Sitnalta Page 12

Jason looked at Rus and then walked toward the table.

Rus put his hand on the orange sheet.

Jason said, "Don't!"

Rus yanked the sheet off the table. "Oh my God. Is she dead? Did you kill Ellen?"

Rus stared at Ellen's stiff face and her seeming frown. Then Rus stared at Jason. All of a sudden Jason vanished for a second and then was back.

Jason said, "No. She isn't dead. There is a problem with the master brain. I first thought it was just her brain, but it is the master brain. This is now my second time back with you. I screwed up trying to explain things to you last time. You've just got to trust me."

Rus scratched his head. "Say what?"

"I earlier told you that this was the first time I had encountered you in my journey back in spatial time. Well, now it is my second time. We have got to get to the dungeon. We've got to get me out of the dungeon and we've got to get Ellen's daughter out of the dungeon. I don't have time to explain things to you or argue with you. I will tell you that Ellen and her daughter or what we call Thinksters. There has been a screw up in the master brain or computer. Like never having previously encountered you, I had not previously encountered this problem before my last journey. Please trust me. If we don't get to the dungeon in time to save Ellen's daughter Natalina, she will die. If she dies, the master brain will crash and all Thinksters will die. I still haven't quite figured why her death will finish crashing the master computer, but that is what happened. I've got to have your help and without a bunch of questions."

Rus said, "Okay. I guess I'll try to help. What do you want me to do?"

Jason said, "The quickest way to get to the dungeon compound is on horse back and through the marsh. Follow me."

-----Thinkster Explained---------

Thinkster - Carbon based, genetically engineered robots. Besides having a human like brain they also are able to interface with a master computer by wireless communication. Their genetically engineered brain can not function without the master computer. During Jason's previous trip, he had argued with Rus that Thinksters do not have a soul. This disturbed Rus, because Rus was aware of how some people once justified slavery by saying that the slaves were somehow less than human and had no soul. Jason didn't believe Thinksters had a soul because he has the ability to communicate with people in the beyond who have died and he had never been able to communicate with any Thinkster who had died. When the master computer crashed during his previous trip back in spatial time, he realized he was wrong about Thinksters. When the master computer crashed, the Thinkster souls could suddenly communicate with Jason and they were totally pissed.