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This section covers the magical explanations.
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How The Magic Was Done
Tuesday 04/05/2094 10:45pm
The following evening George and Kerstin joined Undepoldus and
Marita after his concert. Kerstin said. "Marita, it was wonderful
how you did all those magic tricks. Your best one was giving me
the knowledge and experience to fly a balloon. How did you do
it?"
Marita said. "I must confess that your copy of me has achieved
a degree of independence. The two parts of me have been in communication
both ways throughout the weekend. Your copy of me did a lot of
digging to find out what the Robinsons wanted. We concentrated
on Shirley to find out what she liked and then prompted her to
say what she wanted when Undepoldus and I had everything prepared.
The two parts of me were able to keep one step ahead throughout
the weekend. Undepoldus has met several balloon pilots and absorbed
their knowledge. Then, when it was necessary, your copy of me
made sure that you knew what to do a few milliseconds before you
needed to do it. Nobody except you knew that you had not piloted
a balloon before and you didn't tell George until you were flying
high above Essex. We dreaded a change of wind but we were lucky,
it was nearly a flat calm up to 1,500 metres."
George asked. "How did you organise the marquee and the food
Marita?"
Marita answered. "I checked with Derek and Samantha. I knew
that Derek wanted to organise something for the new group. He
knew he could not call on his own staff because most of them were
enjoying the holiday weekend. Samantha was trying to think of
ways to arrange shopping and cooking to cater for everyone. When
I realised that she would have problems, I made her think that
Derek would have the answers. At the same time I convinced Derek
that Samantha had the answers. I knew that Undepoldus knew a nearby
friendly restaurant that could supply the food. The people who
supplied the concert marquee were happy to oblige us with a smaller
one at very short notice. They also provided the tent and sleeping
bags. Another company supplied the barbecue and the restaurant
supplied the other meals, the kebabs and the soup. The cauldron
was hard to find. It came from Germany. Everyone who helped was
told that it was supposed to be a magical weekend. Nobody in the
party should see things appear unless the item was too big and
awkward to carry like the balloon. I used your power to make everyone
in the party look the other way so nobody would see things arrive
or disappear. I nearly made a mistake with the ice cream but I
managed to cover up my error in timing."
George said. "The cards for the place settings were a brilliant
idea. How did you manage those Marita?
The restaurant helped with that. I asked if they could provide
individual menus for the guests and they came up with the place
card idea. All I had to do was to make sure that everyone sat
in the right place before they saw their place cards. You know
how that is done George. I probed to discover what people wanted
for an outdoor lunch and compiled the menus accordingly. The restaurant
staff did a brilliant job for me. Now the restaurant owner plans
to offer the idea as a service. I sent him vidcom snapshots of
the lunch as it was going on. I had to be careful because I was
using your eyes as a camera Kerstin. I could not show shots of
your plate and where the food was going. I could only make use
of the occasional views you offered as you looked around. The
restaurant owner was delighted with Shirley's reactions when she
saw her individual menu on her place card. I am pleased to say
that it all seemed to go rather well."
Kerstin said. "One of the weirdest things was the way the
others reacted to you and me. They were fascinated by the way
you appeared as a witch and then disappeared again. I sensed several
of them looking at me, wondering if it was you or me that they
were looking at. It was easier when you spoke because they could
hear the differences in our voices. I was happy to let you stay
in front and have a ball. I love your sense of fun Marita. Your
pranks always seem to work and I get most of the credit."
Undepoldus made a contribution. He said. "George and Kerstin.
You did a good job over the weekend. Everyone had a good time
and the people you selected were very good choices. It was a bit
expensive. It cost the trust E583.25. I was hoping it would be
less."
Kerstin said. "I will have to see Ivan to claim our expenses
so we can pay you back. Would CR800 be enough? If it isn't, I
know where there are a few more credits in Ivan's cabin. Marita
told me where they are."
Undepoldus said. "It would have been cheaper if you had not
wasted the ice creams. I could have saved at least E9.25."George
said. "That is brilliant Undepoldus. You are thinking more
like a human than before. I have never heard you use irony as
humour in all the time I have known you."
Undepoldus said. "I have a very good teacher. I understand
that she did well as a university lecturer."
George chuckled. He said. "My old friend. I think that you
have fallen in love with my Marita."
Undepoldus said. "George, I do believe you are jealous. You
must remember that Marita and I are two of a kind now."
Wednesday 05/05/2094 9 am
The next day George and Kerstin were in their cabin planning for
the time when Undepoldus had left.
Kerstin said. "I would love to go back to Lagrange Five to
spend a day or two in EDEN. We could have a lovely time sharing
in the grass. There would be just you, Marita and me. Then we
could share in real zero gee and have fun and games together.
What do you think?"
George said. "It sounds delightful to me Kerstin. I can sense
that Marita would be delighted to try out new ideas for us in
zero gee. Neither of you have experienced the zero gee ball that
is nearly as popular as EDEN. It is a bit like a swimming pool
with an air pressure of five atmospheres. The air is thick enough
to swim in. We can wear fan belts to move around easily and to
balance the air circulation. They don't get in the way and they
save the need for an elastic belt."
Kerstin said. "I have never heard of the zero gee ball or
the fan belts. I can imagine what it is like to swim in thick
air but what are the fan belts like?"
They are soft fabric belts with fans attached on thin arms. The
fans can be steered to move you in any direction a bit like the
thrusters on a vacuum suit."
Kerstin said. "How do you keep them steering in the right
direction when you are sharing? It would be a bit of a distraction
if you had to keep the fans adjusted at the same time."
George said. "Remember that they were designed for Spacers
who love sharing. They have three modes. One is for balanced push.
Two is for holding position in the ball and three is for swimming
around. One and two or one and three can be used together. A couple
can set the ideal position for joining in balanced push mode and
then move apart. Then the couple can let the fans restore their
positions. Perfect docking is assured every time. There are other
features that help to make zero gee sharing as pleasant and stress
free as possible. I am sure that you would love it."
The vidcom announced. "There is a call for Lieutenant
Kerstin Broberg from Miss Shirley Robinson."
Kerstin said. "Link and show, Kay-Mac 207."
Shirley said. "Kerstin, I have wonderful news. Simon and
I have agreed to be permanent partners. Mum and dad have agreed
that he can stay with me. We are going to study to be Spacers
like you and George. Thank you, George, and magical Marita for
a lovely weekend. Marita's witches and wizards idea was great
fun. I had a lot of laughs."
Kerstin said. "One female wizard came to me when I was male
and we were all set to share. Then before we started, he changed
back to male. He was just about to go away to look for a female
when I changed. I had to grab him before I lost him. We thought
it was hilarious. It was a great party game."
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the Councillors.
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