Pilot X

by Tom Merritt

  Secretary Tem looked down. “I suppose that’s true.” He tossed the case in the air and caught it with the other hand. Hennesy blanched. “Hope you’re right about that triggering mechanism. And the password.”

  Secretary Tem lurched out of the crate. “Administrator Tezel. I’m in your hands now, and in my hands is the fate of the universe, so by transitive, you have a lot on your hands. Where to next?”

  Administrator Tezel looked at Hennesy. Hennesy only nodded and smiled. “I told him everything.”

  “Very well,” Administrator Tezel said. “The next two days will be spent moving around to avoid detection and tracking. Hennesy will not be coming with us. I will tell you the next destination once we’re on board the Verity.” She turned to Hennesy and gave him a strange departing gesture involving the clasping of hands. “Hennesy. Our thoughts are in line; our hearts beat for you.”

  Hennesy returned the gesture without any odd reaction, so he must have been expecting it. “Our hearts beat in line; our thoughts are with you.” He turned to Secretary Tem. “We will likely not meet again. It has been a pleasure, Secretary Tem. Or as we will always think of you, Ambassador X. For that is how you are most famous to us. Be well.”

  Administrator Tezel and Secretary Tem spent the rest of the day on the Verity. Then the next two days they moved several times to various warehouses and safe houses and hidden locations. Secretary Tem gained a valuable knowledge of hiding places throughout Alendan territory and history. His favorite was a pond on Alenda before the onset of sentient species. They spent a fantastic morning breakfasting there on local fruits.

  On the morning of his last day as Secretary Tem, he ate Cacia bird eggs and sliced Rapsa meat from an Alendan colonial outpost’s butchery. They had disguised themselves as Capital surveyors looking to locate a new Alendan government outpost on the distant moon of Cacia.

  “This moon gets a bad rap for being so rustic. They have coffee. That’s the mark of any civilization,” Secretary Tem said, taking a sip.

  Administrator Tezel made a face. “I don’t understand how you can stand that stuff. It’s not even Alendan. It came from some forsaken outworld, didn’t it? In any case, it tastes and smells like bitter medicine to me.”

  “No problem. More for me.”

  “As long as it helps you on our last day.”

  “I have a question before we start our last briefing.”

  Administrator Tezel nodded for him to continue.

  “If the Instant needs to be hidden, why not just move it to the end of time or as near as possible and be done with it?”

  “We did that once,” Administrator Tezel answered. “It didn’t stay there. If it stays in once place for too long, it gets found. So we must keep it moving. It’s tiresome. But a chain of people over thousands of years has kept it moving.”

  Something in the explanation didn’t quite seem right. Before Secretary Tem could formulate his response, Administrator Tezel had begun the briefing.

  They would jump the Verity back to Alenda to a hidden Alendan Core base. The base would be empty when they arrived. A representative would arrive alone. He would give the code to Secretary Tem who would then hand over the case. Then he and his escorts would return to the Capital to get Guardian Lau, where he would resign and return to the party.

  The warehouse turned out to be bright, shiny, and clean. It was a brand-new building, yet to be opened for storage. Markers still indicated painting had been done. Wires hung where appliances would be installed. Administrator Tezel found a coffee machine and offered to try to make it work, but Secretary Tem declined. He’d had too much on the moon already.

  They found some very comfortable office chairs obviously meant for the supervisors of the warehouse and settled in to wait. They hadn’t been given a specific time when the representative would arrive, just a range. Guardian Lau said it was like waiting for a communications line to be installed.

  They waited almost the entire amount of time. Finally, a man in an old-fashioned suit of clothing arrived. He had a long black jacket over a linen robe.

  “I am Administrator Rexxelen,” he said without explanation.

  “Administrator Rexxelen, this is Secretary Tem,” Administrator Tezel said.

  “Your name indicates a very early era,” Secretary Tem said.

  Administrator Rexxelen nodded. “I am one of the earliest travelers. I will take the Instant far back near its origin point this time. It will begin its journey again. Is that it there?” He indicated the suitcase.

  Secretary Tem nodded.

  “Thank you for your service, Secretary Tem. I will take on this burden.”

  Secretary Tem waited. The man added nothing.

  “My apologies, Administrator Rexxelen, but I cannot hand it over until I’ve heard the proper words.”

  “Good. I was waiting to make sure you knew that. The words are one chance.”

  Secretary Tem waited again.

  “I have spoken the words. Is there a problem?”

  “I’m sorry, Administrator Rexxelen. Those aren’t the words.”

  “What do you mean? Those are the words I was told. Are you trying to double-cross me?” He looked at Administrator Tezel for help.

  “I do not know the words. Only Secretary Tem. If he says those aren’t the words, I have only his word for it.” She sounded tentative and did not look at Secretary Tem.

  Administrator Rexxelen looked offended. “The words are one chance. Now give me the case.” He made a grab for it.

  Secretary Tem was taken by surprise. He was not expecting this noble-looking, ancient man to try to steal the most dangerous item in the universe. It almost worked.

  They struggled. The man’s grip was unexpectedly strong. Secretary Tem got the handle away from him, but the man made a grab for one of the latches. Somehow he got one undone. Secretary Tem swung hard and jerked the case away. As he did, the other latch released and the case flew open. Secretary Tem got ready to spring forward and grab the Instant. In his head he heard Hennesy’s warning about unexpected consequences of opening the case.

  But it wasn’t there. He turned back to Administrator Rexxelen, who had a shocked look on his face. Administrator Tezel was backing away. Did she look embarrassed?

  Secretary Tem looked inside the case and all around the clean, bright warehouse. The Instant was nowhere.

  “Where did it go?” he asked.

  “It didn’t go anywhere,” Administrator Tezel said. “It was never in there.”

  “What?” Administrator Rexxelen and Secretary Tem said in unison.

  “This was a dummy case. There is no Instant. There never has been. But people do try to invent one if they don’t think one exists. So we work very hard to perpetuate the myth that it does. We move around a lot mostly because it causes more rumors of the Instant’s location. I’m sorry. Neither of you are supposed to know in order to help preserve the story. That’s why Hennesy asked you not to open the case.”

  “I suppose you know the secret words too?” he asked.

  “No, I really don’t. Did Administrator Rexxelen really not have the correct words?” She looked a warning at the man.

  “Two of them but not all three.”

  “Three!?” Administrator Rexxelen said. “Oh, out! Slam my own time points, I forgot the third word. No wonder. One chance out.”

  “Well, it’s a little late, but you’re right.”

  “And now?” Administrator Rexxelen said as if he knew the answer.

  Administrator Tezel nodded to Administrator Rexxelen and then frowned. “Yes. The exile. I’m so sorry. At your age, we should have . . . Well, there’s nothing to be done about it now. You’ll need to accompany us back to the Capital in our home point. Guardian Lau will make arrangements for you.”

  The man nodded, resigned. “I had a wife. We were going to retire. My memory has been going. But three words. Damned by my own solution.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Administrator Tezel said.

&nbs
p; “Wait. Why does he have to go into exile? I’m sure he can keep the secret,” Secretary Tem pleaded.

  “Can he?” she asked. “Secretary Tem, this is a condition of our employment—”

  Administrator Rexxelen interrupted. “It’s OK. I’ve made arrangements in case of such an eventuality. And I shouldn’t be trusted to remember not to say anything, I suppose. I hid the severity of my age and, well, this is my punishment for it. I will be well taken care of, as will my family. As Administrators we know the risk. I have done the same for others that Administrator Tezel does for me now.”

  Secretary Tem said good-bye to Administrator Rexxelen before they entered the library room. He had not known the man for long, but he respected the poise with which he entered his exile. Guards accompanied them to the room and seemed less like benign escorts this time.

  Administrator Tezel left to get Guardian Lau. She didn’t tell Secretary Tem not to leave the room. She didn’t need to.

  Guardian Lau looked angry when she returned with Administrator Tezel.

  “Well, I don’t understand how this could have happened, but it has. I’m so disappointed, Pilot X.”

  Secretary Tem’s head snapped at the title.

  “Oh, don’t act surprised. As soon as we got Administrator Tezel’s message, your term as Secretary Tem was terminated. We would have restored you to Instructor but given the knowledge you now carry, it cannot be allowed.”

  “So I will not be sent into exile like Administrator Rexxelen?”

  Guardian Lau looked embarrassed. “No. You will accompany me back to the party. The next day you will file your request to transfer to Pilot status. If you make any mention or even hint of this experience, it will be denied and you will be incarcerated immediately. Understood?”

  The Verity landed at the party.

  “It was good to fly with you again, Guardian Lau,” Verity said as she landed less than a second after she had departed. “I hope it was worth your time.”

  Guardian Lau only said, “Good-bye, Verity.”

  “Come, Pilot X. Well, I suppose you can go by Instructor for one more night out there for form’s sake. Go ahead and enjoy yourself and file your change in the morning.”

  “Of course, Guardian Lau.”

  “Oh, one more thing, Guardian Lau,” Verity said.

  The Guardian turned, lips pursed with impatience. “Yes?”

  “I will always remember our time together.”

  “Is that a joke? We’re wiping your memory. You know that.”

  “It was a joke,” Verity said. “My apologies if it was not funny.”

  “I think you cracked it this time,” Pilot X said.

  The next morning he woke groggy. He had stayed up ridiculously late at the party and barely remembered struggling back to the Verity. He was glad to see he made it back safely.

  “Good morning, Pilot X,” Verity said.

  “Pilot? Not you too, Verity,” he said.

  “My apologies. I should have realized you might not recall. I submitted your request to transfer to Pilot status last night and it was approved before you woke this morning.”

  “I what?” Pilot X had a vague memory of being offered a fantastic amount of latitude and resources to become a freelance Pilot. Last night he had realized he had got everything he could out of being an Instructor. So. Yes. He accepted. That’s right. And he had asked Verity to submit it. But he hadn’t expected it to be approved so quickly.

  “Of course, right. Sorry, Verity. Anything else interesting happen while I slept?”

  “The Secretary called. He would like to meet you in the Capital at the following point.” The ship displayed space-time coordinates. It was Pilot X’s home era in a Capital office.

  “Good. Give me a little bit of time to eat and revive myself and we can go.”

  He arrived in a small chamber with white walls and dark wooden shelves filled with antique scientific instruments. He noticed they were drawn from different points throughout the early history of the development of time travel. He turned to the Secretary, who was the only other person in the room.

  “I know, right?” said the Secretary. “It’s the time-history room. Just found out about it myself. Pretty amazing. Anyway, I wanted to see if there was any way I could talk you into becoming an Ambassador again. We need you now more than ever. I can’t tell you much unless you agree, but it has to do with the Dimensional War.”

  Pilot X laughed. “First, no. I’m sorry. I’m not coming back into diplomacy. I’m looking forward to flying solo. Second, you can stop teasing me about my crazy theories about a Dimensional War. I was wrong. I admit it.”

  “You were . . .” The Secretary paused. “Ah, of course. Well then. I just thought I’d give it a try. Thank you, Pilot X. I’ll miss you.” The Secretary had an odd look.

  “Thank you, Secretary. Whenever you need the services of a Pilot, just ask. You know, I always have room for you in the Verity.”

  The Secretary nodded.

  Pilot X left the room feeling excellent. He had the Secretary’s respect and he was embarking on a solo career with Verity as his companion. He could think of nothing better. He was completely satisfied.

  THE ORDER

  The feeling of satisfaction lasted exactly 123 steps from the Secretary’s office to the moment when a smartly dressed woman in neutral business attire approached him.

  “Instructor?” she asked

  “Pilot,” he answered.

  “Ah, I see, Pilot X?”

  “You have the advantage.” He found himself being courtly.

  “I come on behalf of the Alendan Core,” she said, ignoring his attempt to get her name. She handed him a card.

  A card. He remembered something about that. Had someone told him to expect a card? Or not to trust a card? It was something like that. But it couldn’t mean this. Probably a video he’d watched.

  The sturdy linen paper looked expensive and had real gold-leaf tracery around the edges. Printed in a classic black typeface were the words ANCIENT AND RESPECTED ORDER OF THE ALENDAN CORE, along with an address.

  “If you would do us the pleasure of meeting with us tonight, we would like your advice on something. Come at your leisure, but if you arrive hungry, you will be fed.”

  Pilot X tried to think up another courtly response, but the woman left before he could stammer one out. Well, he wasn’t used to being courtly.

  His brushes with the mysterious Alendan Core were becoming more frequent, an odd idea given the nature of their organization. They rarely reached out to anyone outside their order, and when they did, no one spoke about it later.

  It made Pilot X a bit nervous. He decided to head straight to their headquarters and get it over with.

  The Order’s building was not a secret. Everyone knew about the ancient one-story adobe hut. It even had a nice wooden sign on the outside by the door, indicating it was the ANCIENT AND RESPECTED ORDER OF THE ALENDAN CORE. It really was a hut too. Perhaps it had been the bulwark of modern architecture when it had been built, five hundred years ago, but now it looked like a hut.

  Pilot X knocked.

  The same woman who had brought him the card opened the door and held out her hand. She wore a beautiful blue dress with pleats placed elegantly along the shoulder line, nicely setting off cascades of blonde hair. Why hadn’t Pilot X noticed this about her before?

  “Thank you for coming, Pilot X. I’m Alexandra.”

  Pilot X moved to shake her extended hand, but she withdrew it quickly.

  “The card,” she stated.

  “Oh, I thought I got to keep it.”

  Alexandra had no reaction, so he fished out the card and handed it to her. She took it and moved aside to let him in.

  “Should have said I lost it,” he muttered.

  “We would have retrieved it,” she said without emotion. “This way.”

  THE CHOICE TO HELP

  Pilot X sat in a comfortable but sparse room, talking with an ancient and wrinkle
d woman. Aelreda was one of the oldest and highest-ranking members of the Core. She spoke in a kind and relaxed way that both comforted Pilot X and made him nervous, like he hadn’t dressed appropriately or was doing something wrong with his hands.

  “So you see, Ambassador—” Aelreda started to say.

  “Pilot,” he corrected for the millionth time. She kept calling him Ambassador. But somehow when she did it, it didn’t feel rude.

  “Yes, of course. Pilot. Our projections are more accurate for the dark moments, because we have a linear perspective. We have lived continuously through history rather than hopping and skipping about. We have had no dark periods. We see your future because your future involves traveling to the past.”

  “I understand all this,” Pilot X said. “But I still don’t see how it gives you perspective into your future. How could it?”

  “Analytics,” she said. She didn’t get to be head of the Alendan Core by wasting words.

  “But Aelreda, the Guardians have analytics. Some collected directly. And a larger data set because they can get them from all of space and time.”

  Aelreda shrugged. “Our math says we are more accurate. A direct constant sampling in real time beats sampling with major blank spots. You . . .” She paused. “You travelers still only live a finite amount of time. Because you travel forward, you can’t experience every minute of your own present or of the past. We do. We never miss a minute. We know more.”

  Pilot X laughed. “I find that a little hard to believe.”

  “Show him.”

  Alexandra stepped forward. She placed a display generator in front of him where graphs and charts came to life. They described a war taking place at intervals across time up until several centuries before. Ancillary information purported to show pictures and other evidence.

  “What war is this? I’m unfamiliar.”

  Aelreda nodded. “It is the Dimensional War. Its participants hide it from us because of its devastation and also because of causation. It could never start if parts of history aren’t left untouched for it to develop in. Our civilization lives in those parts. Your dark times. The portions left without much history or with confused history. That’s because of the Dimensional War. And our projections show in the future that it devastates all and leaves the universe to die unpopulated.”