farmhouse where Bobby had lived with his family for the first fourteen years of his life. Bobby stood across the street, staring at the place that was so familiar, and so wrong.
“You okay?” Courtney asked.
“He said I was an illusion” Bobby said softly. “Maybe he was right.”
“You’re not an illusion, Bobby Pendragon!” Courtney scolded as she grabbed his arm. “I can touch you. I can hear you. Everything you do has an effect on physical reality. That doesn’t sound like an illusion to me.”
“No?” Bobby asked. “Then what am I?”
Courtney started to answer, but stopped. The truth was, she didn’t know.
They pedaled back to Courtney’s house silently. Once inside, Bobby examined the strange new computer that had appeared in the living room.
“I’m not a computer geek,” he said. “But I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“I’m less freaked about the computer than I am about the cat,” Courtney said.
Bobby spotted the black cat lying on a windowsill, sunning itself. They both walked over to it. Bobby tentatively reached out and rubbed his hand across the cat’s belly. The cat purred.
“Nice,” the cat said dreamily.
Bobby whipped his hand back.
“That’s just creepy,” he said. He reached out again and rubbed the cat’s belly again. He didn’t so much stroke the cat, as examine it. After a few seconds he announced, “It’s not real. I mean, it’s not a living thing. Feel.”
“No thanks,” Courtney said.
“Go ahead, I won’t bite,” the cat said.
Courtney shot Bobby a look, then cautiously reached out and stroked the cat’s belly. “It’s not soft. It feels… stiff.”
“It’s mechanical,” Bobby said.
Courtney said, “I don’t know what’s weirder, a talking cat or a mechanical cat.”
“There’s no mystery” Bobby said. “I’ve seen this. That pepper-spray weapon and this cat-they’re technology from Quillan.”
“Is that it?” Courtney said with surprise. “Has Saint Dane somehow brought Quillan technology to Second Earth?”
“I believe it,” Bobby said, pacing. “He’s trying to break down the barriers between territories. Whatever happened here, the natural evolution of Second Earth has been altered. Every time something new is introduced, a shift is bound to happen. This is nothing. What happens when he stumbles on something that causes a catastrophic change? He might create some mutant strain of disease, or natural disaster. One territory could effect the next and the next until-“
“The Convergence,” Courtney said.
“Yeah,” Bobby said. “The Convergence.”
“What could it be?” Courtney asked.
“I don’t know,” Bobby said. “But Saint Dane and Nevva were pretty sure that it was inevitable.”
The two fell silent.
Courtney had been standing with her hand on the cat’s belly. Suddenly she yelped and pulled her hand away. “What?” Bobby asked.
“I must have hit something,” she said. “Look.” A panel had ejected from the cat’s belly, like a drawer. It was a flat white panel with writing on it. “What is it?” Bobby asked.
Courtney leaned down and took a close look. The cat continued to purr, oblivious.
“Man, this is strange,” she said. “It’s product information. There’s care instructions, it says where to call for service, and-‘!
Courtney stopped talking. Bobby watched her, waiting for her to continue. She didn’t. “What?” Bobby finally asked.
Courtney spoke slowly, saying, “There’s a trademark. It has the name of the company that built this thing.” “Yeah? What is it?” Bobby asked impatiently. Courtney’s voice was quivering. “Maybe it’s a coincidence.” “Tell me!” Bobby insisted.
“The name of the company that made this cat is the Dimond Alpha Digital Organization.”
“Dimond?” Bobby repeated. “Spelled like-“
“Yeah, spelled like Mark,” she said.
Bobby paced nervously. “It could be a coincidence,” he said hopefully. “Dimond’s not a hugely common name, but it’s not unheard of, either.”
“Are you not getting it?” Courtney complained.
“Yeah, I’m getting it!” Bobby said. “Dimond, Mark Dimond. We can’t jump to the conclusion that Mark had anything to do with this.”
“Bobby!” Courtney yelled with frustration. “Maybe Mark had something to do with this and maybe he didn’t. But look at the name of the company.”
Bobby leaned down to the cat and read the trademark. “Yeah, I heard you, Dimond Alpha-” Bobby cut himself off. He looked at Courtney.
Courtney finished the thought, “Digital Organization. D-A-D-O. Dado.”
The two stared at each other for several seconds, then Bobby said, “I’m going to the flume.” “To go where?” Courtney asked. “To find Mark,” he said. “I’m going with you,” Courtney said. “You can’t!” Bobby argued.
“Yes I can!” Courtney shot back. “I read what Saint Dane said. I can use the flume as long as I’m with a Traveler. That’s you.”
“Courtney, first off, I don’t want to put you in danger.” “I’m already in danger!” she countered. “I spent a whole lot of months in the hospital, remember?” “And you’re still recovering.” “I’m fine.”
“Ybur place is here, on Second Earth,” Bobby argued.
“It’s not just about Second Earth anymore, Bobby!” Courtney shouted. “It’s all coming together. I know what you’re thinking. Whatever Saint Dane did with Mark, they somehow altered the course of events on Second Earth. That’s why things are different. If I’m going to help you protect Second Earth, we’ve got to find Mark, and Mark… isn’t… here.”
“If you went with me, I’d be no better than Saint Dane,” Bobby said. “I’d be mixing the territories too.”
“They’re already mixed!” Courtney shouted. “This freakin’ robocat is proof of that. And I hate to say that Saint Dane’s right, but every time you go to a territory, you’re kind of mixing things up yourself, aren’t you?”
Bobby stared at Courtney. Her words were harsh, but hit him. “Is that true?” he said. “Did I do exactly what Uncle Press told me not to do?”
“I don’t know, Bobby-“
“But if we can’t do anything, what’s the purpose of the Travelers?”
“To stop Saint Dane,” Courtney said. “Any way you can. Any way we can.”
Bobby paced nervously and said, “Is it really possible that he convinced Mark to join him?”
“I don’t know,” Courtney said. “But I don’t think it’s that simple. Mark was vulnerable. His parents were killed. I can’t imagine where my head would be if I suddenly lost my parents.”
“Nevva lost her parents,” Bobby said. “It’s one of the things that drove her to Saint Dane.”
“We’ve got to find him, Bobby,” Courtney said. ‘You can’t go alone. I read how tough it was for you to be alone. Don’t do it again.”
Bobby rubbed his eyes angrily. He looked to Courtney like he wanted to scream.
“He’s my friend too,” Courtney said.
Shortly after, Courtney sat at her kitchen table with a pen and paper to write the impossible. She had to say “good-bye” to her parents. As she sat staring at the blank notepad, she had no idea how to put what she felt into words.
“We should go,” Bobby said.
Courtney wiped away her tears, gripped the pen, and simply wrote: “I love you both more than I can say. Try not to worry about me. I’ll see you soon. Courtney.” She folded the paper in two, placed it on the kitchen table where it was sure to be seen, and looked around the room. She wondered if she would ever see it again. Or her family.
“Second thoughts?” Bobby asked.
