Alice the Amazing ⇒ STRANGER THINGS

[11] I'm Sciency!

{The Flea and the Acrobat, Part II}

"It would take a lot of energy to build a gate like this."

Mike was explaining the flea and the acrobat metaphor that Mr. Clarke had told them to Eleven, and she seemed to be understanding.

"But that's got to be what happened, otherwise how'd Will get there, right?" Mike asked. "What we want to know is, do you know where the gate is?"

Movement out of the corner of Alice's eye temporarily distracted her. She turned at saw Dustin holding a compass in his hand and spinning in circles.

"Dustin?" she called.

"Dustin!" Lucas asked. "What are you doing?"

Dustin turned to his friends, face deadly serious.

"I need to see your compasses."

"What?"

"All of your compasses, right now!"

The boys jumped into action. Lucas grabbed three compasses from his backpack, and Mike got a few from a science kit nestled on a shelf next to the Dungeons and Dragons box.

"What's exciting about this?" Alice asked, peering at the compasses.

"Well, they're all facing north, right?" Dustin asked, gesturing to the devices.

"Yeah," Lucas asked. "So?"

"Well," Dustin said, "that's not true north."

Mike frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I just said. That's not truth north."

Lucas, Mike, and Alice exchanged a look.

"Are you all seriously this dense?" Dustin said, exasperated. "The sun rises in the east, and it sets in the west." He pointed at one side of the basement, and then at another. "Which means," he pointed to one corner of the room, "that's true north."

"So," Alice said slowly, "what you're saying is the compasses are...broken?"

Dustin sighed.

"Wow, Al," he said. "Do you even understand how a compass works?"

"Dude, do you know me?"

Dustin shook his head in disbelief.

"Do you see a battery pack on this?"

"No," Alice said, cheeks turning pink. She hated when her smart brother talked to her like she was 4.

"No, you don't. Because it doesn't need one. The needle's naturally drawn to the Earth's magnetic North Pole."

"So, what's wrong with them?" Mike asked.

"Well, that's what I couldn't figure out," Dustin admitted, "but then I remembered. You can change the direction of a compass with a magnet. If there's the presence of a more powerful magnetic field, the needle deflects to that power. And then I remembered what Mr. Clarke said."

"The gate would have so much power," Mike began, and Alice, finally understanding, finished for him.

"It could disrupt the electromagnetic field!" Alice said. "See, I can be sciency."

"Exactly," Dustin said, ignoring her use of the word sciency. "Meaning, if we follow the compasses' north..."

"They should lead us to the gate," Lucas said.

"Good work, Dusty!" Alice said, beaming. They high fived and turned to Eleven, who looked a little frightened.

"Alright, El," Mike said. "Ready to go?"