by M. Modak
John could recall every detail shared between Joshua and her as if it were his own life. In a sense it was but he didn’t want to think too deeply about it. He wasn’t going to allow himself to get lost in the weird metaphysical state of things. Rana was exactly the same woman he had married in his universe. There was no difference he could tell from Joshua’s memories. They had even met the same way as teens at a middle school dance. John realized that something in him had fundamentally changed around that time and it had altered his life and universe. It had caused the loss of everything his heart had once truly loved. When he looked at Rana, he only saw the failure with Elisabeth his wife, his failure to love a woman who was the sweetest, most romantic person he’d ever met. He had let Elisabeth go for his machine, Aughra. Joshua had seen Rana, fully, and had cherished her from the start. Joshua had given her the space she needed when they were teenagers but after high school, he had laid it all down for her and she took him.
“Rana,” John softly said, “I can’t answer that. I don’t know of anything we can do to alter that universe when Aughra is over there and we’re over here. My only hope is that Joshua is there and not…,” he let the other possibilities go unsaid; “I think that Joshua is doing everything he can to fix my mistake.”
“You have all his memories, right?” Michael asked.
John looked away from Rana and said, “All of them.”
“Well maybe he has yours.” Michael replied, “If that’s the case, from what I could tell about Joshua, he’s using every bit of that information to find a solution to this problem.”
“Josh would not stop until he had done all he can to fix this,” Rana said.
John thought about the Joshua he knew. He wasn’t a techno minded person, at all. In fact he shunned computers as much as he could but Joshua was no dummy. He had read several books on nearly every subject John could think of. Joshua was a very practical person when it came to solving problems, though he let his heart guide him when it came to the bigger decisions. He was also a determined person. When he found something he needed to do, he put all his energy to that end and didn’t stop until he achieved it. He also knew a great deal about the world around him, more than John previously knew existed. Many of the cracks in his own knowledge about history and esoteric religious ideas were now filled. There were still plenty of questions but the fear of never getting an answer to them had been satisfied by his belief that Life would unveil them in time. Joshua had found peace with himself and the world around him. This was a peace John had a hard time understanding due to his lack of faith in anything greater than himself.
For John it was a matter of motivation, and luck. A problem he had solved by selling his soul for Aughra. That end cost him everything, and it had cost Joshua, Rana, Anna and Michael everything too. He winced at the thought of the countless lives he had separated or destroyed due to his heartless motivation.
Michael continued, “Joshua may have all your knowledge too. I believe Anna is with him because Kayla is with us. Anna is a very resourceful person. She practically runs the business as I fly around securing contacts and acting out movie seines. She is the real brains behind our company.”
John didn’t doubt what Michael said. He said, “Kayla is much the same way. At the lab she was in charge of everything. The rest of the team didn’t even bother with me when it came down to the inner workings of the project because she had it under control.”
Kayla gave a small laugh that betrayed her contempt for his comment.
Rana asked, “What is it Kayla?”
“John, you’re a fool,” She said bluntly.
John looked back at her with eyes wide open, “Yes, clearly I am a fool. I created Aughra . What’s your point?”
“The team came to me because you were as two dimensional with them as you are with your heart. Everyone resented the long hours, endless personal lectures on the benefits of hard work. I remember when we were running behind on our schedule at that first meeting. You told everyone that they needed to love this project more than they loved their families. Then after everyone went home just as depressed as you were, you went back into your office and got so drunk you threw up all over your desk. I had to undress you, put you in the shower and then clean your office before the first shift returned in the morning.
“You’re a jerk. That’s why people came to me, not because I’m some great leader. They knew we were having sex and that you listened to me,” Tears were streaming down her face. “You never loved me. You’re still in love with your wife. With her! I know that look, the way you looked at her. Even now, the way you look at Rana.” She pointed to Rana in a rage, “That’s the main reason why I did it John.”
Rana looked from John to Kayla and back to John. John spoke in a controlled tone, “You did what?”
“I planted a computer virus designed by a rogue Chinese general.”
“But why?” John spoke in shock.
“You deserved it. I hate you!”
John’s face turned bright red, “You did what! You planted a virus in Aughra?” He went to get up but the chairs straps were still in place holding him down.
Michael was the first one unbuckled and out of his seat. He walked over to the cabin door and gestured toward the rear with his hand, “You two are going to take this back into the lounge,” He said. John unbuckled his restraint and walked back through the door but stopped just on the other side waiting for Kayla to get up.
“I’m not going anywhere with him. That bastard is responsible for ruining my life, twice now,” Kayla said.
John started to come back in but Michael stepped in between them, “Okay fine, but this is where I fly the plane. This is not the place to be discussing this. We will all go into the back together, if Rana and Kayla will join us?”
Rana nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt and walked out the door and into the main cabin. Kayla hesitated a moment but finally unbuckled and joined them in the seats near the back of the small jet.
The jet was top of the line. It’s fully integrated systems were constantly tapping into the global satellite network and could take off, fly and land itself. But it was also an emergency response jet, hardened against electrical overloads and it’s network could be terminated. Using the latest topographical updates, last known positions of the other jets within a thousand miles, it could still operate perfectly with a 99% safety rating.
Michael transferred all visual displays to the flexscreens around his seat then he turned to Kayla, “What kind of virus was it?” She looked away, “Every little detail is important if we’re going to help anyone on our end. This is no small detail. Kayla please, thousands, or even millions of people can still be saved the same fates as you, Joshua and Anna.”
“It was supposed to be a copy and send program,” she looked at Michael as she continued, “The government in my universe had become too centralized. They started making it harder to vote and Congress had actually reduced representation even though our population had risen. After the Treasury and the Federal Reserve went bankrupt, the other countries around the world began to get hostile. The dollar was worth less than the peso. That was when the military started to take control of the government. We are still a superpower, we have many nukes, but they were silently removing anyone in congress, the media, or people in the world of academia who brought attention to the power grab. With that knowledge and with the possibilities of this new technology I was afraid some general might try to use Aughra to take over the whole world.
“There are differences, I’ve noticed, from your world and my own, small differences but real ones. It’s the way your news channels reports on issues more broadly. It’s the way your flexscreens have access to greater details about the actions of your government and other people. It’s even in the language or lack of language available for us to use. Your society is held together by common goals and shared ideas not a fear of the government. In my world the military has held the presidency over the last five highly conteste
d elections. All those presidents were x-generals, captains, etc.… John is so naïve. The military is the ones who fully funded his project. They gave him the S-matter and access to technologies we never thought existed. They were just waiting to see the other affects Aughra was sure to demonstrate, Focused Particle Deterioration, Quantum Teleportation, and the Quantum Computer fully realized. They hoped to use Aughra as a way to scare other countries into submission without even needing a demonstration.
“All John could think about was the scientific implications. The virus was supposed to get the information out about Aughra and into the hands of every other government. I thought I’d help create another, M.A.D. world, but one where at least the reins of power were not in one iron hand.”
John was on the edge of his seat. Michael asked one more question before John could start in on her, “But, what happened with the virus, something went wrong, didn’t it?”
“Yes, it was a different virus than what I was given. It shut down the magnetic locks on a pod holding the S-matter and then injected antimatter into the engine a full day before schedule. At the same time, and I swear I didn’t know this was going to happen, someone had detonated a bomb at the emergency fail safes and back up relays the moment I had the down load completed. The Air Pressure Release Doors didn’t open. I doubt the building Aughra was in is still standing.”
“I thought I heard an explosion,” John said.
Kayla went on, “The resulting power surge jolted the magnets under Aughra causing the now open pod of S-matter to splash on John. Then the virus triggered the antimatter and boom here we are!”
John’s stare was hot enough to burn a hole straight through her! “So, you destroyed everything I worked for because you’re jealous of my x-wife and because you wanted to make a political statement about the government!”
“John you understand little about the world you live in. You’ve spent most of your life in the states and always neck deep in academics. Our world’s government was no longer by the people or for the people. A look into this world’s responsible reaction to the last depression has vindicated all my prejudice. I was only going to give them those secretes you and the military were keeping about Aughra, not sabotage it. Give the military something to do, rather than focus all their attention to local dissidents. You lied repeatedly to everyone in your webcast when you told the world that everything about this project was open and transparent. There were many dangers you simply ignored and kept hidden because it didn’t fit the outcome you wanted. And I didn’t know the virus was going to cause Aughra to prematurely turn on.”
“The Chinese hate this project and all we’re doing, do you know that!? Do you want them to dominate the world? How could you trust anything they said?”
“They are just scared, as they should be, of another nuclear race. “I wasn’t involved with their government through any official channel. They weren’t the only ones who approached me but they were the only ones I accepted help from. They are not the enemy, the lies you told yourself and the world are the enemy.”
“I think the people of your world have two enemies,” Michael said.
John searched for something to say that could stop her logic. With Joshua’s knowledge of history, both political and military history, he was sure that the, “Support” he had been given, For the betterment of Scientific Knowledge, was probably going to be used for other means, military means. He had just stuck his head in the sand and took-the-money. Looking back, he saw that she was right. He had ignored the darker side of Aughra and her commissioners. He spoke in a flat tone, “If I would have been allowed to complete this test, without interruption, none of this would have happened.”
“Are you sure?” Michael asked, “As far as I can tell the chances are that if you would have started Aughra, at full power during the moment of full alignment with the nebula then the consequences could have been much greater.”
John was tired of ignoring what was in front of him. He said, “That may be true but we would have had more data on the gravity fluctuations being received from the nebula’s lens. We may have delayed a full start up.”
“Not likely!” Kayla said.
John was mad but she was right, “Okay, I was determined to start Aughra. But if you remember Kayla I told you I had my doubts. You’re the one who always kept me focused and running at full steam.”
“It was my job,” She said.
John’s eyes snapped open; he recognized the simplicity to what she just said so bluntly. It now made sense. It just clicked into place. He blurted, “You were hired by the military to keep me on task.” Kayla shifted in her seat and looked away. He continued, “After Elizabeth and I were divorced I had collapsed. The project had fallen months behind, I remember the subtle threats from the generals but I was so depressed I didn’t care. Then, like an angel, you showed up as my new assistant. You fixed everything and interacted wonderfully with the team I had abandoned. I didn’t request an assistant but you showed up and you were so beautiful and understanding that, how could I tell them; how could I tell you no!” He paused then said, “How much did they pay you for the sex? Was it part of a bonus system or was it included in the basic package?” His outrage had him trying to get up and leave again. He felt trapped. There was nowhere else to go. They were 30,000 feet in the air, and Michael had made it clear that the cockpit was not an option.
Tears came before he knew what was happening. It all came out in one long, painful yell! Now he was sure there was nothing left for him.
I am responsible for all this trouble.
Now he knew! What little dream of love he had once hoped to have with Kayla was really just an illusion designed to keep him on assignment. He hated her, but he hated himself more for being used as a tool and for falling for her tricks.
Kayla softened, “It was a job at first John. Sex was never a part of it. I was to gain your trust and use that trust to get the team moving again as you recovered. What I feel about you is complicated but real. If you weren’t the one I had to betray to accomplish my greater goal, you and I could’ve grown into something. But you are still in love with your x-wife and she’s left you for the same reasons I betrayed you. You became so caught up in the design of Aughra that nothing else mattered.”
A warning tone sounded as a yellow light began flashing from one of the Flexscreens next to Michael. He said, “Were about to start our approach to the runway. You guys can stay here and put your safety belts on or you can join me in the cockpit.” He got up and as Rana started to get up John and Kayla followed.
*******
After a perfect landing, a black limousine greeted the four of them at the bottom of the jet’s stairs. They piled in and after Michael gave the driver the address, they sped off. Rana and Michael’s mood was sullen, and there had been little conversation since they landed. The two wanted to get to their destination without further incident and without John and Kayla killing each other.
They drove along black highways with the windows rolled down listening to the wind and wild life. It was very late. Michael’s black bag, which had been filled with energy bars was now low on supplies since leaving the airport. They decided to stop by an all-night truck stop. The driver pulled under a wave of blinking LEDs welcoming each of them by name. He parked the car just outside the front entrance, jumped out his seat and raced around to open their doors but Michael had already beat him to it.
When they got in the store Michael and John went over to a small rack of beef jerky and they took their time selecting which junk food fit the stress of the moment. Michael had to restock his bag with quality foods but he had plenty of room for junk. Kayla and Rana came out of the restroom and went to get some coffee. Michael and John greeted them with the small buggy filled with crackers, sodas, juice bags, chips, and other stuff.
“How long will we be staying down here Michael?” Rana asked as she looked at the buggy.
“Not long, I just like being prepared,” he said.
John noticed Kayla looking at the buggy. For the first time since arriving in this universe, she wore a smile. She said, “Prepared for what, a lock in at the local bowling alley?” The three laughed at that.
Michael went on the defense, “I always eat healthy but there isn’t much to choose from here and…” He trailed off as he noticed everyone smiling at him. “Ok I just want some junk food. After all this end of the world talk I guess too much sugar, fat and sodium are the least of my worries right now. It might even help… I’ve got to use the bathroom. ”Kayla and Rana were both laughing again.
“I better go too,” John said and the two of them walked off toward the men's room. While in restroom, Michael and John watched the latest news on the screens mounted above their stalls. Aughra had affected thousands of more people throughout the world but mostly in North America. There were reports of numerous accidents and even some deaths because of people blacking out while operating some of the older vehicles and factory machinery without the safety back up from the artificial intelligence.