Finch immediately stood with crossed arms and walked to the kitchen window.
“Guys.” Tucker stood. “Do you mind if I catch up to Conrad? I really wanna take a look around at this place. Boy, does it bring back memories.”
Finch nodded his go ahead.
Nate looked at the door when Tucker walked out. “What the hell is going on here?” he asked. “I mean anyone else find it strange we have futuristic robots seventy-five years after we left, fifty after Sam and Tucker left.”
“It’s strange, yes,” Sam said. “But you have to think, at one time, computers were dinosaurs, then in the span of fifty years, every household had one, plus tablets and phones. It’s possible.”
“It is,” Finch said. “But that is not the case here. We are in a different world.”
“What?” Rey asked. “You mean like an alternate universe.”
“No. No.” Finch shook his head. “A different one than we knew. It’s different because things had changed. You heard Conrad. Come on, Sam, there were no farm bots or medical bots when we left. Yet he was a boy, which meant before you left. And the common knowledge that the wormhole was to another time? Was it common knowledge when you left?”
“No.” Sam shook his head. “Unless Quinn spread that knowledge around.”
“So no,” Finch said. “You have the robots, the wormhole information, you have ARCs lifting off ten years earlier when they didn’t even think they’d be done in time for the Androski. But that’s right, bots were building them. And what about the safe states? I didn’t know it, you didn’t know it.”
“But…” Rey interjected. “Quinn did say when they went to Virginia they found information that they discovered three states were safe, so that’s possible.”
Again, Finch shook his head. “No, I’m telling you, what we are seeing is not a natural progression.”
“What do you think it is?” Rey asked.
“Someone went through the Androski. Someone went through and ended up far enough in the past where they thought they could change things or save people by getting a jumpstart on technology.”
“We would know,” Sam said. “I mean if someone went through and went back before any of us were born, then none of this would be a surprise.”
“Not if,” Nate said, “they went through the Androski in Earth-175.”
“The same one we went through?” Sam asked.
Nate nodded. “They could have gone through a couple of days before us or after us, we wouldn’t know the time change or date they went back to.”
“How?” Rey asked. “You heard Quinn. The other party from the Genesis took the ship fifteen years ago.”
“For what purpose?” Finch said. “I’ll tell you. To go through again. By the time they found out anything the Androski had closed, and they knew they had to wait another twenty-five years to go back. We arrived, they left. Whether it was Quinn lying about his ship, the other part of Genesis, the Lola,” Finch said. “Hell, one of the ARCs could have gone through.”
“That would explain the jump in technology,” Sam said. “It would give them an edge. A big edge if the ARC went back to the past.”
“Exactly. But it doesn’t matter, who, what or how. Bottom line is,” Finch said, “someone changed time.”
<><><><>
It was a good day. A long one, but informative and fun. Finch couldn’t recall the last time his belly felt so full after a good home-cooked meal.
They met a lot of the farm settlers, enjoyed their company. The food was unbelievable and the stories were equally amazing.
Nate recorded some of them because not everyone on the crew got to hear them. Their tales of survival.
One man in particular, Stavon, told them about how his family was forced to take in a stranger and the stranger was sick.
It wasn’t the virus, but the Risers weren’t programmed to care or know.
That was when Stavon first realized it was the beginning of the end. Risers stormed to the house, electrocuting the sick house guest.
It wasn’t long after that Stavon became an active participant in the revolt. Tattoo slash marks on his arms indicated how many Risers he’d taken out.
Nate counted forty-two.
The farm was nice and peaceful, but Finch and his crew were in solidarity that they would not stay.
After they’d found the ARC, they would try to go back again while the Androski was still open.
Another jump, perhaps to a better time. One where they could stay and be as peaceful as Conrad.
The option to stay was there, and they discussed it, but too much destruction and change was on the way.
Maybe it was the wrong decision to keep chancing it, but the way Finch looked at it, what did they have to lose?
The evening was winding down. Finch finished securing everything on the ship. He sipped on some bourbon while making his rounds with his crew.
Hating to admit it, he did find it amusing the way Tucker was with the medical bot. Finch was relieved to find out from Conrad that the medical bots were not harmful.
Outside the ship, Tucker stood with Rey while Buster moved back and forth with his shiny red legs that didn’t match the rest of his body.
Tucker had bravely retrieved them from the robot grave at the farm.
“I am healed. I am healed,” Buster said. “You are a fine physician of machinery.”
“Not me,” Tucker replied. “It’s all Sam. He’s the mechanical genius.”
“Ah, Commander Finch,” said Buster. “I am very pleased that you are welcoming me aboard as Medical Officer.”
“Don’t thank me,” Finch replied.
“Oh, be nice,” said Rey. “Buster’s a vat. He absorbs all kinds of knowledge. He’ll be fine.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Finch replied.
“Hey, Finch,” Tucker said. “Can you let him take your pulse.”
“Why?”
“We just adjusted his strength and I want to make sure it’s not too much.”
“Fine.” Finch extended his arm. Buster placed a grip on him. The grip tightened some but not too much.
“Commander Finch, your pulse is sixty-eight, blood pressure, one-ten over seventy, oxy pulse, one hundred percent, and blood alcohol level is at point zero two. Seems you are in good shape this evening.”
“Thanks.”
“My blood alcohol is a point zero seven,” said Rey.
“And that means you’re cut off.” Finch waved a finger. “I’ll leave you two to your new friend.” He turned to walk back onto the ship, wanting to double-check with Nate who was working on finding the other ARC. As he entered he heard Sam talking.
“You’re not going to bed, are you?” Sam asked.
Finch stepped back and looked up. “What are you doing up there?”
“Working on the main cells.”
“Nothing is wrong is it?” Finch asked.
“No, just tweaking to make it comparable to Lola. I don’t want to rely on a slow charge.”
“Excellent. Thank you very much.” Finch walked on board. He spotted Nate at the computer table. “How’s it going?”
“Good. Very good,” Nate replied. “Taking into consideration what Mr. Lane told us about the ship he saw heading northwest, I started looking at our images.”
“And?”
He changed the image on the screen and pointed. “I think that’s it. That’s an ARC. There’s lots of trees but if I zoom in”—he expanded and zoomed in on the view—“that looks like a fence. If you look close, this isn’t a road. Looks like a path the ARC made when it landed.”
“Crash landed?”
“I don’t know. But we can set down there and take off from there. What do you think?”
“Hard to tell. It’s pretty pixelated.”
“I’m ninety percent sure it’s the ARC,” Nate said. “It’s four hundred and fifty miles northwest. Definitely have to take the ship.”
“That was the plan. Hopefully that�
��s it. We’ll know tomorrow.”
“Then what?” Nate asked. “We leave again.”
“Absolutely. We make another jump. And hopefully end up”—Finch leaned into the screen—“some place better than all this.”
“It’s Earth, how much better can it be? I’m all for going back through again. It would be better if we could pick where we end up though.”
“Nate, that’s half the fun. Spin the Androski wheel,” Finch said. “Where we stop, nobody knows.”
“And you think that sounds fun?”
“It’s been very interesting so far. Hasn’t it? Set a course, my friend.” He gave a tap to Nate’s shoulder. “That’s where we go tomorrow.”
He left Nate alone to finish what he was doing. Finch wanted to check in with Sam one more time before relaxing for the night.
The next day would be interesting and, Finch was sure, their last day on Earth-75.
TWENTY-FIVE
There was no doubt in Finch’s mind that the ARC was damaged on landing. It may not have crashed, but it came in rough. Hard enough that it slammed into the ground with enough force to make a shallow crater.
Finch noticed the crater when he brought the Omni down to land. He avoided it, touching down right after.
The landing was easy and he allowed his ship to coast until they closed in on the ARC. He carefully turned the ship around ready for when they took off again. It was tricky, but it was something Finch was getting good at.
Finch made a lot of deductions.
There wasn’t a road there when ARC touched down. Something made them have to land.
From what Finch could tell, the ARC, after making impact, slid nearly two thousand feet, clearing the trees and anything in its path as it pushed a mound of dirt.
That mound was now a hillside covered with grass; the end of the ARC nestled against it and had become part of it.
It was quiet.
Dead quiet and any hopes of finding ARC residents were crushed as soon as they laid eyes on the vessel.
It had been abandoned for a short span of time, not years, by the looks of it. A fence had been erected around the area, though not a large one. All along the radius there were cottages, the prefabricated housing units carried on the ARC. Small four-room, easy to assemble shelters. Three barns and what looked like fencing for animals had been set up too.
The grass was only two feet high. But the biggest telltale sign was the rust and exterior wear on the ARC itself.
Two of the bay doors were open. One near the font and the other toward the back.
“It’s massive,” Rey said.
“Yeah, it is,” Tucker replied. “They were building one right on my grandfather’s property. I remember how big it seemed then.”
“How do you want to do this?” Nate asked Finch.
“I want to find the commander’s log. It has to be in there somewhere. Either his quarters or the deck. Nate, why don’t you check out what’s on the other side of that hill.” Finch pointed. “Sam and Tucker, you look around the housing units and farm area. See what you can come up with.”
“Gotcha,” Tucker replied. “And if it’s alright you with, after we’re done, I’d like to take a look inside the ARC. See what one looks like.”
“Absolutely,” Finch replied. “Keep your radios on. Let’s find out what happened to everyone.”
The crew divided up, with Finch and Rey headed to the ARC.
Finch had never been in an ARC, but he had seen the virtual tours of the models. He knew what to expect. He aimed for the front bay doors because he was certain that was the main entrance. In every photo and model, entering the ARC was like entering a cruise ship. With high ceilings and a wide-open atrium that was made to look like an outdoor experience.
The passenger rooms circled the area and were stories high.
Such wasn’t the case when Finch stepped in.
Gone was the beautiful vision he had in his mind.
The trees were dead, the swings on the playground lay on the ground. Windows to passenger rooms were smashed and broken and many of the doors were open.
The fountain that was at the center of the lobby was green and thick; whatever grew in there had started to spread, which was probably the main source of the damp, moldy smell.
“What happened here?” Rey asked.
“That’s what we’ll find out.” Finch turned left to right. “If I’m not mistaken…” He walked a short distance down a hall. “Here.” He lifted his hand and cleared away dirt from a map that hung on the wall.
“How did you know that was there?”
“I can’t even tell you how many virtual tours of an ARC I took.” His fingers smoothed across the map. “Here. The deck and crew quarters are top level. Stairs down this way.”
“Let’s hope he kept a logbook.”
“Every commander or first officer does.”
“Do you?”
“Of course. Curt kept it for a while, now I do it. It could be a few sentences or a page. Doesn’t matter.” Finch pulled out his flashlight. “Let’s head up.”
The farther down the hall they walked, the darker it grew. Rey pulled out her flashlight as well and walked closely with Finch.
Tucker figured Finch had him checking out the barns and livestock housing because he knew what he was looking at. And he did. But it didn’t take a farm expert to figure out what he did.
The barn wasn’t wooden, it was metal and open and easy to see almost every aspect.
“Anything?” Sam asked as he entered the barn.
“Yes.” Tucker turned around. “No animals, no remains, and the supply of feed is gone.”
“So there weren’t animals?”
“Oh there were. They’re gone. Someone took them.”
“Pretty much what I got from the housing as well. They took off. Left furnishings, but no food. There’s not that many units though. So we’re talking maybe forty or so people.”
“That’s nothing compared to what these ships are supposed to carry.” Tucker sighed out heavily.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just feel a little guilty leaving Buster on board. He could have been out here learning.”
Sam laughed. “Buster is fine. Let’s head out, find Nate, and go in the ARC.”
“Sounds good.”
As soon as they stepped out, they saw Nate walking at a brisk pace toward the ARC.
“Hey,” Tucker called out. “Wait up.”
Nate paused by the door.
Tucker and Sam trotted his way.
“Did you go to the top of the hill?” Tucker asked.
“I did. I have to get Finch,” Nate said. “You won’t believe what I found.”
The deck was uneventful—the equipment was still intact, windows unbroken, and everything was covered in a thick layer of dust.
A complete contrast to the commander’s quarters. They went there when they couldn’t locate the logbook.
Immediately upon entering they knew it wasn’t good.
There were windows in the quarters, no curtains and the room was bright.
They didn’t need flashlights.
Old blood stains were smeared across the walls of the main living quarters. The couch cushions were off, pictures on the walls tilted. An obvious struggle had ensued. Following the bloody trail led them to the body of a woman. She lay face down, her arm extended into the bathroom. A black stain surrounded her entire corpse. Her body was decomposed badly and nearly bones with a thin, leather-looking skin covering. She was clothed, and even though very little remained of her, there was no doubt she had been either shot, close range in the back of the head, or bludgeoned violently.
The back of her skull was shattered.
There were partial footprints that stained the dirt-covered floor and they followed them to a closed door.
Finch looked at Rey before he opened it. She nodded her approval.
He grabbed the handle, moved it downward and pushed the door.
> It was as if the room had been sealed. Finch felt a bit of pressure release when he opened it and a foul, rank and dusty smell pelted them.
Rey winced and turned her head.
Stepping inside, they found the commander.
His mummified body sat on the bed, slumped with his back against the wall and a gun still in his hand.
He had taken his own life.
Finch stared at him. “Why did he do this? What happened that made him take his own life?”
“You think he put it in the logbook?”
“I would hope he would have at least put something in there that would give us a clue.”
“Like the world’s longest suicide note? Someone always leaves one. We should start looking for it.”
Finch muttered an unconvincing, “Yeah.” He didn’t hold much hope that they’d find it.
They began searching the room, checking drawers, the desk, closet. It was just when he was about to quit looking in the bedroom that Finch through about what Rey said.
Suicide note.
They usually left a suicide note.
He walked back over to the commander’s body and there it was. The gray, metal-covered binder was under his left buttock, partially covered by a blanket.
Finch grabbed it and lifted it.
“Is that it?” Rey asked.
“It is.” Finch held it in awe.
“I can’t believe they still used paper,” Rey told him.
“They have to use something other than computers.” He opened the cover. Inside the front cover were multitudes of tiny memory storage disks taped in an orderly fashion. “Jesus.”
“What are they?”
“I don’t know. And he still wrote in it.”
“Okay, you have to go to his last entry. I can’t handle the suspense.”
“That’s a good idea.” His fingers moved to the back of the book and he stopped when his radio sounded off.
“Finch,” Nate called out. “Hey, where are you guys? We’re in some sort of lobby. There’s something you need to see.”
Finch lifted the radio. “Stay there. We’ll be right back down.”
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