trying to angle it upwards.
The ball went sailing up into the air straight forthe Pinball Wizard. He ducked to one side, spinning a full 360 degrees.
A siren blared. The balls froze, the bells stoppedringing and the coloured lights winked out. A bright pink neon sign above the circus tent flashed.
TILT! TILT! TILT!
‘Cheaters!’ The Pinball Wizard’s voice screeched through the darkness.
The TILT sign blew up in a burst of colour, raining sparks and shards of glass down onto the levels below. Around Zyra and Hope the light globes started bursting one by one, the flashes lighting up the pinball game with a strobing effect.
Above the game, orange flames engulfed the Pinball Wizard as he spun through the air screaming. Eyes burning with rage, he pointed at the girls.
‘Cheaters!’ he screamed again. The flames grew, flaring out from him in all directions, as he swooped down towards Zyra and Hope.
19: Reload
‘Very interesting,’ said Professor Palimpsest, scratching at his goatee. ‘Yes, yes, yes. Very, very.’
‘Interestin’?’ spluttered Tark, gesturing wildly withhis hands. ‘Ya stupid machine hads no effect on that
... that thing in the cave. And all ya gots ta says is interestin?’
Tee put a hand on Tark’s shoulder to calm him down, and then looked at the professor. ‘So, what do you think happened?’
‘Well ... well, well, well. I would surmise that the discharge was not strong enough. Yes, that is what I would surmise.’
‘I used the override,’ said Tee.
‘Yeah,’ added Tark. ‘Maybe it just don’t works.’
‘You said my IDD was effective against the VIs.’ The professor nodded. ‘Yes, yes, yes. Therefore it should work on the manifestation in the cave. It is considerably more powerful and therefore needs a larger discharge. You had already expended a reasonable amount of the substance on the VIs. Yes.’
‘So, you think a full discharge should do it?’ asked
Tee.
The professor shrugged. ‘It seems .. . possible.’ Tark snorted.
‘Well, now. If I had more time, I could perhaps attach a second syringe,’ said the professor. ‘Thus expanding the storage capacity. Yes.’
‘How much time?’ asked Tee.
‘Oh dear, dear, dear.’ The professor scratched at his head with one hand, stroking his goatee with the other. ‘I would have to take the whole thing apart. So well . . . let me think . . . at least, well, at least six or seven hours, I should think. Maybe more. Yes, maybe, maybe. Yes.’
‘Yar kiddin’?’ huffed Tark.
‘Oh, no, no, no,’ assured the professor. ‘I do not ... kid. No.’
‘We don’t have the time,’ said Tee. ‘That thing looked like it was going to break through the force field. We need to hit it ASAP, and we need to hit it hard.’
‘Yeah,’ agreed Tark. ‘Hard enough ta thrash the static outs of it.’
‘Well, well, we can charge it up right now.’ The professor took the IDD from Tee and carried it over to a workbench. Picking up a cable, he plugged it into the back of the IDD.
‘Wot’s that?’ asked Tark.
‘Ahhh.’ The professor’s eyes lit up. ‘I have set up a link to an exposed area of Interface.’ He pointed to a cable. One end snaked across the ground into an alcove in the rock wall at the back of the workshop. The other end was plugged into a box with switches on the workbench. Numerous cables protruded from the box, leading to a variety of devices, including the IDD.
‘This is like a switchboard,’ explained the professor.
‘From here I charge the bolts and the patches. Yes. As well as any experimental devices, such as the IDD.’
He flicked a switch on the box and the IDD filledwith static. Then the professor disconnected it.
‘The very best of luck.’ The professor handed the weapon to Tee. ‘Luck, luck.’
‘We needs more than luck,’ complained Tark. ‘Weneeds betta weapons. I is gonna has to keep the VIs busy while Tee blasts the thing in the cave.’
‘Well, well, well.’ A smile
The ball went sailing up into the air straight forthe Pinball Wizard. He ducked to one side, spinning a full 360 degrees.
A siren blared. The balls froze, the bells stoppedringing and the coloured lights winked out. A bright pink neon sign above the circus tent flashed.
TILT! TILT! TILT!
‘Cheaters!’ The Pinball Wizard’s voice screeched through the darkness.
The TILT sign blew up in a burst of colour, raining sparks and shards of glass down onto the levels below. Around Zyra and Hope the light globes started bursting one by one, the flashes lighting up the pinball game with a strobing effect.
Above the game, orange flames engulfed the Pinball Wizard as he spun through the air screaming. Eyes burning with rage, he pointed at the girls.
‘Cheaters!’ he screamed again. The flames grew, flaring out from him in all directions, as he swooped down towards Zyra and Hope.
19: Reload
‘Very interesting,’ said Professor Palimpsest, scratching at his goatee. ‘Yes, yes, yes. Very, very.’
‘Interestin’?’ spluttered Tark, gesturing wildly withhis hands. ‘Ya stupid machine hads no effect on that
... that thing in the cave. And all ya gots ta says is interestin?’
Tee put a hand on Tark’s shoulder to calm him down, and then looked at the professor. ‘So, what do you think happened?’
‘Well ... well, well, well. I would surmise that the discharge was not strong enough. Yes, that is what I would surmise.’
‘I used the override,’ said Tee.
‘Yeah,’ added Tark. ‘Maybe it just don’t works.’
‘You said my IDD was effective against the VIs.’ The professor nodded. ‘Yes, yes, yes. Therefore it should work on the manifestation in the cave. It is considerably more powerful and therefore needs a larger discharge. You had already expended a reasonable amount of the substance on the VIs. Yes.’
‘So, you think a full discharge should do it?’ asked
Tee.
The professor shrugged. ‘It seems .. . possible.’ Tark snorted.
‘Well, now. If I had more time, I could perhaps attach a second syringe,’ said the professor. ‘Thus expanding the storage capacity. Yes.’
‘How much time?’ asked Tee.
‘Oh dear, dear, dear.’ The professor scratched at his head with one hand, stroking his goatee with the other. ‘I would have to take the whole thing apart. So well . . . let me think . . . at least, well, at least six or seven hours, I should think. Maybe more. Yes, maybe, maybe. Yes.’
‘Yar kiddin’?’ huffed Tark.
‘Oh, no, no, no,’ assured the professor. ‘I do not ... kid. No.’
‘We don’t have the time,’ said Tee. ‘That thing looked like it was going to break through the force field. We need to hit it ASAP, and we need to hit it hard.’
‘Yeah,’ agreed Tark. ‘Hard enough ta thrash the static outs of it.’
‘Well, well, we can charge it up right now.’ The professor took the IDD from Tee and carried it over to a workbench. Picking up a cable, he plugged it into the back of the IDD.
‘Wot’s that?’ asked Tark.
‘Ahhh.’ The professor’s eyes lit up. ‘I have set up a link to an exposed area of Interface.’ He pointed to a cable. One end snaked across the ground into an alcove in the rock wall at the back of the workshop. The other end was plugged into a box with switches on the workbench. Numerous cables protruded from the box, leading to a variety of devices, including the IDD.
‘This is like a switchboard,’ explained the professor.
‘From here I charge the bolts and the patches. Yes. As well as any experimental devices, such as the IDD.’
He flicked a switch on the box and the IDD filledwith static. Then the professor disconnected it.
‘The very best of luck.’ The professor handed the weapon to Tee. ‘Luck, luck.’
‘We needs more than luck,’ complained Tark. ‘Weneeds betta weapons. I is gonna has to keep the VIs busy while Tee blasts the thing in the cave.’
‘Well, well, well.’ A smile
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