Some Bits of Treasure 4/4

                      Some Bits of Treasure  Part IV
                      
                              by Brian Strayer


     John, Tom, and the boy loaded their vehicle and were off to the
 village.  With a full measure of jolts and dust, they arrived at the
 village a bit before noon.  Armand directed them to an area that was run
 down even for the village.  They entered a ramshackle leanto stacked with
 sacks and debris and pushed through a worn board door in the back left
 corner.  The room was small with a cot at one end and piles of stuff on
 the oppposite wall.  Two boxes in the center of the common wall made a
 crude desk.  Armand wisked off the cloth covering the desk and powered up
 the A500.
 
     "What now?" he asked.  John laid down half a page of writing.  "Open a
 shell and enter this page."
 
     As the boy entered the data, Tom looked at the code.  "But what if the
 gizmo is off at the other end?" John raised his eyebrows, "From what I can
 gather indirectly of the time frame, access may have been possible for
 over a thousand years!"
 
     They refocused on the screen as Armand finished the last line.  "Now,
 run it," John told him.
 
     The boy did. The screen went blank for a few seconds, then showed
 three small shapes that tumbled around like a screen saver.  They then
 merged in the center forming the Commodore symbol.  A loud 'ping'
 announced the change of the symbol to large letters proclaiming 'ACCESS'.
 The screen went blank and a low hum-pop was barely audible.
 
     Tom pointed behind them to the only open space in the room, "What's
 that?"  A thin band of distortion was visible.  It was much the same as
 distant objects appeared on a hot day.  It ran from floor to ceiling and
 was about eight inches wide.  The distortion was greatest in the center
 tapering to nothing on the edges.  John walked slowly around it.  It was
 visible from the machine and directly behind it.  But nothing could be
 seen from the sides.
 
     He ventured, "I think that is our doorway."  Tom stared at John, "I
 sure hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."
 
     "We have no other test equipment," he replied, "And we do not know
 what high powered friends that hoodlum might have.  They still have the
 laptop.  I don't see how we can wait and maybe loose our advantage."
 
     "I guess you're right," Tom assented.  "But who's going to go
 through?"  
 
     "I'm the obvious choice.  I know the symbols and data," replied John.
 They equipped him with their few essentials in a couple of minutes.  He
 faced the distortion, looked at them, and smiled, with a last attempt at
 humor, "Now don't wait up for me."
 
     He stepped forward and was gone.

     Not twenty seconds elapsed before John stepped back into the room.


     "What's...," Tom started and then stopped, staring at John's face.
 His eyes were bright and his whole being radiated excitement, and more.
 
     "It seems I've been gone a few seconds, but actually four hours has
 passed for me.  You won't believe what I've seen.  I can hardly explain
 it.  And this distortion is a handle, not a door.  It takes us to the door
 to another world.  And not just a world, but life.  Real life like we
 haven't known. I've met the people who have done all of this.  They want
 us to come.  Our world, our lives have been missing some key elements.  We
 will have them there. But you must come and see for yourself.  It's
 incredible.  And we have to come back and tell everyone about the
 computers and what they really have at their fingertips, and what
 wonderful things await them."
 
     Armand did not hesitate,"I want to go!" John nodded,"Good. There's a
 place for us Tom, and much to do. Come and see."
 
     Parts of Tom's life flashed before his eyes.  Those things he valued,
 memories of special places and times, and people, though there was no one
 really close.  He felt suddenly afraid that all of these and his innermost
 dreams for his future would evaporate and be lost from his life forever.
 It enveloped him like a cold, dark horror and froze his confused thoughts.
 
     But then a speck of hope appeared.  A hope for a new life without
 sadness, failures, and poor choices.  He tenderly held this hope in his
 heart and with a new boldness, looked straight into John's eyes.
 
     "That sounds like a fair offer," he said, and followed them through.





                              The  End