The Mansion – Week 4: Continued

“Wait a minute,” said Katie.  “You mean it’s because of you that we’ve been in this house for the past month?”

“That is correct,” said Diana.  “I imagine you’ve got quite a few questions for us right now.”

“Damn right,” said Brad.

“For starters,” said Wesley, “where exactly is this place?”

“This place is actually not in a precise location,” said Derek.  “It occupies a sort of pocket dimension controlled by my wife and me.  That is how we have been able to alter your living conditions to better suit your changing needs.  We have also been monitoring your behavior over the past four weeks to se how you have been adapting.”

“So you’ve been watching what we were doing the whole time?” asked Stacy, a bit uneasily.

“You needn’t worry, Stacy,” said Diana.  “We’ve both lived far too long to shock easily.”

“And just how long is that?” asked Rob.

“Oh, at least four hundred years, all told,” said Derek.

The others gaped.

“You see,” said Derek, “back in the day, people used to accept the presence of magic in their day-to-day lives.  Magic explained how the sun rose and set, how trees grew, how people fell in love.  Since then, mankind has made many discoveries, and people have learned about the scientific reasons behind everything.  It has enabled everyone to take some control in their lives, take the world by the horns and bend it to their will, and there’s nothing wring with that.  However, there are throngs of people out in the world who wish for something more than science can offer.”

“The cinema industry has had the greatest amount to offer in that area,” said Diana, “and it’s enough for many people to have a hundred minutes of escapism every now and then, but for those with active imaginations and humdrum lives, more is needed.  Our goal was to provide that.”

“So what you’re saying,” said Jake, “is that you did this to make our lives more interesting.”

“Well, I can’t deny it worked,” said Luann.

“Actually, you were the test case,” said Derek.  “We started our little experiment with a small number of participants in a controlled environment to make sure that people were truly ready for magic to reenter the public consciousness.  As keen on magic as we are, we didn’t want to be unscientific about this.”

“Are you really sure that people will be ready for this?” said Wesley.  “I mean, if this sort of thing starts happening to more people, the scientific community will be in an absolute uproar.  For most of us, the things that have happened to us fly in the face of every scientific law there is.  They’re going to have to throw the whole book out the window and start over.  Not to mention that they’re going to want to experiment on us and stuff.”

“That is most likely true,” said Derek.  “However, given the overwhelming success of this experiment, I can assure you that you won’t be the only people in this situation for long.”

“Do you two intend to go public about this, or just work behind the scenes?” said Beth.

“Oh, we’ll probably make an appearance eventually,” said Diana, “but we thought we’d wait until there are quite a few more of you.  At least in the hundreds.”

“I’ve got a question for you,” said Mandi.  “Why us?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” said Derek.  “We wanted subjects who represented a wide range of people.  Beyond that, we selected participants in this experiment that we thought would benefit from a change of pace, so to speak.”  He gave Mandi a knowing look.  “Are there any further questions?  No?  Then we will leave you to your business, and we will return in one hour to arrange for your transport back to your homes.”

“Wait a minute,” said Brad.  “You said this was some kind of pocket dimension.  Does time still move the same way in here as out there?”

“It does.”

“Then that means I haven’t been paying rent for the past month.  Do I still have a home to go home to?”

“You do.  We have made sure that your absence hasn’t harmed your immediate living situation.”

“What about our jobs?” said Wesley.  “Did you give them a note or something?”

“Robert, Elizabeth, Stacy, and Katherine are self-employed, so their employment hasn’t changed.  As for the rest of you, by now you have all been released from employment.”   There was an uproar from those five who were now unemployed.  “However, you needn’t worry about your accommodations.  As compensation, you each, including Lori, have been rewarded with the sum of twenty million American dollars, to be deposited in a manner of your choosing.  Lori, we have also arranged for identification papers in your name, including a Social Security card and birth certificate.  Officially, you are Luann’s twin sister, and you were separated at birth, which isn’t far from the truth, actually.”

Everyone was stunned.  Rob, Beth, Stacy, and Katie now had enough money that they could make of their businesses exactly what they wanted, and the others would never have to work again.  They could devote their time to enjoying their new lives and helping Derek and Diana achieve their goal.

“So once we’re out of here,” said Mandi, “what do we do?”

“All we ask of you,” said Diana, “is that you go out into the world and make people aware of you.  We will be keeping our ears to the ground to see how people react to you, and then we shall begin spreading the love, as you say.”

“Have your fears been laid to rest?” asked Derek.  There were nods and smiles.  “Then we will leave you to get your affairs in order.  See you in an hour.”  Derek and Diana turned and walked toward a blank wall, and they faded from view.

Stacy and Katie were the first to leave for their room, and they bolted up the stairs.  When they got there, they found several suitcases waiting for them, and they got busy cramming in as many of the specially modified clothes as they could.  Brad did the same.  Lori took Luann back to their room, where in addition to the new luggage, Luann discovered a special wheelchair waiting for her.  It had a single swivel wheel in the front instead of the two foot rests, and the seat was more like a little bag for her waist.  As Luann started packing, Lori turned to leave.

“I’ll be right back, Luann. I’ve got something to take care of first.”

“Brad?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Good luck, sis.”

“Back at you.”

Lori walked across the hall to Brad’s room and knocked on the miniature door with her foot.  Her waist almost reached the top of it.  Brad opened the door.

“Oh, hi, Lori.  Come on in.”  Brad went back to packing, and Lori followed him into the room.  She kind of felt like a giant in this room.

“Brad, now that we’re getting ready to leave, there’s something you and I need to talk about.”

Brad set down the pants he was folding.  “Yeah, I think we do.”

“Because I remember you said you live in New York, and so does Luann, so I thought…”

“Yeah, I’d like that, too.”

“And I think Wesley and Luann are having the same talk as we are, or they will, and I think Luann might want to move in with Wesley.”

“Oh, yeah?  I’m sure they’d enjoy that.”

“Yeah, I hope she does.  They’re great for each other.  Of course, I’d probably need to do the same, since it’d take me a while to figure out how to do things without arms, not to mention a face, so…”

“I think it’s a great idea.”

Lori paused.  “You do?  Because I don’t want to be a third wheel or anything.”

“No, of course not.  I’d love having you around.”

“Wait, what?  I thought we were talking about me moving in with Luann and Wesley.”

“What?  Oh, I thought you wanted to move in with me.”

“You want to live with me?”

“Well, I mean, I suppose if you want, but if you wanted to live with your sister, I’d be totally cool with that…”

“I’d love to!”  Lori rushed over to Brad and wrapped a leg around him.  Hugging was still a bit of a challenge for her.

“Wait,” said Brad.  “Are we still talking about you living with Luann and Wes?”

“No, I’d rather live with you.”

“Oh, good.”  Brad hugged her back.

*          *          *

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” said Wesley.  “I mean, I’d understand if you wanted to spend some more time getting to know your sister first.”

“No, it’s okay,” said Luann.  “She has all the same memories as I do, except for the past two weeks.  Besides, we actually have some kind of telepathic connection between us, so we can stay in touch no matter where we are.”

“Cool.  So, that’s decided then, yeah?”

“Yeah, if you think you’d prefer Reston to New York.”

“Almost certainly.  What’s it like?”

“Well, it’s a small planned community, there’s a lot of businesses nearby, and it’s really close to D.C.”

“You had me at small.”

*          *          *

Jake and Mandi didn’t even have to discuss it.  They just got back to their room and started packing their clothes into the same suitcases.

*          *          *

An hour passed.  The ten reconvened in the hall with their bags packed.  Luann was riding in her wheelchair.  Derek and Diana reappeared, and behind them, a door appeared on the wall.  “Well,” said Derek, “who’s first?”

Jake and Mandi stepped forward.  “My place,” said Jake.  Derek smiled, opened the door, and Jake and Mandi left the mansion hand in hand.

Stacy and Katie stepped forward next, followed by Wesley.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“See you then,” said Luann.  She was the next to go, along with Lori.  Brad came next, and finally, Rob and Beth walked through the door to their home, leaving Derek and Diana alone in the mansion.

“Well, darling, it’s done.  They’ve all gone.  I hope it works.”

“It will, my dear, it will.”