Free George Brown and the Protector by Duane L. Ostler Page B

himself.
    “I assumed the shape of a man just in case
anyone happens to come by,” said the protector. He then reached
back into the car and pulled out some thin poles and some flouncy,
gauzy material that seemed to shimmer and shift colors in the
protector’s hands. He carried these a short distance from the car,
set most of them down on the grass, and then began working on the
poles. George left the car and came up to watch.
    “This is the portable transporter,” said the
protector, grunting as he jabbed one of the poles into the ground.
“It takes about 10 minutes to set it up. It’s kind of like putting
up a tent.”
    The protector worked swiftly with deft
movements, and George watched in fascination as the outlines of
what looked like a door appeared before his eyes. It was about 6
feet high and was in the shape of an arch, with enough room
underneath for the protector’s car to pass through. Stretched
across the poles that formed the frame of the door were the gauzy
strands of some strange material that seemed to be constantly
changing color. George remembered seeing a smaller version of this
type of door in the Protector’s home inside the Volkswagen.
    In a few minutes the door was completed. The
protector then attached a small black box to the bottom of one side
of the door. It had buttons on it similar to a keypad, or the face
of a cell phone.
    “Now, I just need to make a few settings on
the controller here, and then we’ll be ready to go.” He started
pushing some of the buttons.
    “So, we’re going to drive through that door
and it will take us to China?” asked George.
    “That’s right,” said the protector. “Only
we’d look pretty conspicuous in China the way we are right now. So
I’m setting the gauge here to not only transport us, but transform
us as well—even Emberly. She needs to get out in the world of
humans more often, so I thought she’d come with us today.”
    “We’re going to be transformed?” George asked
uneasily. He wasn’t sure he was ready to be a butterfly. “How? I
mean, what’s wrong with the way we are right now?”
    “Well,” the protector responded slowly, “in
China you’ll be about 6 inches taller than most boys your age, and
you look very American. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb. We want
to be inconspicuous and not draw attention to ourselves so we can
move about freely.”
    George was about to respond when he was
suddenly hit from behind between the shoulder blades so hard that
he went flying. He looked up dizzily to see a blond haired girl
with freckles looking down at him, a big, gawky smile on her face.
With alarm, George saw that she looked like she was about to jump
on top of him, feet first.
    “Emberly!” said the protector reprovingly.
“It’s not polite to pounce on people when you’re in human shape.
You’re a girl now, not a furball.” Emberly turned away with a sulky
look on her face.
    The protector helped George to his feet.
“You’ll have to forgive Emberly,” he said quietly so she wouldn’t
overhear. “Although she’s 130 Praetorian years old, she’s still
just a child, and it’s not easy for her to adjust to being a member
of a different race.”
    George turned to see Emberly staring at him,
a frown on her face. Suddenly she smiled, walked up to him, and
jabbed a finger in his ear.
    “Hey!” yelled George, jumping back. “What’re
you doing?”
    “You’ve got big ears,” Emberly giggled.
    “Emberly, that’s not polite,” said the
protector with a frown. Then he turned curiously to George. “Or is
it o.k. on your planet to poke people in the ear, then tell them
their ears are big? I’ve never quite been able to learn all of the
strange customs you have here.”
    “No, it’s not normal at all,” replied
George.
    “Why not?” she asked innocently. “It’s true,
isn’t it?" Then she turned to look at the Protector. "You told me
yesterday humans try to be honest, and he does have big ears.”
    “Yes,