A Surprise for Dr Vincent

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 36341

Perhaps it was a mischievous Agent, rather than pure chance, that had caused the group (Jarlath, Annafrid, Astra 9, Dragon Synizn, Dragoness Astra, Fertal and Artizza) to materialise in such a way that both Astra 9 and Dragoness Astra (like Synizn, in human form) would be out of Dr Vincent's field of view initially. These were the two Astras that he would have thought that he recognised (unlike Artizza, who now looked very different from her old human form).

Just as Vincent says: "Who are you and where did you come from?", Astra 9 steps forward and into his view.

"Ah, hello my dear," he greets her. "I was rather worried about you when you disappeared like that, so I'm glad to see that you're all right. If you are here looking for your friend, he fully recovered and left quite some time ago. Are these people friends of yours? How did you all arrive without my detecting you? You know, there's something different about you, Astra. You look about five years younger than when I saw you last." (Astra 9, having been inducted as a Champion when under eighteen years of age, had stopped visibly ageing on reaching her eighteenth birthday. This world's Astra, that Dr Vincent was confusing her with, was in her early twenties.)

"My name is Astra," she replies, when Vincent seems to have finally stopped talking, "but I'm not the Astra that you think I am, if that doesn't sound too strange. What would you say if I told you that I, and my friends, are from several different alternative realities, Terras that are 'parallel' to this one?"

"I would say that I am possibly the only person on this world who would meet such a claim with other than stunned incomprehension. How splendid! I've long hypothesised about the possibility of parallel universes, but have never been able to devise an experiment that would put the possibility to the test. You must tell me how you are able to travel between universes."

"I can understand your thirst for knowledge," Dragoness Astra says, for the first time stepping forward into his view, "but I'm afraid that we aren't permitted to tell you that."

"Oh my!" Vincent says, looking from one Astra to the other. "Two of you! There aren't any more Astras hidden away at the back, are there?"

"One more," Artizza says. "I don't blame you for not recognising me, Dr Vincent, but I recognise you. I too am an Astra - or perhaps I should say I was an Astra. I visited my own world's Dr Vincent (which is how I recognised you), with my world's Fred. But subsequently we fell foul of a rather unpleasant wizard" - she decides that it might not be wise to mention that he had claimed to be a friend of Vincent's - "and then we got turned into dark elves. I'm called Artizza now, and Fred became Fertal." Fertal bows politely.

  1. Artizza continues: "We need to find this reality's Fred and Astra, which is why we are here. From what you've said, although they have been here I take it that you don't know where they are now?"

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JH

11/26/2003 12:07:03 PM

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