"Let the food give me strength, I need it with you. Meanwhile let's consider the mental changes."
So we found comfortable reclining chairs and discussed. When we found something to adjust I adjusted. She started to remind me of Tina about the time she needed another steak. I found some sauce to go on this one. I felt a twinge of hunger in me and drank more juice. It didn't go away. Perhaps it had become time to wean me.
We continued our routine for two days, finding ever fewer attitudes, which weren't starkly orientated, toward individual survival. Margaret, when I told her the story, found agreement with Adam and Eve's observations about survival and winning this War. Maybe we should have a pair of them here as advisors. Paula, what do you think?"
GOOD IDEA. I'LL PASS IT ALONG. ARE YOU TWO READY TO COME TO MED DECK FOR EVALUATION? FOR YOU, I NEED TO DUPLICATE YOUR ADVANCEMENTS INTO THE NEWLY REBORN.
"We'll be there within the hour."
GOOD.
I said, "Paula wants--."
"I heard. Let's go. I'm interested in your Med Deck layout."
"Fine. I'll sign out a shuttle. Used to pilot them."
"How much of you is Phaeton, anyway?"
I thought, "More every day it seems. It's not like I forget my most current life time. It's just that I'm drawn back there. It's like there are too many unanswered questions."
"Might be we'll find the resolution there, back before Phaeton blew up."
"Might be. I'd say leave your pack here, or do you want to see my flagship?"
"I hate to leave here. Business dictates we see your flagship. Damn business."
"True. Let's do it."
We shuttled over to Paula's Ball. It was hers entirely now as Carol, my Captain, and my staff had taken over another Weapons Ball. Paula was to shift around regularly so the enemy didn't attach any particular importance to her. However to risk the Med Deck with the reborn equipment outside of the mine field would have been asinine.
We found Paula outside her office. She hugged both of us. She appeared larger than I remembered. Maybe I had grown too. Who knew?
"Come in. I have to hook you up to a machine Tild. Do you mind? Margaret and I can get acquainted while you're doing that."
A Tech came in and led me a short distance to the same machine I had used to do regressions, coming full circle I thought. There were a few more connections. When the screen became active, I made no sense of it. Evidently the Tech did and appeared impressed.
It didn't take much time to record my new patterns. The Tech assured me the advancements would immediately be incorporated into new births. I returned to Paula's office and found two unhappy faces.
"Tell me." I said.
Margaret said, "We didn't do enough."
Paula held up her hand to silence both Margaret and me. "It's not that you didn't do enough. What you did passes examination and need not be addressed further. The complication lies in the fact that the improvement isn't seamless. The slightest gap will be a door a mile wide for an ANNU KI. Once in they kill you mentally. They also drive your beingness so far back down your time track that you won't get back before this Universe is long gone."
I said, "We did the best we could."
Paula agreed, "You did well. No one could have done more. However the facts are the facts. I've demonstrated to Margaret the ANNU KI methods and how her mind could be penetrated."
Margaret interrupted, "She did Tild. I have a reality on what's necessary, but no idea of how to get there."
Paula suggested, "You could volunteer. Your sister, you, could be a new born, like Tild, in an hour, with our advancements. Then you, Ranger you, and nine foot tall you, can work out what has to be done. After that you, Ranger you, can go back to your Carriers and effect whatever changes necessary. The other you can remain with us and learn."
Paula and I looked at her expectantly. First impression I got, total wish to run away. She fought, and came back, started to reason, emotions tightly checked and then said, "I so much don't want to do this. However, I could never look at myself in a mirror and say you're a Ranger if I don't. Do you understand?"
Paula and I both nodded.
"I'll have to go with you on your mission Tild, have to hang onto you for a while. Not forever, I think, but you'll have to be there for me until I say, I'm ready."
I looked at Paula, got no help there. Gathered my own resolution and said, "However long it takes, Margaret, I'll stand beside you, both of you."
"So, let's get on with it. I'll stay on here on Med Deck until you're ready to depart, Tild. Then I'll join you on your Flagship. Agreed?'
I said, "Of course."
Paula said, "That's sensible. We'll do all we can."
I said, "In that case I have a mission to get up to speed on. See you in two days, Margaret."
With that I fled, couldn't kiss Margaret without kissing Paula. What would Margaret think of that? God, what twisted webs we weave. I heard Paula's laughter in my mind.
OPERATIONAL AREA - SANTE FE NEW MEXICO/ARK IV - NOV 1854
CAPTAIN RAFE BERGER
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
With M.Verdai in the Time Bay I could finally sit down and look at what I had wrought since giving the order to create her. After much tortured thought I concluded it had been the right thing to do, tactically speaking. When I considered events since then on a personal level, I wasn't so sure. The twins had calmed down after their initial curiosity about life on ARK IV abated. Now they wanted to go planet side and help with battles. I said they could, if they got clearance from the onboard Reg Weapons Master. I hadn't seen them in five days.
In coordination with Pierre in Sante Fe and the General in Virginia, we'd collected 3,000 principals and their families so far. Molly had just brought me a message from Thelma saying to increase the number of people being removed by one hundred a week from each location. The Kansas Missouri border was going to be very sparsely populated. I didn't lose one bit of sleep over that fact. The diplomats and such being lifted out of the Capitol area did my heart good. Worthless bastards won't agree on something and the rest of the population dies. The whole issue was about to ruin my digestion.
Klinster was gone, along with his MI battalion. Ten more MI battalions were being created and would go planet side company by company as soon as they were reborn and orientated. Klinster reported to Thelma so I didn't have to lose sleep over them.
I'd been copied on the fact that Stalorne's mission had been a success. I was glad that he'd survived, but had little idea of what 'success' meant.
Niken had been delivered another Space Liner to replace the one Lillian number two, her man, and the dragons departed with, and he was happy again. Most of the Dragon People were shipping out for somewhere. They hadn't been a problem. The Dragons were another matter, but I was told they were pregnant and didn't move much while they were. There had been a detailed briefing, which I'd missed. Betty said she had it covered.
I wrote a standing order that if there were any group hostilities started anywhere in the USA, the Frigates were to pick-up every body within fifty miles. I didn't expect they'd have to do that many times to get the message across.
I looked at the clock on the dining room wall, almost 1200 hours. Thelma's advisory group, regarding the Australian mission, was going to be late. I'd have to eat alone, damn. Then I sensed them in the hallway, double damn, they weren't going to be late.
While coming through the door Alice Bowden said, "Got lost again. I guess we will accept your offer of an escort."
Willard Snelsky and Maurice Denkin, her advisors, didn't say anything, just bowed slightly, and sat. They never said much. I'd looked into their eyes. Dozens of people had looked back. I didn't do that again.
Molly and Sally joined us to act as witnesses. Prior conferences had left gaps in my memory. I hadn't taken the problem to Betty, but I was about to. A Captain should vaguely remember what goes on.
Alice asked for steak and fries, so after research we had steak and fries, good I
decided.
I asked, "Did you get the intelligence you wanted, Alice?"
"Yes. Good food. You remember Gina, don't you?"
"Of course. Some problem with her?" I asked concernedly.
"No idea. That's the problem. I wanted you to have this conversation with her. Just because you know her; and she would accept easier. But she's not available and you'll have to suffice. When the three of us came aboard, we said we were A R T s. You didn't ask, wouldn't have told you then, anyway. That stands for Alternate Reality Trackers. We keep track of the effects of the new technology Klinster is putting in."
I asked, "And that concerns me how?"
Alice looked at her companions, who didn't return her gaze and said, "Because where you're going the winds of change blow strongly. You will not be on the beaten track. You will be making your own track as you go along. The Australia you're going to got H/FU - Water systems two hundred and fifty years before your insertion time. The ANNU KI is there also, same as they are in the main stream reality. I won't spend the next week discussing those phenomena, because you probably don't care anyway."
I was fighting her attempt to ruin lunch, "Alice, did you ask to see my regression track?"
"No, doesn't matter. You're going into something new, new for anyone."
There was a slim chance she knew what she was talking about, so I said, "Please get to the mission facts, who, what, when, where and how. Also is this one way, or not."
"You don't need to go all macho with me. I had more than enough macho when I was at West Point."
I thought about West Point and projected a hundred plus years. Yeah, they would still have macho.
"Sorry. Let's get through lunch. Mom said, never talk with your mouth full."
Willard and Maurice both did a 'thumbs up'. Alice relaxed. We all ate. I said to Molly and Sally, 'Get me around this. Also see that the shielding on our Frigate is triple shielded in every manner that it can be. That goes for the Grouper Wagons also. And do something with the personal shields.'
The two of them appeared to be doing nothing but munching lunch, but I knew better. God, my English teacher would kill me (munching lunch). Watching too many Vids, I was.
We had progressed to fruit for dessert when Sally slid a note to me. It read, "Techs need Seed Ship access to comply with request, mental permission sufficient."
I bowed toward Mecca (in my mind) and smiled. I never knew the Seed Ship monitored me. Actually I had never been in the dad blamed thing. I could see from the look Sally and Molly exchanged that failing was being (mentally) handled.
I asked Alice, "Can we get anything further for the three of you?"
Maurice and Willard shook their heads. Alice said, "That was so reminiscent of home, lower Bronx lunch time, you had to be there. Let's get down to business. The mission requires several factors to come together for success. You have to recruit a truck driver named Long Tom. He has, more specifically his girl friend of the moment, Lin, has a hide-a-way in the middle of nowhere so we thought it best to ensure he will be there, to help her. She has, or will have, a plan to heist the gold. We're going to alter the plan she almost has. She can have the gold, for her cooperation. We just want to substitute our gold for the gold being shipped. Snake guards are involved at the exchange point from land transport to sea transport. They're armed with a new version of their Plasma rifle, a repeater, with a two second delay. Instead of a two minute delay, that is. Maurice and Willard will be going along, but they will be in the back ground gathering data. Don't count on them for anything. Maurice will be on the ground with you. Willard will be on the ship as a control. The two of them run programs back and forth telepathically to test what, if anything has changed in the deviated current time. They'll check the control programs, as often as they see fit, Captain."
I thought,' this is a hell of a lot of trouble to go through for some gold, which we don't want anyway.' But, I said, "I'm glad to see that quite a lot of thought has gone into this. I take it some back-up will arrive at the right moment?"
"They are already there."
"I suppose I'll be given details?"
"Of course, Maurice has them. One thing to remember, there are many things, but of first importance is, the fact that anything which isn't in your mind, changes. So, forget computers, forget anything written, data discs etc. Sealed crystals don't change, we think. What I'm trying to tell you is that you'll have to learn a new way of thinking. Can you begin to realize the complexity?"
"I had no idea. Whatever you say, I'll do."
"Good. We'll start 2100 hours tonight. The first thing you have to unlearn is your personal sleep pattern. Thanks for lunch. See you this evening for more briefing. Oh, one other thing, there are other plans, which are ongoing concurrently. They may prove to have greater maximum potential, so naturally we'd go with them, not the one you're involved in. Just keep your nose to the ground. You'll come out fine."
They left. Molly, Sally, and I looked at each other.
Molly said, "I'm better with weapons. I'll be the ground terminal."
Sally agreed, "I'll take up the crystal memory idea with Willy and Winona. They have a lot of crystals in their heads. They should know. Good thing they came aboard. Maybe they would like to go along on the mission."
I agreed, "If they will, they might make the difference."
Molly said, "Getting a feed from the Techs. The Frigates won't alter enough. They got what they wanted from the Seed Ship. Altered time takes a new ship. They know what to do. It'll take a six month Time Drop, one week here. Do they do it?"
"Thelma wants this, so, do it! Don't cut any corners. Like Alice says, it's a new ball game. Barring total unexpected events we'll leave here in ten days, this time."
Sally said, "Looking forward to it. We think we're up to new challenges, aren't we, Molly?"
"Yes."
They went off to get whatever details they could from the Techs. If we could prepare for the new ship during the coming week we'd be a step ahead. I looked at the overfull inbox and in total frustration finally decided I needed an executive secretary, who I could empower to make routine decisions. I had no idea where to get one. Oh, but I did. Betty."
AM I EVERYTHING? OF COURSE I AM. SHE'LL BE THERE THIS EVENING, 1900 HOURS. FANCEE BEUDERILL, TREAT HER NICE. OUT.
I hoped she didn't like to sleep at night either. My telepathy hadn't developed yet. I didn't know whether to be happy about that or not. Betty had said something about a free mind being helpful in the development of such. Who knew?
Fancee arrived on time. I plied her with beverages and snacks. We sorted out what decisions she'd make. In the end I'd be relieved of 90% of my paperwork. I also asked her to find another Forth Officer, to divide the rest of the housekeeping decisions among. Naturally, the Tactical decisions would be mine.
OPERATIONAL AREA - ALTERNATE REALITY AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 2010
LONG TOM LUDHOLM TRUCKER SHARKS BAY, AUSTRALIA
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"Who's next?" I asked as the last one collapsed with a massively rearranged jaw. Everyone in the bar looked as if they wanted to be elsewhere and slowly shuffled away. I stood in the middle of the dance floor with three bodies strewn around me.
Odd dance it had been. I'd only wandered into O'Reilley's for a gallon of beer or two while I was waiting for the mechanics. It gets awfully dry here at Walloons Corner. The wind blows around the unfarmed crags up from the bay. Thirty eight degrees Celsius isn't pleasant, but normal for Western Australia in the summer.
I walked to my seat at the bar, grabbed the waiting stein, and emptied it in one gulp. When you're six foot eight and over three hundred pounds you have a lot of room for liquids. When I slammed the stein down on the bar without a word, the barman said, "Right away Mister, it's on the house."
I nodded and smiled, or tried to. He must own the place, or at least be the fellow who would have to sweep up the debris if I'd not decked those idiots, quickly. I finished the second stein and thought for
a moment. I wasn't the quickest fellow, but it looked like they'd been waiting for me. Maybe Slippery Tim was after my load. Who the hell knew, with so many trucks disappearing?
Reaching for my third one, I thought to the good old days before the Hydrogen Motor when I had only my tractor and three trailers to worry about, instead of a fifty foot tractor and eight trailers. That was before the Great Road and the North/South extension; before the outback filled with water and slant eyed settlers were everywhere. You can pump a lot of water if you're using water for fuel to run the pump motors.
God, I must be getting slop-brained from too much time in my comfy air-conditioned cab. I finished the fourth stein, realizing I didn't much care what was going on. I'd take care of it.
With that in mind, I watched the Medics carry out the last fellow, still unconscious. As they exited, a pair of the Government's finest walked in. The fellow was almost as big as me. The woman was oriental and looked like she weighed twenty stone, ponderous, but pleasant curves. She got me to thinking of that party girl up in Darwin. Reaching for my fifth, I drank slowly hoping they wouldn't pick on me too much. No doubt they'd questioned the bystanders already, so I didn't expect any lip from them.
They finally came over to me. The fellow stopped ten or so feet away and the woman came closer, real close, a lot closer than necessary. Uses a knife, this one, I thought. I sat as relaxed as I could and offered her a stool next to mine. I was surprised when she sat down, still real close. Keeps knives up both sleeves, I realized.
"So you're Long Tom. We've heard of you. Why do people call you that?"
"It's because of the long distances I drive. I can keep going long after most folks are finished" I said with the straightest face I could manage. With a face as rearranged as mine, that ain't easy.
Her eyes never flickered, but I figured they never flickered when she pulled her knife out of you either.
"Yes, we know your truck's down for repairs. You don't have any perishables?"
Greener Green II: The Balls Brigade Page 21