Neptune Road Volume IV by Betsy Streeter Page A

dug in there,
alright. It's like they tried to rewrite the whole program. They
could have just copied it out without leaving a trace. Why did they
alter things?
     
    "Well these codes, the ones we used to shut off those
metal dinos that chased us through the storm?" Feller says. "They
are in here, again. But this is a completely different system. And
I didn't put them there."
     
    "Did Angelica copy them over for some reason?" May
asks.
     
    "No idea," Feller says. "Why would she do that? And
more importantly, how? How could the Gelica Protocol jump from our
airship to the Bird People's lab and back again, without some kind
of help?"
     
    "Yeah, that's weird," May says. "And those codes,
maybe they are for more than one purpose. Or maybe they didn't
affect the dinos at all. Maybe they just headed home on their
own."
     
    Feller raises his eyebrows and sighs. "I think we've
got some hacking to do, kid."
     
    "Indeed," May says, and the two give each other a
high five.
     
    Outside, the Neptune storm rolls off to another
location and dwellings and markets begin to pop back up out of the
landscape.
     
     

078 - Drake Mangrove's Workshop

     
    Dr. Mangrove takes off his sweater and lays it neatly
over the stool.
     
    He crosses the workshop, adjusting items on
overstuffed tables and shelves as he goes. There's a tiny
kitchenette in the corner, a formica fold-out table and a few hooks
in the wall that hold various mugs and teacups. He turns off the
hot plate. He pours steaming water over a tea bag and lets it
settle in a tiny, flowered teacup.
     
    Then he returns to his workbench with his tea and
sits down. He presses a button on the nearest boom box - one of
several scattered throughout the room - and the Well-Tempered
Clavier comes out of the speakers.
     
    He pulls a few components from the drawer in the
workbench and begins tinkering with them, but it doesn't help. He
feels agitated, all of the time. He hasn't slept for more than an
hour or so in days.
     
    "Four. Three. Five. Two. One."
     
    "Four. Three. Five. Two. One."
     
    He puts his hand to his forehead. This headache won't
go away. He thinks back to the Bird People's lab - what did he see
there? What was going on? Why was Angelica there? Why can't he
remember?
     
    "Four. Three. Five. Two. One."
     
    "Hey, Dad?" It's Rebecca's voice through the
intercom. "Are you in there? I need a couple pieces of wire and a
lens for Feller."
     
    "Yes, dear," Dr. Mangrove says, without moving.
"Door's open."
     
    "Four. Three. Five. Two. One."
     
    "Okay, okay!" Dr. Mangrove shouts, jumping to his
feet. "What is this? What are these stupid numbers? Please just
make it stop!"
     
    "Ah! Now I've got your attention."
     
    "Angelica?"
     
    "Yes, dearest, it's me."
     
    "But..." Dr. Mangrove spins around. "Where? Where are
you?"
     
    "Silly, I'm in your head. It's a piggy-back ride, I
suppose. Or a brain-back ride, really."
     
    "What?" Dr. Mangrove puts his hands on either side of
his head. "No!"
     
    "Oh, yes, dear," Angelica says. "I must say, it's so
nice to have a body again. I've felt so - fragmented with no
physical form. One can only swim around as bits and bytes for so
long before you really start to miss having two feet and two hands.
Oh, and tea. Tea! Wonderful."
     
    "Dad?"
     
    Rebecca stands in the doorway.
     
    "Dad, what's wrong?"
     
    Dr. Mangrove freezes, and says nothing.
     

079 - Saloon Doors

     
    "Why, that's splendid, Edward," Darby says, hands on
hips.
     
    Edward drives the last screw into the wall at the
entrance to Darby's Bar.
     
    "Where did you say you got these, again?" Darby
asks.
     
    "Someone dropped them off," Edward says. "Came from a
movie set on Earth, I think."
     
    "Well, it's splendid. Try it out."
     
    Edward puts down the drill and walks out the door.
It's a pair of swinging shutters, just like those found in an Old
West saloon on Earth. They even make a satisfying squeak as Edward
pushes them outward.
     
    Edward releases the doors, and