The Last Days of Krypton Read Free Page A

tended to indulge Lara whenever she came up to him with one of her new (and often impractical) schemes, but he still seemed to view her as a child rather than an adult in her own right.
    Her mother, though, was harder to convince. She had short hair, amber-gold like Lara’s, but streaked with gray; as always, a few smudges of pigment dotted Ora’s cheeks and hands. “What have you done now, Lara?”
    “Produced a work of brilliance, no doubt,” her father teased, “but beyond the capability of mere mortals like us to understand.”
    “Those twelve obelisks,” Lara said before she could catch her breath, pointing back toward the nearest one. She forced an evenness, a determination, into her voice. “I want to paint them, each one different.”
    Without even a glance at the sketches, her mother turned away. “That’s beyond the scope of our project here. Jor-El hasn’t given us permission to touch those.”
    Lara pressed the issue. “But has anyone actually asked him about it?”
    “He’s inside his laboratory, working. No one should disturb him. I had to send your brother to the perimeter of the grounds because he was making too much noise.” She looked to her husband. “Maybe Ki should be back in Kandor attending classes with the other children his age.”
    Lor-Van snorted. “He is learning far more here. When will the boy ever get such an opportunity again?”
    But Lara persisted with her own question, not accepting the easy answer. “Has Jor-El ever commanded us not to disturb him while he’s working, or are you just making an assumption?”
    “Lara, dear, he’s a revered scientist, and we’re here on his estate at his invitation. We don’t want to overstep our welcome.”
    “Why are you so afraid of him? He seems perfectly kind and nice.”
    “Now, Lara,” her father said with a tolerant smile, “we aren’t afraid of Jor-El. We respect him.”
    “Well, I’m going to go ask. Somebody has to clarify our parameters.” She turned determinedly away, ignoring her parents’ words of caution.
    Lara signaled at the door of the research building, which was as large and ornate as a temple of Rao. When the door beacon elicited no response, she rapped hard with her knuckles, but again heard only silence. Finally, she impulsively poked her head inside. “Jor-El? Am I disturbing you? I need to ask you a question.” She had chosen her words carefully. What true scientist could deny a seeker of knowledge who simply wanted to ask something?
    “Hello?” Though she knew he must be inside the brightly lit lab, she heard only the echoing hum of equipment. “I’m one of the artists, the daughter of Ora and Lor-Van.” She hung on her words, venturing farther inside, waiting to hear from him.
    Jor-El’s spacious laboratory was full of crystals that glowed like a light bank. The huge chamber was a wonderland of unusual apparatus, half-dismantled experiments, equipment racks, and exhibits. The man seemed to lose interest in a project once the challenging part was over, Lara thought. She could understand that.
    Still, she couldn’t find the distinguished scientist. Had he secretly left the estate? “Jor-El? Is anyone here?”
    In the center of the laboratory hovered a motionless pair of silver rings that enclosed a…hole. And pressed up against the intangible surface membrane, she saw Jor-El floating there, gesturing wildly, his features blurred and oddly squashed. Though his lips moved, he made no sound.
    Lara hurried forward, her sketchplate and drawings forgotten. She raised her voice. “Are you trapped?” Though he tried to answer her, she couldn’t hear what he was saying.
    Frowning, she went around to the back of the silver-ringed frame, and on the other side found Jor-El staring out at her again, as if he’d been sealed inside a two-dimensional plane. Curiosity spurred her on. “Is this an experiment of some sort? You didn’t do this on purpose, did you?” The desperate expression on his