Napoleon

by Stephen Arseneault

  “I am here, General. What is your need?”

  “I want you to move every ship capable of transporting troops to Batumi on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Expect us there in two weeks. And be prepared to give us a complete resupply, including winter garments. We are headed for Moscow.”

  “I thought your orders were sending you to India?”

  “There has been a change in plans. And I need you to keep this secret. Tell no one outside that room. There are spies among us and we want them to believe this force is on its way to Mysore. This is of extreme importance, Admiral. No one outside those there with you now must know. And anyone caught giving this information out in any form I want executed immediately.”

  “We will get this done General. Do you have a final landing area in mind?”

  “The village of Mariupol. If you can manage an advance force just ahead of us to make a beachhead, that will speed us along.”

  “You will be marching across the Russian plains in the dead of winter?”

  “We will. Which is why it will be imperative that we have adequate supplies.”

  “I will do my best, sir.”

  “See you in two weeks admiral.”

  The second in command under Dumas was standing at attention. “Sir. The Emperor gave us a direct order to continue on our course.”

  “And I just changed that command. Is that an issue for you General Popi?”

  “Yes, sir. The Emperor said—”

  A pistol was raised, and a single shot was fired.

  Reno pulled back as he paused the playback. “You shot him?”

  “He was going to be trouble.”

  “Before we proceed, I want to see the archives.”

  “Can you bear with me for a short while? I can assure you this version is much better.”

  “Very well. Proceed.”

  The playback was forwarded by two weeks of recording.

  “This is where we met the fleet. In six days we moved my entire force of three hundred thousand men up to Mariupol.”

  Naffi sped through the move.

  “Our force then began the march to Moscow. It would take us three weeks and the weather was often harsh. But our supply line was up and running. Those trucks you designed were finally put into service moving behind our Army. I can't thank you enough for putting those in place.”

  “They had been waiting to be put to use. Admiral Girgo was able to get them all the way to Mariupol?”

  “Don't ask me how, but he was. We arrived on the outskirts of Moscow in mid February. The ground was frozen solid.”

  Reno tilted his head. “Wait. Were you not giving status to Napoleon?”

  “I was. And each day he was under the impression that we were marching toward Mysore, capturing and converting cities to the Empire along the way.”

  “This all seems impossible. How could he not know?”

  “His only information on our march was coming directly from us. Why would he not believe me?”

  “So you think you managed to keep your entire move, what, close to two thousand kilometers, a secret?”

  “Just watch.”

  A frozen Moscow was surrounded and quickly surrendered. Her own garrisons were unprepared for a midwinter assault. From there a second march began toward St. Petersburg.

  Naffi again forwarded the playback. “This is where I found out how big a mistake I had made. As we come over this next hill we are met at the top by a squad of French scouts. It was a totally unexpected encounter.”

  “Had Napoleon decided to take Moscow instead?”

  “Not instead. He changed his tactics at St. Petersburg and was able to defeat Emperor Paul's troops. His army, still more than one hundred fifty thousand strong, was marching to Moscow.”

  Reno was silent for several seconds before breaking into a laugh. “You countered his orders and moved your entire force to Moscow unnecessarily?”

  “You find it funny?”

  “I do. You were so certain he had ignored your warning. What happened next?”

  “We all return to Moscow where a tribunal was arranged. While it was determined that my intentions were good and honorable, such insubordination could not be tolerated in the military. Napoleon left my fate to his other Generals and I can only say I never took the time with them to make myself popular. I won battles, but I rarely heaped praise on those who helped. I was executed by firing squad the following day. And I'm almost certain Marwal's clone was holding one of the rifles.”

  “He infiltrated your army?”

  “Apparently. I heard word of two guards being killed outside my holding cell the night before. I can only guess that was him attempting to get to me.”

  “So Roger Dumas is finally dead.”

  “Permanently so. What do the archives say about the new future?”

  “Let's check.”

  Chapter 16

  _______________________

  Reno typed at the console in front of him. “I'll check the Opamari records first and... wow. We managed a change. There are sixty thousand citizens who no longer exist and another forty-three thousand who are new.”

  “And?”

  “Nunol... no change. Marwal... no change either. And your family... I am sorry. None of the differences had an effect.”

  “Why is this so difficult?”

  “Because our population is roughly the same size today as it was back then. The child lottery has been in place since before the raid on Earth. A great many families just end with no children when they sell off their rights to others. A change to a family line may ripple along for forty thousand years and then poof... no more lineage.”

  “What of the archives?”

  “Hmm. Napoleon takes Russia and the United States helps to liberate Britain. The armies of India rebel against the French and make alliances with the Middle East. Egypt is taken to the south and Austria and Hungary to the east. The Spaniards and Portuguese pull out of the pact and the remaining provinces are soon rebelling along with the others.”

  “We seem to keep coming back to that.”

  “And here's an oddity. Napoleon is forced to surrender by his own people and is once again sent into exile where he eventually dies.”

  “We had come so far.”

  “I find it almost remarkable that after all that, Earth's history remains remarkably the same. The Civil War still happens, although much bloodier this time as the weapons were advanced from what they were originally. And two major world wars were still fought. So many people dead from these fights and yet much of this planet's history is repeating.”

  “That doesn't speak well of our efforts.”

  Reno asked, “What do you mean?”

  “We're trying to effect change. So far that change has done little to manipulate the future.”

  Reno turned back to the archive. “One moment... that statement is not true. The Human population at the time of the invasion was just over eight billion. According to the archives, roughly 30 percent of those are different from the originals. Our changes here have had major impacts.”

  “But not the impacts we desire.”

  “We were close on this one. We can continue on, trying to make certain Napoleon is successful.”

  “How would we do that?”

  “In the original archive, Tipu Sultan dies in 1799. I can make certain that happens and possibly make certain the French take the entire region. They are fighting the British there. And a strong Tipu Sultan is the one who organized the army to march north into the Middle East. Without that threat, and with the right intelligence delivered to Napoleon, Britain can be made to remain a partner in the Empire.”

  “Hmm. I like both of those scenarios. What role will I be playing in it this time?”

  “Maybe it is time for you to sit back and observe while Jacques Lamonde makes a move.”

  “I suddenly feel less enthused.”

  Reno chuckled. “Welcome to my world. And keep in mind, we may only be talking about
a day or two of our time here, depending how often we have to move the station to stay ahead of Nunol and Marwal.”

  A second clone of Indian ethnicity was warmed, connected, and sent back to the Kingdom of Mysore, this time to 1798. A year was spent in the court of Tipu Sultan, spying for the French. Instead of the expected move with the French military who were stationed there, the clone made its way to the British camps and to their commander. A deal was struck whereby the king was assassinated and the British were quick to capitalize. When 1799 had come and gone, the Brits were in complete control of the entire peninsula of India with all her sub-kingdoms.

  Naffi rubbed his chin. “I fail to see how this is better.”

  “When Napoleon defeats the British, which he will, the entire peninsula will fall under the French Empire by default. No army will be raised and no army will be sent to the Middle East.”

  “Interesting twist. Now let's have a look at the archives to see the outcome... and it looks as though your attempt was a whopping failure.”

  “How is that possible?”

  Naffi pointed at the display. “A British led army was raised and marched on the Middle East, yielding a similar result as before.”

  Reno scowled. “OK then, perhaps we need to start with the Americans. I'll transfer this history to my next clone and I'll make a trip to London.”

  “London? You should have started in America. That is where preparations for an uprising would openly happen.”

  “I'll begin in London, thank you. I have the history of who was involved. I need only collect that information fully and then take it to Napoleon. The rest will be handled. And I will pass along the intel about our British friends in India at the same time.”

  Naffi crossed his arms.

  After several minutes of watching and listening to the recording of Reno's trip, a question was asked. “How is it you are able to move around without interference from time bubbles?”

  “Time... I left gaps between my visits. And the Earth is a big place. When I went back my time was spent in places like Berlin. I conducted business from away.”

  “What of the factories in Paris and the other cities in France?”

  “Simple. I arranged and paid for those to be constructed from my remote location.”

  Naffi smirked. “I'm impressed. For a non-businessperson, you certainly seem to have a knack for it. Tanks, ships, artillery... we could not have made the progress we did without those.”

  “To be honest, it did take a tremendous amount of thought. At one point I was tempted to go to America for production, but I had no way to ship the goods over in a secretive manner. I instead went to the past, built the factories, and stored the merchandise until you were able to retrieve it.”

  Naffi leaned forward. “It says you only live another three weeks. You certainly didn't complete the mission in that amount of time, did you?”

  “I did not. I will be warming another clone momentarily.”

  “Why are we still watching this?”

  “I have several interactions that I would like to review. I believe it to be one of three individuals who discovered me. I would like to know who that was so I can properly deal with the situation.”

  “Why is it your adventures often seem so much more complex than mine?”

  “Perhaps I am better suited for the complex situations?”

  “Or perhaps you're not as well suited for any situation and they become needlessly complex.”

  Reno smiled. “Well countered, Naffi. I suppose without extensive evaluation we will never know.”

  “Which is probably for the best.”

  “Here.” Reno pointed. “This man who just crossed the hall in front of me. Was that a suspicious look he gave me?”

  Naffi chuckled. “I don't think he even looked your way.”

  The scene was paused, backed up, and run through again.

  “Hmm. I suppose you are right. I thought I caught a glance, but that doesn't appear to be the case.”

  The recording was forwarded to the next suspicious incident and paused.

  Reno again pointed to the display. “Watch this corner over here. The man in the brown suit turns and looks directly at me.”

  The scene was played.

  Naffi again chuckled. “He's looking at the lady with the tray full of drinks.”

  “OK. We have one final suspect. The next man in a blonde wig.”

  Naffi shook his head. “He doesn't look suspicious, just creepy. How exactly did you die?”

  “I walked into a study. There was no one in there. I was drawn in by the number of books lining a set of shelves. I blacked out, so I can only imagine I was struck from behind.”

  “We can send you back to the instant after your death. Perhaps into an adjacent room. You could peek into the hall and see the killer as they came out of the study. And if they left the body, you could reclaim your clothes and only have need of removing the corpse.”

  “I believe that to be a worthy plan, Naffi. Very practical.”

  “I prefer to think of it as genius, but I will take practical if that is all to be given.”

  “It is.”

  A clone was readied and sent back, arriving in the room next door. The video display showed a door opening just enough to see into the hall. A dirty-faced, disheveled man slipped out of the study with a pouch of coins that had been taken from the deceased. A grin covered his face as he skulked away.

  Reno sighed. “A common thief.”

  Naffi asked, “The parameters say two months. Were you successful?”

  “I did not find out who the main conspirators were. They covered their tracks well, but I did deliver the information to Napoleon. He was intrigued and wanted to know my sources. I told him they were only suspicions, but perhaps he could have them confirmed by his people. He did, and the conspiracy was disrupted.”

  Naffi began a comparison of the archives. “Interesting. It seems the conspiracy was pushed back nine months. But during that time, Napoleon was able to fully secure Russia and the Middle East. Britain was liberated, but a peace accord was reached. Napoleon was content with the size of his Empire. It says his reforms of road, rail, and trade brought about a renaissance. And at the same time the Americans purchased the Louisiana Territory and continued their expansion west. It was all part of the peace deal.”

  “And our Opamari ancestry?”

  “We have change, but it is closer to the original than before. Twelve thousand lives gone and twenty thousand new. None that affect our goals. It shows that one of our warships fired twenty-six extra plasma rounds toward the surface before its mission was complete.”

  “That minor delay was enough to affect the future?”

  “In this instance, yes. But delays do not guarantee change. We will have to do better,” Naffi said.

  “What of the future of the French Empire?”

  “It continued for forty years before provinces began voting for independence. Most of the larger future wars were still fought, which I find to be incredible given the changes we introduced, but the archive shows them to still have happened.”

  “And what of the weapons used in Earth's defense?”

  “Only moderately advanced. Our radiation bombs and cannons are difficult to defend against. In our own history they have always been the most deadly and destructive, and only those civilizations who had similar put up much of a fight.”

  “So there are no known defenses?”

  “None in our history that seemed to have worked. There was one species, the Donteeri, they managed to damage several dozen of our warships, but they were using plasma cannons, just a weaker version than ours.”

  “What about nuclear? The archives have shown the Humans to have developed that technology.”

  “The problem is delivery. In order to cause damage, close proximity is needed. And any damage comes from the explosion and not the radiation. Our warships have shielding that is adequate against any such weapons as related to the radia
tion portion of their capability. And with the cannons, nothing gets close enough to cause damage.”

  “So we are in need of a new weapon, something like a plasma cannon that can reach out almost instantly. Or perhaps we should begin to build laser cannons.”

  Reno shook his head. “We do not have the machines nor the technology for such. And I don't know if the few hundred years we have available before their arrival are enough to acquire that technology.”

  “We have the designs. And we have the knowledge. I would think this would be something we could build.”

  “With a cooperative world that was focused on providing the resources and labor such a task would require, yes, we could indeed build a plasma cannon. But we would need thousands of them, large scale devices, and governments or a government that was committed to building them. We don't have that commitment. We are talking advancements that would naturally take several thousand years to develop with teams of scientists and engineers. We have one scientist with the necessary skills.”

  “Then perhaps we need to develop a school. You will train more scientists who will train more scientists and engineers. You almost seem opposed to such an approach.”

  “I am not opposed, just trying to be realistic. Such an accomplishment in that time is daunting, and that is when you have what you need.”

  Reno rubbed his chin in thought. “What if... we were to make you Emperor of your own country? You could order up any resources or labor you would need. We have the knowledge of how to do this. Could you make it happen from a position as Emperor?”

  “What you fail to see is that this undertaking cannot be done publicly. Marwal is still out there. He would see to it I was captured or eliminated and that any such work was delayed or destroyed.”

  “Ah. Yes. He would pose a significant problem.”

  “Wherever we went, whatever we did, he would find us. And when that happened we would be exposed. Anything we developed would be countered or its progression stopped.”

  Naffi crossed his arms. “Then perhaps we should be asking ourselves whether or not any of this matters.” He leaned forward. “Or perhaps we need to redouble our efforts to find Mentox-II. I'll bring Vara out to discuss this.”