Rod, Rex and Rhoda

by Bob Brill

There’s More

The next thing we know Rhoda and I are stepping out of the transporter across the room, we’re still holding hands, and there’s Pumphrey and Rex waiting for us. Rex gets very excited and to tell the truth I’m pretty excited too. We seem to be alive.

“So, Pumphrey, what are we doing here?”

“It’s simple, folks. First thing I did when you entered the transporter was to save your dissociated images offline. Then I erased the source buffer, effectively killing you. When no one was around I loaded your images back into the source buffer and transported you across the room. And here you are again.” He smiles at his own cleverness.

“Pumphrey, that’s wonderful.” Rhoda and I look at each other. We’re smiling too, just because we’re alive and life goes on.

“Although it must seem to you that no time at all has passed, actually three days have gone by. I had to wait till the weekend when nobody comes in.” Oh, Pumphrey, God bless you, you are always so full of explanations. “I’ve been keeping Rex at my apartment. He’s been nervous and upset and he peed on my couch, but now he’s happy again.”

“Oh, Rex, my friend, it must have been hard on you.” I hold him in my arms and he licks my face. “Pumphrey, how can I thank you enough? What made you do this?”

“I may be a Rumex employee, but I don’t always agree with Rumex policy. When I can get away with it, I act on my own. I see nothing wrong with having a few clones in the world, and besides, I like you two.”

“I like you too, Pumphrey. I did right from the start, although I didn’t know why, but now I have a great reason to like you.”

Pumphrey says, “Now we have to get you out of here. If Hollister finds you, you’ll get snuffed all over again and there’ll be no resurrection. But if we can get you out of here they’ll never find you, because they’ll never be looking for someone they think is dead.”

Rhoda plants a kiss on Pumphrey’s forehead. “Thank you, Mr. Pumphrey. I’ll never forget you.”

“That’s good,” he says, “because you’re not likely to see me again. Now if you’ll just step back into the transporter and select a destination.”

“Your trick transporter?” I say.

“No, this one you just came out of. It’s an ordinary transporter, except I can fudge the log so that no one will know it’s been used. Wherever you want to go.”

Rhoda says, “I’ve always wanted to take a vacation on Cape Cod.”

“But Rhoda, my love, we have no money.”

“Then we’ll just have to get some, won’t we?”

“If we could get back to the Jellicoe circus,” I say, “but where are they now?”

Pumphrey says, “That’s not hard to find out.” He steps over to an Internet console. In a few minutes he has the Morrison and Jellicoe Circus schedule on his screen. “Today they are in Kalispell, Montana.”

“Dial it in, Pumphrey. That’s where we’re heading.” Rhoda and I, with Rex in my arms, step into the transporter. I wave to Pumphrey, a wave of thanks and farewell. And then we’re stepping out into the cool mountain air of Kalispell.

Proceed to Chapter 22...