&06

The Time War

By Gary LM Martin

Chapter 5: The Varonkov Drive Undone

Calle was at a house party sponsored by Commander Strayker's wife, Gina. Once Calle had passed his final test, he had learned where the Continuity Service was actually located, in an isolated office building on the outskirts of Orlando, not far from Straykerland. Most of the facility, however, was underground.

Calle had been told the party was in his honor. He didn't know if the CS held a party every time they added a new recruit. The organization seemed to have dozens of members. But then Calle wasn't simply an ordinary recruit; he was a "Special Talent". And it was true that his intuition, first with Eva Braun and then with "Amelia Earhart", was starting to convince Calle that maybe they were right. Maybe there was something special about him.

Calle always knew there was something odd about himself. His mother told him he was almost catatonic for the first few years of his life. And then, when he snapped out of it, he used to laugh inappropriately for years, for no apparent reason, so his mother said. And then there were those visions, the dreams of glowing orange eyes... he had seen them for years. Calle had no idea what it was. He presumed he must have seen something as a baby which had imprinted this memory on him.

Calle was talking to Doctor Vladek at the party. There was something that made Calle uneasy about Doctor Vladek. Maybe it was the heavy bags under his eyes. Maybe it was the slow, deliberate way he talked. Or maybe it was just the way he stared at Calle, like he was some kind of lab specimen.

"So what exactly are you a doctor of?" Calle inquired.

Vladek gave a genial smile, which to Calle looked sinister. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that I see you do a lot of things around here. You gave me a medical exam, you talk with people about their problems, and I've seen you working on the Time Shaft. That's a whole lot of different kind of doctoring, for a doctor," said Calle.

Vladek stared at Calle for a long moment, as if he were taking mental notes. Calle shifted uncomfortably. Then Vladek said in his slow, deep voice, "Yes. We are persistently shorthanded of key personnel here. That means we all pitch in. I was trained in medicine and psychiatry, but I have since branched out to work on the Time Shaft."

"Did Doctor Bright teach you?" Calle asked. Bright, he knew, was Dr. Voidovich's assistant who took over when Voidovich disappeared.

Vladek gave Calle an odd look. "Yes, as a matter of fact, he did."

"As I understand it, Doctor Voidovich created the Time Shaft some fifteen years ago, and when he disappeared, Doctor Bright took over, and then Doctor Bright retired... when was that?"

"About four years ago," said Vladek.

"Doctor Bright must have been in his 40's. That's kind of young to retire, isn't it?"

Vladek smiled. "You'll find that the Continuity Service has a very high turnover rate. Our work, by its very nature, is quite stressful. People burn out rather quickly."

"And what happens when they burn out?"

Vladek shrugged. "They retire."

"Aren't they security risks, given all they know?"

"We trust our people completely," said Vladek. He looked into the crowd. "If you'll excuse me, I see something I need to attend to." He smiled and walked off. Calle watched the good Doctor go and talk to someone else.

"He's creepy, isn't he?"

Calle turned to see Sarah Chambers standing there, sipping a drink as she stared at him with unabashed lust in her eyes.

"You're rather blunt, aren't you?" Calle asked.

"I say things as they are. I have to, in my line of work," said Sarah, shrugging her shoulders. "So? Did you solve the great mystery of Amelia Earhart?"

"Yes," said Calle. "She was a guy named Bob."

Sarah didn't blink an eye. "So you never dug up the body."

"The body?"

"In the grave."

"Why would I have?"

Sarah leaned close and stared seductively at him. "If you had, you would have discovered that her corpse was all bones." She rubbed against him. "They ate her."

"No!"

She rubbed up and down against him. "They. Ate. Her." She waved a hand majestically. "I am the Scanalizer! The Scanalizer sees all!"

"You're drunk," said Calle.

"Not yet," said Sarah. "But soon! So... are you ready yet?"

"For what?"

Sarah frowned at him.

"To have sex with you?" Calle guessed.

Sarah put a finger on her nose.

"No," said Calle.

"You will be," said Sarah.

"How do you know?" Calle asked.

"Have you had your first vision? In the Binochi Corridor?"

"Yes," said Calle.

"You're not the only one who has visions there," said Sarah. "That's all I see lately. You, fucking me."

"No," said Calle.

"Yes," said Sarah, rubbing against him. "I can tell they are at all different times, because each time I see you, you are fucking me in a different position."

Calle looked at her skeptically.

Sarah sighed theatrically. "You're not ready yet. This conversation is no longer useful then. Goodbye." She flitted off to talk to another man.

Major Alex Reynolds came over and clapped Calle on the shoulder. "Good work! You kept your pants on with her. I admire determination, boy."

Calle gave a quiet laugh.

"How are you settling into the CS, John?" Reynolds asked. John's new black friend gave him an appraising look.

"Fine," said Calle.

"I hear you completed your test mission. That Amelia, she's quite the lady, eh?" he said, poking Calle in the ribs as he chuckled.

"Yeah," said Calle.

"Well, you're on my team now," said Reynolds.

"When will my first real mission start?"

Reynolds shrugged. "Whenever we discover the next temporal incursion."

"Which could wipe out everything around us at any second," said Calle.

"Right," said Reynolds. "But not us. You had your anti-time particle treatment before you left the base, right?"

"Yes." Calle had stood in a booth for a moment while hot jets of air and light sprayed over him.

"So you're safe, we all are. If everything disappears around us, we head back to base and fix it. The base is protected from temporal changes by the Time Suppressor."

"I see," said Calle. He paused. "By the way, did you know John Collier, my... predecessor?"

"Sure," said Reynolds.

"I was told he retired," said Calle.

"Retired? Not the word I'd use for it," said Reynolds. "We lost him on a mission late last year."

"Lost him? How?"

"I'm sorry, John, but that's classified. He was a good man though... a big loss for the Service."

"Why didn't you simply go back in time and save him?"

"Can't loop," said Reynolds quickly. "It has a tendency to create artifacts."

"Artifacts?"

"Rips and discontinuities in the time line. They can get really nasty. It's like... sewing with a needle and thread in the same spot over and over. The fabric of space/time simply gets weaker and weaker."

"What would happen if the fabric... broke?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know," said Reynolds. "Would you like another drink?"

********

Gina Strayker was the complete opposite of her husband, outgoing, gregarious, and very charming. She was a dark haired woman in her 40's, a few years younger than the Colonel, Calle judged.

And she liked to touch people when she talked to them. At least, she liked to touch Calle.

"You seem like such a

charming

young man," said Gina, fingering his wrist. She obviously had been drinking.

"Thank you," said Calle.

"My Ted says you're going to be such an ass... asset to the organization," said Gina, looking behind Calle with a smile. "He was very excited when you were brought on board."

"Was he?" said Calle. Gina's hand was roaming up his arm, like a spider.

"I'm jealous," said Gina, making a face.

"You are?" said Calle.

"You see him more than I do. He works such incredible hours," said Gina. "The World Government intelligence service keeps you busy, doesn't it?"

The World Government. Calle's stomach tightened at the mention of it. So that was the cover story that Strayker had told his wife. "Yes, the World Government keeps us busy," Calle agreed.

"I wanted to travel," said Gina, and as she moved her face closer to his he smelled the wine on her breath. "I wanted to see Paris, Paris! The Louvre. But now some fanatics have set it on fire."

"Terrorists have set the Louvre on fire?" said Calle. He frowned. "I haven't heard anything about that."

"Yes, it was right after the World Government sent troops into Finland, to put down the anarchists."

Calle looked at Gina as if she were speaking a foreign language. He had no memory of those events.

Colonel Strayker came over and put an arm on his wife. "Dear, are you pestering our new recruit?"

"I'm just being friendly, Ted."

"I'm sure you are. But Margaery could use some help in the kitchen, dear." His hand squeezed her shoulder. She looked uncertain for a moment, and nodded and turned away.

Calle was blunt. "Your wife just told me that the Louvre was set on fire and that the World Government sent troops into Finland."

"Gina's had a little too much to drink," said Strayker. "She doesn't follow world events closely, and gets easily confused."

"I see," said Calle, who wasn't sure if he did.

"Are you settling in well?"

"Yes, I think so," said Calle.

"Good. Because I have a feeling we're going to be sending you out soon."

********

The Luddites:

Tom Stoyer was the seventh richest man in America. He made his fortune building a series of chemical plants, which fabricated thousands of kinds of component parts needed for America's 25th century economy to function. But in the process, his plants polluted the environment in a substantial way.

Stoyer became a billionaire, but a

very guilty

billionaire. He realized that not just pollution but technology itself was destroying the planet. People were losing their true selves by over relying on

devices

.

And so, when one of Doctor Voidovich's assistants, Marsha Kalinsky, fell into his hands, he encouraged her

to build even more technology

to fix the wrongs of society. He funded her lavishly and attended to her every need,

except the need for escape

, and after several years of persistent effort found himself with his very own Time Shaft. Marsha finally managed to escape soon afterwards, with the help of a traitor working for one of the other factions, but not before Stoyer got his Time Shaft.

Stoyer recruited like-minded individuals, and they decided to embark on a historic effort to erase the excesses of technology from the timeline. Stoyer never once thought it ironic that he was using the most advanced piece of technology ever created, the Time Shaft, to destroy technology on a basic level, as Stoyer sincerely believed that the ends

always, always, always

justified the means.

Stoyer had no wife in the strictest sense, although he did have a long term girlfriend named Donna, a flirty eyed dark haired brunette with similar social views to his own and a willingness, even an eagerness to be totally dominated in the bedroom. Donna, however, did consider them to be married, even if they hadn't exchanged the formal vows, because of the 12 years they had spent living together.

Stoyer enjoyed his relationship with Donna. But in recent months he had expanded their relationship to include others. Tom Stoyer was now the leading member of a

quad,

that was really more like a

trio

. The quad had started as a duo, with him and Donna. And then recently Tom met Maggie, a gorgeous blonde with big breasts, and her husband Bradley. Stoyer seduced Maggie, and before long they had formed their quad. But it was not a

conventional quad

(if indeed there were any such thing). Stoyer was clearly in charge, for one thing. He had unquestioned access to both Donna and Maggie any time he wanted them. As for Bradley, well... Bradley was the beta male in the relationship. But Brad was also the technician in charge of the Time Shaft, now that Marsha was gone, so Stoyer had to tread a bit carefully... to preserve appearances.

Donna was not exactly happy when Maggie was added to the equation. Maggie was a radiant blonde with much bigger breasts than her, and Donna couldn't help but notice that once she joined their relationship that Tom seemed to have sex with Maggie more than he did with her. When she complained about it, Tom treated her like a jealous little girl, patting her head and telling her that she needed to "update her thinking" about what a truly progressive 25th century relationship looked like, and in any event, if she was lonely while he was making love to Maggie, why didn't she sleep with Bradley instead?

But Donna wasn't at all attracted to Bradley; he was a thin, weak technical type, although, to make matters even worse, Bradley had made it clear that he was attracted to

her

. And so, to keep with the pretense of being a quad, she had been pressured by Tom into sleeping with Brad, on occasion, to keep Bradley mollified during some of the times that Tom was having his way with Maggie.

All in all, it was a typically satisfying four way relationship.

********

Stoyer had also surrounded himself with other followers who he was not having vaginal sex with, including Garrett Arnough, Gertsad Mueller, Carole Wells, Oscar Wood, Bob Novato, Peter Orinda, and Boris Vallejo.

And so one day Stoyer gathered all these followers to make a very special announcement, of a new and exciting mission. Tom had decided to use the Time Shaft to prevent the development of the vaunted Varonkov drive, the drive that permitted humanity to reach the stars. The drive had been created by one Vasily Varonkov in the early 22nd century, but now that was about to be undone.

"Just think about it, my friends," said Stoyer, putting one hand on Maggie's shoulder, and the other on Donna's. "No interstellar drive. No raping and pillaging of virgin planets." At the mention of

virgin planets

, Donna looked at Maggie and winced. "No more Survey Service."

Maggie looked up at Stoyer with puppy dog eyes. "But I

like

the Survey Service, Tom."

"Why?" Stoyer asked. "Why do you like them?"

"I... well... I don't know," said Maggie, playing with her hands. "Some of their officers... are really... quite dashing, you know?"

Stoyer laughed. "Aren't I man enough for you, darling?" He was careful not to look at her husband Bradley, who was grinding his teeth.

"Well, of course," she smiled at him. "All right, have it your way, darling."

"And have it my way we shall," Stoyer generously proclaimed. "Now, our task is a very simple one. To prevent Vasily Varonkov from developing what we know today as the Varonkov drive."

"But won't someone else simply discover it?" Carole Wells asked.

Stoyer shook his head. "Not for centuries. Other researchers in the United States and Israel were also working on FTL drives, but they weren't even close to what Varonkov had developed. This will utterly change the history of mankind, getting humanity to focus on its own needs, rather than going out to rape and pillage other planets."

"So let's go back in time and kill him," said Gerstad Mueller.

Stoyer winced. "It's not always necessary to kill people, Gerstad... but I must say I love your enthusiasm! Remember, my friends, whatever we break the Continuity Service will try and fix. Therefore whatever change we make must be on a very, very, subtle level." And he leaned down and nibbled on Maggie's ear. She tittered, as Donna and Bradley glared at them both.

********

Commander Strayker strode into the control room. An Indian woman with long hair and firm buttocks handed him a cup of atomic coffee. Strayker thanked her and went up to Sarah, who was staring at her holomonitors. "You called me?"

"Yes, Colonel," said Sarah. "I think there's been a temporal incursion."

"Why do you say that?"

"For one thing, the Survey Service is gone."

"Gone?" said Strayker. "Who manages our space fleet?"

Sarah turned to face Strayker. "There is no space fleet, none to speak of. Only a handful of interplanetary rockets. Survey Service HQ in Perth, Auburn Field, is a hippie commune where people sit cross-legged in drum circles and get high on Superweed." She pointed to one of her holomonitor displays.

Strayker frowned. "What is the source of the incursion?"

"I have been attempting to narrow that down," said Sarah. She stared intently at her screens. "Yes, here it is, look at this." Her holomonitor showed an obituary, for Vasily Varonkov.

"Apparently, Vasily Varonkov never successfully developed what we now know as the Varonkov drive," said Sarah. "His engine design was flawed, and the test rocket blew up, killing 19 crewmen aboard. Varonkov was fired in disgrace, and spent the rest of his life in poverty, selling women's underwear to wholesalers in Siberia."

"That's not right," said Strayker. "Someone must have sabotaged the test ship."

"That's my conclusion as well," said Sarah.

"Assemble Major Reynold's team."

********

Major Reynolds and an officer named Lieutenant Don Riegel, who Calle hadn't met before, were waiting for him in the control room. Like Calle, they were all dressed in civilian clothes. Their cover story was that they were with the United Nations Aeronautics Authority, come to inspect the

Ganymede

before its maiden launch to Alpha Centauri. (The UN was the predecessor for the World Government.) Varonkov's design was being launched from Australia, which would also become the place where the Survey Service would first be created, once this mission was a success. If it was a success.

Reynolds put a hand on Calle's shoulder. "Just remember, John, that Don and I know nothing about rockets. If there's a flaw in the engines, you're the only one who can spot it. Your experience in designing starship engines will be invaluable. We'll try to distract as many of the workmen as possible so you can work unimpeded... but basically, it's all up to you."

"No pressure," said Calle, smiling.

"Are you ready, handsome?" Sarah Chambers asked.

"He's ready," said Reynolds.

"Not for me, apparently," said Sarah, and she flicked the switch, and suddenly the Binochi Corridor was bathed in bright light and mist.

Reynolds stepped through first, then Lieutenant Riegel. Calle looked over at Sarah, who blew him a kiss. Taking a deep breath, Calle stepped into the Binochi Corridor.

He had been in the Corridor four times before, but still felt unnerved. As the temporal winds whipped by his face and hands, he felt like he heard whispering again, whispering too soft to hear.

Those glowing orange eyes.

********

They emerged from the Corridor in Auburn Field, just outside of Perth, Australia. The sun was shining, it was a windy day, and they saw a silver rocket looming right in front of them.

"The

Ganymede

," said Calle, with awe in his voice. He had never thought to see the world's first starship outside an image in a holotextbook.

But he was even more surprised by who met them at the ship.

Captain John Hollister, the commander of the

Ganymede

. Tall, blonde and broad-shouldered, this would be the man who would make history as the Captain of the first interstellar flight.

Captain Hollister examined their credentials, with strong disapproval in his eyes. "We are really all set here. We are in no need of additional inspections."

"The United Nations is very concerned for your welfare and safety," said Major Reynolds, speaking in a soft, reassuring tone while giving Hollister a gentle gay smile.

"I'm sure it is," said Hollister dryly. He sighed, considering. "All right. But please try not to get in the way of the technicians. They're doing some of the final calibrations, and it's very delicate work."