by Richard Lori
Humboldt sat at his massive mahogany desk, pecking away at his computer keyboard. After dictating his portion of the Congressional report, his assistant Melinda had typed it into the computer. He never felt satisfied though until he made further edits himself. He was always too free with details when dictating, but once he saw it on paper, he would alter it to make sure the wording was just so. He only put in the absolute minimum of what Congress needed to know then hinted around at the rest.
He was just starting to re-word the summary paragraph when his phone emitted a shrill beep. He finished typing his thought then reached for the answer button.
“Yes,” he said, looking back at the computer screen to review his last change.
“Agent McAndrews is here, Mr. Humboldt,” the tinny voice of Melinda chirped from the speaker.
“Good. Have him come right in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Special Agent Lawrence McAndrews opened the door a moment later and sauntered over to one of the two chairs opposite the desk. Humboldt ignored the man, his focus tuned to the words he was crafting.
“Good morning, Director Humboldt,” said McAndrews as he sat in one of the leather chairs.
“Good morning, Larry.” Lifting his eyes from the screen, Humboldt said, “What do you have for me?”
“I pretty much have all the details on Dr. Manders’ death finalized. I just wanted to go over it with you before I file my report. I also have more information regarding Phil to discuss with you.”
“All right. Dr. Manders first. Anything new?”
“Not really. Phil acted alone from everything I’ve been able to gather.”
McAndrews pulled a phone from the breast pocket of his sports jacket and reviewed his notes while he spoke. “I was able to clear Bobby with security camera footage at one of the loading docks. He was there between 2:37 and 3:04 a.m. The quantum shifter logs recorded the first breaker to the high-voltage supply tripped at 2:49 a.m. and the second at 2:52.”
“So Bobby couldn’t be in the lab when Dr. Manders was electrocuted,” said Humboldt, his fingers drumming one of the tall stacks of papers on the desk. “And Franz was in London that week, so he’s clear. What about any of the technicians and programmers?”
“I’ve checked out everyone on our payroll and Gladstone’s. They’re all clean as far as I can tell.”
Humboldt was growing tired of going over the same ground repeatedly. He just wanted to know if this was all Phil’s doing or if there were others involved. He barked, “What else?”
“Phil is still sticking to the story that he found Dr. Manders in the lab already dead with another man over his body. He claims there was some type of handheld computer connected to the quantum shifter and that this man was downloading information from it. He said there was a struggle with the intruder and that he pushed him into an electrical panel.” McAndrews shook his head. “When security found Dr. Manders, there was no evidence of anyone else being there or of the computer Phil claimed the information was being downloaded to. There’s only one odd thing I haven’t been able to figure out.”
“What’s that?”
“The fact that two different high-voltage cabinets were opened and two different breakers were tripped.”
Humboldt’s annoyance bubbled over. “We’ve been all through this before, and it doesn’t mean anything! The only reason he’s saying there was someone else there is to cover his ass for killing Manny. He must have found out what Phil is up to and was murdered for it.”
McAndrews shifted around in his seat, the leather emitting a mouse-like squeak when he did so. “I know that Dr. Manders was a friend of yours, sir, but we do need to look into all the possibilities. One is that there may have been someone else there.”
“Oh bullshit!” boomed Humboldt. He looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath.
He exhaled and looked back at McAndrews. “I’m sorry, Larry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you. Yes, Manny was a good friend of mine and that alone would make me mad enough to kill that bastard Phil. But it’s more than that and you know it. His shenanigans have also jeopardized this project, and you know as well as I do the importance of what we’re doing here.”
“Yes, sir, I do.”
“Hell, Larry, if you hadn’t been so tied up with that investigation on the Chinese, I would have put you on this project from the get go. I couldn’t, so Phil was the next logical choice. Ever since, I’ve trusted him less and less. Now after he killed Manny, I can’t stand the son of a bitch.”
“I know you wanted me to check him out because of Dr. Manders’ death, but were there specific reasons you started to distrust him before that?”
“Nothing I can put my finger on. He never seemed to be leveling with me, and I even caught him in an outright lie once. He shrugged it off as a misunderstanding though. I’ve just been biding my time with him until you got freed up.”
A musical chime blurted from the computer speaker, and Humboldt shifted his attention to his workstation. It was a reminder to take his medication. He pulled a pill organizer from his top-left drawer and started removing the necessary tablets from each of the small compartments.
McAndrews ignored the distraction and continued, “I see. Well, I think your distrust may be justified—beyond his murder of Dr. Manders that is.”
Humboldt had just put a small yellow tablet into his mouth so awkwardly said, “Why, di you fine somethin ow?” He put a glass of water to his mouth and took a sip.
“Yeah, it seems like he’s been spending some money: new car, new vacation cabin upstate. All cash purchases too.”
Humboldt nodded his head while he swallowed a massive white caplet. “I knew he was up to something!” he said, slamming his fist down on a stack of papers. “That’s why I wanted you to check. Manny must have discovered something, and Phil killed him for it.”
“That’s a possibility,” said McAndrews, nodding.
“I’d say it’s a certainty,” growled Humboldt. “Have any leads on where he got the money?”
“I’m still looking into that.”
“Yeah, well, I can guess he’s using his position in some unauthorized manner. You need to find out who’s paying him and for what.”
“Don’t worry, sir, I will,” McAndrews said with a smile. “For now though, I just want to let him run free so he doesn’t suspect anything. We need to give him enough rope to hang himself with.”
“I’m all for that,” said Humboldt, the corner of his mouth turning up.
“I would like to go ahead and file the final report on Dr. Manders though. That way I can get that wrapped up so I can concentrate on the investigation of Phil.”
“That’s fine. I’d like to review it before you file it though.”
“Naturally,” said McAndrews. “I assume you still want me to say the cause of death was accidental?”
Humboldt folded his hands together on the desk and stared at them for a moment. He nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s the way it’s got to be.” His gaze went back to McAndrews while he continued, “I’d like nothing more than to see Phil fry for what he did to Manny. I can’t let my own wants interfere with the project though. Congress is already talking about budget cuts, so we can’t afford the bad publicity. If there was even a hint that it was anything other than a simple accident, it would force an outside investigation and shut down the project for months. We can’t have it.” He grinned. “Besides, if we implicate Phil in a homicide, we’d be taking away the other noose you’re tying for him.”
*****
A blurred face hovered over Fuller while the sparkle of fireworks faded from his vision. He grasped at his head, which felt like a balloon on the verge of popping. He said in a hoarse voice, “Sue?”
“It’s me, John.” She stroked his hair. “Are you all right?”
The edge
of his lip drew up at the confirmation it was her. The mist in his brain lifted somewhat, and he said more clearly, “Yeah, I think so.”
His eyes roved around the surroundings and saw he was lying on the floor of the shifting booth. He was back. But from where? His mind was still hazy.
“You had me scared. I thought he killed you,” said Sue, her voice quivering.
“Killed me?”
It took a second, but then his mind snapped back and the memory rushed in. He groped around for the blood soaked gash from Franz’s knife but found nothing except a small pick in the material of his shirt. He attempted to raise his head for a look but thudded it back to the floor when a blast of pain and nausea hit again.
“Just lay there for a minute,” Sue said as she caressed his cheek. “You may have a concussion.”
“A concussion?”
“Yeah, you hit your head on that cobblestone pretty hard a couple of times.”
“All I remember is the knife.”
“You were so pumped with adrenaline that you didn’t feel anything. You just focused on holding the knife back.”
After several more minutes, his head cleared further and Sue helped him to his feet. He held on to her for support while they went into the house and he sat in his favorite living-room chair. His head was still throbbing when she brought him a cup of chai. Its spicy warmth flowed into him, easing the last spasms of nausea and clearing the dullness in his head.
“Feeling better?” Sue asked, bringing a cup to her own lips and taking a sip of tea.
“Yes, much.”
“Good.” She took another sip. “What do you make of that place?”
“I don’t know. It was very odd. By that building, we were in some type of Roman province, but you said we shouldn’t be shifted geographically.”
“From what we know, we weren’t. But then again, we still know very little about shifting to parallel universes.”
“If we assume we didn’t, it means in that universe, the Roman Empire spread onto the North American continent,” he declared.
“Given that they’re still around in the 21st century, I would say it’s very probable they would have spread that far.”
“I suppose.” He pondered this for a moment then said, “That would explain why the inhabitants looked more Native-American than European.”
“Yeah, I thought they did too,” she said with a nod.
He put his empty teacup on the table. “Well, now we know where the conspirators are going, but we still don’t know why they’re shifting guns there.”
“The only way to find out is to go there again.”
Fuller shivered. He had come closer to death than in the lab, and now the conspirators knew someone was following them. Would they be waiting for them next time? Did they know who was following them?
He had a sickening thought and blurted out, “Sue, you said you met Phil several months ago at the lab. Do you think he recognized you today?”
“Damn, I didn’t think about that.” She looked off in thought for a moment then shook her head. “No, I doubt it. We were pretty far from them, so I don’t think he got a good look. Besides, we only met one time, and that was months ago.”
“Yeah, but you recognized him the day we spied on them at the lab.”
“I know, but it took me a while to place him, and he looked and dressed pretty much the same as when I met him. I don’t.” She waved her hand over herself. “My hair is pulled back today, and I’m dressed pretty ratty,” she said, plucking at her shirt.
Fuller looked at her light blue T-shirt and jeans and smiled at her modesty. He had only seen her dressed up and made up in the pictures on her office wall, but she had looked different. He nodded. “You’re right. He couldn’t have gotten that good of a look.” He paused for a second then said, “That brings up a good point though. It was the clothes we were wearing that made them come after us. I don’t think we can take a chance like that again though. When we go back, we’ll need to disguise ourselves.”
She snickered. “Should we get some of those black glasses with the plastic noses on them?”
Fuller scowled. “Very funny, I’m being serious.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, puckering her lips to hold back a smile.
“We’ll need to get some clothes like the locals so we can blend in better. We can bring some things from here to trade with one of the vendors in the market.”
She raised her eyebrows and nodded. “That’s a good idea. I’ve got some old junk jewelry upstairs we can use.”
“Great. The only other problem we have is we’ll need to find somewhere to stash the clothes once we buy them.”
“What do you mean?”
“When we shift back here, we won’t be able to bring them with us. We’ll need to have somewhere in that universe to hide them.”
“I see what you mean.” She thought for a moment before saying, “There is something we can try.”
“What?”
“Back when we did a couple of initial surveys of parallel universes, we shifted regular video cameras that were set to record. When they came back, we would watch what they recorded. Two that came back were pretty interesting.”
“What did you see?”
“It wasn’t so much what we saw on the recordings as what happened to the cameras. The first was a recording of a desert landscape in the middle of a dust storm. The other time, the camera came back damaged after only recording a few minutes. It was caught in a heavy thunderstorm.”
“That’s not so odd. You said something happened to the cameras though?”
Thudding the teacup onto her thigh, she said, “When we pulled the memory card from the camera that had been to the desert, grains of sand came out. The one from the thunderstorm had water pour out when we opened it up.”
“Hmm, that is interesting. So, some of the matter from the other universe came back with the cameras.”
“Yep, but not permanently. After a few minutes, the sand and water both shifted back.”
“How is that possible?”
Sue turned on the couch so her body was facing him, the remaining tea nearly sloshing over the side of the cup. Fuller could see she was getting that same glow of excitement he had seen when she was talking to Bechler about the quantum shifter data. Her eyes sparkled when she said, “Because the matter from the other universe was surrounded by matter from our universe, it pulled the other back with it. It’s kind of like what I had told you about not shifting all the matter in a mass to the other universe. If we only shift the outer portion, it sort of pulls the rest through the gateway.
“Once we open that door, other energy or matter can be pulled through either way. That’s what we’re after in generating power through shifting. Do you remember seeing a faint flash of light when Bechler shifted back both times?”
“Yeah.”
“That happened because when he shifted back to his universe, some energy leaked back into ours.”
He nodded. “Okay, but why don’t we see that when something is shifted out with one of the machines then?”
The glow increased as her index finger came up and waved towards the ceiling. “Ah, remember the quantum shifter coils are absorbing the energy pushed back from the other universe. The thing is, we haven’t found a way to hold the gateway open long enough to keep pulling the energy back through. You see, just because we open the door at a certain point, it doesn’t mean the energy will flow back at that same point in space-time. It can happen anywhere that the two universes are interacting with each other, like in the huge gravity wells of black holes. If we can find a way to keep the door open, the transfer should happen there, because it will be the path of least resistance.” She rocked her head up and down as she spoke the rest. “Once we find a way, we’ll have the unlimited energy source we’re looking to tap.”
Fuller scowled. “So if that’s what y
ou were after when creating the quantum shifter, why did you make it so big? You told me that shifting a gram of material would give back enough energy to power a city. The machine you have in the lab can transfer tons of matter.”
“We built it after we found the other universes with the small-scale testing. One of the other physicists on the project, Dr. Philips, was convinced that if we transferred larger masses to the other universe, it would cause a greater force to re-achieve balance between the universes. Therefore, it would be easier to capture the energy. While Dad and I agreed it made sense, we wanted to continue with the smaller scale testing first. Philips convinced my uncle though so we built the larger machine.”
Fuller took a deep breath and blew it out. “This is all very interesting, but let’s get back to our immediate problem. How do we get the clothes to come back with us?”
“We never really studied the phenomenon to see what’s possible, but what we should be able to do is shift a box to the other universe with us. We put the clothes we buy there in it. When we shift back to this universe, the clothes should come back with us.” She grinned.
“But you said the water and sand that came back in the cameras shifted back to their own universes after a few minutes.” He shook his head. “That won’t help us.”
“Sure, but what if once the clothes are here, we use the quantum shifter to set the quantum state of their matter permanently to this universe?”
Fuller leaned forward in the chair. “That’s possible?”
“Like I said, I’ve never done it before, but it should work.”
“We’ll try it then and hope that it does.”
*****
They shifted back to Universe A the next day. Sue took some cheap trinkets from her jewelry box, hoping they could use them for bargaining. Fuller brought some kitchen knives and matches in case the locals would be more impressed with these. They shifted the barter items first and set the controls to keep them at the destination permanently. This way they would not cheat the purchasing party by having their merchandise vanish after a few hours. Then they shifted themselves along with a heavy box; this time setting the power level higher than on their first excursion so they would remain longer.
When his head cleared from the shift, Fuller could see they had materialized in the same sewage encrusted crevice between buildings.
As Sue picked up the bag of items to trade, she said, “I’m glad we put this stuff in a plastic bag or it would be covered in this nasty muck.”
“Yep.” Fuller opened the box he was holding and let her put the items inside. When the transfer was complete he said, “Let’s go, this smell is making me sick.”
They walked onto the familiar street and headed towards the market, trudging through the grease-like streets, a recent rain having turned them to mud. Although it caused sluggish travel, the rain had at least washed some of the filth away and made the odor more manageable. The streets were less crowded and they quickly got to the market.
“That stand over there has clothes.” Sue pointed as she led the way. She walked under the canopy and rifled through piles of garments splayed out on the shelves, pulling one off the stack to hold up to herself.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“Very chic. That turquoise stripe gives a nice highlight to your eyes,” he quipped.
“Okay, okay. I know it won’t be the most beautiful thing in my closet, but I’m not going to get one of these crappy brown ones,” she said, picking it up and throwing it to different stack. She grabbed another and cracked, “Or how about this lovely yellow number? I’d look like a school bus in it.” She threw it back on the shelf, her lips puckered as if ready to spit.
Fuller chuckled. “I don’t know about the school bus, but I suspect you’d look good in a potato sack.” He felt his face flush a bit when he said this but was glad he did.
Her eyes rolled up. “Yeah right. It’s nice of you to say though.”
“Well it’s true even if you don’t believe me.” He put the box down and pulled one of the tunics off the pile. He held it up to himself. “This damn thing will look like a miniskirt on me.”
Sue laughed. “Just make sure you put on underwear or everyone will get quite a view if you drop something.” She took the tunic from him and put it back in the pile. “These look bigger over here.” She grabbed the top off another stack and gave it to him.
Fuller held it up. “That’s better, but it’s still kind of small.”
“I doubt we’ll find anything in your size. You’re quite a bit bigger than most of the locals we’ve seen.”
“All right. I’ll just get this one then.”
Sue scrunched her face. “You’ve got to be kidding.” She snatched it from him. “There’s no way I’m going to let you walk around in something like this.” She pulled a different color and pattern from the pile. “Here, see how this fits.”
“What’s the difference? They’re all goofy looking.”
“Yeah, but some more than others. Just hold it up.”
He did not want to admit it, but the one she picked was less offensive. With the selections made, Fuller pulled one of the knives from the box. He held it for the vendor to take and said in Latin, “We will take both of these tunics.”
The clothier’s eyes bulged when he took the knife and examined the edge. Although a simple steak knife from Sue’s kitchen, its stainless steel blade was like nothing he had seen before. Like Fuller suspected, stainless, chrome and aluminum would be as foreign to them as computers and television.
“Yes, yes, of course, Lord. They are yours,” the stand owner said with a grin.
He was sure the custom would be to haggle over the price, but since the negotiation had already ended, he was certain his payment had been too generous. Next time he would buy extra tunics and use them as barter for other items.
They moved on and soon came to a shop for footwear. It was not a street booth but a building storefront. After entering, it was apparent the choice was limited: several styles of sandals or heavy leather shoes. The latter wrapped around the bottom of the foot with laces along the top from the toes to the lower ankle securing it.
Sue picked up a pair of the shoes. “Oh good, we have two options: crappy or ugly.”
Fuller laughed. “You’re just spoiled, young lady. You can’t expect a primitive society like this to compete with an industrialized one like ours.”
She nodded. “You’re right. I’m sure they feel fortunate to have the selections they do.”
Fuller picked up the sandals and addressed the shop owner. “Can we have a pair of these in each of our sizes?”
“Yes, Lord,” the cobbler said.
He knelt beside them and measured their feet with a tape. He wrote some notations on what looked to be a sheet of vellum, which was almost black from writing scribbled on every corner of the page.
The cobbler looked at Fuller. “I can have both pairs made by the next Day of Saturn.”
Fuller’s brows furrowed, “How many days is that?”
“That is in five days, Lord.”
“Five days? Why so long?”
“I will need time to make them for you.”
“We cannot wait that long. I need them today.”
The cobbler’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “I am sorry, Lord. I cannot make them that fast, and I have other customers already waiting.”
“Damn,” Fuller said as he looked at Sue.
“What did he say?” she asked.
“He can’t get them to us for five days because he has to custom-make them. I never thought about that.” He pounded his fist into the palm of his other hand and bellowed, “Shit!”
The cobbler cowered. “I am sorry, Lord. I know you are powerful gods, and I did not mean to anger you. I will start immediately and work all night to have
them ready tomorrow.”
Fuller glared at the man. What was going on that these people thought they were gods? He and Sue were different from them, but to make the jump to calling them gods was absurd.
He put a smile on his face to calm the cobbler. “That is all right, I am not angry with you. I was hoping you had some already made that we could buy.”
“I am sorry, Lord. I am not powerful like you so did not know you would be coming.”
Fuller looked around the shop and saw shelves with other shoes on them. He asked, “What about those over there? Can I buy them?”
“Oh no, Lord. Those were made for other customers and would not be the ideal fit for you.”
“That does not matter,” he said, walking towards the closest shelf. “They do not have to be perfect. As long as they are close.”
Fuller grabbed a larger pair and sat on a low bench to try them on. They were a little smaller than what he would like but were serviceable. He went back to the shelf and picked a pair for Sue. They fit well, so Fuller pulled another steak knife from the box and gave it to the cobbler. Again, he could see by the reaction that it was more than enough payment for the merchandise; however, this time he did not mind. The cobbler would have some angry customers who would not get their sandals when promised, and the knife should more than compensate him for this.
The last stop was to buy Fuller a hat. While Sue’s dark hair blended in with the locals, his did not. With his tall stature and light brown hair, he stuck out like the beacon of a lighthouse. While there was no way to make him shorter, they could cover his head with a coif like the ones the local men wore. A hood-like affair that would cover his hair, it had a strap that wrapped around his chin to secure it to his head.
Instead of paying with a knife this time, Fuller paid with a bundle of matches. At first, the merchant balked at the little wooden sticks with red and white tips. His demeanor changed though when Fuller struck one and it flared to life. The merchant bounced up and down like a child when Fuller let him strike one himself, swishing the flaming stick around with a big grin. He accepted the offer of a bundle with glee.
As Fuller and Sue walked back to the market entrance, they came across the old beggar from the previous day. He bowed to Fuller.
“I worship you, God, and thank you for your generosity yesterday. I do not wish to test my fortune, but it is another day and I have not yet eaten.”
Fuller pulled out a dozen matches and handed them to the old man. “You should be able to trade these for food.”
The beggar was befuddled until Fuller showed him how to light them. He said, “You have given me a wonderful power with these fire sticks. I worship your greatness.”
“Tell me, old one, what is your name?”
“I am called Cassius,” said the beggar, giving a half bow.
“I am curious, why do you think I am a god?”
“You must be to have a power such as this,” he said, holding up the matches.
Fuller shook his head. “No. That is not why you think this. You called me a god when you first saw me yesterday. Why?”
“You look like the other gods that have recently come, so you must be one as well.”
“The other gods?”
“Yes, the ones who have crossbow stocks that spit darts and stones which make thunder and smoke.”
Fuller knew the crossbow stocks he was referring to must be the rifles. Stones that make fire and smoke. Hand grenades? He continued the questioning, “Have you seen these other gods then?”
“Oh yes, I see them walking about the city with Placidia and Legatus Ocella.”
Fuller had studied several websites the night before to brush up on his Roman history and had come across the term of Legatus in his reading. This was the highest rank in a Roman legion and was equivalent to a modern-day general.
“Who is Placidia? A legatus?”
“No. Julian Placidia is the consul.”
“Have you seen these weapons they have brought?”
Cassius shook his head. “No, but I have been told about them and have heard the thunder when they train the legionnaires outside the city.”
“I see. How many of the gods have you seen, besides us of course?”
Cassius put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment. “Most times there are two or three gods together, but sometimes only one.”
Sue let out her breath. “What are you two talking about?”
Fuller turned to her. “Hold on a second. He’s telling me about the conspirators and the guns.” He turned back to Cassius and asked, “How long have these gods been coming here?”
“I could not say for sure.” He looked towards the sky like he was trying to read the answer there. “I first heard of them maybe three moons ago.” He lowered his head back towards Fuller. “Yes, that would be about right. It was not long after that I started to see them myself.”
“So when you saw them, were they always with this Placidia you spoke of?”
“Oh yes. You do not think a man such as Placidia would allow anyone else to mingle with the gods, would you?”
“I do not know anything of this Placidia so could not say.”
“Ahhh, I can see you have just come from the heavens and know nothing of this world. You have been kind to me and given me a great gift, so I must say this to you.”
He motioned for Fuller to come closer and looked around to make sure no one was listening. He said in a low voice, “Placidia is an evil man and is not to be trusted. He has tortured and killed many to keep control of the empire. I fear that with these gods to help him, he will be bold enough to kill the emperor and claim the throne as his own.”
Cassius explained to Fuller that an emperor had ruled for centuries since splitting from the old empire across the ocean. In addition to the emperor, a group of magistrates and the Senate also held power. While historically the senate elected the emperor, the previous ruler, Lucius I, had changed this. He gained power by leading an army in victory against several nomadic tribes threatening them from the west. He had further increased the size of the empire through marriage with Princess Galla, the daughter of a rival king to the south. Because of this expansion, the old emperor had gained the support of the people to appoint the next emperor rather than the Senate doing so.
Before the old emperor died, he appointed his son from the marriage to Galla, Lucius II, as his successor. Because he was a young boy at the time, his older, half brother, Julian Placidia, became regent until Lucius came of age. At first, Placidia was able to control Lucius because of his youth. Once Lucius got older, he did so through intimidation. While Placidia could never outright kill the emperor to gain the throne, he was able to keep him in check by his palace guard holding the empress and children as hostages.
During this same time, Placidia also appointed himself the sole consul. This was the elected position that ruled the old Roman Republic before it became an empire. This made him the top magistrate and allowed him to preside over the Senate. While in the old empire, the Senate elected the position of consul for one year, Placidia made it a lifetime appointment. He expanded its powers and killed off political rivals to secure his position. By controlling the Senate and emperor both, he was in effect the absolute ruler of the empire.
Fuller told Sue what he learned from Cassius so far. She said, “For an old beggar, he seems to know a lot.”
“Yes, he does.” Fuller became curious too so turned to Cassius. “How is it that you know all this about Placidia and the emperor?”
“Me? I once was a trusted one. I was a palace guard.”
“What happened to cause this?” he asked, waving his hand at Cassius, top to bottom.
“Ahhh this,” the old man chuckled. “Yes, I have seen hard times these two years. When I was suspected of being loyal to the emperor instead of Placidia, I was discharged from the guard.”
“Could you not find
other work?”
The old man shook his head and chuckled again. “No. I can see you do not know the way of this world. When stripped of my position, I became an outcast.” He became serious as he held out his right hand to Fuller. On the back of it was the brand of a large ‘X’ burned into his skin. “With this mark, people will hardly look at me, let alone give me work.”
“That is terrible. I am sorry for your plight.”
“I am forced to live on the charity of others. I exist to make others feel generous. ‘Poor old beggar,’ they say. ‘The children and commoners ridicule and spit on him, but I am more noble. I will give him some food to eat.’ That is what they say to ease their own conscience.”
Fuller translated for Sue. She said, “That’s awful. How can people be so cruel?” She opened the box Fuller was still holding and pulled a string of fake pearls out. She held them out to Cassius. “Here. Tell him to take these and sell them.”
When Fuller translated what she said, Cassius threw his hands back and shook his head. “I cannot take them. I will be accused of stealing them and will be thrown into prison.”
“Why would someone accuse you of that?” Fuller asked.
Cassius tilted his head. “Come now, if a dirty old beggar came to you and said he would sell you such a treasure, would you question it?”
“I see what you mean.” Fuller thought for a moment then said, “What if we were to clean you up and make you look like a noble, what then?”
Cassius trembled, looking back and forth between Fuller and Sue. “You would do this for me, God?” he gasped. “But why?”
“You have given me valuable information, and I think you can give me more. In return for this, I wish to pay you.”
“Anything you ask of me. You are truly the greatest of gods to help a poor beggar like me. Thank you, thank you.”
Cassius fell to his knees and bowed to Fuller, who said, “Stop that. Here, get up.” Fuller pulled the old man to his feet. “I am no god.”
“You are too modest. You are a great god. The greatest of all.”
Fuller shook his head. “The first thing I want you to do is point out this Placidia to me. I would like to talk to him.”
“Of course, God, of course.”
They went to the Senate building and stood across the street, this time concealed in the shadows between two buildings. Fuller wanted to talk to this Placidia but not if Phil, Bobby or Franz were around. While they waited, he looked farther between the buildings and noted the lack of trash and sludge. In fact, this part of the city was much cleaner and did not smell of sewage. He wondered if there might be some form of plumbing in the wealthier sections of town.
Sue asked, “Once you see who this guy is, what then?”
“I want to talk to him.”
“Don’t you think we should change first?” She looked down at her clothes.
Fuller shook his head. “No, I want to make sure he knows we’re not from here. These people think we’re gods or something, so I want to make sure Placidia thinks so too.”
“Do you think he’ll tell us what this is all about?”
“He probably doesn’t know everything, but I’m sure he can tell us something.”
“Well, he better hurry. We’re running out of time,” she said, looking at her watch. “We have about an hour more before we shift back.”
“If we can’t see him this time, we’ll keep coming back until…”
“There he is, Lord,” Cassius interrupted.
Fuller swung his head in the direction the old man was pointing and said to Sue, “He’s coming.”
Once Placidia walked closer, Fuller recognized him as the man that was with Phil and Franz the day before. Luckily, they did not accompany him today.
Fuller said to Cassius, “You stay here until we start talking to him, and then you leave. Here,” he said handing the beggar the box with their new clothes. “You take this with you but do not be scared when it disappears later. It will be following us back to where we come from. Also, I want you to follow Placidia around as much as you can in the coming days. I need to find out who he is meeting and what their names are.”
“Yes, Lord, I will do as you say. When will I see you again?”
“Go every day around this time and wait at the entrance to the market. We will meet you there when we need you again.” He pulled the carton of matches from his pocket and put them on top of the box. “You can use these to trade for food until then.”
Fuller took Sue by the hand, and they crossed the street while Placidia started to ascend the stairs. “Pardon, sir,” called Fuller.
Placidia turned at the voice, raising an eyebrow. “Well, what have we here?” He came back down the steps and stopped next to Fuller.
“I wish to speak with you for a moment,” said Fuller.
“Yes, of course. Of course,” replied Placidia with a smile.
“You are Julian Placidia, are you not?”
Placidia nodded. “You are correct. Are you not the tall man that my friends were chasing after yesterday?”
“Yes, I am. I think we surprised them by being here. They did not know we have a power equal to theirs.”
“I see. They have many mysterious powers that I do not understand. It appears they are not all powerful though if they did not know of you,” he said with a chuckle.
“No, they are not all powerful gods.”
“Gods?” Placidia snorted. “No, that they are not. They are men of great power, but they are men.”
Fuller was astonished. It seemed this man was not as naïve as the other locals. Since Placidia would not accept that he was a god, he would have to try a different tactic.
“I am glad you realize this. It will make it easier for us to work with you.”
“Work with me? In what manner?”
Fuller was not sure of the exact approach to take so stalled by saying, “Is there somewhere else we can go to discuss this?”
“Yes, of course. Come with me,” he said, starting up the stairs again. “The Senate will convene soon, but I have time to talk with you first.”
Fuller explained to Sue what was happening while Placidia led them into the grand building. The entrance hall was cavernous and decorated with ceiling murals and gold-threaded tapestries on the walls. They ascended a marble interior stairway that opened onto another large hall filled with senators and their subordinates milling around. Many of them called greetings to Placidia, which he acknowledged but continued walking past. Along the walls were various doors, and it was one of these that Placidia led them through.
The room was a private lounge with chairs and benches. Across from these was a table with pitchers and goblets on one end and plates of fruit and cheese on the other.
“Would you care for some wine, my friend?” asked Placidia.
“Yes, thank you,” said Fuller, his mind racing to finalize the strategy he would take.
Placidia handed them each a goblet of wine. “Here you are… I am sorry. I do not believe you have told me your name.”
Fuller accepted the wine. “Thank you. My apologies to you. My name is John Fuller.” He neglected to give Sue’s name in case Placidia talked to Phil about this later.
“You are welcome, John Fuller. Now, what was this business you wished to speak of?”
“We know of the weapons you received from the others that visit here. I am hoping to work out a similar arrangement with you.”
“I see. That is very interesting,” said Placidia. He sat in one of the chairs and motioned to a bench for Fuller and Sue to sit on. He brought the goblet to his lips and slurped at the wine. “This is quite good. Do try some.”
Fuller took a sip and had to control his reaction as the bitterness burned on his tongue. He suspected it was made from local grapes of inferior quality but smiled nonetheless when he lowered his glass. He said nothing and waited for Placi
dia to continue.
“So, my friend John, what makes you believe we are receiving weapons from our mutual acquaintances?”
Fuller eased back in a relaxed manner and continued playing the game. “We have seen the wood cases being transported, and your citizens speak of the thunder they hear outside the city. We were told tales of crossbows which spit many darts and rocks which explode when thrown.”
Placidia chuckled. “Yes. You are correct of course. We have been purchasing these weapons but what of it?”
This was the first slip Placidia made. He just confirmed Fuller’s suspicion that they were buying the weapons. For what purpose and how much he still needed to learn.
Fuller tried to contain a smile when he said, “I wish to sell some myself. Did you believe they were the only ones who could do this?”
“Well, until today, yes,” said Placidia. He rose, took a piece of cheese from the table and popped it into his mouth. Again Fuller remained quiet and waited for Placidia to make the next move.
“Would you care for food?” asked Placidia, motioning towards the table.
“Thank you, no,” replied Fuller, crossing one leg over the other and taking another small sip of the wine.
When Fuller said nothing more, Placidia came back and sat in the chair again. He broke the silence. “How many of the rifles would you be able to sell us?”
Again Fuller wanted to pull information from the man so asked, “How many do you need?”
“I have a legion of ten thousand I wish to supply with these weapons.”
“I see. And the others have not been able to provide you with these?”
“No, they have not. They have been slow to deliver them, and I wish to get them as quickly as possible.”
Fuller could see Placidia was irritated at the pace he was getting the guns and thought he could use this to his advantage. He asked, “I would have no problem getting them to you as fast as you like, but I need to know how many you still need.”
“I would need nine thousand more, and enough of the bullets to go with them.”
“Hmmm,” Fuller looked towards the ceiling for a moment. “That is many.” He looked back at Placidia and nodded. “I would be able to get that number for you. It would take at least a week to transport them though.”
Placidia smiled. “That is more like it. The others said it would take several more months.” The smile left his face. “Tell me though, would these weapons be the same as what we have been getting?”
“If that is what you wish. However, I can get you more powerful ones as well.”
Placidia raised his eyebrow. “More powerful? You interest me. Tell me more about them.”
“You are familiar with the rocks which explode when thrown. I can get you a device which is able to throw them a hundred times farther than your strongest man and powerful enough to destroy a building in a single shot.”
Placidia shook his head. “We have tried to put the rocks on a catapult, but they explode in the air before reaching the target.”
“The weapon I have will not explode in the air but will only do so when they hit the ground.”
Placidia sat forward in his chair. “Most interesting. How much would these weapons cost me?”
Fuller could see the potential for even more powerful weapons was exciting Placidia. He knew the consul was smart enough not to let too much out though so he would have to trick him.
“I would be able to sell you the boxes of rifles for half the cost that the others have been selling them for.”
Placidia grinned. “A half gold bar? Why so cheap?”
Fuller guessed this was a lie and Placidia was trying to get the price down further. He chuckled. “Come now, you know you have been paying more than that. I will sell them to you for one gold bar each.”
Placidia chuckled. “We will not haggle over these. I am more interested in the other weapon you speak of.”
“They will cost much more. Before I set a price though, I would like to demonstrate it to you so you will know it is worth it.”
“I agree with you, John,” Placidia said as he grinned again. “I would like to see if it is as you say. When can you bring this weapon to show me?”
Fuller stood to end the meeting. “It will be several days before I can arrange to get one here. I will contact you again to set a time.” He took Sue’s hand and helped her from the bench.
“Very good. I am here at the Senate building almost every day at this time,” said Placidia when he rose. “Come see me as soon as you can.”
The two men shook hands, and they walked from the room. When they exited, two senators walked up to Placidia and started a conversation. Fuller walked through the hall at a brisk pace, nodding to the dignitaries as he passed them.
Sue asked, “Well, what did you find out?”
“I’ll tell you once we get out of here.”
Fuller was aware of how vulnerable he was in this place and wanted to leave as fast as possible without arousing suspicion. If his bluff had not worked, Placidia would have guards surrounding them at any moment. He was only able to breathe easier once they were outside and walking down the steps of the Senate building.
They had walked for a block when Sue asked again, “Well, are you going to tell me if you learned anything?”
“Yeah, it’s what I suspected. Phil and company are selling them the guns for gold bars.”
Sue came to a jerking halt, her face turning red. “For gold!” she roared. “That’s what this is all about? Those greedy bastards killed my dad so they could make money?”
“I’m afraid so. They’ve sold them about a thousand guns so far and plan on getting them nine thousand more in the next few months. I don’t know what they plan on using the guns for here, but it seems pretty clear that for the conspirators, it’s about money.”
“Son of a bitch!” Sue clenched and unclenched her fists, pacing back and forth while she did so. She started to walk back towards the Senate building and howled, “I’ll kill them!”
Fuller hurried after and grabbed her. He spun her around. “Where are you going? We don’t even know where they are right now.”
“I don’t care. I’ll kill them as soon as I see them.”
“Come on, Sue, calm down. We’ll get them but not right now. We still need more information.”
She looked up at Fuller with her blue eyes, and the anger melted from them. Tears streamed down her face as she began to sob.
“I know, but I hate them.” She began to cry harder, her body fell into his arms and she began to shudder while she spoke in short gasps. “John… we… have to… get them… Promise… me… we will.”
He rubbed his hand across her back. “Shhhh… Shhhhh. We’ll get them. Don’t worry.”
At his words, her trembling stopped and her breathing steadied. When she hugged him tighter, the electricity he had felt before returned. The warm feel of her body next to his made him quiver with excitement.
Her hold eased and she leaned back to look up at him. She said, “Thank you John.”
The excitement in him grew as he gazed into her eyes and the tingling from her contact intensified. His whole body buzzed with passion, and he lost any hesitation he had ever felt before. He was lowering his head to bring his lips to hers when the sudden and complete nausea hit. The last sight he had before the kaleidoscope of colors blinded his vision was the calm azure of Sue’s eyes.
*****
As the nausea subsided, Sue clutched her ballooning head with both hands. She had hoped that the ill effects of the shift would improve as she shifted more, but it seemed it was worse than the last time. It may have to do with the amount of energy used to shift she thought. The longer one stayed or the farther one shifted in quantum frequency, the more energy needed and hence the worse the physical effect on the traveler. She ma
de a mental note to look into this at some point.
She stumbled back to steady her swaying body and bumped into the wall of the shifting booth. She threw her hands below her hips, and her palms slapped at the wall to keep from sliding down its smooth glass surface. She opened her eyes, and the bright lights seemed to bore into her skull, so she squinted to hold back the glaring force. Through narrow slits, she could see Fuller kneeling on the floor holding his head. Next to him was the box for shifting the clothes back. Blinking against the glare, she bent down and opened it. She nodded in satisfaction when she saw that it contained all they had purchased.
She turned her attention to Fuller and helped him rise from the floor. “Come on, we need to get the clothes we brought back fixed to this quantum state.”
“Uh huh,” is all Fuller was able to produce.
They went to the controls, and Sue executed the shifting presets she had created before they left. She could hear the hum of the coils while they ramped up to full power, but nothing else happened. She was not sure what to expect but thought that maybe nothing would be apparent since the box was not shifting elsewhere.
As the humming wound down, Fuller went into the booth and opened the box. He removed one of the tunics, and held it up for Sue. “Well they’re still here.”
“Good, but we won’t know it worked for sure until they stay here for a few days.”
“True,” he said. He put the tunic back in the box, carried it out of the booth and placed it on one of the workbenches. Putting a hand to his forehead, he said, “Let’s go in the house and rest for a bit. My head still hurts.”
“As many times as you keep hitting it, there’s no wonder it does.”
They went into the house and sat in the living room. Sue was glad to rest for a while too, her stomach still in knots. They sat there for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.
She thought back to the other universe and the anger she felt after learning the greedy motives of the conspirators. Her eyes moistened, but her tension eased again when she remembered the calming touch from Fuller.
She looked at him and saw his eyes closed, his head half buried in the deep cushion of the chair. She closed her eyes too, but the sound of his long slow breathing told her that he was still there and that all was secure for now. It felt good knowing someone was here with her after all the pain and loneliness. Was there something more though? Was it more than just having a companion on a journey or was there a spark of something greater?
In the last instant before they came back, she had felt something different between them. Although it may only have been her imagination, she felt he was about to kiss her. It was more likely a stray, foolish thought she had but hoped it was not. She was not sure whether it was just a desire to have a man attracted to her enough to want to kiss her—after all, everyone wanted to be desired by the opposite sex—or if she were starting to have feelings for him. All she knew for sure was that she liked having him here, and that was good enough for now.
Fuller broke the silence. “Have you recovered yet?”
She opened her eyes and looked at his smiling face. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Good. We need to figure out where we go from here.”
His matter-of-fact demeanor and the words he spoke made the previous thoughts rush from her head. Her mind switched tracks to their current situation. After a moment, she said, “I think we have a few options at this point. We can go to my uncle and tell him everything we know, we can shift back and find out more information, or we can try to contact Bechler and get some help from him.”
Fuller leaned forward in the chair. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea to talk to your uncle. All we know is that these people are trading guns for gold. We know Phil is involved, but we still don’t know who the blonde man in your lab was. Since he was the one in charge, I think it’s vital we find out who he is before we say anything to your uncle.”
Sue nodded. “I know I wanted to tell him before, but the more I think about it, the more I agree with you. I don’t want to put Uncle Bob in any danger.” She puckered her lips and moved them from side to side several times. “That still leaves two options.”
“Now it’s my turn,” he said, grinning. “I know I wanted to wait for Bechler to help us before, but now I agree with you. I don’t know where he is and why he hasn’t come back, but we can’t wait for him forever.”
“Okay then, we shift back.”
“Well, not so fast,” he said, holding up his hand. “We still have another option to explore.”
“Oh, what’s that?”
“What about the other universe the conspirators are going to? Universe B. We still haven’t been there, and we may be better off spending our time there.”
Sue’s eyebrows rose. Until now, he was reluctant to put himself into unknown situations. Now he was the one suggesting it. She could see he meant what he said about being more proactive.
She said, “Hmmm, that’s a thought. Until we go there, we won’t know which universe we can get more information from.” She nodded and continued, “I think you’re right, that should be our next move.”
*****
Fuller felt like he would fall over. When the familiar dizziness and nausea cleared, he looked around and could see a vast prairie of grass all the way to each horizon. The cloudless sky was a dingy blue that grayed further as it arced down to meet the earth. When he turned to look behind himself, he could just make out a low rectangular shape peeking above the horizon. He squinted his eyes as though the act would magnify the image and determined it was a squat building in the distance.
Sue stood next to him, one hand to her forehead. He put his hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yep, I just need a second.”
His hand stayed on her shoulder while she recovered. His thoughts drifted to the last time they shifted, his face flushing when he thought about what he had tried to do. He had wanted nothing more than to kiss Sue and had started to without thought. Now that he had time to consider it, he knew he should not have tried. He was even thankful for the interruption the shift had provided.
It was impossible that Sue would ever feel anything for him in that way. He thought it very probable that if he had succeeded in his attempted kiss, it would have offended her. He had met many women as attractive as Sue, and there had never been any hint of interest in him. In fact, most had shunned him like a pariah. He felt fortunate that Sue at least wanted him as a friend.
“Okay, I’m better now,” she said.
He removed his hand from her shoulder. “Well, we don’t have a lot of options. We can go to that building,” he said, pointing over his shoulder, “or we can go to that building.”
“Yeah, it seems to be the only thing around.”
He turned around and inhaled deeply. “C’mon.”
As they trudged along, the distance seemed never to close, the structure much farther than it first appeared. The brown grass around them swept about in the warm breeze. The swishing it made and thudding of their feet on the dry prairie ground were the only sounds that broke the utter silence. To someone who had lived in the city since birth, the lifeless surroundings were unnerving.
Fuller was astounded as he scanned the countryside for any sign of life and saw none. Although a city dweller, he had been out of it enough times to know the country was never silent either. It resounded with the distant caw of birds and the light buzz of insects. Here there was none of that, only the silence of a windswept tomb.
When they drew closer to the building, he could see it was about eighty feet square, its roof covered in the same long grass he was walking on. Its unadorned, concrete surface was smooth and only broke at a steel door centered on one wall. The door was below ground, and they would have to descend several steps to a landing to access it. He put his hand on one of the ste
el guardrails protruding from either side of the stairway and looked down its run. He could see a concrete landing buried under several inches of dirt that previous visitors had excavated enough to open the door.
He pointed to the bottom of the steps. “Looks like someone had to dig out to get the door open.”
“Yeah. What do you think this place is?”
“I don’t know. It looks like some type of military bunker.” He looked around again at the plain of grass and could still see nothing else rising from the horizon. It was odd that this lone building should be here with nothing else around.
He looked at Sue and said, “There’s only one way to find out what it is.”
Fuller led the way down the soil-encrusted steps and onto the concrete pad. He pulled on the door, which opened stiffly and emitted a low groaning sound. When he felt like his arm would come out of its socket, he grabbed the handle with both hands and pulled even harder. When partially open, he reversed angle, pressed his shoulder to the inside surface of the door and pushed while Sue grabbed the handle from outside and pulled.
When it was open all the way, he walked inside, rotating his shoulder and massaging it with his other hand. Beyond the first door, he could see another made of glass and steel. When he walked farther into the vestibule, the stale air engulfed him, its strong mustiness burning into his lungs. The initial wave caused his chest to tighten, but after a few more breaths it became more tolerable.
He came to the second door and pulled hard on its handle. His arm jerked back, the door almost hitting him in the face. It opened like it was hung on well-lubricated bearings. Fuller’s brows rose when a waft of the air inside hit him. It was fresher than that in the vestibule and had an almost floral scent, which made it even more pleasant than that outside.
He started to walk through the door, and when halfway, the lights snapped on inside. The ceiling, which was a single panel of light, bathed the room with a dim glow. On each side of the room were small cubicles that housed what appeared to be video or computer screens. The low chairs in front of each had a luxurious velvet appearance, and the floor was covered in a lush carpet that his feet sank into. What caught his eye the most though was the large console in the center of the far wall. It was like he had entered a chapel and the console was its altar.
“I think you might be right,” said Sue. “This looks like it could be some type of military control center.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. It could be, but it seems a little too luxurious in here to me.”
“What the hell?” exclaimed Sue.
Fuller’s head snapped around, and he saw her looking at the ceiling. He looked where she was gazing. “What is it?”
“The ceiling is moving. It wasn’t that high before.”
His head began to spin when he stared at it, the frosted glass surface appearing to inch away. “Is it getting higher or are we sinking?”
When he said this, it changed, dissolving to a deep blue sky with the wispy white clouds of a pleasant summer day. As the clouds wafted along in the sunny sky, the intensity of light increased, and Fuller wished he were wearing sunglasses. He looked down to shield his eyes and, once adjusted, was stunned when the room below was still dim. With the ceiling growing brighter, the room should as well, but it was not. It still had the same subdued light like before. He looked back up and squinted at the bright sunny sky.
“This is crazy. Look at the room and then back at the ceiling,” he told Sue.
“Damn. How can they do that? The light doesn’t seem to be affecting the room.”
The ceiling began to change again, and the sky dissolved into a mural that looked like it belonged in a courthouse or other public building.
At first, the change awed Fuller. Then he shook his head and snapped, “We don’t have time to stare at the damn ceiling. Come on; let’s look at this console in front.”
*****
Distraction. Beautiful, heavenly distraction! Someone was here again! The lights turned on when they came in, and she could see again. It was a man and woman walking around. Even though their appearance was distorted in comparison to the vision from her own eyes, she could make them out nonetheless.
She did not recognize them, so they must not have been here before. She wondered if they were more of the vandals returning and was prepared for further harassment if so. She hoped they were from the United Earth Alliance and would be able to mend her after all these years.
As they drew near to the console, she said in a computerized voice not her own, “Hello. I am the Librarian. How may I help you?”
*****
Fuller jumped when he heard the female voice, his heart lurching with its sound. When the initial shock wore off, he said, “The Librarian?” He looked around for the voice, and then realized it had come from the main console. He exhaled, knowing it was not someone springing at him from around a corner. He asked, “Is this some type of library facility then?”
“Correct,” answered the Librarian. “This is Master Storage Facility Number Eight; however, most refer to it as the Master Library.”
Sue moved closer to the screen, which had come to life. She asked, “So by ‘master’, does this mean the facility contains all the published books of your society?”
“Correct, it contains all published books, computer data, VR, video and audio. I am here to assist you in accessing any information you wish to research.”
Fuller could not tell if it was a woman talking or the synthesized voice of a computer. The speech was more perfect than any computer generated voice he had ever heard, so to be certain, he asked, “Are you a computer?”
There was a slight pause before the answer. “I am currently a computer.”
Fuller did not know what she meant by ‘currently,’ but before he could question it, Sue asked, “You said facility number eight. So there are other facilities like this one?”
“There were. I am not sure if they are still online or not. I have lost contact with them. Are you with the United Earth Alliance?”
“No. I’m not sure what that is,” said Sue.
“It was the world government that controlled Earth prior to the attack by the Interstellar Colonies.”
“Interstellar Colonies! You have interstellar space travel?” Sue half-shouted.
“Correct.”
Fuller’s mind spun when he thought of the implication. If they were this advanced, surly they would also have other technology and would be able to get him home. He asked, “So we can access information on any technology we want?”
“No. Only information that is accessible by the public. Some of the information requires proof of security clearance before I can allow access.”
Fuller looked at Sue, who likewise looked disappointed. His eyebrow rose. “What do I need for clearance?”
“I would need palm, retina and brain scans and a security key.”
“Damn it!” said Fuller. “That kills that idea.”
“What idea is that?” asked Sue.
“Oh, Nothing.” She continued to stare at him so he elaborated. “Well, I just thought that maybe we could access information that would help me get back home.”
“Oh,” she said with a frown and turned back to the computer console.
They both stood there for a few moments in silence, looking at the computer screen. Then, Fuller had a thought.
“Wait a minute,” he blurted out. “Librarian, have other people been here recently?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know who they were?”
“I do not. They were not from the United Earth Alliance but must have been vandals from the Interstellar Colonies.”
“How many have come and how often?” Fuller had a hunch but needed to confirm it.
/> “In total, five different people have come. The most that have been here at one time is three. In the last three days, only two at a time have come, and they have been here once every day.”
Fuller was getting excited and was sure he knew why they were coming here. Before he could ask another question, Sue interjected. “What time of day have they been arriving?”
“In the past, they have arrived between one and two a.m. In the last two weeks, they have been arriving between nine and nine thirty a.m.”
Fuller’s head shot towards Sue, whose arm was snapping up to look at her watch. She said, “It’s 10:58.”
Fuller thought they must have come and gone already. He let out a breath when the adrenaline rush subsided, but then Sue said, “Wait!” Her head snapped back to the console. “Librarian, what time is it right now?”
“It is 9:08 a.m.”
The adrenaline pumped back to full throttle as Fuller’s heart began to race. “Shit, we’ve got to get the hell out of here now!”
“Come on!” cried Sue as she turned and ran for the door.
Fuller raced behind. They slowed when they came to the doors, both having closed since entering. While the inside one opened as smooth as before, the outside door screamed a rusty metal screech when they both threw their full weight at it.
When they were out, Fuller said, “Stay down. We don’t know which direction they’ll be coming from.”
He climbed the steps at a half crouch, peering over the tall grass. When he saw nobody in any direction, he stood higher. “Let’s take a look around the other side of the building.”
Fuller walked away from the door and spied around the corner. He only saw more grass and let out his breath—no one in that direction. He walked around the corner and along the side of the building with Sue following behind. When he reached the next corner, he saw two men running towards the building. The first was shoving the grass aside as he sprinted while the second lagged behind, bobbling back and forth as he lugged two equipment cases.
Fuller snapped back and whispered, “Two guys are running this way.”
“Are they going to come around this side of the building?”
“No, they’re closer to the other side. We’ll be okay here.”
Sue nodded. Soon they heard the thumping of feet then the whooshing of grass when the men drew near. Fuller edged forward again and saw the two disappear around the far corner while they ran along the wall parallel to where he and Sue were standing.
He strode around the corner and now was on the side of the building opposite the door. He edged along the wall as quickly as he could but also trying to be as quiet as possible. When he looked around the next corner, the two men were gone. He ran around it and came to a stop at the front corner. He could hear them talking while they descended the stairway to the door.
“It must have been something else,” said one.
“The door’s closed, but I’m sure that was the noise I heard. Maybe someone’s inside. Come on, give me a hand.”
Fuller heard the groan of the door when it opened and then again when it closed. He gave a quick glance around the corner and saw they were gone. He turned to Sue. “That was close. We’ll have to wait here until we shift back.”
She did not respond and was examining something high on the wall next to them. She pointed towards the roof. “Do you think you can boost me up that high?”
Fuller looked up at the roofline and saw it was more than a yard over his head. He would need to lift her to a point where she could step onto his shoulders in order for her to scale that high. She was pretty light, so he was certain he could. He nodded. “Yeah, but why?”
“I want to go on the roof and get a better view.”
“Oh?”
“You would think there would be more than just this single building around here, wouldn’t you?”
“You would think.” He pondered it for a second more then said, “Sure, why not.” He hunched down with his back to the wall and cupped his hands together so she could put her foot in. “Come on.”
“Okay,” she replied, stepping in and lifting herself while Fuller came erect. Her body fell into his and her left breast slapped his nose upward as it passed by. When she came to a stop, his eyes were level with her crotch.
“Sorry,” she said, looking down at him.
He turned a deep red and was glad she could not see his embarrassment. He started to talk in a muffled voice so turned his head to the side to speak clearly. “That’s okay.”
His face flushed more, both from strain and from further embarrassment because he found it difficult to keep his eyes averted from her. He admonished himself to keep his mind on his task.
“Ready to go up?” he asked, his voice quivering a bit.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll lift you as high as I can then step on my shoulders.”
“Okay.”
His arms strained as he lifted her foot to the height of his chest, and he groaned when the sole of her shoe dug into his shoulder. Soon the weight was off and he could see her feet withdrawing over the edge of the roof.
After a few seconds, her smiling face appeared again. “Made it.”
“Good. What do you see?”
“Hold on a sec, I’ll look.”
He wiped the perspiration from his forehead while he waited for her report. The breeze, though warm, helped cool him when it picked up strength. Fuller had been examining an almost plastic-like coating over the concrete wall for several minutes when she called him.
“John?”
He looked up. “Yes?”
“I can see the tops of some tall buildings over in that direction.” She pointed towards one of the corners opposite the door. “But they look pretty damaged from what I can see. When we come back, we should bring some binoculars.”
“Good idea,” he said. “How far away do you think they are?”
“Hmmm… maybe twenty miles or so.”
“That’s a pretty long hike to go investigate.”
“Yeah.”
He looked around again and wished he could get on the roof to see for himself. An idea sprang into his head and he looked up at Sue. “Hey, I’ll bet I can get up there too.”
“Think you can jump this high?” she chuckled.
“No, but I can climb up on the handrail by the stairs.”
“Hey, that’ll work. I’ll meet you over there and help you up.” Her head disappeared for a second but then came back when she said, “Be careful, those two are still inside.”
“I know.”
Fuller went to the railing and hiked his foot onto it. It was high enough off the ground that he could not stand on it using only the muscle in his leg. He put both hands on his leg just above the knee and pushed up with both arms while he jumped with the opposite leg. He came to full height then continued forward from the momentum.
His eyes widened when he thought he would continue forward and fly face first into the stairwell. His arms flailed into the wall and his left hand grasped onto the edge of the roof parapet. He threw his weight back to keep from arcing into the stairway but almost fell backwards instead when his second foot slammed down on the railing. His grip on the parapet, though strained, was strong enough to prevent the fall. His second hand shot up to get another grasp on the edge, and Sue grabbed his wrists to help balance him further.
“Shit, I almost fell,” he said as he stood there for a moment to gain his bearings.
“It’s all right, I have you now.”
“Sure, now if I fall, you get to come with me.”
“I’m stronger than you think,” Sue insisted.
“Well good then. Help me onto the damn roof.”
He brought his left leg up over the parapet and hooked it onto the edge. When he put his weight onto the leg to pull over, there was a screeching grind as the door below started to open.
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*****
Sue’s face shot towards Fuller as his eyes widened. Her eyes, likewise bulging out, stared into his for what seemed minutes before she reacted. She reached over the edge of the roof, snatched the waist of his pants and pulled.
She groaned as she dug her heals into the curb of the roof and started pulling him with all her strength. While she did this, he pulled up too, spinning his body over the parapet. As the grinding of the door ceased, Fuller landed on top of her, his butt sitting in her lap. They both froze. She hoped they were far enough from the edge so the two men would not see them. From below, she could hear them talking.
“Now I gotta carry all them freekin’ batteries over here.”
“Quit your damn bitching. I’m gonna help.”
Soon the swishing of the grass subsided as the two walked off in the direction they had come earlier. Sue and Fuller sat for a minute before moving to make sure the men were gone.
“Damn it you’re heavy. I think you broke my legs,” moaned Sue as a dull pain shot through her thighs.
Fuller rolled alongside her and retorted, “Oh come on now. It couldn’t have been too bad for someone as strong as you.”
Her grimacing face snapped towards him. When she saw his grin, her lips transformed into a smile and they both laughed.
“All right, smart guy. Are you just going to sit there or are you helping me up?”
Once on his feet, he took her hand and pulled. She led him through the tall grass to the middle of the roof and pointed to the far-off buildings.
“There they are,” she said.
It was difficult to tell at this distance, but they appeared damaged, as wisps of twisted metal shot from the top and sides. There was none of the movement or activity that would be expected in a city with life. No lights flashing, no air traffic flying overhead, no smoke rising from factory or power plant, just an eerie stillness. It was as lifeless as the surrounding terrain.
“Look out, I can see our two friends walking,” said Fuller.
“Don’t worry. They’re walking away from us.”
“I know, but they could turn around and look in this direction.”
As if on cue, one of them started to turn. They both shot down into the tall grass to obscure themselves. Sue looked between the tips of the overlapping blades and saw the man glance back for a moment. He turned forward again, continuing his steady pace away from them.
“Shit, I told you,” declared Fuller.
“Yeah, I know. He didn’t see us though. I think he was just checking to see how far they walked.”
Fuller was seating himself so Sue did likewise, sitting with her legs crossed opposite him. It was good to rest after the previous excitement, and she now had time to reflect on things.
How random and haphazard life could be at times. She was sitting on a strange roof in a parallel universe with a man who she had known for only a short time. She never could have dreamed something as bizarre as this the night he had fallen in her door. Yet here she sat.
She glanced at Fuller. He had snapped off a long blade of the grass and had it sticking out of his mouth. The seeded end of the blade swirled through the air while he worked the other end between his teeth, his jaw moving side to side. He took another blade in his hand and began to brush it through the air as if he were an artist delicately laying paint on a canvas. She was struck by his picture of innocence in this little bit of play.
She had seen him earlier too when he had blushed. The blood had rushed to his face when she looked down after her breast had hit him. How a little thing so innocent and accidental could affect him. He seemed so naïve and childlike at times, his emotions open and plain for all to see. His fears and insecurities could overwhelm him.
There was far more to him than these surface qualities though. He had surprised her more than once already, overcoming his anxieties and showing bravery as great as any she had ever known. While he wore some emotions on his sleeve, most he kept hidden, unlike the few men in her past. By now, most men would have let their intentions be known and been all over her, yet he had shown little to no interest at all.
Was it because he was married? She doubted it. With what little he had told her about his relationship, she knew it to be unhappy. Besides, she had known plenty of men who were supposed to be happily married. Yet given how close they had lived in the last week and the fact that he may never go home, these men would have forgotten their mate.
It was not that she thought herself irresistible; in fact, she thought of herself as average, even below in some ways. She hated her nose and felt it was too pointed and unattractive. Her thighs were flabby and her butt too big. While they did not make her ugly, they detracted from her looks enough that she felt herself common.
Despite her obvious shortcomings though, there had never been a lack of men approaching her. Some had been quite handsome but unappealing to her because of their personality. The best-looking men had steered clear of her and went for the very beautiful women. This suited her though because they were usually the most self-centered of all.
Fuller just did not seem to fit the mold of most men. While he was not the most handsome man she had ever seen, he was appealing to her physically. Maybe the opposite was not true though. Maybe he just was not attracted to her and that was the reason for his lack of interest. Or was it that he was too shy? He was not though. While at first he had been, now he seemed very comfortable when they interacted. What was it then?
The whole thing was just too confusing, so she made up her mind to think of something else. She started to consider the buildings in the distance again. She rose to her knees and was just able to see over the top of the grass and the remains of the city. She said to herself as much to Fuller, “I wonder what happened here?”
“What?” asked Fuller, removing the long grass blade from between his lips.
“Nothing. I was just wondering what happened here.” She sat down and looked at him. “It’s so dead and lifeless. From what we can see of that city, it looks destroyed, and the computer said it had lost contact with the other libraries. What happened?”
“The Librarian had talked about an attack from the Interstellar Colonies. The only thing I can think of would be a war that wiped out everything around here.” He continued to swish the other length of grass through the air while his eyes followed its feathery tip.
“I wonder if the whole world is like this or just this area.”
“It’s hard to say. The library seems to be functioning still, so I would think there would be other survivors.”
Sue persisted in the conversation despite his apparent lack of interest. “Yeah except the computer said it couldn’t contact anyone at the other libraries.”
“But that only means either those facilities no longer work or the communication channel has been cut. It doesn’t mean everything was wiped out.” He continued to stare at the grass in his hand. “We should be able to get more information from the Librarian once we can get back in there.”
“I suppose.” He seemed distracted so she prompted him. “Was there something else?”
He looked into her eyes. “Well, yes. Not about the civilization here though.”
“About what then?”
He threw away the piece of grass. “Ever since the Librarian told us about the information that’s stored here, I’ve been thinking.”
The muscles in her jaw tightened in irritation because she knew what was coming. He had asked the computer about technology to help him get home, and he was going to bring it up again. She said nothing though, waiting to hear his anticipated words.
Fuller continued, “I’m willing to bet that’s the reason the conspirators have been coming here.”
Her jaw loosened when the expected did not come. “What do you mean?”
“They’re after the information on advanced
technology contained in the library.”
Sue straightened. “Of course!”
“Just think, if they’ve solved the problem of interstellar space travel, their technology must be centuries ahead of ours. Can you image what would happen if the wrong people got hold of that?”
Sue put her hand over her mouth as she took in a sharp breath. Her fingers dragged down and fell off her chin once the full implications sank in. She said, “They could take over the world.”
“Yep. Especially with weapons powerful enough to destroy a whole planet,” his hand gestured to the surroundings, “like this one.”
Sue shivered from a sudden chill. “Oh my God, John!”
“Yeah, I know.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how the other universe ties into all this, but the technology is what they’re after.” He gazed into her eyes. “That’s what your father was killed for.”
CHAPTER 8