The Titan Drowns

by Nhys Glover

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lizzie

  The dinner group seemed somewhat lacking. The American girls had joined her and the Howards, and though they kept up a steady chatter as the courses of pea soup, followed by roast turkey, cranberry sauce and dessert of plum pudding with American ice cream were served her, it seemed a dull affair. She noticed that the others had chosen different meals to her own but all seemed happy with the standard of their fare. Except for Oliver Howard, of course, who grumbled about each course; however, he did it quietly these days, aware that his criticisms didn’t go down well with his dinner companions.

  Trudy had come out of her shell a great deal since yesterday, and it was good to see her laugh with the other women, even under the fierce eye of her husband. Maybe there was hope for the girl yet without recourse to leaving him. Of course, if Karl’s nonsense were to be believed, Trudy could leave her husband here and go to a future perfect world when the Titanic sank. She shook her head in utter bewilderment. How could he possibly believe such nonsense? He seemed so sane in every other respect, even slightly more sober than a young man his age should be, and yet he held these delusions.

  ‘What is it?’ Felicity asked, as they stood up to leave the table. ‘Are you wondering where Karl is? He is such a lovely man and is quite taken with you, my dear. Is it too soon after the loss of your husband to be considering a replacement?’

  ‘No, no… I mean yes, it is, and no, I am not wondering where Karl is. I imagine he is keeping his distance from me after we had a set-to earlier.’

  ‘Do tell; I cannot imagine either of you having words.’

  ‘Oh, it was silly, really. It all came from that nonsensical conversation over tea in the library.’

  ‘The time travel one? I found it fascinating. He was really quite taken with the idea, wasn’t he?’

  ‘So much so that he thinks it is real. He says the Titanic is really going to sink and that we can escape only by time travelling to that world he spoke of – that utopia.’

  ‘But he was joking with you, of course, Lizzie. He cannot possibly believe such a thing. He is a very sane, down-to-earth young man. I know people. There is absolutely no way that he is deluded or mentally unstable.’

  ‘But he was deadly serious, Felicity. He really believes he is from the future and we are all doomed.’

  Felicity tipped her head to one side and studied her quizzically. ‘Why does this so upset you? Is it because you are interested in him?’

  Lizzie shrugged and looked away. ‘I was. I will admit that. He is the loveliest man I have ever met. However, this… this delusion puts him beyond the pale. He might even be dangerous if he tries to pressure me on this.’

  ‘No. I will not believe that for a moment. He is more likely to fall on his sword for you than injure you in any way. Talk to him again. Try to find out why he believes as he does. Maybe someone has convinced him of this story. Someone he respects.’

  Lizzie nodded, frowning. ‘Yes, maybe I should hear him out. I was very rude this afternoon. I dismissed him out-of-hand after all he has done for me. I… I will go and see him now. Will you come with me? I must admit to being a little frightened of seeing him again.’

  ‘Certainly, I will be your protector.’ She laughed at the absurdity of such an offer. ‘But I am sure there will be no need of it. Do you know where his stateroom is?’

  ‘Just here beside the reception area. It is unlikely he will be in his cabin at this time though, surely.’

  ‘We will not know unless we knock.’

  At Karl’s door, Felicity knocked out a loud rat-a-tat-tat with her knuckles on the wood. To Lizzie’s hypersensitive nerves, it was too loud and abrupt.

  Instantly, the door opened. From where Lizzie stood, she could see a young woman perched on the divan behind Karl, who now stood in the doorway, looking nonplussed by their intrusion.

  Lizzie was horrified and humiliated all in one moment. So he was not only insane, but a womaniser, and had replaced her in his affections in a matter of hours. And this woman was willing to come to his room unchaperoned. What kind of woman did that make her?

  ‘Lizzie, Felicity… Mrs Carmichael, should I say. What a surprise. Would you please come in? There is someone I would like you to meet.’

  ‘No… we do not want to disturb you,’ Lizzie replied abruptly taking a step back. However, Felicity was quick to catch her by the arm and urge her forward.

  ‘Certainly. Come Lizzie, let us meet Mr Langman’s friend.’ Felicity glared at her as if trying to give her an unspoken message.

  What was she about? Why would she want Lizzie to meet this so-called friend?

  Nevertheless, she let Felicity have her way and moved into the small stateroom. Reluctantly, she sat down next to the strange woman.

  On closer inspection, Lizzie had to admit the young woman looked nothing like a slattern. She was older than they, possibly nearly thirty, and she was beautiful in the Nordic way of white-blonde hair, pale, perfect skin and bright, blue eyes. Those eyes looked into Lizzie’s now, as if searching for something.

  ‘I am glad to have this opportunity to meet you, Mrs Jones. Karl has told me all about you. I am Cara Westchester, and my husband and I are close friends of Karl’s.’

  ‘This is Felicity Carmichael. She is one of the others I told you about.’ Karl introduced Felicity, who sat on Lizzie’s other side. Karl stood, unsure whether it was better for him to sit, stand or go. In the end, with a little nod from his Nordic friend, he sat on the bunk across from them.

  ‘Karl tells me that he has told you about our mission and that you are understandably disbelieving.’

  Lizzie couldn’t believe her ears. This woman was talking about Karl’s delusion as if it were the weather. She looked at Felicity to gauge her reaction. The woman seemed attentive and waiting.

  ‘Yes… yes he has,’ Lizzie conceded cautiously.

  ‘There are eleven of us on board who are from the year 2337. We are here to save your lives if that is what you desire. No matter what you have been told to the contrary, the Titanic is not unsinkable. In a few short days, it will hit an iceberg in the mid-North Atlantic and sink with more than two-thirds of the souls aboard. We cannot interfere with that historical event but we can mitigate the outcomes somewhat. We are here to save your lives because, historically, your time is up.’

  Lizzie listened to the woman in stunned astonishment. She sounded so sane, so in control of her faculties, and yet she had to be as crazy as Karl to believe what she was saying.

  ‘Have you convinced Mr Langman of this?’ Felicity asked calmly. Lizzie suddenly realised where her new friend was going with this. Of course! Felicity thought it was this woman who was delusional and had convinced Karl of her story. He wasn’t insane; he was just gullible. Lizzie’s relief was immense.

  ‘I do not need to be convinced, Mrs Carmichael. I am well aware of the truth of what Cara is telling you. Lizzie, you wondered how I could be a doctor at such a young age? I told you I was older than I look. I have been the Head of the Medical and Research Centre in New Atlantis for more than two hundred years. I am a respected member of our society, a leader if you will, but I have botched this mission badly. I am not a Retriever and never should have put myself forward for this mission.’

  ‘Retriever?’ Felicity asked, still cautiously attentive.

  ‘Those who travel through time do so to Retrieve certain people. We are called “Retrievers,” and believe me, I know how you feel right now and what you must be thinking because I was where you are seven years ago. I was Retrieved, and I thought my Retriever was a very deluded young man in need of help. It took him a great deal of effort to convince me of the truth. But now I'm the co-leader of the Child Retrieval Program and we're here to rescue forty-eight children in third class who will not survive the days to come.’

  ‘Why would you do this? Come back here and rescue people like this?’ Felicity demanded.

  ‘Our world is sterile. Two hundred years fro
m now there will be a great plague that will sweep across the planet, killing nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every one thousand people. Those who survived, people like Karl here, found they were sterile. In our future, we're all sterile. The only way we can repopulate the world is by bringing people like you to it. We are particularly interested in the children, as we cannot bear them.’

  Lizzie tried to take in what the woman was saying but it seemed so far-fetched that her brain just turned off. And yet, she was saying that Karl had lived through this plague 200 years in the future. That he was sterile. No wonder he was so interested in her pregnancy.

  ‘But we are not sterile, obviously. Is that why you want us?’ Felicity asked, for all-the-world as if she believed what she was being told.

  ‘We want you because you carry new life, not because you're fertile. Because, even though you are most gloriously fertile at this moment, you will not be so once you cross the Time-Space Continuum. Your child will not be harmed, and you will have a painless, safe and perfect delivery when you reach full-term. However, after that you will bear no more children. On the upside, I can promise you that you'll be treated as goddesses in the coming months and our people will spoil you rotten, as they will the children.’

  ‘Time-space what? Is this the time machine?’

  ‘Time-Space Continuum. Time-line, if you will, that links this moment with the next, this place with another. There is no time machine,’ interrupted Karl, impatiently. ‘That was my hapless attempt at introducing the topic. You will walk through a Time Portal… a gateway between this time and ours. It takes no more than a moment.’

  ‘It wasn't hapless, Karl. You're being too hard on yourself. As I was trying to tell you before the ladies arrived, it's quite normal for those being told about this to react negatively at first. It's a lot to take in. Believe me, I know. Jac not only had to open the Portal for me, but walk me through it to Ancient Greece before I believed him. I use Wells’ book quite often as an intro to the subject.’

  ‘You have been to Ancient Greece?’ Felicity asked, in hushed, excited tones.

  What was this? Felicity seemed to believe this woman. How could she be taken in by this nonsense?

  ‘Only briefly, unfortunately, just to prove it to me. We arrived on a hill above one of the first Olympic games; it was quite a shock to see naked men throwing discuses I have to say.’

  ‘They really did that? I thought it was artistic licence.’

  ‘Oh, no. They were all naked. Jac, my husband, who is the Jumper who Retrieved me, said he actually had to run a race stark-naked on one particular occasion. I would like to have seen that to be honest.’ Cara laughed lightly, winking at Karl.

  ‘I will need to talk to the other two ladies. Is it possible for you to make the introductions, Mrs Carmichael?’

  ‘Please, you can both call me Felicity. I… I do not know what to say. It is all so much to take in. You are telling me there is no way that I will survive this ocean voyage. That I will drown with the ship if I do not choose to go with you?’

  ‘That is exactly it. If you choose not to believe us or prefer to take your chances on being saved, then we won't press you further. However, I would ask that you don't tell others what we're sharing with you now. For one thing, it will get us locked up. For another, it might cause a panic. Either option is to be avoided at all costs.

  ‘We're not allowed to interfere with historical events. We can't change history, even if we wanted to. The only reason you're Targeted is because none of your bodies were recovered nor were you seen by survivors on the decks during the final hours. To us, that means we took you or can take you. The bottom line is, one way or the other, no one will ever see you again after the ship sinks.’

  Lizzie’s numbed brain was starting to come back to life. She was starting to consider the possibility that what this woman was saying was the truth.

  ‘How can a ship that is supposed to be unsinkable sink?’ she asked.

  ‘An iceberg will tear a hole in the starboard side of the vessel. Water will pour in and fill the water-tight compartments at the forward end of the ship. That will weigh the front down until the ship finally breaks in half. Then both halves will sink. It will take a little over two hours.’

  ‘When? When will this happen?’ Lizzie asked fiercely.

  ‘I cannot tell you that until you have made your decision to come with us. But it will only be a matter of days.’

  ‘What proof have you that what you tell us is the truth?’ Felicity asked.

  Cara laughed. ‘Well, I can’t open the Portal for you like Jac did for me. You have to be stationary for that. Let me put it this way, if you accept that what we are telling you is possible then on the night we leave, you will have all the proof you need. If the Portal doesn’t take you to the future, then you have lost nothing. We will simply be poor, deluded souls who have fooled you for a while. You will continue your journey and arrive in New York next week as planned. You will have lost nothing.’

  Felicity considered these words carefully. ‘I will agree to remain open. I will need to know more. But as you say, we lose nothing by going along with you. Unless we have to pay for this trip or you will set us off in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean.’

  Cara laughed and nodded her head. ‘You're very astute, Felicity. No one could sell you a condo, sight-unseen, in the Florida swamps.’

  ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘Sorry, it is a confidence trickster’s game in my time to sell land in swamps to unsuspecting marks. And to answer your question: No, this will cost you nothing. And you will not be asked to leave the ship by any means but the Portal. And once that opens, you won't doubt us anymore.’

  ‘Then I will take you to Rose and possibly Trudy, they will likely be up listening to the band on C Deck.’

  ‘I am not supposed to be here. I am travelling third class. Could I ask you to bring the ladies to me?’

  Felicity nodded and rose. She looked at Lizzie with an uplifted eyebrow.

  ‘I will stay here if it is all right with you.’ Lizzie tried to smile at her friend but failed. She was feeling quite light-headed.

  ‘Certainly. I will return shortly.’

  After the cabin door closed, a pregnant silence fell.

  ‘I do not know what to believe,’ she said finally.

  ‘Have you had any indication that Karl was anything other an intelligent, rather serious young man during the time you have known him?’ Cara asked.

  Lizzie looked over at Karl, who was frowning and looking uncomfortable. ‘No. I never took him for deluded. He seemed very nice and normal.’

  ‘He is. If what we tell you is the truth, then that's exactly what he is. Karl, while we wait for the others do you want to find that stewardess who brought me here? It might be better to include her while I'm telling my story again.’

  ‘Certainly. Good idea.’

  ‘I’m full of ‘em doc, you should know that by now.’ Her drop into a strange idiom made Karl smile as he left the stateroom in search of Lucy.

  ‘Why is Lucy being included?’

  ‘She told Karl she thought she was pregnant and wanted to see the nurse – that’s me – to confirm it. I’m not a nurse, and I can’t confirm it other than by the usual methods of missed courses, sore breasts and morning sickness. But, either way, Karl seems to think we should take her. She's been willing to step outside the tight constraints of the ship's regulations to help us and seems to have an open, flexible mind. That's all we ask. We don't Target people who we believe will not handle the differentness of our world. Only minds that are flexible and resilient can handle the shift. I was closer to that world than you are, but it was still confronting for me. Especially the clones.’

  ‘Cones?’

  ‘No Clones. You might not have worked it through yet, but when I told you Karl went through the Last Great Plague, two hundred years hence, you may not have noted the mathematical difference between 2337 and 2120, which is the year of the p
lague. Karl, and my Jac, and most of the others on this mission are hundreds of years old. We have not discovered the fountain of youth. Our bodies age normally. When one reaches old age, we simply change it for a new one made from our own cells.

  ‘I am fifty-two years old… I know; I don’t look it, do I? That’s because I shifted my consciousness, who I am… the thinking/feeling part of me that makes me who I am… I shifted that to a new twenty-year-old body seven years ago. So I look twenty-seven. Up until six months ago, I knew Karl as a middle-aged man. It was a real shock when he shifted into this young body. But he wanted to come on this mission, and I think that, on some level, he knew he was going to meet you. So he took on a younger version of himself.’ Cara was quietly thoughtful for a few moments before she went on.

  ‘Karl is behaving strangely. And he is worried, very worried. He has always been very serious, very controlled and very proper. A lot like my Jac. But now he is different – emotionally volatile, riding a roller coaster… oh, you don’t know what that is. He is going up and down emotionally. That only happens to these people… the “Old Timers,” as they're called, to distinguish them from us who have been brought in from other times. We’re called “Newcomers.” Old Timers are never out of control and they have little-to-no sex drive. Sorry, don’t be offended. I speak from my own time where such things are freely discussed. So, when Old Timers fall in love it's a great shock to them on all levels.’

  ‘Fall in love?’ Lizzie repeated breathlessly.

  ‘Yes, hadn’t you guessed? Karl has fallen in love with you. It might seem fast but it always is for them. Love at first sight. And they don’t know how to handle the sexual arousal or the heightened emotional responses. So be understanding with him. He's the best. And even if you don’t feel the same, just be gentle with him. He's like a teenage boy, all shyness and naiveté.’

  ‘He loves me?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Oh. Did he say as much?’

  ‘He described his symptoms and told me about you. I made the diagnosis. He doesn’t know what to make of it yet. He’s just so worried he blew it with you over the time travel thing. He doesn’t understand that it's hard for everyone when they’re told this stuff for the first time. To him, it's all he knows. For us, it’s as out-there as anything can be.’

  ‘You speak strangely.’

  ‘It’s because of where I’m from.’

  ‘Where is that?’

  ‘New York State, 2010.’

  ‘2010?’

  ‘A hundred years from now. A very different world.’

  ‘Yes, I suppose it would be,’ Lizzie said politely. She was stopped from going further by the arrival of Karl and the other women, including Lucy.

  ‘We aren’t all going to fit in here. So Lizzie, will you go with Karl and he can answer any more of your questions you might have. I'll talk to the others. Felicity, will you stay for moral support?’

  ‘Certainly, and I have more questions I have thought of while I've been gone.’

  ‘Good, then I'll answer them after I explain the basics to the others. Come in, take a seat. A bit crowded but we at least have privacy.’

  ‘I'm not sure I should be here. I have work…’ Lucy said nervously.

  ‘You can be away for a few minutes. This is important. A matter of life and death, you might say. Grab a seat.’

  And, as Lizzie closed the cabin door, she heard Cara start to tell them her story.

  She went up onto the promenade on the Boat Deck with Karl. It was dark and the stars shone brilliantly from the inky sky. The air was chilly and she shivered. Karl took off his coat wordlessly and draped it over her shoulders.

  They walked; nodding at the other couple strolling by. Yet somehow they remained locked inside their own little bubble.

  ‘Cara says you have fallen in love with me,’ she said at last, settling on the least confronting aspect of the last hour. She didn’t want to think that the man who might love her was hundreds of years old and came from the distant future. She didn't want to think about the strangely spoken, yet compelling woman, who said she was from 2010. And she most certainly didn't want to consider the possibility that the ship that seemed so firm beneath her feet might soon sink into the unfathomed depths below them. It was all too difficult.

  ‘Did she? I wish she hadn’t.’ Karl pulled at the collar of his pristine-white shirt.

  ‘It is not true then?’

  ‘It is true. Well, I am starting to understand that being in love might explain this uncharacteristic behaviour on my part. I do not force my attentions on women as a rule.’

  ‘You did not force your attentions on me, Karl.’

  ‘Yes, yes I did, and I am most deeply sorry. I will not let myself lose control again.’

  ‘You did not force yourself on me. I kissed you back. Surely, you felt that?’

  He threw a quick, uncertain glance in her direction and then looked out to the glittering, black sea. ‘All I know is that you pulled away. You did not enjoy it.’

  ‘I did. However, there is much in my past that I have not told you…’

  ‘There is not a lot in my past, which you do not now know and still cannot believe.’

  ‘You are truly several hundred years old?’ she found herself asking, though she really didn’t want to know.

  ‘Yes. Up until six months ago, I would have looked more like your father than your contemporary.’

  ‘So Cara said. I cannot imagine you old. Although you certainly behave more maturely than young men normally do.’

  ‘Yes. I hope the idea of an old man being in love with you doesn’t concern you. I will not force myself on you; I assure you.’

  She gave a little laugh and felt the sadness that was her constant companion. ‘You would not be the first.’

  ‘I beg your pardon?’ His voice was tight with surprise and an emotion she could not identify. She cringed at her own stupidity, but decided it might be best to get it over with. If he knew, it might help him get back his much desired emotional equilibrium by shocking him out of his love for her.

  ‘I am not Mrs Jones. There was never a Mr Jones. I was accosted by my employer, the father of the girls I was governess to. The result was this child.’

  ‘Oh, my dear girl,’ Karl wrapped his arms around her shoulders and drew her in. It was the last thing she’d expected and the most welcome. ‘Did he hurt you?’

  ‘Not really, other than the bruising on my arms where he held me down and the blood and pain when he… you know. I was a maiden.’

  ‘Poor lass, how awful for you. Did you report him?’

  ‘No. Well not until my condition became apparent to my employer’s wife. However, she denied it could have been her husband. She terminated my employment, saying I was a bad influence on her daughters.’

  ‘She knew. She would have to have known. People can hide from the truth, but on some level, they cannot escape it. How do you feel about this child, knowing it is his?’

  ‘I do not think of it as his. His part was brief. This is my baby. It will always be my baby. I am the one who creates it from my flesh.’

  ‘I am glad. The child is innocent in all this. And it is a gift, no matter how it came into being.’

  ‘You really think that? I thought you would be horrified.’

  ‘I am; but not at you or the child. Only at the bastard who hurt you and the way you were treated after. How could you think otherwise?’

  She nodded her head and wondered how she could have thought otherwise. He was the kindest, gentlest man she’d ever met. And lunatic or not, she knew she was also falling in love with him.

  ‘So, you see, when you kissed me, for a moment, I felt like I was back there with him on top of me… and I was terrified. I knew it wasn’t him. Your kiss was nothing like the horrible kisses he forced on me as he tore at my nightdress. Even so, for a moment, I panicked.'

  ‘Understandable, perfectly understandable. I will not put you in that situation again.’


  However, when he started them walking once more, he continued to keep his arm around her shoulder, comforting her with his warm strength. At the end of the promenade, they paused and looked aft over the Well and Poop Decks and beyond to the white wake that broke the blackness of the ocean.

  Lizzie turned in his arms. ‘Karl, I would like you to kiss me again, please. I really want you to.’

  He looked down into her eyes. And even though the darkness of the moonless night was only illuminated by the dim lights along the deck, she could see his uncertainty. So, she stood on tiptoe and placed her mouth on his.

  Karl’s response was immediate and stunning. It was like a dam was opened and he kissed her with all the passionate intensity he had displayed the day before. But this time, she didn’t draw away in fear. This time, it felt natural and good and she gave herself over to it, enjoying the sweet innocence and passion of his lips.

  When he pulled gently away and looked down at her again, his breathing irregular and forced, she smiled up at him. ‘See, no fear this time. I liked it. Will you kiss me again?’

  He gave a little bark of laughter and shook his head. ‘You do not have to ask.’ And his mouth was on hers again, opening and encouraging hers to open, too. She allowed the strange vulnerability of it and only gave a little start when his tongue licked in to taste her. That move felt wicked, yet delightful, and she opened to him, wanting more of the passion that was building deep inside her. Karl deepened the kiss, devouring her mouth wildly; his fingers stroking her back wildly, beneath the cover of his jacket.

  Breath ragged, Karl finally dragged himself away from her and leaned against the railing. ‘If I do not stop now, I am not sure I will be able to.’

  ‘You are not experienced with women.’ It was more a statement that a question.

  ‘Is it that obvious?’

  ‘Yes. But I like it. It just seems strange that a man as old as you say you are…’

  ‘Would be an innocent? I have never had much need for physicality. I like my food. That is about the extent of it. So there have been no women in my past; except for one hasty interlude in a storeroom at a party back in my Original.’

  ‘Original?’

  ‘That is what we call the bodies we were born with. Those bodies functioned normally. The cloned bodies, with their sterility, rarely experience passion. Should I say, experienced, in the past tense. Which for me was good, as my whole life revolved around my work.

  ‘It is because of my work, my research, in part, that humanity has been able to continue. I was involved in clone research back before the LGP.

  ‘That is how we measure time. The LGP was the turning point – the Last Great Plague. Nothing was the same after that. The population was further decimated and we had no way of continuing on without the use of clones.

  ‘Up until recently, we thought we only had nine lifetimes and after that, the race would end. So we started bringing in new life from the past. But then Jac met Cara and changed everything. Cara has been a catalyst for such regeneration in our world. She is amazing.’

  Lizzie nodded and leaned in to rest her head on his shirtsleeve. He was cold and she felt guilty for taking his coat. Leaning in to him, she shared some of her body-heat.

  ‘She is very believable. Is she really from a hundred years into the future?’

  ‘The twenty-first century? Yes. She was a teacher of autistic children before being Retrieved. I doubt anyone but Jac would have Targeted her. We were very conservative back then and Cara was always asking why things had to be the way they were. She believes in change, and that was an anathema to us back then. We just wanted to stay the same so we could keep the chaos at bay. Batten down the hatches and soldier on. But she wouldn’t let us. Any of us. And because of her, we are alive again. Sometimes, painfully so.’ He stroked her arm as if reassuring himself she was real.

  ‘I cannot imagine such a calamity. For so many to die at one time. Terrible.’

  ‘It was just the last in a century of calamity we call the Second Dark Age.’

  ‘I am glad I will not live to see that time.’

  ‘If you come with me, you will live beyond that time. My world… it is beautiful. New Atlantis is the centre of the world government, which is called the “Gaian Confederacy.” It is built on the remains of the first Atlantis that rose again from the sea, not far from where we are now. It is classically beautiful, but with modern conveniences, like moving walkways for transport instead of wagons or cars… automobiles, horseless carriages. No one is in a hurry, because we have all the time in the world. We occupy our time as we choose and all our wants are met without the need for money.

  ‘I have a house up on the coast. It is far too big for me and I converted a portion of it into a laboratory; I do some of my work from there. The rest of the time, I work at the Medical Centre. My life is busy and worthwhile.’

  ‘But you have had no one to share it with?’

  ‘No. I have never needed that – up until now.’ He looked down at her and smiled. She felt her heart do a little dance and smiled back at him.

  ‘You would want me even though I carry another man’s child?’ she asked cautiously, thinking it was too good to be true.

  ‘As you said, this is your baby. As such, I would want it as I want you. But you must have time to decide. This is too soon. We have hardly met, but in New Atlantis there will be time for us to get to know each other better and you can decide if you wish to live with me then. Become my Bonded Mate.’

  ‘Bonded Mate?’

  ‘We do not marry formally. Well, we didn’t until recently. One of our number… a Researcher… fell in love with a girl from the early nineteenth century and for her he arranged a marriage. The minister was another Researcher who had spent most of his life in the early Christian era. Anyway, Rene married Livy and that has started a trend. Jane wanted a wedding then. And of course Julio could not deny her. Faith is talking about being next, but I am not sure how she will talk Luke into it. Luke is another Newcomer. He is from 1942 and was a soldier in the Second World War at the time.’

  ‘Second World War? When was the first?’

  ‘In a few years from now. 1914 until 1918. They called it, erroneously, “the war to end all wars.” It didn’t. It just opened the way for an even worse world war that… never mind, you do not need to know all that.’

  ‘I would like to be married. I do not think I would feel comfortable being with a man without vows being exchanged.’

  ‘I understand. If you would like to marry me that would be…’ Karl paused thoughtfully.

  ‘Good?’

  ‘Very good. I just had a thought but it is too soon. I cannot trust my judgement right now…’

  ‘What thought? Tell me!’

  ‘Captains can marry people.’

  Lizzie felt the fear and excitement building. Could she do that, marry this man she hardly knew, a man who claimed to be from the future? Who may well be insane?

  ‘No. There was no record of any such wedding taking place on this maiden voyage…’ He corrected himself hurriedly.

  ‘Oh,’ she felt the disappointment keenly. Then she shook herself. This was madness, even thinking such a thing was possible.

  ‘But it can be arranged as soon as we get home. If you want…’ he sounded uncertain, a little lost.

  ‘I would like to marry you, Karl Langman. When and where is up to you.’

  ‘My name is Ontario. Karl Ontario. We take the last name of the state or province from which we came. I was Canadian. You would be Lizzie Kent, although if you married me you might change your name. It isn’t very clear, as marriage has not been part of our culture for hundreds of years. Livy took Rene’s name but Jane kept hers. However, that is because she thinks Santa Catarina is a mouthful. She is married to a Brazilian. You will meet them both when we go through the Portal. They are down in third class now, as is Cara’s Jac, Luke the soldier and his adopted son, Bart, who was also Retrieved from 1942. Bart was the boy I
went to see this afternoon. He was beaten badly but he has had worse. He is almost eleven and this is his first mission. From what Pia was saying, he is doing a brilliant job winning the children over. We are hoping to rescue forty-eight of them.’

  ‘You are taking the children? What about their parents?’

  Karl frowned and sighed, drawing her in closer so he could tuck her head under his chin. She could hear his voice rumble under her ear when he spoke. ‘That is one of the contentious parts of what we do. Some parents we will take if we feel they will handle the new world. If not, we will just rescue their children.’

  ‘That seems cruel.’

  ‘Some people do not adjust to our world. It is no kindness to take them there. And most parents would be happy to know that their children were being saved from death and given a chance at a good life, even if it is without them.’

  ‘I suppose…’

  They stood together watching the stars, the black ocean and the white wake for a long time.