The Inventor's Son

The Preview of The Scientist's Son, and a Final Note

(I have the full preview of The Scientist's Son, which is a little over three whole chapters, here for you. Enjoy, and please read the note at the end!)

Chapter One: In Which Our Hero Makes an Entry into Rome

Ethan Stanwood might not have known it yet, but he was going to discover that a great portion of one's life involved standing in line.

"Prossima! Remove your hats, per favore!" a man from behind a glass window called out into the crowd. Ethan stepped up, and the passport he handed the customs agent still appeared rather new. The sepia-and-white photo portrayed a young boy with deep brown hair who was a citizen of the British Empire. The agent looked up and saw that the boy was actually older than his photographic depiction by a couple of years and that his eyes were a blue of unusual depth. He also saw the sorry, shaven state of the boy's hair and his overall poor physical condition. The agent shuddered, and nodded. Ethan placed his bowler hat back on his head as the agent stamped Ethan Phillip Stanwood's passport.

"Prossima!" the agent yelled and the line moved up. The next passport stamped belonged to one William Allen Huntington, also a British citizen, coming up on his thirty-fifth year, an inspector with the London Metro Police. He took his passport back and stuck it into an inside pocket of his plainclothes jacket.

Then, the agent examined the passport of Sophia Warren Ballard, aged fifty-seven. Her passport photograph had been done recently, so it illustrated her gray hair and eyes accurately. Of course, it had been stamped quite a few times more than her grandson's as well. "Welcome to Italy, Signora Ballard," the agent said. Sophia nodded and smiled, then placed her bonnet back on her head.

One more person, a tiny young lady with platinum hair and sweet features, had a passport to stamp. The agent examined and stamped Cora Abbott's passport. Then Cora joined those other individuals previously mentioned and nearly giggled with excitement. "I can't believe we're here. I never thought I'd come to Rome!"

"I never thought I would, either, Cora," Ethan commented. "I'm not even certain that my father did. I'm sure if he had known, he would have made sure I had a more recent photograph in my passport."

Sophia sniffed. "Goodness, Ethan dear. Ever since you've turned thirteen you've become so self-conscious!"

Ethan sighed and pulled his hat tighter on his head. "Grandmother, I'm not self-conscious!"

"Of course you are, everyone your age is," Liam, as Inspector Huntington was known to them all now, reassured Ethan. He retrieved some of their luggage and then must have noticed the expression on Ethan's face. "Ah, don't fret, lad! You'll grow out of it!"

Ethan could not help but think that it was flatly impossible that Liam had ever felt unsure of himself. If Ethan had Liam's height and strength, he wouldn't be self-conscious... Which, of course, he most certainly was not! He wondered where these adults got their notions.

Ethan rolled one of the smaller trunks off to the side and opened it. "You sure you should be doing that here, lad?" Liam asked.

"I want Sam activated as soon as possible. I figure this is as good a place as any. I...promised him I wouldn't leave him in a case for long periods of time anymore," Ethan answered, with a bit of a flush growing in his cheeks.

"But, lad, making a promise to Sam, that's like making a promise to a rock or a pair of shoes," Liam pointed out.

Ethan was silent as he made it seem he ignored Liam's comment. Yes, he knew how silly it sounded to make promises to a gadget. "SAM" was not actually a person, but an invention of Dr. Marcus Stanwood, Ethan's father. A small automaton built to resemble a humanoid form, Sam operated on a very intricate system of clockworks, most of which were located inside Sam's head. Marcus had warned Ethan not to bother with those clockworks inside the head, but that he was free to adjust the cogs and wheels inside the torso as much as he desired.