In Times Like These: eBook Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Nathan Van Coops

  “You said there were three possible outcomes,” I said. “So far we’ve got synths take over the world or ASCOTT eliminates all the synths. What’s the third?”

  “This timestream is one where we eventually fail. The technological singularity occurs, and the synths evolve to a point where they surpass our ability to constrain them. They do eventually acquire all of our knowledge, presumably even the ability to time travel.”

  “What happens then?” Tucket asks.

  “That is our biggest question,” Professor Chun replies. “When it occurs here, the synths don’t fight us. They never wage a war or attempt to subjugate humans. In this timestream, the technological singularity happens so subtly that we aren’t even sure when it occurs. They go totally silent. It’s possible that they evolved in a way that they knew to keep it secret from us. From what we can tell, they abandon earth. They simply leave what’s left of the human race behind.”

  “They just peace out?” Carson asks.

  “That’s what our researchers found,” Professor Chun replies.

  I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees. “Okay, so ASCOTT used the Academy to train researchers and rogue synth hunters, and then you sent them all over to battle synths or whatever, but what has this got to do with the Eternals or saving Mym?”

  Professor Chun takes a deep breath. “In the timestreams where the war occurs, we win by using a very specific weapon that targets the way the synth intelligence functions. We call it the Labyrinth. This device engages a synthetic mind and essentially traps it in a never-ending loop where every thought it makes leads back to the one before. The mind is still intact, but in a state of continuous repetition. It’s a sort of limbo. No matter how advanced the mind, or how many resources it allocates to solve the problem, it still ends up in the same place every time. In fact, the more of the collective mind it uses in its attempts to free itself, the more trapped it becomes.”

  “That sounds cruel,” Tucket says. “You use that on all the synths?”

  “Sacrifices have to be made in the interest of humanity’s safety,” Professor Chun replies.

  Tucket frowns.

  “That still doesn’t explain the Eternals,” I say.

  “Doctor Quickly and his lab were not the only ones to be robbed by this group,” Professor Chun replies. “One of our facilities was hit as well, and they took one of the labyrinth weapons.”

  “They took a portable gravitizer from me,” I reply. “And they stole a bunch of gravitites from the lab in Valencia. What are they doing with all of it?”

  “We’re not sure, but it all points to something big happening this year.” Professor Chun lifts her hand holding the journal. “It’s this news that we’re especially interested in. Harry filled me in on the symbol you’ve been tracking and the places it’s been showing up.

  “Our researchers have been seeing it too, farther and farther back in history now, almost like it’s spreading backward in time. It’s something that might be a vitally important part of the puzzle for us. These people—” She shakes the journal, “seem to be doing something we didn’t think was possible. They’re humans, but they’re not traveling across the restricted line into the future. They’re spreading back into the past, from the future. They’re coming from a time we didn’t think humans could ever come back from, and they’re somehow doing it without our technology or that of the synths.”

  She looks me in the eye. “Mym is in the hands of an entirely new and surprising group of people. Whatever we can learn about them might be vital, not just in saving Mym, but possibly all of us. If we can make contact with them, learn what they know of this future they’ve been living in, we might get help.”

  “These Eternals aren’t exactly the helpful sort,” I say. “More of the attack you in the night, punch you in the face, then steal your girlfriend sort.”

  I reach for the journal and Professor Chun somewhat reluctantly returns it to my hand.

  “Why don’t they have technology?” Tucket asks. “What happened to them? Won’t the future be full of better technology?”

  Professor Chun leans back in her chair. “In the coming years, synths will leap ahead of organic humans in nearly every arena. Trans-humans will keep up briefly, as they are now, but then the exponential growth will leave them behind as well. The only way for humans to stay relevant is to evolve and go fully synthetic. Those that don’t, fall behind or die out, like Neanderthals. It’s only a matter of time. With organic humans no longer relevant, technology based around them dries up. It’s a dark age in that sense. One we didn’t expect to be hearing from.

  “The time travelers we’ve sent to that era bring back data that paints a bleak picture. Synths are so far evolved as to be nearly incomprehensible, and some of the organic humans they’ve run across have turned almost savage by comparison. When the synths disappear, it’s only these devolved humans left over.”

  “And where does that leave Mym?” I ask, not liking the word ‘savage’ being used to describe any people she might be associating with. “What is our plan for getting her back?”

  Doctor Quickly reaches into his pocket and pulls out the sleek black box I delivered to him. “This is not the work of savages. The Eternals who have Mym have a plan, and, whatever it is, they’ve put a great deal of work into it. They want to get to the Alpha—presumably using Mym’s timestream signature to navigate there. They’ve given me the chance to help them, but even if I refuse, they have everything stacked in their favor. They have our equipment, they have ASCOTT’s weapon, and they have Mym.

  “Fortunately, we have time on our side—a time traveler always does. If we use our heads, Mym will spend a bare minimum of time with them before we get her back.”

  “Will you really take them to the Alpha?” I ask.

  “There is nothing I wouldn’t do to get Mym back, but I have little faith in their being true to their word. We need more information on what they’re up to, so we can get her back whether they agree to release her or not.” He looks from me to Carson and finally to Tucket. “How would you gentlemen feel about doing a bit more investigating so that we can organize a rescue?”

  “If it gets Mym back, you know I’m in,” I say.

  “I’m down too,” Carson adds. “Where do you need us to go?”

  Doctor Quickly runs a thumb over the black box in his hand. “We need intel on this group and how they operate. We’ll need to locate Mym, see where they’re keeping her and have a plan for getting her out. We’ll need more resources to make that happen.” He looks to professor Chun. “That’s partly why I brought in Noelle.”

  “I’ll be able to help you a bit there,” Professor Chun says. “ASCOTT can get you up to speed on some of the modern tech. I’ve got a team you can work with. We can outfit you with the gear you need and support personnel that know their way around this type of work. It would of course be easier to organize it all if you were registered with the Grid. We could outfit you with Temprovibes and steer you clear of some hazards.”

  “I think these boys will be all right, Noelle,” Doctor Quickly replies. “They’ve been around a bit now and know how to keep themselves from ending up in the furniture.”

  Professor Chun raises her hands in a palms out gesture of surrender. “I know you all have your own ways, but I have to keep asking. The more travelers we can keep track of, the more we can keep safe.”

  “I appreciate the offer,” I say. “But we won’t be completely out of reach. We’ll at least have Tucket if we really need to . . . um, put him back in touch.” I turn to where Tucket is sitting. “Assuming you still want to come along.”

  Tucket’s brow is furrowed. “I do. I think I do. I’m part of the team, right?”

  “We’ll stick together, Tuck,” I say. I turn back to Professor Chun. “Okay, so you said we’ll be getting some help from your people? What’s the situation with them?”

  Professor Chun gets up from her chair and walks to retrieve a bag on the kitchen table
. When she returns she’s holding a bundle in one hand that looks like a balled up dirty shirt. She places it on the coffee table between us. “These guys I’m going to introduce you to can be a little rough around the edges. I would have introduced you to them here, but Harry thought it best if we keep them in their own environment. They can get a bit . . . touchy in new places.”

  “These people are the best you’ve got?” I ask, eyeing the bundle suspiciously.

  “Yes. When it comes to navigating dangerous territory, I’d trust them with my life. I have, actually. A few times. So has Harry.”

  Doctor Quickly crosses his arms. “That was a long time ago, but yes. I’ve employed their services before as well. I’ll agree that they are . . . effective . . . at what they do.”

  “You’re coming with us, right?” Carson asks.

  “Actually, no.” Doctor Quickly places his hands on his knees and stands up. “Noelle and I are going to work on the analysis end of this operation. Unfortunately, we’re a bit too high profile for reconnaissance work and we need to decide what to do about the Eternals knowing the location of The Alpha and how much of a problem that creates. But we’ll be able to assist you remotely and construct a plan based on your discoveries, and when it comes time to rescue Mym, we’ll of course be there.”

  “How will we get in touch?” I ask.

  “Noelle’s team has that worked out. They’ll be able to communicate to her and she can pass the info to me. Teamwork.”

  “You always told us to be cautious around ASCOTT and, I’ll be honest, after my last trip into the future, they’d probably be my last choice in teammates.” I glance at Professor Chun. “No offense. You’re sure we need these guys?”

  Doctor Quickly has his hands deep in his pockets again. “My cautions about ASCOTT as an organization were based on sound reasoning. I do have issues with the group as a whole, and some significant differences in belief when it comes to how to properly govern time travel, but there is no organization made up of entirely bad apples. Noelle has been a notable exception to their typical philosophy and proof that where there is a will, there will always be a way to find common ground. And these members of her team are more what you’d call independent contractors than actual ASCOTT employees.”

  I reach over to the coffee table and unwrap the dirty bundle. When I unfold it, it reveals a serrated black combat knife. Skewered on one end is a playing card, the king of hearts, stabbed through the center. The card has time coordinates scribbled across the face and over the king’s head I see someone has drawn an arrow with the name “Ben Travers.” I hold the knife up by the handle.

  “Not all bad apples?”

  Professor Chun slides the card off the end of the knife and reads the coordinates. “Well. Not rotten anyway. They may be a little bit bad. Questionable sense of humor to be sure. Dammit. I told them to be polite and just give you a simple anchor to connect with them.” She smiles apologetically. “They don’t mean anything by it. Just having a bit of fun. I promise you’ll get along great once you meet them.”

  I take the card back from her and study the time coordinates.

  “You’ll be able to outfit for the mission once you get there,” Doctor Quickly says. “These guys can show you the ropes and find a way to get you close to The Eternals. This is where we go to work and show these people who they’re dealing with.”

  “I can hardly wait.”

  Chapter 14

  “There are many dangers facing the human race in the centuries ahead. Sadly, most are problems brought on by ourselves. One of the most hazardous is the idea that we are smart enough to fix them all. A truly intelligent species knows that meddling is not often fixed by more meddling.” -Journal of Dr. Harold Quickly, April 12, 2210

  The Neverwhere

  Zurvan is studying me. We are once again gunfighters, faced off across a distance. Cautious. Opportunistic. Deadly.

  “You have learned much,” Zurvan says. “You’re clever. Like the other one. The scruffy one.”

  Scruffy.

  Benny.

  Zurvan moves sideways, keeping his body in profile. We don’t have guns—no need to make ourselves smaller targets in that way—but the movement seems natural. Instinctual. I glide sideways as well, circling in a counterclockwise swirl around the tension between us.

  “I’m sorry we started off so badly,” Zurvan offers, his hands spread wide in front of him. “I tried to kill you when I first met you, and I think, maybe this was a bad decision. You are not like the others.”

  “Others?” I watch his hands warily, ready to flee at the first sign of attack. I’m keeping a memory in the back of my mind. A zone of safety just below the surface, but ready should I need to open a portal.

  “The ones who come here blind. The accidents. The ones who scream that they only made a little mistake. ‘It’s not my fault!’ they yell. Always not their fault. Always accidents. They blunder around, yelling and screaming, praying for deliverance. I know, because I come to them. I do deliver them.”

  “You steal their minds,” I say. “Accidental time travelers. Victims of circumstance.”

  “They are only victims of themselves.” Zurvan sneers and points to his head. “I feel their weakness. Weak minds full of doubt and blame for others. ‘But I’m a good person. Why did this happen to meeee?’ I do these people a service. I let them be right. I take responsibility for their end because they won’t do it themselves.” He stops circling and points to me. “But you. You are different. You did not come here by accident. You or your shabby twin.”

  “What would you know about it?” I ask, trying to sound dismissive, but honestly I’m curious what he might know of Benny’s arrival here.

  “I’ve watched,” Zurvan says. “I’ve seen him, the way he talks to the graves. He is slippery. Hard to catch. But one time I could have taken him. I had him unaware and almost reached out to him, but then I thought, maybe I don’t want this mind. He is—what is the word you say? Troubled. He troubles himself. Lives with pain. He did not come here by accident, but he brought his pain with him. Perhaps that is not a mind I need to see.” Zurvan shrugs. “Or maybe I was just feeling like letting him be. Who can say? I think maybe next time I will see what he has lost that has cost him so much.”

  I’m standing near the location where I saw the teenage girl vanish. Just a short distance from the place where in some distant century a ship will crash land and demolish this section of town. I gesture to the space between us. “Why here? What are you doing here?”

  Zurvan folds his hands in front of himself and looks around. “This is your city. Your memory.”

  “Yeah, but you come here too. This space, but in different times.” I gesture vaguely to the area beyond the restaurant where his ship will one day be. “You keep returning to that bombed-out-looking city. Why stick around?”

  “I can see other places,” Zurvan declares. “I can see the places of the people I have claimed. They show me their memories. But they are not mine.” He holds his hands up and the scenery around us begins to change, water flooding the streets again and the city growing in ruined form across the horizon. “But this is my own. This is what I have left of my own memories. A month perhaps. A short life at the end of the world.”

  His hand passes over his forehead, pushing a strand of hair back under his turban and unconsciously touching the spot where his head was injured.

  “What happened to the rest of your memories?” I ask. “What happened to the rest of your life?”

  “It was purged,” Zurvan replies. “Now I have only this . . .” He raises his hands, encompassing the ruined city “ . . . And this.” The scene around us vanishes and turns to sand. The desert scene he dropped me into before. He’s made the portal shift so broadly and efficiently that I instantly came along for the ride. Iran. Startled and alarmed, I immediately throw my hands out and change it back, hurling the memory of St. Petersburg back into place, my St. Petersburg, whole and complete in 2009.

&n
bsp; Zurvan erupts into laughter.

  “Does the sand frighten you? Are you lost without your pavement and your Tee-ju-ana taco stand?” He continues to chuckle. “You need not fear the desert, my friend. The desert is peace. The desert is home. It was my first home. A long time ago.”

  I’m still on high alert, waiting for some new surprise, but happy that I was able to restore myself to home so quickly. Zurvan seems to be in a good mood and not fighting me for control of the space, but I still distrust everything about him.

  “You are stronger than the others. Able to find your way around this place. Perhaps you have even seen beyond it. Have you seen the real Neverwhere? The relentless threads of time behind these veils?”

  I don’t respond. I merely keep my eyes on him.

  “I think maybe you have.” Zurvan begins his circling again and I move with him, keeping my distance. “So what I wonder is why you are here. You are not troubled in the head like the scruffy one. You don’t cry in graveyards at night. What brought you to this place? You chose this, did you not?”

  “That’s my business,” I reply.

  “You’re not willing to put our differences aside? Perhaps we could be partners. You are alone here the same as me. I could teach you things. Ways to manipulate this place and bend it to your will. I could help you.”

  “The way you helped Leonard?”

  Zurvan narrows his eyes. “Leonard was too late. He failed me. But his training was not a total loss. He succeeded in making me known to his brethren. They send me presents from time to time to appease me, make up for his failures.”

  “Your kid messengers. The ones you sacrifice and rob of their minds.”

  “They offer me their minds,” Zurvan says. “It’s all they have to give for the moment. But I will make more of them soon. My reach has grown beyond this place.”