31

Bleak

It is imperative that Albert work from your father’s laboratory,” Citizen Lady said in a firm and unyielding tone.

“Why? You guys have way better machinery.”

“Because a new opening requires the use of lasers to soften the dimensional membrane. Albert can’t facilitate a channel without them. Our machinery has its limits. It is configured for SMHR units, not humans—and the lasers are already in place. The garage is equipped with everything you need.” Citizen Lady said this like it was the final word.

“Why don’t you do it? You know how.”

“The triad knows how but we cannot make it work. As the Commodore explained before, this task requires consciousness, not computation.” Citizen Lady seemed a smidge bummed out about this fact.

“Couldn’t Albert leave some bait around the existing tear in the woods?”

“Impossible,” the Commodore said. “That channel is emitting too strong a negative stream. It cannot be reversed. Albert must construct a new channel for the bait.”

“Why didn’t we do this on Mars, where it was safe?” Lars asked.

“Equations predicted that this strategy would not work at such a distance,” Med Tech Tek replied. “It must be on Earth, and it is only logical to utilize the system already in place.”

“I don’t see how Albert is supposed to throw enough happiness at a new opening to trick the bad thoughts into following—especially if he has to work in the garage, which is way too close to the red mist.” I shook my head. “I really don’t like the sound of this plan.”

“That is why he will need his counterparts. He will require support from all of you.” Citizen Lady sounded a little sad, but she was very firm. “I am confident that I can adjust our energy amplifier to enhance whatever positive thoughts he provides.”

Lars looked grim. “This idea sucks. But I don’t know what else we can do.”

“Success is unlikely,” the Commodore agreed.

“Well you’re encouraging,” Brit said sourly.

“I recognize sarcasm,” the Commodore stated. “Success is still unlikely.”

“Do you realize that if the bad energy spreads, there will be war and chaos everywhere?” Brit shuddered. “People would be their angriest, most paranoid selves, like crazy Mr. Shinn and Mrs. Wagner and the Partner . . . ” Brit glanced at Saunders and her eyes looked sorry.

“Even the poor animals,” I added. “It just makes me sick to think about it. It’ll be a horrible world.”

“I can assure you that such a thing will not happen,” Med Tech Tek said.

“You mean the mist won’t spread like that?” Brit asked.

“I mean the imbalance will be righted when the universe is sucked inside out and annihilated. This will occur before all are infected.”

We stared at Med Tech Tek.

Albert sent me a memo with a dark cloud that said Bleak.

“This just gets worse and worse,” Brit said heatedly. “I didn’t think it would happen so fast.”

She must have understood this was a possibility when she watched the movie back on the SMHR craft—that sickening one where the numbers got sucked through the ring.

“Med Tech, are you sure about this inside out business?” Agent Saunders asked.

“My calculations are accurate, I am sorry to say.”

Gloom hung heavy over the dining room table. Finally, I said, “In a way, it frees us.”

“What do you mean, it frees us?” Brit asked.

“There is no what if to this situation. I mean, we’re dead ducks, so we might as well be super bold because we have nothing to lose.”

“Mary’s right,” Lars said. His expression became determined and a little amused. “We might as well be super bold.”

“Hold on—” My phone was buzzing in my pocket. “Hi, Ma?” I went to the front room to talk.

“Mary, thank goodness I got through. This is just crazy, but they’re evacuating Adeline!”

“What? Why?” I was trying to sound really surprised. Plus I hoped Ma hadn’t seen our road on the news. It would be one more thing for her to worry about, and what good would that do?

“The siren for the dam went off,” Ma continued. “I don’t know if it’s legit or not, but they’re playing it safe. We’re up at the church and so is most of the town!”

“THIS IS NOT A DRILL,” the tireless lady said in the background.

“I wish they’d turn that damn thing off!” It was Meemaw, complaining nearby.

“I’m sorry we didn’t bring snacks for you and Brit,” Ma said. “You could make milkshakes; there’s a little ice cream.”

“It’s okay, Ma. We made pizza.”

“I wish I were home,” Ma said longingly. “Is Albert okay?”

“We’re fine. We’re out of the valley so no flood here.” I hated lying to Ma.

“I know. Well, I imagine we’ll just hang out at the church for a few hours. Either a sensor is wacky up on the dam or we’ll see water in the street. What a dumb day!”

“I kind of miss you,” I said.

“I kind of miss you, too. Brit’s staying over, right?”

“Yeah, she’s here. Plus Lars is going to hang out with us for a while. We were going to watch a show or something.”

“Tell Lars thank you.”

“Ma says thank you Lars.”

He nodded.

“Honey, are you okay?”

Ma heard something in my sad pause.

“I was just thinking that I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mary. Tell Albert good night, and Happy New Year.”

“Good night, Ma. Happy New Year to you, too.”

My eyes rested on Albert sitting at the table. He appeared to be oblivious, staring at the piano, but I knew he was thinking. He was always thinking. “Ma says Happy New Year, Albert.”

He memoed me the smiley pearl.

The Commodore was still talking strategy and calculations.

I looked down at my phone and felt a bittersweet twinge of missing Ma and Meemaw, but also a huge sense of gratitude that Albert was here with me. I realized that since Ma first brought Albert home from the hospital, he had sent me a memo every single day showing me that I was a girl like a pearl, like the most special in all the world. His memos had helped me be positive and confident and happy. Albert might have been sort of weird but he was the best brother I coulda gotten.

It was too bad the whole world couldn’t get a nice memo. With all this rotten stuff going on and being on the brink of disaster, it seemed like that’s what everybody needed—a giant memo to remind us of everything good in our lives. There must have been tons of good stuff out there; like enough positive energy to—

Something like a light bulb went on in my head.

“Hey, Mr. Commodore, I have an idea.”

Everyone at the table turned to look at me. “Contribute,” he said, sounding a lot like a robot—which I guess was what he was, sort of.

“You guys are good at communication, right? I mean you collect and transmit data, like that’s your job, right?”

“Indeed.”

“I’ve been thinking about strategy. It seems that tricking the bad thoughts to go back to the half-constant only solves half of the problem. There’s still that imbalance that’s forcing stuff out, and the imbalance has to be fixed or we have that vicious cycle, like the Commodore said.”

“I concur,” said Med Tech Tek. The other two SMHR units nodded in agreement.

“So maybe we could make a happy commercial. People do it all the time. They make things seem fantastic with good pictures and a bit of nice music. I remember this commercial about coffee that would always get Ma all teary-eyed, and it was just coffee! Anyhow, that’s my idea.” I watched to see their reaction. I wasn’t sure I was on the right track because I was thinking that surely one of them would have thought of this.

Brit got it right away. “It might work,” she said. “Like a message to get people to think positive thoughts.”

Lars stared at his sister and then he got it, too. “According to you SMHR units, all thoughts flow to the half-constant, and if they’re good ones, maybe the balance could be restored that way.”

“That should ease the pressure,” Saunders added, “which, according to the visitors, is what’s forcing the stuff into our dimension in the first place.”

“That’s right.” I nodded enthusiastically. “And then maybe the rip would naturally seal, the way you guys described it.”

“That is an interesting proposal.” The Commodore bobbed his head and his turquoise eyes sparkled. “A marketing strategy to elicit positive energies—this could be very useful.” He and his comrades nodded as one.

Albert sent me two smiley pearls and for a split second he looked into my eyes.

“What are we waiting for?” said Brit. “Let’s go.”