A Spell Of Reversible Happenings

Katherine's car roars into Penguin, and stops outside the Groovy Penguin Cafe.

Coffee break, says Katherine. Who wants what?

She takes orders, and goes into the cafe with Margaret.

Any sign of the Wicked camper? asks Gaius, shifting his position.

Yes, says Arthur. It's parked over there.

Be a good chap and see if they've got a spare cushion, says Gaius.

All right, says Arthur, opening the back door of the car.

Crunch! He has opened it onto a cyclist.

What bad luck it would be if the cyclist turns out to be Sweezus, or Surfing-With-Whales.

What good luck then, that it doesn't.

The cyclist has come off his bicycle and is sprawled on the road.

Sorry, says Arthur.

Don't worry, I'm used to it, says the cyclist, getting up and examining his bicycle, which is scratched but not otherwise damaged. What about your door?

It's not my door, says Arthur.

So nothing to worry about there. The cyclist gets back on his bicycle, and continues his journey to Burnie.

Cushion! says Gaius from the interior.

Going! says Arthur. He starts crossing the road.

The Wicked camper is unlocked and empty. Arthur gets in and looks around for a cushion.

As if there would be a cushion! He sits down on a hard metal box.

The door slides open and the head of Karl Marx appears.

Arthur! says Marx. Keeping the mud samples warm for your employer? They're not chickens you know. (Marx has made an error here. Gaius is not Arthur's employer).

Arthur stands up and opens the metal box on which he has been sitting.

He doesn't expect to see chickens.

Nor does he expect to smell what he smells, and see what he sees writhing.

He slams down the lid.

What is it? says Marx. Have they turned nasty?

Yes, says Arthur. Help me get them down to the sea.

Me? says Marx. It's not quite my milieu. I'll go and find Stew.

He heads off to the foreshore where Stew is just finishing a latte, and looking for a bin to dispose of his cup in.

Give me that, says Marx. I know where a bin is. You go back to the camper, and help Arthur throw out the samples. They've become a foul-smelling bacterial soup.

No way, says Stew. They're worth credits.

Ying has got out of Katherine's car and seen Stew and Marx fighting over a coffee cup.

Hey, says Ying. Calm down. Its just a coffee cup.

Gaius hobbles over. Where's Arthur? grumbles Gaius. I sent him for a cushion.

Hold this, says Marx. I know where Arthur is.

Now Gaius is holding the coffee cup.

Marx stalks back to the Wicked camper. Stew and Ying are deep in discussion.

Gaius looks around for a bin.

He spies The Bin Penguin Family, and totters over.

The pain in his bottom has made him if anything more observant.

Hm. Emperor Penguins, no doubt, mutters Gaius, dropping Stew's cup in.

Fairy, says Mummy Bin Penguin. We are local.

Interesting, says Gaius. It's not all that cold here. That's a distinct breach of Bergmann's Rule. I suspect you are due for a spell of reversible dwarfing.