by Bob Mayer
Neeley nodded. “She’s a world leader. Important. All right. Got it. And she’s assassinated on 31 October 1984. And I’m supposed to go there and just let that happen?”
“You’re supposed to insure it happens,” Dane said. “There is a difference. Because it’s very likely the Shadow will try to prevent the assassination.”
“I’m usually the one doing the shooting,” Neeley said. She held up the dagger. “Do I get more weapons than this, since I’ll be around a lot of guns?”
Dane nodded. “Yes. After the brief, tell them in the ready room what you want. They have to be time period appropriate, so 1984 or earlier. And remember, you have to appear innocuous.”
“Who killed her?” Neeley asked .
“Two of her Sikh bodyguards,” Dane said. “They were retaliating after the Indian Army attacked a Sikh temple. You’ll get all the pertinent details in your download. I assume Roland told you about the download?”
“You assume wrong,” Neeley said. “Roland hasn’t told me a thing about the Time Patrol. All I know is what I’ve been exposed to.”
Edith stepped in. “You’ll get a direct download into your memory of all the pertinent data for your mission and a sketch of data for the rest of the team’s missions.”
“Why am I getting info on their missions?” Neeley asked. “In fact, why am I sitting in on their mission briefings? Shouldn’t this be compartmentalized?”
“You’re all going to bubbles in time that exist at the same moment,” Edith explained. “We’ve learned that sometimes one mission might possibly affect another. That happened on Independence Day. And on the last mission—“ she fell silent.
“We all ended up in the same place,” Roland told Neeley. “We all got diverted to Chicago where Ivar was.”
“How’d that happen?” Neeley asked.
“The Shadow opened Gates in the other missions,” Dane said, “and they had no choice but to go through.”
“I was unconscious,” Roland quickly said, blushing deeply.
“Two naked chicks tried to seduce him and get him in the Gate,” Scout added.
“They weren’t completely naked,” Roland protested.
Scout ignored him. “But he wouldn’t have any of it, so they had to knock him out. He’s a good man, your Roland.”
“You let yourself get knocked out?” Neeley said, as if that were a worse fate than two-naked-chicks-seduction.
“All right, all right,” Dane said. “Let’s move forward, not backward.”
“Until we travel backward,” Scout added.
Neeley held up a hand. “What happens if in this Choice thing, I don’t decide to move forward with the team?”
“We’ll deal with that if it happens,” Dane said. He wrote:
1941
“Roland. The North Atlantic far off the coast of Iceland. You’ll be on the US Navy destroyer Reuben James . The first American warship sunk in World War II. ”
“Wait a second,” Eagle said. “We weren’t even at war yet in October 1941. It’s another five weeks until Pearl Harbor.”
“We might as well have been,” Dane said. “FDR had Lend-Lease passed in March of that year, which ended any pretense at neutrality on the part of the United States. The US Navy was escorting convoys to a line south of Iceland.
“The captain of the U-Boat that sank her didn’t know she was American. The American escort ships were further east than the usual hand-off point for Lend-Lease convoys. The James was torpedoed in the early hours of the morning. Over one hundred of the one hundred and forty-four on board were lost.”
Roland had been playing with his knife after the embarrassing comments by Scout, but he stopped. “What am I supposed to do? Make sure the ship sinks?”
“We don’t know exactly,” Dane said.
“Right.” Of all the team, Roland was always the one who most easily accepted the ‘vagaries of the variables’ as Dane liked to call it.
“One interesting thing,” Edith said. “There were seven officers and one hundred and thirty-six enlisted on board. And one passenger. I have not been able to discover who that passenger was. And if he, or she, but most likely a he, was among the survivors. None of the officers survived.”
“So this passenger could be important?” Roland said.
“It’s a loose end,” Dane said. “The sinking of the James , while it caused an outcry in the United States, wasn’t enough for us to declare war on Germany. It was Pearl Harbor before the U.S. declared war. So if it doesn’t sink, we’re not sure of the implications. Not that it matters. It was sunk, so it will sink.”
“With Roland on it?” Neeley asked.
“Of course not,” Dane said.
“Don’t worry,” Roland said to Neeley. “The missions are always like this.”
“That’s not reassuring,” Neeley said. “Plus you’re a rock in the water. You barely passed survival swimming. You wouldn’t even get in the surf just now on vacation.”
“You were on vacation?” Scout said.
“I don’t like the water,” Roland agreed, ignoring Scout. “But it won’t come to that.”
“Optimism,” Scout said. “I like that. ”
“Isn’t there a song about it?” Roland asked. “My bunk mate in the Ranger Battalion used to play something with Reuben James in it all the time.”
Edith responded. “There is a country song with that title that was popular in the late 70’s. But it has nothing to do with this. However, there is another song, by Woody Guthrie, about the sinking of the Reuben James .”
“What about the convoy the James was protecting?” Eagle asked. “Could that be the key?”
“In the download, Roland will get a listing of all the ships in the HX 156 convoy and what their cargoes were,” Edith said.
Dane moved on:
1828
“Shaka Zulu,” Eagle said.
“Exactly,” Dane confirmed. He turned to Edith, as he always did when history was in question.
“Many myths have arisen about Shaka Zulu,” Edith said. “The exact date of his death is unknown although we’re pretty sure on the year. The best accepted version is that he was assassinated and his body dumped in a hole and covered with dirt and stones. No one knows where he was buried. His half-brother who was part of the trio that killed Shaka, took over. He purged Shaka’s closest followers and consolidated power.”
“But we have no clue why I’m going on this particular day?” Eagle asked. “Nothing historically significant about it and Shaka or the Zulus? Is this the day he was killed?”
Roland tried out some of his knowledge. “Wasn’t there a big battle with the Zulus? And the Brits in Redcoats? I saw the movie. It was pretty awesome.”
“There was,” Edith acknowledged. “The British suffered one of their greatest colonial defeats at the hands of the Zulus, but it was in 1879 at Isandlwana. And one of their greatest stands was at Rorke’s Drift during the same campaign.”
“That was fifty-one years later,” Dane said to keep them on track.
Eagle shook his head. “Shaka was at the end of his reign if not already dead when I go. What could happen? He stays alive? Either way, his legacy is questionable. He was responsible for the Mfecane . The Crushing . ”
“Actually,” Edith said, “a king of the Matabele tribe, after Shaka’s reign, is given most of the blame for the Mfecane .”
“Yes,” Eagle said, “but Shaka started it. A domino effect. He began conquering his neighbors, The smarter of them started moving in the opposite direction, invading their neighbors. The ripple completely unbalanced the region. Millions died from starvation and war.”
“Shaka’s mother died in 1827,” Edith said. “He went a bit crazy after that. He killed thousands. If he didn’t think someone was appearing to grieve deeply enough, he had them executed.”
“That’s a bit harsh,” Roland said.
“He was very attached to his mother,” Edith understated. “He also grew up with a rather l
arge chip on his shoulder given he was a bastard. The thing I’d worry about,” Edith said, her eyes on Eagle, “is that Shaka’s grip on reality wasn’t the greatest in the last year of his reign. Not many missed him after he was assassinated.”
“Got it,” Eagle said.
“And before you ask,” Dane interjected, “no, we don’t have any more specifics on your mission. Shaka might already be dead by 31 October.”
“All right,” Eagle said, ceding to the lack of information.
“Monsters,” Scout said.
“What?” Dane said.
“Monsters,” she repeated. She pointed at Lara. “Tell them what you heard.”
“It was just a voice,” Lara said, her voice low. “In the Pit. Out of the Pit, I guess.”
“What did it say?” Moms asked.
“’Here there be monsters ’,” Lara said.
“The empty spaces on old maps,” Eagle said. “Do you know whose voice it was? You heard us singing on the last mission and that allowed you to help us. So there has to be a reason you heard this.”
Lara shrugged. “Just some guy’s voice. Clear as anything out of all the babble in the Pit. Just the one line. Like he was talking to me.”
“It’s a warning,” Scout said. “This mission is on Halloween. Makes sense. And we’ve run into monsters before.”
“Grendels and Aglaeca,” Roland said.
“Yeti and other things,” Moms added.
“A chimera in Greece,” Scout said .
“I saw kraken,” Neeley said. “In the Bermuda Triangle.”
“Maybe the voice was the Ones Before,” Scout suggested. “Warning us.”
Moms spoke up. “We have to use our imaginations on these missions, given the vagaries of the variables, as Dane likes to say. But we can’t let our imaginations get the better of us. Once you’re on the ground, you have to quickly evaluate the situation. Look for the threat. Remember, it could be a threat to the timeline or a threat to you. Or both. Last mission, the Shadow went after us.”
“Actually,” Scout said, “it wanted the entire Time Patrol not just us. It wanted this location. And if we couldn’t give it that, which we can’t,” she added, with a glance at Dane, “it wanted the location of the Hub we use to get here.”
“Good point,” Eagle said. He turned to Edith. “You can download information, but you said you could also compartmentalize and block off certain information in our brains. Can you do that with the location of the Gate below the Met? Block that in all of us for the duration of the mission?”
Edith nodded. “Yes.”
“Good idea,” Dane said. “Do it before they deploy,” he ordered Edith. He moved on.
1692
“I guess that’s me?” Lara said when Dane finished writing the date.
“Salem. Massachusetts,” Dane said.
“Okeydokey,” Lara said. “And what’s happening there?”
“The Salem Witch Trials,” Edith said.
“Then I’m screwed,” Lara said. She indicated her buzzed skull and the still visible scars crisscrossing it.
“You wear your bonnet at all times,” Moms said. “In fact, put it back on now. Pretend its nailed to your head.”
“They probably will nail it to my head,” Lara said.
“Do you float?” Eagle asked.
Scout was the only one who got it and, despite the circumstances, burst out laughing.
“Wood burns and wood floats,” Scout said. “Like non-witches.”
“Someone wanna let me in?” Lara asked.
“It’s from Monty Python and The Search for the Holy Grail ,” Scout explained. “It’s complicated. ”
“Okay,” Lara said. “You’ll have to fill me in if we get back.”
“We’ll watch it,” Scout promised, “once we finish Buffy .”
“When we get back,” Eagle corrected.
“Right,” Lara said. “When. That’s what I meant. So what happens on Halloween in Salem? Someone get burned at the stake?”
“I could find nothing of significance on the 31st of October 1692,” Edith said. “No one was burned at the stake in Salem. Actually, the worst of it was done by then. The last hangings occurred in late September. More people were arrested, but eventually almost all were released and pardoned. Two days before, on the 29th of October, the Governor had dissolved the court overseeing the trials. Eventually that State of Massachusetts would issue pardons and apologies for all those indicted.”
“Oops, we hanged you by mistake?” Scout said.
“Is there a connection between Hallows Eve and witches?” Eagle asked.
“31 October is the midpoint between the Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice,” Edith said. “In the Wiccan Calendar it’s known as the day when God dies to be reborn on the Winter Solstice. They believe it’s the day when the line between the living and the dead is the thinnest. A time for remembrance of the dead. But, you have to understand that none of those people in Salem were really witches. It was a case of mass hysteria that got out of hand.”
“So,” Lara said, “no clue why I’m going on that date.”
“I think Scout had a good point,” Eagle said. “About the voice Lara heard and Halloween. It’s too much of a coincidence. I don’t believe in them.”
“Nada didn’t either,” Scout threw in.
“Let’s not just think in terms of the actual monsters the Shadow has made and sent into our timeline,” Eagle said. “The Grendels and such. Valkyries were viewed as angels by those who encountered them. And the Fates certainly are not in the norm.”
“The Fates aren’t with the Shadow,” Dane said.
“Are we certain?” Eagle said. “They were pretty involved in this last mission.”
“The ‘Fates’?” Neeley asked.
“He really doesn’t tell you anything,” Scout marveled.
The door opened and Sin Fen came in. She nodded at Neeley, who she’d met before. Dane handed her the chalk. “Perfect timing. ”
“Right,” Scout said.
Sin Fen looked her in the eyes and Scout smiled. The two remained like that for a moment, then Sin Fen returned the smile. Scout nodded slightly and Sin Fen wrote on the board as she said, “This is yours, Ivar.”
ZERO DAY—ZERO YEAR. 60 HUDSON STREET, NEW YORK, NY
“Zero Day,” Sin Fen said, “is a term programmers use.”
“I know what a Zero Day is,” Ivar said. “What the hell is a Zero Year? If you don’t patch a breach in a program for a year, then—“ he just shook his head.
“That we don’t know exactly,” Sin Fen said. “It’s obviously the year you’re going to. The rest of the team will get the definition of Zero Day and more in the download. This address is in the lower west side of Manhattan, less than ten blocks from the World Trade Center. It was originally the Western Union Building. On the ninth floor, it houses one of the most critical Internet hubs in the world.”
“Back up,” Ivar said. “So this Zero Day is 31 October in some year in the past, but we don’t know the year?”
“It has to be relatively recent,” Sin Fen said. “After all, Scout was there when the first Internet message was sent in 1969. We’re thinking it’s more recent than that because the address became the hub until after Western Union was bought out in 1976. And it took a while for things to consolidate. Our best estimate is this Zero Year is some time in the last twenty years.”
“We think it might be 1999,” Dane said.
Ivar got that. “Leading to Y2K?”
“Perhaps,” Sin Fen said. “We assume that the Shadow is going to find and exploit a Zero Day in some program on a 31 October. It’s exactly two months prior to the end of the year so if it is 1999 that gives some leeway for some virus to be inserted and then spread.”
“But why go to the hub on Hudson Street to do that?” Ivar asked. “You can access the Internet from anywhere. Is this why you had my computers shot?”
“Perhaps a bit of an over-reaction,” Dane
allowed. “But when one of the missions was pointing directly at an Internet attack, the concern was that a virus might already be in the system.”
“Okay,” Ivar said. “But not if the bubble isn’t open yet. ”
“But if you fail on your mission,” Dane said, “then it’s here. Now.”
Everyone in the room processed that for a few seconds; most sort of understood, but Roland looked at Neeley and shook his head. She shrugged and shook her head. Not important she mouthed to him.
“Back to my question,” Ivar said. “Why go to Hudson Street?”
“We’re not sure,” Sin Fen said. “It might be a hardware issue. The Shadow could be trying to do something on the ninth floor.”
“That’s two different things,” Ivar said. “Software, yeah, I can deal with that. But a physical attack? That’s not my area. That’s more Roland or Eagle or Moms.”
“You’ve had training,” Moms said.
Dane checked his watch. “We have a little bit of time before the bubbles open. Some of you might want additional gear. Neeley you also need to meet with Sin Fen. And Moms,” he indicated the team leader, “I know you want a moment.”
Dane and Edith left the team room, leaving the seven behind.
Moms awkwardly turned the wheelchair, leg poking out. “I’m not going to give the speech. You’ve all got things you need to do and the clock is ticking. Eagle, help Edith get Neeley up to speed on how this works and doesn’t work; that is after she meets with Sin Fen.
“Make sure those of you up-arming get what you need. You’ll get the cross-load on each other’s mission, so that’s important. Pay attention.” She looked like she wanted to keep talking but couldn’t find more words.
“We’ll be fine,” Eagle said.
“I’m sorry I’m not going,” Moms said.
“You got shot,” Scout said. “It’s a better excuse than the dog ate my homework.”
“You’ll have our backs here,” Eagle said. “Lara helped us out last time when she stayed behind. So there’s a chance you’re going to be involved.”
