Charles Sheffield - Proteus in the Underworld

Bey prowled slowly around the whole house one last time, with the chimp and the two hounds trailing along behind.

“I guess that’s it, then.” Everything was clean, everything was in order. He had run out of every last thing that might need doing. “Come down to the beach and see me off.”

Even the weather was obliging. It was perfect for the journey, blue skies overhead and the faintest breeze from the south. Bey crossed the sand and walked out onto the jetty.

“Stay there, all of you, unless you want to get wet. I’ll miss you guys, but don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”

Bey waved as he stepped into the skimmer. Jumping Jack Flash waved back, one hound standing on each side of the chimpanzee. They all watched as the skimmer made a leisurely semi-circle in the little harbor. Then it accelerated rapidly in a great surge of spray, became airborne in seconds, and arrowed away to die northwest.

The little party on the beach stood silent and motionless until the skimmer was quite out of sight, even to the keen eyes of the hounds. Then Janus whined, pushing at the left hand of Jumping Jack Flash with her muzzle. When the chimp did not respond at once she did it again, more urgently.

He looked down at her with knowing brown eyes. After a few more seconds of waiting to make sure that the skimmer was far away, he led the hounds back across the sand, around the curving stone path and into the house.

They entered the main level, where the food and water dispensers were found; but they did not remain there. Jumping Jack Flash descended, until he was in the basement lab far below the surface.

Janus stepped forward at once into one of the specially constructed form-change tanks. She lay down there. Siegfried moved into another one next to her. Carefully and patiently, like someone who had done it many times before, Jumping Jack Flash made the connections for each of them. Both the dogs were quivering with eagerness when he at last closed the openings of both tanks.

The chimp grunted his criticism of their impatience. If he had to wait, so should they.

Finally they were ready and it was his turn. Jumping Jack Flash climbed into his own tank, carefully made all the necessary attachments and tank inter-connections, and slid the door closed.

There was a brief hum of drawn power. The dials and control panels on the outside of the form-change tanks came to life, then settled into stable readings. The lab became still and silent.

A visitor, walking in, would have judged it dark and empty. Three floors above, night was falling on Wolf Island.

In the basement lab it was close to dawn.