The Citadel and the Wolves by Peter Goodman Read Free Book Online Page B

rule the world. Time has stood still here. You see, that comet never struck our earth 65 million years ago in a parallel universe, so the giant reptiles still hold sway here. Mankind has yet to put in an appearance. Perhaps he never will on our earth in the parallel universe.”
    “No McDonald’s then,” remarked someone else in the group light-heartedly.
    We laughed.
    Mr Whitehouse added, “We might even find a Roman Empire that hadn’t fallen and discovered the Americas before Christopher Columbus. Anything is possible in our parallel universe.”
    I imagined what my own earth would be like in this strange, parallel universe, rolling grasslands, wild flowers, beautiful butterflies, steep gorges and sparkling, crystal rivers winding through them, and no people to mess things up. Yes, it would be a paradise, my earth in the parallel universe. As God and creator of this parallel universe, I’d sometimes visit in my spaceship. I’d lie in the long grass of a faraway meadow, watching the butterflies dancing on the warm, summer’s breeze and drinking the golden nectar from the wildflowers whose seeds I’d planted long ago. Yes, it would be a warm, balmy midsummer’s day every day on my earth. I’d be a child forever. Time would stand still for me. I frowned. Then mother would call from the spaceship, spoiling everything. She was a grown-up.
    The others slipped back into my world again.
    “Could we enter a parallel universe, Sir?” wondered Jane.
    “It might be possible,” suggested Mr Whitehouse.
    “How?”
    “Walk.”
    Walk? We looked at each other amused.
    I slipped in my second question. “Sir, could someone from a parallel universe enter ours?”
    I was crossing the deserted, main school concourse later. I was in no hurry. My mind was still full of parallel universes, the Roman Empire and the now extinct dinosaurs…and the comet that destroyed them. Mr Whitehouse caught up with me with his briefcase.
    “Jade.”
    “Sir.”
    “Did you enjoy this evening?”
    “Very much,” I enthused.
    He had something else on his mind. “Jade, I’ve been reading some of the articles your father wrote in the science journals.”
    “Robinson’s Comet?”
    He chuckled. “Yes”
    “Do you believe him, Sir?”
    “It’s like the parallel universes,” answered Mr Whitehouse.
    I was disappointed. “You don’t believe him?”
    He smiled. “No, some of us do.”
    I was pleased.
    Mr Whitehouse gave me a lift home in his Ford electro-hybrid car. I hated using the electro buses late. The electric motors hummed quietly beneath the bonnet. I discovered that his first name was Simon, though I promised not to call him that in class. He was a bachelor who was dedicated to his career in teaching. It was his life. We were his family. I felt rather proud to be a member of his family. We chatted about cool things such as rock music, modern art, walking between parallel universes and comets. Then we exchanged vid phone numbers. I’d found a new friend, and he was a ‘believer’ too.
    Daddy was sorting through some star charts on his desk by the computer in the attic. I was still in my school uniform.
    He looked around puzzled. “Mr Whitehouse?”
    “I hope you don’t mind, Daddy?” I asked with a smile. “He’s my science teacher.”
    “No, I don’t mind.”
    I paused before I went down. “He’s a believer too.”
    He shook his head amused.
    It was late.
    I stuck the birthday wish note on Wendy’s bedroom door. I was startled when Wendy tapped me on the shoulder. She removed the wish note. She read it briefly. She slipped it into her dressing gown pocket before she vanished into her room. It was an improvement. She normally screws up my notes and throws them at my head. Her bedroom door opened a fraction a moment later. The screwed up note flew out of the gap, hitting me on the head. As she shut the door again, giggling, I poked my tongue out.
    As soon as I entered my room, I booted up my ‘Windows 2015’ computer.