Dr. Wentworth hammered the last widget into place, wiped his brow, and then raised his clenched fists above his head in triumph. "At long last, it is complete! Eustace! Come here immediately!"

"I'm right here, sir. I've been here helping you this whole time. I just handed you that last widget not even thirty seconds ago."

"Yes, of course I was aware of that. But never mind the petty details. I have perfected the universe hopping machine! This is a cause for celebration! You should depart for the supermarket immediately and procure us some tasty donuts! But see if they have any day old ones they'll cut you a good discount on. We don't need to be splurging on any fancy fresh donuts around here when you can get almost as good ones at a mere fraction of the cost!"

"It's that smart financial planning that's gotten you to where you are today, sir," Eustace said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of getting some donuts, but don't you think you should give the machine a test run before we celebrate? You know, just to make sure it really works?"

"You dare question me? I must say you're getting a little too big for your britches. Who is the doctor here and who is the dime a dozen assistant? You think I won't call up your little community college and ask them to send me over a new helper? Because there are doubtlessly throngs of young scholars lining up for the opportunity to work with me."

"I apologize profusely, sir. I will learn to not think independently in the future."

"Good, good," Dr. Wentworth said as he stroked his chin. "I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to make sure the current iteration of the machine is up to snuff. We already know traveling to another universe is possible after I, Jonas Wentworth, became the first person in history to accomplish the feat with the successful completion of our prior excursion. That worthless Dr. Octavius has certainly never done anything remotely like that. I doubt his puny little brain would even be capable of coming up with an idea as awesome as travelling to other universes. Only I have the ingenuity and foresight to even think of such a possibility! Let us take a moment to laugh at the small mindedness and lack of imagination of that pathetic little excuse for a scientist."

They both laughed heartily for a solid minute.

"All right, that's enough laughter for now. Come, Eustace. Let me demonstrate the capabilities of the new and improved machine. It basically works the same as before. We will trade places with two individuals in another universe. We will travel to whatever physical space they inhabit, including the very articles of clothing they are wearing. They in turn, will come here. The last people we swapped with had the unmitigated gall to vandalize my laboratory and damage my equipment. I'm afraid I must take some small measure of blame for that. If you will recall I had the foresight to build a lockbox, but I overlooked the need to be able to operate the machine from within the lockbox. Never let it be said that Dr. Wentworth fails to learn from his errors. I am now in possession of a remote control that will allow me to operate the machine from inside the lockbox. So you and I will enter the lockbox, make sure it is sealed tight and protected with the top secret code that only I know. And once again do not pester me to share the code with you. You will never get it out of me. Indeed, my lips are an even more secure vault than this actual lockbox we will be climbing inside of. Once we swap places with the beings from another universe we will be free to explore it from whatever location they happened to be in, in that universe. Those individuals will in turn find themselves locked inside this impenetrable box from which they shall find it impossible to escape, for I shall keep the remote on my person and they will be unable to operate the machine. Likewise they will not be able to guess my four digit security code, which would release them from the box. No, they shall have to wait inside it until the time expires whereupon we shall swap back. They will return to their universe and we shall return to the lockbox. I've programmed it so we will both return to the place we left from, rather than wherever we travel to in the other universe. I do this out of the kindness of my heart for them. We will return to the same spot regardless, since they will be unable to leave the confines of the lockbox. They will return to wherever they were when we trade places for them. It will minimize their confusion upon their return home, which I'm sure will be high since they will have been yanked unexpectedly into a different universe. Never let it be said that Dr. Wentworth lacks empathy for his fellow man."

"Just for Dr. Octavius, right sir?" Eustace asked.

"Obviously I have no empathy for that cretin. Wait, is it empathy or sympathy? I always get those mixed up. Regardless, I do not have either one for him. Only contempt. Utter seething, writhing contempt."

"So are we going to trade places with those male strippers again?" Eustace asked.

"No. I still haven't figured out how to choose exactly who we trade places with or where we go. This is highly experimental science and there is much to be learned. I do know we will return to the same universe because I have the same settings dialed in for that particular parameter. I have adjusted the rest of the settings. There are still some unknowns involved, so I do not know who we will replace or where it will be, but it will be different individuals in a new location. I know that much. So what say you, Eustace? Are you prepared to make another trip?"

"I suppose so, sir. As long as it's for the good of scientific advancement."

"And for crushing Dr. Octavius. Do not forget that part. Now, last time I set the journey for a mere ten minutes. That was a very long time to be stuck on stage stripping in front of a bunch of belligerent females, but it's not very long as far as exploring a new universe goes. So this time we shall set our journey for ten hours. That should be a sufficient amount of time to get a feel for our surroundings. So get in here and let us break new ground once again in the realm of human knowledge and understanding. And revenge, which is obviously the most important aspect of this whole endeavor."

They stepped inside of the lockbox and closed the door. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but they were able to fit. Dr. Wentworth tested the door to make sure it was securely locked. "Now, let us be off."

They sat there in awkward silence for a moment as nothing happened.

"Um, sir, did you remember to grab the remote control?"

"What do you mean, did I remember to grab the remote control? I'm the genius of this operation! I'm not supposed to be bogged down with the petty little details like grabbing remote controls. This is precisely what I have an assistant for. So I believe what you meant by that snarky little comment is that you were volunteering the detail that it was, in fact, you who forgot to grab the remote control. Obviously you shall have to be punished for this oversight. I have a pantry full of potatoes that need peeling. I will be expecting every last one of them to be skinless by tomorrow evening as I have a great hankering for mashed potatoes. You may begin this task once we return from our journey to the other universe. But first, go fetch the remote control so that we might commence our travels."

"Right away, sir," Eustace said. "But we're kind of locked in this box."

Dr. Wentworth let out a loud sigh. "And I suppose you expect me to open it for you. Really, must I do everything? Why do I even have an assistant?"

"Well, since you won't tell me the code to the lockbox, I'm afraid you are going to have to open the box for us. Unless you want to share the code?"

"Never!" Dr. Wentworth shouted. "The code shall go to the grave with me! Do you understand me? Now don't ask me about the code again or I'll have you whipped with a cat o' nine tails! Do not test me, boy! My patience for tomfoolery is nonexistent! Now please do me the courtesy of looking the other way while I input the code."

Dr. Wentworth did his best to cover the keypad with one hand while he typed with the other. The pad beeped three times and a red error light came on. "Blast it! I accidentally hit the wrong button. No matter. I shall try again."

The same three beeps sounded and the error light flashed again.

"Why do they make these accursed buttons so small and so close together? It is exceedingly difficult not to unintentionally bump the neighboring button, which consequently causes one to input the incorrect code."

"My fingers are much more slender than yours, sir. Perhaps I should enter the code?"

"What did I just say about asking me about the code? Are you some sort of spy? Did that lousy wretch Octavius send you here to pry out my innermost secrets? Remind me to whip you later while you're peeling those potatoes!"

"There's no need to tell me the code, sir. I'll cover my eyes with my left hand while I hold out my right index finger. You can guide my right hand and use my finger to push the buttons."

"Hmm," Dr. Wentworth rubbed his chin. "This is not a terrible plan. Perhaps I shall spare you the lashing. Cover your eyes and extend your finger."

Eustace complied with the instructions. Dr. Wentworth tested that he wasn't peeking by pretending to punch at his face a couple times. Once he was satisfied that Eustace's eyes were really closed, he grabbed his finger and punched in the code. Immediately he hit the wrong button on accident. This time a much louder and higher pitched beeping sound began to ring out incessantly. A counter came on the screen that read 480:00 and then changed to 479:59.

"What happened?" Eustace asked.

"What happened is your stupid finger went and bloody well screwed everything up!" Dr. Wentworth raised his voice so it could be heard over the ear-splitting beeping noise. "If the code is entered incorrectly three times, the keypad locks you out for eight hours."

"Wait, what does that mean?"

"It means we cannot unlock the box until the eight hours have elapsed. Additionally we cannot operate the universe hopping machine because somebody forgot to grab the remote control. It appears we are stuck here."

"Um, is this annoying beeping sound going to stop?" Eustace asked as he attempted to cover his ears.

"No," Dr. Wentworth said. "No, it is not. At least not for another seven hours and thirty-eight seconds."

"I see," Eustace said as he squeezed his ears harder, trying to block out the shrill noise.

"And Eustace? About that lashing we discussed earlier. It's back on."