Time......... (Part 13)

See past sections of this story here.

Frank licked his dry lips thoughtfully. Without Peter he was feeling rather lost. And he didn't realize how much Kevin had grown on him in the two days they had spent here together.
He wondered whether Peter had gotten to Earth safely, and where he had ended up landing. Probably in Africa. Frank had always wanted to go to Africa, so of course he would miss the opportunity. He felt a twinge of jealousy towards Peter, but the next moment he laughed at himself. Here he was in the middle of a different galaxy, wishing he was in a small section of land on the common-place Earth? But Earth wasn't common-place; it was home. And he was starting to miss home.
"What's the news?" he asked one of the men approaching him.
"Got another note from that Earth-geek."
"Who, the computer-hacker?" Frank laughed.
"Yup, who else?"
"What did he say?"
"That's confidential. Ask the leader."
"I've been wondering about something; why doesn't anyone know the leader's name? Why do they all call him 'leader'?"
"Oh, please! I'm sure I don't know," the man turned and walked away briskly. Frank reflected on the man's behavior. Everyone was that way when he asked a question. Maybe he asked too many....
He guessed the new password of the gate to the ITC, and entered the chamber to find the leader leisurely sitting at a table, drinking water and looking entirely stressed-out. He looked up in surprise as he saw Frank open.
"Oh, it's you again. You know, I can't keep changing that password."
"I'm sorry, sir. I wanted to ask a question."
"Well, things can't get much worse. Go ahead."
"Okay, so - wait a second!"
"What's wrong now?"
"You're drinking water?" Frank asked in a tone of disbelief.
"Um, yeah. We do have water here, you know."
"I knew that, but why don't you drink coffee instead? It would help handle stress better."
"Oh great! Now you're an advertiser! Just be so kind as to explain what coffee is," the leader said semi-sarcastically.
"You don't know what coffee is?" Frank cried in shock. "You've never heard of mocha? Or coffee beans? Oh, man! We've got to get Peter to bring some coffee back with him. I'm sure we could find some way to grow it here!"
"Anyways, about your question?" the leader said, a trifle annoyed.
"Oh, right. What was the note the hacker left?"
"Figure you'd ask that. We can't keep anything from you, can we?"
"Nope."
"Here, read it for yourself. I can't make head or tail out of it," the leader handed a slip of paper to him.
" 'From my calculations, you are located in a different universe and are therefore unable to be communicated to. My calculations are either wrong, or you are not real. Please clarify this for me,' " Frank read aloud. "Well this is nuts! This guy must be fancy with jokes or whatnot. Of course we exist! How else would he be getting answers from us!"
"We might be robots for all he knows."
"True," Frank puzzled over the note. "Have you responded?"
"No, I was hoping you might be able to."
"Why me?"
"Because you come from the same planet, you might understand each other better."
"I'm not so sure I understand him, though. But I can try."
"Good." The leader called a man over to help Frank with the computer.
Frank stared at the blank document nervously. What should he tell this hacker, or "Earth-geek"?

Edmund entered the house with a sigh. He pulled out the stack of homework and slapped it on the kitchen-counter in annoyance.
"What is it, dear?" his mother asked anxiously.
"This homework. Half of it is incredibly hard and due on Monday, and the rest of it is a bunch of dry articles I've got to read."
"You didn't used to find homework very hard," mom interjected.
"No, but as a year progresses, things gradually get more difficult."
"Gradually, yes. But not all at once!" mom protested. "You've been looking pale, too. Are you feeling sick?"
"No."
"Perhaps staying up late has made the sudden change," mom said slyly.
"Staying up late?" Edmund asked innocently.
"Yes, You haven't turned the light off until after midnight for the past week."
"Oh, that." Edmund grinned and left the kitchen. He sought refuge from more questions in his bedroom. The laptop was pulled out again, and he gazed at the screen intently. what strange document was this? This eyebrows raised in surprise as he read its contents.
We're not robots, you know. I'm Frank Liftun, and I'm stuck in Andromeda. Ever heard of me?
Edmund looked at the name again. He'd seen it somewhere. Where, though? Ah, the news! He pulled up another window and searched for the correct article.
Two boys, Peter Sperring, 16, and Frank Liftun, 15, mysteriously vanished from Mrs. and Mr. Greg Sperring's garage, sometime between noon and 4:00 P.M. on Monday. Police investigated scene and report that the only curious things they found were a hole in the roof, and a burned floor....
So that was where Frank Liftun came from. But what was this whole joke about him and Andromeda?
"There's something I'm just not getting," Edmund thought. But he wasn't going to give it up as some crazy joke; he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Copyright - 9/17/2008 - Curious Cognitive Content (CCC)
Please do not reproduce without permission from the author(ess).