Empty Planet

by Lynette Sloane

  “Yes, but doesn’t the fact that we’re both here today indicate my mission was successful, suggesting that all this has already been resolved, and I don’t need to go back?”

  “No, you still need to rescue me, and you need to take care. Remember, the past has been sealed, but not the future. You could still do something that will change everything. It’s another example of those blasted temporal paradoxes.

  “I’ll be sending you forward to a point in time around a week after the one hundred and ninety year jump you went on today. Vanessa will give you a handheld temporal transceiver, so you’ll just need to locate me, open a vortex with the remote, and send me back. This remote will be preset to open a vortex that will take me back to twenty eighty-two, when you were eleven years old, which isn’t quite the time frame I came from, but if I were to jump any further back I wouldn’t survive. This is why I was missing from your life for ten years. Sorry, I can’t give you any more details; it might change the time line. You must bear in mind that you will only get one chance to get this right; the remote only carries enough charge to open one vortex.”

  “Then how will I get back to my natural time?”

  “After you’ve sent me back, the remote will send a temporal pulse to our vortex transporter, and I or Vanessa will send you a vortex.”

  “Dad, I still sometimes wonder why I couldn’t have had a normal life.”

  “You’d have been bored Son.”

  __________

  I needed a break from all the madness, so on the drive home I called Anna on my hands-free, voice-activated communications devise. Section had kept me so busy over the last couple of months that I’d only been able to spend a few hours with her each week. I wished I could tell her about my work, jumping and the possible end of civilisation as we knew it, but I’d sworn never to reveal any of these things to anyone outside of Section, including Anna. It was for her protection.

  She was delighted to hear from me.

  “Please say we can spend some time together this weekend,” she pleaded.

  “I’ve already booked a hotel. We’re staying in Blackpool and we can visit your Grandmother if you’d like that.”

  “Oh, thanks, I haven’t seen her for ages, not since I left College.” Anna was working on the set of a new horror movie, ‘Death’s Darkest Daughter’. She said it was quite gruesome and the prosthetics were really challenging, but she loved it.

  “They don’t need me on location this weekend, but from Tuesday I’ll be very busy giving a famous actress an age progression. I’m not allowed to tell you who she is yet, it’s top secret,” Anna said, pleased that I wasn’t the only one entrusted with secret information. “The film begins with her as a teenager and we’re shooting various scenes ending with a glimpse of her as an eighty year old. Of course we’re shooting that scene next.”

  “Sounds wonderful.”

  “I know you’re kidding. You do some really important job you can’t tell me about and I stick plastic prosthetics on people.”

  “Everything you do is wonderful because you’re wonderful.”

  “Now I know you’re after something.” Anna knew me too well.

  “You’ll have to wait ’til the weekend to find out,” I grinned.

  __________

  We travelled to Blackpool in ‘Old Faithful’, Anna’s nickname for my sports car. It was a fast drive down the motorway and the MG drove well, effortlessly keeping to ninety-five miles an hour for most of the journey. Less than an hour later we booked into a small, clean guesthouse in a side road near to the seafront and carried our luggage up to our room.

  That evening we walked hand in hand along the sandbanks on the deserted beach carefully avoiding the large pools of water left by the tide. Despite the gentle rain I felt more relaxed than I had in ages. The mild breeze blew Anna’s flaxen hair into her face, so she reached into her pocket for a band to tie it back in a ponytail. When the rain became much heavier, we ran under the middle pier for shelter, leaping over a stream snaking its way down the beach to the sea.

  A few minutes later the rain eased, and the sun peeped out from behind the clouds. I slid my hand into my jeans pocket checking for the twentieth time that the ring was still there and hadn’t been stolen by a temporal adjustment. Maybe bringing a ring back from the future wasn’t such I good idea, I thought. Someone in natural time could easily buy it from the shop and then this older version of the ring would disappear.

  I took Anna’s hands in mine and gently twirled her around so she ended up in my arms facing away from me. I held her tight.

  She rested her head back on my shoulder and said, “I wish this moment could last forever.”

  I leaned my head forward and whispered in her ear, “It can, although we’d get wet when the tide comes in.”

  “You know what I mean,” she said happily.

  “Yes.” I gently turned her around to face me, and then still holding her one hand I reached into my pocket.

  When I knelt on one knee and offered her the ring. Her face lit up with surprise.

  “Anna,” I said, “I love you more than life; will you marry me?”

  “Yes, yes, of course I will.” She put the ring on her finger and threw her arms around me whispering, “What a beautiful ring.”

  The next day we visited Glenys, Anna’s paternal grandmother. Like Anna, Glenys was petite and well dressed. Now in her late seventies, her hair was white and cut in a short bob. Anna showed her the ring.

  “That must have cost a fortune,” she exclaimed.

  “Anna deserves the best,” I replied, feeling a little guilty that the ring had cost me nothing.

  Glenys was a widow. She lived in a small, detached house on a quiet, private housing estate. She played the piano to a very high standard, and was soon telling me of the times she’d come first in the under twenty-ones section of the Welsh Eisteddfod aged just twelve years old. She’d entered the under twenty-ones because she had been banned from the children’s section for winning every year. The organisers thought someone else should have a chance.

  “Will you play for us Gran?” asked Anna, and then turning to me added, “Gran taught me to play.”

  There followed a very pleasant piano recital by Glenys. Anna excitedly told her that I had a very good singing voice and had taken singing lessons as a young lad. This was something I didn’t usually admit to; such admittance often resulted in me being asked to sing, or being made fun of by my university friends. True to form, Glenys immediately got me to sing while Anna accompanied me on the piano.

  Chapter 15

  Anna decided on a December wedding, choosing to keep the occasion small. I asked her why she picked December.

  “December ninth was Mum’s birthday.

  “Do you remember her at all?” I asked.

  “I remember walking by a stream with her when I was very small. She held my hand. I broke away from her and ran over to pick some bluebells I’d noticed growing near the trees. As I ran back I tripped over a tree root and dropped the bluebells. Mum gently picked me up and sat me on a bench. She dabbed the cut on my knee with her handkerchief and picked up my flowers. This is my only memory of her.

  “I know she had long brown hair and a gentle voice, but I can’t remember her face anymore. Dad and David never mention her and I don’t even have a photo. I may never see her again, but if we get married on her birthday I’ll feel like a part of her will be with me.”

  “That’s ok sweetie. I can wait ‘til December ninth.”

  I had wondered for ages, why no one spoke of Anna’s mother. Anna knew nothing about her, and David and their father, George, wouldn’t tell Anna anything.

  On Sunday morning we had a final walk around the town before heading back home. Dad was expecting us and had prepared a Sunday roast.

  After the meal he asked me to take a stroll up the back garden with the excuse of showing his me his plans for an ornamental wall next to the top lawn. I dutifully followed him up the garden realisin
g he wanted a private chat.

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” he asked. Anna’s a lovely girl; I couldn’t wish for a nicer daughter-in-law, but you know you aren’t going to have more than a couple of years together.”

  “I love her Dad, and want to make the most of the time we have.”

  “There’s something else.” Dad paused for a moment, “I know that it won’t have affected you yet, but it might now you’re getting married.” I listened with interest, wondering what it could be. He continued, “At this point in time all Jumpers are infertile. It’s a side effect of the genetic enhancements I’m afraid. Maybe this is for the best as otherwise some Jumpers might produce children who could be prospective Jumpers and others would have ‘normal’ children, but either way they would have to leave them behind at the final jump. You see our dilemma?”

  “Yes, but if the vaccination fails it’s our job to repopulate the earth so how does that work?”

  Dad answered, “As you’re aware, once a Jumpers been primed, which is what happens on the first jump, a gap becomes apparent in their genetic code. This makes them infertile until they have jumped past the fifteen thousand year stage.”

  “How long until we do that?”

  “At least a year, maybe two, depending on how long it takes you all to recover from the more distant jumps and how much time we have left. It will happen on the last jump.”

  I heard the back door open and turned around. Anna was walking up the garden towards us. She wore a warm, light blue skirt, with a matching top and a cream cardigan, which she wrapped around herself against the autumn chill. Her hair was tied back from her face reminding me of that first time I had seen her; I couldn’t imagine life without her.

  “Why the long faces and serious conversation?” she asked.

  Dad lied, “I was just saying how I wished Charlie could find a nice girl and stop getting into trouble. He’s not been the same since he and Jen split up.”

  Charlie had dropped out of college without any qualifications and had messed about with drugs. Nothing I said to him helped: he seemed to resent the fact that I was the clever one who got on in life, and he never bonded with Dad or forgave him for leaving us when we were young. As I gained qualifications and moved on to university the chip on Charlie’s shoulder grew and grew. Jen had helped him get off the drugs, but after they split up he had gone back to his old ways. He’d been close to Mum at one time, but as the drugs took over he’d shut her and everyone else out of his life. Consequently, her death left him distraught and racked with guilt. This fuelled his need for drugs and he was ‘out of it’ every time Dad or I went over to see him.

  Suddenly a vortex began opening near to Anna. It hovered over one of the flowerbeds Dad was so proud of. Starting in the usual way, the bright shimmering light grew to the usual size, before dimming slightly and slowly changing to a blue haze.

  “That’s not one of ours,” Dad warned me.

  Before we had time to react three men burst out of the unusual vortex holding semi-automatic weapons. The first man, possibly African, grabbed Anna, and held his weapon to her head. Terrified, she opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

  He shouted to Dad, “Get back in the house,” then directing his next words to me added, “and you, step through the vortex.” Dad took his right hand out of his pocket and started walking back to the house, slapping me on the back as he passed by. The slap wasn’t hard and could have been construed as a fatherly gesture, but it stung more than I expected, even through my sweatshirt. He ran back to the house turning once to see what was happening. I knew he’d ring Section as soon as he got inside.

  The other two attackers, both Caucasian, grabbed me and roughly pushed me through the vortex, following close behind. I found myself inside a small, dimly lit room, its walls constructed of large, roughly carved stone blocks. The room was empty and reminded me of the prison cells I’d seen in old back and white films.

  Desperately wanting to protect Anna, I tried to get back to her through the vortex, but one of my attackers seized hold of me from behind, restraining me while the other hit me in the jaw with his fist. I fell against a wall and landed on the stone floor. I swore at the man and scrambled around to see what was happening to Anna.

  She called, “Steve!”

  I was trying to stand up when the first man forcibly pushed her through the vortex. She landed hard against me sending us both sprawling onto the floor. Terrified and in shock, she grabbed hold of me and held on tightly as the man followed her into the cell. The vortex closed behind him, leaving the room much darker. Still covering us with their weapons, the three men quickly left through the only remaining exit bolting a heavy iron door behind them.

  Anna was shaking. “Where are we and how did we get here?” Trying to calm her down, I held her close and gently stroked her back.

  “Don’t worry Sweetie, it’ll be ok. That was a vortex. It’s a new form of transport the government’s been working on; it should save petrol and travel times.” Unbelievably, she seemed to accept this.

  “So why are we here? Who were those men?” she asked.

  “They’ve been trying to steal the technology.”

  “Looks like they managed it.”

  My first thought was to look for a way out of our cell. A little light crept into the dirty room from a small window high up one of the walls.

  I told Anna, “We need to find out where we are. Can you help me by looking through that window and telling me what you see?” she nodded.

  I clasped my hands together tightly so she could step on them, and then lifted her up as high as I could. Fortunately she was wearing flat, soft-soled shoes instead of her usual high heals. She placed both her hands on the windowsill to steady herself and looked through the window.

  “What do you see?” I asked.

  Without warning she suddenly panicked and fell backwards. I managed to half catch her and half fall, landing on my backside on the hard floor. Anna landed on top of me.

  When I’d made sure that she was all right I asked, “Why did you panic? What did you see?” She was nearly in tears.

  “A spider. You know I hate them.”

  Did you manage to see anything through the window?”

  “Just some trees and clouds.” Great I thought. That tells us a lot.

  “You did really well,” I said, trying to reassure her.

  The heavy bolt shot back and the door opened revealing a woman dressed in combat jeans and a camouflage top, with a handgun inside a shoulder holster. She didn’t speak but stood in the doorway surveying us for a moment. The two louts who had shoved me through the vortex were standing behind her, both still armed with their semi-automatic weapons.

  “Come with me,” she commanded us in a strong, French accent. We did as she told us, following her down a long corridor, the thugs clutching their firearms and following a few steps behind. They were obviously taking no chances.

  Combat lady paused outside a large, panelled door.

  She knocked, and waited until a man’s voice called out, “Enter,” before opening the door and gesturing us to go inside.

  The room was large and bright with white, painted stonewalls. To our left a large bay window offered a panoramic view of a picturesque country scene: rolling green hills, trees, a dry-stone wall, and, in the distance, a view of the sea.

  Miss Combat and the thugs waited at the back of the room.

  A tall medium build man stood looking out of the window with his back to us. He spoke without turning around.

  “Gemma, it’s been a long time. I’m glad you could join us today. We used to be so close. I’m rather hoping you’ll be joining us here at Earthsong.”

  He turned to face us, his smile turning to anger when he saw Anna.

  Looking at his henchmen he shouted, “You idiots, you brought the wrong girl.”

  “She was with him. We thought that was her,” said one of the henchmen in his defence.

  “
Her? That’s Miss Sinclair to you,” growled the tall man.

  He regained his composure then spoke to me, “You recognise me don’t you Stevie.” I did and I was shocked, for the man standing before me was Graham Turner, the Doctor friend of Gemma’s. We’d met ten years previously on a jump at the vicarage near to where my Nan lived.

  “So you’re the head of Earthsong?” I asked.

  “Well someone has to co ordinate these idiots. The Earth has suffered for too long. It’s our job to save her and return Nature’s rule. Section treated us like lab rats that have no control over their pathetic lives. We were never asked if we wanted to join the Jumpers’ programme, but, unlike those wretched creatures, we do have the choice to opt out. Earthsong will not be a part of some crazy regeneration programme. One day Nature will rule again and the Earth will sing.”

  I decided Graham was probably insane. Nevertheless I knew one should never underestimate one’s enemy.

  “Tell us why you brought us here.” I demanded. “We’re not going to join your group. Anna isn’t even a Jumper.”

  Graham spoke again, “I need the location of Section Headquarters.”

  “You know I can’t give you that. All employees always travel there by vortex; none of us have that information.”

  Graham walked towards Anna, reached out his hand and gently stroked her left cheek with the back of his fingers.

  “You want Stevie to tell me don’t you?” he said in a gentle, yet disturbing manner; then, still looking into her eyes, he spoke to the henchmen, “If he doesn’t tell me in ten seconds cut her face off.”

  Anna froze, unable to speak. I would have died before I let anyone hurt her. I stepped nearer and knocked Graham’s hand away from her face, glaring at him.

  “Don’t touch her you ba…”

  My words were cut off. I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head and fell to the ground unconscious. Some time later I awoke lying on the floor of the holding cell with a throbbing headache. Anna was kneeling beside me.

  “Steve, Steve are you ok? You were gone ages,” she said, her voice full of concern. Anna told me I’d been pistol-whipped. She’d been man handled back to the cell, and I’d been dumped back here about an hour later.