J.T. Moree
20090412
The idea for this story came from a song released in the 1970s by a Canadian rock band. I have always liked the song because of the futuristic sci-fi plot and excellent music. The song was inspired by a book by Ann Rynd. Nevertheless, it is my opinion that this story is not a derivative of the previously mentioned works (IANAL). I have been very careful to avoid copyright infringement. Although the ideas come from a song there are no direct quotes or copying of lyrics.
I have chosen the Creative Commons BY-SA-3.0 license in part to refute the idea that artists who will not get paid will not create art. I also want others to be able to build on what I have started.
Somewhere in my college years I decided that this story would be a good idea for a video game. In my twenties I started designing the game on paper by creating some sketches, outlines, and puzzle elements. Over a few years I added more content including scenes with dialog. In my early thirties, I developed the story in more depth while keeping the game in the back of my mind. Revision 1 of “The Elders” was published online as a stand alone story. There are large gaps in the story where a player might work on objectives in a game version.
This tale still needs much work such as character development and better scene painting but I get bored quickly and this project has already taken a lot of time. I may continue working on it but for now I'm taking a break. In the meantime the Creative Commons license I have chosen allows anyone to modify and republish this work.
Joseph attempts to hide the contempt on his face while watching the group. He hated the fact that he had to make this deal but these experiments require massive amounts of power and the Elders run the only company that can deliver. His eyes study each person huddled around the one playing a guitar. They are all singing—why are they so cheery? And they all seem to be married to each other. How does one company suffer so much nepotism?
Some systems in the room are pulsing with the rhythm of the guitar. "Sir. Do you see that?" Joseph makes a mental note to check into this later. "Yes", he answers anxiously. Then to be heard over the singing he shouts, "Shall we begin?"
The Elders have been a thorn in his side for too long. Joseph will be glad to see them leave. His own Board of Directors should be much easier to control in their absence. Cross company relations should improve—their temporary CEO is easily persuaded by money. He has plenty of money and his corporation should make bigger profits in the coming years. He allows himself a little wishful thinking, “Perhaps the Elders will stay on Centauri 3-1 permanently. Then again, Mrs. Elder is not a bad looker. It's too bad she's going with them. He could probably have arranged a private meeting.
The last few weeks everything has gone according to plan; The jumpgate opened with much fanfare; The drone returned good readings; The first manned mission was highly successful; a few weeks of preparations resulted half the supplies moved yesterday. Today, the other half are going over.
A worker carrying some boxes brushes by him. This project is highly classified. The Elders were more insistent than he on the issue. So why did they hire entirely too much manual labor? It's almost as if there is one worker for every crate—and why are there as many women as men? Who hires women to move supplies?
* * *
“Gate Open in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1.” The systems hum as the area within the portal shimmers and changes. This time it is night on the other side—which seems strange to Joseph but not out of the ordinary. It is a different planet with its own day and night.
After a few hours of moving supplies Joseph notices guitar man reaching for the instrument. Looking bored he strums a few chords while watching the workers. A forklift won't fit through the jumpgate so they are moving the supplies to the airlock then pushing them through by hand. With only a few crates left guitar man breaks into a song without words that reminds Joseph of something a mariachi band might play. The systems begin to pulse again.
Suddenly, as a crate exits the room, there is a flash of light and smoke pours into the room through the gate. Guitar man stops playing and follows protocol. "Aborting! Closing Gate in 3 seconds! 3 . . . 2 . . . 1!" He flips a switch and pulls the control module out of its slot on the control panel. Everyone stares at the gate for a minute while trying to understand what happened.
Joseph asks, "How many of our people are still over there?"
"None of ours. Twenty four of theirs," says the Chief of Security.
"Give me the control module." Guitar man hands the small white square to Joseph who is still speaking. "How long to run diagnostics and open the gate again?"
"Ten minutes." responds guitar man.
"Do it." Joseph is wondering if allowing the Elders to customize a control module turned out to be a really bad or a really good idea. He insisted on giving them minimal information. He'd be crazy to allow anyone to build gates without him. This technology is going to make him rich. Rich and powerful if this situation is contained. Accidents are a normal part of any new technology but they make investors very nervous.
Twelve minutes later the gate opens to a sunrise setting where the orange light spills across blast streaks on the ground for at least 100 meters. The streaks are not traditional blackened burns but channels dug into the dirt and grass. The ground is roughed up and all of the supplies are scattered. Two hours after searching for signs of survivors the gate is closed.
"Everyone out. We will clean this place up and start an investigation tomorrow at zero six hundred.” Yes, Joseph can make this work to his advantage. Given the secretive nature of this project he can give any story as fact and no one outside of this room can claim otherwise. There are only two people here not loyal to him. They can be dealt with easily.
And take that thing with you", Joseph says pointing to the guitar on the floor. No one sees guitar man slip the small white square with three blue dots into the belly of the guitar as he picks it up off the floor. His heart freezes when he hears, "Line up to be searched. No equipment leaves this room." but they ignore his guitar when they search him. He only has to be careful not to let the module rattle inside it.
"It's called a goo-ee-tar. "
Robert and Jon are eating chocolate while sitting under a willow tree. There is a cluster of willows in this park that creates a spot out of plain-view. The semi-privacy is the primary reason Robert likes to sit here. The park is empty except for the two men under the trees on this overcast day. Rain is expected any moment. To be caught outside in the rain is a violation of health codes.
It was quite a surprise when Robert pulled the chocolate from his bag. This is not the first time he has obtained rare foods. Last week he managed to get more curry. Jon had stood in line for three hours to be told that there were no chocolate rations available this week and was about to ask who Robert knew but became distracted when he pulled the strange device out of a black case.
"The name is on the cover. The book teaches you to play it." Robert hands a book to Jon who reads the cover out loud—spelling the name of the instrument.
“Getting start with . . . G-U-I-T-A-R. Why have I never heard of it? Is it Indian? Did you get it from Uncle Vijay?" He starts flipping through the book to see sheets of unusual music.
“I found it in the cave.”
"We've been in that cave dozens of times.”
Robert looks up with a gleam in his eyes. "The waterfall is usually really loud but lately there's less water. “ He shrugs his shoulders. “Anyway, when I stepped on this one section of the floor it sounded different. I moved rocks until I found a secret door. The goo-ee-tar was in the room with the other stuff."
Jon looks up from the book to study the guitar. It looks like wood but has a symmetric shape as though someone has flattened a hat box so that it is shorter and wider than normal but at the same time squeezed the middle. As he studies it the shape reminds him of a woman's figure; shoulders, smaller waist, wider hips, and a long skinny neck. A hole is cut in the upper middle on the top side as if the woman's heart had been removed. The neck is a long, thin board starting at the hole that stretches past the end of the box for another 40 centimeters. It is darker wood and at the end of it is another dark, coffin shaped piece of wood with metal keys sticking out of the bottom. The most peculiar thing about this device is that metal strings have been stretched along the thin board from end to end. The strings are tied around posts on the coffin and extend over the hole. The posts are connected to keys. The keys can be turned to rotate the posts which tightens the wires.
Jon looks up from studying the guitar to see that Robert has a determined look on his face. He is manipulating the fingers of his left hand so that they stretch across the strings on the neck. He drags his other hand across the strings above the hole. Hhhrrrrmmmm. A humming emanates from within the box. He moves the fingers on his left hand a little before dragging the right hand again. The sound is similar but different. Robert's expression slowly changes from determination to joy while strumming and looking across the park. Hhhmm, Hrrrmmmm . . . Hhhmm, Hrrrmmmm . . . Hhhmm, Hrrrmmmm . . . Suddenly he places his right hand on top of the strings. All the humming from the instrument ceases as though the sound waves are retracted.
He is looking through the branches of the willows and across the pond which is in between the trees and the street. On the other side of the street is a neighborhood called 'The Willows'. Jon thinks it was named after the trees in the park. 'The Willows' is one of the privileged neighborhoods where there are houses with big back yards. The line of single family homes is very different than the cramped apartment buildings that Jon and Robert live in.
On a second floor balcony across the street a young women is looking up at the sky. Her long hair is so dark it appears to drink light which contrasts heavily against the white blouse. The blouse is tucked into an ankle length, dark gray skirt. Her complexion is light but not pale and she has a smattering of freckles on her face and neck. Jon thinks she is a little on the thin side but he knows it does not matter what he thinks. He cannot see her eyes from this distance but he knows they are light gray. The second reason Robert likes to sit in this spot is to watch Elonna Brown.
"Why do you do this to yourself? There is no future for the two of you. She's the daughter of a Priest." They both know this as they both know her lineage. Her father is not just a priest—she is the daughter of High Priest Aleric Brown. Consequently, she will only be married to the son of a Priest. The Temples forbid marriage between commoners and the line of Priests. Jon does not say it out loud but they also both know that the line of priests does not include non-Anglos. Robert's parents were from India. They died on the way to the United Countries of America when he was twelve. Robert was raised by his Uncle.
Robert continues staring with a smirk. "A man can dream."
Father Aleric Brown steps into the council room from his private chamber. He believes that he already knows the request to come before them. He will turn out to be incorrect but angry just the same. In his mind he plots a future for the presenter at the hands of his soon to be Son-in-Law. Conrad can make it look like suicide.
The council court is a large rectangular room with a balcony on the south end. The seven priests of the council sit on a raised platform at the north end facing southward. The center seat—where the High Priest sits—is higher than the others by 1 meter. Tables for plaintiff and defense are situated approximately 7 meters away in parallel with the council seats. Behind the tables a railing divides the room into halves. On the other side of the railing are rows of benches where people are seated during high profile proceedings.
The bailiff announces, “All rise for High Priest Aleric Brown, son of Alexander Brown, adopted son of Joseph Syrinx, Founder of The Temples, Founder of the Solar Federation, who watches over the Council as they watch over the People.”
There are only two standing spectators because this is a special session. Aleric climbs the short stairs to the high seat, sits down, and waits thirty seconds so that everyone else in the room must remain standing. “Be seated. Bailiff, call the first and only case for today.”
“Robert Bahl of Megadon City presents to the council today. Mr Bahl. You may come forward.”
“Thank you High Priest and Council for hearing me on such short notice.” Robert picks up a long black case from the floor, walks to the left table, sets the case down, and opens it. “You should be pleased by my discovery. It is an old device that creates beautiful music..” Robert pulls the guitar from the case, throws the strap over his shoulder, and starts playing.
Most of the council members do not know what the instrument is. Aleric wonders where this one came from as he keeps his stern face aimed squarely at Robert. These devices were destroyed long ago. When Robert stops playing Aleric waits another thirty seconds before speaking. “It is not new but it is a waste of time.2”
Perplexity overthrows the smile on Robert's face. He expected the others to experience the same joy that the music brings to him—or at least some type of happiness—but they all stare at him with grim, expressionless faces. “Didn't like that one? How about a faster one?” He starts to play again.
“Silence! Bailiff bring that instrument to me.” Aleric stands in his high seat as he interrupts Robert. He walks down the three steps and around the other council members to stand in between the council and the presenter. There is a twang when the bailiff reluctantly grips the the guitar by the neck and pulls it away from Robert. Screams escape from the instrument as though it writhes in pain on its journey across the room. The bailiff hands the guitar to Aleric, looks down at the floor, and walks back to his post.
“Every schoolchild knows what happened to those who practice these ancient ways. This instrument will only lead to individualist idealism, then to disobedience, and finally to chaos. We must uphold the collective or suffer the fate of The Elder Race.” Aleric turns to project his voice around the room, first to the council, then to the audience, and finally he glares at Robert. ”Do you wish for war?” He can see the draining of emotion from Robert's countenance. It took less effort than he had expected to crush the man's spirit. With a flash of the arm Aleric swings the instrument over his head and smashes it onto the floor. The neck separates from the body as crunching and ringing fills the room. The base of the guitar is cracked but still intact so he raises his heavy boot.
“No!” Robert bellows.
“Do you dare question the council?!” Robert drops his eyes to the floor and says nothing as Aleric stomps on the guitar until it is in too many pieces to repair. He walks over the splinters and metal wires on the floor to where Robert is standing. The High Priest is almost a foot taller than the Indian. Loud enough to be heard by everyone in the room he says, "It doesn't fit the plan." Then leaning down, he whispers in the shorter man's ear, "And stay away from my daughter."
It is Monday afternoon. Jon has just come from the food depot where he stood in line for this week's food rations. As usual they are out of almost everything. Wheat and rice are abundant but meats are hard to come by. He gets so tired of plain rice and whenever possible picks up spices. The planned economy of the collective is supposed to make sure everyone gets a fair share but sometimes it seems like the best goods are only available to the priests.
After five minutes and three separate knocks on Robert's door, Jon shuffles to his own quarters. He has not seen his best friend for three days—not since the morning of the presentation before the Council. It is highly unusual for them to go a day or two without speaking. They become best friends in Final Year of school where both were treated as outsiders. Neither had parents to attend sports games or chaperon social events in Blue Village. Robert's only living relative is Uncle Vijay. Jon's only relative is his older sister. His mother died giving birth to him and his father was killed in a work related accident.
A myriad of questions race through Jon's mind as his door slides open. How did it go? Did they like the music? Will they allow him to keep the instrument? As Jon steps into his quarters and closes the door the lights turn on. A patronizing voice speaks to him. “Hello Jon Maretti. It is 18:14 Megadon Standard Time. The overnight low is expected to be 29 degrees Celsius. You have 5 messages. Would you like to hear them?”
As usual the machine's sterile voice is a reminder that Jon is by himself. He feels the loneliness wash over him as he empties the contents of his pockets on the corner table. On Monday nights, he and Robert eat dinner together and watch Templevision before heading upstairs to play Poker in the lounge with a few other residents.
Jon reconsiders Templematch. The Temples will arrange dates with pre-approved women. It would give him something to do on nights like this. Everyone he went to school with is married—except Robert. He is interested in females as much as the next guy but he is uncertain about what kind of women he would meet using the service. Presumably, they would all be very loyal to the Temples and the collective. Marriage outside of Templematch is a lengthy hassle with forms, interviews, and longer counseling.
Jon picks up the headset from the table to plug into the Machine for the day. Wearing it always makes him think of people with glasses on backwards so that the lenses sit on the back of one's head—only this headset has no lenses. The arms rest over the ears like glasses but the sensor that rests at the base of the skull is only two centimeters in diameter. The headset is connected to a Community Machine. Meant for families, this model can accept connections from multiple people at the same time. At work Jon uses a Personal Mobile Device—sometimes called a PMD–which only accepts one headset connection.
By law everyone must plug-in at least once every ten days for the cleansing. It does not take long and it is completely painless. The machine simply reads his mind—looking for seeds of individualism. To most people the Machine is just a way of life but Jon has heard a few old timers talk of life before them. They say society rejected them in the beginning. The first acceptable use was for an alternative to torture. The Machines came into the public eye in a big way when Syrinx Corp (the Temples had not been formed yet) collaborated with the United States (the United Countries had not been formed yet) to prevent a terrorist attack. The story is chronicled at the Syrinx museum a few blocks over. In August 2001, a group of men were arrested and convicted on conspiracy to commit terrorism. They planned to fly airplanes into the World Trade Center and key government buildings. The use of the Syrinx Machine to read the suspects minds was accepted as part of court proceedings but it was not until the Big War in 2025 that the cleansing process was instituted by the collective. The cleansing is the primary means by which the Temples protect and guarantee Equality for all. “Equality. Our Stock and Trade.” goes one of the Temple slogans. The military recruiters that came into the school during Final Year use another one. “Join the Common Sons” Neither Jon nor Robert were interested in military duty. As he dons the headset he wonders if Robert left him a message.
The machine repeats, “You have five messages. Would you like to hear them?”
“Yes. Insert messages.”
Jon never gets used to having sounds and images inserted into his mind. Even though the audio manifests as if the source is in the room with him it still seems foreign. Sometimes—when the machine is acting up—it places the source of the sounds behind him. No matter how much he turns around the audio comes from directly behind. It's spooky. Thankfully, the insert feature of the machine is optional. He reads the Templepaper and watches Templevision to absorb information the old fashioned way. The only time he uses inserts is for checking Templemail which he normally does while preparing dinner. It would take longer to listen to them audibly. The headset can insert the audio into his brain faster than his ears can process the sounds. In addition, the inserts are rarely misunderstood—even if there are loud noises in the same vicinity. Jon thinks that it would save even more time if the machine could insert the entire set of messages into his mind at once. It inserts quickly and accurately but only one word at a time.
The first message is from his sister. The audio is in her voice.
TO: Jon; FROM: Maggie; DATE: 2112/7/18 9:07 TST; Hello Jon, it's Maggie. I wanted to ask if you would come out to Valencia next week. Sergio and I would love to have you over for dinner . . . . OK. The truth is we finally got the new machine and Sergio can't figure out how to swap it with the old one. We spent 7 months on the waiting list. Sergio says it's because the old machine still mostly works. Mostly. HA! The audio problems were so bad by the end that we couldn't listen to it—we had to use inserts for everything! I have never gotten used to voices coming out of thin air . . . and it gives me such a headache. Anyway, let me know by this weekend. Love Maggie."
The second message is a Random. Sometimes they get through the filters. No one really understands why Randoms happen. In the past people would send messages to scam unwary victims but since the Temples took over the Globalnet it has become next to impossible for someone to run a scam using Templemail. Even so, a random will sometimes show up. The Temples want every one to be reported for investigation but Jon figures they already know since they monitor every message anyway. What are they going to do to him for not reporting? “Take away my chocolate rations?” He chuckles at the thought. As he washes and peels the vegetables a nasally voice with a broken accent begins.
TO:Jon Maretti; FROM: High Priest Brown; DATE: 2112/7/18 11:48 TST; SUBJECT: 1 Million Credits; Good Hello to you Sirs, My name Jean-Pierre Salutory. My grand father was prominent figure in former Nigerian government. When Temples come to Nigeria Grandfather hid many treasures. I know. Yesterday, I am target for termination by Rebels here Nigeria territory. I raise funds to buy passage offworld. If you help I send Grandfather treasure to you. Worth 1 million credits. . . .
Jon does not want to hear the rest so he instructs the machine to skip. He would like to delete it but nothing gets deleted. He would like to turn the machine off but that is not possible either. The most he can do is reset it which gives him about eight seconds of privacy. The next message is from Uncle Vijay. Jon is shocked.
TO:Jon Maretti; FROM: Vijay Singh; DATE: 2112/7/18 15:22 TST; SUBJECT: Robert; Jon. Robert committed suicide. The funeral is on Thursday at ten . . . . Reply if you need anything.
Tony is happy to be heading home this Wednesday afternoon, tired and dirty after a long day of work. Even though machines do most of the construction they are constantly breaking for lack of new parts. He has had to cannibalize a few to make the others work. Officially, he is a desk worker but he prefers to be hands-on and the crew needs him. His military training comes in handy when the equipment breaks.
In spite of this he is not quite thankful for the military training. While on mechanical specialist repair duty in active hot zones they saw a lot of terrible things. The Big War officially ended fifty years ago but the Federation is still reacting as if it continues. He witnessed offworld deportation of whole villages in African territories. The troublemakers were jumped into space as an incentive for the rest of the villagers to cooperate.
While standing on the corner waiting to cross the street Tony feels a point in his back. The stranger seems to be very short based on the direction of the voice. “Don't move Federation scum or I vaporize you.” He hasn't been called that since he was in the service. A big smile spreads across his face as he turns around.
“Carlos!” His old friend—a short Hispanic man—is smiling with finger pointed where Tony's back was before. They shake hands, then embrace. “How long have you been in town?”
“A while. I could not contact you before now–part of the arrangement. We should go somewhere to talk.”
* * *
Tony is late again. Regina wonders if he is having an affair. They've grown so apart these last years. Sometimes she wishes he would open up to her about the things he went through. When she brings it up he changes the subject.
Tony arrives home with his Great Grandfather's lock box. Regina stands barefoot at the kitchen counter in a summer dress and apron with her hair tied up. She looks at him crossly but says nothing.
“I know. I'm sorry I missed dinner but something came up. I had to stop by Temple Storage. I couldn't mail.”
Still saying nothing she turns her attention back to mixing the icing. Tony sets the lock box on the table before sliding over to her and slipping his arms around her waist. From behind he kisses the back of her neck then whispers in her ear.
“The cake smells delicious . . . . You smell delicious.”
He moves his hands to her waist as she turns around. She looks up at him with wrinkled eyebrows.
“I'm sorry.” Tony says as he pulls her close and stares into her eyes.
She remains motionless for a minute. He knows there is nothing else he can say to explain his behavior. He also knows it wouldn't make a difference. When she's angry it takes a long time for her to get over it. Sometimes he thinks she never lets go of anything. He lets go of her and steps back.
“Dinner is still on the table if you're hungry. Dessert will be ready soon. It's called Angel Food cake . . . haven't had it since I was a kid.”
* * *
As Regina puts the children to bed Tony is prying open the lock box with a screwdriver. He started with a kitchen knife but switched after almost cutting off his finger. The cut on his hand reminds him of the mistake with each movement. Once the box is opened he finds the green item with the three blue dots before looking at other interesting things. Switching the item to his left hand the right hand fishes out a picture of his grandfather standing with some other men in front of an airlock. He can see an opening behind them that might be a warehouse door to outside but view is washed out from bright sunlight.
Regina walks toward him. “What's that?”
Tony slips the item into his shirt pocket but not before she gets a good look at it.
“This is some of my Great Granddad's stuff. He was stationed at Blue Mountain. I was thinking. Let's take the kids out there this weekend. The country air will do us all some good.”
“This weekend? I have to clean. The holiday is coming up. Besides why do you have to go all the way out there?”
Tony's anger flares. “You're always questioning me! Can't a man just want to spend time with his kids?”
“Shh! You'll wake the children!” she retorts. They stare at each other for a minute while Tony cools off.
He stands up and hugs her but she remains stiff. “I'm sorry. Work has been stressful. We still haven't gotten approval for a new mechanic or any new machines. I need some time away. Besides, we haven't taken a trip since before Ciana was born.”
Regina looks into his eyes and remembers the way they used to flirt before they got married. Then she thinks of the honeymoon in Blue Village. Sometimes she wishes they could go back to those days—before the kids and the stress of work. She feels guilty for this thought because she loves her children and would not trade them for anything.
“Alright.”
“I'm going to bed. Starting early tomorrow so I can be home early.”
“I'll be in soon.”
As Tony leaves Regina picks up her headset. She checks Templemail as she washes the last few dishes.
On Thursday morning Jon takes an inventory of the people he knows. Seems like a good turnout for a funeral. There are quite a few from the apartment building and some from Robert's work but there is one person he is not sure about. She has a thick black veil over her face. He suspects that she is one of Robert's co-workers. Her dark hair almost disappears into her black dress. After the service she is gone—as if she disappeared into thin air.
“He will be missed.”
“I wish I had known him better.”
The same phrases roll off tongues as at any other funeral Jon has ever attended. This time the phrases are directed at him and Uncle Vijay. They stand at the casket as people saunter by, look down, look up, and shake their hands. He realizes again how lonely he feels—even in the midst of all these people. At least the grief has not set in yet. He waits for it—expecting it to force tears out of him like a hole in the bottom of a full cup.
When everyone is gone Jon walks Uncle Vijay to the taxi that will take him back to the Turbo station.
“Are you sure you will not stay for dinner?”
“No. I must go back to d' farm. But I do expect to be seeing you tomorrow.”
“I will be there . . . just in time for lunch.”
“Vijay slides into the backseat, fumbles around, then pushes a bag out the open door into Jon's hands. “Robert recently started a journal . . . on paper.” He says on paper with an inquisitive tone as if he does not know what to make of it. Most people use the machines. Paper journals are not illegal but they are looked down upon by the Temples. “There are a few other items in the bag. I think he would want you to have them.”
As the cab pulls away Jon opens the black, cloth bag. It is approximately fifteen centimeters by thirty centimeters with a drawstring at the top. Inside he sees the guitar book, a small leather bound book, a few odds and ends that Robert liked, and something strange. He fishes it out of the bag.
“Is this some sort of pendant?”
The antique white object is approximately two centimeters square and two millimeters thick. One corner has a small hole through which a string is threaded. Jon loops the drawstring of the bag over his left wrist so that he can grab the pendant string with both hands. He holds the pendant out in front of him as though he were going to put it around someone's neck. The bottom is blank but the top has three small, blue circles arranged like the contact points of a three legged stool. The space in between them is roughly twice the width of the circles. Though he does not fully recognize it, the symbol seems familiar. As he walks home Jon decides to wear it.
Tony is somewhat excited because he has figured out where to hide the item. While Regina goes to school to fetch the two older children he sits at the kitchen table with one of his daughter's dolls, needle, and thread. Regina made this doll for Ciana last Christmas. Plastic dolls are hard to come by. When Michele was little they put her on the waiting list. It took two years. It makes him smile when he thinks about how happy Michele was to give the plastic doll to Ciana and how happy Ciana was to get two dolls at the same time.
He is putting away the sewing items when the machine announces, “You have a visitor.”
“Ciana! Come into the kitchen with Daddy.” When his daughter is safely in his sight on the kitchen floor he answers the door.
“Conrad? This is unexpected.”
* * *
Regina is watching the children in the schoolyard from a bench across the school. She is readying herself for the meeting she is about to attend. The school called because her son was involved in a fight with another student. Lately the children have been acting out—especially Tony, Jr.
A short Hispanic man sits down a little too close to her. She starts to move over when he says her name.
“Regina. We do not have much time. Listen carefully.”
“How do--” she starts but he continues speaking.
“My name is Carlos. Your husband and I served together. He has been taken by the Temples. Your daughter is with the elderly woman next door.”
She panics. “Is he alright?”
“Please stop interrupting. Tony was helping me. He hid an item in your quarters that is very important. It belonged to his great grandfather—green with three blue dots. Find it. Then get all of your children and prepare to leave town.”
Carlos pauses but she has nothing to say.
“I know this is hard. We will do whatever we can for Tony. You need to leave but do not travel under your real name. Do not use any of your credits. Stay away from machines and for all our sakes don't plug in.”
He pauses again. “I will meet you at the Turbo Station in the morning with new identities. They will get you though checkpoints and there are enough credits on the accounts for the trip. Remember that the Temples are watching.”
Conrad is in no mood to be denied what he wants for the second time today.
“Again, I am booked solid for a week. I cannot squeeze him in and I do not have time to wait for him to wake up.” says the blond woman in the white lab coat standing before him. Conrad turns to the guards carrying the unconscious prisoner.
“Take him to a holding cell.”
After the guards leave the room, Conrad grabs the back of the long blond hair close to her scalp with his right hand. He turns her face upward by pulling down and tilting her head back. He can see the expression of pain on her face fade slowly to a smile. She quickly raises her right arm as if to hit him. He grabs her wrist with his left hand and bends the arm behind her back which draws them close together. He is staring down into her eyes and lifts her arm higher behind her back which squeezes a small grunt out of her. The woman slowly wraps her left arm and left leg around him as he bows his lips to hers. The long kiss ends as he bites her lower lip almost enough to draw blood.
Conrad draws a few inches away. “Helena, you are sure you cannot do this within the week?”
“You know I would if I could.” Helena says as she presses into him one last time before untangling herself. He lets go of her,turns, and walks toward the door.
“I will be at your quarters this eve at 19:00.” he says without looking back. She says nothing while watching him leave the room. The door beeps as he opens and shuts it.
A vid comes on Templevision as Jon finishes dinner. Since he is not facing the screen he is using inserts. A wooden porch begins at the edge of his kitchen where the tile normally gives way to carpet. A one-armed man is sitting on a porch swing where Jon's living room should be. The swing is perpendicular to the kitchen and to the left of the man is the front door of a house. Jon knows the man's amputated arm ends just above the elbow just as he knows the number to the left of the door says 777 Bastille Way. None of this imagery is real. It has all been inserted into his mind by the machine. Consequently, he does not need to look at it.
"I used to think storage-gates were OK as long as they opened. When a friend didn't need his anymore I asked him to give it to me. Then it closed at the wrong time." He looks down at his severed limb before looking back at the camera. "Megadon inspects and refits each s-gate to keep you safe. Every day I ask myself, “Was it worth the risk?" The room fades to black before showing a 3-dimensional Megadon logo. "Please, turn in your storage gates at the end of the term."
Next, a young couple walks into his living room holding hands. Jon knows this is a Templematch vid and briefly considers watching it but decides he can always look into it tomorrow. He takes off the headset which causes the living room to reappear so that he can walk over to the couch. He places the headset on the end table before unfolding the couch into a bed that occupies most of the living room. This is standard issue for quarters of this size. The couch acts as a wall between the kitchen and living room. There is one outside wall with a window to his left. The washroom is on the other side of the wall behind him. Two barstools sit next to a counter that rolls out from the wall to be used as a table. It's not a nice table—only about one meter long and half a meter wide—but it works. Since it houses cabinet space he cannot fit his legs underneath like a regular table. While adjusting the bedsheets he notices moonlight coming through the window behind him and turns to see how many moons are up. Luna is high and the Twins are setting.
The Twin Moons were created at the end of the Big War when the Centauri 3-1 gate was opened into space. Air pressure from the planet pushed people and debris into orbit around Earth. Those who were not pushed through the gate suffocated from the thinned atmosphere. There were no survivors but it did end the war by eliminating the terrorists. The current colonists live in a sealed dome. Since that time the largest items in Earth orbit are two giant, round tents. They were shaped irregularly until a group insisted on spreading them out as a war memorial. The Twin Moons Memorial orbits the planet every three hours looking like two smaller, faster versions of Luna.
A few minutes later Jon is reading excerpts from Robert's leather bound journal while laying on top of the bedsheets. The first page in the journal is titled Discovery. It reminds him of the day under the willows where Robert was full of life and hope. He seemed happier that day than he had ever been before.
The Temples are mentioned on the next page. Jon recounts what he knows about the Temples of Syrinx. They were founded by Syrinx in 2012. This year is the 100th anniversary so a large celebration is planned. It is illegal to work on the holiday and the celebration will be covered on Templevision. In the beginning the temples provided humanitarian relief efforts worldwide and on the front lines during the Big War.
Next, Jon reads about the day of the Presentation to the Council. Robert must have been crushed emotionally as the instrument was destroyed in front of him. Why did they do that? He flips a few pages over to a section titled Oracle where Robert recounts a strange dream.
Frustrated, Jon turns the pages again looking for more clues to Robert's state of mind in the last few days and finds it along with references to the Big War and the Twin Moons. In this last entry, titled Soliloquy, Robert states his reason for suicide. Jon's throat tightens and his eyes burn. Questions fill his mind. ”Was Robert's love for Elonna Brown the largest part of his despair. In the world of his dream they could have been together. Tears fall from Jon's eyes as he puts the journal on the desk and turns off the light. The pendant rests under his shirt as he falls asleep.
“Rise and Shine” At precisely 6:00 Temple Standard Time Jon is awakened by a beautiful blond sitting on the edge of his bed wearing a nightgown that clings to her figure. She winks at him as she says, “Don't forget to sign up for Templematch today.” He grasps for the headset at the base of his skull but it is not there. The blond disappears as he raises up on his elbows and turns to the right. As he reaches for the headset sitting on the corner table the pendant slaps against his chest. How can he receive inserts when not plugged in? He drops the headset on the bed beside him, lays back down, and closes his eyes. “Maybe I'm still dreaming.”
Jon's eyes fly open as memories of his dream flood into his consciousness. He had the dream described in Robert's journal. But was it really the same? It seems likely that after reading the journal his mind recalled it during sleep. Much like the machine recalling his thoughts about Templematch the night before so that it could schedule a special wake up call this morning for him. Normally, he wakes up to Templenews read audibly.
As he eats, showers, and packs Jon wonders about the implications of the dream. Is it possible that it is more than imagination? Where did it come from? As he stares at the pendant on the table his mind replays the imagery: the spiral staircase; the Oracle; the sculptured cities; the joy on people's faces. It makes him wonder if the Elder Race really was destroyed? Could they come back as the dream suggested? Was it only a dream? In school they were taught that the ruins on Centauri 3-1 are the only thing left from the Elder Race. They left Earth long ago but destroyed themselves with hedonist living and infighting over ownership of things. They are held up as the prime example of why the collective is to be protected. “We must uphold the collective or suffer the fate of 'The Elders'.”
* * *
"I climbed the spiral stair to speak with the Oracle."
Jon is standing in line at the station where he has just purchased a ticket for the Turbo to take him to Blue Mountain Village—often referred to as Blue Village. This is his second of three days off. The trip out to the countryside might help him relax even though he will stay with Robert's uncle—which will constantly remind him of Robert.
The last thing Jon expects is to hear someone else speak about the dream. Until this moment, he was still considering the possibility that it was merely a coincidence caused by reading Robert's journal. How then, can this voice from beside him know about it?
With a stunned look on his face Jon turns to see a short Hispanic man with dark hair looking up at him out of the corner of his dark eyes.
"Someone may be watching. Stop looking directly at me!" the man snaps in a hushed tone. Jon turns the other direction where he sees a small contingent of bodyguards at the far end of the platform. Someone important must be riding in the Captain's car.
"Sit next to me on the Turbo. Do not speak. When I deboard in Valencia I will leave my briefcase. Take it with you when you get to Blue Village."
Jon glances at the case the man is holding while attempting to control his surprise. "Who are you?"
"You do not need to know me. We understand that you will soon have need of" He pauses before the word and enunciates carefully “equipment. Our instructions are to provide it and teach you to use it. Remember this address: 21 12th Street, Vintage Square. Repeat it."
Vintage Square? That's an old part of town where outsiders are not welcome. Even the Temples and Federation are cautious of the area. "21 12th Street, Vintage Square . . . Will you be there?"
"No, you will never see me again. Take the case to the address. Someone will approach you. The pass phrase is the same, "I climbed the spiral stair to speak with the Oracle."
Jon's mind is now racing with questions. The Turbo is approaching so he needs to choose carefully in the waning time. "Who sent you?"
"You don't have any idea?” The man sounds puzzled. “Don't know but someone has placed a very high value on whatever it is you are doing. I and my associates have been paid very well to provide you with assistance. It seems that we are all not pleased with the Temples."
* * *
Only once does Jon try to speak to the stranger while on the train. "Do you know the dream?" The stranger ignores him while continuing to feign sleep with his head against the wall. They are seated at the leading end of the car. Jon looks around at the other passengers and the few remaining empty seats. The carriage holds 20 seats fitted around the perimeter all facing inward. Some people are standing with at least one hand on the overhead rails.
The Turbo makes a few stops crossing Megadon which allows most passengers to exit. As they begin the trip out of the city the only people left are Jon, the stranger, a young man with a shaved head, and a family consisting of a mother and three children seated at the trailing end of the carriage. Each member except for the youngest is holding a suitcase. The mother is looking at the floor. She has shoulder length brown hair and is wearing a summer dress. Jon cannot tell for certain but thinks she may be crying. They all seem a little disheveled and distracted. The oldest of the children—a boy around eleven—is staring out the window. The middle girl—seven or eight—is sewing a tear in her brother's shirt. The youngest girl—maybe five—is sitting on the floor playing with two dolls. One doll is hand made out of cloth. The other is plastic. As Jon watches she says, "Would you like some cake? . . . I don't need any cake." Suddenly, she forces the plastic doll into the cloth one and makes a grunting sound. After a few seconds she drops the cloth doll on the ground.
* * *
A mechanical voice announces, “Arrival in Valencia in 60 seconds” They have been traveling for over 30 minutes since the last stop in Megadon. The Turbo begins to slow then makes a sudden dip and lurch as it hits a weak point in the tracks. The cars float above the tracks on electromagnets giving a mostly smooth ride but sometimes there are gaps in the tracks where the magnets have weakened. The cars dip closer to the ground as they travel at very high speeds over these sections. This is one of many services that the Temples are not properly funding.
When the doors open at Valencia Station the stranger stands, turns around, and bends over to get his coat from the seat. "What does it mean—the pass-phrase?"
It takes Jon a few seconds to realize what is being asked. All he can think to say is, "It's the dream." to which the stranger's face wrinkles in frustration. As promised, he leaves without his case. Jon looks down at it, then at the rest of the passengers. No one else is leaving. He thinks the bald guy may be looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps he is just being paranoid.
Jon and Uncle Vijay are sitting at the dinner table. The briefcase is sitting on the floor. After looking into it Jon was even more puzzled. The contents look like ordinary office items: stapler, paper clip holder, magnet, pens, and a few other things. What is he going to use this equipment for? Perhaps to write a book? More likely to write a will if he is going against the Temples.
Now more than ever he wants to see the cave—needs to see the cave where Robert committed suicide. There was not enough time to go today after arriving in Blue Village, hailing a taxi, eating lunch with Uncle Vijay and helping with afternoon chores. He looks at the empty chairs across the table then around the kitchen.
This farmhouse is old enough to have fireplaces at each end. The one in the kitchen is used more often than the other one but only in the autumn and winter months. This warm July melts away any desire to build fires. The fireplace is centered along the western wall of the house which is also the west wall of the kitchen. A door exits to the outside at the southwest corner. The stove, sink, and cooler line the north wall. The food pantry is in the northeast corner of the room. At roughly six meters square the kitchen doubles as a dining area. A table and four chairs sit in the southeastern corner by a doorway leading to the living room.
“May I borrow the red wagon tomorrow?” The Machine is always listening so Jon uses code words. The Barchetta that Jon wants to use is an outlawed vehicle. Not only that it's illegal to own anything. Everything belongs to the collective. They avoid the cleansing for a few days after driving it.
“Yes, but be careful.” Vijay pauses before responding further. “You will need horse feed.”
“I will be careful. Robert and I have—had . . .” Jon corrects himself then pauses and corrects himself again, “I won't run into aircars.”
A vid starts on Templevision. Since neither man is wearing a headset they watch the screen mounted on the wall over the fireplace. Two men are struggling to move furniture up a flight of steps. “Re-located again? Are you tired of this? Shouldn't there be a better way? There is! Moving can be painless with Megadon Moving Gates. Choose from a selection of plans to fit your rations. How does it work? Megadon Approved Gates are transported to both locations. The gates create a doorway from your old home to your new home. Simply carry your things from one room to another. No need to pack!”
After the vid ends, news anchors appear on the screen. They remind everyone that sugar rations will be reduced again.
Vijay stands. “I'm tired. Think I'll turn in for the night.”
“Me too. I will head out after morning chores. It may take a while.”
Jon has the dream again that night but this time he remembers details that were not in Robert's journal.
Saturday at noon, Jon finally arrives at the waterfall. He and Vijay had morning chores done quickly but it took hours to arrange for the purchase of gasoline. Then he had to get it back to the farm. An old dirt road winds through a forest as it stretches away from town. The forest spills onto the farm providing cover around the area where the car hides in a shed. The nearest neighbor is a few miles away but he is careful because the Temples watch from the sky. If he were caught in the Barchetta he might disappear with it.
The waterfall he is looking for is one of many created as Blue Creek travels from the spring on the upper portion of Blue Mountain to the creek bed at the bottom. Growing up here allowed Jon and Robert to explore all over this side of the mountain. There is an old military base on the other side surrounded by a double fence. They never went into the base area for fear of the Federation. There were always rumors at school about a boy who climbed the fence and was never heard from again. The story was enough to keep most kids out and he discouraged Robert from climbing the fence every time it was suggested.
Jon climbs up the rock face next to the waterfall. He had to backtrack a little down the ravine where he drove in. As he gets to the top of the climb he looks down. Standing on a ledge about ten meters high he can no longer see the Barchetta which he has parked under an outcropping. The road follows the twisting ravine down to the foot of the mountain.
As Robert had said the water level is lighter. Normally, the water hides the meter wide entrance to the cave. Jon could see the cave behind the water as he drove around the last bend. He pulls out a fuselight, steps behind the water, kneels, and crawls through the opening. The entryway is a few meters deep and the floor is covered in dirt. Random thoughts race through his mind. “Where is this room? My knees will be dirty. I may be unwelcome if someone is in there. The cave must be man-made if there is a hidden room.” Inside, the cave widens to almost four meters. He shines the fuselight down the long corridor to reveal the crumbling rock debris of the back wall. Looking around reveals a few broken bottles, some random trash, and an article of clothing that might be an old sweatshirt. The teenagers in town still come here to party.
As his eyes adjust to the dimness he looks around. What was it that drew Robert to the correct spot? Sound? He listens as he moves around but hears nothing special. “If I were a door where would I be?” Jon shines the light on a large pile of rocks paying close attention to the floor around them. “No.” Then he steps to the other side where he sees a small pile of rocks. Closer examination reveals a hole in the floor next to one of the rocks. The rock almost covers the hole. “Clever.” He wonders if this was how Robert found them or if he piled them this way.
After moving the three weighty rocks Jon carefully puts his finger in the hole. It surprises him when his finger touches metal which causes him to remove his hand quickly. Nothing happens so he tries again. This time he pulls up but it seems that he is standing on the door. He moves around the hole and pulls until he succeeds in opening a trap door. There is a cylindrical silo under the door. His light reveals a ladder attached to the wall and a floor a few meters down the silo.
Jon climbs down, stands on the floor, and turns around. A doorway is carved out of the rock on the other side of the silo. He shines the light through the doorway to see footprints in the dirt and recognizes the outline of the guitar case. After stepping into what must be Robert's small room he shines the light to the other end which appears to lead to another silo. As he turns to look back where he came down his light reflects off something shiny. Looking closer he notices a round reflector next to a larger impression in the wall. The reflection appears to come from glass or plastic. When he bends over and looks into the small shiny disc he discovers that it is a lens looking at a view of the cave above.
Curious, Jon walks to the other end of the room to find another set of round spots on the wall. He shines the light up into the silo to see that there is another ladder leading to the top which is not open. This silo has a metal pole in the center attached to the top. He cannot push it open so he climbs back down. The view through this lens is of an office with a desk to the right, filing cabinets to the left, and a conference table further into the room.
Puzzled, Jon studies the impression on the wall. As he traces his finger around it he recognizes the size, pulls the pendant out of his shirt, takes it off, and pushes it into the impression. The sound of machinery starts and light slips into the tunnel as the metal shaft lifts to open the secret passage.
Standing in the dimly lit room he can see a fireplace. Above the fireplace is another round impression. This also looks like the source of the view from the lens. Placing the pendant on the impression lowers the secret door back into place which is cleverly disguised as a decorative slab on the floor. The marble of the slab is a different color than the marble in the rest of the room.
It occurs to Jon that the lights are on in a base that has been decommissioned for a long time. He also notices the dust in the room has been disturbed recently. On the desk a paper folder sits with a slight bulge in the middle. Opening the folder and reading the memos helps bring the meaning of the dream into focus. The first memo is very old.
MEMO
CLASSIFICATION: TOP SECRET
TO: Joseph Syrinx
FROM: Chief of Security
DATE: 5/2/1983
SUBJECT: ACCIDENT
As you know the recent accident has led to the disappearance of the Elders and their staff. Our investigation suggests two possibilities. They may have been vaporized or they may have been jumped into a different location. Neither looks good to investors. I suggest we use this facility as a scapegoat even though it means abandoning the equipment for now. We should be able to appease the investors by Merging Megadon and Syrinx Corp. This will spread the risk and show that we are all in. With the absence of the Elders you should have full control of Megadon within the year.
The next memos are dated much later at the time of the Big War.
MEMO
CLASSIFICATION: YOUR EYES ONLY
TO: General Kurling
FROM: Sergeant Larson
DATE: 2025/7/12
SUBJECT: Last known location of jumpgate keys
As requested I have located—as much as is possible—the keys required to operate the jumpgate located at Blue Mountain Base. Some of the persons which held the keys are deceased and others are missing. They are color coded and each contain the logo with three blue dots.
As you know, the location of each key is only known by the person charged with its care. I have the key issued to me when taking this post but other key holders were reluctant to share information with me. The locations of important persons and the known locations of keys are in the attached documents.
I do not know what to do about the lost keys. Perhaps the chief scientist can make a recommendation.
Jon finds the document with the last known location of the keys before reading the next memo.
MEMO
CLASSIFICATION: TOP SECRET
TO: General Kurling
FROM: Chief Scientist Don Marshall
DATE: 2025/8/1
SUBJECT: Blue Mountain jumpgate
Given recent developments it may seem prudent to reconfigure the gate to replace the missing keys. I recommend against this. Even if the gate will work without the keys, the custom control module was developed by persons who are no longer living. We may not be able to operate the gate within safe working conditions. Given this gates history of instability it is my opinion that this base should be decommissioned and all usable equipment moved to other facilities for the war effort.
Jon is both exhilarated and nervous. According to the Temples, the Elders existed over 1000 years ago. The dates on these memos are less than 100 years old. Is the memo speaking of the same Elders? Are the Temples telling the truth? Did the Elders destroy themselves or disappear? If they were not destroyed they can return using this gate. The pendant must be linked to them. What if they do return? Would they fight the Temples and the Federation? Would they dismantle the collective? He can't wrap his mind around all the possibilities but this gate is the key to everything. He must find a way to resurrect it.
Suddenly, Jon has cold feet. If the Temples find out he was here he will disappear. He could ignore everything he has learned. He might be able to keep the machine from picking it up during the cleansing. But if the Temples have been lying about the Elders what else have they been lying about? Are they lying about the instrument? About Robert? Jon feels his ears and face getting warmer. The warmth spreads to the rest of his body and it becomes rigid as anger swells inside him. He clenches his fists as if to hold onto the growl beginning deep in his throat—raspy at first. As the thoughts race around and around in his head his jaw drops down and out to let the growl escape. His upper body forces the air out through his nose and mouth and his head ducks a few inches. Grrrrrraaaaaaahhhh! Jon kicks the desk as he decides that he must avenge Robert and everyone else the Temples have wronged. He will have revenge or die trying.
Vijay is surprised to see a little girl standing alone on his doorstep but he always welcomes company. Jon and Robert are the only people who visit him out here. Robert will never come by again and Jon left this morning. He was strangely silent after his visit to the cave the day before.
After looking around for an adult, Vijay says, “How may I help you?”
“Um . . . My mother wants to know . . . where is it safe?”
“Safe?”
“We came through the woods . . . . They watch us—the ones who took Daddy.”
She points upward as she speaks. They must have hidden in the woods to avoid being tracked by the Temple satellites. But why? What happened to the girl's father? “My name is Vijay. What is your name?”
“Ciana”
”Alright Ciana. Let us go talk to your mother.”
* * *
“This is an old machine. It is called a Barchetta.” In the shed Vijay uncovers the vehicle and places the children in the two bucket seats.
“Don't tell anyone–our secret.” He turns to the mother. “I am Vijay Singh.”
“My name is Regina Delucci. These are my children. Tony Jr., Michele, and Ciana. My husband was taken prisoner by the Temples because of this. She lifts a cloth doll from her pocket, bends it in half, sticks her finger inside the shirt, and pulls out a small green object with three blue dots. She starts crying as she tells Vijay about Tony and how she was instructed to bring the item to someone named Jon at this address. The older children pretend not to notice as they listen from the car.
“It took me two days to figure out where you were and sneak over here with the children. We're almost out of food.” Vijay offers her a kerchief from his back pocket. He hopes she doesn't mind that he's wiped his forehead with it a few times today. “I have plenty of food. Does Jon know you are coming here?”
“I don't know. All I know is that Tony trusted Carlos—being vets and all. Carlos did not tell Tony about you or Jon. He only told me when putting us on the Turbo. Is Jon here?”
“He left this morning. I'll contact him to let him know that he needs to come back.”
“You can't use the Machine!” Regina's face turns red.
“I will be careful.”
By Wednesday Jon has managed to get two keys while traveling offworld for work. It has been three days since he returned from Blue Village. He decided to come to Vintage Square after work. Approaching the bar at 21 12th Street he is nervous. What will he learn? What if he is discovered? How much do these other people know about what he is doing?
As he sits at the bar eating peanuts a female voice whispers into his ear, “I climbed the spiral stair to see the oracle.” Jon panics, sitting motionless. That is not the exact same passphrase—close but not the same. Does this mean he has been compromised? Is this an agent of the Temples sent in place of his real contact? Should he pretend to not notice? He turns his head a little to see the speaker.
“Wait. That's not right.” says an elderly woman. “ . . . to speak to the oracle . . . . to speak with the oracle—oh never mind. Hello Jon. My name is Francine. I knew your father.” This changes his panic to surprise and Francine's demeanor eases his mind. He senses that she can be trusted so he turns to face her.
“My father?”
“Yes. Come with me.” she says as she walks towards a booth in the back of the room. When they sit down she pulls a matchbox out of her pocket, sets it on the table, and places her finger on top of it as she hums and whistles at the same time for about a second. A quiet matching tone comes out of the matchbox on the table. “We can talk now without worry'n 'bout the Temples hearin' but we need to be careful of other patrons.” She glances around at the other tables.
“How much do you know about . . . my situation?”
“A little. I knew your father. Probably why I was chosen to help you. Someone's not fond of the Temples–trusts the both of us.” She winks at him. “We know you're collectin' some sort of keys and will need reasons to travel offworld that won't attract attention. You can come to us for help but be careful when you do.”
“How did you know my father?”
“Worked together before you were born. Any questions 'bout the briefcase?”
“What is this stuff is for? It looks like ordinary office supplies.”
“Yep. Disguised.”
“How will they help me? What are they?”
“It's almost impossible to get a pass offworld. You need good reasons to travel. As a hardware tech you replace failing equipment. These will fake system failures at the colonies that you need to visit. Know where you need to go?”
“I know some of the places. How does the device get the fake signal into the Temple systems?”
“The Temples know there are ways to interfere with communications but they don't know the extent of it. Like to keep it that way.” She winks again. ”One can be configured to target a specific colony. Place that item next to an incoming data line and activate it.”
“How do I activate it?”
“Did ya see what I did when we sat down? Hold or touch one while humming a G and whistling a C at the same time. Practice on your way home.”
Jon looks worried. Francine grins. “OK. You can touch the eraser on the pencil to a device to activate it.”
“What if I'm caught or someone finds one of them?”
“They will self destruct after a few hours and become simple office supplies.”
Jon thinks for a minute about where he needs to look for more keys. The file does not give him exact locations. He wonders how much Francine knows about the Elders.
“I need to go outside the dome on Centauri 3-1 . . . to the ruins.”
“I can get you a system fault but you have to arrange your own transportation and extra curricular activities.”
Jon hands the case to Francine. He lists the colonies that he needs to visit over the next few days. After they finish she says, “One more thing. There's someone else looking for your keys.”
* * *
As Jon steps into his quarters the machine speaks to him. “Hello Jon Maretti. You have sixteen new messages. It has been nine days since your last cleansing.”
"It's not cleansing you want but my soul," he thinks as he raises his fist briefly at the source of the voice. He is on day nine of ten. Tomorrow they will come for him but he plans to leave tonight.
As Jon stands beside the couch looking out the window someone bangs on the the door to his quarters. Who would be visiting him? Maybe it is her? She really was looking at him. As he turns toward the door it is suddenly torn from the hinges, the room explodes with bright white light, and smoke fills his nostrils. The scent makes his eyes water and triggers his gag reflex, doubling him over, then bringing him to his knees. He tries to tuck his nose and mouth into his shirt to block out the smoke. It barely helps.
"Shower," he thinks and begins to crawl along the floor with blurred vision that is overlaid with a giant green splotch from the flash of light. Footsteps come into the room behind him. As he reaches up for the doorhandle to the bathroom he is pulled backwards across the floor by two sets of hands.
A few minutes later in the park across the street his vision clears and the gagging subsides. He is on all fours looking down at the ground when a pair of black boots walks toward him. They are polished enough for him to see his reflection. The Federation symbol is etched into the steel tips. A female voice says, "You didn't really think we would wait ten days?" Before he can look up there is a stabbing pain in the back of his neck and he passes out.
* * *
Jon slowly regains consciousness in a brightly lit space. He is not completely awake and his mind is somewhat groggy. What happened? Oh yes, he was knocked unconscious—stunned unconscious. Yes, that must be it. He was stunned and this is what it feels like to wake up afterwards. He has never been stunned before. Then he notices that he is strapped to a metal tray inside an opaque cylinder. He can tell the tray is metal because it is cold and pulling the heat out of him through his back which is bare. The cylinder may be made of crystal. His head is unable to move but it is propped up a few centimeters so that he can just see the opening down by his knees. The end behind his head seems to be closed. His hands, arms, waist, and ankles are bound like his head with leather straps. His left leg is chilly and his feet are bare. A hospital gown has been draped over him but not evenly so that his left side is exposed.
"Mostly awake? The effects of the stunner will fade in a few minutes." A female voice says before a blond woman peers into the opening.
"Hello Jon. My name is Helena. You have been hiding something. Have you not?”
"I'm not even dressed. Where could I hide something? Did I say that out loud?”
Helena answers in a cooing voice. "If you have nothing to hide, why have you not been plugging in?"
"Plug In . . . I have . . . but the machine is broken." This is true. He had broken it himself by dipping both sensors into his drink while standing with his back to the machine. The headset gave an audible crackle when he turned it on.
"Perhaps . . . ." Helena reaches into the cylinder to give him a better view of the pendant hanging from her left hand. “You were in the possession of certain illegal items.”
"I've been trying to figure out what that thing is for weeks. Do you know?"
Helena's tone changes a little. "Do not play dumb with me.” She pulls her arm back, looks down at his knee, then at his feet. As she speaks she runs her index finger slowly from his left toes down to his ankle and up his leg. "One limitation of the machine in your quarters is that it only reads active thoughts. All those memories locked away in your brain are inaccessible to it. Normally, a guilty person will not be able to forget what they have done. The machine is very good at finding guilt . . .” Helena says this with a little gleam in her eye and a smile even though Jon cannot see her. “but it is not infallible. A talented mind might be able to avoid the cleansing. Fortunately, we have another solution. Unfortunately for you . . . “
At this point her hand has reached his bare left thigh. He is thankful that whomever undressed him left his underwear in place or he would feel even more awkward. She grabs the gown, pauses, then pulls it over so that it evenly covers both legs down to his knees.
“It is very painful. You see, we must stimulate all areas of your brain at once in order to read all the information stored inside it. Unless . . . you tell me who you are working with. Maybe we can work something out.”
Is this what happens to people before they disappear? The part about the pain sounds extremely unpleasant but when she pulls the real reason behind his actions out of his mind they will surely put him to death or lock him up forever. After a moment he thinks that perhaps she is bluffing about reading all his thoughts. She may want him to think of the things she wants to know. He decides to concentrate on something else.
“Who do I work with? Well, I share an office with Jeremy. I report to Carl. Sometimes Sherry goes with me on jobs that require two people—”
“Good!” Helena interrupts as she walks over to the control panel and pushes a button that starts the machine. The cylinder begins flashing and humming. “I prefer this method.” There is a beep that seems to come from the other side of the room. Jon can hear Helena's voice rise in pitch. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Thirty seconds later he hears a loud noise. Then Helena screams, “Look at me! Who are you?!” As the humming of the cylinder gets louder he steers his mind to some of the songs he heard Robert play on the guitar. Suddenly, all is quiet and the cylinder goes dim. Jon braces himself for the predicted torment. Instead he feels the straps on his ankles being loosened. The metal tray slides out of the tube until he is looking up into a shadowy hooded face which he recognizes. Elonna Brown is staring back at him. As she loosens the rest of the straps, she says, “Come with me. Quickly.”
* * *
In the laundry room the last effects of the stunner wear off. After he has changed Jon takes a minute to collect his thoughts. Elonna Brown just rescued him from certain death and probable pain. She pushed him into this laundry room as she said, “Find clothes. Sneak past the guard at the front desk. It won't take long before they know you are gone. I'll meet you under the south end of West Avenue Bridge as soon as I can get there.”
“I followed you into the cave. It was not my first visit. Robert took me there once before he found the instrument. It was I who found him there after he . . . .”
Jon and Elonna are sitting next to each other deep inside a long storm drain that is a little over 1 meter high. He hopes being this deep inside will prevent them from being heard by anyone passing by on the bridge above. They have no fear of flash floods due to the lack of rain of late. There is very little light reaching them from the late afternoon sun but when Jon looks in the dimness he can see the beauty that drew Robert to her. She looks better up close—not too thin.
“You? No, his uncle found him.”
“Uncle Vijay promised not to reveal my involvement. Our affair was a secret . . . or so I thought.”
Affair? With Uncle Vijay? Then it made sense. "How long were you and Robert . . . meeting?"
"It started a few weeks before he found that thing. I noticed him under the willows months ago. One day I . . ." with this she pauses as her eyes brim with tears. After a few seconds she continues. "I met him there the first time; then only in secret. My father would not—did not approve. I'm sure he knew about us. He knows much more than he leads me to believe. Since Robert's death he has been acting strangely . . . distant. I found the answer in his office."
Elonna explains to Jon the secrets she uncovered when her father left quickly that afternoon. He did not secure his work machine which allowed her to look into his documents. First she had to move the items that were on the desk because they were blocking her view. The PMD was old but ordinary and there was a red thing that she had never seen. It was marked with three blue dots. Jon is not sure how he is going to retrieve the other keys but decides that he can start over with the red one.
* * *
"Daddy. Have you seen Katy?" Conrad looks down at the young girl under the table. He hopes Tony will not resist. It can be so messy when having to subdue a subject with children present—not that he minds back-handing a brat now and then but some are terrible trouble; biting and scratching. The process is less risky without them. This one seems tame as she plays with a plastic figurine while sitting on the floor.
"Here she is." Tony says as he picks the cloth doll up from the table and hands it to his daughter. "As I was saying, I don't know what you are talking about." He looks back at Conrad who is sitting beside him as the table.
"Tony. Please. We withhold nothing from the collective."
"If I knew what it was I would gladly give it to you. I hold Equality in high regard. No brother should keep for himself what can be shared."
Realizing the futility of being polite in this instance, Conrad pleads with Tony's sense of duty once again but adds a little fear. "You will be found in contempt of the Brotherhood of Man."
"I cannot give what I do not possess." Tony motions to a cake sitting on the table. "I do have cake. My wife calls it angel food. I call it delicious."
"Is that your final word on the matter?"
"Yes. Would you like some cake?" Tony stands to reach across the table for the cake. Conrad slips the stunner out of his vest pocket.
"I don't need any cake." As Tony sits back down so that his momentum is working against him Conrad jams the stunner into the back of his neck. It takes only a few seconds before Tony falls over the cake onto the table. Conrad looks down at the little girl to see that she is staring at him with a puzzled look. "Don't move," he tells her.
* * *
The vid was recorded from Conrad's point of view. It ends looking down at the little girl. Elonna's heart aches for her. No child should have to see a parent taken in such a manner.
Next, she finds a document that gives a status report on the efforts of 'forced conversion' of other territories to Temple allegiance. Less territories are resisting than last year and two particularly troublesome territories have been subdued after the leaders of those factions have mysteriously disappeared.
She notices that her father had been looking through his previously sent communications. She sees one that names her and the color drains from her face as she reads it.
* * *
Conrad,
I sincerely understand your sense of betrayal at Elonna's recent actions. I agree that termination may be the wisest course of action.
Her close relationship to both of us makes her a particularly important target for our adversaries. If she has indeed been working with them or would consider doing so it is vital that she disappear immediately.
I trust that you will speak with her. If you believe that she has betrayed me as she has betrayed you then you may interrogate her in any manner you deem appropriate. If she is to be terminated it does not matter what you do with her beforehand.
Sincerely,
High Priest Aleric Brown
* * *
Elonna does not have long to think because an explosion resounds from across the park. It suddenly seems prudent to leave. She grabs a few things from her room and heads downstairs.
Once outside she notices the shadows are small and the sun is high overhead. She heads for the willows thinking that she will sit under them for a while. From her hiding spot the view of Robert's apartment is tangled with willow branches. She sees when Jon is dragged out of the building. A woman is barking orders at the teams of soldiers. They put Jon in a Megadon vehicle numbered with a 3 on the driver door and the rear door. It is likely he will be taken to Megadon Headquarters. As Robert's best friend—Jon may be one of the few people she can trust.
* * *
Elonna rides the Turbo across town with her disguise in hand. Upon arrival she sees the vans parked outside—including the number 3 from earlier. Walking in the front door she realizes that she does not know where Jon will be in the building.
The lobby is well lit from both the overhead lights and the afternoon sunlight coming through the glass of the front wall and doorway. To the left of the door is a Machine with no headsets that plays constant Templevision on audible. On the right wall is a line of chairs with a gap in the middle where a door leads into the public lavatory. A little past the end of the line of chairs is the doorway into the interior of the building. On the left side of the room past the Machine is a counter where the guard sits. Behind him are two more doors. She walks to the counter with her salmon colored cloak folded over her arm and a small bag thrown over her left shoulder.
“Hello Ralph”
“Good Afternoon, Miss Brown”
“What do they have you doing today?”
“Inventory”
There are stunners, cuffs, PMDs, badges, keys, and a few items she does not recognize scattered all around. Elonna stops in front of the waist high counter which is about one meter wide and three meters long. Placing her hands and the cloak she is carrying on the counter she leans the top half of her body over it until her elbows are resting about half way across. She has noticed on a few other visits to this facility the way Ralph looks at her; it is obvious he finds her attractive. Older men are better at hiding it but Ralph is younger than Elonna and his face turns a little red when she is around.
“Is Conrad here?”
“Uh . . . should be here soon. He is expected in 310—.” Ralph stops abruptly as if realizing the mistake of revealing this information. He manages to turn his attention to the screen on the desk. “I'll mail him for you.”
“Wait.” Ralph looks back to her face which is only about 40 centimeters away from his. “I need to use the ladies' room to freshen up. It may be a while.” She tilts her head and gives him an inquisitive smirk then glances across the room at the multi-gender public restroom. “This one is dirty.”
Ralph looks down at the desk with consternation on his face. “I can't let anyone past the desk unattended and you'd need a key to get around back there.”
In the most damsel in distress tone she can muster she continues “But I really hate using this one. It's so filthy. May I borrow your key? Please?”
“Well . . . I . . . I can't.” He manages to look into her eyes and as she starts to lift herself up from the desk his face brightens as he winks. “Please have a seat while I go in the back and fetch a few things.”
Elonna gives him a return wink as she stands up, steps back and sits down in one of the chairs lining the entryway. She hears the key hit the floor as Ralph opens the door to the back room which is to the left of the main door. Once the door closes behind him she looks at the Machine across from her, then turns to her right as if she can see someone through the glass in the doors to the inner building. She smiles, stands, and walks in that direction. Since she is not sure how much of the room the Machine can see, she pauses briefly to bend down as if inspecting her shoes during which she leans over to pick up the fallen key.
* * *
Once in the lavatory Elonna turns her cloak inside out so that the salmon color is hidden. It is now black with a hood that hangs low over her face, hiding it in shadow. She makes her way over to and up the stairwell. On the third floor she cautiously opens the door using the key and peers through. No one is in the hall. She darts in and starts looking at the signs hanging on doors. “301 - Lavatory” “302 - Chemical Lab” “305 - Laundry” “307 - Storage” “310 - Intelligence Extraction” It is a little bit of a gamble but given what she has learned from Ralph and the name on the door this last one seems like the right place. She pulls the stunner that she picked up from the desk out of her pocket and holds it under her cloak.
Elonna uses the key to open the door to see a large cylinder and the woman from the park standing on the other side of a machine. The door beeps which startles her. She must act quickly. The woman is sure to recognize Elonna if she sees her face. After backing into the room while looking at the floor she slowly turns around.
* * *
“Who are you? What are you doing here.” The cloaked figure slowly turns around but Helena cannot see the face. She becomes furious. How dare anyone interrupt her? She slams her fist on the top of the machine. “Look at me! Who are you?!” No longer able to restrain herself, she starts around the machine toward the stranger. A few meters away she hears a familiar sound and realizes she is getting very tired. The stunner hit her in the chest so it will take a minute to reach full effect. She charges toward the stranger but does not make it all the way before falling to her knees. A few seconds later she passes out.
“We have to go back to Syrinx Mansion for the key.” Jon says as he attempts to look at Elonna. It is now completely dark in the drain where they are sitting and cannot see her. He can see a small light far away but none of it reaches them.
“I can't go back there. It's not safe—especially since I was at the facility this afternoon. What if they know I helped you?”
This will not be easy for either of them. Jon remembers that her hands were sitting in her lap the last time he could see her. He reaches over to hold them but he grabs a handful of thigh instead.
“Hey!”
“Sorry. I normally wait a few days after rescue before copping a feel. Where are your hands?”
“Here.” They reach for each other in the dark until his hands gently wrap around hers. “I do not want to put you in danger but I have something important to do and I need your help.”
After Jon explains his understanding of the Elder Race, Elonna sits quietly for a few minutes. “I will go back to get the key.”
“I want to be there.”
“You will need to stay out of sight.”
* * *
Jon lands on the lawn of the estate having just climbed over the wall. He is dressed in a gardener's uniform. Elonna said this plan had the highest chance of success but he is not sure. The conversation plays in his mind.
"Robert came to see me. It was the second time we were together. The gardeners are all Hispanic. If he can make it work, you can."
“Robert was Indian. I am not dark enough to be mistaken for the gardeners.”
“It will be almost dusk. You can come into the house through the southern guest room. I will hide the key to the patio door in the fountain. That's more than Robert had to go on."
"Robert was going on emotion."
As Jon thinks about this conversation he realizes that he is also running on emotion. Fear. After finding the key and letting himself into the guest room he waits for the signal. Elonna taps twice on the door. He taps twice back, waits 30 seconds, then, works his way down the hall to the servants quarters to change disguises.
* * *
"Hello Maria," Elonna says as she enters the kitchen. "Is my father taking dinner in his study tonight?"
Maria answers in a thick Spanish accent. "Si, Miss Elonna. He give joo some aislamiento for dinner."
"Is that it? I'll take it up."
"Si."
Elonna takes the tray down the hall and up the stairs where she hands it to Jon. "Put this in the study. First door on the left. The key is on the desk. You only have a few minutes so get out quickly."
* * *
Jon enters the room and closes the door behind him. After setting the tray on the desk he looks around but soon hears a vehicle pulling up to the front of the house. A quick step to the window allows him to see Aleric Brown and Conrad walking toward the house away from a Megadon vehicle number 3 as it pulls away. A few minutes later he still cannot find the key even though he has looked all through the desk, around it, in the bookshelf, and in the closet. Realizing that Aleric must have come back for it earlier he prepares to leave but when he hears footsteps on the stairs he grabs the steak knife off the dinner tray and heads for the closet. In the closet he rethinks the knife decision. It will not stop guards with stunners.
* * *
"As you know, my father was like a son to Joseph Syrinx." Aleric says to Conrad. They are sitting in Brown's study unaware of the hidden visitor.
"What is that smell?"
"It's curry. Maria has starting using it on everything she cooks." Aleric motions to the steak. "Open the window if it bothers you. I've gotten used to it. Your meal will be the same." Conrad opens the window and sits back down.
"It is time I explained the reason you have been collecting the keys. When my father died a few years ago I gained access to the last few items left him by Syrinx." Brown pulls an envelope from his briefcase and dumps the contents onto the desk. He pulls the key from his pocket. "This item led me to the Blue Mountain Project where I learned some very interesting and very important things." He puts the key on the desk. "Do you know where the Temple technology comes from?"
"Syrinx invented it."
"He found it."
"Found it?"
"Syrinx believed that the technology came from aliens. As a young man he ran away from home and came upon this device." He holds up a PMD.
"It looks like one of ours. That model went into production a few years ago. Why does it look so old?"
"My engineer believes it is one of ours and it is the one found by Syrinx over 150 years ago. Broken of course—long ago the information it contained was meticulously copied by Syrinx into other mediums so he could claim them as his own inventions."
Conrad listens without response.
"A few months ago I re-examined Project Blue Mountain. It seems that the Elders knew more about jumpgates than Syrinx thought."
“The Elders? As in the Elder Race?”
Yes, the Elder race story is loosely based on the incidents at Blue Mountain . . .” Aleric looks at Conrad who still has an inquisitive stare. “when the founders of Megadon Corp were testing the gate.”
"Founders of Megadon?"
"Yes. Yes. Syrinx was not the founder of Megadon. No one knows what really happened. It was still a young technology that required massive amounts of power. Megadon and Syrinx corp started a joint project to build bigger jumpgates. Previously, Syrinx had only built very small gates that reached short distances.. He provided minimal information to Megadon to build the largest gate of the time. In spite of this, my engineer suggests that the Blue Mountain gate may do more than bend space.
”Is he suggesting that the gate can bend time? That someone took that PMD into the past?"
“That is one of his theories. If true it should be one of us—it must be one of us. If someone else gains the ability to traverse time my position will be in jeopardy.” Aleric opens his briefcase again. This time he pulls out a small white square that looks very similar to the one around Jon's neck. “To operate the gate we need the keys and this control module.”
Aleric looks down at the control module for a moment. “What is the progress on collecting the keys.”
“I have all but the green one which we believe to be in Blue Village. I need to go after it tonight . . . lest it elude us. The keys are at Megadon HQ.”
“Good. Then take the control module and keys to Blue Mountain . . .” Aleric hands them to Conrad. ”and take a team to get the base running again. I'll send the engineer tomorrow. If we do not get all the keys, the engineer should be able to reconfigure the gate to work without them . . . . Now, go talk to Elonna, but remember the base is more important. Take her to Megadon after dinner."
After the door closes behind Conrad and the footfalls begin on the stairs Jon realizes that he needs to get the key and get out of there but he cannot leave Elonna. Her only chance is for him to create a diversion that will give her time to escape. He schemes for a few minutes. She won't leave while he is in the house so he'll need to make a lot of noise during his escape. It is risky but he decides to take Aleric hostage using the kitchen knife. Jon is about to open the closet door when he hears the office door open and close. Now there may be two or more people in the room. He listens then decides to move. After taking a deep breath and counting to ten as quickly and quietly as possible he opens the door and jumps out.
The room is void of people. He is relieved yet frustrated because he has to come up with a different plan.
* * *
After Conrad leaves the room Aleric puts the PMD back into his briefcase and turns to the dinner tray. The steak is now room temperature but things are going well and he loves steak. The mashed potatoes look a little soupy. A grimace forms on his face as he realizes that there is no knife. How can Maria serve him steak with no knife? Her rations will be reduced for this.
He could call down and have them bring a knife but he wants to listen in on the conversation in the dining room. Aleric leaves the room closing the door behind him.
* * *
Jon stands in the office thinking for a minute. This may work. Let Conrad take the keys to the base. He re-considers jumping out the window to the front lawn but Elonna may not get away.
He could try to flag her down and sneak out through the back yard but they can not escape through the garden. The wall is too high. He barely found enough things to climb on from the other side. Perhaps he can enlist help from someone else in the house. Jon puts the knife back on the tray next to the steak.
* * *
Conrad is sitting at one end of a long table—not in the head seat but to the right of it. Elonna is sitting across from him. The table is a few meters across. He would prefer to be a little closer in case she tries to run but he has no doubt the guards in front will stop her if needed. "Where were you this afternoon?"
Elonna panics. Conrad must know that she was at the Megadon Facility. The machine saw her and Ralph may have mentioned it. "I came to see if you wanted to have lunch. I was told to wait but when the alarms started I left." She remembers the message from her father to him and wonders what means he has in mind to interrogate her. This man—the one she agreed to marry—requested that she be terminated.
Maria walks in carrying a tray of drinks trailed by Jon pushing a cart. Elonna is stunned. What is Jon doing down here? He needs to get out of the house. As Jon moves toward Elonna, Maria stumbles spilling a drink on Conrad's lap. While setting a plate of steak before Elonna, Jon whispers. "Choke."
"Clumsy spic!" Conrad yells at Maria who is wiping at him with a towel. She is apologizing in Spanish while he curses at her.
Elonna is still stunned and looking at Jon who has now turned around and is pushing the cart but pauses to wait for the commotion to stop. He looks back at Elonna, places one hand on his neck, and sticks out his tongue in a choking gesture.
"Just go!" Conrad shouts. When Maria leaves Jon places the other plate in front of Conrad as Elonna starts eating.
A few minutes later Maria returns with a new drink. Conrad has been cutting the steak into pieces. Elonna looks down at the table and makes a gurgling sound.
Maria and Conrad look at her. "Miss Elonna?".
Elonna starts to gag and lets some food fall out of her mouth. After thirty seconds of gagging her eyes roll into her head and she falls onto the floor. Jon rushes into the room. "We have to get her to the hospital! Call the aircar!"
Maria steps to a panel on the wall where she enters a sequence of numbers. Conrad sits in disbelief and shock as they rush Elonna out of the room. Looking down at his uneaten steak he has a feeling of relief. As he pushes the plate away he says, "Better her than me."
* * *
On the way to the hospital in the aircar Jon and Elonna are alone. The aircar is on autopilot. "Change course. Megadon Headquarters. 6th and Southern."
"No." Jon whispers in her ear, "They will be expecting us there. We need to get out of the city. We can go to Blue Village for a little while."
"How are we going to get out of the city?"
"I know some people." Jon says. "Change course. 21 12th Street, Vintage Square."
* * *
Aleric returns to his office, closes the door and sits down to eat. Something is wrong. There is a knife on the tray. He is certain that it was not there before. Then he sees the open closet door. He slams out the office door and flies down the steps yelling. Conrad!
Conrad appears at the other end of the hallway and runs toward him.
“Sir!?”
Brown softens his yelling as the two men reach each other, “Someone was in the office while we were speaking. We don't know how much they know. Go now! Get the keys and get to the base. I want that gate working—even if you have to tear it apart and rebuild it. I want you to start working on it personally. I'll send the engineer tonight.”
Conrad relaxes. “The machine will not work without the keys—which I have.”
Brown raises his voice again. “They may be able to use the machine without the keys! If we can reconfigure it, so can they!”
This sets Conrad on edge again. “I'll call ahead to assemble a team. But I cannot can get the gate working with my limited knowledge.”
“I'll give you my personal PMD. It has all the technical specs on the jumpgates. Use it until the engineer gets there.”
“You disappeared. Shouldn't be here. You'll compromise us all. How did you get away from Megadon?” Francine says as Jon sits down at her table.
He looks from the table back at the bar where Elonna is sitting with her head down. “I had help.”
Francine's eyes widen, “Is that Elonna Brown? We can't trust her!”
“She rescued me from Megadon. I trust her with my life.”
The older woman looks wary. “Meet me in the alley.”
* * *
“Vijay has been trying to contact you. He has the green key.
“For how long?” Jon asks.
Francine ushers both Jon and Elonna into a back room. They are in an office. The name on the window reads, “Megadon Moving and Storage – South City”.
“We don't know how he got it or when. All we know is what he said in the message he sent you.”
“How do you know what he . . . ?”
“We've been monitoring your mail. Part of our arrangement.”
Francine leads them to what looks like a wide door frame made of metal and crystal. Jon recognizes it as a moving gate.
“Can you send us straight to the farm?”
“No. Opening a gate with no receiver requires too much juice. I'll get you to Blue Village Moving and Storage but that's it. Have to travel on foot from there.”
“There is something you can do. Send a message back to Uncle Vijay. Tell him to cooperate with the Temples. It may save his life.”
Bring them All
At Megadon headquarters Conrad is in the gate room with the assembled security team.
“Where is my prisoner? We may need him!”
A few minutes later men in riot gear with stunners enter the gate. The last few follow Conrad carrying the prisoner.
* * *
The security team sweeps down the forest road away from the gate to surround the farmhouse. As they storm into the kitchen the children scream and start crying. Vijay is in front of the currently broken Machine thinking of other modifications to it that might be useful. Regina is sitting at the table. The soldiers grab the two adults and throw them to the ground before picking up the three children. When all is secure, Conrad steps into the kitchen.
“Hello Regina.”
Regina turns her head to see him standing over them. She spits on his boot.
“Well, if you are going to be that way . . . Old Man, do you know why we are here?”
“Yes.”
Regina glares at him from across the floor.
“In the doll.”
“Shut up! What are you doing?” she yells. Conrad kicks her in the side with the same boot that she spit on. Then he wipes the rest of the spit on her clothing.
“Well. That was easy.” Conrad frowns. Ciana screams as he pulls the cloth doll out of her hands. He raises his hand in the air as if to backhand her. Her screams become a whimper.
“Don't you touch her!” Regina yells from the floor. The solider standing over her pushes his foot into her spine. “Ow!”
Conrad feels around the doll then tears it in two to get the key. He drops the pieces on the floor as he says, “Too easy. Bring them all.”
* * *
Jon and Elonna sit on the ground peering over the rock wall. This section of the almost meter high wall is roughly one hundred meters from the farmhouse. It is dark enough that they don't believe anyone would see them. The lack of vehicles and movement suggests that no one is around but it could be a trap.
* * *
Jon looks through a kitchen window to see a room in disarray. Chairs are overturned. Food is sitting on the table and some dishes are smashed on the floor. He walks around to the open door but does not go inside for fear that the machine will see him. Peering in he notices the familiar looking doll parts on the kitchen floor.
On the other side of the house the front door is unlocked. A quick run through the house confirms that no one awaits him. He finds the key to the Barchetta before returning to Elonna.
The trip to the cave is more difficult in the dark on this early Tuesday morning. Jon and Elonna arrive in the office through the cave passage. The last time he was there all the doors were locked. He hopes that at least one will be opened by the Megadon team.
While Elonna waits in the office Jon carefully explores the hallway. The door to the stairwell is open but as he starts through it he hears shuffling and grunts coming from the next room. He carefully closes the stairwell door and sneaks over to investigate. The door to the mess hall is mostly shut but through the opening Jon can see one of the Temple guards wrestling with a woman on the floor across the room. It looks like they are on a pile of cloth which may be table coverings. As they struggle Jon sees that she is gagged and her hands are tied behind her. The guard is wearing his uniform shirt over boxer shorts without his pants, belt, PMD, and stunner which were left on the floor in the middle of the room. He is attempting to remove the woman's shorts but has only succeeded in unbuttoning them because she is putting up a fight.
Jon suspects that the guard may hear when the door opens so he moves quickly. Indeed, the door squeak alerts the guard who turns his head to see Jon heading for the stunner. The guard turns and stands to his feet to join the race. At the same time the woman sees Jon. He is still wearing servants clothing from Syrinx Mansion. She wraps her legs around the guards ankles as he begins to move causing him to stumble. It slows him enough for Jon to reach the stunner first. The guard struggles to his feet again while clamoring toward Jon who is still attempting to open the holster latch. The larger man slams full force into Jon before he can get the stunner ready. They both land on the floor. Jon's arms are above his head holding the stunner inside the holster attached to the belt which is looped through the pants. His adversary grabs the pant legs while standing up and pulls as Jon grabs the belt and waistline with the other hand. The momentum pulls Jon to a sitting position then across the floor as the guard continues backward a few steps.
Seemingly at an impasse in this tug-of-war the guard starts reeling in the pants hand over hand to get the stunner into arms reach. Suddenly, the guards boxer shorts are pulled down to his knees which startles him into letting go of the pants. Jon backs up as he tries the latch on the holster again. Upon pulling up his shorts he bolts in Jon's direction and realizes too late that Jon has fired the weapon dead on. He falls to the floor in between Jon and the woman. She reaches up with her bound hands to remove her gagging.
“Thank you. You must be Jon. I'm Regina.”
Jon nods in agreement as he recognizes her from the Turbo then looks at the lump on the floor.
Regina smiles as she says, “He wanted me to take his shorts off.”
* * *
Jon and Elonna learn from Regina that there are roughly twenty guards, Conrad, Helena, and multiple hostages. They have Uncle Vijay, Tony, and the three children. She heard them call for Spike—the now unconscious guard—as he stole away with her. The guards separated into groups for turning on the main power, setting up bunks, and securing the area. The hostages were split among the groups at Spike's recommendation. Conrad and Helena went to the main warehouse. The guards have keys that access certain areas of the facility.
Jon takes charge. “We need to work together to take out all of the guards. Then we take on Conrad and Helena.”
* * *
Conrad and Helena are in a warehouse carved out of the mountain when the power comes on. The lights in the room allow them to see that some of the wall and ceiling look natural as if the room started as a cave but most of the rock walls show evidence of digging. The door they came through is on one end of the room. The other end looks like the former cave opening and is sealed by a large door. The airlock, the gate, and related systems are toward that end of the room. The gymnasium sized area is probably airtight in case the airlock around the gate were to fail. There are boxes and crates of supplies stacked and scattered throughout the end of the room that they entered.
He puts his hand on the PMD attached to his hip but lets go as he studies the ancient gate control panel. On the bottom left corner of the panel a small metal plate is stamped with the date 2/17/1982. It looks like the date the panel was manufactured. This panel seems to include the usual jumpgate controls but it is not like anything Conrad has ever seen before. Modern jumpgate controls use a touchless interface. The older ones use a touch interface on a screen but this panel consists of a few rectangular areas, labels, dials, and switches. In the middle is a knob that can move in two dimensions. To the left of the knob are switches: On/Off; Open/Close. Below these switches are two lights: green and red. Three displays labeled altitude, latitude, and longitude are to the right of the knob. Below the altitude dials is a three position switch with labels: raise, track, lower. At the bottom of the panel are color coded slots for the keys with a square one in the center for the control module. Above the knob is a display that shows the current date and time. He watches the seconds change until it rolls over to the next minute.
04 21 1983 13 22 7
Although the control panel is different the concepts are the same. Conrad speaks out loud to himself. “The system will track the target from the preset altitude. This switch will raise the gate higher or lower above the ground. This knob is to change latitude and longitude. We can track anywhere on the planet's surface.
Conrad checks to make sure all switches are off before setting the main switch to On which turns on the red light. From the side of the machine they can hear a buzzing noise that they do not recognize. It seems to start and stop every time he does something to the machine. When they investigate they see that the machine is printing on green and white paper.
Power On
Running diagnostics
Diagnostics OK
Calibrating date and time
08/04/2112 05:03:05
Insert keys
Inserting the keys and control module starts a familiar humming. After a few minutes the red light goes off and there is more printing.
Changing destination: Megadon City
Calibrating orbital vector
Calibrating gate vector
Establishing pinhole gate in 60 seconds
Airlock closed
Running tests
OK
Ready to expand pinhole gate
The green light turns on and the printing stops with a ready message. Conrad flips the Open switch. After a few seconds they can see a flicker from the glass in the airlock door.
Helena says from behind him, "Can we turn on the video?”
One of the screens on the control panel is labeled 'Air Lock CCTV' but it shows nothing after flipping the switch to the 'On' position. “It does not work. I don't even recognize that type of device. Is that glass?” He curiously taps on the screen then turns his attention to the airlock.
“Check the airlock.”
Helena walks to the face sized pane of glass built into the airlock door. “It looks like Megadon City from high above Megadon HQ. I can see the streetlights.”
“Good” Next, Conrad looks at the date and related dials. Could it be as simple as changing them? He flips the Close switch before changing the date to a time before Megadon HQ was built. He notices the time display has stopped changing on its own.
08 04 1955 05 05 7
A loud noise erupts from outside the doorway to the room. They both turn to look putting their hands on their stunners but they see no one—not even the guard who was standing there before. Helena says nothing as she walks toward the door. Conrad turns back to the printout and flips the Open switch as the green light comes on.
Calibrating new date vector
08/04/1955 05:05:7
Calibrating orbital vector
Calibrating gate vector
Establishing pinhole gate in 60 seconds
Airlock closed
Running tests
OK
Ready to expand pinhole gate
Conrad walks to the airlock and is stunned to see no lights, no city, no headquarters. He moves the lever from Secure to Unlock on the airlock door and feels a rush of air into the room as it swings almost all the way open. Looking through the gate he sees a grassy field just before sunrise. There is only the faintest light but it is obvious that no city is down there. He steps inside the airlock to get different views through the gate. Looking up through the gate he can see the red sunlight reflecting off the mountains to the west and the sun is peeking over the other horizon. At first he thinks that the machine has placed the gate in the wrong position but as he studies the landscape he recognizes Blue Mountain in the distance. It looks like Blue Village is also gone.
* * *
Jon is second guessing his decision to leave the others behind. He and Elonna against Conrad and Helena seems like a losing proposition. Rounding the corner into the hallway they surprise another guard. Jon is also surprised but acts quickly by running straight into the guard who is standing in front of boxes of supplies.
Jon is barely away from the guard when Elonna fires the stunner. A little tingle jumps at him from the guards outstretched hand. He is kneeling next to the guard by the doorway when Helena rushes through with a stunner. She fires at Elonna as Jon jumps up and grabs her shoulder with one hand and the stunner with the other. The shot barely misses Elonna. Helena lets go of the stunner, punches him in the face, and kicks him in the chest which knocks him to the ground. Elonna runs directly into Helena which carries them both into the warehouse. They tumble over old crates and supplies as each one fights for dominance. Jon works his way into the room and becomes worried. Elonna is not a trained fighter and it shows.
* * *
When Conrad hears the second crash he turns around, drawing his stunner. He sees the two women fighting and Jon moving toward him. The shot he fires hits a crate behind Jon who has also started firing. Jon's shots are going nowhere near his intended target. Conrad decides to use the airlock door for cover since he is standing inside it. Unfortunately, the door needs to be opened all the way before he can pull it closed enough to hide behind. “What moron designed this?” Confident that Jon cannot aim he pushes the door all the way open. As the door hits the latch that allows it to swing back overconfidence coupled with working to move the door keeps him from seeing Jon raise up from behind the crate, take careful aim, and fire. Conrad and the heavy door are in motion when the stunner hits the door and the charge transfers to him. He lets go of the door and stumbles, tripping over the edge of the doorway which sends him sprawling backward directly into the gate. As he falls he realizes that he needs to grab the edge of the gate but his body is already shutting down. Momentum pushes his upper body through the gate. On the other side the gate is facing straight down so that gravity is pulling on him. He falls over one hundred meters to the ground killing him on impact.
* * *
Jon now turns his attention to the fighting women. He stares at them from across the room. Helena is sitting on top of Elonna between two stacks of crates with hands around her neck. Jon takes careful aim again but decides against shooting since the charge may pass to Elonna.
“Get off of her!”
Helena looks up but her grip does not loosen. She grins when she sees Jon lowering the stunner. Elonna is turning blue. Suddenly, a large board smacks Helena across the side of the head knocking her unconscious. Regina steps out from behind the crate holding the board. Tony and Uncle Vijay rush over to check on Elonna.
The gate is still open. Tony is looking at dawn on a grassy plain with a small brown dot in the middle. Jon is standing in front of the machine control panel which has taken some damage. The screen labeled Air Lock is black and smoking and the time display is blank. Nothing happens when Jon tries to use the altitude switches. The Close switch does work. The hum changes pitch as the image through the gate blurs, wiggles, and fades. When it is gone the other half of the air lock can be seen through the opening.
Jon notices the control module resembles the pendant around his neck and decides to swap them. A static noise pops overhead coinciding with a dimming of the hum. Information has been printing on the green and white paper.
Control module removed
Warning! Airlock is open!
New control module detected
Changing destination to Centauri 3-1
Calibrating new date vector
08/04/1112 12:00:0
Calibrating orbital vector
Calibrating gate vector
Establishing pinhole gate in 60 seconds
Warning! Airlock is open!
Running tests
OK
Expanding gate in 60 seconds
Warning. Airlock is open!
Jon reads the airlock message and panics. If the gate opens into space they will all be killed. He succeeds in closing the heavy door just in time. Watching through the small window as the hum crescendos into a roar, he sees the air within the gate waver and blur from the center outward. Hundreds of people shimmer into focus. They are all standing in another grassy field and staring directly at him. One walks toward the gate.
Jon opens the door and feels a little rush of air into the room. The approaching stranger is wearing a uniform that is gray and loose fitting. Three blue dots are painted on the upper left of his chest. He steps through the gate and raises his hand in salute. “Hello. My name is Troy.”
The group stands around the stranger listening intently. As he speaks he pauses randomly as if listening for something. Jon can see that he is wearing a headset. It is different from the headsets that accompany the Machines.
“We have been waiting one hundred twenty nine years for this moment. Some said that the timeline might change again. We feared you might not open the gate . . . . Frankly, we are relieved. So far our attempts at building gates have failed. We have never been able to acquire enough information . . . to create a working gate. You should make a note of that.”
Jon looks at him with a puzzled expression but Troy does not seem to notice.
"You just witnessed the genesis of changes to the timeline as technology fell into the past with Conrad? Did you see the date? Into when did he fall?”
“No.” Jon wonders how Troy knows not only the recent events but that level of detail.
“Then we must continue as planned with overthrow of the Temples in the present . . . . Since we do not know exactly when Syrinx comes in contact with the technology we cannot fix the timeline.”
“Fix the timeline?”
“There was a timeline in which the Temples did not exist. In that reality, . . . Joseph Syrinx was nothing more than a common man and technology was not as far advanced as it is now. As far as we can tell the incidents that you just witnessed are repeated every one hundred fifty seven years. Syrinx finds the PMD that Conrad took with him. He becomes more powerful with each loop as the PMD carries even more technical knowledge than before.”
Elonna speaks up, “You are Elders.”
“Yes. Our family has been working against Syrinx and the Temples since the time he came in contact with the technology—until we used this gate to hide on Centauri 3-1.”
"Why are you hiding?"
”It became necessary to stage an offensive from somewhere that Syrinx and the Temples could not reach . . . . We needed a safe location to build weapons and train. Syrinx was already very powerful when you left Earth in 1983. He even had spies within Megadon.”
Jon asks, “Wait. What did you say? Who left Earth?”
“You both leave Earth in 1983 . . . . You haven't figured it out? Elonna Elder is my Grandmother and you, Jon Elder, are my Grandfather. In some timelines you discover more about yourselves. In your future—which is my past—you will travel to 1955. You obviously cannot use your real identities.
Troy pauses to let this sink in as he looks around the room. Tony, Regina, and Vijay, Elonna, and Jon are all perplexed. How can they be the grandparents of a man who was hiding in the distant past—presumably, the grandparents who in the more recent past are referred to as the 'Elder Race'? Seeing the lack of understanding on faces all around, Troy continues.
“I wish we had more time to let you get used to the idea but we do not . . . . Jon and Elonna Elder create Megadon Corp—the first company to harness nuclear fusion. You will act as a counter force to Syrinx's power for a time but if you stay on Earth Syrinx will destroy you.”
Jon and Elonna look at each other then back to Troy who is still speaking in bursts. The others look at Jon and Elonna.
“You—my grandparents needed him to think they were no longer a threat . . . being dead seemed the best cover; being offworld and in a different time seemed the best hiding place so they—you faked an accident in this facility."
“This is the first Megadon research facility where you will develop the first nuclear fusion power plant.”
“I don't know anything about nuclear fusion.” Jon complains.
Troy pulls two PMD-like devices from his belt. As he hands them to Jon and Elonna he says “These contain all the information that we have acquired and learned . . . . two—in case something happens to one of them. Take as many people with you as you can when you leave for Centauri 3-1. We need many trained fighters . . . . Teach your children and grandchildren to prepare for this day.”
"Children?" Elonna asks.
“Yes, grandmother. I will not be born if the two of you do not have children . . . so please, have children.” he says this with a smile. The group chuckles.
Elonna ponders the idea of leaving everything she knows. There is nothing for her in the present.
“Become early investors in Syrinx Corp . . . to maneuver yourselves onto the Board of Directors where you can exert as much influence as possible. Any companies that still exist in this time should be investment targets in the past . . . . You will have this advantage over Syrinx. He will not have as much knowledge of the future as you. If he becomes too powerful you will need to escape. In 1982 you will need to partner Megadon Corp with Syrinx Corp. Megadon will provide power and personnel to colonize the first discovered extra-solar planet: Centauri 3-1. This partnership will facilitate your fake deaths. When you are gone Syrinx will take over Megadon.”
“Investments?” Jon asks in complete bewilderment.
“This society is a collective? You will need to learn about individual ownership as soon as you arrive.”
A few crackles emanate from speakers overhead. Jon asks, “Are you certain you can defeat the Temples?”
“No, but after you leave we will recruit enemies of the Temples from the present and past on this world and others. They are assembling and coordinating outside this facility now. This timegate gives us an unparalleled advantage.”
“Now?”
“We can open the gate to any time and place. Our offensive from the future is already underway. About the same time you enter this facility our troops are entering strategic positions via this gate.”
“But the machine is broken.”
“It is working well enough. We will use the control module to change coordinates and dates. I have only to give the signal to begin the offensive after we send you to the past. Are you ready?”
Jon and Elonna look at each other. She puts her hand on his forearm and smiles a little. "We're ready."
“We want to go too.” They all look over at Tony who is holding Regina's hand. The children are peeking out from behind them. “There is nothing here for us either.”
“This is not unexpected.” Troy says to them. “You will all be Elders.”
Jon looks at Uncle Vijay who replies, “I will stay here. I'm too old . . . my head is spinning.”
Two minutes later a burst of air rushes into the room. They are standing in front of the gate holding a fuselight and the PMDs. The gate allows light to shine into a small area surrounded by blackness. It reveals bare cave where before there had been concrete flooring. They hold hands in a line, take deep breaths, and step through the gate as a voice announces over loudspeakers, "Attention all planets . . . "
The voice continues but from the other side of the gate the sound is dimmer and distorted. ". . . assumed control." Looking back at the gate they can see a round hole suspended in the air. The view from directly in front allows them to see into the facility but when they peer around it there is only more cave. All the equipment, fixtures, floors, ceilings, and lights are gone. From the back side of the opening they can see light spilling onto the floor of the cave but cannot see the source. It is as if the light is coming out of nowhere.
They are swallowed by the dark as the light shimmers and fades. Behind them a little moonlight spills into the cave opening. Jon takes Elonna by the hand. Tony and family follow them outside. They see a moonlit landscape down below and a road at the bottom of the mountain.
After an hour of careful hiking they get to the road where Jon sees a sign that reads 'FOR SALE'. A minute later Tony Jr. is staring at the sky when he asks, “Hey Dad. Where are the Twin Moons?”