by Richard Lori
Fuller tramped through the long grass as they walked to the library, the evening light angling a long shadow to his side. They had shifted back home and waited long enough to be sure the two men left so they could return and talk to the Librarian again. Fuller looked at Sue and saw she was starting to get winded. Since her shorter legs were taking two steps to each of his, the walk was more tiring for her. He slowed his pace.
Sue asked between heavy breaths, “You know quite a bit about computers. How easy do you think it would be for them to break into it?”
“My guess is that it’ll be difficult. Their computer technology is more advanced than ours, so their security measures should be more sophisticated too.”
“Good. I would rather nobody get the information.”
“I agree.”
“In fact, I’m wondering if we should have a contingency plan of some kind.”
“What kind of plan?”
“Well, if we think they’re getting close, it would be better to destroy the whole facility.”
Fuller jerked to a halt. “What do you mean? Bomb the place?”
“Or burn it.” She stopped alongside of him, leaning forward with her hands on her thighs.
“I don’t even want to think of doing something like that,” he said, his stomach turning.
Bechler may never come back, and even if he did, it seemed doubtful he could help. He had never known anything living to be permanently shifted like Fuller so was in the dark too. As advanced as the society in this universe was, the answer he needed must be in the computer. The Librarian was his best hope of getting home, and destroying the computer would end that.
Sue responded, “I don’t like thinking about it either. It would be criminal to lose all that knowledge, but we have to be sure they don’t get it. Don’t we?”
He started walking again and she followed. He said, “All right, I guess you’re right, but only as a last resort.”
They came to the bunker and walked down the steps. As he strained on the door, he began to perspire. Not so much from the exertion but from the thought that someone could still be inside. Once the door was open, he could see his fears were unfounded. It was dark inside except for a few flashing lights at the front console.
He opened the inner door to the same lights and fresh air like before and went to the main terminal. He could see that the conspirators had left a laptop computer on the console connected to the library computer’s data port. On the floor alongside were several bags with wires coming out, each chaining into the one next to it.
Fuller squatted down. He opened one of the satchels and saw the top of a battery. The conspirators had wired the batteries together with the last in the chain plugged into the laptop’s external power connector. He looked on the walls for an electrical outlet and noticed there was none. They wanted the program on the laptop to keep running for a long time and could not do it without the extra batteries.
“What’s all this?” asked Sue.
“They’re batteries for the laptop. They must be running a password cracking program through the computer port to gain access.” He stood and turned to her. “Something like that could take weeks depending on how sophisticated the login and password set are.”
“And because there are no wall sockets to plug into, they’ll have to keep coming back to swap out battery packs.”
“Exactly,” he said.
“How long do you think they can run with this many batteries?”
“There’s quite a few here,” he said as he looked down at the battery cases. “But then again, that computer is working full speed every second.” He shrugged and looked at her. “I don’t know, at least a day or two.”
“Good. At least we know they won’t be coming back soon.”
He nodded. “That’s true. They’ll probably come back the same time every day and change them out with fresh ones.” He sat in one of the chairs. “Librarian, I have some questions.”
“How may I be of assistance?” the female voice responded.
“I see the others have come back and connected a computer to you.”
“That is correct.”
“Are they attempting to gain full access to you?”
“Correct.”
“How long do you think it will take to gain access to your system in this way?”
“I am sorry, I cannot answer that question.”
“You don’t know?” Fuller thought this was unlikely. There was no way of telling for sure if the conspirators were hitting it with random combinations of logins and passwords. There should be some estimate based on their complexity though.
“I am unable to give you an estimate due to your lack of security clearance. Please validate, and I will answer.”
“Sorry, I can’t. I’m not from the United Earth Alliance.”
“Are you from the Interstellar Colonies?”
“No. We are from another universe—a parallel one.”
“I am familiar with the theory of parallel universes. My power source uses energy transferred from them; however, I have no data on the ability for human travel between universes.”
Sue jumped in. “So you use power transferred from other universes?”
“Correct.”
“How much information about this technology are you able to give me?” Sue queried.
“I am able to show you the common usage of the technology within our society but cannot explain the theory behind it or the details on how it is accomplished.”
She looked at Fuller and snapped, “Shit! We won’t get very far talking to this damn thing!”
“Take it easy, Sue. I’ve been around computers long enough to know it does no good to get mad at them.”
Fuller continued to ask general questions about the library and the society that created it. The librarian told him about the war that had destroyed the Earth. The Interstellar Colonies had resisted the rule of Earth for decades, but the conflict had finally broken into all-out war. After they had attacked and shattered Earth’s space fleet, they came after the planet itself. The colonies destroyed as much of the Earth’s surface as they could, so it would never recover to rule them again.
While there were some survivors after the attack, much of the remaining population suffered from radiation exposure and only had a short time to live. Most of the planet was unable to sustain life any longer, but there were a few inhabitable areas intact. Those still healthy enough to reproduce went there. With the elimination of the infrastructure needed to sustain it though, civilization was dying. A dark age was coming, and it would take generations to build a society like it again.
That was when they had constructed the library facilities. It was decided that all remaining computer resources should be pooled together to store the accumulated knowledge of technology and culture. That way, when the people of Earth rose again and were able to use it, the knowledge needed to build a technological society would not have been lost. It would be there waiting, for centuries if need be.
Sue was quiet while the Librarian told them this but then spoke up. She looked to Fuller. “This is all very interesting, but it’s not very helpful to us.”
“I suppose not.”
While he had gotten a great deal of historical information, it was not getting him the information needed to get home. He noticed something interesting though. This was a sophisticated computer and seemed able to offer information beyond his questions. It was able to analyze then anticipate what he was looking for and expand on the facts pertinent to his research.
He thought he should try a different approach. Since it was not able to give him the technical information he needed to get home, maybe he could use the machine to help in another way. Maybe it could help them solve their immediate problem of the conspiracy. He knew they must be the key anyway since they brought him here. If he could find out who they were, he would be able to determin
e how and why. If he told the computer what they had discovered so far, it may offer assistance in ways he could not think of.
He turned back to the display. “Librarian, I think I need to explain what is going on so you can understand our situation. Then I want you to offer as much helpful information as you can without compromising your security. Okay?”
“Agreed,” replied the Librarian.
Fuller proceeded to explain everything that had happened. He told it about his transport from another universe, the murder of Sue’s father, the transport of guns to the universe of the empire and them coming to find the laptop. Neither the Librarian nor Sue interrupted while he spoke.
When finished he asked, “Librarian, what information can you offer us which will help in our investigation of this conspiracy?”
Several three-dimensional pictures popped out from the display. He recognized several: Phil, Franz and Bobby. The others he had never seen before.
Sue reacted to the images. “Look at that. I recognize most of them.”
Fuller pointed to the three he knew. “I’ve seen these guys before, but what about the other two, Sue? Do you know either of them?”
“Yeah, this one here,” she said as she put her finger on the screen. “He was one of the programmers who wrote the control program for the quantum shifter. I’m not positive, but I think the other one was too.”
“Do you know their names?”
“Not off the top of my head.”
“Librarian, do you know this man’s name?” Fuller pointed to the man, and the first name of each man appeared below the pictures.
The Librarian said, “His first name is Desmond, but I do not know his last.”
Sue sat straight in the chair. “Yeah, that’s his name. I didn’t talk to him too many times though, so I don’t know anything about him.”
Fuller pointed to the second picture labeled ‘Sanjay’ underneath. “What about this one?”
“No.” Sue shook her head. “I think I only saw him once and never talked to him.”
“He is the primary person attempting to gain access to the information contained in my system,” said the Librarian. “He has studied the data port that one of your computers is connected to and devised a program which is attempting to breach my security.”
Fuller sighed. “It’s not that important for us to find out who these men are. What we need to find out is who the head of the conspiracy is. We saw the back of his head that day, but none of these guys are blond or have their hair cut like his.”
“No, they don’t,” Sue agreed. Her head snapped from Fuller back to the computer screen. “Librarian, have any of the men who’ve been here mentioned who their leader is?”
“No, they have not.”
Fuller leaned forward, resting his elbows on the console and his chin in his hands. “Another dead end,” he said.
His eyes dropped down to the console surface as he wondered what to do next. There did not seem to be any useful information they could gain from it to help him home or to stop the conspirators. He stood and started to pace across the room.
“Damn it, now what?” he asked, throwing his arms up and looking towards the ceiling.
“Don’t get mad, John,” said Sue. “Like you told me before, it doesn’t do any good to get mad at a computer.”
“No, but it might make me feel better if I threw a chair through that damn screen,” he said, his finger shooting towards it. He rushed up to the console and yelled, “Isn’t there any way you can help us!”
“Yes, there is,” replied the Librarian in its even voice.
“What?” He looked at it dumbfounded. “How? How can you help us?”
“If you can transport me back to your universe, I will be able to assist with your investigation.”
“Oh great,” he snarled. “And just how am I going to transport this whole damn building back with us?”
“You will not need to. Please enter the door to your right.”
As the Librarian said this, there was a scraping sound and a wall panel to the right of the console slid back. They both shot from their chairs. After regaining their senses, they crept through the door, Fuller entering first.
The room was as large as the one they had departed but seemed cramped from all the equipment it contained. He presumed that most were computer racks but some seemed to be cooling equipment with pipes entering and exiting from them. When he walked in farther, he could start to see around the corner of the wall behind the main computer console. He turned in that direction and had begun to head around it when he froze. Someone was there.
*****
She sat motionless at the bench, her hand clutching a small device the size of a deck of playing cards. Fuller inched forward and got a full view. She was a woman of around twenty with glistening, straight blond hair and a smooth, creamy complexion. Tilted down towards the tabletop, her perfectly proportioned face had a tranquil appearance. Her deep brown eyes appeared almost black and were transfixed on the task she was performing on the bench. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman Fuller had ever seen.
Sue came up alongside him while he stood there frozen. “What the hell?” she blurted.
The spell was broken and Fuller realized there was something unnatural. The woman was as still as a corpse. In fact, if not for her healthful pink color, he would have thought she was dead.
He went to her to see if it was a cadaver. There was no indication of decay when he inhaled, only the same flowery freshness of the surrounding air. He reached for her wrist to feel for the telltale surge of blood under her cool skin but was unable to detect any. He rotated her arm and brushed his fingers along the inside of her wrist. He compared it to his own.
“Is she dead?” asked Sue.
He turned to her. “Let me see something.”
He took Sue’s hand and brushed his fingers along the surface of her skin, feeling the normal irregularities caused by bone, muscle and veins. He dropped her hand and grabbed the other woman’s for another look. The surface of the skin was even-toned with no sign of veining underneath. The contour was smooth with no bone or muscle structure below.
“It’s a dummy,” he said, turning back to Sue. “The skin is too perfect, and I can’t feel any bone structure beneath it.”
“What?” Sue exclaimed. “Let me see.”
She went to the woman and examined her like Fuller had, feeling the arm and then doing the same on her neck.
“You’re right. It isn’t a woman.”
“I wonder what this thing is doing back here?” asked Fuller.
“That is me,” said the Librarian.
His head shot to the direction the voice had come from. It was not from the body but from a computer terminal on the bench.
“What do you mean this is you?” he asked.
“That is my body.”
Sue pointed to it. “You mean that’s a robot?”
“That is correct.”
“What happened to it? Is it broken?” asked Fuller.
“No. The power unit inside me is faulty. I was replacing my primary supply when my backup unit failed.”
Fuller asked, “If this is you, how is it that you’re talking to us now?”
“The power unit did not fail immediately. It was working at a low power level for a time, so I still had brain function but no body function. I was able to download my programming into the main computer.”
“How long ago did this happen?”
“It has been ninety-seven years, three months and nineteen days.”
Fuller’s eyes widened when she said this. He could not conceive being trapped inside the confines of a prison, let alone a computer for so long.
“The power unit you spoke of; is that what you’re holding on the table?” asked Sue.
“Corr
ect.”
“You mentioned you capture energy from parallel universes. Does this device work on that principle?”
“Correct.”
Fuller could see that look in Sue’s eyes again. She was bubbling over with excitement.
“Oh wow! It’s so small. How can you make it that compact?”
“That information is classified,” said the Librarian.
“Yeah, well I guess it would be.” She looked at Fuller and exclaimed, “This is fantastic! It’s what we’ve been working towards. I knew once we perfected the technique that we could shrink it. Maybe not this small, but I knew we could.”
Sue pulled the energy unit from the Librarian’s hand and examined it. She turned it around then hefted it to get a feel for its weight.
“It’s so light too. I would love to take this apart and see how it’s made.”
The Librarian responded, “I cannot allow you to do that. If you attempt to leave the room, I will shut the door and prevent it.”
Sue sighed. “All right, I’ll put it down.”
She laid it on the table. “What matter does it shift to the other universe to get the energy back?”
“It uses water as the fuel.”
“Interesting, so if we fill this back up with water, you’ll be able to use it again?” asked Sue.
“Yes, there is a water tap around the back of the cabinets to your right. Please take the power unit and unscrew the small port on the side marked in green. You may then fill it with water and return the cap.”
Sue pulled the unit from the table again and walked around the cabinets. As she came back, Fuller could see her screwing the cap back in. She walked up to the Librarian. “Okay, it’s filled. Now what?”
“You will need to lift my shirt. Between my breasts is a flap of skin that pulls back. Once you do this, you will see a slot that will accept the power unit. Please insert it so the red end goes in first.”
Sue put the power unit down and pulled up the Librarian’s shirt. Fuller could feel his face flush. Even though it was a robot, it looked so much like a woman he could not help himself. The exposed breasts were as perfect as her face, and he had to hold back the urge to examine them like he had her arm.
Sue felt the area the Librarian indicated. “I don’t see the spot you’re talking about.”
“I am unable to open the slot myself due to the lack of power. You will need to put one hand on each side of my sternum and pull back.”
“John, come over here and hold up the shirt,” said Sue. It was a silky white material, which stretched and kept snapping back down when Sue let go.
“Sure.” He held the shirt up and looked for the slot as well, his eyes occasionally drifting off to one breast or the other.
Sue put each hand on a breast and pulled. The skin parted on a seam that was invisible a moment before, exposing the slot. With his free hand, Fuller took the power unit from the table and inserted it.
The Librarian said, “John, please remove the unit next to the one you inserted. It is faulty and will need to be replaced as well.”
Fuller did as instructed and pulled the unit from the slot. He asked, “Okay. Where are the replacements?”
“In the far left cabinet above my workstation.”
Fuller opened the door and saw several spare units stacked on one of the shelves. He took one to the faucet, filled it with water and inserted it in the open slot. When Sue released the skin, it sank back into place and the seam became invisible again.
“You will now need to connect me to my computer console so I can initialize the power units.”
Sue looked around. “Connect you with what?”
“In the same cabinet as the power units, there is a red interface cable. Plug it into the jack to the right of the computer screen.”
Fuller grabbed the cable from the shelf and handed it to Sue. She plugged it into the jack. “Okay, where do I plug it into you?”
“Pull on the hair just above my left ear, and it will expose a jack that the cable will plug into.”
Sue did as instructed and inserted the cable. It was several seconds before anything happened, but then the Librarian’s body jerked.
“Is it working?” Fuller asked.
“Yes. The power units have started, and my brain has passed preliminary diagnostic testing. I am now downloading my memories.”
After a time, the Librarian said, “Please disconnect the cable from me.”
Sue unplugged the cable and the Librarian stood, sending the chair she had been sitting in rolling backwards. Her body began to go through a series of exercises as her arms, legs, fingers and neck swiveled through their full range of motions.
Fuller thought that her body was malfunctioning. “Is something wrong? You seem to be having problems controlling your body.”
“No. She is executing her initialization diagnostics. It tests the function of all bodily systems to make sure they are operating within normal parameters,” said the Librarian.
As the body gyrated in front of him, Fuller’s eyes began to drift. While he had examined her breasts earlier, now he noticed the rest of her body. The pants she wore were made of the same material as the shirt. Its form-fitting snugness showed off the hourglass contour of her long slim waist and shapely hips. Her buttocks were round and firm, and her thighs were tight and muscular, but not to the point of excess. Like everything else, her lower body was perfectly proportioned and extremely appealing.
When all extremities had completed testing, her eyes, face and mouth began to go through a series of similar exercises. Finally, it was time to test speech and she began to emit all possible phonemes in rapid succession. When finished, the robot looked at Fuller. “I have completed all diagnostics and am functioning within acceptable limits.”
To Fuller, the illusion was now complete, and he would swear in any court she was a woman. The way she talked was faultless, and the minor imperfections he noticed earlier were invisible in normal interaction.
“As you can see,” said the Librarian, “I am now mobile and able to return with you to your universe to assist with the investigation.”
*****
The Librarian walked out the heavy steel door and up the low concrete steps. This was the first time she had been outside in almost a century and was struck by the brightness of the midafternoon sun. Its warmth made her skin tingle, as did the feel of the hot handrail beneath her fingertips. The sensations she felt were wonderful after suffering the bondage of the master computer for so long.
Her eyes adjusted to the intense illumination, and she stepped onto the long flowing grass. A light breeze whisked her face and pushed several strands of her loose, golden hair onto it. The wisps tickled her cheek and nose when she brought her hand up to brush it aside. Even this simple act was somehow extraordinary as her fingers pulsed with the tug of hair against them.
How much better it was to be back in her body and experience these sensations for herself. Experiencing this through a mere camera or some protruding temperature probe fixed to the building’s exterior could never compare. The previous memories of her body were distant and flat, her program having forced her to compress and dull these impressions to save storage space. However, what she felt now was fresh, intense and intricate beyond any anticipation of her recollection.
The near century of existence within the computer had provided some benefit though. The time had allowed her sophisticated program to study the vast store of humanity’s accumulated data. In particular, she studied human culture, thought and emotion many times over. With each subsequent iteration of review, her programming had modified its flow to enhance her understanding and integration with humankind.
Now back in her robotic body with its neural network, a transformation was taking place. What had been outside her grasp within the sensory-deprived confines o
f the master computer, she was now able to achieve. The vast array of ultrahigh resolution sensors to see, hear, feel and smell with, the ability to move about without constraint and a body that was separate and unique from all else were altering her program in a significant way. She now knew a sense of self that was impossible in her previous form.
As she strolled along, continuing to take in the ambiance of the world around her, she had a thought alien to anything else she had experienced before. In nanoseconds, her heuristic routines began to decipher then ultimately grasp it. She knew that if she were indeed a woman, and not the mechanical being she was, there was a definition for this thought, for this state of mind she was in. She was happy.
*****
As the wave of nausea subsided, Fuller put his hand out to balance himself on the wooden cabinet he shifted with. It was a large storage cabinet with two latching doors. It was large enough, after they had removed all the shelves, to transport the Librarian in.
As his head cleared further, he saw the Librarian about a hundred yards away walking at a casual pace. Her eyes were scanning around and her hand was brushing along the top of the flowing grass. She waved in acknowledgment when she saw him, a smile coming to her face.
As she drew closer, he called, “Hurry, you don’t have much time.”
They had transported Fuller and the cabinet with minimal energy so they would only be there a few minutes before shifting back to the lab. Sue felt that with the mass of the cabinet compared to that of the Librarian, they would have less than a minute to use the machine to fix her matter to their universe. Sue stayed behind to marshal Fuller out of the shifting booth as fast as possible then execute the machine’s program. There was no need for two people to get the Librarian, and she could better execute her task if not muddled from the shift. Fuller agreed.
The Librarian picked up her pace to a trot and soon came up to him. She said with a smile, “Hello, John.”
“Hi,” he said as he opened the doors and rushed her inside the cabinet. He slammed them behind her, turning the handles to secure the latches. They waited for less than a minute before the shift began.
He could feel Sue’s hand grab his when she led him stumbling from the booth and into a waiting chair. When his head and vision cleared, he could see Sue monitoring the controls of the machine. When the hum of the coils died down, she went into the booth and opened the cabinet doors.
The Librarian stepped out, her eyes scanning the room. Fuller pushed himself from the chair and tottered towards them while the two exited the booth.
“It seems like it worked as planned,” he said. “Are there any bad effects from the shift?”
The Librarian smiled at him again. “I have run a quick diagnostic on my brain and all seems well. I will run a more extensive one later to verify.”
“Good,” said Fuller. “Now the two of you can help me into the house.”
He crumpled to the floor and passed out.
*****
Sue rushed over to catch him, but the Librarian with her faster reflexes got there first. She held his full weight in one arm and checked his pulse with her other hand.
“His heart is beating faster than normal,” said the Librarian. “Has this happened before?”
“No, I think it’s because he shifted there and back so fast,” said Sue. She laid her hand across his forehead as though checking for fever but then brushed her hand back to stroke his hair. “He’s always been kind of sensitive to shifting,” she said, thinking the strange oscillation Bechler had commented on may be the cause.
“Is there somewhere we can lay him down to recover?”
“We can bring him into the house,” said Sue as she started to reach for his legs. “I’ll need your help to carry him though.”
“There is no need for you to assist me. I am able to carry him myself.”
The Librarian scooped her free arm under his legs and picked him up, shocking Sue at the ease with which she lifted him. Although taller than Sue, the robot’s arms were smaller around and had no sign of any significant muscle structure. She wondered what mechanism made its motion possible. Was it some type of motor and pulley system, a series of linear actuators, or some metal alloy or other unknown material like muscle wire? She thought the latter because its movement was silent.
Sue led them to the house and directed the Librarian to lay Fuller on the couch. She went to the kitchen to make tea for him, starting the water to boil then going back to check on him. When she entered, she could see the robot doting over him, fluffing a pillow and placing it under his head.
“What are you doing?” asked Sue.
The robot looked up. “I am just making him more comfortable.”
Sue was not sure she liked the thing. It was somehow irritating in its mannerisms and seemed to be hovering over Fuller.
“Will you let him rest?” snapped Sue. She motioned towards a chair by the window. “Go sit down.”
“As you wish,” said the robot, going to the chair.
Sue sat in a chair next to Fuller and watched until he opened his eyes a few minutes later. Through squinting lids, he looked around like he was not sure where he was. His gaze landed on Sue. “What happened?”
“You passed out,”
“Great,” he croaked. “How long?”
“About ten minutes.”
He put a hand to his head. “I feel like there’s a hundred jackhammers in my head.”
“I think we shifted you back and forth too fast.”
“I’ll remember not to do that again.”
There was a whistle from the kitchen when the teapot boiled. Sue rose. “I’m making you some tea. I’ll be right back.”
He mumbled, “Uh huh.”
“May I have a glass of water?” asked the Librarian.
Sue froze and jerked around to look at the robot. “What on earth do you need water for?”
“In addition to my power units, some of my other systems use water as well.”
“Fine,” Sue said as she turned and continued towards the kitchen.
When she got there, she poured the steaming water into two cups for them and plopped a teabag into each. Knowing Fuller’s preference for cream, she added a liberal amount to his then dispensed water from the tap into a tall glass. She placed all three containers on a tray and carried it to the living room. When she entered, Fuller began to rise to a sitting position, and the robot bolted over to him, snatching his hand to assist. It was sitting down next to him when Sue leaned over to put the beverage tray on the table. She noted that the robot’s left leg was touching Fuller’s right even though the bulk of the couch was available to her.
“Feeling better?” Sue asked when she sat in the chair to Fuller’s left.
“A little,” he said with a faint smile. “My head still hurts, but there’s only one jackhammer pounding away now.”
“Well, drink some tea, it’ll help,” she said, reaching for her cup.
As Fuller started to lean forward, the robot snapped her hand to the cup. “I’ll get it John, you sit back.” She used both her hands to bring the cup to his, as though being careful not to spill any of the contents.
He smiled at her and said, “Thank you,” while he reached for the cup.
The Librarian’s finger let loose from the cup’s handle as she offered it to him. When he took it though, her other hand went to the back of his.
She rested her hand on his for a moment. “Do you have it?” She smiled.
“Yes,” he said.
She moved her hand, and he brought the cup to his lips. She continued to stare while he took a sip.
The edge of Sue’s lip came up in a snarl as she watched. She glared at the robot and wondered what was with the damn thing. It seemed too attentive to Fuller
, and that made her suspicious.
Sue continued to scowl while it took up the glass and proceeded to sip the water. Fuller jarred her thoughts when he asked, “All right, we have the Librarian here, now what?”
Sue’s eyes broke contact with the robot when she turned to Fuller. “I don’t know, ask it. She’s the one that said it could help by being here.”
As Fuller was turning to speak to the Librarian, a chime rang out. Someone was at the door.
*****
Fuller’s head snapped first to the door then to Sue while she rose. “Just stay here. I’ll see who it is first.”
When she had walked to the door and opened it a crack, Bechler said, “Hello again, may I come in?”
“Yes, of course.” She opened the door wide and stepped aside to let him pass. “We were wondering what happened to you.”
Bechler walked in. “I imagine so. I think I explained last time we were having our power rationed. We had our power totally cut off after I got back.”
Sue shut the door and the two walked towards the living room. Bechler looked at Fuller and said, “Hi, John,” then turned to the Librarian. “Hello, I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“Hi,” replied Fuller. “This is…” He paused and looked at the Librarian. “Do you have an actual name?”
She said, “No, I do not.”
“We’ll need to give you one then.” He thought for a moment. “How about ‘Jennifer’?”
“Is that a name you like, John?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ve always liked that name.”
“Then I like it too.”
He turned back to Bechler. “Vince, this is Jen.”
Bechler raised a brow at this interchange but walked towards her and extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jennifer.”
She took his hand. “It is good to meet you as well.”
Sue said, “Have a seat, Vince. We have a lot to discuss.”
Bechler sat on the couch next to Jen, and Sue sat back in her chair. Fuller listened while Sue explained all they had done since seeing Bechler last. He let her do most of the talking, but every now and then added some details too. While he had some trepidation about telling everything to Bechler, it was obvious that Jen would not reveal any information for him to get back home. Therefore, he would need to cooperate with Bechler as much as he could.
At first, Bechler complained that they had used the machine. As Sue continued though, he became too interested in everything she told him to protest further. When she told him about the activation of the robot, his mouth dropped open.
“You mean that Jen here is a robot?” he exclaimed.
Fuller chuckled. “That was my reaction when I first saw her. I thought she was a woman until I noticed she was frozen in place. Even then I didn’t realize it until I examined her wrist.”
Bechler looked at Jen. “Do you mind if I examine your wrist too?”
“You may,” replied Jen, holding her hand out to him.
He took her arm and scrutinized it, looking at Fuller for a second then back to her wrist. “How can you tell?” he asked, looking at Fuller again. “She looks normal to me. You’re not trying to play a trick on me, are you?”
Fuller laughed again. It had been obvious to him, but Bechler must not be as observant. He took Jen’s arm but was surprised when he felt it. Her skin was as warm as any human’s. He could see a definite veining pattern where before there had been only a hint. The smoothness he felt in the library was replaced by areas of hard and soft, giving the illusion of muscle and bone structure below.
His eyes widened as he took in a breath. “I don’t get it. She’s changed.” He turned to Sue. “Come and look at this.”
“What changed?” Sue said, coming to them.
“Just feel this.”
Fuller held Jen’s arm towards her, and Sue brushed her fingers across the surface. She went farther and, like before, felt around her neck.
She looked at Fuller. “You’re right. She feels more humanlike than before. She even has a pulse.”
“What?” exclaimed Fuller when he felt her wrist then neck. At both, his fingers detected the steady thrum like that from a heart pumping blood. He shook his head in disbelief and thought that somehow a woman had replaced the robot. There was only one sure way to tell.
“Jen, show us the compartment where we put your power units.”
She said nothing but lifted her shirt and parted the skin to expose the two power bricks.
“Damn,” said Bechler. “I thought for a minute you were playing a hoax.”
Sue snarled, “All right, we’ve seen enough. Pull your top back down.” She turned and plopped into the chair, letting out her breath.
“This is amazing!” said Bechler. “The technology used to create her is years ahead of ours.”
“That’s what we thought,” said Fuller. “The knowledge contained in the library computer could advance our technology by centuries.” Jen still mesmerized Bechler. Fuller continued, “Can you imagine the danger if the wrong people get that information?”
Bechler’s eyes snapped to Fuller and he exclaimed, “That’s what they’re after!”
“Yep. That’s what we concluded too. The only thing we don’t know is how it’s tied in with the universe they’re shifting the guns to.”
“That’s easy,” said Bechler. “We know there were questions raised about the power usage on the project. With as much gold as I suspect they’ve shifted back, they can pay for the power or bribe whoever it takes to cover up the usage.”
“You’re right,” said Fuller. It was so obvious. Why hadn’t it occurred to him?
Sue asked, “Why wouldn’t my uncle have found out about this?”
“I’m not sure,” said Bechler, shrugging his shoulders. “From what you told me, we know that some DAP personnel are involved. We just don’t know how high up it goes. I would guess that just like the conspirators are altering computer logs on the quantum shifter, they’re also changing accounting records for power usage. They could be tampering with metering or paying someone to alter billing or shifting the billing to fake accounts. There’s a hundred ways to work it. The person in charge of investigating this whole thing may not have turned over the right stones yet. Or maybe they’re getting enough bribe money to look the other way. Believe me, with millions in gold, it’s easy to find a way to keep this under wraps.”
Sue nodded. “That’s true, but where do we go from here with this? Do we go to my uncle now?”
“No,” Bechler blurted out. “I think your instincts were right. There’s too much at stake here, and these people have a lot of money at their disposal. I don’t think they would hesitate one second to kill a high government official and then have the ability to cover that up too. We need to find out who is involved and how high up this goes. First, I’d like to find out who that fourth man was in the shifting lab that night.” Bechler sat with a blank stare.
Fuller glanced over at Sue, who was staring at Bechler. He winced when he saw the admiration for the agent in her eyes. Bechler was just the type of guy that women went for—dominant, attractive, smooth talkers. When Fuller thought about it, this was the reason he did not care for the man.
Despite his dislike, he hoped he was wrong in his lack of faith in the agent. Once again, he was Fuller’s best hope of getting home, and he would not help if he were part of the conspiracy. He would know soon enough though since they were reaching a critical point in this whole mess. Bechler’s actions now would determine if he could be trusted or not.
Bechler, seeming to have reached a decision, looked up. “Okay, with the information you’ve given me, I’m sure I can convince my government of the security risk these conspirators pose. Once I’ve done that, I should be able to get the energy ration lifted and the manpower I need to commence a c
overt operation.”
“What about the library computer?” Fuller asked. “Is there any way you can protect it from them? Maybe put some guards there?”
Bechler nodded. “Yeah that’s not a bad idea. I should be able to set up an around-the-clock schedule so we have people there all the time.”
Sue asked, “When you say a covert operation, what do you mean?”
“I have no authority here. I can’t legally interrogate people, demand access to documents or any other things I would do in a typical investigation. Hell, it took us weeks just to find out your dad was the lead physicist on the project so we could start a dialog with him.”
“So what will you do?” she asked.
“This type of operation requires a pretty heavy hand, but we’ll still try to retain a low profile. We can start out a little slow and follow people around to find out where they go and who the players are.” A scowl came to his face. “After that though, some of the things we’ll have to do will be downright illegal. We’ll have to break into offices and homes to get information. We’ll try to hack into the computer systems at Gladstone to get records. We’ll have to abduct some of the conspirators and see if we can get them to tell us anything.”
Fuller shuddered when he heard this. He asked, “Once all this happens, they’ll come after us, won’t they?”
“You bet. Since we’ll be using the barn as a base for the operation, it won’t be safe here once we move. We’ll have to find somewhere to hide you until we have enough information to get Sue’s uncle and your other appropriate government agencies in on this. Once they are, they’ll be able to protect you until it’s over.”
“How soon do you think all this will start?” asked Sue.
“It’ll take me some time to get everyone convinced and then mobilized.” Bechler put a hand to his chin. “I’d say a week at the earliest.”
Fuller turned to Jen. “Do you think your library computer can last a week before they are able to break into it?”
“I am not able to give you specifics on this for security reasons. However, I can tell you that they will not break into it in that time using their current methods.”
Fuller nodded. “Good. In the time we have until you bring your people here, I want to try something which may get us some information.”
“What’s that?” asked Bechler.
“We might be able to find out who’s behind this from Placidia.”
“Placidia?” said Sue. “Why would he tell us anything?”
“I think I got him pretty excited about selling them more powerful weapons. If Vince can transport a mortar tube and shells to us, I might be able to get Placidia to babble like an idiot to get them.”
CHAPTER 9
