Merfolk on Mars

Chapter 19

Taking a deep breath, I gently knocked on the door before opening it and letting Isla past me.

"Oh, hello. Who are you?"

"Just some kids looking to learn wisdom over tea," Isla replied respectfully. "Would you happen to have time to impart your knowledge?"

"Certainly, certainly. You were even so thoughtful as to bring tea. Thank you. I ran out early this morning but was unable to leave to get more."

I gasped in mock horror. "No tea? That is terrible!"

"Indeed, I cannot wait to enjoy a cup. And warm toast and jam! This is a pleasant surprise!"

The man guided us to a nearby table, and Isla filled our teacups up. He sipped his tea contentedly before spreading jam on a piece of toast.

"I think this is the first time a teenager has shown up in this place," he commented.

"Really?" Isla asked. "That is kind of surprising."

"Rather sad, actually. They prefer to attend all the tea parties and galas instead of focusing on research. Without research and being able to adapt, steampunk will become outdated, and people shall abandon it like the dark ages."

"Dreadful," I murmured, before taking a sip of my tea. "What do you remember of the days on Earth?"

"Those days were different since many people didn't see the value of steam, leaning towards their polluting gasoline and diesel. There is a dieselpunk group as well, but diesel is really too close to gasoline."

"Very intriguing," Isla said, subtly nudging him to continue.

"Let's see... Why don't we start with the history of steampunk? It originally took off in the 1970s and became widespread for a short time, although it dates back to the Victorian era in the 1800s. The fascination with leather came from..."

My eyes slowly glazed over as the old man droned on and on about steampunk history. Isla was listening intently, Corvus was gazing at the Unobtanium stone, and Arai was simply trying to stay awake.

The elderly gentleman only paused to sip his tea and nibble on toast before continuing his history lesson.

No wonder teenagers never stopped by this place.

I idly began watching the clock, wondering how long it would take the man to lose his voice or run out of steampunk details.

After ten minutes, the chances of me falling asleep were getting higher – and the old man clearly had a lot of information tucked into his brain.

Then, there was silence.

It took me a few seconds to realize he hadn't just stopped to refill his teacup.

"That was very informative," Isla told him, sounding very genuine, although she had been listening with real interest.

"It has been a while since I got to teach anyone. I might have to start coming by the high school on my days off."

"Certainly," Isla said, "Just call the main office to inquire about which days would work the best."

"That is a very good idea. Although I don't think I will have much free time for the next week or so. This stone keeps glitching whenever we try and program it, and I can't figure out why."

Isla paused. "Glitching?"

"Its power isn't dispersing properly, so it builds up and then does something completely random."

Isla and I exchanged a look – it had worked just fine in Sealantis.

The old man yawned. "Oh, goodness me. That was a very good tea."

"I saw a comfy chair the next level down," Isla suggested. "It would be perfect for a late after-tea nap."

His eyes lit up. "That sounds like a very good idea! I've been working all day without a break so far."

"That sounds terribly tiring. We must be on our way as well. Thank you so much for your time."

"Anytime." He began tottering towards the doorway. Isla began putting the teacups and plates on the tray, painstakingly slowly.

Linking my arm into Corvus', we walked after the old man. I was counting on Corvus' bulk to act as a barrier for whatever Isla was up to. I glanced back and saw her slipping the softball-sized stone into her coat while putting the teapot in its place and draping a white cloth over it.

The old man didn't even look back, probably hearing footsteps behind him and thinking we were all following him.

Isla quickly joined the group descending the stairs, still carrying the tray, with a noticeable bulge in her coat.

The man paused in the next doorway. "Thank you so much for coming. Please stop by again for tea. It was excellent tea – it has been a long time since I tasted tea steeped so perfectly."

Perfectly steeped? It had been steeping for about six hours. I didn't bother wondering how someone judged if a tea was perfectly steeped. Besides, if I set foot in this city in the next five years, then I would be seriously concerned.

"Thank you so much for your wisdom," Isla replied, hidden behind Corvus.

The man continued into the room, intent on a long nap. My group continued down the stairs, trying for silence as we passed other doorways. Isla put the tray inside the next empty room to free up her hands.

We reached the bottom, and the lady was once more behind the desk.

"Oh, you're still here. I thought you left."

"We just visited a few people while waiting," I replied, before lowering my voice. "Is the spider still out there?"

"I truly hope not," the woman replied.

"I think I'll check," I said, walking toward the door.

Opening it up, I looked outside. There wasn't a spider, person, train, or anything scary to be seen.

Pulling my head back inside, I told the lady, "It's gone! So we shall be on our way. Thank you for letting us wait in here."

"Have a good day!"

We filed outside and closed the door behind us. I still had no idea why she never commented on the chainsaws. Perhaps she saw so many odd things enter and leave the building that she was used to it by now.

"How do we get to that manor?" I asked Isla. "And what did he mean the stone was glitching?"

"The manor is actually next door, in the big stone building." She nodded towards the large solid-looking building. We began walking down the street to avoid drawing attention, almost as if we were sane people. "As for the glitching, I'm not sure, although I do recall that there was a special holding tank for it in the spaceships when we originally moved here."

I eyed up the lump under her coat. "That does not reassure me."

"Now that I think about it, I bet it needs to be submerged in water. That would explain why its power was dispersing properly – water is an excellent conductor."

"If we dump some water on it, will it help?"

"No clue," Isla replied. "For all I know, it might even need salt water to work properly."

I gritted my teeth and hoped it didn't do anything until we got it back into the waters of Sealantis. Our group slowed down since we were already in front of the manor.

"There will be a back courtyard," Isla said, "so we can go around the back. Let's stop in that gazebo for a moment so I can do something with this stone."

We entered the brass and leather structure, and Isla pulled the glowing green stone out of her coat. She set it down and managed to remove her cloak without taking her Brasslantis coat off. She wrapped the Unobtanium stone in the tasselled cloak, then held it in her arms like a baby.

Hopefully, no one would look too closely.