After Eden ae-1

by Helen Douglas

  ‘Hold on a sec.’ Ryan rummaged around in his desk drawer.

  He found a pack of twelve candles and a lighter. He put one half of the candles on the desk, the other half on the windowsill. As he moved the flame over the wicks, each of the candles flickered to life, casting a soft pool of wavering light.

  Ryan sat back on the bed. ‘I was born in February 2105. I travelled back in time from 2122.’

  I tried to work it out in my head. I had been born in 1995. Ryan was a hundred and ten years younger than me.

  ‘You’re seventeen?’ was all I said.

  Ryan nodded. ‘I just said I was sixteen so I could join your Year Eleven class.’

  I glanced again at the pile of books on the floor beside his bed: Of Mice and Men, Romeo and Juliet, Great Expectations.

  ‘You’ve already left school. No wonder you keep getting top marks in all your English assignments.’

  Ryan laughed. ‘Brilliant. I tell you I’m from the future and you’re annoyed that I’m better than you at English.’

  ‘You’re not better than me,’ I argued. ‘You studied the course before.’

  ‘I have studied Romeo and Juliet before. And Macbeth. But Dickens and Steinbeck weren’t on my syllabus. We studied mostly late twenty-first century writers.’

  ‘You studied writers who haven’t even been born.’

  He shrugged one shoulder. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘But Shakespeare is still on the syllabus?’

  ‘We had to study pre-2050 literature.’

  Outside, the wind changed direction and the rain started pelting against the window.

  ‘Nice weather you have down here,’ said Ryan. ‘It’s supposed to be summer.’

  I shrugged. ‘Good try, changing the subject. What’s the weather like on Eden?’

  Ryan smiled. ‘Nice try. But I can’t tell you about Eden. It’s forbidden by the Laws of Temporal Integrity.’

  ‘The laws of what?’

  ‘Temporal Integrity. Laws of time. One of the most important laws is that nothing of the future is ever to be revealed to inhabitants of the past.’

  I gave a short laugh. ‘Bit late for that.’

  Ryan sighed. ‘I’m already in more trouble than you can possibly imagine.’

  ‘I know you’re from the future,’ I said. ‘And I know you’re here because of Connor. Connor discovers a planet.’

  ‘Which he calls Eden after you.’

  ‘Eden is an obvious name for a planet. It probably has nothing to do with me.’

  Ryan laughed. ‘Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions here, but Connor’s best friend is called Eden. And Connor names his planet Eden. Of course it could be a coincidence.’

  I rolled my eyes. ‘It doesn’t matter why he called the planet Eden. What matters is that you’ve travelled back in time and I want to know why. It’s to do with Connor, isn’t it?’

  Ryan sipped his coffee. ‘I can’t tell you why I’m here.’

  ‘Ryan, I don’t care about your “Temporal Laws” or whatever they’re called. Like I already said, it’s a bit late for that.’

  ‘Eden, this is serious. Backwards time travel is more or less prohibited. In the few instances it’s allowed, the rules are clear. Do not communicate anything about the future to the inhabitants of the past. Knowing the future can change the future.’

  ‘I already know the future.’

  ‘You do. But I can’t risk telling you anything else.’

  ‘You don’t trust me?’

  ‘It has nothing to do with trust. Even in my own time, nobody will know the real reason for my mission. There will be a cover story.’

  I sipped my coffee. ‘How do I know you’re a good guy and not a bad guy if you won’t tell me why you’re here?’

  Ryan frowned. ‘You think I might be a bad guy?’

  ‘I know that Connor isn’t.’

  Ryan sighed deeply. ‘Connor isn’t a bad guy. But neither am I.’

  ‘You expect me to just accept that because you said so?’

  He hesitated. ‘You’re right. You do know too much already.’ He looked into my eyes. ‘But you have to promise me that you will never, ever repeat what I tell you.’

  ‘I can keep a secret.’

  ‘OK. This summer Connor discovers the existence of a planet.’

  I thought back to what Ben had just said about planets being discovered all the time.

  ‘Lots of planets are being discovered,’ said Ryan, as if reading my mind. ‘But they are almost all gas giants. Even those initially thought to be Earth-like, turn out not to be. But the one Connor discovers is a habitable, Earth-like planet. A planet with water and a breathable atmosphere.’

  ‘I saw a photo in that book. Connor surrounded by pink cliffs and a river and what looked like jungle.’

  ‘The planet he discovers has life,’ said Ryan. ‘Plants and animals. Even now, when I come from, Eden is the only planet we’ve discovered that has life.’

  ‘It looked beautiful.’

  ‘It is beautiful,’ said Ryan, nodding. ‘Very beautiful. And very deadly. It looks a lot like Earth; it has evolved like Earth in lots of ways.’

  ‘Does it have humans?’

  ‘No mammals. Just birds and insects and lots of plants.’

  ‘How is it deadly?’

  ‘A microscopic parasite lives on Eden. It’s harmless to life on Eden. But back on Earth it’s deadly. When trade ships moved between Eden and Earth, they inadvertently transported the parasite with them. It was so hard to identify that our quarantine procedures didn’t detect it. Within months of transporting resources from Eden to Earth, entire habitats on Earth started dying off. It took decades before the parasite was discovered. By then, it was too late. Most of the globe had been infected. Many parts of the Earth are uninhabitable.’

  I shook my head. ‘That’s terrible.’

  Ryan shrugged. ‘Earth is dying. Most of the trees have gone. So many plant species have died out.’

  ‘What about people?’

  ‘The parasite doesn’t hurt animals directly. But by destroying plants, it destroyed the habitats of many animals. Including humans. Do you know how many people there are on Earth now?’

  ‘About seven billion?’

  ‘When I’m from, the population is less than one billion. The rapid reduction is due to global famine. Many people think the human race will be finished in less than fifty years.’

  I stared into my coffee cup. ‘Can’t you find a way to destroy the parasite?’

  ‘It’s too widespread.’

  ‘What about moving people to Eden? Can’t the inhabitants of Earth relocate?’

  Ryan shook his head. ‘Eden only has a very small habitable region. Most of the planet is too hot or too cold. It’s not an alternative to living on Earth.’

  Suddenly everything was clear. ‘So you’re here to prevent Eden from ever being discovered.’

  ‘That’s right. Eden is beautiful, but it’s lethal to life on Earth.’

  My coffee was getting cold. I drained the mug and tried to take in the enormity of Ryan’s purpose here. ‘If Connor doesn’t discover the planet this summer, won’t someone else discover Eden? I mean, if it’s there, surely someone will discover it eventually. You can’t prevent that.’

  ‘And you said you don’t believe in Fate.’

  ‘I don’t. All I’m saying is that if Connor discovered it, it can’t be that hard to find. No offence to Connor, but he’s not exactly a genius.’

  ‘Eden is actually very hard to detect from Earth. It’s possible to detect for a few hours this summer and then not again for more than seven hundred years. Connor discovered it by chance. But if Connor doesn’t discover it then, we’re safe for centuries.’

  ‘Why can you only see it once every seven hundred years? Surely it’s either there or it’s not.’

  ‘Eden orbits a tertiary star system. That means three stars. From our vantage point here on Earth, Eden passes in front of one of those stars for just
a few days every seven hundred and three years. It’s hard to detect. The sky has to be clear, obviously. But it also has to be dark and it doesn’t get that dark at this time of year. If Connor misses this opportunity, we’re safe for a very long time.’

  ‘No one will ever know the planet exists,’ I said slowly. ‘But you know, and Cassie and Ben know. And now I know.’

  ‘And we must never tell.’

  I let that sink in. ‘If you’re successful, only four people will know that there’s a planet out there that has life on it.’

  Ryan grimaced. ‘Five, actually. There’s one more person. Our clean-up agent.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘A clean-up agent, or cleaner, is an agent that accompanies a time trip to police the mission. They arrive before us and leave after us. It’s their responsibility to ensure that nothing goes wrong. So, for instance, if we had crashed on arrival, our cleaner would have removed the evidence. Or if Ben went AWOL, our cleaner would find him and bring him back to his time. They also ensure the cover story, if needed, is watertight.’

  ‘Who is your cleaner?’

  ‘We’re not allowed to know.’

  I frowned. ‘There are five of us that know about Eden. And three of you were sent back to change history. You’re just a seventeen-year-old boy. How on earth did you end up on this mission?’

  ‘Ben’s not my real dad. My real dad is an admiral at the Space and Time Institute. He’s very powerful. His father invented four-dimensional travel. And my mum’s family are all environmental campaigners. My mother lobbied for this mission. They needed someone who could pass for a sixteen-year-old student, so I volunteered.’

  ‘Slow down,’ I said. ‘Let’s just back up to the part about four-dimensional travel.’

  ‘Eden . . .’

  ‘I don’t want to hear any crap about Temporal Laws,’ I interrupted.

  ‘How did you know I was going to say that?’

  ‘The look on your face.’

  He laughed. ‘So I’m guessing you want to know how four-dimensional travel works.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘Many years ago, probably around the time you start getting a few grey hairs and crow’s-feet around your eyes,’ he began.

  I shoved him and he fell back against the bed, laughing. ‘I’m just trying to give you an idea of the timescale.’

  ‘Fine. Give me a date. No more comments about wrinkles and grey hair.’

  ‘OK, OK,’ he said, holding his hands up. ‘2044. My grandfather, Nathaniel Westland, discovered how to create short cuts through space so that we can travel to distant stars in minutes instead of light years. The same technology allows you to travel through time.’

  ‘Are there lots of people from the future living among us?’ I whispered, suddenly wondering if all the people who claimed they’d seen flying saucers might actually be right.

  Ryan sat up again. ‘No. Just Ben, Cassie, me and our cleaner.’

  ‘How can you be sure?’

  ‘Like I said, time travel is owned exclusively by my father’s company. And it is strictly regulated.’

  ‘But why? It would be amazing to travel back in time and see Charles Dickens in Victorian London or Catherine Howard at her execution.’

  ‘Gruesome choice.’

  ‘Just an idea. I’d have thought people would be queuing up to take a journey into the past.’

  ‘Imagine the terrible things people could do,’ said Ryan. ‘The neo-Nazis travelling back in time to help Hitler win the war, for instance. Altering the timeline. Time travel is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.’

  A dull pain began to throb at the back of my eyes. I rubbed my forehead. ‘I have so many questions.’

  ‘I’ve told you a lot this morning. And you can never tell anyone what you know. The more I tell you, the more difficult that’s going to be for you. I’ve told you enough for you to understand why I’m here and what I have to do. Why our mission is so important.’

  I nodded. ‘I could help you.’

  He smiled. ‘I was hoping you’d say that.’

  ‘What can I do?’

  ‘You can help me get close to Connor. I’ve tried, but unfortunately he doesn’t like me too much.’

  ‘He does seem to have taken an irrational dislike to you. Almost as though part of him can tell that you’re here to mess up his future.’

  ‘I need to be close to him if I’m to stand any chance of controlling the events that lead to the discovery of the planet.’

  ‘I can’t make him like you, but I can make sure that you get to hang out with us after school and on weekends.’

  ‘That’s what I need. Especially around the date of the discovery.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘The twenty-third of June.’

  ‘That’s the day of the ball.’

  ‘Exactly. But that’s about all I have so far. He talks about a girl, the love of his life, breaking his heart. They have an argument and then, to blow off steam, he goes to look at the stars and discovers this planet.’

  Ryan picked up Connor’s autobiography and flicked through the pages, then began reading aloud.

  ‘We were at a party. I was upset. This girl was the love of my life. After she publicly humiliated me, I left the party and did what I always did when I was upset. I went stargazing. There’s something about all those millions of stars out there in space that’s so humbling. It makes a broken heart seem a trivial thing.’

  Ryan dropped the book back on the floor. ‘The girl is obviously you.’

  ‘How is that obvious?’

  ‘You’re his oldest friend and he names the planet Eden. I think that’s pretty good evidence.’

  ‘Circumstantial.’

  Ryan shrugged. ‘He doesn’t say which party he was at, although I imagine it must be the leavers’ ball or a party afterwards. Do people go to parties after the ball?’

  I nodded. ‘Most people go on to a party.’

  ‘So this argument – this broken heart – happens at the ball or right after. Then he goes to look at the stars. He would have to have used a telescope to detect Eden’s transit in front of its sun. But he doesn’t say which telescope or where he was. There are several amateur astronomy clubs in Cornwall, but Connor isn’t a member of any of them. And only one has a scheduled viewing night for the twenty-third June and that’s on the Lizard Peninsula.’

  ‘Can I see his autobiography again?’

  ‘No. You can’t know Connor’s future.’

  ‘You do.’

  ‘Yes, but I have to know. And once my mission is complete, I’ll be heading back to my own time. All this will be history.’

  I froze. For a moment it was as though my heart stopped beating. Ryan leaving. For ever. My body was washed with an all too familiar feeling. There was no word to describe it. Loss. Abandonment. The end of hope.

  ‘Eden?’ Ryan’s forehead was creased with concern.

  ‘Headache,’ I said, shaking myself out of my miserable trance.

  He pressed his thumb between my eyebrows. ‘You’ve had a lot to take in. Lie back, put your head on the pillow.’ I did as he said. ‘Now shut your eyes.’

  He sat beside me, gently running the tips of his fingers over my forehead, in a circular motion. I sighed softly and tried to imagine the tension leaving my body, but it was the opposite of relaxing; his touch made me tighten up and all I could think about was breathing.

  ‘You’re very tense.’

  ‘I can’t help it.’

  Ryan pulled the duvet on top of me so that I was covered from my neck to my toes. Then he resumed rubbing my forehead gently.

  ‘You’ll get cold,’ I said.

  Ryan raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you suggesting I get under the covers with you?’

  I laughed, embarrassed, and secretly hoped he would.

  Then the door opened. I sat up with a start. It was Cassie, a look of complete horror on her face. Within seconds the horror had been replaced by a condes
cending smile.

  ‘Haven’t you heard of knocking?’ Ryan asked.

  ‘I’ve never had to before,’ she said, arching her eyebrows, her eyes running over the two of us.

  From where she stood, it would be impossible for her to tell whether or not I was dressed beneath the duvet.

  ‘Eden and I are in the middle of something,’ Ryan said.

  ‘So I see.’ She stayed there, staring at us, clearly enjoying my discomfort.

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Dad needs your help with something. So, when you finish whatever it is you’re in the middle of, perhaps you would come downstairs and lend him a hand.’

  ‘Tell him I’ll be down in a couple of minutes.’

  ‘Really? Just a couple? You are quick.’ She let the door slam shut behind her.

  ‘Um, that was awkward,’ I said.

  He laughed. ‘It could have been worse. We could have been naked.’

  ‘Is Cassie really your sister?’

  ‘No. We’re not related. Just part of the same mission.’

  I swallowed. ‘Have you and Cassie ever . . .’

  ‘No!’ Ryan responded before I had the chance to finish the question. ‘She’s light years from the type of girl I like.’

  ‘So what sort of girls do you like?’ I asked.

  ‘Are you flirting with me?’ he grinned.

  ‘No, why would I do that?’ I asked, embarrassed. ‘Please! You’re young enough to be my great-grandson.’

  Chapter 10

  ‘Look at you!’ said Mrs Penrose, opening the front door. She looked me up and down. ‘Where’s the party?’

  Cringing, I realised maybe I had overdone it a bit. I usually just threw on jeans and a T-shirt when I went to Connor’s house. Today I was in the shortest skirt I owned and knee-length boots. I had leave-in conditioner and shine serum on my hair, and had sprayed myself from head to toe with perfume. I was wearing practically every item of jewellery I owned. Ryan was meeting us later and I was all too aware that the last couple of times I’d seen him I’d either been windswept or drenched. I wanted him to see that I could scrub up well.

  ‘Come in,’ said Mrs Penrose. ‘He’s upstairs. There’s a plate of cheese scones up there. You’d better hurry though if you don’t want him to scoff the lot.’