CHAPTER 61

2001, New York

They approached the archway. Cartwright nodded at his men stil standing guard outside. He gestured to Forby to join them inside as the shut er cranked noisily up. The other men he instructed to continue guarding the entrance, al owing no one else inside.

One by one they al stooped under the shut er as it clat ered to a halt. As he fol owed the others in, Cartwright glanced up at the sky above Manhat an, beginning to lighten with the rst grey stain of dawn. Another hour and it was going to be daylight, New Yorkers get ing ready to go to work, and disgruntled civilians building up around the road blocks either end of the Wil iamsburg Bridge. Tra c police, TV lm crews and journalists were surely soon going to add to that, asking his men and the National Guard soldiers where their orders had come from. What the hel was going on? He and his discreet lit le under-theradar agency could do without at racting that kind of at ention. The terrorist-bomb cover story those men had been given would hold for a lit le while longer, but not forever.

The last one inside the archway, he pressed the but on and the shut er rat led down noisily again. Forby removed and the shut er rat led down noisily again. Forby removed his bio-containment hood and then unslung his machine pistol.

‘It’s al right, no need to aim it at the girls,’ said Cartwright. ‘But just have it to hand, uh?’

Forby nodded and lowered his aim.

‘So,’ he continued, approaching the desk stacked with monitors, ‘the computer? Before it’s al fried?’

Maddy nodded. ‘Yes, of course. DOMINOES.’

Cartwright shook his head. Of course. You idiot, Lester. He looked at the Domino’s pizza boxes strewn across the desk, and would have slapped himself if he’d been alone. The dialogue box on one of the screens ickered to life as a cursor ashed and scut led across the screen with new text.> Welcome back, Maddy.

‘Hi, Bob,’ she said. ‘I’m in time, aren’t I?’

> No system les have been erased yet. You had another seven minutes before I proceeded with your instructions.

‘Christ,’ mut ered Lester, ‘you weren’t kidding.’

Sal shook her head. ‘Nope.’

> My camera detects unauthorized personnel in the eld o ce.

‘Yes,’ said Maddy, ‘we have guests.’

> Are you under duress?

‘No, it’s ne, Bob. These guys are OK, for now.’

Cartwright tapped Maddy’s arm and spoke quietly to her. ‘Anything funny, I mean it … you say anything to that her. ‘Anything funny, I mean it … you say anything to that computer that sounds remotely like a warning and it’l be the very last thing you do.’

She nodded. ‘Don’t worry … I’m not stupid.’ She sat down in one of the o ce chairs and faced the computer’s webcam. ‘Bob, we got a message from Liam.’

> I am very pleased to hear that.

‘Yes, so are we.’

Sal joined her at the table. ‘Hey, Bob.’

> Hel o, Sal.

She held up the piece of paper Lester Cartwright had produced earlier. ‘This is the message. Can you see it clearly?’

> Hold it very stil , please. I wil scan it. A moment later the scanned image from the webcam appeared on one of the monitors and the image ickered light and dark as Bob adjusted the contrast to get a clearer resolution of the handwriting. Then a highlight box ashed around each handwrit en let er in rapid succession, until nal y a text-processing application opened itself on yet another monitor with the entire message typed out clearly.

> Some of the message is in code.

‘That’s right,’ said Sal. ‘It’s a book code.’

> The encryption clue is ‘magic’. Is this correct?

‘Yes.’

> I have more than thirty thousand data strings that include the word ‘magic’.

‘I think that’s referring to the book you were reading the other day. Do you remember? We were discussing it.’

other day. Do you remember? We were discussing it.’

> Harry Pot er and the Deathly Hal ows.

‘Yeah, that’s the one.’

Cartwright and Forby leaned forward. ‘You have got to be kidding,’ mumbled the old man.

‘Hey, my daughter is reading those books,’ said Forby.

‘Is that the next one?’

‘It’s the last one,’ said Maddy. ‘Book seven.’

‘Jeez! What my girl wouldn’t give to get a look at that!’

Cartwright cocked an eyebrow at his man. ‘Forby …

please be quiet.’ The man obediently drew back and resumed his wary stance, the gun held loosely in his hands. Sal sat down beside Maddy. ‘Bob, you and the duplicate AI wil have the same digital book le, right?’

> A rmative. The le was in my short-term memory cache when we downloaded the duplicate AI into the support unit.

‘Then this should be pret y much straightforward,’ said Maddy.

‘Yeah.’ Sal icked her hair out of her eyes. ‘You’ve just got to replace each three-number code with the let er. You understand how the code works, Bob, yeah?’

> A rmative. Page number. Line number. Let er number.

‘That’s right.’

> Just a moment.

They watched in silence as clusters of numbers were momentarily highlighted on the document, while on another screen, pages of the book ashed back and forth in another screen, pages of the book ashed back and forth in a blur. The task was completed in less than thirty seconds.

> The complete message is: Take this to Archway 9, Wythe Street, Brooklyn, New York on Monday 10

September 2001. Message: Sip, two, sehjk, three, npne, gour, zwro, aix. Key is ‘Magic’.

They stared at it in silence for a few moments, trying to make sense of it.

‘Wel , that’s just gibberish, isn’t it?’ said Cartwright.

‘Are you sure you’re working from the same digital book le?’ asked Maddy.

> A rmative.

‘The original numbers on the fossil,’ said Cartwright,

‘some of them were indistinct, or incomplete. I have access to the original piece of rock.’

‘No … it’s OK,’ said Sal. ‘If it’s just numbers it’s real y easy to work out. Sip is six. Sehjk, must be seven.’ She worked quickly, writing the numbers down on a scrap of paper.

‘There.’

6-2-7-3-9-4-0-6

‘It’s not in the usual time-stamp format,’ said Maddy.

> Please show me, Sal.

Sal held the piece of paper up to the webcam.

> It is a number. 62,739,406. Suggestion: it is the AI duplicate’s best estimation of their current time location.

‘Oh my God!’ gasped Maddy. ‘It actual y managed to work it out?’ She looked at the cam and smiled. ‘Wel , that’s you, actual y, isn’t it? A copy of you, Bob. Wel that’s you, actual y, isn’t it? A copy of you, Bob. Wel done!’

‘To the exact year?’ said Cartwright. ‘To the exact year?

That’s … that’s incredible. How could anyone possibly –’

> Negative. The best resolution guess can only be to within 1,000 years of that year.

That silenced them al .

They could be up to 500 years before or after the speci ed time location.

‘Oh jahul a,’ whispered Sal. ‘Then that’s no good to us.’

‘The nearest thousand years?’ Maddy’s head drooped.

‘How are we supposed to nd him in that?’

Cartwright looked down at both girls. ‘So your machine can’t bring back your col eague?’

Maddy shook her head. ‘It takes time to build up enough charge to open a portal, particularly for one that long ago. I don’t even know how long it would take to accumulate enough to open one then anyway, let alone do it thousands and thousands of times over.’

> Information: approximate charge time – nine hours.

‘So we can do it,’ said Sal.

Maddy laughed drily. ‘Yes, we can … but a thousand years? If we opened one window for each year it’l take us nine thousand hours … what’s that? Just over a year of constantly opening and closing portals.’

‘So? We’l do that for Liam, right?’

Maddy sighed. ‘That’s opening one window per year. What are the chances of Liam standing right there in the two or three seconds of that year? Hmm? What if he was two or three seconds of that year? Hmm? What if he was asleep at that moment? Taking a leak? Hunting for food?

To stand any sort of chance we’d need to open one … like

… every day!’

‘This sounds like a needle-in-a-haystack problem,’ said Cartwright unhelpful y.

‘Oh.’ Sal bit her lip. ‘But we could try, couldn’t we?’

‘Three hundred and sixty-ve thousand at empts!’

replied Maddy. ‘Do you want to have a guess how many years that would take us? Hmm? Lemmesee,’ she mut ered, as she gnawed on the nails of one hand. ‘Oh, there … three hundred and seventy-ve years or something.’ She made a shrewish face, growing pink and mot led with frustration and anger. ‘So, what do you say we get started, then?’

‘Then I’m sorry, that’s it,’ stepped in Cartwright. ‘I’m afraid your friend is stuck where he is. This facility wil need to be packed up by the end of today and shipped down to a more secure government facility.’

‘You can’t do that!’ snapped Sal. ‘This is our … this is our home!’

‘It’s now a US government asset,’ he replied calmly.

‘And so are you, my dear.’

> Suggestion.

‘You can’t do that! We’ve got … like, human rights and stu !’

Cartwright’s smile was humourless and cold, the calm and empty gesture of someone who cared not one whit. ‘I wonder … who exactly is going to miss the pair of you?

wonder … who exactly is going to miss the pair of you?

Hmm? Family? Friends?’

‘The agency,’ snapped Sal. ‘And if you mess with us, if you hurt us, they’l come for you! They’re from the future!

And they’re –’

‘Sal!’ barked Maddy. ‘Shut up!’ She grabbed Sal’s arm.

‘Don’t say anything more about the agency! Do you understand?’

She clamped her mouth shut and nodded mutely. Maddy looked at Cartwright. ‘I think I can guess what you have in mind for us; you’l keep us under lock and key in some remote Area Fifty-one facility, like freaks, like lab rats. And that’s where we’l remain until you’re sure you know everything about this technology … then I guess you’l dispose of us, right? A drive out into the middle of the Nevada Desert and one shot in the back of the head for each of us. Is that how you lot work?’

Cartwright shook his head. ‘Nothing so brutal, Maddy. You’re worth far too much to us alive. Even when I’m sure you’ve told me al that you know, we’re stil going to need guinea pigs to test your time machine on.’ He sighed.

‘Mind you, it would have been good to have your col eague too … I’m not sure I’m entirely comfortable with the idea of him being out there roaming around history. But I suppose if he’s sixty-two mil ion years away, I can’t see him doing –’

Sal cast a glance back at the monitor.

> Suggestion: rapid-sweep density probes. She pointed at the screen. ‘Maddy! Look!’

She pointed at the screen. ‘Maddy! Look!’

Maddy spun in her chair to look at the monitor and quickly digested the words. ‘Oh my God, yes! Probes. Density probes … that could work!’

‘What?’ said Cartwright, shaking his head irritably at the distraction. ‘What’re you on about?’

‘Tachyon signal probes to check a return location is clear of obstructions and that someone else isn’t wandering through it before we open.’

Cartwright looked none the wiser.

‘It’s like … it’s like knocking on a door before entering. Like asking is anyone in there? It’s a lot quicker than actual y opening a portal. A lot less energy needed.’ She turned back towards the mic on the desk. ‘Bob, what are you suggesting? We can’t scan every moment over a thousand years … can we?’

> Negative. We scan a xed moment of each day, 500

years either side of the calculated year. That is a total of 365,250 density probes.

‘But that’s going to take you what? Months? Years?’

asked Cartwright.

> Negative. Smal signals, no more than a few dozen particles per signal, would be enough to identify a transient mass. Movement.

‘Yes,’ said Maddy. ‘That’s it! And al the signals that came back with some movement detected could become a

… become our candidate list: a shortlist of times we could try to open a portal on. Bob, how long would it take to do that many probes?’ She turned back to Cartwright. ‘It’l that many probes?’ She turned back to Cartwright. ‘It’l take a lot less time, I promise you! Maybe just a few days, tops!’

He shook his head. ‘Unacceptable. I want this archway empty by the end of today. Empty and everything inside in boxes and en route to –’

‘Please!’ begged Maddy. ‘We can’t leave Liam out there!’

Cartwright silently shook his head.

‘He knows the location of al the other eld o ces,’ cut in Sal.

Maddy’s jaw dropped open. ‘Whuh?’

‘He alone knows where they al are. Locations, timestamps.’ She turned to Maddy. ‘I’m sorry … I was going to tel you, but … but Foster swore me to secrecy.’

Cartwright studied her silently. ‘There are others, then?

Other places like this?’

Her face hardened and her dark eyes narrowed. ‘I’m not tel ing you any more. I don’t know any more, but … like I say, Liam knows.’

‘Hmm.’ He thumbed his chin thoughtful y.

‘Bob,’ said Maddy, ‘how many days would it take to do those density scans?’

> Calculating … just a moment … just a moment …

‘Nice try, young lady,’ said Cartwright eventual y. ‘You know, that was almost convincing. But it’s the sort of nonsense that only happens in movies.’ His croaky voice raised in pitch to that of some damsel in distress. ‘Oh, please don’t shoot, mister … If you let me live, I’l show you where the loot is hidden.’

you where the loot is hidden.’

Cartwright laughed, pleased with his impression. Sal shook her head. ‘Oh, I’m not lying. Where do you think the time machine came from?’ she replied. ‘What?

You think me and Maddy put it al together by ourselves?’

He had no answer for that.

Maddy could see where Sal was going with this. A good blu . ‘She’s right, Cartwright. Where do you think we get spare parts from? When the displacement system breaks down, who do you think we cal to come and x it? Some spot y kid from PC World?’

Sal nodded. ‘You think our people are going to let you walk away with one of their time machines?’

There were questions there that the old man needed time to consider careful y. The room remained a motionless tableau, while from somewhere overhead came the faint muted sound of a circling helicopter. The blink of the cursor running across the dialogue box suddenly caught everyone’s at ention.

> Information: running at 11 scans a second, 365,250

scans wil take approximately nine hours.

‘Nine hours,’ said Maddy. ‘See that? Nine hours.’ She looked at her watch. ‘By three this afternoon, we’l have an idea exactly when he is and we’l be able to bring him back.’ She smiled sarcastical y at him. ‘Then you’l have three lab rats to play around with instead of two.’

‘Yes.’ Cartwright nodded appreciatively. ‘I suppose there is that.’

‘Please,’ whispered Sal, her hard-bargaining face

‘Please,’ whispered Sal, her hard-bargaining face softened to that of a begging puppy.

‘Al right. But if either of you tries anything sil y, like dial ing for help with one of these signals –’ he reached into his jacket and pul ed out a handgun – ‘in fact, if you do anything that isn’t explained clearly to me rst, I wil shoot you dead. Do you understand?’

They both nodded quickly.

‘There’l be no shouted warnings, girls. I wil simply pick up my gun and I wil blow your brains across that messy desk of yours.’ He o ered them that cold lifeless smile. ‘And, believe me, you’d be in very good company. It won’t be the rst time I’ve blown a person’s brains right out of his head.’

Maddy swal owed and pu ed out a ut ering breath, her eyes resolutely on the wavering muzzle of Cartwright’s gun.‘Sure. Uh … O-OK. Nothing sil y, then … I total y promise you that.’