Jack James and the Tribe of the Teddy Bear by J. Joseph Wright Page B

she pleaded. “You’re thirty-five. Don’t you think you should’ve outgrown that stuff by now?”
    “But, Liz, there are other dimensions, other universes,” he tried to spread his arms and groaned. A little pain wasn’t going to stop him. “And gravity permeates all of these realms. As I said, it diminishes as it pushes through the dimensional membranes. By using a surprisingly simple method, the Gravitomiton can gather lost gravitational energy much the same way a sail catches wind. It’s a flawless system.”
    “So that’s it?’ Mom alternated her stare between Dad and me. “You’re done? But you just said you weren’t.”
    “I’m not,” he explained. “Not quite. I leapt over a hurdle of galactic proportions. Now I have the unlimited, completely harmless power supply I need for the O/A. I tell you, Liz, kids,” he made a point to smile at each of us. “This is going to change our lives. Not only that, it’ll change the world. You watch.”
    My dad had been talking like that for years, and I saw, as usual, he wasn’t getting through to Mom, which, as usual, made him try even harder to convince her.
    “I’m doing more right now in my tiny lab than whole teams of other scientists are doing with billions of dollars worth of equipment.”
    He strained to sit up. Clearly he was in a lot of pain and tried so hard to hide it, though his grunts and groans gave it away.
    Mom eased him onto his pillow. “Ben, just sit back. Remember, you need to rest.”
    “Listen, Liz,” he wouldn’t be deterred. “I know I haven’t been one hundred percent forthcoming on this project. I just had to be sure. I had to be positive I could do it. That plus…” he peered at the door, then lowered his voice. “If this thing really functions, and it will, people, powerful people, will want to get their hands on it, and there’s no telling what they might do to me, to you, to the kids.”
    “Daddy, is somebody gonna hurt us?” Lily shivered.
    “Shhh,” Mom picked her up. “Nobody’s going to hurt anyone. Ben, you need to stop talking that way right now. You’re scaring the children.”
    Dad sighed at her. “I know what I’m meant to do. I was born on this earth to be your husband, and to be the best father to those two children this world has ever seen…plus one more thing, just as big, just as monumental.”
    “Ben,” mom sounded exhausted. “I mean it. You’ve got to quit this nonsense for good. A hobby’s a hobby, but,” she examined him, touching his wrap and frowning. “It’s just not working out.”
    “Liz, please,” he seemed desperate. Mom had never been so insistent about him giving up before. “You say that, but it’s only because I haven’t told you everything.”
    “You haven’t told me anything .”
    “You’re right, you’re right. That’s why you need to know. Right here, right now. Jack, Lily, come closer,” he acted like Santa Claus. “I want to tell you all a wonderful secret.”
    Dad has a way of adding a little flair to his stories about his ideas and inventions. This time he pulled out all the stops.
    “Liz, kids,” he beamed. “Hold onto your socks, because what I’m about to tell you will blow them right off your feet. Someday our name will be famous. They’re going to have to rewrite every science text, rethink every branch of philosophy, revisit every fact known to mankind. I’ve done it. I’ve found the holy grail of science.”
    He paused for effect, took a deep breath, then continued.
    “Guys, I’ve developed a device that will harness the power of the omnidimensional field, giving its user the ability to basically become a…a superhuman!’
    “What?” Mom was incredulous.
    “Sorry, visiting hours are over,” a man in white stirred us from the confusion. Dad clammed up.
    “You can’t be serious,” Mom challenged the nurse. “We just got here. I’m not going anywhere.”
    “Sorry, ma’am, but I have to ask you to leave,” the nurse checked the