by Ben Essex
*
Shortly after, the buzz began to spread.
I was a hit.
I travelled from town to town, Natalia in tow- streaking all across America Large, hitting one border community after another. Setting the Oil Belt on fire- metaphorically speaking.
The crowds got bigger. The cheers got cheerier. My speeches grew in length and verve, though I always tried to keep them reasonably brief. I was afraid that talking too long might break the spell, or blow my cover. I never answered questions from the audience; too risky.
After dark, I had nightmares about Mr. White and my long lost body. Come morning, I tried not to dwell. The day would invariably bring exciting things.
One day in particular, Natalia barged into a quaint little hotel room to find me in underwear, splayed out on the floor.
She just stared, apparently not so much embarrassed as perplexed.
'What are you doing?' She demanded.
'Stretching.' I wasn't sure whether or not I should be embarrassed. Any attempt at movement risked unwanted exposure, so I stayed very still.
'Stretching?'
'Trying to get into shape.'
'Why?'
'Why not?'
Natalia was apparently satisfied with this. She didn't go away.
'Uh... Natalia, this isn't the best time for-'
'What do you think you are doing?'
There was a brief pause.
'We just-'
'I mean your speeches,' she said sharply. 'They are incendiary.'
I blinked. 'They are not.'
' "Forgotten morals," "the lessons of the past," "building tomorrow." You sound like a revolutionary.'
'I simply saying what comes to mind,' I huffed.
'The Corporation did not hire you to be inspirational.'
'Actually,' I took the risk of standing. 'They did. They wanted me to inspire people in the direction of merchandise and that is exactly what I'm doing. I just happen to be doing it in my own way.'
Natalia stared me down. 'Perhaps,' she suggested, 'you do not grasp the situation as completely as you think.'
'Meaning?'
'Meaning these days no one is indispensable. My superiors are prone to shifting expectations, especially when what they perceived as an exercise in style starts to have substance.'
'Are you threatening me?'
'I'm warning you, because despite myself, Mr. Franklin, I find myself beginning to like you. I wish you to take care.'
I was caught off-guard by the unexpected pleasantness. 'Thank you, Natalia,' I said. 'Thank you very much.'
She answered with a terse nod, striding straight out. I assume the kindness was a terrible strain.
A few minutes later, I was back into my stretching.
The telephone rang.
I was surprised- I didn't even know the room came with a phone. After a bit of pottering about, I found it on the bedside table. It was a ridiculously old-fashioned device; a circular dial plate with a corded speaker. For a moment I just stared at the thing, then a fresh burst of ringing convinced me to pick up.
'Hello?' I held the speaker to my lips.
There was a pause. Then Mr. White's voice froze my heart.
'Hello, Ben.'
All of a sudden, my new life melted away. The crowds, the charm, the success... I remembered my ultimate nature as a fraud. How convincing I'd been; for a brief time I'd even conned myself. Mr. White could strip that away with a word and make me remember all those nightmares.
'I hear you've been enjoying yourself.'
I didn't know what to say, so I let him talk.
'Listen, Ben, I don't have long. I imagine you'll hear why in a minute. I just wanted to tell you- no hard feelings.'
I breathed: 'Who are you?'
'Don't be coy. You worked that out ages ago.'
'Franklin.' The Franklin Sim.
'Benjamin Franklin has been dead for several hundred years. You're his close successor. And I... I am just a faulty echo. Jacob White. I like that name. It has a nice ring to it.'
'Listen.' I struggled to sound commanding. 'Listen, Mr. Franklin, you have to understan-'
'Don't.' The word was sharp. 'Don't call me that. That's your name now. Yours. I am Jacob White. We have swapped places. We're not going back.'
'You... you don't want your body?'
'In this world? What would I do with it? I let you have it. A donation for your hard work. I faked my death- my crash- and I moved in here, while you were busy packing.'
'I don't understand.'
'That's because I'm a lot smarter than you, Ben. You've got the right idea, but you're too slow. There are other ways.'
'Mr. Franklin- White- please-'
'Goodbye.'
For a second, I could hear background noise from the other end of the line; a brief burst of ambient sound. I realised that White must be calling from the street. Then the phone went dead.
I was left in silence, holding the receiver. Breathing heavily.
That was when Natalia burst back into the room. This time, she looked solemn.
'We have to return to the city,' she said. 'Now.'
Our helicopter tore through sky.
Outside, flying Raptors rattled the windows; an aerial assault from flustered dinosaurs. We were heading back to the city in a straight line- the route took us right over a bunch of Raptor nests. The helicopter was armed. Machine guns dealt with the overgrown birds.
Natalia wouldn't tell me what was wrong. She said she didn't know, exactly. Just that there had been an emergency.
All the way back, my heart wouldn't stop pumping.
