Chapter 39: The
Other
Continuity Service
Something happened on the way back from Stockholm.
Calle was part of a team investigating the end of the war between Sweden and Uganda in the year 2284. Sarah had detected some anomalies but wasn't sure if tampering was involved. Major Castleman had led the team to the conference where the peace agreement was being negotiated. It seemed that Sweden was being awarded a slightly larger slice of Kenya than history once recorded, but it didn't seem to be active tampering. As more and more damage to the timeline was repaired less and less precisely, there were bound to be some minor variations in history as they knew it. This wasn't considered a major one; if there were a few more or a few less Swedes living in Africa to manage the Super Weed plantations, history would scarcely take note of it.
But on the way back, something happened. Calle felt a tightness in his ankle. He stumbled... and fell off the path.
Immediately, he told himself not to panic. Even though he could no longer see the path, he was at most two feet off of it. All he needed to do was turn around, and walk two feet backwards.
He did so.
There was no path.
Calle concentrated again. He reached out with all his senses. He took two more steps. Then two more. Then he reversed course and walked four steps.
He found himself back on the path.
He heaved a sigh of relief. Major Castleman and the rest of the team were no longer visible, but Calle scampered up the path as fast as his feet could take him.
When he emerged from the Binochi Corridor, he said, "Sarah, you would not believe-" and broke off in mid-sentence.
The control room looked... different. Not in a substantial way. But some consoles that were
here
were now
there
. And the control panel in the back looked totally different. And Sarah-
Sarah turned to face him. "What are you doing here?" she hissed, looking around. The control room was empty, except for the two of them. "I told you not to come back."
Calle stepped forward, confusion written all over his face. "Why not?"
"Why not?" Sarah hissed. "Because they suspect you. They think you know."
"Know what?" said Calle, walking closer.
"John, what's wrong with you?" said Sarah.
Suddenly, Calle's jaw dropped.
Sarah had
breasts
.
Big, perky breasts that stuck out.
He looked around. What was going on?
Suddenly, Daniel Acton entered the control room. "John! There you are! You're late for the meeting! Come on, you don't want to keep the General waiting!"
The General?
Sarah gave him a warning glance and mouthed 'no'.
Calle turned to Daniel and nodded. "Sure... don't want keep the General waiting."
He followed Daniel to the conference room.
"Ah, there you are," said Commander Strayker. "Thanks for keeping us waiting."
Calle blinked rapidly.
Commander Strayker's rough cut blonde hair was gone, and replaced by curly red hair. He looked totally different.
"Well?" said Strayker.
Calle quickly took a seat.
"What did you find out, Captain Collier?"
Captain Collier?
Calle looked around to see who Strayker was talking to.
"Well, Captain?"
Strayker was talking to him. Strayker thought he was John Collier.
John Collier, who had been Calle's predecessor at the Continuity Service.
At that moment, it hit him.
John Collier must have looked exactly like him.
"Uh, yes sir?" said Calle.
"Well... what do you have to report?" Strayker looked annoyed.
Calle had no idea, since he didn't know what John Collier's mission had been. "There's been no change, sir."
"No change," said Strayker, pacing back and forth. An Indian woman with long dark hair and very flat buttocks offered him atomic coffee, but he waved her away. "Can we presume from your pithy reply that the Chinese are still speaking English?"
The Chinese are still speaking English?
"Yes, sir," said Calle, taking a wild guess.
"That's a relief to hear," said Strayker. "We've certainly worked hard enough to keep it that way. I've been with the English Continuity Service for 12 years, and not six months have passed before one of the factions has tried to get the Chinese speaking in Chinese again."
What?
Strayker glared at someone else. "And what do you have to report, Major Reynolds?"
"Well, General, the Central and South Americans are speaking Spanish again," said another officer.
Calle looked at the man who spoke. He looked exactly like the Major Reynolds he knew, the Major Reynolds who had been sucked into the black hole... except this Major Reynolds was
white
.
Strayker was a general, Major Reynolds was white (and alive!), Sarah had perky breasts, and he apparently worked for something called the English Continuity Service. What was happening here?
"We have to nip this in the bud, or it will spread like the plague throughout North America," Strayker fumed. "Captain Collier, what is your contingency plan to get the Spanish people to speak English?"
Calle had no idea what to say. He stammered. "I'm, ah, still working on it, sir."
"Still?" Strayker said. "What was the result of your language density analysis?"
"Uh... I'd have to get back to you on that."
"Weren't you just in the language archives in Nebraska?" Strayker asked.
"No... I mean yes sir. I... I just need more time to get all the information together," said Calle.
Strayker gave him a hard glance. "You do that, Captain Collier. But first, I want you to see Doctor Vladek."
"About what, sir?"
"About five minutes from now," said Strayker, giving him a stare that made Calle more and more uncomfortable. In fact, everyone seemed to be staring at him, even Erica Green, who seemed to be doing quite well, considering Calle had last seen her sucked into a black hole.
********
"How are you doing, John?" Vladek smiled at him.
At least this version of Doctor Vladek was unchanged, down to the big bags under his eyes.
"Fine," said Calle.
"The General said you seemed a bit stressed," said Vladek. "Are you still uncomfortable about your missions?"
"Uncomfortable? Why would I be?"
Vladek gave him an odd glance. "At times you seemed to have some... lack of enthusiasm about our prime directive. To protect the planet as an English speaking place."
"No, no, I
love
English," said Calle. "I really do!"
"That's good, really good," said Vladek. "As you know, for years now we have been battling, first the Russians who invented their own silly made up language, then the Chinese, the Germans, the French, and now the Spanish. All the factions want each country to have their own language. It would be total chaos, of course, which is why we protect the timeline, to keep everyone speaking English, as it was always meant to be."
"That sounds very reasonable to me," said Calle.
"Does it?" said Vladek. He didn't look convinced that Calle was convinced. Or perhaps that was just the way it seemed to Calle.
"Tell me, Captain Collier, do you still have questions about your predecessor, John Calle?" Vladek asked.
"John Calle? No, why would I?" Calle asked.
"I have heard you asking various ECS members about him. Some of them suggested that perhaps you thought something sinister befell him."
"No, why would I think that?" Calle asked.
"Different people have told me that you kept asking about him, even after you were told that he retired some years ago."
"He was my predecessor. I was naturally curious about him," said Calle.
"Hm," said Vladek. He paused. "On your recent mission to World Government Headquarters, how did your meeting with the ministers go?"
Calle felt he was being tested. He had no idea what had happened on that mission, since he wasn't John Collier. "About as well as expected."
"About as well as expected," Vladek repeated.
Calle didn't know if his answer satisfied Vladek or not.
"And the conclusions, in you report. Do you have anything to add or amend?"
He
is
testing me.
The best defense was a strong offense, Calle realized. He leaned forward, "Listen Doctor, it's obvious that there's something you're unhappy about regarding my last mission. If so, tell me directly what the problem is, and I'll respond to it. Or call in the General, and we'll talk about it right now." He glared at Vladek.
Vladek just stared at him, with those big baggy eyes, like a block of stone. Then he lurched slightly, as if remembering he was still alive. "No, I don't think that will be necessary. I think we're done here for now. Thank you, Captain Collier."
********
