Days of Future Past - Part 1: Past Tense

by John Van Stry

  Mays picked it up and shook it out, so it unrolled. It was actually fairly large.

  "Here, let me," I said and grabbing the edges I held it up, I was taller than her, and with my arms up, it was just clear of the floor.

  "Wow, that's a nice one; you could get some money for that."

  "Really?" I asked and started to fold it back up.

  "Yeah, real Navajo blankets are always in demand, and the artwork on that one is very nice."

  "Think you could help me sell it?" I asked her.

  "Ummm," she said hesitating.

  "I'll give you ten percent."

  "Fifteen," she replied quickly.

  "Sure, fifteen," I said and she stuck out her hand, so I shook with her on it.

  "Well, now I don't feel so bad," she said and smiled, surprising me.

  "Huh?"

  "Court here is loser pays. If we had won our case, Wittner and I would have gotten your belongings, with twenty percent going to the courts after we sold it. But because you won, we have to cover the court costs, the cost of you being in jail for a day, as well as the costs of having Sarah come here to testify."

  I looked at her, "You get paid on commission?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around that.

  "We get our uniforms, weapons, and ammunition as part of the job, plus if we live here in the court building we get food and lodging. But beyond that, we have to work to earn our pay, which means bringing in crooks and criminals. What they get fined goes to us, after court fees, and any damage claims of course.

  "That's why we were both in court with you today. We had a financial stake in the case."

  "Oh," I said softly. Now I could see why they took me in. They probably figured it would be an easy win for them, and they'd make some money.

  "No hard feelings?" she asked, looking at me a little embarrassed.

  "Go out to dinner with me, and we'll call it even," I said smiling down at her.

  "Umm, I'll think about it," she said, blushing.

  "What do I do with this?" I asked picking at the jumpsuit.

  "Oh, just toss it in the garbage, with the shoes. They're disposable."

  I nodded and after stripping in front of her, I noticed she wasn't shy about looking; I bundled the coveralls up with the shoes and tossed them in the trash. Grabbing the soap and shampoo I headed off towards the showers.

  "Um, Paul?" she asked as I walked away.

  "Yes?"

  "Dinner sounds fine," she said with a wink and giving me another looking over.

  - 7 -

  May changed into her street clothes while I showered, which she looked even better in than the uniform she'd been wearing. I noticed she was wearing a pistol in a holster that was on her thigh, I wondered if that was because she was a police officer, or if everyone went armed?

  The washing machine was also a dryer apparently, and everything came out of it nice and clean as well as dry. As I wasn't one for long showers, I was surprised at how quickly it worked. It was done before I'd gotten back to it.

  May borrowed an electric combination clipper and shaver from someone, and five minutes later I was clean-shaven for the first time in months. My hair was a bit of a mess, but I was at least able to brush it out. I'd have to see about getting it cut eventually.

  "Well, where to?" I asked her as we left the building.

  "First let's sell that blanket of yours, so you have some money, and I can pay the court back."

  I nodded, "Sounds good to me," I said and looked around as I followed her. We were in a parking lot and there were a lot of vehicles of all different types in it. Most looked like cars, but several had no wheels on them, and as I watched, one lifted up and flew off.

  She led me up to a motorcycle, one that looked rather different than what I was used to however. It looked like one of the old sixties bikes, what they used to call 'general purpose bikes' and it had a two person lozenge seat on it. Where I would have expected to find a gas motor, there was instead an electric one, and what looked like an antenna array where a radiator might be on a water-cooled motorcycle.

  "Get on," she said swinging a leg over and sitting on it.

  "A motorcycle?" I said, surprised. Putting my pack on I climbed on behind her.

  "It does the job," she said.

  "Oh, I'm sure it does. I just didn't expect to see one, that's all," I said and nodded to a couple of the hovering vehicles slowly going down the street.

  "Most of those in this part of town are taxies or official vehicles. Ground vehicles are a lot more efficient," she said. "Now, hold on!"

  I wrapped my arms around her waist and leaned up against her as she took off, enjoying the way she smelled. It had definitely been way too long since I'd been with a woman!

  "Enjoying yourself?" She asked with a chuckle.

  "I could move my hands up higher, if you'd like?" I teased.

  "Maybe later," she replied, "business first."

  I watched as we drove down the street, all of the buildings were taller than the courthouse, and that had been sixteen stories. There were a lot of people, and they were all dressed in a riot of colors and outfits. Everything from a simple loincloth with sandals, to a business suit. I saw more than one topless woman, and quite a few were dressed fairly provocatively. From the way they were behaving, I suspected that some of them were probably prostitutes, but then again, maybe I was just prejudiced.

  All of the vehicles must have been electric, as it was rather quiet, there not being any of the engine noise I associated with a city street, and this definitely was a city, with high rises and a lot of people and shops. I did see a few horses being ridden, which was a strange dichotomy with all of the more high-tech vehicles, but I also saw quite a few buses. The streets were all about four lanes wide, which meant there were a lot of shadows down between the buildings. But considering how bright the sun was this far south, I really didn't mind it, and I don't think anyone else did either.

  She pulled up to the curb and stopped, so I got off as she parked the bike and then got off of it.

  "Here we are," she said.

  I looked at the shop we'd stopped in front of, it had a large window and there were blankets and rugs on display in it. I saw a blanket like the one I was carrying and it had a tag that said '$500' on it.

  "Come on," Mays said opening the door, so I followed her inside.

  "Heather!" A swarthy looking man said coming out from around the counter and giving her a hug. "What have you brought for me today?"

  "A little something from one of the Navajo villages off to the west, Emile" she said. "Show him the blankets, Paul."

  I nodded and pulled out the old one first. All cleaned up, it now looked rather nice.

  "Looks like someone tried to turn this one into a poncho," he said looking at it and fingering the slit I had cut in it for my head. "Best I can do for this would be fifty."

  "Fifty? Aw come on, Emile. I know you're going to sell it for at least two hundred!" Mays said.

  He shook his head, "If it wasn't cut, yes, I would. But I don't think I'll get more than a hundred for it, and if I repair it, well that will cost me at least another fifty."

  Mays sighed a little dramatically, "Okay, fifty."

  I pulled out the second one then, and I could see his eyebrows go up a little.

  "Now this, this is nice," he said and taking it from me he tossed it on top of a large table, spreading it out on top of the stacks of blankets already there.

  "Definitely Navajo, looks like Ooljee's work too," he said going over it carefully. "Where did you get this?"

  "My friend and I were doing a little trading last weekend. He just got back last night," Mays said smiling. "So don't think of trying to short him, I'm in on this one too, Emile."

  Emile laughed and shook his head, "I can give you three hundred."

  "Three?" Mays protested, "This is nicer than the one in the window, and you have that marked as five! Five hundred!"

  "Okay, okay, four hundred! If I get anyt
hing over six, I'll split it with you, deal?"

  "Deal!" May said and they shook hands on it, then I shook hands with him as well.

  He went behind the counter and opened up the cashbox, and took out a bunch of bills, which he then counted out to us. I looked over the money, it wasn't exactly paper, it felt more like plastic, but it was softer and more pliable than any plastic I was familiar with. The denominations were all marked clearly on them, in large numbers, next to equally large portraits of people I didn't know. I guess the local version of dead presidents.

  "Thanks, Emile!" Mays said, taking the money and we went out front. Once outside the store she counted me out three hundred and eighty two dollars. I could have balked over giving her a share of the older blanket, but I hadn't even thought about selling it, so I wasn't going to complain.

  "Will he really pay you more if he sells it at a higher price?" I asked.

  "Yup, it's not worth his reputation to try and cheat me out of a couple of bucks. A lot of people do consignment work with him. If word got out he wasn't honoring his deals, he'd go out of business in a month."

  "So, how about dinner?" I asked.

  "Let's buy you a few more clothes first," she said, "and you really need a gun or something. You do know how to shoot, right?"

  I nodded, "Yes. But is this really going to be enough money to buy a gun?"

  Mays laughed, "You kidding? Guns are mass-produced, they're simple cheap. Same for knives. Now if you wanted something fancier like that zap blaster I carry at work, yeah, that would set you back some."

  "Zap blaster?" I asked.

  "It sends out a strong electrical pulse. It scrambles cars, electronics, and people."

  "Scrambles?" I asked, feeling a little queasy at that idea.

  "Knocks you out. It causes your muscles to all lock up and then relax."

  "What about your heart?" I said a little worried.

  "Oh, that starts back up before you die, usually. But that's not the problem."

  "What's the problem then?"

  "Your bladder and bowels relax. It really makes quite a mess."

  "I can imagine," I said, shaking my head.

  "Yeah, we hate to use them, cause then we get all that mess and stink in our vehicles. On the other hand, the crims hate it too, because it ruins their clothing and we usually don't let them shower in jail."

  She got on the bike and I got on it behind her.

  "Well, lead on then I guess," I told her.

  Two hours later I had two new pairs of pants, four shirts, a jacket, more socks and underwear, and a pistol that was remarkably like a colt M1911. Except this one had a laser sight built in the side, a short integral silencer that made it not as loud as I expected, and the ammunition was forty caliber instead of forty-five. I noticed the bullets were all hollow points with mini sabots in them. The magazine held twelve rounds instead of eight, which was due to a slightly wider magazine, so the bullets were staggered, almost like a double stack.

  I also got a couple of knives, which were more useful than what I currently had. Surprisingly one of the shopkeepers recognized the orange switchblade as a collectable and traded me the knives straight across for it. He said it looked too new to be original, but he liked the retro appeal. I didn't care really, the two new knives were big, well made, had good edges and came with sheaths. I put one in my boot and the other on my new belt.

  All of that cost me three hundred and twelve dollars and it fit easily in the backpack without the two blankets in there. After that, Mays took me to dinner at a nice little hole in the wall place that made really nice hamburgers with a side dish of rice and beans that was also very good.

  "So, were you born here?" I asked her as we sat down with our food.

  "Yup, lived here my whole life."

  "How many people live here, anyway? It sure seems like a pretty big city."

  "I think it's close to three hundred thousand," she said, "and that doesn't include the surrounding farmland where we grow our crops."

  "I'm surprised that you haven't spread out farther. I mean you have all this tech, why haven't you taken over the rest of the area?"

  "Can't, none of our stuff will work out there," she said rather matter-of-factly.

  "Why not?" I had a momentary flight of fancy, "Is it blocked by magic or something?"

  Mays laughed, a very nice sound I thought, "No, it's not blocked, it just won't reach."

  "Huh? What do you mean it won't reach?"

  "It's all broadcast power. Everything here runs off of broadcast power. It comes from the dam down to the south, as well as the fusion plant on the edge of town."

  "You have a fusion plant?" I said, surprised.

  She nodded, "They built it here like, I don't know, four hundred, five hundred years ago? Back when things were different. Supposedly they put it here because we already had the electrical connections because of the dam, and no one wanted to build by one of the big cities. Well, after the war, the big cities were all gone, and so everyone moved closer to the plants."

  "Why don't they build more broadcast antennas? And a new grid?"

  "Between the orcs, the indians, and the elves, they keep tearing them down. They don't want the tech in their regions.

  "Elves?" I said, surprised.

  "Yeah, the dwarves don't mind. They say that they use the power for smelters and mining equipment. But never met one, so I wouldn't know."

  "You have elves and dwarves?" I said, probably looking as stunned as I felt.

  "Well, there aren't any in the city," Mays said, focusing more on her food than on the surprised look on my face. "Didn't they have them where you are from?"

  I shook my head, "No. I've heard stories about them, but no one really believed that they existed," I said carefully.

  "Well, they're real good at not being found if they don't want to be, I guess." She looked up at me and smiled, "So just how much of that story you told Judge Hathorn was true?"

  I laughed, "All of it. I just left out the parts that none of you would believe."

  She looked at me a little slyly, "It was already pretty unbelievable, getting lost in a storm, and ending up in Indian Territory?"

  I shrugged, "All true. The Indians all believe it was the will of their gods, and that my superior is the chosen one, sent to help them in their coming times of trouble."

  Mays looked at me for a minute and didn't say a word. Just as I started to get worried she burst out laughing.

  "No!" she said between bouts of laughter.

  "Go ride out there yourself and ask them," I grumbled. "His name is Riggs. Or it was at least. I think they gave him a new name or something."

  Mays shook her head, still snickering, "I've heard that they've got some pretty primitive beliefs, but that beats all. So that made you a gift from the gods or something then?"

  I shrugged, "I don't know, maybe. Like I said, he claimed he did it to save my life because the prophecy said he was supposed to show up by himself."

  "More like he just wanted to cement their good opinion of him," she said shaking her head. "That must have really sucked, to have your boss throw you to the wolves like that."

  "Yeah, it did. It really did," I said shaking my head as well. I looked back up at her then and smiled. "Thanks for helping me out," I told her, and I meant it too.

  She blushed a little and smiled back, "Well, I'm sorry about our arresting you and bringing you in and all that."

  I shrugged, "All water under the bridge now. Besides, I probably wouldn't have gotten half as good of a deal on the blankets, plus I got free food and a place to stay last night," I said with a grin.

  "Of course, that does lead to another problem," I sighed rather dramatically.

  "What?"

  "Where do I stay tonight?"

  "Wellll, you could come home with me," she said grinning now as well.

  "Oh?" I said smiling back and giving her a wink, "You have a couch or something I could sleep on?"

  "Oh I definitely h
ave something you can sleep on, and it's a lot nicer than a couch."

  Mays had to get up early the next morning, to report into work. She left me a key to the apartment and said she'd be back around six. I yawned and nodded and went back to sleep. She was pretty well put together under her clothing, and she'd spent quite a few hours last night putting me through my paces. As I hadn't held a woman in months, much less made love to one, I was more than happy to unload all of my pent-up needs and sexual frustration on her.

  So I was exhausted, and she was all smiles and hugs and told me to make myself at home and that there was food in the chiller. It was the lure of that promise of food that eventually got me out of bed, though I stayed in it probably until noon.

  Her apartment was a nice, one bedroom, with a large bathroom with both a tub and a shower. The kitchen was separated from the dining area by a counter, and the dining area pretty much just flowed into the living room, which had a desk, what looked like a TV, and a lot of shelves.

  I rummaged through the refrigerator and found quite a bit of food. I also found that this world had microwaves, thank god! And that I was rather easily able to figure out how to use it without any kind of disaster.

  After eating, I took a shower, and then wandered around the apartment with just my pants on. After months of not wearing any clothes, it felt a little weird being dressed now, to be honest. I would have walked around in just my underwear, but I figured if she came home early to check up on me, that it might not be the best idea to be found lazing about in just my briefs, or less.

  The shelves in her apartment were interesting. She'd gotten more than a few awards for marksmanship. She'd also gotten several for her schoolwork and apparently had done well there. There were a lot of pictures of course, several of her with an older couple, who I assumed where her parents, a number of them of her with friends, and interestingly enough, a couple of her with Sarah.

  So, they obviously knew each other, and Sarah wasn't being patronizing when she called Heather by her first name. Something to ask about later, perhaps.

  The desk had a keyboard and a screen on it, along with a mouse. When I touched it, the screen came alive, it was obviously a computer, but the monitor was very thin, and I saw no sign of an actual cpu box like I was used to. The keyboard and the mouse had no wires at all attached to them, the screen had a power plug that went to the wall, but that was about it.