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In another dimension, Major West, Judy and Dr. Smith have encountered an alien named Kresh aboard the Gemini 12. While Kresh at first seemed friendly, he has sinister plans for the Robinsons. Meanwhile, back on the Jupiter 2, the robot prepares for a trip to this alternate universe . . . . Will Robinson pressed the test button on a digital tape sequence encoder and listened as the machine emitted a long series of staccato-like beeps and audio tones. He couldn't understand the sounds himself, but he knew the encoder was analysing the information on the tape, checking it against the original data. A buzzer sounded and a green light flashed on the machine, indicating the copy was valid. He took the tiny spool of tape out of the machine and turned to the robot. "I wish Dad would let me go with you," he said. "This whole mess is my fault, so I might as well be the one to fix things. Besides, something might go wrong and you'd need my help." The robot raised its bubble. "As Professor Robinson said, the danger is too great. I am expendable, Will Robinson. You are not," it said. "That might be true," Will answered. "But I don't think of you that way, robot. To me, you're a part of the family." He began inserting the tape into the robot's accessory port. "Everyone feels the same about you." "Everyone except Dr. Smith," the robot said. "He has told me many times how inadequate he thinks I am. I sometimes think he plans to destroy me and use my parts to build something useful." Will shook his head. "You shouldn't take what he says seriously. He doesn't mean it. Dr. Smith thinks of you as his best friend. If you were gone, he wouldn't know what to do with himself." He snapped the tape cover shut over the robot’s accessory port and pushed a couple buttons. "There! You're all set now." "Thank you, Will Robinson," the robot said. "And thank you also for your kind words. I too consider you a member of my family. A brother, perhaps." Will felt a lump in his throat, but he pushed his welling emotions away. "Just hurry up and get everyone back here, okay?" "Affirmative!" the robot said. Maureen and Penny came into the lab. "Will," Maureen said. "Your father's ready for the robot upstairs. He wants the three of us to stay down here for safety reasons." "We're all ready," Will said, looking up at the robot. Placing a hand atop the robot's rotund casing, Maureen looked at the mechanical man that had become such an integral part of her family. Not for the first time, she wondered where the robot's centre of being was. How did it see them? Somewhere buried in all those circuits, relays and diodes beat the heart of a true friend. She marvelled at how the robot had actually developed a personality, of sorts, over the years. Of course, she supposed it was merely an illusion created by sophisticated programming, but it felt genuine to her. If anything unforeseen were to happen to it, she would miss it dearly. "Now you be careful," she said to the robot. "Be sure you get back here in one piece." Penny took one of the robot's claws in her hands. "That's right," she said. "Be careful." The robot lowered its bubble. "My sensors are deeply touched. I will exercise caution and try to make all of you proud of me." With that, the robot rolled onto the lift, swivelled around and pressed the button for the top deck. * * * Despite everything that had happened, Judy still had managed to avoid looking at the Gemini's Robinson family. Just being around her other self in that freezing tube made her feel like some kind of intruder. She was slightly horrified at how venerable and defenceless they were. Thank goodness Kresh had turned out to be as friendly as he was. They'd met so many aliens with bad intentions in their years in space that she knew all too well what would have happened to the Gemini at the hands of a villain. The entire crew might have been thrown off the ship, still in deep freeze, endlessly drifting among the stars in their hibernation tubes. She shuddered at the thought. Looking at Kresh, she smiled and relaxed a bit. He seemed so nice, so concerned about the Robinson's welfare that she couldn't help but feel grateful he had come aboard. They're safe in his hands, she thought. No matter what Don chose to believe. Finally, she turned and looked at her sleeping double. What she saw was herself, only a little younger, a few pounds lighter, and a lot more innocent. She steeled herself against the rising sense of dread she expected to feel, but it never came. In its place flowered a calm feeling of warmth and pride. She sometimes felt this way when she looked at Penny and Will. Judy supposed this must be how it feels to be a mother. She looked at each of the Gemini's Robinsons, feeling that same sense of protective nurturing. She smiled to herself. She wasn't afraid anymore. Judy looked at Don, who was saying something to the Gemini's Professor Robinson. They were getting ready to revive the other Don West. She wondered how the two of them would get along. Was there room on this spaceship for two Don West's? She quietly laughed at the thought and guessed that they would probably want to fight each other to see who was the better man. Now that would be interesting, she thought. "Okay," Don said. "It's settled. Once my counterpart there is revived, the three of us will try to return to our own universe. You two should be able to handle Kresh until the ship reaches Lenar." He looked at John and noticed his pained expression. "John," he said. "Are you all right?" John felt the floor tilt beneath him. Don had just said something, but he hadn't heard any of it. A maddening, insistent buzzing had erupted in his head, driving out everything. He put a hand out to steady himself, but his muscles refused to grip anything. Slipping, he tried to call out, but once again, his body turned traitor. He collapsed onto the deck in front of the freezing tubes. "John!" Don exclaimed. He knelt down in front of Robinson, trying to shake the man's arm. Suddenly Judy was at his side, pushing him away. "Dad," she cried. "What's the matter?" She took his head in her hands and was startled to find it hot and bathed in sweat. "He's burning up!" Smith and Kresh watched as the others huddled over the stricken Professor Robinson. "Good heavens," Smith said. "I had noticed he was looking somewhat ill a few moments ago, but I never expected this!" Kresh leaned toward Smith and whispered. "This unfortunate situation can be just the distraction we need to gain the upper hand." As he spoke, his mouth behind his long muzzle came into Smith's view. It was a tall, vertical slit that opened sideways as the alien spoke. The sight gave Smith a shudder. It seemed that no matter how many non-human alien creatures he encountered, Smith just couldn't help but become horrified at the sight of them. He tried not to let it show. "Yes," he said. "I do believe you're right. We can use this to our advantage." John felt the world swimming around him, but he was still able to speak. "The cryo-tube controls," he said, panting. "Don, when you woke me up, you didn't set the controls right." As far as Judy was concerned, this was the last straw. She turned on Don, seething. "Look at what you've done! Don't you ever think about what you're doing? You could've killed him!" John weakly took her arm. "Don't get mad at him. It's not his fault. He didn't know our metabolism is different than yours." "Let me get Dr. Smith to look at you," she said. John shook his head violently. "No! I'll be all right. I just need to . . ." His voice trailed off as he suddenly grew limp. "Dr. Smith!" Judy cried. "Help us please!" Smith jumped to her side. "Of course," he said. "Never fear, Smith is here!" Don rolled his eyes and said, "Oh brother!" He looked at Judy. "I don't think this is such a good idea. John told us he didn't want Smith near him." "Well I told you not to revive him in the first place," she said. "We have to do something. We can't just leave him lying here." "Oh, but I'm afraid you can," a voice behind them said. It was Kresh, pointing a laser rifle at them. * * * John Robinson flipped a couple switches on the robot and stood back. He had positioned the robot near the radio console, just where Don, Judy and Dr. Smith had been when they had crossed over into the other universe. Their charred silhouettes were still visible on the panel behind the robot. "I've put a small, ion force-field around you, so the charge from the power burst won't short out your circuits," he said. "When you get to the other side, I want you to shut that force-field off before you do anything else. It's only to be used when you cross between dimensions." "Affirmative!" the robot said. John nodded. "All right then; that's everything." He crossed the deck to the temporary control station he'd set up by the elevator. "Will," he said into a speaker. "We're ready up here. Go ahead and start your equipment." "Yes sir," Will answered. The lights in the Jupiter 2 dimmed slightly then rose back to normal as Will's anti-matter unit came to life. The air felt suddenly charged and Professor Robinson felt his skin begin to tingle. John heard a crackling noise coming from the main control panel, and he turned to see the robot blanketed by a swirl of bright blue sparks. At least the force field's holding up, he thought. That's a good sign. A thick, green antimatter charge suddenly lurched from the control panel and wrapped around the robot, flaring so brightly John had to look away. He punched the speaker button. "Will! Go ahead and shut it off!" Will cut the power and the noisy equipment made a low, whining noise that diminished as the machine became still. On the upper deck, Professor Robinson noted that the robot was gone, but its charred silhouette now was superimposed on that of the others. * * * "Mr. Kresh, what are you doing?" Judy asked the alien. "My father needs help." "I'll tend to him after I take care of the three of you," Kresh said. "From what I understand, you're not from this universe anyway, so your deaths could hardly be considered murders. No one will miss you at all." "What?" Smith cried. "Surely you can't mean to . . ." Don cut him off. "I knew it!" he shouted. "I knew it was a mistake to trust you!" Kresh cocked his head and stared at Don with his large, black eyes. "You're right," he said. "My companions trusted me and look where it got them!" "What did you do to them?" Judy snapped at him. "Once I'd spotted this fantastic ship, I just knew I had to have it. I was tired of my old ship anyway and I didn't want to share my jewels with the others, so after I had come aboard here, I set off an explosion I had left aboard my own ship. They never knew what hit them. Very clever, don't you think Dr. Smith?" "I - I don't know what you mean!" Smith cried. Judy narrowed her eyes as she glared at Kresh. "So basically, everything you've told us up to now has been a lie," she said. The alien laughed. "Yes, I suppose it has!" "And we're not headed for Lenar, are we?" Don said. "Lenar? Why would I want to go there?" Kresh said, still laughing. "They'd throw me in prison as soon as I touched down." He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I won't be going back to Lenar for a long time. No great loss. It's a very boring place. Believe me." "So you're just going to shoot all of us. Just like that?" Judy said. "Well," Kresh answered. "I was planning to try and sell the Robinsons on the black market. There's a high demand for slaves on some planets, let me tell you. But now I think I'll just go ahead and get rid of everyone all at the same time. You are all just too much trouble." Dr. Smith leaned forward and spoke in a low voice. He realized Don and Judy would probably hear him, but he had no other choice. The situation had gotten way out of his control, and he had to try something. "My dear sir," he quickly said. "I feel I should remind you of our little arrangement. As I recall, no one was to come to any harm, remember?" "Dr. Smith!" Judy shouted. "You made a deal with him?" Don gave Smith a hard look. "I should've guessed," he growled. "You never change, do you? Still selling us out every chance you get! What was it this time Smith? Jewels? A trip to Earth?" "You don't understand!" Smith cried. "No one was to get hurt! Professor Robinson would go back into his tube and you and the dear girl would return to the Jupiter 2 safe and sound!" Smith's face was scrunching up, as if he were about to cry. "Oh Mr. Kresh! Let's stick to the original plan! There's no need for violence!" Kresh was unmoved. "I work best alone," he said. "This Gemini is a fine spacecraft, but there's way too many people aboard. I think it's time to clean house." He levelled the rifle at Dr. Smith until the weapon's barrel was touching his nose. Smith crossed his eyes and viewed the rifle. The sight made him gulp. Suddenly, the temperature inside the Gemini shot up by nearly thirty degrees and a bright green light flared out from near the radio controls. Everyone winced and shielded themselves from the blast of heat and light. "Danger! Danger!" a familiar mechanical voice sounded. *** |
