"I'm not sure about where you come from, Mrs. Shepherd, but detaining him under the 'enemy combatant' provisions of the Anti-Terrorist Identification, Assessment, and Detention Act is perfectly legal here."
Jamie decided there was no point in arguing. They stopped at a steel door.
"Here we are," said Colonel Bingham. "Good luck. If you need anything, just ask for it. We'll be watching and listening."
He opened the door, and she entered. Brian Loving was sitting at the far end of a metal table, a cup of coffee and a half-eaten donut before him. His dour expression brightened.
"You came," he said.
"How are you, Brian?"
"Tired of spending my days in a small cubicle having all my rights as an American citizen ignored."
"I was told it was all perfectly legal."
She smiled. His scowl dissipated into a strained smile.
"What isn't legal these days?" he asked.
"I was thinking the same thing." Jamie sat down facing him across the table. "I'm sorry for the deception...and for manhandling you. Womanhandling. But I was telling you the truth about the Elementals. Your heaven really was a virtual reality program within an alien ship. I was able to escape that program and do what I was sent there to do."
"To destroy the ship with that furniture bomb?"
"Yes. That bomb did a lot of damage. Then the space fleet showed up and finished the job."
"'Space fleet'?"
"Yeah. Turns out their space-traveling technology is a little more advanced than the public knows." Jamie glanced at the walls. She couldn't see any camera, but she knew they were there and that her watcher might not appreciate her revealing "above top secret" information. "The point is that you were deceived by Amelrina and Mikenruah, Brian. The aliens really were threatening Earth."
"That's not what I was told."
His words chilled the room. Jamie suddenly had trouble breathing – and she didn't even need to breathe.
"Told by who?" she asked in a near-whisper. "You're still in contact with the Elementals? With Mikenruah?"
Brian shook his head, a grim smile forming. "I'm willing to answer your questions, Jamie, but as a free man. I'm not saying any more until I'm released."
"I'm fine with that. It wasn't my choice to lock you up."
"So free me."
"We can ask. But that's not my call."
"It isn't?" Brian met her gaze. "I don't remember anyone stopping you when you walked out with me before."
The steel table creaked as tension gathered in Jamie's fingers. She concentrated on relaxing her hands, and lifted her eyes to the ceiling.
"You've heard his condition," she said to the cameras. "I recommend releasing him."
Less than two minutes passed before the door opened. A soldier motioned her outside, where Colonel Bingham was waiting.
"His request has been forwarded to the Secretary of Defense and the President," he said. "For what it's worth, I agree with your recommendation. But for now, we'll just have to wait. It could be a while. The cafeteria's open. We can also provide private quarters."
"Okay. And thanks for your support, Colonel. I'll let him know."
Brian accepted the information, smiling as though it were good news. Jamie was far from sure.
"Why wouldn't they go along with it?" he asked, noting her frown. "What do they have to gain from keeping me in here? It's not like I'm a threat any more."
"I agree. I think President Tomlinson will grant it. But it could take some time. Try to be patient."
Later, in the cafeteria sipping coffee, Jamie struggled with impatience. The more time that passed the more she worried President Tomlinson was going to refuse. Brian wasn't a threat, and they knew it. The information was what was important. Critical, even. What, really, was there to think about?
Two hours, three chocolate cookies and four coffees later, a soldier arrived to summon Jamie to the "Operations Room" for a secure line to the President. Jamie followed the soldier five more levels down, speculating whether this was a good or bad thing. She'd have the opportunity to plead her case if President Tomlinson was reluctant, or simply fill her in on what was happening. She probably just wanted Jamie's opinion before signing off on Brian's release.
Jamie was led into a large area populated by numerous computers and personnel into a smaller room, where she was left alone. The President was waiting for her on a large screen. She appeared to be sitting in the Oval Office.
"Jamie," she greeted her. "Good to be with you again."
"Madame President."
President Tomlinson offered her a cool smile and adjusted herself in her chair. "My understanding is that Brian Loving remains in contact with the Elementals or some faction of them."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"And he says he will tell you what he knows if he's released?"
"Yes."
Jamie waited for her to move on to the obvious conclusion – releasing Brian – but instead the President sat there looking meditative for many disconcerting moments. Soft alarms began sounding in Jamie's head.
"Have you given more consideration to working with the government, Jamie?"
"Um..." Jamie sensed the importance of her reply. She doubted the President wouldn't bring it up if it didn't have some bearing on their situation. Definitely not a good sign. "I haven't quite decided. It's only been a few days."
"I understand. But would you say you're leaning for or against?"
It was very tempting to say "for" – the answer Jamie was sure President Tomlinson was looking for – but that would've been a lie. The truth was the opposite: she was almost certain that she didn't want to work for the government of President Tomlinson. Maybe if it was President Morgan, a man she trusted to do the right thing, it would be different. But to be at the beck and call of someone as morally flexible as this President...
"I guess I'd be leaning against a full-time position, Madame President. If this country has a dire emergency, and I could help, then I would be open to that."
"Jamie" – a small note of impatience had entered President Tomlinson's voice – "we live in a world where emergencies of one sort or another are commonplace. Effectively dealing with them is not a part-time job. A painful truth I've learned since occupying this office." She offered Jamie a sour smile. "There would be a learning curve. You would need to know something about the nature of the enemy and learn how to best execute your assignments."
"That makes sense, but I'm just not sure that's how I want to live my life."
President Tomlinson regarded her a few moments, blinking slowly, as if she were battling sleep.
"I understand, dear," she said. "I'm sure you'd like to spend some downtime with your family after your terrible ordeal."
"Thank you." Jamie tried to read the President's face, but a veil had come down. "And Brian Loving? Will you release him?"
"Perhaps at some point, when and if we believe that would not conflict with the national interests."
"National interests? What are you talking about?"
President Tomlinson's bland expression changed instantly to a baring of teeth that made Jamie think of a dog about to bite. Jamie realized her tone might've not been a bit harsh and disrespectful considering the person she was talking to.
"I mean, with all due respect, Madame President, I don't understand what threat to national security you think he poses."
The President's incipient snarl softened. "There's much you don't understand about national security, my dear. Your Brian Loving led what amounted to an insurgence against this country for the better part of a year. Because of him, millions of individuals refused mandatory PLED implants in gross defiance of the law. He himself is in violation of that law. Both of these acts are felonies, earning him years if not decades of incarceration."
"You know the Elementals deceived him into thinking he was serving God."
"That's not an excuse. He still acted on his own free will to subvert the laws of this country. We d
o not regard 'serving God' as an excuse for criminal behavior. This isn't a theocracy."
A hunk of lead was forming in Jamie's stomach, dragging her deeper and deeper into her chair. She fought the sinking sensation, but she knew it was a losing battle. She recognized someone who'd made up their mind when she saw it. And as mulish as Dennis or her dad could be at times, she was pretty sure they were amateurs compared to President Tomlinson. Still, she had to try.
"But if you release him, we can find out what the aliens are thinking. Isn't that more important than punishing him, President Tomlinson?"
"We can learn that easily without releasing him, my dear. We have drugs that will make him tell us everything We've been holding off because the opinion was that there were fewer risks if he revealed what he knows, if anything, voluntarily."
"Then why not just release him and let him voluntarily tell me?"
"It's the principle, Jamie." She gave Jamie an exasperated look and then sighed at length. "All right, all right. You just helped save the world. I just handed you the Medal of Freedom. How can I not grant some weight to your request?"
Jamie's sinking sensation reversed with dizzying suddenness.
"Therefore, I will let him go for now," said the President. "But I make no guarantees about his future freedom. Hear what he has to say and report it to my envoy, Wanda. She'll be accompanying you."
Jamie sagged in her seat with relief. "Yes, Madame President."
BRIAN'S MANSION was as dark and silent as the man himself. For having just been freed, Brian hadn't appeared happy or had much to say on the flight back to Las Vegas, perhaps because he didn't believe President Tomlinson was finished with him. He also was predictably put off by their poker-faced raven-haired escort. "She reminds me of a James Bond villainess," he'd whispered to Jamie. "But without the redeeming feature of having a personality."
Wanda waited in a rental SUV in the driveway while Brian and Jamie entered his house and made their way through unlit rooms to the sunlit back porch and pool. As of that moment, Brian's astronomic bank accounts were all frozen. He had no money to even turn on the electricity. Wanda had assured him that once he'd provided the required information his accounts would be unfrozen – minus a substantial government fine.
They strolled past the pool in the shade between rows of cypress trees and entered a work shed. Brian flipped a switch on what appeared to be a small fuse box, which emitted a low hum.
"What's that?" Jamie asked.
"It's something my security team installed," said Brian. "It sends out powerful electromagnetic pulses that interfere with any nearby transmission devices, powered by a big stack of batteries buried underground."
"They're bugging your yard?"
"They have been from the beginning. At first, my security removed them, but there was so many and always being replenished – we learned they were actually dropping them from the sky! – that we went for the simpler route of just blocking them. There's surveillance from a neighboring house and probably a drone or two above us, but they can't see or hear us in here. My head of security was pretty paranoid, which made him good at his job."
"I met him. Seemed like a decent guy."
"You really rattled him. He never could figure out how you did it. Not knowing about your superpowers, of course."
"I'm a little confused about the cloak and daggers now, Brian, since I'm going to report to the President what you tell me."
"I'm hoping – we're hoping – you'll change your mind about that."
"What is it?"
"I don't know. She didn't tell me. Like the spies say, it's for your eyes only."
"She?"
Brian dropped down in a lawn chair, his eyes abruptly heavy-lidded. Soon he was snoring softly. A rustle of movement sounded behind her. Jamie spun around – and jerked back away from the tall blond woman standing before her in white, form-fitting coveralls. Familiar oversized blue eyes shone at her in a round, Botticelli face.
"Gabrielle," Jamie wheezed out. "Amelrina."
"You know me." The smile on her full lips had a disapproving cast. "Or one of me. From your original world, I understand."
"You got that from Brian?"
"Yes, but it was logically implied."
"You helped us on my world," said Jamie, slowly pulling out of her shock. "You were a friend."
"I'm the friendly sort."
Jamie started to chuckle – caught herself – and then smiled along with her unexpected visitor.
"And something of a rebel," Amelrina added. "Though not as much in their world, it seems, as in yours. I've questioned but never actively opposed our preventative selection program. The Amelrina you knew clearly took quite extreme steps to undercut the program. You represent the highest level of power we've achieved in biological form."
"Uh...thanks?"
"I'm afraid I can't take credit. Even on your world, I could only have been one of the many needed to complete such a project. Even by our standards, the expense and time required to create a nanite culture and delivery system, and then implement it in secrecy, must've been quite extraordinary."
"Well, I'm glad your other you did it. It saved our world."
"Yet I'm fairly sure her and her coconspirators did not intend for you to spread their gospel into other universes. To remain in one's own universe is one of our most sacred rules – and most strongly enforced prohibitions."
Jamie stilled an urge to gulp. It occurred to her in a burst of dread that Amelrina's presence might not be about conveying a message but rather a death sentence.
"Are you here to kill me?"
"Oh, no," Amelrina replied with a short laugh. "As you probably know, I'm just an avatar. Physically here, with some powers that exceed human, but nothing approaching your level. Brian is my sole teleportive link to here."
Jamie followed her nod to the sleeping form of the Last Days ex-evangelist. "You don't want him to hear what you're going to tell me?"
"Correct. Knowledge has a powerful effect. A multiplier effect, you could say. Especially in the hands of someone who has potential contact with so many people."
"Okay." Jamie steeled herself. "What do you want to tell me?"
"Since you've arrived, our future history calculations have changed. Your civilization will now evolve into what we call a 'Universe Killer,' as apparently was the case on your world until your actions changed your future."
Now Jamie could not stop herself from gulping. "Does that mean what I think it does?"
"Your world is now targeted for termination."
Shit. No. God, no. "Because I'm here?"
"Yes. One individual can have a significant impact on certain manifestations or can alter the order of events but almost never the end result. Your unusual powers make you the exceedingly rare exception."
"Lucky me." Jamie steeled herself again. "So the solution...?"
"Might be for you to leave. We won't know until that happens, because your arrival may have already substantially changed this world's social evolution."
"But...wasn't this world already doomed before I showed up? Assuming Mikenruah was telling the truth."
"He was. The irony is that your arrival saved this Earth from destroying itself – we assume because you could intervene to prevent that – which allows it to complete its evolution to a Universe Killer."
"My coming here didn't cause its destruction, then," said Jamie. "Just changed it."
"Yes."
"So if I leave..." Jamie offered her an exasperated shrug. "The Earth dies anyway."
"Highly probable. But if you don't leave, it's certain. And your departure must be...guaranteed to be permanent."
"Guaranteed..."
"There can be no possibility of you returning."
"The only way there would be no possibility..." Jamie rode the logic to its dyspeptic conclusion. "Is if I was dead."
"That's correct, I'm sad to say."
"You're not all-knowing, Amelrina. You can make mistakes."
"But...wait. We destroyed your ship! Unless you have another one nearby, you can't hurt us anytime soon, unless – "
"There are two ships. The surviving one is much smaller but still capable of destroying your world."
"I could destroy that ship."
"Possibly. If you could find it. But is that what you'd truly choose, Jamie? To let your civilization become a destroyer of civilizations – even universes?"
"I wouldn't let a hypothetical future stop me from saving my family."
"Exactly why the extinction sentence remains – until you make another choice."
"Then you've told me this...to convince me to leave this world? To kill myself?"
"We've told you this so you can make an informed decision – a decision that will change the course of this world's history."
"And this is your decision alone? Aren't there are other people involved? There were in my world."
"Yes, there are three individuals who are bound to the Future History Matrix – the program that foretells the future. But they are only following the program's recommendations and analyses. As am I."
"But it's your decision to fulfill its recommendation?"
"Yes."
"Why can't you just hold off and see what happens? Why do you have to take such drastic action right now? What you're saying implies that things are in a state of flux, that something could change."
"We can't spend an unlimited time observing every world on our list," Amelrina replied. "But we will observe you for a while longer."
Jamie stared at her, battling an impulse to pulverize her into constituent atoms. It was like being caught between a rock and a hard place squared: if she did the supposed right thing, the Earth would crash and burn and billions would die; if she did the wrong thing, everyone would die. Major Catch-22: in order to save the world, she had to let it self-destruct. In either scenario, the odds were that her daughter, Dennis, and her dad would die.
The only thing that made sense to her in that moment was to save the people she loved. That might be incredibly selfish, but since most of humanity was going to die no matter what she did – at least according to Amelrina – then why not focus on saving those who mattered most to her? But how could she accomplish even that relatively simple goal? How could she separate the fate of her family from the fate of humankind?
Super World Two Page 24