The Ultimate Collection of Science & Speculative Fiction Short Stories (Short SSF Stories Book 5)

by Nicholas C. Rossis

  My mind gave up trying to figure this one out, so the only response I could give was just as surreal. “Hi. How are you?”

  “Fine, just fine,” came the chirpy reply. I was lost for words, when I realized: the conversation was not in English, but in my native language.

  “You speak…” She nodded towards a pin on her chest, anticipating my question.

  “It’s my instant translator. We can communicate in any language you wish.”

  Since this was not the most improbable thing so far, I simply nodded and waited for her to continue. “You must be wondering where you are. If you’re up for it, I can answer some questions. Unless you’d rather rest a bit. Some have more trouble with the transition than others.”

  My curiosity was greater than any tiredness, so I finally managed to close my still-open mouth, nodding emphatically. I studied her smooth skin and long, flowing hair cascading over her bare shoulders. This was a woman I could easily fall in love with.

  “Good,” she continued, throwing me an appreciative glance. “Just how familiar are you with the universe’s structure?”

  I felt someone was pulling my leg, but had no idea who or why. “I know it’s big,” was the first thing I could think of.

  She gave me a disapproving look before lecturing me in a teacher-like manner. “The universe you know is just one of many. Think of the foam in the bathtub. Each bubble is one universe. You live on the surface of one of these bubbles, but, given the right circumstances, could hop to a different one—an adjacent universe. Is that clear?”

  To this day, I wonder what one might answer to that. “Sure,” was the only thing I could think of.

  She now threw me a satisfied look. “Good. The place where you were standing a moment ago was a gate, a portal if you like, between universes. You shouldn’t have found it actually; I thought we had hidden it rather well.”

  She seemed puzzled, so I offered to clarify things for her. “It was the smoke,” I explained.

  Her smooth brow creased, then she shook her head. “It doesn’t really matter. What's important is that you’re here now.”

  “Where is here?” I asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

  “You are in a world that no longer exists,” she said sadly. “Our world was the first to bridge the gap between the various universes. Unfortunately, the temptation of immigration turned out to be too great for us to resist.”

  “Immigration?”

  “Of course,” she replied emphatically, as if that somehow clarified matters. “Imagine you can travel anywhere in the worlds: worlds now starting off and worlds at the apex of their glory and power. You may be a mediocre musician in your world, when in another world you could be the most renowned composer in history. One moment you are a simple nurse, the next you’re mankind’s best-known doctor and adored savior. What would you do?” She raised her shoulders without waiting for a reply.

  “Are you saying that everyone has left your world?”

  “A few of us stayed behind on principle. Others have returned to die at home. And some realized that no matter how far you run, you can’t escape your problems; you take them with you.” A soft sigh escaped her lips, and we both remained silent for a moment, while I was trying to figure all this out.

  “So, anyone I know from your world?” it occurred to me to ask.

  “Probably. You ever heard of Bach?”

  “Johann Sebastian Bach?” I cried out, my eyes opening wide. “He was one of you?”

  “Of course. How do you think one man could compose so much music in a single lifetime? He pillaged all our music and ran away to your world. It was the same with Bill.”

  “Bill?”

  “I think he chose the name Shakesleaf when he left for your world,” she said, pursing her lips in her effort to remember. Part of me wanted to taste those cute lips, but the name made me open my eyes wide.

  “Shakespeare?”

  “That’s it!” Her face beamed. “He was a classmate, you know. Nice kid. Could have been a great author, but preferred to steal our plays and off he went. So many followed them… They pillaged our world and left. Nothing original is ever created here anymore—we are no more than a shadow of our former selves.”

  I felt sorry for her, but an idea started forming in my head. “You mean I, too, can go anywhere I choose?”

  She glanced at me with forlorn eyes. “Sure. What have you studied?”

  “I used to be an engineer, but am working as a builder at the moment.”

  “We could use someone like you: young, gifted, not afraid of work... and cute,” she added after a second’s hesitation. “How would you like to stay here?” she asked, her voice betraying hidden hope.

  I won’t say I wasn’t tempted, but the possibilities far exceeded staying in a broken world, no matter how charming the company. “Perhaps. But I could go anywhere I wanted to, right?”

  She hung her head. “Yes. Our culture respects nothing more than free will. That’s why we haven’t tried to stop anyone from fleeing. If you want, I can take you anywhere you wish.”

  I felt a little sorry for her, but at the same time my heart thumped in my chest. A fire, one whose very existence I had ignored for all these years, burned deep within me. Ambition rushed through my veins, driven by the opportunity to be anyone I wanted, by the exciting possibilities in front of me. “I want everything! I want to be respected and feared by everyone!” The words that flew from my mouth surprised me, but it was the truth. I had a burning ambition, I realized for the first time in my life, and no-one would stand in its way. After years of having people look down on me, of fearing what tomorrow would bring, I wanted nothing more than the desire to fear and want for nothing any more. Never again!

  Her eyes betrayed a surprising understanding as she simply said, “As you wish.”

  I spent the following days studying the multiverse. There were so many worlds—too many to count. Some were so advanced it made one dizzy even to look at them; but what would I want there? I would only be notable as a monument of stupidity compared to everyone. Others were too primitive for my taste. No matter how driven I was, my desires were tempered by a healthy wish to live in comfort—and not lose my head by a giant, ape-like barbarian. I needed to pick a place not too far off culturally from the one I had left. A world that would allow me to rise rapidly thanks to my skills and knowledge, but also one where I would not face prejudice because of my color, age, gender or whatever. In the end I picked the perfect candidate, and spent many months with my new friend studying its culture.

  We came close during those months, but I never allowed myself to admit just how close. After all, I had made up my mind. I was leaving her. Part of me wanted to stay, but it was the fiery part, the one awakened by the unanticipated opportunity, that guided my actions.

  As a parting gift, she gave me a translator to help me. To her credit, she never once tried to convince me to stay. She saw my relentless ambition, a sight she must have witnessed only too often in the past, and probably knew she would just be wasting her breath. When I was about to leave, she handed me another thing as well, similar to the gadget she was holding the first time we had met.

  “It’s a Tracker,” she explained.

  “A what?”

  “A device that can find the contact point between two universes. Should you wish to return to my world someday…” Her voice trailed off for a moment. “Or to any world, for that matter.” She avoided my gaze as she pointed to round dials on its smooth surface to explain how the device worked.

  “Maybe I’ll pop back for a visit,” I said with a forced grin.

  A sad smile played on her lips. “Having already travelled twice within the multiverse, I would advise you against it. It would be best if you thought of this as a one-way ticket.”

  “So I’m stuck there? What if—”

  She raised a hand to stop me, her face now deadly serious. “Travelling this way is exponentially dangerous. Everything should be fine
this time, but if you decide to travel anywhere else, that will have to be your final trip. That’s why most people never came back.”

  She spun around without looking at me, to walk me to a plain wooden door, standing eerily in the middle of the field where we had first met. I was sad to leave her, but at the same time my heart fluttered with excitement, my eyes already fixed on the door. We parted with a simple goodbye and I pushed the handle to step inside.

  After a short walk down a dark corridor, I opened a second door to find myself surrounded by a dense forest. I spotted a narrow trail leading to a small village, then turned my head upwards. The sun was playing through thick leaves with unfamiliar shapes. Exotic smells attacked my nostrils, and I took in the flowery fragrances with a deep breath. After sneezing a couple of times, I made my way to meet my first people in this new world, a wide grin plastered on my face.

  My friend had taught me well, and even given me enough currency to live out my life in comfort, if I so wished. This was not enough, though. Upon talking with the natives, I confirmed that I had chosen my new home well. My basic scientific and technical knowledge was advanced enough to impress everyone.

  A few months later, I left that village and my new friends behind, to move to the capital. My fame had been growing rapidly, and the Emperor himself had asked to see me. It was easy enough to impress him, since I knew more than everyone else in his court combined. So, he asked me to teach his son and heir. After that, things were easy. I used my position to become irreplaceable at the palace, while staying away from any intrigue or politics. I encouraged the Emperor to build aqueducts and irrigation channels. Thanks to better water management, agricultural production grew exponentially and I convinced the Emperor to build granaries for the extra production. When a couple of years later there was a drought, people were grateful for his foresight. At the same time, proper hygiene, waste management and drainage works ensured a dramatic drop in mortality rates. Basic stuff, but put together they meant that the people had never lived longer, nor better. The Emperor was worshipped like a god, and I was his right-hand man.

  Naturally, not everyone was happy by all this. Every paradise has its serpent, and this one had the barons. The ever-scheming lords who wished to become Emperors hated me for strengthening his position. Little under a year ago, some generals even tried a coup—surely at some baron’s urging, although this was never proven. In the end, the conspiracy was exposed and the Emperor went after them, showing little mercy. I was not happy with the harsh way he treated them, but was unable to convince him to show leniency. For a time, I was afraid this might lead to reprisals or an uprising, but I was proven mistaken. For now at least, the situation seemed more stable than ever. The people loved him and I had everything I had ever wished for in my life.

  I chuckled as I thought of the huge, sparkling diamonds under my seat. They were given to me for the Emperor; a gift to sign the peace treaty between ours and a neighboring country. A peace treaty I had orchestrated, I might add. Their king needed the extra food stored in our granaries and we needed the spoils from his merchant activities. His kingdom was renowned for its gems, as the small box between my legs could attest.

  I placed a foot on it, its surface hard and cold under my sole. Leaning back, I let out a deep sigh. These diamonds were but stones after all, just like gold was but a particularly cold and heavy metal. What I longed for was real friendship; not the constant stream of lackeys, spies and bootlickers that swarmed the palace.

  I could have any woman I wanted, and more riches and power than I had ever dreamed of. But I knew everyone schemed behind my back, and my nights were restless, interrupted by memories of my time with the emerald-eyed woman I had long left behind. A simpler, quieter time. My hair had thinned and greyed out, and the daily responsibilities of running a country weighed heavily on my shoulders. I could not resign, of course; disobeying the Emperor this way would amount to treason. Nor could I take a vacation. I had tried it only once, only to spend months afterwards, trying to undo the damage to the state inflicted by my replacements.

  Thoughts of the sweet young girl on a forlorn planet filled my head with increasing frequency. She had warned me against attempting the travel again, but had the time come to ignore her warning? Was I ready to give all this up? And if I did, where would I go; back to Earth or back to her?

  A sudden jerk and scared shouts interrupted my thoughts. I glanced nervously outside. It was getting dark now, but in the dwindling light I saw people running away. Guards on horses passed me by, galloping towards some unseen enemy.

  The wagon came to an abrupt halt and I heard a loud crash outside. The carriage crushed forward, sending me to fly and bump my head against the velvet-covered wall. The door flew open and my driver burst in, a large axe in his hands. It was a formidable weapon, with a long spike in the back and a sharp steel semicircle at the front. Still dazed from the shock, I yelped in alarm at the sight of murder in his eyes; a sight I remembered well from my home country, a lifetime away. He lunged at me and instinct kicked in, making me jump to the side. His axe dug itself into the paneled wood inches from me, and I took the opportunity to kick him in the gut while he tried to free it. He groaned and took a step back, then reached for the axe again. A second kick sent him crashing against the floor and gave me the time to dash out of the door.

  Arrows flew around me, and I let out a surprised cry as a flaming arrow scratched my shoulder to impale itself quivering on the wood before me. Its flames licked the carriage, sending acrid smoke to rise and bringing tears to my eyes. My mind was spinning as I put the fire out with my coat, but more arrows followed, sending flames to engulf the carriage.

  I threw the smoking coat out and jumped back inside and prepared to repel a renewed attack. My driver now had a dagger in his hands as he charged me, having given up on his axe, still stuck in the wall. I managed to get out of the way of his blade and ducked behind him, spinning around to face him again. He now had his back to the door and our eyes locked.

  “Why?” I asked him, trying to catch my breath.

  His shoulders rose. “The Barons pay well,” he growled and charged me for a third time. I leaned sideways and pushed him with my left hand, as my right one pulled his coat. He lost his balance and crashed on the wall behind me.

  Once again I swung around, expecting another attack. The sickening smell of death filled the small space and the man made a strange gurgling noise, his back still turned to me, his hands raised before his throat in silent pleading. I took an apprehensive step towards him and kicked his leg once, then twice, before noticing the end of the axe’s spike protruding from his neck. His limbs flailed for a moment, then he was still.

  Sick rose to my mouth and I rushed out again, without thinking. More whistling arrows greeted me, impaling themselves into the carriage, quivering all around me, sending me to duck back inside the wagon. I had ignored the driver’s last words in my panic, but it belatedly dawned on me that the Barons must have ambushed us solely to get rid of me. They probably thought that, if they can’t get the Emperor, they might as well get the man behind his success.

  This complicated matters. My guards might be prepared to repel a bandit attack, but an attack orchestrated by the battle-hardened barons was a different thing altogether; they must have put much thought in preparing this. I might have been avoiding politics all along, but politics had found me in the end. Wild shouts and cries rang all around me, and I had no doubt the conspirators would be defeated. By the time they had, though, I would be burned to a crisp. The horses had been freed by the traitorous driver, and I had nowhere to go.

  I clutched my head and breathed deeply, trying not to panic. This only served to send me coughing, as the smoke around me thickened. I swore and made one last, desperate attempt to get out, but a thick swarm of arrows flew my way. One of them scratched my eyebrow, and I had no option but to withdraw back to the relative safety of the carriage as a trail of blood threatened to blind me. I grabbed a silk pillow
to fight thick flames; I could not stay there much longer. The air was hardly breathable by now, and I would probably be unconscious or worse by the time the palace lancers joined my guards. The thought of what they would do to our attackers was of small consolation. The real question was how to get away alive.

  Kneeling on the floor where the smoke was thinner, I pulled out the chain around my neck, revealing the Tracker. I always carried it with me; not because I thought I might need it, but for sentimental reasons. I always considered myself a romantic deep inside, and holding it within my hand gave me a sense of nostalgia for the life I had left behind, together with pride for my achievements since. And yet, my silly sentimentalism might yet save my life. I could hardly see its silver surface through the choking smoke and the blood trickling down my eyes. I was about to hit the controls that would send me safely back, when a thought occurred to me. With sweaty fingers, I pried the box open and grabbed as many gems as I could fit in my deep pockets while trying to steady my hand from shaking.

  The inside of the carriage was hotter than a furnace, but my thumb hovered above the button that would send me home. Where would I head? I had enough gems to last me a lifetime on Earth. Power, money, fame; anything I ever longed for. Everything I had lost because of the scheming Barons would be mine again. I turned the dial to Earth, as the girl had shown me.