“Evidence?”
Father shook his head. “Scientists. Instead of asking for evidence, you should seek out the full story. Don’t ask for the dots, connect them. Our story has already ended, but your difficulty stems from having no understanding of its beginnings. You’ll find that I’m not the monster you believe I am.”
Daniel stood silent while Father stared at the floor.
“Many years ago, when I was a young man, devout but disengaged, I received a remarkable coin with markings that urged me to spin it upon a mirror. An odd circumstance, but I complied. The message hidden within the coin told me a great many things, about technology, about my future and my purpose in this world. The message burdened me with a mission, taught me how to gain access to fourth-dimensional technology and directed me to a sailor in the Navy who would become an accomplice.”
“To my surprise, the prophecies in the message came true, including a devastating war that I had a hand in starting. In the early days, I had little understanding of my role beyond the initial mission, but as the years passed, I noticed the relationship between three seemingly unrelated events. The first event was the war itself and my role in it. The second was your documented jump to the future, well known even in the 2030s. But the third was a groundswell among the population for godly dominion over the triggers of such a devastating war.”
Father paced, eyeing Daniel. Jacquelyn hung on Daniel’s arm, a half step behind him. She listened but said nothing.
“I knew that the timing of these three events was no coincidence. These events foretold my fate. I had played, or would play, the central role in all three. It was a commandment from a divine power. The Lord wished for me to lead a new path for the righteous, even though the heinous act of war was a required first step. I had passed my earthly test and began to see my redemption, which continues to this day.”
“As more years passed, I believed deeply in my heart that I would transform into the very person who would call you to the future. Even stranger, that I would be the one who would send the coin to my younger self.”
A second closed loop.
“A clear example of the ontological paradox,” Daniel said, still deep in thought. “You fulfilled a destiny that you created for yourself.”
Daniel attempted to piece together the seemingly impossible parts of the story. A young preacher stirred to action by a coin from the future, but unaware of its source. Becton must have been the delivery mechanism for that coin too. Father’s disclosures were filling important gaps. Keeping him talking could be helpful in finding a path out of this mess.
“Yes, destiny. It’s very real. When the technology for the olinwun was finally invented in the 2040s, I was certain. Once I understood that it was my fate to bring you to the future and to advise my younger self, I set about to do those things. Fourth-dimensional technology was the starting point, and I began to research the incredible ability to reach into three-dimensional space from a fourth dimension. You may be aware that the keys required to launch a missile are locked away in a safe. But you must also know that reaching into a locked safe is child’s play when you have access to alternate dimensions of space.”
This much was true. Anyone pushed into a fourth dimension viewed the three-dimensional world as a flat drawing, where walls could be easily crossed, and locked doors were simply lines to jump over. Nala had done it herself while trapped in the void.
Father continued. “I sifted through records of evangelical ministries to find my accomplice in the Navy. I already knew his name because it was included in the coin I had received. Some things were easy, some were hard. But throughout those years of research I couldn’t imagine how the coins would be transferred to the past.”
“And then Becton arrived.” Daniel eyed the guard with the gun and glanced at the guard at the door. There was little chance he could take them both out.
Father seemed pleased. “Yes, Elliott Becton arrived last April, a ready messenger for the Lord. He identified me as the keeper of time manipulation and made the first contact by leaving a note inside my private chamber. It certainly caught my attention. We passed more notes to each other over several weeks. He was there, unseen, never flowing forward, always remaining in that strange empros state that allowed him to see me, but not vice versa. He asked for advanced information about time travel. I fed him only what I wanted him to know and, in the end, I promised all that he’d asked for, but on one condition. That he would deliver two coins. One to a computer programmer and part-time preacher in Atlanta of long ago—myself—and the other to you. Even from empros time, he easily completed the first task which resolved the loop that had puzzled me for so many years. Very strange indeed; I gave the coin to myself. But when Becton returned and demanded further information about time manipulation, I knew I could not trust him to deliver the second coin.”
“So, you tricked him?” Daniel could guess where this was going.
“Convinced him that I could provide the information he wanted, but only in person. He would need to flow forward, joining us in our time. I also convinced him that the information bestowed upon him would provide safe passage back to his own time.”
“A lie.”
“We must do whatever it takes to fulfill our fate.”
“So, once Becton flowed forward into your time, you had him trapped. When he returned, he died from snapback.”
“Dear Dr. Rice, your verb tenses are all wrong. You keep forgetting. That part of the story hasn’t happened yet.”
Father was right, he had forgotten. Daniel closed his eyes and sighed at the insanity of it all. “Becton arrives for the second time next week.”
“In just a few days,” Father confirmed. “When he arrives—and he will—the second loop to the past will be complete. But in a very real sense, it is already over. You confirmed it yourself. As we stood on the balcony of the Golden Spire, you told me that Becton is already dead.”
Daniel nodded. Becton was certainly dead, even if the cause of his death hadn’t yet happened. Effect before cause, the ultimate in time paradoxes.
Father gloated at his victory in convoluted logic. “You see, Dr. Rice, Elliott Becton’s fate is sealed. Just as yours is. I’ll explain to Mr. Becton that if anything goes wrong with his return, you’ll fix it when you arrive in the future. I’m confident Becton will do everything in his power to deliver the coin to you. In fact, he already has. You cannot change these events. They’ve already happened.”
It was like fighting an impossibly-nimble foe, swinging wildly with punches that never landed because he had already moved away. Daniel’s hopes for a positive outcome were shrinking rapidly.
Have I already lost?
Daniel hesitated to say anything more, realizing that his words could still be used against him. But, if he could get the belt back, there might still be options. It was possible that Father saw them too. Staying silent wasn’t going to help.
“If you’ve already won, why do you want me dead?”
“Dead in your own time, Dr. Rice. There’s a distinction.” He waited for a response, almost as if teasing the correct answer from Daniel.
A gun pointed at his head, but no one had pulled the trigger yet. Sending Daniel to die in his own time seemed to be a key element of Father’s plan.
“You want to improve the odds for another instance of your class.”
Father seemed relieved. “You can learn. Very good.”
“If I die in my own time, another version of you benefits.”
“I do my best to help my brethren. We’re in this together. You will be much quieter when you’re dead. Better still, your death from the mistakes of time travel will reinforce my argument that time travel cannot be trusted to the scientists.”
Father’s plan might even make sense—if the idea of a single person spread into nearly infinite versions of themselves could make sense. This madman seemed to embrace it wholeheartedly.
“But too much talk. Let’s move on, shall we?” Fathe
r reached into a pocket at the side of his bodysuit and held up an olinwun. “I believe you lost this? My people discovered it at the bottom of a punch bowl of all places. Ordinarily I would have put it back in your pocket for your trip home, but now that you’re uncooperative, I can’t be sure you won’t lose it again.”
He held the edges of the metal coin between his gloved thumb and index finger and pinched. Astonishingly, the coin folded in half as if the hard metal was no sturdier than foil. He tossed the now half-moon-shaped piece of junk to the floor.
The bodysuit had given his fingers the leverage of a vise. It was a vivid demonstration of power, but a warning too. A grip like that could easily shatter a bone or close off a windpipe with a pinch.
“The coin is useless, so we’ve decided on another path for the nuclear launch information that people in your time will need.”
He waved to the scar-faced guard at the door, who entered with a small towel in his hand. The man unwrapped the towel to reveal a stainless-steel tool that looked like a surgical instrument. A prong of steel protruded from a handle with a triangular razor at its tip. Tucked below the razor, a second prong held an electronics component on a clip.
While the armed guard provided cover, Scar Face advanced toward Daniel. “Roll up your sleeve,” he commanded.
Jacquelyn gasped. Daniel hesitated.
Father grabbed Jacquelyn by her arm and pulled her away. “Step aside, my dear. The procedure is routine and it only hurts for a few minutes, but it’s not pretty.” His gloved hand wrapped around her upper arm and squeezed.
Jacquelyn doubled over, pushing against his arm to no avail. “You’re hurting me!”
“Crushed bones are far more painful than a simple chip placed under the skin. I hope your man chooses to cooperate.”
Daniel held up a hand. “Stop. I’ll do it.”
Father relinquished his pressure, and Jacquelyn stood up straight, pushing against Father’s gloved hand which remained wrapped around her arm.
Daniel took a deep breath and rolled up his shirtsleeve.
Take what you can get, but concede when you must.
He’d managed to get information from Father. Now, he’d have to pay the price.
35 Loopholes
Daniel Rice had always hated needles, both the sharp sting as the needle pierced the skin and the whole idea of inserting something foreign into the body. This would be an entirely new level of discomfort.
The guard gripped Daniel’s left forearm and laid the surgical tool flat against his skin. The blade at the end of its prong was a centimeter wide. It looked like it could do a lot of damage, though it wouldn’t go deep if the tool remained parallel to his arm. He could only hope this beast wouldn’t intentionally aim at a vein.
Father gripped Jacquelyn a few feet away. She looked near tears, grimacing either from the painful squeeze of Father’s enhanced grip or the menacing device ready to stab Daniel.
With a push of his wrist, the guard jabbed the blade under Daniel’s skin, allowing the full length of its prong to penetrate.
Daniel jerked, wincing.
Blood seeped out from a clean cut, and the prong continued further another two inches just below the skin. With another push, the electronics chip followed the blade, sending a jolt of pain up his arm. The guard withdrew the tool, leaving the chip as a lump under the skin.
A blue bruise quickly formed around a bulge, and blood trickled from the wound. Daniel gritted his teeth as the guard wrapped gauze around his arm, covering the cut and staunching the bleeding.
“More false data about the nuclear launch?” Daniel asked as calmly as he could through clenched teeth. The chip would be difficult to remove without another incision, and Daniel doubted he’d find any knives lying around once he entered empros time.
“Not false at all. Very real information, just somewhat misleading,” Father said. “It will keep them busy long enough.”
Aiden’s olinwun was still in his stomach, and no one was brandishing any nasty tools to cut open his belly. If he made it back to his own time, even in death, there was still a chance of completing this mission.
The scar-faced guard who’d acted as a crude nurse left the room and returned carrying what was certainly Becton’s belt and the helmet. The belt looked no different than it had when Daniel had given it to Brother Benjamin.
Father traded Jacquelyn for the time travel devices, and the guard pulled both of her arms behind her back. His sneer increased now that Jacquelyn was in his grip.
“I was fascinated to see this device in person,” Father said. He ran a finger along one of the wires that connected the large battery pack to several electronics components. “I’d read the descriptions in the documentation of your jump. I’d seen the drawings. But I wasn’t prepared for such crude construction. Honestly, what is this?” He pointed to Chloe’s lip piercing, which still held a loose wire to the leather.
“Improvisation,” Daniel replied. “Your security team maligned it too, but it got me here.” Daniel rolled his shirtsleeve over the now-red bandage.
“And it will no doubt return you. We were careful not to disrupt the data stored in its controlling unit. The anchor point in time is still faithfully recorded and ready to whisk you back to 2023. But we did make a few adjustments to the software in the controller. Minor things, really. Any programmer could do it.”
He handed the belt to Daniel. His command was sharp. “Put it on.”
Daniel held the belt in his good hand, eyeing the guard with the automatic weapon. He might be just stupid enough to shoot, though Father would never command it. Of course, Jacquelyn was also in danger, but that was true whether Daniel jumped or not.
The belt provides an advantage. Use it.
Daniel wrapped the belt around his waist and buckled up as best he could with a bleeding arm. If there was any concern from Father now that Daniel had the belt, he didn’t show it. Still, the armed guard flipped on a targeting laser, and a red dot appeared on Daniel’s shirt.
He won’t shoot. Father won’t allow it. Just get to empros time.
Father studied the components glued to the inside of the helmet. “Being a time traveler myself, I’m well aware of the steps involved and of the unique ability to manipulate a frozen world once flowing empros. I can assure you, Dr. Rice, we’re not going to permit that to happen.”
He set the helmet on the floor just in front of Daniel. “We will now leave and lock the door. Your next steps are simple. Put on the helmet, flow empros, then select the decompress command. You’ll find that this location was nothing but a peanut farm in your day. The walls of this cell will simply disappear.”
The plan was simple, yes. But badly flawed for someone trying to deliver misinformation to the past. He must see his mistake. It was obvious.
Father smiled. “The gears are turning. You see the opening, don’t you? Empros provides so many options, if not within this locked cell, then on the other end of the jump.”
It was a glaring loophole. Once back in 2023, he’d have all the time in the world.
Simply remain in empros. Find Griffith and Chloe and leave them a note. Cut the chip out and destroy it. Then get to a hospital and flow forward.
“I’m glad we’re thinking along the same lines, Dr. Rice. It confirms our partnership in these fateful steps that we take together. I am the manipulator of time, and you are the messenger.”
Father pointed to the belt. “We’ve made a small adjustment to the decompress command by combining it with flow forward. The two commands are now one. Returning to your anchor will automatically trigger the flow forward. Sorry, but once you’re back, there won’t be any lounging around in empros time, writing letters to your friends.”
Of course. He’s not stupid. Daniel sighed. “With one command, I jump back, flow into normal time, and quickly die from snapback.”
Father shrugged. “I’m afraid so. We’re located a good distance from Atlanta. By the time the local farmers find you and call for
medical help, you’ll be dead. Very tragic.”
Daniel would still have all the empros time he wanted before jumping back, but he’d be inside a locked cell. There didn’t seem to be much point in remaining in that state. He’d eventually die from natural causes long before a single minute had elapsed in forward time.
Loophole closed.
Daniel could only think of two remaining alternatives, and neither of them were very good. “What if I refuse to jump?”
Father shook his head. “Not an option.”
“You’ll do some bone crushing to convince me to go?”
Father wiggled the stretched fingers on one hand. “I could, of course, but I have something much better.” Father reached to a sheath on his belt and withdrew a knife with a curved blade at least ten inches in length. “I find this tool works miracles to concentrate the mind.”
He touched a recess on its handle, and the knife lit up with a white light that pulsated along the edge of the blade with an audible vibration. “It cuts like a razor but uses high voltage, much like a welder’s arc. It cauterizes the wound as it slices, keeping things tidy. It also functions quite well while in empros time—handy when I’m traveling.”
Daniel stared at the pulsating blade and contemplated a second not-so-great alternative. The helmet was only a few feet away. He’d have to flip on the power switch and press several buttons on the belt controller. Even if he was quick, it was certainly enough time for the guard to get off a shot. But if Father got closer, the guard might not pull the trigger.
Once flowing empros, this would all end. Everyone in the room would freeze instantly, rendering guns and knives harmless. He’d disarm all three, hoist Jacquelyn over his shoulder and walk out the open door. It was a long shot, but it was the last of his not-so-good alternatives.
Father stepped forward, the blade humming.
“You cut me, and they’ll know I didn’t die from the time jump.” Last-resort logic was still worth a try.
Father shook his head. “Who said anything about cutting you?” He pivoted toward Jacquelyn. The guard at the door easily held her arms with one hand and wrapped another massive hand around her neck, pulling her head back.
The Quantum Series Box Set Page 86