by Michael Dodd
“Don’t worry,” Juno said as she reached out her hand to make Mick’s acquaintance, “He told me everything. I’d just like to hear from you that this is absolutely necessary and that you can’t get someone else to do it.”
Xylon timidly shook Juno’s hand. He knew of her because he’d been studying Xylon for four years. He relaxed a bit and responded. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Juno,” he said, gesturing to the bench, “Let’s have a seat and I’ll answer all your questions.”
The three sat down and Juno began immediately. “Is there no one else you can find to do this?” she asked. “Preferably,” she added, “someone who’s not in a close relationship?
Mick Jagger smiled. “When Gaia…that’s the woman who gave the amulet to me…asked me to come back to 2125 and stop an asteroid from destroying the earth, I was in a relationship and was very much in love. In the end, my girlfriend, Marilyn Monroe, saw the wisdom of allowing me to do something that was for the greater good.”
“You haven’t answered my question,” Juno said, “Why him?”
“Because he is the most likely to succeed,” Mick said in response, “He’s also the most likely to be able to understand the complexities of their culture and thrive in its various idiosyncrasies. I’ve done a rather exhaustive search; Xylon is the right person for the job.”
Xylon turned to Juno and said, “You and I are only 25 years old. If I went back to 2065 and then lived on until the present time, I’d only be 85.”
Juno looked at him as if she’d forgotten his name. “85?” she said with incredulity, “You wanna leave and then pick our relationship up when you’re 85?”
“No,” Xylon said, “but, at least I might get to see you again. Maybe I can even live near you and watch you grow up.”
Juno shuddered visibly for effect. “Ooh, how creepy.”
“I’m just saying,” he added, “that it gives me comfort to think I could see you again. You would be about the same age, but I’d be a lot older.”
Juno’s eyes began to water. She kn ew when she arrived that Xylon was going to make the trip; she just wanted to be with him when he made his final decision, which he’d clearly done. She gave Mick one last glance. “Do you really think he’d be able to stop World War III?”
“I’m certain of it,” Mick said, “I know exactly how the war came about and the precise flash points that led to its eruption. If Xylon interrupts any one of those flashpoints, the war will not have occurred, and a completely different future will have been created.”
“I’m assuming,” she said, “it will be a better future than the one we’re living in?”
“I believe it will,” Xylon answered. “Omni will never have taken over the world; the nation states will have continued on as before; men and women will have never been put in bondage and the three of us, as well as billions of others, will be afforded the opportunity to live in freedom and selfdetermination. Isn’t that worth the suspension of one relationship?”
Juno rested her head of Xylon’s shoulder. She k new he was going and that it was almost certainly for the best. She decided to trust the man that she’d loved for most of her life and allow him to do what he believed needed to be done. In her mind, that was all any woman could do.
CHAPTER THREE
Xylon had always been reasonably sure his apartment was monitored with audio surveillance only; but, he wasn’t about to take the chance that Victoria was eyeballin’ him. When he and Juno returned to the apartment, he placed the amulet that Mick Jagger had given him under a towel in the bathroom. He felt comfortable that Victoria was deferential enough to allow him his modesty.
He would return to the park with Juno for the next three nights, asking questions and receiving advice and information from Mick Jagger. On the third night, Mick showed up with his old girlfriend, the 84 year old, Marilyn Monroe. That was a real eye-opener for Juno, who imagined seeing an old and decrepit Xylon only a few days from now.
At some point in their conversation, Juno recalled the name Marilyn Monroe as that of a famous 20th Century actress. Mick Jagger told her that the people in his time would, more often than not, use the names of famous historical figures to identify their children. In fact, as Mick described it, his father, Gregory Peck, and his mother, Ginger Rodgers, were fascinated with the entertainment industry and named their children accordingly. He only hoped, he said, that his mentor, Engelbert Humperdinck, would be proud of what he had accomplished.
The most frightening piece of information Juno received from Mick, was the fact that once Xylon made the time jump to the past, her whole world would change completely; at least, so he explained. Consequently, she would be unaware that any changes had occurred, since the focal point of the temporal correction would be before her birth. In addition, she would be unaware of any prior relationship with Xylon. When and if he ever showed up as an old man, she would be wholly unaware of having ever known him. While one would think Xylon would experience the same memory loss, the temporal movement, he was told, would protect him from its occurrence.
Naturally, the question of their very existence was brought up. Xylon posited that such a drastic change in world development might prevent both he and Juno from having ever been born. It was unlikely, he suggested, that the process used to create them would be used in a world of freedom and self-determination. People would marry and have their own children, as they’d done for millennia.
Mick Jagger assured them that this was not the case. “I’m not sure how it all works;” he told them, “but, the two of you will enter this world on the same date as before. Since Xylon will be ‘taken out’ of this timeline, his beginnings will not change for him; however, Juno will be born of a woman in the same general area as before. She will simply experience a different life story than before: likely, a more pleasant one.”
Mick and Xylon went over the known history since 2065. They discussed the best temporal focal points to concentrate on and the most easily accomplished alterations that would assure that World War III would never occur. While Mick had no actual experience in the timeline in which Xylon would be living, he had practical experience and much more detailed historical information. He gave Xylon every bit of understanding he thought he might need.
Mick also reminded Xylon that no two objects could occupy the same area of space-time; therefore, it was imperative that he leave from a place known in 2065 to be vacant. In fact, since Xylon would leave on July 30, he needed to be sure the space he appeared in on July 30, 2065 would be unoccupied. This, Mick explained, was easier said than done.
Even if he stood out in an open field, he needed to be sure there would not be a tree or a bush in that spot at that time in 2065. The city of Chicago was one of the largest cities in the United States of America, the nation state Xylon would soon visit. There were not a lot of open spaces.
In the end, it was decided that he go to an outcropping of land in old Chicago, called Promontory Point Park. He could then step into Lake Michigan at the water’s edge and transport to 2065. Water, Mick said, had no effect on space-time equations. He could stand in the water without fear of occupying different water in 2065. Mick Jagger was sure he would be safe.
“What if there are people there?” Xylon asked. “If I suddenly appear out of nowhere, won’t that cause a stir?”
“In fact,” Mick said, “it won’t. Once you arrive, you will belong to that time frame. As far as the people around you will know, you will already have been there. Don’t ask me to explain temporal physics,” Mick pled, “It’s all Greek to me.”
“Excuse me,” Juno interrupted, “but how do you know stopping World War III will turn the world into some kind of paradise?” She still held out hope that Xylon would stay.
“I’m not saying it will be paradise;” Mick said, “but, in my time, it is understood that World War III was the catalyst for the formation of a one-world government. That government must never be allowed to form.”
“Why?” Juno asked. “It
seems to me, Omni is the problem. I’m not as knowledgeable about history as the two of you; but, I’d bet if you kept him from coming to power, a lot of the problems we now face could have been avoided.”
“You’re right, Juno,” Mick said, “However, when the whole world is governed by a single entity, whatever that entity might be; eventually, someone will come to power that will try to play God. It’s a mathematical certainty.”
“Well, isn’t that what you’re doing now?” Juno argued, “If this doesn’t qualify as playing God, I don’t know what does.”
“You’re right, I suppose,” Mick responded. “But, if I hadn’t come and stopped that asteroid, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. We’re not trying to play God as much as trying to go back and stop others from playing God: people who started world wars, for instance. People like Omni, who think they know better than you how you should live your life.”
Xylon turned to Jun o. “Juno, I’ve decided this is too important not to take a chance. I think this will change the world for the better and I believe your life will change for the better, as well. I’m going, so let’s stop asking questions about why and start asking questions about how.”
Juno teared up again, but didn’t argue the point. Mick noticed and added, “You know, in my time, we were lucky not to have a tyrant as our world leader; but, if our form of one-world government were allowed to continue, a tyrant would be along soon enough.” He could see by Juno’s expression that she’d made her peace with it. Nevertheless, he added, “Elvis Presley, one of my people’s great thinkers, once said, ‘Though you be a saint; unrestrained, you will become the devil.’”
Mick could do and say no more to prepare Xylon for his trip. The three exchanged hugs and Xylon and Juno headed back to apartment 22B. Mick Jagger left for his home. Now that his work was done, he needed to make a life for himself in this timeline. If Xylon was successful, the world he’d come to would soon be a very different place than the one he’d arrived at.
Xylon and Juno had decided that after work the following day, Xylon would travel to Promontory Point and find out if Mick Jagger was as good as his word. He would give the IQ unit in his automobile some lame excuse and then instruct it to return the vehicle to the apartment complex. Assuming he was able to travel to the past and change the future, no excuses would be needed anyway.
‡
When Victoria roused the two lovers at 0600, they hesitated to get up. Juno was particularly insistent that the two make love one last time. She also suggested that the two take a personal day off and spend it together. Since this was not terribly frowned upon, Victoria offered little resistance to the idea, even contacting their respective employers and informing them of the change in plans.
After an extra hour in bed, the two arose and ate breakfast. They decided that Xylon would be better off transporting into the future in the daylight. He might need time, once he arrived, to make arrangements for food and lodging.
Since the two were now unwavering in their
commitment, they left for Promontory Point in Xylon’s bright-red Mercedes Orion just after noon. When they arrived, the area looked like anything but the recreational park Mick Jagger had described. Of course, he was describing the park as it was supposed to look in 2065; now, it looked like a terra cotta garbage scow. Fortunately, however, it was secluded and uninhabited.
When the vehicle pulled up to the area Xylon demanded, the IQ unit tried to make sense out of it. “55BXD0314, is this the correct destination? There seems to be no one in the vicinity.”
“Yes,” Xylon said, “Just wait here. Juno will be returning soon and you are to take her back to our apartment. I will call for you to pick me up at a later time. Is that understood?”
“Yes,” the IQ unit said, “I understand. Standing by.”
Xylon and Juno exited the vehicle and walked far enough to be out of the IQ’s ability to monitor. The two embraced and said their goodbyes. There was no need to extend them, they’d made their peace and exchanged goodbyes before they’d ever gotten in the automobile.
“I love you,” Juno said, as Xylon walked toward the water’s edge.
He turned back and replied, “I love you, too. No matter how old I am, I’ll find you and tell you what happened.” He turned and walked into the water, stepping over discarded refuse with each step.
He lifted the strap from the small shoulder bag Mick had given him and draped it over his shoulder. When he was sure he was in the water, but not too far away from the shore, he reached into his right pants pocket and pulled out the amulet. He turned it over a few times, reminding himself that it was important that he use the correct side. Going back 60 seconds in time would be of little use at this point.
Once he was sure which side was which (raised side for 60 years, etched side for 60 seconds) he turned his head back toward Juno and smiled. He then placed his right thumb firmly on the center of the raised side of the amulet and pressed down for five…four…three…two…one…
In an instant, the bright-red automobile and the woman who came to see him off…disappeared. One no longer existed and the other was just getting out of a physics class at the University of Chicago. Of course, Xylon was unaware of any of this; all he saw was a beautiful, treelined park, filled with men and women, children and…dogs? Wow! Dogs!
Trying to appear as though he intended to be standing in the water, Xylon slowly turned and sloshed his way back to the well-manicured grass of the shoreline. As he did, he nonchalantly glanced around, trying not to look like a child at his first circus.
It didn’t take more than a cursory glimpse to see that this timeline was nothing like his own. Everything was so, relaxed and peaceful. The men and women, along with what must have been their very own children, rested under trees, ran along grass or frolicked at the water’s edge.
Xylon could not take his eyes off the dogs. They lay beside the people; ran alongside them and chased after flying discs thrown by the children. Having seen only a few images of dogs and having never seen a living one, the whole human-animal relationship fascinated him. These creatures were treated, and acted, as if they were members of the family.
W ell, enough of that, Xylon thought, I’d better do some exploring. So, he sauntered back toward the mainland and the direction of the high-rise buildings he could see in the distance. That, he assumed correctly, was downtown Chicago. He needed to find lodging and familiarize himself with the customs of this time.
According to Mick Jagger, this is a nation state, separated by laws and culture from the rest of the world. It is called, the United States of America, a nation state consisting of 51 separate states formed into a union of one nation. According to Mick, it is the most progressive, powerful and evenhanded nation in human history.
The monetary system is quite different from Omni, Mick explained. In this society, money is used instead of units of credits. The money is electronically maintained, as well as physically printed and coined. To that end, Mick gave Xylon a large and very heavy piece of gold. He instructed him to find a “pawn shop” in the city and ask them to give him money for the gold.
Xylon walked almost ten city blocks before he decided to stop someone and ask about the pawn shops. He gestured to a man who passed by without seeming to notice him. He then tried to flag down an elderly woman on some kind of a personal motor vehicle. “Excuse me, Ma’am,” he said, “Can you help me?”
The old woman raced by him on her “Lil Scamp”, nearly running him over in the process. He noticed a darkskinned woman seated on a bench just ahead. Not really understanding the concept of “race”, but himself having dark skin, Xylon approached her and inquired about the location of a local pawn shop.
“A pawn shop?” she said, surprised that anyone would ask the question. “Why, of course there’s a pawn shop in Chicago! What do you think this is, China?”
“Do you know where I might locate a pawn shop?” he asked, naively.
The woman rolled her eyes, turne
d and pointed behind her. “There,” she said, “down on East 56th Street, right across from the library. My soon-to-be-ex-husband pawned our living room suite there. It’s called U of C Pawn.”
Xylon thanked the kind but odd woman and walked the block to U of C Pawn. When he walked in the door, he found the whole place to be treasure trove of ancient artifacts. Perhaps, sometime in the future, he’d explore places like this and see all the fascinating paraphernalia to an earlier time in history. Now, however, he had business to attend to.
He noticed an overweight and disheveled looking man behind a large piece of glass. The glass had a whole in the front. The man seemed to speak to the customers through it. Why anyone would wish to put a barrier between themselves and those with which they wished to do business was anybody’s guess, Xylon thought.
When the customer in front of him turned and walked out of the shop with some type of musical instrument, Xylon approached the window and withdrew the large piece of gold Mick had given him.
“I’d like to trade this in for monetary currency,” Xylon said, assuming he was speaking the correct lingo.
The man took the nugget and ogled it for a moment. He turned it over and over before asking, “Where did you get this?”
Xylon responded, “It was given to me by my father. He found it back in 2040 in the mountains of California. He said it was worth a lot of money.” (Mick Jagger gave Xylon this bit of fiction, explaining that pawn shops were always afraid that an object had been stolen, or “hot”, as Mick put it.)
The man gave Xylon the “hairy eyeball”, but there was no reason to assume the gold had been stolen. It had obviously never been melted down or cast in any way. He weighed the nugget and found it to be almost 12 troy ounces. “I’ll give you $15,000,” he said, finally. “You could probably get a little more from a bank, but they’d make a big deal out of it and you’d end up having to pay taxes on it.”
Xylon had no idea what taxes were. He’d never paid them. Credit units were digitally deposited into his account each week and he spent the units as he saw fit. He wanted to ask the man if $15,000 was a lot of money; but he didn’t want to appear naïve. Instead, he would ask a question that killed two birds with one stone.