by I. T. Eren
CHAPTER 9
Mark received a lot of training during the three-month theoretic process. The big, burly project leader, Mr. Mallhan, taught him the mechanics of time travel. With his small, round, metal-rimmed glasses and his long white beard, this man looked as if he had given his years to science. He also had the deep, coarse voice of a smoker.
Mr. Mallhan explained that when the date and geographic location of the desired destination were entered into the system the traveling detective—as well as all his belongings in the capsule—would be beamed into the past. His arrival date and time were preset, and the detective used his chronometer to monitor the entire duration of his trip.
It was not possible to keep observing detectives who traveled to the past during the entire journey. For instance, if the detective went away for five hours, and he got into trouble, a problem was detected only if the detective pressed the early-return button, sending a signal to headquarters. And headquarters only knew what happened during the course of a trip after the detective returned and submitted his report. Whether the detective completed his duty in the past or not, was found out by looking at the expected effect of the travel on the present time. If the detective thought that he fulfilled his duty but the expected effect did not take place in the present time, then the detective was deemed unsuccessful, even though he did what he was supposed to do. Of course, Mark did not learn about these directly from what Mr. Mallhan explained but had to ask detailed questions—one after another.
Now Mark understood why detectives were offered such stellar financial opportunities. If they hadn’t those opportunities, they might choose to do whatever they wanted in the past. And it would be almost impossible to find out what they did. Mr. Mallhan talked about the ethical behavior expected from detectives by stressing that the past of each detective was carefully studied, and it was ensured that all had good ones. He added that being a detective was one of the most respected careers.
Mr. Mallhan explained that work and research to develop time travel to the past continued but that the desired growth rate was not possible at the moment because the project was maintained only with very few scientists. After all, exposure was not desired.
Examining a case study regarding past events was the most enjoyable part of the training. Since the identities of the detectives had to be protected, the cases were mentioned by expressions such as “the case study for project number 2314 run by Detective X,” but otherwise, they were explained in full detail. If enough information about criminals was available, detectives went to the past and eliminated all factors that could lead to the crime. If that wasn’t possible, they did things like inform the police to have the suspect captured even before he committed the crime.
However, detectives were never asked to kill someone. They had to stay away from murder. They had to even keep away from guns and try to change events only by using their wits. Otherwise, they would be committing crimes in the past, and this would put them at risk. First of all, the causes behind a crime had to be analyzed and understood. And then, those causes had to be removed. For example, if someone got drunk and lost control of his car, killing two people, the detective could go to the past for a short while, disable the guy’s car or prevent him from drinking. That way the accident wouldn’t take place. Or, the detective could try to keep the people who were supposed to die from being there at the time of the accident.
Each detective was free to choose which method he would follow and didn’t need anyone’s approval. However, as Mr. Mallhan explained, even though preventing those two people from being in the place of the accident could enable them to remain alive, it would not guarantee that another accident wouldn’t take place elsewhere. Therefore, that wouldn’t be the best decision in that specific case.
When choosing the method of intervention, a detective had to consider how big of a risk he was creating for himself and others. If he prevented the car from working properly, that would be considered a small felony, and the detective would not face big trouble. On the other hand, if the detective initiated a fight to prevent the drunk driver from getting into his car, he could save two lives but still end up in jail. If a detective prevented such an accident, everyone resumed his or her life, as if no accident or death had happened.
Every now and then, Mark asked about the things that didn’t make sense to him. And the answers Mr. Mallhan provided made him realize that the issue had already been considered in depth. “What if a detective is imprisoned? Will he not automatically return to the present time again anyway? And that way won’t he be out of jail?”
“We often prefer detectives to leave as few traces in the past as possible. In the end, we’re interfering with the natural flow of life. If a detective nobody knows in real life suddenly disappears out of sight, it doesn’t attract much attention. However, if someone in jail disappears, that would cause a huge backlash, giving way to other problems we cannot foresee. All we want to do is correct events that are going wrong, and the fewer things we spoil while we’re doing that, the better. We have to adopt this perspective in each and every case we solve.”
After listening to all everything Mr. Mallhan told him, Mark thought that the guy should have become a priest instead.
Once Mark started going through the process, the way he corrected problems in the past caused him to become popular with his trainers. This made him think that his chances were high to become a detective since the trainers were observing the development of the other candidate as well. In two of the case studies, he had succeeded in creating alternatives that had much lower risks than experienced detectives had actually chosen. At the end of the three months, he wondered why they didn’t take the candidate who was more successful during the theoretical training and give him the hands-on training for another six months. He decided to visit Mr. Mallhan to ask him.
The ceiling and the walls of Mr. Mallhan’s office were covered with a huge photograph of a human brain. The desktop was covered with dust and dirt, as if it hadn’t been cleaned for days—not to mention the little mountain of empty paper cups. Mr. Mallhan, who noticed Mark’s surprise at the mess, felt the need to explain with a shy and slightly embarrassed tone. “I’ve forbidden the cleaning personnel to touch my desk because they mess up my order...”
Mark started thinking that he really liked this guy and actually liked him even more because of his scruffiness. He had found yet another example that supported his belief that “order was not everything.”
He stopped scrutinizing the room and asked Mr. Mallhan what was on his mind. The man replied by saying, “Mr. Spinner, in the past we have often witnessed how a colleague who is great in theory sucks when it comes to practice. And this has caused us to lose much time. Therefore, we don’t want to risk it anymore.”
Mark said, “But don’t you ever summon the person who loses at the end of the competition again—if and when there is a need in the future?”
Mr. Mallhan’s answer was mysterious, “Mr. Spinner, you can be sure that we have a good reason with regard to that as well. But at the moment, I can’t tell you why we never re-invite someone who loses a competition.”
During this process, Mark did not share the details of his training with anyone. He read his notes and daily newsletters about confidentiality and gave Ally and his friends only as much information as he was allowed to give.
Ms. Kempball, who taught him the principles of confidentiality, was a tall, slender, middle-aged woman. At the beginning of their first lesson, this teacher, who looked more like a PR specialist, had said, “Tell me the name of a strange object or animal, and I’ll give you a totally convincing explanation about why I have brought it with me to the classroom.”
Mark thought about a piano. Ms. Kempball said, “Mr. Spinner, I’m sorry I brought along a piano with me. I know it sounds really silly, but according to the bet I’m having with my friends, I’ll be winning a free weekend holiday if I take around this piano with me everywhere I go for twenty-four hours.”<
br />
This answer made Mark smile, but he wasn’t impressed too much. Ms. Kempball asked, “What do you think I paid attention to when providing this explanation?”
Mark said, “You said something that I cannot prove to be wrong.”
“That’s true. For instance, I haven’t said anything related to work because if I made up something related to work, you could have easily found out that it wasn’t true. I fabricated an explanation thinking that you know nothing about my private life. And I mentioned a weekend holiday because you have no way of finding out whether I’ll go on that sort of holiday or not. I must make up a scenario that I don’t have a hard time completing after I leave this room. If I come across you again in the next twenty-four hours, I must always act as if I have a piano with me. This is like playing chess, Mr. Spinner. The more lies I tell, the fewer moves I have left. Therefore, I must tell the kind of lies that don’t make life hard for me. And at the same time I need to always keep future moves in mind.”
During another confidentiality lesson, Ms. Kempball told him, “The less information you give your family and friends, the less chance you have of being inconsistent. And don’t forget that indiscretion is the enemy within us!”
Ms. Kempball told Mark that in the past the program was almost exposed by the press because of a detective who failed to keep his mouth closed. They had to spend a lot of money and stage an intricate plot to correct the situation. When they started this program, the first detectives who worked for them were not exactly old now, but retired detectives posed the threat of leaking information at some point in their lives. Therefore, the government was working on memory-obliteration possibilities to the eliminate of anything related to one’s work as a detective.
Mark was surprised a bit. He thought that Ms. Kempball had perhaps forgotten that he was a detective candidate as well. The woman was talking about detectives as if they were computers with memories that could be reset. On the other hand, he thought that the openness of Ms. Kempball was much better than Mr. Mallhan’s approach, who kept answering some of Mark’s questions by saying, “I can’t tell you that now.”
Ms. Kempball was a straightforward person indeed. She told Mark that having five detectives was bad, mostly because of the cost of keeping things secret. And when the number of detectives increased in the future, this risk would also grow. That’s why, she said, they were discussing the idea of reducing the number of detectives to three.
On another day, she told Mark, “Mr. Spinner, perhaps you’re a very lucky person. If such a decree is issued in the near future, no new detectives may be admitted into the program for the coming ten to fifteen years. And you might be one of the three existing detectives during that entire time.”
The top floor of the Confidentiality Department consisted of nothing more than a small hall. At the entrance stood Ms. Kempball’s desk. There was a huge table in the center and many comfortable chairs around it, as well as a writing board. The most relaxed personnel in the security center seemed to be working here, which included two men with long hair and earrings They looked as if they belonged to the creative team of an advertisement agency.
This department worked almost like a scenario-creation center where copywriters sent the members daily newsletters about what took place in the Security Headquarters that day. For instance, according to that day’s bulletin, the councilor had gone to another city on a mission, and two detectives had accompanied him. According to the fake version that was in the newsletter—which they could easily share with their spouses and friends—these two detectives were on duty for reorganizing the training principles concerning the protection of higher-rank state officials. And they would be returning to the city in two days. They would take the 7:00 am plane and could only be reached in the evenings, for they would be busy with meetings throughout the day. Because everyone in the department read these lies in the newsletters, they didn’t have to come up with their own lies to cover their tracks. In the case their spouses or friends knew each other, they would be all be giving them the same story. And during those two days the two detectives easily participated in special missions. That was why the copywriters followed everyone’s agendas and schedules and updated the information whenever necessary. For example, if a detective had a scratch on his face because of an accident he had during time travel, the copywriters immediately wrote a story to inform everyone. In such a case, everyone concerned knew that “the wound took place when the man fell from the stairs of Hotel X while chasing a criminal.”
One morning, Mark was very astonished when he asked Mr. Mallhan’s secretary where his meeting with the man would take place. When the secretary told him that it would be in the videoconferencing room, Mark said, “I’ve just said ‘good morning’ to him. I’m sure I saw him passing by.”
But Mark didn’t insist further when the secretary said, “The note I have says that the meeting will take place in Room 102 on the first floor.”
When he entered the room about half an hour later, he saw that the videoconferencing equipment had been set up there. Mr. Mallhan, who appeared on the screen, was connecting to the room from his office. There were more empty paper cups on the desk than when Mark had been there the last time.
Soon, Mr. Mallhan began to speak, “Dear candidates, good morning once again. I can see and talk to you both, but you can see only me. You’ll probably never get to know one another. That’s why we are taking this precaution. In order for us to see which one of you is better at this stage of the selection process, you have to be in the same environment and compete against each other.” Then, the man paused and got closer to the screen, as if he were about to give away an interesting secret. “You’ll always cover your faces with a mask when you’re in the same environment. Moreover, we’ll have the tone of your voice change through a magnetic strip attached to your throat from the outside. We don’t want you to become enemies, and I’m sure you won’t want to stop being professional and participate in a contest that’s not fair. However, I must tell you that if that happens, we won’t tolerate it. Whenever both of you are present, one of you will be called ‘Candidate X’ and the other ‘Candidate Y.’ Is there anything you’d like to ask?”
Bewildered by what he had heard, Mark felt upset about being treated like a racehorse. He saw that Mr. Mallhan was nodding; apparently, the other candidate was asking him something. Mr. Mallhan then said, “Yes, what Mr. Y has asked is whether this will be like a competition and what the two of you will do together. Well, you’ll see this in time. I can’t tell you anything else right now. These are the only details I can share with you so far.”
The man didn’t leave any room for other questions. He added, “At 11:00 am today, I’d like to see you exactly where you are now—in the same rooms. When you return here, you’ll find your masks and magnetic voice strips. After putting them on, you’ll be taken to a place where you’ll meet each other. If you take off your mask, you’ll be eliminated. Don’t forget that.” His last sentence was a threat.
After digesting what Mark heard, he arrived back in Room 102 at eleven, just like he was told. He found the mask, as well as a magnetic strip and a white outfit that resembled an automobile racer’s uniform. He put on the outfit, thinking it looked great on him. He walked out of the room confidently and told the person waiting outside the door that he was ready.
As they walked to the parking lot, the people in the security headquarters, who saw Mark as an automobile racer, were observing him with pure interest. They got into a car with tinted windows and left the building. Soon Mark realized that they had reached a racetrack where Mr. Mallhan, a few other people on duty, and the other candidate were waiting for him. It was impossible to tell what the guy looked like since he also had on a costume and a mask.
Mark said hello and extended his hand to the other candidate. His own voice sounded like a robot’s, and that surprised him. The second shock he had was that his hand just hung empty in the air. Although Candidate Y heard Mark greet him,
he neither said anything nor shook his hand. Instead, he looked away. Mark felt angry. It might be that the other guy was trying to cause him to lose control by enraging him, so he reminded himself to remain calm.
After welcoming them, Mr. Mallhan started to explain, “If you end up being a detective, running away from or chasing someone will be a part of your job. And in today’s competition, we aim to see how good you are at escaping and chasing. My friends will bring your vehicles soon.”
Around fifteen narrow openings were placed side by side on the racetrack, at intervals of one hundred meters. These openings were made of thick, white foam and were about two meters high and one meter wide. Soon two velocycles came out of the hangar. These were single-person vehicles that looked like a combination between motorcycles and snowmobiles. They moved as a result of the magnetic field, created when one started the engine. They did not touch the track that was covered with metal balls. However, when they came too close to each other, they repulsed one another and spoiled the other vehicle’s balance.
Although velocycles were popular vehicles, Mark had rarely used them as they did not interest him at all. Therefore, he asked if they could do a test drive. Mr. Mallhan said, “Sure. You each have ten minutes to warm up.”
They put on their helmets and got on their vehicles. Two very simple displays on the front panel indicated the intensity of the magnetic field and the velocity. A rod also stood between the two displays. The velocycle had neither a steering wheel nor any pedals. They had to steer their vehicles solely by moving their bodies forward, backward, to the right, and to the left.
