In the control room of his craft, Theopolis sat in the
console chair looking at the viewing screen image of a car, the form his craft
had taken the shape of just a day earlier. "Have you decided on our new
form, sir?" Tigershar asked.

"Better maintain your current form. We are going to go into
total-cloak to make the transfer."

Haloizar's voice sounded out, "Theopolis, might I make an
observation?"

"Go right ahead, Hal."

"Sir, I've detected a significant variation from normal
functioning in the matter transference units. I do not understand how it will
be possible to take the Brisbys on board if we do not change form or land. Do
you have a plan, sir, for how this problem can be overcome?"

Theo smiled. His hand reached for a blue switch on the control
panel. He flipped it. "Do not underestimate me by that much, Hal. Time for
your surprise! Examine action port 11-17D." The computer examined the new
device that Theo had just switched through to its control.

"A matter transference device. I am not familiar with this
particular type, however. Diagnostics show it functioning well within normal
tolerances for basic matter transmission. What is it, sir?"

"Something I whipped up last night, part of an old
Tri-gate. With the major modifications that I have made, it can transfer with
adequate accuracy in C-shift universes. It will not work anywhere else. The
Richardian Emperor and I worked with this idea for awhile. If the Methaliphian
war had not come along, we might have finished it sooner. There is one
problem."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Run a standard systems/organism compatibility test on
class one intelligence up to five; use our current knowledge of this universe
as a basis."

"Class intelligence one: negative survival. Class two:
fifty percent chance of serious injury or psychological damage. Class three:
Assured transmission with temporary psychological and psychic shock syndrome.
Class four: temporary disorientation. Class five: normal function. I
understand. The children will transfer with little difficulty because of their
genetically improved intelligence. The mother, Mrs. Brisby, will be
incapacitated for four to six hours if given proper treatment. Absence of treatment
could mean permanent damage. Do you intend to proceed with the transfer, even
considering the danger?"

"I have no choice. Go to full scanners. You will detect the
active scans of the Renegade, which is supposed to be cloaked, now coming from
the orbit of the planet the humans call Mars. If we drop our cloak, Renegade
will have a fix on our exact position. That, I do not want."

"Sir, our drones will betray our position, will they
not?"

"They are providing adequate distraction for Captain Oki.
Since I was somewhat successful in turning Erton's audience against his
purpose, his orders for Oki were probably rather vague, and Oki is
inexperienced."

"Sir, Irsh Oki has logged fifty two years as Captain of the
Renegade."

"Like I said, inexperienced. No experienced Captain would
be defeating the most complex cloaking system in the cosmos by sending active
scanning signals. Let me see what the Renegade is scanning."

The picture on the viewer changed to a map with flashing red
zones, noting where the Renegade's scanning beams were being reflected.
"They are scanning this general area, the major city beyond, and Thorn
Valley. Sir, I just discovered a targeting fix from the Renegade to the caves
in which the rats live. Would you like for me to shield the area?"

Mirroring Theo's rising tension, the ambient sound of the ship
grew slightly louder as the computers brought more defensive systems on line.
"What are you up to Oki? Keeping pressure on me as ordered, or do you
actually have orders to fire?" He thought for awhile, and a wry smile
touched his lips. "This isn't a military threat, Hal, it's political!
Erton's positioning again, wanting to see if I'll shield the rats. If I do so
without explaining it to the Council, he could use the fact to sway their decision."
He closed his eyes, thought for a few more seconds, and asked, "How many
drones do we have deployed, Tiger?"

"One hundred in standard radial pattern."

"How many long range?"

"Seventy."

"Send half of those to the other side of the planet; make
it appear we are broadening the search. When they are out of view, send them
outside of the system at top speed, using the planet's shadow to cover their
departure. Take them out of range, and then bring them back, bearing in on
Mars. When they begin their approach, broadcast using the frequencies and
patterns closely matching a Methaliph attack fleet. That should give Captain
Oki something entertaining to think about, and adequate distraction for what
we'll be doing."

"Affirmative, sir," the computer said as it began to
carry out the commands.

"As for ourselves, we will maintain our ship in its present
form, do what must be done, and wait for the Renegade to blink."

A presence, a mind aged and wearily immersed in an infinite
misty darkness, ached in the prison of eternity; ached, and waited. So very
long before, his own kind had exiled him here for the crime of being a god.
They said he pretended to be a god, abused the trust of his own people, but to
those who had chosen to serve him, to worship him, he was truly a deity. Even
they could not have overcome him if it were not all of them together, led by
the lies of the deceiver Emperor and his little piglet of a heir. His
punishment, his prison, was to live out the truth of his title in a universe of
empty canvasses. This place, this sub-dimension, was the nothingness between
existence and oblivion as well as true domain of the mind. Although he was
already powerful beyond what most mortals can conceive, here, his wishes
appeared as reality. He had spoke into existence and played with whole
galaxies, whole universes, satisfying every deepest desire, passing fancy, and
arrogant whim. He had created and destroyed, and done so again and again. Yet
the worlds he created could not satisfy him. No matter how intricate, how
detailed he willed them to be, they were in truth, a lie.

Bored, he had given up playing and tried to escape, but he could
not. The power which allowed him to weave worlds also held him fast where he
was. He could will a gateway to appear, but he could not use it. Without the
force of his mind, it collapsed before he could go through. Through his
portals, however, he had some measure of relief; he could sometimes watch the
real universe and the activities of those who had imprisoned him, but the activity
drained him so.

Still, in truth, he knew he could not be free, until one moment
in the endlessness, he discovered, with a massive effort of will, he could draw
a small object in with him: a fourteen foot long chunk of dark rock floating in
space. For so long he looked at the boulder, touched it, willed it to change,
to vanish, and it did nothing. It, as he, was real. Yet he was so tired from
the experience he could only rest against the boulder for what seemed days.
Slowly, very slowly, his strength returned. He slept against his boulder, his
mind dreaming of escape.

When he awoke, he became a master spy, watching the daily
transpiring on his own home world moments at a time. Though he had been shut
away here for what seemed thousands of years, very few months had passed on his
homeworld. It was through watching his gateways that he learned of the ship. A
ship which was so small, a little larger than his boulder, would carry the
combined power of his race in the form of tiny jewels. They had defended the
ship well, surrounded it with escorts and protective fields, but they could not
defend it from him. With an effort he knew would leave him senseless for what
might be a hundred years, he pulled the ship, tail first, from real space into
his own domain.

When he finally awoke, crawling and then staggering toward the
burnt out husk of the ship, he saw he had not fully succeeded; he had lost
consciousness just as the forward portion of the craft passed through the
portal, fracturing the hull and killing its crew. Some of its prized cargo had
slipped beyond his grasp, but the rest was his. As he cradled the collection of
small objects in his arms, he remarked how much he held as a mother would a
child. "The name of this child, therefore, will be revenge."

His dark and empty soul, now given tools to learn and use, drove
him to a fervent study of all the jewels' capabilities. Even the stones which
those arrogant people of his race had seen fit to give an intelligence and a
predisposition towards what they deemed good, he had been able to trick and
then use, all but one: a hand-sized crystal sphere. All the others had enabled
him to open larger and more accurate gateways for longer times.

To his spying, he now added theft. Yet, he was very careful in
his thievery: a work bench from the pre-technology world of Augnaus VI, a set
of technical tools from a orbital station on the far side of a distant galaxy,
manuals and information crystals from an archive storage facility on the desert
world of Dunarias Prime, and power sources from a scout ship marooned in the
jungles of Zareth Eight. He pondered, as a predator beholding possible prey,
taking some beings he could use as slaves; but he decided against it. Things
could be replaced; the disappearance of people, especially technically skilled
people would raise questions, and possibly bring on a confrontation with the
Empire before he was ready. When his patience failed however, he sated his
revenge lust by bringing fire and untold destruction on small villages, started
wars by proxy, and answered the prayers of the wicked in the dark corners of
the universe.

At some point in the boundless reaches of his eternal prison,
Elias toiled over his newest creation, a device which could mean the end of his
imprisonment. He did not notice it at first, but it started to slowly dawn upon
his mind: "I am not alone." In fear and surprise, he jumped up, spun
around and looked for the intruder. Like searchlights in the darkness, his eyes
peered for immense distances through the murky clouds of sub dimension.
Nothing. Then he looked at a forgotten corner of his work bench and saw the
crystal sphere. It was softly glowing a palest red. Picking it up, and placing
it between his palms caused an image to come to his mind, an image of a distant
planet, green and ripe. His mind's eye could see the color deepening on the
horizon, and he followed it. He felt the presence of strange beings pass by
him, disappearing and dissolving in the sphere he held. Pushing the vision
further and further towards the ground, he actually passed beneath the surface
to a tiny room, carved in rock. Small creatures filed in and seated themselves
and began to talk. He understood them. Then, another presence joined them, and
his joy began to mount. The pain of his labors and waiting of his revenge were
coming to an end.

Hovering over the bushes and brambles of the nearby forest like
a patch of lingering fog, Theopolis slowly moved. Devoid of any physicality, he
was free to drift through the damp mid-morning air, generally unobserved. As a
purely mental, elemental entity, he could "see" and "feel"
the scanning beams from the distant spacecraft, thereby slipping past them.
Mentally, he gave the stone its command to signal as he passed invisibly by the
guarded entrance to the caves of Thorn Valley. Like a cosmic phantom, he
drifted through the halls and the make-shift library, possessing the few scant
volumes and the large book held at a place of reverence at the library's end.
Drifting through the unattended room for a few minutes, he then moved into the
meeting chamber of the rats and watched them gather. A group of rats, dressed
in clothes, stood talking to one another in the gloomy grayness of the meeting
hall. Theo listened to the murmurs of discontent and fear being beaten out as,
finally, Justin called the meeting to order.

"Please my friends," he begged, "let's sit down
and begin this meeting." They slowly moved to their chairs, still
murmuring and whispering. "Now, I know that our food has been running low,
and we do not have electrical power yet, but we must remain unified, together
in purpose. Especially because of what I have to tell you."

The rats looked at each other with wondering expressions.
"What is it?" one rat asked.

"Last night, while Mr. Ages and I were talking to one
another, the stone awoke, and its creator spoke to us. The being calls himself
the Stone Master. He said that he has come to examine and possibly take back
the amulet."

"No!" one of the rats said in anger, "he can't!
He can't take away our amulet!"

Another rat said, "We've barely made it this far with it!
We are lost if it leaves us!!"

A deep male voice sounded from all around them. "It appears
as though you put too much trust in the amulet and not enough in
yourselves."

Justin and the other rats looked around for a moment, and then
they looked back toward the stone. Its blue glow told the story. "It's him
again!" Ages said, fear registering on the old mouse's face..

"Yes, Mr. Ages. It is I, the Stone Master," The voice
echoed as the rat form of Theopolis began to materialize behind them. A white
light burst from the stone and momentarily dazzled the rats. When they
recovered their sight, they saw that the ugly stone walls of the chamber around
them had become perfect, white, smooth. The flaws in the rock were gone. They
looked back towards the table and saw a white rat with a cowl, white cape and
vest, and a staff in his right hand, the same staff as that which appeared to
Justin and Ages the night before. The figure slowly removed the hood.
Underneath it was a strong, resolute face with piercing eyes and an air of
power permeating his countenance. "You may call me Theopolis for now.
Please, return to your chairs, and I shall explain the significance of my
presence here."

The rats slowly, too dumbfounded to respond, obeyed. "Very
good. Justin, Mr. Ages, esteemed creatures, I am sure you have questions."

"But," Justin said, "who are you? Why do you seek
to take the stone?"

"Many years ago, the jewel in your amulet was forged by my
ancestors. It was one of many such tools … devices."

"This?" Justin asked as he cradled the stone in his
hands. "This is a machine?" "Partly a machine, and
partly a living creature. This jewel, and the others, accidentally fell through
a hole in time and were scattered throughout the reaches of eternity. The
leaders of my race have asked me to collect them and return them to my
government."

"Then you are going to take the stone?" one of the
rats asked in desperation.

"I presented my people an alternative, and they chose to
consider it. You see, there are safe stones and dangerous ones. My people gave
me a choice that, in special circumstance and if they agree, I am permitted to
leave the jewel behind. Your amulet contains a stone which IS safe. "

The rats looked at each other in surprise then in hopeful
anxiety. "Sir," Mr. Ages asked, "I don't understand. Might I ask
WHY this stone is safe?"

"Yes," Justin asked, "and why did you tell us
that it might be taken away, if you already knew it was safe?"

"When I spoke with you before, I did not know; I was not
deceiving you, Justin. A stone is safe when it has been 'vice locked' by its
creator. This means that it can not be used for what you might term 'evil.'
When I met Mrs. Jonathan Brisby, then I knew the jewel was a safe one."

"Mrs. Brisby?" Justin asked, his features betraying
his concern. "She's not, you didn't harm her . . ."

"It is not in my nature to harm, Justin; she is safe and
well. Examine your hands carefully Justin. Did you hold the amulet when you
used its power?"

"Yes, but I don't see anything."

"Look now," Theopolis said as he raised his right hand
in the air. Justin looked in awe at the glowing blue lines inscribed on the
palms of his hands. He showed them to the rest of the rats who were, as well,
in awe. "These lines, which your interesting physiology has seen fit to
hide, are the signature of the amulet. The marks on Mrs. Brisby's hands were
exactly duplicate, but they were readily visible." The strange white rat
lowered his hand, and the marks ceased glowing.

"Are you going to let us keep the stone?" one of the
rats asked, hopefully.

Theopolis held up a finger to indicate the question was
pre-mature. "When I discovered you had the jewel, I observed you. For a
time, I have been among you, unseen. I have learned many things. I discovered
how close this colony is to starvation and failure. The single generator you
posses needs major repairs for any electricity to be generated, and even then,
it will not power all you need for this complex. There is precious little food
here for you, and the farmer's fields and store-houses are now many miles away.
There isn't food for more than fifteen days. Some of you are injured, and sick,
with no means to treat yourselves."

"It isn't true!" one of the young rats from the end of
the table said angrily.

Justin lowered his head and closed his eyes, his face set with
far more care than it seemed one soul could bear. "It is. We did all we
could, but there just wasn't time to save everything."

"But our stores of food?" another rat, asked in
disbelief.

"Animals got to most of that," Ages admitted.
"We've been trying to find an answer, but . . . "

"The tale grows even worse," Theopolis added.
"There are now only around sixty of you. If you've studied the fledgling
science of the humans, as I guess you have, then you know so small a number
can't last for many generations without interbreeding. The deformities and
diseases would increase in time until there would be none of you left." He
paused a moment, and the truth registered on more than a few faces.

"There were only twenty rats, originally, and . . . two
mice," Justin confirmed. "Even now, it's very hard for us."

"I am with you here, now, for the most important of reasons:
your preservation as a sentient race, and the immediate preservation of your
very lives. You are in great peril at this very moment from a source you do not
know."

"How? What's happened?" Ages asked.

"It is through little fault of your own, life has already
dealt with you harshly. As of this moment, it is trying to deal with you
harsher still. Some of my people are not sure you should exist. A vessel, a
star travelling craft, from my people has trained its weaponry on you, and is
awaiting the command to either stand down or to fire and destroy you."

"But why?!?" Justin asked, pleading. "Why would
they want to destroy us?"

"In their eyes, they created your race. They can destroy
it, and clean up the 'mess' in which they've gotten themselves entangled."

"Created our race," Justin asked, "we came from
NIMH. It was the injections, the tests . . . "

"It was not NIMH. This planet will not have the technology
or the knowledge to perform such operations for centuries yet to come. Remember
I told you that the stone is partly a living creature. When it was lost, it
began trying to find a way to return home. It didn't have the power on its own,
so it devised a plan. It must have looked at humans as dismissed them for some
reason. Perhaps because they would not revere the stone as you do; rather they
would tear it apart, trying to understand and capture its power. The jewel
found you in the laboratory and changed you; it wasn't the scientist's drugs. I
suppose it chose NIMH because you were all together, an easier situation to
control. It changed you into the creatures you are now. It gave you language
and the ability to read."

"So that's it," Ages said. "How we could suddenly
read the words on the cage doors; all of us, the same night."

"How we were able to escape," Justin said, the
realization drawing his gaze to Theopolis. "What do we do now?"

"I offer you a choice. Without the stone, I know you would
have little future. Even given all the challenges you face, it could have
sustained you, continued to mold you into whatever it needed towards its goal
of returning home. My people will not let it stay here in its present form.
Now, there needs to be a new era for the rats of NIMH. To ensure that you
survive, my people must hear your voices and accept you as members of the
Empire."

"What's our other choice?" Ages asked.

"You must choose whether to ask. I can take the stone and
leave you here. It is possible that your community may live for many more
generations yet to come. Human science, if you are able to gain access to it,
might produce answers to the question of your genetic survival. You would bend
to no one but yourselves, and, you would have no one to turn to except
yourselves."

"Do you think your people will accept us? They seem intent
on destroying us."

"To be truthful, Justin, the outcome is not at all certain.
The mere fact that a targeting fix was levied against you is indication that
you are by no means safe. Time is definitely short, as well. A particular
individual who does not favor your entrance into the Empire stands in the
control center of that ship, lobbying its captain to take more aggressive
actions, even now. If he is successful, my ability to help you, and save your
race may end. However, as of this time, I can allow you to enter, if you choose
to. If you ask."

"And if we did?" Ages asked tentatively.

"He would be powerless. Once you have asked to be part of
the Empire, his duty, by law if not by conscience, is very clear. He must
acknowledge the request, and allow it to be heard."

"I don't know." One of the rats at the far end of the
table stood. "What would life be like for us in the Empire? How will we be
treated? Will we be able to govern ourselves?"

"When I knew of your existence, I began to plan. Right now,
the best minds in this universe are devising and designing your new home. A
home that would be safe from man and from NIMH. It will contain some of the
most powerful scientific equipment and, certainly, the best accommodations
available in your universe. A room will be provided for each of you. There are
also many other rooms for use as sleeping quarters or storage. There is a good
food supply and more is readily and safely available. Beyond the physical there
is more: there is a future for the rats in this place. No longer will you be
confined to a dirty, wet hole in the ground. The technology you will possess
and improve upon will allow you to go, eventually, beyond the bounds of this
planet. Within limits, which will be spelled out to you succinctly, you will be
able to govern your own way of life."

"But what about our number? Whether we live in poverty or
luxury, we are still ultimately doomed," one of the other rats asked.

"It is very possible that I can remedy that as well. So
then, you would truly have a future."

A rat to his right side asked, "But what do you want in
return?"

"Logical question. If they accept you, the Empire would ask
for a return on its investment. This return involves three items. The first,
that you keep yourselves isolated from the other intelligent beings on this
planet. Humans must be allowed to progress at their own rate, and the
technology you will possess will be more advanced than their own. If they
should capture it or by some means come to posses it, the development of their
culture, thousands of years old, would be in great jeopardy. Second, your
universe is much different than ones in which we are used to traveling, and a
detailed study of its physics would be of extreme use to us. This study need
not take place until you have acquired sufficient knowledge, however, the
devices I will leave with you will inform you of useful reports you can
transmit with relative ease. Finally, you would be members of the Haloan Empire
as citizens entitled to all the rights and protections, privileges, and
responsibilities involved. Here are the items describing in writing..."
The documentation and agreements appeared before Justin. "This document
requests entrance to the Empire. If you so choose, have every one of you sign.
Return to this chamber, and I will retrieve them from you. How long will you
need to decide?"

"We will need a few hours. We will agree after we have read
and discussed all the terms. Are all the terms you mentioned in these
documents?"

"Every one. I will provide you with three hours with which
to make your choice. I should be able to delay the council and the Renegade for
that long. I have business to attend to that will take me away for some time,
as well."

Justin felt he was pressing his luck, but he decided to ask
Theopolis, "What will you be doing?"

"I must insure that the Brisbys are moved to a place of
safety."

"How? What's happened?" Ages asked.

"The Brisby's home now sits beneath a rock farmer
Fitzgibbons is no longer going to allow to obstruct his garden. He has made arrangements
to have the stone removed and the ground beneath it tilled. I have arranged the
safety of the field for exactly four days, no more, no less. Because of the
help she has given me, I will find her a new home. If you choose as I hope you
will, she would come with you and live in your new home. If all is well, and
you have no other questions, I must leave you now."

"Yes," Ages said, "Thank you."

"Farewell, Rats of Thorn Valley. Choose wisely." Like
the reflection on a still pond struck by a rock, his physical presence
shimmered away. The stone returned to its normal shade of red, the room to its
normal shade of gray, and the rats gathered around Justin's chair to read the
long documents.

Smiling, his plans now all but fulfilled, Elias, as a serpent
waiting in the darkness, listened to the conversation happening an eternity
away from his shapeless prison.

". . . my people are not sure you should exist. A vessel, a
star travelling craft, from my people has trained its weaponry on you, and is
awaiting the command to either stand down or to fire and destroy you."

"But why?!?" Justin asked, pleading. "Why would
they want to destroy us?"

"In their eyes, they created your race. They can destroy
it, and clean up the 'mess' in which they've gotten themselves entangled."

The snake smiled as opportunities appeared and ideas began to
form. It was the Emperor's piglet who was speaking, though his form was changed
before these pitiful, mindless creatures.

"Do you think your people will accept us? They seem intent
on destroying us."

"To be truthful, Justin, the outcome is not at all certain.
The mere fact that a targeting fix was levied against you is indication that
you are by no means safe. Time is definitely short, as well. A particular
individual who does not favor your entrance into the Empire stands in the
control center of that ship, lobbying its captain to take more aggressive
actions, even now. If he is successful, my ability to help you, and save your
race may end. However, as of this time, I can allow you to enter, if you choose
to. If you ask."

"And if we did?" Ages asked tentatively.

"He would be powerless. Once you have asked to be part of
the Empire, his duty, by law if not by conscience, is very clear. He must
acknowledge the request, and allow it to be heard."

Elias smiled. "Not if I force you forward, young piglet. I
can set this little scheme ablaze and light a fire which will consume not only
you, but the whole of the Empire. Then they, all of them, will be ready for my
special touch."

The smile turned to a wicked, cackling roar as the form of Elias
changed into that of a great, black serpent which reveled in a chance to not
only escape, but divide and fragment those who had imprisoned him. "I
shall rip the Empire apart from its foundations," it roared, "just as
I shall the Emperor!"

(Please note that all characters beyond those described in the
movie, "The Secret of NIMH", are copyright of the author, and may not
be copied or used without express written permission.)