It was Peeehuuullbia who invented
the di-chro-locator, but it was the young team of males whom Henry had been
charged for teaching gambling who built it to look like a slot machine.
Delighted with their own fine humor, they got Henry drunk on seawater and
tumbled him into his rebuilt capsule, pulling the lever and slamming the hatch
shut just in time.
Henry had lost track of how many
times he had played. Um, tried to return home. It was hard to remember the end
goal sometimes. He half expected cherries, lemons, and strawberries to pop up
on the screen, or a clean sweep to start lights flashing and coins pouring out
from under the console.
The Donsalvians had modified his
capsule so that he had enough resources to last indefinitely, but he could not
bear to remain confined for more than a few weeks at a time. So he gambled time
and again, throwing the lever and spinning the di-chro-locator to return him to
his own Earth. After each spin, if he were able to exit the capsule, he would
explore – for the scientific record, of course – until he felt the urge to try
once more.
So, snake eyes. As the
di-chro-locator slowed to a crawl, and finally rested on three numbers that
meant nothing to Henry, he turned on the external viewers and stared in
disbelief. His capsule rested in the middle of Times Square, New York. He
recognized the show placard lining the inevitable construction barriers along
the sidewalks. All the ads looked familiar. Finally, a flashing billboard
displayed the date, and Henry whooped for joy. He was home! At last!
Then something blurred his vision
and swept through his body like a chill. He recoiled and looked around to see
what had happened. His brain finally caught up with his eyes. He was sitting in
the *middle* of Times Square, on Broadway. Cars and people were blurring past.
And through. He felt it again. And again. And again.
He slammed his fists against the
di-chro-locator in frustration. Two cherries and a damned lemon.
Right time. Right place. Wrong
dimension.
Dogs in house
|
Houdini, Brindle
|
Time writing:
|
40 minutes
|
July word
count:
|
5,098
|
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