The first interplanetary detective

Chapter 4. Earth - Tornor - Irbug

Alisa told how she had read the message and rushed after the courier. But the guy drove away on a motorcycle. The note said: "Bernard is in danger. Only you can help him. Go to Tornor. Immediately".

She decided in a minute. She could not contact a friend and all the more she could not ignore the message. While Olka, the roommate, tried to explain that extremely stupid to jump in with both feet, Alisa was throwing clothes, money and documents into a backpack. Ten minutes later she was travelling by taxi to the Transition Building.

Humans knew almost nothing about Tornor. Earth recently joined The Intergalactic network; some civilisations willingly made contact; others preferred to keep their distance. Tornor, undoubtedly, was ahead of the Earth: smart aircraft, talking terminals, helpful robots. However, people never met sentient habitats there.

Coming out of the Gate, Alisa saw the aircraft — a silver capsule with a windshield, smoothly passing into the roof. Above it, there was a large sign with her name.

"It looked like someone programmed this thing," she was narrating to Bernard. "It knew what to do and where to fly."

Alisa told that as soon as she sat in the cabin the aircraft took off and the male voice said: "I will take you to the Gate, you must pass to Irbug and follow to this address." From the gap in the door fell out another envelope, precisely the same as the first one. As expected the note was inside, again in English: "Brodwigs, 12-8."

Her friend's address, recorded on the phone, was different. The only city matched — Brodwigs. The street was listed twenty-first, not twelfth. And the house number was seventeenth, not the eighth. Alisa explained her doubts to the aircraft, but the metal thing did not react. Alisa left questions and decided to find a phone on Irbug and call her friend.

The flight lasted about an hour. Then the aircraft landed near the arch of the Gate. Nothing else was around: no houses, no trees, no roads. It didn't bother Alisa as she knew that there were no Transition Buildings on Tornor at all...

"What the devil!' Bernard interrupted. "You rushed into nowhere! Got on the aircraft, passed through the unknown Gate. Have you lost your mind?"

"But they told me you were in danger!" Alisa stared at her friend uncomprehendingly. "You think I should ignore that and sit at home?"

"Yes!" Bernard banged his fist on the table. "What if the Gate did not lead you to Irbug? If you found yourself on a planet without air or even worse?"

"You really think it didn't occur to me?" Alisa pointed her finger at him. "And know what? You would do the same!"

Bernard sighed deeply.

"You could send a courier to me," he was too stubborn to retreat.

"I am a courier, Bernard!" Alisa leaned back, and the pouffe changed its shape to support her. "At first I believed I would get all the information on Tornor. But then the aircraft brought me to the Gate, and there was no point in returning to Earth."

"Fine," her friend waved away. "Tell me more."

"Here's where it gets interesting," Alisa raised her eyebrows meaningfully. "I was about to leave the cabin, as it suddenly spoke again: "Jump into the Gate with a running start."

"Why is that?" resented the irbugman.

"Think he explained?"

"And you jumped," Bernard shook his head.

"Yeah," Alisa smiled.

Her friend sighed.

"I know you won't listen, but I should say that find all this stuff extremely reckless."