G Version
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
(#) footnotes
/ denotes telepathic communication/
For reference purposes the following will hold true throughout.
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Canon Lois and Clark universe also called – Prime
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 – Canon Alt Clark universe also called – Alt 1
Previously –
Clark picked up the phone and called Dr. Klein’s lab. “Bernie Klein, here.”
“Uh, Dr. Klein, this is Clark Kent.
“Well, Clark, what can I do for you?
“Dr. Klein …”
Bernie interrupted, “Clark, I think we’ve known each other long enough that you can call me Bernie, please.”
“Uh, Okay, uh, Bernie. Well, it’s like this. A mutual *friend* has asked us to invite you for dinner tomorrow. He and his *significant other* will be there and they wish to discuss the studies you performed a couple of years ago, the results you obtained then and the possibility of doing more.”
“Mutual friend? Significant other? Studies from a couple of years ago? … OH, *OH*, *that* mutual friend. Well, okay, yes, uh, yes, I can come for dinner, tomorrow was it?”
“Yes, tomorrow at 7:30 if that’s Okay.”
“7:30, Okay. I’ll bring the data from the previous studies with me so that we can discuss them.”
“Do you need directions?” Clark asked.
Bernie replied with, “No, that won’t be necessary. I have your address.”
“Fine Dr, uh, Bernie. We’ll see you tomorrow at 7:30 then. Thanks.”
And Now –
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Chapter – 6 - Double Revelation
The following day
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After work they arrived back at 348 Hyperion and prepared the meal. Just as they were finishing up there was a knock on the door.
Clark looked at his watch and said. “It’s not quite 7:00. Bernie isn’t due till 7:30. I wonder who this could be.” He used his x-ray vision to see who was there and got a curious look on his face and said to himself, “Oh no. What’s he doing here?” Turning to Lois he said “Hold onto your hat. This might be trouble.”
“Huh, what do you mean?”
He didn’t say anything and simply proceeded to answer the door. When he opened it an older H. G. Wells, the 1912 version to be specific, was standing on the stoop. Clark asked, “Herb, what brings you here this time, another problem? This really isn’t a good time.”
Herb replied with a slight chuckle, “Oh my no, not this time, no. no problems. This is more along the lines of a social call. Yes, quite, a friendly visit.” Clark stepped back and indicated that Herb should enter.
As Herb entered, Clark took his hat and placed it on the table in the foyer. He called to Lois, “Honey, look who’s here!”
As soon as she saw Herb she started to frown and said, “Herb, are you here to get us to help you out again or is there another problem with us that needs to be corrected?”
“My, my, no, not this time. As I was just explaining to Clark, this is more of a social call.”
Relieved Lois let out the breath that she didn’t even realize she had been holding and said, “Well then Herb, this is a pleasant surprise. Won’t you stay for dinner? We have a guest coming. Actually, it’s someone you may like to meet.”
“Yes, that would be delightful. Thank you very much for the invitation.”
They moved into the living room and took seats and began to chat while they awaited the arrival of Bernie Klein.
A couple of minutes after 7:30 there was a knock on the door. Clark got up to answer it. Dr. Klein entered.
As Clark escorted Dr. Klein into the living room he began to introduce him to H. G. Wells. “Dr. Klein I’d like you to meet…”
“Herb!! I haven’t seen you in years! How have you been?”
Clark turned to Lois and said, “They know each other?!?!”
“Bernie, I wasn’t expecting to see you here this evening. Lois and Clark told me that they were expecting someone for dinner and invited me to join them and their guest. They never told me who the guest was to be. How delightful that you’re here.”
“You don’t look like you have aged a day in the ten years since I saw you last. Clark, is this the ‘mutual acquaintance’ you were talking about? I don’t recall running any tests *on* Herb. I am running an experiment *with* him, but *not* on him. By the way, Herb, how is our experiment coming. You haven’t stopped by to check the readings in at least ten years. How much longer is this experiment going to run?”
“Ah, Bernie, this is a long term project. You might even say VERY long term project. You recall when I approached you with the concept of creating a monitoring device to track disturbances in the space/time continuum I said that it could be that. That device is the penultimate result of that discussion.”
Lois and Clark had been exchanging mystified glances all during this exchange. Finally Clark spoke up, “Bernie, how long have you and Herb known each other?”
“Herb and I go way back to shortly after I started working at S.T.A.R. Labs. I was just out of my internship and had my first lab assignment. Herb approached me with questions about how to monitor the space/time continuum. He had this idea that a disturbance, of sufficient magnitude, could cause a fracture or rip which could cause an alternate reality or alternate universe to be created. It was all theoretical, of course. We did determine that in order to create a monitor of sufficient sensitivity it would have to be based upon the same theory that some people have been kicking around since the days of Star Trek about a ‘warp drive’. If you could create a detector that could detect that kind of field then you could extrapolate it out to detect a weaker field. We also decided that for reliability, since any disturbance strong enough to disrupt the time/space continuum could also disrupt power systems it would have to be self contained and powered. Herb borrowed a small ship from somewhere. It was truly unique and had to be of extra-terrestrial origin. Where did you get it Herb?”
“Actually, I borrowed it from … Superman.”
“But … Superman, uh … Superman wasn’t around then, was he? Didn’t he first show up when the Prometheus shuttle had that trouble?”
“Right … ah … Well … you see … uh … he has actually been around …uh … longer than … anyone thinks.”
“Well, then I need to thank him.” Looking at Clark, “You did say he was going to be here tonight, didn’t you?”
“Uh, yeah,” Clark said. Looking over at Herb he explained, “Dr. Kle … , uh, Bernie ran some fertility tests on Superman some time ago and he asked Bernie to meet him here this evening to review the data.”
“Ah, I see.”
Bernie looked around, “Is he here yet?”
Lois stood up and said, “With all of this technical talk, I am really getting hungry. Clark, why don’t we serve the dinner?”
“Right, the dinner. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Why don’t the two of you make yourselves comfortable at the table while Clark and I serve the dinner?”
Lois and Clark moved into the kitchen. “This just complicates matters. Of course Herb knows our secret and we were going to be telling Bernie tonight, but, with the two of them together?”
“It’ll be okay honey. Since Herb already knows, it won’t matter. We can just ‘play it by ear’. We really hadn’t planned out *how* to tell Bernie, anyhow.” Clark reached into the warmer and picked up a platter of meat to take to the table.
Lois reached in and picked up a vegetable bowl, “Okay, I’ll follow your lead.”
Rejoining their guests in the dining room they began to serve and they all enjoyed a pleasant meal. Saving the ‘shop talk’ until the meal was finished.
After dinner the conversation turned to the purpose of Bernie’s visit. Bernie said, “Is Superman still going to come, since the dinner party has changed?”
Clark replied, “Oh, you mean will he still be here because of Herb? Herb knows Superman very well. As he mentioned a while ago, Superman loaned him a small ship.”
Bernie replied, “But, what about that other matter, er … person that was discussed?”
Lois said, “Oh, that … Well, you see, ah, Herb knows her also.”
Bernie, was somewhat mystified and looking over at Herb asked “He does?”
Lois answered, “Well, yeah, he does.”
Bernie asked, “Well, in that case, can we discuss the reason for this visit?”
Clark replied, “Oh, yeah, about that, ah, other matter, well, yeah we can discuss that.”
Bernie asked, “Okay, so when can we expect them to arrive? I thought they would be here for dinner.”
Clark replied, “Well, that’s a long story. Why don’t we discuss your data and why it is so important?”
Bernie commented, “Well, okay, but I was hoping to discuss this with Superman. I realize that you and Lois are very close to him, but, this is kind of personal, if you know what I mean.”
Clark replied, “Yeah, we know what you mean, but he doesn’t have any problem with us discussing it.”
Bernie, giving in, said, “Well okay. You know, I really felt bad when we obtained these results. I knew how much it meant to him. He said that he was in a committed relationship. He was planning to bring his ‘significant other’ tonight. I was looking forward to meeting her. Maybe by analyzing some of her tissue we will get a different result. I am confident of my data though, so unless there is a significant difference between her tissue and the sample we worked with before ... If I’m not mistaken, that came from you didn’t it Lois?”
Lois replied, “Yes, I volunteered to provide the samples.”
Bernie stated, “It was a real shame, the results we got on those analyses. It showed that there was a distinct incompatibility between the Earth human genome and the Kryptonian human genome. When he came to me for the results, I knew that he would be just . . . devastated, by what we had found. I really hated to give him that bad news. If only there had been any other way, another test to run that might have given a different result… I wish there was some way I could be proven to be wrong! It would make me ecstatic to be wrong. It would have made me extremely happy to have been able to tell him that he could father a child with an Earth woman.”
Lois said brightly, “Well, in that case then, Bernie, I guess you should be *very* happy.”
Bernie, puzzled replied, “What? Why??”
Lois stated, “I’m *pregnant*.”
Bernie replied, “Well, Lois, congratulations, but we were speaking about Superman and his girlfriend.”
Lois replied, “That’s right, and I said ‘*I’m* *pregnant*’.”
Bernie, with a concerned look on his face replied, “Lois, I read all those stories that were in the “Whisperer” and all about the possibility of you having an affair with Superman, but, I think I know you and Clark well enough by now to know that they were all false gossip with no foundation. I have seen how you and Clark are together. I know that those stories were false.”
Lois looked somewhat pleased at Bernie’s obvious discomfort and replied, “Nevertheless, I *am* pregnant.”
Bernie, now very concerned at what he was hearing said, “Are you actually trying to tell me that you are having *Superman’s* baby? With Clark sitting here?!?! ..." He looked over at Clark and could see that he had a smile on his face. He looked back at Lois and said, "And he is going along with it? How can this be?” He looked back at Clark and he was still smiling. He started to get a look of understanding on his face and continued, “… Unless … Clark?”
Clark nodded.
Bernie, stunned, said, “OhmyGod. You mean that. … all this time … you … you are …. and … Lois is …”
Clark filled in for him, “Married to Superman. Right.”
“OhmyGod.”
Lois said, “Would you like a drink or something?”
Bernie replied, “No, thanks, Lois. I just need a minute to take this all in. Now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense. You two have always been *the* definitive source for everything Superman. Herb, you knew?”
Herb, with a grin on his face, nodded.
Bernie then asked, “Wow. Okay, so what do I call you? Superman or Clark?”
“Bernie, I *am* Clark. Superman is just what I do. It’s my way of being able to help people while preserving my private life so that I can live a normal life with Lois. Bernie, we revealed this information to you because we trust you and feel that we are friends. We are confident that you will not betray our trust.”
Bernie, now back on an even keel said, “Well, of course! I wouldn’t think of revealing this to anyone else. You can trust me. Now, when can you come into the lab so that I can do some new metabolic studies? Obviously something has happened. Either something has changed with Superm, uh, Clark or something has changed with Lois. Could you both come by the lab tomorrow?”
Clark said, “I think that, since we are going to be seeing you frequently, the way we need to handle this is if we call and make appointments to do interviews for an ongoing series of articles. I realize that it will be extra work for you, but, could you provide us with something each time that we can take back to write up and print?”
Bernie replied, “Sure, no problem. I can do that. I’ll look for your call tomorrow. Herb, when can I expect to see you in the lab again? Don’t you need to take some interim readings?”
Herb replied, “Well, no Bernie, I don’t need to take readings that often, it is monitoring all the time and has enough data storage capacity for many years of data and its power supply will outlast the data storage capacity.”
Herb finally came to the point of his visit. “Oh, by the way, the reason I am here is simply to say, congratulations. I was reviewing the book and saw this entry about your pregnancy and simply had to stop by.”
“Saw an entry about her pregnancy in a book? What book? You have a book about Lois and Clark? How could you have a book about Lois and Clark? It would have had to be written in the future. In order for you to have read it, it would of necessity have been in your past. In order for it to be in your past you would have had to have the means of moving into the future. That would indicate a means of moving forward and backward in time in some sort of time machine. Wait a minute. Time Machine, book, there was a book by that name written late in the last century by … H. G. Wells … Herbert Wells … Herbert George Wells … Herb?? No, you can’t be, he died in 1946, didn’t he? Are you Herb Wells, the Herb Wells, I mean H. G. Wells?”
Herb nodded.
“Now wait a minute. Herb, you and I worked on that detector some years ago. It was very advanced stuff dealing with the space/time continuum. An offshoot of that research could provide a means of travelling through time. I never put that together before. You wrote “The Time Machine”. Do you mean to tell me that you actually invented one?”
Herb got a slight smile on his face and said “Could be.”
“But, if you *are* H. G. Wells and if the research for the development of a time machine was done in my lab in 1989 and you died … will die … died, this is rather confusing, in 1946 then how did you get here in 1989 to help me … with … the … development?”
“Let’s just say that there are some mysteries about time travel that are very difficult to understand, let alone solve.
With awe in his voice Bernie said, “Then, that’s why you don’t appear to age. How long has it actually, or should I say subjectively been since I saw you 10 years ago?”
Herb gave it a few seconds of thought and then said, “Oh, about six or eight months.”
Incredulously Bernie said, “Oh … My … God.” Then he snapped out of it and saw some of the possibilities that were now open to him. Enthusiastically he said, “Can you show it to me some time?” He got a whimsical tone as he said, “Can you ‘take me for a spin’? A little hop around the centuries?”
“Perhaps at another time Bernie. Right now we both have other matters that are pressing.”
“Oh, yeah, right. I need to prepare for tomorrow’s visit. I guess I need to say good night.”
Clark escorted Bernie to the door and thanked him for coming over.
Clark returned to the dining room. Herb had gotten up from the table. “This has been a delightful evening. I must say it was a pleasure seeing Bernie again. I really must be going now though. Places to go and things to do, you know.”
Lois and Clark both escorted Herb to the door and saw him out. Clark turned to Lois and as he was shaking his head said “Are you as confused about this evening as I am?”
Lois laughed, “Probably more.”
After cleaning up they went upstairs had a time of intimacy and fell asleep in each other’s arms. It had been a *very* interesting day.
comments go here To Be Continued in Chapter 7 – Bernie Goes to Work
