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.There were several ovens cooking things.There were jars and vials and alembics and retorts.But the majority of the chemicals occupied large vats, arranged about the floor in some pattern I did not understand.A massive quantity of dark metal was stacked upon a tarpaulin at the room's center.Annie, in a simple gray frock, stood beside a vat holding a pair of rods which extended from it.She looked our way as we entered, let go the rods and came to me.I held her."I knew you'd come," she said, "today."Von Kempelen looked our way."I know you," he said."You was with the little man—and the monkey."I nodded."I get around." Then, "Come on, Annie, let's get out of here," I told her.She looked to Von Kempelen."Go ahead.You can finish charging it later," he said.I took her out of there and up the stairs and through the halls and gallery and out into the garden, leaving them there below.* * *A long while later, as we lay amid beauty and sunlight, regarding golden trees, I remarked, "So the process involves mesmerism?"Page 152ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlShe nodded, she yawned."It's the secret ingredient in such transmutation on a large scale," she explained, "a special kind of mesmerism.""Oh," I said." 'Special?' In what way?""Other-worldly energy," she replied."There will be a vast flux of it when the door for Poe's return is finally closed.""And that takes place tonight, during the work?""They would like it to,'' she said, "but it shan't.I haven't been keeping it open all this time for their benefit.""You've lost me."She smiled."No, I haven't lost anyone yet.Not even Poe.I plan to give them their gold and get him back, too.The three of us will finally be together, here.""I am not a scientist," I said, "and my training as a mesmerist is far from complete.But even without knowing the mathematics that must prop such matters, I'm sure of one thing: The universe doesn't give you something for nothing.What's the price?"She smiled again."Mr.Ellison does not know that I am aware of his secret," she said."He is from that Earth.Therefore, I can exchange him for Poe andthen close the door.We will be reunited, and Mr.Griswold will be extremely grateful.""I'll bet," I said."This was his idea, wasn't it?""Yes."It was like looking into a maelstrom—things changing constantly as I watched.Would her stratagem prevail? Had Von Kempelen a secret army of homunculi awaiting the appropriate moment, somewhat after midnight of a gold October 7th, to make their move onhis behalf? I was probably the only one involved without a contingency plan.So I kissed her, and, "Tell me more about mesmerism," I said."When the force is as strong as ours there must be special measures for keeping it under control.""Oh, yes," she answered."We must construct our own tools."* * *On that night of all nights in the year, well after midnight, we made our ways into the cavernous cellar of the manse at Arnheim to commence the transmutation.The private armies of Seabright Ellison and the men he had dubbed the Unholy Trinity faced each other across the length of the laboratory.There were perhaps forty on each of two sides.Each man bore a rifle and wore a brace of pistols; and there were plenty of edged weapons in sight.I wondered what it would be like with ricochets flying all over the place.Civilians.I'd sneaked in and dug a hasty trench earlier—not too far off to my left—and Page 153ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlcovered it over with a piece cut from the tarp holding the mountain of lead bars.I'd anticipated something like this; and at the first evidence there'd be gunfire I intended to grab Annie and dive into it.Von Kempelen was connecting hoses from tank to tank, rods from the final tank to the far side of the stack of lead bars.Annie was seated in a shiny black chair which looked as if it had been constructed from slabs of obsidian.A glass helmet covered her upper head, and she leaned against a strip of gold which ran up its high back.She was given two rods to hold, both of which extended to the near side of the lead heap.Von Kempelen whispered some final instruction to her, then nodded to Ellison and the others.A certain tension, apart from the psychological, immediately filled the room.I took a step toward Annie and felt an increase in the forces she was manipulating.There followed a gurgling from one of the vats.Whatever forces were emanating from Annie, they began to pulsate.The other vats began to resonate.I seemed to hear a high-pitched whining, and suddenly my head ached.Covering my ears did not make any difference, though everyone else was doing it, also.Then it went away and half-distinct shapes swam through the air—strange fish, strange sea.Again, the pulsing intensified.It was almost something one could lean against.I felt somewhat more conversant with the phenomenon now, following my exercise of the previous afternoon.The sound came and went in an instant.Minute explosions of color then filled the air, above the vats, about the gray stack.Annie's hands were white with strain upon the rods before her.Then came the rippling.It was as if I watched the men across from me—and everything else about me, I suddenly realized—through a shallow, flowing stream.Nothing was changed, yet everything was changed.Everything in the cellar seemed to be vibrating.Then the points of light—mostly golden this time—returned, to linger within the rippling.I took another step toward Annie.Some pressure was building.The gray bars flashed yellow for a moment, within the rippling.A moment later the flash was repeated—golden this time, lingering.The pile seemed to change shape, shrinking each time the brightness came into it, expanding as it departed.I glanced at Ellison, who was smiling.The frequency of the vibration increased
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