The cart was much more comfortable than it looked. Not only did it feel soft but, it also cushioned the jolts as it dropped to the floor and sped down a long tunnel. Finally, it emerged at the other end in what appeared to be a large, underground cavern, and rose back to full height.

Cliff sat up and looked around. This was indeed a naturally occurring cavern, but one which had clearly been extended by artificial means. All around were various high-tech monitors and instruments – and in the center, what appeared to be a large, saucer-shaped spacecraft resting on three legs.

All of a sudden, Edmund shot out of a hole in the wall and landed on his feet just like an ordinary house cat – just before standing up in a manner most unlike that of an ordinary house cat.

“This place is amazing!” exclaimed Cliff.

“And it will be even more so the more you learn what the things here are,” added the cat.

“So, which of the equipment here were you talking about?” asked Cliff.

“A lot of it is wearable,” said Edmund, “so let’s get you changed. Stand over there.” He pointed to what looked like a white object similar in size and shape to a phone booth – except instead of having a door, it was just open on one side. “Go into the booth and face out,” instructed the cat.

Cliff did as he was instructed. As soon as he did, strange high-tech arms extended partway to the center of the open rectangular face. Next, strange beams of light hit him from all directions, and his clothes dissolved into what seemed to be an opaque light. The same opaque light then surrounded his entire body. When it faded, he was wearing a suit that he had never seen before, and the most unusual helmet.

“If you come out now,” instructed Edmund, “you will see that there is a mirror to your right.” Cliff looked at his reflection and saw what he was wearing. His shirt, pants, gloves, and shoes seemed to be all one piece – made of a material unlike any he had ever seen or felt before. Most of it was white – except the belt, gloves, and tips of the shoes were all a light blue. On his chest was an equal-area-projection map of the Earth. The helmet was also white with the same map representation on the forehead, with a dark-blue visor extending over and covering his eyes and nose. It was fastened to his head with a very dark blue strap.

“This suit is a work in progress,” admitted Edmund, “but even in its present state, it has built-in binoculars that upon mental command can greatly extend your visual range. It is loaded with all available maps of the forests in the pertinent sector of town – with the ability for you to make marks on them, also by mental command. You will be able to know where you are on the map, as well as where any object in your visual range is.”

“GPS?” asked Cliff.

“This is to GPS,” retorted Edmund, with an air of offense in his tone, “as a modern Earth laptop computer is to an abacus.”

“This will help me do the mapping,” said Cliff.

“Indeed,” said Edmund. “And the markings you make on the maps while in the field you can clean and elaborate on from your own computer at home. There is also a mentally activated voice recorder and camera. There will be more after the suit is complete, but even as a work-in-progress you will find it quite useful – and that goes for the vehicle too.”

“The vehicle?” asked Cliff.

Edmund pressed a button, and a large metal box not too far away opened to reveal what looked like a white motorcycle. Over its headlamp stood a shield bearing the same map that was on his chest and helmet.

“It looks very much like a motorcycle,” commented the cat, “and for the time being, it isn’t much more – except that instead of gasoline, it uses a much cleaner fuel source from my home world. Also, as long as you wear the helmet, you can always know where it is on the map, and only you can operate it.”

“Cool,” said Cliff. “How long will it take me to learn how to ride it?”

“For you, on this particular vehicle,” answered Edmund, “the learning curve will be minimal. It was made specifically for you, so it’s mostly about learning to trust yourself.”

“So what else are you going to add to all this?” asked Cliff.

“Several more things,” said the cat, “and it is important to know that my exact plans what features to add are not yet cat in stone – so as you use it, it would be most helpful if you can provide any feedback on what might be useful.”

Cliff began studying the maps stored in the helmet. “Better get this to use,” he said, “while there’s still daylight.”