“Who are you?” he asked.
The colors of her face included long pink lashes to match her lips. Gentle hand motions accompanied unhurried words, almost mesmerizing in combination with her soothing and softly spoken tone.
“A guide… waiting for you… and one other.”
“You knew I was coming?” It seemed inconceivable that his second jump forward could have been recorded in history. He’d made the decision on the spur of the moment, with no one else around to watch him go. Of course, he might still tell the tale upon return to his own time, a positive thought that made him smile.
She smiled back. Gentle and limited, matching her words.
“You wait for one other, besides me?” Daniel asked.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
She remained silent, her soft smile speaking for her.
“Have you been waiting long?” Daniel asked.
“Less than one year. More specific?” Her head tilted again.
Her mannerisms were fascinating; the head tilt, the long lashes blinking with intention, the slow-motion smile. Like her dress, her hair moved in the nonexistent breeze. He could happily watch her for hours. “Are you human? Or machine?”
“Neither. More specific?”
“No, that’s fine, I probably don’t need to know.” He would have loved to go deeper, but it would only be out of curiosity. He’d made it to the distant future, even more reason to avoid gathering too much knowledge. “Can you help me return to my time?”
“Yes.”
“Um… more specific, if you don’t mind.”
“You are Daniel Rice?”
“Yes, I am.”
Expected. Certainly, a good thing.
She reached out with her right hand, palm up. A swirl of deep blue with pink speckles glowed across the skin. She curled her index finger, leaving the other fingers straight. “Please verify.”
A handshake? The gesture was slightly odd but not threatening. Daniel set the helmet down and formed his right hand in a complementary manner, palm down, index finger curled. He placed his hand on hers, their index fingers forming a bridge at the knuckle and their thumbs touching at the side.
Her skin was cool, soft and moist. Very humanlike, except for the colors. If she was sampling DNA or proteins, she’d make an excellent nurse. No skin prick, no swab. Nothing but a gentle touch.
“Thank you,” she said, her pleasant but otherwise blank expression remaining unchanged. Daniel withdrew his hand.
Her eyes closed momentarily, then reopened. “For you, Daniel Rice. Information from Sagittarius Novus. Impart?”
“Yes, please. I’d love to see it.” The galactic alliance of civilizations was somehow involved, perhaps even prepared for Daniel’s visit.
Need to learn how time travel works? Ask the experts.
He imagined Earth would be a full-fledged member of Sagittarius Novus by now. Either that or reduced to a cinder, which apparently hadn’t happened. She did say this was Georgia. Maybe the city of spires in the distance was still named Atlanta.
Her eyes closed once more, and the tone of her voice changed, becoming deeper and more resonant, with a quicker clip to her words. “Welcome, Daniel Rice. The time jump you have made is unique in human history. One of the first jumps, and one of the last uncontrolled. In this year, while time jumps are still undertaken, they are rare, researched in advance and coordinated.”
Behind her, the scene of the countryside changed, replaced by a bird’s-eye view above the city of spires. The view swooped down, flying between buildings and passing just above a surface of crisscrossing walkways, roadways and tracks. A sleek glass-and-metal train of sorts slid across the foreground, and the view dropped into one of the buildings, passing through rooms filled with people and then out the other side. It seemed to be a virtual tour and like any good promotional video, the city appeared vibrant and energetic.
“We have studied your mission, even though it is not yet complete. There is much to be gained by its success, and much to be lost by failure. While we can assess the probabilities of your actions, we have no power to affect the past. Only you can do that.”
An image of an extended family, including babies and elderly, appeared behind her. Though clothing, hair and grooming styles were unfamiliar, the faces of humans hadn’t changed.
“As it has been for thousands of generations, those who live in the present craft the future. Changes in your present will create a new future, but use your power judiciously. Always remember that wisdom is a balance between action and restraint.” Multiple images of warfare blended together, including a mushroom cloud.
She opened her eyes, and a ring of glass appeared in her hands. At first, Daniel thought it was another projection, but unlike the images, the ring was fully three-dimensional. About two feet in diameter, it looked like a fluorescent lightbulb formed into a circle and just as fragile.
“To complete your journey, we have prepared a device that may help. The ring is as unique as your jump and is not suitable for general use. Its design is sufficient to create a pathway between this time and your anchor.”
Her voice returned to a more feminine, gentle tone. Her words came slower. “For you.” She held the glass ring out.
Her hand had been real enough, but the clear ring seemed too ghostly to grasp. Daniel reached out with both arms and she placed the ring in his hands.
“Thank you,” he said. No more than a half inch thick, the glass ring weighed almost nothing. A thin film, almost like a soap bubble, spanned its interior, transparent but also somewhat reflective. The entire setup seemed absurdly fragile. Squeeze too hard and it might break. “How do I use it?”
Rolling green hills and the city of spires formed the glowing woman’s backdrop once more. She raised both hands. “Hold above your head. Then drop. More specific?”
“That’s it?” He held it up to his chest, measuring. The ring was wide enough to drop without hitting his shoulders. “What do I do with the belt?”
“Nothing.”
“And by dropping this ring over me, I’ll return to my anchor point?”
“Yes.”
“Safe from snapback?”
“Yes.” She gently waved a hand toward the breezeway behind Daniel. “A safe jump point. Do it there.”
No dialing in a date, no scrolling through commands, no Enter key. Drop the ring over his head and he’d return to his anchor. Or so she said.
Daniel looked into her sparkling eyes, searching for the humanity that might reside within this enigmatic intelligence. “Thank you. You’ve been very helpful, and I appreciate your kindness. Do you understand what I mean by that?”
“Yes. I am aware.”
Daniel held out his hand, palm up, his index finger curled. She smiled and put her hand out, palm down, index finger curled. Whether it was a new style of handshake or a medical procedure that he’d misunderstood probably didn’t matter. They touched, human to artificial being. Or whatever she was.
Daniel backed away. Though he might not need it, he reached down and retrieved his helmet. When he looked up, the woman’s figure was gone, replaced by a thin column of pulsating pink-lavender light that reached from the pedestal to the dome of the rotunda.
Thank you again, Lady Pink. Only one step away from home.
Footsteps echoed on the stones behind him, and Daniel spun around. At the entryway to the rotunda stood a dark figure, bearded and wearing a skintight bodysuit.
“Very tender,” Father murmured.
Blocking the only exit from the alcove, he reached to a sheath on his belt and withdrew a curving blade that lit with an electric arc that crackled and snapped.
37 Ring
With surprising agility, Father lunged forward. The humming blade narrowly missed as Daniel leaped backward to the opposite side of the pedestal, passing through the pulsating beam of pink-lavender light shooting straight up from its center.
A referee for this fight would have been useful
, but Lady Pink failed to materialize.
Daniel lifted the glass ring, hesitated and then lowered it. The lady had indicated the safe jump point was just outside the alcove. No telling what might happen if he tried it here.
Father remained on the other side of the pedestal, still blocking the only entrance to the alcove. Daniel pulled the guard’s gun from his belt and aimed. The bodysuit certainly imparted strength and agility far beyond Father’s age, and it might also act as body armor, but the old man wore nothing on his head.
Ignoring the gun, Father’s voice was matter-of-fact. “It took some time to find you. More than a year. I recognized my mistake the next day after you and the girl disappeared from our holding cell.”
Four hundred years into the future with a date selected almost at random. Yet he still found me, even hidden in empros time.
No mention of finding Jacquelyn. Daniel hadn’t either, and he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
Daniel held the gun in one hand, keeping the ring behind his back with the other. He could get several shots off, even one-handed, and likely hit his target, but this was empros time. Would it even fire?
Father eyed the beam of pink-lavender light directly between them, glancing up to the ceiling of the alcove. He seemed more concerned with the light than the gun Daniel held.
“One of the funny things about time jumping, it gives you a second chance to correct your errors. Once I realized you could have jumped further into the future, I began a systematic search. It really didn’t matter how many jumps were required or how long it took. If you had gone to the future, you’d be waiting for me at a specific date. When jumping across time, catching up really has no meaning.”
Father was clearly here to finish the job. There was no point in waiting. Daniel aimed at his head and pulled the trigger. The hammer clicked metal to metal, but the gun didn’t fire. He pulled again. The result was somewhat expected. A forward-facing gun in empros-facing time.
Father shook his head. “Oh, it’s firing. Right now, the oxidizer molecules in the primer are waking up to a small spark. In another hour or two—empros time, of course—the primer will expand into the gunpowder. Possibly by tomorrow or the next day, the bullet might even separate from the cartridge and begin its trip down the barrel.”
He waved his electric blade, buzzing through the air. “Much more effective.”
Daniel tossed the gun to the floor and reached for the motorcycle helmet. It wasn’t much of a shield, but it might deflect a blow. He was more concerned about protecting the glass ring. He’d need to get outside the alcove to use it.
Father slowly circled the pedestal, keeping the blade in front. He wasn’t far away, and a quick jump across would put the weapon within reach. But he seemed unwilling to cross the beam of light coming from the pedestal.
“How did you find me?” Daniel asked.
Let him talk. Maybe Lady Pink will return. She did say she was expecting one other.
“At first I jumped only a few months. Then a few years. But there was no record of your presence in the timeline. So, I jumped a thousand years, but still no trace of you. Going beyond that is pointless because languages change, and the technology for record-keeping becomes difficult to recognize. I knew it would be difficult for you too, so I refocused on less than five hundred years.”
If Daniel could keep Father circling, he might have a shot at sprinting out the opening, holding the ring over his head and dropping it before Father could reach him. Of course, the fair lady hadn’t given the specifics on how the ring worked, or how long it might take to initiate. Father’s blade could do a lot of damage in a short amount of empros time.
“A few more jumps and I finally found a record for the construction of this extension to my home. Another jump and I discovered the colorful apparition standing on this pedestal. She wasn’t nearly as cooperative for me.”
Father stepped up to the pedestal. Now would be a good time for the gentle guide to return. At the very least, her appearance could create a distraction and a chance for Daniel to reach the exit.
Father passed his blade through the beam of light. It sparkled and hissed as it interrupted the pulsating light, but no glowing woman reappeared. Perhaps Lady Pink wasn’t waiting for Father after all.
He seemed satisfied with his test. “Once I discovered this alcove, I simply narrowed your arrival time with a few jumps back and forth until I located this day, November third, 2441.”
He sidestepped the beam and moved directly toward Daniel, a determined look in his eye. “But this is where it ends. I’m tired of hunting you down, tired of forcing you to play your part in our shared fate. The belt will take you back, not this interloping ring—even if I have to kill you first.”
It was an obscure disadvantage Daniel hadn’t considered until now. With a second person flowing empros, he needn’t be alive to jump back. Father could select the command on the controller even after Daniel’s death.
The lines on Father’s bodysuit compressed, making it clear the time for talk was over. He leaped forward, propelled by a spring-like force. Daniel ducked, and the knife narrowly missing his shoulder. Like an agile cat, Father bounced off the far wall and back to Daniel.
The blade slashed. The air vibrated. Using the helmet as a shield, Daniel deflected its path. The helmet split cleanly in two pieces, each portion clattering across the stones in different directions.
With the alcove entrance no longer blocked, Daniel lunged across the pedestal toward the breezeway, but the vibrating blade slashed once again. With a loud buzz, it sliced an arc across his right side, cutting through clothes, skin and bone as if they were tissue paper.
Searing pain pierced Daniel’s body. He slammed to the ground. The ring dislodged from his hand and skittered across the stones through the alcove entrance, bouncing like a flat rock skipping on water. Light flashed at each contact with the stone floor, but the ring didn’t shatter. It skidded to a stop in the breezeway, unbroken, glowing—and hovering an inch above the stones.
Daniel rolled to his left side, groaning. His shirt was splashed with blood. He sensed Father’s approach from behind and kicked upward, catching him off guard and dropping him to the ground. The electric blade clattered to the far side of the alcove.
Choices. Go for the ring, the knife or hand-to-hand against a bodysuit that gave its wearer extraordinary strength and agility.
Daniel glanced at the mysteriously hovering ring.
Electromagnetic. The only force capable of offsetting gravity beyond atomic distances. A possible defense mechanism.
He opted for the ring.
Wincing with pain, he rose to his knees and crawled through the alcove opening. Father sprang back into the alcove to retrieve the blade.
On his knees, Daniel grasped the glowing ring still hovering above the stones, feeling a tingle in his fingers. His hair stood on end, like touching a Van de Graaff sphere.
High voltage, even if low current.
With a single leap, Father jumped from the alcove and raised his crackling blade. Ignoring the pain across his side, Daniel swiveled and raised the ring just as Father’s blade came down. The blade’s edge contacted the ring with a loud pop, and electric sparks spewed in every direction.
Father screamed, his head jerking backward. He dropped to his knees, eyes wide with his mouth open and gasping. He teetered and then slumped to the stone floor.
Quiet returned, the only sound coming from the slightly vibrating ring, still in Daniel’s hand and still intact.
Daniel’s heart raced, his fingers tingled, but the high-voltage current had taken a different path to ground. He rolled over on his back, groaned and dabbed a finger to the slice across his ribs.
He breathed in place for a full minute, then rose to his knees and surveyed his opponent.
Smoke curled from several points on the bodysuit. The charred remains of his beard and the black lines crisscrossing his face told the story of death by electrocution. It had been
a guess on Daniel’s part, but the ring had provided some clues. It had repelled the blade’s current with even higher voltage.
The knife lay a few feet away, now inert.
Getting to his feet was harder, the pain across his ribs intense. Daniel’s shirt had been sliced open and beneath it was a red line about ten inches long. The bleeding had already stopped, the result of the searing hot blade, but the cut was to the bone, and probably even deeper. He buttoned his undamaged jacket over the wound, which provided enough pressure to push the skin together, even if it did nothing for the pain.
Daniel stepped over Father’s body, giving it a nudge with his foot. No movement. He retrieved the blade and its scabbard and tucked the weapon under his belt. Even with Father dead, Daniel wasn’t convinced there were no more time tricks that might come into play, and his mind was in no condition to think through the possibilities.
Get home. Now.
He examined the ring. It had stopped glowing, returning to an ordinary glass surface with a thin soap-bubble film spanning the circle. There wasn’t a mark on it.
The columns walkway is a safe jump point. Do it there, the glowing guide had told him. She had pointed to a spot just outside the alcove, roughly where he stood now. By safe, she’d probably meant he wouldn’t materialize inside of a hill or barn or tree once back in 2023. He could only hope they’d done their research.
Here goes.
He lifted the ring, the pain in his ribs spiking as he did. He paused and thought for a moment, like he was forgetting something.
Even though it was now unneeded, he still wore the belt around his waist, but the helmet lay in the alcove, shattered into two pieces. Maybe not technology he should leave behind. He returned to the alcove and recovered the pieces.
The lower chin guard had been separated from the rest of the helmet, but it was nothing more than protective plastic. The upper portion appeared to be undamaged, including the electronics chip and the yellow light pasted to the inside of its visor. It might still work, giving him a backup plan.
The Quantum Series Box Set Page 88