Jason Low as Project HEARD presents DIMENSION OUT OF RANGE: INTERLUDE DELIBERATIONS 29 JULY 1996 0751 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME ATLANTA, GEORGIA, USA, EARTH, FOURTH QUADRANT, FIFTH ARM OF THE WESTERN SPIRAL, RELATIVE UNIVERSE 0/0 [ABSOLUTE UNIVERSE 295175/-823] Gina hesitated at the doorway of the exercise room. She heard the weights clanking up and down with a rushed ferocity, and correctly figured out that something was bugging Britanny. "Cheets?" she asked quietly as she entered. "What's wrong?" The noise stopped, and Cheetah sat up from underneath her rebuilt hydraulic press. She opened her mouth to speak once or twice, false-starting and shaking her head each time. Finally, she found her voice again. "Are you sure it was wise to do what you did?" "Do what?" Gina asked. "What are you talking about?" "Inviting those.. STRANGERS.. to live with us," Cheetah said plainly. Gina's expression changed to one of almost-understanding. "Oh," she said. "You don't like them?" "Well, it's not THAT.." Brit shook her head again. "I'm just thinking of how troubled things are around here right now. For starters, we don't have any room--" "Yes we do--room 5's still a spare, even with Seance taking the other one," Gina cut in. "I don't mean just that," Cheetah plowed ahead. "Two more mouths at breakfast, for example. I have a hard enough time ekeing out a meal fighting with the rest of you, now I've got two more combatants to deal with." Gina blinked. "'Fighting with the rest of us'?" she echoed. "Never mind, it was a stupid thing to say. What about equipment and personal stuff? I mean, they showed up out of NOWHERE, with just the clothes on their backs.. they're gonna need some help in that respect." "That's easy to handle." Cheetah paused for a moment, then said: "What about MONEY, Gina? How are we gonna AFFORD to take these guys in? Do you REALLY want to be indebted to Penny any more than we are now?" Gina's expression darkened slightly as she turned away. "I know I'm sure as hell not gonna work ever again in that stupid place we did last week," Cheetah carried on. "And I know YOU don't want to go through that, either." "We'll find a way," Gina said firmly but quietly. "I know," Brit answered, her voice softening. "We always do. It's just a whole bunch'a stress none of us need right now. You know that.. right?" Gina nodded. "I'm sorry that I didn't ask your opinions first, sis. But I think we can make this work. Really, I do." Britanny said simply, "Then I trust you," and sat back down. After a few seconds of resumed clanking from the weight machine, Gina called out, to be heard over the noise, "You ok with this, Cheets?" "Yup," came the answer in a strained voice, in between repetitions. "Like I say, I trust you. If you say it can be done, I believe it." Gina nodded again and left the room. 1140EDT Brianna poked her head into the kitchen. "Oh, hi, Genn," she said. "Seen Gina?" Genn had jumped when Brianna spoke abruptly; the shapeshifter relaxed somewhat when answering. "I think she's in her lab, deciphering some alien text she found a long time ago." "In other words, lost in thought," Brianna clarified. "That would fit the bill, yes." "I have a favor to ask you, then, if Gina's not around," Bri' said. Genn had tensed up during the first half of the sentence, then went to a state of confusion. "What do you mean?" "Do you.. y'know.. GET anything from the two new guys we brought home?" "Do you mean, as in, any kind of 'bad vibes' or things like that?" "Well, not just 'bad' stuff," Brianna half-scoffed. "What're your feelings on them?" After a pause, the Rakshasa stated, "They seem normal enough, although a bit eccentric in their mannerisms and such. They talk with the knowledge and experience of old sages, but they appear to be young and full of life. To hear them tell it, they're both chronologically over three millennia old, but in all outward appearances, are only as aged as you are--I mean, as you appear to be." Brianna waved a hand. "I knew what you meant. So, nothing untoward from them, then?" Genn's head shook. "Innocent as newborns, in pretty much every respect." "Are they holding anything back? Can you tell at all?" "Not very well," Genn admitted. "I mean, I'm not used to keeping watch for this sort of thing. They seem reluctant to admit that they've found themselves in a universe that parallels a fictional account from their world--" "You can say 'comic book', Genn," Brianna smiled. "It's okay." Genn smiled back, continuing on. "--and the shorter one, if I may say so, seems slightly uneasy around you in particular." Brianna erupted with laughter. "I was wondering if you'd noticed that. Yeah, he's almost as scared of me as YOU are, isn't he?" Genn blushed. "I don't know his reasons, but I--" "To tell you the truth, Genn, there's something about him that intrigues me. He sure does seem to be tuned-in to things. And the way he talks and acts, it's like, boom! suddenly things are clear to me. The way he explained the jumping he and his friend go through, it was clear as a bell to me--I could understand right away what he meant, and what they've been through." Genn couldn't resist: "Sounds like you've found the perfect match." Brianna grinned devilishly. "Perhaps, perhaps so," she intoned slowly, getting up from the table. "But that doesn't mean you're off the hook yet, my friend." She laughed all the way to the elevator back to the Labs. 1154EDT "Sis?" Brianna's voice drifted in towards Gina's workstation. "In the back," Gina called out, staring at the screens. Brianna joined her momentarily, glancing at the spinning diagrams and the text surrounding them. "Looks neat, what is it?" "Jason.. told me, that it's an antigravity device." "JASON did?" Brianna echoed. "Just a few minutes ago," Gina nodded. "Says this language is almost like his native tongue." "I thought he was from Canada?" "Maybe this is some weird dialect of French," Gina shrugged, as a poor joke. Brianna sat down at the other terminal. "Neat CAD design. When'd you--oh, let me guess, he did this, too?" "In less than five minutes," Gina nodded again. "He also says he can help us build it, and with the right materials, we might be able to mass-produce 'em." "Unreal.." Gina smiled as she saw the look in her clone-sister's eyes. "I think you're in grave danger of falling in love." "Huh?" Brianna blinked. She honestly didn't know if Gina was referring to Jason or the onscreen schematic. Neither did Gina, and she let it drop. "Cheets had some misgivings with my offer to let Jason and his friend move in here." "Uh-huh, she told me," Bri' said, leaning back in the chair and facing Gina. "Did she give you the same reasons, about room and equipment and money, and all that?" "Precisely," Gina answered. "But *I* think we can handle it. How 'bout you?" "Well.. if we manage things carefully, and make sure we don't go overboard, yeah, I think it's doable. Keep in mind, though, that Penny's only lending us enough so we can get back on our feet." Gina nodded once more. "I keep getting reminded about that." "Sorry, sis.. it's a touchy subject right now, I know. So, what are you gonna do.. put it to a vote?" "Put what to a vote?" "Whether or not to let Jason and Brian move in." "Oh." Gina's face reddened slightly. "Actually, after this--" she gestured to the screens "--I basically opened the door for them." "Oh," Brianna echoed. "Well, that takes care of that, I guess. So where are they now?" "Well, I think Brian is still wandering around in the bays somewhere, and Jason went out." "Out where?" "He, um, wanted to go get a car." "He didn't want to use one of the Ginamobiles?" "Well, he wanted to have it modified afterwards, by us, but no, he had a special one in mind." Realization settled on Brianna's face. "Gina," she said slowly, "where would he possibly be getting the money for a car, if I might be so bold as to ask?" "Well, I.. loaned it to him," Gina admitted. "You.. what?" "He had all these great ideas," Gina said. "And he was able to decipher this text here in a snap! I figured the least I could do as a thankyou would be to give him one thing he wanted. Especially if we're gonna be working together." "Why couldn't you have given him a room all his own, or a private link to the computer?" Brianna countered. "What kind of car?" "Idunno, he just said he'd seen an ad for Cam Smith on the TV and.." "Cam Smith?? That's the guy who has that Chevy place downtown," Brianna blurted out. "The one that's the exclusive dealer of high-performance machines to this half of Georgia. I sure hope you didn't give him a blank check!" "Ahhh.. nope," Gina said. "Not a blank check." Brianna watched as her sister turned back to the screen. "..What, then?" Bri' asked. "Um. Cash," Gina said. Brianna laughed nervously. "Cash," she echoed. "Yeah," Gina told her sister. "Paper money cash." "I sure hope these guys are big revenue generators for us, or we'll be paying off Penny for a long time," Brianna shook her head with a smile. 1330EDT "What troubles you, my dear?" Theodore Diggers asked his daughter. "I.. well, I've got a bit of a problem, dad," Gina said, pacing through her father's study. Julia sat in the chair, and Theo stood near his desk. "Of what sort?" "Well, while they were out on their run today, Brit and Bri' met up with a couple of guys. These guys supposedly came here from some other dimension, where they were immortals.. and they're obviously homeless right now, seeing as how they just popped into existence, for all intents and purposes." Gina, pacing all the time, failed to notice her parents exchanging curious glances. "Go on," Julia said evenly. Gina was already doing so: "And they're pretty intelligent--one of them even deciphered something I've been having trouble with for months--and I figure they could be a couple of pretty good partners for us, but Brit and Bri' have expressed some misgivings about it all." "How so?" "Well," Gina directed to her father, "More or less, they're concerned about how we're going to deal with two new mouths to feed, that sort of thing. And, um--" Gina cut herself off as she realized she hadn't yet let her parents know about her financial woes. "'And'?" Julia trailed off. "Well, um, we've been having a bit of bad luck with our bank accounts lately, and Brit and Bri're scared that.." "Why didn't you tell us this?" "I didn't want to impose," Gina protested, spinning around and walking towards a wall, as if that would get her away from the conversation. "I wanted to get through this myself." "Are you okay now?" Theo asked. "One of my friends is helping us out. We'll be fine. Thank you." "Are you sure? Because we can--" "Mom! Please.. it's okay." "Don't feel like it's an imposition," Julia told her daughter. "We'll always be here for you if you need help." "Thanks." "So the dilemma at hand is not your financial situation, but rather, advice on what to do about your newfound friends?" Theo asked. "More or less, yeah," Gina nodded. "How do YOU feel about the issue?" "Well, I think it'd be an advantage to all if they joined us," Gina shrugged. "I can see only good coming from this." "Then I think your answer is right in front of you," Theo said. "This should be a fairly simple decision." "I KNOW, dad," Gina protested, "but what if I'm wrong?" "'What if' questions are never worth the energy to answer them," her father warned. "By their very nature, any possible answer is correct." "I had an idea, I thought I might do--maybe you can give me your opinion of this," Gina said. "These guys have lived through, so they say, three thousand years and a bunch of different realities. I was thinking, if I could find a realm that came near to one that they were familiar with, and made up some kind of adventure for the lot of us--Brit and Bri' and me and these guys--to go on, we could use that as a test, sort of. What do you think?" "An interesting concept," Theo said, looking to his wife for input. "Allowing them to get comfortable with your customs and patterns, while in a familiar setting," Julia nodded. "A sound idea; you've got my vote." "Okay," Gina said, a little more upbeat. "That's what we'll go do, then." "Enjoy yourselves, and good luck," Theo said. "Thanks," Gina smiled, one hand on the doorknob. "..For everything." Theo nodded, smiling, as his daughter left the study; then, he turned to face his wife, with a much more serious expression. She wore a similar look. "So it begins," he said. "Or am I wrong?" "I think you're right," she agreed, nodding. "The time has finally come." ** This story fits into some of the 'lulls' in the first DOOR story 'Dimension Out Of Range'. It incorporates some ideas from the original story and subsequent rewrites that were left out of the final release. --J. lowj@cadvision.com 22 September 1998