Fairies, Trolls, and Staff Sergeant Maltin

   "There's a glass city up ahead," Mili said fearfully as she shrank back behind a rock. Maltin looked up with weary eyes and saw the sparkle of a far-off city.
   "Shit, what now?" he asked as he joined her in hiding.
   "That sucker's big," Mili was impressed as she focused her rifle on the city and adjusted the range finder. "Must hold thousands, maybe millions."
   "And that blue dome around it explains why it's never been recorded from the sky," Maltin said as he looked through his own site.
   "It doesn't show up on my scanner," Mili said defensively as she passed the scanner over to Maltin. "So what is the blue dome?"
   "Must be an offset field."
   "I didn't know there were any such things, except in the movies," Mili looked at the city with interest.
   "There wasn't, until now. But I studied the theory in college, this seems to fit the hypothetical description of one.
   "Then these guys must be powerful. Anybody who can offset time, can manipulate it," Mili said thoughtfully.
   "In theory," Maltin nodded. "Well, let's go knock."
   "You HAVE to be kidding," Mili backed away slowly.
   "Nope. It's our duty. These are probably the third parties we've been searching for, the masters of the 9-16's. It's our duty to convince them to stop sending them."
   "Oh Maltin, you've got to be kidding," Mili shook her head slowly. "I'm scared of that place even from this far away. You ain't getting me inside it."
   "Mili," Maltin wagged a finger at her and tapped his Staff Sergeant stripes.
   "Not on your life, Maltin, this ain't covered in the Army Regulations. Do try to pull rank on me."
   "You're right, I'm sorry," he said as he gathered up his packs.
   "What's that mean?" she asked distrustfully.
   "What?" Maltin was all innocence.
   "Now you don't want me to go, all of a sudden?"
   "It's your decision, Mili. I thought you were a pal. I thought we had gained trust through common hardship. I was wrong. I'll try to cover my own back when I'm inside. After all, the real threat is out here," he stared up at the sky, then quickly checked his scanner. "Here," he passed it over to Mili, "you'll need this more than I will. It's clear, for the moment."
   "You son of a bitch!" Mili stamped her booted foot, then swung her boot forward and kicked the rock inches from his leg. "You two-face little weasel!" she shouted again and whirled to face away from him. She chewed her lip, then glanced covertly at the sky. She spun around and picked up her packs, while he stood smiling down at her.
   "You're a real pal, Mili."
   "Asshole," she mumbled as she swung the pack over her shoulder and stood waiting. "Well don't stand there smiling like a big, stupid moron, let's go kick some bad guy butt."
   "Yes ma'am," he saluted and hefted his rifle. He held it ready as he led off toward the city with assorted packs and bags bouncing around his body in a comical manner.
   They stopped at the offset field and tried to see inside. As far as they could tell, there was no sign of movement.
   "So how do we get inside, genius?" Mili asked contemptuously.
   "Beats me. I thought they'd come out to meet us. Let's see," he picked up a rock and threw it at the field. The rock stopped, oozed through the field and fell unharmed on the other side, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
   "Well, there's your answer," he pointed at the rock.
   "And what answer is that?"
   "We jump through."
   "We jump through? All theories suggest that our individual molecules will separate and our bodies will turn to gas if we even touch an offset field, and you want us to jump through?"
   "The rock made it," he said with a grin.
   "Yeah, and it's just about as smart as your are. Well go ahead, Einstein, jump through."
   "We could jump together," he said hopefully.
   "No way, I have little Lacey here to think about," Mili patted her abdomen.
   "Oh sure, fall back on motherhood." He turned to look at the field apprehensively. He studied the boundaries of the field for as far as he could see in both directions, looking for another way in, then took a deep breath.
   "I'm going through," he said resolutely, as he took two steps forward. He stopped suddenly and backed up again.
   "All right, I'm going through," he said again and stopped, just one step past his first failed attempt.
   "Oh shit," Mili said and blurred past him. She stuck in the field, just out of his reach. A look of fear crossed her face until she oozed through and suddenly fell on the other side. She stood slowly and brushed the dirt from her pants.
   "What the hell are you waiting for?" she demanded.
   He laughed when he saw her lips moving, then her voice came several seconds later.
   "Hey, that's quite a trick. Stand back, I'm coming through," he leaped forward. He could feel the tingle of the field passing through his body, then he was suddenly free.
   "Stand back, I'm coming through," his voice echoed around them. He shrugged with an apologetic smile and they turned to look at the city. It still looked like a city of blue glass, but now it was apparent that the city was deserted.
   "Wow, our own ghost city," Mili said reverently.
   "This place might have possibilities," Maltin said thoughtfully.
   "Like what?"
   "Like the trolls could never find our forces in here. This would make an excellent base."
   "Yeah, it would," Mili said in wonder.
   "Let's find a place to get a good night's sleep," Maltin said happily. "I haven't had one in months."
   "Are your sure the trolls can't get through?"
   "If they could, they'd be here. Besides, it must have some type of defenses."
   "Sure," Mili snorted, "if you have a century or two to figure out how they work."
   "Yeah, there is that," he admitted with a rueful grin. They walked down long abandoned and dusty streets. Each individual glass building was unique, but similar in many ways. The city was big on tall, useless spires, glass statues, and fountains which still spouted water. Mili hurried over to a fountain, held her hand under a jet of water, and sniffed it.
   "Smells good," she said and took a little sip. "Clean water, ice cold too."
   "That's a great start," Maltin said as he turned, staring at the buildings around them. "There's only one thing missing," he said with a shake of his head.
   "What's that?"
   "Doors," he pointed at the buildings around them. "I don't see a single door, do you?"
   "No, they look solid," she said in concerned wonder.
   Maltin walked forward, looking at the cobblestones under his feet. He altered his course slightly and stopped at a solid wall. "This is it."
   "This is what?"
   "Where the door used to be. See how the stones are worn?"
   "Yeah, I guess."
   "They entered here," he reached out and placed his hand on the cold wall before him. "Open say's me," he said with a smile.
   "You expected that to work."
   "No, just adding some humor to a ridiculous situation. Here we stand in front of potential comfort and boundless wonders, and we can't get in."
   "It's probably an occupant recognition type of thing, maybe we need to find a public building."
   "Sure, pick one," he pointed at the buildings around them.
   "All right, I will," she led the way along the row of buildings, looking at the cobblestones. She stopped and pointed.
   "That's it," she said with a satisfied smile.
   "Ok, that's what?"
   "A public building. See, the stones are more worn than your building. A lot more people came to this one."
   "Show me," he bowed and waved toward the building.
   "Mili walked forward and waved her hand through the invisible entrance. Without hesitation she stepped through. Maltin gaped in startled wonder, then ran to follow.
   "Ooooeee!" Mili said in wonder. Her voice echoed many times until it finally faded.
   "People who live in glass houses must speak softly," Maltin whispered. He looked at the glass spiral staircase, crystals jutting up from the floor, and more common looking glass furniture lining the walls. He first went to what must be a couch, but as he looked at the hollowed out cavity, the arrangement didn't make sense. There were no cushions, only a dusty box where cushions might go.
   "I bet there used to be some type of force field in it to support your weight," Mili checked the lining of the hollowed out interior. "Glass furniture wouldn't be practical otherwise."
   "I think you're right. This is obviously a highly-advanced civilization which depended largely on power. Until we find and activate that source of power, we won't learn much."
   "Hey, hey, look!" Mili pointed at the far wall excitedly. "Does that look familiar?"
   "A glass snowflake?" Maltin looked at her curiously.
   "A snowflake," she said significantly.
   "Ok, a snow... the light show," Maltin said suddenly and rushed forward. He stopped to study the snowflake.
   "Hey, it was my discovery," Mili objected.
   "So what do we do next?"
   "I don't know, touch it or something."
   "I'm not going to touch it, you touch it," Maltin backed away a step.
   "Look," Mili said patiently, "if the little guys when to all the work to show us a picture of this then it must mean something. Just touch the damned thing, will you?"
   "Not me. They could have been saying, watch out, sixty megavolt light socket, don't touch it," Maltin said with a snort of laughter.
   "You really are pathetic," Mili said as she stepped forward and slapped her hand in the center of the snowflake. The snowflake glowed orange for a second, then returned to normal.    "Nothing happened!" Maltin said, looking around.
   "I can see that. Maybe we are supposed to touch the other ones," she pointed at the other designs on the wall around them.
   "Hey, I recorded their light show last night," he said as he unslung his rifle and turned it so he could see the screen.
   "Good thinking. Which one is next?"
   "Just a second," he said as he fast-forwarded to the snowflake sequence.
   "Why do they put those recorders on the rifles?" Mili asked.
   "Lot's of reasons. They put recorders on all weapons in the late 21st century. It records who does the shooting and who get's shot. Reduced crime by 99 percent in the first year. In the 22nd century, most wars were fought by mercenaries. They used the recorders to confirm their kills, so they could get paid. The military uses them now for much the same reasons, to stop abuse and confirm kills. There, I've found it," he said and held up the screen so Mili could see it.
   "Look for a three-pointed crown, then a normal four-pointed diamond," he nodded at the walls.
   They pressed pattern after pattern, with the exact same results. Each one glowed for a moment, then returned to a clear crystal.
   "Wait, Mili!" Maltin shouted as she was about to press another. "That's the last one. Then the pattern starts over."
   "So?"
   "So maybe we should think about it before we just go slapping on it. We don't know what will happen."
   "You're right," she said and slapped her hand on the square with the corners folded into the center. There was a clap of sound, a rising whine, then one after another the patterns began clapping and glowing around the walls until they were all lit up. Mili stood back with her hands over her ears. Maltin just watched in awed apprehension.
   An even louder whine stared in the center of the ceiling and the dust and debris on the floor was suddenly sucked up and out of the building. They grabbed the bags hanging around their bodies to keep them from flying off in the gale. The winds died down almost immediately. The whine slowed and stilled, and the symbols on the walls began blinking in a rhythmic fashion. A tinkle of a single note accompanied each symbol as it lit.
   "Their technology seems to be based on light and sound," Mili said as she watched the flashing symbols.
   "Is that important?"
   "I have to keep that in mind if we ever find their computer," she said, then her eyes opened in wonder. She ran over to the couch, which now had a green force field type cushion. She sat experimentally, then bounced slightly with a happy grin.
   "The city is turning itself on?" Maltin stared at the building suspiciously.
   "That's what we wanted, wasn't it?"
   "Yeah, as long as it treats us like guests, not enemies."
   "Let's look around," Mili said excitedly. She jumped up and dropped her bags and packs on the couch. She was about to put down her rifle, but Maltin wagged a finger. She made a face and went to what looked like a front desk at a hotel.
   "No bell," she said with a giggle.
   "Lousy service", he said, then grabbed her arm and pointed at the counter. A square raised up out of the counter. A four-fingered hand print was outlined on the square.
   "Four digits," Mili said absently.
   "And that's significant?"
   "Yeah, same reason. Any computer would be based on their primary numbers. Primary numbers should be based on the number of digits on each hand. You know, one-two-three," she counted each finger.
   "Yeah, I've got you," he said in a growl.
   "Mili slapped her hand on the hand-print before Maltin could stop her. There was a distinct plink, in the perfect pitch of "a", then the screen went blank until she took off her hand.
   "You're turn," she pointed. After many false starts, Maltin slapped his hand down on the scanner too. A "b" note sounded. The "a" sounded again and an aqua blue line lit up on the floor. Then "b" sounded and a red line showed up beside it.
   "Oh wow, just like basic," Mili said excitedly. "Please follow the blue line, do not step off it," she said in a gruff voice.
   "Yeah," Maltin said without further comment. He reluctantly stepped on the red line. He felt himself whisked forward and up the stairs on an invisible field of energy. His Kansas City hayride ended on the third floor. He was standing in front of an open doorway.
   "Ooops, make way," Mili giggled as she shot past and stopped at the next door. The doorway opened as she stopped.
   "Oh, I hear running water," Mili said enthusiastically and ran inside. Mili tended to rush into things, while Maltin liked to stand back and consider each option before he acted. But when a smell resembling coffee wafted out of the room, he sniffed and hurried inside without hesitation. He found food, an excellent variety of exotic coffee, and a few acceptable liquors inside. He fell on the bed with a cool drink in his hand and a big smile on his face. He was asleep before he knew it.