Will shook his head to refocus his thoughts, and wiped the sweat from his brow. “How so?” He pulled the spectacles off and put them in a pocket. They were getting in his way at this point.
“A horse just knocked a kid over and it looks like he's hurt pretty badly. I think I can help him out. What should I do?”
Will hesitated. “Are you… safe?” That meant Charles needed to both be wearing scutarium clothing, keep his Energy shields up except for the few brief instances when his Energy was directly needed, and had checked to make sure there were no Aliomenti nearby.
“I'm good.”
“Do you need me to come to you… just in case?”
“Come on, Will,” Charles whispered through the transmitter. “They're not going to swoop down on me in the middle of a crowded street.”
“We don't know that, Charles. We know they're going to get here eventually. Just… keep it as basic as possible. I'll head that way just in case, though.”
Will maneuvered his way through the streets back to where he and Charles had separated earlier that morning. He knew where Charles was stationed; he'd left Charles there before heading to purchase the copy of Poor Richard's Almanack. Will enjoyed seeing the sights of one of the formative cities in United States history. He enjoyed hearing the clop of horses' hooves, a sound that still surprised him after a childhood spent with automobiles. The smells were different; horses and dirt and sweat, which would eventually be replaced by gasoline fumes and asphalt and artificial food fragrances. The occasional powdered wig was a novelty to him; he wasn't sure he would ever get used to the idea of covering his own dark hair with a white wig, not after he'd been so thrilled to eliminate the few white hairs on his head following his initial Purge.
He could imagine what Charles was doing. He'd approach the injured boy, appearing to be nothing more than a concerned citizen. He'd discharge large amounts of Energy into the child, which would aid tremendously in the healing process, and then, once others had moved to the child's side, offer to go find a doctor. The child would recover miraculously, Charles would be long gone from the scene, and nobody would remember his presence hours or days later.
Will rounded a corner and found the scene just as Charles had described. The horse was tied to a tree, pawing at the ground. The rider was kneeling over a small boy, who was unconscious and pale. Charles had reached the boy, and was talking to the rider about what had happened.
Will grinned, looked up… and froze momentarily, before moving quickly and quietly behind a crowd of people heading to see what had caused the commotion.
How had he missed them? Had he been that inattentive, so certain they still had decades more to wait that he’d ignored hidden clues and wisps of Energy signatures that had announced their arrival? Had Hope tried to contact him, and he’d not listened.
It didn’t matter now. They were here.
“Step away, everyone!” Sebastian announced. “The man kneeling near the child is a thief. He has stolen from me, and I demand that he be thrown into prison until he returns my stolen property!”
Sebastian's words weren't terribly convincing, but his Energy moved to those in the crowd, influencing them until they were glaring at Charles, the accused thief. Even the handful of men helping Charles tend to the injured boy began shifting away from him.
“This man is lying,” Charles said. “I've stolen nothing from him, or anyone else. Leave us be! We are attempting to aid an injured child. Your false claims can surely wait until proper care is delivered.”
“There are plenty of people here who can help the injured boy,” Victor replied. “I witnessed the theft myself. Let the others help the child. Come away with us, as any honorable man would when confronted with evidence of his crime. Don’t make a scene.”
Charles shook his head. “I have no reason to go with you. I've stolen nothing. And I'm rather busy at the moment. Go away.”
But the crowds were heavily influenced by the push-empathy efforts of the trio. Tacitus, who wore the top hat Will remembered from future encounters, looked quite excited at the possibility of seizing the Energy-wielding stranger. He rubbed his hands together, a wicked smile upon his face.
Charles stood. “I'm not leaving.” He folded his arms in a defiant gesture. He was trapped; though he could easily teleport away, he'd made a promise not to demonstrate impossible skills in front of humans, no matter what the personal cost. By calling attention to their conflict, the Aliomenti trio had ensured Charles couldn't run without being tracked down by others. He wasn't yet strong enough to overcome the push-empathy efforts of the trio.
But Will was.
He dropped his Energy Shield and walked out onto the street, watching as Sebastian's head nearly came unhinged as he snapped around to look at Will. Will's Energy, far stronger than the trio's combined efforts, cast doubt about the truthfulness of Sebastian's claim.
“Sir, what is it that you claim this man has stolen? If your claim is true, he ought to have stolen goods on his person, wouldn’t he? Tell us what goods were allegedly taken, and the crowd can search him. If he is found guilty, so be it. If he is not, then you owe this man and this entire group of people an apology for your false accusation.”
The tension mounted, as the crowd sensed a potential physical conflict. None of the men who had spoken had presented weapons, but several of the spectators in the crowd quietly moved handmade muskets and rifles from holsters to their hands, ready to stop any shots before they started. Will could smell the gunpowder from the muskets, feel the nervousness as those in the crowd wondered if the accused man was guilty, and whether the accusation would lead to violence. Will proactively dispatched nanos to surround Charles and a second batch around himself. Just in case. He also activated an Energy shield that would prevent the Aliomenti from teleporting anything on to Charles, planting evidence of his guilt. He felt the mental nudge as one of the men tried just that… and failed.
Victor’s face suggested he was the one who had failed to breach Will’s Energy shield, and that his evidence was now a matter of hearsay. Both accused and accusers were strangers in this town, and none of the men had a reputation to enhance their claims.
“He has stolen… money.” The pause was quite evident, a definite verbal cue that Victor was lying. Still, he’d chosen well. Victor recognized that Charles would have at least some money on his person. It might be sufficient to cast suspicion on Charles; could Charles prove the money hadn’t been stolen from Victor?
“How much do you allege this man has stolen from you?” Will asked. Even as he spoke, he removed all coins and other valuables from Charles. He could teleport the goods to his own pockets, and Charles would appear a penniless target of a cruel prank.
“Four pounds!” Sebastian shouted, just as Victor simultaneously shouted “two pounds.” They recognized their mistake immediately.
Will arched an eyebrow and pounced on their mistake. “You accuse this man of theft, yet the alleged victim and witness can't agree on the amount stolen?”
“He stole from both of us,” Victor replied quickly. Sebastian did his best to look as if this story wasn’t a surprise. “We would naturally give different answers.”
Will glanced at Charles. “Sir, if you turn out your pockets, we can determine if there is any truth to the accusations against you. Apparently, you should have somewhere between two and six pounds worth of money on your person, if these men’s claims are to be believed.” All eyes moved to Charles, who put his hands into his empty pockets, in preparation for turning them out. All eyes had swiveled to Charles
“He has already dropped the money off elsewhere!” Victor said, shouting the words before Charles could complete his move.
Will stared at Victor. “Sir, there’s a problem now. You claim this man stole from you. Your little friend there claims the same. You come after him as he’s aiding an injured child. You claim that he’s dropped the goods elsewhere. But I must ask you: if we go to the spot you claim is the drop point for
the stolen money, how do we, here in this crowd, know that the accused is the one who put that money there? How do we know that you’ve not done so yourself ahead of time? You might do just that, accuse those you suspect have money, and accept repayment over jail. An effective scam, perhaps. But I for one believe that you are the ones lying. This man is innocent.”
The crowd was swayed to Will’s points. In part, that was because Will was overriding the Energy efforts from Victor, Sebastian, and Tacitus meant to convince the crowd of Charles' guilt. With no witnesses and no stolen contraband, and no ability to force the crowds to their viewpoint, they were forced to back off their accusations. Glaring at Will and Charles, they turned and walked away. Those who'd been tending the injured boy returned their attention to the youth, and most of the crowd began to move away.
“I'm concerned,” Will said as soon as the trio had moved out of earshot. His voice was raised, meant to be heard by the slowly dispersing crowd of spectators.
“What are you concerned about?” Charles whispered. “Weren't they…”
“Yes, they were acting in a suspicious manner,” Will said, and Charles had the sense to act as if this was exactly what he'd expected Will to say. “It's almost as if they themselves had stolen from one of the fine residents of this fair city, and attempted to deflect attention from themselves by accusing another.”
“Wait… you think they've stolen from someone here? In this group here?" Charles sounded stunned, and pulled his pockets out. “My money is gone!” He looked panicked.
“Well, they couldn't seem to decide on the crime you'd committed,” Will said. “And then as soon as we attempted to show your supposed possession of stolen property, they tried to stop us. Clearly, those men didn’t want there to be any evidence shown that not only did you not steal a thing…”
"I was the victim!” Charles shouted. “They knew there was nothing for me to show, nothing I could have stolen, because they’d snuck my money out of my pockets!”
“I think if I thought I had anything worth stealing, I'd want to see if those men had it, before they're able to leave town.” Will started walking slowly in the direction the Aliomenti trio had moved, but the crowd around them surged past him. They were quite convinced now that the three Aliomenti had stolen from some of their number, and they intended to put a stop to it. After the crowds passed them, Will and Charles turned and headed in the opposite direction, stopping to help the now-recovered boy to his feet and sending him on his way.
“Nice job,” Will murmured. “You did a fine job healing him.”
“I had no idea what to do when they showed up.”
“I gave the crowd a suggestion. They’re going to see if it might be true. In the interim, we can leave the city.”
“Why do we need to leave, though?” Charles asked. “No one thinks we’re guilty of anything now.” He gave Will a shrewd look. “I’m guessing they don’t even remember seeing us.”
Will nodded. “We need to leave this place quickly, before they have a chance to start tracking us again, and the only thing stopping them is the fact that they'll never reveal their abilities in a crowd of humans like that. The longer they're distracted, the better our chance for an untracked escape.”
Charles was concerned. “Those were the men you've always told us about, weren't they?”
"They were," Will said. "The man who initially accused you, with the longer hair, is Sebastian. He's the one who can Track Energy. The dark-haired man is Victor, who can detect the truth in anyone; he’d know you were innocent immediately.” Will grinned, and Charles laughed. “The third one was Tacitus. Don’t let him touch you; he drains your Energy stores and can leave you pretty helpless.”
“Victor can detect the truth?” Charles snorted. “Anyone with basic Energy training can do that.”
Will shook his head. “Not like him. Any other Aliomenti could send deceptive thoughts or feelings, and you could be tricked. Any human could so deceive themselves to the truth, or fall victim to a strong suggestion like the one I just gave, that they’d believe the truth is something other than the reality. Victor's gift is that none of those techniques deceive him. It's a gift that could be used to great benefit, but he chooses to use it solely to ferret out guilt.”
“You can Track Energy too, right? We all can detect it in others.”
Will nodded, but frowned. “It’s not really the same thing. Sebastian’s ability is a step beyond what anyone else does. I can tell there’s Energy near me right now—put your Shield back up, by the way—but I would struggle to tell you who was producing it, or notice it if it was more than say, a mile away. Sebastian would find us both from an extreme distance, and he’d know that I was in Boston and you were in Philadelphia. If anything leaks out, he can find it.”
They'd left the city limits and entered a forest outside town, which provided the privacy they’d need to depart, putting miles between themselves and the Aliomenti trio. The challenge, though, was that the submarine was in the ocean to the east, and they’d need to walk right past where the Aliomenti would be stationed in order to get there. Will recognized he’d need to use the nanos to get them away safely, and without detection.
“Cover up,” Will told Charles.
Both men donned scutarium-based clothing, hoods, gloves, and goggles, ensuring no Energy could escape for Tracking by Sebastian. Will grasped Charles' arm and pulled the man along as he flew them high into the air, using the nanos surrounding both of them to soar above the clouds. Once they’d achieved sufficient height to be outside visual range, he changed course and headed east, out over the waters of the Atlantic. He scanned the horizon for ships; finding none, he plunged them toward the water.
Charles panicked. Will, what are you doing?
Hold your breath; it will be over in a minute.
They both held their breaths as they plunged into the water, leaving behind the sunlight and the roar of the ever-crashing waves as the entered a dark, soundless void. The nanos protected their bodies from the impact, from the blinding effects of the salt and water, from the pressure that would damage their ears as the pressure grew. Seconds before they would crash into its hull, Will teleported both of them aboard the Nautilus and recalled all of the nanos.
“We have to get back and warn the others,” Charles said.
“And share with them the successful test results as well,” Will said. “We can’t forget about that. In the long run, that will be of far greater importance. We knew they’d get there eventually.”
“Yeah, I know,” Charles replied. “It doesn’t seem like quite such a victory now though, does it?”
Will nodded as the Nautilus set off for the Cavern, where they’d deliver the sobering message. The Aliomenti had finally arrived in the Colonies… and knew the Alliance operated there.
Everyone would need to operate with even greater caution on the Outside than before.
VIII
Revolution
1787 A.D.
The discovery of scutarium and the development of the process to create it in unlimited quantities had been a huge step forward in the history of the Alliance. The substance enabled the Alliance to seal their primary headquarters—the Cavern—from discovery by the Aliomenti. As Will had suspected, they’d figured out techniques to spray the interior of their homes on the Outside with scutarium, giving them safe houses in which to rest, sleep, and develop during their efforts to make the lives of their human brethren even better.
Still, they’d been limited in their effectiveness because their sole safe means to travel had been under the water. The self-piloting submarines were of critical importance, for a single Alliance member could travel Outside without worrying about falling asleep and crashing the vessel, or navigating off course. But the travel was relatively slow; they’d occasionally uncover conditions allowing the craft to travel at a peak of around seventy miles per hour. At those rates, reaching many of the more popular Outside destinations could take several days, or even a we
ek. They’d lost two people that way; they’d gotten back to the submarine after suffering a grievous injury, only to perish in transit back to the Cavern for medical treatment.
The discovery of the technique to render a surface invisible was a critical turning point.
They plated the exterior of all of their submarines, which enabled them to travel up shallower rivers without detection. But the true breakthrough came with the development of anti-gravity engines and the associated creation of flying craft back in the mid-1770s.
One such craft floated down to the ground ten miles outside Philadelphia. Once the occupants confirmed that there were no human or Aliomenti eyes in the vicinity, they teleported a few feet to the ground outside. Both held small remotes that would cause the craft to either glow for a few seconds or sound a low tone, enabling them to move as close as possible before teleporting inside. In an emergency, they’d teleport directly inside the craft, the scutarium plating shielding them from discovery, but they preferred to keep their teleportation departure points a mystery as well, if possible.
Peter looked around. He was one of the Firsts, the original group that joined Will to start the Alliance, and the last of the six to make his first journey Outside. Like all those traveling Outside, he wore clothing made of scutarium-based fibers. He was one of the first to wear one of the new bracelets. The transparent device consistently monitored seeping Energy levels, and warmed against the skin if those levels exceeded thresholds that were traceable. It was a physical reminder to maintain a constant Energy Shield, and a device Will wished he’d been supplied with during his stint with the Alliance in the future. The exterior side of the bracelet changed color based upon the greatest Energy expenditure the wearer had demonstrated, a technology built into the clothing of those in the camp Will had called home in the twenty-third century. Peter’s bracelet was worn on his upper arm, hidden from view by his shirt and coat.
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