20  G R E G O R Y J A M E S I was still caressing my beloved with the side of my cheek when I was abruptly interrupted. “Ahem!” Lee cleared his throat behind me. I froze and quickly thought of something substantial to explain my behavior. “Hmmm,” I said, keeping the side of my head pressed against the machine. “Yes, I do believe that the noise has stopped.” Non- chalantly I lifted my head and turned to address my brother. “A noise?” questioned Lee with suspicion in his voice. “Yes, a noise,” I restated firmly. “Really? What kind of noise?” “You know,” I gestured toward the machine. “It was your typi- cal…kind of hhhhhmmmmmm-sppurrrr sound.” “Hhhhhmmmmmm-sppurrrr sound?” Lee imitated with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, that’s it exactly!” I confirmed, and then quickly added, “Shall we get going?” Not waiting for a reply, I briskly walked over to the workbench and picked up my knapsack. There was nothing overly special about the bag itself. I do not mean to say that the bag was unattractive—by any measure, it was a rather nice bag. But a bag is a bag. What truly is important is what one puts inside a bag. And in my case, the bag was filled with an as- sortment of tools, gadgets, and gizmos; all of them specifically designed and crafted by me for specific purposes. As a depend- able librarian, I never left home without the tools of my craft. You just simply never know when you might need a portable blowtorch or a can opener. In this world, it was best to be pre- pared for anything and everything because anything and every- thing usually occurs every day. Slinging the knapsack over my shoulder, I adjusted the strap and gave Lee one of those “It’s time” looks. With an utter lack of enthusiasm, he shrugged his shoulders, mumbled something about not having anything better to do, and led the way out of the workshop. Just before exiting the room, I stole one last gaze at the time machine and whispered, “Soon my dear…very soon