Chapter 24

With concentration and focus, as my middle finger extended out in front of me, I created a second pocket universe. This was going to be my junk drawer, a place where I stuck stuff until I might need it again. I focused the power of the Orb on making it as large as I could.

Once finished, I pulled my finger out of the hole I had created, and it closed into invisibility.

Adam continued his lecture, ‘Natural pocket universes like the one in the cave have a physical location that they connect to in this reality. Your pocket universes are in a sense artificial, and follow you around because they are connected to the Orb.’

“So how do I access this one instead of the first one, if they both are now attached to the Orb?”

‘With concentration, thinking of the name you labeled it in your imagination, or by thinking of the item that is contained. The second method is useful if you forgot where you put it,’ Adam explained.

“The first one I think of as pocket storage number one, but this one is just ‘junk drawer.’”

‘Concentrate, and reach your hand out, then once you have a grip on it, grab the edge, and open it up like a space gate.’

I tried it, reaching my hand out, it slipped into an invisible hole. I grabbed the edge and pulled it open wider, and it opened, maintaining the perfect shape of a shadowy circle.

“Why are they always circles?”

‘It’s the most efficient shape, and has the best area to circumference ratio.’

As it reached door size, I released it, and stepped back. “Is it safe to go inside?”

‘Did you focus on giving it gravity and an atmosphere when you created it?’

“Yeah. I think so.”

He slid, covering my entire body, except my head, where he enclosed a large volume of air. ‘Better safe than sorry when you check it out,’ Adam recommended.

I stepped thru the shadow into a dark space, leaving one leg outside, just sticking my head in. I pulled back, trying to keep my lunch down.

“Cool room, but no gravity,” I said, as stepped back a few feet.

‘Just stick your finger in it, and adjust the parameters. Normal Earth gravity, constant ambient light, and constant fresh air. The size is excellent, and from what I can tell, the shape is also good.’

I stepped forward, and stuck my middle finger into the center of the hole. I concentrated, ‘normal gravity, fresh air, constant pleasant ambient light’ I repeated in my mind a few times.

I pulled my finger out, and took a half step in again. Adam retracted the emergency space suit, so I stepped fully into the space.

“This is huge!” I said.

‘I’m measuring an oval space about a mile long, and half a mile wide. The ceiling is about 1500 feet.’

The smooth floor, walls, and ceiling gave a constant soft glow. It was one heck of a junk drawer. I stepped back out, grabbed the block, and tossed it thru the shadow doorway.

‘That’s going to be annoying, having to walk around all the time,’ Adam commented.

“I made it self organizing, anything tossed in there gets organized and put in an accessible location. Plus, I don’t actual need to go in there to retrieve anything, I can just stick a hand in and pull stuff out right?”

‘Self organizing? That’s very creative, excellent use of your imagination,’ Adam complimented.

I stepped into the space, and saw the block, sitting on its side, in the exact center of the pocket dimension. I stepped out, and pulled the shadow door closed. I examined the hidden room. I grabbed the ladder that went up to nowhere with my brass hand, and pulled it off the wall. Concentrating on the junk drawer, I tossed it inside, without opening it first.

“Alright Adam, I give up, what’s the secret of this room?”

‘There’s a second secret door.’

“Oh, cool. how do I open it?”

‘The button is in the concrete, where the block was laying.’

I pointed my right hand down towards it, Adam flared to life with light, illuminating the small dark colored button. I pushed on it with my foot, but nothing happened. I reached down and poked it with a finger. There was a very loud click and part of the basement wall pivoted down creating a ramp down into a tunnel heading outside of the house.

Adam illuminated the space as I stepped carefully down the stone block ramp, to a smooth concrete floor. The passage led straight for about 25 feet, turned and went an equal distance, then ended in a staircase going up. I walked to the end, and found the staircase blocked with a concrete cover.

“What’s up there?” I asked.

‘A very heavy tool chest, and about ten boxes of stuff you don’t use.’

“There’s a secret tunnel to the garage?”

‘Yes, and if you go back halfway down the tunnel, there’s a hidden doorway to the treasure room.’

“How hidden?” I asked, suddenly worried.

‘You have to press three different blocks in the right order, there is no identifier, you just have to know that the switch is there.’

I breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s very hidden. Why didn’t you show me this previously?” I asked. He had shown me the hidden passages, but had left this off the map.

‘Hiram gave me instructions. He might have cut the Orb off, but he was still connected with the bond. Until you took the bond, I had to obey him,’ Adam said, sounding sad.