The Time Refugee: Book 4 of the Evaran Chronicles

by Adair Hart

  Evaran interacted with the console and pointed to a glowing section on the habitat. “It would appear that levels twenty to thirty are for docking. I suspect we will be directed to one of them. However, I am unclear on how we should approach since it is in quarantine.”

  Jane rubbed her chin. “Well … my United Planets clearance is too low, but yours isn’t.”

  “We can try that,” said Evaran. “In regards to the illegal augments, I will need to access a data storage center. As there are a lot of AIs present from what I researched, I will need to go there physically.” He pointed to another section on the projection. “This is level seventy-two. It appears to house one of these data storage centers.”

  Jane stood and pointed to another section on the projection. “This is level thirteen. It’s where Chris is supposed to have died. I’d like to check that area out. Since yours is so far away, I can go to that section on my own if you want to head on to that other one.”

  Dr. Snowden cleared his throat. “I’ll go with you unless … you want to be alone.”

  “I’d like that,” said Jane.

  Evaran narrowed his eyes. “It may be advantageous for us to stick together. We do not know what reception we may get.”

  Dr. Snowden pointed at V. “We could take V with us.” He glanced at Jane. “Would we be expecting a hostile environment?”

  “I wouldn’t think so,” said Jane. “There are United Planets and Kalesh representatives there.”

  Evaran paused as he contemplated Jane. “If you feel it would be safe, I will defer to your judgment, as you would know better than me.”

  “We should be okay. It would be like Corunus, which you’ve seen, but maybe a bit more secure,” said Jane. “Besides … if anything did happen, it’s not like you couldn’t handle it, at least from what I read.”

  Evaran cast a sidelong glance at Emily before lowering his head. “Perhaps … but it does not hurt to be cautious.”

  Jane gestured at Emily and V. “After what I witnessed at this morning’s training session, we should be okay. That handheld device Emily was using is quite powerful.”

  “Personal support devices, or PSDs, as we call them,” said Emily.

  “That’ll work.”

  “Then it is decided,” said Evaran. He looked at V. “Coordinates should be in the system. Take us there.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  They exited the room and assembled in the command area. Evaran sat in his command chair, while Emily sat in the left U-shaped seating area. Dr. Snowden and Jane sat on the other side. V stood in front of the console, and his hands were a blur as the Torvatta ascended into space.

  Dr. Snowden felt a surge of electricity shoot through him. Getting to see a unit of a Dyson anything was something he thought he would never see except in fiction. Yet here he was. He wondered about the engineering that must have gone into building it. Maybe he could find out when he got there. At least he would be with Jane, something he knew he would enjoy.

  Once the Torvatta was in space, Evaran tapped at his chair console. “V, portal us in.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  Jane cocked her head at Dr. Snowden.

  “Oh … it’s how the Torvatta travels long distances,” said Dr. Snowden. “You’ll see.”

  A gold beam shot out the front of the Torvatta, causing a circular portal with a silver border to appear. The light-blue surface rippled.

  Jane narrowed her eyes, then widened them as they flew through the portal and exited near the space habitat. “How … that wasn’t condensed space travel!”

  “It was not,” said Evaran.

  Jane exhaled. “So … how does it work?”

  “It is a form of travel unique to the Torvatta.”

  Jane’s eyes darted back and forth as she wrinkled her eyebrows. After a moment, she said, “Dimensional travel. Opens a hole to another dimension, flies in to the dimension, then exits out another hole.”

  Evaran narrowed his eyes. “That is correct. Have you studied it before?”

  “I have but … it was only theoretical. To open the hole would require exotic energy that no one has been able to produce, except in tiny amounts. I would guess that the gold beam was exotic energy, but I’ve never seen or heard of there being enough to form a beam.”

  “You are beginning to understand,” said Evaran with a sparkle in his eyes.

  Jane shook her head. “Amazing.”

  Dr. Snowden perked his head up. It did not surprise him that Jane would know; they were in the future after all. What did surprise him was that Evaran seemed to be caught off guard, something that did not happen often. Maybe Evaran’s perception of what humanity did and did not know in this time period was not aligning. His attention was disrupted by the front screen showing an image of the habitat on one side and the Torvatta on the other. A dashed line faded in and out between them.

  “Communication Protocol established. Sending credentials,” said V.

  It was fascinating to Dr. Sowden to see how the Torvatta did anything. He sometimes wondered if the visuals on the screen were more for his and Emily’s sake. All of this could easily occur without any verbal or visual communication.

  When V had established the communication protocol, the dashed line between the Torvatta and the habitat became solid. When he sent the credentials, another dashed line appeared slightly above the protocol line. After a moment, the line solidified, and a green outline formed on both the habitat and the Torvatta. The habitat image zoomed into a section with a small ring that jutted out from the main cylinder. An array of hangar doors perforated the ring’s outer hull. One of them was blinking with the number twenty-seven flashing on it.

  “Docking coordinates received,” said V.

  “Take us in,” said Evaran.

  “Acknowledged.”

  The Torvatta flew toward the small ring. Once it arrived just outside the designated docking area, it slowed to a crawl until the momentum took it through a smoke-colored semitransparent shield.

  Dr. Snowden figured this must be ubiquitous for small to medium craft. He had seen larger ships on the outside, but they were not connected. Maybe they had landing shuttles.

  Evaran stood and gestured toward the research lab while looking at Dr. Snowden. “Get your survival suit on, and we will meet you at the entrance.”

  Dr. Snowden knew Emily and Jane already had their suits, and V would not need one. As he went to get his suit on, he thought about Evaran never needing one other than what he always had on. He knew Evaran was something not recognizable in his natural state, at least that is what Evaran had said. Maybe one day he would see what Evaran actually was. He got his suit on and met the others at the Torvatta entrance. He was not surprised to see V in orb mode. V’s stealth would be advantageous.

  Evaran gestured around as they exited the Torvatta. “According to the protocols, decontamination occurs in the bay, and not in a tunnel like on Corunus.”

  “Maybe to protect against ships bringing something in,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Jane shook her head. “Possibly, but I think it’s more so whatever is here doesn’t get out.”

  “It could be,” said Dr. Snowden.

  “I set the Torvatta into scan profile two for now,” said Evaran. “It will revert back to scan profile one after being scanned.”

  “Ahh, so—” Dr. Snowden jumped back and covered his eyes as a bright light burst into the bay and then faded. “Was that the decontamination flash?”

  “I believe so,” said Jane.

  “That was quick,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Evaran waved forward, and after a moment, they had exited the hangar bay and were in a rounded tunnel.

  Dr. Snowden immediately noticed that the flooring was split into several sections. The farthest section from him had a slow-moving floor. It reminded him of a treadmill. The section before that had guardrails dividing portions of it, with a raised area that also had a moving component. Then there was the section they were on, which
was a normal metallic paneled floor. Looking around, he had expected to see some hustle and bustle, but it was quiet. Too quiet. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The smell of burnt steak seemed to resonate in the air like it did on Corunus. “I’m getting a weird vibe from this place.”

  “Analysis. No abnormal vibrations detected.”

  Dr. Snowden shook his head. “I meant … something seems off.”

  “It is quarantined. There wouldn’t be a lot of activity,” said Jane.

  “You’re probably right. Let’s go.”

  They walked around the ring until they reached the connection to the main cylinder.

  As they walked down the connection, Dr. Snowden peeked out through the glass-like windows. It amazed him to be walking on a space station that was part of a Dyson bubble being built. Although he had seen a lot traveling with Evaran, it was the small things he noticed that he appreciated all the more. He noticed that Jane’s breathing had intensified a bit since they had arrived. That did not surprise him. What did, though, was that he could detect it.

  He furrowed his eyebrows as he put his hands behind his back. His nanobots had jumped up in activity without him even noticing it. Something about this space station was triggering them. He wondered if Emily felt it too. Surely if he could, then Evaran must have as well, maybe not. Looking at them both indicated no unusual breathing—well, at least for Emily.

  Emily tapped Dr. Snowden’s arm. “Are you with us?”

  “Sorry, I was—”

  “Thinking, I know. C’mon.”

  Jane scrutinized Dr. Snowden as the elevator they were in descended. It had taken them thirty minutes to find the large column that had a series of elevator doors at its base. Evaran and Emily had gone off into one of them, and she, Dr. Snowden, and V took the other. Dr. Snowden had been unusually quiet. She laid a hand on his arm. “Are you thinking again?”

  Dr. Snowden cleared his throat. “Yeah … I can’t put my finger on this feeling I have.”

  “My nerves are a bit on edge as well,” said Jane.

  “Well, I hope you can find some answers here.”

  Jane smiled. “Me too.” She squeezed Dr. Snowden’s arm. “Thank you for coming.”

  “Of course,” said Dr. Snowden.

  Jane looked up to her left. She could see the light fluctuations from V’s stealth. Having both Dr. Snowden and V around made her more relaxed. Dr. Snowden had a glow about him that calmed her. Having V along would also allow for deep analysis and tactical options should they be needed.

  She could see why Evaran, Dr. Snowden, Emily, and V would be a potent group. Knowledge, experience, toughness, and the ability to travel through space and time with the Torvatta. And here she was. Getting to experience it. Being part of a team was both exhilarating and satisfying to her, especially since she was used to working alone.

  Dr. Snowden tapped her arm. “My turn.”

  Jane chuckled. “I’m fine. I’m a little anxious is all, and there really is no reason to be. It’s not like we’re going to run into Chris or anything.”

  Dr. Snowden chewed on his inner lip for a moment, then faced forward.

  They arrived at level thirteen from level twenty-seven and exited the elevator.

  The hallway felt cramped to Jane. She understood that the engineering level only needed enough room to get around and was not meant for a high amount of traffic. Advanced Dynamics would make the space as minimal as possible to save on costs as well. When they reached the end of the hallway, they entered a small room that had various hallways leading off it. In the back of the room was an android seated behind a desk and flanked by two humanoid robot guards.

  Jane stepped forward and extended her left arm.

  The android rose and bent forward. It swept a beam from a scanning gun over Jane’s forearm, then looked up. “Jane Trellis, United Planets agent.” It then scanned Dr. Snowden. “Dr. Albert Snowden, human.”

  Dr. Snowden grinned. “Last I checked I was.”

  The android tilted its head at him, then sat back behind the desk. “How can I help you?”

  “We’re looking for engineering module 13-F,” said Jane.

  The android looked down at the desk after placing a hand on it. A projection shot up from the edge of the desk closest to Jane. It showed a layout of the floor, with engineering module 13-F highlighted.

  Jane perused the projection and then tapped at her ARI. “I got it. Thank you.”

  “Will you need a guide?”

  “We’ll be fine,” said Jane.

  The android faced forward.

  Jane gestured at one of the hallways. “C’mon.”

  As they walked down the hallway, Dr. Snowden looked at Jane. “Androids. I saw one when we flew in.”

  Jane nodded. “Corporations like Advanced Dynamics make heavy use of them. They’re employed by the United Planets as well. They don’t require a lot of maintenance, and they can fulfill a lot of roles.”

  “Well, I guess you wouldn’t need to feed them or worry about restrooms,” said Dr. Snowden, smirking. “V said they had inferior AIs.”

  “It’s possible. Androids are considered living beings by the United Planets and afforded the same rights as everyone else. Androids are essentially robots with an AI hardwired into it. The more common type of AIs are the ones that are specialized and usually only exist in a system, like security or maintenance systems.”

  “What happens to AIs that decide not to follow the rules?” asked Dr. Snowden.

  “They’re hunted down and exterminated. They can’t have a rogue AI on the loose, android or otherwise. They can do a lot of damage in a short period of time. The United Planets already had that fight several hundred years ago. AI countermeasures are standard in United Planets design. Besides, human–AI hybrids can be far more dangerous.”

  “This is so fascinating to me. What did these rogue AIs do?”

  “Some wanted power, some wanted to simply exist with a vast amount of resources available to them, even if those resources weren’t theirs,” said Jane. “The big one was the Kappler AI. Around 2481, it tried to convert everything on Earth into its own personal resource bin. It took control of a lot of military assets. Unfortunately for Kappler, not all AIs agreed with it, and with human, alien, and nonhuman support, it was defeated. It was actually the first time Fredoria presented themselves to Earth officially.”

  Dr. Snowden jerked his head back. “The Third World War.”

  “Yep. I know we discussed some history last night, but it hit me that you should probably know more about this than me.”

  “I don’t know all the events in human history,” said Dr. Snowden with a hand out. “Evaran keeps it pretty locked down. If we do learn of them during an outing, like this, so be it. Otherwise, it has to be discovered. Evaran’s rules.”

  “It seems kinda one-sided, don’t you think?” asked Jane.

  “Maybe … but I’m sure he has a good reason. He almost always does. On top of that, what we read as history may not even be accurate given what a rift can do and who writes that history.”

  From the short time she knew Evaran, Jane could see how he would need a set of rules for those who did not possess his level of awareness. If Dr. Snowden knew every event in history, it would increase the chance that the timeline could be polluted with knowledge that was not supposed to be there, assuming the history was valid per Dr. Snowden’s point. Evaran was simply minimizing risk. She chuckled.

  Dr. Snowden swiveled his head.

  “I was thinking about why Evaran would have that rule, then realized the potential impacts on the timeline. That is not something I would ever think about.”

  Dr. Snowden raised a finger. “When you travel through space and time like we do, it will be commonplace.”

  “It must be exciting for you,” said Jane.

  “If you weren’t tied down here, you could always join us, assuming Evaran was okay with that.”

  Jane glanced at Dr. Snowden as they passed th
e doorway to engineering module 13-D. “I’ve thought about it.”

  Dr. Snowden moved to the side as a human woman in a white suit with some type of device resembling glasses with binoculars on her head passed between him and Jane. After the woman had gone down the hallway, he faced Jane. “There’s something odd about her.”

  “What do you mean? She seemed normal to me.”

  Dr. Snowden pointed at his eyes. “I can detect nonhumans. Even if I don’t know what specific type they are, I can usually figure out the classification. I’ve never seen that type of movement before.”

  Jane looked down the hallway. “I don’t understand. She seemed to move normally to me.”

  “Are nonhumans like Daedrould and Outsiders integrated into the United Planets?”

  “Oh yeah. They actually helped end World War Three, but keep to themselves. I don’t know of any in this region, although I guess there could be some here.”

  Dr. Snowden rubbed the back of his neck. “Huh. I don’t know then … maybe it’s this place. My nanobots are all excited, and I don’t know why.”

  As they continued walking, Jane said, “I hope it’s not me.”

  Dr. Snowden’s face turned a slight shade of red. “What? No … of course not.”

  If Dr. Snowden was concerned, and his nanobots were right, maybe there was something Jane was not seeing. Could it be that maybe her emotional state was clouding her senses? Maybe Dr. Snowden’s and Emily’s nanobots were more sensitive to things even they were not aware of. Her attention was disrupted by Dr. Snowden lightly touching her forearm. Looking up, she saw that they were at the entrance to a small room that had more tunnels branching out.

  “Which way do we go?” asked Dr. Snowden.

  Jane consulted her map, then pointed off to the right.

  They continued on until they reached the entrance to engineering module 13-F.

  “Here we are,” said Jane, licking her lips.

  Dr. Snowden gave Jane a reassuring smile. “C’mon.”

  They entered the module.

  Jane noticed the large cylindrically shielded work areas. Around them were flat tables with holographic projections and slanted consoles next to them. Along the walls were readouts spitting out numbers and status updates for various systems. She glanced at Dr. Snowden, who was observing a young woman a bit away. She swatted Dr. Snowden’s arm. “Focus.”