Disclaimer: Jonny Quest belongs to Hanna Barbera and Turner Productions. Charles Wallace Murry & Meg Murry belongs to Madeleine L’Engle. I am not affliated with the mentioned companies in any way. The JQ and "Wrinkle in Time" Trilogy characters here are used without permission of the owners. No cash is made from this.

March 3, 1998

The Ripple Effect
Part Two
by Ina-chan

       The whooosh of the wind.

       The sensation of flight.

       The perception of being one with the universe, yet at the same time being a small insignificant dot of dust.

       The awareness of yourself, yet at the same time the impression of feeling scattered.

       Very weird.

       But those were the only thoughts that barely formed in the three traveler’s heads as they suddenly find themselves stopping with a sharp jolt of...

       THUD!

       ... pain.

       “Is everyone alright?” Charles Wallace asked worriedly as he bent over the three lumps on the cold floor

       “No,” Jessie and Jonny’s muffled groans replied weakly in protest

       “Pain is good,” Hadji mumbled as he sat up, “It is usually a an indication that one is still alive.”

       “Well I’d rather be in alive AND be NOT in pain,” Jessie replied sarcastically as she rubbed her shoulder and took Jonny’s hand to help her up on her feet

       Jonny glared at their mysterious companion, “For someone who’s into this tesser--- thing, you sure do make a lousy landing.”

       Charles Wallace shrugged, “I think I did pretty well considering it’s the first time I tessered with passengers.”

       “WHAT!?!?!”

       “You mean you weren’t sure that what you just did was safe?” Jonny cried out incredulously

       “I didn’t say it wasn’t safe, I just said that I never tried it with other people before,” Charles replied honestly

       “What would have happened if you failed?” Hadji asked curiously

       Jessie laid a hand on his shoulder and rubbed her temples tiredly, “I don’t think you or any of us would really want to know.”

       “I suggest we start to gather the information we need in order to stop the Darkness,” Charles Wallace insinuated seriously, “But due to our special circumstances, we must do things the harder way.”

       “Doesn’t this Darkness have a name?” Jonny wondered out loud, “Personally I find it a little silly referring to it like its a monster from my closet or something.”

       Charles Wallace’s bright blue eyes clouded, “They are also known as Echthroi.”

       Hadji frowned, “‘The enemy’?”

       The younger blonde nodded, “The ancient enemy.”

       The three looked at him expectantly to continue. But sensing that their new companion had no desire to elaborate, Jessie spoke, “So what exactly do you mean by non-special circumstances?”

       “You go within and kythe* with such intimacy that you become one in spirit.”

       Jonny and Jessie turned to their mystic-educated best friend questioningly.

       Hadji blinked back at them blankly, “I have no idea what he is talking about.”

       Charles Wallace chewed his lip thoughtfully, “Think of it as a form of possession, only your purpose is not to control your hosts’ being, but to become assimilated. Become one, and from there you can steer your purpose.”

       Jessie blanched at the thought of the possession period, “I certainly hope we don’t have to resort to that.”

       “It’s not easy either,” Charles Wallace admitted, “Not only do we not have much time to train you, it is also the fact that once you become one with your host, you interminably share experiences.”

       “You seem to know a lot about these things first hand,” Hadji remarked observantly

       “I did my own time-stream repair when I was fifteen,” Charles Wallace explained nonchalantly before giving Jonny a knowing glance, “I don’t think a host will appreciate the feeling of being ripped apart to inexistence from the time continuum.”

       “Whoa! Whoa! Wait a minute... What exactly do you mean by that?” Jonny interrupted

       Charles Wallace bowed his head sadly, “I already told you. First of all, the shield I put around you is temporary. Secondly, we’re indirectly affected by the time stream now that we are back on chronos**, so whatever happens to your mother from now on, will affect your existence.”

       “And that means...” Jonny began uncertainly

       “I think what it means, my friend,” Hadji finished for him solemnly, “When your mother becomes endangered, you will begin to disappear.”

       A fertile silence descended on the group as the three brooded silently over their predicament. Jonny glanced around the unfamiliar empty corridor that they appeared in, before clenching his fists as the light of determination glowed in his eyes.

       “All right, we don’t have much time,” Jonny began looking at their guide seriously, “What is it that we have to do?”

       “Finding out exactly where we are would be a good first,” Jessie suggested

       “I believe finding out ‘when’ we are would be more appropriate,” Charles Wallace corrected

       Hadji was about to make a remark, when a loud crashing noise from behind them caught their attention. The group turned around just in time to see a tall brown-haired young woman with wire-rimmed spectacles, gaping at them like a goldfish out of water. Well... Actually... She was really gaping at one particular figure.

       Charles Wallace gave her a broad warm smile, “Meg! How wonderful it is for you to be here as well!”

(To be Continued)

* To “kythe” is a form of intimate communication. Sort of like telepathy, except its a lot deeper than mind reading, instead of “reading” other person’s innermost thoughts, you more or less “sense” it. Also, you sense their emotions and the very core of their being. It’s like you could be separated miles away, but you could still know how the other person is doing by just “knowing”. As far as I remember in the trilogy, only very close people can demonstrate kything in the purest form, and of all the characters it was only Meg & Charles Wallace shared the talent in a consistent 2 way-phase. Though Charles Wallace seems to have the natural ability to kythe one-way with the rest of his family.

**Madeleine L’Engle adapted two modes of time for her stories. Kairos and chronos. The “Wrinkle in Time...” Trilogy and stories related to the Murry-O’Keefe lineage is mainly in Kairos time or real time, pure numbers w/o measurement. Chronos time, or ordinary, wristwatch, alarm-clock time is the “when” she set her stories on the Austins.

© Ina-chan, 1998