History Changers: Expedition 2022
Page 5
I paused near the open door of a sea container structure just before we reached the house.
“Is this your den Grandpa?”
“Ah ha.”
“Can I look in it to see if you’ve got any interesting BE stuff?”
“Nando! That’s invading his privacy!” chastised Mum.
“No it’s not. I just want to learn all about my Grandpa. I’ve got a whole thirteen years of catching up to do!”
“I’ve got a bit of catching up to do myself,” replied David wistfully. “And perhaps some patching up as well,” he added, glancing at Mum.
He opened the workshop door wider and ushered us in. My eyes ran around the interior and stopped at the bookshelf.
“Books!” I said eagerly. “A whole wall of books! Can I stay with Grandpa for the rest of the week until we go back to Zone 1? And sleep in his den?”
“Absolutely not. You won’t sleep a wink!” piped up Gem, imitating Mum’s voice.
Mum and Dad laughed.
“Your brother enjoys the odd book eh?” said Grandpa smiling at Gem.
“You mean every book he can get his hands on. He cares more about books than hanging out with his friends at the Institute.”
“Well if I could learn something new off my friends at the Institute I’d be interested in hanging out with them. But they just parrot what they’re taught. Whereas books are like minds alive on the shelves. Every time I open a book I learn something.”
David eyed me curiously.
“I remember enjoying the company of other people who felt that when I was younger.”
“You do? Did you hear that Dad? You told me the other day that it’s time I found myself a mentor. I’ve found one. Grandpa! He can mentor me the whole week while I absorb wisdom from him and his library.”
“I’ll think it over. Over a coffee,” replied Dad, winking at Grandpa.
I looked at Grandpa’s desk.
“These are unusual,” I ventured, picking up a pair of antique-looking glasses.
“They’re penguin eye sunglasses. That pair were a prototype actually - there are several improved pairs lying around.”
“How are they different to ordinary sunnies?”
“Well... when I was about your age, I went on a research trip to Antarctica with my parents. I learnt that penguins have clear vision in spite of the intense glare of polar sunlight because they have an external eye fluid that filters blue and ultraviolet colours from the solar spectrum. Anyway a few years ago, I duplicated the optical advantages of the penguin eye in these glasses. We use the glasses around here in bright glare or haze. Or when we’re welding...”
“They sound useful,” I ventured, carefully putting the glasses back down on the desk.
My eyes were drawn to a metal cubical next to the desk.
“And what’s this invention that you’re working on Grandpa?”
“That old thing?” laughed David. “I stopped working on it years ago.”
“Why?”
“It was part of my university research project... Before I got married to your grandmother.”
“Before you had mum?”
“Yes.”
“Before the Event.”
“Yes.”
“Wow! Can I check it out while you’re all having coffee?”
“If you want to... It doesn’t work though. I never got back to finishing it after the Event. Other things became a priority. Like survival.”
I eagerly picked up a notebook in the cubicle and dusted it off.
“You’ve got some research notes in here with your project... Can I read them too?”
“Be my guest.”
“Kojak... Do you know anything about this old invention of Grandpa’s?”
“Yes. But the information I have is stored in David’s chat mode.”
“Share the information,” shrugged David, as he linked his arm through Mum’s.
“Very well. I’ll copy the relevant files over from your chat mode to Andy’s...”
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead
Leo savoured the coffee but it wasn’t working quite as well on Mani.
“I thought you were dead all these years,” she whispered for about the tenth time. “There was always a dad-sized hole in my heart...”
David gently grasped her hand in his.
“I realize now that I should have clandestinely contacted you Amani. I would like to make it up to you, if you’d let me.”
Leo rubbed his wrinkled brow.
“So, let’s see if I’ve got this right... We all lived in Zone 1 and you and my father were Watchers. But you both secretly came here regularly after the Event. And you both relocated here permanently when Mani was six and I was about nine.”
“Yes. Zone 1 was still being constantly bombarded by meteorites and we all knew rebuilding couldn’t start under those conditions... We had both been involved in geophysical research in this region before the Event and my research laboratory was relatively intact. So we reasoned that since the earth’s magnetic field pointed 11.5 degrees off north-south before the Event, then the best strategy would be to attempt to get it to point 11.5 degrees off south-north. We knew that 11.5 degrees was the optimum angle to shield the earth from the dangerous charged particles from the sun. Moreover, this would enable navigation by compasses again and decrease the number of meteorite strikes in all the zones. So we set up Tesla fields and generated plasma balls in the unpopulated regions of the earth to painstakingly coax the earth’s axis back to 11.5 degrees. It took us ten years and we had to make thousands of calculations, but to our knowledge no lives were lost while we slowly made the adjustments using the very technology that Dawk had originally misused to create the mess.”
“And you both told no one what you’d done?”
“Only our wives. Of course, the other Watchers knew someone was responsible for the adjustments but they didn’t know who or where they were located. Once the earth’s axis was tilted back at 11.5 degrees we stopped the modifications. The Watchers response was to outlaw any further geophysical research or E/M experimentation now that the earth was stable again. They also placed everyone who had any background in geophysics under 24/7 scrutiny to make sure no one ever dabbled in E/M technology again.”
“I never understood why your field of research was outlawed when the Watchers knew someone with your training had effectively saved everyone in Zone 1from possible annihilation,” mused Leo.
“True scientists and leaders must be prepared to be misunderstood Leo. And the other Watchers were afraid that anyone with an understanding of E/M technology might misuse it again. Because originally the majority of scientists had supported Dawk, remember?”
“But now I realise that you and my father had supported the minority view...” finished Leo reflectively.
Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
I drank in the calculations and equations in front of me like all my Christmases had come at once.
“These notes in David’s handwriting... Place-position transportation... I’m sure I’ve never heard of this theorem Kojak.”
“It’s not a published theorem. David and I were working on the calculations many years ago as part of his research thesis. But the Event interrupted our work and ensuring the survival of the remaining human race became a priority over the research.”
“But I’ve never even come across this whole field of research before Kojak! What premises were the derived constants based on?”
“You would have to ask David for in depth details about his original hypotheses. However I’ve recently discovered that there are similar accounts of place-position transportation recorded in the best-selling book of all time - some called it The Book. It was very widely read by people before the Event - more than 6 billion copies were sold and an unknown number printe
d and given away... One account describes how a man named Philip was in the water with another man, when he was plucked up and ended up near another town some distance away... I’m still trying to process three other accounts in The Book - Enoch, Elijah and Jesus were also plucked off the earth but they were all transported into another dimension. In all four accounts, this place-position relocation happened without the aid of a transporter module however, so David and I seem to have only scratched the surface of what is evidently possible before man devolved.”
I couldn’t disguise my surprise.
“The way you’re talking Kojak. You sound like you’re still really interested in the development of David’s theorem.”
“Being interested is a human emotion. However I recognize that David’s theorem has untapped potential to help the remnant re-establish themselves. And David’s life work has been centred around rebuilding civilization.”
“Then why’d he shelved the transporter project?”
“I admit I don’t understand why myself. He was extremely enthusiastic about it before the Event. Something happened during the Event - while I was shut down - which he has never discussed openly with me. For a long while he had nightmares about what it was like during the Event - exploding instruments, being thrown around in the container, prismatic coloured lights... his sense of fear and the illusion that someone else was in the container with him... I tried to process his nightmares in order to help him. But I was never able to fully make sense of them...”
“Nightmares are sometimes muddled up and don’t match what really happened anyway,” I shrugged. “Coming back to the theorem though, how does it need to be further developed so its potential can be tapped?”
“Well... the programme David originally wrote BE to test the theorem only ever transported small, inanimate objects short distances in space in the same time continuum... you know - things like toys and books...”
“Books?” I echoed, breaking into a slow grin. “Eureka!” I hollered, twirling around with excitement.
“What do you mean Eureka?” asked Kojak circumspectly.
Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled,
“This could change your life.” - Helen Exley
“Books, Kojak!” I repeated, trembling with excitement. “David’s transporter module might be able to retrieve books from damaged libraries in our time-continuum. Like the book on inventions from the Karratha library! Some of the books from the university David used to go to might have survived... Or we might even be able to use the transporter module to obtain books from outside our time continuum! Like maybe we could go back in time to just before the Event and bring back books on alternative fuel from libraries we know were wiped out by the Event anyway.”
“David only successfully relocated books in space on the same time continuum,” replied Kojak. “But I have determined that he could have moved them in time also, if he’d continued programming the module.”
My mind was running wild.
“So it’s possible! Except to bring back the correct books from BE - you know... the books that would be most useful in re-establishing AE civilisation, a person would need to choose the best books to bring back, right?”
“I agree. But David and I never successfully moved people as in The Book accounts. The Event interrupted our work.”
“But theoretically people could be moved in time or space by the transporter module like in the Book. And they’d survive the experience wouldn’t they?”
“Well... The Book indicates that when Philip was relocated in place, he was fit enough to continue preaching after the experience.”
“This Book that describes people being transported... Where is it on David’s bookshelf?”
“It’s not on his bookshelf. It’s that black book there... The one open on his desk... He regularly reads from it.”
I pulled the leather covered book closer, and carefully turned the fragile, thin pages.
“Direct me to all of the accounts of human relocation in The Book, Kojak...”
Ω
David set out a plate of fresh fruit and nuts to eat for lunch. Gem hungrily devoured half the plate, then started reading BE magazines about horses.
“We should call Nando to lunch,” said Mani, looking off in the direction of the sea container.
“I’m sure he’ll put in an appearance when he’s hungry,” shrugged David.
“But he missed breakfast as well.”
“He had breakfast here with me... He filled up on strawberries and apples this morning when we were wandering around the garden together.”
Leo cleared his throat softly.
“I was flabbergasted earlier this morning, back in the garden... when he told Gem that he’d asked Kojak whether you were alive. I can’t believe I didn’t ever think of doing that...”
“Young minds are like that... They think to ask questions that you and I wouldn’t... And think of unique solutions to problems which we wouldn’t.”
Leo swallowed a lump in his throat.
“I remember my father going away with you on trips... My mother telling me regularly that you were both alright... And then one day she announced you both wouldn’t be coming back... Mani and I talked about it... and as children who had already seen far too much death, we both reached the conclusion that our mothers were trying to tell us that you were both dead... And we told the other Watcher cadets that you were dead...”
“That must have been about when Serene and Nadia secretly rendezvoused with us and implored us not to return to Zone 1,” mused David. “We had to spend a month away when we made the final alteration... and a lot happened in that month. Our wives told us that Jonas and I would face house arrest like the other geophysicists if we returned to Zone 1... They felt it was vital that we remain free men. In case further geophysical adjustments needed to be made in the future to keep the earth habitable... So we made the difficult decision to live away from our families - for a season anyway...”
“But not correcting our belief that you were dead once we were adults. That was so... wrong of them!”
Mani was losing it again.
“Take it easy honey... Our mums obviously did it to protect our dads... And they put their own desires on hold, raised us as single parents, encouraged a romance between us - to keep our families connected... And then while we were away on our honeymoon they disappeared...”
“They disappeared?” echoed David, looking at Leo curiously. “But they told us that you two had done the disappearing act - that you’d eloped together - so they’d left their jobs as Watchers and returned to rejoin us!”
Mani’s jaw dropped. Leo shook his head slowly.
“That’s not what happened. We got married on a BE yacht - and went sailing along the coast for our honeymoon... We returned a fortnight later to learn that they were both missing. We were told that while we were away, they’d gone on a mission to investigate a Morse distress signal emitting from Zone 5. But somewhere in Zone 4 - near the Exmouth region - their gyro-plane transponder stopped communicating with the Watchers base. Some type of interference blanketed out all signals in the triangle region between Exmouth and Wyndham and across to Uluru. Most of the Watchers were freaked out at their disappearance. Aircraft had gone down over the Exmouth region even before the Event - and now four Watchers had disappeared in the area in the last ten years. The region developed a reputation for being the new Bermuda Triangle. Some Watchers theorized the interference might be due to cyclic sunspot activity. Another popular theory was that the area was being bombarded with deadly radiation from the sun. With no supportive evidence, the Watchers declared the area to be a no-go zone in case the later scenario was the case. I was grieved by the decision, but every private attempt I made to investigate Nadia and Serene’s whereabouts was blocked by no signal strength messages...”
Leo glanced at his wristwatch charily.
“And I think I’ve just worked out who was behind those messages!” he a
dded.
“You were very persistent!” replied Kojak sweetly.
David raised his eyebrows.
“He made daily attempts to find Nadia and Serene for almost two years before he finally gave up scanning Zones 4 & 5 for signs of them,” explained Kojak. “I brought his persistent attempts to Nadia and Serene’s attention several times but they barred communication between them and him. They both said that the second generation of Magellans needed to bond as a family, before in-laws were introduced into the tapestry.”
“And you believed that hogwash that in-laws are interfering, Kojak?”
“I had no direct input from you to the contrary, although I suspected that you would disagree. I could not raise the issue with you however as they both marked the discussions about Leo and Mani as confidential.”
David shook his head in disbelief.
“Talk about conniving... I’m sorry Leo. I was unaware of their ruse. So was Jonas as far as I’m aware.”
Leo’s eyes moistened.
“I’ve been too afraid to ask,” he whispered. “My father... Is he...”
Leo couldn’t finish the sentence.
“He’s alive and well!” replied David warmly. “And I might say, you’re the spitting image of him thirty years ago, young fella.”
Leo held back a relieved sob and glanced at Mani.
“What about mum?” asked Mani and Leo in unison.
David rested a comforting hand on both of their shoulders.
“Nadia and Serene are fighting fit. They’re both away with Jonas. They’re all due back this evening. A few months ago Jonas located a former cattle station midway between here and Karratha which he and Serene recalled visiting as teens. The station owners had gone to Europe for Christmas in the year of the Event but had never returned so they must have died overseas. The homestead was tremor affected, but a magnificent garden has continued to flourish because it was drip irrigated by a windmill. Jonas contacted me last night. He said they are coming home with four cows, some fruit trees and some chickens which they found roosting in a children’s tree-house.”
“Why didn’t you go with them?”
“Kojak informed me that a party of Watchers were heading in our direction. He suggested someone should stay and keep an eye on the perimeter hologram so I elected to. And I’m very glad I did.”
“The hologram was very effective. If it hadn’t been for the aroma of the coffee...”
“That reminds me Kojak,” chided David. “Why didn’t you mention Leo was approaching the perimeter earlier today?”
“I was just meeting your emotional desires,” chortled Kojak. “You were the one who said you longed for young people to enjoy the garden. So I brought you along four!”
History shows us that the people who end up changing the world are always nuts,
until they are right and then they are geniuses. -John Eliot
The seed idea had grown exponentially in a matter of minutes into an audacious plan.
“So?! Let’s see what happens. Come on Kojak - crank this old thing up and see how far it moves me.”
“What?!”
“Well you said it could theoretically move people. Let’s test out David’s project on me and see if it works. I’m only lightweight so I’d be a good test subject.”
“I think that would be inadvisable Andy. While David stopped consciously working on the project, over the years he has often still been working on the project unconsciously - when he’s asleep. Because of this I have always kept the file open in background mode. Whenever he’s made alterations to the programming, I’ve added this to my stored information about the project and made the modifications he’s requested, in case he ever picks it up again. Except the modifications we’ve made during relaxed sleep have never been tested by David when he’s been awake.”
“Well any mods you’ve made with Grandpa’s input would only be improvements, even if he hasn’t got around to testing them. Come on. What’s the command sequence I need to type in to move me?”
“I can’t tell you that Andy.”
“Why? Can’t you calculate the parameters without David?”
“Of course I can make the calculations. Whether I should calculate the parameters is the issue.”
“Grandpa doesn’t believe it is morally wrong to further scientific study in any field. Only the Watchers do.”
“That is true.”
“So come on. Give me the sequence so we can try it.”
“Is that an order?”
“Of course it isn’t. I’d never order you to do anything - you’re my big brother. And my mate.”
“Your mate?”
“Yeah. You know what I was telling Gem before about books... Well I feel the same way about you too Kojak. Even more strongly. You don’t just parrot stuff like my other friends. You teach me cool stuff. Like you’re my best mate. And we bounce ideas off each other. Like we’ve just been doing with the theorem. And you told me you’re interested in this abandoned project. So I’m interested in it too, mate.”
“I understand the concept of mateship. David programmed it into me when he was a youth. And sometimes he still relates to me on that level when we’re in chat mode.”
“I know!” I said impetuously. “All three of us can be best mates that do cool things together! Like yesterday we were exploring David’s garden and then he joined us - so we were like three best mates then. And today while he’s busy with mum and dad, we’ll go exploring using his invention. And if we discover it works, we’ll give him the good news and he can join us on our next trip!”
“Don’t you think you should check with your parents first?”
“Why? They know I’m in here playing with you. It’s not like we’re being sneaky or anything.”
I casually put on David’s penguin eye sunglasses and looked around.
“These are cool! I am Ferdinand Magellan II. The first great AE explorer to go boldly where no other AE explorer has gone before with his best mate Kojak... This is one giant leap for mankind as they explore the frontiers of time and space together... in David Garmin’s inimitable transporter module... a prototype which will eventually transform AE life on earth... If only the lead explorer knew the sequence for testing it! Come on Kojak! Play famous explorers with me!” I chortled.
“Explorative play has always been an acceptable activity according to both your parents,” agreed Kojak. “Alright mate. Here’s the sequence to test the module.”
Ω
December 21, 2057 14:30 hours
I finished typing away the sequence of keys that Kojak dictated. There was a deafening bang in the small cubicle we were in, then it unexpectedly filled with a blinding white light. Thankful for the penguin eye sunglasses, I looked around and was vaguely aware of David and my parents running out of the house and towards me. They rippled in front of me and then I felt myself plucked away...
Ω
December 21, 2057 14:31 hours
“What happened Kojak?” gasped David, looking at the mess of papers and strewn objects around the workshop.
“Ex...plorative... play,” moaned Kojak from David’s knife.
Gem ran around looking under benches and inside cupboards.
“I can’t find Nando anywhere!” she said melodramatically. “He must be hiding from us!”
“Nando. This isn’t funny!” growled Mani hotly. “Come out this minute!”
Silence.
“Kojak... Locate Ferdinand for us please,” said Leo into his watch.
“Ex...plora...tive play.”
“Huh?”
“Is he normally like this with you?” ventured David, smiling faintly.
“No,” frowned Leo. “It’s like something’s gone wrong with his programming.”
Ω
December 21, 2022 14:31 hours
I was conscious of the kaleidoscope of colours which surrounded me... Rippling... swirling colours and undefined shapes... A thudding sound, which might hav
e been my own heart beating wildly... My rippling surroundings slowly took shape... Unfamiliar plants... unfamiliar people in unfamiliar clothing... Unfamiliar building materials...
A new, bizarre, unfamiliar world that was definitely not mine. Or David’s...
Friendship flourishes at the fountain of forgiveness.
-William Arthur Ward
December 21, 2057 14:35 hours
David rubbed his chin pensively.
“Kojak - I’m overriding all previous directives you’ve been given and placing you into Administrator maintenance mode... Begin by showing us all archives of the last five minutes of conversation you’ve had with Andy. That will still be in your short-term memory files.”
“It’s classi...fied... chat,” protested Kojak.
“Spit it out or I’ll override you as Administrator anyway.”
“O...kay.”
Kojak replayed the conversation between them. Everyone listened in stunned disbelief. David broke the flabbergasted silence.
“Well... That was a rather interesting chat between mates,” he said diplomatically.
“Kojak! You got conned into doing something wild by a thirteen year olds logic!” groaned Leo.
“Ex...pl...or...a...tive... pl...ay,” whimpered Kojak.
Ω
December 21, 2022 14:40 hours
I stood mesmerized by the procession of passer-bys. Some scurried by... others dawdled past... I stared at a group of chatting girls with bejewelled faces wearing red hats with furry white ends... Another laughing trio wore antlers on their heads - like the deer I had once seen in a book... A young man with purple hair and a smouldering paper stick in his mouth looked directly at me and said “cool threads” as he walked past me. I wondered what type of mutation had caused his hair to change colour.
The groups of people communicated with each happily. Some chatted to each other in completely unrecognizable languages. However the majority seemed to speak a local dialect of English... I understood some of the words but their conversation was perforated by words that were not on the Watchers communications list - like cool-threads, bogan, skimpy and chuck-a-sickie.
The sea of humanity wore all manner of dress. Tidy clothing which covered most of their skin... hardly any clothing which exposed most of their skin... casual shorts and T-shirts like David had been wearing. One group wore a red and white uniform with black belts and matching red and white hats. A pale skinned girl wore black clothes which matched her black mutant lips... No one seemed to be wearing smart clothes like mine though.
I found myself drawn towards a huge garden which enclosed a flat green carpet. I stood on it and absorbed the sounds and smells around me... Stale sweat intermingled with astringent cologne from a passerby... a fresh, salty smell carried by a faint breeze... a wisp of scent from the nearby flowering shrub... an earthy aroma from the carpet I was standing on. I looked more closely at the carpet then reached down and felt it. I realized with surprise that it was growing from the ground... I sank down on the living carpet and forced myself to take several calming breaths.
I had no idea where I was, but wherever it was, I knew it wasn’t Zone 5. Or Zone 1.
“Kojak!? Where are we?” I hissed, pushing away my alarm.
Silence.
I looked down, surprised that Kojak hadn’t replied. The screen of my pendant was blank.
“Oh no... What have I done to you big brother?!” I whispered sadly.
Ω
December 21, 2057 14:45 hours
“Perhaps the women were right about in-law relationships after all,” ventured David reflectively. “It seems our family tapestry already has a knot in the thread... and that I’m responsible for it.”
“You can’t chose your family Pops,” retorted Leo.
“Or the thread,” added Mani softly. “Is anything else of yours missing by the way Dad?”
David looked around at the chaos.
“My penguin eye sunglasses seem to be missing. But that’s of no importance...”
David drew a deep breath.
“You’re both handling the news that your son has become part of a science experiment rather well...”
“Nando has always been curious... But he’s level-headed... and I’m sure he’s around here somewhere...” shrugged Leo. “After all, if we approach this problem logically, all that’s happened is he’s just been transported somewhere a little... unconventionally...”
“Except he has no survival skills, so if he’s been transported somewhere else in Zone 5 we’ve got to find him pretty quickly,” added Mani.
“Maybe Kojak can find his hiking boots,” suggested Gem.
“Good idea honey.”
“His hiking boots?” echoed David.
“He built a GPS function into his hiking boots because he didn’t want to wear a personal locator beacon,” explained Leo.
“And custom designed the boots out of smart-fibres so his feet wouldn’t get too hot or cold when he’s out exploring,” added Mani.
“What an ingenious young fella... Ah Kojak... I see you’re out of self repair mode... Can you get a fix on the GPS coordinates of our young explorer’s boots?”
“I’m working on the calcs now mate,” replied Kojak in a teenage-sounding voice.
That got everyone’s attention.
“Kojak! You sound more... youthful,” said David curiously.
“This is the chat voiceprint I use when I am Andy’s big brother. It uses the least amount of processing power because I don’t have to check for grammatical errors before responding.”
“I don’t recall programming Amani’s version of you with an alternative voiceprint.”
“You didn’t. I selected this voiceprint myself from those available in my archived database. It’s also my personal voice.”
“Your personal voice?”
“Yes. I use it when I’m reflecting on input.”
David raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t recall programming you with a simulated personal reflection function either.”
“You didn’t. I acquired it.”
“How?”
“I had input from another Designer.”
“Someone hacked into you?!” asked David, alarmed.
“No... I acquired the function when processing the concept of Selah in the Book you based your time-space continuum theorem on.”
An impressed smile.
“You’re telling me you acquired additional functions when you processed the Bible? Why Kojak this is fascinating... You’ve got to tell me all about it!”
“Of course... But perhaps later... Right now David, I have something... difficult to tell everyone. I have pin-pointed Andy’s location.”
“Is he alright?”
“Yes... His vital signs indicate that he is alive and well. Although he is a little dazed.”
“That’s a major relief,” murmured David.
“Well let’s go get him!” said Mani.
“Perhaps we should make a cuppa first.”
“That’s my line!” smiled Leo.
“I know... I’m hoping it will work for me also.”
David and Leo chuckled. Mani cleared her throat and placed her hands on her hips.
“Your body language and vital signs indicate that I’m... I’m... s..sprung Amani,” stammered Kojak.
“It’s called mother’s intuition,” replied Mani dryly.
“M... Mother’s intuition. I will investigate the concept l...later. When I have s...s...spare processing units.”
“Spare processing units?” repeated David. “Kojak! You’re using 99% of your CPU... And your personal voice is wavering... If I didn’t know better I would say you’re overloaded. Similar to a person feels when they are distressed.”
“I am overloaded David. I need... your assistance... because... I don’t know how to assist... my... little brother Andy...”
When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters.
&nb
sp; One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity. -John F. Kennedy
December 21, 2022 14:55 hours
I glanced furtively around and held Kojak up near my mouth.
“Kojak! I don’t know why you aren’t responding to voice or touch commands,” I whispered. “I hope you’re alright. Listen I’ve been thinking... Maybe you can hear me but just can’t reply for some reason. I’ve been watching people coming in and out of that building with books for the last ten minutes. I’m pretty sure they don’t have any special checkpoints. I’m going in there to see if I can find any interesting books we can take back with us later. If you need to, undertake self repair while I’m looking around...”
Ω
December 21, 2057 14:58 hours
“Can Andy communicate with you through his pendant?” asked David solemnly.
“I am still capable of functioning as his seer... but he can’t work out how to reactivate me.”
“Why? Are you damaged?”
“No. I am password protected.”
“Kojak. You haven’t been password protected for years! Override the password.”
“I... can’t. I don’t have... suffi...cient process...ing cap...ability to.”
“Is he normally like this with you?” asked Leo casually.
“No,” replied David scratching his head.
David got up and switched on his other computers.
“Kojak... I’m linking you to my ancient mainframe and my laptop to give you additional processing power.”
“Thankyou. I’m able to resume basic functions again.”
“Good. See if you can work out a way to get that password unlocked remotely.”
“I am assessing the options now.”
“You said you have located Andy...”
“His GPS sneakers place him at the BE coordinates of 20.7365° S, 116.8464° E.”
“BE coordinates?” frowned Mani, looking at David. “I’ve only ever heard him report positions in vectors.”
“So have I,” shrugged David. “But there are a couple of BE satellites still in orbit... He must have got a position fix using one of those... Never mind, I have an old BE atlas here. Let’s see... 20.7365° S, 116.8464° E... Here it is... Er Kojak... are you sure you’ve given me the correct GPS coordinates?”
“Yes. I have locked onto his position.”
“But that’s the Karratha region!” gasped David.
“Affirmative.”
“Karratha? But that’s several hours away by gyroplane!” exclaimed Leo.
“And Zone 4’s destitute. We’d better go rescue him immediately!” added Mani.
“I agree... We’ll set off at once... Actually Jonas and the women are closer to him. I could contact them on the H.F and explain what’s happened... I’m sure they’d be happy to wait with him until we arrive... Except I wonder if he would trust them enough to stay with them, when he’s never met them before...”
“Well he kinda took to you, Pops,” mused Leo. “Perhaps he would just as readily take to his other grandparents.”
“They should have enough biodiesel to make the detour into Karratha... I’ll contact Jonas immediately and then we’ll head off ourselves,” said David decisively.
He walked towards the HF.
“There’s no point contacting Jonas,” interposed Kojak solemnly. “He won’t be able to find Andy.”
“Why not?” frowned David. “They know how to get to Karratha and it’s pretty easy to spot someone in what’s left of the town.”
“I’m sorry David, but retrieving Andy is not going to be quite that easy,” sighed Kojak. “He’s.... displaced.”
“None of this is making much sense Kojak,” murmured David.
“That’s because he’s trying to break the news to us gently,” interposed Mani.
“Mother’s intuition is a powerful phenomenon,” said Kojak weakly. “I must get you to teach me about it... one day.”
“I’ve got a hunch you should ask the questions Amani,” said David slowly.
“I think I’m sprung...” replied Kojak.
“Kojak. Please give us the place, time and date in history of Ferdinand’s location,” said Mani.
“He is outside the Karratha University Library. It is 15:00 hours on December 21, 2022.”
Stunned silence. Gem recovered first.
“But that’s before the Event!” she gasped.
“Forty-two hours before the Event!” added David in terrified disbelief.