Time Crossers 01: The Final Six Days

by Agster, Joe

  Looking into her enchanted eyes Friend already knows they are fully linked. He calls out to her friends, to huddle in close, to grab his arm. Cassie nods with her head to urge them on, already holding him tight. As Alaina and Wyatt finally hold on, they are all teleported to the mansion.

  Wyatt looks around then at himself in wonderment, Alaina doing the same. Cassie is much more at ease but still strongly intrigued by it, searching her mind for a scientific explanation, a theory, something she may have read to explain it.

  “Max, meet Cassie.” Friend exclaims, leading Cassie in Max’s direction.

  She looks in awe, shaking his hand without letting go. “You’re Dr. Pond… from the newscast. Your speech was amazing and brave. I’m still in shock our own government would hide this from us.”

  “Thank you Cassie,” he replies, as a feeling of pride takes him over as this beautiful young girl is inspired by him, as she grips his hand forcefully.

  “Alaina and Wyatt, help yourselves to the kitchen,” Friend politely suggests, leading them out of the room so the three of them can discuss business.

  “Okay Max, so where in China should we start?” Friend asks, ready to write, with Cassie and Max seated next to each other on the gray leather couch, both facing the clearboard.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. But I know someone who does. He will know what to do.” Max tells them, looking at them both.

  “Do you mean Fisher?”

  “Yes, do you know him already? We were supposed to meet yesterday,” Max explains.

  “Yes I know him, I’m well aware of your meeting. He’s an intense guy. When we met last he was a bit upset at you I take it. My guess is he’s not anymore.”

  “Al and I go way back. He’s CIA, a field operations agent. My wife has worked with him on occasion. If you can find him he would be a great asset to us. But he could be anywhere by now.”

  Friend takes a moment to think, then recalls it a second or two later, his face lighting up with glee. During Mason’s airport test, he spotted him, fighting the crowds, trying to buy a plate ticket to get out of town.

  “I know exactly where he is.”

  Without hesitation Friend transplants himself to the airport, the same point in the bottom of the stairwell leading toward the ticketing and check in area. He ascends the stairs and moves quickly through the crowds, remembering Fisher’s location near the Pan Mexican Airlines section. He must be attempting to escape to Mexico, he reminds himself.

  As Friend nears the ticketing counter, he notices Fisher is nowhere to be found. He looks around, but nothing. Where has he gone? If he recalls, he was trying to buy a ticket to no avail. He must have given up or is trying a different strategy.

  Friend walks back toward the main lobby of the airport from where he came when he spots him, up on the second floor in clear view, walking toward the arrangement of shops ahead. He rushes toward the escalator as fast as he can, the floor being so mobbed that it seems almost impossible to move. As he steps onto it, the moving steps provide the necessary speed to prevent stagnation, allowing Friend up to the second floor. He hurriedly paces toward Fisher, who has somehow managed to find an empty seat in a lounge that is also filled with wall to wall people.

  “Mr. Fisher,” Friend calls out with a heavy breath, “I don’t have time to explain. I need to get you to Dr. Pond. He is waiting for you.”

  Without much resistance, Fisher gets up, looking straight ahead. “Where to?”

  They walk back toward the stairwell where Friend originated from, knowing it connects to this floor. He then tells him, “Let’s take the stairs.”

  As the stairwell door closes, Friend grabs his arm and they return to the mansion. As they reanimate, he observes Max and Cassie are standing in the center of the main living room, standing next to the clearboard and engaged in a conversation, while Fisher looks on at the mix of his friend along with a couple strangers.

  “Max!” Fisher exclaims, embraces his old friend with a hug. He’s so glad to see Max that it hasn’t sunk in yet that he was somehow magically transported through space in an instant. Fisher takes a look around the wide room, then venturing into the kitchen. It finally hits him that he is not at the airport anymore. The stark surprise makes him speechless. He remains motionless, watching Alaina as she searches for something to drink. Wyatt is still in awe by the vast beverage collection.

  Max and Cassie are peering over the clearboard. Fisher eventually makes his way back toward Max, and Friend sees this opportunity to address this group, this team he has assembled, so they can combine their brainpower and manifest a plan together.

  Just as Friend opens his mouth to utter his first words, Cassie interjects strongly with a concern of her own. “Before we discuss anything, can you explain how I was just transported from one location to another in the blink of an eye?”

  Max seconds, “Yeah that would be nice. We were just trying to theorize the science behind it.”

  Friend waves his arms, trying to break it down simply, but he can’t make it to his first syllable as they are not giving him a chance to speak. Cassie and Max have locked their eyes upon each other, a stalemate that they hope Friend will break.

  “Please explain to Max that instantaneous transfer of matter violates Einstein’s theory of special relativity,” Cassie implacably demands of Friend, her brown eyes gazing right into his.

  “I never said ‘instantaneous transfer of matter’. What I said was that during teleportation we enter some state of nonmatter as our bodies are transported, the visions we see are some direct or indirect result of the quantum entanglement.” Max argues back.

  Cassie charges back. “Quantum theory doesn’t explain our awareness in the field of non-matter, and our awareness of it means it cannot be instantaneous. I’m merely postulating that during non-matter, we are moving at some speed close to the speed of light, possibly through a wormhole.”

  “Listen young lady, I have a doctorate in astrophysics from MIT. I’m telling you, wormholes are an artifact of twentieth century science fiction. Even if wormholes exist, the theories behind the Einstein-Rosen Bridge suggest they can only exist inside black holes. If that were the case the gravitational effects would have ripped us apart during transfer.”

  Friend initially was frustrated at this heated discourse, but has now become amused. Cassie is certainly holding her own against the heavyweight and knowledgeable genius that is Max, and basks in her strong and unrelenting intellect. The conversation has even attracted the attention of her friends nearby in the kitchen.

  She replies, “I’m not talking about wormholes in the classical, Lorentzian sense. What if we are traveling through a Morris–Thorne wormhole instead? Our bodies are then held stable possibly because we are dematerializing, thus solving the problem of our gravity deconstructing the wormhole.”

  “If it is a wormhole we’re traveling through, why can’t we see it? There would need to be a funnel.” Max counters, feeling that he has the upper hand.

  She is undeterred, trying to break him down. “One thing I can tell you for certain, there seems to be a time dilation. You’re not going to experience that through entanglement. For that to occur we must be traveling near the speed of light.”

  The argument continues without end as the two engage like argumentative children, fighting for attention from their mommy. Friend has had enough, and he feels they could both be right. She is right about the time dilation, and he is right about there being no manifesting wormhole. But he needs to restore order.

  “Guys… guys! I would love to discuss this with you later. It’s called ‘nonspace’, and yes time slows down. Right now we have Fisher here, so let’s discuss our next goal.” Friend commands, putting his proverbial foot down. He picks up the clearboard pen and is ready to scribble notes.

  Max turns to Fisher, feeling slightly ashamed from being so heated. “Al, I filled them in on your CIA background. We should probably start at the beginning. What do you know about who owns Icedrago
n?”

  Fisher stands up, raising his eyebrows as his face expresses he is brimming with knowledge on the subject. He is a towering figure, dark complexion, well dressed in stylish mix of black and white clothing. Based on Friend’s limited interactions with him, he can be a bit brash, but seems confident in his abilities.

  “So this is what we know for sure. Icedragon was originally claimed by an asteroid mining company called Space Onyx over 20 years ago. So Space Onyx was this big time company right, based in Hong Kong and headed by a world renown CEO by the name of Len Wang. I mean this cat was all Hollywood, right, living lavishly with women by his side, traveling the world, emulating the life of a rock star.

  “Space Onyx had ambitious goals to claim and mine asteroids and set up refueling stations on many of them by extracting the water and turning it into liquid hydrogen and oxygen. After the hype faded and they had that accident on Icedragon, they were bought out by a Chinese investment firm.”

  “What accident?” Friend interjects.

  Max explains, “A long time ago there was an explosion on the asteroid, in the mining facility. It prompted new regulations from the GSC.”

  Fisher takes a swig from the water bottle he’s holding, hydrating his vocal box. “Anyway, their rock star CEO steps down, then years later becomes a recluse, completely disappearing from the public. Years after that, many of the other executives who remained were turning up dead in various ‘accidents.’ The trail goes dark after that. Many years ago we were probing these deaths, looking for ties to the Chinese government, before the agency ordered us to scale back. A couple of us kept looking anyway, and man and what good times, the women in Shanghai… wow.”

  He briefly pauses, reminiscing with a big smile, to puzzled looks from everyone else. “Sorry. We were immediately pulled and reassigned. I was forced to take a crap assignment in the Middle East. Washington for some reason remained very keen on blaming the Chinese government publicly, but refused to acknowledge it as an act of terrorism or war.”

  Friend listens as he scribbles it all down, Space Onyx, Hong Kong, Len Wang, all the bits and pieces of Fisher’s words. “So my understanding is this Len Wang goes into hiding, presumably because he sensed danger? This danger then turned out to be real for the other leadership who remained at the company?” Friend asks, confirming what he’s heard, before probing further. “So what about the other asteroid? Who owns that one?”

  Max chimes in, “As far as I know it’s still unclaimed. What I can tell you is whoever pulled it off its orbit knew a whole lot about where and how to hit Icedragon.”

  “The one thing that doesn’t add up is why does your government so desperately want to keep this deliberate attack a secret?” Friend ponders, directing his question to the entire group.

  Max clarifies, “The politicians don’t want war or civil unrest. They want to go quietly underground and deal with this once the dust clears. But the whole world needs to know that someone is responsible.”

  Fisher points toward the clearboard, gesturing as Friend continues to take notes. “If there’s one thing I tell you from twenty years in espionage is there’s always a man at the top”—He pauses to correct himself after receiving a glare from Cassie—“… or a woman. A mastermind.”

  “A mastermind? Perhaps your president? Or the leader of China?” Friend wonders.

  “Or someone in between.”

  This is just the goal Friend is looking for, finding the mastermind. Could it be this Len Wang? If he could locate him, he could surely influence his past and undo the asteroid. Those words “undo it” resonate with him, echoing throughout to the depths of his subconscious mind. He must undo the asteroid.

  Fisher expresses a look of futility on his face, directing it mostly toward Friend and the clearboard, unsure where this banter is going. “What is the point of all this? We’re all dead in four days anyway?”

  Friend gives him a cursory look, ready to provide an explanation, before Max chimes in. “Friend here can time travel. He jumps back in time to December 26th every time he dies. Everything he learns he carries over to the next sequence.”

  Fisher looks at his longtime friend with disbelief, then collects himself as he realizes Max is extremely serious. He then looks toward Cassie, who also nods in affirmation, as if to say everything Max said is correct. Fisher turns to Friend, not sure what exactly to think. Maybe this is a practical joke? But the looks continue to burn into him, confirming that they wholly believe what they are saying.

  “Okay guys, I will entertain this notion for a while.” He relents, his dark tone perfectly matching his complexion. He continues, “If you want to find the guys who are pulling the strings on Icedragon, the trail begins in Hong Kong, with Space Onyx and Wang. That is the best place to start.”

  “So how do we find this guy Wang?” Friend responds, eager to continue to conversation.

  “Looking for him would be arduous to say the least. My usual sources will be of scant help, and probing the Chinese underworld requires knowing the language and having plenty of contacts. I’ve heard rumors that he is dead. Dead or not, the man simply doesn’t want to be found.”

  “I speak Cantonese,” Cassie affirms, explaining, “My mother’s family is from Hong Kong. As kids she spoke to us in English and Cantonese… well yelled at us a lot. Anyway, there’s got to be somewhere we can start.”

  Fisher ponders on it. “I have an idea of where I would start. If you speak Cantonese and our friend here can jump around space and time we’d make a good team, so why not go now?”

  Friend interjects, “I can’t. I have to physically go to a location first before I can teleport there.”

  “Alright fine. If what you are saying is true, then you will need to contact me using a code phrase. It’s the only way I’ll believe you. Once you make it to Hong Kong, contact me and we can get started.” Fisher explains.

  “So what is this code phrase?” Friend asks.

  Fisher chokes up a tiny bit, a thought rekindled in his mind of an old companion who had passed, and the last time he used his phrase. It was a secret handshake of sorts between the two. If they’d find each other in the same country they’d use it for sudden assistance or a transfer of documents.

  “The phrase is: Your mother is a hot potato.” he reveals, with a bit of snickers. The others join in to chuckle along as well. Fisher goes on to explain, “I haven’t used that phrase since a fellow agent died while in deep cover. We used it to pass intel, and it remains very personal to me.”

  As the current conversation winds down and Friend finishes transcribing everything to the clearboard, the group discusses a plan. Cassie and Friend will figure out how to fly to Hong Kong. Cassie suggests taking a suborbital flight, expensive but quick. Friend will need a passport, and simply stealing one like he did with Aiden is not possible, since passports are encoded with iris data. Friend remembers that problem all too well. Fisher claims he can help Friend obtain one, and urges him to make contact in the next iteration at his condo just off the Strip. Once they land in Hong Kong, they will visit the locations that Fisher has indicated for easy return. Then they can begin their search for Len Wang.

  After the tense evening the group spends the rest of it unwinding, helping themselves to the bar and enjoying its libations, unloading all their cares and concerns in the world. Friend recounts how the rest of the days play out, how tomorrow will be dangerous, but by day five and six, there are giant festivities in the Strip corridor among the people that remain. He wonders how these celebrations will play out, now with everyone knowing the truth about the asteroid.

  22

  Iteration 45

  The climb to her second floor apartment is not strenuous, but he feels like he weighs a thousand pounds as he makes the slow climb, consumed with the anticipation of what to expect. From the moment he awoke in the desert, to his cursory visit to the clearboard, to changing his clothes, and each passing second since he’s continued to ponder on it, revving up in angst ove
r the fact he had spent so much time away from her. Now, at this moment, it feels like he’s reuniting with a lost love.

  During the last iteration she brought him here, making the long trek from a nearby teleporting spot during the emptiness of the final day. She showed him inside her abode and even provided him with a key teleporting location near the foyer. But being that this is the first time at her place of habitation without her knowing who he is yet, he feels it is proper to knock first, as any gentleman would.

  The compound of apartment buildings sits upon the foot of a mountain, providing a stunning backdrop. The forest green and chocolate brown accents blend with the luscious green background and its perfectly lined palm trees well. He looks up toward the mountain tops in the background, one in particular that boasts a sign that reads “HOLLYWOOD” in jagged white letters.

  The first knock at the door results in nothing. He stands patiently, staring at the slight discoloration in sparse spots on the door and its surrounding white frame, indicating it had been touched up with paint more than once. His second knock two minutes later is more aggressive, successive pounding from his fists to stress the urgency, if not his uneasiness. Again, more seconds of silence, until the door finally cracks open, with her right eye peeking through. For the next half second or so afterward, he watches as her face changes from a curious irritation to one of a shocking revelation, then to comforted and relaxed. Then she finally swings the door open. Such is the linking process, taking a second or two as confined by the limitation of her reflexes. Instantly after, she gazes on at him, in the astonishment at the phenomenon of going from complete stranger to familiar companion in the blink of an eye.

  “Come in,” she calls to him, inviting him in. In a single flash her life has completely changed. She is no longer focused and intent on picking up Alaina and Wyatt for lunch before they head out of town. No, this man before her is now her destiny. His presence means her life has taken on a totally new meaning, putting her path on a whole new trajectory. All she can do now is hear his words.