Standing at the doorway was something I never expected to see: a human-sized version of Robby the Robot from the "Forbidden Planet" movie. It wasn't an exact replica of the fictional character per se, but there were enough similarities to mistaken this version for the original: an egg-shaped head and torso, ball-like legs, pincers for hands, a control panel on its chest, and a translucent head. In our case, however, inside the translucent head was a floating black sphere similar to the orbs attached to the ceiling.

We were waiting for the robot to come out into the hallway, but it never stepped through the doorway. Nor did we attempt to approach it. The doorway itself was approximately four feet wide. The robot's egg-like torso was wide enough to block the doorway. Thus, there was no hope for either girl to squeeze past it and we were at a stalemate with the newcomer.

"I don't think it's hostile," I said after a minute of waiting. I looked at the robot's hands to confirm that it wasn't carrying a deadly ray gun. Thankfully, its pincers were bare.

"What is this thing?" Kalistra asked. Standing in the middle of the hallway, she was the closest to the robot.

"In my home world, we call this a 'robot.' It's an automation, a machine that serves a specific purpose and can move on its own," I explained as I slowly walked across the hallway to approach the robot.

Suddenly, my master grabbed my arm. "I don't think you should approach it," she said and shook her head.

In response, Jasla grabbed the cat girl's arm. "Please let Lawrence approach. He may be the key to getting us past this 'robot.'"

"Why?" my master stubbornly refused to let go.

"The first two doors required a non-native outsider to open," the demoness reminded Kalistra. "This robot may act similarly," she reasoned.

The cat girl's whiskers twitched and finally, she released my arm. Given that I was the one who opened the previous two doorways, my master couldn't fault Jasla's logic. Nor could Kalistra come up with a less dangerous alternative than to have me approach the robot. But that didn't mean she was happy with the idea of putting me in danger. As my master, Kalistra should be the one to approach the robot rather than her pupil. Her action was borderline dishonorable in her eyes and it was something to discuss with her papa whenever Kalistra return to her dojo.

I flashed her a reassuring smile, but my master pointedly turned her head away to express her displeasure. Ouch. The damn cat girl was so stubborn! I shook my head and returned my attention to the task at hand. I walked slowly and kept my eyes on the robot. It did not move at all until I stood just a foot in front of it.

The black sphere inside the robot's translucent head started lighting up from within; there was a cascade of red, yellow, white, blue, and other colors. The brilliant flash of colors turned the hallway into a disco-style dance hall from the 70s and 80s and the display lasted for a half minute or so. Abruptly, the colorful lights were turned off. Finally, a beam of soft, blue light was emitted from the black sphere and hovered above my head. The light slowly dropped and covered my body from head to toe.

I was apprehensive at first because I had no clue what the light was for. But then, from watching "Star Trek" I realized that this was some kind of a bio scan and therefore, necessary to ensure that I was qualified to gain entry into the room beyond. I surmised that, as a non-native of this gaming world, I had biological differences from the natives and this scan would be able to confirm that I was an outsider. Thankfully, it was a very quick scan which took maybe eight seconds to complete. More importantly, I felt nothing from the light at all.

When the scan was completed, the beam of light disappeared. The robot started walking backward and unblocked the doorway.

I turned my head to my companions. "It's letting us in," I said. I noticed that the two girls looked really apprehensive. Frankly, I couldn't blame them given the experience that each girl had with a beam of light already. Kalistra was transported by the beam to a bakery and forced to bake in order to leave. Jasla never spoke of her own experience and where the beam teleported her but I suspected that she had to complete a mission, too.

I smiled broadly and told them, "I'm perfectly fine." I turned back toward the unblocked doorway. I peered inside and saw that it was another empty corridor. The robot was nowhere to be found. Moreover, when I looked up at the high ceiling, the telltale black orb was present. "I see an orb up on the ceiling," I announced. I turned my head back to my companions. "I'm stepping inside."

The two girls nodded in agreement. After all, there was no other choice but to enter the room.

I took a deep breath and stepped through the doorway. As I crossed the threshold of the doorway, I suddenly felt nauseous. I watched helplessly as a black beam of light burst from the overhead orb. The light quickly and methodically disassembled my body into molecules, starting from my feet and working its way up. I tried to move but couldn't because I was paralyzed. I could only move my eyes. Suddenly, two more black beams struck something behind me and I knew that Kalistra and Jasla were caught as well. The dissembling light quickly reached my chin and I braced myself for losing my sight. Before I knew it, my world turned dark.

#

Pop! The loud sound in my ears awoke me. My eyelids opened and I saw an overwhelming white light. I shaded my eyes under my right palm until my eyes readjusted to the light. I turned my head back and forth and I realized that I had returned to the white room. Directly across from me was the big window panel overlooking Planet Earth. However, this time my home planet was positioned to the left side of the window, and it looked a lot smaller.

Pop! Pop! I heard the sounds behind me and immediately turned around. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that Kalistra and Jasla had been transported to this room as well. I was afraid that we would become separated.

It took a moment for the two to regain their bearings and the cat girl recovered first. "Where are we?" she asked as her whiskers twitched. The air in the room smelled funny to her nose; it was simply too clean. She took note of the window and walked across the small room to stand in front of the window.

The demoness flapped her wings, flew across the room, and soon joined the cat girl in staring out at the planet.

"Do you remember when I received 5,000 XP for completing a special mission?" I asked.

"Yes, that's when you got that weird protector title as well," Kalistra replied. Her tail dangled in the air as she stared at my home world.

"This was the room where I was brought to and out the window is my home world, 'Planet Earth,'" I announced.

"It looks very lovely," Jasla complimented as she stared at my home. There was so much water everywhere! The succubus was surprised that I didn't have gills to breathe underwater.

"I'm going to try to gain access to the controls again," I said. I walked to the center of the room; I stood under the nozzle on the ceiling and above the nub on the ground. But nothing happened. No beam of light was emitted from these nodes to connect me to the neural link which provided me with access to the starship.

My companions watched in silence for a few minutes before Kalistra lost her patience. "Are you able to control this flying ship?" she asked.

I shook my head. "It's not connecting with me for some reason."

Suddenly, a panel on the wall opened, and the robot entered the room. It "spoke" in a series of clicks and whistles. Finally, it said something that resembled the English language. "Greetings, Protector of Planet Earth. Thank you for winning the fight against the Zorxilix. The fight has drained the power cells and Starship Z-Delta-5 retains only minimal functions." Its voice was metallic and devoid of emotion.

"What is your personal designation?" I inquired. While I had many questions, I wanted to learn its name first.

"My designation is Z-Delta-Prime-1-B-2-8-A-5-6-2."

"Is it okay if I just call you 'Z?'" I asked. The alien robot's real name was a tad too long for me to use.

The black sphere inside the robot's head lit with numerous flashing lights and then they went dark. "Designation confirmed."

"The power cells are recharging?" I asked. I wanted to know how this starship was able to recharge its cells but I wasn't sure that I had the proper authority to access this information.

"Affirmative," the robot replied.

"From solar radiation?" I hazarded a wild guess.

"Affirmative."

"How long will it take for this ship to regain 100% function?" I asked.

"184 of your planet's solar days."

I tried to decipher Z's answer. A solar day was the length of time for Earth to rotate on its axis with respect to the Sun so that the Sun will appear at approximately the same point in the sky to an observer on the planet. For me, it was a fancy way of saying 184 days on Earth. "That's about six months? Ouch." I was very disappointed with the robot's answer. I was hoping to use this ship to return home and skip the quest entirely. Alas, I was stuck in Britannia unless I somehow finish the quest. Ugh! "Why are you here?" I asked this question in order to take my mind off my major disappointment.

"To observe Earth 1 and Earth 2," the robot replied.

"Huh? There's only one Earth," I said. I was flabberghasted by Z's answer.

"Incorrect. Many versions of Planet Earth exist as part of the multiverse," Z corrected me.

I was really intrigued by this statement. There were theories that the universe existed as a multiverse. Furthermore, there were many television shows that explored this very notion of a multiverse, such as "The Flash" and "Sliders." But to confirm that I was actually part of a multiverse was really mindblowing.

However, Z's answer sprouted more questions, with the primary question being: why would this alien observe only two versions of Earth? Shouldn't there be a lot more versions of Earth for Z's alien masters to observe? "Aren't there other versions of Planet Earth?" I asked. "Why would you only observe two versions of Planet Earth?"

Z clicked and whistled at length. "My masters wish to observe civilization on your planets."

I immediately raised my right hand because there was an enormous implication within Z's deceptively simple answer. "Wait! Are you saying that life exists on only two versions of Earth in the multiverse?" My heart sank at this implication.

"Affirmative. In some alternate universes, Planet Earth no longer exists," the robot revealed. "The Zorxilix eliminated life on Earth in many parts of the multiverse."

I was both startled and struck by the enormity of this revelation. On the one hand, it was gut wrenching to learn that other Earths with human populations had been utterly destroyed by these aliens. It made my blood boil. Also, it made my successful defense of my version of Earth from those cigar ships that much more important. The 5,000 XP that I earned from that mission seemed quite generous at the time. But in light of this revelation, the award was downright paltry. I decided to push aside these thoughts and focus on another important matter. "So I've been traveling between these two versions of Earth?" I asked.

"Affirmative."

Well, that explained a lot, such as the existence of demons and cat girls and magic and a gaming system and the medieval society and . . . I shook my head. Get ahold of yourself, Larry! "Can you take us back to Earth 2?" I requested. If I was going to finish the quest, then I need to reach Bristol in time to participate as a contestant in the Melee Tournament. This was now my top priority.

"Affirmative." Without warning, black rays of light burst from the black sphere inside Z's head and struck all three of us.

I looked down at my feet and saw that I was being disassembled. "Will I ever see you again?" I asked. I should have delayed asking Z to return us back to Britannia. I really wanted to squeeze more information out of the alien robot before I left this white room.

"Negative."

Oh well. What was done was done. Honestly, I was going to miss Z. With that final thought, I lost consciousness.