Season-2: Part-5: Brains vs. The Chip

[Sorry for the delay, my health’s not good 🤒😪. Make sure to read this story from the beginning here.]

The place instantly transformed into what seemed like a quiz game show. The robots assembled at one side and the humans at the other.

A robot stood between the two groups. He was playing the referee. Beside him was a display which showed: Robots-0; Humans-0.

At the humans’ side, there was a mixed atmosphere of confidence and fear.

“What have you done Tara! They are going to win!” Robby said. His leg was still caught in the trap.

“Don’t worry,” she assured him. “I’ve got the whole thing planned. Leave it to me and Sherry.” She glanced at Sherry and smiled.

“Are you sure you can handle this, Tara?” Dr. Galaxy asked, still worried.

“Yeah, mum! Trust me,” she said again.

“Fine then, good luck.”

The Referee Robo then announced, “Game starts! The robots go first!”

The Head Robo came forward and asked, “So tell me humans, what’s the current capital of our country?”

“We don’t know,” Tara said. She didn’t even think, nor did she discuss it with others.

The scoreboard displayed: “Robots-1; Humans-0”

“What are you doing! Are you mad?!” Robby suddenly shouted. “I know the answer! You could have just asked me!”

“Relax Robby!” Tara said. “Leave it to me. We’ll get out of here safely.”

Dr. Galaxy frowned. “I really doubt that.”

The robots asked more and more questions. To each question, Tara and Sherry just said that they don’t know the answer. And beside them, Robby kept slamming the floor with his fist and Dr. Galaxy just nodded her head frowning. Finally, when they finished asking the questions for their turn, the screen displayed: “Robots-5; Humans-0”

The Referee Robo announced, “Now it’s the humans’ turn.”

Tara came forward and said, “So robots, you know that it’s a test of your intelligence, right? If you go wrong, you would be defamed. The whole world would reject your supremacy. So answer correctly, okay? So here’s my first question: where have you hidden Dr. Nebula?”

Dr. Galaxy and Robby brightened up. “So that’s her plan!” Dr. Galaxy whispered.

The Head Robo was stuck. He thought carefully. He couldn’t tell them Dr. Nebula’s location, no. But he also couldn’t let the robots lose. If he didn’t answer, the robots would lose. The humans will win. No, he can’t let this happen. He can’t let the humans win.

“In our headquarters,” he said finally. “Third floor, room number 34.”

The Referee Robo thought for a moment, scanning his records. “Correct,” he finally said. The screen displayed: Robots-6, Humans-0. But Tara had nothing to do with the score. She just needed the answers.

“So now, second question. How do we reach your headquarters?”

The Head Robo thought carefully again and replied, “You go to Birdie Garden in Purple Alley. There’s a statue of a man near an emergency exit in the south west corner. You pull the third fingernail of the statue’s right hand and a door will slide open near the statue. Going straight down, you’ll find the door to the headquarters.”

The Referee Robo again said, “Correct!”

“Great!” Tara clapped her hands grinning.

“I’ll go next,” said Sherry. “So robots, tell me, what’s the easiest way to defeat you?”

There was a pin drop silence in the room. The robots thought longer this time, murmuring and muttering amongst themselves. Then the Head Robo said, “The simplest way is to discharge our batteries.”

“Correct!”

Sherry then said, “Fine. So my fourth question is, what is the quickest way to discharge your batteries?”

The robots now seemed extremely annoyed. The Head Robo spoke again, “If we are exposed to Palatho lights, our batteries get discharged in 1 to 2 seconds.”

“Correct!”

Tara seemed confused. “What’s a Palatho light?” she whispered. She didn’t want the robots to know that she didn’t understand.

“Palatho is a really bright torch,” Robby explained. “You know, it was used to fight the robots in the initial days. Grandpa told me that it looks like a normal torch to us, but it affects the robots severely. But then it was banned.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of those too,” Dr. Galaxy said.

“And guess what,” Robby said excitedly. “I’ve got one right here in my bag!”

And he scrambled a bit and took out the Palatho from his bag. He pointed it towards the robots.

The robots gasped.

“And I’ll ask the last question of our turn,” Robby said. “How do I free myself from this trap?”

“Pull the blue wire at the bottom of the trap,” the Head Robo said. “And press that red button on the wall again. The trap will pop back into its place.”

“Correct!”

Robby did so and his leg was free. “Let’s just finish this game then, shall we?” Saying so, he switched on the Palatho.

Tara, Sherry and Dr. Galaxy watched in amazement as the robots fell down one by one like domino pieces. Then the four ran out of the place.

***

“Do you know the way to Purple Alley?” Tara asked when they were outside.

“Yeah, but it’s far away,” Robby said. “We could have used the car, but the key’s with Dad. We’ll just have to walk all the way to Birdie Garden.” So he led the way and they followed him.

“Speaking of your dad,” Sherry said, “we haven’t had much talk about your family, have we? C’mon now. Tell us about your mum and dad.”

“Well, my father is a scientist and works at the robots’ lab. Honestly, I don’t have much idea about what they exactly do. And my mum’s an officer in the municipality.”

“And what about your Grandpa?” Dr. Galaxy asked. “You haven’t yet told us about Dr. Comet.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll know about him pretty soon. And I am hoping we’ll meet him too.”

By now, they had reached Birdie Garden. The place was deserted except for a few robots, whom they could easily handle with the Palatho. They proceeded to the southwest corner and saw the statue of a man near the emergency exit. As soon as they pulled the statue’s right hand’s third fingernail, a door slid open from the wall!

They went inside and instantly the door closed behind them. It was so dark there that they had to use the Palatho to guide them. After walking for almost 2 minutes, they saw a beam of light at the other corner. They hurried towards the light and stepped out in a brightly lit environment. This was it. They had reached the headquarters.

What happened next was too quick for anyone to believe. As a swarm of robots came marching towards the four humans, Robby switched on his Palatho and swung it wildly and the robots fell down like dry leaves. He must have attacked a hundred robos in a matter of seconds. They hurried up the stairs and opened room number 34 on the third floor. While Robby handled the robots, Tara, Sherry and Dr. Galaxy freed Dr. Nebula and ran out through the exit. They ran and ran and finally stopped in Birdie Garden.

While Dr. Nebula stood there panting, the rest four collapsed on the grass. As they recovered from the overwhelming experience, it was time for a group hug (that lasted just too long).

Finally Tara spoke, “Great! We have you back Dad! Now let’s go, let’s just leave this place.”

“Yeah, this was a great adventure,” Sherry said, “but now it’s over. It was great meeting you Robby! Let’s not waste time now. Let’s go back.”

Tara tugged Dr. Nebula’s hand, but there was a certain unease on his face.           

“What’s wrong?” Sherry asked.

“You see, there’s a certain reason why I was kidnapped,” Dr. Nebula explained. “Robby might explain better.”

“Ah, um, alright!” Robby said, “The reason is that the five scientists who created these robots are, well, how do I say it!” Drawing a deep breath, he said, “Okay, so it’s Team Universe.”

A sudden silence followed. The girls were thunderstruck. Dr. Galaxy turned white. “You mean – you mean the – the same Team Universe? O – our Team Universe?” Dr. Galaxy stammered.

“Yeah.”

It was unbelievable. The people who were trying to save the world, were themselves responsible for the disaster.

“What do we do now?” Sherry asked.

“We need to fight,” Dr. Nebula said.

“What? Fight against whom?”

“Fight against ourselves.” Dr. Galaxy said.

The adventure wasn’t over yet. An even greater adventure awaited them…

{To be continued…}

[So guys, this was the end of Season-2. Hope you enjoyed it! Next season would be coming soon! (I hope so) Stay tuned 😃]

Season-2: Part-4: Tracing the Map

[Read the story from the very beginning right here. If you have read the first season, Season-2 is here.]

“Hey! See what I just found!” Sherry called out.

Tara came running and looked into the screen. “A map?” asked Tara.

“Yep!” Sherry grinned. “A map of the city!”

After hours of brainstorming, she had finally found something useful. The four of them had been going through tons of official records and documents in the hope of finding a clue. Of course, these records weren’t easily accessible. Robby and Dr. Galaxy had to hack some of the websites.

“Really? A map of the city?” Robby said unamused. “You could have just asked me. I’ve got it in my phone!”

“Oh you don’t understand!” Sherry exclaimed. “This isn’t an ordinary map! This is the robotic version of the city’s layout. Know what that means? This map wouldn’t show what we see; it would show us what the robos see. The robotic tracks and all.”

“So it would be like seeing through the robots’ eyes?” asked Tara, trying to understand.

“Quite so!”

“So there will be the headquarters marked too!” Dr. Galaxy said clasping her hands.

“Yes, that’s exactly my point.” Sherry concluded triumphantly.

In no time, they spotted a place marked with a red ‘HQ’. On comparing with the city’s map, they found that it was indeed situated in a warehouse in a narrow alley.

Dr. Galaxy, Sherry, Tara and Robby packed their bags with all necessary safety equipment and devices and took a print of the map. It was clear that they had to go the warehouse which was actually the robo headquarters and save Dr. Nebula.

Tara, though, was not completely convinced with the plan. When no one was watching, she pulled Sherry to a side and whispered, “Don’t you think something’s wrong? I mean you found the map so easily but such critical information shouldn’t be out like this, right?”

Sherry scowled. “Give it a break Tara! You think Robby’s fishy, and now you think I am fishy too! Everything’s clear! Trust me Tara, if something was really wrong, Dr. Galaxy wouldn’t have agreed to the plan. Now come on, we don’t wanna be late.”

Tara hung her head and sighed. She had no choice.

***

After a walk of half an hour, they reached the warehouse. Robby stepped in first, followed by Sherry and Dr. Galaxy. Tara entered last, examining the place carefully. She still had doubts.

Inside, they could see nothing that looked like headquarters. It was a dusty place lined with cobwebs.

“Are you sure we are at the right place?” Tara asked.

“According to the map, yes, we are at the exact place.” Sherry replied. “It doesn’t look so though,” she added.

The four looked around the place. “Maybe there’s a secret passage leading to the main place,” Robby suggested.

The others seemed unsure though.

“We’ve been tricked!” Dr. Galaxy said suddenly. “I should have realized this earlier.” She looked at the map. “This map is fake! It has to be fake! Such crucial information cannot be available out on the internet. We should get out of here, right now.”

Sherry glanced at Tara. Tara caught her eye and gave her a look that said “told ya”.

But before they could even turn to the door, they heard Robby scream. “Help! It’s caught me! Caught me! Help!”

The three turned in the direction of the scream but it took them some time to find Robby. He had gone deep into the room without any one of them noticing.

Tara finally spotted him at the edge of the room. He was sprawled on the floor clutching his leg painfully. “How did this happen?” Tara asked looking at his foot.

“The wall, that wall…” he cried. “This thing popped from the wall.”

Tara looked at the large metallic thing that was stuck to Robby’s foot. It looked like a mouse trap. Only it was too big for a mouse. It had been designed for trapping humans.

“But what were you doing here?” Sherry asked.

“I was searching for a secret passage. Then I saw a button there. Look, that one,” Robby said pointing to a red button on the wall. “I thought it might open a passageway. So I pressed it and that trap popped up. Ow!” he groaned.

They tried pulling away the trap but it wouldn’t budge.

“Enjoying yourself?” A voice suddenly boomed.

A troop of robots had entered into the room.

Tara immediately pulled out her gun and shot at one of the robots. But nothing happened to the robot.

Sherry and Dr. Galaxy also took out their guns. But their bullets too weren’t working!

“We are gone.” Robby said gulping.

“Ha! Losers!” One of the robots said.

“Think you could hack us, eh?” Another said.

“You can never win from us.” A third one said.

The robots came closer and circled the four humans.

“Your bullets only work for the weaker robots. And we are the strongest ones!” said the Head Robo menacingly.

The four people were scared to the spine. No weapon was working whatsoever. But Tara still had a hint of bravery left.

“Strong, yes. Smart, no.” Tara said standing up.

“Ah, little girl. You don’t think we are smart?” a robot said.

“You may be. But I think humans are smarter.” Tara said.

Tara glanced sideways at Sherry. She caught the hint and stood up. “Yeah, me too,” she said.

The robots all glared at the two girls.

“And what makes you think so?” one of them asked.

“The fact that we humans have created you. This is what makes me think we are smarter.” Tara said.

“And better,” Sherry added. She had completely understood the plan by now.

“Hey you! I don’t know what rubbish you have in your head, but WE are better,” the Head Robo said furiously. “And we are going to win!”

“Of course you’ll win!” Tara said. “Our weapons aren’t working, and you are machines yourself! You are metal, you are stronger. But that in no way proves that you are smarter. You are just metallic fools!”

Tara had gone too far. She could feel that herself.

But to her surprise, the Head Robo said, “Fine then. There won’t be any weapons used here. We’ll have a battle of brains, right here!”

“What? Are you sure?” Tara asked.

“Yes. And you know what? We’ll give you the advantage. You’ll decide the terms of the competition.”

“Fine then,” Tara said, glad that her plan worked. She nodded to Sherry.

“I’ll tell the rules,” Sherry said. “We’ll take turns asking each other questions. There will be a team of all you robots, and another of us four. We’ll ask your team five questions and then you’ll ask us five. There will be a neutral robo judge who will decide if the answers are correct. If you win, you can arrest us. But if you lose, you’ll let us go and you won’t meddle in our business anymore. Deal?”

“Deal!”

[A battle of brains? Do you think Tara can really win? Leave a reply below! Let’s see what happens in the next episode! The battle of brains comes next Monday! Do like and follow my blog. Stay tuned!]

Season-2: Part-3: Robby’s help

[If you are here for the first time, read Season-1 and Season-2 from the start]

“Wait, wait! What’s going on? Who’s Dr. Comet now?” Tara asked.

“Oh Tara, remember I told you about our team?” Dr. Galaxy asked.

“Yeah, about the five of you?” Tara said, “And then you split.”

“So Dr. Comet’s one of them?” Sherry asked.

“Yes, my dear, yes!” Dr. Galaxy replied. “You see there’s Dr. Comet, Dr. Venus and Dr. Constella. And then your father and me. And together we form Team Universe!”

“Wow! I must say, I admire the names,” Robby said.

“Oh!” Dr. Galaxy giggled. “By the way, where’s Dr. Comet now? He must be so old in this time. Anyways, it’s been a long time since I saw him. Where’s he?”

“Well, he’s not here. And I don’t think you’d be too happy to see him.”

“What? Why not?” Dr. Galaxy asked surprised.

But Robby couldn’t answer the question, because before he could, a strange buzzing sound filled the lab. It was coming from a small typewriter-like machine which had antennae. A sheet of paper was coming out from a slot in the machine.

“What’s that?” Tara asked.

“Oh this! I completely forgot about it! These are messages from Dr. Nebula,” Robby explained.

“Messages? He’s sending you messages?” Dr. Galaxy asked.

“Yeah. But they are coded. And I am unable to decode them. Perhaps you would be able to.”

“Yeah, sure. But where did you meet him? And how does he know you?”

“That’s a long story,” Robby replied. “Sit, I’ll tell you.”

And on the click of a button, four platforms rose from the ground at the exact places where they stood. They sat and the story began.

“So Dr. Nebula came here this morning. He was hoping to see Grandpa, he needed some help. I don’t know what exactly happened and how he landed in this lab; I just knew he was in trouble and he needed more of those robo hacking bullets. Now I had a good extra stock of those bullets. So we refilled his guns and we set out.”

“Wait. How come you had a whole stock of the bullets?” Sherry interrupted. “Now don’t tell me you created them!”

“I.. well… oh okay. That’s a little secret. Now I am a proud amateur scientist, you see,” Robby said. “Grandpa’s gift perhaps,” he added. “So I helped him refill the guns with the bullets I had created and went out with him. But the robots captured him. Although I escaped, the robots had seen me.

“I somehow managed to come back here. And I saw that in all the hurry-burry, he had left his luggage here. And then I heard the buzzing sound and I came to know of this device. Since then, he has been sending me these coded messages.

“I knew I had to help him. So I gathered my supplies and set out. That’s when I spotted that look alike of Dr. Nebula in the cafe. I knew he was a duplicate so I entered into the cafe and saw him talking to you. Just then, the robots spotted me and the siren went off. They have a really good face recognition system.

“And after that, while the duplicate Dr. Nebula led you to that old building, I had ran away from the robots’ police van. I mean there were only a handful of robos and I had a fully loaded gun. They chased me and coincidently, I hid in the basement of the same building where you did. And there we met and I gave you the spare bullets.”

“Woah!” Tara exclaimed after Robby finished his story.

The machine buzzed again, printing out more codes.

“Let’s work this out first,” Dr. Galaxy said.

She studied the codes carefully, then took out a calculator (at least it looked like one!) from her hand bag and typed the codes in.

“It’s an interesting code that we used a long time ago,” she said smiling.

Within seconds, the decoded messages started flashing on the screen.

“They all say the same thing,” she said after some time. “That he’s in a large metallic room guarded by robots. And he’s being questioned continuously. They know he’s an intruder and that he’s come from the past. And they are threatening to harm him if he doesn’t tell them about our mission.”

“And has Pa told them anything?”

“Not yet,” Dr. Galaxy sighed.

“How’s he sending the messages?” Sherry asked.

“He’s got a little ring in his finger which is actually fitted with a very special machine. He just has to whisper things in it and they get translated into codes and reach here.”

“Cool tech,” Robby commented.

Dr. Galaxy typed a message back to Dr. Nebula stating that she had come there to save him.

“Hey ladies! Don’t be upset. We’ll save him. Shall I call it a team?” Robby asked putting forward his hand.

“Yes!” And the four clapped their hands together.

***

“Hey Robby, do you have any idea where Pa might be?” Tara asked.

“Nope. They might have kept him in their headquarters, but I don’t know where they are either.”

“Where do we start searching for Dr. Nebula then? We’ve got no clues!” Sherry said.

Dr. Galaxy was strolling along the lab when something caught her eye. “This piece!” she exclaimed. “Robby, where did you get this?”

“What? That? Umm.. that…”

“This is a part of the robot’s internal system. I very well know this. And by no chance can you create this on your own. How did this get here?” Dr. Galaxy asked raising her eyebrows.

“I don’t know!” Robby said. “Perhaps Dr. Nebula brought this with him?” he shrugged.

“Yeah, that could be possible,” Dr. Galaxy said frowning.

But somehow Tara couldn’t believe the story. She just couldn’t imagine a fifteen year old boy creating robo hacking bullets or even being a scientist. “Hey Sherry!” she whispered. “Don’t you think something’s fishy?”

“Why do you think something’s fishy?” Sherry whispered back.

“I mean how can he be so intelligent! He’s just a boy!”

“Tara, he’s the same age as us. And if all these futuristic facilities would have been provided to us, I am sure I could have invented a thing or two myself by now!”

Tara could argue no further.

[Is something really fishy here? What do you think? Comment below. Next part comes next to next Monday! (Yep, I am skipping a week. Really sorry for that, I’ve got some work scheduled. I’ll try my best to upload it earlier if I can.) Till then, you can wander round my blog. Don’t forget to like the post! And yes, follow my blog for updates! Happy Monday!]

Season-2: Part-2: Robo Rule

[Check out Season 1 and Season 2 from the start before this.]

“Yeah. That’s the big picture. Not only this, but the whole government consists of robots. And the officials at the topmost posts are robots too.” Dr. Galaxy explained.

“What?! Mom, that’s so terrible! But why are they doing this?”

“You see, I told you about some scientists creating the robots, right? Well, the story goes that there are these five crazy scientists who created the robots to gain control of the world but the robots overpowered them. Now those five scientists are enslaved by the robots. And now these robots themselves want to control the world.”

“And they are very well succeeding.” Sherry added.

“Hey! What are you all doing here?” someone suddenly called from behind.

“Dr. Nebula!” Sherry beamed.

“What’s going on here?” Dr. Nebula asked confused.

“We’ve got no time to explain,” Dr. Galaxy said picking up her bags. “It’s good we found you here. Let’s go back. Abort the mission.”

“Abort the mission? No way!” Dr. Nebula exclaimed.

“But Pa, your life’s in danger!”

“Rubbish! I am not going anywhere.”

Before anyone could say more, a siren alarm went off in the cafe and red lights began flashing in the whole place. Someone had tried to rebel against the robots and was caught red handed in the cafe. The robots, which seemed just too friendly while taking orders, had suddenly changed. They came rushing by and handcuffed a person sitting at the opposite corner of the cafe and surrounded him with guns.

“Is that what’s gonna happen to us if we get caught?” Tara asked. She had turned white.

A police van came on the spot and took the man away.

“Hey! Where’s Dr. Nebula?” Sherry asked suddenly. In the whole confusion, Dr. Nebula had slipped off.

“Oh no, we can’t let this happen! C’mon girls, we’ve got to go.” Dr. Galaxy said as she spotted Dr. Nebula rushing down the opposite street.

They rushed after him and followed him through the narrow streets. They kept screaming his name but he wouldn’t turn back. Strangely enough, they ran the fastest they could, but couldn’t catch up with him.

They followed him up a tall old building which seemed inhabited. It was a cold rusty place. They finally caught up with him at the top floor of the building.

“Pa, what are you doing?” Tara asked panting. “Why are we here? And why didn’t you stop when we kept calling you?”

“Ssh… keep quiet. We are surrounded by robots. See there,” he pointed towards a window. They all looked down. Sure enough, there were robots all around. Dr. Nebula closed all the windows and locked the door.

“Now, I have a plan,” Dr. Nebula whispered. “First of all, hand me your weapons, if you have brought any. I want to see what resources we have. Then we’ll see what we have to do next.”

“Sure, Pa. Here,” Tara said, taking out the gun from her pocket.

“Tara wait!” Dr. Galaxy suddenly stopped her. “Dr. Nebula, what did you have for dinner last night?”

“For dinner last night? What sort of question is that!” Dr. Nebula said. “We are surrounded by robots here and – ”

Before he could complete, Dr. Galaxy snatched the gun from Tara and shot him down!

“MA! What have you done!” Tara screamed in horror.

“Relax, Tara. That’s not your Pa. That’s an imposter.”Dr. Galaxy said, as the ‘Dr. Nebula’ lying on the ground turned into a robot. “And don’t worry. These bullets don’t work on humans.”

“But Dr. Galaxy, how did you know it was an imposter?” Sherry asked.

“You see, I first doubted him in the cafe when he wasn’t the least surprised on seeing us. The real Dr. Nebula would have been furious! And I was almost sure it wasn’t him by how he brought us here. And just to confirm, I asked him what he had for dinner last night. That’s a secret code. He would have to answer ‘red pasta and pancakes with vanilla icecream.’”

“Wow! But what are we going to do now?” Sherry asked.

“Take this,” Dr. Galaxy handed over a gun to Sherry. “Tara’s already got one and I brought two for myself, just in case. We don’t know how many robots there are outside. All three of us need to be prepared.”

“But how can I? I mean I haven’t even practiced my shots!” Sherry said.

“No worries. You can at least get a shot or two right.”

The door then burst open and almost thirty robots marched in. “Oh so you killed our friend!” one of the robots said.

“ ‘Killed’? ‘Friend’? You are robots! You are speaking like humans!” Tara commented.

“Ah, don’t you dare compare us to humans! We are better than them!”

“Yeah, sure.” Tara said rolling her eyes. She was trying her best to act brave.

“Where’s Dr. Nebula?” Sherry asked.

“That man! We captured him! He’s of no use though. We couldn’t extract a single information from him!” One of the robots said. “And that’s why we are here to take you. C’mon! Tell us about your mission!”

“Oh really?” Tara asked. “Then here it is. Attack!” she cried.

And the three attacked the robots from three sides and ran towards the exit. They could only shoot down half a dozen robots. The robots chased after them. They ran down the building into the basement, which was incredibly large.

It was like a battlefield. The three people and the robots fired at each other and ducked behind objects. After a while, when they had shot down more than a dozen robots, Sherry realised that her gun was now empty. The same happened with Tara and Dr. Galaxy’s guns. They had no more bullets. Dr. Galaxy saw a small cabin at a corner of the basement and motioned the girls to follow her there quietly.

They went into the cabin without the robots noticing them and closed the door.

“What now?” Sherry asked.

“We need bullets!” Tara said.

“Would this help?” someone called from the inner side of the cabin. The trio turned around to see a boy waving a bag of dart bullets. He was no more than Tara’s age.

“Hi! Myself Robby. And here are some extra bullets – the same kind you need.”

“I think I have seen you somewhere…” Sherry thought out loud.

“Oh yeah! I saw you too. In the cafe. You were with Dr. Nebula. I got arrested there. But no worries, I ran away. Thanks to these bullets.”

“You know Pa? I mean Dr. Nebula?” Tara asked. “How? And how did you get these bullets?”

“No time to explain. Here, load your guns. We’ve got a fight ahead. C’mon!” Robby said.

The four of them shot down the robots together and ran out of the building.

“Come with me. I’ll take you to a safe spot,” Robby said.

And they walked and walked until they reached a huge empty ground. Robby went to a corner and pulled the grass apart to reveal a button. He pressed it and immediately a platform appeared there. They stepped on the platform and it began to swirl.

Tara could feel the same sinking and floating that she felt in the Time Car. Instantly they found themselves standing inside a lab!

“Welcome to Robby’s lab!” he announced.

“Your lab? You are a scientist?!” Tara asked amazed.

“No I am not a scientist, but this lab’s now mine. Originally this was my grandpa’s. Dr. Galaxy, you must be knowing him right?”

Dr. Galaxy looked around the lab carefully and then at Robby.

“This can’t be!” she exclaimed. “So you are Dr. Comet’s grandson?”

“I am indeed!”

[Wow! Sounds interesting! The story continues next Monday! Till then, why don’t you check out my Spooks poems and my award post? Have a good time. See you next Monday!]

Season-2: Part-1: Ready, Set, Go!

[Previously in The Fourth Dimension: Season-1 Part-10: Dr. Galaxy, Sherry and Tara were determined to go into the future and save Dr. Nebula and the world.]

“What’s the plan?” Sherry finally spoke, breaking the chilling silence.

“Ah yes, yes, the plan. First I need you to learn some basics,” Dr. Galaxy laid out a chart sheet. All sorts of codes and diagrams were drawn on it. The sheet was filled rim-to-rim, corner-to-corner.

“Whoa! What’s this?”                                    

“Relax, Tara. These are just a few controls of the Time Car. And you need to memorise them.”

“But what’s the need, Mom? You’re there with us.”

“Yeah. But just in case… you know, if there’s an emergency…”

“What sort of emergency?” Tara almost shrieked.

“Ah, never mind. Sherry, do me a favour. You learn these codes and please just stay with Tara. You’ll do that for me, won’t you?”

“Of course, Dr. Galaxy!”

“Good. I expected that. You learn these right now. And Tara, I have another task for you. Come with me.”

Dr. Galaxy led Tara into another room. This one was full of ‘guns and bullets’. They didn’t look real though. Anyone could think they were toy guns because they were so colourful and perhaps made of plastic. The bullets were shaped like darts- pointless darts.

“Mom, are we gonna fool the robots with toy guns? I didn’t expect this from a scientist!”

“Oh, no Tara! These bullets are actually fitted with microchips. Once a bullet comes in contact with a robot’s body, it would hack the robot’s system! It would be paralyzed!”

“Now that’s cool!” Tara exclaimed examining a gun. “So this is how we fight the robots, eh?”

“Fight? No dear, don’t even think about it!” Galaxy exclaimed with widened eyes. “This is for your self defence. By chance if we get caught in such a situation that we have no exit left, only in that case will we use these guns. Otherwise, keep them hidden. We’ve got only a couple of these. Use them wisely.”

“Oh, okay.” Tara frowned. She really imagined herself fighting the robots with the guns like in some cool sci-fi movie.

“But there’s a catch. These bullets will only work if you fire them at a particular point on the robot’s forehead. So it would be better if you practise. Take these, Tara. These are some fake bullets. Practice your target with these.”

She excitedly took a handful of them and loaded in one of the guns. On the opposite wall, there was a target drawn in red ink. She took aim and fired.

“Whoa! Great job, Tara! You hit exactly at the right point! Keep practicing. I’ll just check on Sherry by then.”

Tara kept practicing for almost what seemed like hours. Finally, Dr. Galaxy declared that they were ready for the real plan. The three of them gathered in the central room and loaded themselves with food. Then Dr. Galaxy brought a large box and placed it on the table.

“Now listen up. Our aim is straightforward – go to the future, send Dr. Nebula back here before anything goes wrong and return. Now that might seem simple, but many things could go wrong. That is exactly why I made you learn the codes and fire the gun. Now you two must always stay together. Mind my words – never leave each other alone. I am there for you, sure, but if you don’t find me nearby, just save yourselves. Do not worry about me. Is that clear?”

“But Mom, how can we leave you-”

“Is that clear?” Dr. Galaxy repeated with emphasis.

“Um… but… okay… yeah, fine.” Tara said uneasily.

“Great. Now we’ll have to finish things up fast. The more time we take, the more you will age. And I don’t want my girls to be attending high school at the age of 20, okay?” Then seeing Tara and Sherry’s grim faces, she added, “Hey, at least give me a smile. My joke wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“That was ridiculous, Mom.”

***

After a few hours, they met again in the lab with their bags and food.

“Okay girls, sit down. I hope you remember all I’ve told you today. Other than that, there’s a safety kit and emergency tools under your seat. Although I hope we wouldn’t need them. All ready to go?”

“Yes!”

The Car started shaking again and they felt themselves floating. With a sinking feeling in their guts, they were transported to the future.

When Tara opened her eyes, she was amazed by the sight in front of her. It was a really advanced time. She could only see shiny skyscrapers and robotic cars on the road. The whole world seemed to carry a metallic glimmer.

Dr. Galaxy hid the Time Car amidst the rare trees and returned back. “Here Tara, the gun. Fully loaded. Hide it carefully. And I can see your father in the cafe there. C’mon.”

They walked along neatest footpath Tara had ever seen and entered into the cafe. All along, Tara and Sherry kept whispering, exclaiming and pointing to things around them. The place seemed even stranger than Egypt!

“Shh… Keep your voices low!” Dr. Galaxy said after a few minutes. “Don’t behave like you are here for the first time. Act like you were born in this world.”

A staircase suddenly popped up out of nowhere at the entrance of the cafe. As they climbed up, the stairs started jingling a melody! At the other end of the staircase, an ATM machine sort of thing greeted them, “Good morning! Welcome to cafe Sun-Mania! Whom do we have the pleasure of serving today?”

A keyboard popped up and Dr. Galaxy entered their names. “Okay, Mrs. Galaxy, Miss Tara and Miss Sherry, enjoy your day!” The machine sank into the ground and a platform rose in its place. The three of them stepped on the platform and it started floating! It carried them to a table at one corner of the cafe and sank back into the ground.

More surprises awaited them inside there.

There were no human employees in the cafe! All robots and machines! It was a luxurious place. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Then a shiny white robot, the first one they saw that day, came to their table. “Hello ladies! What would you like to have?”

“Um, what do you have?”

“At this time, we have 12 varieties of coffee, 52 types of sandwiches, 8 different desserts, and 15 varied flavours of soft drinks available with us. What would you like to have?”

“Sandwiches!” Tara exclaimed. She felt really hungry surrounded by the aroma of food in the cafe.

“Yeah, that would be good. What flavours do you have in veg sandwiches?” Dr. Galaxy asked.

“Cheese Treat Sandwich, Mayo ‘n’ Tomato Sandwich, Green Leafy Sandwich, Veg Party Sandwich, Cream ‘n’ Raspberry Sandwich, Orange Fluff – ”

“Stop, stop, stop! Bring three of your best selling sandwiches, okay?”

“Okay madam. So I’ll be bringing Cheese Treat, Orange Fluff, and Noodle Mania. I’ll be back in no time.”

After the robot went away, Tara whispered, “Mom, this is so good! Such a high quality service! And these robots are so sweet! And people are really enjoying themselves! What were you saying about evil robots and slave humans? I think you must have been mistaken. I would in fact love to live here!”

“Oh no, Tara. You are seeing things on a small scale. It’s actually the robots controlling us. Let me show you the reality.” She called one of the robot waiters, “Excuse me! Can I get a NewsTab, please?”

“What’s a NewsTab?” Sherry asked.

“Like we have newspapers, they have NewsTabs. No newspapers exist now. People here read the news on NewsTabs.”

“So it’s actually like asking for a magazine or newspaper in a hotel in our time, right?”

“Absolutely!”

The robot handed over a NewsTab and Dr. Galaxy began scrolling down. Then checking that there was no one around her, she showed the girls a news article.

“Prime Minister ‘Kaspa’ enacts new measure…” Tara read out, “…all people to be issued identity cards… to be used for entering public buildings… trespassers to be severely punished. Whoa! Seems a strict one, isn’t it?”

“Tara, you’re seeing the wrong thing.” Sherry whispered. “See there, below the article, Kaspa’s photo.”

Tara stared at the photo in horror.

“Kaspa is a robot?!”

[Whoa! A robot? A robot ruling the people? What are they going to do now? And where’s Dr. Nebula now? We’ll know really soon. Catch the next part on Monday! And till then, check out my Spooks poem collection if you haven’t yet…]

Part 2

Part-10: Unveiling Secrets

[Here’s the 10th Part of The Fourth Dimension: Season-1. Make sure to read from the beginning if you haven’t yet.]

“Yes, I am Galaxy!” she replied beaming. “You’ve had quite a few surprises in the past 48 hours, haven’t you?

“Yeah,” Sherry said awestruck. “This is so fascinating!”

“C’mon girls, have a seat. Dr. Nebula’s in there,” Dr. Galaxy said pointing towards a door.

“Here? But we thought you took him to the hospital…” Sherry said confused.

“To the hospital? Oh no. What do you expect me to say to the hospital employees? That a man turned sixty-five in a fraction of second? Or that he travelled to the future? And by the way Tara, you look really sick. Want some candy?”

Tara indeed looked like she was about to burst. She felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her. Her mom, a scientist? All these years? And she never knew? No one ever told her? She had so many questions popping in her mind that her head was spinning.

“Mom, how- I mean when- I mean- Oh god, I don’t know what I mean! Why didn’t you tell me before? How come I didn’t know for 15 years that my mom is a scientist?”

“Take it that I am a brilliant actor!” Dr. Galaxy said grinning. “Jokes apart, we’ve got something really important to discuss. Hurry up,” she said going through a door next to Dr. Nebula’s door.

That’s when Tara realised how big her mom’s lab was. It had four rooms other than the one where they were standing and a small kitchen area. As they stepped into the room, Tara noticed that there were five computer systems and chairs in the room. And the place clearly suggested that it was inhabited by more than one person.

“You don’t work alone, right?” Sherry had asked the question before Tara.

“Well, we didn’t work alone, but now we do. It was a team of five people. Now there are only two of us left- Dr. Nebula and me,” she replied frowning.

“What happened to the other three?” Tara asked.

“They left us after one of our plans went wrong, as in the case of your Pa. But they are brilliant scientists. That’s why I need your help. Because I am all alone now.”

“You could just have directly told us then,” Tara said scowling, “That you are Galaxy. Why all that ‘always time to change your destiny’ crap? We would have been here earlier.”

“Think practically Tara,” Dr. Galaxy replied. “You were already in a shock seeing your Pa. Even if I told you that I am scientist who calls herself Galaxy, you wouldn’t believe that. And I was just about to tell you, but well,” she paused, looking at the girls proudly, “you found the way out yourself. And I must say I am impressed!”

“That means we are accompanying you in saving Dr. Nebula and others?” Sherry asked.

“Earlier I was doubtful. But now I am 100% sure that both of you are the right choice for the mission. And speaking of it, let me explain you the plan.”

And she rolled out a sheet of chart paper and took out pens and files.

“Wait mom!” Tara stopped her. “First we want to know what the real mission was. Pa was talking about stealing something… what was that? Please tell us mom, we are dying of curiosity!”

“Don’t go by his words, okay? He only told you a part of the plan. Our real motive is something really good.”

“Fine mom! Go ahead.”                                                                                          

“So in the initial days of our testing, we went to the future. And we saw something disastrous. Some evil scientists had taken control of the world. Local territories were taken over by robots. In fact, they had a whole army of robots!”

“What? That’s creepy!” Sherry exclaimed.

“Yes, I know. So we planned to go to the future to observe the robots and find out how they work. Then we would trap one and bring it here to make similar robots. And finally we would build an army of good robots to fight the bad ones.”

“So that’s your plan to save the world?” Tara asked wide-eyed.

“Yeah, sort of.”

“What went wrong then?” Sherry asked.

“You see, the plan isn’t as easy as it seems. The future technology is really advanced. Stealing from there isn’t a piece of cake. Plus, the robots are really bad. And mind it, when I say bad, I mean evil, really evil. They have all sorts of attack and defence mechanisms. Get it?”

“Oh! So you mean Pa got caught or something?”

“Perhaps,” Dr. Galaxy sighed.

“What’s our plan now?” Sherry asked.

“In simple terms, we’ll have to go to the future, see what went wrong, fix everything, and return back. And then we’ll open Dr. Nebula’s room. If everything goes as planned, you’ll have your Dr. Nebula back. If not, then… well, let’s just hope everything goes as planned.”

“And we’ll also have to bring back a robot, right?” Tara asked.

“Our priority now is Dr. Nebula. First we’ll have him back. Only then will we think about anything else.”

The three of them stood there face-to-face. They knew that anything could happen to them in the future. It was possible that they might even worsen the situation. But they had to take the risk. Each of them was determined. They had to do this – to save Dr. Nebula. And perhaps, the world.

[Guys, this was the end of Season-1. Hope you enjoyed the journey! Tell me in the comments which part you think was the best of Season-1 and which element you loved the most. I’ll be coming back with Season-2 soon. Stay tuned!]

Click here to read Season-2

Part-9: Hunting Down Galaxy

[Make sure to read this from the beginning if it’s your first time here…]

“Have you heard of that name before?” Sherry asked.

“I don’t think so. But I am surprised to know that he even has a friend! I mean everyone thinks he is a weirdo…”

“Hey, they both seem a bit similar, isn’t it? Nebula and Galaxy… close friends I think.” Sherry said.

“Yeah but how will we find him?” Tara asked irritated.

“How do you know it’s a ‘he’”?”

“I guessed,” Tara replied shrugging.

“I think it’s a lady. Galaxy seems a lady-like name, isn’t it?”

Tara raised her eyebrows. “Do you really think this is a time to discuss whether it’s a man or a woman? Come on Sherry! How will we find Dr. Galaxy?”

“Maybe we can find something in Dr. Nebula’s phone… numbers or something?” Sherry suggested.

“Pa doesn’t have a phone. He kept losing mobiles so he doesn’t use them anymore; prefers landline. He uses the one here in the basement and the one in the office.”

“Now that complicates things.”

“But he has a diary with all his contacts!” Tara exclaimed suddenly. “But I don’t know where it is right now…”

The only thing they could do now was to search the whole lab. So they began…

They looked in the drawers and cupboards, the shelves and the platform, but they could only find machine parts, circuits, screws, nuts, papers and tools. After a hunt that lasted for almost half an hour, they sat down disappointed.

“Where could the diary be? It has to be somewhere here,” and saying so, Tara kicked a metallic block that hit the Time Car with a clink.

“The Time Car! Of course!” Sherry suddenly exclaimed standing up with a start.

And they ran towards the Car and found the leather diary under the seat. “Here it is!” And they started flipping through the pages.

They looked through the whole diary hundreds of times. But they couldn’t find a single entry by the name of Galaxy. Then Tara suddenly noticed a star marked crumpled page tucked into the covers of the diary. “The ‘special entries’ page!” she said excitedly.

But almost instantly her smile turned into a frown, for the page only had her mother’s number- that too the old one. “That’s why it was crumpled,” and she was about to throw the paper aside, when…

“Wait!” Sherry held Tara’s hand. “Don’t throw it. See, there’s something written on the backside…”

Tara turned the paper. Sure enough, there were some strange symbols on the paper. “I’ve seen these somewhere,” Sherry said scratching her head. She sat down where she was- in the Car. And then she saw it.

“Here! The symbols! The buttons,” Sherry cried excitedly. The symbols on the buttons and dials resembled to those on the paper. “Perhaps this is the code for a particular time or place. What do you say?”

“This is great!” Tara exclaimed. “Maybe we should follow this code and go where it leads us?”

“But Tara, we don’t exactly know where this will take us. It could be dangerous too.”

“This is the only lead we’ve got, Sherry! It’s surely worth a try. Please,” Tara insisted.

“Are you sure? I mean there are many risks involved. Firstly, we don’t even know where it will lead us. Secondly, we’ll be operating the Car for the first time. And thirdly, if anything goes wrong, we don’t have a backup plan.”

“Sherry, we have to do this. We have to do it for Dr. Nebula. Let’s go for it Sherry.” There was a sudden confidence in her voice.

They stepped into the Car. Sherry looked into the paper and pushed buttons and rotated dials. “Are you ready?” she asked Tara. She nodded and Sherry pushed the ‘start’ button. They could feel the Car shaking violently and then floating in the air. They closed their eyes and held each other’s arms tightly as they felt the sinking feeling in their guts.

Moments later, they gathered courage to open their eyes and look where they were. It was a cool corridor, shining and smelling the same way as Dr. Nebula’s lab did. There was a pearl white door in front of them which was unlike Nebula’s creaky old basement door. A sign board on the door read: “Dr. Galaxy”

“So we haven’t travelled in time yet,” Tara finally spoke. “This was just a code to bring us to Dr. Galaxy’s lab.”

The door was partially open and they entered inside without even asking for permission, as if they were naturally supposed to be there. It was a really pleasant atmosphere inside. The place was nicely arranged; even the machine parts and tools were all in cabinets and shelves. There was a sweet smell inside the room. “I think you were right, Sherry. Dr. Galaxy is perhaps a lady.”

As they explored the room, Tara could feel a certain connection with the room. The smell, the way things were arranged reminded her of someone. But she tried her best to ignore her doubts…

“Hello girls! Amused?” A woman called from behind. She was a sweet lady wearing an apron with the tag ‘Dr. Galaxy’ tucked to it.

As Tara turned around, she stared at the woman in disbelief as her doubts turned to reality. “MOM?!”

[Wait what? Mom? Really amused! Catch the next part on Thursday! Do subscribe to Oddball Thinks to get the next part delivered directly to your inbox!]

Part-8: To and Fro the Future

[If this is your first time here, make sure to read The Fourth Dimension from the beginning…]

“So the real plan is that I have to go to the future- nearly thirty five years from now.”

“That isn’t a big deal,” Sherry said shrugging, “Given the fact that we have just travelled back more than two thousand years to the past and also escaped a deadly crocodile and armed soldiers-”

“That isn’t all,” Dr. Nebula interrupted. “I have to stay there for a few years.”

“A few years!” Tara exclaimed. “Now we have got a reason to freak out. But that doesn’t make it deadly, does it? I mean you’ll be back to the present in a fraction of second.”

“But he’ll do age up a bit.” Sherry added.

“Oh, you two!” he said laughing. “I am not going on a holiday; I am going there to steal!”

“To what?!” the girls exclaimed shocked.

“Oops! What have I said! Girls, trust me, okay? I’ll be alright. And Sherry, I think it’s time to drop you off. Hurry up!” Dr. Nebula said stepping into the Time Car.

“No, Dr. Nebula! First you go for your mission. It wouldn’t make any difference if I am half a second late.” Sherry said stubbornly.

“Oh you! Fine. I am not going anywhere now.” Dr. Nebula said even more stubbornly.

“Stop it!” Tara yelled. “Sherry, go to your house right now. And Pa, you’ll only go for your mission after we are back from school. Deal?”

“Deal.” Dr. Nebula and Sherry said nonchalantly.

***

The following afternoon, Dr. Nebula could be seen stuffing all of his bags into the Time Car, which suddenly seemed too tiny for the luggage.

“Dr. Nebula, take care.” Sherry said in a worried tone.

“Don’t worry child. I’ll be fine. ”

“Pa, have you told mom? Have you told anyone other than us about your mission?” Tara asked.

“I’ll be back before you blink,” he said, caressing her cheek.

Waving a goodbye, he climbed into the Car and pushed the buttons. Tara could bet she had seen a tear in his eye.

The Car began to shake violently and slowly disappeared. Tara knew he would be back in less than a second, but even in that short duration of time, she could feel her heart in her mouth. Dr. Nebula had said he would be fine. But Tara knew her father just too well.

Before she could breathe out, the Car had reappeared. Tara and Sherry glanced at each other and gulped. The Car door didn’t open up instantly.

The door opened up moments later and Tara could feel herself getting back to normal when suddenly she held her breath halfway. Something was wrong.

A man with a dull and wrinkled face emerged from the Car. He was thin, dirty and had long white hair and beard, as if he hadn’t eaten properly, bathed, shaved or even trimmed his hair in years.

“PA!” Tara screamed horrified and ran towards Dr. Nebula.

“Oh, my baby!” he said crying as he hugged Tara. “It’s been thirty years since I last saw you.”

“Thirty years!” Tara and Sherry went white in the face.

Tara’s mother came running into the basement. “What’s all this noise? Oh gosh!” she exclaimed as she saw Dr. Nebula.

Tara had thought that her mother would go nuts. She would go into shock and collapse. But perhaps she didn’t know her mother as much as she knew her father. Because the very next moment, her mother had called the ambulance and was already off to the hall to bring some water and food.

“H-How did this happen, D-d-Dr. N-Nebula?” Sherry asked, struggling to get her words out.

“This was all in my destiny…” Dr. Nebula said in a strangely dreamy tone.

“Sherry,” Tara whispered, “Why is a scientist suddenly talking about things like destiny?”

Her mother had reached the basement by then and was trying to lift Dr. Nebula up the stairs.

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Tara asked.

Dr. Nebula seemed to ignore that question. But as it turns out, Tara’s mother has got really good ears.

“Remember,” she called out, “There’s always time to change your destiny.”

And they heard the slamming of the door. They had left for the hospital.

Sherry sat down on the floor with a thump. “I get it all. Whatever happened to Dr. Nebula was his destiny and there’s always time to change your destiny. Know what it means?”

“No…” Tara said confused.

“It means that WE have to change his destiny!” Sherry said. “WE have to use the Time Car and save him! The only problem is- we don’t know how to use it.”

Tara slowly walked towards the Time Car, touching it, feeling it, caressing it- like the way Dr. Nebula used to. And suddenly she noticed something – a gleaming metal tag at one end of the Car.

“Sherry! See this!” Tara exclaimed.

Sherry came running there and saw something that left both of them puzzled. The tag read:

“The Time Car- A gift to the World by Dr. Nebula and Dr. Galaxy”

“Now only Dr. Galaxy can help us.” Tara said. “Whoever this is…”

[Now who is Dr. Galaxy? A friend? Another scientist? Who is it? One thing is for sure- only Dr. Galaxy can save Dr. Nebula. Catch up the next part on Monday as Tara and Sherry gather clues and reach Dr. Galaxy. Stay tuned!]

Part-7: Surprises

[Read the story from the beginning if you haven’t yet…]

“W-what do we do now?” Sherry asked.

“My genius mind has some ideas…” Dr. Nebula said.

The crocodile opened its mouth wide and showed off its pointed yellow and black teeth, all ready to chew the three people off.

“RUN!” Dr. Nebula cried.

And the three ran out of the cave. They were so enthralled with fear, that they even forgot they had to keep themselves hidden!

Instantly, the civilians spotted them. “Ahoy! Tabimi! Tabimi!” one of them cried. “Hawue! Pori nui!” shrieked the other. Within moments, Tara, Sherry and Dr. Nebula found themselves surrounded by swarms of people screaming ‘Tabimi!’ and ‘Pori nui!’ They had no time to decode what the words meant. They just knew they were in deep trouble.

But the real danger was now marching towards them. Soldiers- or at least that is what they looked like- hundreds of them. They had weapons shaped like spears. The crowd made way for the ‘army’. The soldiers soon encircled the trio, their spears pointing towards them. “Kada hubi rha,” the soldiers began saying, or asking; it wasn’t clear.

Suddenly, the ‘commander’ ordered, “Vuli poruai!“, and this time it was very clear what he had said; because the very moment, soldiers rushed forward carrying handcuffs and chains.

“Pa! Do something!” Tara cried.

“Oh, I am thinking! We’ll escape, don’t worry… and even if we don’t, you will finally have a trip to boast about to your friends…” Dr. Nebula joked, at least tried to.

The soldiers were closing in.

“Hudsi piri qwirchi ta!” Sherry suddenly shouted.

The soldiers stopped and looked at Sherry, then quickly dropped their weapons! The people stopped screaming and the soldiers backed off! Tara and Dr. Nebula glared at Sherry in amazement.

“What are you waiting for? Run!” Sherry said.

And the three sprinted back to the cave. And very much to their surprise, the crocodile wasn’t there! The three climbed into the Car and Dr. Nebula pressed the ‘start’ button. A violent shake followed by a sinking feeling in guts transported them to Dr. Nebula’s lab. Huffing and panting, they crawled out on the floor.

“Sherry! What were those words you said?” Tara asked amused.

“Oh! You remember you gave me a book about ancient languages in April? All thanks to the book…”

“You memorized it?!” Tara asked shocked.

“Kinda… I mean I read it only once, but it appears that my memory is just too good. Anyways, that was the first sentence that came into my mind. Dunno what it means by the way…” Sherry replied shrugging.

“Sherry, oh Sherry!” Tara said in an about-to-cry voice, “That book was a prank! I gave it to you on first of April!”

“What!” Sherry exclaimed wide eyed.

“Chill girls,” Dr. Nebula said. “Here, you must be thirsty,” he said, handing them glasses of juice. “We are out of there. Now forget about it…”

“Fine… By the way Pa, it was 1:45 when we left, right? The clock still shows 1:45!”

“That, my dear,” replied Dr. Nebula, “is a unique feature of my Time Car. When we don’t set a time, as in our case, it automatically sends us to the initial time. And talking of time, Sherry, I’ll be dropping you off after 3 minutes.”

“Why three minutes?” Tara asked.

“I think I know the answer,” Sherry said. “That’s because we left for Egypt from my house exactly three minutes after you left the lab. Dr. Nebula and Tara of this time zone have just left the lab. This means that the Sherry in this time zone is still in her house for three minutes. She will be freaked out if she sees another Sherry! Am I right Dr. Nebula?”

“Right you are, my girl, right indeed,” he said patting her back. “And just remember- do NOT speak to anyone about my Time Car. Is that clear?” he asked sternly.

“Yes sir!” Sherry and Tara chimed in.

“And then I’ll leave for the real mission.” Dr. Nebula said.

“The REAL mission?”

“Ah yes. All of this was just testing. You asked me what I was doing in the basement the whole night yesterday. So here it is- I went to different times and spent hours, even days and weeks! At the end I was so tired, that I collapsed in the basement. You caught me a few hours ago when I came out; actually that was when I woke up. That’s the whole story.”

“But what is the real mission?” Tara asked. “Can’t we accompany you?”

“Oh no, no! Never ever think about accompanying me! It could be deadly!”

“Deadly?” Sherry seemed alarmed. “What IS your mission Dr. Nebula?”

Sherry’s tone made it very clear that she was serious about her business.

“Hey, hey! Don’t you trust me?” Dr. Nebula tried pleading.

Both of them raised their eyebrows.

“Okay, I surrender,” he said finally. “But don’t freak out when I tell you.”

[Don’t freak out? What is the mission? How ‘deadly’ is it? You’ll soon know in the next part. Stay tuned!]

Part-6: A Trip to Egypt

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

[As I said in my previous post, Tara and Dr. Nebula would go where you want them to go. @annabethchase11 said that she would love the “trio” to go to Egypt. And here they are… on a trip to Egypt!]

“You’re really gonna take me with you?” Tara asked fascinated.

“Sure. Step in!”

“But I wanted to take Sherry too,” Tara said frowning.

“I see. Bit of a problem isn’t it? But I called my machine a Time “Car”, right? So c’mon, we’ll drive back in time to Egypt in my car and pick up Sherry on the way!”

“You are joking right?”

“Oh no! See for yourself.”

They climbed into the Car and Dr. Nebula rotated some dials. Suddenly Tara could feel herself shaking violently, as if there was a massive earthquake. Then she felt as if she was floating in air. And then there was a strong sinking feeling in her guts and in a fraction of second she found herself in Sherry’s bedroom!

“Woah!” Tara exclaimed in surprise.

Sherry heard the sound and woke up to find two creatures standing in her room in the middle of night! She was about to scream when Tara switched on the lights and clapped her hands on Sherry’s mouth.

“Shut up Sherry! This is us!”

“Tara! Dr. Nebula! What are you doing here! I mean… I am sorry but… in the middle of night…”

“Oh Sherry, we’ve got no time to waste!” Dr. Nebula said clapping his hands. “C’mon, get in the car, fast… and I hope you’ll adjust… the car’s for two people and we’re three…”

“Car? What car?” Sherry was confused.

“Just step in this carriage, or whatever you think this is,” said Tara pulling Sherry by her hands, “I’ll explain you everything.”

“But we’ll be back before morning, right? Otherwise, my parents…”

“Don’t you worry about that,” Dr. Nebula said. “Just enjoy the night.”

And the trio set off.

This time, it took longer than before. Tara assumed this was because they were travelling in the fourth dimension. It wasn’t merely distances.

When Tara finally felt the ground, she opened her eyes to find herself in a dark and humid place.

“Where are we, Dr. Nebula?” Sherry asked.

“In Egypt- 300 B.C. Precisely, in a cave.”

And then Tara explained everything to Sherry. Dr. Nebula parked the Time Car at a safe place and then they set out.

Outside was a world they had never seen before. There were men and women in plain dresses and colourful jewellery. It looked like a marketplace where weird but beautiful pots and utensils were being sold.

“Tara, Sherry, listen to me carefully now. Both of you will stay close to me and don’t, just DON’T let anyone see you. They’ll be freaked out, they’ll go nuts, they’ll attack you, maybe even-”

“We understood Dr. Nebula!” Sherry said. “Don’t worry, we’ll stay with you.”

They roamed around the marketplace, while hiding beneath tents and sheds. They could also see pyramids far away.

“Let’s get a more clear view of those pyramids, shall we?” Dr. Nebula said.

They set off in the direction of pyramids.

The place was mostly isolated, so they didn’t need to hide themselves. The pyramids were a fascinating sight. On the other side, they could see people in black clothes in deep mourning.

Then they also caught a glimpse of the Pharaoh. He wasn’t wearing the same clothes as the civilians; he was wearing clothing which looked like a colourful short skirt. He was also wearing pretty colourful jewels and a headgear.

“What a sense of fashion!” Tara exclaimed.

Then they started walking back towards the cave.

“Seems strange,” Sherry said, “We have gone back in time, we are returning back to time, and everything is going on so peacefully. I wonder if this is the calm before the storm…”

By then, they had entered the cave and were heading towards the Car. Suddenly, Dr. Nebula came to an abrupt halt just behind the Car. “Sherry, it seems you have jinxed us.” he said.

“Uh-oh, we have a guest here,” Tara said, seeing the large crocodile seated in the Time Car.

[Oops! What happens now? Wait for the next part… and till then, keep praying that the crocodile doesn’t eat the trio raw!]

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!]

Part-4: Basement and Secrets

[If you haven’t read the previous parts of The Fourth Dimension, do read them before this, or you won’t get this part. Enjoy!]

For a moment, there was a spine-chilling silence. Sherry’s statement had hit Tara like a thunderbolt.

“Maybe we missed that detail? Shall we play it again?” Tara suggested.

They played the recording again and listened with double concentration. But nowhere could they find the sound of Dr. Nebula coming out of the basement.

“Maybe we are just over thinking it,” Tara tried her best to sound casual.

“There’s no point sitting here and guessing,” Sherry said standing up. “I am going down. Wanna come?”

Tara knew it was more of a request than a question.

They hurried down the stairs, across the hall and came to a halt just ahead of the staircase that led to the basement. Slowly, they descended down the stairs, their hearts pounding in their chests.

“No good going down there,” Sherry said halfway down the stairs. “The door is locked.”

By then, Tara’s mother had spotted the two of them. “What are you doing there! And Tara, how many times should I tell you to stay away from the basement!” her mother called from the hall.

“Ma! This is really important. Where is Pa? He is here only, right?” Tara asked hopefully.

“No! He’s in the office at this time, you know that surely, don’t you Tara?”

“Auntie, when did Doctor Ne- I mean Uncle – leave for the office?” Sherry asked.

“Early in the morning; before I woke up. Busy time in the labs…”

That evening, after Sherry went home, Tara stood guard in the hall. She had it all planned in her head. If her father was really in the office, he would enter the house from the front door and Tara would pounce upon him and bombard him with questions. And if he turned from somewhere inside the house, then, well… she hadn’t planned anything for that. She knew he wasn’t in the house.

After dinner, when her mother went to sleep, Tara told her that she was waiting for Pa to return from the office and that she needed his help in some school assignment.

Hours passed by. It was half past twelve. Tara was lying on the couch, trying her best not to fall asleep. But her eyes were closing… She could see guns again. She was Agent T-13 – once again, on a new mission…

Her head jerkily lolled to one side. She hurriedly woke up and glanced at the clock. She had only been asleep for 15 minutes. Suddenly, she felt someone behind her. She turned around. “Pa!”

“Aah!” Dr. Nebula cried. “Oh it’s you, Tara. You scared me,” he said relieved.

“Where were you?” Tara exclaimed before she knew what she was saying.

“What? Well… I was down in the basement,” Dr. Nebula replied uneasily.

“When did you return from the office?”

“Oh late in the night, very late. You were sleeping then.”

“You are lying! I was here all evening.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, you caught me there. Fine… I didn’t go to office today. I was in the basement all day.”

“Really? Then why was there a lock on the basement?” Tara asked raising her eyebrows.

“Ah! I must admire your observational skills. But that’s a little secret. I wouldn’t tell you that. But yes, I was inside the basement.”

“Oh, is that so? Then you were there since yesterday? Because you didn’t come out last night…”

“Well, that is… Wait! How do YOU know I didn’t come out last night?”

Tara realised what she had just said. “Sorry, Pa…”

“Tara, you were spying on me!”

“Pa… that is… well… you know, curiosity kills the cat.”

“Hmm… you might have used a voice recorder I guess? Because if it was a camera, you would have known the secret of the lock. Smart work I must say…”

“So.. you aren’t angry with me?”

“Oh no!” Dr. Nebula said laughing. “I should have known this was coming. You are my daughter after all. Now come, its time you know the secret of the basement.”

“Really?!” Tara couldn’t believe this was happening.

And so Dr. Nebula led Tara into the basement. As she entered through the door, the first thing her eyes fell upon was a big wooden case- the size of a small cabin.

“What’s inside this Pa?”

“One of my finest creations,” Dr. Nebula replied smiling proudly. “The reason I was here since last night. Playing with my baby…” he said, while stroking the cabinet.

Tara could see a quote on the cabinet, written in bold white letters:

“In life, when two ways don’t work, you go for the third one.

In science, when three dimensions don’t work, you ought to go for the fourth one- The Fourth Dimension.”

[Whoa! What did the cabinet hold? You might have guessed. If you did, do post down below. And there are many secrets yet to be unveiled- about the lock, about last night, about the cabinet of course, and about Dr. Nebula himself. What do you think? Tell me in the comments. Like, share, subscribe and stay tuned!]

Part 5

Part-3: Dr. Nebula

[Part-3 of The Fourth Dimension… How did you like the story so far?? Comment below! And if its your first time here, do read Part-1 And Part-2 before this…]

All of a sudden, Sherry tapped the pause button and pulled away her earphones. “Tara, are you sure you want to listen to this recording?” Sherry asked in a tensely doubtful voice. “Of course! What sort of question is that! All this hard work for nothing? No, dear; I hold Dr. Nebula’s secrets in my hand!” Tara replied in a dramatically evil voice. “For God’s sake Tara!” Sherry exclaimed. “Can you please just stop calling him Dr. Nebula? He’s your father!”

That was indeed true. Tara’s father was, in fact, a scientist- and not just an ordinary scientist; he dealt with the most advanced fields of science. Other than his office, he had created a lab in his home itself in the basement. That was the reason why Tara was forbidden to enter the basement, and she very well knew it. This was also the reason why she had placed the recorder outside the basement- to know what happens inside the lab- and she was very sure it was a well secured secret. And no, his name wasn’t Nebula! It was just an alias.

“But he likes calling himself Dr. Nebula; says it gives him the feel of an extraordinary genius…” “He is a genius!” Sherry exclaimed.

“Oh please Sherry! I know you are the biggest fan of Dr. Nebula! I still remember the first time when you came to my home and saw Pa… you went nuts! Such a fan girl you are- you even got his autograph! And the worst part is: he likes YOU over me. I am sure he’ll adopt you some day!”

“It isn’t like that Tara!” Sherry said blushing.

“Now just keep quiet and plug in those earphones. I will listen to this recording. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to,” Tara said in a concluding tone. “Okay fine,” Sherry muttered.

They finally played the recording and both listened intently, but for a long time, no sound came. “Maybe we should fast forward it?” Sherry suggested. They did so and after some time, they could hear footsteps. “That has to be Pa!” Tara exclaimed.

The footsteps grew louder and louder and came to a halt. Then there was the clicking sound of an opening lock and the ‘creech’ sound confirmed that the basement door had been opened, then closed.

But to Sherry and Tara’s surprise, there were no further sounds. They forwarded the recording but there was still silence. A little later, they could hear the morning sounds of the hawker and the milkman. And much later, they could hear themselves coming back from school.

“Hmm… I should have guessed it…” Tara said thinking, “He must have made the basement door soundproof. That’s why a recorder as strong as this one couldn’t catch the sounds of the basement. But one thing is clear- he works at night. You see Sherry… Sherry! What’s wrong with you!” Tara exclaimed seeing the horrified look on Sherry’s face.

“S-s-something is wr-wr-wrong…” Sherry stammered, “Tara, wh-where is your father right now?”

“In the office of course!” Tara replied.

“That means he is not in the house?” Sherry asked once again.

“No,” Tara said yet again.

“Are you- are you 100% sure?”

“Yes, Sherry, yes! The car’s also not in the driveway, you can check. But why are you asking all this?”

“Also there is no exit out of your house other than the two on the ground floor, right?”

“Very much so. But what happened?” Tara was losing her patience now.    

“Tara, w-we heard Dr. Nebula o-opening the door and going into the basement, b-bu-but…”

“But what Sherry? Tell me clearly.”

“Tara, we never heard Dr. Nebula coming out of the basement…”

[What?!?! Now this is getting really creepy… Dr. Nebula never came out of the basement, but he’s in the office! What’s happening here?? Catch the next part for the answers! Don’t forget to post your guesses in the comments section. Like and share! Follow Oddball Thinks for more doses of sci-fi and suspense…]

Part 4

Part-2: Tara

[Here’s Part 2 of The Fourth Dimension. Hope you liked the first part!]

As her eyes adjusted to the surroundings, the place started becoming more and more clear. Of course she knew this place! She had been here for 10 years now.

“Tara,” a fat but affable lady bent down and asked her, “How do you feel now child?” “Better,” she said to the school nurse as the 15 year old Tara sat up on the comfy bed of her school’s sick room.

Tara had the ambition of becoming a spy agent one day. Guns and cars were her number one fantasies. Adventure was her greatest desire. Only this time, it wasn’t a bomb that blasted her off; it was in fact a basketball that hit her so hard in the head that she blacked out and ended up in the school sick room.

Looking around, she saw her best friend Shruti (whom she preferred calling ‘Sherry’) standing beside her bed.

“You alright?” Sherry asked with a genuine concern on her face. “Yeah, fine. Head’s a bit dizzy though.” Tara said. “No doubt!” Sherry exclaimed nodding her head. “Excuse me?” “You know you were talking in your sleep Tara! Something about a mission and shooting down someone… I thought the ball hit you so hard that you lost your marbles!” “Oh no, I was just dreaming…” and saying so she started drifting back to her dream, anticipating what must have had happened after the blast…

“And by the way Tara,” Sherry said breaking Tara’s train of thoughts, “who’s this Agent T-13?” “Oh, no-no one!” Tara muttered blushing slightly.

***

“Oh! So you were on a mission in your dream? Nothing new. But you say Agent S-3 was me?!” Sherry could be heard exclaiming after school. “Apparently,” Tara replied shrugging. “Wow! But Tara… we have a real mission ahead of us today. You remember, right?” Tara had almost forgotten about it! How could she; this was the second greatest ambition of her life.

“Thanks for reminding Sherry! You remember the plan, right?” “Well,” she said, “Considering the fact that I myself have framed the plan, yes, I certainly remember the plan.” “Hee-hee,” Tara grinned sheepishly. Sherry was the brainiest girl Tara could ever have met.

By then they had reached Tara’s home. Sherry was to spend the evening at Tara’s with the excuse of a group assignment. Her mother answered the door and while Sherry distracted her with gossips, Tara took the moment to slip off to the basement.

As she descended down the stairs, she had the same creepy feeling she always had when she went near the basement. She wasn’t allowed there; and she very well knew why. As she spotted the big lock on the basement door, she remembered the stern look on her otherwise cool father’s face when she talked of entering the basement. She bent down in one corner and picked up the tiny voice recorder that she had placed near the door the other night. She then slowly crept back to the hall. Everything was going as planned.

After lunch, Tara and Sherry went up to Tara’s room on the second floor for their “group project”. They plugged in their earphones and anxiously clicked the play button on the recorder. They could feel their hearts going faster and faster, and for a while, their heartbeats were the only sound that could be heard…

[What had the device recorded? Why had Tara placed the recorder in the basement? Why wasn’t Tara allowed in the basement? Wait for part-3 to find out! Do like, comment and share! Subscribe to Oddball Thinks if you haven’t yet!]

Part 3