by Steve Howrie
“Has he told you what he does for living?” I asked the barman, indicating Smirnoff.
“Aye, he has – he’s told me all about it, and I’m certainly interested. I might just give him a call.”
“Really?” I replied, curious about what Smirnoff had told the man.
“Aye, I’ve wanted to put an extension on the back o’ the hoose for a wee time now, and this gentleman might get some business from me.”
“Ready to go?” Smirnoff asked me.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
We checked out of the hotel, and Smirnoff insisted on taking the wheel for the drive up to the Highlands. I suppose he wanted to earn his dosh. The journey from our hotel to Callander was less than sixteen miles, and took us thirty minutes to get there. We chose this town because it was inland, 130 metres above sea level, and at the foot of a range of mountains. So there was a very good chance it would survive the flood. But, as Niki pointed out, the town in 2,200 years’ time might be very different – if it was still there at all. It wasn’t unusual for the River Teith to break its banks and flood the town, so that was an ominous sign for the future.
From the town, you don’t have to go far to reach the hills. We drove a little way out and parked the van in a forest park, from where we could look down on Callander. It was very much a picture postcard sort of town, with really just one main street, and it had been used in various films over the years. The buildings were either grey or red brick and the tallest building was, by far, the local church.
We readied ourselves for the jump again, taking what we thought we would need from inside the van. Holding on the vehicle firmly, I shouted “Any last requests?”
“Keep us dry!” shouted back Niki. Then we leapt forward.
*
Think about what buildings can still be seen around the World from 2,200 years ago? Really only Roman and Greek stone structures remain to this day, albeit in a ruined state. Brick buildings rarely stand the test of time. In Callander 4200 CE, we saw the time–decayed remains of what we had seen two minutes previously, now swamped in what had been a fast flowing river, but was now a sizable lake covering most of the town. Clearly, no–one was living there now.
There was little point investigating this area further, so we returned to the van and drove towards the range of hills and mountains in the near distance. So far, we had seen no evidence of human life in 4200 CE… but that was about to change.
As we drove onwards and upwards, the eerie silence felt a little disturbing. This part of Scotland had always been a quiet part of the country, though in the summer season you could be bumper to bumper with thousands of tourists heading for the Scottish hills. Now, not even a bird sang. But what was most noticeable, was there were no trees! I had noticed the lack of foliage when we made the jump, but not thought much of it. You’d expect a few changes after more than two millenniums.
“It looks like Orkney,” Smirnoff observed.
“You’ve been to the Orkney Islands?” I exclaimed.
“Sure, I did a job there once. Inside an Indian Restaurant in Kirkwall.”
“That was you?”
Smirnoff nodded and smiled. “It was an unsolved case for twelve years after the job, but then they framed a soldier – a Black Watch sniper. Why would a sniper shoot a waiter at point blank range when he could have picked him off from distance? It didn’t make sense.”
“But that was good for you, right?”
“I always cover my back,” the Russian replied.
This was the first time he had discussed his work with us. Maybe he felt he was safer now that we were in the year 4200 CE, where nobody could ever know him.
What had been the A84, the main road between Stirling and Loch Earn, was now no more than a track – and a difficult track to negotiate at that. More like driving across a very bumpy field than a road. I suppose akin to some Roman Roads in England which were disused for centuries. So the going was very slow. As Smirnoff drove, Niki and I kept our eyes peeled for any signs of life – anything.
Then Niki saw something which brought us to a sudden halt.
“What’s that – over there on the hill?”
She was pointing excitedly at six or more towers on the top of a small hill. I picked up the binoculars to take a look, but Smirnoff already seem to know what they were.
“Ventilation shafts,” he said. “We used to use them in Russia for underground bases for many years… you Brits too. Only ours are not so obvious. We should be careful now – we don’t know what kind of people we’re going to meet here.” As he was talking he pulled out an assault rifle, two hand guns and ammunition from the back of the van. I’ll go first and take a look – you two wait there. I’ll be back,” he said in his best Terminator voice.
“Don’t forget, the natives might be friendly!” Niki called after him.
“Better to assume they’re not,” he replied without looking back.
We watched Smirnoff scale the hill in a zigzag pattern, keeping his head low to the ground. He was wearing what looked like SAS camouflage dress – I wouldn’t like to meet him on a dark night in that gear. Soon he had disappeared over the ridge of the hill.
“What do you think he’ll find?” asked Nik as we sat in the van waiting for news from the Russian.
“Dunno. I keep thinking of comparisons between the Romans in two hundred BC and us Ancient Britons. After the Romans left, there was no progress – things deteriorated. What we call the Dark Ages. That’s what I expect to find – people living off the land, fighting for survival.”
“Have you noticed the air?” Niki asked.
“What about it?”
“It’s not good.”
“Worst than Shanghai?” I said.
“A lot worse.”
We waited an hour, then another. After two and a half hours, I had had enough.
“I’m going out there,” I said.
“It could be dangerous – you heard what Smirnoff said Joe.”
“I know – but we can’t wait here forever. Look, I’ll set the phone ready to jump back to 2015, so if I do find any trouble, I can get the hell out of there.”
“You’re not going alone!”
“It might be dangerous.”
“Oh, and it’s safer for me in the car on my own? I’m coming with you – don’t forget our arrangement!”
I had to agree that she was right: I shouldn’t leave her on her own – we should stick together. Neither of us was comfortable taking a gun with us, but I did anyway – and Nik took a knife. Plus some waterproof clothing, warm hats, gloves and two torches. Seeing as Smirnoff had taken the main key to the van, I locked up with the spare. We’d no idea what we would find at the top of the hill.
***
Forty
Breathless, we stood at the top of the grassy hill. I wondered how Smirnoff had got up there and then disappeared so quickly. He was clearly fitter than both of us. The ventilation shafts, as Smirnoff had described them, were in the form of circular tubes around three metres high, a metre in diameter and made of some sort of baked clay. Once we were at the summit of the hill, we realised it was not a pinnacle but the top of a vast area that seemed to go on for miles. Ventilation shafts were spread all over it.
“Do you think we’re standing on the top of an underground city?” I asked Nik.
“Possibly. Maybe like Qin Shi Huang’s tomb in Xi’an. But how do we get in?”
“Good question.”
But it seemed like a question to which we had no answers. We walked over the hill for some time looking for an entrance – but nothing. Then Niki said, “Joe, how do we get into our house?” For some reason, she suddenly seemed interested in our home in London.
“We use a key,” I replied.
“And we put the key in…?”
“Well, I usually put it in the door – I don’t know about you Chinese.”
“Which is where?”
“For god’s sake Nik, where is this leading us?”
“Down there, hopefully,” she replied, pointing at the grass. “Just answer the question will you?”
I felt a bit like a young child answering my primary school teacher’s questions.
“On the ground floor – or in China, the first.” Niki smiled at me. She could at least have given me some candy for my correct answers, but no such luck. And then it dawned on me. “Okay, got it,” I said. “We should be looking lower down – not on the roof.”
We walked down the hill, and then around it – until we found a well–worn track on the opposite side of the hill from which we had come. And then a door. It was hidden by being recessed into the hill, but once you were at it, there was no doubting it was a door. It was made of dark brown, varnished wood and looked old.
“Should we knock?” asked Niki.
“I suppose it’s polite to,” I replied.
“It could be dangerous,” she said.
We looked at the door for a moment. Then I said, “Take this,” handing Niki the gun. “I’m going to try it.”
I slowly turned the large handle on the door, and it opened easily. Inside, blue luminous lights led along a corridor. Not very bright, but good enough to lead the way. I beckoned Niki to follow me. We could hear voices at the end of the corridor, so we moved as quietly as we could. As the corridor opened into a large room at the end, there was Smirnoff – sitting on some sort of a sofa with a glass of something in his hand, smiling at a woman opposite him. I don’t think I’d ever seen Smirnoff look so contented. We had a good view of the room without being seen ourselves. The woman had beautiful fair skin, silver hair and was dressed in a blue robe of some kind. She must have sensed our presence, because she suddenly called out:
“Do enter… Qing jin,” she said in a warm voice. We looked at each other, and then entered the room.
“You speak Chinese?” asked Niki. The woman just smiled and indicated two seats next to Smirnoff. I began to notice other people in the dimly-lit room. One was a man, slightly younger than the woman, who was standing to one side, plus six other people seated around the room, which was lit by the same type of lights as in the corridor, but in other colours.
“I believe you’ve travelled a long way,” the man said in a rich voice.
“Don’t try to hide anything,” warned Smirnoff. “It’s not worth it. They can read your minds.” I didn’t know whether he was joking or not, but took his advice.
“We have, yes… from the year 2015,” I said. The man looked at the woman, who nodded.
“I’m Ben and this is Madelaine.” I was about to stand up and politely shake their hands, but was stopped before I began.
“Sorry, we don’t,” Ben said, waving me away. “No–one does that now – not since the epidemic.”
“What have you seen so far?” Madelaine asked.
“We’ve seen Edinburgh… well, where it had been. And what’s left of Callander,” said Niki, not afraid to talk to the strangers.
“Ah! Well, I hope you haven’t stayed outside too long,” Madelaine said.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“The air’s poisoned,” Smirnoff answered. He was clearly serious.
“Yes, it’s true,” said Ben. “It’s safer inside. But it’s alright to go out for short periods – your bodies can take it… probably better than ours actually.”
I wondered if this was connected to the epidemic Ben spoke of, but didn’t want to state the obvious.
“Yes it is,” said Madelaine, answering the question that I’d only formed in my mind. It took me aback, and I was tempted to say, ‘What is?’ or ‘Sorry?’ But it seemed we couldn’t hide anything from these people. “You know, it’s better if you just speak your thoughts. No–one here’s going to judge you or say you’re wrong,” Madelaine stated.
“Unless of course you are wrong,” smiled Ben.
“Thoughts are very special substances,” Madelaine continued.
“Substances?” queried Niki.
“Now you know why I’ve been here so long!” quipped Smirnoff.
“Yes – thoughts are made of substance, matter. What did you think they were made of?”
“I don’t know – I’ve never really considered it,” Nik replied.
“Well, this is your chance now,” said Madelaine. “But first you should have a drink. Is tea all right for you?”
One of the girls who had been sitting at the back of the room stood up and left to make the tea. This gave me a chance to study the area more carefully. The walls were lined with timber, and the furniture was all constructed of various types of wood. Very little metal was evident, and certainly no plastics. The other people in the room were dressed in home–made looking clothes, rather than the usual mass manufactured variety. But they were beautifully put together.
The tea arrived and Madelaine poured. The cups and teapot were traditional pottery ones, similar to those you’d find in our own time. Madelaine and Ben sat down close to us and Ben began to speak.
“A long time ago, but still in your future, the Earth was affected by several worldwide changes. You could call them disasters, but really they were just the consequences of the way mankind had misused the Earth. The first was the rising sea–levels, caused by what was then called ‘global warming’. It developed fairly slowly at first and then accelerated. It really shouldn’t have been a surprise – the scientists and environmentalists had been warning for many years that this would happen. But most people had the idea that it would not happen to them, or it wouldn’t happen in their lifetimes, so they didn’t care about it. When first Venice and then Bangkok disappeared under the waves, people began to take things a bit more seriously – but by then it was too late. The combined effect of the warming sea temperatures and the melting ice–poles caused the sea levels to rise dramatically.
“At the same time, the earthquakes which had been very common around the Earth in your time, but rarely hit cities, began to increase in magnitude and occur in densely populated areas. Also, according to our history documents, during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, governments around the globe had authorised the testing of atomic bombs underground, either blissfully ignorant of the consequences, or not really caring about them. Not only that, but the large scale mining of coal, gas, oil and minerals intensified – creating great chasms within the Earth – and forests were decimated at a rate far beyond the rate they could re–grow. These combined agents had a profound effect on the Earth, which had to adjust itself to the changes – producing cataclysmic earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis – and extreme weather.
“There is nothing man can do to stop Mother Nature once she gets going. Unlike wild animals, which had retained the intuitive guidance they needed for survival, Man had long since lost the intuition that could have guided him away from the trouble spots. People instead were guided, or rather, misguided by their scientists; and whilst they were very good at giving details about earthquakes and other natural dangers after the events, they could do nothing to predict with any certainty exactly where or when an earthquake, flood or a tsunami would hit next. Even when people knew they lived in an earthquake area, such as the West Coast of America, they were reluctant to leave their homes, and took their chances with their friends and families.
“It was, we understand, a huge chain reaction that spread across the globe. Not only whole cities, but in some cases whole countries disappeared beneath the waves. You are familiar with Japan, I take it?” We nodded. “It is no more.”
Ben paused to take a sip of his tea, and Niki and I just stared at each other.
“When will this happen?” Niki asked.
“From your time period, the large scale events will begin within the next fifty years. But as far as I understand it, you are already accustomed to earthquakes and extreme weather… is that right?” We nodded soberly. The weather had certainly been getting more and more extreme in recent years, and
flooding in many parts of the World had now become an accepted, though unwanted, part of life.
“But how can a whole country disappear from the face of the Earth?” asked Nik.
“It’s happened many times in the history of this planet. Have you not heard of Atlantis?” I was beginning to hear the name Atlantis more and more often. Ben continued. “Atlantis was a powerful and strong country for thousands of years. They had flying machines, and could travel across continents – just as you do in your own time – except that theirs were cleaner and more efficient.”
Having witnessed the flying machines of the Boskops, Ben’s words were totally believable.
“Then there was another factor in the destruction of your civilisation,” Ben added. “I understand that nuclear power is used extensively in your time for the generation of electricity and energy. Can you imagine what would happen if hundreds of these power stations were hit by earthquakes?”
This was certainly not difficult to imagine. In 2011, the Fukushima nuclear power station in Japan was hit by a tsunami, triggered by an underwater earthquake, causing the release of radioactive materials into the atmosphere. Before that there was the Russian Chenobyl disaster in 1986.
“I guess a great number of people would die… and the atmosphere would be poisoned,” I said.
“Indeed,” replied Ben.
“What about England?” Niki asked, “Did it survive?”
“According to our records,” the United Kingdom, as you called it, split in two. Most of the South is below water, and only the high ground in Scotland and the North of England is usable. It’s been like that for many centuries.”
I was suddenly aware that Smirnoff had disappeared. Neither Niki nor I had seen him leave – we’d been so engrossed in what Ben was telling us.
“Did you see where our friend went?” I asked.
“He said he had to fetch something from your vehicle, I believe,” answered Madelaine. “Don’t worry… I’m sure he’ll be back soon. Would you like some more tea? We gratefully accepted a top–up of what tasted like blackberry tea – something I must admit I’d never tried.