"Whoa! Nice outfits, you two." Cheryl Shine said. "So you guys got yourselves motorcycles, huh?"

      "Well, we got one with a sidecar." Traveler told her but addressed the camera she was behind. Rædis didn't stay long. He excused himself after wishing everyone a fun night. He also added he would see them later that evening which made the group happy. He then split for his second date with Slider Jayne.

     "Well..." Traveler said. "...should we get some dinner then?"

      "Yep! Let's go. I even made reservations for us." Clash said. She looked hot in the dress Traveler had bought for her. Together they went and dined on some fine food.

      Meanwhile, Rædis took his new bike to Slider Jayne's place. It was easy enough for him to find using the bike's guidance system and the address she had given him.

      When he arrived he discovered that she had prepared a light meal for them.

      "You do eat food, right?" she asked again just to be clear.

      "You bet. Looks good." he said of the food she had laid out. It was a simple heat and serve style meal. But he wasn't picky. He was happy just to be with her.

      "I'm not much of a cook." she admitted before greeting him with a little kiss on his warm, silver cheek.

      "I'm not a picky eater." he said, smiling.

      "Smart ass." she said and popped him one on his upper arm. "Come eat before it gets cold."

      Together they sat down. He was about to put a stick of something fried in his mouth when he stopped, noticing that she had adopted a reverent pose. She had pressed her hands flat together in front of her chest and bowed her head. She then mouthed a silent prayer, picked up her cup of whatever it was she had poured them to drink and raised it before taking a sip.

      "Were you just praying?" Rædis asked.

      "Yep." said she.

      "To what?"

      "To the Angels of Speed and Safety." she said to him with a smile. "Do you believe in angels?"

      "No." he said.

      "Your race has no religion, huh? That doesn't surprise me. I mean, when I think of your people I think of a highly logical lot. A cold collective of minds. But, then I met you and I discovered a very curious, charming and unique individual. I would think, without knowing anything of where you came from, that you are an anomaly among your race. Are there anymore of you?"

      Rædis marveled a bit at her astuteness but also chuckled in good nature at her assumptions. After all, she had no way of knowing about his kind beyond legends. Even his worldship was still several hundred years in the past.

       It was well known among certain systems of his own time especially places he would take it to for racing events and adventures but on this world in this era it had been regulated to ancient myths. As his race was a billion years old, a brief overview of its history was not on the dinner conversation menu so he took a page from Traveler's book and talked about himself.

      "Think of my home planet as a giant  hard drive that travels the galaxy for exploratory purposes. We don't typically take on a physical form but rather move about our planet in the form of information."

      Slider Jayne listened to him with rapt attention as she nibbled on her food.

      "Every so often one of us will, more out of need than desire, will take physical form to more easily interact with the various species we come across. I developed a desire to take physical form and explore on my own."

      "Why?" she asked.

      "I found being part of a collective consciousness a bit too intrusive for my tastes." he answered.

      "So, you are an anomaly among your kind." she said and took a swallow of the drink she had poured before her prayer.

       "Not really an anomaly more like..." he searched for the right term to describe himself. "...well, I guess you put it best as 'unique'. There have been others that tried to split themselves off from our collective before but they all eventually returned after not being able to cope or fit in with other life they came across." he explained.

"What made you different?" she asked, ever more curious.

      "Difficult to say really. Just the way I'm wired, I guess." he joked. She liked the way he put that and laughed. He loved the sound of it. "Also, meeting Traveler had a lot to do with it. He is more different than anyone you'll most likely ever meet."

       "Wow... That means a lot coming from an actual living machine. Different how?" Again, she asked him another question with an extremely complicated and lengthy answer.

      "That, Slider Jayne, is an extremely complicated and lengthy answer to which, I think, you will get later this evening." he said with an enigmatic gleam to his bright eyes.

      "Men of mystery. You two dudes are the coolest guys I've met in a long time. By quite a stretch." she said.

      Rædis' hair did his robotic equivalent of a blush and faded to a pinkish hue. Slider Jayne giggled sweetly as it did.

      "So you never went back to your homeworld, huh?" she asked abandoning the rest of her food. She was far too interested in Rædis to care about eating.

      Rædis then told her about his racing accident and how his original physical form was destroyed. He recounted Traveler's adventure to track down and journey to the planet of the machines to retrieve a new copy of him.

      "You care about each other a lot. I can tell. Like brothers but without having to be family." she said. Again, her observation was spot on.

      'He is my best friend. I'd be lost without him." Rædis said. With his words she realized truly how much they meant to one another without knowing anything about his friend. "Do you have anyone you're close to?"

      Slider Jayne answered without even a pause to think as if she were waiting for him to ask this.

      "I was married for four years but it didn't work out. I realized I felt much better on my own. I didn't like feeling obligated to someone. I liked to travel and he was more career minded and craved a certain stability that I found stifling. That was six years ago now and ever since I've been pretty much on my own. I've had a few relationships but nothing that lasted more than a few months."

      "How come?" asked Rædis.

      "Like I said. I felt better on my own. Once these dudes started talking about moving in together and settling down it only made me want out of the relationship." explained Slider Jayne. Rædis laughed. "What's so funny?"

      "That's exactly what Traveler says about his past relationships." Rædis told her.

      With their meal decidedly done with she asked him if he'd like to stay at first for a while but then for the night. That's when he proposed an idea of his own.

      "I'd like to go for a ride. You feel up for one?"

      "Always." she said instantly and began to prepare herself for a night on the road. Rædis smiled and as she was getting ready dialed up Traveler on his phone.

      "How's yer night goin', mate?" Traveler said upon picking up.

      "It's great. You ready to do that thing you've been thinking?" asked Rædis.

      "Yup. Meet you at the machine."

      "I'm bringing Slider Jayne." said Rædis. He expected an objection and was surprised when Traveler's response was positive. 

      "Sure, bring her along. She had as much to do with the success of this adventure as anyone. Plus I can tell you like her a lot so why not give her something she'll never forget. It'll only make it more fun the next time you see her."

      Rædis was relieved by his friend's words and excited to show his new crush just how amazing he and his friend really were.

      "Awesome, pal. I'll see you there." Before he hung up though Traveler asked him an important question.

      "You do remember where we parked and how to get there, right?"

      Rædis thought for a second but it was just long enough for Traveler to tell that his friend did not know the answer to these questions.

      "I'll send you the coordinates when we get there."

      "Thanks Trav. See you in a bit." Rædis said and ended the call.

Slider Jayne appeared in a sleek black riding suit with luminescent strips running vertically downward along her curves. The colors of the strips could be changed by the wearer or progress through a preset pattern should they choose. She currently had them the same color of her dark red hair and she looked fantastic.

      "Wow..." Rædis managed to say. "Now that's hot."

      "Damned right it is." came her reply. He smiled at her sexy confidence. "Best of all, I have a suit for you with the same kind of lights on them. I'm afraid it's just a boring light gray though." She then presented him with the suit. He loved it. "It should fit you. It's the same size as the one you're wearing."

      He donned the suit and made the lights run through the red, yellow and blue of his racing team.

      "How do I look?" he asked, modeling the suit for her.

      "Bad ass." she said with a thumbs up. "Where are we going, anyway?"

      "I want to show you something. It's outside of the city along the highway that me and Traveler came in on. We were picked up by a great bunch of teenaged students who are attending the world sale. It was they who provided us with a place to stay for the past week.

      They have really endeared themselves to Traveler in a way I've never seen any group do on any of our adventures. We'll be meeting them out there. He wants to show them the same thing."

      "What is it? The ship you came here in? I've been wondering about that. I imagined it to be something amazing that maybe you designed." she said as curious as ever.

      The lights in Rædis' eyes flashed brightly.

      "It is what we arrived in, yes. But it's not a ship. It's like nothing you've ever seen." he said.

      "Well shit, man... Let's be off then! You just keep surprising me and I gotta say, I love it!" She then stepped up to the tall living machine and took both sides of his head with her gloved hands. She then kissed him for a long, lingering time. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the passionate moment. After quite some time, they finally disengaged. Her face was flushed and his hair was glowing pink. They looked at one another and had a good laugh.

      "C'mon...let's go before I change my mind and make you stay here with me for the night." she said, hooked her finger in his collar and drug him off to their bikes.

      She was right in doing so for had she not stopped making out with him when she did he would have been compelled to call Traveler back and tell him he would have to entertain the teens on his own.

      Once at there bikes with the colors on their riding suits in full effect, they put their helmets on, powered up their bikes and tested their comms.

      "Can ya hear me?" came Rædis' voice through Slider Jayne's helmet.

      "Loud and clear, lover." she replied in her bright voice that Rædis found so very hot and loved to listen to. "Follow me. I know the funnest way out of the city to the highway I'm pretty sure you guys came in on. You can take the lead from there."

      Rædis was relieved he was with a woman that knew her way and he would not need to navigate through the city. Plus, even with his poor sense of direction, he could find his way back to the time machine. It was parked along a straight ribbon of highway and the only thing around for dozens kilometers before the city boarder.

      He might not even need any coordinates from his friend and would love to show off the fact he found Traveler and the students without the man's help. With communication between them established, Slider Jayne and Rædis set off. The route she knew consisted of side streets and avoided much of the city's traffic and it didn't take them long to be outside the boundaries of it as, because of its design, they buildings just ended abruptly and open highway began.

      Rædis did learn, however, that there was a toll to leave the city which Slider Jayne covered as they passed through the booths set up to collect it.

The two friends enjoyed the trip back to the hotel. Traveler relaxed in the sidecar and played with its features while Rædis familiarized himself with mechanics and feel of their new machine. They got one primarily in matte black so that they could paint it themselves at their leisure at some other time.

      They now had an electric powered mode of transport that would operate in virtually any condition or atmosphere, easily fit within the time time machine and could be quickly deployed. Rædis had already figured out how he was going to install light, folding down ramps to roll the motorcycle in and out of the machine.

      They felt triumphant as they cruised through city traffic as quickly as it allowed them to and they thought they looked pretty awesome which, was always a given.

      They rolled up to their parking space and returned to their room to await their new young friends. In some little time the phone in their room chimed.

      "Hello." said Rædis, answering its pleasant tone.

      "Hi Rædis!" Bentley said cheerfully recognizing the robot's unique voice.

      "Bentley. What's goin' on, lad?" Rædis said with a smile.

      "We're done for the day and the world sale is almost complete. The final details are being worked out and by tomorrow all shall be complete." he reported. Rædis gave a thumbs up to Traveler who looked over with interest. It was nearly time for him to reveal to his young proteges what he and Rædis  were really all about.

      He was excited to do so. He allowed so few across the ages to know their true nature but he saw great promise in the teens and he could not deny himself the joy it would bring him nor could he wait to see the look on their faces when they learnt what he and his friend truly were.

      Bentley asked Rædis what he and Traveler were up to and if they'd like to dine with them in one of the hotel's restaurants.

      "Um, I have a date, actually. But I'm sure Traveler would." said Rædis "Give him a moment 'an he'll be right over."

      Rædis placed the phone back on its cradle and went to the mirror in their room. He and Traveler were still dressed in their riding gear.

      "I'm not gonna change clothes. I like this outfit." Traveler said from his bed as Rædis checked himself out.

      "I suppose I won't either then." he said looking over his shoulder at the back of himself in his own riding suit. Traveler rose from the bed and planted his booted feet on the plush blue carpeting of the floor in their room.

      "Good. Let's be off. I've got something special in store for our friends this night." said Traveler with a gleam in his eyes. Rædis suspected what that was and looked at his friend from the mirror.

      "Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked.

      "Oh yeah." Traveler said with a confident smile. "I like them. They show daring, spirit, fun and intelligence. They deserve it. Do you think otherwise?"

      Rædis shook his head negative.

      "Nope. I'm right there with ya, old friend. I too want to blow their minds and show them that there are things in this universe more incredible than they thought possible. I can't wait to see what they think."

      Traveler's best friend's eyes brightened with excitement. Together they went next door. Clash was waiting for them and opened the door when she heard them approach. Cheryl Shine was filming their entrance.

"Whoa! Nice outfits, you two." Cheryl Shine said. "So you guys got yourselves motorcycles, huh?"

      "Well, we got one with a sidecar." Traveler told her but addressed the camera she was behind. Rædis didn't stay long. He excused himself after wishing everyone a fun night. He also added he would see them later that evening which made the group happy. He then split for his second date with Slider Jayne.

     "Well..." Traveler said. "...should we get some dinner then?"

      "Yep! Let's go. I even made reservations for us." Clash said. She looked hot in the dress Traveler had bought for her. Together they went and dined on some fine food.

      Meanwhile, Rædis took his new bike to Slider Jayne's place. It was easy enough for him to find using the bike's guidance system and the address she had given him.

      When he arrived he discovered that she had prepared a light meal for them.

      "You do eat food, right?" she asked again just to be clear.

      "You bet. Looks good." he said of the food she had laid out. It was a simple heat and serve style meal. But he wasn't picky. He was happy just to be with her.

      "I'm not much of a cook." she admitted before greeting him with a little kiss on his warm, silver cheek.

      "I'm not a picky eater." he said, smiling.

      "Smart ass." she said and popped him one on his upper arm. "Come eat before it gets cold."

      Together they sat down. He was about to put a stick of something fried in his mouth when he stopped, noticing that she had adopted a reverent pose. She had pressed her hands flat together in front of her chest and bowed her head. She then mouthed a silent prayer, picked up her cup of whatever it was she had poured them to drink and raised it before taking a sip.

      "Were you just praying?" Rædis asked.

      "Yep." said she.

      "To what?"

      "To the Angels of Speed and Safety." she said to him with a smile. "Do you believe in angels?"

      "No." he said.

      "Your race has no religion, huh? That doesn't surprise me. I mean, when I think of your people I think of a highly logical lot. A cold collective of minds. But, then I met you and I discovered a very curious, charming and unique individual. I would think, without knowing anything of where you came from, that you are an anomaly among your race. Are there anymore of you?"

      Rædis marveled a bit at her astuteness but also chuckled in good nature at her assumptions. After all, she had no way of knowing about his kind beyond legends. Even his worldship was still several hundred years in the past.

       It was well known among certain systems of his own time especially places he would take it to for racing events and adventures but on this world in this era it had been regulated to ancient myths. As his race was a billion years old, a brief overview of its history was not on the dinner conversation menu so he took a page from Traveler's book and talked about himself.

      "Think of my home planet as a giant  hard drive that travels the galaxy for exploratory purposes. We don't typically take on a physical form but rather move about our planet in the form of information."

      Slider Jayne listened to him with rapt attention as she nibbled on her food.

      "Every so often one of us will, more out of need than desire, will take physical form to more easily interact with the various species we come across. I developed a desire to take physical form and explore on my own."

      "Why?" she asked.

      "I found being part of a collective consciousness a bit too intrusive for my tastes." he answered.

      "So, you are an anomaly among your kind." she said and took a swallow of the drink she had poured before her prayer.

       "Not really an anomaly more like..." he searched for the right term to describe himself. "...well, I guess you put it best as 'unique'. There have been others that tried to split themselves off from our collective before but they all eventually returned after not being able to cope or fit in with other life they came across." he explained.

"What made you different?" she asked, ever more curious.

      "Difficult to say really. Just the way I'm wired, I guess." he joked. She liked the way he put that and laughed. He loved the sound of it. "Also, meeting Traveler had a lot to do with it. He is more different than anyone you'll most likely ever meet."

       "Wow... That means a lot coming from an actual living machine. Different how?" Again, she asked him another question with an extremely complicated and lengthy answer.

      "That, Slider Jayne, is an extremely complicated and lengthy answer to which, I think, you will get later this evening." he said with an enigmatic gleam to his bright eyes.

      "Men of mystery. You two dudes are the coolest guys I've met in a long time. By quite a stretch." she said.

      Rædis' hair did his robotic equivalent of a blush and faded to a pinkish hue. Slider Jayne giggled sweetly as it did.

      "So you never went back to your homeworld, huh?" she asked abandoning the rest of her food. She was far too interested in Rædis to care about eating.

      Rædis then told her about his racing accident and how his original physical form was destroyed. He recounted Traveler's adventure to track down and journey to the planet of the machines to retrieve a new copy of him.

      "You care about each other a lot. I can tell. Like brothers but without having to be family." she said. Again, her observation was spot on.

      'He is my best friend. I'd be lost without him." Rædis said. With his words she realized truly how much they meant to one another without knowing anything about his friend. "Do you have anyone you're close to?"

      Slider Jayne answered without even a pause to think as if she were waiting for him to ask this.

      "I was married for four years but it didn't work out. I realized I felt much better on my own. I didn't like feeling obligated to someone. I liked to travel and he was more career minded and craved a certain stability that I found stifling. That was six years ago now and ever since I've been pretty much on my own. I've had a few relationships but nothing that lasted more than a few months."

      "How come?" asked Rædis.

      "Like I said. I felt better on my own. Once these dudes started talking about moving in together and settling down it only made me want out of the relationship." explained Slider Jayne. Rædis laughed. "What's so funny?"

      "That's exactly what Traveler says about his past relationships." Rædis told her.

      With their meal decidedly done with she asked him if he'd like to stay at first for a while but then for the night. That's when he proposed an idea of his own.

      "I'd like to go for a ride. You feel up for one?"

      "Always." she said instantly and began to prepare herself for a night on the road. Rædis smiled and as she was getting ready dialed up Traveler on his phone.

      "How's yer night goin', mate?" Traveler said upon picking up.

      "It's great. You ready to do that thing you've been thinking?" asked Rædis.

      "Yup. Meet you at the machine."

      "I'm bringing Slider Jayne." said Rædis. He expected an objection and was surprised when Traveler's response was positive. 

      "Sure, bring her along. She had as much to do with the success of this adventure as anyone. Plus I can tell you like her a lot so why not give her something she'll never forget. It'll only make it more fun the next time you see her."

      Rædis was relieved by his friend's words and excited to show his new crush just how amazing he and his friend really were.

      "Awesome, pal. I'll see you there." Before he hung up though Traveler asked him an important question.

      "You do remember where we parked and how to get there, right?"

      Rædis thought for a second but it was just long enough for Traveler to tell that his friend did not know the answer to these questions.

      "I'll send you the coordinates when we get there."

      "Thanks Trav. See you in a bit." Rædis said and ended the call.

Slider Jayne appeared in a sleek black riding suit with luminescent strips running vertically downward along her curves. The colors of the strips could be changed by the wearer or progress through a preset pattern should they choose. She currently had them the same color of her dark red hair and she looked fantastic.

      "Wow..." Rædis managed to say. "Now that's hot."

      "Damned right it is." came her reply. He smiled at her sexy confidence. "Best of all, I have a suit for you with the same kind of lights on them. I'm afraid it's just a boring light gray though." She then presented him with the suit. He loved it. "It should fit you. It's the same size as the one you're wearing."

      He donned the suit and made the lights run through the red, yellow and blue of his racing team.

      "How do I look?" he asked, modeling the suit for her.

      "Bad ass." she said with a thumbs up. "Where are we going, anyway?"

      "I want to show you something. It's outside of the city along the highway that me and Traveler came in on. We were picked up by a great bunch of teenaged students who are attending the world sale. It was they who provided us with a place to stay for the past week.

      They have really endeared themselves to Traveler in a way I've never seen any group do on any of our adventures. We'll be meeting them out there. He wants to show them the same thing."

      "What is it? The ship you came here in? I've been wondering about that. I imagined it to be something amazing that maybe you designed." she said as curious as ever.

      The lights in Rædis' eyes flashed brightly.

      "It is what we arrived in, yes. But it's not a ship. It's like nothing you've ever seen." he said.

      "Well shit, man... Let's be off then! You just keep surprising me and I gotta say, I love it!" She then stepped up to the tall living machine and took both sides of his head with her gloved hands. She then kissed him for a long, lingering time. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the passionate moment. After quite some time, they finally disengaged. Her face was flushed and his hair was glowing pink. They looked at one another and had a good laugh.

      "C'mon...let's go before I change my mind and make you stay here with me for the night." she said, hooked her finger in his collar and drug him off to their bikes.

      She was right in doing so for had she not stopped making out with him when she did he would have been compelled to call Traveler back and tell him he would have to entertain the teens on his own.

      Once at there bikes with the colors on their riding suits in full effect, they put their helmets on, powered up their bikes and tested their comms.

      "Can ya hear me?" came Rædis' voice through Slider Jayne's helmet.

      "Loud and clear, lover." she replied in her bright voice that Rædis found so very hot and loved to listen to. "Follow me. I know the funnest way out of the city to the highway I'm pretty sure you guys came in on. You can take the lead from there."

      Rædis was relieved he was with a woman that knew her way and he would not need to navigate through the city. Plus, even with his poor sense of direction, he could find his way back to the time machine. It was parked along a straight ribbon of highway and the only thing around for dozens kilometers before the city boarder.

      He might not even need any coordinates from his friend and would love to show off the fact he found Traveler and the students without the man's help. With communication between them established, Slider Jayne and Rædis set off. The route she knew consisted of side streets and avoided much of the city's traffic and it didn't take them long to be outside the boundaries of it as, because of its design, they buildings just ended abruptly and open highway began.

      Rædis did learn, however, that there was a toll to leave the city which Slider Jayne covered as they passed through the booths set up to collect it.

When his tour of the museum was complete, he set off on his motorcycle to find a place to have lunch. What he discovered was a busy cafe full of off-worlders. He could easily tell by their style of dress and the variety of languages they spoke. Although he had to wait a while to be served he thought it worth it so he could listen to the people talk about the impending sale.

      As it turned out, many of the people present were consortium members so their conversations were of great interest to Traveler. He wondered what his new student friends were privy to at the actual conference for the deal.       He then thought about them.

      In the short time he had known them he had allowed himself to become more attached to them than any other people he had met outside of his own time since some of his initial disastrous forays in the fourth dimension. He didn't care though for he saw great potential in the four. Perhaps even extra-dimensional potential. By the end of his vacation he would know for sure.

      His lunch was a simple salad of crispy vegetables with a tangy dressing, small, warm soft rolls of dark bread  and a cup of hearty, thick stew all of which were excellent. Upon finishing the salad and stew he mopped up the remains with the last of the bread. When it came time to pay  he offered the waitress one of his tiny gold cubes.

      She went away for a moment to authenticate the value of the piece and when she returned said that she couldn't accept such a large large amount for so mere a meal. She offered it to him on the house.

      "That is incredibly gracious of your fine establishment but really, I insist. It was a delicious lunch and this is all I have to pay with." said Traveler with a charming smile.

       He couldn't believe the place would pass on collecting such loot. What amazing people, he thought. No wonder there were many that did not want to change their way of life.

      "But sir, that little cube is worth almost fifty times the price of your lunch." she said.

      "I'll tell you what. I'm just going to leave it right here." he said, turned a glass upside down and placed the gold cube on the upturned base of the glass. "If your fine establishment won't accept it then perhaps you will. Use it to get yourself or your man or your kids or whatever something nice. I wouldn't let it get thrown away though." he said as he pushed himself away from the table and stood up. He grabbed his helmet from the table and turned to leave.

      He watched the waitress in the mirrored faceplate of the helmet as he made his way to the door. He smiled as she took the cube from the glass and secured it in a zippered pocket on her red and white checkered server's outfit.

      Once back outside he pushed his head back into his helmet and mounted up once again. He no longer felt like riding the damned thing so he took the shortest route back to the hotel. He entered his room to find Rædis had returned.

      "Well hello there, 'ol mate!" said he excitedly. Rædis turned from the window he was sitting before.

      "What's up, Trav." said Rædis, unable to contain the glee in his voice. Traveler tossed his helmet onto his bed and immediately began to change out of his riding suit and into more comfortable attire.

      "You tell me, pal. How has your vacation been going?" Traveler said as he selected a suit from among the ones her purchased the other day.

      "Not too bad, I'd say." he grinned. Light from the window gleamed of his silver smile.

      "I assume you spent the night with the saleswoman from the bike shop." Traveler said as he tugged a fine brown jacket made of suede over a green silk shirt embroidered with a circuit board pattern in gold.

      "I did. Yes." said the robot with a smile.

      "And did you satisfy all of her curiosities about a living machine?" Traveler asked with a sly grin. He stepped into a black pair of pointy toed boots and zipped them up to his ankles.

      "Oh yeah." Rædis said, chuckling. "How about you? What did you do?"

"I took the students out for a night in the city. We had a blast." said Traveler then told him details of the previous evening's events. Rædis listened and watched his friend as he spoke. He had never seen Traveler so fond of anyone he met in his exploration of time.

      "What are your plans for these students?" he asked Traveler.

      "What do you mean?" the man asked back.

      "Again, I've noticed your awfully taken by them. It seems like you're almost preparing them for something." Rædis said this with a suspicious gleam in his silvery eyes.

      "When the time comes, you'll see." Traveler said as he took a smoke from his metal case. "I'm going up to the roof for a cigarette. When I get back I wanna hear more about your night with Slider Jayne." He then left the room and took the stairs up to the roof of the hotel.

      While he was gone Rædis reflected on his precious evening. The memories made him smile. Traveler caught him doing this when he came back.

      "It was that good, huh?" he laughed at his friend.

      "Yeah. I kinda like her. No. I definitely like her."

      "Why?" asked Traveler plainly. He went to the room's fridge and withdrew a soda that tasted like grape.

      "She is fun, adventurous, open minded, curious oh, and super hot." said Rædis without hesitation. Traveler snapped his fingers and pointed at his friend.

      "I agree with you on that last point. The rest, I'll take yer word for." the man said as he popped the top of his soda and took a sip. "What did you two do?"

      With a wistful air Rædis recounted the previous evening's events.

      "We took a ride out to a secret spot in a field she frequents, often alone and looked at the stars. We made out for a bit then went back to her place."

      "What was it like?" Traveler asked as he sat on the edge of his bed.

      "Pretty neat." said Rædis.  "She lives in a loft over a garage full of bikes, parts, tools and other gear. Her actual loft was a cluttered mess of more motorcycle stuff and devoid of many creature comforts save for a place to eat, a small area to chill and her bed, of course."

      "Of course. What was she like while in it?" asked Traveler with a curious twinkle in his eyes.

      "Daring." was Rædis' one word reply. Traveler didn't explore the issue any further. He changed the subject back to motorcycles.

      "Say man, I was thinking... I want to exchange my bike for something with a sidecar. I really don't enjoy riding motorcycles and if the main reason for having a bike to begin with is to have immediate transportation when we arrive some when, it doesn't make sense for us to both set out in vehicles because once we do find some transport we'd be stuck with three vehicles and no one to drive the third."

      "That makes sense. I'll see what Slider Jayne can hook us up with when I see her again." Rædis said.

      "And when will that be?" asked his friend.

      "Tomorrow night. I thought I'd take her out for dinner or something."

      "Great! Sounds good. What'cha want to do now?" asked Traveler as he flipped on the room's screen to catch some news about the world sale.

      "Let's go exchange our bikes for one with a sidecar." offered Rædis.

      "Sounds good. I'm ready when you are." Traveler said. Rædis, who was still wearing his riding suit was ready to roll.

      "I'm good. Let's go."

      And so they went. Slider Jayne greeted them with a smile when she saw them enter her dealership. As she was a total professional there was no hint in her demeanor of her previous night's sexual frockliking with Rædis.

      "What can I do for you today?"

      "Well, my friend here has decided that motorcycles just really aren't his thing but we still require a small, fast transport so we were thinking perhaps a bike with a sidecar would fit perfectly." explained Rædis. Slider Jayne smiled and motioned them to follow her.

      "I think I have just the thing." she said and brought them before a beautiful machine. The showroom lights glistened off its red surfaces.

The mechanical components of the bike that were visible were all matte black in color. Both of the boys liked it. The machine's sidecar was a sleek but spacious and comfortable space to ride in with ample room for a passenger and even a small amount of luggage. There was a cover that could be attached to it when no rider was present and the whole thing could be easily detached.

       "A cool feature of this particular bike is that with the sidecar attached it actually turns the third wheel into a drive wheel which gives it all wheel drive capability." Slider Jayne explained.

      "Now I can see that being very useful in some of the places we turn up." said Traveler happily. "Could we exchange our current bikes for this one?" he asked.

      "For you two, of course." Slider Jayne said. "Want to test it out?"

      Traveler got into the sidecar and stretched out his long legs. He then tried various positions and reckoned the sidecar was comfortable enough for their purposes. He also knew just by sight that it would easily fit through the door and into the airlock of the time machine with minimal alteration of the thing's interior dimensions.

      "I don't think that will be necessary.  We'll take it." he said then looked at Rædis. Rædis, in turn looked at Slider Jayne.

      "I guess we'll take it." he shrugged.

      "Well that was easy enough." said she then proceeded to highlight a few of its other features before they adjourned to her desk to finalize the deal. The whole thing took less than half an hour. While Traveler went back to the bike, Rædis took a moment to firm up plans with the woman for later that evening.

      "Meet me at my place?" she asked him. He hesitated a moment. "Problem?"

      "Um...I'm not too good with direction. If you give me your address I'll find it just fine." said Rædis.

      This made her laugh her cute laugh and Rædis adopt a slightly embarrassed expression.

      "A living machine with no sense of direction. You fascinate me, Rædis." she said shaking her head. The points of her gorgeous red hair swung about her narrow face. "There is so much I want to know about you."

      "All in good time, Slider Jayne." he said with a mysterious gleam in his silver eyes which she found very attractive.

      "I'm at work Rædis. No fair turning me on like that." she said, fanning her face with a hand.

      He reached out, took it and shook it as if sealing their bike deal but he gently caressed it before letting it go.

      "See you tonight." he said with a smile that aroused her even more.

      "Take your damned bike and go before I take you back into a supply shed or someplace and make you do that thing you did to me last night." She pushed herself up from her desk and dropped the starter fob for the bike into his hand along with her card she had written her address on the back of with a silver pen. He started to say something but she cut him off. "Go! I'll see you later."

      He smiled and went to the bike while she opened a large side door he could drive the motorcycle through.

      Traveler was already seated in the sidecar flipping through a tablet of its features. He put his helmet on as his friend mounted up. Rædis switched the bike on and with a wave to the woman, drove it out of the showroom and back to the hotel.

      Once back in their room Traveler ordered up another feast of food. He got enough to feed the students when they returned from the day's session of the world sale. Again, Rædis observed that this was unusually affectionate behavior for the jaded time traveler and he wondered what his friend had in store for them before they left. He was, however, beginning to get an idea of what it was.

      When the food arrived, Traveler arranged it on the room's larger table while setting aside the food for the teens. He hummed a tune to himself as he did this and looked as happy as could be.

      Rædis sat by the window and flipped through the tablet of bike information and features.

      "Ooh, heated seat and sidecar. Nice." said he.

"Hi Rædis!" Clash said. "We just got in and thought you guys would be interested in what went down today at the conference. Cheryl Shine has loads of footage to go through. Wanna come over and see what we saw?"

      "Absolutely!" Traveler called from the table. "Are yous hungry? I ordered up a ton of food."

      Spackle was elated.

      "Not sure about the others but me 'an Clash are famished." said the young man.

      "Well come in and help me carry this to your room. I can't wait to see what you all experienced today." said Traveler.

      The two students entered the room and helped Traveler take the food back to their's. Rædis joined them after everyone was set up with various containers of culinary delights.

     "Traveler, you're the coolest. Thanks for dinner again." Bentley said around a mouthful of some sort of fried rice-like grain.

      Cheryl Shine was busy hooking her camera up to an editing suite she brought with her. The whole thing fit nearly into a slim briefcase style package. When it was all set up she began looking through the day's footage.

      Traveler left the table and sat by Cheryl Shine, excited to see what occurred. Up until then the only footage of the world sale was on the TV news channels so to view actual footage of the event from inside the actual proceedings was a treat for the time traveler.

      He was impressed with Cheryl Shine's coverage and she was more than happy to have his help editing the footage she had shot.

    "You've got a pretty good eye for video production, Traveler." she said with a smile.

    "Well, it's been kinda a hobby of mine over the years." he told her.

    "Really? I'd love to see some of your work." said she. He smiled.

    "All in good time my young friend." was his enigmatic reply. Like with the others, he intrigued her and she knew there was so much more to this strange man they hooked up with than he was letting on.

     His promise, however, to reveal more about himself to them captivated her and her friends. Like the others, she was delighted that they picked up he and his unique friend. They added such an incredible and singular aspect to their adventure that none of them would ever forget.

    As Traveler studied the footage, he paid particular attention to the party interested in purchasing the rights to use their planet. He closely listened to their plans and watched the way they moved when they spoke. As far as he could tell there was nothing dubious behind their intentions.

    They spoke openly and honestly about their plans. They even went into detail about the possible negatives associated with their intentions to further develop the planet. Traveler was actually impressed by what he saw especially when the representatives of the consortium displayed multiple graphs, videos and other media displays of their intent. It all seemed on the up and up despite Traveler's intense scrutiny for any nefarious dealings.

    Rædis watched him viewing the films shot by Cheryl Shine. He could tell his friend was itching to see what the future of the world held after the sale and he was okay with that. What he hoped he would not have to do was dissuade Traveler from attempting to change things should they go awry but it seemed like he would not have to.

    Their week continued. Just as Traveler thought, their new bike fit through the door of his time machine easily enough with the use of a ramp they could deploy from the entrance and pull back inside as needed.

    The friends happily high-fived across their new bike.

    "Right on, man!" Rædis exclaimed. "Mission totally accomplished."

    Traveler too was elated.

  "Absolutely. And we made a bunch of totally rad new friends in doing so." he said and had a smoke to celebrate. It was one of his more potent blends and, because he didn't have to drive back into the city, he could simply relax in the sidecar of their new machine and enjoy the ride. "Mount up, old pal."

His new young friend's gave up a small cheer. Traveler actually blushed slightly.

      "Besides, how could I refuse an offer from such a great group. I've been to many places and met a lot of people and I gotta say that you four have been my favorite. I'm not even joking. C'mon, let's get ready to go see what we can see." He rose from the table and dropped a few gold cubes to cover the tip while the students squared up the tab.

      Their school had given them a per diem for the duration of their trip and when they combined theirs for the day it easily covered the cost of their dinner. By the time they got back to their rooms Rædis had changed into his riding clothes and left to meet Slider Jayne. Traveler closed his door and went over to the students room. He grinned when he saw evidence of them sharing beds.

      There were bits of boys and girls clothes mingled on them. Their initial arrangement of the girls doubling up and the boys trading off on the couch only lasted the first two nights. Traveler had both fond and silly memories of his initial romantic encounters and wished the students his best. They had, after all, almost ideal circumstances.

      He had no doubt that had they not offered their second room to he and Rædis that all manner of fooling around would have occurred especially given the attraction he observed between the the two couples that had emerged since he first met them.

      Cheryl Shine made sure she had fresh batteries in her camera and the boys grabbed bags. Spackle stuffed a light jacket in his for Clash whose outfit was the most suseptable to a chill. Good man, thought Traveler.

      In moments they were all ready to leave with an excitement that buzzed around them like electricity. They rode a crowded elevator down to the hotel lobby and hit the streets. They entered into a city that was alive with activity. The students were excited which intensified the further they strayed from the hotel.

       Cheryl Shine made several establishing shots with her camera as they walked. Traveler made sure they all stuck close to each other keeping a watchful eye both on his charges and events occurring around them.

      In the meantime, Rædis sped on his bike to his rendezvous with Slider Jayne. He had agreed to meet her at the dealership where he and Traveler got their bikes. He arrived to find her waiting for him. She was leaning on her motorcycle and dressed in a tight fitting riding suit that flattered her curvaceous figure.

      She watched as he approached. The closer he got the more he could see that her cybernetic eyes gave off a pleasing blue glow in low light. It was a nice touch, he thought. He rolled up perpendicular to her, shut his bike off and kicked the stand down propping the machine on it before dismounting.

      He pulled off his helmet and hung it off the handlebars.

      "Am I late?" he asked her.

      "Nope. I came early. I wanted to watch you approach. You look awesome." she said with her sexy half smile. He strode over to her.

      "Good to see you again Slider Jayne." he said.

      "You too, Rædis Robot." She then gave him a peck on his shiny cheek. His hair did that thing with its color that she found so adorable. She reached up and tussled it with her fingers. His eyes glowed a bit brighter.

    "You ready to ride, metal man?" she asked.

    "You bet." he said with a smile.

    "Right then. Mount up and follow me." she said as she swung a long leg over her bike and switched it on. Its ground effect lights lit up a gorgeous green. Rædis climbed onto his own bike and put his helmet on. Together they sped off into the night.

    Following her was fun. She laced effortlessly through traffic aided by her enhanced vision. Rædis, as an experienced racing driver found it immensely extremely enjoyable keeping up with her. He remembered her saying she too was once a racer herself and it showed in the calculated way she chose when and where to maneuver her machine.

    To not be outdone he showed her some skills of his own and passed her popping a wheelie.

"Show off." she said into her helmet mic as he sped past her on his thick back wheel. Once he set the bike back down on two, she once again took the lead. As they shot down the highway he realized she was leading him out of the city.

      Because of its design the towering buildings quickly dropped away and in some little time they were free of its crowded confines and headed back towards where he and Traveler had left the time machine. Soon after that, they  passed where they were picked up by the students and at the speeds they were going he knew it wouldn't be long before they would see it sitting just off the highway.

      When they did pass it she commented over the comm.

      "Did you see that weird metal container sitting off the road back there?"

      "I did. Is it unusual?" he asked her.

      "Not really. It looked like just some sort of shipping container that was left by the roadside. It's just that I was out this way a few nights ago and it wasn't there. What's unusual is that it's there at all." she said.

     "How so?" asked Rædis. 

     "I run this road quite often and I've never seen such a thing simply left by the roadside." she responded. He could see her shrug as he rode next to her and their velocity had slowed to a something a little less extreme.

     She obviously found it odd but not unusual to merit further comment and to his relief any investigation so he let it drop. Eventually they came to a turn-off from the highway and he followed her down a much less traveled road to an open, grassy spot in a field. After they parked and dismounted he flipped his visor up and took a look around.

     It was much darker outside the city. He looked back at it. It shone like a multifaceted mineral on the horizon amidst a sea of night. She pulled her helmet off and shook her hair into place. It hung perfectly around her narrow face. He took his own helmet off and stepped closer to her.

     "It's beautiful out here." he observed.

     "Mmmm...and so are you." she said taking his hand. She led him to a spot in the grass far from their bikes. There was evidence around of previous visits to the place where they stopped in the field. A few empty cans, a couple empty food cartons and, wrapped tightly in a thick plastic bag, a large, soft blanket. She began to remove the blanket from the bag and spread it out on the grass.

     "I come out here a lot." she explained as she worked. "It's my own special little spot. It's far enough outside the city to not hear its noise and better see the sky. You're only the third person I've ever brought out here." she told him. He imagined the other two must have been lovers but did not pursue the thought. He reckoned this because who else would she bring to her special special place but someone she cared about. 

     Once the blanket was ready she sat cross legged in the middle of it and patted the the place next to her.

     "Come sit with me." she invited him. Her blue eyes shone dimly in the dark. His own, much brighter with the excitement he felt. When he reached her and sat, his eyes and hair illuminated her pretty features with a pinkish/silver hue.

     "Thank you for inviting me out tonight and taking me to your special place." he said rather boyishly. She was charmed by this.

     "You are very interesting. I want to know more about you. Where do you come from?" she asked.

     He told her about his homeworld and why he left it. He told her an edited version of how he met Traveler, saving him from a group of people that were angry with him for his refusal to help them with his technology.

     "Why wouldn't he help them?" she asked. She was already spellbound by his story and found this to be an odd part of the tale. He thought about how to explain the circumstances at the time he found his friend. After a moment, he went with this:

     "Traveler had gotten caught up in the events of another world that was doomed by a horrible global war. He did his best to save the people of that planet from destroying themselves nearly dying in the process.

"When he failed, he journeyed to another, more peaceful planet to live in solitude for a while while he put his heart and mind back together again. Then, when a disaster threatened that planet they sought out his help knowing he was possessed of far greater technology than they had that could possibly save them. But, having just failed to save another entire world he was unwilling to take on such a responsibility again.

      The people around him grew very hostile with him to the point of violence until I intervened, sorted things out and well...we've been friends ever since."

      She could tell there was much more to this story than he was willing to go into but was too amazed to pursue it nor was this the time to do so.

      "Holy shit..." she said. Her blue eyes  had gotten bigger and brighter as he spoke. "And I thought you two were just two cool racing drivers."

      He laughed

      "Well you know, we gotta find something to keep us busy during the off seasons. Whith her mind significantly blown and her perspective of the two friends considerably widened, she found herself at a loss for words while all he just told her sank in . She laid back on the blanket and drew him down next to her. After he got comfortable along side her, she slid against him and together they looked up at the start night sky.

      "Which one up there contains the planet you and your friend call home?" she quietly asked him.

      Rædis had a very poor sense of direction so determining his galactic orientation was more than beyond his capabilities so he pointed to the sky.

      "Space is curved. Some would even say it was totally bent. So if you start off in one direction you'll eventually arrive back where you started." he said.

      "Yeah, but which of those stars do you live around?" she asked again, puzzled by his answer. He hesitated as he scanned the sky. His home, like the world he came from, also traveled through space.

       After they positioned it in the time they came from to use the time machine to get where they were, he sent it to the far side of their sun to stay out of view for the duration of their stay on the planet. He didn't want to lie to her but he didn't have to. In the length it took him to respond she giggled.

      "You don't know, do you?" she asked, pressing her cheek to his.

       "Nope." he admitted. "I've been under many alien skies and they're all so full of stars. It gets hard to keep track of one's place."

      She smiled and slid on top of him. His arms came up to embrace her as she brought her lips close to his.

      "It doesn't matter. I think that right  now you are right where you're supposed to be." she said quietly. They then spent the next hour making out in the field under the sea of stars.

Traveler and the students were having an absolutely amazing time back in the city. They danced for a bit around a band that had set up in a small park between buildings. When Traveler asked if he could jam with them and was given a small electronic keyboard on a stand he began playing some ancient Earth style jazz.

      It was one of his favorite Vince Guaraldi tunes called 'Blue Charie Brown' and even though it slowed the pace down a bit for the band, they totally got into it, picked up where it was going and all together they ran with it. The four students were amazed at his skill and style.

      By the time the song concluded the small crowd that initially gathered for the tunes had grown quite a bit and gave the band gracious applause. The band members invited him to do another number but he declined, thanked them for the opportunity and rejoined his friends.

      "Traveler that was so rad, man! You got some bad-ass musical skills." Bentley said as he and Cheryl Shine moved together to the beat of the song the band started up with again.

      "Thanks! Music has always been a great hobby of mine. Glad ya liked it." he grinned happily.

      "I never heard music like that before. It's so...smooth." said Clash who was something of a musician, herself.

      "It's called 'jazz'." Traveler told her. "That was an ancient classic from my world. C'mon! Let's see what else we can see!" he said. The two couples of teens took one another's hands as Traveler lead them off to the next fun thing like the Pied Piper in a fine suit.

      The next fun thing turned out to be a street magician who was so good and quick with her hands Traveler doubted even Rædis would be able to follow her movements. She left Traveler and his friends mystified as they ventured on now in search of a snack.

      The group found a kiosk selling some kind of saucey meat skewered on wooden sticks. The students were familiar with the snack and ate it without hesitation.  Traveler, however, even after having eaten many a strange thing in his days, was a little dubious of the snack at first. But at the urging of his young friends tried the meat. As it turns out, he didn't like it and gave his to Spackle who shared the remaining bites with Clash.

      After a couple more stops at some attractions, the group was getting tired. When they realized how far they had actually walked from their hotel it was agreed by all to begin making their way back. By the time they did it was late. The students retired to their room after saying thank you and good night to Traveler. He entered his own room to find it empty.

      With a smile, he showered and wrapped himself in a fresh hotel towel and sat on the corner of his bed. He thought about calling Rædis to check on him but then decided against it. Whatever his friend was up to with Slider Jayne he was more than capable of handling himself.

      Instead, he put a movie on the room's screen and, halfway through it, fell asleep and didn't wake until dawn. When he did and realized he was still alone he laughed. His laughter filled the silent room prompting him to put some music on. He dressed in his riding clothes with the intent on going for a cruise after a bite to eat but first he checked on the teens.

      In their room Bentley stretched an arm out from under the bed' comforter.       

      "Hello." he sleepily answered.

      "Hey Bentley. Just wanted to say good morning and well...check on yous." Traveler said. The whole idea of doing something like this was kind of new to him and a little awkward. Bentley 's voice came back through the phone.

      "We're cool, man. Thanks for checkin' on us." he said, noting the time on the bedside clock. "We'll be up in a bit and off to the conference. You got plans today?"

      "Well, Ræ never came home last night so I reckoned I'd go for a ride until he gets back then I think we're gonna explore outside the city. Got any recommendations?" There was a pause while Bentley thought.

      "What's he want?" Traveler heard Cheryl Shine's voice over line.

Traveler grinned because Cheryl Shine's voice sounded like it came from under the same covers that Bentley was under.

      "He is going off for a ride and wants to know of a cool place to visit." Bentley told her. She had nothing to offer. There wasn't really anything between the city they were in and the city they lived in. It was a feature of the development of this part of their planet.

      The urban areas were contained to prevent an endless sprawl of development between them and separated into specialties. There were manufacturing cities, business and economic cities and so on but in between them lay little but rest stops, farmland, simple lodgings along the roadways and a few hubs for rail travel to exchange passengers, cargo and switch up routes when required.

      "Oh." said Traveler when he heard of the lack of anything to see. "Well...maybe I'll come across something of interest if I just head out. Weirder things have happened to me."

      "Whith you, that's easy to imagine. Good luck." Bentley said, hung up the phone and retreated back under the covers to Cheryl Shine.

      Traveler sighed and went to the big window of their room. He gazed out into the dense city.

      "Well, looks like I'm on my own for a bit. That's okay. I'm good on my own." he said aloud to no one. He left his room, skipped the breakfast buffet and went right to his bike. He mounted up and hit the crowded streets to look for a road out of the city different than the one he came in on.

      He very briefly entertained the thought of going back to his time machine for a short trip back to his own era to see what Lisa Hole was up to. He was feeling a tad resentful that everyone else had someone to play with besides himself and knew, depending on what she was doing, he could spend some time with Lisa and be back a second after he left. However, he discarded this idea after remembering his promise to Rædis that he would never use the machine without him.

      This was a thing he took very seriously and unless it was an emergency he would never go back on it. Traveler cruised through the streets until he found an on-ramp to a highway leading out the city. He was about to take it but changed his mind when he saw a sign to a history museum close to where he was headed. He skipped the on-ramp and decided to check out the museum instead. He really didn't feel like riding the stupid motorcycle in the first place for after more than an hour or so on the thing its novelty quickly wore off.

      He swerved around a pack of traffic onto a street that would take him to the museum. Upon reaching it and locking up his bike he entered the museum and spent the rest of the morning exploring the place and learning more about the world he was on. He was particularly interested in the history of the 'Stupid Strife' that led to the technological and sociological stagnation of the populace.

       He gained a more detailed perspective on the state of the world and why they were entertaining the unusual measure of 'selling' their planet to this interested consortium.  He also learnt more about the group itself. They didn't seem like they had any sinister, exploitive agenda. If anything, they simply wanted to do what any large corporations sought to do. Make money.

      Although many groups that comprised the consortium were genuinely altruistic and had the best interest of the people of the planet in mind. Other members representing scientific industries saw their own opportunities for research and development of technologies on a world as of yet untouched by current galactic developments yet close enough to other planets to facilitate meaningful progress in various fields.

     The planet was rich in untapped natural resources and its geography apparently allowed for the easy employ of renewable and clean energy sources. It all seemed to Traveler to be on the plus side for the place. He once again had to fight the urge to travel to the planet's future to see how it all turned out.

     He was pretty sure at one point, he would.

"I think so." Traveler said. "Definitely meeting up with them and perhaps even helping them out with a few things..." he pushed his helmet onto his head. "...from time to time." he said with a wink before slapping the visor down.

      Rædis laughed, put on his own helmet and switched his bike on. They cruised lazily back into the city and stopped off at a restaurant for lunch before returning to their hotel. The place was very busy but they were seated quickly enough. It served the kind of cuisine one didn't linger over but rather just enjoyed quickly because it was served up hot, fast and good.

      Traveler ordered two slices of something that looked like and turned out to be very similar to pizza with a purple colored soda. Rædis ordered this world's equivalent of a hamburger and fries with the same soda. He found it remarkable that no matter the world or time in which they found themselves they all had a version of a simple, never fail, Earth-like burger and fries.

      Both of them were extremely satisfied with the lunch, paid with a few tiny cubes of gold and headed back to the hotel to discuss what their final decision on the bikes would be.

      When they arrived back in their room Traveler noticed their was a message on the phone, its little red light blinking away on the handset. He picked it up and pressed the button to receive the message and heard the voice of Slider Jayne begin speaking.

      "Oi. Message for you." he said, tossing the reciever to the robot who snagged it out of the air and listened. As he did, his expressive face went through a series of delighted and happy expressions. When the message concluded he switched the phone off and chucked it onto his bed.

      "What's up?" Traveler asked.

      "She wants to meet up again and go for a ride."

      Traveler cocked an eyebrow.

      "Yeah? You gonna go?" he asked.

      "Well, yeah. I mean, I'd like to. Is that cool with you?"

      "Hahahaha! I appreciate it but you don't need my permission." laughed Traveler.

      "I know. It's just that this is supposed to be our vacation and now some interloper is interfering with it. I figured you'd object." shrugged his friend.

      "This is just as much your vacation as mine. If you wanna spend some time with some hot broad you met I'm totally cool with that. Besides, you should be able to get her to cut us a sweet deal on a different bike that more suits our needs." Traveler suggested.

      "Good idea. I'll work on her." said Rædis.

      "I bet you will." replied Traveler with a snide look. "Anyway, I got some things I want to check out too while we're here. I thought I'd might learn more about this 'world sale' with the kids and show them a bit more of a good time when they aren't working on their project."

      "Sounds like fun. They should be back soon from the day's deliberations. You got any plans with them for tonight?"

       Traveler thought for a second.

      "Nothing has come to mind just yet. Maybe I'll take them out and explore the city." he said. "Perhaps a romantic evening ride is just the thing for you and you're girl."

      Rædis grabbed the phone off his bed.

      "Not bad. I'll call her up and see if she's free." said he and began punching in the number she left him.

      "Awesome. I'm going for a smoke. See ya in a bit." Traveler said and after retrieving his cigarette case from a pocket the black jacket they arrived in left the room for the stairs. He walked up to an open air observation deck on the roof of the hotel and entered the outdoors into a pleasant late afternoon. He found himself a nice place to stand with an impressive view of the city below and withdrew one of his heavily drug laidened smokes from the dull metal case.

      With a bite on the filter he ignited the thing and inhaled a deep drag of the drugged smoke. Within seconds his brain was alight with the chemicals within it. His sight and sound took on a whole different perspective as the drugs took hold of his brain.

He also began to pleasantly tingle from the hairs on his head to the tips of his toes. He looked out across the city. The colorful buildings intensified in hue. Anything with a light on from aircraft overhead to the traffic control lights down in the streets now had a prismatic halo around it that, if it were in motion such as the brake lights of the vehicles below, left a trail of light behind it that slowly faded as they moved.

      Traveler' aural senses also became very acute and the noise of the city organized itself in his mind into a music that only he could hear. There was the percussive beat of the props from an airborne machine. A bass-like drone of the electric vehicles swarming through the streets.

       And, bouncing it's way up off the tall buildings was a melody of vehicle horns and other city sounds that mixed in his mind to trade off the parts of rhythm and lead. He laughed as he absorbed his surroundings. He felt like he was the sole audience of a huge concert that was being put on special just for him.

      Traveler stood there and watched the world around him as the sun shifted the shadow of the buildings. If he held still enough he could reverse the perspective of the buildings and their shadows to make it look as if it were the buildings that were moving while the shadow of themselves stayed still.

      He wished there were better clouds to see. The few in the sky were long, wispy and still. He likened them to enormous sleek ships of some kind hanging low in the atmosphere of an endless blue sky.

      Traveler had stood on a hundred worlds at various moments in the pool of time and their uniqueness and similarities formed a complex network in his four dimensional perspective through which his path glowed like a twisting tube of red neon. He imagined this tube intertwining with other time travelers of different colors, bending around around one another, moving parallel but never intersecting or crossing except for that one time.

      He thought of Penny Black, the only other time traveler he had ever met and a natural one, at that. He wondered when she was or if she were close to him in physical space, would he be able to feel her presence. He imagined his network again and assigned her progress through time a purple color that sometimes rode right against his but only crossed it once. She did say she watched him from time to time.

      He looked around himself reflexively but was still alone on the roof. He stayed outside for an hour before taking the stairs to his room. It seemed a longer decent than his initial climb to the roof and he arranged his footsteps into a beat as he danced down the steps. By the time he returned to his room he was thirsty and went right to the little fridge in the kitchenette for something fizzy to drink. He opened it to find it had been restocked with a new variety of beverages to chose from.

      "I so love staying in fine hotels." he said, repeating his earlier statement about such establishments. Rædis was playing a video game on the room's big screen.

      "Bring me whatever you're having, please." he said without taking his attention from the game. Traveler joined him with two open sodas that tasted like red licorice.

      "What'cha playin?" he asked.

      "Some giant robot fighting game. It's kinda cool. Grab a controller and join in." offered Rædis. 

      "After I change. These motorcycle suites are really hot when you aren't riding in them." Traveler grabbed one of the suits he designed and had made earlier and went into the bathroom. He showered quickly this time, dressed and came out wearing the new garments. "Well? What'cha think?" he said, modeling for his friend while checking himself out in the big mirror of the room.

      Rædis did one of his quick mechanical looks with his eyes and returned to the game.

      "Oh that's nice. I haven't seen you in green for a long time. Brings out your eyes."

      Traveler confirmed this in the mirror.

      "I never thought of that! Cheers, mate." he said happily.

He picked up a controller and joined in the game. After some initial play he discovered the robot he was using was vastly underpowered compared to his friend's.

      "How did you get such a cool robot so early in the game?" he asked as his own character was blown to bits on screen.

      "Oh... I hacked the game to give myself the best shit right off." laughed Rædis. He then told Traveler the code to enter to do the same. Once he too had a bad-ass robot to fight with they blasted their way effortlessly through level after level. He didn't realize how long they had been playing until a knock came from their door. Rædis, bored with the game, got up to answer it.

      Before him stood Clash wearing the dress Traveler had bought for her the previous day. She looked amazing.

      "Hi Rædis!" she greeted him with a smile.

      "Hello Clash. Come in." he invited her.

      "Actually, I came to invite you two to an early dinner. We thought we'd treat you guys tonight for all the great stuff you've done for us since was met." she told him.

      "Awesome. I'm there." Traveler called from the edge of his bed. He chucked his controller away and smooth out his suit as he stood. The rest of Clash's friends filed out of their room and filled the hallway around her before Rædis' door.

      Rædis was still wearing his riding suit. He looked at the fashionably dressed kids in the hall and over his shoulder at his friend.

      "Let me change real quick." he said and was replaced in the doorway by Traveler. He smiled when he saw them all in their fine clothes.

      "You kids look fan-tast-tic!" he said with almost parental pride and enthusiasm. They all seemed to carry themselves a little more confidently and with an air that they were older than they were. He knew that a great outfit had that effect on a person and it made him very happy to see it in what he had come to regard as his little band of proteges. 

   Cheryl Shine admired the suit he was wearing.

      "So do you Traveler. That shade of green really brings out your eyes."

      Traveler chuckled.

      "So I've been told. Thank you Cheryl Shine."

      Rædis came to the door behind Traveler dressed in the black clothes he was wearing when they first arrived. He was the least dressy of the group but looked no less awesome than the rest. If anything, the contrast he provided made him look somewhat mysterious.

      The entire group rode down to the restaurant level to the place where they were to dine.

      "I made our reservation early this morning so we shouldn't even have to wait for a table." Clash said as she walked up to a man standing at an electric podium.

      "How may I serve you, miss?" the man said.

      "Clash. Party of six. I reserved a table this morning." she told the man. He quickly consulted an screen in the podium and smiled.

      "Follow me please." he said and guided then to a circular table set into a bulge in the exterior of the building that surrounded them with windows. Spackle looked wide eyed at the city around them.

      "Wow Clash! This table is perfect. You guys, check out this veiw." he said, craning his head around in all directions. After they all saw what was Spackle was on about they all took seats, ordered and began to talk about the day the student's had.

       "The first thing everyone noticed was how awesome we looked." Bentley said as he drove into an appetizer he got for himself.

       "Excellent!" said Traveler. He was happy his new young friends made such an impression.

      "Some people actually thought we were part of a planetary delegation from our home city! Can you believe that?" Cheryl Shine said as she picked at the salad she ordered.

      "I totally believe that." Traveler said sipping an brownish colored drink that was kind of like root beer. He didn't get an appetizer as he was still full from his lunch earlier. Clash watched Rædis eat a spoonfuls of some thick soup.

      "Do you actually need to eat?" she asked him. "I mean, what actually powers you is what I'm getting at."

Rædis took a sip of his own soda then answered her.

      "I don't need to eat food, no. I just like it. I'm powered by a battery made of..." he trailed off trying to think of how to explain his complex physiology to her without turning the dinner into a physics lecture. He stuck with: "I'm battery powered." and ate another spoonful of soup. "My body then breaks down whatever I've eaten into its base elements, uses what it needs and atomizes the rest."

      While Rædis was explaining his biology, Traveler was studying the students. He saw that Clash deliberately put herself between Rædis and Spackle while Bentley made sure he was next to Spackle with Cheryl Shine on his left next to Traveler. That put he and Rædis next to each other in full view of the teens. As Clash listened to Rædis, she leaned towards Spackle occasionally brushing against his shoulder.

      Traveler then turned his attention to the other two students. Cheryl Shine also had angled her chair to both face he and Rædis but to also put herself closer to Bentley. She brought her little camera with her and after Rædis was finished answering Clash's question, she switched it on and beginning with Bentley panned it around the table ending with their older guests.

       Everyone acted naturally and did not look directly into the lens. It made for an excellent shot that she was pleased with. She switched it off as more of their orders arrived and the conversation picked up.

      "Tell me more about this faction that is interested in buying your world and how does one actually sell a planet?" Traveler asked. He really didn't want to get involved with this but in all this voyages he had never heard of such a thing and couldn't help being curious.

      Spackle explained that the people who wanted to purchase their planet were actually a consortium that planned on using their world's untapped resources and help establish then as an emerging power within their star system.

      "Many feel that we're falling behind compared to the three other habitable worlds around our sun leaving us vulnerable and open to occupation by others with hostile intent." said Bentley.

      "Although our planet has achieved global peace and prosperity since the 'Stupid Strife' four hundred years ago, very little technological progress has been made compared to the other planets. Although things are great for us in many ways, in others we really are falling behind." Cheryl Shine said.

       "Sort of like a 'if it isn't broken, don't fix it' kind of mentality?" Traveler asked.

      "Well...yeah. Among those opposed to opening our world in such a way." said Clash.

      "What does your planet get out of this 'sale'?" Rædis asked. "I mean, how can you be sure you retain your sovereignty and rights as a populace and not be exploited?"

      "That's what is being debated and worked out." answered Spackle.

      As more of their meal arrived the conversation swung towards the teens themselves. Traveler and Rædis learnt more about their hosts, their interests, points of view and what was at stake for them and their future in the wake of the world sale. In turn, the boys told the kids more about themselves.

      The students learnt about their racing career and their adventures in galactic exploration. The teens were fascinated by what they heard.

      "See? This is the kind of stuff I feel we're missing out on as a planet if things continue the way they have for the past four centuries. Sure we got it pretty good for ourselves but it could be even better.

      Plus, we could even begin export our philosophy and way of doing things that make it so great for us to other world that aren't doing so well and could use a little help when it comes to global management. That's my opinion, for what it's worth." said Bentley. Cheryl Shine smiled at him. It was obvious she liked the way he thought.

      None of the four students were opposed to the world sale and all of them saw it as an opportunity for future prosperity.

Rædis told them about the isolationist policy of his homeworld and how they cut themselves off from the rest of the galaxy but he also told them that they were a billion year old civilization with that lived on a planet that did not need to be attached to a star to survive.

      The students were awed by this especially Clash. She even took down a few notes on a paper napkin with a collapsible pen she carried conceled on her person. Charly Shine recorded her own record of Rædis' tale on camera.

      They also wanted to know more about where Traveler came from. He gave them a general history of the Earth. He told them about a few devastating world wars and the reconstruction that occurred after each one.

      He said that after the third and most brutal of these global conflicts his planet got their act together enough to spread out into the stars but that it would not have been possible without the intervention other races in the galaxy to help out with certain aspects of technology to make that possible. 

      "I imagine my homeworld would have ended up a little like yours. Happily prospering but never really achieving above a certain level or reaching our full potential without the innovations and ideas of others we made contact with. We've always been an adventurous and curious lot, Earthlings." he said with a modicum of pride.

      "That's what we want. Most of the younger generations do." Spackle said.

      "Yep. We've seen things from our neighboring worlds, for example, that are super cool and we'd love to get a hold of but many are opposed to. It's not that we're isolationist. We openly trade within our system and travel freely between world but as far as change on a global scale goes so many people are happy to just leave things the way they are." Cheryl Shine added.

      Traveler and Rædis thought about this problem as deserts went around. They were similar to ice cream sundaes and rather delicious.

      "Looks like you and your people have some big decisions to make at this conference. You're all very lucky to be here to witness such a thing. The consortium interested in purchasing the rights to open up your planet seem on the level just y'know...use caution before you sign your beautiful world away." said Traveler between spoonfuls of sundae.

      The temptation to intervene in the events going on around him on a temporal level was considerable but when he thought about his past experiences in doing so it was easy enough to decide against it. Even though his skill in doing such things had greatly increased he had no right to do so.

      Rædis would tell him the same and even stop him if he tried. This was one reason why he loved his friend so much. Also, they were on vacation. He was reminded of this when Rædis pushed his chair back from the table and stood up.

      "Thank you for the dinner my new friends! It was fantastic." he said happily. "I gotta split for a bit. Got some evening plans with another new friend. If you'll all excuse me."

      The students all said goodnight and Bentley added a 'good luck' with a grin. They all knew where he was off to and who he was going to meet. Traveler met all their eyes with a smile and soon they were all laughing. After they settled down Spackle asked Traveler what his own plans were for the night.

      "I hadn't thought that far ahead, actually. What about yous?" asked he.

      "We were going to go out and walk around the city, see what there is to see and kinda interview some of the populace for our project." said Cheryl Shine.

     "Want to come with us?" Bentley asked.

    "Please do. We would look even more official with an older dude along with us. Especially one as finely dressed as you." said Clash with a wink. Traveler loved this idea. It was a great opportunity to teach more to his little band of proteges skills that he would hope they will employ in the future.

    "I would be honored to come with you all. There is much to learn out there right now. As I am on vacation, I would be remiss to pass up such an opportunity."

"Were it to have continued as it was going it would have brought civilization on this planet back to a stone age. If there were any civilization left at all. It took generations to fully recover from and since then there has been little more than a stone thrown in anger outside our World Council. Within the council the worst that gets thrown around is harsh language, a few pens and an occasional shoe."

      "A shoe?" laughed Rædis.

      "Yes. Some dispute arose over something or other and a council member took off their shoe, slammed it on his table, shouted something about being buried I think, then hurled the shoe at the opposing council members. The video footage of the incident is classic.

      I think our planet is doing just fine without some interplanetary corporation stepping in to fuck it all up and exploit it for their own selfish ends."

      He told her that he was merely here for a vacation and that he and Traveler did not know about the sale of their planet prior to meeting the students. He refrained from commenting on the technological and sociological stagnation of their civilization because her point was just as valid as those that were up for a change. He was not about to spoil such a splendid evening with politics of a planet he was only on in the first place to enjoy.

      After her opinion had been stated the subject was dropped and she told him more about her youth, interests and stories of her own that made him laugh. They were both, sufficed to say, having an excellent time and their attraction intensified as the night progressed. It ended with a long walk through the city streets with her arm wrapped snugly around his.

      After several blocks their route brought them back to the hotel.

      "How did you get here? Surely you didn't ride a bike in that spectacular dress." he asked.

      "Oh, I have a car. It's nothing special. Just for transportation. Come...I'll show you." she said and took him to where she had parked it. "I had to get creative due to the lack of actual parking spaces but I think I did a good job."

      Her car was actually a small, one person, four wheeled electric transport. It was more cute than it was stylish but it served its purpose well and easily fit between two large trash receptacles around the back of the hotel.

      "I had to crawl out of the sunroof but it was easy enough even in these shoes." she giggled.

      "You are so hot." said Rædis surprising himself with his own forwardness.

      "You have no idea..." she said and stepped up against him. She pressed her body against his and ran her fingers up the back of his neck into his hair. She then grabbed it and lowered his head to hers giving him a long, lingering kiss. She found his lips, though metal, to be warm, soft and malleable, like lead when heated until it becomes soft.

       He placed his hands along her  back and deepened their embrace. They made out that way for several minutes.

      When their lips finally parted just enough to talk she said in a seductive voice: "We could always go back to my place, you know?"

      Rædis was flattered by the offer but not quite ready for what she was implying.

      "You really are curious about me, huh?" he said, smiling against her lips.

      "In every way." she replied. However, as tempting as he found her idea, he declined.

    "How about this instead..." he began, still holding her close against him. "...I'm going to be here for a whole week. I propose we take a few rides together and share some more time before we share a whole night."

    She could easily tell it was not out of reluctance that he turned her down. She decided he was making her wait perhaps even testing her and this turned her on even more.

    "I really like that idea. Very good Rædis. Very, very good." she said now totally taken with him. "You got a deal."

   "Excellent." he said as he slowly released her. She gave him one last peck on his lips and turned to climb into her little vehicle which she did flashing just the right amount of her long legs.

He watched her as she backed out of the narrow space she had parked in. She gave him a wink and a wave before speeding off in her tiny car. He stood there until she disappeared around a corner then went back to his room. When he entered it he walked into an unexpected party.

      While he was out it seems Traveler had taken all the students down to the shop where Rædis had gotten his suit and bought them each an outfit. All four of the friends were modeling their new clothes while Traveler was filming them with Cheryl Shine's little camera.

      All were laughing and having a grand time. It seems Traveler had also gotten them a few drinks just to add a little more fun to their experience. When they saw Rædis come in they all wanted to know how his date went. Traveler pointed the camera at him and did a narration in the form of a sports interview.

      "And just back from his date here's Rædis to tell us the results. He looks like he took a podium place but let's hear from the racing legend himself on how he ran!"

      The kids clapped and Traveler chuckled. Rædis, already feeling extremely high from his evening with Slider Jayne, fell right into character and joined in the revelries.

      "Initially, she threw me a little off with the amazing dress she was wearing but once I recovered we were well matched. As far as women go, she's hard to beat. We ended up walking laps around the streets until she sped off in the tiniest and honestly, the cutest little car I've ever seen. In the end, it was no contest, race fans. She blew me away."

      The students clapped again and Traveler turned the camera on himself.

      "And there it is... Right from Rædis himself. I do believe the guy is smitten." he reported and placed the camera on the desk, resting it on a stack of plates from their meal, framing up the room.

      Spackle and Clash laughed at the word 'smitten' because they didn't know what it meant and it sounded funny.

      "Looks like you all are having a blast. I like your new outfits. Lookin' pretty sharp." Rædis said as he walked further into the room.

      "Traveler designed them for us!" Cheryl Shine said as she jumped up and down on Rædis' bed. She twirled in mid air to show off the very professional suit she had on. It moved easily with her body as it was tailored expertly to do so.

      Bentley sat casually in the desk chair wearing a dark grey suit with reflective pin-stripping looking way more stylish, confident and comfortable than he had in his earlier attire. The shoes he wore were sneaker style that matched the rest of his ensemble.

      "Seriously, how was your evening?" Traveler asked his best friend.

      "Delightful. She asked me back to her place." he said and began picking through the remains of their meal for anything interesting. He found a lump of something red and ate it.

      "Wow Ræ. You really have made an impression on her." Traveler managed to say without adding anything derisive or snide.

      "How could he not? He's incredibly unique." Clash said from where she sat in front of the big window. She was wearing a red dress with a mirrored pattern slashed across it at angles in pleats folded into the fabric. It made her look older and very attractive. On her feet she wore fluffy green slippers provided by the hotel which were just cute.

       She was sipping whatever booze Traveler had gotten them from a narrow frosted glass. Steam rose from around it. She held it with a shiny cloth that came with the drink to protect one's hand from the cold.

       "You four look great. You're really going to make an impression during tomorrow's session, I have no doubt." Rædis told the smiling students.

      "What are you guys doing tomorrow?" Spackle asked from the edge of Traveler's bed.

      "We are going out cruising on our new bikes." said Traveler. "I'm actually looking forward to it." he admitted.

He then stretched and yawned. "Speaking of tomorrow, we all better get some rest. Gotta big day comin' up."

The students agreed and thanked their awesome new friends for everything before they filed out of the one room and into the other. Traveler laid back on his bed as Rædis went to the window.

      "You dig her, I can tell." Traveler said to Rædis about Slider Jayne

      "Yeah...I do. Can't lie." the robot said. Traveler lowered the lights in the room and stripped down to his skivvies. "Did you get a suit too?"

      "Ha! I got three." laughed the man.

      "That was really nice of you. Outfitting the kids like that." Rædis said turning from the window to look at his friend. His eyes shone brightly in the darkened room.

      "They're a great little group. I want them to have an amazing time while they're here. When I was in school, and a little bit younger then they are I was in a club that took a similar trip once. It could have been a lot more fun than it was 'an I guess I just want them to have the kind of fun I could have had. I just didn't happen to meet two time travelers to help me do it." Traveler said as he got under his comforter.

      "What kind of club?" asked Rædis.

      "It kind of modeled a loose world governing organization that used to exist on Earth back in my day."

      "No shit, really? You? I can't imagine you being interested in global politics." said Rædis with a smile.

      "Yeah well, I'd have done anything to make those days more interesting and to get out of as much regular class as possible. We did a similar thing at the end of that school year. Dressed up in nice suits, stayed in a cool hotel and had mock sessions of the actual governing body. It was neat." said Traveler as he pulled the comforter over his head.

    Rædis switched the room's view screen on and watched the news to see how the first day of the world sale went and to learn more about the organization that was trying to buy it. He would have talked more to Traveler about his evening but knew that when his friend pulled a blanket over his head that he was basically done for the day. He sat happily at the desk, picked through the plates of food and watched TV while he played back his wonderful meeting repeatedly in his brain.

    In the room next door the students had all showered, changed and readied their great new outfits for the next day.

    "I can't believe how cool those two dudes are." Spackle said as he prepared his bed on the room's couch. He and Bentley had agreed to switch back and forth each night while the girls had no problem sharing the other big bed that made up the two in the room. Although there was considerable attraction from half of the group towards the other it was still too early in the trip for the interested students to make their move on the ones they desired.

       Cheryl Shine was sitting on the edge of the bed she was sharing with Clash making a video entry of the day's events at the conference. All four of the students were determined to not only get the best grade possible for their project but to also produce an actual historical record of this world changing event.

      Cheryl Shine had been in the school's video production classes since she her first year in attendance and was highly adept at the aspects of what she had been learning for the past four years. 

      Spackle was already in his bed watching the same news Rædis was in the other room. He studied the production aspect of the broadcast.

      "I think we can produce a much more quality product than even these professional news shows." he said to Cheryl Shine. She paused her recording.

      "Not if you keep interrupting me while I'm trying to make this recording." she said and tossed a pillow at his head. He laughed and threw it back to her.

      "It was awesome that Traveler got us dinner and even drinks." said Clash from her side of the bed. "What did you guys think of them?" she asked her classmates.

      "I think I'm going to sleep really good." said Bentley from the couch. They all agreed and it wasn't long after  they switched off the lights all fell soundly asleep for the night.

Traveler awoke before dawn the next day and took a shower for an hour. He came out of the bathroom dressed for their first ride.

      "Well? How do I look?" said he with the cheesiest of grins.

      "Totally absurd." Rædis said sitting at the window watching the sun rise over the city. "Still, I don't know anyone else that can pull off day-glow orange and blue as well as you so, well done...I guess."

      Traveler looked down at himself.

      "Whatever man. I look totally rad. Get ready to ride, pal. I'm stoked."

      Rædis got up and donned his own, much more subdued riding suit. While he was doing this Traveler phoned next door to their friends. Clash stuck an arm out from under her comforter, picked up the phone and spoke quietly into it.

      "What's up?" she said after a sleepy pause to summon up speech.

      "G'morning. It's Traveler. Me 'an Ræ are going out for a ride on our cool new bikes. We'll check in with ya's later. Have fun at the world sale today. Er...how ya feeling? Didn't drink too much, I hope." Clash, who was a bit of a partier and had drank way more than she had done the previous night was merely drowsy.

      "Mmmm...I'm tip top. We will. Thanks again for the clothes." she said and hung up, keeping the call brief. Traveler replaced the reciever in its cradle.

      "You want to get something to eat before we set out?" asked Rædis as he zipped up his padded riding suit.

      "Nah. Let's hit the road. I'm sure we'll come across a place to get a bite somewhere along our route." Traveler said as he grabbed his helmet.

      When Rædis was ready to go they left the room and rode the lift to the lobby. It was crowded with people who were on their way to the conference. They looked at the odd pair like they were from another planet which of course, they were.

      "I hope you didn't over indulge our new friends last night." Rædis commented.

      "Nah. They'll be fine. Cheryl Shine told me last night that they're bent on getting top marks on this project. I have total faith in them." said Traveler.

      Rædis looked at him as the lift reached the parking level and they walked to the motorcycle rack.

      "You've really taken a liking to this little group, haven't you?" he asked.

      "I have." said Traveler with a wistful smile. "It is my hope that in befriending them we somehow inspire them to greatness. I've even thought about maybe revealing to them what we really are and where we came from. I think it would further encourage them to believe that anything is possible."

      "That is very cool of you, my friend. Almost paternal in its sentiment." Rædis said with a smile. Traveler laughed at this.

      "Cripes...imagine me as a parent! Holy crap, that'd be wild."

      "I think you'd be a cool dad." said Rædis.

      "Damned right I'd be!" said the man. "The real question is who would be cool enough to raise children with me."

       Rædis thought about this for a second.

    "Now that, is a good question."

    They both laughed as they reached their bikes and unlocked them from the rack with their room key.

    Traveler pressed his helmet down over his head and switched his bike on. Once Rædis did the same he checked their comms.

    "Ready to roll?" he asked. His voice came through in Rædis' helmet.

    "Oh yeah." the robot replied.

    "You first. Pick a good direction and I'll follow. The way out is that way." Traveler pointed toward where the exit was in case his friend was unsure. Rædis rode in that direction and they emerged into the post dawn glow of a glorious day. He then struck out in the reverse of the general direction they came into the city from and after about half an hour of morning traffic they were on were on a nearly empty stretch of smooth, straight asphalt.

    The two laced around slower moving vehicles at a gently increasing velocity. The buildings grew shorter and began thinning out as the city receded and they drew closer to the line where they ended and the open road began.

    "All right! Let's open up the taps on our new toys a little." urged Rædis.

Traveler, who was riding comfortably beside him quickly fell behind as the robot surged ahead in a burst of speed. He took a deep breath, readjusted his grip on the handlebars and gave his bike some more juice. He was prepared for the instantaneous speed the bike delivered and after hunkering down a bit against the wind, sped to catch up to his friend.

      If he could have seen himself he would have realized he was grinning like a lunatic and actually enjoying himself. The highway leading out of the city was much more free of other vehicles  than the incoming lanes as the city this week was the planetary place to be so the boys pretty much had free reign over the road.

      As Traveler's confidence in his ability increased and his feel for his machine grew more acute, he caught up with Rædis.

      He looked over at his friend. Rædis could see his reflection in Traveler's mirrored visor. He loved the way he looked on his motorcycle. Traveler admired his own reflection in Rædis' visor and felt the same. They began to jockey from lane to lane and dance around one another in frequent and ever daring bursts of speed.

      "Told you this would be fun." said Rædis into his helmet mic.

      "Shush! Don't wreck this for me. I'm concentrating." Traveler replied. Rædis laughed and they raced on for another two hours. It didn't take long for Traveler to get a good feel for his machine. When they finally pulled off the road for a rest they pulled up next to each other and swung themselves off their bike.

      Traveler pulled his helmet off his head and took several deep breaths of the fresh, clean air of the planet.

      "Man, even on theses well balanced machines it takes some physical effort to ride these things" said he. "I'm hungry. He then proceeded to execute a series of stretches. "C'mon... Let's mount up and get back to the time machine. I'm pretty sure these will fit through the door but I want to try it just to be sure."

      "Up for a race to it?" Rædis asked in an antagonistic manner. Traveler, who normally would never turn down such a challenge reluctantly had to this time.

      "Maybe on the way back to the city. I'm too tired and it would be too easy a win for you." he said with a sigh.

      "Fair enough." Rædis said with a pause then added under his breath: "Wuss." Traveler pretended not to hear this and when they mounted up again, took off quickly, taking his friend by surprise. "You bastard. I should have expected that." he said into his helmet as he raced after his friend.

      "Yyp." said Traveler as he swung around a slower moving family mobile gaining awed looks from the two little kids strapped in the back. He waved to them before hunching over the bike and pouring on some speed.

      Not long after that they reached the time machine. It was sitting where they left it being completely ignored by the few people parked near it enjoying a rest of their near their vehicles.

     "Too tired to race, huh? I can't believe I fell for that." said Rædis.

      "I didn't think you would." laughed his friend, flipping up the visor of his helmet. "Right. Now let's see if these silly machines are worth what we got them for in the first place."

      He took his glove off and pressed his palm against the spot where the door of the machine was. It popped out and slid open. Traveler pushed his motorcycle up to the door and looked towards his friend.

      "Little help here, please?" he asked. Rædis got off his bike and helped Traveler lift it up the short distance until they were able to wheel the entire machine into the airlock area of the time machine.

      In it's current configuration there was only room enough to fit one bike completely inside. Traveler looked at the bikes and pondered this.

      "Hmmm...just as I thought. I'll have to reconfigure the inside dimensions to accommodate both bikes but I believe we've solved the problem of not having something to travel with whenever we arrive in some of the places we do. Of course there are many variables to consider." the man said.

"I've been practicing looking through various aspects of the spectrum as well as using my macro and microscopic vision in greater detail. It's terribly useful." Rædis said with a smile.

      "Indeed." replied his friend. As they continued to walk to the motorcycle dealership Rædis used his visual acuity to reveal more evidence of what the students meant by the stagnation of their world. He not only saw it in the technology but in their art and design, as well. Rædis was quite an authority on these things and being able to travel in time had exposed the endlessly curious machine to a vast array of artistic movements and styles.

      One of his favorite things was connecting these movement to each other across certain times on numerous worlds. From what he could surmise, based on even the limited observations he could make walking down the street they were on was that very little in the way of artistic design had changed within the city for a very long time.

      Again, it was more evidence of a culture that, once a certain level of creativity had been reached, any deviations or innovations in style had been abandoned.

      "I wonder what the music is like in this place." he said to Traveler. Traveler was an avid producer of many styles of music across the ages. He had been  in many bands, produced numerous popular acts on several worlds in various times and was very nearly a successful a musician as he was a racing driver.

      "Now there is an interesting thought. I reckon it's something like listening to the same, safe pop music radio station for generations. Ugh..." he said as he made a disdainful face. "Look, I know this was supposed to be a vacation but what do you say we maybe-."

       Rædis knew exactly what his friend was about to propose and deliberately cut him off before he could suggest it aloud.

      "No. Absolutely not. We are not here to trigger any kind of cultural revolution or kick off some sort of renaissance period for the people of this planet. That is for them to do on their own. The students, for example are well aware of the need for change.

      I mean, the whole planet is about to enact measures to stimulate progression and change. We, are on vacation, mate!"

      Rædis' words and expression said he was serious and he would be inflexible when it came to his position on what they were doing here on this world at this time. "It sounds more to me like you're attempting any means to avoid riding a motorcycle." Rædis teased him with a jab in his bicep.

    "No! That's not it. I just thought that, y'know...with all we've seen and done-."

    "No! We're getting some cool bikes and going on a cruise." said Rædis, interrupting his friend again. His manner basically closed off further debate on the matter.

    "All right, all right! I got it. We're on vacation." said Traveler with a chuckle. After another block, they reached the dealership. Rædis' eyes lit up with silvery glee when he saw the ranks of dope looking motorcycles on display.

    "Hee-hee! C'mon!" he said, nearly skipping like a kid across the street to the store. Traveler followed at a less enthusiastic pace. Once before entering the showroom Rædis walked down a line of the two wheeled machines. He ran his hand over the contours of the bikes and delighted in the variety from which they had to choose.

    There were sleek racing bikes with fat rear tires and seats designed to conform the rider to the bike, large comfortable cruisers for long trips with more laid back seating positions and long, curved handlebars. These bikes had numerous compartments for storage and beautiful chrome tailpipes that arced from their engines at artful angles. There were even numerous models with side cars for both passengers and gear.

     The colors of the many motorcycles on display looked like candy to the robot and he loved it. Traveler stopped before a particularly viscous looking racing bike and studied it with his arms crossed. A saleswoman watched the pair as she wiped a glossy red fuel tank of one of the bikes with a lint free cloth.

The two rapidly weaved their way through the throng to the hotels doors and exited into a busy and bustling avenue. All manner of people were moving around, going about their daily business. Unlike the smoothly flowing air traffic Traveler observed earlier, however, the ground vehicles were having a much slower go at getting around.

      Yet, despite the volume, it moved in orderly, patient patterns at the command of the signal lights that arced above the streets. There was no honking of horns to pepper the concerto of electric engines that generated a drone like a large choir of electric monks as they rose and fell in pitch under the direction of the lights. Every so often, some beats and bass could be heard emanating from various vehicles.

      The people themselves moved purposefully yet curtiously along the pavement generating a hum of their own that was much more lively than the sound of the vehicles. They chatted in groups or on devices as they hurried here and there and despite his aversion to crowds, Traveler did not feel claustrophobic or put off by all the people.

      He reckoned it was the pace of their movement that kept him from growing uncomfortable among the crowd. All moved along with confident, dexterous strides and more than a few attracted his eye with their fashion sensibilities.

      "I like this place." he said happily to his friend.

      "So do I." Rædis concurred. "C'mon, the bike shop's this way." He put his hands in his pockets and began walking in the completely wrong direction. Traveler caught him by the collar and spun him around.

      "No...it's this way. I memorized the route before we left." he said, highlighting his friend's astoundingly awful sense of direction.

      "Ah. Yes...of course it is." said Rædis, tugging his jacket back into place and proceeding the proper way.

      Both of them merged seamlessly with the crowd of chatty, smiling citizens. They rarely had been among a more pleasant metropolis and the

 further they walked the more impressed they were. There wasn't a frowning face on anyone they saw and both of them, despite their all black attire received many flirtatious looks from passing females and even a few males.

       As it was obvious to the citizens in the street that they were not of their planet, the boys got a lot of 'hellos' and 'welcomes' from the people they passed. Neither of them could help but smile themselves as they made their way to the bike dealer.

      The streets themselves were lined with thin trunked trees that opened up to shade the walkways with dense umbrellas of small ovular leaves. At night, the leaves of these trees gave off a soft yellow/green bioluminescence that served to light the paths. When wind would loose the leaves from the trees they would flicker as they fell producing quite a dazzling display that even those who lived within the city and saw it happen all the time never tired of the effect.

      The two friends passed many eateries with outdoor seating. Good smells eminated from these places.

      "We should definitely stop for a bite to eat when the time is right." Traveler said. Rædis agreed, always eager to sample new food and drink.

      "Absolutely!" agreed Rædis as they passed one of these restaurants.  A chef was tending a grill out on a patio. Flames leapt around grilling meats and colorful vegetables skewered on wooden sticks. Interesting looking drinks were being served if artfully designed glasses and metal containers. Very few things they saw looked disposable or not able to be reused.

      "This city looks pretty amazing, man. Like, they really got their shit together. What did the students say was the problem again?" Traveler asked.

      "They said that their civilization, as prosperous as it is, has stagnated. Something like there has been no technological or cultural advancement for generations. They just got themselves to a sustainable level and left it at that." answered his friend.

      Traveler thought about the pros and cons of this type of cultural development.

He looked around him at the people, the buildings, their cars...

They have a pretty good thing going for them, it seemed. He then thought it probably would have been a little wiser to talk to the students for a bit before they set out just to get a better idea of what they were walking into.

      "Maybe we should have talked to the students for a bit before we set out." Rædis said at that moment. "Y'know...just to get a better idea of what we're walking into."

      Irritated by this, Traveler looked sideways at his friend and replied:

      "Fuck that. We are experienced time travelers. We can walk into just about any when and look like we're exactly where we're supposed to be." He put his sunglasses on and went back to looking around and thinking.   

      Rædis smirked at his response but could tell his friend was thinking and left him to his thoughts while he too studied their surroundings.

      Traveler returned his focus primarily on the people around them. After two decades of moving freely in time one thing he really did get a feel for was how to gauge groups. On the surface the people around them were polite, apparently happy and seem to have figured out how to manage themselves cleanly and with great civility within their city.

      However, under the surface, he could sense a restlessness. There was a certain tension among the citizens. He could feel a desire that was overtaking generations of boredom and complacency. Nothing was new in the sense that there wasn't  any advancement or innovation. Sure you could buy a new car or build a new building but it would be the same model that had been being made for decades and the building would be of the same style that buildings had always been.

      It's as if once this civilization had achieved the clean, comfortable state that currently existed, the people of the world at this time had just collectively decided that this was as good as it was going to get and gave up going for more. This had its pros certainly but it definitely had its downside, as well. Traveler shared his thoughts with Rædis. The robot looked at his friend.

      "Wow. You can tell all that just by looking around? In all of our travels together I had no idea your sociological sensitivity had grown so acute." Rædis paused for a moment and took a slower, more detailed look at where they were. With his more advanced visual abilities he picked the oldest looking vehicle he saw among the line of stopped traffic in the street next to them.

      He examined its paint and the composite material it was made from at a spot behind the rear wheel closest to him where the paint had begun to wear away around an old scratch from the thing's past.

      Approaching the car, he took a knee and looked around its wheel, visible suspension and braking components then finally, under the machine. Once the car began rolling again he searched the passing parade of traffic for the newest vehicle that was most similar to the one he had just studied and repeated his observations.

      "Well I'll be damned." said he as he stood back up and brushed his knees with his palms. "That was merely a very basic examination but the vehicles were at least 25 Earth years apart yet everything from the paint to the composition of their body and frame are the same. Even the materials their tires are made from is only marginally different. The newer tire was made to run optimally in colder temperatures.

      Of course this was just a random sampling of single example of very common pieces of tech but I see where yer goin' with this." said Rædis.

      "Well, yeah. That and it's what the students said was the reason for the world sale. To stimulate the advancement of the culture." Traveler said. "Say...when did you get so good at determining things like the age of objects and what they are made of 'an stuff?" he asked as he took the opportunity to light a cigarette while they were stopped. He did this using an ancient Bic lighter he found recently in a jacket pocket while reorganizing one of his many closets.

"I've been practicing looking through various aspects of the spectrum as well as using my macro and microscopic vision in greater detail. It's terribly useful." Rædis said with a smile.

      "Indeed." replied his friend. As they continued to walk to the motorcycle dealership Rædis used his visual acuity to reveal more evidence of what the students meant by the stagnation of their world. He not only saw it in the technology but in their art and design, as well. Rædis was quite an authority on these things and being able to travel in time had exposed the endlessly curious machine to a vast array of artistic movements and styles.

      One of his favorite things was connecting these movement to each other across certain times on numerous worlds. From what he could surmise, based on even the limited observations he could make walking down the street they were on was that very little in the way of artistic design had changed within the city for a very long time.

      Again, it was more evidence of a culture that, once a certain level of creativity had been reached, any deviations or innovations in style had been abandoned.

      "I wonder what the music is like in this place." he said to Traveler. Traveler was an avid producer of many styles of music across the ages. He had been  in many bands, produced numerous popular acts on several worlds in various times and was very nearly a successful a musician as he was a racing driver.

      "Now there is an interesting thought. I reckon it's something like listening to the same, safe pop music radio station for generations. Ugh..." he said as he made a disdainful face. "Look, I know this was supposed to be a vacation but what do you say we maybe-."

       Rædis knew exactly what his friend was about to propose and deliberately cut him off before he could suggest it aloud.

      "No. Absolutely not. We are not here to trigger any kind of cultural revolution or kick off some sort of renaissance period for the people of this planet. That is for them to do on their own. The students, for example are well aware of the need for change.

      I mean, the whole planet is about to enact measures to stimulate progression and change. We, are on vacation, mate!"

      Rædis' words and expression said he was serious and he would be inflexible when it came to his position on what they were doing here on this world at this time. "It sounds more to me like you're attempting any means to avoid riding a motorcycle." Rædis teased him with a jab in his bicep.

    "No! That's not it. I just thought that, y'know...with all we've seen and done-."

    "No! We're getting some cool bikes and going on a cruise." said Rædis, interrupting his friend again. His manner basically closed off further debate on the matter.

    "All right, all right! I got it. We're on vacation." said Traveler with a chuckle. After another block, they reached the dealership. Rædis' eyes lit up with silvery glee when he saw the ranks of dope looking motorcycles on display.

    "Hee-hee! C'mon!" he said, nearly skipping like a kid across the street to the store. Traveler followed at a less enthusiastic pace. Once before entering the showroom Rædis walked down a line of the two wheeled machines. He ran his hand over the contours of the bikes and delighted in the variety from which they had to choose.

    There were sleek racing bikes with fat rear tires and seats designed to conform the rider to the bike, large comfortable cruisers for long trips with more laid back seating positions and long, curved handlebars. These bikes had numerous compartments for storage and beautiful chrome tailpipes that arced from their engines at artful angles. There were even numerous models with side cars for both passengers and gear.

     The colors of the many motorcycles on display looked like candy to the robot and he loved it. Traveler stopped before a particularly viscous looking racing bike and studied it with his arms crossed. A saleswoman watched the pair as she wiped a glossy red fuel tank of one of the bikes with a lint free cloth.

"I found two cruiser style bikes I like the look of." he said and rotated the desk's screen for him to look at. Traveler shifted his eyes toward the reflection of the large screen on the window but didn't actually turn himself from the impressive view.

      The planet's single, Earthlike sun was setting off to the right in the window. Apparently this city was perched on the edge of a large lake or small sea into which the sun was sinking. Traveler never tired of seeing a sunset especially on a world he had never been to. He sometimes said when watching one that you never know if it was going to be the last one you'll ever see. He savored every second of a sunset. Rædis knew this about his friend and when he realized what was happening he joined him at the large window. He leaned on it in a casual stance with his arm bent above his head.

      Together they watched in silence until the last rays of the planet's sole star disappeared. The sky had turned a stunning dark orange that faded to a blueish purple and finally into black. The first and brightest stars could be seen high up in the darkest part of the sky. The brightest of them, however, was not a star but the system's other habitable planet. It was the one the two friends had been to before and the world from which the population they were among originated from.

      Its moon could also be seen as a tiny dot hanging very close to the companion world. When the sky had finally turned an inky, star filled scene Traveler turned away from the window.

      "All right, let's have a look at these bikes you want." He looked at the screen at the two machines. Their specs and features were included along with their pictures. "So these are good, huh?" the man asked.

      "Yep. They should do nicely." Rædis said with a reassuring smile.

      "Okay. Tomorrow we'll go 'an pick them up and you can introduce me to the joys of riding these preposterous machines." said Traveler. He picked up the phone and dialed the room next door. After several rings Clash finally picked up.

      "Hello, yes?" she said. She was giggling between her words and in the background he could hear more merriment going on.

      "Just checking on you kids and wanted to tell you what we're up to tomorrow but it sounds like you're all having a good time. Carry on and definitely do stuff I would do."

      "Thanks Traveler. We will call you in the morning. Gotta-" her last word was cut off by either someone tackling her onto a bed or clobbering her with a pillow. Whatever was happening, it knocked the phone from her hand. Traveler hung up.

     "Well, they sound like they're having a good time." Traveler smiled. He went to one of the beds and flopped down onto it. Rædis sent a message to the motorcycle dealership expressing his interest in the two bikes he selected and told them he and his associate would be by to test them out the following day. He went to the other bed, flipped the room's TV on and began surfing the channels.

      Traveler got up.

      "I'm gonna check out the shower for a bit." he told Rædis and disappeared into the bathroom. He would not emerge for an hour and a half. When he did, he ransacked the kitchen area and returned to his bed with a mighty sandwich and another one of those great sodas. He brought one for Rædis and tossed it to him. The robot caught it without looking and after sampling the drink approved of its fruity flavor.

      Traveler motored through his sandwich and brushed the crumbs off the comforter when he was done.

      "I'm gonna get some sleep, mate. Tomorrow we'll go test those bikes. I'm actually looking forward to it." he said. Rædis gave him a luminous look of incredulity. "No, seriously. It'll be fun. Everything we do together is fun." Rædis gave him another look. Traveler laughed. "Okay...most of the things we do together is fun."

      Rædis smiled.

      "Good night, Trav." he said and dimmed his eyes in what was his equivalent of a 'night mode'. He found a mystery movie marathon on the TV and absorbed himself in it while his friend slept.

Traveler never slept for very long unless there was something wrong with him and after four hours was awake again. There were still hours left before dawn. He was wearing the thick hotel bathrobe he had put on after his shower and slept in. Rædis was on the third movie of the mystery marathon. As it was just beginning, he decided to watch it.

      The movie was unique as far as mysteries go because the criminal, crime and how it's done is revealed at the beginning and the story follows the detective as he pieces together the discrepancies and mistakes the murderer made until the detective nails him at the end.

      The detective himself was a cool character and not your typical cop or private eye. He was a disheveled policeman who Rædis said always wore the same outfit. Rather than be tough or intimidating, the guy pretended to be absent minded and weird but was secretly brilliant.

      The thing Traveler liked about him best was the vintage vehicle he hovered around in from scene to scene.

      "I wonder if that was ever a real vehicle or if they made it up for the movie?" he asked.

      "Don't know but I like how everyone makes fun of it." said Rædis. "I've been studying its design whenever it's on screen. I want to build a replica of it for us."

      "Ha! Good idea. We can race it against the Dodge Diplomat." laughed Traveler. After the film Traveler took another but much shorter shower and came out of the bathroom fully dressed. He then made himself more food from the fridge. By the time he was done eating and after another film featuring the same detective it began to grow light outside. He went to the window to watch the sun rise over the city.

      As it was behind their position all he saw was the lights of the lit up buildings fade and the sky transition from black to a predawn purple and finally to a warm red in another cloudless sky.

      The air traffic around the city intensified as the sky lanes filled with the morning rush. This was day one of the world sale and there was an almost visible excitement in the fluid motion of the air going vehicles.

      "Big day for this planet." Rædis commented as he tugged on his black jacket.

      "Yep. For me, as well. You get to see me ride a motorcycle." Traveler said as he went to the drinks dispenser in the little kitchen and got himself a cup of some kind tea. It was dark blue and packed a wallop of a stimulating effect that he began to feel after only half a cup. "Yow! This shit is strong." he said of the drink before downing the rest. "I'm totally ready for this. Let's be off."

      "You wanna check on the kids?" Rædis asked.

      "No..." laughed Traveler. "We aren't their chaperones. We'll catch up with them later. C'mon...I wanna ride bikes." he said with an excitement that encouraged his friend.

      "Fantastic!" said Rædis. They left the room and hit the streets.

    The last race they ran in was a rally that involved a 'public transportation' stage that required the pair taking a lengthy train ride to reach the following leg of the contest. Rædis hated the train ride and really the whole idea of public transportation. Were it not for a savvy sports journalist they met on the train he would have been a miserable bastard for the entire trip.

    She, however, was able to raise his spirits and even did a separate exposé on the two and their team for her network. Nevertheless, the robot was opposed to taking any sort of bus, train, cab or any vehicle he himself was not in control of. Traveler did not mind this as the motorcycle dealership was only five kilometers from their hotel, it was a fine day out and the walk would give him a good chance to observe a city in a time he had never been to.

    They rode the lift to the lobby. The doors opened to reveal a multitude of travelers checking in, waiting about for transport and preparing for the world sale. Many were headed to the restaurant off to the side of the lobby. A delicious smell wafted from the area overpowering the mixed and conflicting scents of the various people milling about.

      "I found two cruiser style bikes I like the look of." he said and rotated the desk's screen for him to look at. Traveler shifted his eyes toward the reflection of the large screen on the window but didn't actually turn himself from the impressive view.

      The planet's single, Earthlike sun was setting off to the right in the window. Apparently this city was perched on the edge of a large lake or small sea into which the sun was sinking. Traveler never tired of seeing a sunset especially on a world he had never been to. He sometimes said when watching one that you never know if it was going to be the last one you'll ever see. He savored every second of a sunset. Rædis knew this about his friend and when he realized what was happening he joined him at the large window. He leaned on it in a casual stance with his arm bent above his head.

      Together they watched in silence until the last rays of the planet's sole star disappeared. The sky had turned a stunning dark orange that faded to a blueish purple and finally into black. The first and brightest stars could be seen high up in the darkest part of the sky. The brightest of them, however, was not a star but the system's other habitable planet. It was the one the two friends had been to before and the world from which the population they were among originated from.

      Its moon could also be seen as a tiny dot hanging very close to the companion world. When the sky had finally turned an inky, star filled scene Traveler turned away from the window.

      "All right, let's have a look at these bikes you want." He looked at the screen at the two machines. Their specs and features were included along with their pictures. "So these are good, huh?" the man asked.

      "Yep. They should do nicely." Rædis said with a reassuring smile.

      "Okay. Tomorrow we'll go 'an pick them up and you can introduce me to the joys of riding these preposterous machines." said Traveler. He picked up the phone and dialed the room next door. After several rings Clash finally picked up.

      "Hello, yes?" she said. She was giggling between her words and in the background he could hear more merriment going on.

      "Just checking on you kids and wanted to tell you what we're up to tomorrow but it sounds like you're all having a good time. Carry on and definitely do stuff I would do."

      "Thanks Traveler. We will call you in the morning. Gotta-" her last word was cut off by either someone tackling her onto a bed or clobbering her with a pillow. Whatever was happening, it knocked the phone from her hand. Traveler hung up.

     "Well, they sound like they're having a good time." Traveler smiled. He went to one of the beds and flopped down onto it. Rædis sent a message to the motorcycle dealership expressing his interest in the two bikes he selected and told them he and his associate would be by to test them out the following day. He went to the other bed, flipped the room's TV on and began surfing the channels.

      Traveler got up.

      "I'm gonna check out the shower for a bit." he told Rædis and disappeared into the bathroom. He would not emerge for an hour and a half. When he did, he ransacked the kitchen area and returned to his bed with a mighty sandwich and another one of those great sodas. He brought one for Rædis and tossed it to him. The robot caught it without looking and after sampling the drink approved of its fruity flavor.

      Traveler motored through his sandwich and brushed the crumbs off the comforter when he was done.

      "I'm gonna get some sleep, mate. Tomorrow we'll go test those bikes. I'm actually looking forward to it." he said. Rædis gave him a luminous look of incredulity. "No, seriously. It'll be fun. Everything we do together is fun." Rædis gave him another look. Traveler laughed. "Okay...most of the things we do together is fun."

      Rædis smiled.

      "Good night, Trav." he said and dimmed his eyes in what was his equivalent of a 'night mode'. He found a mystery movie marathon on the TV and absorbed himself in it while his friend slept.

The two rapidly weaved their way through the throng to the hotels doors and exited into a busy and bustling avenue. All manner of people were moving around, going about their daily business. Unlike the smoothly flowing air traffic Traveler observed earlier, however, the ground vehicles were having a much slower go at getting around.

      Yet, despite the volume, it moved in orderly, patient patterns at the command of the signal lights that arced above the streets. There was no honking of horns to pepper the concerto of electric engines that generated a drone like a large choir of electric monks as they rose and fell in pitch under the direction of the lights. Every so often, some beats and bass could be heard emanating from various vehicles.

      The people themselves moved purposefully yet curtiously along the pavement generating a hum of their own that was much more lively than the sound of the vehicles. They chatted in groups or on devices as they hurried here and there and despite his aversion to crowds, Traveler did not feel claustrophobic or put off by all the people.

      He reckoned it was the pace of their movement that kept him from growing uncomfortable among the crowd. All moved along with confident, dexterous strides and more than a few attracted his eye with their fashion sensibilities.

      "I like this place." he said happily to his friend.

      "So do I." Rædis concurred. "C'mon, the bike shop's this way." He put his hands in his pockets and began walking in the completely wrong direction. Traveler caught him by the collar and spun him around.

      "No...it's this way. I memorized the route before we left." he said, highlighting his friend's astoundingly awful sense of direction.

      "Ah. Yes...of course it is." said Rædis, tugging his jacket back into place and proceeding the proper way.

      Both of them merged seamlessly with the crowd of chatty, smiling citizens. They rarely had been among a more pleasant metropolis and the

 further they walked the more impressed they were. There wasn't a frowning face on anyone they saw and both of them, despite their all black attire received many flirtatious looks from passing females and even a few males.

       As it was obvious to the citizens in the street that they were not of their planet, the boys got a lot of 'hellos' and 'welcomes' from the people they passed. Neither of them could help but smile themselves as they made their way to the bike dealer.

      The streets themselves were lined with thin trunked trees that opened up to shade the walkways with dense umbrellas of small ovular leaves. At night, the leaves of these trees gave off a soft yellow/green bioluminescence that served to light the paths. When wind would loose the leaves from the trees they would flicker as they fell producing quite a dazzling display that even those who lived within the city and saw it happen all the time never tired of the effect.

      The two friends passed many eateries with outdoor seating. Good smells eminated from these places.

      "We should definitely stop for a bite to eat when the time is right." Traveler said. Rædis agreed, always eager to sample new food and drink.

      "Absolutely!" agreed Rædis as they passed one of these restaurants.  A chef was tending a grill out on a patio. Flames leapt around grilling meats and colorful vegetables skewered on wooden sticks. Interesting looking drinks were being served if artfully designed glasses and metal containers. Very few things they saw looked disposable or not able to be reused.

      "This city looks pretty amazing, man. Like, they really got their shit together. What did the students say was the problem again?" Traveler asked.

      "They said that their civilization, as prosperous as it is, has stagnated. Something like there has been no technological or cultural advancement for generations. They just got themselves to a sustainable level and left it at that." answered his friend.

      Traveler thought about the pros and cons of this type of cultural development.

(After some delay...)

...with what the gesture meant. Traveler filled him in and Bentley thought it pretty cool so he clinked the edge of his can to Tevaler's happy to have learnt a bit of the stranger's culture. Traveler took an experimental sip of the drink and after finding it delightfully palatable, took a much larger one.

      "Pretty good, this." he said.

      "Wait until it's stimulating effects kick in." Bentley said with a smile. "It's the perfect road trip beverage."

      Traveler drank down the rest of the can, eager to discover what the kid was talking about.

       The rest of the classmates were all stretching and looking about at where they were. The city loomed much larger on the horizon and as they entered its suburbs more buildings began to spring up here and there at exits along the highway they were on. As Rædis examined the layout of the land around them he began to remark on the logic of the manner in which it was all designed.

      "I like the way this world planned their suburban development. It all seems very logical and convenient. There's also a kind of aesthetic beauty to its deliberate planned look."

      Clash joined him by his side as he surveyed their surroundings.

      "What does your homeworld look like?" she asked, eager to learn more about this amazing hitchhiker her and her friends were thoughtful enough to pick up.

      "Hmmm...think of my world as a giant hard drive moving through space. It's very dark, very cold and my people exist more as pure information  than actual, physical beings. It doesn't remain in one system, my planet. It travels around the galaxy, exploring regions that even I have difficulty imagining and I'm from them." Rædis explained to her. She was captivated. Her blue eyes were wide with wonder and curiosity.

      "Tell me more. If you don't mind, that is." said she. He was happy to oblige her eager young mind.

      "Well you see, my kind is an over a billion years old collective. At some point in our history my machine ancestors figured out how to produce and harness tremendous amounts of energy. After that, they either augmented or built an entirely new planet that could be unmoored from a star system and free to explore the cosmos as they wished."

      As he spoke he took a cigarette from his jacket and sparked it to life by squeezing the filter tip. The opposite end began to smolder. He placed it between his lips and took a drag. Rædis did not offer the girl one nor did she ask. She simply watched him perform an action that, up until now, she had never seen a robot, even really advanced ones, ever do. The novelty of it made her smile. He continued...

      "My race is a very reclusive one and prefer not to associate with other life forms. They like to watch and learn from a distance or, when circumstances dictate, release very small, microscopic machines into an environment to collect information. They could explore whole worlds without anyone being the wiser."

      "Well that's a pretty clever way of going about exploring if you're the antisocial type. So what makes you different? Besides having a physical body, what made you want to leave this giant collective and strike out on your own?"

      Rædis liked how quickly she grasped concepts and the questions she posed.

      "You ask very astute questions, Clash, I must say. Quite the clever girl. Love your jacket, by the way."

      Rædis continued to explain to the student more about himself and how he and Traveler became friends. He did all this while creatively omitting any hint of time travel. One of the many things he learnt from his best friend over time was how to tell a good story.

      Back at the car, Spackle was checking under the hood, the pressure in the tires and other essentials of lengthy road journeys. Traveler admired his mechanical attention. He and Bentley joined him and offered to help.

      "You know of vehicles?" Spackle asked Traveler. The older man laughed.

       "I certainly do, my young friend! You see, when not hoofing it across ...an alien planet on which is supposed to be a vacation, me 'an Rædis are racing drivers as well as accomplished space racers."

      Both boys looked at the older man with surprise and delight.

      "No way, for real!?" Spackle said. His companion choked down the mouthful of soda he had before coughing out a "Wooow!" of his own.

      "Absolutely my young friends. As well as driving we also have a pretty good grasp of the mechanics of racing, as well. For example...check this out."

      Even though the vehicle he was faced with was several hundred years into his future, Traveler was experienced enough with motorized technology across many millennia of development. He was familiar with the power and drive systems of Spackle's car.

      "Is this your first car?" he asked the kid.

      "Yes! It is. I worked and saved for an entire year to obtain it." he said proudly. "It had very low hours on its battery and was well taken care of by its former owners.

       They were an older couple who had given up driving. I managed their property and did work around their house until they felt it was time to hand me over the starter."

      "It is a fine vehicle young Spackle. An excellent choice. I bet your friends all derided you for not opting to go with a newer or sportier model." Traveler observed. Bentley laughed at this.

      "We sure did! We all said he drives an old man's car among other, more distasteful admonishments." Bentley admitted.

      "You guys just didn't realize the value of a truly superior vehicle." Spackle retorted, defending his ride. "My car is virtually maintenance free, in beautiful condition and the old dude who owned it bought it with premium sound, as you damned well have heard."

      All these things were true and Bentley knew it. Spackle's car became known among his friends as his world's version of a 'pimpmobile' and Spackle loved it. Traveler ducked under the hood and began poking around.

      "Do you have your own car, Bentley?" Traveler asked from under the hood.

      "No." came a sheepish reply from the boy. Spackle gave him a smug look.

      "Then when it comes to this superb machine, you can pretty much get bent." There was no confusion from Bentley about what Traveler meant by this expression. "Hey Spackle, c'mere 'an I'll show you something awesome." He ducked out from under the hood and called Rædis over to the car.

      "What's up? Problem?" asked Rædis.

      "Nah. This vehicle is in fine condition. Take a look a look at its powerplant though. Look familiar?" Traveler popped the cover off the compact but powerful electric motor. Rædis studied it for one of his brief mechanical moments and smiled. It was an encouraging smile that Spackle liked the look of.

      "Oh yeah. I remember this type of configuration." he began to laugh as he looked from under the hood to his friend. "That drinks cart didn't stand a chance when you jumped the railing in turn six of that race when when we first used this type of power setup."     

      Clash had followed Rædis over and was delighted to hear him laughing. As if it somehow further the verified the fact that he was actually a living being.

      "Show Spackle what Mr. Bright did to coax a little more power out of the thing." Traveler told Rædis.

      Spackle was thrilled to know his old car was connected to racing in some way even if it was just a version of its electric motor. He ducked in next to Rædis to see what the robot was up to.

      The robot used his strong, nimble fingers to unbolt a few components which he rearranged and connected back up in a way too quickly for Spackle to follow. When he was finished he looked up with a smile.

      "There. When we set off again I think you will be delightfully pleased with what I've done." said Rædis.

      "Uh...what did you do, exactly?" asked Spackle with a perplexed look.

       "I'll explain another time. For now we should get back on the road, yeah?"

       Spackle agreed and once again they all arranged themselves back in the car.

This time, however, Rædis took the passenger seat and Bentley sat in back. They rearranged their spots though so the males and females alternated positions. Clash, who was now sitting next to Traveler, discovered that he wore a wonderful cologne witch had a metallic edge to it she found quite appealing.

      She did not mind being squeezed in next to him for the next stretch of highway. She especially liked when he stretched his arm out behind her across the top of the rear seat.

      Traveler, however, felt uncomfortable, even unnatural about not having a seat belt to secure himself with. He had to ask...

      "Spackle, why are there no rear seat belts in this vehicle?"

      The young man actually had to think about this for a moment. Everyone of his friends who ever rode in the back always just accepted this and none had ever asked. He personally had never ridden in the rear seat of his own car so he never gave it thought.

      "I suppose it was just how this model was produced. It is an old car, after all. Perhaps they were an option?" he shrugged, eyeing Traveler in the rearview mirror.

      "Well, whatever the case be careful 'cause Rædis just did something really cool to your old car." Traveler cautioned him. Up front Rædis buckled himself in and coached the young driver as he set off.

      "All right. Now, before we even get back onto the highway, slowly position us at the back of this parking lot and give yourself a lot of room." instructed Rædis. Spackle did as he was told with great care. Once he had done so and positioned himself free of obstructions such as other vehicles, Rædis told him to gently depress the accelerator.

      "Oh, and everyone brace yourselves." he added. Everyone did and despite Rædis' instructions, Spackle laid into the accelerator with glee. The rear wheels of the car spun in place until they got a bite on the tarmac and launched the old sedan across the parking lot at awesome speed.

      "Holy shit!" Spackle laughed as he came off the pedal and transitioned to the brake. He skillfully slowed them to a stop and turned around smiling ear to ear.

      "Everyone okay?" the kid asked the crew. He faced a smiling, giddy group in the back seat all of which were braced against various parts of the car. Bentley's eyes were wide with delight and the girls were breathless with excitement. 

      "That was incredible!" Bentley managed to say over the giggling girls. Cheryl Shine was speechless while Clash suddenly thought Spackle was a lot cooler than she did just moments ago.

      "Nice stop, man." she said. Traveler and Rædis too were impressed with how well he handled the unexpected burst of speed and brought them to a smooth stop.

      "Yeah, well done kid." said Rædis. "Okay. Now that ya got some feel for it's sensitivity, see if you can gently merge us back onto the highway. Oh, there's one drawback to this increase in power. You're going to have to recharge the batteries more often." he added.

      "Yeah, I figured that. Makes sense, of course." Spackle said. He knew his vehicle inside and out. "Right. Everyone okay? asked he. When he got affirmatives all around he much more gently moved them around the lot towards a power station. Rædis got out and plugged the car into it after hacking some juice out of its meter.

       After a five minute fast recharge they were ready to complete the ride into the city.

      "You kids got a place to stay? I imagine the place is gonna be pretty packed." said Traveler from the back.

      "Yep. We're all set." Bentley replied.

      "Our school set us up with two rooms at a pretty nice hotel right near where the conference is goin' down. We got passes 'an everything." said Clash. "What about you guys?"

      Since neither of them knew what was happening when they arrived on this world at this time they didn't even think about a place to stay. They both had the same thought at the same time that finding one was going to be difficult now that they knew.

~Part 7~

"We really didn't think that far ahead when we set out so we'll have to find a place when we get to the city." Rædis said from the front. Their four companions laughed.

      "Ha! Good luck." Spackle said as he merged seamlessly into traffic. Its volume was increasing dramatically as they drew closer to the city but he was so attuned to his car and the new power it produced he effortlessly laced them through the other vehicles as if they were standing still.

      "You guys should have done a little more research before visiting our planet. Every place to stay in and around the city has been taken since the world sale was announced over a year ago. You guys didn't plan your vacation too good, it seems." said Cheryl Shine from her window seat next to Bentley. "That's probably why you parked whatever you arrived in so far out of the city. There was probably no room for it."

      This was the first allusion any of the students made to how they arrived on the planet. Cheryl Shine continued...

       "I mean, I'm guessing that's how you two got here since we didn't see a vehicle of any sort before we picked you up."

      Clash then got an idea. It stemmed from her increasing attraction to Spackle after his automotive performance minutes ago. She had been secretly harboring a crush on him for a few weeks. It was she that orchestrated his inclusion on this trip by suggesting they could all go in his car which she knew he would be happy to volunteer for.

      The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to make her idea work.

      "What if we all stay in one of our rooms and give the other to our new friends? That works out pretty good, right? What do you think?" she asked the others.

      "I think we can make that work." Bentley said. He too began fantasizing about a possible romantic endeavor with Cheryl Shine. Like Clash, he had this in mind since the trip was first proposed and had been doing his best to arrange the trip to facilitate his machinations involving her since initial planning began.

       Traveler looked around at their young companions. He grinned inwardly knowing damned well from his own experiences that beyond the scope of their project a fair amount of extracurricular, teenaged tom-foolery was also involved in this trip. For fun he decided to help them out.

      "That is a fantastic idea. Very logical. I'm for it. My friend and I thank you for your clever offer. I can see why you four were sent on this mission. You're all very adventurous, smart and adaptable. Useful traits to have in any day and age."

      This made each of the students happy for their own reasons and so the plan was set. Soon they entered the city. It was less of a sprawling metropolis and more of a very deliberately and precisely planned out urban area that was easily navigable. It was, however, as the students said. Jammed packed to capacity with people and vehicles. Their smooth progress grinded to a crawl after entering the clearly defined city limits.

      The students were excited.

      "Wow! This is so awesome. I've never seen the city so packed before." Spackle said as he transitioned from cruising along the highway to inching through the crowded city streets. Signs and decorations adorned most of the buildings heralding and celebrating  the impending world sale. Everyone in the car save for the driver was looking all around at the spectacle.

      "This is incredible." said Cheryl Shine as she began recording everything with a small camera she produced from a pocket in her jacket. Rædis noticed her doing this earlier when they last stopped and he had augmented the motor of Spackle's car while the others were talking to Traveler.

      "This sure is a big event for your world, huh?" Traveler asked. "I hope it works out for everyone."

      "Say...if you guys didn't come here for this event, why did you chose to visit our planet?" Bentley asked.

      "Well, like Traveler said: We're racing drivers, by trade. Only, Traveler here has never ridden a motorcycle before."

"We came here to buy some bikes and do a little exploring. We honestly had no idea such a big thing was going on and right near where we decided to land, too." Rædis said. Bentley appreciated this.

      "Well, we got some pretty awesome motorcycles around here. I'm sure after we get all settled at the hotel you'll have no problem finding a quality dealership." he paused in thought a second then added: "I'd like to have a bike someday. They sure look like fun. And fast!"

     In the back seat Traveler still had his reservations.

    "Yeah...well we'll see. I've driven and flown just about any crazy kind of vehicle you can think of kid and there's a lot about a motorcycle that fails to appeal to me." he said, once again morose about the idea.

     From the front Rædis once again tried to get his friend hip to the idea.

    "Come on, man. I'm tellin' ya, you'll love it."

    "I'll try." was all Traveler offered. After two hours of crawling through traffic the group finally reached their hotel. Spackle swung his car into their reserved parking spot and after grabbing their luggage from the trunk, they went to check in.

      The process took less time than standing in the line of others doing the same thing, however, once they got to their rooms they were impressed with their accomodations.

      "Wow! This is gonna be so much fun!" Cheryl Shine said as she entered her room, filming away with her little camera. She deliberately avoided showing Traveler and Rædis in any shots as best she could much to the chagrin of the time traveler who loved being in front of a camera. She noticed this and told him that she had a separate chip for recording stuff she wasn't going to present to her class which he was cool with.

    The kids ventured further into their room. It was large and consisted of two big beds, a desk, a small seating area and even a little kitchenette with various drinks dispensers, food preparation devices, a small refrigerator/freezer combo and a sink. Various glasses and utensils were also provided.

   "Not too bad you guys. Your school totally hooked you up." Rædis said. He then went next door to what would be he and Traveler's room and after letting himself in with the key card they students gave him saw an identical set-up. Another great thing the rooms featured were huge floor to ceiling windows that gave a magnificent view of the city two dozen floors below them.

    "Not too bad at all." he said again. Traveler entered a moment later.

      "Hee-hee...these kids are gonna have a lot of fun." he said with a big smile on his face. Rædis agreed.

     "I picked up some romantic vibes myself while in the car, as well. I think had we not come along the sleeping situation would have been even more intimate than they have turned out to be." said the robot, also smiling.

    "At least by splitting up the rooms between us we ensured they'll all be together in case things didn't work out quite as the ones with romantic intentions intended." Traveler said.

      "Well, however it goes down, I hope it works out well for the ones who have designs on the other."

    "I'm pretty sure they'll be able to figure out how to make it all work." said Traveler as he went to check out the fridge. Rædis fired up the terminal at the desk and began searching for a place to obtain some motorcycles.  Traveler found a brand of soda in the stocked fridge he had never seen before and pulled out the can. He popped it open and went to the window to check out the city.

    He panned his gaze around the buildings. Most of them were the Earth equivalent of Brutalist architecture where elements of the building's infrastructure were left exposed to see. Unlike Earth Brutalism, they buildings were colorfully lit. Many slowly shifted through the spectrum and moved around the buildings to highlight key features in various colors at properly dramatic times.

      "Nice place." Traveler said, sipping his soda. It had a pleasant fruity flavor he rather enjoyed. Rædis was too absorbed looking at motorcycles, however, to be bothered with the view.