The Secret Sea by Thomas F. Monteleone

Author:Thomas F. Monteleone [Monteleone, Thomas F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Juvenile Fiction, Space and Time, Mystery & Detective, Science Fiction; Fantasy; Magic, Philosophy, Science, Relativity, Metaphysics
ISBN: 9780445044043
Publisher: Popular Library
Published: 1979-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

AFTER THAT little scene, Nemo left us to our quarters, saying that we would be soon leaving the North Pacific, heading south through Polynesia and eventually around the cape. He invited us to lunch in his chambers later on in the day and begged his leave so that he could devote a few hours to some private study.

I went in and sat on the edge of my bunk, eyeing the sea-stained steamer trunk that Nemo's men had so efficiently gone through. "That was some kind of little confrontation, wasn't it?" I said to Ruffin who was standing silently just inside the door to the cabin.

"No shit. You know, the way he treated us right from the start… I never had any idea that he might have thought we were with Robur."

"You think I did?"

"He's a lot more sly than I gave him credit for," said Ruffin.

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing."

Ruffin balanced himself on the edge of the washbasin. "Have you given much thought to how dangerous this whole scene might be?"

"I've been starting to think about that, too." I tried to laugh but didn't do a very good job of it.

Ruffin went on. "I mean, he's serious about boffing this Robur guy, right? And what about that atomic pile downstairs? Christ, are we safe with that thing around?"

"I don't know…"

"You don't know! Shit, Bryan, you're the physicist, and you don't know?"

"Look, I didn't get a chance to inspect the thing, you know? It appeared to be okay. There really isn't much to them if you understand what you're doing."

"I can't believe it, anyway," said Ruffin, wringing his hands together. "Atomic energy in the world of 1870… it's crazy! It's impossible! I don't give a shit how smart he is… How in hell did he ever stumble upon nuclear physics?"

"I meant to ask him about it when he showed us that reactor, but I just didn't get around to it. He kept talking so fast and moving us along that I just didn't get into it. I'll ask him though, don't worry about that."

"You'll probably get some kind of long-winded answer too. The man can talk, that's for sure."

I grinned, but I knew that most of what Nemo had to say was worth listening to. "Yeah, but there's still a lot of things I want to ask him about. I mean, think of where we are, Derek! Think of it! We're in a parallel universe, an… alternate earth! It's crazy, it's unthinkable, yet we're here. It's so natural, so real, that I forget about it most of the time. We've got to ask him about the fluxgate business. It's got to be one of the most fantastic discoveries of all time."

"Sure, sure, Professor, but there's something else I think we should ask him about."

"What's that?" I said.

"Like when is he going to take us through one of those gates of his and get us back to the good old U.S.A. that we all know and love?"

"Oh yeah, that.

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