It didn't take long for Karl and his team to get things sorted out, and soon the station was in ship shape. The cobwebs were gone and the fluorescent lights had everything lit up; the consoles were humming and the resonators were resonating.

"This was your science project?" I ask.

"Well, me and the Scientia Club from 2002. There wasn't single leader. We had a very progressive Scienta-based organizational hierarchy. Helga, how about we bring up Tiger Station next?"

"Aye aye, captain!" Helga says with a wink.

"After eighteen years together in an inhospitable arctic environment, we kind of ended up assuming roles."

The Scientia Club had created a trans-dimensional climatic-based zonal transference network. They separated into teams to set up habitats in each zone, which they would then use to explore each one's local potential reality "spin off" network. Focusing on extreme weather environments gave them something to triangulate off of.

But someone left the station unattended. There was no one left to bring them back. And their experiment was just... forgotten? Why didn't someone from the school come looking for them? I'd never heard stories of a "lost Scientia club."

"Karl, looks like there's a problem with the hyperbolic flattener," Helga called.

It wasn't THAT long ago, but some of the ways they had stuff set up was already so dated.

"Here," I offered. "Let me take a look."

Part of the reason I was able to get on a Scientia scholarship was that I cheated. Well, I have a power. Just like @Rouge Soninica noticed way back in Children's Circle. I have the power to understand any technology. In Children's Circle, that meant I was the first to master the safety scissors (both right and left handed), and the watercolor brush, lacing boards.... That made some of the other kids jealous.

Luckily I don't believe in curses.

The dog catcher in my home town once told me "Magic's just science that we don't understand yet."

That was just a week before the he was abducted by dog-headed demons from Anubis IV. They opened up a portal and rode their Sun Ships through, blasting down walls with their eldritch rays and freeing all the dogs.

But the dog catcher was right. Though everybody in town began to wear ankhs and started changing their religion from Baptist and Presbyterian to Ancient Egyptian, I studied the scene of the crime and took readings and real scientific measurements. I was able to determine exactly what resonant energies were used to open the portal. It was only a matter of time till I was able to sneak through and steal more examples of their technology and begin to reverse engineer it.

That's how I got my Scientia scholarship to Psyhigh. I'm not easily fooled by robes and staves. I like power sources and transmitters and tubes and wires.

Which is why I LOVE this weather station.

"Hi, I'm Karl. Deputy Director, Zebra Station."

Karl is still shaking off the snow, hitting at his arms with his big mittens. There's a team of six or eight of them, in parkas and snowpants and boots, and a few stacks of heavy totes. They're standing in ankle deep snow, here, inside the weather station. Standing on some kind of platform.

"Looks like Danielle Station needs a little upkeep?"

Karl stops looking around the inside of the old dusty station and looks at me.

"Hi, well, yes. I'm Danielle. And about that..."

"This is.... [crick!!] Station Zebra. Are you receiving us?"

There's dust all over the controls, but the radio works? I shake the cobwebs off the headset and start pushing the buttons that blink.

"Uh... test? Can you hear me?"

"Oh my god, yes. This is Zebra Station. Identify."

"Uh... Danielle?"

"Danielle Station? One moment." There's a bit of dead air. Then: "We don't have an entry for that, but we've been out of touch for some time. Danielle Station, can you lock on? Transmitting now."

A new button starts to light up. It's a big one. With sort of calculator numbers flipping around above it. The numbers settle and the button turns green.

"Uh... locking on?"

I give the big green button a press.

The weather control command center explodes with wind and snow and ice.

One of my fondest memories of summer session was my bike ride up to Storm Mountain, where I discovered that old weather control station. Turned out I didn't need any extra credit in Forensic Techno-archaeology (aced it!) so I never ended up heading back up there to check it out.

But now with this Indian Summer in full swing, I think it's time to get another frisky bike out of the stables and give it another look. Before things start getting nasty.

I went to the Witch Hunt on Saturday afternoon mostly just because Briney asked me to because I don’t really believe in those things. I’m here on a Scientia scholarship and to me the biggest “mystery” is why aren’t people studying harder for their summer finals??! (Actually, I stole that joke from my advisor, Mr. Sterne. But it's so true!)

But it was a beautiful day and good to get a little fresh air and sunshine. So we all checked out bikes from the bike stables and mine was extra frisky and kept rearing up and spinning its tires so I let it run and ended up on top of Storm Mountain, where I discovered an old weather control station from the 1970’s or something, all groovy contoured plastic and fat green computer screens. And dust. Lots of dust. It’s exactly what I needed for my forensic techno-archeology extra credit report. Thanks @Briney Santastic!