She shot him a quick glance. “Xavier suits you fine.”
Desmond said, “If you don’t mind, I’ll keep my own name. And Lenny will, too. It’ll facilitate communication.”
Infinity raised her brows, although they were merely stubble, still growing back from her last bridge. “Earn them back by the end of the day. Starting now, things are gonna be real. This way.”
She and Razor then walked off the manicured lawn of the SafeTrek training field and into the sweltering, bug-infested Missouri forest.
An hour later they were still walking. Desmond was trying to guess how far they’d come when he felt the ground tremble again. He needed to inspect his feet for thorns, so he spoke to the bridgers, hoping they’d stop to answer his question. “What do you guys think about all the recent earthquakes?”
Infinity and Razor paused and frowned at each other. “You’re the scientists,” Infinity said.
Desmond noticed his left foot was bleeding, and his legs had been scratched by weeds from the knees down. He also had a few cuts on his arms and a few dozen mosquito bites. Xavier and Lenny stopped just behind him and began checking their own bodies.
“We’re all biologists, not geologists,” Xavier said. “But I’ve read speculation that rising ocean levels from global warming are affecting the tectonic plates in some ways no one had predicted.”
“We’re screwing ourselves big-time,” Lenny added.
Desmond said, “I just thought since you guys are bridgers, you’ve seen things no one else has seen. Alternate versions of Earth. I thought maybe you’d have a different perspective.”
Razor simply shook his head.
Infinity said, “Some idiots blame the bridging centers.”
Desmond was glad she hadn’t forced him to bring this up. There were seven bridging centers around the globe, and since the first one had been created four years ago, conspiracy theorists had come up with all manner of doomsday scenarios. And when the weather events and tremors had started, they had all gone into paranoia overdrive. “Yeah, but as far as I know they don’t have any evidence to support the notion. I was going to ask your thoughts on it.”
She shrugged. “I’m just a bridger.”
The bridgers turned and continued leading them to some unknown destination.
“Where exactly are we going?” Xavier called out.
“We’re walking,” Razor replied.
“But where are we walking? My feet are bleeding.”
Infinity grabbed Razor’s elbow and the two bridgers stopped. She said, “Good. Maybe you deserve a non-pussy name after all. But it shouldn’t take you so long to ask the right questions. Now that you ask, we’re not walking anywhere. We’re just walking. And now that you’re aware of how to do it wrong, it’s time to learn how to do it right.”
Razor pointed at the ground. “Every step, choose where you put your feet. Avoid rocks, they can cut you and they can be slippery. Avoid sticks, they can break and reveal your presence. Avoid brush, the stems can scratch, and the leaves can inject painful histamines, like stinging nettles. Or they can secrete rash-inducing compounds, like poison ivy. When you’re naked, everything can be a threat. Be aware of your surroundings, no matter how insignificant things seem.”
This was the most Razor had said at one time.
Xavier said, “You mean we walked all this way because you were waiting for someone to ask where we’re going?”
“Walking naked in a harsh environment is real training,” Razor said. “After we bridge, that’s what you’ll be doing. Now we’re going to walk back, and you’re not going to have one additional scratch when we get there.”
Lenny laughed. “I love these bridgers, Des—I mean Decay. They’re the real deal.” He turned to Razor and Infinity. “I’m one-hundred percent on board. Lead the way.”
“You don’t get it, Lynch,” Infinity said. “You’re leading the way back.”
When they finally emerged from the trees onto the training field, the sun had dropped behind the forest canopy. Desmond was drenched in sweat. But he had to admit the experience had made him more confident. He now knew he could move through a wild environment while naked without killing himself in the process. They had learned to negotiate deep ravines without cutting their feet, climb trees without scraping their skin off on the bark, and pass through thick and thorny brush without losing an eye. They had even practiced sitting perfectly still, not moving a muscle or even blinking, which Razor had said was the most effective way to avoid predators.
A large pan of pasta with white sauce was waiting for them on a picnic table, kept warm atop an electric heating coil. The idea was to load up on carbs, since they might bridge as early as tomorrow morning. It was likely they wouldn’t eat anything during the thirty-six-hour excursion.
They heaped food onto plates and sat at the picnic table beneath the looming block-like SafeTrek building. Their clothes were neatly folded at one end of the table, but now they were beyond caring about being naked, and no one bothered to expend the energy needed to get up and put them on. They ate in silence until they had all finished the food on their first plates and loaded them up a second time.
“Have we earned our real names back yet?” Desmond asked.
Infinity scooped some pasta into her mouth. She shrugged. Then she nodded.
“Thanks,” he said awkwardly. “Speaking of names, what’s up with Infinity? And Razor? Those aren’t your real names, are they?”
“They are to you, tourist,” Razor said.
Xavier spoke while stirring his pasta around on his plate with his fork. “So that’s how it’s going to be, even after we almost killed ourselves trying to make you guys happy?”
“It’s a bridger thing,” Infinity said. “We take on new names when we come aboard. Like becoming a Ramone.”
Lenny dropped his fork. “Zippity-what? The Ramones? Infinity, are you trying to make me fall in love?”
Infinity and Razor turned to Lenny with glares that made Desmond worry Lenny was about to get punched in the face.
Lenny picked up his fork. “Sorry. I was just….” He went back to eating.
“What are the names of the other bridgers here?” Xavier asked.
Infinity spoke around a mouthful of food. “Seven bridgers at SafeTrek. Three partner pairs and one backup. Others are Wraith, Trencher, Viper, Falcon, and Fang.”
“That’s awesome,” Lenny said. He seemed to have recovered from the embarrassment of his tactless faux pas.
Desmond wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to his next question, but he asked anyway. “Why is there a backup bridger?”
Infinity and Razor exchanged a glance. “Bridgers do excursions in pairs,” she said. “If we lose a partner, we get a new one.”
Desmond wondered how often this happened, but the way the bridgers suddenly looked down at their plates made him think better of asking.
Xavier shoved his empty plate to the center of the table. “So, what can we expect for tonight?”
“What time is it?” Infinity asked.
Xavier looked at his watch, which he hadn’t removed when he had stripped down. “Just after 6:30.”
Razor and Infinity both took one more bite and then stood up.
“Time to go,” Infinity said. “Put your clothes on. They want you there for the bio-probe results.”
The bridgers led them back into the SafeTrek building and through several long corridors to a small, empty room. One wall consisted of a thick plexiglass window into the next room, which was larger but also empty.
Soon after, they were joined by Armando Doyle, who was apparently the bridgers’ boss. He was also the man who had happily accepted their million and a half dollars. As he stepped into the room, he made a comical gesture of grabbing his bow tie with both hands and rocking it back and forth. He then maneuvered awkwardly around Infinity and Razor to get to the tourists to shake their hands vigorously.
“I trust your orientation day has been adequately
productive.” He looked them up and down. “You certainly look less haggard than most of our clients at this stage of the game. Well done. Well done indeed. We’re all quite proud of Infinity and Razor. You’re fortunate to have them on your team.”
The two bridgers stared at Doyle as he spoke. They didn’t nod or smile.
“I think we all feel ready for our excursion,” Desmond said.
Doyle glanced at the smartwatch on his wrist. “Right, on to business. At precisely 3.6 seconds after 7:00 PM, we will learn the results of our first bio-probe. Often a first bio-probe will be successful, and I’m optimistic yours will be as well. But due to your rather unusual excursion specifications—specifically an eighty-million-year divergence—success is not guaranteed. If the bio-probe is unsuccessful, we will begin a second bio-probe tomorrow at 7:00 AM, with the results coming thirty-six hours after that, at 7:00 PM the following evening. And so on, until we have a successful probe.”
“Something I’ve been wondering about,” said Xavier. “Why are bio-probes and excursions always thirty-six hours? Why not make them twenty-four hours, or forty-eight?”
Doyle smiled and nodded. “Of course, all will be explained. But certain details of our operations will only be revealed after we have a successful bio-probe, indicating a safe destination world, upon which you will sign our non-disclosure agreement. Provided, of course, that you still plan to proceed with the excursion.”
Xavier huffed out a laugh. “Considering you only refund half the cost, I don’t think we’re going to change our minds.”
Doyle smiled broadly. “People never do.” He looked at his watch again. “Almost time. A bit of explanation is in order. Our bio-probe is quite simple. As I’m sure you know, nonliving objects and matter do not make it through a bridge. So we can’t send probes or other measuring devices. Our only choice is to send a diverse set of living mammals to the destination world. Thirty-six hours later, when they return, we analyze their condition. If they are intact and reasonably healthy, we then allow you, our clients, to make the final decision as to whether you want to bridge to the same location. This is why you are here in this room. We want you to see the returning test animals yourself, so that you may be confident and well-informed in your decision.”
Doyle pointed through the clear barrier. “The test animals will appear at the vertical and horizontal center of the chamber. They will be a few inches apart from each other, regardless of their spatial arrangement in the alternate world. They will fall to the padded floor, and then our techs—wearing protective suits—will immediately enter the chamber to evaluate their condition. Our standard set of test mammals includes two Dorset sheep, two Florida white rabbits, two domestic cats, two guinea pigs, two rats, and two mice.” He glanced at his watch yet again. “Less than a minute. Any questions?”
Desmond had a million questions but decided to wait and see what would happen.
They arranged themselves so that everyone had a clear view into the chamber and then waited. Desmond could feel his heart beating as the seconds passed.
“Watch carefully,” Doyle said.
The air in the larger room wavered visibly, and then the plexiglass window flexed outward toward the observers, as if the pressure had suddenly increased in the chamber. A group of shapes appeared and abruptly dropped to the floor. Some of them floundered for a moment and began running around the room, obviously terrified. Others didn’t move at all. A few of them, in fact, appeared to be nothing but piles of dark goo. All of them were totally devoid of hair.
Doyle clapped his hands together. “Astounding—the first bio-probe is a success!”
A hatch to the chamber opened, and white-suited technicians swarmed in and began rounding up the creatures. Working in pairs, one held an animal still while the other took readings with skin-surface thermometers and miscellaneous other probes. Two technicians moved directly to the center of the room to evaluate the animals that weren’t moving. This included one of the sheep, its pink-skinned body apparently having been partially eaten.
Doyle spoke excitedly. “Considering the extreme divergence time you requested, I am mildly surprised we were able to find a habitable world on the first try. The number of factors that could have acted upon the planet’s geology and biosphere is astronomical. For example, a new type of plant could have evolved more efficient food production that doesn’t create oxygen as a byproduct, outcompeting the flowering plants and rendering the atmosphere toxic to us. Random climatic events could have occurred, changing ocean temperatures so that the entire central United States is still submerged under a shallow sea. The possibilities are nearly endless.”
Infinity sighed loudly. “Half the animals are dead. One sheep is partially eaten. A predator large enough to—”
“Yes, yes, Infinity. That appears to be the case. I’m simply expressing my surprise at the bio-probe’s success.”
Doyle’s enthusiasm was contagious, and Desmond wasn’t keen on two more days of training with Infinity and Razor while waiting for the next bio-probe. He said, “The sheep didn’t have two bridgers there to protect them.”
“Yes, precisely,” Doyle said. “Let’s see what the techs have to tell us, shall we?”
They moved to a small conference room and sat around a glass-top table. They made mostly-awkward small talk for about ten minutes. Finally, a woman in her thirties wearing shorts and a long-sleeve denim shirt came in, took a seat at the table, and silently studied a tablet she had brought with her.
“This is Celia Pickett,” Doyle said. “She has a knack for comprehensively summarizing bio-probe results, allowing for prompt bridging decisions.”
The woman glanced up from her tablet for a split second. She wore dangly earrings and closely cropped black hair—no more than a centimeter in length. Perhaps she had bridged recently. Or maybe she was showing solidarity with the bridgers.
Everyone waited silently.
Finally, the woman looked up. “The bio-probe specimens returning alive showed no signs of extreme temperatures, elevated radiation levels, or low blood oxygen. Minimal dehydration.” She glanced at Desmond, Lenny, and Xavier. “Micro or macro parasites picked up on an excursion are not bridged back. But it is often possible to detect their recent presence on or in the body—surface scarring, telltale changes in blood chemistry, that sort of thing. The bio-probe animals showed signs of ecto-parasites, or perhaps biting insects, but probably no more than what the three of you experienced during your training exercises today.”
Lenny held up his hand like he was in a classroom. “What about stomach contents? If the animals eat while they’re there, can you see what they’ve eaten?”
She smiled and nodded, as if to say this was a good question. “Foreign matter doesn’t bridge back to our world, even if it’s inside the body, except for basic components that have already been broken down and have entered the body’s cells. Whatever bridged out, bridges back. No more, no less. Particularly if the test specimen is still alive.”
Lenny seemed to consider this. “So if one of the animals dies on the other world—what exactly happens?”
“It depends on the condition of the tissue. To put it simply, the more intact the tissue is, the more likely it will bridge back to our world. This is a result of the specific tagging process we use to prepare you for bridging.” She shot a glance at Doyle. “I can tell you more of the technicals after your official briefing.”
Xavier smirked. “You mean after we sign a non-disclosure agreement.”
She smiled but didn’t confirm it. “The biggest concern now is the mortality rate of the bio-probe animals. Of the twelve test animals, five returned dead or did not return at all. Which means not only are they dead, but their cells are no longer intact.”
Desmond leaned forward over the table. “What would cause their cells to no longer be intact after only thirty-six hours?”
“Incineration for one. But, much more likely, chemical breakdown—digestion.”
After a f
ew seconds, Lenny said, “Daaamn….”
Celia switched off her tablet. “Unfortunately, that’s the extent of what we can learn from a bio-probe.”
“Thank you, Celia,” Doyle said. He then turned to Infinity and Razor. “Your thoughts for our clients?”
The bridgers had been silent throughout the discussion.
Infinity cleared her throat. “Five of twelve dead. I don’t like it.”
Doyle gazed at her. “And?”
“And that’s my input. The world’s predator-heavy. I don’t like it.”
Razor shrugged. “It’s not ideal. But I’ve bridged after worse than five of twelve. I could go either way—fifty-fifty.”
Doyle raised his brows at the bridgers, but apparently they had no intention of saying more. He turned to Desmond, Lenny, and Xavier at the opposite end of the table. “In situations like this, our clients make the final decision. If you accept this world, you’ll bridge at 7:00 AM tomorrow. If you decline, we’ll initiate another bio-probe.”
Desmond looked at his friends.
Lenny smiled broadly. “I’m here for the ride, Des,” he said, nodding to Infinity and Razor. “With these two bridgers, we’ll put some zippity-smackdown on this predator-heavy world. Let’s get it done.”
Xavier furrowed his brows and shook his head at Lenny’s response. “Since this is an important decision, I’ll give a more mature, measured opinion. Do I like the idea of a ‘predator-heavy’ world?” He made quotation marks in the air. “No. But I do like the idea of proceeding immediately. I was prepared to be here for as long as it takes, but, to be honest, the idea of completing this excursion and still having a few weeks of summer before the semester—well, that’s rather intoxicating. I vote we do it.”
Lenny huffed. “That’s pretty much what I just said, man.”
Desmond glanced at Infinity. She was staring at him with a face of stone. He then turned to Doyle. “I guess we’re bridging in the morning.”
3
Briefing
Bridgers 1_The Lure of Infinity Page 3
