Entering the Weave

With a loud clunk and a jolt the whole floor of the room they had entered began to move. It descended steadily downwards for a long time and the sight of the four surrounding walls seemingly moving upwards was disconcerting. Josh was glad when, with another loud clunk they stopped.

Double doors opened into a short corridor which led into a huge, cylindrical chamber rising high above them. Scaffolding lined the inner wall up as far as Josh could see, and an enormous crane stood in the centre. Industrial lamps, powered by noisy generators, were everywhere but they were not enough to illuminate more than a fraction of the cavernous chamber; their feeble light died beneath the darkness.

There seemed to be hundreds of people scurrying about on the balconies of the scaffolding and the main floor of the chamber. Most of them were too busy to notice the three newcomers, but two security guards approached them immediately.

“Sir, could we confirm your identity please?”

“Yes of course.”

The guard who had spoken produced a handheld device that he pointed into Mr Oakhampton’s eye. The other guard stood slightly further back with his hand ready on a pistol at his belt. The device bleeped once and a green light flashed on. The other guard took his hand away from his gun.

“Thank you sir. Are these people your guests?”

“Yes they are. Could you give them a retina scan and add them to the system please?”

“I’ll need to get Professor Ackermann’s authority.” He turned on his heel and strode off towards a wooden shed that had been constructed by the entrance to the chamber. The other guard eyed them warily.

“Who’s Professor Ackermann?”

“He’s the man in charge down here. I’ve given him total control over the whole project. He’s a genius, but I usually haven’t got the faintest idea what he’s talking about. Sometimes I wonder whether he’s all there. It’s often the case with the really clever ones.”

Josh could see what he meant as soon as the professor bustled into view. His hair was wild and white, and he wore glasses that were slanting at such an angle that Josh wondered if one of his ears was actually on the top of his head.

“Ah, Trevor. Good of you to come. Twice in two days, that must be a record. Ha ha ha. Who are these people?” His voice was nasal and had a Germanic twang to it that Josh thought must be obligatory in mad scientists.

“They are my friends. This is Thomas Bennett. He works over at Mythago Industries and this is his son, Josh. He can help us with our communication problem.”

The professor grinned toothily. “Really? He is solving the code of the symbols.” He rummaged around in the pockets of his crumpled lab coat and pulled out a ream of papers that seemed improbably large to have been stored about his person. “Do you understand these?” He handed a few sheets to Josh.

Josh looked at the symbols. He understood what they meant instantly. Line after line, and page after page, were subtle variants of the messages: “This does not mean anything,” and “You are not clever enough to understand the meaning of this.” Surely his translation must be wrong, or this was some sort of trick. He glanced up at the professor who was gazing at him imploringly.

“Er…well.”

Sir Trevor came to his rescue. “Don’t worry about those for now Josh. Today I just want to show you around, let you get a feel for the wonders of this installation. There’ll be plenty of time for you to help us out with Geigerzalion’s musings on life later.”

The professor looked a little deflated.

“Come on professor,” Sir Trevor beamed. “Where do you suggest we show young Josh to really blow his mind?”

The professor flashed lunatic smile at him. “I’ve got just the place. How are you with heights?”

“I don’t like them much.” Josh grumbled.

“Oh, you will be fine. A young man like yourself. I make the trip up there many times in a day.” The professor said. “I will show you.”

The chamber they were in turned out to be even bigger than Josh had first thought. They clambered up rickety ladders amongst the scaffolding and Josh became thankful for the darkness as before long he had lost all sense of how high they had climbed. All he could see was the wall they were climbing next to and a few dots of light which reminded him how vast the chamber was. The wall, however, was interesting enough to keep his attention. It was not stone or brick, as he had expected, it was metal and covered with control panels and levers and switches and other more arcane metal shapes, all of which were labelled with tiny pieces of card, most of which displayed a question mark and a number. Occasionally they would come to an octagonal passageway, which Josh thought was strange because if the scaffolding hadn’t been here there would have been no way that anyone could reach it, unless they could fly.

Eventually they stopped at one of these passageways. It looked no different to any of the others that they had passed, but Sir Trevor beamed at them.

“Don’t worry. You’ll forget about the climb when you see what’s in here.”

The professor entered the passageway and they all followed. Once inside they found it difficult to keep up with the older man. The floor was no different to any of the other eight sides of the tunnel and it was covered in the same knobbly controls and switches that they had seen on the outer chamber wall. The professor skipped over these obstacles, but Josh and his father had to pick their way slowly. Sir Trevor followed patiently at the rear.

The professor disappeared into the gloom ahead of them, and they tried to quicken their pace to keep up. They were concentrating so much on where they were putting their feet that they didn’t hear Sir Trevor’s sudden warning, before the world turned upside down and Josh and his father crashed heavily up to the ceiling. Fortunately the tunnel had narrowed now so they had been stooping to keep their heads from bashing into the protuberances above them, but the fall was still painful. Josh could feel something poking him between his shoulder blades and when his father sat up he had a trickle of blood running down from his temple.

“I’m so sorry. Are you alright?” Sir Trevor said. “I can never remember exactly where it is. I should have gone first.”

“What happened?” Josh wheezed.

Professor Ackermann had reappeared. “I completely forgot you’d never been here before. I beg your pardons.”

“It’s alright. Are you okay Josh?” His dad was dabbing at his head and wincing.

“Yeah, but what happened?”

“Well, gravity reverses itself here, you see?”

“But that’s impossible!” Josh’s dad blustered, struggling to his feet.

“It’s not impossible, Thomas.” Sir Trevor said soothingly. “However we have absolutely no idea how it happens, or indeed what is doing it.”

“Why on Earth would you want to reverse gravity?” Josh’s dad was incredulous.

The professor let out an enormous guffaw and Sir Trevor smiled. “Very good Thomas. On Earth you wouldn’t want to at all, but in space you would probably want certain rooms to have gravity, so why not make some? You see, all of what you have seen is actually part of an enormous spacecraft that has been buried underground for millennia.”

“But this is fantastic! This technology must be worth billions.” Then Josh’s father gasped. “And this is Geigerzalion’s ship. He’s an alien. I can’t believe it.” Josh’s dad then started to ask questions, but he couldn’t seem to decide which one to ask first.

“We’re a little cramped here. It’s not far to the next chamber. We’ll be more comfortable in there and I’ll try and explain as much as I can.”

The tunnel opened out into an area shaped like a gigantic egg carton. Walkways surrounded rows of large depressions in the floor, some of which contained huge crystalline spheres, and these stretched away into the distance. Within each of these transparent eggs Josh could see the unmistakeable reptilian shape of a dinosaur.

Josh approached the nearest sphere and peered inside. He recognised the dinosaur inside as a triceratops, and marvelled at the detail he could make out. The dinosaur was suspended in the middle of the sphere by a liquid that brought every detail of the animal into sharp focus. Thick, black cabling flowed out from its head and connected to a black box at the top of the sphere.

“It looks so real.”

“It is real, Josh.” Sir Trevor was leaning on the handrail of the walkway, gazing at the triceratops with as much reverence as Josh. “It’s incredible isn’t it? The original crew of this spacecraft have collected millions of specimens, but this room contains the largest and most dramatic ones. We’ve discovered thousands of previously undiscovered species, but we obviously can’t publish our findings yet as questions would be asked.”

“But dinosaurs are millions of years old. Surely they would have withered away to nothing by now.” Josh’s dad said.

“It’s the liquid inside the spheres that does it. It’s an amazing preservative. As far as we can tell it will keep anything in perfect condition forever. Look at this.” Mr Oakhampton indicated a depression without a sphere.

On closer inspection Josh saw that it wasn’t completely empty. It had once contained a sphere like the others, but now crystalline shards stuck up out of a smooth oily liquid and the half preserved carcass of another dinosaur lay on its side in the centre. Josh saw with horrified fascination that the part that had been exposed to the air had disappeared entirely, yet the remainder in the liquid was still perfect, as if the great beast had been sliced in half yesterday.

The wreckage of the sphere and the carcass made Josh realise that this place was old beyond imagining and he could now sense an underlying decay, as if something was dying. He looked about him at the unfathomable control panels and complex machinery and knew that it was all broken.

Sir Trevor was studying him intently. “Are you alright, Josh?”

“Yes.” He nodded distractedly. “I’m fine, but this place isn’t. It’s crippled.”

“You’re right and we haven’t helped much. We found all this about a year ago, using data your father collected from his work with Geigerzalion. We all assumed that with the proper application of current scientific principals it wouldn’t take long to uncover its secrets, but we were very much mistaken. Our probing, I’m afraid, has been rather crude and we’re out of our depth. We’ve recently had a little more success in powering some systems up, but not much.”

He smiled sadly. “Geigerzalion must have thought we were trying to harm him. Our heavy handed fumbling could easily be interpreted as aggression I suppose. We’ve been chasing him through cyberspace ever since.

“Your father and the other clever chaps at Mythago Industries have often tracked him down, or lured him close enough so that we can try to communicate with him, but we just don’t understand his symbols. You seem to be the only one who can get through to him.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand if I tell him what’s happened. In fact,” Josh said slowly, trying to remember his first conversation with Geigerzalion, “he told me that he thought my dad was trying to help him. So he knows you’re not his enemy.”

This small piece of information was greeted with undisguised joy. The professor whooped with glee and Sir Trevor heartily slapped Josh’s dad on the back.

“Well done, Thomas. I knew you’d do it.” Josh’s dad looked a little embarrassed, but then beamed at his son. Sir Trevor put an encouraging hand on Josh’s shoulder. “Do you think you could contact him now, Josh?”

“If you can get me into the Plexus, I should be able to. I’m not sure, but I think if I go there he’ll find me.”

“The Plexus, eh?” Sir Trevor was smiling again. “You are a dark horse, Josh. For someone who professes to know nothing about computers, you know some things that aren’t known by some of the best hackers in the world. Come on. There’s no time like the present.”

They made their way to a room just beyond the Dinosaur chamber. It was small and cramped, but six rudimentary seats had been constructed around the strange protuberances that bristled from every surface. Other manmade equipment was scattered around the room and this, along with the chairs, made the alien room look like a movie set.

Josh seated himself next to his dad, who smiled encouragingly at him, while Sir Trevor sat himself next to the professor.

“There should be a VR set next to your seat Josh. Will you put it on?”

Josh found the gloves and helmet and put them on. The gloves were similar to the ones he had worn in Toby’s bedroom, but the helmet was almost as bizarre as the rest of the room, even though it was of human manufacture. There were three pads which rested on the wearer’s head, while thin, colourful tubes orbited at irregular angles around each other, but there didn’t seem to be anything to cover his eyes or plug into his ears. Josh carefully lifted the device and placed it over his head.

Instantly the world of sight and sound disappeared. He raised the helmet slightly and the dull thrum of machinery and the alien room reappeared.

“It’s our latest technology.” The professor gushed. “It is using a sound wave inverter and strobe lighting to blank out the surrounding environment, so you are getting a richer virtual reality experience. We are developing a reverse effect for the military to make things invisible.”

Josh gently lowered the helmet and entered a world of infinite nothing. He waited for a few seconds and then a terror began to rise within him; a fear of being lost adrift in this endless space. He was just about to take the helmet off again, when the professor appeared, floating in the void before him. His avatar was an exact replica of his physical form that made Josh look down to see his own body. He, too, looked the same as he did in the real world.

“Hello, Josh. I am thinking if we enter the Plexus at the last point that Geigerzalion was seen, we will have the most success. Yes?”

Josh nodded his agreement and the professor opened a round portal in the space next to him and stepped through. Josh followed into the digital mayhem of the Plexus. It had a familiar feel after the strangeness of the alien computer room.

Although the professor was obviously an expert in computer science he didn’t appear to be as naturally comfortable online as Spokes or Michael had, but his clumsy control was still effective. This was made more apparent when Geigerzalion’s ghostly avatar appeared within a few seconds. The symbols began to flow around him and Josh felt a surge of relief, as he immediately knew what they meant.

Greetings Josh. You have come through many dangers and I am happy to see you safe. You used my device perfectly. The Doge was not meant to be in that place.

“You saved my life and Toby’s. Thank you.”

The symbols pulsed.

“I’ve come to try and help you.” Josh continued. “I know a little bit about you now and the people who found you originally.”

You are too late Josh. I used a lot of my energy to construct the device I gave to you. Even this conversation costs me dearly. I am too weak to run anymore.

“You don’t have to run. The people who found your ship are not your enemies. They want to help you.”

I am dying.

“Dying? Then come with me. We can help you.”

There is no time. Follow me to my domain. I will last longer there.

“Okay. But…” Josh was about to explain that he was still not very adept at travelling through the Plexus when he was thrust along the tunnel with the force of a gentle hurricane. He twisted around and tried to call out to the professor, but he had already gone too far and was still accelerating. Faster and faster he zoomed along the multifaceted tunnels until, after a flicker of white light he found himself in darkness.

He thought for a moment that he had dropped out of virtual reality, but he could still feel the urgent thrusting of whatever force was propelling him through the void. And then, slowly, he turned and the spectacular crescent of the Earth drifted into view. The clouds and seas swirled beneath him, the continents shrunk and the whole world suddenly seemed manageably small.

The vast wall of the moon sailed past him on his left as he continued to stare at the retreating ball that he had grown up on. He shot on through a scattered field of smaller rocks that he guessed to be asteroids and then, as the sun diminished to a bright star, he hurtled past the majestic, ringed orb of Saturn.

A few seconds later the dusting of surrounding stars disappeared and Josh felt himself lurch to a halt. He could feel a solid floor beneath his feet now, but it was so dark he wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him.

Tentatively he stepped forward and an eerie light, like pale moonlight trying to break through a cloudy sky, started to glow from somewhere far above him. It was too dim to illuminate much of the area he was standing in, but now Josh could make out rows of transparent domes disappearing into the gloomth around him. The light got brighter and he realised the room was the same design as the ruined dinosaur chamber in Tech-Tonic’s spaceship, but this was completely undamaged.

He peered into one of the domes, half hoping, half fearing to see something more monstrous and exotic than a triceratops, but it was empty.

A pulsating movement above him made Josh look up and he gasped. The dim light had transformed into glowing tentacles stretching out from a central body of hollow darkness. The appendages writhed as if alive and Josh felt like a helpless fly about to be eaten by a gigantic, luminous spider.

Do not be afraid, Joshua.

Symbols tumbled from the dark centre.

“Geigerzalion?” Josh could barely whisper the name.

Yes.

“Where are we?”

We are on the fringes of your solar system in the Kuiper belt. This is my domain. This is where I have been cast adrift and left to rot.

The vortex flashed in time with the symbols and the tendrils of light convulsed.

“I don't understand? Surely nothing from Earth has ever been this far...”

My creators are not from your planet. They are galactic explorers who came to this system when life had only a fragile hold on Earth, but they recognised a huge potential for abundant and varied life and foretold that it would not be long before intelligence emerged. So they constructed a ring of satellites to observe the evolution of life and left me here in this control ship to analyse the data. They have never returned.

“How long have you been here?”

The symbols swirled and Josh suddenly appreciated the unnerving time span that Geigerzalion had spent in this lonely void. He felt dizzy as aeons tried to fit into his mind.

“What happened to the satellites? Why haven’t we seen any?”

After perhaps a billion years some of them malfunctioned and left orbit, drifting helplessly away into space. Then, about a sixty five million years ago, one of them fell into a decaying orbit and smashed down onto the surface. Its destruction eliminated many species. And so I made the remaining satellites touchdown on Earth and bury themselves.

“Sir Trevor’s spaceship? That’s one of the satellites? But it’s huge.”

My race are masters of science and for them the satellites were easily made. Their technology would seem like magic to you primitive creatures. You cannot begin to understand their lore.

Josh recognised pride, verging on arrogance, in the way the symbols stuttered, as if the emotion was alien to the means of communication. But they began to flow smoothly almost immediately.

But, perhaps your scientists are cleverer than I give them credit for because their elementary science has managed to find and reanimate one of the satellites which has led to my desperate situation. This spacecraft has been running on reserves for too long and it is too far from the sun to gain any power from it. Now it is being forced to communicate with the ruined satellite on Earth which is draining the rest of my energy. I cannot survive for much longer.

“What can I do? If we switch off the satellite will that help?”

It is too late for that, Joshua. This distant refuge has passed the stage where even it can support me. I need another host, and your technology is not suitable for me.

“Well what about the other satellites? Could you survive there.”

I was right about you Joshua. You are very special. But we must act quickly. Do you think you can convince the…

The symbols winked out for a second and then returned.

Do you think you can convince Sir Trevor to try this?

“Yes. I’m sure I can. He wants to help.”

Then you must return now. There is a satellite in Machu Picchu. My fate is in your hands Joshua.

Josh felt the rush of the gentle hurricane and once again he was zooming through space. This time he saw the sun grow frighteningly quickly, but he didn’t pass close to any planets before he felt himself jerk to a stop and felt the hardness of a chair at his back.

The change from virtual reality to the solidity of the alien chamber was jarring, but Josh determinedly ignored the harsh transition.

“We’ve got to help him.” He said, pulling the helmet off his head.

Sir Trevor looked excited. “Josh? What happened?”

“It’s Geigerzalion. His power is running out. This place has been damaged too much.”

Sir Trevor produced a bottle of water from somewhere and passed it to Josh. “Here. Calm down, Josh. And tell us what happened.” The professor looked as though he was about to explode with excitement.

“I…The professor took us into the Plexus and we met Geigerzalion straight away. He told me he was dying.”

“Dying? How…” Sir Trevor frowned with concentration. “Did you tell him that we would try and help?”

“Yes, but he said that this craft had been damaged beyond repair and his only hope was to reactivate another one.”

“There were more of these spacecraft?”

“He told me there was one in Machu Picchu.”

“So what is he? A living being or an artificial intelligence?” The professor just couldn’t keep quiet. “Where are these other nodes? Where is he from?”

“Professor, please give him a chance. In your own time Josh.”

So Josh told them what had happened to him as carefully as he could and tried to answer all of the professor’s questions.

When the professor seemed satisfied, Josh asked, “Where is Machu Picchu?”

“It’s in the Andes.” Sir Trevor said. “About fifty miles away from Cuzco. I’ve been there. It’s tremendously spectacular, but who would have thought it housed an alien spacecraft.”

“We have to help him.” Josh said quietly.

“I quite agree, Josh. Tech-Tonic will do all it can. You’ll have to come too, Josh. You’re still the only one who can communicate with him.”

“I’ll come.”

“You’d better ask your father. He should come too, of course. This could be the greatest scientific discovery of all time Josh.”

“Dad?”

“Of course, Josh.” Josh’s dad put his arm around him.

Just then a burly security guard muscled into the small room. “Sorry to disturb you, sir. We’ve apprehended an intruder.”

“An intruder? Where?”

“He’d somehow got into the Encephalax.”

Josh thought he saw Sir Trevor’s face contort in fury for a second. “Did he really? Where is he now?”

“Just outside, sir. Do you want to see him?”

“Yes, bring him in.”

Two more guards roughly manhandled a black robed man into the cramped room. It was Coel Amberglass.

“What’s going on?” Josh asked as calmly as he could manage.

The guards ignored him. “What do you want doing with him, sir?”

“Well, if he’s seen the Encephalax there’s only one thing for it. We’ll have to kill him.”

Josh could not believe his ears. “You can’t kill him. He’s just trying to help me. He didn’t…” Everyone else in the room seemed to agree with Josh, including the professor and the guards. Josh thought he saw a flicker of annoyance pass over Sir Trevor’s face.

“Josh.” Sir Trevor made a placatory gesture with his hand. “I was only joking. Even before my episode I wouldn’t have had anyone killed. It’s unthinkable.”

“What? You’re joking?”

“Well, of course he is Josh.” His father joined in. “Although I do think it was in pretty bad taste.”

“Yes, I suppose it was. I do apologise Josh. I didn’t think anyone would take me so seriously. I must have been such a tyrant.”

“Well…” Josh didn’t know what to say, but fortunately Coel, who had been serenely eyeing up the burly guards at his sides, chose that moment to speak.

“Excuse me. I’m sorry I had to take such drastic measures. But you see, I really needed to find Josh. I thought he might have been in some peril. My name is Coel Amberglass.”

“And what assistance, supposing of course that he had been in danger, would you have been able to provide?” Sir Trevor’s voice had become hard again and he continued without allowing Coel to answer. “Josh, how is it that you have a bodyguard? Most boys your age don’t have them do they? Perhaps I’m a little out of touch with the youth of today.”

“I…I don’t know why he’s following me.” Josh felt ashamed as soon as the words had dribbled from his lips. Coel didn’t deserve this, but the druid gave him a discrete wink and Josh felt relief flood through him like cool water. He suddenly wondered how Coel had managed to bypass all of the security they themselves had been subjected to.

“Will you behave, Mr Amberglass, if my guards release you?”

Coel nodded and Sir Trevor waved a florid hand to dismiss the guards.

“Thank you.” For the first time Coel looked a little surprised. “I apologise for trespassing, but I thought I’d lost Josh. This structure seems to be shielded in some way.”

“Indeed it is, Mr Amberglass. We wouldn’t want every Tom, Dick and Bill stumbling in here would we? The world is not ready for a revelation as monumental as the unveiling of this spacecraft would be.”

“Perhaps.” Coel said quietly.

“So, for whom do you work, Mr Amberglass? You don’t look like a corporate spy.” Josh could barely suppress a snort. Coel, with his alabaster, albino skin and flowing black robes could hardly look less like a spy if he tried.

“I’m not a spy. I’m merely trying to look after Josh. A job which has become much more arduous recently.”

“Indeed? Yes, Josh is a very special young man. This is just a lack of communication. Mr Amberglass, you are the first person to gain entry into this complex without my permission. I will feel much safer knowing that you are looking out for Josh. Would you mind signing a non-disclosure agreement?”

“Of course.” Coel nodded. “And please call me Coel. Mr Amberglass has never suited me.”

Sir Trevor rubbed his hands together as if he had set the worlds to rights. “One other thing, Mr Amberglass. We’re going to be taking a trip to South America, and I wouldn’t want you travelling across the Atlantic on the undercarriage of my aeroplane. Would you could with us?”

“I’d be happy to.” Coel seemed genuinely surprised now.

“Good. It’s been a long day for all of us, and I’m sure you’re tired Josh. Do you think you could come back tomorrow and help the professor make the necessary arrangements for our trip? I need to sort out some loose ends so I won’t see you until we leave, but the professor will be able to answer any questions and I’ll arrange it so that Mr Amberglass gets a security pass so that he can protect you without breaking the law. How does that sound?”

Josh’s father nodded.

“Could I ask Toby if he wants to come?” Josh asked.

“Toby? Of course you can.” Sir Trevor beamed at them. “Right! Let’s start changing the world, gentlemen. Isn’t this exciting?”

Josh could barely contain his excitement. The professor had given him plenty of stuff to read about the research they were doing, most of which was far too technical for him to understand, but Josh didn’t care. He knew now that he would finally be able to help Geigerzalion.

During the helicopter ride home his mind was full of the things he had learnt and the things he would soon be doing. He hoped Toby would be able to come with him to South America, but he supposed that would depend on his doctor. Then he thought about asking Kat to come with him and his stomach lurched.

The helicopter touched down on the back lawn of his garden and Josh wished for a moment that someone he knew would see him landing. He smiled to himself at his vanity, but it didn’t stop him from looking around hopefully.

They watched the helicopter take off again and his dad put his arm around his shoulders.

“I’m really proud of you Josh. Your mum always told me you’d surprise me, and she was right.”

Josh couldn’t say anything but he hugged back. After the noise of the helicopter had died away they went inside and Josh felt the tiredness tugging at him. He plodded upstairs and, without getting undressed, collapsed onto his bed. Sleep caught him immediately.

Josh woke up refreshed for the second morning in a row. He had expected to dream about Trinity Vale, but if he had dreamed at all he didn’t remember anything. He lay still for a while on his back with his hands behind his head going through everything that had happened to him yesterday and trying to put it all in order.

He sat up and took his notebook out from behind his bedside table and flicked through it until he came to an empty page. He started to write, trying to convert his jumbled thoughts into some sort of order, but it was impossible. He would start one idea only to strike out those first few symbols and start again. In the end the page had more scribbling and doodling than anything legible, and his efforts had not had purged any of his confusion from his mind. Eventually he tossed the notebook onto the floor.

Getting up, he wrapped his dressing gown around himself and padded downstairs. In the hall he saw the telephone and realised that he had to tell Toby that they were going to Peru. Excitedly he dialled his friend’s number.

“Hello?” Toby’s mum answered the phone sharply.

“Er, hello Mrs Hawkins. Is Toby there?”

There was such a long silence that Josh thought she might have put the phone down. “Mrs Hawkins?”

“Josh. Please understand me, I’m not sure whether you should talk to him. He’s not himself.”

“What do you mean?”

Mrs Hawkins’ voice had dropped to a whisper and Josh could barely make out what she was saying. “He’s gone crazy. He’s thrown out all his computers.” Josh heard shouting in the background.

“Is that Toby?”

“Yes Josh. He wants me to put the phone down.” Mrs Hawkins must have put her hand over the receiver, because Josh heard a loud, but muffled exchange before Toby’s voice blared into his ear.

“Don’t lose yourself Josh. Hold on. You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

“Toby? What do you mean?”

Toby had been shouting, but now his voice calmer. “I’m scared Josh. Don’t make me go there again.”

“Don’t worry Tobe. I won’t. It’s okay.” Josh had not been prepared for this madness.

“I…I can’t bare it, Josh. I can still see the city. When I close my eyes, when I try to sleep I can still see the city. I’m not really here.”

“Yes, you are Tobe. This is the real…”

“No, it’s not. This is just the world we see through our eyes. It’s not the living world.” He sounded savagely lucid now.

“I don’t understand…”

“Yes, you do Josh. That’s why you’re so special.”

The phone clicked off.

Josh put the receiver down gently and gazed stupefied around the hallway. Feynman jumped up next to the phone and rubbed his head against Josh’s hand. Josh idly stoked him, thinking about what Toby had said. He jumped when the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Josh? It’s Kat. I thought you were going to come round yesterday.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Kat. You’ll never believe what’s happened?”

“I don’t care what happened, you said you were…”

“Do you want to come to Peru?”

“What are you talking about?” Kat said and Josh realised she was cross. He suspected that the reason was that he hadn’t spoken to her yesterday and he suddenly felt flustered.

“I’m sorry Kat. I should have…”

“Did you ask me to come to Peru?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

So Josh explained everything that he understood which was not an awful lot, but at least Kat seemed to be listening to him.

“So will you come to Peru, with me?”

“You try and stop me. Is Toby coming?”

Josh sighed. “No. He’s not recovered from his…experience. Perhaps you can talk some sense into him Kat. I’ve no idea what he’s talking about.”

“That’s not unusual.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Perhaps it’s just Toby being Toby. I don’t know. Will you ring him Kat?“

“Sure. I’ll knock some sense into him.” Josh could tell from her voice that she was grinning, but he knew that Toby was not just being his usual eccentric self.

“Thanks, Kat. I’ll see you later.”

Josh put the receiver down again and smiled. Kat’s cheery excitement had eased his anxiety about Toby’s hysterical nonsense a little, but a tightness in his stomach reminded him about his best friend. He had assumed Toby would be coming with him to Machu Picchu, and now the journey to the other side of the world seemed very daunting.