Bridgebuilders

by Marlene Dotterer

  Feldman’s eyes narrowed, but he said, “See to it, Dr. Russell. Miss Andrews is in Lab 4D. I’ll tell her guard to expect you.”

  He walked out, and Andy felt as if the tension in the room went with him. He was pretty sure everyone else felt it, too.

  Russell made a tiny incision in Sam’s arm and plucked the chip out with tweezers. Andy could see a blackened edge of it before she dropped it into a vial and snapped the lid closed. Her assistant wiped away a small dot of blood and placed a bandage over the incision. They were finished in thirty seconds.

  “The anesthetic will wear off in about five minutes,” Dr. Russell told Sam as she helped him into a chair. “Drink some hot tea and rest for fifteen minutes, longer if you feel the need. Have your guard call me if you feel any nausea, dizziness, or pain. All right?”

  Sam nodded. “Will you let me know once Sarah’s chip is removed?”

  Russell hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll notify your guard.”

  “Thank you.”

  Russell turned to Andy and held out her hand. “Is your hand all right? Let me see it.”

  Andy lifted it, then shrugged. “I’m fine. Bit of a bruise is all.”

  She prodded it with gentle fingers. “I’ll leave you a cold pack. Hold it for a few minutes. That should reduce the bruising.”

  Andy took the pack the assistant offered and sat next to Sam. O’Brien went to fetch Sam’s tea, leaving his partner to guard them.

  Sam leaned back, letting his head rest against the wall behind him. “What a nightmare.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” Andy said in a soft voice. He stared ahead, toward the floor, but kept an eye on the guard at the other end of the room. “But your chip is out and Sarah’s is coming out. And we now know where she is.”

  Sam didn’t answer right away and Andy dared a glance, to find his colleague staring at him in suspicion. Under cover of O’Brien’s return with four cups of tea, he said, “Get your bridge ready. Move Sarah out first, then us. I’ll get you the coordinates for Lab 4D.”

  He stood, not waiting for Sam’s response. Thanking O’Brien for the tea, he went back to his Pad to set a search for a map of the building.

  ~~~

  Sarah held a finger to the small bandage that Dr. Russell had just applied to her arm. Relief at having the hateful spy out of her arm made her dizzy. As Dr. Russell left, Sarah turned to Dinnie, who had watched the procedure without comment. Dinnie met her gaze with a serious face. No, Sarah thought. She’s sad.

  Or regretful. Did that mean that Dinnie Warner might tell her the truth?

  “Can I trust Dr. Russell?” Sarah asked. “Is Sam really all right?”

  Dinnie raised both eyebrows, as if surprised at the question. “I don’t think she has a private agenda. Yes, I think you can trust her.” Sarah nodded, but Dinnie continued, “If you’d like, I can run down there and chat with him a minute. See for myself what’s happening there.”

  “Yes, could you? It would make me feel better.” Sarah hesitated, but decided to speak further. She didn’t know why, but she felt more comfortable with Dinnie than anyone else she’d met here. “You have such a frightening world. Such tight control.”

  Dinnie tilted her head, as if to regard Sarah from a different perspective. “I guess it looks that way to an outsider,” she said. “You may be right. But we’re fighting for survival, Miss Andrews. Species survival. The Earth has become a hostile environment for humans. In many places, it’s almost like living on another planet. You wouldn’t put people on Mars without tight control, would you?”

  “No, but ... is it really that bad?”

  “Do you know how many people have died in the last forty years?”

  “No.”

  “Over three billion. Two hundred thousand continue to die every day.”

  “Because of climate change?” Sarah’s voice rose with her shock.

  Dinnie shrugged. “It was a perfect storm. Climate change was the trigger. Overpopulation and world-wide travel contributed. Once the famines and diseases got started, we were like apples in a barrel. There are places where the dead never got buried at all.” She shrugged again, as if acknowledging there was no other outcome possible. “Our society may look totalitarian. I suppose it is. But martial law is the only reason there are still people in the UK at all.”

  “I’m sorry,” Sarah said.

  “Just wait,” Dinnie crossed her arms. “Your world is a hundred years behind ours. In 1980, there was barely a ripple of this kind of thing. It was easy to ignore the warning signs, even though many people tried to sound an alarm. No one believed it back then.”

  Sarah nodded, not sure if she should mention the changes made by the first Sam Altair. Besides, she didn’t know the future. Just because they thought they were safe, it didn’t mean they were. “I understand what you mean about the control. But how can you trust anybody?”

  “You can’t.” Dinnie leaned forward, her face just inches from Sarah’s. “Keeps things simple, don’t you think?”

  “Why is Feldman using our bridge to send men to the space station?” Sarah asked the question in a rush.

  Dinnie jerked back. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but then she snapped it closed, her eyes blinking rapidly, as if to hide from Sarah’s gaze. It seemed to take some effort for her to morph her expression to amusement. “Surely you realize that Mr. Feldman’s decisions are several ranks above my pay grade,” she said at last. “I have no idea what he wants to send to the space station. Why do you think it’s men?”

  “When you asked him about mass for the container, his answer was to build it strong enough for ten men.” Sarah shrugged. “Ergo, he plans on sending men.”

  “I doubt he would be so obvious. Nor,” Dinnie straightened, as if she wanted to try for arrogance, “is he in any way obligated to explain himself to you.”

  “I don’t agree with that at all.” Sarah leaned against the table, arms crossed in casual pose. “Maybe in your totalitarian society no one ever questions him, but I didn’t grow up like that. In my world, I’m responsible for the things I do, and I cannot do something immoral just because someone higher up orders me to.”

  “You’re not in your world, are you, Miss Andrews?” Dinnie asked the question softly, bringing her face close to look steadily into Sarah’s eyes. As Sarah watched, Dinnie moved her eyes to stare at something behind and to the left of Sarah. When her gaze returned, Sarah shivered at the warning displayed there. She’d known there was a camera in the room. Of course there would be a microphone, as well.

  Dinnie arched an eyebrow, as if in question. Understand? Sarah nodded once and Dinnie moved away. “Perhaps you’d like to read a brief history of the Sun Consortium,” she said. “You’ll see how much Sun has done over the years to help people all over the world. I think it’s safe to say that far more than three billion would have died, if not for their expertise.”

  “That would be interesting, yes.”

  “I’ll go check on Dr. Altair,” Dinnie said. “And let you get back to work.”

  “Thank you,” Sarah said. She glanced once at the camera, and went back to her prototype.

  Chapter 28

  Boarding another bus, Moira sat next to an old woman who was curled up against the window, sleeping soundly through the jerks of the bus. Once seated, Moira had to double over, gasping as her tortured stomach took revenge on all her running. She huddled over her backpack, breathing through her open mouth as she tried to hide her tears. Stay quiet. Don’t call attention to yourself.

  The pain began to recede in slow increments. Soon she could prop herself on her elbows, but she couldn’t force herself to sit up straight. Her stomach wouldn’t let her go any farther.

  This was the first bus she had seen after running from the shop. Its destination, Falls Park, was unknown to her. It was still a couple of hours before her meeting with Andy’s friend, but Moira had no idea where the university was, either. She had planned to look up a map from the room, but her
sudden flight had prevented it.

  However, route maps adorned the backs of every seat, and as her pain receded to a manageable level, Moira focused on the one in front of her. Drat. Her bus was heading north and west of the university, which as it turned out, had not been very far from their hotel. Well, she’d simply have to exit, and catch ... yes, the bus for the Queens/Botanic Garden route. The map was live, and she saw the dot representing this bus would soon intercept the route she needed. Dreading the movement, she pressed the button for a stop, and rose from her seat.

  On the street again, she sank onto a public bench, shaking with pain. Her eyes burned and she let tears come, unable to fight them. Whatever was wrong with her, all the running had not helped it.

  It helped to be still, and soon she was able to wipe her face. She sat back, pulled her feet up to rest on the bench, and desperately hoped no one else would show up to chase her. She didn’t think she could run anymore.

  Why had the men chased her? True, her presence in Andy’s room violated at least a couple of laws, even if she were the nineteen-year-old college student that her fake ID claimed she was. But this was not such a serious crime that Security would feel it necessary to pursue her on and off buses, and through stores. Did they know who she was? Andy had said that his plan was not foolproof, but she found it hard to believe that her stepfather had figured out the subterfuge so quickly. He did have many resources, though. If he was determined to find her, he could have called someone well-trained in finding people.

  Her lips trembled. If they’d traced her to the hotel, then they knew about Andy. In fact, he may already have been arrested. Her hand jerked at the thought, as if her nervous system wanted to wipe the possibility away. What should she do? Was it safe to call him? If he’d been arrested, then the guards would have his Pad. If she called, they’d be able to trace her location.

  In fact ... Moira stared at her arm, which she’d blithely waved at the payment sensor on the bus. Damn. Anytime she used her chip, it would log her location. If Security was tracing her, she was leading them like a light bulb.

  But there was no other way to pay for a bus. She closed her eyes, picturing the route map, trying to estimate the distance to Queen’s. It would hurt like hell, but she had little choice. She’d have to walk it.

  She decided that it wasn’t safe to contact Andy. Once she was with the rebels, his friends would be able to find him. If he’d been arrested, they would find out. She’d deal with it then. Once this decision was made, she became aware of another problem caused by her abrupt flight from the hotel room: she was thirsty, and she had no water.

  If it were raining, she could drink the rain, despite the pollution it carried. But although it had been raining hard all night and most of the morning, all the time of her race from the hotel, the rain had held off. She glared at the clouds racing overhead. It was cold and windy, and rain would complicate things for her. Hyperthermia was a possibility if she got wet. But she did need a drink.

  And a bathroom. It was possible some of the pain would lessen if she could just pee. There would be public loos at Queen’s. With this final thought as motivation, Moira stood, and began a slow walk back the way she’d come.

  ~~~

  “There she is.”

  Andy looked up at Sam’s mutter, hearing the triumphant tone in his voice. Sam’s fingers danced over his keyboard, his eyes flicking back and forth across the screen of his computer. Andy slid into place beside him, leaning on the table as he peered at the screen. A yellow dot blinked in the lower right corner, the electronic signature of the blood marker Sam had told him about.

  Andy suppressed a grin, glad to see there was no chip frequency displayed. “Ah, she’s clean.” His voice barely registered above the hum of their machines, but Sam nodded. The rest of the screen displayed a 3D model of the bridge Sam had built, presided over by an hourglass counting seconds.

  Sam’s fingers ran arpeggios up and down the screen edge, and when he glanced at Andy, his eyes were bright. “Destination?”

  “Queen’s. I think.” Andy bit his lip as he wondered again where they should go. Theoretically, Sam could program his bridge to drop them off anywhere on the planet. Remaining in Belfast was probably a mistake for many reasons. Forcing Karen to deal with two interdimensional travelers would be one of the crueler things he’d ever done. But he had to make sure Moira was safe. And in the long run, Sam and Sarah would need the help of the rebels. He tried not to think much about what use the rebels might have for Sam and Sarah, as well.

  Sam tapped a finger on the table and opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking as their guard began another stroll down the aisle in their direction. He did this whenever they got together to discuss something. Sam just nodded and Andy went back to his fake neutrino search. He’d just reached the monitor when the lab door opened and Dinnie Warner came through. The guard tipped a finger at her, keeping his slow pace back to his starting point.

  Dinnie whipped past him without a glance, stopping next to Sam and looking him up and down, lips pursed. Sam returned her regard with puzzled brow raised. She smiled suddenly, managing to look abashed. “I promised Miss Andrews that I would personally verify your good health. She isn’t disposed to trust anything Mr. Feldman has to say.”

  Andy decided that Sarah Andrews was a smart woman. He smiled to himself, but kept his eyes on his work, not wanting to draw Warner’s attention.

  “I think I’ve recovered well,” Sam said. “No harm, I guess, but I hope you people keep your technology out of my body from now on. I take it her chip is also out?” He managed to project the right amount of concern and distrust, as if he didn’t already know the answer.

  “It is.” Dinnie turned to Sam’s screen. “How is the model going?”

  Sam launched into lecture mode, half of which Andy knew was pure BS. Sam had not explained everything to him, but based on what he’d seen so far, Andy was sure that Sam could build a bridge in a matter of minutes. But he wanted Feldman to think it took hours of intricate work, and so he had created a labyrinth of smoke and mirrors.

  Andy was impressed.

  But when Dinnie turned to the TSM, he jerked upright in alarm. He’d left Sam’s last message in there: escape bridge. If Warner saw that, what conclusion would she draw? He had to stop her ... but she was already peering into the lenses. Andy sent one desperate glance at Sam, who continued to watch Warner.

  She was frozen to the TSM, head bent, eyes intent on the lenses. None of them moved until the guard gave an uncomfortable cough from his station near the door. Dinnie lifted her head, staring at the wall behind the TSM. Then she straightened and met Andy’s eyes, before turning to Sam. “I’ll see to it that Miss Andrews has this information. She’ll be ready for it before we meet with Feldman at two. I’ll be bringing her down here for that meeting, by the way.”

  She walked down the aisle to the door and Andy swung around to peer into the scope. Warner had already scrambled the letters, leaving a scatter-shot of elementary particles.

  ~~~

  Moira did not stop walking until she reached campus. Even as the streets grew more crowded, she did not waver from her course, did not even look right or left. She couldn’t. Every step required intense concentration. She had settled into a reverie of pain, her mind once again moving a set distance away from her body. A small segment remained alert for security badges on any of the people around her, but she never noticed one.

  Her path took her through a garden. The Botanic Garden, she remembered from the map. It may have been beautiful once, but now it was a shamble of dead grass and weeds. She sank onto a bench across from a broken glass building, and breathed through her mouth, trying to reduce her pain. It didn’t work, and she didn’t think the pain would go away this time. Wherever the Lanyon Building was, she’d have to find it through her haze.

  She stared ahead, until her sight cleared enough to reveal an electronic directory on the corner of the grass. Since the pain was not going to g
et better, she stood and made her slow way to the directory, letting it hurt as much as it would. She called up a map and asked for directions. The yellow line was blurry, but she stared at it until her mind had the pattern. Then she walked, concentrating on putting one foot in front the other, and left the rest to her tired mind.

  ~~~

  Dinnie threw a brief nod at the hallway guard near Sarah’s lab, but did not slow her rush into the room. Sarah looked up from her work on a container model, her eyes wide in startled fear at the slam of her door. Her face relaxed when she saw who it was.

  Dinnie crossed the room in a few steps and placed her Pad on the table in front of Sarah. She stood so that her back was to the camera, blocking the Pad. “Dr. Altair tells me that you need to see the bridge configuration before you can finalize your design. We don’t want to connect your computers yet, so I told him I’d bring this down to show you.”

  Sarah started to say something, her confusion evident. Dinnie chanced a quick shake of her head and pointed firmly at the Pad, her lips tight in warning. Sarah snapped her mouth closed and glanced down at the message it contained. Building esc. bridge. Will get you b4 1400. B ready.

  Sarah nodded, squinting slightly as if trying to figure something out. Dinnie let herself breathe easier. Sarah Andrews was a quick study.

  Even better, she added to the deception. “If he’s using this configuration, I’ll need to make some adjustments.” She turned to her computer, sitting and pulling it into her lap, as if determined to take it with her.

  Dinnie took a moment to observe the model while she wiped the message from her Pad. The model was just a frame, and she could see that Sarah had been working on shoring up the corners. Once the paper was secure, she rounded the table and pulled up a chair next to Sarah. “Will the changes put you behind schedule? Dr. Feldman wants a meeting at two to check everyone’s progress. I’m to take you down to the lab.”