"We may face dangers greater than that roadblock along the way. What do you think he will do then? I'll tell you. Officer Lane will either freeze, charge in recklessly, or try to take control of everything: you, me, everything. He will have to, to feel relevant. And his feelings are irrelevant in contrast to our survival."
"I think he is fine. He's been through hard cases. I heard he's been through hard cases; that was before I got here. But, has always had my back. Regardless, he is my partner. Partners stick together and watch each other's back. He needs me, and I can't abandon him."
"Fine. But what are you going to do once I make it to the DC? You plan to continue on toward Maryland to find your brother. Where is Officer Lane going to go? He won't come back here. I'm not taking him with me. He's your partner. You will be committed to take him with you to Maryland, to your brother and his family. I respect your loyalty to your work partner. But are you willing to bring him into your family? He'll have nowhere else to go. You will be stuck with him."
"Speaking of being stuck, how am I going to get around once you get to your destination?"
"Once I get to where I'm going, you can take this Humvee. I won't need it. Look, I understand, as a cop, your commitment to civilians and your brothers in blue, but law won't mean much for a while, if ever again. I had to rescue you from marauding locals that you tried to help. Your station here is abandoned and you have no idea where the other officers went. The vehicles left behind here had their gas tanks siphoned, so property laws or authority mean nothing if someone needs food or gas. I'm not forcing you to come. I gladly bring you along, but if you two are a package deal, I'd rather go on alone. One good egg isn't edible if you mix it with one rotten egg. If you come with me, he has to stay."
"Well, the station has enough supplies and weapons in there you can take what you need and go on your own, but I'd sure like to make my way to Maryland with you. When grandma died, I was considering going back there. He is my partner, but I don't want to stay here for him, and I don't think he'd fit in with my brother's family. I guess I hadn't thought what he'd do after we got you to DC."
Dixie takes a moment, her thoughts weighing heavy from options. With a sudden moment of clarity, she looks at Mr. Nix, "I need to talk with him. Let me see where his head is."
She turns back and goes into the station. Inside, she looks around but doesn't see her partner Robert. The station rooms and halls are dark and quiet, the backup generator out of juice. There is just enough light coming in from exterior windows to make the darkness navigable.
"Lane! Bobby, where are you? Bobby?"
She walks though reception to the back desks, where she sees officer Lane sitting at one of the desk chairs. He is staring at a picture of his wife in his hands.
"Lane, you ok?" Dixie tries to comfort her partner, "I know what you are feeling. But you can't give up. I'm sure she's out here somewhere. Probably with a group of people who went off to safety. You love her. I know you do. She loves you and she's out there hoping to find you. Hoping you find her."
His eyes glossing over with tears, Robert stares at the picture of his wife as if it will disappear if he looks away. "You think she's hoping I find her? You think she loves me? She's been talking about leaving me and divorcing for months. Wouldn't let me sleep in the same bed, and when I forced myself into the bed, she'd just go sleep on the couch. She never admitted it, but she was sleeping with someone else. With our problems, she was happy when I wasn't around. I thought as long as we were living together, I still had a chance. That she'd come around, realize what we had, and that the things I gave were not worth losing."
Officer Lane chokes up, then clears his throat before continuing, "If she isn't dead, she's glad she's gone. This, these things on Earth destroying everything, they destroyed my world. The universe wanted to make sure she got away from me, she was free from me. I became an officer because she wanted me to get a steady job, and I wanted a job she respected. I married her because she wanted a man who could commit, and I wanted to spend my life with her. These creatures that freed her from me took everything I had, everything I ever wanted, and left me with nothing but a worthless badge. My wife and marriage are gone, my home, and the people out there I once protected don't even respect me, respect my authority. Just like my wife. I could never get her respect. The bitch. My love."
Angry, he crumples and throws her picture across the room. Dixie is shocked by what she is seeing. Not only was she unaware there was a problem with his marriage, she didn't realize how tormented and confused he was.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you two were having problems," empathizes Dixie.
"Problems? Problems are couples not agreeing what color to paint the living room or whose family to spend the holidays with. My wife turned her back on me no matter how much I loved her or sacrificed for her. That is not a problem. That is betrayal."
"You're upset, Bobby, but you can't blow this out of proportion. Sometimes marriages don't work out and people get divorced. It's painful but not hateful."
"If she isn't dead, she's dead to me now. Let's finish loading and get these guns on the road. Time for this dog to remind the world who is in charge."
Dixie now sees why Mr. Nix warned her. Her partner is dangerous and volatile. She can't take him with her, or expose her brother and his children to him.
She tries to backstep the conversation, "Look Bobby, we're going on a one-way trip. We aren't coming back. Agent Xanthos is headed into DC, and I'm going to Maryland to find my brother and nephews. If you come, what are you going to do when you get there?"
"I am not sure. You are my partner. Guess I'll go with you. The universe took everything from me, but I still have my partner, right? I don't trust that Fed guy out there, but you do, so I'm willing to go along. You are my destiny now. I'm keeping my eye on him. I don't want him to turn you against me."
Dixie realizes this is rapidly getting very complicated. Her partner is not making sense and is blaming Agent Xanthos for decisions she hasn't made yet.
"Agent Xanthos saved us. Those criminals at the roadblock had no intention of letting us go. They were only keeping us alive in case any other officers came around, then they could use us for leverage. That guy out there is the only reason we are here right now."
"That is what he says. I didn't see him do anything. For all we know, someone else came by and killed of the bandits, and he was just scavenging what was left behind and found us. But it doesn't matter to me. I'm in it with you. You trust him, so I'm along for the ride to watch your back."
Dixie is nervous. Bobby is behaving like they are life partners, and she has only been riding with him for less than a year. He's acting as if this invasion is against him, made to ruin his life. Agent Xanthos was right. She doesn't want to take him to Maryland with her, and if she did, how would he react if she ever wanted to part ways? At this moment Dixie feels both respect for Xanthos' insight into people, and discomfort over her partners personal reaction to what is a worldwide tragedy. She has to handle this now before it becomes a problem she can't fix.
"Lane, Bobby, listen. Agent Xanthos asked me to come, accompany him to a certain point, and then he's going on his own. I need to find my way to Maryland and be with my family, and that is not for you. I can't bring you with me. If you go, you will end up somewhere outside DC alone, and I don't think you should go. Your home is here. The people here need you. They are somewhere, and you'll find them, and they'll need your help."
"This...no...this isn't you saying this. It's him, right? That agent guy put you up to this. He's just using us to get what he wants. I won't let that happen. I lost everything now, even my partner, but I am not going to roll over. Not for a mind-manipulating Fed."
Officer Lane gets up and stomps out the police station. Officer Brown hurries after him.
"Bobby, no, no one is against you, things just happen."
Outside, Officer Lane walks straight toward the Humvee with a head of steam. Dixie is right behind him. Mr.
Nix sees him coming, grabs the shotgun off the hood, and points it toward the ground in a non-threatening way. Mr. Nix then steps away from the Humvee, trying to decide if Lane is coming toward him or the Humvee.
Officer Lane grabs the supplies they put into the Humvee and tosses them out onto the ground. Dixie tries to stop him. Recognizing an explosive breakdown, Nix stays aside where he is, but ready to react.
"Lane what are you doing? Stop that!"
"This dude is using us...," points at Mr. Nix, "You are using us!"
"Leave that stuff be," pleads Dixie.
"This is the property of the police. Not the Feds. If I'm not going, it is not going."
"Lane, we have plenty to spare. Let him take it."
She keeps trying to stop him while he pulls stuff out.
"He doesn't need us; he doesn't need our stuff."
"I'm going with him. Leave it be!"
She keeps trying to stop him. He turns and shoves her to the ground, then draws his handgun on her.
"I thought you were my partner but you can't wait to leave me either. For him. Both you want me to lay down and die. You, him, freaking aliens, my wife. This is my time. These are my things."
Nix keeps the shotgun pointed groundward, not wanting to escalate the moment. Dixie doesn't draw her weapon, keeping her hands open in a calming motion.
"Bobby, what are you doing? What is this? Your gun is drawn. On me. On this man. We haven't broken any laws. We haven't done anything to you. I know it feels like you are losing everything, but we are all losing everything. When I get to Maryland, my brother's home could be destroyed and gone. But I have to try. I must keep trying. You must keep trying, too. Not raging at the world. Have hope. Put your gun away, Bobby. It's meant to protect you from harm. Not to point at me, the one trying to help you."
Officer Lane is still. He then lowers his gun, but still holds it in his hand. Not saying a word, or looking around, Officer Lane walks past Officer Brown and heads into the police station, disappearing. Mr. Nix helps Dixie get up off the ground.
"Are you ok?" Mr. Nix asks Dixie.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I hope he is, too."
A gunshot rings out from inside the police station.
"Oh my God, no!" yells Dixie as she runs into the police station. There is a moment of silence before Nix hears Dixie scream, "Bobby, no, no, what did you do Bobby! Why?"
Mr. Nix understands what has happened. He sets the shotgun on the Humvee hood and lowers his head in a moment of reflection. He then waits as he stares at the station doors.
After a long moment, Dixie comes out, looking numb and in shock. She works her way toward Nix, who walks to her.
"I'm sorry, Dixie. It is not your fault. He wasn't able to cope with what is happening. Don't put this on yourself."
Mr. Nix puts his arms around her, supporting her. She fights to hold in the emotions. Tears break free from her eyes and roll over her cheeks.
Future Impressions
Chapter 36
Testing Laboratory, Barge.
The laboratory room is bustling with scientists and assistants mechanically working on the head of the transmitter mounted on a stand, and man equipment that monitors the process. Facing the transmitter is another stand supporting a duplicate of the receiver head holding a concave crystal plate.
At a work station off to the side, Walter adjusts a digital magnifier while poking at a tiny nanobot with a filament. He is no longer in civilian clothing, instead wears the same crystal blue uniform everyone else in the room is wearing.
A scientist walks over to Walter.
"Walter, we are ready to test the writing instruments."
"Is the crystal memory plate secure?"
"Yes."
Walter hollers, "Everyone! Clear the test area! Goggles on. Countdown in sixty seconds."
The countdown begins. Everyone moves outside a painted circle on the floor, leaving the transmitter and the crystal plate in the center. They pull heavy tinted goggles over their eyes to prevent any retinal burn. The room is silent.
"...six...five...four...three...two...initialize writing head," calls out a voice.
A barrage of lasers, faster and thinner than the eye can see, shoots from the transmitter head and strikes the crystal plate on the receiver. The crystal flashes and sparkles from the laser strikes. After a few seconds, the flashing and sparkles stop.
"Writing heads deactivated...three point seven two four terabytes of information transferred."
Walter removes his goggles, "Thank you, everyone. Beta team, remove the crystal plate and confirm the data transfer. Alpha team, put the head ring on the transmitter with the tesseract coil. We'll be testing the coil at sixteen hundred hours. You can unseal the lab doors. Everyone, let's keep moving forward."
Walter returns to working with the nanobot under the digital magnifier. Captain Nemolopolus enters the unsealed lab door and heads straight to Walter.
"I missed the test, didn't I?" asks the captain.
"Test went fine. We'll be having another one at sixteen hundred hours if you want to watch," offers Walter
"I do. If I can, I'll be here. I see everyone has been busy working on the research we received from the first transmission."
"Yes, I distributed the blueprints on the transmitter. Your scientists fabricated the components with minimal oversight and everything is working as expected. It has allowed me to focus on other research."
"Your concept of the future sending technology to the past is working out fantastically. Sandy finished decoding the last information from the first transmission received. Sorry it took longer than expected. It is two videos, and there was a short message. What Sandy told me is that these videos are from months later than the original transmission."
Walter stops and looks at Nemolopolus.
"What? Are you telling me that the future 'me' of the future 'me' sent a second transmission and had it recorded at the same time as an earlier future 'me' sent a transmission?"
"Yes. You added a postscript to your own message. Sandy said you encoded and encrypted the videos but not the message because..."
"Wait...let me think. I didn't encode it for security reasons, makes no sense. I encoded and encrypted it so…it would take us time to decode, and therefore making sure we began work on the transmitter before we viewed the videos, right?"
"Yeah, that is what she said. You didn't want your future postscript read, or the videos viewed, before the original transmission was extracted," confirms Captain Nemolopolus, handing Walter a memory card. "Your video is on here."
"You said there were two videos. Where is the other video?" asks Walter.
"The message accompanying the videos explained that one video was for you, the other for Dr. Black, and that no one else was to see them. Believe me, Sandy was tempted to watch the videos, and I don't blame her, but we don't want to take the chance that if anyone else watches these, it might mess up the timelines. So, here is yours. I had the other one sent to Dr. Black."
"I'll watch it as soon as possible."
Captain Nemolopolus nods. He then looks at the work station where Walter is doing micro robotic adjustments.
"What are you putting together here?"
"Well, Burt, my former assistant and a phenomenal scientist..."
"I know Burt," affirms the captain.
"...of course, you do. He gave me a significant piece of research he was working on, he called Profugus. I call it genius. Interlinked independent nanobots. I wasn't sure if it would help us, but in the research sent from the future, I apparently figured out a way to weaponize his invention. So, I built a prototype and am seeing if any improvements can be made to my designs."
"What type of weapon did you create?"
"Smart ammunition."
"What is smart ammunition?"
"I'll show you."
Walter picks up what resembles a shotgun slug without the shell or powder.
"Makah, are you finished with the test air gun?" asks Wa
lter.
A nearby scientist turns to a side workbench, grabs a barrel, a stock, a canister of compressed air and assembles into rifle form, then takes it to Walter.
"Here it is, Walter. The air valves are open, and ready to use," explains Makah.
"Thank you, Makah. When completed, this slug will be placed in a traditional shell with propellant, projected by powdered ignition, making it useable in a standard shotgun. However, for laboratory purposes, I'm using compressed air."
Walter takes the shotgun slug, puts it into the barrel of the air gun, and holds it as if ready to shoot. He then calls out, "I need the target plate of two-inch metal wheeled into the test circle, and affix the Greys protective suit to it." Walter turns to Nemolopolus, "Sandy informed me you found protective suits on the Grey craft you salvaged. I'm testing with one if you don't mind?"
"Please do. What is ours is yours," responds Captain Nemolopolus.
Walter yells out again, "Everyone else, please stop what you are doing and clear the test circle."
Everyone steps outside the test circle, leaving the transmitter and receiver. Two assistants wheel out a vertical plate of two-inch-thick metal, moving it to the side of the transmitter. A third technician comes over carrying a Greys silver one-piece puncture proof suit and clamps it to the plate in a way that the suit chest is covering most of the metal plate. The three technicians step away, moving outside the test circle.
"Goggles on!"
Everyone puts on goggles. Someone hands Captain Nemolopolus a pair. Walter aims the air gun at the suit on the plate of metal.
"Ready..." yells Walter.
Walter shoots the air gun. The slug, initially solid, breaks apart into pellets the size of shotgun pellets. When the pellets hit the suit, they don't ricochet, but stick. Then the pellets bore into the suit and disappear. Walter takes off his goggles.
Nexus of Time Page 30