow dog with a carefully wielded chisel. Aside from the stench of being enclosed in foam for a day, the dog appeared to be unhurt aside from having a new fear of small, furry people.

As Gemma wrote, "The Kennedys could and did ignore disgruntled neighbors. But now that their nasty dog has been dealt with directly, they're keeping it in its own yard. Prospero has made more than a few friends among the neighborhood children."

==============

The one other item of note that late Spring was Abby's discover that Pip was smarter than she might have guessed.

One cool, overcast afternoon, Abby was doing math homework out in the courtyard. Ms. Tavish had a sparing hand with the homework, especially with the younger students, thank goodness, but Abby didn't have a natural knack for mathematics. So sometimes she would have to do extra work just to keep up in geometry with Sara and the Birnbaums. Abby didn't particularly like this, but she accepted it. She was better at learning Gracchian than Tommy was, so that helped even things out.

Several weeks earlier, Abby had emptied her bag of glass marbles into the courtyard pool. Abby had never been interested in playing marbles, but she had bought them simply because she loved the way they looked. They were beautiful marbles in the four basic colors: blue, green, yellow and red. They were clear except for small sparkles in their depths. Abby had spread them throughout the courtyard pool, and they did add a pretty note when the sun was shining down into the water, and the marbles sparkled back in their bright colors.

Abby, was seeking some distraction from the tedium of doing geometry proofs (why did she have to prove anything? It had all been done before). Gazing down into the courtyard pool, trying to see Pip, Abby noticed that the marbles had been arranged in a pattern. She went to go get Tom.

"You didn't do that, did you?" asked Tom.

"Of course not!" Abby was indignant.

"I wonder what it means. I'm going to go get Luke."

Luke was fetched from his home to see the marvel in the Ellsworths' pool.

"What is it?" Abby asked. "Have you ever seen an octopus do this before?"

Luke shook his head. "Never. Maybe we should ask the Gracchus."

Pip the octopus had collected most of the colored marbles and arranged them in two piles. This was interesting enough, perhaps he liked the sparkly colors and was hoarding the marbles much as a magpie back on Earth would collect pretty things. But what was really remarkable was that Pip had separated them out by color. There was a pile of the green and the blue marbles on one side of the pool and the reds and yellow were on the opposite side.

"You know, I think the piles are by the tunnel entrances," Luke observed. See the blues and greens are by the tunnel that leads over to my house. Westward."

"And the yellows and reds are by the tunnel that goes over to Mr. Neudel's house!" Abby said.

"Wow. So does that mean that octopuses have a sense of direction? Or is it something else?" asked Tom.

"I don't know. I'm going to put some marbles in our pool too and see if he does the same thing over there," Luke said.

"This means an octopus can see color. Pip must be able to tell the different colors apart if she can sort them like this," observed Abby. "Cats are mostly colorblind," she added.

When Luke added marbled to his courtyard pool, Pip did the same thing over there, and it did seem as if the octopus was using it to mark direction. The greens and blues were placed by the most westerly tunnel, and the reds and yellows were by the easterly. Abby would test Pip by putting more marbles in from time to time, and pip always sorted them in the same manner. Abby also noticed that there seemed to be fewer marbles in the pool than there were originally, and she wondered what Pip was doing with them. Obviously, the octopus was taking them somewhere, but why? Was Pip sharing them with friends? Abby's questions would go unanswered until the summer.

=============

The next few weeks passed without incident both for Prospero and the Ellsworths. The season evolved into the period called Full Bloom by the Gracchus which marked the height of springtime. The main topic of conversation among the children of the Wooster School, and indeed in most of the city of Aurelia, was the upcoming Bonebreaker Race.

Even Oliver's landlord was caught up in race fever. One day, Oliver was walking to his office when he glanced up into the woodworker's shop. Flora was wearing a scarlet hat, a little thing with a big blue tassel on top. The tassel, a wonder of shiny blue silk, was almost bigger than the hat. Oliver stopped in to see what could inspire such a display of sartorial splendor.

"My team is a favorite to win the Bonebreaker Race this year according to the prognosticators. These," she gestured to her hat, "are our colors. Blood in the arterial and venous."

Heavens. "You're a big fan?"

"Everyone is, in some way or another." Flora was engaged in hand-carving a curvy, sinuous chair with three massive legs. The whole chair was large, probably sized for one of her Nawak customers. The chair was formed entirely out of a single piece of wood, dark cinnamon colored with fine cream veins running through it. It was a striking piece even in its unfinished state. Flora had roughed out the approximate shape and was now using finer tools to further carve the legs.

"Rumor is that you've joined a team," Flora said.

Oliver admitted that he had.

Flora's eyes twinkled and the tassel on her hat bobbed. "We approve of people—how do you Humans say it?—jumping in with both feet."

Oliver wondered, not for the first time, just what he was in for.

=============

Over the next few days, Tom, Abby, and Oliver noticed more people in the street with odd things hanging around their necks or strapped around their bodies. There were skulls, small stuffed animals and little bouquets of flowers. Once Tom saw a miniature tree in a pot balanced on top of someone's head. Upon inquiry, all these things turned out to be symbols of favored teams. Apparently, the colors that Oliver's landlord had been wearing were the most subtle way of indicating a preference.

The town of Aurelia too was decorated in advance of the big day. Many shops and houses were decked out in swags of color or special LED light displays, somewhat like Christmas lights back on Earth. One fan even put out a series of statues of orange and black salamanders in front of her house. This house was near the Wooster School, and Tom and Abby passed it daily on their way to school. One morning, they noticed that the statues were all wearing hats with miniature trees on them, the symbol of a rival team. The hats were gone by the time they walked home.

Ms. Tavish never held school on Bonebreaker Day; it would have been an exercise in futility since the whole town of Aurelia shut down. No shops were open, no one was at home. Everyone gathered along points of the race course to spectate, to offer help, to mislead the rival teams if possible.

By the even before the Bonebreaker Race, it seemed as if the whole town were vibrating from the excitement of the inhabitants.

==========
Chapter 13

The Bonebreaker Race Begins

===========

Oliver got up extra early the morning of the Bonebreaker Race. His team was going to meet at Macready's house an hour or so before the start to organize their supplies and plan strategy, insofar as it was possible. Tom and Abby got up, too; they wanted to say goodbye to their Dad and wish him good luck. After all, it was not every day that a parent got to participate in an alien sporting event.

Abby scrambled a large pan of eggs for the three of them. Scrambled eggs, though plain, was one of her favorite dishes, and she did them well. Eggs on Gracchia had a bright orange yolk, much more striking than eggs from Earth, and they made for an especially sunny breakfast. Abby claimed that the Gracchian eggs had a slightly sweet taste, but Dad and Tom couldn't tell any difference. No one had asked what kind of bird the eggs came from. Oliver wasn't sure they wanted to know. Sometimes it was easier not to, particularly if the bird in question was cute or hideous. Chickens weren't either, at least once they outgrew the downy stage; therefore it was easier to eat them and their eggs.

The sky was clear that morning with the exception of some clouds to the southwest hovering over the top of Mount Pelerin. They clustered around the summit of the mountain like a big, white bridal bouquet. But otherwise it looked to be a fine day in late spring. According to Luke, some of the past races had taken place on days with rain and wind and once there was even snow. He'd said that bad weather tended to be an equalizer, and some of the most surprising wins had come during stormy Bonebreakers. The Ellsworths weren't especially interested in a surprise win this year; they were just glad to see the nice weather, Abby especially. She liked getting wet about as much as a housecat did.

Tom and Abby were going to watch the start of the race with Luke and his parents. "Please stick together. I don't know what kind of a crowd this is going to be," Dad said. He wasn't too worried; Aurelia was civilized and the kids were safe in the streets. Still, this was a first for all of them, and crowds could be unpredictable.

"We'll be fine, Dad," Tom assured him, dipping his toast into egg yolk and taking a bite. "Luke has seen it before."

"And after the race starts, we're going to be with Sara and Luis, too," Abby said. They'd planned on riding their bikes. Luke said that this was the best way to see a lot of the race.

"Mrs. Whipple is making lunches for us to take with us," Abby added.

Wilson the cat came into the kitchen and made the rounds. Tom offered him a small piece of scrambled egg on an extended fingertip under the table. Wilson sniffed carefully before taking a dainty bite. Oliver pretended not to see.

"That's good of Mrs. Whipple. Be sure to say thank you," said Dad, taking more eggs. He wasn't sure when he'd be able to eat during the race or if it would be a good idea. There might not be time. Wilson came over to see if he could get more egg from the largest Human but had no luck.

Abby added hot sauce to her scrambled eggs. Wilson's nose twitched in disapproval at the scent of spice and chile wafting through the air. Ever since she'd made the kish-kish stew for school, Abby had gained an appreciation for the pleasure of burning her taste buds. Tom ate his with plain salt and pepper.

"We'll meet after the race at the finishing area near the Blue Pearl Sea," Dad said, "presuming our team makes it that far. If not, we'll meet back here at the house." Some years as many as half the teams didn't finish.

"Okay, Dad."

=============

"The first thing they do is hand out the ceremonial staffs," Luke explained to Abby and Tom. Luis and Sara had seen prior races too. However, Luke was the best versed in race lore; he was a fountainhead of information and trivia.

This year the race started in the big public square near the center of town. In years past, Luke had told them, sometimes the beginning had been far away, and complaints had been numerous. Once the race had begun on the top of Mount Pelerin; the Aeris were still peeved about that one.

The spectators liked to see the beginning to cheer on his team and size up the opposition, perhaps take an opportunity to sow confusion among rivals. The only question this year was if the square could hold all of the spectators.

Tom and Abby had seen their Dad off earlier then cleaned up the breakfast debris and headed over to the Whipples' house. They both brought their backpacks, now happily empty of schoolwork. Mrs. Whipple loaded them down with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bags of sliced fruit and large bottles of water. Then she added brownies and chocolate chip cookies, both.

"Mom, you've given us enough food for a week!" Luke said.

"Better to have too much than not enough," Jo Whipple replied with motherly logic. "You're going to be running around all over creation today, and it's important to have enough energy. And I don't want you eating any of the food at the checkpoints."

"Why not?" Tom asked.

Luke had the answer. "One year," he explained, "the Vannevar put a rash-inducing weed extract in the water supply. They drank it too, and said that the rash was merely an art effect, polka-dotted skin."

"Oh. Well, thanks for all the stuff, Mrs. Whipple. This is great," Tom said.

"Thanks a lot," Abby echoed.

"You're welcome. Such good manners! How's your father doing? Looking forward to the race?"

"I think so. He's kind of nervous, though," Abby said.

"Nonsense! He'll do just fine," Carr Whipple boomed, coming into the kitchen where the kids were busy fitting all the food into their backpacks. Mr. Whipple wasn't an official member of the MAFM, but during the past two years' races, he had been known to lend an unofficial hand in finding some of the more obscure scavenger items. Mrs. Whipple didn't know about this; she was strictly by the book, a stickler for the rules. Luke did know.

"If the camels are loaded, let's get this caravan on the road," Mr. Whipple said.

==============

Luke, Abby and Tom walked their bikes as they went with the adult Whipples down to the Aurelia town square.

"We can stow them on a side street," Luke explained, "and then get them after the opening ceremony when the race starts. It'll be so crowded, there's no way we can bring them into the square."

"How are we going to find Sara and Luis?" Abby wanted to know.

"If we don't see them, I told them we'd meet in front of the House of Fire since it's pretty close anyway," Luke said.

When they were still several blocks away from the town square, they could hear a murmuring tide, swelling and growing exponentially louder as they grew closer. Abby, Tom and Luke racked their bikes in front of the Theobroma Café (closed, like everything else) and then proceeded with Mr. and Mrs. Whipple. The crowd noise didn't sound so much like a group of people as like a force of nature, a windstorm or a huge tide rolling in. In the wash of sound, it was difficult to discern individual voices, and the Humans' LMDs didn't work very well. There was simply too much background noise. The LMD couldn't pick a thread of voice out of the cloth of the talking crowd.

Still, Abby, Tom and the Whipples had some idea of what was being said when they saw a giant Nawak trot by, swathed in a sort of toga in green and red, chanting "Ohboy notsorindi BA!" over and over again. He looked like a berserk Christmas ornament. Tom wondered if 'ohboy notsorindi BA' was the name of the Nawak's team or if he was putting a curse on his competitors. But it was impossible to tell; the Nawak's voice was just one of thousands.

When they arrived in the square, the Humans saw a riotous melange of color and shapes. Ribbons of scent curled through the mix of people. Strong was the smoke from the Aeris furiously puffing on cigarettes, but there were also vendors of spicy hot drinks with the smell of cloves and the various perfumes and body odors from the packed crowd. Abby saw one delirious Vannevar swirling in circles, carried away with the spirit of the event, her arms occasionally hitting one of the other spectators, a stuffed dead rodent strapped to the top of her hat. Tom wondered, not for the first time, which team was using a rodent as its symbol. It seemed so odd. And what did that little bonsai tree represent? Back on Earth, football teams had been represented by lions, tigers and bears, maybe a horse or even historical figures like miners or meatpackers. Tom supposed that some of these could look weird to an alien, too. They'd probably have to learn a lot of the history and mythology of Gracchia and the other planets before they could know the story behind some of these symbols.

The competing teams—there were eight this year—were gathered in the middle of the square in an area slightly separated from the crowd jamming the perimeter. An elderly-looking Gracchus was on an elevated platform in the center. He seemed to be consulting some type of tablet in his hands, shaking his head from time to time.

"Can you see Dad?" Abby asked. She had to shout in Tommy's ear to be heard.

Tom craned his neck. It was difficult to find anything in this crowd. "Nope!" Tom shouted back. He shook his head for emphasis.

Then Luke said, hands cupped to direct his voice to Abby, "I don't see your Dad, but I can see Macready." He pointed to an area adjacent to the central platform. Abby could half-hear him, but she could also read his lips a little.

Abby jumped up and down to see the area that Luke was pointing to. At first she didn't see, but then she could make out Macready's balding head. "There's Macready, Tommy!"

"I can see Dad, too," Tom yelled back. He grinned. This was great.

The elderly Gracchus, master of ceremonies, held up his arms. The crowd grew comparatively quieter. He didn't have a microphone, but the Gracchus knew the art of voice projection and crowd psychology. His words carried across the heads of the crowd, and with one dominant voice instead of a cacophony, the Humans' LMDs worked.

"This is the part where they hand out the staffs," Luke said. He no longer had to scream.

"To the team of Mighty Carnivorous Amphibian, I give the staff of Ophis!" the Gracchus announced. A nearby group of Aeris made happy, squeaking noises. The Gracchus handed an ornate staff decorated with multicolored, faceted stones to one of the Amphibian team members.

"To the team Ghost Wind from the Northeast, I give the staff of Musgux!" This time, the team seemed to be primarily composed of Vannevars, and the staff that was given to them was embedded with green stones. Abby wondered if they were real emeralds. A group of fans erupted in cheers and honking sounds.

"To the team of Smoke and Iron, I give the staff of Taranto!" This staff was covered with red stones. The Gracchus who took the staff had a miniature tree attached to the top of his head. It looked quite uncomfortable.

"To the Midlife Corpulents, I give the staff of Gannax!" Tom burst out laughing as the Gracchus Master of Ceremonies handed Macready a staff decorated with clear crystals. Tom supposed that 'Middle-Aged Fat Men' didn't translate directly. The other Humans were also laughing and cheering and clapping for the MAFM. Someone let out a shrill, warbling whistle, too. Tom and Abby were surprised to see it was Sara.

Sara grinned. "My Uncle Al taught me!" she shouted above the cheers. Cool. Abby hoped that Sara would teach her how to whistle, too.

Three of the remaining teams were introduced, each with its accompaniment of applause from the fans. Then the final team was announced. "To the team of Velvet Claw Kitten, I give the staff.........of the Blues!" The whole crowd erupted in noise. This staff was different from the other seven. It was plain wood, without ornamentation.

"That staff is the most important one!" Luke shouted. "It contains a part of the original document that the Blue brought back through enemy lines. Old – it's really old. Velvet Claw gets it because they're the winners from last year."

Abby would have expected the most important and prestigious staff to have the most jewels and crystals. But the staff did stand out among its flashier counterparts. Still, she preferred the sparkling ones.

At a signal from the head Gracchus, a round, cannon-like machine on the central platform began to spew dice upon the huge crowd. At least, it looked like dice. The small cues rained down upon the people who reached and snatched at them.

Perhaps these were some sort of alien party favors.

"Maps!" Luke said as he jumped up to catch a cube. One of them bopped Sara in the head. She blinked then picked it up from the ground.

"Push the button on top, and you'll get a map of the race and a list of the stuff for the scavenger hunt," Luke said.

Tom managed to catch two at once, and he gave one to Abby. They pressed the small button, and a three-dimensional map immediately sprung forth. It showed the town of Aurelia and the area immediately around it, including Vespa Falls, Pelerin Mountain and the Aramys Book Cliffs. The checkpoints were indicated by little scintillas of light; there looked to be about twelve of them. Luke had said that the racers won points for each checkpoint they reached, plus there were puzzles and riddles at each checkpoint station for bonus points.

Around the town's central square, the race participants and all the fans had brought their maps to life, pointing to areas on the map and discussing routes in excited voices. There wouldn't have been enough room for the maps and the crowd crushed together except for the fact that the projected maps didn't need free space; they just looked opaque even as they were shining onto a space occupied by a person. Unfortunately, this meant that anyone pointing at a spot on the map was likely to poke the person next to him. Abby put her hand into her map; it partially disappeared inside the image. Her fingers looked ghostlike atop Pelerin Mountain.

Many of the checkpoints were in town or close by, but one of the points was out at Vespa Falls, southeast of Aurelia, and one of them was on a small island in the Blue Pearl Sea. That one looked very difficult to reach, which meant that it was worth more points, Abby guessed. Abby looked closer at the checkpoints. One of them was moving, she was sure of it. The wandering point was north of Aurelia, and it seemed to be drifting a bit to the east, towards the Blue Pearl Sea.

Unfortunately, the scavenger list was written in Gracchian, and Abby's and Tom's language skills weren't up to deciphering the list.

"Here." Luke showed them how to change the language display by pressing another button, a smaller, less noticeable one on the cube's top. The scavenger list appeared in Aerisian, then Vannevarian as Luke continued to hold down the button. When the list appeared in English, he lifted his finger. The names of the checkpoints and various geographical features now also appeared in English.

Abby re-examined the moving checkpoint. It was labeled, simply, 'herd.' If this checkpoint was actually a herd of animals—verdingers, perhaps?—that would explain why it wasn't standing still. She wondered what would happen if the verdingers refused to let anyone come close. Maybe there'd be a stampede.

The scavenger list was long and included such things as an autograph from Branaugh Dinwiddie (Item 4), a radascall lance (Item 15), and dung from a bobosma (Item 17).

"What's a bobosma?" Tom asked, but his question was lost in the general noise. He might not know what a bobosma was, but Tom was pretty sure he could help the MAFM team get some of these things, if his Dad would let him assist. For instance, Tom knew exactly where he could find a pair of Human's striped boxer shorts (Item 23).

The fans were all discussing this year's map and list with great excitement. The Bonebreaker teams were each huddled together like a football squad discussing the play, plotting strategy and the best course of action.

"Ha! An unopened bottle of Flottle!" (Item 2) Mr. Whipple said. "I can just guess why the judges want that one." Flottle was a delicate and expensive liquor especially beloved by the Gracchus.

The Gracchus Master of Ceremonies let the discussion proceed for a few minutes, then he held up his small hands for attention once again.

"And now, in honor of the spirit which drove our ancestors beyond the bounds what is merely improbable and into the nearly impossible, let us begin the race!" Another wild cheer broke out from the crowd, and the people began to disperse. To Tom's and Abby's surprise, the Bonebreaker teams didn't immediately race out of the square to the first of their chosen destinations, but still seemed to be taking stock of the list and talking about strategy. Slowly, one by one, the teams trickled out of the area to the checkpoints. Some of the team members would be delegated to find what the could on the scavenger list, but it was also valuable to have as many members as possible make it through each of the checkpoints. So most teams preferred to find such scavenger items as they could along the route between the checkpoints, detouring from the course as little as possible. It was all a question of strategy, a balance of ingredients for the maximum points.

A quick, sharp scuffle broke out between a Nawak and an Aeris. If Abby hadn't been looking directly at them as they were leaving the square, she wouldn't have seen it. The Aeris tried to snatch a water bottle from the pack of a Nawak, possibly because he was thirsty, but more likely for a sinister reason, like dropping salt in the water or some violent emetic. At any rate, the fight was over almost before it had begun when the Nawak noticed the erring Aeris and merely leaned her bulk against the Aeris as they passed a wall, the Aeris' hand trapped in mid-grab. She brushed him off with all the consideration she'd show an annoying horsefly.

The Aeris lay still on the ground for a brief moment, the shook himself vigorously and ran to catch up with his teammates. Abby had to admire the Nawak. It must be wonderful to be tall and mighty, she thought wistfully as they made their way back to where the bicycles were parked. Not many messed with the Nawaks. Or if they did, they were brushed off.

At the edge of the square, Luis stopped and pointed back. "Look, the MAFM are leaving." The Human team was exiting the square, taking a southeastern direction. Luis popped his map and peered at the checkpoints. "I'll bet they're going to Fromage Park first." Fromage Park, especially beloved by the Aeris, was close to the town center. It was a logical first checkpoint choice.

"Sara, Luis, where'd you guys park your bikes?" Luke asked.

"We just left them at home since we didn't know if we'd find you in the square," Sara said.

"Ours are right around the corner, here," Luke pointed.

"C'mon, Luis. We'll run and meet you back here, just a few minutes," Sara said. She and Luis ran off quickly.

Mr. and Mrs. Whipple walked with Luke, Abby and Tom back to the side alley where they'd left their bicycles. As Tom was stowing his map cube in his backpack, he felt something unfamiliar in one of his pack pockets, something lumpy but hard. He pulled out a bag of marbles.

"What's this doing here?"

Abby grimaced in apology. "Sorry. I put those in your pack to give to Luke because he wanted some more to put in his pool. I forgot to tell you."

"Jeez. Why didn't you put them in yours?"

"They're heavy," Abby explained with impeccable logic.

Tom just shook his head.

============

"Interesting, isn't it?" Carr Whipple observed as they made their way along the street along with a flood of other people. "The whole spectacle, the pageantry and colors could almost be something out of the history of Earth. Makes me think of the Palio, in fact."

Tom took the bait. "What's the Palio?"

"The Palio was an annual horse race through the streets of Florence, held annually through the years of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Florence, Italy, that is. By all accounts, the Palio was a rough event, sometimes involving broken bones of the horse and the riders, sometimes even the spectators who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Death was not unheard of."

Mr. Whipple was one of the few academics who had been granted travel and residence permission on Gracchia. Luke was used to his father putting everything in historical context, comparing and contrasting the histories of the Human and Gracchus species. Carver Whipple was not only an expert on Shakespeare but also a passionate historian. His parents, scientists both, had hoped that he would follow in their footsteps and had named him after the great George Washington Carver, but Carr Whipple had gone his own way, as children will do regardless of the desires of their parents.

"The fans of the Palio were worthy of the name. 'Fan' is short for fanatic, you know," Carr Whipple continued. "Usually the allegiance to one stable remained constant all through one's life, and whole families wore the colors of their chosen team to show support."

They arrived at the stashed bicycles. Carr Whipple's lessons never really ended; they just got interrupted by other things.

Jo Whipple had a few cautionary words.

"Now you have fun, but stay out of harm's way. Your father and I will see you at the finishing area, so be sure you're there."

"Right, Mom."

=============

The three kids pedaled over to the House of Fire to meet up with Sara and Luis. Luis was practically dancing with impatience.

"Let's go, let's go!" Luis sped off on his bike in the general direction of Fromage Park. Sara and Luke followed. Tom lingered for a moment with Abby.

"You all go on ahead. I forgot something back at the house," he said.

Abby gave Tom a sharp look. He was up to something. But the others were already disappearing around a corner, and she didn't want to be left behind.. "Where will we see you, then?"

"I'll find you, don't worry, I'll catch up." Tom was already gone.

==============

Fromage Park was jammed. At least half of the Bonebreaker teams had decided to come here first, including the MAFM.

The checkpoint was easy to reach. The bonus points were another matter.

On their bikes, Sara, Luis, Luke and Abby had arrived just a little behind the five teams that had elected to go to the Fromage Park checkpoint as their first stop. The team members all passed through an arch with registered their unique energy signatures (impossible to fake even by the trickiest contestants) and thus gained the deserved points for their team. Two of the teams had simply collected the points earned for reaching this checkpoint and had moved on to other sites, one of the teams going southeast to Vespa Falls and the other westward to Eck's Cave. The remaining three teams were attempting to gain the bonus points by solving a riddle.

Once a team had decided to take on the bonus point challenge, they could quit and move on without successfully solving the challenge, but it would cost them a deduction in style points, or as Macready referred to them, 'gumption points.' The risk was worth the reward, though; the bonus points were substantial, and the harder the challenge, the greater the score.

The Humans kids tried to find the MAFM. Luis was the first to spot them in front of the bonus point area. Two of the MAFM were missing, out hunting for items on the scavenger list.

"There they are! I'll bet they're stuck," Luis declared. He slid his slight frame sideways through the crowd to get closer to the team. Luis was confident that he'd have no problem solving the riddle.

"Luis is peeved because Dad won't let him join a Bonebreaker team," Sara sighed as the others attempted to follow. "He says that brains are more important than brawn, and so he should be allowed to join no matter how small or young he is.

"He could even be right, but it's been a long couple of months. Every night, the same argument."

They caught up with Luis who was hovering on the edge of the MAFM who had huddled to ponder the answer to the riddle given by the Gracchus checkpoint judge. Macready pretended not to see them as he murmured the riddle out loud:

"Lighter than what I am made of,

More of me is hidden than seen."

That was it, a very short clue. Oliver was attempting to examine it rationally. "Let's see. We know it can't be something that's unique to Earth or Gracchia. And it can't refer to any one culture, because that wouldn't be fair to the others. Hmmm.

"Yet how can it be lighter than what it's made of? Doesn't seem possible." Oliver's brow was wrinkled in thought. Adult brains didn't move easily in new directions, most of them.

Luis was wiggling around. It was obvious to any and all observers that he knew the answer and was bursting to tell. If he'd been in a classroom, Luis' arm would be waving around like a semaphore. His brain did move in new directions, sometimes several new directions all at the same time. Macready eyed him indirectly. Help was sometimes given in the puzzle challenges, but it was much better stylistically for the teams to solve the riddles by themselves. Luis knew this, too. He was struck by transparent cunning.

"Gee, do you know what would be really great right now?" Luis asked Sara in a voice that couldn't be heard more than a half-mile away. "A glass of cold water."

Sara immediately saw Luis' point, though she wished he had a bit more subtlety. Oh well. You took the brother you were given. "Mmmm, yes," she replied. "A glass of _really cold, cold_ _, cold_ _water_."

Macready suppressed a smile. The kids had the answer.

If there were any Gracchus judges listening in, it was possible that this small charade had fooled them. Or perhaps it would simply amuse them.

Macready whispered the answer into Oliver's ear. Oliver slapped his forehead. "But of course!" He hurried off to submit the MAFM team's answer to the riddle so they could run to the next checkpoint.

A Vannevar, having watched all this, sidled up to Luis. "Do you really know the answer? I find it hard to believe that such a young Human would be able to decipher so quickly a clue," he said in an offhand voice. The Vannevar smoothed his sleek hair with a bejeweled hand, emeralds sparkling in the spring air. "If, that is, you do know......?"

"It's easy," Luis boasted. "If you just think of the physical properties of--- Mmth!" Sara clapped a hand over Luis' big mouth and dragged him away, smiling politely at the Vannevar contestant. If he hadn't figured out the riddle from Luis' broad hint, then it seemed that he'd try to get the answer with guile.

"You dummy!" she hissed. "He was trying to get the answer out of you."

"Uh. No he wasn't," Luis said. "He was just..." Luis' voice trailed off. In fact, Sara could be right. Just this once.

"Oh, never mind," Sara said. "I wonder where Tom is. The team is going to Vespa Falls next, and he's still not here. We have to get going."

==============

Tom pedaled furiously back to his house. He was pretty sure that he could find several of the scavenger items for the team. Wilson greeted him at the door, and Tom paused to scritch him behind his ears. But there was time for no more cat moments. He ran into his sister's bedroom. Just as he thought: Neither he nor Abby had red tennis shoes, one of the things on the list, but one of her big dolls had red lace-ups strapped on her little artificial feet. Tom thought that a good case could be made that these were Human shoes, even if they were made for a Human toy. Maybe they'd fit a Gracchus. He knew that Abby would be less than thrilled to see her doll shoeless, so he stuffed the toy behind some of her other junk so the feet couldn't be seen. Tom stuffed the clandestine shoes deep into his backpack; he would be careful not to let Abby see them until he could hand them over to the MAFM. Maybe she'd never notice that they were gone.

Then Tom went to his father's bedroom. Another of the items on the scavenger list was any kind of striped undergarments. He rifled through Dad's boxer undershorts until he came up with two pair, one in orange and black (did Dad wear these on Halloween?) and one with calmer blue and white stripes. Tom took them both; Dad had plenty and perhaps one of them could be bartered to another team.

Tom thought possibly there was a bottle of Flottle in the liquor cabinet, but no such luck. He might have hesitated to take one anyway, but Tom didn't have to make the decision.

Tom was thirsty from his bicycling and scavenging. As he was getting a drink from the kitchen sink, Tom almost choked when he heard a knock at the door. He coughed violently.

Cautiously, quietly, Tom approached the front door. Maybe he'd been followed by a Bonebreaker official. Did they throw people in jail for helping out a team? How did they even know that he was here for the MAFM?

This was silly. Luke had said that anything goes in the Bonebreaker Race, and besides, Tom was fast on a bike. He hadn't been followed. Still, Tom barely inched the door open, ready to slam it again if necessary.

Mr. Whipple stood on the front doorstep, a book in his hand.

"Tom! I was next door, saw you coming back."

Mr. Whipple's eyes twinkled. "You're getting things for the scavenger list, I'd wager."

Tom wasn't sure if he was in trouble or not, but he nodded. "Um. Yes. Red shoes and some striped underwear."

"Ah, great! Here, you can take this, too." Carr Whipple handed Tom the book, looking backwards towards his own house.

The book was a paperback copy of _King Lear_ by William Shakespeare.

"Open the front cover," Mr. Whipple suggested.

Tom looked. On the first page, in an almost undecipherable scrawl: 'Property of Branagh Dinwiddie.

"For the scavenger hunt," Mr. Whipple explained. "Item thirty-eight is an autograph by Branagh Dinwiddie, the man who introduced the Gracchus to the pleasures of The Bard."

"Wow!" Tom said. "But are you sure you want to give this up? Isn't it worth a lot of money?"

Mr. Whipple grinned. "It's worth, oh maybe five dollars back on Earth. Serious Shakespeare scholars become conversant with the detection of forgeries. Which means we look at a lot of fakes. This happens to be a very good representation of Branagh Dinwiddie's signature. I should know; I did it myself!" Mr. Whipple beamed.

"But, ahem, please don't tell Mrs. Whipple. I'm not sure that women always understand sports and such. Get along now, you've got to get that stuff to the team."

"Thanks, Mr. Whipple. This is great," Tom said. He took special care in tucking away the copy of _King Lear_ , then got back onto his bike and sped away. With all this help, the MAFM were sure to win.

============

Vespa Falls was quite a distance from Aurelia; the relative difficulty of reaching it meant that the checkpoint there must be worth more points than those closer to town, but the trade-off was that it took so much valuable time to get there. Once again, it was a question of strategy; did the extra points justify the extra time? As Macready kept the MAFM trotting at double-time, Oliver was glad he'd be putting in some time jogging in the evenings, though he wished he'd done more. As it was, his legs were griping, sending minor aches up to the message center in his brain. Oliver ignored the messages as best he could, trying to find the zen state of not caring. This didn't entirely work. Oliver didn't dare to think what his legs would feel like by the end of the day. He wondered if the Gracchus doc-in-the-box medical consultant offered some kind of special anti-inflammatory painkillers.

Speeding along on their bikes, the kids made it to Vespa Falls ahead of the MAFM, but they weren't the first to arrive. Kitten Claw must have come here first; they were already packing up for the next stop when the kids rolled up. Velvet Kitten Claw, to give them their full name, was primarily composed of Vannevars, though they also had two Aeris members. All of them wore a sort of uniform of sumptuous black velvet, studded with little gold crescents. Abby, admiring the clothes, was pretty sure that the crescents represented cat claws. The black velvet absorbed the light, dark and mysterious. It was most inappropriate for a race in the warm sunshine, a triumph of style over sensibility.

Sara was sweating. She thought that she would have heatstroke if she had to wear a heavy black velvet robe, but the Vannevars looked as pale-skinned and collected as ever. The two Aeris, however, wore only black velvet sashes around the middle of their skinny little bodies; they were more vulnerable to overheating.

As they shouldered their packs and started off down the road, Velvet Kitten Claw began to chant their team song in time with their footsteps:

"We are the Kitten,

The mighty Kitten.

Stalk, pounce, BITE!"

Further verses became indistinct as Kitten Claw disappeared in the distance.

The checkpoint arch at Vespa Falls was the same as the one at Fromage Park, but here also was a table set up with extra food and water rations. The Bonebreaker Race was meant to be tough, but not utterly uncivilized. The Gracchus didn't want anyone collapsing from dehydration or suffering from peckishness. Also near the food table was a rough and ready first aid station with bandages, splints and other such primitive forms of medical help. This was the kind of first aid setup that Ms. Tavish was running at one of the other checkpoints. Abby thought that it might be kind of romantic if her Dad had an injury, nothing too serious or painful though, and Ms. Tavish was able to help him. Abby sighed.

Luis wasn't lost in daydreams; he was on a quest for information. He charged over to the bonus point area and demanded to know the checkpoint riddle. The Gracchus in charge was not cowed by the junior Human.

"No."

"Why not?" Luis demanded.

"While youth is not a disqualifying factor, not being on a team is, youngling," the Gracchus shot Luis a stern look under beetling eyebrow whiskers and turned away to consult with a Nawak colleague, effectively dismissing Luis.

The MAFM showed up before Luis could cause a scene. Now he'd get to hear the riddle, whether the judge liked it or not.

Abby was happy to see that her Dad was carrying the MAFM standard, the Staff of Gannax. Luke had said that all the staffs were named after members of the original Blues, the group from long ago who had brought back the documents across enemy lines.

The Middle-Aged Fat Men team quickly filed through the checkpoint arch then clustered around the Gracchus in charge of the bonus point challenge. Apparently, the team of midlife corpulents had decided to get as many bonus points as possible, perhaps in lieu of trying to hit all the checkpoints.

Sara, Luis, Luke and Abby all clustered close to hear the riddle. Tom was still missing.

The Gracchus judge coughed, turned his back on the little group and spit on the ground. When he'd turned back, he said, "Recite a poem."

Silence. The MAFM looked at each other. The team had been mentally prepared for a test of wits, strength or another kind of puzzle, but not for recitation of proper poetry. Oliver wondered if 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' would qualify. Somehow, it didn't quite seem dignified enough.

The Nawak judge said, "RECITE A POEM." He wasn't shouting, but close. He might have thought that the MAFM were old enough to be hard of hearing.

"Can we make one up?" Macready asked.

"No."

Macready doubted that the limericks in his repertoire would be suitable.

Even Luis was quiet. Poetry wasn't his strong suit even if he'd been allowed to participate.

Finally one of the Middle-Aged Fat Men spoke up. Katie Peterson was a small, blonde woman decked out in combat fatigues. When not running around in the Bonebreaker Race, Katie designed jewelry; her light and delicate designs were particularly prized by the Aeris.

"Ahem." Katie cleared her throat. " 'Four score and seven years ago,' " she began. Katie then delivered the entire, brilliantly simple Gettysburg Address. While neither Katie nor any of her teammates knew it, the Gracchus had already been observing the Human race during the American Civil War and understood the context of the Address. While not technically a poem, surely it was one of the most moving speeches of all time.

The cranky Gracchus judge made a notation on his notebook. As he wrote, his crystalline stylus sparkled in the morning light. "Very good, top points. Eloquent and meaningful." Oliver breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't recited a nursery rhyme, low on meaningfulness. "You may continue on the Race."

The MAFM high-fived all around, and Macready kissed Katie on the cheek. She explained, "I was Abraham Lincoln in the quarter-millennium celebration at our elementary school when I was a kid."

"You're a bit shorter than honest Abe, Peterson," Macready observed.

Katie laughed. "I think I was the only one the teacher trusted enough to memorize the lines."

The MAFM team prepared to leave for their next checkpoint, Eck's Cave. They were taking a back route, shorter but rocky. The kids wouldn't be able to follow on their bicycles; they'd have to take the road back to town. Tom still had not joined them.

==============

Tom was cycling back to town, backpack bulging with goodies, when he hit a snag. This snag took the form of several Aeris lurking on a side street.

Fortunately, one of them couldn't resist giggling as Tom approached, otherwise Tom would have been taken utterly by surprise. He had just sailed past the central square area, littered with colored banners and party debris, and was heading for Vespa Falls when he heard a snicker coming from the alleyway just ahead. Three Aeris jumped out in front of his bike. Tom stopped with a skid, just managing to not maim any delicate Aeris limbs. The jumpers seemed unconcerned about almost becoming a bicycle speed bump. Although this did seem like an ambush, Tom wasn't particularly nervous. He could deal.

With a flourish, the middle Aeris produced a map cube while the other two came up to either side of Tom. He was not surprised to see the cube produce the list of scavenger items; the Aeris were on the same mission to find items, albeit using a different method. This list was set to the curvy Aerisian language, but Tom knew sure enough what the Aeris was pointing to.

"Young Human. You are amenable to trade?"

"Um. I just had to go home, uh, to use the bathroom."

Tom didn't think that it was wise to discuss scavenger items with this lot.

The Aeris tried again. "Then have you a 'striped Human undergarment'?"

"No," Tom lied. This was the Bonebreaker, after all, and the city was almost deserted away from the checkpoints; revealing stuff in his backpack could be disastrous. Lying seemed the better part of valor. "But I can tell you where you can get one," he said.

"Where?" The two flanking Aeris moved in a little closer.

"That's valuable information. What do you have to offer?"

The three Aeris put their heads together, consulting the scavenger list and mumbling. "We have a surfeit of radascall lances," one answered.

Tom had seen radascall lances on the list but had no idea what they were. They must be something made by the Aeris, maybe some kind of weapon.

"Okay, I'll tell you where you can find a striped Human undergarment, and you'll give me a radascall lance?"

More mumbling among the Aeris. "Hmmmn. This garment is easily obtainable?"

Tom nodded. "Yes."

"We have an exchange."

Tom offered a show of trust by going first. "You can find lots of underwear, uh, 'Human undergarments,' at the Vannevar art exhibit in Ajincore Field. Including Human underwear with stripes. I've seen it."

One of the Aeris clapped his hands together, a sign of frustration in his species. He reached out and whacked his compatriot in the head. "Of course! Idiot!" The wronged Aeris whacked back as good as he got.

"Now you owe me a radascall lance."

For some reason, this necessitated another mumbled conference among the Aeris. As they talked, they threw an occasional glance at Tom. He thought they were especially interested in his backpack. Tom realized with uneasiness that he hadn't seen any other people in the area since he'd been waylaid by the Aeris. And they were armed with radascall lances.

A decision was reached. One of the Aeris delved into a furry bag and brought out a funny little spiral stick. It looked like some kind of fancy straw. He handed the stick to Tom. "Here."

"That's a radascall lance? You've got to be kidding. You actually stab people with this thing?"

"It's not a weapon, it's used to stir beverages; they can instantly chill any drink," the Aeris explained. "Our guess is that the Gracchus judges want them for their Flottle liquor," he added sourly.

"Oh. Well, thanks, I'd better get going now." Tom got back onto his bicycle.

"Your pack is large, young Human. Perhaps you have more things? For trade?"

"Um, no. It's just my lunch and stuff." The Aeris once again spread out around Tom. He had been afraid of this. It reminded him of school back on Earth when the bullies ganged up. Better to take action now, try to go on the offensive. Then Tom was inspired; he remembered one of the reasons his backpack was so heavy. Tom stealthily reached around and unzipped one of the lower side backpack pockets while sending a silent thank-you to his sister.

Tom fervently hoped that the Aeris weren't that familiar with Humans and their behavior. He let a look of amazement and horror cross his face as his gaze traveled to a point behind the Aeris' backs. "KRAV TERMEXA!" Tom shouted.

"HOLY COW!" he threw in for good measure. Tom didn't really know what 'krav termexa' meant, but the owner of the Alien Oddities had used it to great effect. Maybe it was some horrible curse. Whatever it might be, it worked; the Aeris turned around to see what horrible thing was causing the young Human to utter such a terrible curse.

Even as he was stomping down on his pedals, Tom reached around with one arm to the side pocket and grabbed a slippery handful of marbles. He threw them onto the ground between him and the Aeris. Tom's back tire spun, then bit on the cobbles, and he rocketed off down the street. Intent on steering, Tom didn't risk a look backward but heard shouted Aerisian curses, things that his LMD couldn't translate. He hoped that the marbles would slow the Aeris and maybe even make them fall down. Then something truly unexpected happened: A round, wobbly, pink object flew over Tom's head and, from the sound of it, smacked squarely into a pursuing Aeris. More curses.

"This way, Tom!" a voice cried out. Tom saw a man step out of a doorway. Another roundish object was launched over Tom's head, this one orange-colored.

The man was Alex Vargas, and even as Tom recognized him, a fresh fusillade of water balloons was launched at the Aeris. This salvo was enough to cause them to retreat.

"Ha! They hate getting wet. Just like _un gato_ ," Mr. Vargas boomed out as Tom rolled close, then stopped. "Good fellows, most of them, but always up to tricks."

"Thanks, Mr. Vargas. Um. How did you happen to be here? With water balloons?"

"As I'm sure you know, I'm a member of the MAFM, but this year my role is covert. I've been assigned by our esteemed leader to launch counter-measures."

Tom's expression must have told Mr. Vargas that Tom had no idea what he was talking about.

"Ah, I thought Luis must have told you about the incident last year," Mr. Vargas explained. "The team of Mighty Carnivorous Amphibian, mostly Aeris, managed to take our Bonebreaker Staff and might have gotten away with it if not for some heroic measures by Macready. Through judicious intelligence gathering, bribery, and some last-minute planting of information, we know they're planning the same thing this year, the attack to be launched near the Bridge of Stars.

"While extremely intelligent," Mr. Vargas continued as he wheeled his bike out from under a shop awning, "if the Aeris have a weakness, it's that they like to repeat their stunts and jokes. These," Mr. Vargas indicated his heavy satchel filled with water balloons, "are part of the defense."

He took off the weighty satchel and put it in the trailer attached to the back of his bicycle. Tom saw that the water balloons weren't the only part of the arsenal of tricks.

"They want to take the MAFM's staff for extra points?" Tom asked.

"That's right. It's considered quite a coup, very daring, plus it takes the other team out of the running entirely."

"Can I come along and watch?"

"We can do better than that. Can you throw well?" Mr. Vargas got onto his bike.

Tom nodded enthusiastically.

"Well then, let's get going!"

===========
Chapter 14

Attacks and Counter-Measures

===========

Macready and the MAFM were making good time along the back route to Eck's Cave. The rough road ran along the south side of the Vespa River, and it cut a considerable distance off the smoother route back to Aurelia. Crossing at the Bridge of Stars, they would be very close to their next chosen destination. Right after the distribution of the map cubes, the MAFM had planned their route with great consideration to nearby eavesdroppers. With any luck, Alex Vargas would now be in place for a carefully calculated strategic maneuver.

==============

Alex Vargas was more deserving of the MAFM moniker than most of the other members; life as a restaurateur did not lend itself to slimness. Still, he and Tom made excellent time along the quiet streets of Aurelia. They skimmed along the pavement, rolling fast, and arrived at the Bridge of Stars well in advance of any Bonebreaker team.

"We need to set up right away," Mr. Vargas said. "The Aeris will be here at any minute."

The Bridge of Stars was a graceful arc of thin metal limbs that looked too delicate to support Tom walking across it, let along Tom on a bicycle along with Mr. Vargas towing a trailer. Not too far from the Athos Mountains and the big waterfalls, the Vespa River here was still narrow and very fast-flowing, roaring and hissing over smoothed boulders, sending up clouds of droplets that made the air smell fresh and alive. The bridge itself was lined with outwardly curving metal flanges in shades of silver and blue, spouting lines that echoed the arc of the water below. As Tom crossed the bridge with Mr. Vargas, he realized that the delicacy was an illusion; there was nary a tremble in the structure. It must be made of some of the super-strong nano materials, maybe from the Nawak, Tom thought.

"How do you know where the Amphibians are going to set up their ambush?" Tom asked when they were on the other side of the Vespa.

"From a strategic point of view there's really only one good spot," Mr. Vargas said. They stowed their bikes in some dense bushes, and Mr. Vargas hauled out a large sack from his carrier.

"See that gap right there?" Mr. Vargas pointed to a space between the hills.

Tom nodded as they got off the trail and began to make a circuitous route through the underbrush and grasses back towards the gap.

"That's where the road comes across, the one from Vespa Falls. The MAFM will come along that road. That's what they talked about back at the plaza, within earshot of certain interested persons. The Aeris like to repeat their tricks, as I've mentioned, and they'll know that this is the spot for an ambush. It's ideal."

Mr. Vargas continued talking as they reached a spot on the hillside overlooking the road. "That gap offers cover to the attackers; they can wait until the MAFM are well into the targeted space, then swoop down from both sides. This strategy seems to be trans-species, by the way. Everyone seems to have experience with fighting."

Alex Vargas began pulling various items out of his duffel bag. One of them smelled funny.

Mr. Vargas sniffed the packaged appreciatively, then sneezed. "My guess is that after they attack the MAFM and get the staff, they're going to retreat across the bridge and cut off passage for pursuers somehow.

"Sadly for our little hairless friends, we just can't permit that to happen."

=============

Macready briefed his team as they made time towards the Bridge of Stars crossing. They knew that an ambush was going to happen, almost certainly towards the beginning of the race when the team movements were known, and again almost certainly when the targeted team was moving through a quiet section of the countryside. As the MAFM approached the bridge, Macready knew that he and Alex Vargas had calculated correctly. He hoped that Vargas was in position. In the Bonebreaker Race as in war, you trained, studied the enemy, made your preparations, then did the best you could with the situation as it developed.

As the MAFM entered the gap, too all appearances as casual as if they were on their way to a picnic, the Carnivorous Amphibians made their move, right on cue.

A huge sticky net came shooting out over the MAFM; there was simply no way to avoid the entangling threads that enveloped the group. From behind a clump of bushes came prancing an Aeris, waving a grenade launcher in the air. Several more came out from the rocky hillside, all dressed in festive war stripes. The Aeris with the web grenade launcher, unbalanced, fell over from the weight but quickly righted himself. He glared at his teammates and the Humans.

Oliver laughed. He couldn't help it, though his body was trapped by the sticky, thready goo. It was like being taken hostage by a group of trick-or-treaters. Macready had said not to worry; he had a backup plan if Vargas wasn't able to show. Oliver hoped so. The other MAFM cursed, spitting out bits of the web, trying unsuccessfully to extricate themselves. It was like being trapped in a gigantic spider web.

"Any time now, Vargas," Macready muttered, trying to wipe some of the netting away from his face. Last year, the Aeris had surprised them with a simple tripwire and a semi-effective paralyzing spray. This time it seemed that they were taking no chances that Macready would be able to chase them down.

"Your race staff, Humans, and we will leave you to deal with your predicaments," one of the Aeris said. From the elaborate belt he wore around his skinny middle, this one must be the team leader. "If you're sufficiently agile, perhaps you can join us at the closing ceremonies."

The Aeris leader stepped daintily across the edge of the netting to where Katie Peterson was holding the staff. The sticky net wasn't adhering to his feet, Oliver noticed. They must be treated with some special coating.

Kate refused to let go of the staff. "Get away from me you sorry sawed-off excuse for a sentient being," she growled, spitting out bits of sticky net while wrestling with the Aeris for possession of the glittering MAFM team standard.

"You are," the Aeris grunted, "only delaying the inevitable." He tugged harder, then suddenly shifted tactics and rapped Katie on the knuckles with a stick he'd grabbed from the side of the road. She winced, cursed, but still didn't let go. Ultimately, it took three Amphibian team members to pry the staff from her grip.

And all the while, no sign of Alex Vargas. Macready started to get worried. He didn't want to have to use his backup plan since it would involve a lot of running and hard exertion.

After finally obtaining the MAFM staff, the Aeris prepared to go. An additional half-dozen Amphibian team members came out from where they'd been lurking in the bushes; these Aeris had been the reserves in case the Humans had been able to put up more of a fight.

The Carnivorous Amphibians clustered together, gloating and chattering in high voices. A couple of them threw small pebbles at the trapped Humans. Their excitement was palpable. With an audacious stunt like this, they were sure to win. And to think they'd been nervous about Ghost Wind beating them on style points! This would surely put the Vannevars in their place.

Out of the sky, a barrage of colored globes hit the Aeris and the Humans alike. There were bits of bright rubber shrapnel on the ground and the people, and everyone was drenched in water. Then came a second round, then a third. The cascading balloons seemed to be launched from the clouds themselves, and confusion reigned.

The Aeris squawked and began to run in a cluster towards the bridge, whereupon a new weapon hit them. Small, tissue-wrapped packages whacked the running Aeris. These were much lighter than the water balloons but propelled as from a tiny cannon, and they burst open upon impact, coating the Aeris in a powdery haze. The Carnivorous Amphibians immediately began sneezing uncontrollably. Unfortunately, Aeris never covered their mouths when sneezing.

Oliver, Macready and the rest of the MAFM were quickly emerging from their sticky entrapment. The water balloons that had temporarily confused the Aeris also helped to melt the netting. The Humans freed themselves of the sticky threads and stood around for a moment, picking off the irritating bits still clinging to skin and clothes. Obviously, the Aeris weren't a concern at the moment; they were incapacitated by their reaction to the powder that Alex Vargas had shot at them.

Oliver and Macready approached the Aeris team slowly, trying to stay out of the way of the wetter sneezes. It smelled as if twenty Italian restaurants were all gearing up for dinner at the same time.

"Garlic," Macready explained succinctly. "The Aeris are sensitive to the stuff." The two men watched the Aeris flounder. The team leader tried to speak but could only shoot a poisonous glare.

"Ah, here comes our secret weapon," Macready said. "And he has a helper, I see."

Alex Vargas, face wreathed in smiles, came out from the far side of the hill where he and Tom had been hiding.

"Ha! You, Macready, thought I had too many water balloons. Confess! It's good for the soul," Mr. Vargas said.

"Credit is due, Alex. I thought you'd lost your mind, or at least your aim, when the water balloons drenched us," Macready said.

"Happily, one of us is familiar with the properties of spray netting."

Macready and Alex Vargas picked their way through the Aeris, found the MAFM staff and took it back. For good measure, they also took the Carnivorous Amphibian team's staff. Leverage was always useful.

"Hi, Dad!" Tom said. "You still have goop in your hair."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me. Where are the other kids?"

"I went back to the house for some stuff. I'm going to catch up with them, maybe at Eck's Cave. That reminds me," Tom rushed over to where Macready and the MAFM were discussing what to do with the Aeris.

"It will be a pleasure," Katie Peterson said in response to a query from Macready. She was rubbing her reddened knuckles and staring at the Aeris with dislike. "If I drop their staff, they've no one to blame but themselves for hitting my hand with that stick."

Tom wondered what was up. He opened up his backpack and brought out the scavenger items that he had gathered. "Here. I found these things for you guys."

"Outstanding! Where in the world did you find a Branagh Dinwiddie autograph?" Macready asked, reading the flyleaf of the Shakespeare play.

"No, on second thought, don't tell me. Or rather, tell me in a day or two. I'll be interested to hear." Macready's eyes twinkled, and Tom was pretty sure that Macready already had a pretty good idea where the book had come from.

"Let's go, team!" Macready called out. The Aeris were still non-operational, but some of them were splashing river water on their heads and bodies to rid themselves of the troublesome garlic, despite their aversion to getting wet.

"Tom, go ahead and get across the river," Macready said. "Wait on the other side if you'd like, but get across."

Tom rode over the narrow, beautiful bridge and looked back. The MAFM were close behind, Katie Peterson in the rear of the group. She was carrying the staff from Carnivorous Amphibian. Its many-colored stones caught the light and made it look as if she were transporting a rainbow across the river. Katie stopped in mid-bridge.

Macready stopped beside her. He shouted out to the swiftly recovering Aeris on the far bank, "Amphibians! Listen well. We are assessing a penalty on your team."

Squawks of protest wafted up from the far shore. One or two Aeris looked as though they were ready to charge across the bridge. Katie immediately thrust the multi-colored staff over the railing and held it there, dangling from one hand. The Aeris froze.

"After a period of one hour—" Macready consulted with one of his team member to get the approximate equivalent in Aerisian time—"we will allow you to get your staff back. If you try to take it from our team member by force, she will drop it into the river."

More outraged squawks.

"After the hour, maybe a little more, you can have your staff back. Do you understand and agree or not?" Macready asked. Katie waggled the staff for emphasis.

The Amphibians huddled on the far shore, gesticulating wildly. The belted leader spoke, "What choice do we have? But this will not be forgotten!"

Macready waved. He spoke with Katie in a low voice, arranging a rendezvous after her assignment keeping the Aeris bottled up. Then Macready rejoined the rest of the MAFM, and the team got underway.

===============

As they trotted along, the team members were still picking out bits of netting that had attached themselves to their clothing like dried earthworms. Some of the team were looking forward to the next checkpoint at Eck's Cave not just for the points, but also because Eck sold some fine Nawakian-made ale. The day had already been an ordeal.

"The Amphibians won't attack Katie after she gives them the staff, will they?" Tom was worried. Katie was larger than an Aeris, but she was still quite small for a Human, and she was outnumbered to boot.

"Heavens, no. There would be no point, and the Gracchus would break the team, ban it maybe. The Carnivorous ones are good fellows; it's just that tricksters sometimes outsmart themselves. Besides which, she's good friends with many of them—except for today, perhaps.

"Katie likes to paraglide off the Aramys Books Cliffs, and she's taught some of the Aeris, too. Their bodies are perfect for it."

Tom was reassured.

Macready continued, "Of course, in the old days it might have been different. I heard that kidnappings were common. But now, it's much more civilized." Tom was a little less reassured.

He also wasn't sure that it was more civilized: spray netting, water balloons, attack garlic. Still, this was great fun.

=========
Chapter 15

Many Try

============

Sara, Luis, Abby and Luke were already at the Eck's Cave checkpoint. This one offered two opportunities for gaining extra points. One of the choices was another riddle, to Luis' initial delight. He wasn't so happy after he couldn't figure it out within the first few minutes, as he usually could.

The second puzzle had the contestants guessing the total volume of an oddly shaped container; the guess could be made in whichever units of measurement the Bonebreaker contestant felt most comfortable with. Luis asked about this one; it turned out that only the team which came closest to guessing correctly got the points, and no one would know who won them until the end of the race. The Gracchus liked to promote excitement and uncertainty in the Bonebreaker wherever they could.

The odd shape was a hollow sculpture of an eight-legged octopus. At the moment, it was filled with Eck's finest ale. Presumably, Eck the Nawak knew how much he had needed to fill the octopus, but he was a man of integrity, unbribable, in the best tradition of Nawakian ale house owners. Though it was largely unknown by the general populace, the Nawak system of banking had begun in the ale houses because of the trustworthiness of the owners.

"If we can estimate the volume of one of the legs," Sara said, "we could multiply it by eight, then guess the volume of the head. The legs are all about the same size."

Luke speculated, "I'd say that one of the legs hold maybe, um, half a gallon."

"No way. More like a quart," Luis argued.

"Look at the way the leg curves, then gets fuller where it meets the head. Way more than a quart," Luke said.

Abby didn't join the discussion. She was concerned about Tom. Abby knew that he must be doing something to help Dad's team. Probably he was getting some of the scavenger items. Too bad she didn't have any red shoes. Maybe she should ask Sara.

The actual checkpoint at Eck's Cave was set up outside the tavern. The hollow octopus sat on a platform, and Eck had rigged a small parasol to shade the ale from the corrupting influence of the sun. Abby wandered over to the judging table for the riddle.

Both the team of Ghost Wind and Smoke and Iron were trying to solve the riddle. They were talking in low voices among themselves, trying not to be heard by the other group, casting the occasional suspicious glance if some member of the other team happened to move a bit.

A Vannevar from Ghost Wind finally broke away from her team and approached the table. She was gorgeously arrayed in velvet, the indispensable fabric of the fashionable among the Vannevar. Abby thought it was Valdivia the artist, though it was a little hard to tell with all the makeup the Vannevar customarily wore. Valdivia wrote down their team's guess on a tablet, then handed it to the Gracchus judges. It was impossible to know whether the answer was correct; the judges' faces didn't change. Indeed, some of the riddles had more than one answer.

Abby pondered the riddle:

Many try,

But few succeed.

My only goal

Is to impede.

Hmm. It sounded like the answer was a hurdle, or a locked door. But that didn't really make sense either. Abby couldn't focus her mind on it properly. Where was Tom?

=============

When they'd started out this morning, the only clouds in the sky had been a few clustered on the southwest horizon. There still weren't a lot, but it looked as if rain might roll over the city. Abby didn't want to get caught out in the rain, especially when Tom was missing.

Abby spotted the MAFM coming down the road to Eck's Cave. She ran to meet them; before she reached the team, a strong odor of garlic assailed her nose. It smelled as if they'd fallen into a vat of marinara sauce, and they were more than a little bedraggled.

Abby was both relieved and a little peeved. Tom was supposed to be following the Bonebreaker with the rest of them! But as they went along, Tom told the brief version of being waylaid by three Aeris highwaymen trying to get scavenger items the quick and easy way, and Abby briefly reverted to worry.

Sara and Luis were enthralled at the story of how their Dad had thwarted the Carnivorous Amphibian.

"So that's why he needed all the garlic!" Sara exclaimed. "He wouldn't even tell Mom. Dad special ordered a lot from Earth, then said that we weren't to touch it, that it wasn't for the restaurant."

Luis was filled with glee. Tom thought for the first time how much Luis was like his father. The expression on Mr. Vargas' face when he'd launched the garlic bombs was identical to how Luis looked now.

The MAFM decided to go quickly through this checkpoint, taking a guess at the inner volume of the hollow octopus, but then going on from there without taking a whack at solving the riddle. They needed to hit some more checkpoints, and Macready knew that Oliver wanted to see Ms. Tavish today. Some things were more important than winning this particular race. The MAFM also decided to forgo the Pelerin Mountain points, even though they must be worth a lot since the checkpoint was so far away. Instead, Macready determined that they'd go to Giant's Park, the Bosky Woods, the River Split, then try for the Ajincore Field, Book Cliffs and Aeris Spire as time and energy permitted.

One of the items on the scavenger list was 'a piece of clothing from an antagonist team.' Oliver had a brief discussion with the members of Ghost Wind still at the site, but there was no exchange made. The Vannevars simply didn't want to trade any of their gorgeous clothing, especially not for any of the grungy, damp items that the Humans were wearing. The MAFM would have to try with some other team.

=============

Luis was stubborn. He wanted to see the Pelerin Mountain checkpoint, and he wanted to see it right away, immediately if not sooner. He'd heard from one of the Vannevar members of Ghost Wind that there was a particularly difficult mathematical puzzle to be solved for bonus points. This was an irresistible lure for Luis.

"But Luis," said Sara, exasperated, "the MAFM aren't going, and it's so far out of the way. Plus, it's a mountain!" While she and Luis were arguing, Abby, Tom and Luke were over at the entrance to Eck's Cave. Tom had his map cube out and they were discussing where to go next, whether to follow the MAFM or go somewhere else.

"The checkpoint isn't at the top, silly," Luis pointed out. "It's at the base. Vandehar said that there is are bonus points for sprinting to the top and back down again, but it's not like we're going to do that."

Luis pulled out his trump card: his bicycle. "If you don't want to go, I'm going by myself!" He swung a leg over the top bar and prepared to push off. Sara knew that he was perfectly capable of running off. Luis would probably be fine, but what if the little twerp hurt himself by falling off his bike, or grossly insulted a Nawak and got pounded or something like that? Sara knew that her parents would hold her responsible, unfair as it was, and her Dad was already gone with the MAFM. Sara needed a shock collar to control Luis. She briefly lost herself in the daydream.

Sara regained herself. "Wait just a moment, won't you? I'm going to talk to the others."

"Okay, but I'm going with or without you."

Sara restrained herself. Barely. "I know. You already said that," she said through clenched teeth. "Wait. Two. Minutes." She walked over to Abby and the boys.

Sara explained her problem. "I should just let him go, but if something happens to him, Mom and Dad will kill me."

"It's okay, Sara," Luke said. He pointed to the map. "After we go to Pelerin Mountain, we can go up to the Sun Bridge and hit the Bosky checkpoint, then the River Split and the Book Cliffs if we still have time." They would miss the Giant's Park checkpoint, but at least this way they'd be together.

"Thanks, you guys." Sara was relieved.

"No big deal," Luke said. They all packed their stuff and got on their bikes. Luis was raring to go.

===============

Even as the clouds moved in front of the sun, the day remained warm and the bike ride back to the Bridge of Stars went quickly. Although this route meant that Tom had to retrace his path, it was the quickest way to Mount Pelerin. And after Tom told the story of the showdown at the Bridge of Stars, the rest of the group wanted to see the site of the battle. Tom just hoped that they wouldn't encounter a boiling mad gang of Aeris along the way. Luke said that Humans all looked alike to the Aeris, pretty much, but it would still be better to avoid the Carnivorous Amphibians. Tom felt sure that he was marked.

Only a few minutes after they left Eck's Cave, the kids met Katie Peterson, trotting to catch up with the rest of her team. She stopped to talk.

"The Amphibians are heading north," Katie said. "I think their strategy is to hit Ajincore Park, then try to find the Wandering Herd and ultimately go to the Gem Island checkpoint. They probably figure if they're the only ones who make it out to the island, they might score some really big points. I wouldn't count on it if I were them, though. The Nawak are natural swimmers. They can go along forever and a day."

"Are they looking for revenge?" Tom wanted to know.

Katie nodded. "No doubt. But what does that change? You know Macready's prepared."

Tom and Abby were somewhat reassured.

"I'd better get going if I'm going to catch up. You say that the team's gone on to Giant's Park? I won't even bother stopping by Eck's Cave, then." Macready had told her that he'd leave word at Eck's as to their next destination, but now that she didn't have to stop, she'd be even quicker.

==============

The kids pedaled across the beautiful Bridge of Stars and stopped on the far side so Tom could point out the scene of the recent battle. The place still smelled heavily of garlic and would for weeks. When Abby and Tom had read about the mythological creatures of Gracchia, there hadn't been any mention of vampire-like creatures, but if any of those beasts were allergic to garlic, they'd be warded off from this place for a long, long time. Sara wondered if garlic plants would grow here eventually, then she remembered that garlic grew from bulbs.

"C'mon you guys, let's hurry up," Luis said. He was eager to confront the math problem at Pelerin Mountain.

Luke cast an eye at the sky darkening to the southwest. The clouds had heavy gray bellies like sacks of cement. Luke's Mom had made him pack a rain poncho (naturally), but he wasn't sure how well the others were equipped. "Luis is right. Let's make tracks before we get rained on."

They continued on the lesser track that led to Pelerin, if the cube map was correct. The path narrowed here, so the five of them had to ride in single file, and the path itself was bumpy with roots and rocks. This was going to take a while. None of the bikes had slick tires, but they weren't really equipped for this kind of rough riding, either. Still, the group pedaled on, Luis in the lead.

After half an hour, Abby had to call for a rest break. Her feet hurt, her ankles hurt, her thighs hurt. And her hands were achy from trying to keep a tight grip on the handlebars over all the bumps and jolts.

"Oh, thank goodness," Sara said. "I'm exhausted. And besides, it's lunchtime." She looked at her watch. "Past lunchtime, actually." Sara rummaged around in her pack for something to eat and pulled out a package of peanut butter crackers, slightly damaged. She bit into them with relish. Why did food always taste so much better outside?

Luke passed around a bag of gorp, compliments of Mrs. Whipple.

"Why is it called gorp?" asked Tom around a mouthful of nuts and chocolate chips. A raisin caught between his teeth, and Tom picked it out.

Abby ate her chocolate chip cookies, then had some gorp, too. She was hungry.

"My Dad says it's short for 'good old raisins and peanuts,' " Luke said, "but I don't know. It sounds made up."

"I think gorp came from the Nawak," Abby announced. "The word, I mean, not the food."

"Why would we call a Human food by a Nawak name?" Luke asked, eyebrows raised.

"Synchronicity," Abby said. "Like when two people come up with the same idea at the same time. Or like octopusses being on more than one planet."

This did not persuade Luis, but before he could speak, Sara changed the subject.

"How much further is the mountain?" she said. "We've been on this path forever." Sara had noticed a number of side paths branching off from the one they were on. She hoped that they were still going in the right direction. How did the Bonebreaker teams ever make it?

"It just seems that way because it's so slow on a bike," Luis said. "We're almost there."

"Are you sure?" Sara was skeptical.

"Sure I'm sure. Look at the map." Luis projected the race circuit from his cube. "See this little bend on the path? That's where we are now." Luis seemed certain.

Sara looked around dubiously. The path had been going through thick underbrush and trees; she didn't see how Luis knew where they were at all.

Luke stood up, brushing the last bits of gorp from his hands and shirt. "Well, we have to go forward, anyway. If we turn around, it will take just as long to go back to the Bridge of Stars as it took to get here. It's faster to go to the mountain, then back to town on the Sun Bridge." He looked up at the sky. In the few minutes that they had stopped for a break, the leading edge of the dark clouds had come across the sun. The sudden drop in temperature felt good on their sweaty bodies, but it would soon chill them unless they were moving again.

===========

After another twenty minutes of bicycling, even Luis had to admit that they were lost. The temperature had gone down another few degrees, and the rain had begun to mist down in a fine veil. Luke and Sara had rain gear, but the others did not, though they did have some spare clothing. The single track path had almost disappeared, and Tom believed that they were now on some sort of game trail, rather than a path made by the Gracchus. Tom wondered what kind of animal might have made this trail. Did big cats, like mountain lions, ever make trails?

The soft rain made it impossible to get their bearings. By now, they certainly should have been able to see Pelerin Mountain, but the swathes of gray cloud hid all landmarks from view.

Abby was certain that her legs were going to ache forever. She'd graduate from high school, and her legs would still ache. At least this early in the warmer weather season, she didn't have to contend with bugs. If she'd had to endure bugs, Abby might have started screaming.

It wasn't entirely his fault, but Luis wouldn't have won any popularity contests with his immediate peer group at the moment.

============

They all stopped again when Tom's bike got a flat tire. He carried a spare tube and had a tire pump on his bike frame, but it was still a pain to repair, especially in the cool rain. As Tom detached the wheel from the bike and went to work, Luke, Sara and Abby discussed what they should do next. Luis stood a little apart with his arms folded tightly across his chest.

"At least the rain's light," Sara said. No sooner had these words left her mouth than a flash of light illuminated the shrubberies, and a ferocious CRACK of thunder left her ears ringing.

Tom had been trying to wedge the tire off the rim. The thunder startled him, his hand slipped, and a half-inch of skin came off his knuckle.

"That's really weird," Luke exclaimed.

"What?" Tom's hearing was still impaired. There wasn't much weird about a skinned knuckle.

"This is the first time I've seen lightning since we've come to Gracchia," Luke said. "And it's weird in this kind of storm, on any planet."

"What do you mean?" Sara asked.

"Well, normally there's a lot more disturbance in a storm when there's thunder and lightning, at least back on Earth, and it must be the same here," Luke said. "The wind comes up, the rain comes down hard. It's just a lot more active. You don't get lightning with gentle, misty rains like this. Sheesh, there's even fog. Fog and lightning don't do together."

Luis looked at his watch. "Hey, my compass isn't working anymore."

"Compass?" said Tom, wiping the blood off his hand onto his already wet shirt. A little blood couldn't hurt it much, he figured. No use cleaning out the knuckle. A bandage certainly wouldn't stick to cold, wet skin.

"My watch has a built-in compass. That's how I knew we were on the right path," Luis said, showing the watch. "Only now the compass has started spinning. I think that the lightning might have done something to it."

"You were sure we were going in the right direction because of your watch compass?" Sara asked.

Luis nodded absently, fascinated by the moving needle of his compass.

"Luis, have you tested that compass here on Gracchia?" Sara asked.

Luis looked up. "No. Why should I? North is north."

"Because, genius, that compass was made for Earth. Maybe Gracchia doesn't have the same polar magnetism," Sara said.

Luis was stricken. "But that doesn't explain why it's doing strange things now."

"No, but maybe you shouldn't have relied on it for directional help," said Sara. "Did you guys notice any other paths?"

Abby shook her head. "I was too busy trying not to fall behind."

Tom shook his head. A small gob of rain dripped from his nose. Tom had managed to put the new tube inside the tire and was now occupied with trying to put the tire back on the rim. He wedged it into place, re-scraping the knuckle which until now had stopped bleeding, and picked up the pump to reinflate the tire.

"I noticed other paths, but I never thought we left the main one. It's not all Luis' fault," Luke said. "Maybe we just missed it or the map isn't complete. Anyway, I think we'd better try to go back. At least we know how to get back to the Bridge of Stars. I think."

"I hope we don't get struck by lightning," Abby said.

"Probably it was just a freak of nature," Luke said. "We'll be safe."

As if to punctuate his words, a diamond bright flash lit the underside of the tree limbs as a simultaneous, gut shaking thump made the ground shake.

============

Everyone was knocked over flat on their backs, rain drizzling into their eyes, noses and mouths.

Abby sat up and rubbed her face. Had they been hit by lightning? She could still feel her skin. Abby looked at the others as she wiggled her legs; nothing seemed to be damaged, but she had heard stories of people whose hearts had stopped after they'd been struck. Abby rolled to her knees and crept over to where Luis lay unmoving. She felt for a pulse in his neck.

"What are you doing?" Luis squawked, eyes flying open.

"I was seeing if you were alive!" The sound of their shouts stirred the others.

"Of course I'm alive. What happened?" Luis looked around. "We were hit by lightning?"

"I don't know. I don't think so."

Sara raised her head and looked around. Tom and Luke were slowing getting to their feet. Tom shook his head to clear the cobwebs.

Then a high-pitched shriek made their blood turn to icewater in their veins.

===========
Chapter 16

Eyes of Orange

===========

"What was that?!" Sara whispered. For reasons that went beyond the rational, the shriek had frightened her deeply. Somewhere in the darkness of her subconscious, a sub-Sara was crouched with her teeth bared, expecting to be attacked.

The others were spooked, too. That shriek had tickled the primal fear that lurked below the surface of the everyday mind and was meant to petrify and freeze, hold the prey in place until the predator could make the killing bite.

Luis tried to restore reason. "It's a rabbit," he said. "Do you remember when we heard the rabbit getting killed by a coyote out at Grandpa's house? It sounded just like that. Maybe something got hit by lightning."

"But it wouldn't scream so long afterwards if the lightning hit it," Tom pointed out. "That was no rabbit."

"And lightning never strikes twice in the same place," Sara said.

"That's a myth. Think of it logically," Luis said. "Why wouldn't it?"

"If it was lightning. It's weird, it didn't really seem like lightning to me," Abby said.

The discussion was interrupted by another shriek.

This one wasn't as frightening; the subharmonics didn't tickle the nerves as much as the first one had. The initial shriek had anger and death in it; the second was also very loud but ended in a series of sobs or chuckles. It was strange in a new way.

"Something's hurt!" Sara exclaimed. Like most all children, Sara loved animals, and the thought of one in pain was terrible to her. She started to walk in the direction of the sound almost as if she were in a trance.

"Sara, no!" Luke said. "C'mon, we don't know what it is. Maybe it's some wild animal that will defend its food."

"Or it's a trap," Luis muttered.

"But we can't just leave it like that! Besides, I've never heard a wild animal make that kind of sound," said Sara.

"This isn't Earth," Tom said. "We don't know exactly what it could be. This is stupid."

Sara, in her own way as stubborn as Luis, was going anyway.

"I'll go with you, Sara," Abby said. She, too, couldn't bear to think of an animal in pain.

"Don't worry," she said to the boys. "We'll be careful."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Wait. We'll all go. I'd just love explaining to your Dads why we left your bloodied bodies in the woods.

"Whatever it is, approach it slowly, okay? And once we've seen what's making the noise, back away slowly, too. Whatever you do, stick together and don't run. If you run, you trigger the chase instinct and it'll kill you," Luke continued.

Sara wasn't listening. She had visions of rescuing a baby deer or some Gracchian equivalent.

Another wild sobbing cry broke out. This didn't sound like a gentle animal to Luke. He thought they must all be insane to get closer to this.

Luke, as the oldest and biggest among them, took the responsibility of being in the lead. They left their packs and bikes fairly well out of the damp under a grouping of broad-leaved bushes and proceeded on foot. Luke stepped carefully over tree roots and around branches, trying to not advertise their presence to the shrieker.

The rain continued to pitter patter on the vegetation. Sara shivered as a broad leaf dumped its ladle of rain down the back of her neck. Having a raincoat didn't always help.

As they grew closer to the site of the lightning strikes and the area of the strange noises, Luke moved slower. Even as his footsteps slowed, his heartbeats accelerated. Did Gracchia have big cats? Bears? He wished he'd studied Gracchian fauna.

A clearing in the undergrowth and trees lay ahead. Luke approached the edge of the open space, the others following close behind. Luis sneezed.

The sneeze didn't provoke an immediate attack from the shrieker.

Luke moved around the edge of the clearing and stopped behind an outcropping of evergreen bushes. He crouched down, crawled forward and gestured for the others to do the same.

Sara was the least cautious. She poked her head up, impatient to help an animal.

Sara didn't see an animal, wounded or otherwise. What she did see was two creatures out of a nightmare.

The setting was incongruous for such a horrible sight. The clearing was carpeted with fresh spring grasses and flowers, dotted here and there with gray granite boulders. On the far side of the meadow, a creature lay flat on its back, either unconscious or dead. Crouched over it was another person of the same species, dressed in some sort of shiny metal vest. They both had dark, curly fur and pointed ears on the top of their heads like a German shepherd. The side view of the crouching creature showed a vision of wickedly long, curved claws and a nose that sprang forward before ending in a sharp downturn.

Abby couldn't suppress a tiny gasp as she recognized the creature. This was a being out of Gracchian mythology.

The creature's head snapped up as it surveyed the meadow. Even in the wet drizzle, the kids could see its bright orange eyeballs roam the perimeter, perhaps sensing their presence, checking for danger. The eyes seemed lit from within by a glow that seemed supernatural. Luke found himself remembering his Dad saying that Van Gogh called orange the color of insanity.

Apparently finding no threat, the creature stood and pointed something at its companion on the ground. There was a hissing noise and a small flash of light, much smaller than the ones which had so stunned the children before. The body on the ground disintegrated into a pile of black dust. Even as they watched, the Humans could see the pile dissipate in the rain, washed into the soil of the meadow. Abby wondered what strange plants might now grow from such a beginning? Whoever or whatever the person on the ground had been, he was now returned to the earth forever.

The surprises weren't over. One of the gray boulders halfway between the observers and the frightening being moved and revealed itself to be not another boulder but rather a Human being, a sodden heap on the ground. It lifted a feeble hand to the creature, seemingly in supplication. The thing with the terrifying orange eyes bounded over with another of the horrible shrieks that froze the nerves. Yet the Human on the ground wasn't paralyzed. A hiss and a beam, similar to the one the creature had used on its fallen comrade, shot out toward the hairy attacker and stopped it as if it had hit a stone wall. The orange-eyed thing didn't disintegrate, perhaps afforded some protection by the metal vest it wore.

But the creature, person, whatever it was, was slammed onto its back, hitting hard one of the gray boulders. The kids could hear bone crack, and for a moment, all was still. The Human, too, was motionless.

This was all too much for Sara. She leaped to her feet but didn't quite know what to do next. Staying put had become intolerable, yet it was not clear who was the villain of the players in the meadow. The orange-eyed thing was terrifying, horrible, yet she didn't understand what was going on. It was like walking into a movie theater during the last few minutes of a film.

Abby, too, came to her feet, albeit more slowly.

"That," Abby said, pointing to the orange-eyed creature with curly fur, "is a gibble. The book said they're a myth, but they're not."

"A gibble?" Luke asked.

"We've been learning Gracchian from a book about Gracchus fairytales," Abby said. "One of the things in the book is a description of a gibble, kind of like a troll. It has orange eyes and eats Gracchus who stray in the forest and get lost."

Tom was thrilled. "That's what I saw! When I wrecked the car and no one believed me. That thing ran across the road, and I swerved and hit the tree, and everyone said that it was just some little animal!"

Tom picked up a stick and approached the two fallen bodies, Human and gibble. Vindication was sweet.

Abby wasn't listening. Her eyes were on the Human who had fired the shot at the gibble. She could see part of his head, hair plastered down by the rain, gray clothes wet and dark. Abby knew this person.

Tom poked his stick at the gibble. It remained still.

Abby ran to the fallen man and knelt by his side, not afraid of whatever gun he still had in his possession. The man's eyes opened and looked at her without comprehension. Then a spark of recognition and humor came into his face.

"Ah, Abigail Elaine.... Ellsworth," he said, a hiccup of pain punctuating the last word. His eyes closed for a moment. Abby saw a wide band of some sort on his wrist with a little nozzle that protruded towards the fingers. This must be the weapon that he'd used to shoot the gibble. It had a series of differently colored buttons on the band, and Abby knew that she was looking at a Xenoth, the weapon that Luke had described ages ago.

"It's our neighbor!" Tom gasped. "It's Mr. Neudel. What's going on?"

"I told you something was weird," Abby said. She didn't think anymore that Mr. Neudel was a bad guy, but obviously he was mixed up with strange happenings.

Mr. Neudel reached inside his shirt with a weak hand and pulled out a small black box that was attached to a long cord around his neck. With an effort, he pulled the cord over his head and handed the box to Abby.

"You must, honor-bound, get this to Quirinal," he whispered. "Tell....the gate."

"Gate?" Abby repeated. But Mr. Neudel eyes closed again.

Sara said, "He's not speaking in English, he's speaking in Gracchian." She was right. The LMD had been translating the wounded Human's speech.

Abby grabbed the box tightly with one hand and put the cord over her head, then tucked the box inside her shirt next to her skin. The edges of the box felt sharp, and it seemed to emanate a warmth of its own, curiously alive.

Mr. Neudel, relieved of his burden, spoke once more. "You must go now. Take the box. More Lural follow the path. They are the trackers, the.....hunters."

"What's Lural?" said Luke. But Mr. Neudel was no longer conscious.

"I'll tell you what a Lural is," said Luis.

"That," Luis pointed to the orange-eyed creature lying thirty feet away, "is a Lural, and if there are more of them, we need to get away."

"Luis is right," Luke said.

"You saw what the gibble, the Lural, did to his companion. He vaporized him. We can't leave Mr. Neudel here; he'll die. Either they'll kill him or he'll die from being out in the rain."

"Tom's right," Sara agreed. "We have to take him with us."

Luis was poised to argue but thought better of it. "A travois," he said.

"What?" Abby said.

"We need to build a travois, like the Indians made. It's like a stretcher made from branches and buffalo hide and stuff."

"Luis made one last year when we were studying American Indian culture in Ms. Tavish's class," Sara added.

Luis was already walking, then running back to the bicycles to retrieve their backpacks and salvage what materials he could find to make a travois. Buffalo hide was in short supply here, but Tom's discarded bicycle tube and some of their spare clothing could work.

================

Luke had pictured the stretcher as being something that they could attach to the back of one of the bikes and haul it along. After Luis, with help from the others, stripped down two branches, then put in some precarious cross supports bound by bicycle inner tubes cut into strips, it became obvious that the travois wouldn't survive two minutes being towed by a bicycle down the bumpy forest path. The stretcher, with Mr. Neudel strapped on, would have to be carried by hand. As originally made by the plains Indians in pre-wheel society, the travois had been pulled by dogs or pulled by horses over fairly level ground.

The travois was constructed as quickly as possible, but it still took almost an hour to collect their materials and assemble them into something that wouldn't immediately fall apart. Tom was glad that he had his folding pocket knife; he wasn't sure that they could have shaped proper poles without it. Luke twisted and tightened knots under Luis' instruction, and Sara put her rain poncho over Mr. Neudel, trying to make him as warm and dry as possible. He seemed to drift in and out of consciousness, but he never really recognized them.

As Luke, Sara and Abby lifted Mr. Neudel onto the makeshift travois, Abby couldn't see any blood on his body, but the Lural thing didn't have any bloody wounds, either. Perhaps Mr. Neudel had been hit by one of the energy weapons, too. Abby cast an anxious look toward the Lural, but it lay still. It could be dead, but she wasn't going to get close enough to see if it was breathing.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go," Luis said. They were all nervous, wondering when the hunters would show up. This was a dangerous neighborhood.

Tom and Luke used two more inner tubes to strap down Mr. Neudel on the stretcher.

"Don't put it across his chest; he won't be able to breathe," Sara said. "Put it up here, across his shoulders." She adjusted the strap, and Luke tightened it. Sara thought that the whole apparatus made Mr. Neudel look like a dangerous mental patient, but she didn't say this out loud. She was afraid that she'd start laughing and not be able to stop. They were all on edge.

Luke particularly was getting very nervous. Like Abby, he kept looking at the unconscious Lural, half expecting it to leap to its feet and rend them with its wicked claws. And Mr. Neudel had said that more of them were coming. Maybe the Lural had tracking devices on them, or perhaps they had told their mothers where they were going before they left home. Whichever, there would be someone, something, coming to look for them and soon. Luke knew this in the marrow of his bones. Danger was close.

The makeshift stretcher was as ready as it would ever be. Tom lifted the bottom and Luke took the top handles, near Mr. Neudel's head. Mr. Neudel was a small man, and for this they were grateful. Still, Tom wondered how they would ever be able to carry him all the way back to town. They left the meadow, Sara and Luis in the lead, Abby trailing the stretcher. She cast a final, worried look at the Lural.

============

Awakened by the movement, Nicholas Neudel locked his eyes on Tom's. "Sentimental. I should have known, young one. Sentiment will get you killed." And with this, he lapsed back into unconsciousness.

===============

After ten minutes on the path, a flash of lightning lit the trees and a boom of thunder shook the air.

===========
Chapter 17

Pursuit

===========

The kids picked up the pace as best they could, believing that the flash of lightning meant that more Lural were in the vicinity. If Tom and Luke hadn't been carrying the wounded man, the group would have been setting the path on fire with a scorching run, but the speed was dictated by how fast the boys could move the stretcher. Abby wondered if they could just stow Mr. Neudel in some cache in the forest, but she felt ashamed for wishing, even for a moment, that they weren't encumbered by Mr. Neudel. The Lural were terrifying; those firelit eyes would haunt her dreams. How could she or any of them have left someone behind to face that kind of nightmare all by himself? At a deep level, Abby came to the realization that guilt could be even worse than fear. Maybe being brave didn't mean not being afraid; maybe it meant not letting the fear make choices for you.

Tom's arms were killing him, and the scrape on his knuckles had re-opened, adding blood to his sweaty grip on the travois handles. Luke was doing better; he wore leather bicycling gloves, and the leather helped him keep his grip strong.

Luis ran ahead of the procession, trying to bend back branches and get some of the stones off the path to make the way easier.

Tom's grip gave out, and he dropped his end of the stretcher. "Sorry." He wiped his hands on his pant legs and prepared to lift again. Sara ran around Luke to the back of the stretcher and took one of the handles.

"Here. I can get one side," she said.

"I can get the other," Abby said.

"No, that's okay," Tom said. "I can get one side."

He and Sara lifted the end of the stretcher, and both managed to keep their grips even when a new, ululating shriek shattered the air. It seemed that the new Lural arrivals had found their fallen comrade. Impossibly, the group of Humans went faster, propelled by a rocket blast of fear, Luis still in the lead, Abby at the rear. No one suggested that they find a place to hide from the Lural; instinctively, the Humans knew that action has a comfort that hiding does not. And Mr. Neudel needed help.

A second scream, higher and shriller, followed the group down the path. Abby lifted her head, trying to guess if the Lural were getting closer. Her moment of inattention to her footing cost her dearly. Abby's toe caught under an exposed root, and her body hit the ground hard, a whoosh of air escaping her lungs. For a crucial moment, she couldn't draw breath and was left alone as the rest of the group hurtled down the rocky trail.

===========

Another shriek, this one a soft, hissing scream like a teapot on the verge of breaking out into full steam. This one was very close behind, and Abby scrambled to her feet, distantly aware that her hands were on fire, skinned from the fall. Now she didn't dare call to her friends, didn't dare catch the attention of what was stalking them.

Then she saw it. A Lural was on the trail behind her, coming along at a fast lope with its eyes like spotlights focused on her. Abby thought how silly they'd been to think they could outrun a creature like this one. The Lural was down on all fours, loping along at a swift, predatory pace. It saw Abby and stopped short.

The Lural's lips pulled back from its teeth, and it emitted another of the hissing screams, very low now, and launched itself towards the terrified girl.

Terrified, but not petrified. Abby didn't think; there was no time for a plan, no time to pick up a weapon or run away. Acting on pure instinct, she turned slightly so her left side was closest to the loping Lural. Her hands clenched into hard fists, and in her mind, Abby saw her arms as clubs. As the fiery orange eyes locked onto hers, Abby could feel her own involuntary snarl answering the attacker. The Lural closed the last ten feet, and Abby brought an uppercut from somewhere down around her knees, up through the air, following with all the force she could muster.

Her fist caught the attacking Lural precisely on the point of its hairy chin, and the head snapped back like it had hit a metal bar. A string of saliva came whipping out of its mouth; Abby watched with detachment as time slowed down, her fist continuing to arc along its passage, as the Lural's eyes rolled back and it hit the ground. Abby had scored her first knockout. Macready would be proud.

===============

The others finally noticed that Abby was no longer behind them.

"Ab? Abby?" Tom turned around and couldn't see his sister, but he did hear a hissing, squealing sort of noise, not too far back.

"Stop! Hey you guys, Abby's gone!" Tom shouted.

Tom and Sara set down their end of the stretcher quite abruptly, Luke more slowly. Tom ran back down the path and was the first to reach Abby. She was cradling her right arm to her body and staring down at the Lural body that lay at her feet.

"Holy cow! Abby, what did you do?" Tom exclaimed.

Abby looked up and recognition of her brother came into her eyes. "I hit it. I hit it, just like Macready said to do. You have to follow through with your fist," she explained.

The others caught up, breathing hard.

"Is it dead?" Luke asked, staring in amazement at the inert Lural.

"I don't know. I don't think so," Abby said.

"What happened?" asked Sara.

"Abby clocked it, knocked it cold," Tom said.

"If it's not dead, we'd better tie it up. Quickly," Luke said. He looked around. "What can we use?"

"Geez, let's just get going," Luis said. "Abby can hit any more that come along."

Sara shot Luis a look. But he was right insofar as there might be more at any moment, and she didn't relish the idea of facing a pack of Lural. "Yeah, let's go. We could drag the thing to the side."

"Okay. But leave it out. Maybe they'll be slowed down by the body in the trail, anyway," Luke said. They ran back down the path to the stretcher. Mr. Neudel didn't seem any the worse for having been set down very abruptly.

As he picked up the head of the stretcher, Luke found himself wondering about Mr. Neudel. He wasn't exactly the mild-mannered neighbor that Luke had taken for granted. In some ways, adjusting to Gracchia had been so easy that Luke made the unconscious assumption that he knew all about life on this planet, that it was just like Earth but with an exotic cast of colorful aliens. But really, what did he or his parents know about the Gracchus and Gracchia other than what had been presented to them? Luke was becoming aware that perhaps there were depths and layers here that most Humans didn't know about, and Mr. Neudel might very well be a part of that other world. Just what was in that box that Abby was carrying?

If they survived this, Luke meant to find out more.

=============

At the Split River checkpoint, the Middle-Aged Fat Men were ready to call it a day and head for the finish line to await the tally of points and enjoy the Grand Finale Party out at the Blue Pearl Sea.

Oliver wondered how the kids were faring. They were probably having a whale of a time, riding around on their bikes, seeing the spectacles. He wouldn't be surprised if they'd already made it to the finish for the celebrations.

The sky to the southwest was dark and heavy, and a veil of rain was hiding Pelerin Mountain. At least the kids had the common sense not to get caught in that.

The Split River checkpoint, the place where the Scopos River broke away from the Vespa, was crowded with members from three different teams. Members of Velvet Kitten, the MAFM, and Surprise From Above (named after a tree snake) had all passed through the archway for points and now all three teams were clustered around the bonus table. This was the most peculiar bonus situation yet. Extra points could be earned by eating small pink squares. Each team could choose just one eater, and the more he or she ate, the more points. Deductions were made for gagging.

The Gracchus in charge of the bonus table at this checkpoint assured the participants that the pink squares, each about an inch on a side, were completely edible by all of the species.

"So, step right up!" the Gracchus barked. "One eater per team. Who's hungry?!"

No one on the MAFM team came forward to volunteer. Oliver Ellsworth took a closer look at the slightly wobbly pink squares. He caught a whiff of.....ham? No quite, but close. Spam. The little squares were Spam.

The team of Surprise From Above were Nawaks, which meant that they were vegetarians. This was not going to make them happy.

Oliver wondered if it was too late to declare himself a vegetarian, too.

==============

After a weary interval of hiking, taking turns carrying the travois and getting steadily damper, the five Humans and their burden arrived at the Bridge of Stars. There had been no further pursuit by the Lural, and the kids needed to take a rest. Luke, Tom and Luis set down the stretcher and flexed their tired hands. Sara and Abby slumped to the ground, too tired to care about the mud.

Either the Lural had given up, Abby thought as she looked around at the dripping foliage, or if there was pursuit, the Lural now had the brains to be quiet about it. The knuckles on her right hand were puffy and swollen. When she straightened her fingers, Abby couldn't even make out the bones and tendons on the back of her hand. The puffiness made it look like she was wearing a thick, flesh-colored glove.

Sara looked up at the sky. "I think the rain's going to be stopping soon."

"How can you tell?" Luis asked. He couldn't remember ever being this tired before.

"The sky is lifting. See? The clouds aren't as low as they were," Sara said.

"That's dumb," Luis said. "The sky is always the same height, it can't lift."

Sara ignored him. Luis always got cranky when he was tired.

"Where are we going to go next?" Tom asked. "We have to find help for Mr. Neudel, but everyone's at the Bonebreaker."

Luke withdrew the map cube from a pocket and projected the map of the race. "I think the closest checkpoint is back at Eck's Cave. There'll still be people there. I think."

"Unless everyone is heading to the finish line," Tom noted.

Luke shrugged. "Maybe. But we need to find help as soon as we can, and that's the first place we should check."

"Okay. Let's go, then," said Tom.

Everyone got back on their feet. Sara was right. The rain was letting up.

==========

When the Humans were almost across the bridge, three Lural emerged from the woodland path. Upon sighting their prey, one of the creatures couldn't resist a shriek of triumph, breaking the silence that had served them well.

==========
Chapter 18

Further

===========

Abby, Sara and Luis were in the lead. Since they had to go single file across the narrow bridge, Luke and Tom had sole support of the stretcher. Tom, at the back of the stretcher, was closest to the pursuing fiends. Apparently, they had no fear of the single-span bridge; they came charging across like it was a four-lane freeway, jostling each other for the right to be the first to disembowel Tom.

"Go, go!" Tom screamed at the top of his lungs to his friends. He couldn't go any faster with them in front of him. Tom ran with his knees banging up against the travois handles he was gripping.

Abby, Sara and Luis hit the end of the bridge with the stretcher carried by Luke and Tom traveling like a bullet shot out of a barrel close behind. Unfortunately, the Lural were closing fast, and there was no way to trap them on the bridge.

The Humans were frantic. Then Luke remembered. He remembered something that had been nibbling at the edges of his mind ever since they'd strapped down Mr. Neudel on the stretcher, and Luke had crossed Mr. Neudel's arms across his chest so they wouldn't dangle to the sides and catch on something.

Luke knew this could be their only chance.

He slowed his pace and shouted back over his shoulder to Tom, "Stop! Drop down! Get out of the way!"

Tom didn't hear Luke clearly as he was still pumped full of life-saving adrenaline, but obviously Luke had lost his mind and was slowing down. Luke dropped his end of the stretcher and lunged across Mr. Neudel's poor, jolted body.

"GET DOWN!" Luke screamed at Tom. Tom, bewildered, dropped to the ground, rolled on his side, and waited for the Lural to attack. Luke snatched up Mr. Neudel's left wrist, aimed the Xenoth as best he could and pressed nearly all the buttons.

A beam shot out of the Xenoth, startlingly bright in the humid air, first green, then bright gold. It hit a bridge support, but didn't seem to do any damage. Luke yanked Mr. Neudel's arm and re-aimed the beam, shooting the first Lural in the chest. Tom thought with a tinge of hysteria that next time, the Lural wouldn't fight so hard to be in the lead.

Luke did not let up, but continued to shoot the beam at the two remaining Lural. The last one attempted to duck, but, gruesomely, the gold/ green arrow got him right in the head. Then the beam came out the other side and ignited a small fire on a tree branch on the far bank of the river. Luke let up on the buttons and gently returned Mr. Neudel's arm back next to his body.

The little fire hissed out, and for a moment, there was utter quiet. Sara let out a sob.

Luke flopped onto his back and stared up at the sky. He was still breathing hard. He couldn't believe that he'd just shot someone, or something. His Dad had always told him that self-protection was a fundamental right, but Luke felt shaky and hot.

Tom was the first to recover. "You know," he said, "there are still some little bags of garlic over there if we want to roast some Lural."

"Tom, that's gross!" Abby was disgusted. Sara was still crying.

Luke unsteadily got to his feet. Abby gave Sara a hug, and after a small hesitation, Luis did, too.

"I really want this to be over," Tom said with a sigh.

As if obeying Tom's wish, the rain ceased, and a gap appeared between the clouds. A golden beam of sunlight came down upon the exhausted Humans and the heap of inert Lurals. The metal flanges on the Bridge of Stars sparkled with thousands of tiny, illuminated droplets of water.

==========

"Hooray!"

A great crowd had gathered at the Blue Pearl Sea finishing area. After checking in with the Gracchus judges and turning in their scavenger items, the teams milled about for the closing ceremonies and final results. Banners had been set up by the various fan clubs, and the teams crossing under the last archway received cheers and a warm welcome. If at all possible, the judges considered it good form to have all the members of a team cross the finish line en masse. The Ghost Wind group even carried two of its members through the end. One of the fan clubs populated mostly by Vannevars greeted their finishers with red velvet hats; a Nawak team received great foaming buckets of ale.

Oliver knew it was ale: one of the generous Nawaks had insisted that Oliver take a swig from 'the great glass of triumph.' Nawakian ale was strong stuff but helped to obliterate the lingering taste of Spam in Oliver's mouth.

Most—but not all—of the race participants were friendly now that the race was over, comparing notes and swapping stories about their adventures. Mighty Carnivorous Amphibian was the only team which had managed to collect the points from the target on the wandering verdinger herd. After that, the herd had mysteriously spooked and had retreated far onto the Plains of Rubico. Only a few competitors were churlish enough to suggest that the Aeris had deliberately scared the verdingers away after earning the points.

No team had made it out to the Gem Islands, though Surprise From Above had made an attempt. While the Nawaks on that team were excellent swimmers, the strong wind blowing in from the southwest had made the waves choppy and swimming difficult.

Oliver left Macready and his teammates for a while to search the crowd for Tom and Abby. He felt a little nauseous from the Spam cubes he eaten an hour or so ago, but they were finally beginning to make peace with his stomach.

He didn't find the kids, but Oliver did meet the Vargases who were looking for Sara and Luis.

"They could be here somewhere; it's hard to tell in this crowd," Alex Vargas remarked, peering at the multitudes around them.

Mrs. Vargas wasn't so sure. "I hope that Luis didn't wander off on his own. He's so independent sometimes. Thank goodness Sara is responsible.

"I'm a little worried that he might have gone to Pelerin Mountain," Marisol Vargas continued. "One of our Vannevar apprentice chefs told he there was a mathematical puzzle at that checkpoint. You know how Luis loves anything to do with math."

"Not to mention the chance to demonstrate his abilities in math," Alex said.

"Exactly. And that's where the rain has been. I know Sara packed her rain gear. I should have checked that Luis had his," Marisol fretted.

Oliver spotted Miranda Tavish at the judge's table and excused himself. She had been running a first aid station at the Aeris Spire checkpoint, but Oliver hadn't had a chance to speak with her at the time. She'd been busy cleaning and binding a gash on the leg of a Vannevar from Velvet Kitten Claw. The Vannevar had tripped and fallen into a decorative but thorny hedge. There might or might not have been foul play involved.

Miranda hadn't seen the kids either but promised to keep an eye out for them.

"I wouldn't worry too much. They're probably still out on the last stretches of the course, having fun," she said.

==============

The kids were still on the course, but by no stretch could they be considered to be having fun.

The town of Aurelia was silent. There was no one in the streets, no one in the shops. Steam rose from the damp streets like friendly phantasms in the glowing light of late afternoon. Between the bridge and Eck's Cave, the kids did not encounter a single soul. Luke had taken the Xenoth from Mr. Neudel's wrist and attached it to his own, but he wasn't even sure if it worked anymore. And if it was still charged, Luke didn't want to waste any energy on an experimental shot. He'd just wear it and hope that he didn't have to use it.

Eck's Cave, too, was deserted, closed up completely. There was a note on the door, but it was in Nawakian.

"I'll bet it says that everyone's at the finishing line," Tom said. He and Luke set down the stretcher and flexed sore shoulders. Sara bent down to put a hand on Mr. Neudel's forehead. He was warm, perhaps even a little feverish. At least he was still breathing.

Everyone knew that there could be more Lural following them, and possibly the ones back on the bridge weren't dead, but somehow, it felt safer here among the familiar buildings rather than out in the woods. But until they made it back among others, they couldn't stop for long. At least it was dry here, and the sun was warming them up.

Sara thought that she would give a lot right now for a hot bath and some dry jammies. A mug of hot chocolate wouldn't be bad, either.

Luis asked, "Why were they after us?"

"The gibble?" said Abby. "They were mad." She still thought of the horrible hunter as a gibble, terrible creature out of Gracchian mythology. The word fit better to her ears.

Luis nodded. "I know that maybe they were angry about their friend or pack member or whatever getting dissolved but why chase us and risk even more injuries?"

"Maybe they're like wolves; it's just instinct," Sara offered.

"No, they're smart; plus they had metal vests on," Luis said.

"Even smart beings could be vicious," Tom said.

Luis shrugged. "It just seems weird. Like they're after something. If it's not simple instinct to chase us down, we could still be in danger, even here."

Abby felt the black cube that Mr. Neudel had given her pressing against her body. She decided not to remind anyone that she had it. It might be better not to know.

"I don't think we can carry that," Abby gestured to the battered travois, "all the way to the Blue Pearl Sea." She was right. They were all at the limits of their energy and the primitive stretcher was starting to come apart at the seams.

There were several jellycars parked adjacent to Eck's Cave. Tom announced, "Transportation won't be a problem."

==============

The large, lime green jellycar must be used by Eck to transport supplies and ale, Tom decided as used his knife to pry off the control panel at the back of the car. There was a sizable cargo area, and the driver's seat was very large, much bigger than those used by Humans or the small Gracchus. The cargo area itself smelled of old beer and had a sticky floor. Thankfully, the controls seemed to be the same. Tom wouldn't have to figure it out on the go.

Tom pulled out the speed governor; if any more Lural appeared on the scene, it would be good to be prepared. Starting the engine wouldn't be difficult since the jellycars didn't require keys. Tom used his backpack as a booster cushion upon the oversized driver's seat and fiddled with the controls. After a slight lurch, he got the jellycar moving and pulled over in front of Eck's Cave where the others were waiting.

==============

The party was in full swing at the Blue Pearl Sea when finally an announcement was made regarding this year's winner. The Gracchus judges had taken an exceptionally long time to tally the results, adding all the points from the course and puzzles and going through all the items from the scavenger list. Style points were the wild card, the joker in the pack.

"I'll bet the first thing the judges did was count the bottles of Flottle. I doubt we'll be seeing any of those again," Macready said.

He and Oliver had been roaming the crowd, and Oliver was growing increasingly anxious about the kids. Back on Earth, Oliver hadn't had much liking for cell phones, especially the implanted kind, regarding them as a sort of electronic leash. Still, right now, he wished he could call the kids.

"Competitors! We have reached a decision!" A Gracchus judge shouted from the top of a hillock. His voice projected across the chaotic crowd. He waited. It took a few minutes for the people to settle down, but eventually everyone grew quiet. The air quivered with charged hopes. All the valiant effort, underhanded bribery, dirty tricks and honest achievement were now at an end; all that was missing was the final cherry on the sundae, the bow on top of the package.

"For only the second time in recent history," the judge said, "we have two winners!"

A great swell of noise rose from the crowd. It did not sound like a tide of happiness.

"Oh, no!" Macready exclaimed. "A split decision. This is just terrible. Everyone hates a tie: everyone, including the so-called winners.

"Last time, fifty-odd years ago, the fights went on for days. I wasn't here, naturally, but it was an unfortunate time."

The judge continued, oblivious of the effect he was having. "Congratulations and felicitations to: Mighty Carnivorous Amphibian—"

"What!" None of the members of the MAFM could believe this. Carnivorous Amphibian had been trapped on the far side of the Star Bridge for well over an hour.

"—and Velvet Kitten Claw!" the judge finished. Whatever he said next was lost in the rumble of voices washing over the hillock.

A giant blob of mud flew through the air from the general vicinity of the Aeris fans of Carnivorous Amphibian to the general vicinity of the fans of Velvet Kitten. And so it began.

"My friends, I think it politic to let the principals in the fight settle this without our participation," Macready said. "Let's retreat to the fringes. Besides, we'll get a better view that way."

The MAFM made it to a sensibly distant rise. Macready was right; from here they could get a clear picture of the battle below. Oliver was reminded of seeing Civil War reenactments back on Earth with all the participants in period costume and the occasional puff of smoke, but without anyone getting truly injured. The most popular weapon seemed to be the mud bomb, though the Aeris were also deploying the sticky nets here and there.

Then one of the battlers lobbed a sulfur smoke device, and the people dispersed, coughing. No species liked the noxious odor of rotten eggs.

================

The ride to the Blue Pearl Sea was uneventful in terms of Lural, but Tom's driving was exciting enough. He was compelled to put on speed in spite of the lack of pursuit, and no one argued with him. All of them wanted to reach the safety of a crowd and get help for Mr. Neudel as soon as possible.

The jellycar performed bravely in spite of its heavy load and the unaccustomed speed. Tom thought that there were a couple of easy modifications that could make it go even faster. The steering could be improved, and the acceleration wasn't that good. But once it was up to speed, the cruising was okay, the engine had decent power. The wheelbase was wide enough for good cornering; the jellycar barely tipped even on the sharper corners.

They arrived at the Bonebreaker finishing area to find the place in chaos. Before they were even in sight of the Blue Pearl Sea, the smell of sulfur drifting through the late afternoon air tipped them off that something was amiss. And as Tom drove over the crest and they could see the scene, there seemed to be more mud in the air than on the ground.

"Holy cow," Tom said for the second time that day.

===============

Katie Peterson was the first one to spot the lime green jellycar cruising the edges of the crowd. Tom Ellsworth was at the wheel.

"Oliver, I believe we've found your son," she said.

==================

When Tom saw his Dad, he stopped the car, and everyone piled out.

"Dad, Dad!"

Oliver's initial anger at seeing Tom driving a jellycar again evaporated; obviously, there was something wrong. He fell to his knees and opened his arms. The kids looked more battered than the Bonebreaker Racers, scrapes and bruises everywhere and their hair damp and stringy. Something was wrong with Abby's hand; it hung red and puffy at her side.

"It's Mr. Neudel, Dad, he's hurt really bad," Abby said, pulling her Dad by his hand to the cargo area of the lime jellycar to where Nicholas Neudel still lay strapped to a very odd-looking stretcher made of flimsy branches and strips of rubber. Even Tom's driving hadn't woken him up.

"He was shot by a gibble," Abby explained. "Or a Lural."

Oliver was stunned (what in the world was a gibble? Lural?), then training kicked in, and he took action.

"Get Macready," he told Abby. "Hurry!"

Oliver crawled into the jellycar to check the unconscious man. Macready would know where they should take Mr. Neudel. All other questions could wait.

==============
Chapter 19

Recovery and (Some) Explanations

================

Macready paused only long enough to ascertain that Mr. Neudel was still alive and then rushed off for some hurried consultations with the Gracchus in charge of the event. Before the squad of four emergency workers arrived, Macready was able to as the kids a few questions. Luke drew a map of approximately where they'd been when they'd first encountered the gibbles.

"Gibbles? What in heaven's name is a gibble?" Macready asked.

Abby explained that the creatures were exactly like the Gracchian creatures of folklore. "They had orange eyes just like in the pictures. And they were evil They chased us and tried to attack us like they'd attacked Mr. Neudel," she said.

"So you carried Nicholas Neudel all the way from the meadow where he'd been shot?" Macready asked.

"Well, we were chased for a while, but Abby hit one of the gibbles, and then later Luke shot two of them with the Xenoth on Mr. Neudel's wrist," Tom said.

"What?"

Tom patiently repeated himself with the others nodding in agreement.

The emergency squad of four Gracchus arrived and withdrew Mr. Neudel from the jellycar, wrapping his entire body in a clear bag that they inflated so it appeared that the patient was trapped inside a giant, oblong balloon. Weirdly, the balloon floated. With incredible speed, the small quartet maneuvered Mr. Neudel's enclosed body into a large jellycar and sped off, almost running over feuding Aeris in its path.

Tom continued his tale. "Then we got to Eck's Cave and no one was there so we, um, borrowed one of the jellycars and came here." Tom hoped that they wouldn't be in trouble for using someone else's jellycar. The situation had called for emergency measures, but adults weren't always rational.

"We don't know if there are more gibbles," Sara added. She thought that the adults seemed insufficiently aware of what kind of horrible creature had been chasing them.

"Wait here," Macready said. Once again, he trotted off to consult with the Gracchus. Surprisingly, Miranda Tavish went with him and was heavily engaged in the discussion with the senior Gracchus.

"Well, I think further explanations can wait a bit," Mrs. Vargas said sensibly. "Let's get you into some dry clothing. And then why don't we all get together at our place for some hot food? I'm sure we can all use it."

They agreed to meet at the Vargases' in an hour.

=================

Alex and Marisol Vargas put together a simple dinner of enchiladas from the deep freeze, a huge mixed salad and ham sandwiches. Mrs. Vargas knew that everyone would be famished when they came in the door, so she put out a big bowl of homemade tortilla chips and salsa for starters. Since the House of Fire was closed for the day, they set up everything at one of the big tables near the kitchen where there would be plenty of room for everyone.

When the Ellsworths arrived, Abby and Tom were offered a choice of cider or Mexican hot chocolate (much to Abby's delight) and Oliver had a Dos Equis. Minutes later, the Whipples walked in with Ms. Tavish right behind. The late spring evening was just beginning to turn to dusk.

"Macready said he'll be a little late, but he asked us to delay explanations until he arrives," Alex Vargas said when they were all seated around the table, eating chips. "He said that he's bringing someone who needs to hear all this, too."

Abby and Tom had both had hurried baths. Abby was feeling much better, and she could tell that her friends were, too. She felt warm and safe and slightly sleepy. Dad had sprayed a painkiller on her right hand, and the swelling was down. Abby knew that the adults had lots of questions, but it was good not to talk about stuff for a while.

"Do you still have the box?" Sara whispered. She was seated right next to Abby.

Abby nodded and surreptitiously touched the box through her loose shirt. She hoped that she'd be able to give it to the Gracchus soon. It was too important, maybe too dangerous, to have around the house.

The boys especially wanted to know how the MAFM did in the race, and from there the discussion turned to the raucous mudfight at the end when the split decision was announced. Everyone was on a second round of drinks and Mr. Whipple was delivering a mini-lecture on the history of the last time the race ended in a tie when, finally, Macready arrived.

===============

Macready hadn't changed out of his Bonebreaker clothes, and they still whiffed of sulfur. He had managed to clean of most of the mud that had splattered on him, but there were still flakes of dirt here and there.

No one much noticed Macready's attire, however. Their attention was focused on the person with Macready: a sleek Gracchus with dark brown fur interspersed with silver.

"My friends, may I introduce Quirinal?" Macready said. "I think he needs to hear your story."

A little gasp escaped Abby's lips. This must be the person that she was supposed to deliver the box to. But how did Macready know? It couldn't be coincidence, could it? And she knew she'd heard the name Quirinal before today.

Quirinal lifted a small hand in acknowledgement of the Humans' greetings. In response to Mrs. Vargas' offer of beverages, he gladly accepted a steaming mug of hot chocolate, the cinnamon and milk making a heady froth on top.

Abby remembered where she'd heard the name Quirinal before. Quirinal was the Gracchus who had made first contact with Nigel Wooster, years ago. Could this possibly be the same person?

When he was settled in one of the higher chairs that the House of Fire had specially made for their Gracchus clientele, Quirinal said, "May I first begin by saying that the......" He paused.

"What were the children calling them?" Quirinal asked Macready.

"Gibbles. Or Lural. They use both terms."

"That the gibbles are gone, cleaned up. You need fear them no longer."

Oliver was unsatisfied. "You knew about these things, these gibbles, and you didn't warn people? What if the children had been hurt?"

"Please," Quirinal said. "We didn't expect them to, ah, break through again. The problem has been solved."

Macready shot the Gracchus a sharp look but didn't contradict him.

Tom spoke up, "What do you call them, then?"

"They're a race named Luraloxin, sometimes shortened to Lural," Quirinal said.

Luis said, "Mr. Neudel said they were hunters."

"Yes, this group was hunter-killers," Quirinal spoke very precisely, using English, not Gracchian, perhaps not wanting to rely on the vagaries of the LMD chip to avoid any misunderstanding. His English was excellent, almost without accent.

"Then why did they look like gibbles? They looked exactly like the gibbles in the books," Abby insisted.

Quirinal nodded. "They chose this form for this expedition, and, we believe, for several surveying expeditions prior. Possibly for the purposes of inducing fright and disbelief among those who might see them. If someone claimed to see a figure from folklore, they'd likely be dismissed as having hallucinations."

"Like if we said we saw the Loch Ness Monster or the Abominable Snowman back on Earth," Luke said.

"Yes, precisely," Quirinal said.

Tom was triumphant. "I told you I saw some weird thing with orange eyes when I crashed the jellycar last month."

"Son, you still shouldn't have been driving the car," Oliver said.

Luke was getting antsy. "Why were they trying to kill Mr. Neudel?"

Macready stepped in. "Why don't you tell what you saw, and then Quirinal will try to answer all your questions."

And so the five Human children told the story of accidentally losing their way on the route to Pelerin Mountain and encountering the Lural and Mr. Neudel in the meadow. They all chipped in, correcting details and relating different parts of the story.

"You were going to Pelerin Mountain?" Macready interjected at one point. He had a quick consultation with Quirinal. "That meadow you describe is far past the mountain. In fact, you were close to the Sun Bridge. We couldn't figure out why you took the route you did."

"Luis had a compass," Sara said. "That's why." Luis glared at her.

"Well thank goodness you weren't on the correct route," Macready commented. Luis stuck his tongue out at his sister. "Anyway, please carry on."

So the story continued. The timer bell chimed for the enchiladas, but Mr. Vargas just took the food out of the oven, covered it and came back to hear the rest of the tale.

Abby's moment of triumph was hers to tell: "So after I fell down and the gibble was almost ready to get me, I hit him here," she gestured to the point of her own chin, "and just like Macready told me, I followed through. His head snapped back, and he didn't get up again."

"Well done, young Ellsworth," Macready said. Abby beamed.

Mrs. Vargas didn't approve of violence, but she wondered if it might be a good idea for Sara to learn how to hit. As long as she didn't hit the wrong people for the wrong reason, it could be a useful skill.

When Luke came to the description of how he had shot the two pursuing Lural with Mr. Neudel's Xenoth, Quirinal asked him which buttons Luke had pushed.

"All of them," Luke said. "I was in a hurry, and I didn't have time to figure out which was which."

Quirinal nodded. "I see. The molecular unsteadiness of your targets made them especially vulnerable, I believe."

"Uh, are they dead?" Luke asked. He had no idea what 'molecular unsteadiness' was but was willing to take Quirinal's word for it.

Quirinal made a small gesture of negation. "If not now, probably soon. They're back from whence they came, and their masters don't take well to failure."

"Oh."

Tom told the rest of the story, how they'd arrived at Eck's Cave to find no one there. "So we borrowed a jellycar. And we weren't sure that the Lural were gone, so I took out the speed governor in case we needed to outrun them," he confessed.

"I think under the circumstances, you can rest easy," his Dad said. "We will, of course, pay for any necessary repairs."

"Not a worry," Quirinal said. "Any loss is indemnified." He didn't explain further, but Tom relaxed a little. 'Indemnified' sounded good.

"And now, I must insist, dinner is ready," Mrs. Vargas said. The chips and salsa were but a memory. "The rest is going to have to wait until after we've eaten."

"But is Mr. Neudel okay?" Sara asked.

"He is....adequate," Quirinal said. He didn't elaborate.

==============

Dinner was wonderful. Abby decided against the excitement of enchiladas and instead opted for a ham sandwich, thick and delicious with lots of mustard and mayo. Luis had the same, but Sara, Luke, Tom and the adults all had spicy enchiladas. Quirinal didn't eat but did accept a refill of hot chocolate.

When the food was eaten and the dirty dishes cleared away, Quirinal began to talk.

"The man you know as Nicholas Neudel is a soldier," he began. "I can think of no better word to describe someone who is responsible for protecting his home from outside influences which would seek to do it harm.

"One of those outside influences is the Lural."

Quirinal took a cube out of a small bag he'd brought. It looked like one of the map cubes that had been handed out at the beginning of the Bonebreaker Race. He pressed the button on the top, and a three-dimensional image of a sweet, furry animal with big ears was projected from the cube. The creature looked a lot like a child's drawing of the Easter Bunny, except for it seemed to be holding some sort of spiked whip.

"If it helps your sleep at night, this is the true appearance of the Lural," Quirinal said with a twitch of his nose.

Tom didn't think that helped at all. In fact, it was quite awful.

Abby felt triumphant. She had been right. This rabbit thing was what Mr. Neudel had been hunting at the Gate facility the night of the fireworks. He had been up to something.

"But then how did they...." Luis' voice trailed off. From bunny to gibble was too big a leap.

"Suffice it to say that they have taken not only the form of a gibble, but also the form of a Human. There is dangerous copy error with the method they used, but his was not a prime concern to them, and we've shut off that corridor in any event.

"Thankfully," Quirinal continued, "their race is not advanced enough to have come up with Gate technology on their own, particularly since their current regime has seen fit to rid itself of all their scientists and scholars. You must know that evil is essentially stupid and weak by itself."

"But if they don't have Gate technology, how did they travel from their world to ours? Abby asked.

"Ah, like most such vicious regimes, they have to borrow or steal from another. In this case, the betrayal of one of our own, a Gracchian, gave them gate technology. One of our great, great failures."

Quirinal sighed and closed his eyes. He looked ineffably sad. Almost as if he were thinking aloud he said, "The attraction of endless night for those who would then rule the darkness....ah, the loss."

He revived after a moment and continued, "Now the problem is almost rectified. The Gate is closed, and with the help of the information Nicholas Neudel brought back," here Quirinal shot a look at Abby, "we can isolate the Lural effectively for as long as necessary. The current sorry civilization of theirs will continue to fall and perhaps someday, with a little help here and there, it will rise again in a better form."

Abby pulled the black box from inside her shirt and pulled the cord over her head.

"Here. I guess this belongs to you," she said. Abby walked around the table and placed the small box in Quirinal's hands. "Mr. Neudel told me to give this to you."

"I know. I knew it was safe, Nicholas assured me. He's quite fond of you." Here the sadness left Quirinal's eyes and Abby could have sworn he was laughing inside. She wondered if the Gracchus had somehow found out about her spying activities.

"And now, I have business I must attend to. Goodnight, my fellow Gracchians," Quirinal said, walking to the exit.

He turned in the doorway. "By the way, have you heard that the awards ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow, midday? It will be held in the central square with its fortuitous deficit of mud rather than at the Blue Pearl Sea. I hope to see you there." And the Gracchus was gone.

=================

As they said goodnight to Sara and Luis and thanked Mr. and Mrs. Vargas for dinner, Abby and Tom were still bursting with questions, but obviously they wouldn't learn much more that night. Quirinal knew more than he was telling, and adults never seemed to tell everything to kids anyway. Abby suspected that Macready also knew more than he was letting on—how did he know to find Quirinal?—but he was already gone, too.

Yet a few interesting pieces of information were still to come their way that night.

================

The Ellsworths were walking home with the Whipples and Ms. Tavish since they all lived in the same general area. Abby was pleased to see that Dad was walking next to Ms. Tavish.

"I wonder if we'll be able to visit Mr. Neudel in the hospital," Luke said as they moved through the streets. The kids were a few paces behind the adults. Aurelia was quiet tonight. A few other pedestrians strolled the walkways, but the general sense was of people recovering from the rigors of the day in their peaceful homes. Post-Bonebreaker parties were nonexistent; everyone was exhausted.

Ms. Tavish turned slightly in response to Luke's question. "I doubt it, Luke," she said. "With severe injuries, the Gracchus keep patients in sterile isolation to prevent complications from infection. Particularly from other-world sources."

"That's too bad," Abby said. She didn't much like hospitals, but she'd go to see Mr. Neudel. Besides, they'd been pretty well exposed to him already.

"Why was Mr. Neudel sent, do you suppose?" Tom said. "He's so small for a Human and can't be that strong. Maybe they should have sent a Nawak."

Once again, Ms. Tavish turned. She waited until Tom, Abby and Luke were walking next to her and said, "It was Mr. Neudel's brother who betrayed us to the Luraloxin. Partly his mission was an attempt to bring him back, though that wasn't the primary aim."

Abby finally voiced the question that had been nagging at her subconscious mind ever since she'd first met Nicholas Neudel and sensed something offbeat about him, something stranger even than his clothing choices. She was also upset that adults didn't ever seem to tell the whole truth. "Ms. Tavish, what is Mr. Neudel, really? Is he a Gracchus? Did they transform a Gracchus into a Human?"

This could explain the weird way he talked, his home decoration scheme, the mission against the Lural.

Miranda Tavish hesitated, then said, "The news is going to break soon anyway, now that the Gracchus have established relations with Earth.

"Nicholas Neudel is fully Human, as much as you or me; the Gracchus do not use the dangerous matter-shifting technology that the Lural developed, would never use it. But Nicholas was born and raised here on Gracchia, and his mind is patterned more like a Gracchus than a Human. The truth is that Humans have lived on Gracchia for almost a hundred years before the opening of the Gate between the two worlds."

Tom said, "But the Gracchus don't interfere in the affairs of other planets. Um. Do they?"

Ms. Tavish snorted, halfway to a laugh. "They don't officially make their presence known, at least not until Gate-level technology has arisen. The Gracchus don't want any nascent civilizations to expect salvation from the outside. But they are world-savers, make no doubt about it."

The group slowed as they approached Ms. Tavish's house. A light burned in her front window.

"Why were there Humans here before the Gate, before contact?" Oliver asked.

"As I understand it, this happened in the middle of the last century, when the truly dangerous biological weapons were developed. If some of them had gotten out of control, Humanity would have entered into a new dark age and taken eons to recover, might never have recovered. Having some of us here was insurance for survival of the species."

They'd arrived at Ms. Tavish's front porch.

"Plus, the Gracchus wanted an early chance to evaluate Human potential up close, I believe," Ms. Tavish added as she climbed her front steps.

"Goodnight and sleep well," she said. "Abby, Tom, Luke, I'm very proud of you." Ms. Tavish waved goodbye and closed the door.

"I might have to write a paper," Mr. Whipple speculated.

=================

That night, Abby dreamt she was being charged by a large group of gibbles, but when she turned to run, her feet wouldn't move. She looked down to see that her feet were uncased in blocks of concrete. Abby could wiggle her toes, but trying to move was impossible. Just as the gibbles sprang at her with claws outstretched, trying to gouge her eyes out. Abby woke up. Wilson was laying on he feet, his warm gray body pinning them down. Abby withdrew first one foot, then the other, trying not to disturb him too much. Of course he woke up anyway, and Abby stroked the length of his spine. Wilson stretched first his front legs, then his back, yawned, resettled into a furry curl, and went back to sleep.

Then Abby heard a noise.

=============

"Tom, Tom, wake up!" Abby urged her brother. "There's something at the front door." She'd left her bed in a hurry and rushed to get Tom.

Quirinal had assured them that the gibbles were gone for good, but what if he was wrong? What if one or two had tracked them home? Even though she didn't have the black box anymore, maybe they were out for revenge. Did other species have the concept of revenge? Abby had hit that gibble pretty hard, had knocked him out in fact. He could be mad about being hit by a girl. Ha.

"It's probably just Wilson," Tom mumbled and turned over. He resumed his deep breathing.

Abby shook him again. "No, no, it's outside. There's something outside the front door. Wilson's asleep on my bed."

Tom rubbed his eyes and sat up. "Then let's go get Dad."

"Can't we see what it is first? Then we can call him if we need to."

"Okay, okay." Tom climbed out of his warm bed, stretching and reaching for his bathrobe. Abby was a little irritated that he didn't hurry more.

Tom tied his sash as they followed the curving corridor of the hallway to the front door. The slight twinkling of thousands of embedded lights in the walls and ceiling illuminated their way. Abby and Tom reached the front door and waited a moment, but there was no hint of danger. Tom jumped when Wilson arrived on little cat paws and bumped his head against Tom's ankles, but the cat gave no indication of nervousness.

"What did you hear, exactly?" Tom whispered.

"A noise. A sinister noise."

"Sinister?"

"I don't know. I guess it could have been a knock," Abby whispered back. Would a gibble knock? Probably not.

"Alright, I'll look outside. You scream for Dad if there's anything out there."

Abby nodded.

Tom put a hand on the knob then quickly turned it and yanked open the door, prepared to shut it again if there was anything more menacing than a cat on the doorstep.

They stood out in front of the house and gleamed in the scanty light. Tom saw multiple eyes, red and white, staring back at him.

Abby screamed.

Tom realized what was on their front porch: their bicycles. What he had thought were eyes were merely the reflectors on the wheels, lit up by the illumination coming from the house.

Dad rushed into the corridor and sprinted towards the front door. Like Abby, his sleep had been shallow and plagued with vague nightmares. His hair was spiky, striped pajamas awry.

"Hi Dad," Tom said.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF....," Dad shouted. He caught sight of the bikes waiting outside the front door.

"Tom, Abby," his voice was eerily calm, "why are your bicycles on the front porch?"

"We don't know," Abby said. "I heard a noise, and we came out here and found them. And someone has cleaned them up. Look! I had a big scratch on the frame, and it's gone now."

"I thought you left your bikes somewhere in the forest," Dad stated.

"That's where they were, Dad," Tom said, "but now they're here."

Oliver rubbed his eyes. "Please," he began, "please can you bring them inside and can we all have a QUIET NIGHT?"

"Sorry, Dad," Tom said. Dad was peeved, but it wasn't their fault that someone had delivered the bikes in the middle of the night.

"Sorry, Dad," Abby echoed. She and Tom wheeled the bikes inside and left them next to the front door.

The Ellsworths went back to bed, and this time they slept through 'til morning, including Wilson.

===========
Chapter 20

Closing Ceremony

=============

The next day, Luke, Abby and Tom met Luis and Sara late in the morning. They were all going to the closing ceremony together. Luke and the Vargases had had their bikes returned in the night, too, but unlike the Ellsworths, it hadn't woken them up.

They rode their bikes down the streets of Aurelia to the central square. As they rolled along, Abby, Tom, and Luke told Luis and Sara the interesting news about Mr. Neudel, how he had been born on Gracchia, years before the official first meeting between Humans and Gracchus. Neither Sara nor Luis were particularly surprised.

"Oh. Actually, I never thought about it. He is kind of strange, but so is almost everything around here," Sara summed it up.

The sky was blue with only a few high clouds; rain seemed unlikely, thank goodness. The five young Humans had experienced quite enough rain lately.

All the bicycles gleamed, scratches and dents repaired, chains cleaned and chrome buffed. They looked brand-new.

"It must have been Quirinal, or his people, I mean," Tom said. "Who else knew where we'd left the bikes? And even then, we told him only an approximate location."

"It could have been Macready," Luis said.

"Maybe, but he wouldn't have had time to do all these repairs. It must have been the Gracchus," Abby said.

"So why is there another closing ceremony today?" Luis asked.

"Well, yesterday's ceremony wasn't exactly a success," said Tom.

"Right, but you'd think they wouldn't want to repeat yesterday's fights, either," Luke said.

"Maybe it's because things were left undone," Sara said.

As the clusters of people walking to the central square grew more numerous, the kids left their bikes parked on a side street and walked the remaining distance. The adult Vargases weren't going to be there; they had to work to ready the restaurant for the day's customers, and Abby's and Tom's Dad had gone to his office to get some business done that morning, but he was going to try to drop by the square if he could. Luke knew his Dad was somewhere in the crowd, but it would be difficult to find him in this crush. Many of the people they saw wore bandages and disgruntled expressions but otherwise seemed little the worse for wear. The teams of Velvet Kitten and Carnivorous Amphibian were on opposite sides of the square. They threw each other the occasional glare, but that was all.

The kids came upon what remained of the MAFM team, and Macready gave them a boisterous greeting, shaking hands and slapping backs with vigor; his good mood was infectious. The MAFM had a few cuts and bruises but were, like Macready, in good spirits. Abby saw that they still had their ceremonial staff with the beautiful inlaid stones.

"Do you get to keep that until next year?" she asked Macready.

"No, no. They were supposed to be returned yesterday, but for obvious reasons, it wasn't done. There'll be a formal return after the awards today."

"How did the MAFM do, overall?" Tom wanted to know.

Macready shrugged. "We have no idea. The Gracchus don't share their tally of points or results. Every year there's a winner, and that's it. There's no prize for second place, and the Gracchus never explain how they arrive at their decision."

Tom thought that perhaps that was why the participants hated a tie so much. They wanted the winner's spot, alone, because that was the only result that counted.

The Gracchus Master of Ceremonies stood on the same platform as yesterday when he had handed out the ceremonial staffs.

"Friends, competitors, mortal enemies," he began. The crowd quieted.

"Yesterday the judges ruled in error." A great gasp went up from the gathered people, then a babble of voices clashed in the air. Yesterday's post-race melee had taken much of the starch out of the competitors, but now it was as if they'd been reenergized by a shot of electricity.

Macready groaned. "Oh, no. Batten down the hatches."

"Unbeknownst to the judges at the time," the Gracchus continued, "a group of unofficial entrants was running a parallel race."

The tension in the air was in no way lessened by this odd pronouncement, but the confusion was palpable.

"This team ran an independent course that included physical hardship, loyalty, danger, and a large amount of serendipity," the Gracchus said.

Luis wasn't sure his LMD was working. "What's...serendipity?" he whispered.

"Dumb luck," Sara whispered back.

"Oh."

"In the true spirit of the Bonebreaker Race, they left no one behind, even as they fought off enemies who sought to stop them. Even as the Blues brought back the information that ended a war, so did this team bring back the information that will guard and protect this very Gracchia.

"This year's winner of the Bonebreaker Race is the Group of Five Human Children. Tom, Sara, Luis, Abby and Luke, we salute you."

Abby's mouth dropped open. He was talking about them. She looked at her friends and Tom; all were just as dumbfounded as Abby. Luis was the first to get over the shock; he started hopping up and down, waving his arms in the air.

"We won! We won! Hey guys, we won!"

Macready led the MAFM in a cheer for the Group of Five. The rest of the crowd milled around, talking excitedly, bemused by the sudden, totally unexpected turn of events.

Tom said the first thing that came into his mind: "We have got to get a better name." Group of Five sounded like a criminal gang and an unimaginative one at that.

Many in the crowd came up to congratulate the Group of Five. One Aeris told Luke, "Felicitations. Frankly, we're just glad that Velvet Kitten didn't win, the cheaters. And wait until next year. We'll not have mercy on you simply because you're young and inexperienced."

Luke hoped that now they would be allowed in next year's race. But still, how many winners of the Bonebreaker lived under the rule of their parents?

Sara was simply happy that no one threw mud bombs at them. She wondered what the other kids at school would say.

=============

"You know, if we're in the race next year, we'll get the staff of the Blues," Luke said. "The most revered, the most prestigious staff. All the other teams will be out to get us."

The Group of Five were sitting around the Ellsworths' courtyard pool a week after the surprise ending of the Bonebreaker Race, watching Pip dart from the shadows to snare unwary fish. He ate so much Abby wondered if he was getting ready to have babies.

"We'll get that staff if our parents let us race," Luis said gloomily, "and if Abby and Tom are still around."

The post-race letdown the week after the race had affected Luis the most of all. There had been no winners' parade, and except for the first few days after their victory, no one seemed to remember. They didn't even get free ice cream or anything. Back on Earth, every activity from Field Day to soccer tournaments to playing in a school concert had merited a plastic statue or at the very least a ribbon and certificate of participation. Even the losers got a statue or certificate; the prevailing system hadn't believed in singling out the winners for extra praise. But apparently the Gracchus didn't hand out award plaques.

During the past week, the season had definitively changed from Full Blossom to Prelude to Fiery Heat in the Gracchus parlance. School had resumed, and the Group of Five had enjoyed a temporary fame from their unplanned victory in the Bonebreaker Race. Shasta and McKinley continued to ignore most everyone, but Kimmy and Wooly had congratulated them, making Sara blush.

No one had yet been permitted to visit Mr. Neudel in the hospital, or whatever version of a hospital the Gracchus had. But Ms. Tavish told them that he was expected to recover. Abby was looking forward to seeing her neighbor again. Maybe she'd make some gummy bear bread for him and try to find out what information had been in that black box.

Abby and Tom were both glad that they were going to be here this summer, even if they did have to go to school. Gemma was going to visit sometime, and Dad had promised to take them camping on one of their vacation breaks. Seeing more of Gracchia than just Aurelia would be interesting, although Abby wasn't crazy about camping. There were so many mosquitoes and bugs. Maybe it would be better on Gracchia.

The Gracchus were staging their own version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" out on Gem Island in a month or two. Ms. Tavish said that some of the students might be asked to take part, and that might be interesting.

In fact, Tom and Abby both could hardly wait for the summer to get into full swing.

========

Watch for Far Travels, Book 2, Summer on Gracchia!

===========

**About the Author** : Kristi Seibert lives in Colorado with her husband, two cats, and a turtle named Julius. She is at work on the next Gracchian adventure while also writing a novel about a reluctant hero named Flint Razor. Originally Flint was meant to be a Man Book parody, but she fell for the main character and had no choice but to take him seriously. Kristi has been influenced by Robert Heinlein, Peter O'Donnell, Dean Koontz, Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, Bill Watterson, Wilbur Smith, Gary Jennings and Shakespeare. She spends a lot of time reading, and according to her husband, not enough time writing.

