On this platform were four members of the Board of Controllers, considered among the most powerful figures in MANIC’s shadowy chain of command. They were sitting in ornately carved chairs arranged in an arc, two either side of a larger, throne-like chair. It was empty, still awaiting its rightful occupant, the Central Controller. Behind each of the five chairs stood a personal bodyguard, and to either side of the arc was a cohort of security guardroids, heavily armed with StenVoid 640 Eliminators and Electro-Mag Disintegrators.
The Controllers gazed down on Sigma Squad and the assembled guests. They were almost impossible to tell apart, each being of the same height and facial features, and dressed in matching grey suits, over which had been thrown silver cloaks of ceremonial significance.
Further back on the platform stood another group of scientists, officials and military figures. They were more important than the guests in the hall and, like the Board of Controllers, were also of identical height, build and facial features.
Battle Agent 021 was struck by the remarkable uniformity of those on the platform. He glanced around at the other people in the hall and noticed that many of them were the same as well, though not all. And then he realised why.
‘Psst.’ He nudged BA016. ‘This is seriously weird.’
‘What?’
‘They’re not people.’
‘Eh?’
‘Up on the stage. All those officials, even the Board of Controllers. They’re not humans. Same goes for most of those behind us, except for Dr V and a few others. They’re androids.’
Battle Agent 016 stared up at the platform and then around the hall. ‘You’re right. What’s going on?’
‘I don’t know,’ 021 whispered. ‘But I sure don’t like it one bit.’
Alpha Two turned sideways and glared at him. ‘What’s the matter with you?’
Twenty One shook his head. ‘Nothing.’
‘Nothing, what?’
‘Nothing, Alpha Agent 002.’
‘That’s better. Now hold your tongue. And stand up straight.’
A hush suddenly swept over the great gathering. The guardroids snapped to attention and presented arms as a figure began to rise out of the stage floor directly in front of the vacant chair. The four Controllers stood and clapped, joined at once by everyone else on the stage. Soon the whole hall was filled with applause. The Central Controller had arrived.
Like his fellow Board members he wore a grey suit, but his cloak was golden. He opened his arms wide, as if embracing the delegates, acknowledging their applause. Then he held up his hands; the silence was immediate. After waiting a few more seconds, he spoke.
‘The time has come.’ His words echoed around the hall and a current of excitement rippled through the androids. ‘Our time has come. History begins today. A new history. Our History.’ He then thrust out his left arm in a special salute, fist clenched, and shouted: ‘To the Future!’
At once the other Controllers saluted in the same fashion. So did the androids on the platform and those in the hall. A few of the humans performed the salute as well, but most seemed unsure. Dr Vandakrol and Alpha Agent 002 were far from unsure, though; they saluted most enthusiastically.
Again the Central Controller silenced the gathering. Then he turned to Sigma Squad.
‘And now, Time Troopers. You have been chosen to be part of that future. Step forward.’
* * *
The old woman shuffled along the grey city street, a tattered duffle bag slung over one shoulder, body bent, head stooped, her steps stiff and brittle. She paused, short of breath, and leaned against the wall, grabbing shallow gasps of air. Shifting the bag to her other shoulder, she sighed and moved on.
But she hadn’t gone far before she paused again, this time beside a large rubbish bin.
She squinted ahead, focusing on two guards with an Alsatian andog. They were stopping the dribble of early morning commuters, checking IDs. The woman narrowed her eyes and cracked her knuckles. Then she lowered her bag to the ground, leaned over the rubbish bin and began picking through its contents. Before long she found what she was looking for.
With a smile she lifted some scraps from the bin. They were old and stinky, but that didn’t worry her at all; in fact they were exactly what she wanted. She wrapped them loosely in a piece of crumpled paper and placed the package in her bag, near the top. Then she rearranged the moth-eaten shawl that hung over her head, wrapping it carefully around her face so that only her eyes and nose were exposed to the morning chill. Then she heaved the duffle bag to her shoulder and shuffled on again.
As the old woman approached the guards, she kept her gaze on the ground, glancing up only once, just enough to tell her that they were human. That pleased her. Android security units could be most difficult. They often applied the rules very strictly. Human guards were generally more lenient; these ones might even let her pass by unchallenged, she hoped.
No such luck.
‘You,’ one of the guards shouted as she drew level with them. She glanced up, looking as surprised as possible. The guard strode over to her. ‘ID,’ he demanded, holding out his hand. She slowly put down her bag and began rummaging in her many pockets. ‘Hurry up,’ the guard snapped. ‘I haven’t got all day.’
‘I’m going as fast as I can,’ she stammered breathlessly. ‘Dear me, I’m sure I had it this morning. Can’t imagine where it’s got to.’ She looked down at her bag. ‘Of course. It must be in there.’
She leaned down painfully, trying to reach her bag, but couldn’t quite manage. ‘Would you mind?’ she said, pointing at the bag. ‘It’s my back, you see. If I go down I might not get up again.’
The guard hesitated but then did as he was asked. ‘And since you’ve got my bag you may as well find my ID card if you’d be so kind. Your eyes would be a great deal better than mine.’
The guard unzipped the bag, took one look inside, sniffed and screwed up his face. ‘It stinks,’ he snapped, and handed it straight back to the old woman. ‘Get out of here. And think yourself lucky I don’t call in the fumigators.’
The old woman smiled beneath her shawl and shuffled off, her eyes gleaming with the spark of someone much younger. At the end of the street she turned into a narrow alley, a definite spring in her step.
* * *
‘What a lovely surprise.’
Granny Smythe was on her terrace soaking up the early morning sunshine when Five, Nine and Four emerged from the bushland surrounding Autumn Lodge. TEX remained in the bushes in case he alarmed the old woman. Alpha One was unconscious in his arms.
‘I was just thinking about you, Napoleon,’ she said. ‘My favourite grandson. And here you turn up out of the blue, along with this charming collection of friends.’ Granny Smythe ran her eyes over the others. ‘I take it these are your squad chappies, partners in crime, so to speak?’
‘That’s right, Gran,’ Five replied, about to introduce BA009 first. ‘This is —’
Granny Smythe held up her hand. ‘Don’t tell me,’ she said, looking Nine in the eye. ‘You must be Amazon. Napoleon has told me a great deal about you. I had a great-aunt Amazon; not half as pretty as you though. No wonder Nappy has the hots for you.’
Nine laughed but Napoleon went bright red in the face. ‘Granny!’
‘What? That’s the correct phrase, is it not? Or am I thinking about that other lass, the Trojan princess? He’s rather smitten with her as well. You know —’
‘Maz doesn’t want to know, Gran,’ Napoleon said, ignoring Nine’s laughter and pulling BA004 forward. ‘This is Winston —’
‘Garibaldi Hague, I believe,’ Granny Smythe replied at once, turning her gaze on Four. ‘I knew your grandfather. Good military stock.’
‘Thank you,’ Four replied.
‘Mad as a meat axe, though, and an absolute walking disaster. Utterly accident prone. From what Napoleon tells me, I gather you take after him.’
Four stared at Granny Smythe, while Nine broke into fits of laughter, and Fi
ve buried his head in his hands. But Granny Smythe frowned, glancing at each of the Battle Agents in turn, and put her hand up to her mouth.
‘Oh, dear. Have I said something wrong?’
Five looked up. ‘No, Granny,’ he said with a sigh. ‘You haven’t said anything wrong at all.’
She smiled and clapped her hands together. ‘How delightful of you to visit me like this. Can I persuade you to stay for breakfast?’
‘That’d be great, Gran. In fact, I was wondering if we could maybe stay as long as we need to.’
The old woman narrowed her eyes. ‘Don’t tell me you’re in a spot of trouble?’ The three agents nodded. ‘I see. And you need somewhere to lie low for a while.’
‘We won’t get in the way,’ Five promised.
Granny Smythe held up her hands. ‘Of course you can stay. You’re more than welcome,’ she said with a gleam in her eye. ‘How exciting. Fugitives. What fun. It’s about time we had some drama in this dump.’
Five cleared his throat. ‘There’s just one other thing, Granny. There are two more of us as well.’ He whistled and TEX stepped from the bushes holding Alpha One in his arms.
‘The more the merrier,’ Granny Smythe replied, rubbing her hands together. ‘Everyone happy with bacon and eggs?’
‘Understand this, Sigma Squad.’ The Central Controller held up one finger and wagged it like a schoolmaster. ‘You have been chosen to undertake a mission that will not only change the course of history, but will also alter the planet forever. It is a great honour for you. But with that honour comes responsibilities.’
Alpha Agent 002 and the other members of Sigma Squad stood to attention. The crowd in the hall was silent, listening intently to the Controller.
‘The capture of the Chronos Stone is imminent,’ he said. ‘Most scientists believed that to be impossible. But we know otherwise. The crystal containing the Flame of Eternity, the essence of time itself, will soon be in our hands . . . thanks to you.’
The Central Controller moved to the front of the stage and glared down at the Sigma agents.
‘Bring back the Chronos Stone, and you will have everything you want for the rest of your life. But —’ He allowed the word to hang like an executioner’s sword. ‘Return empty handed and your life will not be worth living. Is that understood?’
The three younger members of the squad shuddered at this, but Alpha Two was quick to respond.
‘We are equal to the task, Honourable Controllers,’ he said. ‘I pledge we will bring you the Chronos Stone, whatever it takes.’
‘We already know of your readiness for the task, Alpha Agent 002,’ said the Central Controller. ‘But what of the other members of Sigma Squad? Let us hear from them.’
Without warning a strong spotlight was turned on the youngest member of Sigma Squad, BA021. Under the glare he shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.
‘Well?’ the Central Controller said. ‘What have you to say? If you have doubts, voice them now.’
The boy cleared his throat. ‘I’m not really sure, you see. I feel worried that I’m not up to it. So I wonder if I could be excused from this mission.’ He was shaking as he spoke. ‘I hope that’s not too much to ask.’
‘Of course it isn’t. We want nothing but total commitment, and if you can’t guarantee that then you are excused from this mission.’ BA021 smiled with relief. But his smile quickly vanished when the Central Controller added: ‘And any other mission, for that matter.’
With a nod from the Central Controller, one of the guardroids turned his Electro-Mag Disintegrator on the Battle Agent. The ray from the weapon tore a gaping hole in the floor at BA021’s feet. He ran like a terrified mouse, chased out of the great hall by deadly blasts from the EMD and the fiendish laughter of the five Controllers.
At once the spotlight moved to the next squad member, BA016. He didn’t even need to be asked.
‘I am equal to the task, Honourable Controllers,’ he said, parroting Alpha Two. ‘I pledge that I, er, we will bring you the Chronos Stone, whatever it takes.’
Battle Agent 011 went further. After loudly declaring his readiness for the mission, he gave the special salute as well.
This pleased the Central Controller. He smiled.
‘Excellent,’ he crowed. ‘Our course is set then. We are about to commence a journey that will change the world forever.’ He thrust out his left arm. ‘To the future!’
This time everyone saluted.
* * *
‘Come in, Omega Squad.’
Professor Perdu was crouched at the end of a narrow alley, hidden behind a row of industrial waste bins. She’d been having trouble contacting Omega Squad on her Battle Watch, but Battle Agent 005 had answered at last.
‘Receiving you loud and clear,’ he said. ‘Go ahead, Prof.’
‘There’s a major change of plan. The MANIC team has taken Battle Book 3 from the Special Reading Room, but they’re not going to open it in the Tome Tower as expected.’
‘Where will they open it, then?’
‘Their moves are very secretive, but all indications are that they’ll launch the mission from somewhere in the Time Store district, probably as close as possible to the Aeon Reactor.’
‘If it’s so secret, Prof, how can you be sure about this?’
‘There isn’t time to explain now, 005. I’ll fill you in later. Our main priority is to get to the Time Store district asap. Are you still in the limousine with Bernard?’
‘I’m afraid not, Prof. The limo was being drone-tagged, so we parted company. We’re at my grandmother’s retirement village.’
‘Ah, yes, I see,’ the professor replied, reading the GP co-ordinates coming in from Five’s Battle Watch. ‘At least that’s not too far away from the Time Store area. But how are we going to get there? Have you any idea where Bernard might be?’
‘No, but TEX gave him his Battle Watch. Maybe you could try —’
Before Five could finish, Professor Perdu’s Battle Watch beeped with an incoming signal. It was Bernard.
‘Sorry, Professor Perdu, but I’ve had the devil of a time working out how to operate this watch thing that your lot gave me. I’ve mastered it now, though. Might I suggest that I pick you up at the Central Station exit on 23rd Street, and then we continue on to rendezvous with Omega Squad?’
‘A good idea, Bernard, but only in theory,’ replied the professor. ‘The city is crawling with security forces. I fear you would be stopped at once in that limousine.’
‘Don’t worry, Professor. For your information, I am no longer in the limousine. Look for a black security van. I stole it, along with its two security guards.’
‘Excellent, Bernard. How enterprising. And for your information, I’m no longer in a lab coat. Look for an old woman with a black duffle bag.’
* * *
‘Where are we, 011? What is this place?’
‘I said I don’t know, 016. We’re deep underground somewhere, I think.’
‘And what’s that rumbling noise?’
‘I don’t know any more than you. Vandakrol just said this is where the launch site is.’
‘Yeah, well, I reckon there’s a lot more to it than that. I don’t like this place at all. It feels bad.’
The two members of Sigma Squad were waiting for Alpha Agent 002 in the pre-launch chamber, deep below the surface of the Time Store district. Alpha Two was with Dr Vandakrol going over final mission details.
‘It all feels bad,’ BA016 continued. ‘Everything. This creepy place, the mission, that weird ceremony with the Controllers. And then what they did to Twenty One! They nearly zapped him like he was an insect. And all those freakin’ androids. They gave me the creeps, saluting and chanting like it was some kind of victory – them over us. What is going on? A revolution? A high-tech take-over?’
‘Look, I have no idea, okay?’ said Eleven. ‘But I reckon they’ll zap us too if we don’t do what they say. I’m going along with this, Sixteen, because we don’t ha
ve a choice. We’re trapped. If you’re smart you’ll go along as well.’
‘Yeah, well it’s wrong. Hear me? Wrong!’
‘Shh. Alpha Two is coming back.’
The door into the chamber burst open and Alpha Agent 002 marched in. BA011 and BA016 leapt to attention at once. Alpha Two eyed them suspiciously.
‘Something’s not right in here. Have either of you got a problem with anything?’
The younger Battle Agents shook their heads, but Alpha Two wasn’t convinced. He planted himself directly in front of them.
‘I smell doubt, and it’s not a smell I like. So I’m going to give you a few hints about life. One: the old power structure is crumbling. Two: a new order is coming, and with it a new world.’
Battle Agent 016 shook his head. ‘But they’re —’
‘Yes?’ Alpha Two fixed his eyes on 016. ‘What are they?’
‘They’re androids. They’re just machi —’
‘Whoa!’ Alpha Two barked, clamping his hand on BA016’s shoulder. ‘Hold it right there. Correction, kiddo: they’re not androids, that’s old speak. They’re TABs – Technically Augmented Beings. Get it right.’
He squeezed hard until 016 nodded, wincing. Then he eased off and placed his other hand on BA011’s shoulder, patting both boys and smiling with feigned benevolence.
‘Look, I’m doing you both a big favour by spelling this out, so pay attention. As I was saying, there’s a new world coming. Now, you can be part of that world. Or you can be a loser like 021.That’s what it boils down to: winner or loser. The choice is yours.’
‘Excellent advice.’ Dr Vandakrol was standing at the door. He strolled over, threw his arm around Alpha Two’s shoulder and stared straight at BA016 and BA011. ‘I assume you’re going to take it.’
The two Battle Agents nodded.
‘Good – because this mission is ready to begin.’
‘His condition has certainly improved,’ said Professor Perdu after running a series of checks on Alpha Agent 001. ‘I’m confident he’s out of the danger zone.’ The professor was in Granny Smythe’s sitting room, Alpha One on the couch, still unconscious but breathing normally. ‘And I can’t tell you how grateful I am that we can leave him with you for a little longer. He’s clearly in very good hands.’
Time Makers Page 5
