“Why Yellowstone?” Bill said. “I mean, why did you leap immediately to the conclusion that it was Yellowstone?”
“Ah.” Erin nodded. “Yellowstone has blown before, and left deep ash deposits around the U.S. We know of three large ones: Mesa Falls, Lava Creek, and Huckleberry Ridge ash beds. What I found in Outland was very similar to them, just a lot more recent. Yellowstone is the logical culprit.”
Monica raised her beer in salute. “Logical, reasonable, and explains observed facts. It also explains the other thing that’s been bugging me a bit …” She glanced around. “We have Pleistocene animals in Outland, but they’re what you’d expect for Pleistocene animals. Recognizable species, I mean. There’s nothing like an evolved dinosaur, or a flying wolf, or something even weirder. So Outland diverged from Earth long ago enough to preserve these species, but not so long ago that we see a significantly different evolutionary history.”
“So Yellowstone is probably the event.” Erin glanced over at Kevin.
“I have no way to confirm that,” he replied. “All the math tells me is that in order for Outland to exist as a separate timeline, something significant has to have happened at some point to split it off.”
Bill waved his hands in a hold-it motion. “This is all very interesting, Erin—that’s not sarcasm, by the way—but does it have any real consequences for us? I mean, we assumed something did it, so why is Yellowstone in particular bothering you?”
“I know Kevin said that there’s no reason for the two Earths to operate in lockstep. In fact, this proves that. But still, they’re going to be similar, especially at the large scale. Both sides have gold deposits in the same places. Both sides apparently took a hit from the Yucatán asteroid, otherwise we’d be looking at raptors instead of Smilodons. I get Monica’s point about that. Both sides have Yellowstone, and I’ll bet both sides have Hawaii and Toba. But something on the Outland side tipped the scales to cause Yellowstone to erupt, and that implies that it has the potential on this side. And maybe this is just me being ignorant of Kevin’s theory, but wouldn’t that imply that the difference between an eruption and no eruption is something very small? Very delicate?”
Now it was Richard holding out his hands in a stop motion. “Whoa, Erin. You’re starting to freak me out. Are you saying we’re looking at an imminent eruption here now?”
Erin looked down in silence for a few seconds. “A week ago I’d have said no. Rationally, it should still be no. I mean, nothing has changed, right? And let’s face it, whatever caused it to erupt in Outland happened up to a hundred thousand years ago. Whatever that event was, it’s over. And the USGS statements are technically right about the Yellowstone activity on this side. We’ve seen these kinds of events before, and nothing big has happened. It’s just that having it in my face like that kind of brings it home. To be honest, I don’t feel quite so much like laughing at Bill’s paranoia right now.”
“How much would it affect us, this far away? I mean in Lincoln, not here,” Bill asked.
“Small eruption, no real biggie. Something along the lines of Mount Saint Helens would be a minor inconvenience, that far away, even with Lincoln being downwind.” Erin looked around at the others. “But if it was big enough, the effects could be severe. I mean forced-evacuation severe.”
Bill paused to think. “We could do things to be ready for that possibility. Maybe we could allocate some funds to set up a camp on the Outland side at the warehouse. We could get one of those big storage and equipment sheds farmers buy that are supposed to be critter-proof and can be put up by one or two people.”
Richard grimaced. “Oh, for fuck—”
“Great idea,” Monica said, interrupting Richard’s complaint. “Maybe Yellowstone blows up. Maybe nuclear war breaks out. Maybe the gate technology causes an economic collapse. Maybe everything stays normal and we just want to have a summer home on the other side.”
Bill squinted at her. “Didn’t you say your parents were preppers?”
“Don’t give me that shit, Rustad. You’re into this as much as I am.”
“Mmm, guilty as charged. But it’s nice to not be the lone oddball for a change. Everyone okay with us spending a little money on this as a side project?”
“I’m not entirely sure how much of a side project it is, even without the volcano narrative,” Erin replied. “Once the gate tech gets out, everyone will have the same idea about gold mining and whatever else. Gold prices will tank. Probably most resource prices. We have to …”
“Get ours while we can?” Richard said quietly.
“It sounds really crappy when you say it like that, but essentially yes. Six college kids aren’t going to be able to compete with organized conglomerates. Once this is out, we’re back to being, well …”
“College kids,” Matt said.
Richard glanced at Matt. “You ain’t wrong. The whole point of this for Kevin and me was to put together enough of a nest egg so that we can’t have our research taken from us. Even then, there will be lawsuits relating to who actually owns it. There are too many books and movies about inventors who lose control of their invention.” He looked at Bill. “Right?”
Bill laughed. “Would you like a list?”
“It’ll be devastating for Outland when we go public,” Monica said. “Commercial fishing is all but obsolete here. Over on the Outland side, there’s a whole planet full of unfished, undepleted stock.”
“Forests,” Matt added. “Every clear-cut on this side, ready to be clear-cut again on Outland.”
“Buffalo. Millions of tons of meat on the hoof. Aurochs in Europe.” Erin shook her head. “Groups who’ve been disenfranchised on this side will want their traditional land back on the other side. They’ll try to re-colonize. And I’m not just talking about Native Americans. Europe, the Middle East, Far East, Africa, Australia … Go back far enough, everyone’s been kicked out of somewhere.”
“And maybe they won’t agree about the disposition of Outland. More war.”
“Or it’s a good place to send illegal immigrants. Give them an axe and a gun, send them over, and tell them you’re doing them a favor.”
“Or criminals. Australia all over again.”
“Oil drilling.”
“Mining.”
“Farming.”
“There will be arguments that we no longer have to worry about Earth’s ecology, when we have a backup.”
“Or alternatively, move industry to Outland. Stop polluting the Earth, by basically offshoring your polluting industries.”
“Put the nuclear facilities on that side. If there’s a leak, no biggie.”
“Or just store the waste in Outland.”
“Well, shit,” Richard grumbled. “This has turned into a real downer. Should we abandon this?”
“We can’t, Richard,” Kevin replied. “I give it five years at most before someone else discovers it independently. ‘Shoulders of giants,’ remember? At least this way, maybe we can control it a little.”
“On the other hand,” Erin mused, “how many Third World countries could improve their situation using this technology? How many starving people could have their lives improved?”
“Right, because the first thing some banana republic dictator is going to think about is how he can use this to improve his country’s standard of living.” Bill sat back and crossed his arms. “That’s actually a good argument for getting ahead of this, financially, before it goes public. If we can control how it’s used and by whom, maybe we can make sure those people are actually helped.”
“Jesus,” Matt said. “This got out of control fast. I liked it better when it was a simple get-rich-quick scheme instead of the fate of the world.”
“You can always bow out,” Monica said.
Matt shook his head. “I agree with Bill. Stepping back is a cop-out. We can’t hand it off to anyone else and hope they’ll handle it better.”
“Uh huh,” Bill said. “Based on the politics of the 21st century so
far, I think we can guarantee exactly the opposite.”
“So now we’re some kind of cabal, deciding the fate of two worlds.” Monica looked around. “Anyone still think conspiracy theories are bullshit?”
27. All in a Day’s Work
July 5
Erin patted the gate, sitting in the middle of the motor home’s interior. “Nice. Should be a lot easier this time.”
“And more secure,” Kevin added.
“Motor home’s on hookup, and we have the backup generator,” Bill said.
“And we’re going to have a practice session with the shotguns, when we go across,” Monica said, and looked at Matt.
He held up a canvas bag containing boxes of ammo. “You need to have a good feel for using the guns. We can’t afford any hesitation if we really need to shoot something. Or somethings. All right, Kev, activate. I’ll go through first, followed by Monica. When we give the all-clear, Richard and Erin come through.”
Kevin started playing with the tablet, and a view of Outland faded into the elliptical frame of the gate. Matt and Monica stepped through. A few seconds later, Matt’s voice announced, “All clear.”
Erin and Richard stepped through the gate. As before, the ground on the other side was higher, so it was only a small step down from the level of the motor home’s floor. As soon as all four were across, Bill and Kevin passed through the equipment they’d brought for this expedition. Then they closed the large gate and opened the small one near the motor home’s ceiling, about eight feet off the ground on the Outland side. The Outland group looked up to see the camera peering at them from a hole in the air. Erin smiled and waved.
Matt held up the ammo bag. “All right, let’s do this. First, single shots, to get used to the kick.”
Each person took a turn firing their shotgun and pumping another round in. Erin squealed the first time she fired. By the third try, however, she was massacring trees with a grin on her face.
“Make sure you’re all reloaded,” Matt said. As they did, the forest sounds started to return. “Now, we’re going to go full Schwarzenegger. Pump and fire as fast as you can until you’ve emptied your gun. I’ll stand guard.”
Monica fired first, followed within seconds by the rest of the group. The BOOM BOOM BOOM of three pump-action shotguns silenced the cacophony of the forest.
They stopped when they ran out of ammo, and reloaded. Once they were done, they paused to look around. The area looked like a giant weed-eater had been at work. Underbrush was gone, and several smaller trees had been cut through. The rest looked severely shredded.
“Think we’ll be able to find the place again?” Richard said with a chuckle. “Okay, people, let’s march. Compass says this way. Monica, got the spray paint?”
Monica held it up in confirmation. Picking up the packaged equipment, the group headed for the creek.
They arrived at the stream in short order, and unpacked the equipment. Once assembled, they had a shaker table of the kind typically used for higher-volume gold panning. A small gas engine powered a water pump as well as the table itself.
Richard examined the table. “Bill may be a mouthy bastard, but he’s a good engineer. This thing is a marvel of miniaturization.” He handed Erin the end of the water intake tube and motioned to the creek. “Of course, we were able to cut some corners on the requirements. We’re not trying to capture everything right down to the grains, and we’ll use shovels to supply creek bed instead of a separate suction pump.”
When everything was ready, Richard started the engine. Erin placed a small shovelful of dirt from the creek bed, then watched as it shook and pumped water over the muck. Soon she spotted the first golden nugget.
“Eureka!” Monica exclaimed, grabbing the nugget and holding it in the air.
“That’s great, Monica,” Matt said, “But you’re on guard duty right now. Let Erin do the celebrating.”
Monica begrudgingly handed the nugget to Erin. Erin held it in the air in deliberate mimicry, then grinned at her friend and placed the nugget in the bag.
“We’ll rotate duties, but either Matt or Monica should always be one of the guards at any time. I’m hoping we’ll be less jumpy this time around.” Richard picked up the shovel. “I’ll do shovel duty first.”
Erin pointed. “We were getting best results over there last time.”
Richard began moving shovelfuls to the shaker table. He dug in methodical lines, and used the detritus from each trench to fill in the previous one.
They stopped for lunch in early afternoon. Everyone maintained vigilance, but nothing dangerous showed itself.
As she looked around, Monica said, “I was dreading this a bit after the last time through, but maybe we’re okay.”
Matt grinned at her. “Well, given the practice session with the guns this morning, I’m guessing everything with any sense is in the next zip code by now.”
“That helps a lot, too.” Richard gestured at the shaker table. “Makes a friggin’ racket.”
Erin poked at one of the bags that they’d accumulated, filled with gold. “Guys, we are doing pretty good here. We’re probably over twenty pounds so far. We might have to make a choice between carrying the gold or the table back.”
“I’m for leaving the table here overnight,” Richard replied. “I doubt it’ll get stolen, know what I mean?”
Everyone chuckled, and Matt said, “Yeah, probably smells alien as well. Nothing’s going to come close to it.”
By late afternoon, each person had endured several turns of shoveling, and as many turns bent over the table looking for nuggets. Groans were becoming more common than exclamations of glee. When Richard’s turn to dig came around again, he stared blankly at the shovel for a few seconds, then turned to his friends. “I vote we call it quits for the day.”
“Works for me,” said Matt as they all nodded.
They shut down the table, gathered the bags, and headed back to the gate location, using the path that Monica had marked.
When they arrived, the hole in the air disappeared and the large gate faded into existence. The weary group climbed through to civilization.
Richard flopped down onto the passenger seat next to Bill. “I have a bad feeling I’m going to regret this tomorrow.”
Bill smirked. “Didn’t seem that hard to me.”
“Yeah, maybe you can just—”
“Children, children,” Matt interrupted. “What’s more fun, sniping at each other or ogling our take for the day?”
“We can’t do both?” Richard muttered as he came over to the kitchenette table.
Matt shook one of the bags, producing a fan of yellow nuggets in the center of the table.
“That’s beautiful,” Monica said.
“About thirty, forty pounds, I think,” Kevin said. “Maybe a half-million dollars.”
“That’ll be more of a problem to move,” Richard commented. “I’m going to have to expand my radius for assay companies.”
“Right now, time for dinner,” said Bill. “And maybe turn in early. Joking aside, you guys look beat.”
Richard groaned as he shifted in his seat. “You ain’t wrong.”
28. The Morning After
July 6
Richard’s prediction turned out to be not only correct but a huge understatement. After several phone alarms had gone through several snooze cycles, Bill finally fell out of bed. Muttering complaints, he levered himself up and headed for the kitchen area.
Coffee. Maybe a large pot.
Within minutes, the odor of coffee filled the motor home. No one had moved, however. Kevin didn’t drink coffee, but Richard and Matt had a definite relationship with it.
Finally, impatient, Bill yelled out, “Coffee! Come and get it! I’m not a goddam waiter.”
Matt moaned, “Can’t. Move. Or. Talk. At. Normal. Rate.”
“Dammit,” Bill said, “what’d I say to you about treading on my turf?”
“Will you shut. The fuck. Up” came from Richa
rd’s bunk.
Maybe just for today I’ll be helpful, Bill thought and poured cups of the elixir of life.
Once Richard and Matt were up and wrapping themselves around their mugs, Bill poured a couple more cups for Erin and Monica. He walked over to the other motor home and banged on the door. “Time to get up.”
“Get lost!” Erin said.
“Fuck off!” Monica added.
“I bring coffee,” Bill replied.
“Be right there,” shouted Erin.
“I love you,” Monica added.
Bill smiled. Much better.
It took two more pots of coffee before the whole crew had sufficiently caffeinated themselves. Matt got up and organized the weapons and ammo.
Bill watched this performance. “I hope you guys don’t shoot your own feet off out there. We could quit now and head back with what we have, you know.”
Matt looked up at him. “Mmm, naw, we’ll take it easy today. But even if we just get another twenty pounds—I can’t believe I just said that. Just another twenty pounds.”
“Yeah, got it. But be careful, okay?”
Matt nodded and opened the door. Bill followed him over to the women’s motor home, where the gate had been set up. A few minutes later, the gold expedition was back in Outland.
During one of the numerous rest breaks, Matt said to Erin, “I think this’ll be a short day today.”
“Ya think? The moans and groans are pretty pathetic.”
“What? You’re groaning with the rest of us!”
“I stand by my statement.” She smiled at him. “I guess a bunch of entitled college students aren’t used to manual labor. All the more reason to get this done so we can retire right away.”
“Uh, guys?” The tone of Richard’s voice made Erin grab for her shotgun before she even looked up. She turned in the direction Richard was pointing. Two wolves—two very large wolves—were peeking out from the bushes.
“Oh, shit!” Monica exclaimed. “Dire wolves. This is the real thing, boys and girls. We are in deep doo-doo.”
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