"So, how do we find the Atlas now?"
"Well we could amplify the sensors of my equipment here," Dr. Ranon said, "but that may take some time."
"It seems to be the best we can do at this time," Nathan said.
"I have an idea," Professor Farrell said. "I have some equipment back at my place. Nothing like this stuff though, just things I've invented. But I do have some experimental designs for orbital ships. We might need to use my constructions."
"Anything's possible," Nathan agreed.

"What's going to happen when everything's worked out?" Christine said.
"Well, obviously, we won't know until everything's worked out, will we?" Nathan smiled at her.
"No, I mean what will happen if we succeed?"
"Well, I suppose things will eventually be the same again."
"But wouldn't this occurrence somehow affect all of us, psychologically if nothing else?"
"I guess you could say that."
"So, what's next on the list?"
"We have to find the Atlas, work out the calculations for the eruption and time-warp, go back in time, make something to close the hole, come back, and hope for the best."
"It's as easy as that?"
"We'll see if it's easy or not."
"Whatever you say."

The whole family was watching the television news as Rachel came home.
"Something happen?" she asked.
"Watch this," Nathan said.
"The public has reported a sighting of a UFO in the skies of Sydney," the news man said. "Police have checked, and verified the strange object was real. We now cross over to the city police station."
A reporter appeared on the screen.
"The Air Force base has confirmed that the object in the sky last night, whatever it was, was really there. Everyone is confused by this appearance, and our top scientists are still working on it."
The screen showed a recording of the sighting.
"This is a video made by a member of the public during the mysterious event. It was presumably somewhere above the suburb of Neutral Bay."
Dr. Ranon stood up. "That's the Atlas."
"That's not far from here," Nathan said. "How about we go right now?"
"Okay," Professor Farrell agreed.

"We're getting close," Dr. Ranon said.
Suddenly they came upon a large park.
"In there," Dr. Ranon said. "The Atlas is there."
Nathan stopped the van, and they all got out. Dr. Ranon led the way, holding a scanner and following the signals from the shuttle. Nathan and Professor Farrell followed, then James, Anna, Rachel, Jenny, Sally and Christine.
Suddenly Dr. Ranon stopped.
"It's just there. I can see it. But we'd better hide."
They all did so, and looked at the Atlas. Four men, including the anti-Professor Farrell, were doing something to it. There was a small house built next to them, probably their hideout in this dimension.
Dr. Ranon whispered, "Nathan, James and Rachel, come with me. The rest of you, go back to the van, bring it here and make a loud distraction with it."
Christine, Jenny, Sally, Anna and Professor Farrell left.
Nathan spoke to the others. "Let's try to get into the Atlas, and work it before anyone can notice, okay?"
They all agreed.
A few minutes later there was a loud sound behind them. Anti-Professor Farrell ordered 5 others to go with him to investigate while the rest stayed on guard.
"That's our cue," Nathan said. "Now go!"
The four of them moved forward. They came to one of the guards, and pulled him down from behind him. Dr. Ranon took out some rope and tied the man up, disarming him. Then they hid him in the bushes.
"Everyone inside!" Dr. Ranon whispered.
They scrambled inside and found it empty.
"Take your seats," Dr. Ranon said. "Stand by for emergency take-off! Oh, by the way, you might have to get used to this ship, we may be pursued. James, over there, that red button. Press it when I say so."
"Okay."
"Good. Now let's go."
He pressed a sequence of buttons on the panel.
Outside, the remaining guards turned around, startled at the movement of the shuttle. Before they could move, it was off the ground and in the air.
"James, now!"
James pressed the red button. Instantly the shuttle vanished.
"We're away!" Nathan said, relieved.
"That was good, everyone," Dr. Ranon said. "By the way, we have to remember that guy tied up in the bushes. We don't want to keep him here."

"Where to now?" Christine asked Professor Farrell.
At first they had thought they had escaped without pursuit, but three ships coming out of the sky and firing on them had said otherwise.
"Those are my ships," Professor Farrell had said. "But chances are they're those of my counterpart."
So far they had managed to escape from being hit.
"Go to my house," he said now. "I have three ships of my own there."
Christine, under Professor Farrell's direction, drove the van to the Farrell residence. Unfortunately, coming in, the van was hit in the back wheel.
Christine, Professor Farrell, Anna, Jenny and Sally jumped out. Professor Farrell led them to his shed. Inside, he showed them his work.
"This is my latest invention," he announced, "the Model 10 orbital ship."
Just then there were sounds from outside.
"No time for presentation. Everyone inside."
They went inside.
"Hold on!" Professor Farrell said.
Suddenly the roof opened up. Professor Farrell guided the ship out the roof and flew it off. The three other ships were in close pursuit. They fired on it.
"Time for some tricky flying, eh?"
Professor Farrell flew the ship in and out, evading the other ships' fire.
"How about going over there?" Anna suggested, pointing out the window.
"Let's have a go then," Professor Farrell said.
The ship flew between the trees, under a bridge, and over a mountain. The other ships followed. The first two managed to get through, but the third one crashed straight into the trees.
"One down, two to go," Anna remarked.
After a while, the other two ships caught up to them. They took up position on either side of them and fired.
"Hold on!" Professor Farrell shouted as the ship rocked with hits.
Suddenly Professor Farrell slowed the ship down. The other ships fired. One of the ships hit the other. The hit ship went off course and crashed.
"We're going down!" Professor Farrell said.
The ship glided down and landed in the trees. They quickly got out.
The remaining ship came down. Anti-Professor Farrell and another man came out and chased them. Anna, Jenny and Sally escaped and hid, but Christine and Professor Farrell ran on. After some time, the two anti- men caught up to them and took them prisoner.
"You can't get away from us," the anti-Professor Farrell said.
They took them back to the ship and left.
After they had gone, Anna, Jenny and Sally came out.
"What now?" Jenny asked.

"Christine's not home," Nathan said to Dr. Ranon. "Can you find them?"
"We might be able to. Come over here."
Nathan went over to him.
"Yes," Dr. Ranon said, "the van is at Professor Farrell's house, but they aren't anywhere near. We'd better go check."
Nathan, Dr. Ranon, Rachel and James took the car to Professor Farrell's house. They found the van there, deserted.
"Dad?" James said. "Over here. The tyre's flat."
"It looks like they're not here," Dr. Ranon said. "We'd better go back."
Nathan and Rachel changed the van's tyre, and they drove the two vehicles back home.
After an examination, Dr. Ranon reported that the tyre was punctured by an antiproton beam, probably from an attack by the antimatter men.
"They've brought their own weapons here," he said solemnly.

"What's going on?" Christine asked Professor Farrell.
"We seem to be in a shielded area," Farrell replied. "Even the Atlas can't find us."
"How do you know?"
"My dear, I invented it." He smiled mysteriously.
Christine looked unsure. "Right."
In the distance, they could make out the voices of the antimatter men in their hideout.
"Our primary mission is to secure everything here so the occupation can begin," one man said. "We now have enemies, and we know their resources."
"They must be eliminated!" another man said.
"No," the first said, presumably the boss. "Our orders come straight from Command. We must not eliminate them unless ordered to."
"But they're going to be eliminated anyway, aren't they?"
"Everything will be done in time, Bob. This is a mission for the benefit of our empire, and Command is doing things under their own knowledge."
"And then our people can use this dimension for our own purposes," a third man said. "But only when we are ready."
"Why not start now? We have more than enough power," the man named Bob said.
"It's not that simple," the first man said. "Our forces cannot come here yet. Until the time is right, we must maintain power and strength here."
Professor Farrell looked at Christine. "This is getting serious," he said. "We have to get out of here, and fast!"

"Can we work the ship?" Sally asked Anna and Jenny. "We have to get back."
"I don't know," Anna said, "It seems complicated."
"It's better than being stuck here," Jenny said.
"Okay," Anna replied, but we'd better be careful."
The three girls went into the ship and sat down at the controls. They tried them out cautiously.
"What does this button do?" Jenny asked, pressing a button.
"Be careful," Anna warned.
Just then a cup of water suddenly appeared in front of Jenny.
"At least I know what that does," she said.
"Here," Sally said, pointing at a button. "`Engines'." She pressed the button. The ship made a soft noise as the engines hummed.
"Oh, look here," Anna remarked. She read, "`Instructions: Flight. Power up engines. Press ignition. Engage automated take-off sequence.'"
She pressed the corresponding buttons in front of her. The ship took off. Although it was damaged, it managed to attain altitude.
"Sally," Anna said, "take the controls. If you can fly this thing," she added.
"I'll try."

"Hi."
"Oh, hello, Daniel," Nathan said. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. How are things here?"
"Not much progress, I'm afraid. Do you want to come in?"
"Okay."
They went inside.
"We've managed to complete the calculations for the beginning of the eruptions in time. Unfortunately, Christine, Anna, Jenny, Sally and Professor Farrell, who has agreed to help us, have gone missing for a few hours now."
"I see."
"But there's still a lot of work to do. If you'll excuse me..." He left and went into the garage.
"So, any ideas?" Dr. Ranon asked.
"Nothing yet," he replied. "Well, let's get on with it."
They worked for an hour or two more. Then, there was a ring on the doorbell.
"I'll get it," Nathan said. He went to the door and opened it. "Yes?"
The man outside looked uncertain. "Uh... yes... Dr. Campbell?"
"That's right."
"Yes. My name's Benjamin Parker. This... might be strange, but..."
"Yes?"
"Well, to tell you the truth, I'm from what you call... the antimatter dimension."
It took a moment for Dr. Campbell to realise the fact.
"Oh."
"I need your help. That place is absolutely terrible. And... if there's anyway to... any possible way to remain here then..."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you. Thank you very much. I can help you if you need me. The rest of us here think I've disappeared."
"Yes. Of course."
Just then there was a bang outside, on the road. What's that?" came James' voice as he appeared. Rachel came around the corner too. They all went outside. There, a small craft came down to the ground. The door opened...
"Hi, dad."
"Jenny? Oh, my god, Jenny! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, dad."
Anna and Sally came out behind them.
"Where are mum and Professor Farrell?" Rachel asked.
"Something's happened," Anna interrupted. "Can we talk?"

"... and they took Mrs. Campbell and Professor Farrell," Anna said. "And we decided to try to fly the ship and get back here. After some time, we got it and here we are."
"Great," James said, "so what do we do now?"
"We have to go and rescue them," Rachel replied.
"I can get you into the hideout," Benjamin said.
"Good," Dr. Ranon said. "We'll go there tonight, and attempt a rescue. Then we have to try to send them all back, and then seal the rift."
"Right," Nathan agreed. "We'd better get ready then."

"We've received a transmission from home," Christine and Farrell heard the leader of the anti-men say. "Our forces here have been significantly reduced. Our orders are that if there is any further loss, we must return for a new attack strategy. We will take the prisoners back for annihilation, to further aid the disruption."
There were sounds of annoyance from around the room.
"Now I know you all want to do things here and now," he continued, "but we have our orders, and we must follow them."
"Did you hear that?" Professor Farrell asked Christine.
"Hear what?"
"There is a chance that we may be taken to the antimatter dimension."
"So? Is that good? Is that some sort of scientific opportunity?"
"No, of course not!" He paused. "If any matter is brought into contact with antimatter, the two immediately annihilate one another."
"So you mean..."
"I'm afraid so."
"Then we have to get out of here!"
"It's no use," Farrell told her. "This place is entirely shielded. The only way of getting out is if someone lets us out."
"Perfect," Christine said. "Well, it looks like all we can do is wait."

"I've checked the files," Dr. Ranon said to Ben Parker, "and it seems that the Benjamin Parker of this dimension has... died."
"Oh."
"But that means that it will not be of any inconvenience, we won't have two Benjamin Parkers."
"Can you help me?"
"There is a possibility. I haven't come up with anything yet though."
"I see."
Dr. Ranon looked at a screen.
"We're almost there," he said. He looked down out the window of the Atlas. In the darkness he could make out the shape of a van with Nathan, Rachel, James and Jenny in it. Daniel, Anna and Sally flew Professor Farrell's Model 10 ship alongside the Atlas, but not without difficulty. "They're still with us," Dr. Ranon said.
The two ships came down to the ground, as the two other vehicles cam up behind them. They all came out.
"Okay, this is the plan," Dr. Ranon announced quietly. "Ben will show Daniel, James, Jenny and Sally how to get into the hideout. Try to find Christine and the professor. Make sure that all's clear. The rest of us will take the anti-men from outside."
"Got it," Daniel said. "Let's go."
Ben led Daniel, James, Jenny and Sally away. They came to a hidden door.
"We have to get past the guard," Ben warned.
"Okay," Daniel said. "This is what we'll do..."

The guard looked around. Not much had happened in the past few days. He had been anticipating the order for a full attack any time soon. But instead...
Just then he heard a noise. It came from the bush. He couldn't see anything as it was too dark.
"Anyone out there?" he shouted. There was no reply, but the noise stopped.
He walked cautiously forward. He entered the shadows. Then he heard a loud noise above him. Quickly he looked up...
A large stick fell on top of him hard, and he dropped to the ground.
James dropped the stick.
"I'm getting used to this," he said. He jumped out of the tree. The four of them went through the door.

In the meantime, on the other side of the building, three other guards were being knocked out and tied up.
"You'd think that these guys are trained for this kind of stuff," Nathan remarked.
"It's just that they're made for strength and aggression only," Dr. Ranon said. "Not intelligence."
"I suppose so," Nathan said.
"Someone's coming out," Rachel warned them.
Nathan, Dr. Ranon, Rachel and Anna hid and watched as four men, including anti-Professor Farrell came out to investigate the disturbance.

"Over there!" Jenny said, pointing at a door.
Daniel went over to the door and opened it. "They're in here," he announced.
After making sure that all was clear, the five of them freed Christine and Professor Farrell.
"Now let's get out of here!" Daniel said.
They retraced their steps and went back outside. Then they hurried back to the awaiting vehicles hidden in the bush.
Just then they heard the voices of the remaining anti-men on the other side of the hideout. They went to look. In the distance, they saw Nathan, Dr. Ranon, Rachel and Anna being attacked by the four anti-men. There was a lot of shouting going on over there. The group of seven raced over to them.
"Be careful, all of you!" Nathan warned.
"I've got this one, boss!" one of the anti-men said, holding Anna.
"Look out, there are more of them coming!" another said, noticing the others approaching.
"Let's get out of here!" the boss said.
The four men took Anna and entered their ship. They engaged its engines and took off before the others could reach them. The ship stopped in the air for a moment, and fired a beam down to the ground. At first the others thought that it was a dangerous ray of some sort, but then it hit the hideout.
But nothing happened to the hideout.
Until the ship left, and the hideout was lifted off the ground with them.
"Must be a tractor beam," Professor Farrell muttered.
"They've taken our three captured guards," Nathan said.
"So now what do we do?" James asked impatiently.
"Well we have to go home now, to plan a pursuit," Dr. Ranon said.
"There are two guards left here," Daniel said, "including the one we left here earlier."
"Then we'll have to take them along with us," Dr. Ranon said.

"They should be heading for the anti-dimension doorway," Professor Farrell said. "And... well, they're planning to take along all their captured matter for... annihilation for the purposes of expanding the eruption."
There was a brief pause.
"I see," Dr. Ranon said. "Then we don't have a lot of time."
"But they're also planning a bigger attack," Christine added.
"Then we'd better hurry up," Nathan said.
"From Professor Farrell's information regarding their ship," Dr. Ranon said, "they will take approximately two days to reach the rupture. Assuming that it has the same speed as the professor's Model 9 ship. The Atlas can overtake it and arrive there before it."
"In five days," Nathan said, "there will be a further increase in eruptions there. At this point, more antimatter ships could be coming through."
"So, what's our plan?" Christine asked.
"We'll leave tomorrow," Dr. Ranon said, "and take the two remaining anti-ships in tow with tractor beams installed on Professor Farrell's Models 9 and 10. We'll take all four ships, that is, the Atlas and Professor Farrell's Models 6, 9 and 10, which are the only operating ones."
"Okay then," Professor Farrell agreed. "I'd better get home now."
"I'll take you," Nathan offered. He and the professor went out the door and to the car. They drove off.
"I should go too," Daniel said. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"If you want to come along," Dr. Ranon said.
"Sure." He left and walked home.
"Anna's parents are away for a few days," James said. "They've gone on some business trip, somewhere, and don't know that she's disappeared."
"Well anyway," Christine said, "we'd all better get some rest. There's a long trip ahead of us."

Go to Chapter Five, Back to Contents Page or Back to Home Page