“He won’t get far. He has no water and he’s miles away from what passes for as civilisation in these parts. They won’t even find his body,” she said, putting the weapon back into its holster. “Now then, Doctor Freeman, or shall I call you Joshua?”
“Joshua ma’am,” Joshua hurriedly said. He’d never been one for formality, besides, he needed to keep on the right side of this woman, who seemed to have distinctively psychopathic tendencies.
“Very well, Joshua, I do hope that you aren’t of a nervous disposition, as we’re about to be teleported up to my Deltoid.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
England, Late August 2005
“We’ll soon be there,” Padraig announced as they came off the X38 at what was now apparently called an interchange.
The journey had passed by without any further incidents and they had made good time up the M5, until they’d come off it at Birmingham. Progress along the X38 had been a little slower, the road being very busy even with four lanes, rather than the dual-carriageway that John remembered. He also noticed many articulated lorries with the VarTech Corporation name and logo on them, moving in both directions.
They were now travelling along a series of roads unfamiliar to John, which took them through vast new industrial estates and what were apparently called technology parks. All of these were very alien to John and he soon realised that the town he’d grown up in had changed beyond all recognition. As they drove further on, John saw that the old foundry where he’d once worked was now gone and had been replaced by a massive office building nine stories high, which covered most of the old site and was emblazoned with a huge sign saying ‘VarTech Corporation World Headquarters’.
Eventually they left the technology parks and industrial estates behind, joining the B5234 at another interchange. John would have liked to have travelled on into the town, as even at a distance he could see that there had been changes to Trentbury too, but Kate was even more anxious to get news about her family, now that she knew it was 2005.
“Is it the next side road that we take, John?” Padraig said after they’d driven a few miles.
“Yes, I think so, it’ll be on your left-hand side.”
“Keep your eyes peeled for it then,” Padraig told him.
“I think it might be coming up now,” John replied, pointing to where a side road joined the B5234.
Turning off onto the side road, they only drove a short distance before they saw the beginning of a high stone wall.
“We’re getting near,” Padraig said. “The wall runs all around the grounds that the Abbot’s House stands in.”
Seeing gate posts up ahead, Padraig slowed down and turning off into the drive, stopped in front of them. John noticed a very high-tech video camera mounted on the gate post. It was on an arm which swung down, and John saw the lenses in it zoom in on them. It first seemed to be focusing on their car’s number plate and then moved up to focus in on Padraig and himself and then extending to view the back seat of the car, Morann and Kate. The camera then moved back into place and the high steel gates slowly started to open, rolling to one side. Padraig drove in.
“It seems nowadays that they take their security very seriously,” Padraig remarked. John nodded wondering if they had number plate and facial recognition software’ which had been totally unknown to John, before his memory chip had updated to 21st century everyday life.
It seemed to be a very long and winding drive, passing firstly through woods and then grassland, which was being grazed by a herd of what looked like rare breed sheep and even some small black and white goats. Over to right in the distance John could see farm buildings. Eventually he saw Abbot’s House, an Elizabethan black and white, timber-framed manor house, as large, if not larger than Trevaskis House had been. He remembered his mother taking him to the house once, but he’d only been at the most five years old and so the memories were very hazy.
Padraig pulled up in front of the house, as the front door to it opened and a man dressed in a black morning coat, grey striped trousers, grey striped waistcoat, white wing collar dress shirt and black tie, stepped outside to greet them.
“Welcome to the Abbot’s House, ladies and gentlemen. I am Euan the butler and am here to ensure that you have a comfortable stay. Please come this way. I have been expecting you, the police contacted us to say that you were on your way,” the android told them as they got out of the car. John and Padraig exchanged a look, how would the police know where they were going. They certainly hadn’t told them. “Ah Morann it is good to see you again,” Euan said as he recognized her.
“Good to see you too, Euan. Is Conn here by any chance?”
“You’ve been here before, Morann?” John turned to her in surprise.
“A long time ago John, when your grandfather was still alive.”
“Conn is here, Morann and he has news for you all. He’s in the communications room and will be with you shortly,” Euan said as he led them into the house and into a large reception room. “Please make yourselves comfortable. I daresay that you’ll all be hungry. I’ll tell the chef to prepare a meal for you.”
“Thank you, Euan, that’s very kind of you,” John told him.
“Thank you, John Junior. It will be my pleasure to serve you. This is your house now, but Conn will explain everything to you.” With that Euan turned around and exited the room.
“You and your family never came to live here. Was there a reason for that, John?” Padraig asked, settling himself down at one end of a large leather sofa. Morann and Kate joining him.
“We might have done I suppose if my mum hadn’t died, but my dad never wanted to, saying it wouldn’t seem right somehow.”
“Your grandfather disappeared from your life in 1954, didn’t he?” Morann questioned.
“Yes, my mum and dad always thought he’d turn up again though. Which I suppose is probably another reason why they never came to live here. We had a nice enough house anyway and were quite happy where we lived.” John walked over to a table at the side of the room, having spotted a photograph of himself and his mother. He picked it up and looked at it. John realised he must have been about 9 years old at the time the photo was taken, about two years before his mother had died. They’d been on holiday in North Wales when the photo was taken, and John was eating an ice cream. It had been delicious, made by Cadwaladers from Criccieth. John smiled at the memory as he put the photo back down on the table. He heard the door open behind him and turned to see that someone had entered the room. It was a male android of medium height with short black hair, who was wearing a smart business suit
“Morann, Padraig, I’m so glad to see you,” the android announced. “and you must be John and Kate,” he turned to them both. “I’m Conn and there’s so much I have to tell you all, I really don’t know where to start.”
“Kate’s rather anxious to see her family, Conn,” John told him. “Have you any news of them?”
“They’re flying here to see you in their Veetol Jet, Kate,” Conn replied. “In fact, they should be arriving here very shortly.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Earth Orbit, Late August 2005
Joshua experienced the same sensations that John Trevaskis had, when he’d first been teleported up to a Deltoid and was also now experiencing the same wonderment, as he gazed out into space from the control room of the craft.
“We’re on a space craft,” he said disbelievingly. “We’re on a space craft, “he repeated turning to Fionnuala. “But we can’t be. They didn’t have space craft in ancient Egypt.” Then Joshua shook his head. “They didn’t have what must have been a cryogenic hibernation chamber either, but it would appear that they apparently did. I don’t understand.”
“I’m neither ancient nor Egyptian,” Fionnuala told him. “I’m Aos Si and I was imprisoned in that pyramid as you call it for well over 11,000 years ago. My Deltoid, my space craft, has been in orbit around this planet ever since.”
“This has been in orbit aroun
d the Earth for thousands of years?” Joshua, said incredulously.
“Yes.”
“Then how come our observatories haven’t spotted it?”
“It has been operating in stealth mode, which means that it is invisible to the human eye and your optical and radio telescopes,” Fionnuala answered him. No-one else seemed to be on board the craft, Joshua had noticed.
“Who’s been flying it then?”
“It’s been on automatic pilot,” Fionnuala said touching the control panel which had appeared in front of her, when she’d sat down in the Deltoid Commander’s seat. Joshua sat down in the chair beside her. “Take your glasses off,” Fionnuala said.
“I won’t be able to see without them,” Joshua pointed out.
“Take them off!” Fionnuala commanded, raising her voice.
Joshua hurriedly took them off, as he had no desire to be vaporized. He blinked and then found out to his utter amazement that he could see perfectly well without them, something that he had never been able to do before.
“I don’t understand,” Joshua stammered.
“The medical nanobots that you were infused with in the teleportation chamber, when we entered this Deltoid, have repaired your faulty eyesight,” Fionnuala informed him. “Some nanobots were also released into the atmosphere when you opened the Stasis pod, I was in.”
“I never felt anything; how did it happen?”
“The nanobots are microscopic and were contained in a very fine mist, invisible to human vision,” Fionnuala glanced at him and smiled. “They have also repaired other faulty parts of your body and enhanced and strengthened some of your skills and senses.”
“Holy feck!” Joshua exclaimed.
“Yes, indeed. In fact, one of the nanobots is designed to enhance the human reproductive system,” Fionnuala stretched her arms above her head, thrusting her more than ample breasts forward. Joshua’s eyes almost popped out of his head. “I intend to see later how enhanced yours now is. It is a very long time since I last had sex with a human male. First however we must go to our base in what you apparently now call the Amazon rain forest.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Abbot’s House, Trentbury, Late August 2005
“I still can’t get my head around my father being the Chief Minister, of what is now apparently the United British and Irish Federation. He was just a miner when I last spoke to him,” Kate declared. She was waiting outside Abbot’s House by the Veetol landing pad, waiting for her parents to arrive.
“He was also as you know Kate, one of the leaders of the National Union of Miners,” Conn said. “He became the Chief Minister of the United British and Irish Federation on the 1st of January 1988.”
“So how did that come about?” Kate asked Conn.
“It’s a very long story, Kate, but as you know, Albert Brown was the Prime Minister of the UK in 1985 and the Miner’s Strike was taking place,” Conn answered. “Things got worse a few weeks after you left that time. Brown ordered troops in to break up the strike and they were ordered to fire on striking miners at the Ferrybridge Power Station who had refused to disperse. Some troops refused to carry out the order, but some did, and 27 miners were killed. The soldiers who had refused to fire on the miners joined the miners and returned fire and 12 of them were killed. Your father and Steve escaped, aided by Oisin and the Fianna and between them they organised what eventually became to be known as ‘The Rightful Resistance’.
Northern regiments of the British Army rebelled, and the rebellion quickly spread. Brown dissolved Parliament and declared himself Dictator in December 1985 and placed the Queen and senior members of the Royal Family under arrest. Oisin and the Fianna managed to rescue the Queen and the immediate members of her family and took them to safety in Canada. A civil war broke out, which became known as the British Civil War, as there were rebellions in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Brown was very brutal in trying to put the rebellions down and summary executions were carried out. That however only strengthened the resistance to him. Fighting continued and by now the British People’s Army had been formed, recruited from the troops that had rebelled and ordinary people who were willing to fight against Brown and his fascists. They were aided by Oisin and the Fianna.
In September 1986, the People’s Army marched on London where Brown and what forces he had left loyal to him had retreated. The Battle of London took place on October 17th, 1986 and lasted until November 15th, 1986 when Brown committed suicide and his forces surrendered. An interim government was formed of which your father was a member. Some people wanted to declare a Republic and Wales and Scotland wanted to be independent states. Brown had withdrawn the UK from NATO and the EEC in January 1986 and this had had an adverse effect on both those countries and also Northern Ireland and Eire. For the first three years following the overthrow of Brown there were discussions of what should now happen to the UK and it was decided that referendums should be held.
The results of the referendums were that the four countries that made up the UK should be independent states, but part of a British federation. Eire held a referendum too at the same time and the Irish people voted to apply to become a member of the federation too. A referendum had been held to see whether the Queen should be invited to return in a purely ceremonial role under the new revised constitution following this. In 1988, By a narrow margin it had been decided that she should be, but that her ceremonial role would apply only to the English Parliament. The House of Lords was abolished and instead of the House of Commons, it was decided to have elected parliaments for all five states, of what was to be called the United British and Irish Federation. All five of the now independent states, would put forward representatives from their parliaments to the federal government. Being situated between mainland Britain and Ireland, the Isle of Man was thought to be the ideal place to house the newly founded Federal Government of the United British and Irish Federation.”
“What happened to the Houses of Parliament? Why weren’t they used?” John asked.
“They’d suffered a lot a damage in the Battle of London, as had Buckingham Palace,” Conn explained. “Albert Brown had retreated there for his last stand, you see, and it had come under heavy attack.”
“There’s been a seismic change in British politics then,” Kate said.
“There has,” Conn agreed. “Anyway, the Queen and the Royal Family returned in July 1990 and took up residence at Sandringham, which had escaped harm. The seat of the English Parliament was moved to Birmingham, which was more central and stopped the new parliament of England being London-centric. Your father, Kate was elected by the interim members of the five states as the Chief Minister of the United British and Irish Federation on the 1st of January 1988 as I said and has been re-elected at every election since.”
“But if the Queen’s role is purely ceremonial, who is the head of state of the Federation?” Kate asked.
“The Chief Minister of the United British and Irish Federation takes on those duties for the whole of the Federation, whilst the Chief Ministers of the five states, England, Scotland, Wales, Eire and Northern Ireland, take on the duty for each of their individual states, Ah, I think that’s them arriving now,” Conn said pointing up into the sky where a short, stubby, V-shaped aircraft was rapidly approaching.
Chapter 17
Amazon Rain Forest, Late August 2005
The Deltoid made the journey to Fionnuala’s base in a very short time, for soon after dropping out of orbit over South America, they had descended towards the rain forest which lay below them. To Joshua’s astonishment an area of the seemingly impenetrable canopy parted, and they landed on a metal platform. It must have been a type of lift, like one that Joshua had seen in a film of an aircraft carrier, for as soon as they touched down, they were descending underground into a vast hangar. There the Deltoid hovered for a moment and then moved slowly forward to one side of the hangar where it finally settled.
“I sent the signal to awaken Fenella from stasis, when
we boarded the Deltoid,” Fionnuala told Joshua as she led him off the space craft and across the hangar towards a door, which looked very much like those he’d seen inside the pyramid.
“Who’s Fenella?” Joshua asked.
“My second-in-command,” Fionnuala then looked at him with a mischievous smile on her face. “Did you think she was my lover?” she asked raising an eyebrow.
“No! Certainly not!” Joshua protested, knowing he had probably gone red.. He and Fionnuala, at her insistence, had made love in her cabin on the flight to the base. It had been Joshua’s first time and the Nemhain had been very amused to find out that he was a virgin. Fortunately, it appeared, Fionnuala had not been disappointed with his performance, for Joshua couldn’t even dare to contemplate what she might have done to him if she had been. To tell the truth, he was still quite frightened of her.
“I’m teasing you Joshua. You are my only lover now, although I have to confess that I have had female lovers too, in the past,” Fionnuala told him, giving him a sideways glance to see if she had shocked him. Joshua smiled and nodded.
“I’m not homophobic,” he replied.
The door opened as they arrived before it and Joshua and Fionnuala walked into what was obviously a lift. The lift descended and when it stopped, and they had got out, Joshua saw that it opened onto a long corridor. Following Fionnuala, Joshua noticed that they passed several doors before she stopped in front of one and operated the door control to open it. Following Fionnuala, Joshua saw that they were in what must be a Stasis Chamber like the one in the pyramid. There were nine stasis modules as far as Joshua could see, but only one had been occupied and its occupant, a tall woman, nearly as tall as Fionnuala, was standing to the side of it. The woman was wearing a uniform not dissimilar to the one that the Nemhain was wearing and snapped her heels together and then stepped forward.
“At your command, my Nemhain,” she barked.
“At ease, Fenella,” Fionnuala answered, then seeing that the woman was looking curiously at Joshua explained. “This is Joshua who rescued me from my imprisonment and then saved my life.”
The Sol 3 Agenda Page 18