Jacob bombarded Wizard Crackoops with questions and the wizard had to ask him to slow down a couple of times. Ben was really, really glad there were so many good things to eat and drink otherwise he would have been totally bored. As it was he could eat and drink and listen with half an ear. This is what he heard.

Castle Wizbin was a kind of Embassy and Wizard Crackoops was the ambassador for a distant planet called Cyan. The Cyans were so advanced that what we thought was magic was everyday to them. They never exposed themselves too openly because it usually caused all kind of problems. But it had been decided to start to meet a few of the youngest people on Earth, these being the most open and able to believe and accept new things, even things that were completely strange to them.

Jacob had started on another set of questions but the wizard kindly just put up his hand and said that that was enough for now and that they should go on a tour of the castle. He had things he had to do but Pipsqueak would be their guide.

"You are welcome to come back and visit any time. Or if you are in trouble ..." he paused and thought for a moment or two then waved his hand and with a flash two little pen like things appeared. One in front of Ben and one in front of Jacob.

See it.

"These are Cyan comm sticks. You can call Castle Wizbin on these," he said,"from anywhere on Earth certainly. But only in an emergency mind. They look like ordinary pens and can be used as pens but they are so much more. To call Castle Wizbin in an emergency turn the pen cap back and forth quickly. Now I must go."

Pipsqueak, who had gone elsewhere during their feast to eat her own type of food, returned, "Come along then," she said, "Let's start the tour. You will be the first so .... well we hope you like it." With that she approached what looked like part of the wall but a concealed door opened and she stood beside it waiting for Jacob and Ben to enter. Jacob picked up his comm stick and put it in his pocket but Ben didn't and just got up to follow Jacob. The comm stick put itself into Ben's pocket. Nobody, well certainly neither Jacob or Ben noticed.

The door led them down a set of steps and they were out in what Pipsqueak called the Central Courtyard.

"Gooww and meet Percy," and she pointed to a clock standing in the middle.

Ben and Jacob walked over. The clock had four faces, one in each direction, but they were ordinary faces not clock faces. The one facing them said,"How do you do. I am Percy Passing, the Castle Clock and I tell people the perfect time."

See it.

"You don't have normal clock faces how can we tell the time?" asked Ben.

"My faces are as normal as everyone else cheeky and if you want to know the time you just ask."

"Oh I see," said Ben walking around the clock,"Your faces are all different."

"Well of course, that way I can be happy, sad, surprised and bored all at the same time."

Jacob laughed, "Isn't that confusing."

"Sometimes confusing but very useful since I don't have to make any quick decisions about how I feel. In fact sometimes I never make up my mind about how I feel since I can feel four different ways at any time."

"So you stay here and tell anyone who asks what time it is?"

"Ooh not just what time it is. I can answer any question with the word time in it. In fact I can also answer any question where the answer has the word time in it as well."

Ben, trying to be clever and asks,"So what is 236,194 times 471,258?"

"Huh! Is that the best you can do? That's easy. It's 111,308,312,052. Simple arithmetic is my speciality.

"Jacob asks, "What did The Leaning Tower of Pisa say to Big Ben."

"Oho one of my favorites, If you've got the time, I've got the inclination. Ask me something really difficult"

Jacob thought for a minute, "How do you know the time you tell people is perfect?"

Percy whispers to Jacob, "I tell people the time that is perfect for them."

Ben overhears and says, "Are you a fraud?"

"Certainly not. You are very rude and not only rude but ignorant as well I shall not talk to you for a long time." With that Percy shut his eyes on all four faces and ignored them even though Ben tried to apologise and pleaded but eventually they just had to walk away.

Pipsqueak tells them not to worry about Percy, he is easily upset and will have forgotten all about it next time they see him. She takes them to a door marked Games Room and opens the door for them. They go in but Pipsqueak doesn't follow and the door shuts behind them.

They are in a very large room where the wall, ceiling and floor all seem be covered in large gold colored tiles. There is a clown sitting in the middle who gets up to meet them. "How do you do. I am Parfait the Games Master. What game would you like to play?"

"What kind of games are there?" asked Ben.

"Well you could play Earth games, Cyan games, Concretian games..."

"Concretian? Where is that?"

"Oooh Out there." Parfait waves his hand, "Concretians play this game of standing perfectly still and saying nothing. The one who does it longest wins. Their whole way of life is based on that game, in fact you can get to be President of Concretia if you are really, really good at it."

"Their whole way of life?" says Jacob, "Wow, how is that working out?"

"We don't really know. Nobody has heard from them in ages."

"I think we'll play a Cyan game," says Jacob. "Pick one for us."

"O.k. You can play sequences. You have to walk across a tiled floor only stepping on the the next tile in the sequence, whatever it is. You must try to get to the middle and take the prize. Let me see, as a start you can try the spectrum sequence."

The floor in front of them changed to a set of colored tiles and in the middle was a pedestal with a very nice looking pair of basketball shoes on it. Parfait danced about in excitement on the edge of the game.

See it.

"What happens if I make a mistake?" asked Jacob.

"Let's just say for this trial game you go back to the start and you get turns trying to get the prize."

"I want to go first," exclaimed Ben. "Go ahead," said Jacob, and stood back.

Ben rushed along the tiles, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet but standing on the Violet tile there was no Red tile that he could step onto not even with a big jump. He tried to jump for the nearest but stepped on the wrong tile and the game disappeared.

It re-appeared again. Jacob did not rush but looked carefully at the floor trying to see a way to the middle. He started off and was doing well but also got to where he would have to make a jump because he had made a mistake. He jumped and just managed to stay on the tile. From there it was easy to get to the middle and he triumphantly picked up the basketball shoes. As he put them on he could feel the same sort of throbbing as when he had touched the handlebar of the super M Bike. The shoes must have magic. Ben looked so unhappy Parfait gave him a pair of shoes as well as a consolation prize.

"Perhaps that's enought for your first time in the Games Room," said Parfait, and he opened a door to let them out.

Jacob said to Pipsqueak who had met them that he had to ask Percy something and went across to where Percy was standing. As Pipsqueak had told them Percy had forgotten all about their little tiff.

"I am a bit worried that we have been gone a long time and my Mum and Dad will worry about us," said Jacob.

"Ooh not to worry Jacob," answered Percy, "time in Castle Wizbin is different to Earth time. You can stay as long as you want but you will still get back at exactly the same time as if you had never been here."

Jacob looked at Percy for a few seconds who raised one eyebrow. Jacob walked back to Pipsqueak. "Percy wouldn't tell us a lie would he Pipsqueak."

"Purrcy!! Purrcy cannot tell a lie. He cannot."

"But could be be telling me something I just want to hear, something that's perfect for me."

"Well now that's possible. I have no way of knowing."

"I think we had better be getting back if you don't mind. Wizard Crackoops said we could come back anytime. Maybe we could finish the tour then if you don't mind."

"Well of course if you must get back then please follow me and I will get Freckles to escort you."

When they got to their bikes they looked just as they had left them and the Super M Bikes were nowhere to be seen.

"Huh!, Wizard Crackoops must have made anothers oopsy," said Ben, "Oh Well." And he jumped on his bike to ride off.

Jacob had heard Ben scream like that once before when he as on the Mile High Roller Coaster at the Super Ex. No sooner was he on his bike than he and the bike left at super high speed and was gone from sight down the path back. Jacob was a bit more cautious and put his hand on the handlebar of his bike. He felt the throbbing of power. Obviously the wizard hadn't made a mistake he had made the Super M Bikes look just like their old mountain bikes so there would be no 'awkward' questions about where they had come from. Jacob got on and just enjoyed the ride catching up with Ben easily, the bike just knew it's own way along the path Jacob just had to think about where he wanted to go. A car driver was quite surprised when two boys on mountain bikes peddled past him on a country road on their way home. As Percy had said they got back home at the same time as though they had never been to Castle Wizbin.

An easy way to get there with no effort and spend as much time as they like, they would be going again as soon as they could.