Jessica chuckled softly and rapid-fire tapped on the U-Board. She spotted a couple of strings of code with a hidden distress signal from Cleveland. Another from Phoenix. Others from Raleigh and Boston and Pittsburgh—mostly cities from the eastern half of America.
“Hmmmm. Interesting,” Jessica muttered.
“What?”
She ignored Kildere. She guessed no news was bad news, which meant no one was left in Denver, Salt Lake, San Francisco, and other American cities not talking. What about Canadian and Mexican cities? She dug deeper. More tapping. More swiping.
“Just...it’s weird,” Jessica muttered. More messages flashed from Seattle, Miami, Baltimore. The same messages came in from Toronto, Calgary, and Mexico City. “The reports are all the same. The lizards come in and sweep a city, killing most, and then round up those left alive to...this makes no sense.”
“What are they saying?” Kildere looked over Jessica’s shoulder.
Jessica’s arm began to swing up to deliver an uppercut to Kildere’s chin. She mentally told herself to stop.
“The lizards are leading them out of their homes and marching them down Main Street. Like a damn parade. Why?”
One more message and she had the answer. Her U-Board almost tumbled from her hand. It was a message from Nashville:
They brought my neighbors to the middle of town, and they just disappeared in a shimmer.
“They’re using the Mulvari to transport people. To where?”
Then she noticed the color drain from Kildere’s face.
“I...I think I know what they’re doing,” he said.
Jessica looked at him.
“You—an older version of you—came back to help Kaylan and the others in pursuing Kyle. During our...introductions, she shot down a contingency plan Damien had for saving everyone in case the Guardians ever came.”
“What was that?” Jessica asked Kildere and then chuckled. “Evacuate everyone into the time stream?” That made her laugh. “One large Mulvari wormhole?”
Kildere said nothing.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“It wasn’t going to be one large wormhole, obviously.” Kildere sounded defensive. “We were going to position the eight Mulvari wormholes in strategic—”
“So 6.3 billion people divided by eight?” Jessica cut him off. “What crazy math did Thorpe perform in his head that made him think that could possibly work?”
Kildere said nothing.
Jessica’s eyes narrowed. “Unless, of course, Thorpe wasn’t planning on evacuating everyone.”
Kildere sighed. “Those who paid would, of course, receive priority—”
“Bullshit. ‘Pay up to stay alive, period.’ That’s more Thorpe’s speed.”
Kildere cleared his throat. “At any rate, apparently, you—the older version of you, I mean—said that plan had been tried on her Earth.” Kildere paused a moment. “Her Earth—it’s our Earth though, right?”
“Hey, professor, leave the hard science to us theoretical physicists,” Jessica sneered. “I’m sure there have been actions that have already happened since the lizards arrived that were different than the world she came from. Therefore, different Earth.”
“I suppose. It’s just...”
“Just what?”
“She wasn’t much different than you. She was mean-spirited, broken, and a little sad.”
“That describes 98 percent of the world after TPC took over, Kildere,” Jessica railed.
“She led the Anarchists,” Kildere snapped back. “She had a particular hatred to Kaylan when she first appeared here. Still think you and she are all that different, Miss Waters?”
Jessica stared into his eyes and pointed at the chair in the far corner of the room. “Sit,” she said.
Kildere walked to the chair. “It turned out that the Guardians took control of the Mulvari, and when the wormholes were created, all the people, they were transported to outer space.”
Jessica stared at him for a moment. “Why would the lizards do that? If the people didn’t know where they were going, death would be instantaneous. Not really an appropriate punishment for crapping all over their gods.”
Kildere sat down and leaned his head against the wall. “The Guardians told the population before they made them walk through the wormhole.”
Jessica tried to visualize that. Knowing you were walking to your death. And she was sure the lizards would blast anyone who tried to make a run for it. She absently set her U-Board down on the table she had been sitting on.
“Holy Christ,” she muttered. “The shimmer, that’s what the lizards are doing. Sending everyone to cold, dead space.”
At that moment, Gabe and Havelson walked in.
“Did we miss anything?” Gabe asked. But the look on his face betrayed him. He knew the answer.
“It’s bad,” Kildere said.
“Really? ‘It’s bad?’ That’s an adjective for someone who’s about to receive bad news from the doctor. Maybe for someone who’s about to learn that TPC terminated their contract. Maybe Thorpe told Kaylan that before he kicked her to the curb. It’s bad? It’s catastrophic. It’s horrific. Can anyone come up with a word that conveys worse tidings than horrific?”
“Heinous. Abhorrent,” Gabe said.
“Detestable, you can use that as well,” Havelson added.
“The lizards are sending people into outer space to die,” Jessica said flatly. Then she returned to her U-Board, tapping away.
“Well, as far as executions go, there are worse ways,” Gabe mused.
Jessica looked up. “What the hell would make you say that, Gabe?”
“Death is pretty much instantaneous,” Gabe answered. “You taught me that, Jess.”
She found herself smiling. Her U-Board beeped, and she looked down. “Aw, good,” she said. “Sacramento. That’s on the way, sort of.”
“What are you talking about?” Kildere stood.
“The lizards are using a wormhole in Sacramento.”
“No,” Kildere said.
“We’re going to shut it down.”
“No!” Kildere yelled. He desperately looked around the room. “For God’s sake, won’t one of you two talk some sense into her? Stern, you’re her boyfriend, she’ll listen to you.”
“Actually, I’m not,” Gabe said. “And I’ve learned that it does no good to tell Alpha something’s not a good idea when she’s made up her mind.” Gabe looked at Jessica. “Right?”
Jessica smiled and shut off her U-Board.
“Did you find anything useful?” she asked.
Havelson nodded. “We filled up the car with rations. I also charged my car batteries up a bit. We should have enough to make it to the coast.”
“Good,” Jessica said, marching toward the door. “Let’s get moving.”
5
Slithendor turned his head to the sky, his thin ribbon tongue flicking in and out of his mouth. Their scouts, all three of them now lying dead on the ground, had stood their post as high as they could go without succumbing to the damnable cold weather of this planet.
“Slithendor?”
He lowered his head to see the reconnaissance team lead in front of him.
“Yes?”
The recon lead walked Slithendor through the battle.
“These two were killed first,” he said, pointing to the two who were a mess of body punctures and green blood. “Somehow the attackers possessed the weaponry to—”
“Pierce our armor,” Slithendor finished. When his partner looked at him, he added, “We observed a similar phenomenon at the blasphemer’s stronghold.”
The recon team lead blinked his reptilian eyes. “Slithendor, does this not worry you? That the blasphemers have technology that can kill us?”
“It is our technology, lead,” Slithendor replied. He pointed a scaled claw at one of the bodies. “Notice the pattern and shape of the wound? That is from our weapons, not the humans’.”
“But that
is impossible,” the recon lead stammered. “No one can use our weapons but us.”
“Obviously, it is possible,” Slithendor corrected. “The question becomes how. How can the human Thorpe achieve this?” He looked at the other body. “I do not know, but it is a question I will ask him when we capture him.”
“This is the truly horrifying development.” The recon lead walked over to the Twallick. Slithendor tried to keep his shocked expression hidden from the team, but it was impossible. Here it was, in front of him. He touched it, felt its hard, stiff surface. Thorpe had found a way to dehydrate the creature. That was the only way to describe it.
“Excuse me, Slithendor.” Another member of the recon team lumbered toward him. “The commander wishes to speak to you.” He was a younger clutch brother. This was probably his first voyage off-planet.
“Thank you,” Slithendor said and pressed a raised scale in the middle of his left claw. A small hologram of the commander appeared six inches above his claw.
“Slithendor,” the commander greeted him. “What have you found?”
“Unfortunately, Commander, what we have feared has come to pass. The human Thorpe has found a way to use our weapons against us. In addition, he has found a way to neutralize the Twallicks.” Slithendor turned his claw palm down, toward the solid, statue-like body of the dead Twallick.
“By the gods, the blasphemer has succeeded in doing what countless races have not.” The commander paused. “Drrrisssssst.”
Slithendor shook his head. “All due respect, Commander, you give this human too much reverence.” Slithendor would never have been impressed enough with the human Thorpe to speak the word of reverence.
“Is that so, Slithendor? I have just received another report two more scouts have been killed, along with another Twallick, not far from you.” the commander said.
Slithendor cleared his throat. “Thorpe has foolishly gambled that he would be safe in the colder climates of this planet.”
The commander chuckled, a sound similar to that of one of the nocturnal insects of this planet, referred to as crickets. “You are our best tracker, Slithendor. Show the human Thorpe what a miscalculation in strategy he has made.”
“Your will be done, Commander,” Slithendor said and pressed the raised scale in his palm once more. The hologram of the commander blinked off.
“The human Thorpe has made a mistake, Slithendor?” the lead recon team member asked.
“It would seem so,” Slithendor answered and pressed a button on his belt.
Armor, the color of dark earth, cascaded outward from his belt, covering Slithendor like a second skin. He closed his eyes and smiled at the warmth the armor provided. He had lost track of the number of times a blasphemous race thought they could evade him, his comrades, and he had proved them wrong. This was his duty, yes, but sometimes it was more.
“It begins again,” Slithendor said. He turned to the lead recon team member. “The commander will want your report immediately.”
“Of course, Slithendor.”
But he did not hear the reply. With the assistance of his armor, Slithendor was already halfway up the mountain..
EARTH 156
T he first 155 Earths weren’t that much different than Kaylan’s own. Using her personal history as a touch point, she was able to find the majority of Kaylans on each Earth reasonably easily. One hundred and twenty-two were working at TriPharmaCorp, some in the R&D facility in Chicago, some in a “top-secret” project Kaylan could only assume was the Minutemen team, and a few in other positions. The strangest of which was Kildere’s admin. Kaylan could never imagine a world in which she would be satisfied working as an admin for anyone, let alone Kildere.
Thirty-three Earths contained dead Kaylans. She managed to find obituaries on only five of those—died in a car accident with her father at ten years of age; died from an epic outbreak of influenza when she was fourteen; died from drowning when she was six; died from a gunshot wound when she was twenty; and died from leukemia when she was twelve.
To occupy her mind, she came up with exotic, inventive reasons for her demise on the other twenty-eight Earths. Her favorite was death by decapitation—she slipped on a banana peel while walking next to a skyscraper when a window on the twentieth floor broke. A shard of glass found its home in Kaylan’s neck.
She thought that one would have been really problematic for her mother, who Kaylan believed would have wanted an open casket memorial.
This Earth, though, this was the first one that threw her a curveball. She knew where she was—or rather, where she should have been. Right outside the front gates of TPC. The mountain range Kaylan was used to seeing outside her living quarters was there.
But there was no TriPharmaCorp. No front gate, no concrete walks and buildings that made up the campus. No white marble tower that stood, holding its own against the impressive mountaintops. None of that was here.
Just a grassy field and thinly dispersed pine trees.
“Where the hell do I go from here?” Kaylan muttered to herself.
As if in answer, a group of children suddenly appeared, all smiles, and encircled her.
“Found you,” one little girl shouted.
“You didn’t do a good job hiding, Master Smith,” a little boy added.
“Did you think those weird clothes would fool us?” a third child with amazingly bright emerald eyes asked.
“Anastasia found you, Master.” The boy pointed to the girl with green eyes. “A translocation spell. We didn’t think it was going to work. It was one of the first spells you taught us.”
“Look, she used an alteration spell to change her hair too,” Another girl tugged on Kaylan’s hair.
“You said you weren’t going to make it easy for us,” Anastasia said. “Why did you change your mind?”
“That’s because she’s not me.” A familiar voice came from behind her.
Kaylan turned around and saw herself dressed in a white shirt and black skirt. She wore a brown tabard with an orange design on it that reminded Kaylan of the Phoenix shape TriPharmaCorp used for its logo. Her double’s hair was longer, reaching down to her calves.
Kaylan took a step toward her twin and smacked into a wall of...nothing. She reached out with her hand, and it felt as if the air had solidified into a wall.
Her double quickly swept her hands in an upward motion just as Kaylan tried to move around the barrier. It was too late; she was boxed in.
“I need to talk to you,” Kaylan said.
“Oh, we’ll talk,” her double said. “But first...” She turned to the children. “I believe Master Kildere is expecting us, children. Please go and tell him I will join him in a moment.”
Kildere, Kaylan thought, watching the children scatter through the tall grass and disappear. So far she had seen glimpses of Travis, Gabriel, and on one Earth, an appearance from her mother, but this was the first mention of the man who changed her life so long ago.
“OK,” Kaylan started, “I know this is going to be difficult to grasp but—”
Her double leaned in close and visually examined her. “Such an amazingly detailed doppelganger. Did Miguel make you?”
At the sound of that name, Kaylan’s mind grasped a fragment of memory; the last night they had together before Thorpe kicked her out of TPC and they took separate paths. Hers, which was long and had led her here, and his, which was brutally cut short. Her vision blurred, and she absently wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Doppelgangers don’t cry.” Her double frowned. “Who are you?”
“I’m you,” Kaylan answered. “From another Earth. I know that sounds crazy, but if you give me a moment, I can explain it to you.” The experience she had gained from the 155 worlds she had visited so far had given Kaylan insight on the best way to break the news to her counterpart. The first five worlds she visited were a bust in this regard. Three Kaylans ran from her screaming; one ran into the path of an oncoming car—Kaylan stayed and made sure that medical
staff was able to stabilize her before leaving; and one tried to kill her.
“Very well,” her double said. “I will grant you a moment.” She looked so young and small for some reason. Smaller than Kaylan felt. She didn’t even have the thin lines radiating from her eyes like Kaylan had now.
“All right,” Kaylan began. “Looking around, I’m going to assume you are not the leader of a group of time travelers.”
“Master Kildere has not taught me any transchronal spells yet,” her double replied. “I’m adept at translocation spells. For example...” Her double made sweeping gestures with her hands.
Kaylan’s surroundings immediately changed. One moment she was trapped in an invisible box in the middle of a grassy field. The next moment she was still in the box, but now a simple wooden hut was in front of her. So was Kildere, with long white hair and a long white beard that flowed down to his waist.
“What an amazing doppelganger,” he remarked. Kaylan rubbed her eyes. Then she felt her stomach kick and heave.
“Uh-oh,” her double said and gestured once more, in concert with Kaylan doubling over and vomiting on the ground. “Doppelgangers don’t vomit, Master,” she said.
“Indeed. So who is this then?”
“She says she’s me, from another Earth.”
Kaylan spit the remains of vomit from her mouth and straightened.
“Nice to see you, Kildere,” she said.
“Master Kildere,” her double corrected.
“Not on his best day,” Kaylan said. “Spells, you said. Looking around, I’m going to guess that you don’t place much importance on science and technology.”
Magic Kaylan and Wizard Kildere looked at each other.
“What?”
“Science and magic existed in harmony here for thousands of years until someone decided he should rule the world,” Wizard Kildere said.
“Thorpe.” Kaylan groaned.
“You’re not from around here, so we’ll cut you some slack,” Magic Kaylan said. “To even mention that name is punishable by death.”
“I’m not surprised,” Kaylan said.
“Damien Thorpe rejected magic and embraced technology. So much so that he believed the world should be ruled by it,” Wizard Kildere said, shaking his head. His beard swung like a pendulum under his chin.
Minutemen- Parallel Lives Page 9
