After the race, the priest led them to their little ones.
"They look like they are happy." stated Valerie, as she was watching the cheerfully bouncing small Hydrogens, and the Buddha-like, big and peaceful Heliums.
"I told you, didn't I?" The priest smiled at them. "Do you want to keep them?"
"Keeping them?" asked the wondering Conrad. "Why? What would we do with them?"
"You should either keep them, or sell them."
"I would like to keep them," said Valerie, "but we can't bring them with us. They are each as big as a beach ball, and we have thirteen of them."
The priest burst out in laughter.
"Sorry, I always forget, that you are newbies. It is easy to bring them with you. You could store them in your hand device."
He showed them, how to use the app for storing the Heliums. Valerie and Conrad quickly learned the method, and stored the Hydrogens, and the Hydrogen-Deuterium pairs into the device. When they finished, the device started blinking.
"Ops." the priest said, and he took the device out of Valerie's hand.
"Is it broken?" asked the kids. Their hearts were pounding in their throats in fright. They needed the device to collect their win, and buying train tickets.
"No." The priest shook his head, after examining the device. "The capacity of your hand device is small. You need to buy some memory cards, to improve the performance. I mean, if you want to keep it. You could also buy another one, if you want. You are rich."
"No. We want to keep it." said Conrad in an instant.
He knew very well, that Valerie liked the designed hand devices, so he decided quickly. K.O. was right. They don't need an expensive hand device just for one travel to home. On the other hand, they needed money to make a living until their parents get home. So selling their energy might have been enough for the next two weeks. Valerie tried to argue with her brother, but Conrad wouldn't let her.
"We don't need another one! We are going to travel home as soon as we can, why would we buy an expensive gadget? It would be a waste of money."
"Cheapskate! We should find grandpa first! We need to get back our suitcases before we go home!"
Conrad silenced. Valerie was right. They had to do some things before they could go home. Moreover, their parents wouldn't be in their house, and the keys were put into their luggage. They couldn't even get to the house without getting back their suitcases.
"We have not the faintest idea where he may be, so you should see, we can't waste money!"
"If you want to stay here longer, this device is enough for you. It is a very good basic model, easily expandable, with a stable software. It is ideal for beginners. You could even buy cases with cute patterns." The priest said, because he was fed up the twins arguments.
"Okay, let's keep this one." Valerie sighed. "Where could we buy memory and case to the device?"
The priest guided them back to the town, to a store. The store looked exactly like an old-fashioned mobile phone store. The window was full of second-hand devices and spare parts. The owner of the shop was an acquaintance of the priest, so they were welcome despite the lunch break.
"Newbies? It is always exciting!" he winked at the kids, and watched the device thoroughly. To do this, he put on a special magnifying glass that the children had only seen on K.O. so far. The owner played with them a bit, and showed them the magnifying method. The glasses were worked like mini telescopes, were going in and out, like the eyes of a snail. It made the twins laugh and they looked at the strange man with confidence.
"Khm. They need some memory and storage place, to collect thing." said the priest impatiently.
"Let's see." The store owner stopped entertaining the kids and turned his attention to the device. After a while, he sighed, put the device on the counter, and went back to the warehouse. When he came back, his hand was full of all sorts of buttons. "I have everything you asked for, but unfortunately the device's battery won't withstand the load. I don't have a spare battery for this device. In addition, no other batteries are in stock. Nowadays, there is a shortage of all batteries in all shops."
"I told you we should have bought a new one!" turned Valerie angrily to her brother.
"They are too expensive." said Conrad and the shop owner is unison.
"They are also not worth the goods. They are beautiful, designable, but can hardly be repaired or expanded. Yours is a very good device, you just need a new battery."
"Could it be ordered?" asked the priest.
"I can order, but it would take a long time to get here, and I suppose the summer holiday is more important for the kids in their age, than waiting patiently here for a battery." answered the shop owner, and he turned to the twins. "Hey newbies, have you ever been in the Lithium Kingdom?"
The twins shook their head.
"It is in the neighborhood, and a very interesting place, if you haven't seen more than this kingdom. Moreover you could make your own battery."
The twins left their mouths open. Making their own battery? How?
"I could tell you." The shop owner told them. "Look at your device! You need lithium hydride for the battery, so buy some Hydrogen, and travel to the Lithium Kingdom."
"There are also temples there that deal with elemental lithium." informed them the priest.
"So, you go to one of them, and tell them, you need a battery, and you have Hydrogens. I set the app for you to be able to collect lithium hydride, so you just have to make the lithium hydride from the elemental Lithium and Hydrogen. Easy and funny task, isn't it?"
Valerie and Conrad were not so confident as the shop owner.
"The owner tells you how many Hydrogens you need, and the priests there will help you to make the lithium hydride." The priest tried to give them a push to the right direction.
"When you are ready, come back here, and I will repair your battery. When the battery is recovered, you could go, and explore the whole Island!"
The shopkeeper was very optimistic, and the twins, no matter how uncertain, nodded. They undertook to obtain lithium hydride. It was easy said, than done, but the priest proved to be very helpful. He went to the central office with them, helped to buy student rail passes for the whole summer, showed them how to buy Hydrogen, promised to take care of their Hydrogen-Deuterium pairs (they didn't have enough storage place, so the twins left them in the priest's device) and in the end he escorted them to the train station. He help them to get the right train, and even waved at them as their train rolled out of the station.
"The system of rails is quite complicated." noted Conrad, as the train passed through an intricate interchange line.
"What does that sign mean?" Valerie pointed at the sign of a big gate. "I.A"
"Intelligence artificial? I am just guessing."
"I don't think so… There's another one!"
There was an arrow pointed from 1 toward number 2, but number 2 was on the left side.
"Hello Newbies!" An old lady sat down to the seat opposite to them.
"How do you know we're new here?" asked the kids suspiciously. K.O. warned them that talking to strangers in this world could be dangerous as well.
"Because you don't know about the map signs." The lady smiled."Are you going to the beach?"
"No, we want to go to the Lithium Kingdom."
"Are your parents in the Island?"She asked in a serious tone.
The kids shook their head.
"We are going to get a battery for our device alone. Are we on a wrong train?" asked Valerie, frightened.
"Nope, don't worry. Just because you didn't know what the signs meant, I thought someone at the station would be waiting for you. It is a bit difficult to travel alone for the first time. But the Lithium Kingdom is in the neighborhood, so even a newbie could manage to travel there from the Hydrogen Kingdom."
"Are they important signs for travellers?" asked Conrad curiously.
"Yes and no. Important to someone, who knows the meanings, but if you are traveling just to the neighborhood, those signs are not too important. You just have to check the sign at the train station, and get off the train. The next three stops are in the Lithium Kingdom anyway, so you can't get lost."
"What are those signs?" asked eagerly Valerie, and since there was a disapproval on the lady's face, she added. "Could you tell us, please?" The lady's face straightened up, and smiled again.
"Those are map signs. The map of the Island is divided in circles and coloumns. Where have you been on the island so far?"
"We have been only in the Kingdom of Hydrogen."
"So you are really newbies!" The lady smiled again. "Well the map sign of the Kingdom of Hydrogen is I.A – 1. The I is a roman number, means 1. The I.A means the kingdom is in the first coloumn, the 1 means they are in the first circle."
"Where is the Lithium Kingdom?"
"You have read the sign, so guess!"
"One to two, and I.A "Valerie was thinking loud. "Is it in the first group and the second circle?"
"Congratulation!" The lady smiled.
Valerie was happy, but she had so many questions! She was a bit afraid, that the lady would take umbrage at the questions, but her curiosity was stronger.
"Is there a second A group?"
"Yes, is is written as II. A."
" And the third is III.A?" asked Conrad this time, and the lady nodded. "And the fourth is IIII.A?"
"No, the fourth is IV.A." She corrected the mistake.
"Roman numbers are difficults." stated Valerie. "Why do they use them?"
"Roman numerals are used to distinguish columns from circles. Otherwise, you can get used to it quickly. There is also a map where the columns are numbered from one to eighteen, but this would lead to too much confusion. Not practical at all because you can mix up road signs. So those few Roman numerals are worth learning."
"What is the sign of the fifth row?"
"It is V.A, the sixth is VI.A,..."
"The seventh is VII.A..." started Valerie, but Conrad didn't let her finish.
"The eighth is VIII. A..."
"The ninth is VIIII.A..."
"Stop, stop." laughed the lady. "There isn't ninth group, but the others are correct."
"Aren't there group ninth?" asked Valerie sadly. "Why?"
"Because eight electrons brings the atoms into a very stable state. So those atoms belong to the main groups. But there are 10 subgroups, with the sign of B."
"How do you write nine and ten with roman numbers?"
"IX an X, but there are no ninth or tenth subgroups. They are also numbered from 1 to 8, but the eighth group consist of three groups. Moreover, there is a mountain, where two more big groups located."
"Are they signed with C?" asked Valerie with confidence.
"Sorry, they have their own names. The smaller ones are Lanthanoids, the bigger ones are Actinoids."
"It is quite difficult." sighed Conrad.
"It is very easy, when you'll learn more about the behavior of the atoms. The little ones with the similar behavior belong to one main group or subgroup. It makes more easy, when you take a look at the map of the Island."
"We don't have a map. Where could we buy one?" asked Conrad, and prepared to spend a larger portion of money for the next application, they needed.
"Is your hand device working?"
The kids nodded.
"There is one in every hand device. It is one of the basic applications."
The kids immediately was looking for the map of the island. The map was a very astonishing one, not like the maps they watched at school. The map in the hand device was very lively, and was moving continuously. The Island looked like a big circle with a small mountain on the left side. Small, blinking islets were visible along its shoreline.
"Those islets are not too stable formations. Sometimes they explode, and vanish from the map. Just some very brave researchers live next to them. But there is nothing to see on them. They are like volcanic islands. Sometimes they emerge from the water, and the next day they are burn themselves down."
"Could anybody go there?" asked the kids excited. The vanishing and appearing islands seemed interesting.
"By train? No. There is no railway to these islets, of course. Maybe they are accessible by boat."
"Why are kingdoms numbered?" pointed Valerie to the numbers on the map.
"There are 94 independent kingdoms on the Island, and 24 more or less stable dukedoms. They are numbered from one to 118, which is called atomic number."
"Is the atomic number related to the number of protons?" asked Conrad, studying the map. "Hydrogens have one, Heliums have two of them., and their atomic number are one and two."
"Yes, they are. The atomic number shows the number of protons in the atoms."
"And the electrons! They are the same in number!" cheered Valerie up. "I hardly wait to see the Lithiums with three hands!"
"I think you will be a little disappointed in those three hands." said the lady seriously.
"Why? If the Lithium is the Kingdom number 3, the Lithium atoms have 3 protons and 3 electrons. So they have three hands, aren't they?" asked Valerie uncertainly, because she remembered, that K.O. had said, that the 100. atom didn't really have 100 hands.
"Lithiums have altogether 3 hands, but the electrons are wrapping the atoms in layers. There are electron pairs in the inner layers. The hands in the inner layers holds hands in pairs. Sometimes those holding hands are covered by lonely hands, so they aren't visible."
"So I won't see the the three of the electrons at once?" asked Valerie sadly, and the lady shook her head.
" Two of the hands are holding each other, and they are wrapped by the third one. Only the third one is visible. Like it would have only one hand."
"Is Lithium looks like Hydrogen?" asked Conrad. "Hydrogens also have one hand."
"Basically yes, but they are much more bigger."
"Are they bigger than Helium?"
"Yes. The more wrapping, the bigger the atoms are in one group. This is the rule."
"How big is the biggest one?" asked Valerie curiously.
"The biggest one is called Francium, and it is about your size."
"Whoa!" The twins were amazed.
"Franciums can be found at the shores of the Island. I am now going to hunt them!" The lady smiled at them.
"Why do you have to hunt them?"
"Because they are rare, and it is hard to find them."
"Are they more rare than Tritiums?"
"Much much more rare, and they are really clever ones. They can hide very well."
"Are they expensive?" asked Conrad politely.
"Yes, they are, but they are very tricky ones, and they could disintegrate with nuclear fission. Just by themselves. So selling them is a bit hopeless."
"Why are you hunting them, if you don't want to sell them?" asked Conrad surprised.
"I want to examine them, because I am a researcher. They are very interesting little ones." The lady smiled at them, and Conrad was amazed to discover the same sparks as they were lit in K.O.'s eyes when he talked about Hydrogens.
"How many hands they have?" Valerie tried chatting with the lady.
"What do you think? I give you a hint. They are the part of the I.A group."
"If Hydrogens and Lithiums have one hand on the surface, and they belong to the I.A group, Franciums have also one hand on the surface, aren't they?" asked Valerie.
"Congratulation." The lady smiled. "You have guessed right. Franciums also have one hand on the surface."
Valerie's face was lit up, but Conrad were thinking hard.
"Are the number of the group connected to the hands on the surface?" asked finally.
"Good thinking! The number of the hands on the surface are the same as the group number. But there are exeptions."
"Why?"
"Because the numbering only roughly indicates the properties of the members of the groups. We can say most of their properties based on the number of their columns, but there are already differences in the behavior of atoms, especially in the subgroups."
"So that's why the Heliums take place in the column VIII. A." Conrad was thinking loud.
"Yes, you are right. Heliums are belong to the group VIII. A despite they have only two electrons. The other members have eight electrons on the surface. But the behavior of Heliums is the same as the others in the column, so they were included in Group VIII.A."
"It is really interesting!" Valerie said, while her gaze was pointed to the map.
"Oh! These are just the basics. There will be a lot of more interesting things, when you will start discovering the Kingdoms!"
The lady and the twins were immersed in conversation. The kids didn't run out of questions, and the lady didn't get bored to answer them. Their happy conversation was interrupteded by the train's announcer.
"This will be the first station of Lithium Kingdom." The lady informed them. "But this is just the outskirts of the kingdom. Do you want to get off now?"
"If we could find temples…"
"You could get off in the Capital in this case. That is the next stop."
"So we have more time to talk!" Valerie said happily. "It would be sad, if we should have left you so soon."
"I liked you very much too. You are very smart children. Don't you want to come with me to hunt Franciums? Think about it! The Kingdom of Francium has great beaches. Comparing to that, the Kingdom of Lithium is very boring."
The twins looked at each other. Both of them wanted to go with the lady, but they couldn't.
"We need lithium hydride for the battery of our hand device. So..." Valerie answered sadly after taking a big gulp.
"It is a pity!" The lady became sad too.
"We would really want to go to hunt Franciums, it would be very funny, but, we have to find a temple, in this Kingdom with elemental Lithiums."
"In this case I could recommend you a very good one! It is managed by my niece, Sister Electra Oly. Tell her, that her temple was recommended by me, and you could get some discount!" She winked at the kids.
She showed them, how to use the maps of the kingdoms, on their device, signed the temple, she had recommended to the twins. The remaining time to the central train station flew away in an instant, as always, when one is in good company. Valerie and Conrad got off in the Capital of the Kingdom of Lithium. They waved good-bye their new friend, and watched as the train vanished to the horizon.
The leader of one of the temple of Lithium got a strange message to her hand device.
"I have sent to you two kids. Aunt Ille"