Lost Past

by Teresa McCullough

  She retreated to her cot and lay down, her head pounding. She yelled at him, “Stop feeling sorry for me!”

  CHAPTER 12 Immediately after Arthur Saunders was kidnapped

  One of Hernandez’ clones carried Arthur off the airplane onto the ship. When Arthur looked back at the airplane, he saw Hernandez throw something into the doorway connecting the airplane and the ship. When the ship detached from the airplane, there was black smoke coming out of the airplane. Arthur deduced Hernandez wanted to be certain the plane would crash. A wave of guilt washed over him as he realized his presence would cause the death of all of those on the plane. No, Hernandez caused it. Yet if Arthur hadn’t worked with the Plict, they would be alive.

  Eventually, Arthur would worry about his guilt, but now he would worried about his own situation. How could he escape Hernandez and his clones? Arthur could never tell the four clones apart, not that he bothered trying, but, he realized there were only four Vigintees in total. What happened to the fourth clone?

  It didn’t matter, because there was no way he could win a fight with the group, and one less was hardly sufficient advantage. He doubted he could beat one of them in a fair fight, which meant the only fight he would consider would be an unfair one.

  He analyzed his resources while the ship headed toward the wormhole. First, they obviously wanted him alive. Second, once they reached the Plict, he would be protected, although possibly not returned. Third, he had his lifejacket, a half-filled bottle of water, and the contents of his pockets. Did this kidnapping have anything to do with John’s amnesia? Perhaps, but it could be coincidence. Mary phoned just before he boarded and told him John was different, but seemed cognizant. He could have tried calling again, but he wanted to get settled on the plane. Schwartz would give the message to John.

  Where was he on his list of resources? Fourth, was it fourth? It didn’t really matter, his assets were limited, and they were approaching the wormhole. Has anything changed? I should get another timing, Arthur thought. He got up out of his chair and approached the pilot. One of the clones hovered menacingly and Arthur said, “I just wanted to see if the energy consumption and duration changed.”

  “Huh?”

  “I want to know if the wormhole is the same as last time I went through.” Was he dealing with idiots? Why did he have to translate a perfectly simple sentence into kindergarten language? They were worse than grad students.

  Arthur didn’t risk looking for a reaction, but kept his eyes glued to the readouts. It helped to have a reputation of only paying attention to physics. If he was of any use to them at all, it was as a physicist. He knew if Hernandez found him valueless, he would have no hesitancy in killing him. No, according to John, Hernandez would enjoy it. Meek physicist it is, then.

  Ninety-eight additional seconds and a four percent increase in fuel consumption! Admittedly, John was a different pilot, but he was certain Hernandez would want to do things better than John. John didn’t care about that kind of thing and avoided competing with Hernandez. Hernandez, wanting approval of the Plict, managed to be jealous in spite of John’s non-competitiveness, no, perhaps because of it. Arthur didn’t pretend to understand Plict psychology, but he doubted they would ever approve of an amoral psychopath, even though he made good entertainment in their ant farm.

  Did Hernandez know that was one of the reasons he was kept from spending too much time on Earth? He was the star of their show, whereas John was boring, too moral, too predictable. They made bets on how many women Hernandez would sleep with and how many people he would kill. They probably weren’t really sorry to see John go, because he made poor entertainment. It also made them a bit uncomfortable. They wanted a perfect spy, one who would blend in society, but be loyal to the Plict. They gave him as much intelligence as they knew how and as much social responsibility, but didn’t realize the responsibility would turn toward humans. They partially succeeded in their goal, because John gave them an incredible amount of knowledge about human behavior. When they modified John’s genome to make Hernandez, they eliminated the social responsibility.

  The actual landing startled him, because he was lost in thought. He gave a brief smile at the serendipitous occurrence. They assumed he was thinking about physics, not escaping. Well, he usually was. Night eliminated the possibility of him getting a good look around the landing site, but he thought the basement was a better route to escape. He visited Vigint City only once before, when Hernandez wanted to show it off, and he politely paid attention on his tour, although he deduced Hernandez didn’t realize the real nature of it. He managed to conceal his contempt for the place and was shocked the inhabitants were too stupid to realize they were observed. All those mirrors were too obvious.

  Now for the decontamination. Well, the supposed decontamination. It removed dangerous germs and viruses from skin, clothing, hair, and a bit inside the nose. He opened his mouth to allow it to work in his mouth. John, Hernandez and his clones were all immune to infectious diseases, but Arthur was not. If he had a cold, it would spread through the city. Arthur knew it was designed solely to keep healthy people from bringing in any diseases. It would not stop a sick person from causing an epidemic.

  When they were all in the entrance room, Arthur virtually ignored the Founding Foundlings display. When he described it to Natalie, her analysis was, “They don’t sound like foundlings. From what you said, they had a few smudges, but were clean and well-fed. I don’t think a starving child would share that readily, even with her brother. The Plict kidnapped children who were probably only minutes away from their parents.” He agreed with her analysis.

  “I need access to a computer,” Arthur said in his halting Vigintees. “The timings and fuel change everything.” He was pleased he remembered as much of the language as he did, with the implant removed.

  “Goran, see that he gets one, but watch him and see that he only does science,” Hernandez ordered.

  Arthur told the computer to use English. When Goran objected, Arthur told him to use another computer to translate. An hour later, he realized that he was lost in genuine calculations. This won’t do, he chided himself. It will take me weeks of work and escaping is a higher priority. He started doing relatively random things, which would not translate into anything Goran would understand, throwing in such terms as Fourier transforms and Lagrangian submanifolds into the mix, to make it sound like he was actually doing something.

  When Goran took a brief break, he had his chance. He told Goran’s computer to only look at every other line Arthur dictated onto his computer. When Goran returned, Arthur saw from the glazed expression that Goran didn’t notice Arthur’s computer now showed different things. The maps showing the exits to the basement utility area might help, but he doubted he could memorize all the maps in time. The entrance near the water purifying plant would be easiest to find and was close. He erased the computers recent history and went back to the wormhole calculations. When Hernandez came in, he was so unaware of his environment that his startled response was completely natural.

  “I checked and he’s right,” Hernandez told Goran. “The fuel consumption and the time have gone up a bit every trip.”

  “Do you have the figures?” Arthur asked.

  “It’s gone up. What more do you need?”

  “Has it been linear? Exponential? Logarithmic? Parabolic? Logistic?” Arthur switched to English because he could not remember ‘logistic’ in Vigintees.”

  “I’ll get you the figures,” Hernandez said with a smile. Arthur could understand the smile, because Arthur wasn’t giving them any trouble. What would be the point? He’d protest, they’d confine him more thoroughly, and he would have no chance to escape.

  Arthur debated his strategy. He had three logical choices. First, he could be passive and hope the Plict would rescue him. The problem with that choice was the Plict. If Arthur didn’t resist, Hernandez could argue he was happy where he was. The Plict wanted him to study the wormhole and that’s what he was doing. His
previous agreement with the Plict might not be honored. Second, he could wait and hope for an opportunity to escape. Third, he could try immediately. Goran’s continued presence suggested they did not yet have secure quarters for him. That could change any minute.

  Goran fell asleep, with his legs stretched out. Method three then, since he doubted another opportunity would come. He wanted a full water bottle and food, but the half-full bottle would have to do. He stepped over Goran’s legs and slid open the door. Stepping into the stream of people, he accidentally went the wrong direction. He turned around to go the other way, but the man behind him turned also and said, “No, you were going the right direction. They are talking about your case this way. Let me show you.”

  “I forgot something,” Arthur replied.

  It was that easy. The man turned and went his original direction. After all, where would Arthur go? All he had to do was turn into the corridor near the water purifying plant. Nothing was locked, because the sheep that lived here would never go through a door that said, “Authorized Personnel Only.”

  No, it was not that easy. He didn’t turn around when he heard footsteps behind him, because there was no point. He couldn’t outrun any of those he feared, so he didn’t run. He continued walking as if oblivious to the pursuer, which gave him time to plan. Logically, it would be Goran, but he couldn’t be sure. One of the clones caught up with Arthur and grabbed his arm to unceremoniously drag him back. Arthur kicked backwards, feeling his foot slide off the leg. Not a clear hit, but now they would no longer treat him as a cooperating prisoner.

  The clone turned him around, and Arthur, instead of resisting, swung around and used the motion to punch the clone in the chest. The punch allowed Arthur to break free and step back. Arthur pulled his right arm back as if to punch again, knowing there was no way that this punch would connect. The clone smiled in anticipation, but Arthur kicked him in the stomach. He didn’t hit square and the clone turned slightly sideways, hitting his head against the wall. With his opponent bent over and briefly incapacitated, Arthur clasped his hands together and used all his strength to hit him on his head with the sides of his hands. When he fell against Arthur, it seemed like another attack, and Arthur jerked back, but the clone was apparently unconscious at his feet. He started to run away, relieved at the reprieve, but found he was breathless and continued at as rapid a walk as he could manage.

  Arthur was never more grateful for the self-defense classes he took with John, and never more astonished to see that the technique actually worked. Had he breathed at all during the fight? He didn’t think so. He remembered the instructor telling them they must not forget to breathe. His breath now came in rapid gasps that seemed totally inadequate to fill his need.

  There were no mirrors in this access corridor, which meant it didn’t have cameras. The Plict apparently thought there would be nothing of interest here. He found the door to the basement and opened it. Running down the stairway, he bumped his head on the ceiling. He forgot that this was made for the Plict who were shorter.

  There was no light, but his cell phone should give him enough. He hoped it wouldn’t use too much battery looking for a signal. His hands were shaking when he retrieved it, and he had trouble turning it on. He thought he knew where the exit door was, but it took an inordinate amount of time to find it. When he exited, it was still night, precluding an immediate escape. There was no way he could get his bearings at night; he’d have to wait until morning. The day was about twenty-two hours, which meant morning must come soon. All he had to do was wait for sunrise and go east.

  There were a few questions Arthur wanted answered first, and there might never be a better time. It took him half an hour to find it, but there was a loading dock where food was delivered. There was a computer designed to show the storage levels of food and if there was any trouble with the conveyor belt that brought food into the city. A tap with a hose, designed for periodic cleaning of equipment, gave him a drink and filled his bottle. The conveyor belt wasn’t operating, but he accessed the computer, deciding the risk of it being monitored was worth what he would gain. Fortunately, it was tied into the system.

  Hernandez justified his actions in kidnapping Arthur by saying Arthur wanted John to publish his knowledge and would tell John that he should do so. Arthur first thought he would never take advantage of John’s amnesia that way. On second thought, would he? John wanted to publish, but was honor bound not to. Maybe Arthur would have pushed him into publishing, because it was what John really wanted.

  The most important justification was that the Plict wanted Arthur to study wormholes, and what the Plict wanted, they got. Hernandez neglected to say how many people he killed to please the Plict.

  On a hunch, he looked up Natalie. When he read what happened to her, his anger at Hernandez and his clones made him sorry he hadn’t killed Goran, if it had been Goran. No wonder John felt guilty! It wasn’t actually John’s fault, but he never looked for her, not really. John simply asked the authorities if they took her, they denied it, and he believed them. It didn’t occur to him that the person he asked didn’t know. If John actually looked for her himself, he would have found her, because there were not many places to hide her.

  Well, Arthur guessed as much years ago. Not when John told him that he had a disagreement with the Vigintees and was coming to Earth permanently, that was very plausible. It came gradually, when John stayed and helped with Tom and Linda. At first he didn’t notice, because John was just being John, but eventually, he realized that he was being too good, even for John. Natalie was the only possible explanation.

  Arthur reasoned Hernandez and his clones were responsible for whatever happened to Natalie, because no one else who could go to Earth was criminal enough to do it. Arthur knew Hernandez wanted to please the Plict, and Natalie had a unique talent the mouthless Plicts wanted. Arthur assumed Hernandez’ love of mayhem contributed to his desire to kidnap Natalie. The write-up, which confirmed Hernandez’ guilt, was in an unencrypted file available for anyone to see. It made him angry to learn that anyone could read about her. Natalie valued her privacy and Arthur was illogically unhappy that her torture and death were so public. Her death from drowning after she escaped was mentioned in a single sentence with no mention of taking her body to the recycling plant, but Arthur wanted a grave to visit, even if there were no graves on this planet. He was surprised that he still grieved over her death.

  He chided himself for his emotional response, since Natalie was dead and he loved Mary now, and that’s where his loyalties should be. Yet Natalie was the mother of his children and they had a right to have a place to mourn. No, he was rationalizing, and that was, well, irrational. Focus on the present.

  Arthur was basing his escape on the assumption that when he reached the Plict, they would return him to Earth. He knew they thought well of John, which was a good intimation of their morality. Arthur’s time with the Plict allowed him to learn they reluctantly admired John, not just for the knowledge he gained, but for the social responsibility that made him refuse to acquire knowledge without curing people. This small rebellion had John torn between his loyalty to the Plict and his sense of responsibility. The admiration of the Plict was one of the reasons Hernandez was jealous of John and wanted to show his power over him. John understood Hernandez’ jealousy but modestly didn’t understand the Plict’s respect. Sadly, John stopped thinking when dealing with the Plict.

  A door opened from above and four people came down the stairs. One of them headed for the door to the outside, blocking it. Arthur considered himself safe here, because he could move through the basement with a slight crouch, but Hernandez and his clones needed to stoop to subtract an additional five inches. This should give him the speed he needed, but he forgot to consider the door. He chided himself for not considering it, but quickly went with his backup plan. He climbed on the conveyer belt, which was fortunately not moving, and crawled toward the exit. He doubted anyone would notice the splash, since waves were
crashing against the rocks. Luck was with him, and he saw the beginnings of a sunrise, giving him a goal. He inflated his life jacket, and jumped into the water for the three-mile swim that would bring him to the mainland, the Plict, and if all went well, a return to Earth.

  INTERLUDE 2

  Jorxt-Bud IX brought Jorxt the recording from Hernandez’ camera, telling Jorxt that it might be important. Jorxt Bud VII sent it, having thoughtfully edited it to a manageable length. The interference with Earth’s communications annoyed Jorxt. There were undoubtedly deaths, and they were undoubtedly murders, but they were hard to confirm as kills by Hernandez. Two planes had a midair collision because the control tower couldn’t communicate with either of them. Hundreds of people died, but Jorxt was certain his bookie wouldn’t count any of them. The kidnapping of John Graham, Wilson, and Cara Rivers was fine, because four people were shot. The news reported three deaths, because one of the men survived, giving a description of Hernandez and the ship. It was all over the Earth’s news, along with images from security cameras and from two bystanders with camera phones. How careless of Hernandez; he should really shoot to kill. Nevertheless, this upped the total by three, which would give Jorxt another 381,000 credits, so he couldn’t complain.

  Hernandez and his clones bombed a house, and two apartment complexes to kill the psychiatrists that John gave the information to. The death tolls for the apartment complexes were estimated at twelve people, which would have meant another 1,614,000 credits, but Goran bombed one of them, so unfortunately, the deaths wouldn’t all count. Jorxt would sort that one out later.

  Jorxt wasn’t happy that one of the deaths was Arthur Saunders’ wife, because it might cause enough outcry to stop Hernandez. Was she a Plict citizen? Or did the citizenship only extend to Arthur’s wife at the time, not to his future wife? Jorxt would have to look up the wording to check. There was no point in talking it over with Jorxt Bud IX, because he wanted another viewpoint, and Jorxt Bud IX would be the same viewpoint. He was tempted to talk to his colleague, Saxant, who understood, but Saxant wanted Hernandez killed, or at least reined in. It would be best not to call attention to Hernandez’ murders.