by D. S. Smith
Catherine looked across at Stuart to gauge his reaction to this announcement. This was all happening so quickly and she wondered how he would cope with it. He had not suffered any further collapses since the coma but had mentioned feeling dizzy and light-headed on a number of occasions when under stress. Considering what he had been through this was not surprising. She now accepted, incredible as it still seemed, that Stuart had passed into their universe from his own through a wormhole. None of them had any idea what affect this process had on the body. The collapses he suffered previously could just as easily been a direct result of this as it could her original diagnosis of psychological stress. Probably a combination of both. Under the circumstances he demonstrated incredible resilience, but she still felt responsible for his wellbeing. She tried to read his face but it gave nothing away. She turned her attention to the professor. “Do you need Stuart and me at the animal tests?” she asked, formulating a plan to get some time on her own with him. “No, that won’t be necessary,” he informed her, “but don’t leave the campus.” This demand annoyed Catherine somewhat but she did not argue.
Before they left the refectory, the professor had Terry brief them on the events in Beijing. Terry reiterated what he had already mentioned to Stuart that David Milton had been rescued unharmed. He told them the Chinese Harmoniser had been shut down and the rogue parties responsible were now in custody. There was no mention of the agent believed to be responsible for their colleague’s death and for the kidnapping of Stuart’s brother.
Chapter 34
Lin Lee retrieved a bag she had hidden in a shipping container at the port several days before the events at the Chairman’s facility. It contained all the travel essentials she had hoped she would not need. As always, her intuition had served her well and she was glad she had prepared for the worst. The bag contained enough clothing, toiletries and basic medicines to get her through the ship’s three-week passage to Australia. It also contained falsified documents, a revolver, a six-inch dagger, a cell phone, a diamond bracelet and ten thousand US dollars. The diamond bracelet held five one-carat diamonds each worth around twenty-five thousand US dollars. Just one of these diamonds was the price for her safe carriage across the Pacific. The rest would keep her going until she could find another source of income. The ship was already at berth taking on supplies. She had checked it out before retrieving her bag and as far as she could see there was nothing to concern her. On arrival at the vessel she was to report straight to the captain on the bridge. She made herself ready for boarding. A change of clothing; baggy jeans, t-shirt, baggy pullover and steel toe-capped boots. She tied her hair up at the back. It was all intended to make her look less feminine and draw as little attention as possible from the crew. In case it didn’t work she strapped the dagger to the side of her right leg and tucked the revolver down the back of her jeans.
Now feeling fully prepared she headed for the cargo ship that was to be her home for the next three weeks. On arrival at the berth she noticed the gangway was down. She stayed out of sight behind a forklift truck for an hour observing movements to and from the vessel. A number of suppliers came and went and a few men with bags that looked very much like sailors embarked via the gangplank. Each person boarding the vessel was greeted by a Filipino-looking man who checked their papers and issued them with a pass. Happy nothing seemed out of the ordinary, Lin Lee approached the vessel and climbed the gangway up to where the man was standing. As with the previous on-signers, he asked her for papers and told her to fill in a visitor’s sheet attached to a clipboard. When he read the name on the passport he informed her the captain was up on the bridge and was expecting her. He pointed to a stairway zigzagging up the port side of the ship. He told her to climb it all the way to the top. On arrival at the bridge she was greeted by the captain who she had previously only spoken to on the phone. His appearance was not what she had expected. Probably in his early forties, he was clean-shaven with shoulder-length hair and strong, handsome features. “Ms Dongmei, welcome onboard.”
He spoke with a strong, Australian accent as he held out his hand to greet her. She shook it firmly and said it was good to finally meet him. She held his gaze seductively and decided she might just be able to have some fun during the sail. Maybe even get the price of her crossing down. Without breaking eye contact the captain informed her he had a cabin ready for her on deck four and one of his stewards would be along shortly to show her the way and help her with her bag. While she waited she joined him for a coffee as they discussed the arrangements made to get her into Australia. He informed her she was registered onboard as a stewardess in order to satisfy the immigration and customs regulations. “Of course your duties will be minimal,” he joked. “I will assist you any way you see fit captain,” she replied flirting with him. He asked her for her passport stating that he had to keep it on the bridge until they reached their destination. When he opened it, he commented on the name. “Vanessa, that isn’t very Chinese sounding?”
“It’s an American passport.” She replied. “Many second-generation Chinese have a combination of Eastern and Western names. So, what do I call you,” she asked, “Captain?”
“It’s Bruce,” he replied. “Bruce? Really! That isn’t very Australian sounding?” She added not being able to resist mocking him for this. Before he had chance to respond the steward arrived to escort her to her cabin. As she departed Bruce asked her to join him in the galley at five-thirty for dinner. “It would my pleasure Bruce,” she replied in a deep, mocking voice as she sauntered off following the steward.
The cabin was much better than she had anticipated. It contained a single bed, a dresser with mirror, a small TV with satellite box and a wardrobe complete with hangers. Opposite the wardrobe was an en suite bathroom with shower, toilet and sink. Her spirits were lifted by the hospitality she had been shown so far onboard and she started to look forward to the passage. It would give her time to think and formulate a plan for what she would do when she arrived in Australia. Having unpacked her meagre belongings she removed the revolver from down the back of her jeans and placed it under the pillow. She locked the door to the cabin before lying down on the bed. She looked at her watch. It was only four o’clock. For the first time in many days she managed to relax and drifted off to sleep. She had been dozing for almost an hour when there was a knock at the door. “Who is it?” she called out. “Steward,” was the single word reply. She recognised the voice as the man who had shown her to the cabin earlier. She opened the door and was informed the captain was in the galley awaiting her company and she should join him as soon as she was ready.
Following a quick freshen up and a change of clothing into something more feminine she headed out of the cabin. The steward had waited to guide her to the galley which was three decks down. As she entered the galley she spotted the captain seated alone at a table under a window on the far side. He had already started his meal. He waved for her to join him. She smiled and headed for the table but before she got halfway across the galley an arm wrapped around her neck from behind and a knee butted into the back of her legs causing them to buckle. She tried to struggle free whilst at the same time reaching to the back of her trousers for the revolver, but the man behind her was too strong. He wrestled her to the ground and before she knew what had happened her hands were handcuffed behind her back and the man had her revolver pointed at her head. She recognised him instantly as the engineer from the facility.
“Get up Ms Lee and don’t try anything stupid,” he instructed her, keeping the revolver trained on her head. She knew it was futile trying to escape. Even as she stood, four uniformed officers entered the room and approached her. Two of the officers flanked her, grabbing an arm each to escort her off the ship. Her captor handed the revolver to one of the two remaining officers and instructed the other to accompany him and the steward to Ms Lee’s cabin.
Before she was led out of the galley she turned to the master of the vessel and coolly shouted, “I’ll see you again
sometime captain, I promise you!”
“I’ll look forward to it Vanessa,” he replied looking up from his plate. “And please, call me Bruce.”
Chapter 35
Catherine asked the group were she and Stuart could go to talk and get a change of scenery. Under recommendation from the professor they headed for the university library accompanied by Terry. The library was housed in one of the campus’s oldest buildings, just a five-minute walk from the refectory. On arrival, they were greeted by an elderly man introducing himself as the head caretaker. The man held a large bunch of keys in his hand but the doors to the library were already open. He gestured for them to enter but they both stopped in the doorway to marvel at the scene before them. It was like looking into a grand banquet hall, but instead of food the tables were set for a feast of literature. Forming a row down the centre of the hall, twenty tables, each big enough to seat twelve readers, stretched out like a platform in front of them. The tables were flanked by ornate wooden archways on either side, providing caverns of mahogany for the readers requiring privacy. Between each archway was a large, wooden door. The room was dimly lit from lighting hanging from the wooden panelled ceiling. Each place at the tables had a lamp to provide an individual light source for each reader. The only natural light in the room came from a large, round, stained-glass window cut into the back wall bearing the crest of the College. “This place is amazing,” Catherine said, “but where are all the books?”
“Ah well, what you looking at now is the reading room,” the old man offered. He entered, beckoning to them to follow. Leading them through one of the archways he stopped in front of a large wooden door adorned with gold, stencilled roman numerals and letters. He pointed to the gold figures. “These figures reference the locations of the books according to the library catalogue.” The original catalogue was a card index but these days it’s all on computers.” He pulled a phone from his pocket. “I’ve got the whole thing on an app on here.” He waved the phone in front of them before putting it back in his pocket. “Amazing really,” he added.
He pushed open the door, revealing an alleyway of shelves housing row after row of books of every shape, colour and size. Catherine noticed the familiar smell she had been expecting when they first entered. The musty, sweet smell that comes with the passing of time and epitomises historical literature. The caretaker informed them there were eleven book rooms like this one. Ten were available to anyone with access to the library, but the eleventh was by special invite only and contained the university’s rarest collections. It was Terry who spoke next.
“The Rare Book Room contains originals of the Gutenberg Bible, works of Shakespeare, four copies of the Magna Carta and a manuscript of The Song of Roland, an epic French poem which is the oldest surviving work of French literature.”
The others stared at him in awe, surprised by his knowledgeable outburst, but they laughed when he pointed to a brass plaque on the wall he had just read from verbatim. Catherine took the lightening of the mood as an opportunity to thank the caretaker for his hospitality and to inform him they did not want to take any more of his time. She asked him where she and Stuart could talk privately. He suggested they use any one of the reading arches. They chose the nearest one to them and made themselves comfortable on seats surrounded by beautifully carved woodwork. Terry and the caretaker headed to the old man’s office for a coffee.
The noise of the heavy wooden doors closing announced their departure. Sat in silence Catherine observed Stuart. He had been quiet throughout the tour and she guessed the prospect of what faced him weighed heavily on his mind.
“Are you ok Stuart?” she asked, sounding concerned. “Yeh, sorry,” he replied “I’ve got a thousand things whizzing around in my head.” He gazed at the ornate wooden arch trying to find the words to convey his thoughts. “The thing that worries me the most,” he revealed turning to look her in the eye, “is what if everyone thinks I’m dead?” How the hell do I deal with that? How will they deal with that?” She leaned toward him over the table and spoke in hushed tones. “As a psychiatrist I should tell you to tell the truth. But no psychiatrist has ever had to advise on something like this before. So I’ll give you advice as a friend. And knowing what that truth is, I advise you lie your socks off, plead total ignorance, like you have no idea what has happened to you.”
She leaned back into her seat having no idea how to properly advise him. This was completely unknown territory and nothing she had ever dealt with could be used to understand what the right counsel would be. She was struggling with what to say to him next but Stuart spoke changing the subject completely.
“Do you believe in God Catherine?”
The question caught her off guard somewhat, but it was a question she had considered many times throughout her life and one that had often conjured up different ideas. The truth was she believed in something, but not a god in the religious sense. “I believe there must be more to our existence than just chance Stuart. I struggle with the notion that life just began with the coming together of the right ingredients at the right time on one planet out of a billion, billion.”
“That doesn’t really answer the question though does it?” he shrugged. “That is just saying that you don’t necessarily believe that life sprang out of the primordial oceans. I suppose what I’m really asking is do you believe there is a purpose to life? Is there somebody or something watching over us? Are we on a predetermined path or are we wandering aimlessly?”
It was Catherine’s turn to shrug. “I can’t answer that question any more than anybody else on the planet Stuart. I can have an opinion and I can take comfort in my own interpretation of things but I can’t tell you what to believe.”
“No of course you can’t and I don’t expect you to,” he smiled.
“It’s just rhetoric, isn’t it? Just something we nonbelievers throw out there from time to time because we can’t take that leap of blind faith that our religious friends can.” He now leaned over the table toward her. “But I think I have it all worked out. I think our need for a God stems from our fear of death and our will to survive beyond the grave. We’re brought into this world with someone caring for us and guiding us through to adulthood. Along the way if they do a good job they instil in us the virtues of life and warn us against the sins of life. Law and society ensue from this giving us the tools to survive through our lifetime to hopefully pass on our virtues to little copies of ourselves. But what is the point of this if it all ends abruptly with our deaths? Well that’s what I think the answer is Catherine. There is no point. We don’t have a say in it. We’re just here to reproduce and life is all about getting us to a point where we’re able to do that. Society, law, virtues and God are all just mechanisms to control the masses. We embrace them because they give us the protection and the hope to carry on. If we didn’t have them chaos would rule and the human race would fail.”
Catherine was somewhat taken aback by this pragmatic outpour. Clearly Stuart was grappling with the meaning of life. Not so surprising considering what had happened to him of late and what he was facing, but a worry none the less. This was a very different Stuart to the one she had grown to know and understand. “That’s all very well put Stuart,” She said, “but what about love, what about the feelings that you have for Lauren and your unborn child?”
“Love is a necessity, just as lust is,” Stuart said, rather coldly. “Two instincts we modern humans have turned into our strongest emotions,” he continued. “Love gives us the desire to bond with a partner long enough to care for our children to an age when they can fend for themselves. Lust gives us the will to want to reproduce in the first place. These instincts are so deeply ingrained in our psyche that even with our advanced brains they still govern us. We are now, for the most part, intelligent enough to decide who we want to love or have sex with. We can even control whether or not that sex results in offspring, but we can’t just ignore those instincts. From the simplest person to the most powerful kings, quee
ns and presidents, our lives are still wholly governed by those two emotions. Of course, some of us are lucky enough to find a partner that can satisfy both those urges for life.”
Catherine now felt as if the outburst was somehow aimed at her. Possibly his way of trying to extinguish any remaining feelings between them. She didn’t want to continue this conversation but was unsure how to end it. She tried to remain professional but her feelings were hurt. “Again, interestingly, if not controversially, put. I don’t see where you’re going with this though Stuart?”
“I’m going home with it, Catherine. I am giving in to my instincts. Despite all that I have learned and seen these past weeks it doesn’t change my fundamental purpose in life. I have to get back to look after Lauren and the baby that we are about to have. For me she’s the one. Despite the risks and uncertainties about how the professor’s machine will work, it is the only opportunity that I have.”
For me she’s the one…
Catherine had planned to try to help Stuart come to an informed decision about his destiny. He was no longer her patient and was making it clear that he would never be her lover. She had nothing further to offer him other than friendship. “That is good to hear Stuart,” she offered with sincerity. “With everything that has gone on I was concerned you were making a decision without fully considering the implications. But to hear you express yourself so resolutely I have no doubt you are ready. Let’s hope the professor’s team are ready.”