"So we have the groups of weight 3, 4, 5 and 6." K.O. stated. " We only need the 3 and the 6."
"Should we let the others go?"
"No! What and absurd idea! We will make them to fit to the classes."
"How? They don't have one more hand!" Valerie asked after thinking for a while.
"We will cut them into half!" K.O. smiled to them, but the twins began to protest indignantly.
"It would be cruel!"
"They are cute as they are! Don't cut them half!"
"I think you misunderstood me." K.O. tried to soothe them, while scratching his own head. "I don't plan to hurt them."
The kids silenced, and stared at their friend as they were waiting for the explanation.
"We just had to let them release their hands and hold hands with another little one, we choose for them. It is easy."
"Why did you tell us that we would have to cut them half?" Conrad asked him still suspiciously.
"Because we practically cut them half. Do you see the difference between Hydrogen and Helium?"
The kids nodded.
"The Helium has two arms, and hugs itself, while the Hydrogens form pairs."
"Good." K.O. nodded. " The little ones are called atoms. But if they are alone, Helium and Hydrogen are both atoms. While Hydrogens cries, when they are alone, Helium doesn't. Helium stays an atom, while it is with its kind, but Hydrogens form pairs. Since they are together, their names is not atom anymore, their formation is called molecule. They together make a bond, by holding each other's hand. It is a perfect state for them, so the energy they would use for crying, give off, when bonding. We just have to make them eat the same amount of energy, and they release their hands, and they turn back into two separate atoms."
"Will they cry again?" Valerie asked anxiously.
"Yes, a bit. But as soon as they hold hands with another one, they will be happy again, and give us back the energy we have fed them. This process won't hurt them, but they will be put into the group of 3 or 6. It is easy, isn't it?"
The kids nodded, smiling. It was a big relief for them, that they wouldn't have to hurt the little ones. It was a bit of strange for them to call the little ones atom and molecule, although they had learned about them in the school. Well more precisely, they should have learned about these little ones and their behavior.
"O.K. Let's start! We should examine the group 4 at first. It is the more difficult group."
"Why?"
"Because the weight of 4 is consists of two combination: 2+2 and 1+3."
"Two Deuteriums and a Hydrogen-Tritium pair, aren't they?" Valerie asked, and K.O. nodded.
"Yes. We have to separate them."
It was an easy work. The kids were using K.O.'s hand device to check the little ones' inner side. The molecules consist of two Deuteriums were put into a small net, while the other ones were put back to the container. K.O. checked their work, and praised them.
"Well done! Now we have to brake up their bonds. Here are the chocolate bars and the candies."
"How many chocolate should we fed them?"
"Do you remember, how many choco bars you got, when I bought a Hydrogen atom from you?"
"Two chocolate bars and 18 candies, but that was the half of the amount!"
"So, you have to feed at least this amount for every atoms of the molecule. You could give them more, but in this case the little ones become very lively! So hold them tight! Keep the Tritium toward yourself, and the other ones toward me. Let's start!"
K.O. divided the energy into for equal parts, each consisted of two chocolate bars and 18 candies. Valerie and Conrad grabbed chocolate bars and started to put into the Tritium part of the molecules. The little ones were hesitant at first, but later they ate the energy with full mouth. The Tritium's behavior changed, and tried to release the hands of their partner. The other ones didn't liked that, so they ate their share of the energy. As soon as the last candy had been eaten, the molecules had let go of each other"s hands, and started to cry. K.O. grabbed the two free Hydrogen atoms, and pushed them closer to each other. His two little ones were holding their hands, cheerfully chirped, and gave back the chocolate bars and the candies. Valerie and Conrad did the same with the Tritiums, with the same result. The new pairs were happy, like nothing had happened before. K.O. checked them, and the new pairs were released among their friends, with the same weight.
"It was hard." Valerie panted.
"Don't worry, we will be ready in no time! There aren't too much of them."
K.O. wasn't right. This kind of work was very strenuous, so it seemed to last for an eternity. As soon as they were ready with the Tritium-Hydrogen pairs, the Tritium-Deuterium groups followed. Basically they were doing the same thing, but this time they formed molecules from two Deuteriums.
"Are we ready?" Conrad asked exhausted, after the container of number 5 had emptied.
"Sorry, but we need to form Hydrogen-Deuterium pairs from the Deuteriums."
The two kids moaned. Work never ended, and they were really tired.
"You could go sleep, if you want..." K.O. offered to them, but the kids refused.
"There aren't so much, so I stay, and help you." Conrad said.
"The more we are, the faster we finish." Valerie said wisely. "Why are the Hydrogen-Deuterium pairs are more expensive, than a Deuterium-Deuterium pair? Are they not soldable?"
"I don't know. The Hydrogen-Deuterium pairs are payed by the Temple of Transformation. It is a good, stable money, so I have never tried to sell Deuteriums."
"Transformers robots in disguise!" Conrad sang, and all of them laughed.
"They are not robots, but it is rumored, that the Temple makes Helium from the the Hydrogens"
"How?"
"Is that possible?"
"It is possible, but the process requires a lot of energy, and knowledge. That's why the temples make the process. We couldn't do that." K.O. added, as he saw the sparkles in the kids' eyes to try the transformation.
"It would be very interesting..." Valerie sighed, and her brother joined her.
"You could try, if you want." K.O. started, and those eyes became sparkling again. "You just have to have Hydrogen-Deuterium pairs, and a lot of energy bars!"
"We don't even have one!" Conrad cried out loud in frustration.
"Moreover, you should work for a temple. It is said, that the income is very much when the transformation is ready, but there is no guarantee, that the little ones could transform. It is more like a lottery."
"If we have the required amount of energy, and the Hydrogen-Deuterium pair, They would transform anyway, wouldn't they?" Valerie asked with energy bars in her eyes.
"No, sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. If they stay in Hydrogen-Deuterium form, the temple doesn't pay. In this case you have worked for free for the Temple. That's why I have never tried that kind of job."
"Do you think it is a meaningless job?" Valerie asked in despair. She really wanted those energy bars to get the train ticket.
"None of the works are meaningless. You could learn a lot, but I am content to sell them the molecules. So, could we start?"
The kids joined him wearily to work. It was the last effort of the day. There were relatively many of the Deuteriums, and the work progressed slowly but surely. Valerie and Conrad caught the Hydrogens from the big net, K.O. held the Deuteriums, and this time the same pairs were formed.
"We are ready!" The kids cried out loud, as they put the last molecules to the number 3 container.
"Good work! We have quite a lot of expensive little ones! It was a good harvest, and it was done quickly, thanks to you!" K.O. said and gave them chocolate bars and candies. "Let's have a feast!"
Valerie and Conrad were so exhausted, that they didn't tell to their friend, that the chocolate bars, and the candies were the usual ones. The old man was right anyway. They could eat as they want. So Valerie imagined a sparkling orange and chocolate cake, Conrad imagined cocoa and chestnut cake. The energy tasted exactly like the imagined food. Although K.O. sent them to relax, he was working more: anchored the caravan, had let the Hydrogens back to the balloon, rolled up the big net, folded up the unused containers, and brought the nets with the Tritium pairs and the Hydrogen-Deuterium pairs into the car.
"We are completely ready. The little ones are with their kind now, but in a net. Don't worry, it does not bother them, they are playing, as the net wouldn't be there. So let's take a good sleep, and tomorrow morning we head to the capital."
The twins didn't have the strength to thinking about parting ways with K.O., or being sad because of the next day. They fell asleep as soon as they had lied down. They were so exhausted, that they even had to be covered with the blanket by their friend.
The next day everybody woke up relaxed and happy. K.O. didn't give them breakfast, he said they would get to eat after they would start. He put back the back of the seats, and asked the kids to sit down and fasten their seat-belts.
"Anchor up!" He cried, and a rattle sound was heard. "Now, let's go!"
K.O. pushed the transmission forward, and a strange feeling was followed. Like the caravan would shake. In the next minute the seat belts were holding them down, and the ground began to shrink.
"We...we are flying!" cheered Conrad.
"Yes, it's correct. We are flying!" K.O. laughed from happiness. "Do you enjoy?"
The flying was a real enjoyment for the twins. Like they would fly to the Maldives with an airplane. In reality, they liked the fact of flying, but the view were boring. Sand, sand and sand everywhere for hours.
"Well, it is boring." K.O. had to admit. "This is the end of the harvest season in this area, so we probably don't meet anyone. Usually these fields are packed with people like me, and some bigger harvesters."
"Bigger harvesters?"
"Yes. They use big machines to harvest Hydrogen. Those machines are very effective, so they sell the molecules without sorting them."
"Why don't they try to make a bigger money?" Valerie was stunned.
"They harvest so much Hydrogens, that they get a large sum of energy either way. So they don't mind of losing a bit. Look ahead! Do you see something interesting over there?"
There was a shiny light point at the horizon.
"Is that the Sun?"
"No. That's the light of the Capital of H(DT). You could call it Sun city, but it has no name. It is just Capital."
The twins silenced. They were waiting for to see the city, but they were not waiting where they would have to part with their old friend. They were a bit frightened to be left alone, and there was a chance that their grandfather wouldn't wait for them in the harbor, K.O. mentioned. Valerie, and Conrad both wanted to slow down the time. But time has such a nature, when you want to slow down, it flies, and when you want to speed up, it slows down. So somehow it felt like a minute to reach the harbor at the outskirts of the the city.
There were plenty special attraction at the harbor. It didn't look like a harbor on water, more like an old, big tree on the sand. Several balloons were parking at the end of the little branches. K.O. also anchored the caravan at one of them. The anchor pulled them down, and they arrived to the ground with a big jolt.
"Now, we are here!" K.O. smiled at the kids, and they smiled back, but inside they were very sad. "Could you help me to sell the Hydrogens?"
Valerie and Conrad cheerfully accepted his offer. The more they work, the more they are together. A huge tanker approached them on the ledge. The driver greeted them.
"Fill the tank with your harvest. Ask for another one, if this tank would be small for your needs." The man disconnected the car from the tank, and drove away.
"It is rather small!" Conrad determined after a close look at the tank.
"It is small for the Hydrogens in this state."
"What kind of state they are?" asked Valerie, because she didn't understand why they would be belong to a state.
"There are four states of matter. Gas, liquid, solid and plasma. Our Hydrogens are now in gas state. They are moving freely, bouncing with each other, but they are basically very far from each other. We have to push them closer, to make them into liquid state."
"They won't stay close to each other! They are always running away, even from their kind!" Valerie shook her head.
"That's why we use this special tank. It will help them being closer to each other."
K.O. connected the tube from the car to the tank, and the molecules started to stream into the bottom of the tank. The balloon became soon empty, and the tank was not full. The molecules were cheerfully rolled on each other, they were not disturbed their state. Moreover they gave them a lot of chocolate bars.
"It is one of the good things of changing states!" K.O. winked at them. "This change gives a bit of energy to us."
"So when the state of gas is changed to liquid, we'll gain energy. What about the other way?" Conrad asked.
"Do yo remember of making and cutting bonds? Making gives us energy, but cutting requires energy."
"If we want them to be in gas state again, we have to give back the chocolate bars to them. Am I right?"
"Yes, you are!" K.O. smiled at the boy. "We are finished here, let's go to the office!"
Since the balloon had shrunk, the caravan turned back to a normal car, K.O. sat behind the wheel, and drove to the office. He collected his payment, and told the officer about the twins' situation.
"Valerie, Conrad, come here! This officer said, he tries to reach your grandpa, but it takes some time to find him. I have to go to a few places, so stay here. I will come back, wait for me here. Is this okay?"
The twins nodded, and K.O. drove away. It was frightening a bit, after their only familiar person vanished, but the twins' attention was drawn to a number of other interesting things. In the hall, there was a big screen, with a lot of advertisements. They were almost all job advertisements. There was some trading advertisements, but those ones were rare.
"The harvest of the Hydrogen pays a lot!" cried Conrad, as he was reading the ads.
"This one pays more, but I don't know what does babysitting Hydrogens mean. It is said the job requires work experience."
"This one wants to buy Hydrogens, and this one wants to buy Deuteriums. But he also accepts trade for heavy water."
"This one invites mining, if you need methane..." Valerie's voice died. Methane. It was their Nemesis.
"Hey, look!" Her brother tried to console her. "It is the advertisement of a temple. They are also searching for babysitters!"
"Experience is not needed."
"Well, we have some experience in dealing with Hydrogens, haven't we?" Conrad winked at his sister. Valerie cheered up a bit.
"Yes, you are right. We were working with them a lot!"
"And they provide bed and full board for workers."
They were spending time by reading ads. The the light weakened outside, the lamps were turned on, but officer still couldn't reach their grandfather, when K.O. came back.
"I think it would be the best, if you would stay with me." He said.
"Would you wait here with us?" asked Valerie with glee.
"No." He shook his head. "I have to go to another harvest. Would you come with me? It is fun, and you could earn some pocket-money!"
"We would like to wait for our grandpa here."
"I really want to go with you, but I think our grandpa is worrying, and we want to meet him as soon as we can."
"So you have decided." K.O. said in a sad tone. "I really enjoyed the work with you!"
"Me too!" cried the twins in unison, and hugged their friend.
"If you need a job, you always find one at me!"
The kids followed K.O. to the car, where the man picked two big squares of clothes. He made two knots on the opposite peaks, and knotted together the other peaks.
"It is a good bag. Temporarily. While your grandpa comes for you." He said and filled them with chocolate bars and candies. "It is your share from the harvest."
"Thank you!" said the twins sadly, as K.O. put the temporary bags on their shoulders.
"I have to go. Take care of yourselves!" He said and sat behind the wheel. "I would be glad, to know when you will find your grandpa, so leave a message on the board to me!"
The twins were waving after him, until the car vanished into the horizon.
"Don't cry!"Conrad snapped at his sister. "Grandpa will come for us in no time!"
Conrad was wrong. The officer found him, but he didn't respond to the calls. The first day was spent by reading the advertisement wall. The second and the third one was full with sightseeing, but on the fourth day, the kids had given up waiting for their grandfather.
"Could we send him a telegram?" Valerie asked the officer, after she remembered the way, their grandfather had communicated with their parents. She hoped it would work, and the nerve-wracking wait ends.
Fortunately it was available, but the cost was high for them. Conrad's temporary bag became almost empty, after they had paid the fee.
"Don't worry! It was the right choice."
"I know." replied Valerie, but Conrad felt the despair in her tone. "But I wish we had gone with K.O."
"Yeah. I also think it would be a better choice now." Conrad told his sister. "But then we both hoped that grandpa arrives soon."
"Fortunately, we have a lot to eat, and the supplies last for weeks. But what would we do, if grandpa never comes?"
Conrad didn't look at Valerie. He didn't say it loud, but it was also his worst nightmare.