Centaurs (Parallel Worlds)

by Aaron Pery

  "That's what they taught me to do in the Royal Navy, Ma'am."

  "Which explains why England was such a naval power for so long. Anyway, we still have a lot of work to do tonight so we better get going."

  "Talking about dedication, General, I guess none of us will ever measure up to you."

  "Thanks, Herb."

  "So now, in addition to a small army," Nick said when they were back on the road. "We got us a powerful navy as well."

  "We sure do, for which I'm very glad just in case we might need it."

  "What are your plans for tonight?"

  "I'll have to wait for Adam's message of completion before I do anything since both ends of the time tunnel had already been moved to the appropriate locations last night. With your able help, of course."

  "It was easy to do once you'd explained the basics. In fact, I was totally surprised by it, especially after you made me read the Gogian scientific text on how it operates."

  "The bastards were real geniuses when it came to advanced science and if it wasn't for their inherent viciousness toward all, including their own, they would have survived and achieved true greatness."

  "Which we're going to use to our own advantage. Anyway, should we grab a bite on the way home, or would you like me to prepare something and we'll eat on the veranda overlooking the bay?"

  "I think at home because I'm expecting the call from Adam. But don't make anything elaborate like you enjoy doing."

  "Sure, simple stuff."

  Chapter 23

  Marty received the anticipated call from Adam a moment after entering their home, which she answered after putting on a ruffled white blouse. He grinned momentarily and she realized that the blouse was nearly transparent and that he could easily glimpse her breasts. Oh, what the hell I got 'em so I might as well flaunt them, she thought after a moment's hesitation and nearly putting on another, less provocative shirt.

  "So, Adam, what's the status of the shipment?"

  "I just got a call from my expediter in Baltimore, where it's a bit after midnight right now, that the last piece of shipment had arrived. According to him, and I fully trust the man's word, everything's been arranged like ducks in a row, as he called it, ready to be sent out whenever you choose to do so. Also, that the alarm has been deactivated and that so had been the inside and outside cameras, just as you'd ordered it done. Oh, and that the moment the final piece arrived the entire place was sprayed with a special gas designed to kill any pests that lived there or were brought in one of the containers. So, if you plan on sending anyone over right now soon, give the fumigating gas at least two more hours to dissipate."

  "I'm pleased to hear how thorough you've been, Adam, so I got a question for you before we disconnect."

  "Sure, shoot."

  "How mechanically inclined are you? Specifically when it comes to engines?"

  Adam burst into laughter. "I was practically raised in the garage by Dad and still couldn't get enough information about how things work, and then got a mechanical engineering degree before joining the navy. What you got in mind, Marty?"

  "I'd like you to look at something that I'll send you in a couple of days, and if you think it's worth patenting, become my partner and agent for it."

  "Sounds interesting so send it over and I'll give it my full attention."

  "Thanks, Adam, I appreciate everything. Bye."

  "And the same to you, Marty."

  She walked out to the balcony after showering and found that the table had been set and that Nick was waiting to serve a meal of thick lamb burgers on sesame buns with a salad next to it.

  "Ah, Nikki, exactly what I had in mind for tonight. I just wish it was beef, which I'm dying to have." Marty said as she sat down.

  "Me, too, like a charred thirty-two ounce steak and a baked potato."

  "Well, at least we have potatoes here."

  "Which surprised the heck out of me because it's origin is in the Americas."

  "Lots of strange things here, you know. Anyway, Adam informed me that all is in readiness to be picked up, so I called Dave to tell him that we'll get over to the yard in a couple of hours and start bringing the stuff in."

  "I can hardly wait to see how it'll all turn out."

  "Me, too. But we got to wait two hours to make sure that the fumigating gas is gone."

  "So we won't bring in any pests? Good idea. In fact, in light of what we'd both said about wishing for beef, maybe you should ask Adam to ship us a couple of cows to see if they'll survive here."

  "You think that the old germs may have died after so many years?"

  "Possibly, or it's gotten so weak overtime that cattle will be immune to it. But even if it isn't, if we can transship stuff between there and here, why not get some dressed beef if we can't raise our own?"

  "Great idea, Nikki, which hadn't even entered my mind. Yeah, the next time we talk I'll ask Adam to send us both--live and dressed beef."

  When they arrived at the maintenance yard David and Elwood were waiting outside, looking flushed with excitement. "Ready to do it, Marty?" David asked the moment he saw them.

  "As ready as we'll ever be. Is the building totally secure?"

  "Absolutely. Locked front and back, and everyone was sent home."

  "Good, then let us in."

  As soon as the door closed behind them Marty and Nick held hands tightly and wished themselves transported to the warehouse in Baltimore. A moment later, both felt themselves in motion and when they opened their eyes they were standing at the edge of the cavernous structure. They smiled when they saw the long row of equipment, most in wooden crates with various kinds of tractors and vehicles parked among them, and all properly labeled.

  "Now comes the difficult part, Marty. How are we going to transport this big tonnage of stuff from here to there?"

  "The same way we got here--by concentrating our minds on everything at the same time and wishing for it to arrive in the maintenance building."

  "I see. It's funny, though, that we're actually standing on US soil."

  "Not quite, Nikki. This building and everything in it is actually situated on the anteroom, so to speak, of the US end of the time tunnel. It would have been impossible for our minds, regardless of their strength, to lift everything up and place it in the tunnel. So what we need to do now is to combine our strengths and give the end of the string of equipment a gentle nudge that will send it over to the other side."

  "That simple? I hadn't figured it to be this way."

  "Because you're a scientist and are therefore much too pragmatic."

  "I guess I am. So we stand at the end of the line and give it a push that'll send it all to the other end?"

  "That's right. So let's do it."

  Again, they felt themselves moving, then discovered that they were standing at the end of the maintenance building with their entire equipment row as it had been arranged in the warehouse. They chuckled when they looked at each other before walking toward the entrance and pushing the door open.

  The men rushed over, looking disappointed. "What happened, you couldn't do it?" David asked.

  "Why would you think that?"

  "Because you were gone barley five minutes."

  "Come," Nick said as he opened the door. "And look at what we got you."

  Both hurried into the building and their jaws literally dropped. "Sweet Jesus," Elwood exclaimed. "You did it."

  "Indeed we did. Now, the effort of bringing it over was so great that we need to go home and rest for a while. But that doesn't mean that you have to wait for us to go through everything together, so unpack what you want and we'll see you tomorrow morning. One thing though, since you're not familiar with internal combustion engines, don't start any of them in the building because they emit a noxious gas capable of killing you, so push them out by hand when you're ready to start any of the vehicles. As for the rest, everything comes with detailed instruction on how to operate them. Good night."

  They left quickly, and ten mi
nutes later both fell into bed and slept till late morning.

  By the time they returned to the maintenance building it was nearly noon since they ate a leisurely breakfast on the waterfront first, where Marty smoked her cigar very slowly before they drove back. They were surprised by the crowd that surrounded the building, which separated to let them pass with astonished looks in their eyes as they watched all the things that were being unpacked by an army of young people.

  David rushed over and hugged them. "My God, I can't believe all of these treasures you'd brought us, with the kind of farm implements that I couldn't even imagine from their pictures and descriptions."

  The entire board greeted them once Marty and Nick reached the middle of the building, all with bubbly smiles and words of thanks. Yet, as much as they liked all the loud adulations both left after a shot time, slightly embarrassed by it.

  "One of the things I need from you, Elwood," Nick told him before they left. "Is an operating manual for the simplest and smallest perpetual motion engine that we got."

  "They're all exactly the same, just for the various sizes, Nick. And the most amazing thing is that their hookup to the new equipment is amazingly simple, which means that we won't need to use the smelly fuel engines for too long. And you were right, they do emit awful smells but never mind it because we'd already sent a few of them to the farm with the new plows. Anyway, give me a minute and I'll get you a manual."

  Both spent the next two days on the manuals and the schematics of the engine, translating all the pertinent information so that Adam would be able to follow them. When they thought that he would be able to comprehend everything, Marty sent him a copy via the internet.

  When Herb came calling a day later, she told him about the horses' wish to leave for Turkey and the board's enthusiastic approval. "So what I will need from you is a transport ship to carry them over to a beach with an easy access to the interior, where they'll have plenty of water and open ranges to roam as they please."

  "I'm glad about that. As to where to land, let's look at the maps of the coastal area directly across from Rhodes, which will be the shortest route. Actually, from my old knowledge of the Mediterranean and this area in particular, the bay of Izmir is situated in the right place and has plenty of water and feed for them."

  "You'd sailed around these waters before?"

  "Of course. We were a seafaring nation and our ships reached everywhere to show our flag."

  "I guess that's what a big empire has to do to remain one. Anyway, let's look at the map."

  They poured over it for a while and both quickly concluded that Herb's idea of the Bay of Izmir was the correct landing area. "Then it's settled, Marty?"

  "I'm pretty sure of it but I'll need to discuss it with their leader."

  "Good. I have a suggestion, though, that we should transport them in two smaller ships."

  "Why?"

  "Because this area is notorious for sudden, extremely violent storms at this time of year, and since we'll be carrying literally the last remnants of their race it behooves us the ensure that at least half of them survive in case of a disaster."

  Marty gave him a long look before responding. "You're quite a humanist, you know, Admiral."

  "Shouldn't you have said horsist, General?"

  "Oh, shut up. Yes, I agree that we should split them, which I'll explain to their leader when I see him tomorrow. And thanks."

  The next morning, wishing to see the usage of the equipment with her own eyes, Marty drove to the farm rather than contact Leader from afar. She was gratified to see the already evident results when David took her to the fields and showed her the enormous winter wheat section being seeded mechanically by only one person, and other fields being plowed by one person each to prepare for planting.

  "It used to take us weeks and hundreds of people with horses doing the same work that we'd finished in two days with barely any people. And you should see the happy farmers working their land with the modern plows--absolutely amazing how much better and faster they're doing it."

  "It pleases me that I had a part in these improvements, Dave."

  "Part?"

  "Oh, never mind. Now let's go back to the house because I'm meeting the leader so we can finalize his people's trip to the Turkish coast."

  "I'm glad that they'll finally be on their own to live as they please. And Sue's happier about it because she had always felt terrible about their treatment by those bastards."

  "Same here."

  The meeting with Leader and Swifty went along just as Marty had expected. She could have sworn that there were tears in both their eyes even though she was sure that they weren't capable of it physically, when she told them about the arrangements she had made with Herb and the reason for the two boats.

  "D'you think it's going to a dangerous crossing, Marty?"

  "I suppose it could but one never knows about things like that. Why, d'you have any misgivings about leaving?"

  "No, but Swifty heard Susan and David talking about people getting seasick when traveling on boats and I'm quite concerned because some of our mares are pregnant."

  "I'm happy to hear that. About getting sick in the boat, that used to be true in the old days when ships moved through the water. But not nowadays because our boats move on top of the water, very much like my car does on land, basically moving on an air cushion that stays stable at all times."

  "I see. Then you don't think any of my people will get seasick?"

  "There's no guarantee that nobody will, but probably no more than one or two per boat."

  "Oh, that's nothing to worry about. How soon can we leave?"

  "Anytime you want. Even tomorrow morning if you'd like."

  "I would, very much."

  "Then let me communicate with Admiral Wallen to make the arrangements."

  "Please do, Marty, because we're all ready to go."

  When she reached Herb he had no problem with sailing the next morning. "I'll leave here at about six o'clock so tell Leader to have his people assembled on the beach right below the farm that we'd talked about, by eight o'clock. Will that be okay with him?"

  When she asked him, Leader nodded in agreement, which she related to Herb. "Are you going to be on one of the boats?"

  "I wouldn't miss it for the world. In fact, I'll pilot one of them all the way. How about you?"

  "Neither would I if you give me quick instructions because I used to spend a lot of time on and under the water in my days as a Marine. Then should I arrive at the base at about four AM?"

  "Perfect timing. See you there. Oh, and bring a heavy coat and gloves with you because it'll be quite cold first thing in the morning. How about Nick, will he join you?"

  "Nick's a lousy sailor, who prefers shower water to sea water. But I'll ask him anyway."

  "Then I'll see tomorrow bright and early at the base."

  "Will six o'clock give us enough time to reach here?"

  "Plenty."

  Leader put his head on Marty's shoulder and she could feel him trembling wordlessly before he turned around and left slowly, with Swifty following behind him.

  Chapter 24

  When Marty arrived at the naval base the next morning she felt literally frozen when she stepped out of the open car. To her relief, Herb was waiting for her on the steps to the house with a huge mug of scalding hot coffee, which she took gratefully.

  "Thanks, Herb. My God, I didn't realize how cold it had gotten so suddenly."

  Herb took her heavy black coat from the back seat and threw it over her, then fastened the straps to hold it in place and pulled the hood over her head before they started walking toward the wharf. "Told you it'll be cold and to put a coat on, and you should have put the car top on as well so you could raise the windows and turn the heater on."

  "I stand chastised, Papa. Oh, never mind, and thanks for caring."

  "Got to take care of the boss, Boss. Anyway, each of the boats has a crew of six, a captain with the rank of commander, a pilo
t, a boatswain, and three of what we used to call ABs."

  "Able Bodied? We still call them that. But are six people a big enough crew to operate such a large boat?"

  "The ships are so well built and easy to handle that this size crew can handle them easily."

  "Good to know. How fast can these boats go, Herb?"

  "Two-hundred and fifty knots at full speed. Oops, I forgot that you'd probably used more modern nautical speed measurements in your day."

  "Not at all. That's about two-seventy five miles an hour, which is an unbelievable speed."

  "Not really when you consider that it travels above water."

  "And there's no friction to slow it down? But they look literally like behemoths and must weigh at least five-hundred tons."

  "Close enough, but these engines have an enormous capacity. We never go this fast for fear that something we don't know about might break, so today while carrying such precious cargo it'll be inadvisable to go any faster than a hundred knots."

  "Which is still faster than anything I'd ever been on. And that means we'll get to our destination in about two hours?"

  "Exactly. As to speed, the last time I sailed these waters I was on a sloop of war, which was quite fast for its day at ten knots per hour and required a large crew of two-hundred."

  "Lots of thing have changed for all of us by now and here, you know."

  "Yes, particularly our size and shape. Oh, and if you wondered about how we do our toilet on board, we'd installed simple heads on the tail of every boat like we used to have on the old sailing ships. It's quite efficient, too, because the jets get it dispersed quite efficiently."