Where in the--What Part 2
3 months after the end of part 1
Top Secret ACME Detective Agency Science Lab
Location: CLASSIFIED
Situated in an underground complex somewhere in the middle of the Montana plains was a series of giant interconnected & tiered chambers almost like an anthill designed for humans. Arranged along similar lines as the Magnoit Line used by the French at the start of WW II, except being quite a bit deeper, it was here that ACME Detective Agency’s Main Science Labs created such state of the art/top of the line equipment as the C-5 portal generator for transportation, the “Player Interface” for instant around the world informative communication, & the H.I.M.D.E.L.L., or Holographic Iso-Morphorphic Direct-Establishing Live Link, which allowed the Chief’s display screen as well as A/V information to be displayed for the use of ACME detectives-like Zack & Ivy.
Also here, 3 months after it had been used for Carmen Sandiego’s fantastic disappearing escape from the bottom of the Aricibo Telescope in Puerto Rico, was Carmen Sandiego’s highly-modified Chronoskimmer. The scientists of ACME Labs had taken it apart piece by piece, noting the extensive modifications that the notori-ous master criminal had done to the already incredible machine. Not only had she installed her own modified C-5 portal generator, there was also what appeared to be an internal realignment of several hoop-shaped pipes along the device’s frame. It was later found out that within each of these metal “hula hoops” were small grains of naturally-formed electrically-charged “Buckyballs.”
Scientifically called Buckminsterfullerene, this is 1 natural physical form, or allotrope, of the element carbon. Buckminsterfullerene molecules contain of 60 carbon atoms linked together to form an almost spherical ball with the chemical formula C60. The bonds between atoms form a pattern of joined hexagons & pentagons similar to the panels on a soccer ball. The allotrope was given its name because its structure resembles the elaborate geometrical structures invented by American ar-chitect R. Buckminister Fuller (1895-1983). For many years it was believed the element carbon had only 3 allotropes: diamond, graphite, and amorphous carbon. In 1985, however, a new family of allotropes was discovered, called fullerenes.
Buckminsterfullerene has become the most famous. Scientists now believe buckminster-fullerene is likely to be formed in sooty flames, & there’s a possibility it’s abundant in the universe, particularly near red giant stars. The versatility of fullerene mole-cules has led to a great deal of research exploring their properties, which are potentially useful in altering the electrical properties of metal atoms, in developing super-conducting materials, & in medical treatments.
“Obviously Carmen found an entirely new use for them,” Ivy commented. “But what?”
She looked down from a series of catwalk-platforms into a large concave pit that held at its center the appropriated Chronoskimmer of Carmen Sandiego. Lit from all sides & ½ disassembled, it had diagnostic equipment & scientists poking & prodding every open port, plate, & access panel.
“Well, according to the scientists that confiscated everything Carmen used to make her escape from the face of the Earth,” Chris King said from besides her. “She used the Buckyballs’ superconducting properties to augment the already incredible power that had been transmitted from the VLA. In a sense, she turned the Chor-noskimmer’s frame into a micro-super-collider--similar to the giant 1 that had been built in the middle of Texas. The energy she harnessed from this unheard of proce-dure was then channeled directly into her modified C-5 generator. The resulting portal was then directed directly at the Chronoskimmer’s single occupant--namely Carmen Sandiego herself.”
“That explains what she did, & how she did it,” Ivy replied. “But I want to know--Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego.”
“That’s just it, Ivy,” the other replied, looking down at Ivy’s younger brother, Zack, pouring over various blueprints & schematics taken from the Chrono-skimmer’s memory core. “The Chronoskimmer, as it was before the modifications, could easily travel back & forth outside of linear time. She’s done it before with that trip into the future when she attempted to seat that micro-cold-fusion generator. But the modifications she had done to it had radically altered the vehicle’s normal func-tions into “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Carmen had converted her Chronoskimmer into a Trans-Dimension Projector. She’s no longer on our Earth anymore. She transported herself outside our space-time continuum into 1 that could be very close to ours, or incredibly different.”
“Oh, come now, you don’t actually expect me to believe this--this story, do you?”
“He’s telling the truth, sis,” Zack said, coming of a set of catwalk-steps from the pit below. “I myself only understand 1/10th of what I was seeing & hearing, but it’s obviously Chris understood a lot more.”
“So tell me, Smart Alecs,” Ivy retorted, looking back & forth between the 2 of them, “How could there be other Earths beside our own?”
“Quantum scientist see Time as more of a fractal than as a line,” Chris told her. “They see reality as a constant set of infinite `what ifs’ scenarios. These possibilities could be as small as `What if Carmen Sandiego wore black instead of red?’ to something as major as `What if the Germans had created & used the atomic bomb before the Americans in World War II?’. Now imagine Earths where things, both small & large, had turned out different from that which we know. `What if Abraham Lincoln or JFK hadn’t been assassinated?’ ` What if Zack had been born a girl or not born at all?’ `What if the South had won the Civil War?’ `What if Carmen had stayed with ACME?’ `What if England had won the Revolutionary War?’ or even `What if ACME had never been created?’ It’s to 1 of these parallels that Carmen has traveled to.”
“And from here last words, it would appear that she’s going to an alternate reality that contains the last possibility—or trying to,” Zack said. “Whether she can or did or not isn’t known at the moment.”
“So how do we follow her?” Ivy asked.
“That’s what these guys are trying to find out,” Chris said. “And I think they’re close to a solution from what I’ve heard of going on in a nearby lab.”
Just then a 3x5’ pink screen appeared in front of them & about 6’ off the ground. Within it appeared a stylized man’s head w/ blond hair in a quasi-50‘s fashion. “Right you are, detectives,” said the chief. “For 3 months around the clock, ACME scientist had been designing & building a totally new form of transportation in order for the 3 of you to go after Carmen. Every detail we learned from Carmen’s little toy had been tested & installed into it. Now it’s time for the unveiling. Come on, its time to open your present.”
The screen then moved at a quick pace along the catwalks & through a large steel door—which opened & closed with a pneumatic hiss as the 3 humans followed.
After a few twists & turns along a series of underground corridors, the Chief’s projection stopped at a pair of doors that had “ACME Lab #5: Trans-Temporal Vehicles” Below it was: “Danger: High EM IR & UV Radiation levels possible at all times.” Below that was: “Clearance level A-3 required for entry at all time” Off to 1 side, bolted into the doorframe at eye-level was a small plaque that read: “It was here, in this lab, that the ACME Chronoskimmer was designed & created. Date of creation: Unknown ;)”
“Alright gumshoes, hold onto your hats,” the Chief said. “For with just 2 little words, I’m going to introduce to you the latest in ACME ingenuity--borrowed of course. And those 2 little words are--uh--oh yeah--“ a fanciful turban suddenly appeared atop the Chief’s head & a thick beard & mustache appeared on his face’s lower ½. “--`Open Sesame!’”
At that moment 2 pairs of flashing red light popped out of the ceiling & floor & a buzzing started to repeat with each pulse of red light. From vents located at the doorframe’s 4 corners, a thick grayish-white mist jetted out & away from the door itself. Finally the large pair of steel-reinforced slowly doors parted. And shining from between the receding panels was what appeared to be an incredibly blinding light.
Momentarily shielding their eyes, the 3 detectives, squinted through the glare to look inside the now open portal.
Slowly their eyes adjusted to the brightness, & a slowly rotating shape started to be seen.
(commercial break)