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Tarafau shifted his stance, swinging his quarterstaff low at Jenny's ankles. Jenny jumped over and, swiveling, caught Tarafau mid-back with a stinging, "CRACK!", following the blow with and overhead swipe that caught him on the shoulder. Tarafau held his staff over his head in salute and surrender.
"Your practice is paying off," he said, only slightly out of breath. "That's the third time you've tagged me today."
Jenny was panting slightly as well. She grounded her staff and grinned. "Are you sure you aren't letting me win?"
"Not on your life. Your aunt accused me of that before. I would never let you win. Over-confidence can be as dangerous as incompetence."
Jenny tried to picture her aunt dodging and parrying and cracking Tarafau with a staff. She couldn't help but grin.
"Was she good? Did she ever beat you?"
"She was very good, but she never beat me. I saw her knock out a troll once, though. She could hold her own in a fight."
"And were there many of those? Fights, I mean," said Jenny, as she now tried to picture her aunt fighting a troll.
"From time to time our assignments take us to places that require us to be on our guard and use the skills you have been taught. It isn't like we expect to be in combat, like the Troopers or the Alliance Guards, but it happens. Which is why we teach you the staff and hand to hand fighting. It is best to be prepared."
"Speaking of being prepared. What about Bob? Did you know he knew about the gateways?"
Tarafau shook his head somberly. "And Lizzie never knew. She would have never revealed so much had she been in her right mind. Of course, they would have never let a cat into a hospital. I sat outside her window and mindspoke her whenever she was conscious. But she seldom replied. At the last she sent one message...'Good cat.'" He smiled, but it was a sad smile.
"So, what do we do about this? I have racked my brain," Jenny continued, voicing again the conversation she had already had with Tarafau more than once, " I don't think Bob will tell anyone. He has a good mind and a good heart, I think. He seems genuinely concerned about whether Sam is up to no good, which I doubt."
Jenny paused, but what was Sam up to, she wondered. There was no reason she could think of why Sam would be driving all the way here when she knew Jenny was away. And going into her back yard to do...what?
"I wonder what Lizzie would have done?" she mused aloud. And then it hit her, Lizzie! She had the AI. She plopped down on the mat and pulled the tablet out of the MDP. Lizzie's smiling face appeared like the genie from the lamp.
"How can I help you?" she said, as she often did when invoked.
Jenny outlined the conversation with Bob and her dilemma. "First, what do I do about Bob? And second, what do I do about Sam? Bob has become a good friend and Sam has been my best friend since college. I don't know how much Sam knows, if anything, and as far as I know she might just be planning a prank on me or some kind of silly surprise. And Bob seems trustworthy, but this is a pretty big secret to have to keep, as you know."
LizzieAI looked grave. "I have some equipment in the shed that may be useful to help you figure this out. Bob can be trusted, but I want you to invite him over to lunch so I can speak with him. In the meantime, don't do anything out of the ordinary where Sam is concerned. No sense jumping to conclusions without proof."
Lizzie gave Jenny instructions about the equipment in the shed and how to use it. Tarafau had stood there behind her as Lizzie talked, quarterstaff in hand, his expression still somber and sad. Jenny realized that hearing Lizzie's voice and seeing her face, even though he knew she was a construct, must be difficult for him after all the years they had spent together.
Impulsively she jumped up, throwing her arms around him in a fierce hug. He was startled at first and then hugged her back. "I know you miss her," she said.
He released her, and she realized that the big man had tears in his eyes. "She was a great spirit with a fierce heart. All who knew her will miss her always. You are a worthy successor. She chose well."
Jenny ducked her head, a little embarrassed. She wasn't usually the hugging type. Oh, they had hugged a lot in her family, but other than that, she didn't generally give out hugs much, even to her friends. But Tarafau had become more than just "The Guide" to her. He was like an anchor in an increasingly stormy sea and she knew she could depend on him, no matter what happened.
They immediately left the workout room and went to the shed to retrieve the equipment Lizzie had described. She had given very specific instructions and the installation was simple. After completing it, Jenny showered and changed, considering once again the fix in which she found herself. Since she had been handed the keys to the house and walked through the door for the first time, it had been like a very precarious roller coaster ride and she was just getting started.
She remembered an old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times." And she sighed. Nothing for it, but to move forward. She was grateful for Tarafau and the LizzieAI. She was sure she would have made a mess of all of this without them, even with the training from the Council. She had never been one of those who struck out with total confidence in her own abilities to get her through. She knew she had some talents and strengths, but never considered herself to be out of the ordinary or special in any way.
Now, here she was with the fate of who knows what in her hands and she still felt clueless. She didn't feel like she could learn fast enough to keep up with the pace of events and be of any use whatsoever, but she was determined to do her part and that would have to do.
Tidbit followed her out the door and out the wrought iron gate. Bob wasn't out in his yard, as he often was. She went up to the front door and rang the doorbell. She waited for a minute and rang again. She saw his car in the driveway, but still no answer. He was probably in his workshop.
She walked down the driveway to the building that was about twice the size of Lizzie's storage shed, about the size of a large three car garage. She could hear Bob whistling as he worked at something. The door stood open.
"Hello?" she called. The whistling stopped, and Bob appeared from behind a large set of shelves with neatly ordered boxes and drawers, everything from bolts to tools sitting and hanging precisely in their places. On his shoulder perched on a leather padding was a beautiful Hyacinth Macaw. Ignatius, she remembered.
Bob grinned when he saw Jenny. "Hey there! Come on in!"
"Come on in!" repeated a somewhat scratchy, higher pitched voice. And Ignatius bobbed his head up and down excitedly.
She followed him around the shelving unit into the workshop proper. On tables were several projects, all of which looked somewhat mysterious to Jenny's eyes. "Contraptions" was what her dad would have called them.
One looked very much like a little robot about four feet tall, one arm detached and laying beside it on the table.
There were meters of some sort with needles vacillating, several computers all with active displays, and what looked like a radar display. Seeing all of this, for the first time, Jenny realized that Bob was much more than a self-described "tinkerer". She wondered who all of these projects were for.
He noticed her looking at the little robot. "Meet Fidget," he said, his eyes sparkling. "He's a little AI helper I've been working on for a long time and he's almost ready for final testing. He's no C3PO, but he'll do. He's going to be my shop assistant."
And to her surprise, Fidget turned his head and said, "Nice to meet you. I'm Fidget. What's your name?"
Jenny replied, bemused, and Fidget said, "Hi Jenny," then turning to Bob, "Is Jenny our friend?"
Bob laughed and said, "Yes, Fidget, Jenny is our friend. Please remember her."
Fidget nodded.
Jenny was impressed. The little robot stood. His face and body appeared to be some kind of shiny plastic, somewhat like a small astronaut. His "face" was generated with a graphical display and he seemed capable of expressing appropriate emotions through that display.
"And you made him in your workshop? That's amazing."
"That's amazing," agreed Ignatius.
"He's a prototype. There is a real market for AI robots in the making, and I can make him in pretty much any size, depending on what use someone would have for him. Even in his present state, he has the ability to extend his legs and arms to allow him to interact on any level. I'd appreciate it if you would keep him quiet for now. He's just in the development phase, at the moment and the industry is very competitive. There are some Japanese robotics firms that are very close to doing some similar things and I have to be set up to avoid unwanted attention."
"Speaking of that," Jenny put in awkwardly. "Can you come over for lunch today? We really need to talk about some things."
"Sure. Just let me tidy up a bit here and I'll be right over."
Jenny took another look around. "Good-bye, Fidget," she said.
"See you later, alligator," Fidget replied with a wink and Jenny couldn't help but giggle.
"Goodbye, Ignatius."
"Alligator." Ignatius replied with finality.
As she and Tidbit crossed the street, Tidbit remarked, "He has come a long way on that project since Lizzie passed. Impressive. And he could be of assistance, in the future, assuming we can trust him."
Jenny agreed. She went into the kitchen to prepare lunch and as she worked, she thought how nice it would be to have someone so close who knew her secret and in whom she could confide. It would make arrangements for her various absences a lot easier and somehow, she felt she could indeed trust Bob.
Bob showed up about the time she had some sandwiches and lemonade made. She got out some raw veggies she kept around for snacks and laid them out on the patio table.
Tidbit was laying out on the edge of the koi pond apparently watching the fish. As Bob and Jenny ate, Bob told Jenny about some of his adventures with creating Fidget, learning to create the plastic pieces with his 3D printer and designing the face and the facial expressions.
When they had finished, he helped her clear the dishes and they adjourned to the sunlit living room with Tidbit now ensconced in his favorite spot on the sunny window seat.
"I need to finish the conversation we started yesterday," Jenny began. "And I need to show you something that may be startling, and I need you to keep it in confidence, as I will keep Fidget in confidence for you."
Bob nodded. "Of course," he said.
Jenny sat next to him on the couch, holding out the tablet so they could both see the display. She invoked the LizzieAI and Lizzie's face beamed out at them, looking from one face to the other. "How can I help you, Jenny and Bob." LizzieAI said.
Bob let out a low whistle. "Facial recognition. Where did you get this?"
Jenny started to answer, but LizzieAI cut in. "I am an artificial construct created to allow Jenny to receive training as an interdimensional Guardian and Gatekeeper. I was programmed by Lizzie using advanced tech from another dimension. Lizzie counted you as a friend, Bob. Jenny has come to me with a concern that we need to discuss."
Bob's eyes widened and he looked at Jenny and back to the screen.
"The dimensional gates have existed on Earth, as far as we know, for as long as Earth has been a planet. No one knows the original purpose of the gates, or if they simply exist like black holes or quasars. The history of the first discovery of these gates goes past reckoning by intelligent species. But long before the Earth portals were discovered by Earthlings, an alliance of intelligent species was created to protect the various universes from those with ill intent.
The policy of the alliance is benign non-interference. Each universe is different and, as long as any universe does not infringe on the rights or territory of any other universe, we do not intrude.
Unfortunately, there have been those who, upon discovering the gateways, have decided on a course of invasion, exploitation, war and terrorism against other dimensions. This is what the alliance was intended to prevent. Peaceful interaction between dimensions has always been the policy, but only when a dimension was ready for first contact and they didn't infringe on the rights or properties of others.
At first, here on Earth, there have been random incursions into our universe, nearly all of which have been either unintentional or at the least, not aggressive. Out of these have sprung many of our myths and legends. Not all intelligent beings look like us and some of those incursions were purely by accident by non-intelligent species.
Thus, the time came when Guardians were chosen from among the various peoples of Earth, to guard the gateways and to keep them secret from the population that was not yet ready for interdimensional relations. I was such a Guardian, and now Jenny has taken my place.
In addition to the Guardians in the dimensions, one is always chosen to be The Gatekeeper. The job of The Gatekeeper is to monitor and coordinate all of the gateways in all dimensions and to lead the Guardians in the performance of their duty.
Due to circumstances we were not able to control, Jenny has also been chosen to be The Gatekeeper.
She is in the early stages of her training for both roles. The fact that my original self revealed the existence of the gateways to you adds an additional stress on her. My programming identifies you as a trustworthy, dependable companion of my original self. What we need to know, is, what are your intentions, knowing what you now know?"
Bob didn't answer at once. He gazed that the AI who had paused for his response. "This is amazing," he said in a soft voice that reflected awe. The thoughtful look on his face showed he was taking it all in as best he could, but, like Jenny, he was struggling to absorb it all.
"Of course, I will support Jenny in any way I can," he finally replied. "And I understand the need for secrecy. I agree the general population of our planet and the political machines in governments across the world are not ready for this. I will not divulge any of this to anyone. I would like, however," and his voice took on a tone of longing, "to be allowed to assist in some way, assuming you feel you can trust me to do so."
LizzieAI looked somberly at Jenny, "What do you think, Jenny? Ultimately this needs to be your decision. You have that right as Gatekeeper. You will, of course have to report all of this to The Council."
Jenny considered. "What are my options?"
"If you decide to trust Bob with these secrets, then you need only report it to the Council. Helpers and agents on gateway planets are allowed to Guardians and especially The Gatekeeper. The Council will decide whether he will be certified to go through gateways or not. If you decide to not involve Bob, then his memory of this knowledge will be wiped, and he won't remember either Lizzie's last words or these conversations. No harm will be done, and he will not need to be held responsible for this knowledge."
Jenny looked at Bob. "Which would you prefer? Knowing puts you under a grave responsibility to keep this secret. I can't guarantee you will ever be allowed to travel the gateways. It would be a help and a comfort to have one more person I can count on for assistance and counsel, but I wouldn't put this responsibility on you without your knowledge and consent. I'm not sure why, but I do trust you."
Bob stroked his salt and pepper moustache thoughtfully. "I treasure my friendship with your aunt," he said, looking directly into her eyes. "I am grateful you are willing to extend this trust to me. I would be honored to support you in this task. You only have to ask, whenever you need help." He extended his hand.
Jenny shook it in the spirit he offered it. It was a pledge and she understood it as such.
Tidbit sent, "I think you have made a wise choice, Jenny."
Jenny sincerely hoped so.
