Extracts

Daydreams

She could handle the memories here, where there was space and light and colour, but she couldn’t handle it at night, alone in her bedroom, even when Effem or Effdee sat with her. That was too much. The blasts and the fire ripped through her mind and scared her more than any silly stories. War scared her more than all the monsters in the universe because it was real.

Jackpot

Suddenly the silence of the booth exploded with noise. Bells rang, hooters hooted and dozens of people gathered around to see what had happened. Lisi sat on the stool, unsure what to do. She expected piles of money to come tumbling into the tray, but nothing appeared, not even a one pence piece.
As suddenly as the noise had begun, it stopped, and just as it stopped, Lisi saw something drop into the collection tray.

Poem

I’ll show you things no man has seen,
I’ll bring you where no being’s been!
I’ll take you where you fear to tread,
And bring you back safe home to bed.

I’ll give you hope where you have none,
And let you see what can be done.
So learn from me, for I am it,
The Fantastic Prismatic Construction Kit!

Magic Arch

When she was out and about, she took more notice of the men and women working on the roads and building sites. She watched them carefully, seeing how they measured everything, never rushing, always so focused. A woman who was foreman at one of these sites saw Lisi staring and had a chat with her, telling her about the different types of bricks and cement and how they made sure everything fitted neatly. Lisi had a million questions, but three or four had to do for the time being. Once again, she would have liked to tell what she was building, but the foreman probably wouldn’t have believed her. If you told someone you were building a magic arch in your bedroom they were bound not to believe you.

Angry Boy

The old lady left and immediately the boy jumped out of bed and stood there, his face screwed up in fierce concentration, then suddenly started banging his fists against his head in sheer frustration. Lisi almost cried out for him to stop but he stopped all by himself and calmed himself.
He hesitated, looked around, then knelt down beneath the bed, searching for something. A few moments later he came up holding a metal tin, locked with an impressively large key. Was this a treasure chest full of gold? Lisi watched, spellbound.

Prism

Laszlo was one of only a few who knew that Lisi called her foster parents Effem and Effdee. He thought it was cute, if strange. He stared at the prism, turning it this way and that. Doubt entered his mind. He had been so sure that Lisi was making everything up, for whatever reason, but this beautiful glass ornament he held in his hands wasn’t ordinary. It was special. He’d seen similar things, but nothing like this. It was warm and felt… well… powerful. How could it be? It was just glass or crystal, but it made him a bit nervous, as if it could explode any moment.

Light

“No it isn’t. It’s full of secrets,” he said. “The biggest secrets in the universe. Can’t you see that?” Neither Lisi nor Laszlo were stupid, but they couldn’t see it at all. “I see God inside,” said Isaac. Laszlo screwed up his nose and thought that the boy was not quite all there. “God as Truth!” said Isaac. “Not the God they tell us about, but the way the world works! I see numbers and angles and geometries,” he cried, holding the prism and looking into it as if he was looking into himself. “Most of all I see light, and light is at the heart of the universe. I want to know what it is, how fast it travels, what it’s made of, where it comes from, where it goes, I want to know everything about it! You,” he said to the two wary listeners, “don’t you also want to learn?”

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