28 Nov 2008

Dinner at Tom’s

Posted by joncooper

Tom Swift Jr. found himself alone in his laboratory late one November evening. Through the window the eighteen-year-old inventor could see that the sun had set and the stars had begun coming out. Although it was warm inside the lab, outside he saw that a fresh layer of snow had fallen, transforming dreary upstate New York into a winter wonderland.

“My work on the kronolator took so long that I missed Fall altogether,” Tom thought wryly. He had returned to Swift Enterprises only a few weeks ago after an extended stay with his space friends on Mars. The previous months had been some of the busiest of his life, as he attempted to break the light barrier and visit an extrasolar planet hundreds of light-years from Earth. During that adventure Tom had lost all track of time and now realized that Thanksgiving was only a few days away.

After making a few final adjustments to a machine on his workbench Tom walked over to his closet and selected a black suit coat. “I think this dark tie ought to go nicely with my navy-blue shirt,” Tom thought to himself. He put on the coat, walked over to a mirror, and inspected his outfit carefully. As he removed a small bit of lint from his sleeve he heard a buzzing sound come from the door.

The young inventor leaned over and glanced at a nearby television screen, which showed his sister Sandra standing outside his lab. She was wearing a long, black dress and was holding a stylish matching purse. Tom reached over to the wall and pressed a button on the intercom. “You can come on in, Sandy. You do have access to my lab, you know.”

“You’re not really going to make me dig for my ID card, are you?” Sandy asked. “I just did my nails, and besides, it’s impossible to find anything in this purse. Can’t you just open the door?”

Tom sighed and pressed a red button. The massive vault door that guarded the only entrance to his lab gently opened. Sandy quickly stepped through it, and the door shut and locked behind her.

“So how does this look?” Tom asked, turning away from the mirror and toward his sister. “You look great, by the way!”

“Thanks, Tom,” she said. She then stared at Tom’s outfit and frowned. “You don’t happen to own another tie, do you?”

“What do you mean?” he said, glancing down at his tie. “Is there something wrong with this one? I didn’t see any stains on it.”

Sandy shook her head. “No, it’s just that you wore that same tie the last time we had dinner at Gulliver’s. In fact, that’s the only tie I’ve seen you wear in years.”

Tom laughed. “I’m more at home in a striped t-shirt, Sandy. Ties just aren’t my thing. Besides, this evening we’re not going to Gulliver’s.”

“We’re not?” Sandy asked, confused. “I thought you said we were celebrating your birthday at a fancy restaurant downtown.”

Tom shook his head. “You may have thought you heard the word ‘downtown’, but that’s not the word I used. Yes, we are going out with the family to celebrate my birthday, and yes, it’s a classy establishment. But it’s not located downtown.”

“Oh,” Sandy said. “Sorry. Then where are we going?”

“Now that’s the million-dollar question,” Tom said. “The rest of the family is already there – Dad took Mom, Phyl, and Bud over earlier today. He offered to take you as well, but I wanted to do it personally. You are my sister, you know, and this is something a little unusual.”

“Unusual?” Sandy asked. “What’s the name of this place? Have we been there before?”

“Bud was actually the first one to find out about it,” Tom replied. “He told me, and I told Dad. Mom and Phyl didn’t know about it until earlier today, so you’re not the only one who isn’t up-to-speed.”

Tom walked over to his workbench and gently slid a framed oil painting of Aurum City over to the left, revealing a small green square. He gently placed his right index finger over the square and held it there for a second. The square emitted a soft white light, and then clicked. As Tom returned the painting to its original position a metal plate descended over the lab’s only window. The lights in the lab dimmed, and all the security cameras in the room went dead.

An unseen robot suddenly spoke in a quiet monotone. “The room has been secured.”

“What’s going on, Tom?” Sandy asked. “This isn’t one of your new inventions, is it? Do you know how long it took me to get dressed up for dinner? If you’re planning on taking me on some crazy adventure – ”

“This is an invention, yes, but it’s not mine,” Tom corrected. “And we really are going out to celebrate my 35th birthday. We just can’t get there from here, so we’re going to do something that’s highly classified. So highly classified, in fact, that officially it does not exist.”

“Now wait a minute, Tom. Doesn’t 19 come after 18? How could you possibly be 35?”

Tom sighed. “It’s a long story. I built the Flying Lab in 1954 at the age of 18, right?”

“Right,” Sandy said.

“So I was born in 1936,” Tom replied.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what year you were born!” Sandy chided.

“It doesn’t come up very often,” Tom said. “Anyway, this year is 1971, so if you do the math I must be turning 35.”

“1971!” Sandy said, astonished. “I don’t remember it ever being 1955.”

“You can blame Victor Appleton II for that,” Tom said wearily. “Didn’t you ever wonder how it was possible for all those adventures to happen in one year? I mean, think about it. Doesn’t that seem awfully unlikely?”

“I guess,” Sandy said. “I never really thought about it. But who’s this Victor guy?”

“Eh, you might call him a fan of mine. He meant well, but he inadvertently messed up the timestream. I didn’t get it all fixed until this morning, and it took me hours to assess the damage. Technically it’s 1971.”

“I don’t feel any older,” Sandy said.

“I’ll give you Victor’s address so you can send him a thank-you note,” Tom replied.

“I think we’ll stick with you turning 19,” Sandy said at last. “I don’t particularly want to be 34 just yet. You haven’t actually tried to float this timestream theory by anyone else, have you?”

Tom thought for a moment. “Bud and Dad know about it, but no, I haven’t issued any press releases to the general public.”

“Then let’s keep it that way.” Sandy looked down at her watch. “Shouldn’t we be going? I really don’t want to be late.”

“Right!” Tom replied. He walked over to the far wall of his lab and examined it for a few seconds, and then placed his palm firmly on a section of the wall. Sandy could not see anything special about that section of the featureless concrete wall, but after a moment the outline of a doorway began to emerge. After ten seconds a door-sized portion of the wall had simply vanished. Through the hole Sandy could see only blackness.

“Ok, so what am I seeing?” Sandy asked.

“Nothing, yet,” Tom replied. He removed a remote-control from his pocket and entered a series of numbers. A series of notes then sounded from the dark hole in the wall.

“Am I hearing In the Hall of the Mountain King?” Sandy asked, perplexed. “I mean, seriously?”

“That was Bud’s idea, not mine,” Tom Jr. remarked as he put the remote back in his pocket. “He thought it’d be funny. It just tells us that the machine has received the address and is working on establishing a connection. This will take just a minute.”

“So this is a transporter of some kind?”

“Kind of,” Tom said. “It’s like the Transmittaton, only it doesn’t transport us across space or time.”

Sandy frowned. “That pretty much eliminates everything, Tom. So what does it do?”

“You’ll see,” he said, his eyes shining. “It’ll tell us when it’s ready.”

After another minute ticked by, the utter blackness was replaced by a deep, deep blue. A faint light appeared to emanate from small vortexes that swirled in its midst. Out of the void a deep note sounded.

“There we go! It’s all set. Are you ready?” Tom asked, smiling.

“I’m not stepping into that thing until I know what’s going to happen!” Sandy said firmly.

“It’s going to take us to the restaurant,” Tom said soothingly. “You won’t feel a thing. Trust me. Just take my hand and let’s go.”

Sandy bit her lip nervously, then grabbed Tom’s hand. Together the two of them walked through the doorway. The two felt a slight sensation of vertigo, and then it was over. Sandy found herself standing on a stretch of green grass beside a two-lane highway. In front of them was a classy diner, surrounded by old oak trees. The sun was just beginning to set, and a few clouds dotted a dazzling yellow and red sky. A soft wind gently blew Sandy’s long blond hair.

“I thought you said that thing didn’t transport people across space,” Sandy said.

“It doesn’t,” Tom replied. He let go of Sandy’s hand and the two started walking toward the diner. “The scientist that developed it calls it the negative zone. It’s actually for transporting people between universes.”

Sandy stopped in her tracks. “Between what?” she demanded. She suddenly noticed that there were no cars in the parking lot of the diner, although it appeared to be full of customers. “And why is the parking lot empty if this is such a popular place?”

“You can’t get here by car,” Tom replied. “Or by plane. This is actually an island between universes. The negative zone is the only way to get here.”

“Ok,” Sandy said slowly. “But – ”

She was interrupted by a middle-aged gentleman who had just left the diner. He spotted them crossing the parking lot and called out to them. “Tom!” he said, beaming. “You’re Tom Jr., correct?”

Tom walked over to him and shook his hand. “Dr. Hartson Brant! I haven’t seen you in months. How have you been?”

“Very well, I’m pleased to say,” Dr. Brant replied. “Things have quieted down considerably since our run-in with the racing aquadisk. But I hear you’ve been pretty busy lately!”

“The trip to Thanatos was amazing,” Tom replied. “But say, you really should come and see us at Swift Enterprises sometime! You’re welcome whenever you can make it.”

“I’ll be sure to let Rick know,” Dr. Brant replied. “He’s always looking for a bit of excitement! But I know you’ve come here for your birthday, and I don’t want to keep you waiting. It’s nice to meet you at last, Sandy.”

As the gentleman walked off Tom turned to his sister. “He runs a scientific research foundation on a place called Spindrift Island. It’s really quite amazing.”

“What’s that about a racing aquadisk?” Sandy asked. “That sounds like something you would invent.”

“It was invented by a Swift,” Tom admitted. “Just not me. I’m hoping its inventor will be here tonight. I’d like to get his opinion on a few technical issues I’m having with my claytronic stones.”

“And just what is this place?” Sandy asked, as she walked with Tom toward the diner’s entrance.

Tom nodded toward a brass plaque mounted beside the door, which simply read Tom’s.

“You have a restaurant named after you?” Sandy asked in amazement.

“Kind of. Come on in! Dad made the reservation weeks ago, so we shouldn’t have to wait on a table.”

Inside the door they were met by a tall, blond woman wearing an attractive green uniform. A classy nametag proclaimed her name to be Nancy.

“Good evening, Tom,” she said brightly. “And this must be your sister Sandra! It’s so nice to meet you at last – Tom has told me so much about you.”

Sandy smiled, a bit uncertainly. “Thanks,” she said at last.

Nancy turned her attention back to Tom. “The rest of the party has already been seated. Right this way, please!”

“Nancy’s actually a detective,” Tom whispered to his sister. “She works here occasionally, when she’s in-between cases. It’s a good way to pick up new clients. Frank and Joe know her better than I do – they’ve actually worked with her before.”

“Who?” Sandy asked.

Tom nodded over to one corner of the restaurant, where two teenagers were seated in a booth, engaged in a lively discussion. One had dark hair and the other had light blond hair. “Frank and Joe Hardy. They’re detectives too, actually. I’ll try to introduce you to them later.”

As the waitress led them to the back of the restaurant Sandy took a moment to look the place over. From the outside it looked deceptively small, but inside she could see that it was very roomy. The entire place was made of a very elegant, deep-colored wood, and the lights were kept dim enough to create a sense of intimacy. Each table was set with fine crystal plates and glasses, and the silverware appeared to be made of genuine silver. Even the napkins were embroidered with an elegant T.

What surprised her the most, however, were the interior decorations. The walls of the restaurant were tactfully decorated with pictures of inventions. Some of them she recognized as belonging to Tom and his father, but others were a complete mystery to her. “What a strange place,” she thought. “Who puts pictures of spectromarine selectors on their wall?”

When they reached the rear of the restaurant Sandy saw that they had been given a private room. A long, mahogany table was positioned in the center of the room, and a crowd of people were milling about, talking. She recognized her father, her mother, Phyl, Chow, Ned Newton, and Bud Barclay, along with several other people she did not recognize.

“Your menus are on the table,” Nancy said, as she ushered them into the room. “Bess will be your waitress this evening. She’ll be with you in a moment.” With that, she departed.

“Sandy!” Bud said, as soon as she entered the room. “I’m glad you could make it. You look terrific!”

“Thanks,” Sandy said. “I just can’t believe you’re actually wearing a suit. The last time we went out for Tom’s birthday – ” and then she stopped. “Come to think of it, you weren’t there, were you?”

“I’m afraid not,” Bud said. “I missed his 18th birthday, and I didn’t know him when he turned 17. But say, let me introduce you to a few people!” He led her over to two strangers that had been talking to her father. To her surprise, both of them had blond hair, and they both looked amazingly like her brother. The older of the two introduced himself first. “I’m Tom Swift,” he said, shaking her hand.

“And I’m Tom Swift as well,” the younger one said. “But since we all answer to the name of Tom you can call him Tom III, and me Tom IV.”

“Tom four?” Sandy asked, as she sat down at her seat.

Tom IV sighed. “It’s a long story, and I won’t get into it now.”

Sandy put her purse down on the table and gave Tom IV a steely gaze. “Young man, I highly suggest you do get into it now. A few moments ago I was about to go out to dinner with my family. Now I find myself in some other universe that is apparently filled with clones of my brother.”

“Just a minute,” Tom Jr. said, interrupting. “Where are the other Toms?”

Tom IV spoke up. “Tom V was here earlier, but he got a call and had to go. He said he had to stop a group of terrorists from sabotaging a robotic competition.”

“No, that was last time, ” Tom III said. “I thought he said something about a force shield.”

“That was my adventure, not his,” Tom IV argued. “I’m positive that somebody was trying to sabotage something, and he had to go stop it.”

“As you can see, we really weren’t paying too close attention,” Tom III told Tom Jr. “Sorry. But he apologized for missing your birthday and said he would try to make it next time. He left his gift over there in the corner.” He nodded toward a long table next to the door, which was piled high with presents.

“But what about the TSL Swift?” Tom Jr. asked. “He’s always here!”

Tom III shrugged. “He didn’t RSVP, so I guess he’s busy. Last I heard he was working on a time machine.”

“No, I don’t think he’s built one of those yet,” Tom IV said. “I believe he was building his subocean geotron.”

“If you ask me he’s already built a time machine,” Tom Sr. commented. “He keeps going back and forth in the time continuum. I don’t know how he keeps his head on straight. Now you’ve done some time traveling of your own, haven’t you, son?”

Sandy interrupted. “What is going on here?”

Tom IV spoke up. “I’m sorry, Sandra. I know this all seems a bit weird. I think this affects everybody that way. Even I was shocked when it first happened.”

“You have no idea,” Sandy said.

“But I do have a sister named Sandra,” Tom IV replied. “She’s kind of like you, actually, and she would so freak out if I brought her here. But I’m getting off target. This all started a while ago when I accidentally developed a way to travel between universes. I called it the negative zone.”

Sandy nodded. “That’s what Tom called that weird machine in his lab. He said it transports people between universes.”

“That’s exactly right,” Tom IV said. “Only your brother has a very much refined version. You should have seen the first model! Man, but was it awful. I won’t go into what happened the first time I tried it. It’s sufficient to say that it was a long time before I messed with that technology again.”

Tom IV paused a moment to gather his thoughts, and then continued. “One thing that I did learn during that adventure was that there were other universes out there, complete with other Tom Swifts. In my own universe I am Tom Swift Jr. and work at Swift Enterprises, just like your brother.”

“Only your plant is located in California,” Tom Swift Jr. replied.

Tom IV nodded. “Personally I like California a lot better – beautiful beaches, lots of sunshine, and no snow whatsoever.”

“I’m with you there!” Bud agreed.

“I think we’ll stick with New York,” Tom Sr. replied. “But go on with your tale.”

“Well, one day I got to thinking, and wondered what other Tom Swifts might be out there. People say that space is the final frontier, but it’s small potatoes compared to parallel universes! So I rebuilt the negative zone and started experimenting. What I discovered was a vast treasure trove of amazing people and places.”

“I think I get it,” Sandy interrupted. “You built this diner as an in-between-universe type place, where you and your friends could get together and meet. And to get here you installed your invention in the other universes you’d found.”

“Exactly,” Tom IV said. “It took a lot of work, but I think it was worth it. I’ve met some of the most amazing people, and I know I’ve only started scratching the surface.”

A waitress then entered the room, carrying a small notebook. “And what can I get you to drink?” she asked.

After everyone gave their order she left the room, and the crowd took their seats around the table. Tom Sr. sat at the head of the table. Sandy ended up sitting between her brother and Bud, across from Tom III and Tom IV.

“So let me see if I have this straight,” Sandy said slowly, as they looked over their menus. “You’re Tom IV and you live in California in an alternate universe. Did you also invent a Flying Lab, and a jetmarine, and a rocket ship, so forth?”

Tom III laughed. “Not hardly! No, his first invention was a flying skateboard.”

“But I thought my brother said that one of you invented a subocean geotron,” Sandy said.

“That was TSL,” Tom Jr. corrected. “His universe is the closest to mine. Some things are different, but a lot of his main inventions are the same. Tom Swift III and IV come from totally different universes, though.”

“Yeah,” Tom IV said. “My most recent invention was a quantum force shield.”

“I’ve got to get one of those,” Tom Jr. commented. “That would have been so useful when the Space Legion took over the Challenger.”

“True, true, but I just don’t think our worlds are ready for inter-universal travel,” Tom IV said. “I mean, really. Can you imagine if word of this place leaked out?”

“I don’t know, Tom. I’m slowly warming to the idea,” Sandy replied. “I mean, my brother just got himself turned into brain energy. After you’ve seen that you’ve seen everything! Now what about you, Tom III? Do you also live in California?”

Tom III shook his head. “Nope. I live in Shopton, but it’s located in New Mexico, of all places – and I don’t even like the desert! But I spend most of my time in space anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.”

“He’s the only Tom I’ve found so far that doesn’t really invent,” Tom IV remarked.

“That’s true,” Tom III said. “I mean, I’ve built a few things – like a hyperspacial drive, and my robot Aristotle – but mostly I explore the galaxy and get into lots of trouble.”

“I don’t know how you can stand it,” Tom Jr. said. “I’ve always got to be inventing something.”

Tom Sr. spoke up. “Now that is the truth. I believe you were even inventing something when you were imprisoned on the Challenger.”

“Now that’s dedication!” Tom III said. “What are you working on this time?”

“I’m experimenting with programmable matter,” Tom Jr. replied. “It’s a bit tricky to do, but I think it has a lot of promise. We’ll see, though. There are so many problems to work out.”

At that point Bess returned with their drinks. “And what would you like for dinner?” she asked. After taking their orders she left the room.

“I get the feeling you’ve met here before,” Sandy said. “How long have you guys known about each other?”

“A few months,” Tom Jr. said. “It’s been a pretty recent development. Bud was actually the first one to find out about it. He kept trying to tell me, but I was so wrapped up in my work on the kronolator that I didn’t pay any attention. But once I returned from Mars I met with Tom IV and we installed the negative zone in my lab.”

Tom IV nodded. “We were going to get together to discuss your brother’s recent adventure on Thanatos, but then Bud mentioned he had a birthday coming up. So we figured we’d celebrate that instead, and would put off our discussion of Thanatos until later. By the way,” he said, turning to Tom III, “you don’t happen to have a copy of that report, do you?”

“Of course,” Tom III said. “I finished writing it last week.” He reached down to a briefcase that was resting beside his chair and pulled out a stack of documents.

“Ah, I see you’ve brought the notes!” Tom Sr. said.

“Notes?” Sandy asked. “You mean they get written reports of my brother’s adventures?”

Tom Jr. nodded. “And we’ve got reports of everything they’ve done. Tom III has spent a lot of time putting them together. They’re in my lab – I’ll show them to you one day. They make for some excellent reading.”

Sandy grabbed a copy of the report and looked at it. “Tom Swift and his Extrasolar Planet?” she asked incredulously.

“You’ve got to call it something,” Tom III said. “I considered calling it Tom Swift and his Kronolator but that just didn’t have the same ring to it. Incidentally, Tom, nice job on your faster-than-light drive. You took a completely different approach than I did.”

“Your approach works too,” Tom Jr. said. “We should compare notes sometime, and see how the Challenger compares to the Exedra.”

“I thought you’d abandoned your ship around Neptune,” Tom III replied. “Are you going to rescue it?”

“I know the answer to that!” Sandy said. “He’s already putting a mission together to go repair it. I bet we’ll be back at Neptune by the end of the year.”

“I’m surprised he’s waiting that long,” Tom III said. “What’s the hold-up?”

“I’ve been trying to coordinate a joint venture with my space friends,” Tom Jr. explained. “They’d like to come with us and explore the Space Legion’s now-abandoned fortress. Plus there are a few logistical hurdles, and I’d like to finish my claytronic stones before going out there. They could come in handy.”

Tom IV shook his head. “Man, but are you lucky! I can’t believe you can fly all over the solar system and meet with aliens on Mars and nobody bats an eye. Has the government found out yet that you’ve developed a working interstellar drive?”

“I think Ned sent out a press release,” Tom Jr. said vaguely. “In a meeting last week he said the Swift Construction Company has started building a factory to manufacture kronolators. He thinks they’ll be hot sellers, even at the astronomical prices he’s charging.”

“I have also been engaged in high-level talks with Washington,” Tom Sr. said. “The government is aware of our recent activities.”

“And they don’t mind?” Tom IV said. “Wow! Recently the Hardys and I got mixed up with an alien and my government had a cow. They have a zero-tolerance policy for that kind of thing. It almost got us killed.”

“You’re just out of luck,” Tom III said sympathetically. “I meet with aliens all the time.”

“Yeah, but it’s different for you,” Tom IV said. “You live in a space-faring society that’s used to that sort of thing. Where I come from space flight is still Big News.”

“I’ve just got to read those reports,” Sandy said. “I’m sorry, but this is way over my head. You’ve lost me. I’m intrigued, but I’m lost.”

“You’ll get up to speed soon,” Tom Jr. assured her. “It’s not as intimidating as it seems.”

“How many people know about this?” Sandy asked.

“It is a top, top, top secret,” Tom Jr. replied. “The only people we’ve told are the people right here in this room. Even our government doesn’t know.”

“I don’t intend on telling mine,” Tom IV replied. “They get so upset over things like this.”

“So why tell me?” Sandy asked. “I mean, we could have just gone to Gulliver’s tonight, and you could have kept this little club all to yourselves. It’s pretty unusual for me to get mixed up in things like this.”

Tom IV. smiled. “Because you’ve begun to have adventures of your own, Sandy! Adventures that qualify you for a seat at Tom’s. Piloting the Cosmotron Express was just the start. In the not-too-distant future you, Phyllis, and Bingo will begin to investigate the last flight of the Silver Cloud.”

“Bingo?” Sandy asked. “Is that a person?”

Tom Jr. shrugged. “Don’t look at me. He’s the one with the time machine.”

“You’ve got a time machine?” Sandy said, startled.

Tom IV shook his head. “It’s more of a time trigger. But you don’t want to go there, Sandy. At one time in my universe I was actually the grandson of Barton Swift, just like your brother, but then things went bad and I’ve never been able to put the pieces back together. Time travel is a can of worms you do not want to open.”

“TSL is going to open it,” Tom III pointed out. “I don’t know how it will play out, but that’s what I’ve heard.”

“I pity him,” Tom IV said. “He’ll never be the same.”

Bess returned, carrying a bewildering array of plates. A robot followed behind her, holding the rest of their dinner.

“Aristotle!” Tom III cried out, as he saw his robot carrying the party’s dinner. “What are you doing here?”

“If Rob is qualified to work here then surely I also possess the necessary talent,” the robot replied. “I refuse to be outdone by that ignorant biped.”

“Who’s Rob?” Sandy whispered to her brother, as Bess handed them their food.

“A robot that Tom IV built,” Tom Jr. whispered back. “He’s the chef – but just for tonight. Tom thought it’d be a good experience for him.”

“Chow would go nuts if you replaced him with a robot,” Sandy said.

“Shhh, he’ll hear you,” her brother cautioned.

“Can I get you anything else?” Bess asked brightly.

“I believe we have everything we need,” Tom Sr. said. Bess and Aristotle then walked out of the room. Before they started eating, however, Bud rose to his feet.

“This meal looks truly amazing, but before we eat I propose a toast to Swifts. May their adventures never end!”

The dinner lasted for hours, as they laughed and talked far into the night. It was an evening that Sandra would never forget – the first of many enchanted evenings at Tom’s.

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One Response to “Dinner at Tom’s”

  1. I found your story most humorous, I see that you have been reading Scott “VicApp2.5” Dickerson’s rewrites and new editions as well, I am in the middle of his last few that he rewrote. And as mentioned above, it looks like TS will live on forever. I will admit that despite the so call theories of Multiple Universes, I have serious doubts about it. But it is fun to play with.
    Regards,
    Thayne

     

    thayneharmon