The lab owned the island so it was highly possible they were watching everything here too. That could explain the look Adam and Marina exchanged at dinner last night. I realized I did not care. I shook off the suspicion and yelled at the top of my lungs, a long ecstatic "Wahoo!" The noise was swallowed almost immediately by the ocean.
I dropped the pack to the sand and started to roll the sleeves of my shirt up. I looked at my pasty white arms and thought of Marina's tanned slender arms. The only other people on the island were two miles away and suddenly I no longer cared if anyone else was watching. The recovery crew at the lab had seen me naked often enough on my returns anyway. I stripped off my clothes and ran into the ocean.
The water was delightful and crystal clear. I could see my feet on the sand at the bottom. I had not been swimming in the ocean since I was an adolescent and it had been in New Jersey waters which were cloudy and nearly brown. For the first time I felt comfortable in ocean water. I swam out away from the beach until I started to get tired, then turned around and headed back with a lazy backstroke. By the time I got back to the beach I was fairly exhausted.
I took a sip from my hydration pack as I laid my towel out. I laid down on the towel and let the sun dry my skin. A breeze blew across me and raised goosebumps on my arms. I suddenly started feeling uneasy. Perhaps solitude was not meant for me. Everywhere I went in my day to day life, I was watched. Though it was a severe invasion of privacy, it was also somewhat reassuring. There was always someone there. I had no doubt that if I ever had a heart attack or started choking on something, within seconds someone would be there to assist me. In this place with so much open air I felt oddly exposed in this state, uncertain if I was being watched by someone who had my back.
I pulled my clothes back on and untied the boots from my pack to put them on. I hitched the pack back on and opened a protein bar as I headed into the trees towards the center of the island.
A few dozen yards from the edge of the tree line the ground turned into harder dirt. The ground started to slope upwards, but the trees were still dense and tall and provided ample shade from the mid afternoon sun. There was no trail so it was slow going, picking my way through the underbrush, but the mountain was easy to see and I kept making my way straight towards it. I hoped from the top I'd be able to see the huts so I wouldn't have to make a complete circuit of the island to find my way back.
There were plenty of birds in the trees and although I heard something rooting around in the bushes I couldn't see what it was. Adam hadn't mentioned anything about any dangerous animals on the island, but I was a little wary not knowing what it was.
The ground eventually became even more steep and the trees thinned out a little. I slowly picked my way through the brush and remaining trees up the side of the mountain. The ground finally flattened back out and I emerged from the last few trees onto a rocky surface about the size of a tennis court.
I was immediately able to see the ocean in front of me on the other side of the island. I walked towards the middle of the clearing and slowly turned around, taking in the view of the water from all sides. It was a first for me, to be able to see only ocean all around me. I understood what Adam had said about people feeling isolated but the unnerved feeling I had gotten earlier was gone. Being now able to see all around me I felt reassured that I was alone, not being watched by a stranger in the bushes with ill intentions. It was calming.
I made note of where I had come up the mountain and started to walk around the edge of the clearing. One side of the mountain was a rather steep drop off and it looked like there was very little beach at the bottom of it. I was just able to make out the tops of the huts through the trees on another part of the clearing and decided I would head back down closer to that side of the mountain to shorten my return trip.
I sat down on a large rock towards one edge of the clearing to rest. I pulled out another protein bar and sipped some more water while taking in the view again. Aside from the immediate foliage the view to the horizon was nearly indistinguishable from one angle to the next. The lack of visual stimulation caused my mind to zone out, and eventually I realized I was thinking about sailing again.
I sat for a while trying to remember everything Adam had taught me that morning. With my eyes closed I tried to picture the wind vector diagrams he had drawn and again disbelief clouded my thoughts. I smiled and shook my head at my own stubbornness. It would make sense, I reassured myself. Everything would come together when I was out on the sailboat. I tried instead to remember the diagram with the sailboat parts.
My silent contemplation of sailing was broken by another rustling noise in a bush at the edge of the clearing. I turned quickly and although I still couldn't make out what had been in the bushes, I was able to tell from the flash of light off its surface that it was metal. I immediately rose to my feet. “Hello?” I called out. Silence answered me.
I stood for a moment watching the bush closely but could see nothing moving. I took a few steps towards the bush before it shook again. I ran to the edge, listening to the rustling sound traveling away from me and down through the underbrush. I caught another flash of light and saw the unmistakable form of a surveillance bot withdrawing.
I turned away and started the trek down the mountain towards the huts. The calming feeling of being alone had suddenly passed as I looked over my shoulder at least a dozen times on the way back.
Chapter 8
My first few days on the island were wonderful. Adam and Marina were happy to leave me to myself whenever I wanted, and Marina was quick to produce a drink and conversation whenever I wandered by. I had been spending my mornings out on the boat with Adam, and my afternoons indulging in mostly mindless physical activities. I did a proper trek around the edge of the island one day and finally took a lengthy bath in the whirlpool tub when I had returned. I swam a lot and worked on my tan as well.
I ate dinner with Adam and Marina every night. I enjoyed their conversation and since they were cooking for themselves anyway, I didn’t want them to have to make something different for me.
Now that I had confirmed I was being watched, a bit of the magic of the island had died. It was still a glorious place to be and I took delight in all the things I did, but the metal creature had reminded me that I was still at the whim of the laboratory. I wanted to ask Adam and Marina how it felt to have their lives spied upon, but I realized, just as I felt about my job, they probably thought the good parts outweighed the intrusions.
I let them talk about themselves much more often than I talked about my past. The lab had already learned enough about me through my conversations with Noah. For some reason I felt the need to let some part of myself remain secret from them, as though on the island I was a different person, Island Adelaide.
My fourth day out sailing I felt like I really had the hang of it. At least, getting out and back was easy. Maneuvering around the dock was still tricky but with everything else Adam mostly sat back and let me handle things. I found it exhilarating but also very relaxing. It was so quiet and the gentle rocking of the boat in time with the waves was soothing.
I still confused some of the rope lines, but I generally knew what they were for and when to use them. So even if I was surprised when Adam told me to do something with the sheet and I was expecting him to say the halyard, I still did the correct thing.
We were just preparing to do another man overboard drill when Adam pointed into the sky and said, "Look."
I looked in the direction he was pointing. For a moment I saw nothing, but then a glint of light attracted my gaze to a spot off in the distance. It was tiny, and impossible to make out any sort of shape, but it had to be a plane. "The seaplane?"
"Nothing else would be flying this way. The seaplane is the only thing that comes here. We better head back." I detected a bit of anxiety in his voice, though his demeanor remained calm. I helped him swap over the jib and we ran an aggressive pace back to the dock. The plane grew in size as we approached and
passed by us as we were navigating our way to the side of the dock. I saw Jim in the copilot seat. Panic gripped me. This could not be good. Jim wouldn’t just decide to come on vacation while I was here.
The plane landed as we were coming around to the side of the dock. I noticed Marina standing ready with my backpack. Someone must have contacted her that I was going to be taken away. The plane managed to dock right when we did and I jumped out as Adam was tying the boat up. I grabbed my backpack from Marina and ran along the dock to where Jim was just getting out of the copilot seat. He hopped out of the plane just long enough to open the door to the back, gesture for me to get in, and climb in after me.
"What's going on?"
"Later." He wouldn't talk to me the whole ride home. I assumed he didn’t want the pilot to hear what he had to say. The panic started to churn through me. My first thought was something had gone very wrong with my mission. That time had taken a turn it shouldn't have and it was my fault, but argued with myself that I would have known immediately upon returning. Perhaps instead, something I had said to Adam and Marina made them angry at me. I tried to calm myself, but the drone of the engine fighting against the turbulence of the small fuselage and Jim's detached manner were amplifying my uneasiness. The flight was only two hours, but it felt like an eternity had passed when we landed.
We silently got into a car and took off for what I assumed was the lab. My stomach was in knots. I stared at Jim, hoping he would break the silence, but he stared out the window, seemingly lost in thought. A few times his hand went up to his ear as he listened to someone, but he did not volunteer any of what he heard. We finally got to the lab and quickly passed through the vestibule again. Still not speaking, Jim started stalking off towards his office and I dutifully followed for a moment before realizing I was still in my bathing suit and shorts.
"Jim!" He stopped and turned to look at me. I merely gestured at my shorts but he got the point. He changed direction and started walking towards my quarters instead.
He stopped in front of my door and said "Two minutes." That didn’t even leave time for a shower. I put on clean clothes in a soft blue which I hoped would help convey an air of innocence. I had been hoping to take a hot shower to help calm myself but splashing some cool water on my face would have to suffice. When I couldn’t get a brush through my windswept tangles I quickly gave up and pulled my hair into a bun to keep it out of my face. With a sense of dread I went back outside.
Once again Jim led the way to his office. It was in a separate wing in the Mission Enclosure. Though most of us worked from our quarters, Jim preferred to keep his business life separate from his home life. He sat in his desk chair and gestured at the one across from him. "Sit down, Adelaide."
My panic increased. Jim never used my full name. I thought back over my actions since I had returned. Nothing stood out as being out of the ordinary or out of acceptable behavior. I shook a little bit as I pulled the chair out slightly and sat. The nervousness must've been clear on my face.
Jim sighed. He glanced around the room as though looking for someone, then looked back at me and softened his gaze a bit. "You're not in trouble."
"But something's wrong."
"Yes. Yes, Addy, something is terribly wrong. I need to show you something. Subject 34, file f." A picture of a man sprang up on the desk between us. "Do you recognize him?"
I stared at the three dimensional representation of the man's face. "Turn once." The head spun once slowly in a clockwise direction. It was an older man, probably in his early hundreds. His hair was long and wiry, like he hadn't kept it up at all. It was almost entirely gray. He was scruffy, but clearly not from lack of trying to shave. His eyes were familiar but I couldn't place him. "I'm not sure, Jim. Some of his features are familiar but I know very few people that old, and he's definitely not one of them."
Jim sighed again. "Ok. Subject 34, file a."
I understood that this would be the first file on this man, whoever he was. I expected it was some research on a new case, so I was very surprised to see the well-lit White Box with its light gray mats now displayed on four different camera angles in front of me. I could never see the room well, the lights were always so blinding. I saw it clearly now. The aides who collect our personal effects and the sphere were standing by ready for someone's return. I deduced I was about to see that old man arrive. He must have stolen the sphere from someone.
He suddenly appeared in the space and chaos erupted. A look of shock and confusion crossed his face for a split second before he fell over and started screaming. I could only imagine the sort of terror that could be imposed on someone, suddenly arriving in a strange place, blinded and completely disoriented. It was hard enough on us and we were trained for this. We were from this time period, we were used to it.
I watched with sympathy as the man writhed on the floor and vomited. The aides stood back, too frozen with shock to do anything. "Sound," I said. I cringed slightly as his screams filled Jim's office. I could hear Jennifer over the loudspeaker asking what to do. One of the aides had wandered a little closer and grabbed the sphere away from where the man had dropped it on the floor. From one of the camera angles I could see the old man’s eyes as he looked desperately at the retreating aide. Again, something about his look was familiar to me. He closed his eyes again and continued screaming. The other aides had wandered a little closer as well. Jennifer was giving instructions, but from the record I was watching it was hard to hear her voice over the screaming man.
A new panic suddenly filled me. Noah was on his mission this week. It was Noah who should've come back to the return chamber. This man must have discovered the sphere, and not knowing what it was, accidentally activated it. And then more panic. Noah was a man who was clearly smarter and cleverer than those around him in that time period. What if he had been mistaken as a witch? What if they had burned him then gone through his belongings? "My God, what happened to Noah?"
"That's what we need to find out."
I watched for a few more seconds before another dread overtook me. Jim was responding to a different question. That's why the eyes were familiar. He hadn't been left behind. The man screaming and writhing on the floor was Noah.
I leapt out of my seat and screamed at the video. "Noah!"
"Addy, sit. Focus.” His voice was commanding. “Close Subject 34, file a." Jim gave me a concerned but warning stare.
I sat back down. My head was swimming. "Subject 34, file b!" I said, before Jim could say anything else.
The emotionless voice of Sean Connery greeted me; "Subject 34 files subject to clearance level 2 or special access channels."
"All in good time. Calm yourself."
"Jim what is going on? I need to see Noah!"
"You will, trust me, but I need you to focus." I took a few deep breaths but my hands were still gripping the arms of the chair as though it was keeping me from falling off the Earth. "You'll have access to all the files and we'll let you see him, but we need to go over some things first."
"Like what?" The question came out almost as a scream. My breathing had calmed a bit, but I was still overly anxious to see Noah. I was barely sitting on the edge of the chair. Jim didn't say anything, but glared at me for a moment. I took another deep breath, relaxed my death grip on the chair, and slid back into it to sit properly. I grasped my hands together in my lap and focused on slowing my breath. Noah was alive. That was something at least. I would help him. I would find a way. "Okay. What do you know so far?"
"He's been back for about ten hours. His body is of course adjusting to the time shift so he's not in the greatest state right now. He won't eat and can't seem to talk. He appears disoriented. We don't know if he knows where he is or even who he is. However he is doing things that suggest he has some knowledge of what's going on."
I thought back to his pleading eyes looking at the retreating aide. I assumed it was a general plea for help, but perhaps it had been more specific than that.
Jim had pau
sed to take a deep breath and said the next sentence with hesitation. "He appears to have aged about seventy-two years."
I did the math. That would put him at one hundred and twelve years old. How long did people live in the late 1600s? I had no idea but I was pretty sure it wasn't that long. From the images I had just seen, I guessed that he would look to be in his mid-60s to them. "But if his body adjusted to the time period, it would only have been twenty years-"
Jim cut me off. "It doesn't quite work that way, as far as we know. He has aged as he would here, more slowly than he would in the late 1600s. "
I tried to imagine being stuck in Stratford for seventy-two years. I thought I would have gone insane. "So he was there through half of the 18th century." I rested my head in my hands and my elbows on my legs. It was hard to fathom.
"It would appear so. We're keeping him sedated. He looks at Doctor Crebbs like he knows her. We're hoping he'll respond to you in a more significant way."
The Sphere: A Journey In Time Page 7