The Past

by Kenneth Thomas

  The creation of CERN, the building of ISS was not just a major step forward in science but also in International co-operation. It was key in the commencement of long-distance space travel and a space race between Earth’s superpowers of the time, USA and China. These nations sought power and prestige as well as resources, destroying Earth and forcing the ancestors of the ‘citizens’ to flee from their homes and once habitable lands.

  VanWest deducts that if Iris is trying to stop the launch of the ISS’ second module, then she must be heading to Merritt Island, Cape Kennedy - the place where the Unity node is launched. Like with the bombing of the UNESCO meeting and implication of the Swiss delegates, the plot must be something that creates serious discord and stops progress for decades to come.

  His mind focuses on the launch itself, what exactly is Iris’s plot? Creating a problem between the US and Russia, the builders of the first ISS module Zarya would be a likely objective. An act of sabotage that results in the death of the Russian astronaut onboard would ignite a major row between the partners. By itself, the deaths of astronauts are well-documented in the Universal Council’s Wiki as a major reason for the slow evolvement of space travel at its beginning. Indeed, many safety measures stem from this era with questions over risk versus reward. If this were to happen to ISS at such an early and critical stage, then progress could be halted for not only decades but also for centuries.

  With no ISS, China’s ambitions may slow too and a space race may never happen. Well, at least not at the scale of that in the 21st and 22nd century. ISS’ pivotal work would also be lost, including insights on how humankind could survive in space; the effect of zero gravity on the human body; how to grow crops in space; and the testing of new spacecraft systems and equipment required for future missions to the Moon and Mars. SpaceX, the world's first private space travel company, would never be created, its first mission to send a cargo load to the ISS in 2012.

  The silver Quantum Accelerator rod is not in the bag, he needs to find the women, not just to kill them, for without it he will be stuck in the past!

  Revisiting the first photo he found, tagged Everglades Homestead, he recognises that there is a mooring with three strange-looking crafts. VanWest zooms in, his Wiki returning: Fan boats, flat-bottomed vessels propelled by an aircraft engine, allowing the driver to glide over and navigate low-lying water.

  Using his Moggle X, he scans it again, hoping to locate a route to this location. Analysing the fan boats, the terrain and the fauna in the photo, it returns a match, VanWest turns around and finds the boats were behind him all along. However, there is one difference - only two fan boats are moored. The Seductress and or Iris must have taken one. The rain picking up, VanWest plods through the mangrove. Close by there is a wooden directional post, Homestead General Aviation Airport‬, 5 Miles.

  VanWest can see no other body, alive or dead, in the vicinity, he can only assume that they are still together going to the locations on the tagged photos. This makes sense, Iris leapt last, allowing the Seductress time to kill the Priest before her arrival.

  His Moggle X and Wiki show that the quickest route to Cape Kennedy is flying from Homestead Airport to the Space Coast Regional Airport, approximate journey time of 01:00:00. With the rain turning into a torrential downpour; it’s not going to be easy to fly a plane and even to get to the airport. It’s surely going to be a very bumpy ride.

  As he hurries to the closest fan boat, the crackling of leaves and dead wood under his feet, combined with the rain, draw up several familiar yellow eyes to the water’s surface. Having acquired a penchant for human flesh after devouring the Priest, the alligators stalk him. Luckily for him, the fan boat has a key in the ignition. His Wiki contains instructions on how to use it, taking the high seat he twists the key, powering up the propeller and causing its huge fan to rotate - roar.

  Pulling the large lever stick to his left side, the boat jolts forward its force so strong it catches him by surprise. He does well to stay seated. Fortunately, the controls are a little more straightforward than that of the car in 1951 Paris, closer to the joystick controls of a hovercar. He quickly masters its mechanics, turning the stick to steer in the right direction. The craft moves most unusually, skipping over the water, it swings to the now frequent heavy wind gusts that sweep through.

  Making haste towards Homestead, weaving through the sawgrass, he can see a faint light shining through the heavy rain and wind. His mind is filled with thoughts not his own; stuck in a paradox, an overwhelming need to kill Iris, only for his heart to object, desperately wanting to save her, that is if she is even still alive. All it can agree on is finding her fast.

  The light grows brighter as he progresses, and with the help of his Moggle X, he can see it comes from behind a rusty shack perched over the water. It has a mooring. As he nears a deafening - roar - diverts his attention, he looks up and finds a small craft lifting off into the air. His Wiki identifies it as a Small High-winged, Single-piston Engine Cessna Plane. It is a plane taking off, this must be the airport! Behind the shack is a mile-long strip of yellow lights, a landing strip.

  VanWest slows, securing the boat to the mooring before jumping onto its floating jetty. He does well to keep his balance with the heavy rain and wind causing it to swing side to side. Keen to make up time, he hurries to this landing strip, passing a sign that reads Homestead General Aviation Airport, confirming he has indeed reached his target destination. His Moggle X zooms in on a large hollow building close by, a hangar. With the heavy wind, no other plane taxis for take-off.

  Heading inside the hangar, he finds another Cessna plane. This could be his best bet for getting to Merritt Island and Cape Kennedy. However, he is forced to duck and hide behind some crates as a short fat man wearing shorts and a flowery shirt appears. He is inspecting it, ticking off what appears to be a checklist on a clipboard. VanWest waits for the man to leave before re-emerging, thinking it best to avoid any contact that could alter the time continuum. With no one now around, VanWest jumps onto the plane’s wing and, forgetting his own strength, nearly yanks the pilot’s door straight off its hinges.

  Several archaic items are inside; a map, a compass, a leather black bomber jacket, a flare gun and several bars of something that he has never seen before labelled MILK CHOCOLATE. Hungry and figuring them to be food, he tears off its brown wrapper and takes a bite; it’s very yummy and before he knows it has devoured them all in quick succession. Chocolate doesn’t exist in the year 3000, at least not in this form, it tastes so sweet.

  But before he can take the pilot seat a low-pitched voice calls out to him, ‘Hey there, Mister’!

  A startled VanWest turns to find that the short fat man with the flowery shirt has returned.

  ‘What you doing on my plane, Mister’? The man asks, nervously edging backwards to what appears to be a red pull lever behind a glass panel, an alarm! He is staring at VanWest’s strange third millennia Enforcer aquasuit like he has just seen an alien.

  Acting fast, VanWest grabs the flare gun and aims it straight at the man’s head, ‘Freeze’! Causing the pilot to stumble and fall backwards.

  Seeing the man’s confused and frightened reaction to his appearance, he knows he needs to change and orders the man to undress, ‘Shirt, shorts, shoes’!

  The man promptly complies, throwing his clothes towards VanWest. He knows he can’t let this man remember what has happened: his aquasuit, his threat, his person all could affect the time continuum. Using Master Jiang’s technique, he walks calmly over to the man and delivers a swift, sharp jab just above his right ear, close to the medial temporal lobe, the part of the brain that houses short-term memory. The man should be knocked out for a few hours and not remember a thing.

  After dragging the unconscious man behind some boxes, he changes into his clothes then climbs back up and into the pilot’s seat. He uses his Moggle X’s recommended flight path to the Space Coast Regional Airport and checks his Wiki for instructions on how to take-off and fl
y this primitive craft, this Cessna plane.

  VanWest takes the control stick and fires up the engine, which propels the plane forward. He guides the plane out of the hangar and lines it up on the runway, mindful to keep his lights off and not attract attention. It’s not too indifferent to a HyperSphere simulation, something he has practised once or twice. Luckily, the heavy rain and wind mask its noise, allowing him to successfully elude the control tower. Pulling the control stick back, he accelerates down the runway till the plane lifts into the blustery air, pushing him back against the seat. He’s taking off!

  Chapter 15 A Killer’s Love

  The streetlights shine brightly in the dark as he struggles to fly through the heavy wind and rain, a little shocked at how this craft shakes so much, such a contrast to the Enforcer patrol ships, which remain perfectly stable in any weather. After close to an hour, the Space Coast Regional Airport is in view. The lights of its landing strip are brighter than those of the Homestead, and its tarmac stretches much further.

  He checks his Wiki for instructions on how to land, which recommends to radio into the control tower first, To Secure Clear Landing Path. Though it is risky to alert them to his plane, he doesn’t want to collide with another. Making use of its primitive transponder, he picks up the headset that is attached by a coiled cable, putting it over his ears. Using the recommended flight phonetics of the time, he speaks, ‘Must land, Mike Uniform Sierra Tango Lima Alpha November Delta’.

  ‘Copy that, runway clear, Yankee Echo Sierra, you are good to land’, the flight controller confirms.

  VanWest aligns his plane in between the lights of the runway and pushes the control stick forward to start the descent, the turbulence causing the plane and his stomach to bounce around. Managing to remain calm, he descends, doing well to stay in a straight line and soon hits the runway with a loud thump! The slippery landing strip makes for a nervy finish, forcing him to pull the stick all the way back in order to slow down. Fortunate to not skid off the tarmac, he comes to a stop.

  He steers the plane towards those parked close by, spotting a Cessna plane with Homestead painted in red letters on its side. It’s exactly like the one that he saw taking off whilst on the fan boat and matching to his Moggle X records. He opens the plane’s door, this time remembering to take care and armed only with his Electroskeleton hand proceeds to this plane. The still blustery wind and rain drench his baggy cotton shorts and shirt and he starts to shiver. Apart from the cockpit door being left open nothing looks unusual, all he can see is a couple of empty cans with SODA written on it.

  As he leans further in he notices two grey Demron jumpsuits tucked under the passenger seat, Hubert’s brand didn’t exist in this time!? The women must have been on this plane! He surveys the landing strip once again using his bionic sensors and his Moggle X for better visuals, it returns with No Females In Close Proximity.

  All he can detect is an odd low humming noise, it belongs to a vehicle whose headlights now shine towards his plane. Written on the vehicle’s bonnet are the words Space Regional Airport Security. Startled, he realises he has only a few moments to disguise himself. He does not want to resort to Master Jiang’s technique of inflicting short-term memory loss again. He hurries back to his plane, jumping onto its wing and then into the cockpit.

  Racking his brain for a plausible backstory, he rummages through the Priest’s backpack and finds an ID belonging to a NASA Engineer on Endeavour, Flight STS 88, D. Drake, born San Jose, California. This could work well. He pulls out the facial re-modulation kit next and calibrates it to match that of the ID. Just about managing to complete the alteration to his facial features; turning his hair colour black, with only his eyes now looking his own before the vehicle pulls up.

  A guard, wearing a badge and gun, gets out and saunters over to his plane, with a smile, he calls out, ‘Hey there, Mister! Sure is raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock here. Ya fly in this’?

  VanWest simply nods in response, not entirely sure what he’s saying. The guard speaks English, but his accent is even heavier than that of the pilot he knocked out in Homestead. His Moggle X and Wiki identifies it as a Southern drawl, typical of the southern states during this century.

  ‘Mister, ya have some ID’? The security man asks.

  VanWest duly complies, climbing down from the plane’s wing to hand him the ID card of the engineer he now looks like, D. Drake. Keeping a firm eye on the guard’s holstered and primitive-looking gun.

  ‘Golly, ya work for NASA!? Ya looking pretty soaked, must be colder than a witch's tit in a brass bra! I’ll give ya a ride’, the guard offers, with a friendly chuckle.

  ‘Sure, thanks’! VanWest smiles, worried about leaving the Demron jumpsuits in the other plane, but he has no option. He doesn’t want to look suspicious by walking over to the other plane and not accepting the ride. Thus, he takes only the items inside the Priest’s backpack and walks with him over, stepping into the front passenger seat.

  A little star-struck, the guard gives him a salute, ‘By the way, my name is Wyatt. I’ll sort ya out with a rental car, take ya to Space Kennedy. Ok’?

  ‘Yeah sure, Wyatt’! VanWest replies, trying to mimic his disguise, with a light Californian twang. Keen to find the women, he inquires, ‘Seen two ladies landing recently’?

  ‘Sure did, they come from the plane right there - pretty little blond and a frizzy-haired lady. Ya know them? They said they were part of NASA too’, Wyatt answers with a big smile, revealing that the women have yet to alter their appearance.

  ‘Sure… We were going to meet at the airport but hey the weather’! VanWest answers.

  ‘Women for ya! Say one thang and do another. They heading to an apartment near the NASA Causeway’. The security guard, Wyatt, continues, remarking on the women’s looks, again chuckling, ‘If ya don’t mind me saying, dang! Those women weren’t hit with no ugly stick. Never met two women look so fine, not in this Sunshine State, yer NASA boys sure pick them good - OooweeE’!

  VanWest gives a wry smile, he needs more details on where they went, ‘Sure are… an apartment you said’?

  ‘They‘re bickering about some Montgomery House, on Horizon drive or something. Know it’?

  Crackle! The guard’s walkie-talkie interrupts their conversation; it’s a warning, ‘Watch out! Plane-hijacking Homestead! Stand-by for more details, over and out’.

  Wyatt looks at VanWest, ‘Sir, I must ask, where ya flying in from today’?

  ‘M-Miami! That’s hella sketchy’! VanWest replies, hesitating before thinking of the name of a major city in Florida, at the same time doing his best to act surprised. It seems that the pilot has been found and his missing plane called in.

  ‘These parts are sure getting more dangerous. All those illegals, with their narcotics in their britches’. VanWest nods, not sure what he means.

  Wyatt looks keen to go and search the airport, ‘Sir, it been a real pleasure, I got to skedaddle, Jolene fix ya up with a rental’.

  The security vehicle stops in front of a single-storey building, ARRIVALS, he shouts through the door, ‘Hey Jolene’!

  A rather rotund woman shouts back, ‘What ya want’?

  Wyatt replies, ‘Car for this NASA fella’!

  VanWest steps out and gives a salute to Wyatt, who returns a second with an even bigger smile. Inside, Jolene asks for his details, pointing over at a parked car, ‘It that red number, right over there. Give me some ID, I’ll charge it to our NASA visitor account’.

  The rental car is a red Nissan Maxima, a popular and cheap car model of the late 1990s. Jolene tries to strike up a conversation, ‘Ya hear someone steal a plane in this wind. Crazy hey! Must have been as drunk as a skunk’!

  VanWest gives a nervous smile back, for unbeknownst to her, he’s the man who stole it, and no, he is not drunk like a skunk! Whatever that means.

  She adds, ‘Only manual left. All hunky-dory for ya?

  ‘Sure, thanks’!

  He thinks best not to mention
that the last car he drove in manual likely still rests at the bottom of the river Seine, Paris. With his mind focused on finding the women, he’s not keen to chit-chat and takes the keys. Hurrying to the parked car, he figures how to unlock by pressing a button on the key chain and steps inside.

  Vroom! The engine ignites and he pulls out - screech - onto the driveway. Before steering onto the main road, he stops briefly to find the route with his Moggle X, returning with the direction to Horizon Drive. As he drives, the rain starts to ease and the sun slowly rises. Speeding down the highway, he can’t but help notice this wondrous and strange world around him. More and more seeing why this time and place could be viewed as Utopian.

  There is greenery everywhere, the highway is lined with grass, scrubs and tall palm trees. Soaring high above in the blue skies are birds of multiple colours. VanWest opens his window, allowing the wind to blow across his face. It’s a sensation that cannot be found in any Hypersphere simulation, the air so fresh, clean and crisp. Further behind the trees is an azure-blue ocean. It is not incarnadine, like in the year 3000, but actually blue! The sun’s light-refracting a multitude of colours off its ripples. However, his mind has drifted further from his control, in particular, one commandment plays in his head, to destroy all those who defy the Universal Council.

  Passing by a sign, Space Kennedy Visitor Complex 12 Miles, his Moggle X indicates that Horizon Drive is very close. VanWest tries to anticipate the Seductress’s next move, likely biding her time to kill Iris in the apartment, perhaps waiting for her to fall asleep. She poses the greatest risk of the two, a wildcard. Unlike Iris and her Utopian mission; there are no clues to her plans, as well as possible destinations of any future leap. Having manipulated this leap to her own selfish gain; she appears to only want this world for herself.

  He focuses on his Quantum Communicator and sends through a message to Commissioner Ming with his updated status, ‘In pursuit, closing in on target’.