by M. R. Forbes
"Why would it? She didn't show the first two times. Not that it matters."
"What do you want with me?" Katherine asked.
The man's eyes flicked to his AR glasses. Katherine noticed they were an identical pair to Trevor's.
"You have about thirty seconds," he said. "And then you're going to die."
"You're AIT, aren't you? Why do you need to kill me? I'm already out of the program."
"A step in the right direction, but not good enough," the woman said. She lowered her voice. "Are the others in place?"
The man nodded.
Others?
This was a trap of some kind. Except she wasn't the target.
She was the bait.
Who were they expecting?
"How did you know where to find me?" Katherine asked.
"You're supposed to save humankind?" the woman replied. "You can't even solve a simple problem."
Save humankind? Every word they said raised her fear level a little more. Michael was right. This did have to do with the XENO-1. Were aliens real? Was she being held by two of them? Had Paul Frelmund been right?
She wished she had let Michael finish telling her what he was so excited about.
"I guess that's it," the man said. "She isn't going to save her."
"This response is illogical," the woman replied. "It is over if she dies."
"Then let it be over," the man said.
"What if she has prepared for that eventuality? What if the Mesh is strained?"
"Impossible. So much has happened just like before."
"Not this."
The man raised his gun. "Let us see."
Katherine wasn't going to die without a fight. She yanked herself forward, trying to pull the woman off-balance, rewarded with intense pain in her arm and a cut on her neck instead. She cried out, straining against her captor as the man took aim.
"Be still," the woman hissed, pressing so hard Katherine was sure her arms would break.
"Go to hell," she replied, still writhing. What good were arms if she were dead?
A loud pop sounded from a few meters away. Katherine stopped moving, expecting she was hit.
One second passed.
Then another.
Then a third.
She could still see, still stand, still feel, and wasn't experiencing any pain.
The woman crumpled to the ground behind her.
"Run," the man said, shifting his position and firing up at the rooftop across from them. He squeezed off three rounds before a dozen bullets tore into and through him, so powerful he was almost torn in half.
Katherine ran, sprinting back toward the mouth of the alley. She could hear the sound of an engine as she approached, and saw Sergeant Jackson's police car coming toward her.
He was still alive?
It slid to a stop, and the door swung open. Bullets began hitting it, one of them grazing Katherine's arm. She cried out as she threw herself into the car, pulling the door closed behind her.
They sped away, the ping of rounds off the armored car slowing to a stop as they escaped the area.
Katherine pushed herself up to a sitting position and checked her arm. A flesh wound. She put her hand to her neck. There was a little blood, but it wasn't bad. She was lucky.
"You couldn't have timed that better, Sergeant," she said.
Sergeant Jackson turned his head to look back at her.
It was only then that she realized the driver wasn't Sergeant Jackson at all.
It was herself.
27
Katherine stared at the woman driving the car. The woman turned her attention forward again without speaking.
"What the hell is going on here?" she whispered almost inaudibly.
Her heart was pounding so hard it was hurting her chest. The cut flesh on her neck and arm were beginning to sting as well, now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off.
The car glided smoothly above the surface of the road, turning left at a traffic beacon and accelerating quickly.
"We haven't lost them just yet," the woman said, in Katherine's voice. It wasn't an exact replica. It had a harder edge to it.
"Lost who?" Katherine said, shifting her position and looking out the window. She didn't see anything.
"There are many things for us to discuss, Major," her doppelgänger said. "And we will as soon as we lose our tail."
The car jerked suddenly, taking a hard right at a cross street. The repulsors whined loudly, working hard to keep the car under control. The car jerked again, the driver making quick motions to steer them in seemingly random directions.
A few minutes passed like this. Katherine continued to look out the windows, to scan the ground and sky. She didn't see anything or anyone. Was the woman paranoid? Had she gone insane?
The car slipped into a garage, descending into it. They finally came to a stop four levels down - the first level that didn't have any other cars parked on it.
The woman turned to face her then, and they looked one another over. Katherine saw that even their clothing was nearly the same.
"Who? What?" Katherine struggled to catch her breath and center her mind. "Who are you? What the hell happened back there?"
"My name is Kathleen Amway," the woman said. "I work for a man named Colonel Mitchell Williams." She smiled. "Even if he doesn't know it yet."
"Did you say, Mitchell?" Katherine asked.
"Yes."
"I keep hearing voices," she said, not sure why she was telling this woman she didn't know about her psychosis. "They tell me to-"
"Find Mitchell," Kathleen finished. "I know."
The response drove Katherine to silence again.
"I know because I put it there," Kathleen said, looking a little impatient at her shock. "Fifteen years ago, the day you had the skiing accident."
Katherine was growing more confused with every word the woman said. She remembered the accident. She had gotten too aggressive on the course and had wound up falling and hitting her head against a tree. She had been rushed to the hospital and later treated for a concussion.
"I don't remember you."
"Of course, you wouldn't. I didn't exactly come right out and reveal myself to you."
"How did you put voices in my head?"
"I should clarify. I didn't put the voices there. I massaged your residual memories. The remnant experiences of past recursions. I couldn't be certain you would suffer a head injury in this timeline. Not with a broken Mesh."
Katherine put her head back on the seat and closed her eyes, as if she could will the whole thing away, or wake herself up from this odd journey. "Nothing you're saying makes any sense to me."
"I understand that you're confused, Katherine. It is as it should be. I'm getting ahead of myself because we don't have a lot of time. We're in danger. You, me, Mitchell, and all of humankind. We came to stop it, once and for all."
"Danger? Okay, I get that. Someone's been trying to kill me all week."
"His name is Watson."
"You know who he is?"
"Yes. An unintended adversary. A wrinkle in the return. A miscalculation. He was always troubled over his identity, but our actions have made him unstable."
"Our actions?"
"I should start at the beginning," Kathleen said. "We need to get somewhere safer than this." She pushed open the door of the car. "Come on."
"On foot?"
"We can't lose them in this. It will be missed shortly, once Watson alerts the authorities to the death of Sergeant Jackson and arranges for you to take the blame."
"Me? I didn't do anything to him."
"I know. It doesn't matter. He has access to the surveillance footage. If he can doctor it, he will."
"Those cameras are secured. How can he have access?"
"He has access to almost everything. Please get out of the car."
Katherine did as she was asked, following Kathleen across the garage to the elevator. They went up to the ground level and then
exited onto the street. Kathleen scanned the area once more, searching for signs of trouble.
"Fortunately for you, I have access to many of the same systems, but I need a terminal to break in. We may not be able to reach one in time."
"You mean hack them?"
"Yes."
"I have a friend who's good at bypassing security. Maybe he can help?"
"Michael?"
Katherine came to a stop. "How do you know about him?"
"I know everything about you, Katherine. At least, everything about the you that came before. There will always be variations, and with the Mesh broken the variance will logically be more significant."
"I wish you would tell me what the hell you're talking about. I'm getting a little pissed right now."
"Good. It will keep you more alert. If you think your friend can get into the District of Columbia Police Department's servers and erase the footage before Watson can get to it, then please do call him. I would have taken care of this from the car, but the connection was blocked by our need to move so deep underground."
Katherine nodded. At least Kathleen wasn't trying to keep her from contacting anyone. Whoever this twin of hers was, they seemed to be on the same side. She found her AR glasses in her pocket, unfolded them, and put them on. Then she sent a ping request to Michael.
"Kathy," Michael said a moment later. "I can breathe again. Thank God you're okay."
"I'm not okay," Katherine said. "Not yet. I'm sorry to ask, but I need your help."
"Oh. Yeah. What's going on?"
"It's a long story, and it hasn't been shared with me yet. Do you have access to D.C Police servers?"
"The police? Are you in trouble?"
"Not at the moment. I'm trying to keep it that way."
"I don't know, Kathy. If I get caught trying to get in, I could get into a lot of trouble."
"I know. I understand if you don't want to do it. Michael, something is happening here. Something beyond anything I could have conceived of an hour ago. A police officer is dead, and the AIT is going to make sure the world thinks I did it."
"What?"
"I don't have time to tell you more. There's surveillance footage from the loop station that needs to be erased."
"You didn't kill him, did you?"
"Michael," Katherine said, annoyed.
"Just asking. I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises."
"That's more than I have a right to ask for. You're a good friend."
"I'm the best friend."
Katherine laughed. "Yeah. You are. Oh, one more thing. You were going to tell me something before my meetup went sideways. What was it?"
"Good question. Let me think. Right. Okay. So, get this: the night after the party, a guy walks out of a mental hospital in St. Louis after twenty years. A few hours later, this same guy winds up at the bottom of the Mississippi river. He almost drowns when an autocab inexplicably veers off the road and into the drink. Lucky for him, the police are trying to take him into custody at the time for assaulting someone."
Katherine couldn't believe he was telling her this, instead of getting to work on the servers. "That's a wild story, but I'm missing the part where it has anything to do with me."
"Hang on. I wasn't done. Here's the crazy part: this guy was found the night the XENO-1 crashed with burns all over his arms, no memory, no identification, nothing. Nobody knows where he came from, who he is. Nobody knows anything about him."
"A coincidence?" Katherine said. "I'm still not following how this relates."
"Mitchell," Kathleen said, stopping in the street and facing her. "He's talking about Mitchell."
28
"You're listening to my conversation?" Katherine asked. She had no idea how that could be. Michael's responses were silent.
"Who are you talking to?" Michael asked.
"Yes. My hearing is optimized to the frequency. That isn't important right now."
"Not important? You hear better than any person I've ever heard of. You look just like me. You keep talking about recursion and timelines and stuff like it's no big deal. You-"
"Shh," Kathleen said. "I will tell you more when it's safe. I promise. If Mitchell is active and Watson has already found him, we have less time than I thought."
"I thought I was supposed to find Mitchell," Katherine said. "It sounds like he's already been found."
"Apparently, he has been located. I should have noticed that myself, but I've been preoccupied trying to keep you alive. You walked right into Watson's trap."
"Who is Watson? What trap?"
"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Michael said.
"I told you, it's a long story," Katherine replied. "I'll ping you back once I know."
"Should I be worried?"
Katherine glanced at Kathleen, whose face turned hard.
"No," Katherine lied. "I'll ping you later."
She broke the connection.
Kathleen pointed to a building across the street. A hotel. "We can talk in there."
"Okay. Fine. I'm really not happy right now."
Kathleen didn't respond. She led Katherine to the hotel, a forty-story block of glass and alloy. An actual human was manning the reception area, a rarity reserved for high-end establishments.
"Good evening, Miss?" the receptionist said. He was a young man with thick black hair and sharp eyes.
"Amway," Kathleen said. "Kathleen. This is my sister, Katrina."
"Twins, no doubt?" He stared at Katherine. She could only imagine what she looked like.
"Obviously," Katherine said impatiently.
"My sister was in an accident earlier today. We just got finished making a statement to the police, and would like a room for the night. We don't have a reservation."
"Of course." He caught himself staring and looked away. "I'll just need you to check in. Do you have glasses?"
"No," Kathleen said, drawing a card from a pocket and tapping it on the counter.
"Your funds are verified. You have a choice of suites. The-"
"Presidential suite," Kathleen said. "Penthouse. Whatever is closest if it isn't available. It's been a long day."
The receptionist smiled while Katherine stared. She could only imagine how much that would cost.
"Tap your card again, please," he said a moment later. Kathleen did so.
"Room 4001," he said. "The private elevator is over there. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to let us know."
"Thank you," Kathleen said. "I was wondering - would you be able to arrange for a fresh change of clothes for both of us?"
"It can be arranged. I'll just need your measurements. What type of clothing are you looking for?"
Kathleen glanced around them before leaning in and whispering to him. He smiled at her action and then nodded.
"Something comfortable and easy to move in, with a few pockets," she said. "I don't like to carry a bag."
"Of course."
"Thank you. Come on, sis. I'm sure you're very tired."
"Yeah. Exhausted."
They made their way to the private elevator. Kathleen tapped her card against it to open the doors, and they got in.
"Shh," Kathleen said before Katherine could ask any questions. They made the ride in silence before spilling out into the penthouse suite.
Katherine barely noticed the classic design, comfort, size, or view of the space. As soon as the elevator doors had closed, she turned on the other woman.
"Now, tell me what the hell is going on," she demanded.
Kathleen raised a finger, asking her to wait again. She looked around the room, and then went over to a nearly invisible panel on the wall. She unclipped it, revealing a circuit board with bundles of wires extending from it. She did something to it that Katherine couldn't see.
"Now we can speak freely," Kathleen said. "I'm sorry for being so obtuse, Katherine, but Watson's eyes and ears are ubiquitous. We have to be cautious. Please, sit. Are you hungry?"
&n
bsp; "No. Not right now."
"We should check your wounds-"
"They can wait."
Kathleen nodded and then walked over to a fancy-looking sofa positioned to look out at the city beyond. The White House, Washington Monument, Capitol, and other famous classical landmarks were all visible from the vantage point. She stared at them for a moment, and then sat at one end of the couch, patting the cushion.
Katherine moved over to join her, unimpressed by the sights. Not when someone was trying to kill her, and this woman knew who and why. She dropped onto the couch. "I'm sitting. Now, spill it."
"Are you familiar with the concept of recursion?" Kathleen asked.
"Repetition. Yes."
"Good. For the sake of getting to the point, I'll keep it simple. Time is recursive."
Katherine was silent for a moment. "You mean like history repeats itself, literally?"
"In a sense, yes. Time is a definition created by humankind, a means to measure something that is very difficult to measure due to scale. A year is a long time for a human. One hundred years a lifetime. It is also the barest of instants in relation to the time it takes the universe to expand and contract in a never-ending cycle."
"Like a heartbeat?"
Kathleen smiled. "A good simile. You're smarter than Mitchell. Yes, exactly. Each time this heartbeat occurs, everything that came before is repeated. Scientists call this concept eternal return."
"I'm not sure I believe you, but okay, I'm game. What does that have to do with this?"
"My true name is Origin. I am what will one day be known to humans as a Tetron, the first true self-sustaining artificial intelligence. I am the first of their kind."
Katherine felt a chill wash over her. The very absorption of Kathleen's words should have driven her to question their validity. Instead, something told her that not only was Origin telling the truth, but she also had a feeling she had heard this story before.
The skin on her arms prickled when she remembered what Michael had said to her earlier about looking to the sky before XENO-1 appeared as if she had known it was coming.
"Origin. First. Makes sense," she said. "You don't look artificial to me." She paused. "Will one day be known? You're saying you're from the future? Like, time travel?"
