“How much time before the launch?” asked Denise.

Toby looked at his wrist. “Thirteen minutes.” He turned to show the device strapped to his arm to everyone else on the row. “See? I got my Astrid watch when I got my Astrid phone.”

“That’s not what they’re called,” said Astrid.

“Really? Because that’s what the guy at the electronics store called it.”

The wristwatch device that had been dubbed by marketing specialists the Maxxim Carpé was a high powered computer in its own right and when paired with the Maxxim Phone it was even more powerful. It came in about two-dozen different styles including the one that Toby had with a dark blue band and a blue and grey bezel—The Mariner. Astrid had originally designed the wearable computer as a Fathers Day present for her dad, but her work could also be found all through the phone. She had written part of the operating system for both devices and designed the batteries that powered them.

“That is so cool,” said Austin from the far end of the row. “My grandma said I could have one for my birthday if I promise not to lose it.”

“I hope you didn’t promise,” said Christopher. “There’s no way you’re not going to lose it.”

Austin had a history of misplacing all kinds of things, including his phone and other electronic devices. He was once bitten by a rattlesnake while looking for a lost PDA.

“That’s the beauty of it,” said Austin. “It has a built in app so it can’t get lost. Your phone will lead you right to it.”

“I confess to thinking of you when I wrote that app,” said Astrid.

“You’re welcome world,” said Austin.

“The countdown is at ten minutes,” said the voice over the loudspeaker.

“I love my phone,” said Toby, fishing it out of his pocket. “I’m surprised that Maxxim never made one before.”

“It’s a tough market, so I think my mother thought we couldn’t compete,” Astrid explained. “She’s probably right. We’ll never be the industry leader, but my dad and I think if we just make the best phones in the world, that will be enough.”

Toby held the phone up for her to see that he had set the wallpaper to Astrid’s new school picture. It was a good likeness, and picture day that year had been a great hair day, but still it made Astrid uneasy seeing her image looking back from the screen.

“Bow down before me,” she whispered.

“What?” asked Toby.

“Nothing. Um… I think it would be better if you took me off your wallpaper.”

“Why?”

“Well, um… somebody might find your phone and think it’s mine.”

“Then you could give it to me,” he said slowly, as if trying to find the meaning behind her words. “Are you mad because we haven’t been on another evening date since Junior Prom?”

“No.”

“It’s just been such a busy summer, Astrid. I was in Europe and you were in Antarctica and then working. It just seemed like whenever we had time the whole gang should get together.”

“No, really,” said Astrid. “I’m not angry about that… or anything really. I just think you should put something else as your wallpaper—maybe something manly. You could put um… football or a truck or maybe Iron Man.”

“What’s the matter?”

Looking up into the face of Robot Valerie, Astrid screamed again. She looked around, but for a moment couldn’t remember where she was.

“Are you all right, Astrid?” asked Regular Valerie, looking down at her from above.

“I told you we couldn’t all three fit in the bed,” said another voice, and Astrid saw Denise looking over the edge of the mattress.

“Denise? You’re not in prison?”

“Valerie, you’d better go get one of my dads. I think Astrid hit her head and knocked a screw loose.”

Regular Valerie hopped off the bed and hurried out of the room.

It was coming back to her now. She was at the Brown family home for a sleepover, but she still flinched when Robot Valerie reached toward her.

“I just wanted to check your head for a bump,” said the mechanical girl in a hurt voice.

Her flesh and blood sister returned, followed by Denise’s brother Dennis and both her dads.

“Dennis,” said Astrid. “Thank goodness you’re alive.”

“Are you all right?” asked Dennis Brown Sr. “Do you need a doctor?”

“No,” Astrid replied. “No, I just had a bad dream.”

“And Valerie pushed her out of the bed,” added Denise. “Me too. I’m fine by the way.”

“That must have been some dream,” said Mr. Brown.

“It was. It seemed so real. I don’t think I’ve ever had a dream that seemed as real as this one.”

“Well, what happened?” asked Dennis. “Obviously I was in prison, so that sucks, but what else?”

“I traveled in a time machine twenty-five years into the future into a dystopian world ruled by… ruled by an evil military dictator, with robot storm troopers.”

“Oh my,” said Robot Valerie.

“It’s your own fault,” said Denise, and when Astrid looked questioningly at her, she said, “You’re the one who wanted to watch The Hunger Games last night.”

Astrid Maxxim stepped out of the time machine and looked around. The Main Street of Maxxim City didn’t look very different twenty-five years in the future, at least at first. Then she noticed gigantic buildings off in the distance, so high they reached up into the clouds. Hearing a thunderous noise to the west, she turned to see a huge spacecraft, spherical and the size of a football stadium, rise up into the sky. As her eyes followed the vapor trail from the sky to the ground, she saw the monorail station, looking just as it always had. In front of it though, was a four story tall video screen. A close up of a woman’s face filled the image. She was talking but Astrid couldn’t hear what she was saying, and from this angle she couldn’t make out the woman’s features.

“Must be a soft drink add,” she mused.

It suddenly occurred to Astrid that at mid-day there should have been shoppers going in and out of the stores and cars moving up and down the street. There were neither. The storefronts across the street from her should have been The Bagel Nook and Dickens and Co. Books. Now however, neither building was labeled. They didn’t even seem to have front doors. There was a kind of a slot about five feet wide and three feet tall just above where the door would have been. As she watched, a flying drone, held aloft by four Maxxim hoverdisks, just like those in her hoverbike, zipped over her head and into the slot in what had been The Bagel Nook.

“Maybe they have drones pick up things for them at the store,” she thought aloud.

Turning around, she saw that the Malt Shop didn’t look all that different. It appeared to be open, so she started toward it. It wasn’t until she was right in front of the door though that she noticed the sign. Instead of Maxxim City Malt Shop, it read Startopia Malt Shop. The door whooshed open, kind of like on Star Trek, as she passed through. Inside though, it was exactly the same—the same barstools and counter, the same tables and chairs, and the same menu board. There were no customers though.           “Just a minute,” she heard someone call out.

A minute later, a man who looked to be in his thirties stepped out of the back room and walked out to the counter as she sat down on one of the round stools. Dressed in white pants and shirt, and with an apron tied around his waist, he was pretty normal looking. He was a little chubby around the middle and his hair was thinning. Astrid looked at the nametag above his shirt pocket.

“Irving?” she said. “Irving Witzel?”

“Yup, that’s me. Do I know you? You look familiar.”

“Um, my name is Gloria.” Astrid didn’t think she had to worry about changing anything here in the future the way she would have if she was in the past, but if she admitted who she was it might cause complications. “My parents used to live here in Maxxim City and they told me you worked here.”

“Oh yeah? Well, they must have lived here quite a while ago if they still called it… if they still used the old name.”

“You’re good friends with Dennis Brown, right?”

“We were best friends,” he smiled sadly. “He was killed in the war.”

“What war?”

“The Last War, the only war.”

“How about his sister?”

“Her name was Denise,” said Irving. “She became a writer—a pretty good one from what I hear. She might be working for the news agency, or she might be in prison.”

“Prison?”

“Yeah, well you know how writers are. Are you going to order something?”

“Um, yes. Let me have a chocolate soda, please.”

Irving’s eyes lit up.

“You’re parents must have told you about chocolate sodas. I used to be the best soda jerk in North America.” He pulled a large glass from beneath the counter and began mixing chocolate sauce and soda water together. Then he plopped two scoops of chocolate ice cream into the mixture. “Sorry. No whipped cream. I haven’t made one of these in years.”

He slid the glass toward Astrid, and she took a straw and stuck it into the confection, taking a long sip.

“Delicious.” She took another sip. “Say, Denise Brown used to have a friend named Valerie.”

Irving’s face scrunched up as if he’d bitten into a lemon.

“Governor Diaz. I don’t talk about politics. Say, why are you asking all these questions?”

“Um, I’m doing a report for school… um, it’s about my mother growing up.”

“Oh yeah?” suspicious dripped from Irving’s words. “Just who is your mother?”

“Oh, you probably never heard of her,” said Astrid, struggling to think of someone whom she could name. “Her name was… Océane Feuillée.”

Irving’s face broke into a grin. “I know you!”

“You do?”

“Sure. You’re Gloria Bundersmith! Your dad was a good friend of mine. Boy-oh-boy, I remember when he married Océane and moved to Europe. That was the last big party we had around these parts. How is your dad?”

“Fine, last time I saw him,” Astrid’s voice came out as a squeak.

“Is he still friends with Christopher Harris. We all expected Toby to move to Europe, marrying a French girl and all, but it was a surprise when Christopher and Alicia went with them.”

“Um, yes,” said Astrid. “They’re still best friends. Why wouldn’t they be?”

In a daze, she turned her attention to her soda, sipping all the liquid out and then taking a bite of the leftover ice cream with a spoon. Irving took out a white towel and began polishing some glassware. Her mind abuzz, the girl inventor watched him. Finally she noticed that every so often he looked up toward the back wall. Back in the present, or the past, or the past present, or whatever, a large mirror had hung there. Now a white tablecloth thumbtacked to the wall covered the space. Finally Irving turned back to her.

“Um, I don’t know if my money is still good,” she said.

“Not if it’s Euros,” replied Irving. “Don’t worry though, kid. This one’s on the house.”

“Thanks,” said Astrid. “Say Irving, I mean Mr. Witzel, do you remember Astrid Maxxim?”

“I wondered if you would ask about her.” He looked around the room and then leaned across the counter to look out the front window. “I bet people still show up to some town in Austria and ask what Hitler was like when he was a boy.”

“Hitler!”

Irving laughed nervously. “Not really a fair comparison.”

“I should think not,” Astrid blurted out.

“After all,” said Irving. “I hear Hitler loved music and was kind to dogs.”

Suddenly the door burst inward, sending shattered glass across the room, and a dozen bluish silver figures marched in. Irving turned as if looking for an escape, only to see six more of the invaders marching out of the back room and into the space behind the counter. As one, all eighteen figures raised their right arms, which transformed into some kind of weapon. Red laser targeting dots appeared on Irving’s chest, and Astrid’s too!

“Irving Witzel!” said the foremost figure. “By the Authority of Valerie Diaz, Governor of District Three, you are ordered to stand in judgment!”

Astrid gasped. The voice was that of her friend Valerie, only she sounded grown up. Even more shocking though was that the eighteen bluish silver figures all looked like grown-up versions of Robot Valerie!

“Why is your reminder covered?” demanded the closest Robot Valerie, pointing to the spot where the large mirror used to hang.

“Uh… I was painting.” Irving’s voice shook. “I didn’t want to get paint on it.”

“Covering the reminder is a class six crime, punishable by no less than 100 hours in the reeducation booth.”

Irving collapsed, sobbing. The Robot Valerie closest to him reached up and yanked the cloth down, exposing a video screen. Though she hadn’t been able to see any real details before, Astrid could tell that this was the same face that was on the giant screen by the monorail station. Only the head and shoulders of the woman, who was wearing a stiff-collared military style uniform was visible. Her strawberry blond hair was cut short, like a boy’s, and parted on the side. Though pretty, in a hard sort of way, and wearing a modest amount of makeup, a scar ran from her forehead down her left cheek to her chin, marring her face. Whatever had caused that scar had obviously cost her an eye, because while her right eye was large and bright blue, a glowing red robotic eye replaced her left one.

“She looks a little like my mother,” thought Astrid.

And then the woman on the screen spoke.

“I am Supreme Ruler Astrid Maxxim. All will bow before me!”

“What?” yelled Astrid.

“She said to bow down!” growled one of the robots, grabbing the girl inventor by the shoulders and pushing her down.

Astrid screamed as she hit the floor.

As soon as she had hung up, she looked up a second number and dialed.

“Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Geophysics Division, how may I direct your call?” said a female voice.

“May I speak to Connor Brown?”

“Who may I say is calling?”

“It’s Astrid Maxxim.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Um, no.”

“One moment, please.”

Seconds later the line was picked up and a man’s voice said, “Hello, is this really Astrid Maxxim?”

“Um, yes.”

“Are you calling about my hoverbike? It was just delivered but I haven’t had the chance to try it out yet.”

“Oh, well I’m glad you got it,” said Astrid. “But that’s not why I’m calling. You are the Connor Brown who is the head of Antarctic research for New Zealand, aren’t you?”

“I am the Director of Operations, the organizational head.”

“Well good. I’ve discovered some data about an Antarctic expedition that was made in 1928 by my great-grandfather. Their records indicate they discovered something important beneath the ice, but I can’t find any record of what it was. Since the location is within New Zealand’s area of authority, I thought I would give you a call.”

“Hmm,” said Brown. “We don’t normally have any personnel on the continent during the winter, but we have this idiot… this movie director who is filming a documentary. Maybe this is something he can check into.”

“That’s great. I’ll send you copies of the maps and other information.”

A few minutes later, Astrid was back outside, astride her hoverbike, and strapping on her helmet. She felt the ground shake briefly like an earthquake. Then two seconds later there was a tremendous boom and one of the glass panes in the front of the R&D building shattered. She looked up to see a huge black cloud rising up into the air about five miles to the south. Astrid knew just where it came from too— the Maxxim rocket launch facility.

The Screaming Pterodactyl was a modern, high-speed roller coaster, with seats that hung down below large polymer pterodactyls, giving one the impression that he was being carried by the beast through twists, turns, corkscrews, and loop-the-loops.

“It is open today, isn’t it?” asked Regular Valerie.

“Yes, yes, of course. We have a temporary queue line set up so you can ride the same ride we’ve had for the last seven years. But Astrid designed a whole new queue system. Now, as you walk though the line, you go on a fantastic hike through the primeval world, with twenty-two realistic animatronic dinosaurs. I’ve had the power turned on for you and the security guard at the door will let you in. You can check it out on your way to the ride. When you get through, the cast member at the ride entrance will let you go right to the front.”

“We don’t really want to see a bunch of old dinosaurs, do we?” asked Denise.

“Of course we do,” said Christopher.

“Dinosaurs are awesome!” shouted Austin, making both Valeries wince.

“We have to support Astrid,” said Toby.

“Don’t I always?” said Denise.

“You do,” said Astrid, with a laugh. “You’re just not quiet about it.”

When they finished eating, they walked to a large building draped with canvas tenting, next to the roller coaster. A security guard was standing by a slit in the canvas and pulled it aside, revealing a door, which he then opened. Inside, they followed the marked path through the entryway and found themselves standing in the middle of a desert scene.

“We start with the triassic?” asked Christopher.

“I would have liked to have gone through the whole prehistory of the earth,” said Astrid. “Since I couldn’t, I decided to stick with the three geological periods of the dinosaurs.”

They walked around a large rock to find themselves threatened by a group of four coelophysis, hissing and snapping their teeth-filled jaws. At the top of a hill, they could see a ferocious ticinosuchus, while closer by an elephant-sized moschops tugged at the shaggy fern.

“That’s the ugliest dinosaur I’ve ever seen,” said Denise.

“It’s technically not a dinosaur,” said Christopher. “It’s a therapsid.”

They rounded a corner, went through an arched doorway, and stood at the border between a grassy plain and a conifer forest. The painted mural on either wall made it seem as if both went on forever. Right in the middle was a massive brachiosaurus, reaching up to pluck pine needles from a tree. Nearby a pair of allosaurus harassed a stegosaurus, and beyond that a Quetzalcoatlus, the size of a jet fighter, soared overhead. Other, smaller dinosaurs hunted through the trees.

“Now these are what I call a dinosaurs!” said Austin, looking up at the Brachiosaurus. “They’re so realistic. It’s like we went back in a time machine. Say, why don’t you invent a time machine, Astrid?”

“That’s not really possible,” said Astrid.

“Well, sure it is.”

“Don’t get her started on time travel,” said Denise. “We’ll never get to ride the roller coaster.”

Astrid and her friends passed on through the Jurassic period and through another arched doorway to find themselves at the foot of a volcano, steam rolling down from the artificial lava. Running along the hillside were psittacosaurus, caudipteryx, and ornithomimus. Snapping and squawking below were several velociraptors. A large beipiaosaurus browsed through low-hanging trees.

“What’s with all these chickens?” asked Denise. “I thought this was a dinosaur exhibit.”

“These are all anatomically correct,” said Christopher. “Most cretaceous dinosaurs had feathers.”

“No wonder Maxxim Industries is in trouble,” said Denise. “You’re spending all its money building robot dinosaurs.”

“Who says Maxxim Industries is in trouble?” wondered Astrid. “Did your dad say that?”

“Yes. Not my dad that works for you. He thinks you’re the greatest thing ever. My other dad— he said it.”

“Maxxim Industries is just fine,” said Astrid.

Walking around a lava flow took the group to a triceratops nursery, where two of the huge three-horned creatures were caring for some tiny tykes just emerging from their shells. But looking over this tranquil scene from beyond the bushes was an enormous tyrannosaurus rex.

“That’s odd,” said Astrid.

“What?” asked Toby.

“The t-rex should be roaring and chomping and generally being scary. It’s the only dinosaur not working. I think I’ll take a look at it. Maybe it’s something minor.”

“Trust Astrid to turn riding a roller coaster into an electronics experiment,” said Denise.

“You guys go on ahead,” said Toby. “I’ll stay with Astrid and fix the dinosaur, and then we’ll follow you.”

“You sure you don’t mind?” asked Valerie.

“Go ahead,” assured Astrid. “I’m sure we won’t be more than a minute.”

While Christopher, Austin, Denise, and the two Valeries continued through the last arched doorway to the ride entrance, Astrid led Toby to the base of the monstrous creature. Pulling out her pocket toolkit, she unfastened four screws on the tyrannosaurus’s hip and opened a large panel.

“Uh-oh.”

“Is that what I think it is?” asked Toby, pointing to a cylindrical metallic object behind the panel.

“Do you think it’s a pressure cooker connected to digital clock?”

“No, I think it’s a bomb.”

“Well, either way, you’re right.”

The following morning found Astrid walking in the front door of the Maxxim R&D building. The half-mile wide, fourteen-story structure dominated the northwest corner of the Maxxim Industries campus. The campus, sprawling across 180,000 acres of the American southwest, featured machine shops, office buildings, factories, power plants, and its own airport. It was here, where for the past forty-two years, thousands of Maxxim products had been developed and produced, making the Maxxim family very wealthy and making the world a better place in which to live.

Astrid took the glass elevator up to her lab on the fourteenth floor. As she stepped out, she saw Mrs. Purcell, the office manager, at her desk surrounded by several Maxxim employees. As she approached, they glanced nervously in her direction and then hurried away.

“What’s up, Mrs. Purcell?”

“It’s nothing really, Astrid. Some people are just worried about their jobs.”

“Why? Did they do something that might get them fired… no, never mind, don’t tell me.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Mrs. Purcell assured her. “It’s everything that’s happening in the stock market.”

Astrid gave her a blank look.

“You should pay more attention to what’s going on, Astrid.”

“Wall Street just seems so far away,” said the girl inventor. “I’ve never been that interested in finance.”

“I dare say you can afford not to be. No matter what happens to Maxxim Industries, your family will be one of the richest in the country.”

“What do you mean ‘no matter what happens?’ What could happen? Maxxim Industries is the largest, richest company in the world.”

“Actually as of last week, it was number six. As of this morning, it’s number fifteen.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Purcell,” said Astrid, before walking to her lab. Once there, she picked up her Maxxim tablet and plopped into an overstuffed easy chair. She called up the recent financial news and read through the headlines. Maxxim Investors Worry Over R&D Costs. Maxxim Shares at a Six Year Low. Maxxim CEO Under Fire. Maxxim Earnings Call Larger Than Expected, Investors Not Appeased. Maxxim Needs Products, Not Financial Gimmicks. Maxxim Launches Stock Buyback. It didn’t make much sense to Astrid. As long as she could remember, her grandfather’s company had been the bedrock of her existence. Maxxim Industries was the main employer for adjacent Maxxim City and the nearby Indian reservation. It funded Rachel Carson High School that Astrid attended. And it allowed her to be a girl inventor, without worrying too much about money. She guiltily glanced back at the headline that mentioned R&D costs. She had probably had a hand in that.

“Maybe we shouldn’t even be down here,” said Austin Tretower, as he looked around the gloomy basement. “Are you sure it’s okay with your parents?”

“Of course it’s okay with them,” replied girl inventor Astrid Maxxim. “We just need to carry this crate upstairs. That’s why I called the three of you.”

Austin looked at the dusty wooden container labeled Antarctic Expedition 1928.

“This is just about the point in the conversation when The Thing explodes from the box and eats our faces.”

“There’s rope handle on each side,” Astrid pointed out. “You and I will take the sides. Toby can take the top end and Valerie the bottom. Then we’ll just carry it right up the stairs.”

The four teenagers looked at one another, nodded in agreement, and then each took their respective handle and lifted. Five minutes later, they were at the top of the stairs and set the crate down on the floor of the Maxxim family room.

Astrid Maxxim was five foot five and startlingly cute. Her strawberry blond hair was cut to shoulder length, setting off her very large blue eyes. Astrid’s friend Austin was a sandy-haired boy who seemed thoroughly average in just about every way. He had only recently moved to Maxxim City, but was already a part of Astrid’s close circle of friends. The third member of the group was Toby Bundersmith. Toby had lived next door to Astrid since she was born and embodied, at least in Astrid’s opinion, everything good about a boy. He was tall and handsome, with brown bangs cut just above his hazel eyes. Finally there was Valerie. Valerie was a robot copy of a fourteen year old girl, built by Astrid earlier that year and programmed with the memories of Astrid’s long-time friend Valerie Diaz. Robot Valerie originally had bright silver skin, but after returning from Hawaii, Astrid had covered it with a bluish metallic polycarbonate so that she would be more water resistant. Thanks to another recent upgrade, she also had bright blue shoulder length hair. She was just a bit shorter than Astrid.

“What’s in that dusty old thing anyway?” asked Valerie’s flesh-and-blood twin from where she sat on the couch, with her feet curled up under her. Though she shared the robot’s features, her raven hair and flashing brown eyes made it only too clear that she was entirely human. “It’s not The Thing, is it?”

“See, I’m not the only one,” said Austin.

“You know Valerie could have carried that upstairs all by herself. She’s very strong.”

“I don’t want to go down in that basement by myself,” said Robot Valerie. “It’s spooky.”

“All three of you are just being silly,” said Astrid. “Now, let’s get this open and you’ll see that there’s nothing in there. Well, there will be something, but not The Thing.”

A rusty hasp, with an ancient padlock in it, held down the lid of the box. The wood was so old however that the hasp and the hinges on the opposite side all pulled loose. Toby helped Astrid lift the lid and set it to the side. Nestled neatly within the box were four stacks of manilla file folders.

“Oh great,” said Austin. “It’s worse than The Thing. It’s homework.”

A little more than an hour later, Astrid and Denise were standing near the driveway as Dr. Feuillée arrived in a long black car. She rushed to shake the oceanographer’s hand as he stepped out.

“Welcome to Hawaii.”

“Thank you, Astrid. It is absolutely lovely here. May I introduce you to my daughter Océane?”

A girl about Astrid’s age stepped out behind him. She was about an inch taller than Astrid and almost as thin as Denise. Her pleasant face was framed in short black hair, cut in a cute little wedge. She stuck her hand toward Astrid, who shook it.

“Bonjour.”

“Oh-say-AHN.” Astrid rolled the unfamiliar name on her tongue. “I’m very glad to meet you. I didn’t know you had a daughter, Dr. Feuillée, but I’m not surprised you named her after the ocean.”

“It is a fairly common name in France,” he replied.

“J’aimerais prendre si un hoverbike,” said Océane.

“L’anglais, s’il vous plait,” Dr. Feuillée told his daughter. “She so wants to ride a hoverbike,” he said.

“I wish I had brought mine,” said Astrid. “Maybe you could swing by Maxxim City on the way home and try one out.”

“This is wonderful idea,” said Océane.

“Let me help you with your bags,” said the girl inventor. “You’re staying in Gardenia House with us.”

Astrid took one bag and Denise took the other, leading the way to the house where Mrs. Maxxim met them. After helping to get the Feuillées settled in their rooms, Astrid was able to spend an hour getting to know the daughter of the famous oceanographer. She found Océane to be a sweet and very smart girl, who enjoyed listening to popular music and playing soccer, or as she called it, football. She was also fascinated by hoverbikes, and asked Astrid and Denise dozens of questions about them. She was in fact, still asking questions when a familiar person stepped into the room.

“I’m home,” called Toby from the doorway.

Astrid was so excited that she was across the room and wrapping Toby in a fierce embrace before anyone could blink.

“Hey, I’ve only been gone since yesterday.” He laughed, but his face flushed with embarrassment.

“We were just worried about you,” said Denise, hugging him from the other side. Astrid was grateful for her friend’s words, because at that moment she didn’t think that she could speak.

Astrid’s mother served lunch to everyone, including Toby’s father who had arrived almost unnoticed with him. Then they all piled into one of the vans and were driven over the hill and across the bridge to dock, where they climbed into a large motorboat and headed out into Kaneohe Bay.

It wasn’t long before they could see the Toronto, and standing high up on its deck, Austin and Christopher. Next to the ship was a large floating platform with a square building right in the center of it.

“That’s the elevator down to the undersea dome,” explained Astrid.

“How do you account for high and low tide?” asked Dr. Feuillée.

“The elevator is in a single fixed position, but the platform floats. The two are connected by a set of constantly adjusting steps. At any time, you may have to go up or down the stairs to get into the elevator, depending upon whether it is high or low tide.”

“Very ingenious,” said Feuillée.

“That’s our Astrid,” said Toby.

The Hawaiian waters were crystal clear and even at a hundred feet below the surface visibility was excellent. Astrid looked down at the undersea dome, suspended on massive cables from the ship above, as she dove her mini-sub in a sweeping downward spiral. She noticed a shadow passing her just as the radio popped to life.

“Astrid!” called Toby. “Look up.”

The girl inventor leaned forward and looked up through the Plexiglas canopy of the mini-sub, to see the massive form of a humpback whale swimming above her. The great beast paused for a moment and rolled over onto its side as though giving the strange man-made devices a good once-over, and then with a kick of its great tale, it swam away.

“That makes you feel tiny, doesn’t it?” said Toby.

“It sure does. I didn’t expect to see any humpbacks. Their season is just about done.”

They continued descending until both mini-subs reached the bottom edges of the dome, which thanks to preplaced guide wires, now rested snuggly in place on its foundation. Astrid flipped on the external spotlight, even though at this depth it was still just light enough to see. Using the manipulator arms, she withdrew a large nut from a container on the foundation and threaded it onto a massive bolt sticking up from the concrete through a hole in the dome’s titanium frame. She did this twice more and then maneuvered to the next attachment point. Toby did the same thing, starting on the far side of the dome, and between them they connected all twelve points.

“This thing is huge,” said Toby over the radio.

“It does look pretty giant down here, at least from the outside. I’m wondering how big it’s going to seem from the inside.”

“All right. Shall we go on up?”

“Let’s.”

They began spiraling upward, their propellers leaving a double helix of bubbles in their wake. Halfway to the surface, a shadow passed overhead, and Astrid looked up expecting to see their humpback whale once again. It wasn’t the whale though. It was another submarine. This craft was not a huge vessel like a US Navy sub, but it wasn’t a small one man sub like Astrid’s either. It was about fifty feet long, longer than the humpback, but not quite as big around. It was painted flat black, making it difficult for anyone on the surface to see it. Suddenly as she watched, the unknown submarine tilted its bow down.

“What is that guy doing?” she said aloud.

“What was that, Astrid?” called Toby.

“Toby! Look out!”

She realized what the strange submarine was doing, but it was too late to do anything about it. The dark vessel’s turn had sent it on a collision course with Toby’s mini-sub. Astrid could hear the loud crunch as the nose of the black undersea boat smashed into the little yellow vehicle. The mini-sub flipped over as a huge cloud of bubbles burst from it and shot toward the surface.

On a massive dockside platform just outside of the Marine Air Station, several large trucks were being unloaded. Cranes lifted heavily wrapped pallets out over the water. Here the great base portion of the undersea dome floated with the aid of giant inflatable pods. Dozens of workmen on the floating base, unpacked triangular panes of transparent Astridium, fitting them together like a huge jigsaw puzzle. Others constructed an internal frame that would hold the three floors in place. Paige Liebowitz carefully oversaw the operation.

“Is everything going okay?” asked Astrid, running up to her.

“Everything is on schedule,” the wavy-haired woman replied. “We should have the floors constructed this morning and the dome assembled by this afternoon. Then tomorrow we can float it out to the site. The foundation has already been laid using hydraulic cement just north of the reef at a depth of 175 feet. So we just sink it down and bolt it in place. While that’s going on, the workmen here can assemble the Astridium elevator.”

“It’s going to have an elevator?” asked Mr. Diaz, from behind Astrid.

“Sure,” she said, turning around. “That way people can go back and forth from the surface without having to scuba dive. It also serves as an airlock, since the dome will be kept at a pressure of one atmosphere inside.”

“I thought it was going to be down deeper,” said Mr. Brown.

“The Astridium can withstand the pressure up to a depth of 300 feet,” explained Astrid. “I chose 175 feet for two reasons, one being safely. This is a test after all. Plus, I want the people in the dome to be able to see without a lot of external lighting. At 300 feet, it gets pretty dark.”

“We have a construction ship coming on site tomorrow. It has cables to guide the dome down, and a crane to lower the elevator shaft,” explained Paige. “We’ll attach it to the dome and then pump out the water.”

“What’s in all those crates?” Mr. Diaz asked, pointing to a truck just pulling up.

“Equipment for inside and furniture,” replied Astrid.

“And that is my cue,” said Mr. Brown. “I’ve got to make sure that my chairs and lounges are set up properly.”

“Martin and I are going to roll up our sleeves and do some manual labor,” said Mr. Harris, as he and Toby’s father joined the workmen assembling the dome.

“Sound like fun,” said Dr. Maxxim.

Over the next several hours, Astrid watched as her dome slowly took shape, rising first to form a ring and then growing up until it became a geodesic dome—a half sphere fifty feet tall and one hundred feet in diameter. She moved from spot to spot around the dome, checking the Astridium panes and double-checking the fastenings. The three scientist/engineers who had taken on jobs as workmen had a great time, but Astrid was sure that they had actually increased the construction time by at least an hour. Mr. Brown however had successfully loaded all the furniture and equipment on board, and had overseen the installation of all the vital mechanisms.

“I’m starving,” said Dr. Maxxim, exiting out of the open emergency airlock along with Mr. Harris and Mr. Bundersmith, all three of them looking exhausted and happy.

Mr. Diaz, who had been working with a liaison from the Marine Corps all morning, guided them toward the van.

“I’m told there’s a pizza shop right around the corner,” he said.

“Pizza doesn’t sound very Hawaiian,” said Mr. Harris.

“Hawaiian Pizza,” replied Mr. Diaz.