Tales from the Multiverse Read online

  He filmed a series of scenes with Margo and the royal guards. Then the rest of the cast filmed their scenes, searching for traces of the Atlanteans. They had a three day vacation while the natural lighting failed to co-operate, then the big group fight, the King and four royal Atlantean troops vs G., Jack, Phillip, a couple of the Native Guides with Lyle added as a vacationing British soccer fan. Margo got to bean a troop with a frying pan and then climb a tree with a kettle and fend off all attempts to get her down by dripping almost boiling water. It was quite fun, especially hamming it up around the waterfall with Beau, the stunt double, and throwing him in the river.

  Then the other fun scene. The King faces off with G., Margo is still up the tree, The royal guards come up, the Native Guides, and the cook and the twins. Suddenly eyes meet. Royal guard steps forward and the cook clasps her hands in disbelief, then runs forward for a two-large-persons encounter.

  In the background Margo slides out of the tree and she and G. run for it. Both sides back away, with the twins attacking the guard and getting the killer squeeze hug from him in return. "My sons, my big strong handsome sons!" Dumbfounded they follow their mother into the Atlantean's camp.

  With that in the can, they started on the scene down by the river, where Sue and the Brat pull the unconscious Jack from the lake and Sue starts mouth-to-mouth. Eldon and the real guards kept a wary eye on the lake, but apparently the big water lizards—crocodiles, they called them here, very much like what they had in the Rip—knew to stay away from groups of humans.

  ***

  Then the cloud cover increased and dimmed everything. More rest days.

  Or would have been if there hadn’t been reports of what Lily called “Yet another wave of refugees not being allowed to cross the border from Congo to escape from their tormentors.”

  Lyle growled something about “California bleeding heart liberals” when Jacob decided that by filming the whole thing he could shame the Ugandan government into aiding the refugees.

  Eldon had had no idea.

  And when machete wielding thugs charged down on the frightened kids . . . Lily hid her face against Eldon’s shoulder. “I can’t look. They’ll kill them, or maim them..”

  “What! No way do I just stand here and watch those kids get chopped up.” Eldon grabbed a bubble, anchored it against their Land Rover and threw the other side.

  He stepped in and opened the corridor to a scene of chaos, running women and children, the other group charging . . . A boy threw up his arms to block a blow and limbs flew. Eldon pulled Star out of the bubble, grabbed a sword and mounted up to demonstrate a different sort of chopping style.

  By the time the attackers had fled and Eldon had rendered first aid, magical surgery, and doled out most of his stash of wine of the gods, Betelgeuse had arrived to help.

  “Xtreme used your long corridors to fetch help.” Betelgeuse looked around at the uneasy crowd of several hundred refugees. “Eldon? Can you find an Empty World for them?”

  “Ah. Excellent idea.” Eldon handed his last bottle of wine to a local woman and told her to keep it until they could make more wine or beer or anything like that.

  Then he sat down and looked at the inbetween. Electric blue, fizzing with the dimensional bubbles that came in so handy. And the crumpled paper Worlds.

  He looked over a dozen before he found a good one, grassy plains and wooded hills, no sign of other people. He opened the gate and waved the refugees through.

  They gave him wide-eyed look, then stampeded through.

  Betelgeuse sighed. “I tried to count, there were close to five hundred of them. I don’t know if that’s enough for a colony.”

  Eldon shrugged. “We can always send more people through. If I can find that world again.”

  He closed the gate. Then led Star through the corridor, to where Jacob had filmed the whole thing, and was arguing with the disturbed border guards who weren’t quite sure what they’d just seen.

  Eldon popped his border crossing corridor and Betelgeuse slipped back into the long corridor to home.

  Eldon shrugged and backed Star into the horse bubble. “So, let’s get back to camp, shall we?”

  The Movie people eyed him askance. Lyle was totally agawp. No one crowded him in the Land Rover, probably because of the blood drying on his clothes.

  He cleaned up and collapsed into bed.

  ***

  Eldon slept the sleep of the just for eighteen hours. Or perhaps they were just afraid to wake him. But when he wandered in for lunch, the cook just gave him extra everything and Xtreme asked if he taught sword fighting.

  "Oh sure. Not much use for it these days, unless you're an idiot like me."

  Jack moved over and sat across the table from him. "So . . . where did you send those refugees?"

  "To a parallel world. I was aiming for a region where there aren't any people, but you never know what you'll get until you're there. Might be some primitive tribes there, there was nothing civilized in sight."

  G. joined them. "All right, we've always laughed when you said you were a wizard from another world. Am I going to have to take you seriously?"

  "Oh, not too seriously!" Eldon went back to eating. And smirking as the others exchanged looks.

  Jacob stomped over and glared at him. "So, you really are the big hero. Except that the National Police are trying to decide what to do about sixty-eight dead Congolese soldiers."

  "I thought it didn't happen in their territory."

  "Is the Republic of Congo going to believe they had nothing to do with it?"

  "Make a documentary, Jacob. You could be a hero, single handedly preventing a war." Eldon turned his attention to the pie.

  "In the meantime, we need to film the next scene. That would be you snatching Margo from the Land Rover."

  "Right. I guess I’d better clean up Star."

  He had an audience when he pulled all the horses out of thin air and hid their pinto spots. And sluiced down Star and fed her. “She did a good job yesterday. Obviously a war horse.”

  They had planned on filming most of the scene in California, to avoid misunderstandings with lions and so forth. But by scouting ahead for lions, leopards and stray crocodiles and then shooting a bit at a time, at about half speed, they got it all done. There were Ugandan troops watching their every move, and whenever they stopped to incorporate locals, they moved in and hovered protectively. Eyes glued on Eldon.

  At the first opportunity, Eldon used his corridor to LA, took the other corridor to the hacienda, played with the kids, and talked to Betelgeuse. Mrs. North and Miss Higgins looked a bit spooked. Xtreme must have been pretty frantic when he got here, and talked way too much. "I'll come and go as much as I can." With the nine hour time difference, midnight in Uganda was three in the afternoon at the hacienda, which worked out fine once he'd made a speed bubble so he could also sleep.

  All things considered, the nanny and maid found the continued parental absence spookier than Eldon's extra-dimensional travel arrangements. Barely.

  ***

  The filming continued as they migrated eastward across the country, a hundred and eighty miles back to tie into the scene with Katy folding space . . . They all eyed Eldon with alarm at that point, and got a bit quiet.

  A Ugandan official showed up and told them they'd been very foolish to have interfered with the violence across the border, and would they please leave immediately. They happily packed up and crossed into Kenya for the last scenes.

  The brief final scene, with the host of five hundred Atlanteans crossing into Somalia was actually shot in Kenya, and then all the camels and local horses dispersed back to wherever they'd come from.

  Then the last battle, a night time scene they could have filmed almost anywhere.

  And with dizzying speed they were back on an airplane, and back in California. It was not quite as much of a shock as gate travel could be, but it was close.

  Chapter Five

  Mrs. North and Miss Higgins were qu
ite relieved to have him sleeping in the house and helping to get the kids off to school.

  "Sorry about all the excitement. Things like this are one reason we consolidated all the kids and hired nice, sane assistants."

  He unbubbled the three horses, dosed them all with wine again in case of infectious diseases from Africa. And headed back to southern California.

  They had any number of interiors to shoot on the sound stage, and some night scenes.

  And then they discovered that Eldon’s illusions hadn’t fooled the cameras . . . Jacob waffled a bit then decided he liked the pinto spots on the obviously superior type horses.

  They even shot a few blue backdrop scenes to be spliced into the African footage. Then they dubbed the voices. Couldn't have the waterfall covering up everything that was said. But he got home to the hacienda every night.

  The Feds showed up at his townhouse after a bit more than a month.

  "We understand that you doped our men with something."

  Eldon started laughing. "Oh, the poor sods. You didn't believe a word they said, did you? C'mere." He led the way to the garage, and through the corridor to the other garage, and out to the big hacienda and the pastures. He played with the kids and helped with their homework while the Feds came and went. And more of them showed up, and then some scientific types.

  "Okay, we're getting a bit crowded. How about I make a whole bunch of corridors, and you can go away and play with them, eh?" They went away with their personal Corridors stuck on pieces of paper.

  He bought more horses, so all nine of the older kids could ride at the same time, and with the young horses coming up on two years of age fast, started riding them just a tiny bit. The hormone suppression was holding good, so the two colts were still out with all the mares and fillies.

  Betelgeuse was restless. “I need to find a job, or something. But I’ve got zero qualifications.”

  He grinned suddenly. "Weren’t you going to go to college?”

  "I forgot all about college." Betelgeuse looked intimidated.

  "You'll do good. You're smarter than most people, you just need to add facts."

  "You never wanted to go to college?"

  "Never occurred to me. I like being a wizard, I like doing things with my hands. This acting was a real surprise. Fun, but . . . well, it's been growing on me. But really, I think I'd be happy without it. The kids, horses, experimenting with magic. That's what I like."

  "You know what you need to do? Give the kids classes in fighting. Hand-to-hand and with swords. Horseback riding. All the sort of stuff they'll need if they ever go back to Comet Fall."

  "I'm doing the riding lessons. Fighting would be an excellent addition. And maybe I can bring in some extra students."

  Xtreme was not his only new student. Jack, G., and the four Feds came as well. And Margo and Lily came 'to watch' and were quickly sucked into the lessons as Betelgeuse demonstrated how to not get completely thrashed by Eldon.

  It reminded him painfully of the Wizard's School he'd attended as a teenager. The days had been spent learning how to do everything from shielding one's thoughts from others to throwing fireballs. Evenings were for sword practice, with quite a few of the students riding into Ash for lessons from the Auld Wulf once a week, and in Eldon's case, again for unarmed combat training. What they called the Martial Arts, here. Not that his childhood training had been bad, but the Auld Wulf, the God of War, was the best.

  He wished he could send the kids there.

  Well, when it came to training in magic, on this world Eldon was the best. He'd add magical training as the kids or adults showed any awakening of ability.

  Perhaps this place could be their home, the place they remembered so warmly. He could only hope that they would never be exiled from their home.

  Interlude

  “Subject has continued to act in films, and is interacting with local authorities. No other indications of illegal actions, although his potential for violence was ably demonstrated during the African trip.

  “Observer report Spring 1404px/April 29, 3521/25 Jumada 1406yp. Classified Public.”

  “Well, that was interesting.” Peter shrugged. “I guess I can see why they decided to not try to arrest Eldon . . . Wait . . . is this the same Eldon who was in that movie about the Helios?”

  “Yep. I heard he’d gone straight.”

  “Damn. I wonder who’s the spy checking on him?”

  “Ha! As if they’d tell us.” Fire grinned. “Why don’t we quit early and catch another vid.”

  Eventually he remembered to call Ronald.

  “About time, I was getting worried!”

  “Sorry, busy at work.” Peter crossed his fingers.

  “Well, I finally got the attention of the right people, there’ve been biologists and astronomers coming and going for the last three days, and more government people coming tomorrow.” Now Ronald sounded cheerful. “We’re bound to get grant money out of this.”

  Peter thought about how many worlds he’d been through . . . “We should look into claiming ownership of some of the worlds, for colonization. And sending diplomats to Embassy, here, of course.”

  “I’ve passed your recommendations on to everyone I meet, and all those data files as well. Fascinating, some of them. Who would have thought a high tech civilization would believe in magic?”

  Peter blinked. Yeah, and I’d better not say that I believe in magic or they’ll think I’m looney.

  “Well, as big as they are, I figure they can believe in anything they want.”

  The God of Virtue

  "And take that thing with you."

  Ajha lifted the drape and gawped.

  "It scares people. Only the Fallen would come up with something so exquisite and so obscene." Wrla jerked the cloth completely off the statue.

  It was sitting cross-legged like one of the slightly slimmer versions of Buddha, but the erect penis and six testicles would have spoiled the serenity, had the scowling glare allowed any in the first place.

  "Oh. One. Wrla, don't you realize what this is?"

  The Subdirector of Research frowned, then his jaw dropped. "One of those inside out bubbles. Like what keeps happening to Action Teams that get on the wrong side of the Fallen. That can't be a real person in there, though. It's sat there since an Info Team—yours if I recall correctly—sent it in decades ago. Close to fifty years ago."

  "Wrla, this not just a person. This one of their Old Gods. A contemporary of the Prophets. He's all wrapped up in some powerful spells that have kept him from working out from under the bubble."

  Ajha stuck his head out the door and waved down Xiat. "How many of your new disciples would like to try their hand at taming a Fallen Old God?"

  "Ajha, if you attack Comet Fall, you will be in so much . . . what the One is that?" She recoiled, nose wrinkling.

  "The Great God Ba'al, the God of Virtue. I think his name is actually Barry Virtue."

  She reached out and touched the statue's shoulder with a single fingertip. "Paranoia, annoyance. A panic spell, about half repressed, but not gone. Stupidity. So he can't figure a way out. What a nasty combination! I shall have to figure out how they wove them all together like that, and duplicate it."

  "Taking it off this fellow might be nice as well."

  She slanted a look at the statue. "Somehow I doubt nice has much place in this fellow's world-view. He looks quite malevolent."

  "You mean that seriously?" Wrla reached out to touch the statue himself. "One of their Gods?" He jumped back. "One! I never studied it, as it'd been here for so long before I arrived. Go away, Ajha, I just changed my mind. You can't have it."

  "Good. I recommend you have lots of spell breakers around when you do open it. And some people with magic battle experience. He felt quite vampirish, when I first tried something."

  "Vampire ish? Like those sick Arbolians?"

  "I don't know. I've managed to avoid them, so far. Have fun." He headed for the door.

  Xiat
followed him out. "I think you should go talk to Izzo. He really will want to know what he's got tucked away in the basement."

  ***

  "I've got a Comet Fall God in the basement? How long has he been there?"

  Ajha squirmed. "Forty-eight years, more or less. Wrla's going to try to get him out. My experience is that he's paranoid, and panic stricken and not thinking much at all. In fact he wasn't even processing what he was seeing very well. Some of that may be spells on him, some might be, err, mental degradation from the long storage or just his age."

  "I see." Izzo sighed. "And what course of action do you recommend, and whose problem is this?”

  Ajha grinned. "Technically Wrla’s. I’ve suggested he borrow a pair of the older and hopefully more sensible Princesses to study this god.”

  ***

  Kueq, pronounced Quick, and Gauj, Gauge, not Gouge, please, studied the "statue."

  Gauge shook her head. "I read up on their Old Gods. This fellow is the God of Virtue, as envisioned by their collective subconscious. And as a whole, they think virtue has lapses. So this fellow tries to be good, fails, and tries again. It will be interesting to see if removing him from his native collective will affect him."

  "Do you suppose we can remove a few other things? A man with six testicles is a bit icky." Quick, despite her attitude, was a mature woman of a hundred and fifty.

  "That shouldn’t be necessary. I understand that the level of testosterone is maintained no matter the number of organs. These six will all be manufacturing hormones at a very low level." Gauge tried hard to not sound superior. She was, after all, six years younger, and should make exceptions for the elderly. Of course they were both Princesses, and neither of them looked a day over fifty.