Richie Millstone & Dakota’s Revenge of the Firewater Dragon

By E. H. Allen

Richie Millstone & Dakota’s Revenge of the Firewater Dragon is the third book in a ten-part series about a boy, a dragon, and time travel. The first book (Richie Millstone, the Firewater Dragon & the Platinum Water Crystal) follows Richie as he and several companions embark on a time-travel adventure through time and space. They get into all kinds of shenanigans, meet new people during their travels, and also have a lot of fun. The second book (Richie Millstone, the Firewater Dragon & the Gemstone Cities) follows their continuing adventures as they travel 1.8 billion years into the past to find a civilization living on the planet Venus with blue water, plants, and animals. The third book sees them travel to a place that makes them wish they’d never heard of zombies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jan 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781490793207

E. H. Allen

Richie Millstone, Evil Daryl & the Dragon Planet is the fourth book in a science-fiction fantasy series about a boy, a dragon, and time-travel. E. H. Allen has published three books previously in the series and had done extensive research for the necessary qualifications to write science-fiction fantasy novels. Six more books in the series are planned, with the fifth book ending the adventure for Richie and his companions as teens. The six through tenth books will delve more into Richie and his friends as young-adults through their older years, with occasional stories reminiscing about their teen years. E. H. Allen, 49, lives in the Mid-west and has been there his whole life. He is a veteran full-time railroad employee with 26 years of service. He writes in his spare time.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Heavy Titanic Miracle

JULY 11, 2077, A SECURE QUANTUM MECHANICS LAB NEAR MIAMI, FLORIDA

Richard-Bryce Millstone, Caucasian and eighty years old and in perfect health, struggled to keep a grin off his face as he walked through the thirty-story building he owned, along with the different high-tech labs located inside it. He was amused by how nervous all the employees in the lab got when he was around. They would instantly snap to attention whenever he showed up. Even though he was technically retired from everyday work, he still owned the building and the lab located inside of it. He had an office for when he occasionally came in. The security guards at the front door and those stationed throughout the building all knew his face. They never questioned what he did whenever he was there or wherever he was in the building. Richard didn’t even need to wear his ID tag around his neck, which allowed him access to all the secure areas in the building; he could just keep it in his pants pocket since everyone knew what he looked like. But Richard-Bryce was a man dedicated to protocol, and he’d mandated that all employees, including him, must always wear the ID badges around their necks while in the building.

Richard-Bryce occasionally brought some of his grandchildren to work to show them around, so no one was suspicious to see him walking around with Richie, Matt, and Kim. All the employees knew that he had several grandchildren and that not all of them had been to the lab, so no employees questioned him about Richie and the others. He was the big boss, so no one wanted to stick their nose in his business.

Richard-Bryce’s oldest son, Parker, now ran the company full-time and was on vacation with his wife and kids, so there was no chance Richard-Bryce would run into him and need to explain Richie’s presence or, worse yet, explain the time machine. He had come into the lab because Richie’s time machine had been damaged during its travels through time. The reactor that produced power for the time machine was slowly leaking heavy water, and the lost water needed to be replaced since the reactor would go critical if it overheated. Richard-Bryce had assisted in repairing the leak, but ordinary tap water couldn’t be put into the cooling tank because it boiled off too quickly, and the extra steam pressure might cause an explosion. It had to be heavy water, which was much more stable and was known as D2O instead of H2O. His lab produced plenty of heavy water for daily experiments and had lots of it on hand, so securing some of it for the time-travel ship’s reactor wouldn’t be a problem—at least he hoped it wouldn’t.

"Man, this lab sure is futuristic and neat looking," Richie thought silently while he, Matt, and Kim followed the old-man version of himself throughout the high-tech lab. They were wearing visitors ID tags around their necks, and so far, no one questioned their presence. He guessed Richard-Bryce brought his grandchildren to the lab often since nobody present was giving them a second glance and they acted as if guests of Richard-Bryce were old news. Richie just smirked and suppressed a giggle at realizing that he’d one day be the old man Richard and that his younger self and two cousins would be following him around his high-tech lab while he procured more heavy water for them. It was weird knowing that his younger self would also grow up to be an old man with another younger Richie following behind in the lab. He wondered if this time-travel conundrum with him and his old-man self would continue forever or if it would eventually stop. He decided to stop thinking about all this complicated time-travel conundrum business, since it was giving him a headache, and focus on their goal of getting more heavy water.

Richie was also amused by the fact that most of the clothing people wore in the 2077 era was like what everyone wore in the early twenty-first century. And some of the clothing and shoe companies were still in business, so nobody questioned the type of clothes Richie, Matt, and Kim wore. But Richard-Bryce said he could have gotten them all clothing to blend in if it had been necessary.

The building had a maze of corridors and doors, and they would be totally lost without Richard to show them the way out. But the building was also high-tech, so if anyone got lost, all they had to do was go to one of the many integrated computer terminal’s holographic touch screens located throughout the building and ask for the way to the front door or, in the case of an emergency, the closest way out. They were on the sixteenth floor and finally came to a closed door with a small rectangular window that led to a storage room. The door appeared to be thick steel and was painted simple white. Matt expected Richard-Bryce to swipe his ID badge in front of a terminal of some kind, but there was none to speak of—at least none that Matt could see. He leaned over and whispered in Richie’s ear.

The future you has done well for himself, Matt whispered with a wacky grin. Richie just nodded and smirked at Matt’s wry comment. Kim then noticed Richard-Bryce look up at a spot over the door a moment. Then they heard a harmonic tone and a beep, and then the door slowly opened on its own.

Wow, are all the doors in the building secured and automatic? Kim asked. She was impressed.

Well, all the doors to the labs, offices, and storage rooms are for security reasons. But the restroom doors are approach activated, Richard-Bryce said as he waved them into the partially darkened room. As soon as they were a few feet into the large storage room, overhead bright LED lights came on automatically. Matt had expected fluorescent lighting, but the LED lighting was much brighter.

Are there any fluorescent lights used in this building? Matt asked as the door slowly shut and locked with a slight magnetic hum.

No, fluorescent lights are no longer used. They’re obsolete and have been since the price of LED lighting dramatically lowered in the year 2020. Plus, LED lights don’t have any mercury in them that can harm the environment.

Oh.

I noticed you didn’t have to wave your ID badge to open the door, Kim said as she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the door.

You’re very observant, Kim. Every door has a camera over it. All you must do is look at it, and the advanced facial recognition system will let you in if you have security clearance. Every employee must have their face on file to gain admittance to any secure area or office. Only the restrooms can be entered without any security clearance. Even the broom closets are kept locked, Richard-Bryce said with a wry grin.

I see, Kim said with a grin. She knew even the janitors had to have security clearance to get their brooms and mops to do their jobs.

But there’s a hidden sensor inside the wall that can detect the chips in the ID badges for when the FRS is unavailable, such as for when it’s down for maintenance or whenever the database is updated, Richard-Bryce explained as he briefly surveyed the storage room. He appeared a tad bit confused as he looked around the huge room, which nearly took up the entire floor. Matt thought it a bit strange that Richard-Bryce had to get his bearings on the floor of a building that he owned and once worked in every day. But Matt figured Richard-Bryce never had to come to the storage room and used an assistant who usually got any supplies he needed for lab experiments and such.

I’m guessing you don’t usually come to the storage room yourself to get supplies, as you appear a bit confused, Richie said with a grin. Richard-Bryce just chuckled and shook his head, slightly in amazement.

Richie, your intuition is second to none. You’re too smart for your own good. And you’re right. I never did come to the supply room myself. I always sent an assistant. When this building was built, I toured every single floor before the lab officially opened, and I don’t think I ever came to this floor again, Richard-Bryce said as he looked around at all the tall shelves that nearly went to the ceiling. There were crates, boxes, stainless steel tanks, and other such random scientific lab equipment all over the huge room.

Oh.

And since I’m trying to keep what I need the heavy water for on the down low, I really didn’t want to ask an assistant to fetch it. And they’d probably tell my son what I was here for. But if he does ask, I’ll just tell him it was for a little experiment at home. I’m always doing something in my little shop and lab at home, so he’ll just roll his eyes and go on about his business, Richard-Bryce said. Richie, Matt, and Kim just smirked and nodded. He brought the three of them along with him because he didn’t want to take too long moving the amount of heavy water he’d need by himself since the large titanium tanks were also bulky and heavy. He did have access to antigravity pallet movers that made lifting fifty gallons of heavy water a breeze for one person. But they needed almost one hundred gallons of water to replace what they’d lost from the damage to the reactor before it could be repaired. They did have heavy water in storage on the ship, but they’d nearly used all that up and were dangerously low. In any event, he wanted to give them an extra one hundred gallons just in case, and with four of them working on the issue, it wouldn’t take long. Since they needed two hundred gallons and each small antigravity pallet mover could carry fifty gallons, each one of them could work one mover. There were much larger movers, but four large tanks of heavy water had to be stacked carefully on them, and Richard-Bryce didn’t want to risk them falling over if they shifted. That would draw attention to them. So he decided to err on the side of caution and work carefully to avoid any mishaps. If they lost the platinum crystal reactor, Richie and his companions would be dead in the water. They would be stuck somewhere in time, away from home. Richie really wanted to get home, as well as everyone else traveling with him. However, he had to admit that he was having fun on this adventure and couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

Richie never could have imagined that he and his companions would meet a teenage Martian from Mars and a flying teenage superhuman black boy from Indiana from an alternate universe, from the year AD 1983. Richie was constantly pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming or having some sort of wild time-travel hallucination. A few more people wanted to tag along to help, including Hyacintho, but Richard-Bryce decided it wasn’t a clever idea to bring any off-world visitors along to Miami, let alone a secure high-tech science lab. He’d explained that even though extraterrestrials from other worlds were now common on Earth in the year AD 2077, there were still many laws to govern all the visitors. Traveling to another planet nowadays was much like traveling to other countries during the days of jet plane travel. You had to have an interplanetary passport, and the INS agents, or Interplanetary Naturalization Service, did random checks of off-world aliens roaming around Earth. It’d be a little difficult to explain a feline biped alien from a world that died over a billion years ago. Richie decided Richard-Bryce had a good point, and he didn’t want to risk getting taken into custody because he couldn’t explain Hyacintho’s presence.

Hey, Richard, how come the ID badge sensors are hidden inside the wall? Doesn’t that make it hard to find them? Matt asked as they surveyed the storage room.

No, it doesn’t. We inform all employees where to swipe their badges after they are hired, Richard-Bryce said with raised eyebrows.

Oh, I get it. They’re kept hidden in case of a break-in and a crook tries to hack the ID security system with a handheld computer or something, Richie said as understanding flew across his face. Richard-Bryce nodded his approval.

Yep, and the ID scanner hardware is behind a metal cover, so a potential thief can’t just quickly cut into the wall and plug his hack device into the system, which would be very difficult anyway, he said with a dismissive wave of a hand.

Ah, so I’m guessing your lab is nearly hackproof, Richie said. Richard-Bryce just chuckled lightly.

Yeah, you would be right about that. Now let’s find some antigrav pallet and crate movers so we can get this heavy water and get out of here, Richard-Bryce said with urgency. Richie agreed, and he, Matt, and Kim focused on the matter at hand. They quickly found four antigravity pallet and crate movers, and then they got to work securing the two hundred gallons of heavy water they’d need for the time-travel ship’s platinum crystal reactor. It only took them about twenty minutes to get the containers, and then they headed out of the building.

A SHORT WHILE LATER

Thurston, Richard-Bryce’s eight-year-old grandson, was hanging out in the wooded area that was behind the property his grandfather’s mansion sat on, along with the rest of Richie’s time-travel companions. They waited patiently for the others to return from Miami with the heavy water. Everyone was relaxing and sitting on the soft grass while they enjoyed the fresh air and bright sunshine. Thurston was chatting with Hyacintho and asking her a bunch of nosy questions, like the nosy eight-year-old he was. Lena was quite amused and struggled not to laugh at the attention Thurston was giving Hyacintho and her fluffy tail. The time-travel ship sat dormant, and the backup quartz-90 batteries were currently powering it. The platinum crystal reactor was shut down while they finished the final repairs on it. Richard didn’t want the kids to start traveling again until he was sure the repaired PCR core was fully tested and wouldn’t break down in flight.

The batteries could power the essential household systems for a month, such as the appliances, water pumps for the plumbing, the HVAC system, and even the elevator. But the batteries couldn’t power the chronometric system because it needed too much energy. The batteries would be swiftly drained after one time jump, and then there’d be no power for anything else if the PCR core was lost. The batteries were only designed as a backup to the household essentials while the PCR core was shut down for maintenance, like it was now. Richard-Bryce’s wife had made some snacks for the kids, and they were having a little picnic while they listened to Thurston’s nosy questions.

So what’s it like having a tail, Hyacintho? Thurston asked happily as he petted the fluffy tail with one hand while it was partially wrapped around his other arm.

Well, I’m not sure how to respond to that question. I rather enjoy it. I can’t imagine ever losing it, and I’m glad Dakota’s people were able to help me get it back. I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost it, Hyacintho said through the translation program of the time-ship computer. She was relieved her superhuman benefactor could help her.

Well, it’s really cool. I wish I had one. It’s so soft and fluffy, Thurston said happily while he continued to pet and caress the tail. Hyacintho just giggled at his happiness.

Well, it’s not so great when it’s injured. Tail injuries can be really painful.

Oh … Have you ever gotten yours stuck in a door before?

Uh, that would be a no, but I did have a run-in with a large tree limb. I’ll spare you the nasty details.

Thanks. So who’s Dakota? Thurston asked with a clueless expression. Lena realized Richard-Bryce must not have gotten to the part of the story where he first met the superhuman Dakota Angel.

Oh, you’ve never heard of Dakota Angel? Hyacintho asked. Understanding suddenly flew across Thurston’s face.

"Oh, that Dakota. Yeah, I’ve heard of him. I saw a science show about how he helped bring another planet to this solar system years ago," Thurston said. He was shocked that someone had enough power to move planets.

Yeah, we were there when he did that. Got to see the whole thing, Karlen said while he sat on the ground, holding hands with his girlfriend, Pat.

Wow, I’d sure like to meet him and see his flying city. I’ve read stories in school about him. He’s a legend. I was even in a school play about him. One of my classmates played him in the production, Thurston said happily.

Well, that’s cool. You’d be lucky to meet him. He does get around. Your chances are good since he knows your grandpa personally, Lena said.

"My favorite stories are about when he saved the Titanic from sinking in 1912. That’s one of the stories we did in the play. It got a standing ovation," Thurston said.

"Yeah, we got to witness one of the many Titanic ships he saved. It was quite remarkable how he did it. I wish you could’ve seen it," Pat said.

Me too, Thurston said. He appeared disappointed that he’d probably never get to see something as cool as a huge ocean liner being lifted back out of the water after sinking three hundred feet below the surface of the freezing Atlantic.

"Well, it’s a shame he couldn’t save every single Titanic in every universe he ever visited," Josh said with a saddened mood.

True, but like Dakota said, some things were just meant to be, Lena said.

"And all the doomed passengers he saved were grateful for his actions. So many of them hugged, kissed, and greeted Dakota whenever they saw him. And it was awesome to see the giant Titanic simply sitting in dry dock, inside one of the large bays of Dakota’s flying city. The huge bay made the giant Titanic look like a toy ship," Josh said.

"Wait, maybe we can show him," Kannan said happily. Everyone snapped their heads to look at him.

I know you’re not suggesting we take him there in the time machine, are you? Lena asked with wide eyes.

Kannan simply rolled his eyes and scoffed. "No, silly, nothing so extreme. I’m talking about the video we have of the event. Dakota makes sure to video-document every major heroic thing he and the Alterans do, and he gave us a digital copy of the Titanic incident we witnessed."

Now that’d be a cool thing to watch with some popcorn. Movies have even been made about it, Thurston said happily.

Yum, some popcorn sound good, Wan said happily in his partially broken English. They all heard someone walking up and looked up to see Zach coming down the front entry stairs of the time ship. Zach had opted to take a little nap after breakfast, and he was just now getting up, at 1:30 p.m. Zach was simply wearing a pair of cutoff blue jean shorts, a pair of gym shoes without socks, and no shirt on.

Hey, y’all—Zach paused as he yawned wide—whatcha talking about? He finished as he walked up to the others while he scratched his butt. Cody just sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. Several people snickered at Cody’s irritation of his twin brother’s behavior.

Well, it’s nice to finally see you back with the living, Cody said with a smarmy tone as he glared at his lazy brother.

Oh, just shut it, nerd boy, Zach shot back with an attitude.

Hey, what’re you guys talking about? Richie asked suddenly.

Ah! several people yelped in severe fright as they glanced up to see Richie standing calmly with a wicked grin on his face. Lena’s heart was beating a million miles an hour, and she was certain Richie went out of his way to sneak up on them. Matt, Kim, and Richard-Bryce were also grinning at the little sneak attack. Cody never even heard them all walk up, and everyone’s back was to the house, so they never saw them coming. They also noticed some type of futuristic-looking antigravity pallet with four giant titanium tanks of what they guessed was heavy water. The tanks were neatly stacked side by side on the pallet, and Matt was working the controls. The pallet had what appeared to be a steering mechanism, which had two handles, like what you’d see on a bicycle. The steel handles had black carbon fiber covers. The antigrav pallet was computer-controlled and had an eight-inch touch screen over the steering handles.

Dude, you scared the crap out of us, Zach said as he held his hand over his heart.

Zach, how could you not have seen them coming? You were facing the freaking house. You’re such a goofball, Cody complained as he glared at his brother.

I didn’t see them because I was arguing with you, nerdy, Zach shot back as he glared at his twin. Lena just shook her head in amazement at the twins’ constant bickering.

"We were just discussing how Dakota saved the Titanic," Pat said happily.

Yeah, we were going to show Thurston a video of the whole event, Lena said.

Well, that sounds like a great idea. Let’s get this heavy water in storage on the ship, and then we can make some popcorn and hot dogs and watch it in my private movie screening room, Richard-Bryce said with a big grin. They all jumped up and got to work, getting the heavy water secured on the time ship, and then they headed to the movie screening room in Richard-Bryce’s mansion. Thurston was amazed at how Dakota and his Alteran companions could lift the sinking Titanic right out of the water with their advanced antigravity technology. It was a true miracle indeed. But for Richard-Bryce, it brought back glorious memories of the magnificent flying city/ship known as Jasper D. Jones.

ONE

Crazy Laughing Great White Shark

THE JASPER D. JONES, 1.8 BILLION YEARS AGO, ORBITING VENUS

Richie and Hyacintho watched with fascination as they observed the brouhaha currently happening down on Venus. The maglev train, which Dakota Angel and friends had been riding across an ocean bridge, had been attacked by political extremist Venusian terrorists. Someone detonated a sonic bomb at a strategic location on the floating ocean bridge moments before the train was to pass that area. It was out in the very middle of the deepest part of the ocean, so the Venusian terrorists were certain it’d lead to a fatal disaster. But they didn’t have a clue about how much supernatural power Dakota Angel possessed. Richie and Hyacintho were watching the whole deal on a flat-panel glass monitor that was attached to the ceiling by a metal pole in her hospital room. They could observe because a cloaked city drone had been shadowing the maglev train as it sped across the floating bridge. The flying-city’s drones had a top speed of 400 mph, and the maglev was only moving at 370 mph, so the drones could easily keep up. Dakota suspected the terrorists might try something stupid, so he’d requested for a drone to shadow the maglev. Richie was unable to resist giggling while he talked. He was amused by the whole situation with Dakota and the Venusian terrorist adversaries.

Oh man, Dakota is probably steaming mad about right now, Richie giggled while he sat next to Hyacintho’s bed, with the fingers of his right hand interlocked with the fingers of her left hand. He was no longer concerned about his friends finding out about him and Hyacintho. He was certain his emotional response to her getting badly injured had let the proverbial cat out of the bag, and he was certain Dakota knew of their tryst since not much fooled him.

Richie and Hyacintho were even more astonished that the Alterans had recently christened Dakota a prince. The Jasper D. Jones cabinet ministers and council representatives, along with the adult citizens of the flying city, had overwhelmingly voted to make Dakota their prince. He was their savior from a respiratory plague that nearly wiped the Alterans out. But he’d informed the council that he never wanted to be a ruling king but that he’d accept being a prince. And whenever he got married, his spouse would be either a princess or a prince, depending on if he married a woman or a man. Since he had a male-female hybrid anatomy due to his supernatural and superhuman body change, he had that option. And Prince Dakota would become Crown Prince Dakota when he turned twenty-one years of age. Once he became crown prince, he’d be the Alteran leader for life with the sixty-member council advising him daily. Dakota and his future children would be special for the rest of their lives.

What was your first clue that Dakota might be mad? Hyacintho asked through the city translator with a wacky grin as she glanced at Richie. She couldn’t resist baiting him into playful debates about whatever subject they might be talking about. Prince Dakota’s sanity was the current subject. She couldn’t wait to see how Richie responded. He glanced at Hyacintho and tried to act annoyed at her smart-aleck inquiry, but he was unable to keep a straight face.

Okay, Ms. Smarty-Pants, my first clue would’ve been when the bridge where his train was traveling on blew up. Oh man, those terrorists are going to get it good when he gets his hands on them. Richie giggled as he pictured Prince Dakota opening a can of whoopass on the Venusian bridge terrorists. The idea of the epic fight was just too funny.

Yeah, I have nothing but pity for those terrorists. And I can’t believe Dakota is a prince. All this time we’ve known him, and he never said anything, Hyacintho said with mock annoyance in her voice. But Richie was sympathetic to Prince Dakota’s reasons for not saying anything. They’d just recently found out about his new prince status from watching the news events of the happenings in Jasper D. Jones on the monitor in her room. Not even Richie’s other traveling companions knew about the newly christened prince.

Well, in all fairness, we only just recently met Dakota a few days ago. He’s been busy helping people, namely, us, and he probably just hasn’t thought about it. I’m sure he’ll tell us when he’s ready.

That’s true. He was focused on helping me get my tail back. And I’ve got more feeling back by the way, although it’s still hard to move the new part of my tail.

Don’t worry, sweetie. It’ll get better. I’m certain the Alteran physical therapists will help you get better, Richie said as he planted a reassuring smooch on her lips. Hyacintho giggled at his smooth sweet talk and romantic gestures toward her—his alien lover. Well, from her view, he was the alien since he’d landed his time machine / spaceship on Mars of the distant past.

Well, I can’t wait to see Dakota’s new palace that he built with the help of the Alteran engineers and architects. It looks beautiful, Hyacintho said with a big happy grin on her face. She was ecstatic at being friends with a superhuman and future crown prince.

Me neither, and I bet he hasn’t told Travis and the others on the train with him. They’re going to be shocked when they find out. Richie chuckled. He shook his head slightly in amazement at whatever secrets Prince Dakota hadn’t told them yet.

I can’t wait to see it. I know it’s elegant.

I’m certain it is, Richie said. He was even more shocked to find out, through the news service, of course, that Prince Dakota owned an outer space mining company, an oil company, and a US class 1 railroad. The prince was just full of secrets and was multitalented. Being a supernatural entity that had a flying city had its benefits.

And it’s really neat to see one of the tall buildings in the city was converted into his palace. I bet the view is awesome, Hyacintho said happily.

Yeah, he has his own penthouse with a swimming pool, Richie said with a big grin on his face. Just then, one of the physical therapists walked into the room with a gentle smile on her face. She walked up to the opposite side of the bed where Richie was standing.

Well, good afternoon, you two. How’re you doing today? the physical therapist asked. Her name was Ursula Quincy. She had shiny flowing brown hair that went a few inches past her shoulders. It bounced up and down as she walked. Richie wondered what secrets the Alterans used to keep their hair so perfect.

I’m just great this afternoon, Richie said with a cheeriness that could make a great white shark laugh aloud and want to play like a little boy in a toy store. Ursula blinked a few times in response to Richie’s crazy happiness.

I’m doing great too. We’re just watching the brouhaha happening with Dakota and the terrorists down on Venus, Hyacintho said happily. Ursula was a bit taken aback when Hyacintho giggled right after she finished talking. She was obviously amused by the whole situation broiling down on Venus. Ursula was certain the outcome with Prince Dakota and the Venusian terrorists would be fascinating.

How was lunch? Ursula asked as she gently examined Hyacintho’s tail.

Lunch was great. We had the steamed salmon, Hyacintho said with a smile. Ursula noticed with satisfaction that Hyacintho no longer cringed whenever the new section of her tail was touched. The new portion of her tail was extremely sensitive right after the surgery. But just a day after the surgery, she was already feeling better. Ursula realized that Hyacintho’s immune system and her body, in general, was very strong and recovered quickly after injuries and surgeries. Her new tail was still quite numb, but she reported that the pin and needle sensation was getting better. She could barely wiggle the new tail section, and it wasn’t as sensitive since peach fuzz fur was already starting to grow on the new bald section.

How was it?

Delicious in every way. I’ve never had artificially grown salmon. I can’t believe it’s the exact same meat as real, live salmon, DNAwise. I’m impressed with the Alteran’s technical abilities to grow actual meat and not have to butcher live animals, Richie said happily. He no doubt knew that animal activists would be ecstatic to hear that a civilization had figured out how to grow all kinds of meat and no longer butchered animals for food. The Alterans were truly advanced technologically and socially.

Well, I was a little hesitant at first to eat artificial meat, but it smelled so darn good. Now that I’ve tried it, I can’t imagine going back to butchered meat. I’m also impressed with the Alterans. Hopefully, scientists on my planet will figure out how to grow meat. Then my people can stop killing animals for food, Hyacintho said.

Hyacintho, of that, I have no doubt. From what we’ve learned about your planet’s society, your scientists will accomplish lots, Ursula said sweetly.

Thank you. I appreciate that, Hyacintho said with a big happy grin.

You’re welcome. Well, let’s do a little therapy.

Okay … So we heard that Dakota was recently christened a prince by the Alteran people. That sounds exciting, Hyacintho said as Ursula carefully held her tail and lightly massaged it.

Yes, that’s correct. We’re all excited for him. He’s our savior and a natural-born leader. He was destined to lead us in his universe, Ursula said with an air of happiness in her voice.

So Dakota will be the city leader for life? Richie asked.

He’s actually going to be the leader of the entire Alteran people once we get back to his universe, Ursula corrected. Richie and Hyacintho were a bit confused by this and didn’t quite understand.

Oh, it just won’t be the city that he’ll lead then?

No. Once Dakota is done traveling and we get back to his universe, he’s going to be trained to be the Alteran head-of-state and the executive leader of the Alteran military. We have been coordinating with the US in his universe, and we’ll be establishing ourselves as the United Alteran Republic or UAR, Ursula explained.

Will Dakota be a boy king or something? Hyacintho asked.

No, he’ll just be a prince for now. The council representatives and cabinet ministers currently run the show. He’ll become crown prince once he turns twenty-one. Dakota wanted that title instead of king. He wanted something unique among the ruling community, and that’s what he chose. It was his choice. The representatives and ministers support him, as do the Alteran people.

Does Dakota have any power as a prince? Richie asked.

Yes, he has the power to appoint new council representatives. Whenever our population gets to a certain point, we appoint a new person to represent the additional people. We have one representative for every one hundred thousand people, Ursula said as she continued to massage Hyacintho’s tail to help stimulate the new tissues and nerves.

When will a new person be chosen?

At six million and one hundred thousand people. The city population is at six million ninety-nine thousand five hundred, so it won’t be long. Choosing new representatives is part of Dakota’s ongoing training. Because as crown prince, that’ll be one of his duties, Ursula said.

I understand now. So when he’s crown prince, he’ll have some government experience, Hyacintho said.

That’s correct.

What about the cabinet ministers? Will he appoint them too? Richie asked.

Yes, but not until he becomes crown prince … Right now, the people elect the cabinet ministers. Dakota will be the only minor allowed to vote since he is prince. Our voting age is sixteen, Ursula said.

I’m guessing that Dakota is also being allowed to vote as part of his training.

That’s correct.

I’m surprised that your voting age is only sixteen. It’s eighteen in the US.

Yes, we know. Dakota told us a lot about the laws in his country. Society is very different among the Alterans. Our citizens are considered adults at sixteen, and our education system is much different from any on Earth. Alteran children start school at three instead of five, Ursula explained. Richie and Hyacintho were a bit shocked at that.

Three? Richie and Hyacintho said in unison. They briefly glanced at each other. Ursula stifled a giggle at their surprise.

That’s correct.

That seems a little young to me. Even though my society and Richie’s is separated by over a billion years, there are still similarities among the education system. Our people start at five too, Hyacintho said.

Well, Alteran children are groomed to start school from the time they begin walking. The Alterans have developed programs to help parents groom their children to start school at three. And the three-year-old children don’t go all day. They go a half day. They start all-day school at five.

Oh … And what about college? Richie asked.

Our higher learning system is also much different than what is found on Earth. For starters, we don’t charge for higher learning. All students are offered the opportunity to study in college free of charge. It’s paid by the Alteran government for four years. Only medical school is longer and is also government paid, Ursula explained as she continued to massage Hyacintho’s tail.

Wow, that’s incredible. I wish going to college on Earth was that simple. It’s so expensive. A lot of families can’t afford to send their kids. It’s a shame, Richie said.

Yeah, it’s the same among my people too, Hyacintho said.

We realized long ago that we needed to do something to make it easier for kids to get an education after high school. Our society really began to advance once it was made easier for kids to attend college. Many more kids began to attend, and Alteran society benefited from it. We have the better education system to thank for the creation of the stargate system, Ursula said.

Really? Richie said.

Yes, the current education system was adopted over three million years ago. The inventor of the stargate system was one of the first students to attend college at government expense.

Wow, that couldn’t have been cheap for the government, Richie said as he shook his head in disbelief.

And the taxes to the people, Hyacintho said. But Ursula chuckled a moment before she spoke. Richie knew her next words would be fascinating.

Why do I get the feeling that it wasn’t as much of a burden to the government as I think it was? Richie said. He slightly narrowed his eyes as he looked at Ursula.

Because you’re smart, that’s why, Ursula said as she continued massaging the tail.

Oh, I know. Most of the money was donated, wasn’t it? Hyacintho asked with a wacky grin as she gazed at Ursula.

Amazing. You two are too smart for your own good, Ursula said with a shake of her head.

Thank you, Richie and Hyacintho said in near-perfect unison. They glanced at each other and snickered at their linked robot-like response.

A very rich, influential Alteran billionaire appealed to other wealthy Alterans that something was needed to be done to fix our broken collegiate program. People were taking out loans, they couldn’t afford, for their kids to go to college. Very smart and promising kids couldn’t afford to go to college. When the Alteran billionaire saw how smart some of the kids were, he knew something had to be done.

So I’m assuming he gave a bunch of money to help send kids to college, Richie said.

Well, he appealed to the world government first about what his plans were. He then began his appeals to other rich Alterans. He explained that they didn’t have to give up every dime and that it’d benefit their society. To make a long story short, several wealthy Alterans gave billions to start the Higher Learning Assistance Program or HIGH-LAP. A new government agency was created to oversee the program, and the wealthy Alterans committed the first funds to get it started.

And what about taxes to pay for the program?

No taxes were used to pay for the program. Everything was paid for by the wealthy donors. They were all influential Alterans who believed in the advancement of our society. The government oversaw the program, but all funds came from private sources. This flying city is a testament to the new program. Without it, all our advanced technology would probably be decades or even centuries behind.

Earlier, you said the current system was adopted three million years ago. I’m assuming you meant before modern history on Earth and not before now, Hyacintho guessed.

That’s correct. I should’ve clarified that since we’ve time-traveled over a billion years in the past. Technically, all that is still in the distant future, Ursula said.

Good grief, time-travel talk gives me a headache, Richie said. Hyacintho chuckled at his irritation of time-travel conundrums.

I can certainly understand that. It can get quite confusing. Ursula chuckled.

How’s come you didn’t colonize Earth back in your universe?

Oh, Prince Dakota didn’t tell you that story? Ursula asked.

No, but he hasn’t really had time. From the time we’ve met him, he’s been busy helping us. We haven’t had time to just sit down and talk, Richie admitted.

Don’t worry. He’ll find the time to talk to all of you once he’s done with the Venusian situation.

Cool. I can’t wait to hear some of his stories.

Oh, he’s got some good ones. In any event, we were going to fully colonize Earth, but then the plague hit, and we were forced to abandon it. But then Prince Dakota showed up and completely cured the plague, and that changed everything, in our universe anyway.

What do you mean?

Well, from what Prince Dakota has told us, he wasn’t able to cure the Alteran plague in every universe he’d visited. So the situation is different in nearly every other universe, except the one we’re from.

You can tell what the future situation is? Hyacintho asked with wide eyes.

Prince Dakota can. He’ll explain everything later when he has time. It’s a complicated situation, Ursula assured them.

That’s cool. I can’t wait, Richie said happily.

We also heard that Dakota is building an artificial island in the Pacific Ocean back on Earth. That is incredible! Hyacintho said with excitement.

That’s true. He’s building a place for us to call home. It’s quite a complicated deal, but long story short, he’s doing it slowly so as not to cause any problems for other coastal areas, Ursula said.

Like tsunamis and such? Richie asked.

That’s correct. He’s already started the project. He and Daryl told the city council his plans. They agreed after Daryl fully went over the plans. He was quite thorough.

I’ve heard he is. He and Dakota broke us out of that medieval jail with military precision. I want to laugh every time I think about it. Richie giggled.

Yes, it was quite amusing. Ursula chuckled.

You mean the whole thing was recorded?

Of course, Prince Dakota recorded the whole thing with hidden cameras that were attached to the silver jumpsuits he and the others were wearing. I thought he told you.

No, he didn’t. We knew the whole ordeal with the dinosaurs in prehistoric Antarctica was caught on one of the drone cameras, but we had no idea he’d recorded the jail tower escape. I’ll have to ask him about that. I want to see it. I’ll probably laugh my guts out, Richie said as he giggled briefly.

No doubt, Hyacintho said.

In any event, he started building the island in the year AD 1620, shortly after the Pilgrims came to America. He plans to complete it around AD 1984. We’ve been time-traveling to different periods so that he can work on it a little at a time. He’s using his energy matrix to build it with magma from under the Earth’s crust, Ursula explained.

Whoa, I didn’t know he could do that with his matrix. I saw what he did with the dragon, but I didn’t know he could move magma with it, Richie said. He was shocked.

Yeah, that stuff’s gotta be thousands of degrees, Hyacintho said.

It is, but Prince Dakota’s energy matrix can handle it. He can siphon it from under the crust, like a drinking straw, and place it where he wants it to go. We have technology to assist him, so the placement of the magma can be precise, Ursula said.

So he’s building his own volcanic island in the Pacific. Amazing! Richie said.

Actually, it’ll be a home for all the Alterans in the city.

Oh, right, I forgot. How big is it by the way?

It’ll be roughly the size of four US states—Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio—about one hundred seventy-nine thousand five hundred sixty-nine square miles. It’ll be bigger than California by fifteen thousand square miles, Ursula explained as she continued to gently massage the tail. Richie simply whistled in amazement, and Hyacintho was just wide-eyed.

Wow! That’s why he’s taking his time, because it’s so big.

And also, because he can only take so much magma from under the crust at one time. If he tried to build the whole island at once, it would collapse under the weight since the magma would still be relatively warm and soft. And the crust over the magma would cave in if he took too much at one time. That’d be a problem for anyone living over the area in question.

Of course, all that magma needs time to solidify like concrete.

That’s correct. And it could also cause a tsunami if all the magma collapsed. So he does a little, lets it harden, and then starts again. Daryl is so smart. He made a plan, and the city engineers totally agreed with him. If you want to know more, you can access the interactive program on the monitor in the room. It’s all in the city information library. We’ll be here all day if I try to tell you about it now.

That’s fine. We understand. What will it be under? Richie asked happily and appeared to be ecstatic at watching a show about building an artificial island.

It’ll be under the UAR Pacific Island Project.

Cool, thanks. We’ll look it up. Can’t wait to see it.

I’m certain you can’t, Ursula said as she finished massaging Hyacintho’s tail.

My tail feels a lot better. The massaging really helps, Hyacintho said.

I’m glad you’re feeling better. Prince Dakota will be happy to hear that. I’ll be back to check on you later. You two have a nice day, Ursula said with a gentle smile.

Thanks, we will, Richie said. Ursula nodded and headed out on her rounds.

Quick, look up the island in the information library. I want to watch it. I like science shows, Hyacintho said happily.

You read my mind, Richie said as he snatched up the monitor remote pad and typed in the info about the new island. The information he was looking for popped up immediately. But he didn’t hit the Play icon yet. He seemed to be in deep thought.

Something on your mind?

Yeah, I was wondering exactly how much money those Alteran rich folks gave for the collegiate program, Richie said with a furrowed brow.

Well, it’s probably in the information library archives, Hyacintho said. Richie simply nodded his agreement, but he paused a moment to collect his thoughts on how he’d form his question for the computer before he tapped the icon to activate the voice input system.

Ready, a computer voice said from a small speaker on the remote-controlled pad.

How much money did the wealthy Alterans give for the HIGH-LAP program three million years ago?

Stand by … Searching archives for the relevant information.

They waited about thirty seconds for the computer to do its archive search.

I’m certain this number is in the billions, Richie snorted as the computer spoke.

One hundred twenty-five wealthy Alterans donated a total of sixty-two billion four hundred twenty million nine hundred thousand five hundred dollars, the computer said in a monotone voice. Richie and Hyacintho were shocked at the high number.

Computer, what was the number … in US dollars? Richie asked with a wicked grin. Hyacintho narrowed her eyes slightly as she glanced at him. The computer didn’t hesitate.

In United States dollars, the converted amount is three hundred twelve billion one hundred four million five hundred two thousand five hundred, the computer spit out as if it were just giving the total to a normal grocery bill. But any grocery bill that high would probably be for an army of dinosaurs. Richie’s mouth was agape so far that Hyacintho thought a spaceship would fly right in.

Are you gonna be okay, Richie? Hyacintho asked with a wacky grin. He simply chuckled a moment and shook his head as if to clear it before he spoke.

Uh, um, yeah … I’ll be okay. That’s a lot of cash to donate. No wonder the Alterans are so advanced. They were willing to sacrifice a lot of money for the betterment of their society. I can’t wait to tell the guys about this. They’ll crap their pants, Richie said with wide eyes.

No doubt … Um, how’d you know to have the computer convert the number to Earth dollars?

Oh, it’s not Earth dollars but the currency of my nation. Earth doesn’t have one currency in my era, Richie said as though he was disappointed humans weren’t as advanced as the Alterans.

Oh, I just assumed you had one currency since your people are more advanced than we are, Hyacintho said with shrugged shoulders.

Well, technically, the Inca-Cahuilla are way more advanced than humans.

How do you figure? Your dad built that advanced time machine.

True, but don’t forget your people existed over a billion years before we did. Humans didn’t even exist when your people were using computers and electricity. Your scientists already have a basic understanding of quantum mechanics, Richie reminded her.

Oh, that’s right. I forgot. Hyacintho chuckled.

But I understand where you’re coming from. At the point in our history, technologically, we should have one world currency. But our politics are just too complicated. Too many countries have a lot of pride to give up their currency, the US included. It’ll probably be centuries before that happens on Earth, Richie said. He was annoyed with Earth politics. But Hyacintho seemed to understand his concerns.

It’s okay, Richie. The same thing happened with my people when proposals were first submitted for an Aries world currency. Many of our nations resisted, but now we have a unified world government. Humans will come around. You just have to have patience and faith, Hyacintho reminded him. Richie chuckled as he glanced at her.

Yeah, I know. My grandfather says the same thing to me when I start complaining about the political climate of Earth.

Ah, I see. So are you comparing me to an old man now? Hyacintho said with a straight face. She was just teasing Richie and was struggling to keep a grin off her face. His mouth dropped open in horror as he was afraid he severely insulted his alien lover.

Uh, n-n-no, of course not. I just m-m-meant you’re both very compassionate and understanding. Richie paused. He narrowed his eyes when Hyacintho covered her mouth with a hand and begin giggling uncontrollably at his nervous stuttering.

I’m sorry, sweetie. I couldn’t resist messing with you. You’re too easy.

Yeah, yeah, sure. Funny, ha, ha. You got me, sweetie. Richie chuckled. He was amazed at her silly games.

Okay, now let’s check out that island-building program, Hyacintho said after she brought her giggling under control. Richie simply nodded as he tapped the voice input icon again.

Ready, the monotone computer voice said.

The UAR Pacific Island Project, Richie said simply.

Stand by, the computer voice said as it took a few moments to search the main computer hard drives for the information. The control pad beeped as an icon suddenly appeared on the touch screen. The words UAR Pacific Island Project were next to the icon of a little animated green island. Richie tapped the icon, and it brought up a still image of an ocean. There was a Play icon across the screen. He tapped the icon and the video began playing. They heard Prince Dakota’s voice narrating; he was wearing a very nice dark-blue business suit, with a dark-blue dress shirt and a dark-blue-and-silver necktie. The tie had a wavy striped pattern with an elongated star design in the middle.

Hello, my name is Prince Dakota Angel, and what you are about to see is an epic project of major proportions. The Alterans and I are collaborating to build an island in the Pacific Ocean seven hundred fifty miles from Southern California. The island will be roughly shaped like a rectangular octagon, and the highest point will be twenty thousand feet above sea level …, Prince Dakota’s voice said. He continued narrating as an animated display showed magma being deposited on the ocean floor by his energy tentacles. The tubular bluish-white tentacles laying down the magma were massive and appeared to be one hundred feet wide and very long.

Richie and Hyacintho listened and watched with awe as the whole thing was explained and shown in detail. Prince Dakota began building the island eighteen hundred feet down on the ocean floor, away from any fault lines. The program explained that the island was now one thousand feet up from the seafloor and only had eight hundred feet to reach the surface. The island was going to be gradually built up to five hundred feet below the ocean surface, until AD 1960. Several tall concrete and steel pillars would be erected to show where the coastal areas would be around the entire island. The pillars would be set about six miles apart to compensate for the curvature of the Earth. Any farther and ships would not be able to see the other pillars for safe navigation. But a six-mile distance wouldn’t be a problem. Each square white pillar would have the UAR seal on its side and would be twenty feet square for good visibility. They would be made of a special strong Alteran concrete that would be found nowhere on Earth, and it would be a very secret recipe.

The pillars would also extend down into the hardened magma to help support and reinforce the massive island structure. Once the island was at a certain depth below the surface, Prince Dakota and the Alterans planned to go public with the project. The USA and other governments would be informed of the project beforehand. Once he had built the island completely up to its final twenty-thousand-foot height, he would begin carving it to its final shape. No nation on Earth, or even the Alterans, could undertake such a massive effort, but Prince Dakota’s abilities, with his massive energy matrix, gave him a distinct advantage and allowed him to do glorious miracles. The final carving would leave a large mountain that would allow for snowfall in the winter, which would eventually melt into fresh water. Aqueducts would be built to funnel the water to various parts of the island for farming, irrigation, and drinking. The Alterans also planned to build advanced desalination plants on the coasts for more fresh water.

Prince Dakota was building the island by laying the magma down one strip at a time, and advanced construction drones guided his tentacles as they deposit the magma, or lava, as it’s called once it exits a fissure. Other advanced machines would build up the concrete pillars as the lava was laid down. The concrete was very heat resistant, and the lava didn’t affect it. Prince Dakota and the Alterans had many plans for the island, but for now, getting it built and carved into a livable area was priority. It was a massive undertaking, and the Alteran people were eager to see it completed. They planned to eventually terra-form Mars and make it a living planet again. Their advanced technology, along with Prince Dakota’s supernatural help, would make it a reality in record time. They planned to start the terra-forming project sometime in the 1970s, and they planned to finish it sometime in the twenty-first century. They also planned to recolonize a planet that had been previously abandoned because the star was becoming a red giant millions of years ago. With Dakota’s abilities, he could reset the fusion reactions of the distant planet’s star and make it a yellow G-type star like Earth’s sun. The planet called Taonos, fifty light-years from Earth, would be livable again for billions of years once the star’s fusion reactions were reset. Dakota planned to time-travel to before that star began to expand so he could save the previous infrastructure of the planet and its moon built by the Alterans three and a half million years ago.

TWO

Biting Twins, Crystal Snakes, and Fart Knockers

Richie and Hyacintho were in awe at all the information they were seeing. They were amazed at all the things the Alterans were capable of. They were also excited to be a part of Prince Dakota’s inner circle. Richie couldn’t believe it was possible to build such a large island, and he was suddenly envious of Prince Dakota and his supernatural and superhuman abilities. The drone video of the Venus situation was being recorded, so they didn’t have to worry about missing anything interesting while they watched the Pacific Island project video.

This is incredible. All of the knowledge that Prince Dakota and the Alterans possess would advanced technology on Aries by decades, Hyacintho said with wide eyes.

Hmm, with everything I’ve seen, it’d more likely be a century or two, maybe three, Richie said as they continued to watch the island-building program. Prince Dakota’s voice continued to narrate in the background.

That’s true. But it’s so weird knowing the Aries people predate the Alterans by over a billion years. I wonder how much my people will advance.

Well, since your people have already developed computers, I’m willing to bet you’ll advance a lot.

No doubt, Hyacintho said as she watched Richie scroll through some icons on the computer remote pad. What’re you looking at there?

There’s some additional information about the Alterans and their society, like their monetary system, military, government agencies, and such. It looks fascinating. We’ll be here for a week or more if we try to watch it all now, Richie said as he scrolled through all the different icons. Clicking on an icon brought up information about the subject. If Richie didn’t know any better, he’d swear the Alteran government system was nearly identical to the United States.

For starters, they have different government administrations and branches, such as the UAR Congress, which includes Council Representatives, which is like the US House of Representatives and the Royal Senate; cabinet ministers, which are like the US president’s cabinet secretaries; and the UAR Treasury, which is just like the US Treasury. Some of the cabinet ministers are the UAR minister of state, which is the top minister; treasury minister; defense minister; UAR general advocate, which is the same as an attorney general; transportation minister; energy minister; and many others. The UAR law enforcement on Earth will have a top agency with satellite branches. The top agency will be known as the Alteran Intelligence Agency. The AIA will control all other branches, such as Alteran Bureau of Investigation; Alteran Central Security, which is like the US NSA; Alteran Immigration Services; UAR Secret Service; and many others. The UAR SS agents will protect Prince Dakota and his heirs. The ABI protects the UAR cabinet ministers, and the UAR Congress. The SS agents also assist in protecting visiting dignitaries to the UAR Pacific Island. Even though Prince Dakota can protect himself with his superhuman abilities, the SS agents mostly keep him out of trouble since he has a temper when it comes to stupid people and criminals. The SS agents also help Dakota to protect the people in his close circle who don’t have superhuman abilities to protect themselves.

And it says the Alteran Medical Services plans to start the UAR School of Medicine. It’ll be called Crown Prince University School of Medicine. Prince Dakota, Daryl, and Dr. Errol are working to get it started once they get back to Earth in Dakota’s time, Hyacintho said. She was impressed with the info on the screen.

And Daryl is working to start his own school of technology. He’s going to call it Mars Advanced Technology Institute or MAT Institute for short. I’m jealous. We’re never going to have anything close to that back in my era in our universe. People in Dakota’s universe are going to have so many more career opportunities, Richie said with disappointment. But Hyacintho simply scoffed, and he glanced at her. What?

"How do you know you won’t have the same opportunities at learning about advanced technology? You’re here