“This instrument—and the Chi’karda Drive within its inner chamber—is the single most important invention in the history of mankind. I say this without the slightest pause, knowing it’s true. It is the only way a person can travel from one Reality to another. It harnesses and controls the power of the Chi’karda—manipulates it, bends it, wields it, shapes it.”

Master George ran his hand down the length of the device. “This is how we control travel between the barriers of the Realities—what we call winking, because it literally happens in the blink of an eye. Without this Barrier Wand, and the few others like it, there would be no study of the Realities, no travel between them, no . . . Mistress Jane problem, actually. If we can remove her Barrier Wand from the Thirteenth Reality, she and her twisted powers will be trapped there for a very long time. Enough time for us to devise a more permanent solution to the problem.”

“How does the Barrier Wand work?” Paul asked.

“Oh, yes, thank you for asking.” Master George held the golden rod up so everyone could clearly see as he pointed out the controls running down the near side. “You simply adjust the doohickey here, then the thingamajig here, then the whatchamacallit here, and so forth and so on. It’s simple really. Trust me—it does work. With this Wand, you can control the Chi’karda to such a degree that it will transport you between Realities.”

“Ooh, can I see it?” Sofia asked, her hands twitching with curiosity to hold the Wand.

“Of course. Come on up, all of you. Have a look!”

Tick shot out of his chair, grimacing at the coldness of his still-damp pants, and got to Master George first. He laughed out loud when he was close enough to read the labels on the instrument. “I thought you were joking.”

“Joking about what?” Master George asked.

“The most important scientific discovery of all time, and the first dial is called the Doohickey?” Tick pointed to a neatly printed label on the Wand.

Sofia chuckled as she pointed at a small switch. “And there’s the Thingamajig.”

“That’s for a very important reason, thank you very much,” Master George said, momentarily pulling the Barrier Wand away from the kids. “It’s so spying eyes can’t figure out how it works. We’ve labeled them that way on purpose.”

“Ingenious,” Paul snickered.

Tick looked over at Sato, still sitting on the couch, arms folded in defiance. “Don’t you want to see it?”

Sato stared at the floor. “Leave me alone.”

Tick shrugged, then surprised himself when he let out a huge yawn. He glanced at his watch, surprised to see it was almost three o’clock in the morning.