Authors: T.A. Uner
“What about the offensive systems?”
“We’ll check those too but I doubt we’ll be needing them. I plan on keeping Gina out of sight once we reach 1861.”
After all systems passed the control. Argos programmed the navigation computer for their destination. “Now that we’re configured for time-incursion, we’ll need to get up to 99.9 MPH to ignite the Spacetime Manipulator which allows Gina to move through time.”
Johnny and Argos buckled Jessie and Studs in the back seat before fastening themselves.
“How long does it take? To time-travel, that is,” Johnny asked.
“It varies per mission.” Argos eyed the navigation computer. “Roughly 180 minutes for this particular trip.”
Johnny hated to open the topic but he wanted to make sure Argos was alright. “Are you gonna be ok in 1861? I mean, we’re going back to a time when black folks were
really
hated, and slavery was still legal.”
Argos pulled out a paper document from his shirt pocket and showed it to Johnny. “This is a reproduction of a document that will clear me of being a fugitive slave should I be questioned. It’s called a Certificate of Freedom. So yes, provided I’m not verbally abused too badly I should be ‘alright.’ But I’d be lying to you if I said I’m looking forward to this mission.”
“I wonder how we’ll pass the time before we get to 1861?” Johnny said as Gina taxied onto a runway before Argos revved up the engine for the voyage. He was tapping his fingers against Gina’s armrest.
Argos grinned. “I know how you’re feeling; I remember my first mission. I’ve got just the story to entertain you for three hours. Did I ever tell you about my early days working as an AL operative?”
It was the third time this week Argos had been late for dinner. As he pulled up to his driveway in his fully-restored 1968 Camaro, he dreaded having to face his wife Gina. Not because he didn’t love her, but because of how she would react to his tardiness. After slipping out of the garage, he tiptoed up the steps to check on his kids. He peeked into Studs’ room through a crack in the door. The boy was studying and he decided not to disturb him. Next door down was Jessie’s room. He heard her talking on her smartphone and figured she was late-nite chit-chatting with one of her friends. He knocked on her door.
The talking stopped and he heard footsteps tiptoe towards the door. “Daddy!” she said throwing her arms around him. “Melissa I have to go,” she said into her phone before hanging up.
Argos sat next to her on the bed. “How’s my baby?”
“Fine,” she replied coyly, “how was work? Or is that classified?”
Argos rubbed his eyes. “That’s ok Jessie.” Despite the long hours at AL, he was enjoying the job, although his father Randal had taken over most of the duties for their Red Doberman breeding business, the old man didn’t mind, he loved dogs, just like Argos, and had a female Doberman called Mandy. “Where’s your mom?”
“She sat up past dinner waiting for you.” Jessie looked at him and stroked his cheek. “Poor Daddy, you look tired.”
“I feel tired baby.” He kissed her on the forehead and stood up. “I better go find her.”
“Probably half-asleep in bed.”
He couldn’t help feeling guilty. He’d promised her that after he retired from the military he’d take a security consulting position. Later, he’d surprised Gina with the dog breeding business, but she was alright with that, so long as he spent more time with the family. Then Scott Veto had appeared and teased him with the prospect of working with advanced technologies. Argos had always been a geek at heart, and the AL position had been too good to pass up.
He slipped inside the bedroom and saw Gina curled up on the bed. She wore a turquoise robe, and a magazine was tucked under her arm. Argos gently removed it and placed it on the nightstand, causing his wife to stir from her sleep. “Is that you Argos?” she whispered.
“Yes, ma’am.” He kissed his wife’s lips and took in the smell of her perfume. “I’m sorry I’m late…again.”
“Getting’ to be a bad habit Mr. Better. So tell me,” she began, her eyes half open, “any plans on how we can fix this?”
“I wish I could tell you more about AL, Gina; but they’re a fledgling agency, and they really need my skills, I can’t just bail on them.”
She looked at him, nodded peacefully and took his hand. There wasn’t a trace of resentment in her glance, only that of a tired woman who loved him. His heart felt heavy in his chest, and every time he drew breath, it got heavier. “You don’t have to apologize, Argos, I only wish we could see you more.” Gina drifted back to sleep and Argos pulled the covers over his wife before gently kissing her on the lips. He closed the door behind him and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
He found Rusty waiting for him there. The Red Doberman, as always, was happy to see him. He hugged his canine friend and poured fresh water into his bowl. As Rusty lapped up his water Argos wondered what the future would hold for him. Like any decent father, his family was the only thing he truly loved, but his AL duties helped safeguard countless other families across the globe. “What should I do?” Argos asked Rusty.
Rusty finished with his water and looked up at Argos, who stroked the warm fur on his back. “The scary thing is I don’t know what to do; but, I have to do something.”
That night, lying in bed next to his wife, he made a decision.
The next day he moved out of his home and rented a room at a local hotel.
February 22, 1861
As Gina touched down outside Baltimore, Johnny reflected on the trip. It had been an interesting story, albeit sad. He was lucky that he didn’t have the same issue, it would’ve been a challenge for him as well.
Still, Johnny felt more apprehension for his friend. How would this primitive era—which still regarded American Blacks as inferior—receive Argos?
He pushed those troubling thoughts from his head as they located a clearing where Gina could be hidden. After activating the cloak, they set off for Baltimore with Jessie and Studs scouting ahead this time.
“Using the cloak to mask Gina will use up half of the reserves, but there should still be enough energy to get us back.”
Despite this, Johnny knew that they couldn’t waste precious energy. AL’s resources were limited and they only had one other operational time-travel device. If by some aberrant chance they weren’t able to get back, AL would send a retrieval team to find them, but he knew Argos wouldn’t leave it to that. Besides, they couldn’t fail this mission. Too much was at stake.
It was a cold day, as a hazy sun shone down on them from a sky devoid of clouds. After they found a road that would take them towards Baltimore, Johnny heard a gaggle of crows squawking. He looked to the side of the road and found them huddled together on a high branch of a barren tree. “I’m no fan of crows, Argos.”
“I’ve got no love for ‘em either Johnny, but they’re harmless. It’s the people of this era we’ve got to watch out for, especially the bigots.” He took out his scanner and began checking for readings, while Johnny looked around nervously to make sure they weren’t being watched.
“Relax, man,” Argos said, “there isn’t another human around for 2 kilometers.”
“What’s the exact date?” Johnny asked. He had left his wristlink back at AL headquarters, and was now regretting it.
“February 22, 1861. Less than a day before Lincoln’s supposed to pass through Baltimore. You know you’re supposed to carry your wristlink with you at all times?”
Johnny nodded. “I was afraid I’d lose it. The guidebook I read during my training was quite particular about losing equipment in the past; it was called time contamination. Besides I figured I could leave it behind since I’m with you.”
Argos didn’t look convinced by Johnny’s excuse. “One thing I’m gonna drill into your memory is that book knowledge shouldn’t be followed blindly without first assessing the situation. Keep in mind that it was written by an AL scientist with zero field experience. Suppose I get killed or we get separated, then what?”
“I’m sorry Argos.”
“That’s alright, just don’t let it happen again.”
Mentis had awoken earlier that day in his hotel room and was looking forward to killing the famous human called Lincoln. He already knew the American President would be traveling to Baltimore via an ancient locomotive vehicle. He checked himself in the mirror, his Lycarian features concealed under a human disguise.
How ugly these humans are,
he thought amusedly. He looked forward to completing the mission and discarding the disguise.
His contact from the future, an arrogant officer named Grendis, had arrived yesterday to give him the virus from the future. It had been sealed in a Lycarian vial to prevent any breakage.
A knock at his door alerted him of room service and he answered it. It was a young girl wearing a maid’s uniform and head cap carrying a tray of food. “You asked the front desk to have your lunch brought to you Mr. Mentis,” she said obediently. He nodded and motioned for her to leave it on the sofa table. Even though his field rations provided him with ample nourishment, he couldn’t risk looking suspicious to these humans. So, for the sake of appearances he would eat their noxious food.
After the maid had left he dressed himself in his 1860s era clothing and grabbed his wolf head cane equipped with the delivery system that would infect Lincoln with the Ebola. In a matter of days, he would be dead, and American history would be irreparably changed.
“This assignment is almost too easy,” he muttered as he left his hotel suite. Walking the streets of Baltimore, he nodded politely to other passers-by, imitating the behavior of an 1860s American gentleman.
Fools. I wonder what they’d think if they knew their nation’s future would be stunted by a virus that didn’t even exist. Until now.
Tendrils of cold mist rose from his mouth as he inhaled the crisp clean air. He appreciated its cleanliness. His home planet’s once-pristine atmosphere had been polluted by centuries of industrial toxins.
He took a taxi carriage to scope out the train station. According to Grendis’ intelligence report, this is where Lincoln’s carriage would arrive. In the original timeline the new President had passed through Baltimore undetected. A human detective named Alan Pinkerton—who had been hired to protect the President—had seen to this.
Not this time. Mentis was armed with technology half a millennia more advanced than any technology available to mankind in 1861.
He paid the taxi driver and exited the carriage. The train station looked like any other of this era. He studied the floor plan, which Grendis had provided him and knew the station inside-out. Now the only thing left to do was wait for the arrival of Lincoln and make sure he left Baltimore infected with the Ebola plague.
It was ingenious really. By the time Lincoln exhibited any symptoms it would be too late and the medieval medical knowledge of this era meant an outbreak would be inevitable. As a result, there would be collateral damage as thousands would die who had not died before.
He knew Lincoln would be vulnerable during the transfer of his carriage between the Calvert Street Station of the Northern Central Railway and the Camden Street Station of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Fortunately he knew where to position himself to get the best shot off.
After he was satisfied with his inspection of the train station, he decided to walk back to his hotel. Mentis always thought more effectively when he walked, and he would enjoy this clean air as much as possible. Unexpectedly, a loud chirp from his proximity sensor went off. He cursed as it chirped again inside his coat pocket before silencing it. Luckily, none of the other local pedestrians had heard it, or else it could’ve brought unwanted attention.
He ducked into an alleyway and looked around to make sure no one was around. The readings on it indicated an antimatter energy signature. His pulse quickened and he cursed in his native tongue. “How could this be? These people are at least two centuries away from technology that could harness antimatter.”
Unless someone from the future had found him. But who could it be? Lycarian time-travel was a closely-guarded state secret. He decided to break communication silence and contact Grendis to relay this information. Shoving his proximity sensor back into his pocket he quickened his pace back to the hotel.
Johnny felt like he and Argos were characters in a vintage Civil War film. But in reality they had bent the laws of physics and journeyed over a century and a half back in time to an era right before the turbulent war between the states would split the United States in two, and pit brother against brother in a bloody conflict.
Much to Johnny’s relief Argos had yet to experience any racist taunts. Except one, a police officer approached them and asked his friend his business. When Argos had shown the cop his ‘freedom certificate,’ they’d been allowed to continue on their way. “I kinda enjoyed that,” Argos said before a sheepish grin stretched across his face, revealing a set of straight white teeth.
“I bet you did.” Johnny was glad Argos could exact a measure of retribution against the flawed status quo of this era that allowed slavery. But he remained silent and kept his eyes on the tiny type-II scanner Argos had loaned him.
“Find any strange readings?”
Johnny shook his head to indicate that he hadn’t. “What exactly are we looking for?”
“Now you sound like a rookie. Think back to your training. Think hard.”
If Argos’ statement was meant to put him on the spot, it worked. “When engaged in a time-healing excursion. First course of action is to check for anomalous readings not concurrent with the era.”
Argos nodded. “So, in a nutshell, we’re looking for anything that’s Lycarian. But if I know our enemy, he’s most likely disguised. I doubt you’ll see any werewolf-like creatures roaming the streets.”
They found a bench and sat down. Across the street from them two men exited a tavern laughing hysterically. Upon seeing Johnny and Argos, they wobbled towards them. Johnny could smell the alcohol coming from them from across the street.