"Oh, my God." "Maggie!" "No!" "Come on." "Watch it." "Maggie!" "It's coming this way." "Where are you?" "Get back." "Maggie!" "You know, it's probably for the best." "That guy wasn't right for you." "What's so funny?" "He wanted me to meet his parents." "Any idea where we are?" "Not a clue." "Looks like there's a road up ahead." "You ever slide into a land of giants before?" "Yeah, but they were never this friendly." "This is strange." "It didn't stop again, did it?" "No." "It's fine." "It just says that we're here for 624 hours." "Six hundred and twenty-four?" "You're sure you're reading it right?" "That's 26 days." "That's three and a half weeks." "In the middle of nowhere." "Even if it's not the middle, I bet it's right next door." "Hey, doesn't that thing go down there?" "No, I took it off this thing." "But it's not supposed to go back on this thing." "Hey, take it easy, don't jam it on there." "Are you the boss or the helper today?" "I'm the boss." "And I said don't jam it in there." "You know, having nothing to do wouldn't be so bad, if we had a different kind of nothing to do sometimes." "Man, this is gonna be the longest 10 days of my life." "What do you think?" "He looks pretty nervous." "Think somebody's after him?" "I don't see anybody." "Could be choppers." "What do you figure, highway patrol?" "FBI?" "Hey, bub, not a good idea to smoke around these pumps." "We don't get too many of these around here." "Back to work, Joe." "Oh, that's it!" "I've had it!" "What's wrong now?" "I'm not working at that place anymore." "Did you quit?" "Two schools of thought." "Marty thinks he fired me, I know I quit!" "But one thing's for sure." "That trucker's going to be doing everything with his left hand for weeks." "Well, we got 10 more days here." "It's all right, I'll get another job." "There aren't any other jobs around here, Maggie." "We're stuck." "I never thought I'd be saying this, but I miss the Kromaggs." "Yes, they're scary, yes, they're dangerous, but there's never a dull moment." "What if you found a portal to a parallel universe?" "What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds where it's the same year and you're the same person, but everything else is different?" "And what if you can't find your way home?" "Hey, Maggie." "Thought you didn't get off till 6:00." "The boss gave her the rest of her life off." "What have you got there?" "Oh, a bunch of old books." "Might be something in here to kill time better than watching reruns of "Touched By A Ranger. "" "I mean, Chuck Norris is a fine actor, but on this world he should leave that action stuff to somebody else." "Let me see one of these." ""Bebop King, the life of Jackie Robinson," ""the greatest saxophone player this world has ever seen. "" "You see, on this world, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in what was, up until then, an all-white art form." "Got a bunch of time-killers." "Think I'll take a shower." "Hey, be careful." "Showers in places like this tend to attract guys with really big knives and really bad wigs." "Maggie seems really short-tempered lately." "I would think all of you would look forward to three weeks of nothing going on for a change." "I can't stand vacations either." "One week of sun and sand and I just want to get back to the grind." "Sliding, fighting Kromaggs, running for our lives every other minute?" "Ah, that's the life." "Hey, guys, listen to this." ""When Grobar, the Gormak science officer, revealed his formula" ""for inter-dimensional travel," ""Commander Kurch Grimax knew that the possibility existed for his people" ""to escape the wrath of Thon. "" "What are you reading?" "Flow My Blood, The Soldier Said, by Isaac Clark." "I thought you hated science fiction." "There's also a biologic weapon in here." "Sounds a lot like the one we heard about when we were in the slidecage." "Well, what we do in reality might seem like fantasy to people in another world." "Yeah, if I hadn't been along for the ride, and they told me about it," "I wouldn't believe anything we do." "Hey, I think I just figured it out." ""Gormak" is a close anagram for Kromagg." "Hey, look at this." "Oh, my gosh." "Those are Kromaggs." "You're doing a pretty good job there, farmer boy." "Thanks." "Just takes practice." "Internal combustion is just a controlled explosion." "Just as long as it's controlled." "Think I'm on to something." "Publisher says he has no idea where Isaac lives." "Doesn't have an agent, just does all of his business through a lawyer." "Lawyer will not talk." "Actually his voice mail won't talk." "But I got his name." "And I got the name of another agent who brokered some movie stuff for him." "And what does that mean, you're on to something?" "Well, that's the name and numbers of three people who had to have called up Clark at some time." "So?" "So, all we got to do is match some numbers up." "Yeah, well, how do we access those phone line records?" "We've got a computer." "We hack our way in." "Not without a modem." "Yeah, well, Maggie's got money, we can..." "Hey, guys, ready to roll?" "Downtown Needles." "Bright lights, big city." "You've never seen me roll the dice, have you, big boy?" "What?" "What's wrong?" "Maggie, I've realized you've worked very hard at the diner." "Remmy, Colin here at the gas station, and I also realize that you've saved up your money, so you could really enjoy your little holiday in Needles." "How much money do you need?" "Enough to get a modem." "So we can get online and hack our way to get some phone line records." "Of course." "What would a slide be without hacking into some phone records?" "There's a whole section in here on how the Gormak women are unable to have children." "Just like the Maggs." "This guy is either from your world, or he's been following us around." "What are you looking for?" "Any repeat calls to the same number from all three of the source numbers." "We figure Clark's lawyer, publisher and agent must have called him." "Maybe more than once." "If we can match the numbers, it helps narrow the scan." "Nice." "We've got three calls to this 555 number, 818 code, from the publisher." "Okay, key in on that number and scan the other bases." "Bingo." "One, two, three, four calls from the lawyer." "And two from the agent." "And look at this." "The calls are to this number, never from it." "And always about the same time of day." "So what do we do now, call that number?" "Not yet." "That's why we bought the reverse directory." "We can track the phone's location." "Okay, here we go." "It's in Wrighthood, up the mountains." "Highway 2." "It's a pay phone." "Remmy." "Hey, guys." "Yeah." "Hello?" "Sure, okay, great." "I'll let him know." "Yeah, thanks, bye." "So what if it's not Clark?" "Then we apologize and go away." "But it would be really strange if Clark's agent, attorney, and publisher were calling somebody else." "Yes, what is it?" "Hi, is this the residence of Isaac Clark?" "No." "Excuse me, but we're huge fans of his, we came all this way just to meet him." "Maybe get him to autograph a book." "I told you." "No one named Clark lives here." "I have a gun." "You won't need it." "I mean, we don't mean any harm." "Look, we're inter-dimensional travelers." "Like the ones in Mr. Clark's book, only for real." "And we go from one world to another with this." "My name is Quinn Mallory." "And it's kind of important that we see Isaac Clark." "I'm Isaac Clark." "Please, come on in." "Our parents told us the Kromaggs were defeated on our home world." "Very close to what you describe in the book." "And if there is a weapon that can defeat the Kromaggs, well, I'd like to get my hands on it, take it back to my world and drive them out." "Dad spends a lot of time dodging lunatic fans, but you people take the blue ribbon." "I've never heard anything so crazy in my life." "Well, it's all true, just like the story in your father's book." "That's a novel." "Fiction." "He makes it all up." "Don't you people know how that works?" "We haven't made up anything." "Everything we told you really happened to us." "We're here because we think you can help us." "Come on, Dad." "Do you need to hear any more of this nonsense?" "No, I don't." "Everything these young people are saying is true." "I knew the minute you told me your name, Mallory, you see." "I knew your parents." "There was, as I think, you know, quite a Kromagg problem on our world." "That seems like an understatement." "Yeah, we heard it was a full-blown civil war." "Well, a weapon was needed to put an end to it." "Michael and Elizabeth Mallory were brilliant scientists." "They headed the research team that developed sliding technology." "And they used it to put you two on different worlds, out of harm's way." "And they made it available for anybody who wanted off that world, away from the Kromaggs." "But they went back." "It's their world." "They wanted to fight for it." "So did I." "The government put together a team of their best people." "We were under a lot of pressure to develop a weapon that would end the war." "And you did." "Your parents were key to that research." "In fact, your father perfected the formula that led to the solution." "The Maggs were destroyed." "They were given the highest honors." "Then it was just a mopping-up operation." "Something I don't understand." "Why are you here?" "You won the war, drove out the Maggs." "Your world was at peace." "I saw a lot of destruction, such death was the cause of a lot of it." "I just couldn't face anything on my world again." "And I had a brother who worked with us." "He decided to stay, but I got Michael Mallory to slide me to this world." "And you became a writer?" "No, not at first." "I looked for work at my old profession, but I found that I had lost the will and heart to pursue it." "Then, I met Catherine's mother." "I found happiness for the first time in a long, long time." "Then I got this idea." "Nobody on this world would believe my story, what I'd seen, what I'd been doing." "So I decided to make science fact, science fiction." "Yeah." "But why the isolation?" "Why hide away like this?" "Sliding technology." "You've got it." "The Kromaggs have got it, as you well know." "And you were never going to tell me this?" "Oh, honey." "You were born here." "This is your world." "I felt that keeping the secret would allow us to have a normal life." "What good would it do you to know the truth?" "That it was the truth." "Oh." "Excuse me." "One of the hard things about being a parent is that sometimes there is no clear right way to do things." "You don't have to be a parent to have that problem." "Excuse me." "I need to get some air." "Well, how can I help you?" "Mind if I join you?" "Well, it's a big night, and nobody owns it." "I know how you feel." "How could you possibly know that?" "I didn't know the truth about my life, my parents," "I grew up thinking that the people that raised me were my mother and father." "They weren't." "They never told you?" "No." "They might have, but they died when I was very young." "I didn't find out about my true parents until my brother found me." "And he told you how he was able to slide from one universe to another, and that there was a world where some kind of mutant race went to war with the humans." "Yes." "And you believed him?" "No, it's not funny." "It's not funny at all." "I'm having to deal with the fact that my whole life has been a lie." "Isaac Clark is still your father." "I think the hardest thing about being a son or a daughter is realizing that your parents try to do the best they can." "But they're only human." "We're just trying to get home." "That's all any of us want to do." "Thanks." "I want to thank you for being so understanding." "Such a fantastic story coming out of nowhere, and all at once." "You raised me on fantastic stories." "Yeah." "But it must have been quite a jolt to find out that they were all true." "Well, Colin helped me with that." "Nothing I know about you from experience really changed last night." "Bless you." "Now, I just want to learn more about your world." "Oh, I'm not so sure that's a good idea." "Why not?" "This is your world." "It's been over 20 years since I left my world." "There must have been a lot of changes." "I don't know what we might be heading into, and it's safer for you here." "But I'd never see you again." "Well, now, I might be able to come back for you." "And you might not." "My mother is gone." "My only real family now is you and yours on that world." "Yes, I really want to go." "Hey." "Hello." "Ah, what a day, huh?" "Yeah." "You know, packing for a trip is always so hard." "I never know if I bring too much stuff or not enough or..." "I solved that problem a long time ago." "You see, I don't bring anything." "You see, up until now, we were never sure where we were going." "But we always manage to find what we need when we get there." "God, I can't imagine what it's like doing what you do." "It's amazing what a person can get used to." "Well, Colin and Quinn are going home now." "But where is home for you?" "Nowhere, really." "My home was destroyed." "I lost everything I had and everyone that was important to me." "One person in particular." "A man?" "My husband." "Quinn and Rembrandt rescued me from my disintegrating world, and, well, there was never anyplace I found that I wanted to stay." "I guess you could say my world has become one big never-ending slide." "Never ending until now." "Oh, I guess we both have some real adjustments to make." "Yeah." "Are we about ready to go?" "Getting close." "I only brought some things I was working on and money." "I brought these with me when I came." "I always held out the hope that I might get back again." "You might need that." "And for you." "Hey, that, uh, 37X ought to be 39X." "Are you sure about that?" "It's my world." "And what are those equations there at the end?" "That's..." "After the Kromaggs were driven from your world, our father designed a slidecage to protect it from ever being invaded again." "Oh." "I didn't know that." "These equations, added to the coordinates you've given me, should get us around that cage." "Taking the back door, are we?" "Something like that." "This might be the last slide of all." "All right, let's go." "You guys ready?" "Oh, yeah." "Wow, it's wonderful." "Yes." "Yes, it is." "Looks like 20 years of peace and progress." "Let's go." "I know you'll want to get to your parents as soon as you can." "This is the address 20 years ago." "If they're not there, at least it's a place to start." "You're not coming with us?" "Uh, no." "No, no, it's a family reunion, and, uh, we'll catch up with Michael and Elizabeth later." "So, where can we find you?" "There used to be a pretty good hotel around here." "The Chandler?" "How did you know?" "Oh, we've been around." "Well, thanks for the lift." "I guess we'll be seeing you then." "We're home now." "We're not going anywhere." "So, yeah, we'll see you." "Great." "Home." "Yes?" "Dad?" "I'm Quinn." "This is Colin." "Quinn?" "Colin?" "Oh, my God." "Is it really you?" "Yeah, Dad." "Elizabeth." "Elizabeth." "The boys are back." "Our boys are finally home." "Come in." "Don't stand in the hall." "Come in." "Hi." "Hi." "Come on in." "Rembrandt's been with us since the start." "Well, I was on my way to work, minding my own business," "Q" " Ball here activated the vortex, and then, bam, here I am." "It's been a hell of an adventure." "Oh, it sounds like it." "Traveling from world to world, searching for this one." "But your search is finally over." "You guys are home." "Cheers." "Hear, hear!" "At least Quinn and I are." "Maggie doesn't have a home world." "Hers was destroyed." "But you know, Quinn, we've been through so much together." "A lot of things have happened along the way that would make me sad not to see you anymore." "I think I'll stay here and start a new life for myself." "What about you, Remmy?" "You're welcome to stay, too." "Well, I appreciate that." "But I'd think I'd like to go home." "We made it to our home world once..." "Remmy's home world." "I thought it was my home world at the time." "The Kromaggs took it over." "Kromaggs took it over?" "My mother's on that world." "At least I hope she's still alive." "And I'd like to help them." "And now, with Dr. Clark, there may be a way to do that." "With Dr. Clark?" "Isaac Clark." "He's the real reason we're here." "We found him on the last Earth we were on." "And he helped you on your way." "Well, actually, he made the slide with us, he and his daughter." "Listen, if there are plans for the weapon that defeated the Kromaggs," "I can take them back, help free my world." "Uh, that sounds like an interesting idea." "Where is Dr. Clark staying while he's here?" "At the Chandler." "He's going to stay there until he gets his bearings." "See, this is our timer." "It allows us to travel from one dimension to another." "It's counting down from six hours." "Now we can either catch it or stay." "Hmm." "Well, you have no more use for this, do you?" "I guess not." "Do you think you could help us find Remmy's home coordinates?" "Certainly." "I probably have them on file somewhere in my records." "Well, this is yours now." "Take what you can from Dr. Clark, cause when the time comes, you'll be home." "Kind of like passing the torch, huh, Q-Ball?" "Something like that." "Gotcha." "I love you, Rem." "I love you back." "Well, you told Rembrandt we'd be at the Chandler." "Catherine, I came here to do something very important." "Something I couldn't share with our sliding friends." "That's why I had to find my brother's house." "Well, I don't understand." "Rembrandt said he wanted to get the plans for the weapon and take them back to his home world to defeat the Kromagg." "That's why I could never allow him to know what actually happened to the Kromaggs here." "Such a thing can never be allowed to happen again." "Trust me on this, Catherine." "I do know what I'm doing." "Isaac?" "Yes, Robert." "It's me." "My God." "Come in." "Welcome to the Chandler." "May I help you?" "Yes." "I'm here to see a friend." "A Dr. Isaac Clark." "I'm sorry." "We don't have a guest with that name." "You don't?" "Would you mind checking the computer?" "I don't have to." "The police called earlier asking about someone with that same name." "Why do you want to see him?" "It's like, I said, he's a friend." "Wait here." "I still go into the campus for lectures, of course, but actually with the Internet and the television transmitter," "I could do all my work right here." "I just miss the interaction with my students." "What was your major?" "Physics major." "Special interest, quantum mechanics." "Of course." "And your education?" "I'm mostly self-taught." "My world wasn't as advanced as Quinn's." "Yeah, but you should have seen what he was working on, given his resources." "Electric storage cells, flying machine." "He was a local genius." "More the local witch doctor." "Take your pick." "You know, when your mother and I went looking for you after that terrible war, we weren't able to find you." "Oh, my parents died of a flu epidemic." "After that I was pretty much on my own." "You know, your foster parents told me that you died in a flu epidemic." "Even showed me a death certificate." "Really?" "I didn't know that." "I was told they hid me because they didn't want to give me up, and made up some story for you, but I guess that was it." "How did you find out the truth?" "I was in a Kromagg prison on what I thought was my world." "I met my foster mother there, and she gave me the microchip." "It was embedded in her arm." "Ah, the microchip." "And it told him how to find me." "And then after that we found the chip you left in my foster mother's locket." "I see." "Well, it was a lucky thing you ran into your foster mother during that terrible war, wasn't it?" "And it was also a lucky thing that you've connected with Dr. Isaac Clark." "How in the world did you find me?" "You said that you had a brother and that he was a scientist." "And when you weren't at the hotel, I picked up a book, "Who's Who" on science." "Robert J. Clark." "Nice to meet you." "Well, I couldn't get into the hotel, so I was lucky enough to find that Robert was listed in the phone book, and I imagine you found that, too." "Yes." "But there's a little more to this, isn't there?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "Well, I wasn't the only one looking for you at the Chandler." "The police are onto you." "The Mallorys." "Of course, your friends must have told them I made the slide with you." "We'll have to move to the clinic." "I knew it was just a matter of time before they found out I was here." "Wait a minute." "And maybe you better tell me exactly what's going on here." "Why should I do that?" "Because you owe me!" "And my friends!" "Now you wouldn't be here to do whatever it is you're going to do if it weren't for us." "I don't see it that way." "You want me to give you a weapon that would allow you to destroy the Kromaggs of your world." "I can't allow such a criminal act." "What?" "A criminal act?" "Dad..." "I need to clear up some things." "I would think so." "For Catherine's sake, not yours." "The Kromaggs of this world were a downtrodden society with very low technical skills." "Their weapons were primitive against ours." "Hold on." "You told us that they made war on you, and you invented a weapon to win that war." "Well, it seemed to be what your friends wanted to hear, and I had to get back here." "I worked with the Mallorys for a while to devise what was called the final solution to the Kromagg problem." "It was a biologic weapon." "A disease, really." "Would you like to see what it did?" "Are they still here?" "Yes." "No need to be afraid." "These are our friends." "Very few Kromaggs have survived this long." "Kromaggs were rounded up, herded into death camps, and exposed to the virus." "And when I saw what that disease was doing to an entire species that was innocent of everything except being different, I had to act." "And with a few others who thought like I did, we managed to get thousands of Kromaggs off this world with pirated sliding equipment." "Those we couldn't slide, we hid in secret clinics to try to treat them, perhaps find a cure." "If there was no war, why would the Mallorys take their sons to different worlds?" "Oh, there was an uprising in one of the camps and Quinn was taken hostage." "And when the revolt was put down, and Quinn saved, the Mallorys decided to get them off the planet." "My brother was arrested and sentenced to exile." "The Mallory sliding machine was used to deport those whom they called traitors to the human cause." "You used us to come back here for some kind of revenge?" "No." "Justice." "And, anyway, you used me as well." "I had the coordinates." "You had the timer." "And I brought back evidence to submit to the world court to bring people like the Mallorys to trial for their crimes." "This just doesn't fit with what I know about Quinn and Colin's parents." "I mean, if they are what you say they are," "then this is the wrong world."