Last of the Treasure Hunters

by Warren Dean

  "It's nerdbabble," he said, his voice rising with excitement. "Christina, the Nerds are back," he gestured towards the Journeyman, "and so is he. Something's changed, that's what he means by 'the shift'. Seeker's message got through, it must have."

  She turned back to the Constructor who was standing by in silence, watching them. "Is this true?" she asked him. "Is everything back the way it was?"

  He considered her question. "Nothing can ever truly be put back the way it was. It is more accurate to say that there has been a shift in the continuum we experience as space-time. My perceptions thus far confirm what Connor suggests; that the most likely cause of the shift is the survey drone's intervention. Precisely how much of a shift has taken place I have yet to ascertain."

  "Never mind about that," said Connor. He was literally hopping up and down with excitement. "We can work it out later. Let's go and find Azee and the Nerds. Come on!"

  He grabbed Christina's hand and together they ran out of the Journeyman's chambers. They retraced their steps back through the City of Shapes, running most of the way. The fact that they could have taken a portal back to the 'hive never occurred to them in their impatience. Connor didn't know what had happened to his shades; he must have dropped them in his amazement. Unwilling to take the time to stop and get another pair, he ran with his eyes half closed in a squint against the glare.

  He was profoundly relieved when they reached the ramp which led up into the dimmer surroundings of the 'hive complex. They toiled up the ramp and headed for the corridor that would take them towards the refectory and dormitories. Connor's eyes were still adjusting when he almost collided with a slender, grey-haired man who stepped into his path from a side door.

  "Sorry," gasped Connor, nimbly side-stepping the man and skidding to a halt. Christina stopped alongside him, breathing hard.

  It was weird to see someone new at the Repository and Connor's first thought was that the man must be a visitor. Connor's already racing heart quickened further. Was he from Earth?

  Anxious as Connor was to keep going until he found Azee, curiosity got the better of him and he turned to ask the individual where he was from. Catching sight of the man's face for the first time, the question died on his lips. The face wore a pair of old-fashioned spectacles and, despite having more lines than Connor remembered, it was achingly familiar.

  An older version of Ant Jennings stood staring at him in astonishment.

  He stared back.

  "Connor?"

  "Ant, you're back!"

  "Christina, is that you?"

  "Hello Ant, it's lovely to see you."

  "But… you're both dead."

  "Er…" Connor found it remarkably difficult to come up with an answer to a statement like that; 'no, we're not' seemed hopelessly inadequate.

  Ant rolled his eyes. "Oh, you're a hologram, right? Rourke, I've told you a thousand times to stop doing things like this. It's creepy."

  A younger man stepped through the side door. He wore a tunic with a high neckline and flared shoulder pads. Fitted sleeves covered his arms and loose leggings flared below a cloth belt cinched at the waist. Comfortable looking sneakers protruded from the bottom of the leggings. The whole ensemble was white, coloured only by an embroidered badge over the left breast depicting a stylised blue 'R' over a field of silvery stars.

  The newcomer was the spitting image of Ant, aside from a distinctly Korean look around the eyes.

  "It wasn't me, grandad," said Rourke with a shrug.

  "We're not a hologram," said Connor. To prove it, he seized his old friend in a bear hug. He let go and stepped back. "Can a hologram do that?"

  It was Ant's turn to struggle for an answer. "Well, no, but… I saw you guys go into a black hole," he did some mental calculations, "five hundred years ago and you never came out," he said eventually. "How can you possibly be here now?" He looked Connor and Christina up and down. "And how come neither of you has aged a day since I last saw you?"

  "Look, Ant, it's complicated and I'm not sure I understand it myself. I'll do my best to explain later, okay? Right now, we need to find Azee." He stopped, suddenly concerned about what else might have changed.

  "She's still here, right?" he asked his old friend hesitantly.

  "Yes, she's up at the 'hive," replied Ant. "Where else do you think she would be at this time of night?"

  Connor didn't reply, inwardly relieved to hear that nothing had happened to Azee. This 'shift' thing was more nerve-wracking than he had anticipated.

  "Ant," said Christina gently. "What happened to us after we went into the black hole with Xzaroth? Do you remember?"

  Ant looked at her in consternation. "Of course I remember. I may be old but I'm not senile, you know."

  She smiled. "Will you humour us? Please, it's important."

  The old hacker sighed in faux exasperation and searched his memory for a moment. "After you went in, your flyer friends – I forget their names – waited at the docking station. At the scheduled time they opened a whole lot of floating portals, hoping you would come back out through one of them. But you never showed and, as far as we knew, you all died in the black hole.

  "The only thing that made it out was a transmission. It said that at the centre of the black hole was an almost inexhaustible supply of yellow metal in liquid and gaseous form. The transmission also explained how the gas resisted the gravity and formed powerful jets, and how Seeker had used these jets to escape.

  "The Constructors were intrigued and began sending in drones programmed to collect yellow gas and ride the jets back out again. Some drones never came back, but others did. Soon they were generating a consistent supply of yellow metal."

  He shrugged. "It came at a cost in lost drones, but drones are replaceable. Later on, the Journeyman sent drones into other supermassive black holes to see whether they might also contain yellow gas. It turned out that they do and he soon had a dozen gas mining operations set up. Since then the Constructors have had all the yellow metal they need. The elders, most of whom were quite far gone, have recovered and some of them have produced offspring. A couple of the Journeyman's children work with Azee now."

  "What about Earth?" asked Christina. "Did the message get through in time to save Earth?"

  "Earth?"

  "We were trying to stop the Constructors from mining Earth's gold, do you remember?"

  He waved a hand airily. "Oh yes, the elders wanted to carry on with that; they were not convinced at first that it was possible to extract anything from a black hole. But the Journeyman persuaded them to wait. He told them that a deal was a deal; we had delivered our end of the bargain by finding the source and he had promised to spare Earth in return.

  "When it became clear that their yellow metal problem was over for good, the Constructors were much more magnanimous. In recognition of your sacrifice," – he gave them a peculiar look to signify that he still didn't understand how they had come back from the dead – "they invited Earth to join the Thousand Systems. Humans being what they are, it didn't take long for us to start spreading out. There are now billions of us scattered throughout the known universe."

  "And Earth itself?"

  He shrugged. "Earth is thriving. The reduction in population took the strain off its overloaded infrastructure and the resources that were once so scarce are now supplemented through intergalactic trade."

  "Ant, that's wonderful news," she said.

  "It's hardly news," he replied. "This all happened hundreds of years ago. Where the hell have you two been that you don't know any of this?"

  She didn't respond and he looked at Connor.

  "That's a long story," he said. He looked at Rourke and then back at Ant. "So, you and Azee, huh," he said with a mischievous grin.

  To his surprise, Ant turned scarlet with embarrassment.

  "Why are you blushing, grandad?" asked Rourke.

  "I'm not blushing, it's my blood pressure," retorted Ant.

  "You don't have blood pressure," said Rou
rke.

  Ant shot his grandson a venomous look.

  "Stop teasing him," Christina said to Connor. She gave Ant a hug and then took Connor by the hand. "Meet us later in the refectory, Ant. We'll do our best to explain then."

  Before Ant could object, Connor and Christina hurried away, anxious to find Azee.

  "You know what's odd?" said Connor thoughtfully.

  Christina raised her eyebrows. "You'll have to be more specific," she said.

  He grinned. "Yeah, the whole thing is pretty weird, I guess. No, what I was wondering is why the Journeyman is aware of the shift while Ant isn't. He was genuinely surprised to see us."

  "That's a good question." She shrugged her shoulders. "Perhaps Azee will know."

  "What if she's just as surprised to see us as Ant?"

  "Why would she be?"

  "What if she has no memory of the time before the shift either? She might also think that we died five hundred years ago."

  "What difference would that make?

  "I don't know; she might not believe our story of how we came out of the black hole and then sent Seeker back in to save Earth."

  "Won't the Journeyman be able to explain it to her?"

  "Who knows? We didn't hang around long enough to find out exactly what he remembers."

  They fell silent as they neared the 'hive, distracted from their uncertainties by the growing number of people they encountered. Ranging in age from Ant's vintage to youngsters barely in their 'teens, the 'hive teemed with walking, talking, smiling, laughing people. They were all dressed in the white tunic and leggings combination Rourke had been wearing; obviously the official uniform of the Repository. The relatively garish apparel worn by Connor and Christina drew more than a few inquisitive glances.

  Not wanting to be drawn into any conversations, they avoided speaking with anyone until they reached the 'hive platform. There they found that the once quiet facility had been transformed into something resembling a train station at rush hour. Scores of 'hive cells were in use as uniformed users came and went busily. It was impossible to see which cell Azee was in, assuming she was in one at all, and Connor and Christina stood around uncertainly.

  After a few minutes they were approached by an officious looking youth who looked them up and down with suspicion.

  "I don't have any visitors scheduled for today," he said. "When did you arrive?"

  "We aren't visitors," said Connor, feeling a little defensive. "We're friends of Azee."

  "Azee is very busy and we don't usually allow visitors in here during working hours," sniffed the young man. "Allow me to direct you to the refectory. You can have something to eat while I arrange a tour guide for you."

  Connor was about to say, 'we don't need a tour guide, thank you' when the buzzing of the ongoing mindmeld, which he had been ignoring, intruded upon his thoughts.

  "If you don't mind me asking," the young man was saying, "which of the planets of the Thousand Systems are you from? It's just that your clothing is, er, unusual."

  Connor grinned at him. "These are jeans and this is a T-shirt. And Christina is wearing a skirt and tank top. Very fashionable where we're from. You were going to take us to the refectory?"

  Christina looked surprised that he had backed down so readily and the young man looked relieved for the same reason.

  As it turned out, the refectory had been remodelled and was substantially bigger than it had been. That wasn't surprising, given the number of people now using it. The dormitories would almost certainly have been expanded too.

  The young man showed them to a table in the corner and hurried away, anxious to find someone to take the weirdos off his hands.

  "I thought we were in a hurry to see Azee?" said Christina once they were alone.

  "She's on her way," said Connor with another grin. "I suddenly remembered that we don't need to find her to speak to her." He tapped the side of his head with a finger.

  It was her turn to smile. "Was she surprised to hear from you?"

  "I couldn't tell. She just said 'where are you?' and I told her we were going to the refectory. She said 'I'll see you there' and that was it.

  They ordered some food from the table menu and were amazed at how quickly it arrived. The food preparation technology had improved too, it seemed.

  "Have you seen any spider-'bots since we left the Journeyman?" asked Connor.

  "Christina looked around. "Come to think of it, no," she said. "What do you think that means?"

  "I think it explains what happened to the med-'bot that was following us. All the 'bots have been erased by the shift. It makes sense, I think. If Azee was never left to run the Repository alone, the Journeyman would have had no reason to bring the 'bots in to help her."

  Not long after they began eating, Azee swept into the refectory, spotted them in the corner, and wended her way through the tables and chairs towards them. Connor glanced surreptitiously at her as she approached. As far as he could tell, she looked the same as when they had last seen her. Was it really just a couple of hours ago? There was one striking difference, however; she was now wearing the white tunic and leggings uniform. His heart beat a little faster.

  He stood up as she reached the table and pulled out a chair for her. She sat down and he followed suit. She stared at them for a long moment, her expression unreadable.

  "So, you survived," she said at last.

  "Yes," replied Connor, steeling himself to attempt an explanation of something he didn't fully understand himself. "When we were in the black hole, Hunter was destroyed but we managed to crawl aboard Seeker through…"

  Azee waved a hand dismissively. "I know all that," she said. "What I mean is that neither you nor your memories were erased by the shift. If you recall, we were worried about whether Seeker's message might change things so fundamentally that none of us would remember things as they were before."

  Christina nodded. "Our memories haven't changed, have yours?"

  Azee looked down at the table. "Yes and no," she said.

  "What do you mean?" asked Christina gently.

  "After you two left to go down into the city, I headed for the 'hive, like I normally do. On my way there, people started appearing in the corridors as if by magic. They all knew me and greeted me by name. They were wearing white Repository uniforms and when I looked down at myself I saw that I was wearing one too."

  She hesitated, as if considering how to make what she was going to say next sound less crazy.

  "The strange thing is that I remember getting out of bed and putting it on. And I know all of the people who greeted me; not just their names, but also where they're from, how each of them came to be at the Repository, and what they do here. I know about their personal relationships, their likes and dislikes, and things they've said to me. I remember it all."

  "You remember things you never experienced?" Christina asked.

  Azee shook her head. "No, that's not it. I remember a life I've lived. I remember Seeker's message coming through and everything that happened after that. I remember the children I had with Ant, and their children, and their children's children. Some of them live here at the Repository. Some live on Earth now. The rest live on other worlds of the Thousand Systems. I know where they all are, what they're doing, and when I last saw them or spoke to them. I know whether my relationship with each of them is close or indifferent or frosty."

  "But that's wonderful, Azee," said Christina, "isn't it?"

  "I guess so," she replied, although her expression signified uncertainty. "The problem is I also remember everything that happened before the shift. Earth's destruction, losing Ant and the other Nerds, watching the Constructors die and the Journeyman's deterioration, and being alone for so long. I remember you two coming back to the Repository four months ago and I remember us sending Seeker back into the black hole."

  She looked up at them. "It's like there are two lives in my head and I don't know which of them is real."

  Christina took one of Azee's
hands. "The real one is the one in which Ant is alive," she said. "It must be; we bumped into him on our way here."

  Azee let out a slow breath, as if she had been holding it. "You've seen him?"

  "Yes," said Christina, "and he's fine, although he was very surprised to see us."

  "I haven't spoken to him since the shift," said Azee. "I'm worried that things might have changed between us."

  "I don't think so," said Connor. "He had a kid named Rourke with him who called him grandad and who has your eyes. He knew exactly where you were and what you were doing. All he remembered of Christina and me was that we went into the black hole and were never seen again. He has no memory of the time before the shift."

  "That makes sense, I guess," said Azee. "He didn't experience those events or, at least, the Ant that is alive now didn't. So he has no memory of them. From his perspective, you two are suddenly back from the dead. The same would apply to everyone else at the Repository – except for the Journeyman," she said thoughtfully, directing an inquisitive look at Christina. "I haven't spoken to him either."

  Christina's eyes lit up. "Of course, the Journeyman! You haven't seen him yet."

  "What about him?" asked Azee. "Is he alright?"

  "He's more than alright, he is well again and his cybernetic enhancements are gone."

  "He remembers the time before the shift too," said Connor.

  Relief flooded Azee's face. "Thank goodness," she said, "at least I'm not the only one with two sets of memories."

  "Why is it that Connor and I don't have two sets of memories?" asked Christina with a puzzled frown.

  Azee considered the question. "I think it's because your journey into the black hole began before Seeker's message came through and finished after all the changes had taken place. You can't remember events you didn't live through."

  Connor and Christina were silent for a time as they let Azee's words sink in.

  "So," said Connor, closing his eyes as if that would help him understand, "all that stuff about alternate timelines and parallel universes is just science fiction. In reality, there is only one universe and one timeline. Going back and changing something alters events that happened later in the timeline. People alive at the time of the change – the shift from the old sequence of events to the new one – recall the original events as well as the new ones. People who died in the original sequence but survive in the new one only remember the new one." He opened his eyes. "Okay, got it."