By noon the next day, they were ready to go. Mr. Green had given her some warm cereal for breakfast, but she ate just half of it. She did force herself to drink some tea, and then a glass of water. The Feinberger showed that she was still hemorrhaging, but the rate had not increased, so she told him she wasn't worse. She could hardly move from the pain.
Now, however, she had to move, and she had to look as normal as possible. Mr. Green's instructions were explicit. “The chip I injected into you last night holds your new identity. It's rather hasty. It won’t get you out of the UK. But it should be fine for travel to Northern Ireland. They'll just do a cursory scan.”
He helped her walk to the car. “The new chip only covers over your old ID. It doesn't eliminate it. So a deeper scan will show a discrepancy, which means you have to not give them a reason to do a deeper scan. Your new name is Sandra Williams. You were born in Brighton on April 14, 2061 so you are nineteen years old. You're a student at Oxford, and you're on your way to Belfast to visit your aunt and uncle, Peter and Blythe O'Connor. All of that is programmed into your travel documents.”
She nodded, hardly able to think over the pounding of her heart. “What if they ask where my parents are?”
“You shrug and say they're at home in Brighton. Act casual. I know you've never done any traveling, but they don't usually ask questions. They don't care basically, as long as your chip and papers are in order. Just keep that in mind, and act accordingly. One other thing ...”
They had reached the car and he paused before opening the door for her. “You and I are both college students. I'm travelling for business, you're on your way to see relatives. It's not a problem that we know each other—we're both physics students, after all.” He grinned at her, and she managed a weak smile in return. “So,” he went on, “we need to be on a first name basis. Call me Andy. I,” he sighed, “will try to remember to call you Sandy.” He shrugged. “We can act like it's a running joke, in fact. Andy and Sandy, friends from Oxford.”
Moira nodded and settled into the car. She caught Andy's worried expression as he watched her cautious movements. “Can I continue the charade of drinking too much?” she asked. “Now I have a hangover?”
He helped her buckle her seatbelt, as he shook his head. “Hangovers are too easy to treat. But if you tell them you're sick, they won't let you travel.” He knelt by the car, and touched her face. “Can you do this, Moira? Can you stand straight and walk without the pain showing? Everything depends on not arousing the guards' suspicions.”
She stared at him, taking in the bit of dark hair that always curled over his forehead, the deep brown eyes, serious and worried, the too-big nose, and the too-long chin over those so-tempting lips ... and she nodded. “I will, Mist ... Andy.” Her nerves tingled when she said his name, but she forced herself to concentrate on his concern. “I'm sure I can manage for a few minutes at a time. While we're driving, you need to tell me every detail about getting past the guards and onto the train. Everything you can think of.”
~~~
Moira was relieved to see that Andy was right about the guards. The bored girl at the checkpoint just waved a detector over Moira's arm, glanced deliberately from Moira's picture ID (with the name, Sandra Williams, on it) to Moira's face, and handed everything back, gesturing for the next person in line. “Have a good trip Miss Williams.”
She would not have called it a good trip, but Moira was at least able to rest as the aerotrain made its silent way across England. The jump over the Irish Sea was nerve-racking, as she had never done it before, and late spring storms ripped the atmosphere around them. Andy sat beside her and read the book she had given him, apparently unconcerned at the buffeting, so she assumed the conditions were not any worse than usual. It did take all her concentration to not wince against the sharp pains some of the bumps caused her.
Once past the guards at the Belfast station, she let herself bend over against the pain, holding her coat tight against the gale tearing through the port. Andy carried her pack. “I’ll hire a car,” he said, his face creased with worry. “At the hotel, we’ll continue to act as college friends on holiday. Just stay with me and try to act normal. We’re almost there.”
~~~
Moira wondered how Andy would get her past hotel security, but when at last she was able to sink onto the bed in his room, she no longer cared what he’d done. She moaned in relief at giving in to the pain, lying curled up on her side, with her arms wrapped around her stomach. She trembled under the force of the spasms.
Andy covered her with a blanket, then knelt next to the bed, and placed a light hand on her forehead. “I’ve got to report over at headquarters,” he said. “I don’t know how long they’ll keep me today. Will you be all right?”
She managed a nod. “I just want to stay still. Sleep, if I can.”
“The med kit is right here on the table,” he told her. “There’s one dose of painkiller left. I’ll try to get more while I’m out. And I’ll look for a doctor, too.”
Her eyes flew open. “No. A doctor will report me.”
“I’ll find one that won’t. But you need treatment.”
“No. I’ll be fine. Just don’t chance it.” She stared into his eyes, just inches from hers. Saw him hesitate, and wondered if he would lie.
He didn’t. “Listen. One of the things we need to do is find a rebel cell. That’s essential to getting you to safety. I’m expecting they’ll have a doctor among them. But I have to look, and there is some danger in that. I promise I’ll be careful.”
He stood and she closed her eyes again. “Sleep,” he said. “I’ll bring dinner back. If I’m going to be later than six, I’ll call you.”
~~~
The guard at Sun’s reception office was bored, and made no effort at small talk while Andy waited for his guide. He used the time to thumb his Pad. He knew one person in Belfast who might help Moira, and who wouldn’t talk. He sent a short text requesting a meeting.
He turned when the door slid open. A thin woman with spiky blonde hair, and dressed all in black—sweater, jeans, and skaters—thrust a hand toward him. “Andy Green? I’m Dinnie Warner. Come with me and I’ll catch you up on your assignment as we walk.”
He shook her hand, then she was off through the door. He scrambled after her before it closed and left him trapped with the guard again.
She talked in rapid-fire counter-point to her steps as they hurried down the hall. “I run the neutrino detection lab. I’ve seen your work, and I think you can jump in without a lot of background, but if you need clarification of anything, shout it out.” She flashed her wrist at a security point, not stopping her forward rush, clearing the barrier just seconds after the laser beam flashed off. “You’ll have a few hours today to examine the data. First thing tomorrow, we’ll put you to work with our subject matter expert. He’s ... visiting ... as well, but we’re prepping the third-floor lab for the two of you to use.”
Another wrist flash, this one before a steel door that slid open with alacrity. Andy suspected nothing around here dared refuse to work in a timely fashion when Dinnie Warner expected something. She waved him into a chair that faced a green screen, and stood beside him, speaking to the air. “Ari, run ID scan for Andrew Green.”
A female-robo voice answered. “Scan running. Hold still, please.”
Andy froze as a red laser beam surged over him, from head to toe. In three seconds, the voice spoke again. “State your name, please.”
“Andrew Green.” His voice was raspy.
It didn’t seem to bother the AI. “ID scan complete,” she stated. “Subject entered into security parameters.” Andy thought he detected a note of satisfaction.
Dinnie handed him VR goggles and gloves. “I’ll leave you to it. You’ll have access to all we know at this point. Look it over and we’ll talk when you’re ready. Do you have any questions before you start?”
Andy slipped on the gloves. “No ma’am. Let me see what you’ve got.”
Her eyes flickered to the ceiling. “Ari, run data file X3-2080NT6, set to Mr. Green’s control.”
He caught her sharp nod just before the goggles covered his eyes. Then he was lost in patterns of neutrinos.
~~~
Sarah took her dinner tray to the little table tucked into the corner of her room. She placed her tablet on the table, directly above her plate. A cup of tea went in the spot just to its right. With everything in place, she sat with her back to the corner, facing the room and the solid steel door that kept her locked in.
This corner was the closest she could find to a blind spot for the room’s sensors. It wasn’t perfect, but with the tablet providing both cover and excuse, she had a few minutes to fiddle with the remote she had palmed after they’d let her exercise in a workout room down the hall. The room’s camera would show her back, but as long as she took a bite or sip once in a while, and read occasionally, the guard wouldn’t bother to check on her.
Her cursory inspection of the medical equipment which they had used to examine her, and of the machines in the gym, convinced her their energy substrate functioned on solar or fusion power. Their hardware used a similar encoding technology to what was used in her own timeline. Since there were only a limited number of ways to talk to a computer, she was fairly confident that she could get on friendly terms with the AI running this feckin’ nightmare. She just needed to reach the heart of the bloody thing using a simple machine that could do little more than talk to a virtual hydro-planer.
A wire she had wiggled out of the bed frame became a low-tech sensor used to probe the guts of the remote. Fifteen minutes into her surreptitious dinner, she’d managed to hack into the security system far enough to display a list on her computer’s screen, showing the names of anyone in the hallway. So far, the only name on the list belonged to her guard. Well and good.
Opening a separate window, she urged the remote to expand its range and let her code-bunny search where it wanted, then display the information in map form. Her bunny was blocked by the system’s firewall, showing on her screen as a gremlin holding a shield. She instructed the bunny to give the gremlin a candy code, one her systems at home found irresistible. The gremlin, having never been exposed to it, instantly became the bunny’s best mate, stepping aside to let it move further into the system. She left it a trickle of code to play with in reward.
Her map grew, showing her the entire wing which housed her, then growing to show the floors above and below. She saw the narrow shaft for the lifts, then blinked in shock when the name “A. Feldman” appeared in the lift, moving downward. Her fingers froze as the name stopped moving at her floor, then proceeded through the hallway toward her room.
Her mind refused to think, but her body moved with automatic urgency, reverting her computer back to dumb terminal status, and stowing the remote and wire inside her bra. They’d find it easily if they looked, but Sarah knew they’d find it no matter where in the room she hid it, if they had a reason to look for it. Had the system reported her?
She leaned on an upraised arm, staring at her computer while her other hand lazily twirled her fork in the spaghetti strands on her plate. A deep breath helped her school her features to boredom, but slowed her pounding heart only a little. Still, she managed to glance up in wary nonchalance when her door opened. She even registered the right amount of surprise and dismay as Feldman entered with the guard. She stood, sending the guard a questioning glance. Good acting, Andrews, she told herself. Just remember to breathe.
Feldman gestured toward her food. “I apologize for interrupting your dinner. Please, continue eating while we talk.”
“Wouldn’t be good for my digestion,” Sarah said. As if he cared that he’d interrupted her dinner! She slid around the table and sat on the edge of her bed, leaving the chair for Feldman if he decided to sit.
He did, bringing the chair to the front of the table in an unhurried manner. This put him just a few feet away from her. He seemed perfectly at ease, one foot resting on the opposite knee. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a computer chip, turning it in lazy circles between his fingers. He had blue eyes, and despite his polite demeanor, they regarded her with a cold inner light. Sarah suppressed a shiver, but could not look away from the chip he held. It looked like CERBO’s neutrino alteration chip.
“Dr. Altair tells me,” he said, “that your CERBO will not work in this universe, due to a difference in neutrinos. I’m curious as to what this chip does. I found it tucked away in a separate compartment of CERBO’s case.”
He stopped talking, his gaze on her as if it were her turn to talk. She tightened her lips and looked away. Sam’s statement was not true, of course. CERBO would work just fine in the universe, but she trusted that Sam had a reason he wanted Feldman to think otherwise. Had Feldman already asked Sam about the chip? If so, what had Sam told him about it? What was her part?
When she remained silent, Feldman continued. “In the morning, Dr. Altair will begin working with some of our staff, to build a new machine that will work in this universe. Its application for instantaneous travel is remarkable. I’m sure you understand how helpful the device could be if applied to movement around the globe.”
“I do, of course,” she said, trying to avoid saying anything that would contradict Sam’s story. She nodded to the chip in his hand. “We can’t do anything without that chip, though. You’ll have to give it back.”
He smiled, and she could tell he didn’t believe her. Bollocks. What had Sam told him?
“I’ll hold onto it for now,” he said. “We’ll see how far you can progress without it.”
She decided to bring up what was basically a meaningless topic. “You must realize that we didn’t build CERBO for travel within a single universe. When we direct neutrino action, there’s a counter-reaction somewhere, and you have to compensate for that if you stay in the same universe.”
Feldman tilted his head in acknowledgement. “It’s one of the things Altair is going to help us with.” He leaned forward. “What I want to know, is what part you play in all this. Altair tries to pass you off as a tourist. A granddaughter dutifully fulfilling her grandmother’s last wish. But you’re more than that, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come now, Miss Andrews. We have all the equipment and belongings you brought with you. That includes a fascinating photo album showcasing your grandmother’s life in the second timeline. It also shows you working alongside Altair and others, as they build these machines. In fact, it’s obvious that you are the genius behind the hardware. I would be remiss if I did not request your assistance with our project.”
Sarah fought the urge to put more distance between them by sliding further back on the bed. To appear weak would put her even more in his power. “Request, is it? Are you suggesting I have a choice?”
There was no humor in his smile. “Of course you have a choice.” He turned his head, eyes taking in details of the tiny, windowless room, before settling once more on her. “Has it occurred to you that no one knows you are here? As far as anyone in this world knows, you and Sam Altair do not exist. No one will question your disappearance or ever ask about you. Your stay in this room can last as long as you do, Miss Andrews.”
“That’s my choice?”
He lifted a shoulder in casual acknowledgment.
Sarah glared at him. “Why? What is it you want us to do for you? Surely, if you put your resources into it, your own people can figure this out in time.”
“That is not your concern,” he said. “All you need to know is that if you cooperate, you and Altair can return home. Obviously, I can’t give you a timeframe, but when we have what we need, you’ll be free to go.”
“You want us to help you do a bloody immoral thing, with our freedom as the price? You’re a monster.”
He laughed. “Immoral? Your very presence here is an abomination to the natural order of the universe, and a specific attack on our sovereign rights to our world. You are lucky we don’t simply have you executed with due diligence.” He leaned forward, eyes burning with intense feeling. “But we are merciful. Come, Miss Andrews. Do you really want to spend your life in this room? Or do you want to return home to hearth and loved ones?”
He stood and Sarah blinked up at him, confused and wary. “I will instruct your guard to escort you to your laboratory tomorrow,” he said. “Your cooperation, or lack of it, is up to you.”
He stepped toward the door and Sarah cringed as a desperate longing pierced her. “Dr. Feldman ...”
He paused at the door and turned to face her. “Yes?”
“My grandmother’s journal. I want it back.”
His eyebrows rose. “I have use for it, at the moment.”
“Please.” She stood, but made no other move as the guard came to tense attention. She kept her eyes on Feldman’s face. “It’s all I have left of her. Did you not have a grandmother? Can you understand? Promise you’ll return it to me.”
He watched her through narrowed eyes, giving no hint of his thoughts. Sarah held her breath and waited.
He nodded to the guard, who pressed a button on his belt. Behind Feldman, the door slid open but he continued to watch Sarah. Finally he spoke. “Naturally, I had a grandmother.” There was no emotion in his voice, but he dipped his head. “Once I have no other use for the journal, it will be returned to you.”
Sarah waited until he and the guard walked out, and the door slid closed behind them. She let her breath out in an explosive whoosh, then stepped to the little table, picked up her dinner plate, and hurled it with all her strength at the door.