Part-5: Nebula’s Lab and Inventions

[If you haven’t read the previous parts of The Fourth Dimension yet, do read them before this.]

“The Fourth Dimension?” Tara was confused.

“Ah, yes dear, the fourth dimension. There’s length, breadth, height and then comes this fourth one- time.”

“Time? I don’t understand still…”

“You haven’t read any of the books I bought you last year, have you? Never mind… Look here. You can move to your left, you can move to your right; that’s a one dimensional space. But you can also move forward and backward. This forms a two dimensional space. Also, you can move upwards and downwards. This together forms a three dimensional space. Now, if time is the fourth dimension…”

“I can move in time,” Tara finished his sentence. She couldn’t believe that she had said this herself. She looked at her father and then at the cabinet in awe.

She was about to open the cabinet when Dr. Nebula exclaimed, “Not now, dear, not now! I will show it to you later. But now, you have got the golden once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Dr. Nebula’s laboratory. Have a look around…”

Tara was so engrossed in the wooden cabinet, that she had forgotten she was finally inside the basement- her lifelong wish had finally come true. She stepped back and looked round the basement. And what she saw wasn’t something one sees everyday…

The basement, dark and dull from outside, was sparkling like diamonds inside. A shiny blue light filled the whole room. There were machines all around- big and small. Tara could see nuts and fittings, metal blocks, and machine parts around her. She took a tour around the lab. The first thing her eyes fell upon was a small machine, shaped like a projector.

“What’s this Pa?”

“That’s my holographic projector. Works magic, you see…”

Dr. Nebula went up to the projector and pushed some buttons. He directed it to the table in front of Tara. And she gasped as a shiny red apple appeared on the table!

“That’s really magic!” she shrieked.

But when she tried to pick the apple up, her hands went right through it, as if it was nothing but air.

Dr. Nebula laughed. “It’s not actually an apple there. It’s just an image. You can’t hold it,” and saying this he projected another image there.

“The lock on the basement!” Tara gasped again. “So that’s how you fooled me into not entering the basement. The door wasn’t locked yesterday; you had projected the image of the lock; while the whole time you were inside and we were thinking that you are in the office!”

“Aha! You caught me!”

“But what about the car? It wasn’t in the driveway when I checked…”

“That’s yet another bit of magic,” and saying so, he moved to another corner of the lab and brought a large machine. “And here’s my camouflager!”

He placed it on the table carefully and turned some dials. Then he projected it towards the large wooden cabinet and turned it on. In an instance, the cabinet vanished!

“What! Where did it go?” Tara exclaimed.

“Nowhere,” Dr. Nebula said smiling. “It’s there only. My machine has just camouflaged it with its surroundings, so it isn’t visible. Go there and touch it; it’s still there.”

Tara moved her hand in the direction of the cabinet. And sure enough, she could feel it. “So that’s how you vanished the car. Wow! I never thought such things exist. But now, I have a last and the most important question- why was there a need to do such things? Why didn’t you go to the office? Why all this planning? Why-”

“Stop! Relax… Have a seat. Let me start from the beginning…”

Tara sat down on the nearest stool and Dr. Nebula seated himself on a platform opposite to her, very close to the wooden cabinet.

 “Let’s start with this cabinet. Do you know what it holds?”

“Yeah, you just told me. It’s a time machine, isn’t it? Why don’t you show it to me? I am so excited…” Tara said, popping in her seat.

“I will, sure. But first, promise that you won’t utter a single word about my lab to anyone.”

“Not even to Sherry?”

“Ok fine, but just Sherry. No one else. Shall we call it a deal?”

“Deal!” Tara exclaimed.

And finally Dr. Nebula opened the cabinet.

Inside, Tara could see a small two seated cabin with a whole desktop of buttons and dials. It was covered from all sides and had an entrance door at one side and a glass front view.

“And here, Tara, is my Time Car!”

Dr. Nebula pressed a button on a remote and the Time Car rose from the floor and slid out from the cabinet.

“Let’s go for a drive in my Car, shall we?”

[This is so exciting! A drive on the Time Car! Where will they go? Or better, in what time will they go? Into the stone age? Or the robot world? Or somewhere else? Let me ask you- where do you want them to go? Post in the comments below till 10:00 p.m. IST (3rd July, 2020). And I’ll make sure that your request gets featured in the next part. Stay tuned!]