Soul Taker

by John Garforth

  “Yes, it is,” said Mary lowering her voice and looking around the room, “because, the real Chinese plan is to take Russia, they want it so badly, you can almost taste it in the air when they’re around.”

  • • •

  Zhang Wei turned off the TV and dropped the remote on the bed, pulling on a coat, he unzipped the cabin entrance and stepped out into the cool night. Lighting a cigarette, he inhaled deeply, a pale hint of dawn hung over the horizon.

  He was an engineer by profession, he, and the rest of the team had built the pontoon city he was standing on. It was one of the larger engineering projects that SAC had undertaken as part of operation ‘Re- generation’ in the north of Italy.

  In the distance, the broken, twisted city of Venice was just beginning to take shape as the Sun began to rise in the sky. The floating platform that they’d built around Venice, covered more than half of the Lagoon. From the remains of the Marco Polo Airport in the north to the island of Marano in the East and the old SR11 Via Della Liberta in the West. The SR11 was the old railway and road, that linked the city to the mainland. Some of it was still standing, but not much.

  Florence, Rome, Livorno and Tivoli had been destroyed by one rogue missile. Venice, Verona, Milan and Parma by the other.

  Each city had a basic complement of 20,000 tents and three Hospitals, all fully staffed. Rome was slightly bigger, but at the end of the day it was all guesswork anyway. This was a unique, one off event.

  A Helicopter, with flashing lights, clattered overhead breaking into Zhang’s reverie. He noticed young woman walking towards him, speaking loudly on her mobile, as she passed under one of the many street lamps, Zhang recognised her as an old friend, Dr Wang Xiu Ying.

  “Bloody Mother,” she said, as she drew nearer.

  Zhang smiled, they embraced.

  “Sounds like she’s giving you a tough time?”

  “Oh, it’s just the usual,” she said, “I’m used to it, are both your parents still alive?”

  He nodded.

  “Then you’ll have heard it all before,” she began to mimic her mother, “Where are you? What are you doing? When can your Father and I look forward to seeing you again, we’re not getting any younger and it’s a long time since we’ve seen you.”

  “It’s hard for them too,” said Zhang, smiling “they all know that something is going on and that we’re involved, but no-one will tell them the truth.”

  “The truth would be too much,” she said, staring off towards the grotesque, twisted city.

  She turned to face him, she looked prettier than normal. Most days she wore her hair pulled back tightly, on top of her head. This morning she’d let it fall loose around her shoulders, softening her face.

  “You know something? I’m getting really worried about what we’re doing here Zhang. I’ve been feeling so tense lately that I’ve had trouble sleeping, then eventually, when I finally doze off, that’s when the nightmares begin. The nearer that we get to this ‘re-generation event’ the more frightened I’m starting to feel.”

  “Don’t get so worried, Wang Xiu, what you’re feeling is normal, you should know better than me, it’s that old ‘fear of the unknown’ syndrome, something that we all share,” said Zhang, “just take a step back, calm down and think about it, the chances are, nothing at all will happen, just remember what everybody’s been saying, it’s one hell of a long shot that this piece of physics will work. You know full well, that I’m not on my own when I say that all this,” he waved his arm, “will probably be a complete waste of time and money.”

  “But what if it’s not?” Said Wang Xiu Ying, taking off her glasses and polishing them nervously with a tissue, “what if that god forsaken ruin over there,” she nodded towards Venice, “is suddenly a city again, restored to its former glory in the blink of an eye. Just take your time and think about it for a moment, then tell me honestly, what in God’s name is going to come walking out of it? Thousands of normal, happy, smiling people? I don’t think so, they’ve been bloody dead for sixty years.”

  Her voice was getting louder, the tone moving upwards towards hysteria, Zhang put a reassuring hand on her arm, she shrugged him off.

  “What am I…?” She stopped in mid-sentence, to re-phrase the question, “What are we going to have to deal with? It goes beyond anyone’s experience and, quite frankly, it beggars belief, that the two Nations responsible have allowed it to get this far without putting in any checks and balances. There should have been some small, controlled tests, to start with, a gradual approach, but hell no, our Masters, in their wisdom have decided that the highly scientific ‘Full Monty’ approach is the much more sensible way to go.”

  “I know that it all seems too much, too soon, but bear in mind that all the theoretical Physicist’s that have been involved, have agreed that the population won’t even be aware that they’ve ever been dead at all. Just think on what we were all told in training, when the people who lived in the city become conscious and re-gain their senses, they’ll have a small amount of memory loss, that covers the duration of their death and that’s all.”

  “Well I’m afraid that I don’t buy that anymore,” said Wang, “we’ve got what? Twenty-four hours before it all kicks off; my gut feeling is telling me that they’ll all come at us snarling.

  “Why?”

  Dr Wang Xiu Ying held up two fingers to count on.

  “One, they’re not stupid, they’ll remember it all and blame us for killing them in the first place, then two, they’ll be so absolutely pissed off that we’ve gone and brought them back from what is probably a far better place.”

  “Have you suddenly caught religion? Asked Zhang, “you’ve always told me you were agnostic”

  “Yes, I am, but I suppose it’s just a matter of hedging my bets. Anyway, forget that, you just think about the good citizens of Venice for a moment, imagine if they’ve all had sixty years to settle down and get comfortable in some small corner of heaven or where ever. Then suddenly, we come along, sure that we know best, intent on dragging them all back, against their will, to the wonderful here and now. I would think that would seem reasonable grounds, for a very large amount of shit, to hit one enormous, fan.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Piper was sat in a completely white, brightly lit room, adjacent to the launch area. All the pre-launch checks were finished, it was go minus 15 minutes, she was feeling a little calmer and settled. The doctor had just finished his examination and had administered a mild sedative to lower her blood pressure and calm her jangled nerves.

  Mary was sat opposite her, holding the com-pod in her hand, it was a circular object, about the size of a discus, but much lighter.

  “I know Mary,” said Piper, taking it from her, with half a smile, “as soon as I’ve arrived and I’ve left the Pod, I’m to bury this in the designated area, there’s even a small spade supplied in my rucksack.”

  “But what do you do before you bury it?” Mary asked in a tired voice.

  “I press this button in the middle and I say I’ve arrived and everything is ok.” Piper grinned, “as you well know, I’ve been through this rehearsal a thousand times in Hong Kong.”

  “I’m sorry Piper, I know you have, but it’s just so important. We won’t know if you’re dead or alive until we get the com-pod back. Don’t forget that there’s a vast team of people all over the world, just waiting to know if you’ve got there. It’s all part of the timetable for re-generation.”

  “Pity I can’t just call you on the phone,” said Piper with raised eyebrows.

  Mary took the bait, her face serious.

  “You know that there’s no possibility of instant communication through time Piper. Just bury it behind the Trig point as agreed, we’re led to believe that the soil in that area is quite soft and there are bushes and shrubs all around. You’ve seen all the pre-war pictures and I gave you the co-ordinates.”

  “Yes, indeed Mary, those numbers are chiselled onto my brain, it’s the reason why the La
unch Control was built here on this spot, isn’t it? The only verifiable point we’ve got is the Trig Point that was around here before the war.”

  “Well don’t forget to dig the com-pod well in,” said Mary, “about a foot down will do very nicely. Remember it’s got to sit there for sixty years before we can dig it up. The recovery team are out there now, they’re laying down a search grid. If everything goes to plan, we’ll have it within an hour of you arriving.”

  At that moment, the door opened and young man and woman, each wearing a white lab coat, walked in. Mary realised that their presence meant it was close to launch time.

  “These people will help you into the Sphere Piper, so this is it, it’s time to make a move. There’s just one more thing that I must tell you before we go. We have received a communication from the Council this morning. They say that they don’t want to tie your hands, but they request that if it’s at all possible could you carry out your mission without killing anybody? They realise that it’s a thorny issue and that most of the people you interact with will die tomorrow morning anyway. But they wish to stress that the Germans were our close allies.”

  Piper shrugged, “I’ll do what I can Mary, but no promises. I’ve had it drilled into me that the mission takes precedence and I will do whatever I have to do to complete it successfully.”

  Mary nodded and led the way out of the room and into the launch bay. Piper followed dressed in her travel clothes, blue jeans, pink top and brown waterproof jacket. She looked around the room, which should have been filled by the large grey sphere, it was empty.

  She turned to look at Mary, she was smiling, Piper raised a quizzical eyebrow. With a theatrical flourish Mary touched an icon on the tablet she was carrying. The sphere sprang into being, almost filling the small room.

  “As if by magic,” said Mary raising her arm, then she continued more soberly “sorry about that Piper, couldn’t resist it. Just demonstrating the camouflage abilities of the Time Pod. When you arrive in Berlin, the Sphere will automatically camouflage itself to fit in with its surroundings. When you return it will recognise you as you approach and revert to a sphere, opening at your touch. If any of this automation fails, there is a key fob in the rucksack that will afford you a manual entry. You ok with that?”

  “Could have done with a drum roll,” she said dryly, as she looked around the room

  Above her was a viewing gallery, full of eager faces watching her. Piper recognised Lt Colonel Phillips and the other officers who’d shared the Helicopter adventure when they’d arrived. They all got to their feet and waved, she waved back with both hands, then, with a final thumbs up, she stooped and entered the Pod.

  She pushed herself through the confined space and eased herself into the flight chair. A feeling of deep foreboding began to spread through her. The whole circus, suddenly felt more like a public execution than a maiden flight. Her helpers, dressed in their white coats, had accompanied her from the side room and they climbed in as far as they could behind her. They huffed and puffed in the confined space as they strapped her in and stowed her luggage into a small locker situated in the wall of the sphere. When they finally crawled out, Mary stuck her head through the hatch.

  “This is it Piper,” her words sent the butterflies in Piper’s stomach into overdrive, “we’re just going to punch you through a small hole in time.”

  It all sounded so simple, almost commonplace.

  Mary continued, “Good luck, I wish it was me that was going.”

  Piper almost said, “I’ll swap you.” But she held her tongue and just smiled as the hatch closed.

  • • •

  Strapped into the chair, she just screamed, long and loud, sucking in air to fuel the sound. Nobody could hear her and she felt that nobody cared, but Piper needed a release, a way of vocalising the hurt she was experiencing. Never had she felt pain like this, it filled the whole fabric of her body, molecule by molecule, cell by cell. Death had been discussed many times in training, as there was a high probability that it would be the most likely outcome. So, before she was shipped out to Hong Kong, she’d made peace with her enemies and said goodbye to her friends, even sent a brief note to her Grandparents, in anticipation that this journey might be her last.

  But this dreadful pain had never been mentioned, it was never a part of her training and it bothered her. What else was about to happen without warning? She glanced around the Spartan metal sphere that surrounded her, blinking away the sweat that ran in her eyes.

  Controls were limited, nearly all the functions were automatic, there were no rows of twitching dials, banks of switches or flashing lights. Not even a siren to tell her if anything was wrong, just smooth grey metal. Was all this normal? How could she know? She was sat in a prototype for a branch of science that was so new it was beyond the comprehension of most people. There were no frills or luxuries that could go wrong, everything about the Pod was basic. It had been stripped down to the minimum. Weight and mass were crucial, the energy required to make the transfer was colossal, every gram counted.

  Everything changed in an instant. She hit something, or rather the pod did. The concussion was tremendous, Piper felt grateful she was so tightly strapped in the chair and her neck and head were tightly secured in webbing. As her journey came to an end, the level of pain she’d had to endure began to fade, she braced herself for the second collision she knew was coming. She didn’t have long to wait, one more sickening thump, then she began to roll. Finally coming to a stop, with a bounce and a shudder.

  Piper had ended up on the ceiling, hanging from the flight chair, facing down. She knew from training that the chair would release her now that the sphere had stopped, she readied herself. Although prepared, it still always came as a shock to the system, dropping 6ft to the other side of the Pod without any warning. She lay where she’d fallen, luxuriating in her bodies feeling of freedom, calming herself, mentally preparing for what lay ahead. She checked her watch, it was 5.40, she’d left her own time at 5.30, so travelling sixty years back in time had only taken ten minutes, she shook her head in wonder. But in the back of her mind was a growing excitement. She hadn’t looked outside yet, but she felt sure she’d done it. She was here. All around her was a bustling, thriving Berlin. A place of legend that had ceased to exist before she’d been born. She was the pioneer, she’d beaten the odds and got herself a place in the history books.

  Climbing to her feet, she pressed a small button on the curved grey wall in front of her, with a well-oiled click, the locker door slid silently open. She began to get herself ready, strapping on the money belt that contained thousands of authentic euro and dollar notes. Adjusting her familiar shoulder holster and as always, double checking the Glock pistol that it carried. Pulling out her rucksack she began to run through its contents, her black combat clothes, fold down spade, mobile and sat-nav, passport and false ID. At the very bottom, beneath a false base, was her fold-away combat rifle and five small rocket propelled grenades. It was a small but powerful weapon, specially designed for this mission. Piper was well trained in its use.

  She checked her watch again, it was now 6am local time, they’d told her it would be dark when she arrived, there was no way of looking out, but presumably they knew what they were talking about. Pulling the com-pod out of the locker, she slipped it into the rucksack and zipped it closed. She could hear Mary’s voice in her head. Piper pulled out the sat-nav and checked for the Trig-point co-ordinates she needed for the burial. Taking one last look around, she opened the hatch and stepped out into the cold, dark, land of the dead.

  • • •

  The sky was clear with a scimitar moon and full of stars that faded as she looked towards the city lights. Taking a deep breath, she scanned the immediate area, there was plenty of cover, trees and bushes about to burst into leaf. Below her, at the bottom of a grassy slope was a paved path and beyond that were rows of gravestones at drunken angles.

  For a moment, she was back in her own world, looking
at the land she’d just left behind, black, broken and twisted, her chest ached, she angrily brushed away the tears that filled her eyes. Now was not the time to grieve, she had a job to do. In the city beyond the graveyard, families were beginning their last day, blissfully unaware of the violence that would be committed against them before their next morning dawned.

  Piper walked about ten yards down the grassy slope whilst she checked the sat-nav on her mobile. Marienhhe was her destination, a small structure that sat on a hillock nearby, easy to miss in the dark, she had to be careful. She turned, looking back up the slope, the Pod had followed its programming and merged into the surrounding woodland.

  Camouflage had been the only American contribution to the Chinese sphere. New, sophisticated battlefield wizardry that the Americans had created by tweaking some existing software. Tiny projectors ringed the sphere, bending the light that surrounded it, rendering the Pod invisible to the naked eye. She took two photos of where the sphere rested to help her find it in the dark. The Pod would return to 2077 automatically at 7pm that evening, with or without Piper. She needed to be back and on board by 6.45pm at the latest, if she wasn’t she would die with the rest of Europe.

  She walked down the path using the co-ordinates on the mobile. She could hear the traffic out on the nearby Roblinstrasse, a police siren began wailing in the distance as she reached the bottom of the hill. Piper began to climb towards the Trig point as the sky brightened around her and the world welcomed a brand-new dawn. The Marienhohe stone was the size of a suitcase, looking the same as it had on the photo’s in training. Swinging the rucksack from her shoulder, she pulled out the small spade. Extending the handle, she climbed a retaining wall and squeezed between the stone and the bushes. When she’d dug the hole, she pulled the com-pod out of her bag and pushed the button in the middle.

  “I made it Mary,” she said, smiling to herself, “I’m safe, so you can stop worrying, see you soon.”