Adam Brodie and the monster from the dark planet

Chapter Fifty Two

Chapter Fifty Two

Adam woke the next morning. He had a raging thirst and his mouth felt like dry and gummy. Lying in bed he tried to lubricate his mouth with an even drier tongue. Despite his discomfort the sleep had done him good and he even had an idea how to resolve the problem.

He found Brigitte sitting in a cartoon armchair, silent and brooding. He stood in front of her.

"I guess you didn't get any sleep last night?"

Brigitte shook her head.

"I think I may have a way out."

She looked up at him expectantly. "You do?"

"It's a long shot but in this mad, crazed multiverse it could work."

George and his parents entered the cartoon living room Adam turned.

"I have an idea," said Adam.

"Brilliant," said Barry. "I tried the cosmic net again. Nada. It's never been down before, not in my life time and I haven't heard of a time when it was down. I want to try something first."

Helen held two cartoon beakers and proffered them to Adam and Brigitte.

"These beakers hold our equivalent of your water. Try it. It might work."

"The worst that can happen is the liquid won't work. As it is cartoon that's very likely and as it is cartoon it won't do you any harm at all."

Brigitte looked apprehensively at the cartoon liquid in the cartoon beaker in her hand. Adam clinked his beaker to hers.

"Cheers," he said and swallowed the liquid.

"Anything?" said Barry.

Adam wasn't even aware of the liquid. It had no taste, no texture. As far as he was concerned he might as well have tipped an empty beaker into his mouth.

"Nothing at all. I'm still thirsty. You try Brigitte."

Brigitte drank the contents of the beaker then she shook her head.

"It's as if I swallowed empty air."

Barry sighed. "I thought as much but it was worth a try. The liquid will have no effect on your bodies. It will just pass through so it's harmless. Adam, your idea?"

"George told us you have wizards in this world who can do magic."

"We do."

"What about getting one of those wizards to send us back using magic?"

Brigitte brightened. "Of course, why didn't I think of that? It was the magic from the fairy on the Christmas tree that got us back to the Nexus."

"That is a good idea," said Barry. "It's obvious now." He turned to his wife. "We know a warlock. Stanley Moon, he's a really nice man but a complete prat."

"Would he be able to send us back?"

"I don't see why not. Well speak of the devil!"

The door opened and a wizard walked in. This warlock was different to the surrounding world in that instead of being like a figure painted with coloured inks, this figure was a computer generated image with glossy gradations of colour, and no black outlines, giving the figure a pseudo three dimensional look.

The wizard had a long white beard and a pointed conical hat and gown decorated with crescent-moons and stars, pretty much the standard uniform for wizards throughout the multiverse.

"Stanley Moon," said Helen. "You're the very person we need to see. Eh...what happened to you?"

Stanley was sobbing. "I gone all computer image generated. So has my cottage. What's more it's spreading. I calculated it will take twenty hours before it spreads to your cottage. My advice is head for the hills. You don't want to end up like me."

"Hold on Stanley."

Barry went to a window and put a cartoon telescope to his eye and adjusted the focus.

"Good grief! You're right. Your cottage and the entire area around it has turned CGI."

He turned to the gathering.

"I heard about chaos in the multiverse. It looks as though it has arrived here. Our cartoon wold is turning CGI."

Stanley Moon was still sobbing. "When it first happened I panicked. I used my magic to bring young George back here. I thought he might be able to help. He is a cosmic champion."

"I'm learning to be a cosmic champion," corrected George. "I'm in my first year. You brought me here?"

"Yes. Who are these?"

"These came with me," said George.

"Oh dear," said Stanley. "I didn't get the spell right. I must have brought them here by accident."

"You did this?" gasped Barry.

"I think I must have," said Stanley in a very, very small voice.

"Well send them back," said Helen.

"That's the thing," said Stanley. "I can't. Shortly after I cast the spell I turned CGI and lost my powers."

"Stanley," said Barry. "You always been useless but now you're less than useless."

"It was an accident!" whined Stanley.

"Get out before I lose my rag and incinerate you with cartoon fire."

"I don't think that'll work," said Stanley. "Now I'm CGI, I don't think your cartoon fire will do anything to me."

"Would you like me to try?"

Stanley left the house sobbing his heart out

Barry looked through his telescope again.

"He's right. The pool of computer generated image around his cottage is spreading. Everything that edge touches turns to computer generated imagery." He looked at the others. "We got to warn people."

"First we got to see to the children."

"Right," said Barry. "I'm hungry and thirsty."

"We all are," said Helen.

"Can we get another warlock?" said Adam.

"We should be able to," said Barry. "I'll call around. Helen, where's the yellow pages?"

Soon Barry was sitting on a stool next to a small round table on which stood an old fashioned, cartoon telephone, the type Adam had seen on old black and white films.

"What I can't understand is how we can move about this cartoon world?" said Adam. "How can we sit in cartoon chairs and sleep in cartoon beds?"

"It has to be a side effect of Stanley Moon's enchantment. It must have happened automatically when he brought you here. Stanley was the wizard whose enchantment allowed me to interact with the three dee world."

"But he didn't know he was transporting us out of the Nexus?" said Brigitte.

"It must have happened automatically. I don't know," said George. "I'm no wizard."

Barry slammed down the receiver.

"All the warlocks in the book have got wind of the CGI problem and used their magic to move themselves to other dimensions, out of harm's way. I'm just getting messages left by answering machines. Cowards!"

"There is the witch," said Helen.

Barry shook his head slowly. "No Helen, not the witch. Please not the witch."