Blood on the Water

by Mark Hildebrandt

  “The Imperial branch and Senatorial branch have been feuding since the Empire was formed, but for the most part, they have been minor skirmishes. This crisis, however, has generated a good deal of anti-Imperial sentiment among the people, and just might give the Senate the courage to openly challenge me.

  “I don’t need to tell you, there will be no loss of Imperial power during my reign. So, you need to keep one simple fact in mind. If you do not produce something soon, you will be replaced. And just so you don’t get the wrong impression, that doesn’t mean stepping down. It means good doctor, you, your wife, your sister, your children and all your family will cease to exist.

  “Don’t get any strange notion that you would be missed, and people would blame me, because that won’t happen either. As Emperor I have complete control over the judiciary, the military, law enforcement, and most important the broadcast media. I make people disappear and no one ever questions it.

  “So … I think we understand each other. I’ll have my secretary schedule a follow up meeting next month. I’m sure by then you will almost be ready to officially announce a cure.” With that the Emperor patted Marcus on the back, smiled and left. Leaving Marcus staring at the city in the afternoon sun.

  Chapter 4

  - Don’t Mess with Me -

  Eight years ago, Dr. Cassandra Vespus left the University, and came to the Institute for Advanced Physics. She did lab work for the most part until two years ago when her brother Marcus insisted she manage the Trans-Dimensional Research Project. At first, she tried to turn down the position because it wasn’t really her field of expertise. Her graduate studies and subsequent work had focused on Wave Mechanics and Quantum Physics which seemed far removed from the Trans-Dimensional Project, but the project gave her the opportunity to manage a group. And in the end, fulfilling that desire overcame all the other obstacles. As it turned out, there were enough similarities between the two disciplines that she was able to take over with little disruption to the group, and today’s experiment marked a significant milestone.

  Her team had reached across dimensions and moved a human being from one to the other. She assumed that was the reason Dr. Gupta had summoned her. After all, congratulations were in order.

  As she approached the Director’s office, Cassandra heard “Come in Dr. Vespus,” drifting down the hall. The door opened, she walked in, nodded to the Director and took a seat. “You wanted to see me Dr. Gupta?” She said expectantly.

  Cassandra was surprised at his response because not only did Gupta not look up from his work, but he simply said without preamble, or congratulations, “What are you doing with our specimen?”

  Somewhat taken aback she responded, “Sir? I don’t understand. I’m trying to establish a rapport. After all, we want to learn as much as we can about his universe.”

  “Oh, come now. That specimen is not an Imperial citizen. We are not required by law to treat it any differently than one of our laboratory animals. Seems to me, all you need to do is take it down to the clinic, apply the proper drugs, and electrodes, and suck all the information you need straight out of its brain.”

  “Damn it Dr. Gupta!” Cassandra blurted out as she rose to her feet. “I don’t care about legal responsibility. That specimen, as you called him, is a human being. As long as he is in my care, he will be treated with respect.”

  “Very well Dr. Vespus. Have it your way, but I might remind you we have deadlines at this Institute. In a day or two you may wish to rethink your position considering that fact. And Dr. Vespus don’t raise your voice, I am after all, the Director of this facility.”

  Cassandra could feel her blood pressure begin to skyrocket at Gupta’s arrogance. She discreetly took a deep breath looked directly into his eyes, and in voice slightly louder than normal said, “Deadline or not, we will do it my way. As far as you being the Director perhaps you should look at the sign in front of the building, notice the name is the same as the one on your pay check, it also happens to be my name Dr. Gupta.” Without waiting to hear his response, and without looking at his face to see his reaction, Cassandra spun around and left the office.

  As soon as she was in the corridor, she began scolding herself. She had let the little bureaucrat upset her, but far worse, she allowed him to see it. A Vespus must always be it total control. She had been told that for as long as she could remember. It is completely unacceptable for a Vespus to allow anyone to witness or precipitate an outburst, and Gupta had done both. He had caught her off guard; she had expected congratulations, and not criticism for the way she was dealing with James. Well by the gods, she was going to manage this project her way.

  Her feet, without conscious control, took her directly to her office. The office and the laboratories for her team members formed a circle around the Trans-Dimensional portal. Usually the area would be alive with activity, but that was not the case when she arrived. A quick glance at the clock was all the explanation she needed. It was lunchtime. All her team members were dedicated workers, but when it came time to eat, it was best not to be standing between them and the food. She shrugged and went into her office.

  The office was nothing special, a desk, a couple of chairs and credenza, very standard Institute furniture. Most visitors could hardly believe it was hers. She did have a couple of nice paintings on the walls, but other than that, it was indistinguishable from any other Group Leader office in the building. Cassandra wanted to be treated like any other researcher. She wanted to be recognized for her ability, not her name. Perhaps that was why she was so angry over the outburst in Gupta’s office.

  Once seated at her desk, she activated the view screen and began to compose a note to her brother in Rome. Subject Dr. Gupta, but quickly deleted it after writing only two lines. This was her business. If she couldn’t deal with a bureaucrat like Gupta, then perhaps she should return to Rome, and merge back into the Imperial nobility. The thought made her grimace; she would never allow that to happen. Cassandra would rather be stranded on the Martian colony for the rest of her life then go back to the Roman social life. If she couldn’t deal with a simple-minded bureaucrat, then she really didn’t have a career. After all, the empire and all the corporations were full of midlevel mindless managers just like Gupta.

  She quickly checked messages. Nothing pressing. A note from the fuel production facility in Mongolia said it would take three weeks to replace this morning’s fuel. The note prompted her to remember James. She had left him in the team conference room. He must be hungry and confused; she decided, she better check on him.

  Cassandra found James staring intently at the news screen when she entered the conference room. “James are you hungry?” The sound of her voice seemed to startle him because he jumped out of his chair and turned to face her. And for the first time, she really looked at him. Except for a little bit of facial hair under his nose and around his mouth, he was a nice-looking man. Tall, fit close-cut blond hair and piercing green eyes. The eyes were captivating, and she found it best to glance away to avoid being trapped. She glanced at the newscast and said, “Well, are you?”

  He smiled, “Absolutely. I sat in a tiny damn seat on that plane all night. The meal was so horrible, I had to make do with beef jerky and red wine.”

  “Very well I’ll take you to Institute’s triclinium for the midday meal?” Opening the door, she continued. “It’s just on the other side of the building.” She started out but stopped in the threshold, turned back to James and said, “You must remember this is not your world. Stay with me. If you try to run off I’m not sure what will happen, but I fear you would be harmed.” Looking intently into his green eyes she continued, “James I’m not trying to threaten you, but I am trying to scare you. Stay with me, so I can make sure nothing happens, agreed?”

  “I thought you said I’m not a prisoner. Was that a lie?”

  “No, I meant every word. I received a message a few minutes ago that the fuel we need, will take three weeks to manufacture and deliver. My personne
l goal it to make sure you go back through that door when the dimensions line up, and the fuel arrives. If you follow my instructions and do what I tell you, I promise, I will send you home. If not, I don’t know what will happen.”

  James began smiling, “As long as you agree to be my prison guard then I promise to be good. Now how about some food?”

  Walking next to her James said, “There is one thing you didn’t get quite right.”

  Puzzled she turned and asked, “Really. What’s that?"

  “You may think, I don’t know anything about this place, but that’s not quite true. Watching that news program, I became convinced our two universes have a lot in common. I didn’t really understand everything, but the news stories were reported with every bit as much spin as they are in my world.”

  Cassandra stopped and looked at James, “I’m not sure what you mean, spin?”

  “Yeah spin.” He said with a distant look, “I guess you don’t really have a comparable word. It means to report or craft a story to shape the viewers opinion. The newscasters here, just like where I came from, report one side of a story and try to get the viewer to agree with their position. I didn’t really understand many of the reports but could defiantly see the spin.”

  After hearing his explanation Cassandra smiled and suppressed a giggle. “I guess you are right. It is, after all the Imperial News network. I’m sure they have a very specific message to deliver. But I don’t think anyone really watches that stuff, so it’s not likely very many people are effected.” She shrugged and the two continued walking.

  The triclinium was a large room with low chairs and tables placed at regular intervals throughout. Traditionally the mid-day meal was an important element of the culture, and as such the room more closely resembled a fine restaurant than a cafeteria. By the time Cassandra and James arrived the meal service was almost at an end, and the room was only about one third full. Most of the remaining people were done eating and savoring a little office gossip before returning to work. But when Cassandra and James entered, the discussions stopped, and all eyes turned to see James.

  James’s strange clothing was like sign hanging around his neck saying, I’m the man from a different universe, and everyone wanted to see. “I apologize for the rude behavior of my fellow workers,” Cassandra said discreetly, “Don’t pay any attention. Come-on over here, there is a good spot next to the window.” She led him quickly to the open table and the two sat down. Once seated the rumble of conversation returned, making Cassandra feel a little less conspicuous. Smiling she asked, “Is there any kind of food you don’t like?”

  He gave her a pensive look and then shook his head no, “I have traveled a bit and sampled a lot of different food. I liked most of it, and I’m always ready to try something new.”

  “Good. I’ll do the ordering then.” She picked up her pad and began pushing buttons. “That should do it.” She said placing the data pad on the table. “Now tell me more about your world?”

  “Hey, I thought we had three weeks to talk about where I came from. First tell me about this place. That newscast was fascinating and confusing. Help me understand what I was watching? At least tell me what you ordered for lunch?”

  She looked at him and started to protest, after all her brother had sent a message requesting she find out if James knew anything about the virus, and if it existed on his world, but he was right. They had time. Might as well indulge him. He would probably open up better when the time came if he felt, he wasn’t being deceived. “I ordered some fruits, antipasto, Scottish salmon, bread and desert. You might not recognize the preparations, but the ingredients should be familiar to you.”

  “Sounds great.” James said, “While we wait to be served, tell me something about yourself?”

  Cassandra stopped and looked at James, about me she thought, that seems a bit personal. She had assumed this would be professional, but he looked so friendly. Certainly, a little personal information won’t hurt. “Well I’m not sure where to begin, or even what will make sense to you.”

  “Cassandra, I hope you don’t mind me calling you that?”

  “Not at all.” She answered, before she really thought about the question.

  “We may come from different worlds, but we are both people. I’m sure we both have some common life experiences. How about we start with the basics, where are you from? Where did you grow up? What was school like? Those questions don’t require me to know anything about your world to understand.”

  “Very well. I was born and raised in Rome. I grew up in my family’s villa on the outskirts of the city. I guess it was kind of a sheltered childhood. It was just my brother and I, but since he is almost ten years older than me, he wasn’t much of a playmate. He still lives there, but I had enough of the Roman life, and left as soon as I could. It was difficult growing up locked away behind those walls. Not because we lacked anything. We had everything money could buy. We had the finest tutors and absolutely the very best education, but we didn’t have friends or other children to play with. I longed to meet real people.”

  The Antipasto and fruit arrived and was laid out on the table before them by a server. Each were given a small fork and served a glass of white wine. While she continued her story, Cassandra skewered some olives and an artichoke heart from the antipasto.

  “We were obligated to visit the Imperial palace, and play with the Emperors children, but that was a far cry from getting to know real people. Fact of the matter was I absolutely hated being around those spoiled ill-mannered people.”

  As she paused to get a piece of prosciutto and tear off some fresh hot slipper bread, James turned his gaze from the food to her, “How old were you when you left? Was it when you went to college?”

  “Well sort of. When I was twenty, I left for University. It was wonderful, on one hand, and not much better on the other. Since my family holds an imperial cabinet position, I was not really left alone. I had Imperial guards follow me, discreetly mind you, throughout my University training.”

  “You had body guards follow you everywhere you went?”

  At first, she thought the question was intended to make fun of her, but when she looked into his bright smiling eyes, she didn’t see any malice. He was genuinely interested. “In a manner of speaking. The Imperial guards are professional soldiers. They wore civilian clothes to blend in. I’m not sure about your world, but here soldiers on a university campus, weather in uniform or in civilian clothes don’t blend in. No matter where I looked, I always saw one.”

  James was just finishing a bite of bread and olives and took a sip of the wine. “This is quite good. Is it a chardonnay?”

  “It is a white burgundy. I think it is made from chardonnay grapes. I like this with the antipasto. We will have a Sangiovese from my family’s vineyards in Tuscany with the fish and pasta. So, you like wine, what are some of your favorites?”

  “I’m not much of an oenophile, I like wines from a place we call California, it’s on the western edge of the Mississippian province. I don’t even know if grapes are grown there in this world.

  “Was it hard to make friends always surrounded by soldiers.”

  “Yes. Making friends when you were always being watched is difficult. Being constantly under surveillance tends to make people uncomfortable.” She said and paused.

  She had no intention of going into this kind of detail. Certainly, he didn’t need to know all about her life just to open up. Then she noticed James was staring at her. The look was innocent enough, but it added to her discomfort. She turned away, but before the gaze was broken, James said, “I didn’t mean to bring up any unhappy memories. Let’s talk about something else. When I was in college I had to work part time jobs in a scullery just to make enough money to eat. We can talk about me. Go ahead ask me anything.”

  “Very well.” She said, maybe opening up a little did help, but before she could phrase a question, the salmon and pasta was served. James smiled, “This looks good. Salmon you say
?”

  “Yes. Caught just up the coast from here. It is served with capers in a lemon, butter and basil sauce. I hope you like it?”

  She picked up her fork and began eating. After savoring the first bite, she looked at James and began, “James there are several reasons we are looking in other dimensions. One of the things we are looking for is data about a certain virus. In our world a virus has emerged that may threaten our continued existence. The virus seems to have infected everyone on Earth. It lies dormant for years, and then around middle age it awakens and commandeers the body’s metabolism for its own purpose. The virus is so tenacious nothing seems to halt or even slow its progress. One by one different systems become overloaded making copies of the virus and shut down. Before this virus struck, average life expectancy had been pushed back into the middle nineties, now there are very few people older than sixty. Perhaps the most alarming aspect is the virus seems to be awaking in younger and younger people.

  “We are hoping to find a dimension where people have found a cure for the virus. A cure we can use here.”

  James started to laugh, but Cassandra’s expression did not indicate this was a joke. “I’m sorry, but you grabbed the wrong guy. I’m a history professor, not a biologist. I’m afraid I don’t know much about viruses or how to treat them.

  Chapter 5

  - I’ll do It My Way -

  By the time Cassandra and James got to the dessert, the triclinium was almost empty. The other diners had consumed enough food and gossip to last the remainder of the afternoon, and Cassandra, not being the center of attention, was finally able to relax. She and James enjoyed a quiet discussion even though it was mostly peppered with small talk. Several times Cassandra noticed James yawning. He had pointed out earlier; his trip across the Atlantic had taken all night. She wondered if that was true. If it was, no wonder he was yawning. “You look tired” Cassandra finally said as they neared the end of desert.