The Adventures of Dr. Long and Tomkins

Episode Two: The Quest for, uh ... Chan

The meteorite sat protected behind a glass case under the bright lights of Dr. Long's lab. He and Tomkins bent down and peered at it for a minute. The space rock still shimmered; it hadn't stopped since Dr. Long plucked it out of the mud hours ago. He'd already concluded that it wasn't composed of any elements originating from Earth, and that excited him—many meteorites were just lumps of rock floating through space, but this one ... this one was something entirely different. You might even say it was—

"Alien," Tomkins decided. "Definitely alien. Look at it. There's no way that came from Earth."

Dr. Long paused. "It's a meteor, Tomkins. Obviously it didn't come from Earth."

"Right, you're right." Tomkins laughed and smacked his forehead. "How silly of me! I meant it's not made of anything from Earth. What do you think it is?"

"I don't know. I'll have to study it further." Dr. Long bent closer and studied the fist-sized rock. So the trenchcoat man wanted the meteorite too ... That alone was reason enough to keep it locked safely away in the lab. He didn't know much about the man, but he'd heard rumors—rumors about a fiend who dwelt in a cave on some obscure moon and brought storms and darkness with him wherever he went.

In fact, he'd heard those stories from his mentor, an ancient being who had lived long enough to know nearly everything there was to know. Perhaps he even knew something about the meteorite. But Dr. Long hadn't seen or spoken to his mentor in ages—he didn't even know where to find him.

"Tomkins," he said, "how long until the students come back for the semester?"

Tomkins dashed over to the table and consulted the huge planner spread out on it; it detailed Liberty's semester schedule and all of the significant astronomical events taking place that season. Dr. Long managed the university's observatory and couldn't afford to be gone too long if the students were going to be returning soon.

"Uh, in three days," Tomkins told him. "Why?"

Dr. Long contemplated the meteorite again, narrowing his eyes at it. If the space rock could lure some alien creature from his distant moon, it must be important ... If it could stop the rain and clear the skies in an instant, however, it was vital to the future of the observatory. The summer threatened to shut them down because of the humid, sticky thunderstorms that frequented the mountains—if Dr. Long had a meteorite that could clear the skies permanently, the observatory would be saved.

"Uh, Scott? What's this?"

Tomkins was holding a letter when Dr. Long turned around. It was marked with the seal of Liberty University and bore the signature of its president.

Dr. Long sighed and removed his glasses. "I meant to tell you sooner. The observatory hasn't been pulling its weight; it's been too cloudy lately, and we're not getting enough visitors. The future doesn't look good for us if the weather doesn't change soon."

"What? What do you mean it doesn't look good?"

Three days. He had three days to find his mentor and learn the truth behind the meteorite.

But Trenchcoat had sworn to find him and take it ... If Dr. Long lost the meteorite now, there would be no hope for observatory—the university president, Jerry, would shut it down. It didn't make enough money to sustain itself, and Jerry wasn't going to keep spending money to keep it functional if it wasn't profiting the university.

Dr. Long made the decision. Whatever it took, he had to find his mentor. He had to save the observatory and make sure his students kept their jobs.