Mr. Harold Randolph Hunter
Mrs. Rosita Carmelita Cortez Hunter
It gives me great pleasure to inform you that the International Immortality Board has designated you to receive the first two immortality treatments to be performed using the processes recently perfected by the Hunter Institute for Aging Research.
Randy's heart skipped a beat. I'm going to live forever! His most impossible dream was going to come true!
Randy finally calmed himself down. They could probably treat his cells so that they wouldn't age, and they might even be able to make him younger in the process, but they couldn't keep him from being killed by an accident someday ... or could they? With time machines coupling the past with the future ...
Someday I'll probably just get tired of living and turn myself off, he mused. But it'll be a long time before I get that bored. He started to scroll up the rest of the letter. I assume Rose and I will have to jump forward into the future to get the treatment. I wonder who invented the technique? Certainly he or she should be the first one to receive it. I only put up the money.
The last letter was also from the director of the Hunter Institute for Aging Research. It was from a different director and dated twelve years earlier than the other letter.
Mr. Harold Randolph Hunter,
This cover letter is followed by a long file containing information about a number of medical treatments not available in your time, including a complex treatment that is able to cure any disease. Since the alleviation of human misery is a primary goal of the Time Control Board, and takes precedence over the normal Board task of limiting time travel in order to minimize chronoshock and causal confusion of the past-time general populace, the Board has authorized the contents of this file to be transmitted as far back in time as possible, so that the treatments therein can be developed and used as soon in past-time as possible.
Since you will be traveling back into times that cannot be reached through the existing timegates, it is requested that you keep the file with you during your journeys.
When you arrive back in 2054, please transfer the file to the director at that time, Dr. Angela Garibaldi.
"Medical treatments from the future, and I will be bringing them back through time, just as Siritha said ..." murmured Randy to himself. "The world is never going to be the same again. Good thing, too. The old world had too much pain and suffering in it."
FIVE MONTHS later, coasting along at just under the safe cruising speed of 0.995 cee, Randy was interrupted at dinner by the ship's persona appearing on the screen above the table.
"I can see the bad guy coming," drawled the icon. "He's got the gol-darnedest long rifle I've ever seen, and a bandoleer with five hundred bullets in it."
"Let's head him off at the pass," said Randy. For the past few days he had been limiting his meals to clear soups and non-gas-producing chewables. He disappeared into the head, and when he came out, the yellow manipulators of the ship's Gidget were holding up the high-gee tanksuit for him.
"BOMBS AWAY!" yelled Randy as he vented the thousands of tons of liquid hydrogen into space. His ship was now decelerating and the liquid hydrogen vaporized into a cloud of hydrogen gas in front of him. His job done, he sent off a message to reassure the youngster ahead.
"Hold the fort! The cavalry is coming! (Even if you can't see it.)"
He climbed back into his high-gee protection tank and soon was back at thirty gees again. Only this time the acceleration was back toward Tau Ceti, so he could match speeds with Timemaster as it went past.
Got to get to that Silverhair on Timemaster and go on to do the rest of the job, he told himself. The thought of all the stress and loneliness that he still faced, months at high gees, stuffed in a cramped tin can, made him resentful of the spoiled young brat lounging around in his space mansion, waiting for other people to rescue him. It would be nice to see other human beings again, though ...
"... especially Rose!" Randy remembered what lay ahead.
Randy was too far away from the actual encounter to see any details of Oscar's attack, but he knew it was successful when he saw Oscar's ship deflected from its course long before it got to Timemaster. In the meantime, Timemaster was proceeding on its course without a hitch and without a distress call from Albert.
Four days after the attack, Randy pulled the John Wayne up to ride in formation with Timemaster.
"I'm turning the ship over to you, Duke," he said. "I won't be back. Keep riding along with Timemaster until you are given further instructions."
"OK, pilgrim," growled the icon.
"Bye, Duke," Randy growled back in imitation. "It's been a pleasure riding the trails with you."
WHEN RANDY arrived at the airlock to Timemaster, Rose and the younger version of himself were waiting for him. Randy put the two green metal boxes into the storage net above the suit rack. Rose came to greet him.
"Thank you for saving us!" she said, giving him a big kiss. As she drew away, she wiped her upper lip and grinned at him. "Say, that tickles ... and it looks very nice."
Randy went over to the young man and shook hands. "Hi, youngster," he said.
"Thanks for coming to our rescue," said the youth.
"John Wayne and I were glad to help," said Randy. "For a while there, I thought I might not have hauled enough liquid hydrogen to do the job." He gave the young man a friendly clap on the shoulder. "I was afraid I'd be short."
"Stop that ..." the young man groaned, giving him a punch in return. "Say, what's in the green boxes?"
"They're called 'feeders'," said Randy. "They came from the future. According to the instructions that came with them, I'm going to need them later." He gave his helmet to Godget and hung up his outeralls on the hook next to another pair that, from the size of them, obviously belonged to the young man. Then, still in his tightsuit, Randy crowded into the elevator with the young man and Rose.
"Why don't you go upstairs and change," said the young man, punching the buttons for both the main floor and the bedroom floor of the mansion. "Rose and I will wait for you in the living room. I'm sure Didit can help you find something comfortable."
AFTER some conversation and a tasty dinner of corned beef and cabbage, with smash on the side, the three were waiting at the airlock door when another space-suited figure arrived, this time from the Errol Flynn. Rose immediately grabbed the bearded man and gave him a big hug and kiss. Randy was a little jealous, but he was getting used to the idea, especially since it seemed to be making the young man even more jealous.
"Say," said Rose, stepping back to look at the man's beard, "you've let it grow longer, haven't you? Looks very nice now—not like you forgot to shave—but distinguished-looking." She scratched him under the chin, and the bearded man rumbled a deep-throated purr at the attention.
Hmmm, thought Randy. It does look distinguished ... and if Rose likes it, maybe I ought to grow one. He stepped forward to interrupt.
"I don't believe we've met recently," he said, putting out his hand. "I'm Randy."
"I'd recognize you anywhere," said the bearded man, shaking hands. "Even with that puny excuse for a mustache." He twisted the ends of the monstrous handlebar above his full chestnut beard in obvious pride. He turned to look at the youngster.
"If you'll send Didit down to the dressing room with something comfortable, I'll meet you three up in the living room shortly," he said.
THE BEARDED man came slowly down the circular staircase in Randy's white "cricket outfit", Venus's Tear dangling from his right ear. Randy now wished that he had chosen the pearl instead of the tiger's-eye.
"I'm glad you could join us," said the young man in a stiff, formal tone from his place in the recliner chair.
"I wouldn't miss this night for anything," said the bearded man as he sat on the sofa on the other side of Rose. Randy knew exactly what the bearded man was thinking. He wouldn't miss tonight for anything himself. The young man, however, didn't know what was coming up ...
LATER that ev
ening, the grandfather clock struck eleven. The bearded man yawned and stretched flamboyantly. "Time to go to bed," he said loudly. The room grew pregnant with silence.
"I assume you two gentlemen will be wanting to go back to your ships ..." started the young man. Randy decided to tease the youngster a little.
"Say, Rose," he interrupted, pulling on Rose's elbow. "I'll have to be warping back tomorrow, and I was wondering ..." The teasing worked.
"Just a minute!" said the young man angrily, getting up from his chair. "Rose is my wife, and she's going to bed with me!"
"Let her decide!" insisted Randy, knowing full well what she was going to decide ...
"I KNOW I'm leaving you in good hands," said Randy to the young man. He reached up to the inside of the top of the pod and grabbed the handholds, then stepped into the foot stirrups at the bottom. Between the two foot stirrups were his two green metal feeder boxes.
The young man took Rose by the waist and lifted her into the pod. There, she grabbed Randy around his chest and wrapped her tightsuited legs around behind his. Randy enjoyed the close embrace.
"It's going to be a close fit ..." said the young man as he used the wall controls to slowly bring the pod halves together. The bearded man moved around the closing pod to keep watch, tucking in Rose's elbows and knees as the two halves came together. Once the pod was closed, Rose took the opportunity to give Randy a squeeze.
When the pod opened up again a few moments later, they were met by a youthful Hiroshi Tanaka, Andrew Pope, and Siritha Chandresekhar. Hiroshi pulled Rose free, and Andrew helped Randy to the wall.
"If we're all done, then let the poor Silverhair relax," said Siritha with concern. Hiroshi went over to the laser expander and collapsed the warpgate.
"Don't bother removing your tightsuit, Mr. Hunter," said Andrew. "We have a flitter standing by to take you directly to the space station where the UV Ceti warpgate mouth is housed."
"Must you go so soon?" asked Rose, holding her helmet in one hand.
"Sorry, Rose," said Randy. "Got to hurry off and rescue that kid again, and there isn't any time to spare." He went over to give her a good-bye kiss. "This, time, however, I won't be away so long. See you in about four months." He gave her a long, hard kiss, then a loving smile. "And this time I promise I'll settle down and stay home."
"I'll believe it when I see it, Mr. Buck Rogers Hunter," said Rose, giving him a good-bye kiss back.
IT WASN'T until he had almost entered the spacewarp to UV Ceti that Randy remembered the important message file from the future still stored in his cuff-comp. He called up Dr. Angela Garibaldi, director of the Hunter Institute of Aging Research, and transmitted the file full of medical treatments to her.
WHEN RANDY emerged from the UV Ceti warpgate, his ship was ready for him. There was no heavy cargo this time, just the two green metal boxes containing the feeders, and himself—going off to parry knife thrusts with a sooty poker. It wasn't going to be fancy Hollywood swordplay where no one got punctured and blades were covered with ketchup, but a deadly serious business where throats could be ripped open by bloodstained knives if he didn't do everything right.
Saying good-bye to Andrew, he went out the airlock and floated over to his waiting ship, the Errol Flynn.
Chapter 13
... A Little Help from my Friends
BEFORE an hour had passed, the Errol Flynn had moved off away from the UV Ceti base station. Randy was in the high-gee protection tank, breathing liquid. The virtual screen in front of his eyes contained the icon of the persona for the computer of the Errol Flynn. It was that of an extremely handsome young man with a pencil mustache, a feathered pirate hat, and a daredevil smile on his face.
"The tide is high and the winds are favorable," said the icon in a clipped English accent. "Shall I set sail?"
NO, LESLIE, typed Randy. I MAN THE HELM.
"Very well, m'lord," said the icon, touching the brim of his hat in a sweeping gesture. Randy looked at the trim mustache on the icon. It really looked kind of effeminate. Randy wondered if his mustache gave that impression. A beard, now—beards were never considered effeminate, and Rose thought a beard made a man look more distinguished. He decided to stop shaving for a while ...
RANDY contacted Albert on Timemaster as soon as the two ships got within range. Albert was careful to check Randy's identity by having him put his eyes close to the monitor camera so that his iris pattern could be checked, but the computer didn't seem fazed either by Randy's full beard, the idea of time travel, or the fact that there were two Randys for him to obey. Randy explained the danger that the younger Randy would soon be in and his plans for rescuing him.
"He depends upon my sensor display for a view of the volume around the ship," said Albert. "I will merely remove information about your ship from the sensor data before I display it to him."
"I'll approach from behind so he won't be likely to see me out the portholes when you switch to cruise mode," said Randy. "Let me know when he has moved into the mansion. I'll drop my magnetic shields and come in close on the opposite side of the ship to the porthole in the study. During free-fall, when Oscar is podding through, I'll jet over and you can let me in."
"Gidget will be waiting at the airlock to cycle you through," said Albert.
AFTER having boarded Timemaster, Randy had to stay in the airlock and wait in order to avoid meeting the younger Randy and Oscar during their tour of the ship.
"We must hurry," said Gidget, as it finally cycled Randy through the airlock onto the engineering deck. "Didit reports they are already starting to argue." The blue manipulators of the robomechanic took Randy's helmet and placed it hurriedly in the rack beside the door. "This way," it whispered in its high-pitched voice. Still in his tightsuit, red outeralls, and black space boots, Randy followed the bright-blue body of the robot off down the corridor. They came to a robomechanic-sized panel that had been unfastened from the corridor wall and placed to one side. Randy paused to look at the hole in the wall. It was too small to pass an ordinary man.
I wouldn't be able to save myself if Mom had given me growth hormones ... He squeezed through the tiny aperture.
Gidget turned on its lights and led Randy on a laborious climb up through the interior of the walls of the ship to the living-quarters deck. They went horizontally for a while and soon came upon Godget, its bright-yellow manipulators busily unscrewing some bolts and lifting off a round panel on what looked like a large air duct.
"This is the exhaust flue from the fireplace," said Gidget. "It comes up from a soot trap at the back of the fireplace. At the bottom of the soot trap, you will have to turn sharply up again to get to the hood area just above the fireplace. To get your body around the sharp bend, you will have to go in headfirst and backwards. You should have no problems, for the fireplace has been unlit for twenty hours."
Randy stared at the gaping, round, soot-black hole, and unreasoning fear surged over him. The robots were unaware of his suppressed phobia. He started to shake violently. "Isn't there some other way in?" he gasped in a trembling voice.
"No. Is there any problem?" asked the robot.
The distant voice of Oscar echoed up through the exhaust duct. He was angry and shouting.
"You are destroying free will!"
No time to find another way! thought Randy. He got control of himself and turned his back to the hole. After taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he grasped the filthy, sooty edge on the far side and prepared to enter the hole.
Trying to be helpful, Gidget and Godget reached down, picked him up by the ankles, and lowered him headfirst down into the sooty blackness. Randy felt a scream o
f terror rising in his throat and strove to choke it off ...
I MUST have gone temporarily insane. Randy realized that, somehow, he was now crouched in the soot trap at the back of the fireplace looking down at the dusty gas logs in the grate instead of into a sooty blackness. He stepped down on the artificial logs and bent low to climb out into the living room. Oscar's agitated voice sounded loudly from the dining room.
"You want to use your timelink to become ruler of the universe!"
Randy grabbed the poker from the fire toolholder and crept across the living room to the door in the wooden folding wall, leaving a trail of sooty footprints on the priceless Oriental rug.
There was a commotion in the dining room, and then Oscar's voice rasped out, "I've got you now!"
Carefully Randy tiptoed through the door into the dining room, holding the poker in his tightsuit-gloved hand. Oscar had the youngster pinned in his chair, and the only thing keeping the carving knife out of the youngster's throat was a foot in Oscar's belly and two hands holding on to Oscar's wrist.
The youngster saw Randy sneaking up behind Oscar. Now, if the stupid kid would only keep his mouth shut ... but no ...
"Better put down that knife," the youngster warned Oscar. "There's someone behind you!"
"You aren't going to fool me with that one, you miserable midget," said Oscar, pulling his knife hand back in order to free it so he could strike again..
Now! thought Randy. He leaped forward and smashed the heavy metal poker against the back of Oscar's hand, sending the carving knife thudding onto the ornate rug. Errol Flynn would have done that with more dash ...
"YEOW!" yelled Oscar, letting go of the young man to grab his injured hand. He tried to straighten the obviously broken fingers and cried out in pain again. "Ow-w-w-w!" he howled, stamping his feet in agony. He turned slowly around to look behind him.
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