by E W Barnes
Unlike the training hall, which was bordered on one side with windows looking out onto the grounds, the agent unit hall had no windows, just doors on both sides, first one then another. Each door had a computer screen displaying the status of the temporal amplifier within. Most of the screens were in gray mode reading “offline”—none had the telltale blue screen showing a temporal amplifier was in use. The corridor extended as far as Sharon could see in the light of the gray screens.
“What are you doing here?”
Sharon’s heart leapt into her mouth. Jonas yelped and dropped his pack. Yorga Zintel was standing in an open doorway. There was no light in the room behind her and she was a dark shadow against blackness.
“I could ask you the same question, Yorga,” Miranda said. “You never use a temporal amplifier.”
“What I do is my business,” Yorga answered.
“We are implementing a mission for Director Veta,” Caelen said, moving to stand between Yorga and the others.
“The director did not inform me,” Yorga said. “What mission? Only critical missions may take place during Critical Operations Mode. I’ve not heard of any critical missions sanctioned by the president.”
“We have our orders,” Miranda said calmly turning away from Yorga. The others took the hint and began walking down the corridor again.
Whether because she did not want to challenge Miranda, or because she realized she would have to chase after them to get more information, Yorga said nothing further and retreated into the dark room.
“Double time,” Caelen said when they heard the snick of the door closing. They sped up, walking as fast as they could without breaking into a run. Sharon wondered if this was a mistake and if they should have used a temporal amplifier in a training room. Then she saw a screen ahead burning steadily green in the dark.
“There’s one we can use,” Miranda said.
Bright lights came on automatically as they entered, blinding them. As Jonas locked the door, Caelen inserted the Director’s Prerogative device into the control panel of the temporal amplifier. The green screen on the door blacked out, replaced with a gray “offline.”
◆◆◆
The agent unit temporal amplifier rooms differed from the training rooms. There were no long counters and workstations of glasstic. Instead there was a single control panel set into a small glasstic desk in the center of a dark grey stone floor. The walls were lined with tall double-door cabinets colored a lighter gray than the floor. Sharon guessed they were for storing the period specific materials agents would need for shifts to different time frames. The gray-on-gray effect made the white glasstic desk stand out as if it were in a spotlight.
“Where are we going?” Jonas whispered as he crowded close to the desk.
“To my home,” Sharon answered.
“Where were the guards in the atrium?” Jonas asked.
“Good question,” Miranda answered. “Maybe because there’s a curfew, they only have guards on the surface after a certain time. Let’s thank our luck there weren’t any there now.”
Caelen typed the coordinates into the control panel of the temporal amplifier. There was a quiet whining noise over the temporal amplifier’s normal hum; then it stopped, and the humming resumed. Caelen put the micro-drive back in his pocket.
“Ok, that should do it. If anyone checks, they will learn this temporal amplifier was used, but they won’t know who used it or when we shifted to.”
Jonas pulled his pack closer to him and Sharon and Miranda nodded their readiness. Caelen pushed the button. The room rippled and warped like a mirage of storm-cloud grays slowly replaced with warm browns and golds. They had shifted into the library in Sharon’s home next to the massive bookcases that housed Sharon’s temporal amplifier, arriving midafternoon local time in 2023.
“Welcome back, Sharon,” a voice said, and an image appeared in the library. The hologram was called Mrs. Bower and was the temporal amplifier’s interface and security program. It had been personalized to look and sound like Sharon’s grandmother. The image of Sharon’s grandmother had her eyes fixed on Caelen, Miranda, and Jonas.
“Mrs. Bower, you remember Agent Winters, Agent Noon, and Agent Fernley? They are here on my recognizance,” Sharon said, giving Mrs. Bower the code that all was well and that her security function was not needed.
Mrs. Bower smiled.
“Welcome. I was not expecting you,” There was a pause, and she looked at Sharon quizzically. “There is no record on the temporal mainframe for this shift. How can that be?”
“Oh, well, this shift was off-the-record,” Sharon began, not sure how much to explain.
Mrs. Bower nodded. “Ah. The Director’s Prerogative. I understand.”
“You know about that?” Caelen asked, astonished.
“Everything Rose Sprucewood Bower knew, I know,” Mrs. Bower answered.
At the name of his mentor, Jonas stood up straighter and the barely contained panic that had infected him since their arrival at his apartment ebbed away.
“I’m glad I don’t have to explain,” Sharon said. She had a sudden thought. “Mrs. Bower, we’ll be using this temporal amplifier for more off-the-record shifts. It would be helpful if I didn’t have to keep introducing the others every time to confirm they are not a security threat.”
“Say no more,” Mrs. Bower said and paused. “They are now added to the recognizance list until you remove them.”
Jonas sighed and took a step back, knocking over his pack and sending books sliding across the floor. It was the release from tension they all needed. They helped him pick up all up, and Sharon dragged his pack to a spot against a wall. They settled into the comfortable furniture in the library to catch their breaths.
“How was the meeting with the director?” Caelen asked Miranda.
“Horrible,” Miranda said. “The timeline in which the TPC now exists is terrible.”
Miranda always appeared calm and polished; but now her face was crumpled with frustration and exhaustion. She was on the divan under the window, slouched over, her head in her hands.
“Would you like tea? I’ll get us some tea,” Sharon got up without waiting for an answer. Miranda’s demoralization rattled Sharon. She took deep breaths as she walked into the kitchen, noisily pulling cups out of the cupboard after putting a kettle on the stove.
Jonas helped carry the cups of tea, along with a small plate of cookies Sharon found behind a box of steel-cut oats. In the time it had taken to make the tea, Miranda had pulled herself together and was looking less crushed and more her confident self. Once they were all seated, Miranda began again.
“The TPC is not the same organization we remember. Ferhana Veta is still the director, but it’s a title only and there were hints that may change soon, that they will remove her. I suspect they will name Yorga Zintel as her replacement. There are several colleagues that appear to no longer work for the TPC and… and the mission of the TPC has changed.”
Jonas was looking at the floor. “What’s the mission now?” he asked in a quiet voice.
“The TPC no longer exists for educational and scientific research. Its mission now is focused on increasing and maintaining global security. And there’s more,” she said.
“What?” Caelen asked in a voice as dark as night.
“Authority over the TPC now lies with the President of the World Government.”
“How is that possible?” Caelen gasped.
“How is what possible?” Sharon asked. Miranda took a deep breath as Caelen stood up and paced.
“When the World Government was established in 2126, the Temporal Protection Corps was placed under global authority so that no one department or entity would have control of time travel,” Miranda explained. “The TPC director answers to a commission, not the president. It’s illegal for the president to take over the TPC.”
“Can’t they stop it?” Jonas asked.
“Who are they?” Miranda responded, her frustration leakin
g out in bitter words. “Director Veta and the other governmental leaders swore an oath to uphold the law, and the president is the arbiter of the law. When this happened, there was nothing the TPC in 2127 could do - and if they tried, even 77 years later, the TPC would be at odds with every department in the world government. Perhaps even with the world population itself.”
“So, we’re in another timeline again,” Sharon looked at Caelen, fear in her eyes.
“Not exactly,” Miranda said as she pulled out her tablet computer from her backpack.
“Right now, in this place,” she gestured around the library. “We are in the correct timeline. The changes that send us into a different timeline don’t happen for over a century. Here we are relatively safe. There we are in danger.
“While I was meeting with the director, I received a message on my retinal drive from Director Veta,” Miranda continued.
“That must have been very strange,” Jonas mused.
“It must have been sent when we activated the hologram,” Caelen said.
“Yes, it was. In the message she informed me of the bootstrapping mission, the Director’s Prerogative device, and ordered me to meet you at your apartment,” Miranda nodded at Caelen. “She told me I had all the information I needed to complete the mission. After the meeting, I accessed the temporal mainframe and downloaded into my retinal drive all historical data from 2126 to 2204 in this timeline. My tablet computer still has the historical data from the timeline we left.”
“Because you had it with you when we traveled to 2167, the information on it didn’t change—like how our memories didn’t change,” Sharon said, nodding.
“Exactly. With your permission, I’ll interface the tablet and the data on my retinal drive with Mrs. Bower and she can run a comparison of the two timelines. She will identify the point of divergence faster than I can.”
“Mrs. Bower,” Sharon called out, activating the hologram again. Mrs. Bower appeared instantly.
“We need your help… and we need the TPC to not know about it,” Miranda said.
Mrs. Bower looked thoughtful, scanning their faces before she answered.
“I can see that something has happened… yes, I am getting an update from the mainframe now…”
Mrs. Bower’s face went blank, and she stood without moving. Sharon worried. Was it a mistake to call on Mrs. Bower? What if connecting with the mainframe in the new timeline somehow over-rode or re-programmed her?
Sharon braced herself. They could be out of the library in two steps if the security program activated. They could lock Mrs. Bower in, but they would lose access to the temporal amplifier.
“I understand,” Mrs. Bower said, finally. “What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to run a comparison of two timelines,” Miranda said. Sharon pulled the bookcase away from the wall so Miranda could access the temporal amplifier control panel.
“I can run the analysis and compartmentalize it which will stop it from being immediately accessible on the temporal mainframe,” Mrs. Bower said. “But that is only a temporary solution. I will be forced to upload the analysis to the mainframe during the next system-wide update. It is an automatic process, and there is nothing I can do to stop it.”
“When is the next update?” Sharon asked.
“In approximately 30 minutes.”
“How long will the analysis take?” Miranda asked as she placed the tablet on the control panel. Her eyes were dark orange again. There was a pause as Mrs. Bower calculated an estimate. Her expression did not reassure Sharon.
“The analysis will take 25 minutes,” Mrs. Bower said.
“Can’t we wait until after the automatic upload to do the analysis?” Jonas asked.
“I don’t recommend it,” Mrs. Bower answered. “I have detected a new algorithm added to the temporal mainframe requiring a report on all searches. My inquiry into the current status has been recorded by the mainframe and may result in difficult questions. I think the sooner I complete the analysis, the better.”
“Very well,” Miranda said. “When your analysis is complete, please transfer your conclusions to the computer tablet.”
Mrs. Bower nodded, already processing the data Miranda provided. Mrs. Bower remained in the library rather than deactivating, though she appeared to fade, becoming slightly transparent.
“If we only have 30 minutes, we better make a plan,” Miranda said.
“What do you mean?” Jonas said.
“There is only one way to stop the upload of the analysis to the temporal mainframe,” she answered. Jonas and Sharon both looked confused, but Caelen nodded.
“Then we better get ready,” he said.
CHAPTER SIX
Mrs. Bower finished the analysis two minutes earlier than she predicted, and they were ready.
The only way to ensure the analysis would not upload to the temporal mainframe was to take the conclusions Mrs. Bower recorded on Miranda’s computer, and travel back in time to before they requested the analysis.
“I thought the temporal mainframe used quantum computing to access all information from all points in time,” Sharon said. “Once Mrs. Bower finishes the analysis, it still exists and can be found on the temporal mainframe, right? Even if we go back in time?”
“The temporal amplifier protects against paradox,” Caelen answered.
“Ok, I get that. But doesn’t that mean that someone with bad intentions could, I don’t know, take something from or add something to the temporal mainframe, and then travel back in time to hide it?”
All three stopped and stared at her.
“That's something I never considered,” Miranda intoned.
“This is why you’re the Chestnut Covin expert,” Jonas said, his eyes sparkling. “You know how to think like a bad guy.”
“Thanks, I think,” Sharon said, rolling her eyes as Jonas flushed pink.
Mrs. Bower finished the analysis, becoming solid again.
“Agent Noon, my conclusions are now recorded on your tablet and I am fully updated on the situation. Please let me know if you need any assistance in evaluating your next steps.” She turned to Sharon.
“Sharon, do you wish me to stay active?”
Sharon looked at Miranda who shook her head. “That's all we need for now, Mrs. Bower. You may deactivate… and thank you.”
Mrs. Bower smiled lovingly at her, reminding Sharon painfully of her grandmother, before vanishing.
Miranda retrieved her tablet and tapped the temporal amplifier control panel after inserting the Director’s Prerogative device.
“As we planned, I’m programming the temporal amplifier for 8:00 a.m. yesterday morning local time. That gives us over 24 hours in which we can get in three solid meals and a good night’s sleep before we go back in time to avoid the upload,” she explained.
“How can we do that without using up the shifts on the Director’s Prerogative device?” Jonas asked.
“We can’t,” Caelen answered. “But we can use one of the shifts to program the temporal amplifier to keep us in a time loop. It will send us back to the same morning until we change the program It will be as if it’s one long shift.”
“Genius!” Sharon said with a laugh.
Miranda pushed the button, and the room warped and rippled like a mirage, glowing red around them before they re-emerged in the library. It was cooler now and less bright, the sun not yet having reached this side of the house.
Miranda sat down with the tablet on her lap.
“Let’s see what Mrs. Bower learned,” she said.
◆◆◆
For 30 minutes Miranda read Mrs. Bower’s report, occasionally muttering to herself. Jonas sat on a chair across from her biting his nails. Caelen watched out the window, while Sharon paced in front of the bookcases. Miranda sighed and looked up from the computer.
“As we thought, the focal point is in 2127,” she said. “Soon after the World Government was established, the entire population of the planet rece
ived an email stating: The debt is now due. This is the point of divergence.”
“The debt is now due? What does that mean?” Jonas asked. Miranda shook her head.
“I don’t know. But within hours of receiving the email, the World Government President declared martial law. It was within that declaration that the TPC was placed in Critical Operations Mode, with the explanation it was to prevent an Alexander Event.”
“Everyone in the world received this email?” Sharon asked.
“Yes, almost everyone.”
“And this message caused a panic which required martial law to quell?”
“Apparently.”
“And 77 years later martial law is still in place?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” Miranda’s eyes were orange again.
“If everyone in the world received the email, then everyone owed this debt? What was the debt?” Jonas asked.
“That’s the confusing thing - well, one of the confusing things. By 2127 there was no money, and no need to borrow money. Debt was a thing of the past.” Miranda frowned.
“How can you not use money?” Sharon asked.
“We don’t need money. We are provided everything we need,” Jonas said.
“How is that possible?”
“Not too far in your future, money will be replaced by an exchange system built on block chain,” Caelen answered.
“Block chain… you mean like bitcoin?”
“Bitcoin used block chain, but block chain was not what bitcoin was. Think of block chain like a way of fingerprinting data. It uses a unique signature, a sequence of numbers and letters for each piece of data. And the signature is immutable, it can’t be changed. All the computers that receive the data check to ensure each sequence is the same each time. If any part of the sequence changes, it’s no longer recognized as the same data and treated as invalid. Because it was so secure, it became a way of exchanging anything of value. Eventually we used it to exchange tasks for housing, food, health care, etc.”