Interesting Places (Interesting Times #2) (16 page)

All things considered, Oliver wasn’t
sure what he’d have expected the inside of a time machine to look like. Lots of
lights and futuristic design, maybe. Instead, it was nothing spectacular. There
was a cockpit in the forward part that reminded him of an old airplane. Two
wooden benches lined the narrow passenger area with an open space between them.
It would have been spacious enough to hold maybe eight people, if needed, but
with its low ceilings and lack of interior lighting felt cramped. Dust covered
everything. Oliver doubted it had been cleaned since its first use in the
1940’s, if it ever had been cleaned at all.

Artemis took a seat at the controls
and began flicking switches. A row of interior lights came on, albeit dimly,
and several instruments in front of her lit up. “You know how to drive this
thing?” Oliver asked.

“I read the manual some time ago,”
she replied. “I remember enough.”

Oliver took a look at the cockpit.
The few things that were labeled were in German. He wouldn’t have been able to
make heads or tails of it. “Did Sally speak German?”

“It is not particularly complex,”
Artemis said. “She wouldn’t have needed much, and clearly she had been planning
what she was going to do.” She studied the console. “She entered a date that
would have given her ample time to accomplish her mission, but I should warn
you it is very unlikely we will emerge at the same time.”

“Why not?” Tyler asked. “If we use
the same settings she did, shouldn’t we get there right when she does?”

“Time travel is not an exact
science,” Artemis said. “If it were easy, everyone would do it. The date is
more of a suggestion than an explicit instruction. We may arrive when she does,
or a day or two before or after. We will know soon enough.” She ran her hands
over the controls and looked back at Tyler and Oliver. “You may want to hang on
to something.”

Oliver looked around. “There really
isn’t much back here.”

Artemis shrugged. “Oh, well.” She
turned a lever and a humming noise began reverberating through the vessel’s
hull as what sounded like a rocket engine began powering up. “I am engaging the
system now.” She flipped another switch, hesitated for one small moment, and
then pressed a series of buttons.

The time machine began vibrating as
if it were being shaken from the outside. Oliver looked out through one of the
portholes. Nothing appeared to be changing. Then again, they were only going
back about a year. He had no idea how long it had been since the vault had been
redecorated, or if anything in this wing had been moved around recently. “Shut
your eyes,” Artemis said.

Oliver shut his eyes, but it wasn’t
enough to block out the intense flash of light that came next. When he opened
his eyes again he found himself seeing stars. The time machine had gone silent.
Oliver looked through the porthole again but still saw nothing new. “Are we
here?”

“We are here, Mr. Jones. The hatch
please, Mr. Jacobsen.” Tyler turned the wheel that secured the hatch, pushed it
open, and looked outside.

“It looks exactly the same,” he said.

“So it should. I will disembark
first. The turrets will need to be deactivated again. You two should take this
opportunity to change into your normal clothes. You look ridiculous.”

“You said we looked like cyborgs,”
Oliver protested.

“Yes, I did. I did not say it was a
good look.” She stepped outside and Oliver heard her addressing the security
system again.

Oliver and Tyler stripped off their
cyborg armor and got dressed, then joined Artemis outside the time machine.
“You have the basket?” she asked Tyler. He held it up to show her. “Good. Let
us go to the mirror. Follow me.” She led them back the way Oliver had just come
from, although that had been over a year in the future. The concept was a
little difficult to wrap his head around.

The mirror stood exactly where he had
left it. “So how do we…” Oliver began. Artemis did not wait for him to finish
the question. She didn’t stop walking, but just stepped forward and into the
mirror, vanishing before Oliver’s eyes as if she’d stepped through a wall of
opaque water. The glass appeared to ripple slightly as she passed through, and
then resumed its solid appearance.

“Yeah, I never really got used to
that,” Tyler said. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt.” He stepped up and walked
through the mirror, disappearing just as Artemis had. Oliver was alone in the
vault.

He hesitated for a moment, then
stepped closer to the mirror. He reached out slowly and touched his reflection
with his index finger, watching as it vanished through the glass, and then
pulled it back again. His finger tingled just a bit, but he felt unharmed. Oliver
took a deep breath. Putting an arm over his eyes to shield them, he stepped
through the mirror.

The sensation of walking through the
glass was unlike anything he had yet experienced. He felt a cool wind that made
his skin tingle, and had a sensation as if he’d been picked up by a gust of
wind and pushed forward a few steps before being placed back down on the
ground. His eyes saw nothing but white light, but he couldn’t help but shut
them. When he opened them again he found he was standing in what appeared to
have once been a large airplane hangar. The room was about half the size of a
football field with a high, curved ceiling. He, Artemis, and Tyler were
standing at the top of a metal ramp with a mirror that appeared identical to
the one in their vault just behind them. In front of them stood two automated
machine gun turrets pointed directly at them. Half a dozen soldiers in
camouflage fatigues stood between the turrets, each holding an assault rifle
with the barrels pointed at the ground.

An older man wearing a black beret
stepped through a door off to the side and hurried forward. “Forgive me, Madam
President,” he said. “We had no idea you were inbound, or we would have
prepared a proper reception for you. I’ll have one of my men get a pot of tea
started for you and your associates.”

“Madam President?” Oliver whispered
to Tyler.

“Just go with it,” Tyler whispered
back.

Artemis walked down the ramp. “It is
no matter, Lieutenant Forrest. I apologize that our coming was not announced,
but we have urgent business here. Where is Colonel Rain?”

“She is…” Lieutenant Forrest frowned.
“This is a bit strange.”

“Quickly, Lieutenant. When did you
see her last?”

“She came through the portal last
week, but the strange thing was we didn’t realize she had ever left. I’d
thought she was at Federation Command.”

“Did you challenge her?”

“Of course, but she was in dress uniform
and she passed the bio scan. There was no question it was her, so I assumed someone
had forgotten to make a log entry. She took a weapon from the armory and went
on her way.”

“Did she say where she was going?”

“No, and I didn’t ask.”

“They’re as scared of her here as we
are back home,” Tyler whispered.

“That’s not really a surprise,”
Oliver whispered back.

“You say she was here last week?”
Artemis asked. “It seems more time has passed than I expected.”

“Madam President?” Forrest asked.

“Nothing,” she said. “What is the
situation on the ground?”

Forrest bit his lip. “Federation City
stands, but…”

“Be frank, Lieutenant.”

“We’re losing, Madam President. If I
can be frank, we’re losing. The cyborgs are shelling the outer areas of the
city and their infantry is advancing too quickly for us. Some at Command think
we’ll last another month. Others think that’s too optimistic. But thanks to
your wise counsel, I’m sure that won’t be the case.” He frowned slightly. “Come
to think of it, I thought you were
also
at Federation Command…”

“Clearly I am not,” Artemis said.
“You should review your log keeping procedures so as not to make such mistakes
in the future.”

“Of course. I apologize, Madam
President.”

“Calm yourself, Lieutenant. I believe
we yet have cause for hope. But for now, I will require you to provide a
conveyance that can carry myself and my trusted advisors.”

“Trusted advisors?” Oliver whispered.

“Of course,” Lieutenant Forrest said.
“I will have an escort assembled at once…”

“That will not be necessary. My
advisors are more than capable of escorting me, and your good work is needed
here. This location must be held, Lieutenant. You need only provide a vehicle
so I may join Colonel Rain at Federation Command.”

Forrest nodded at one of his
soldiers, who rushed for the door. “It will be done immediately, Madam
President.”

Chapter 18

“Madam President?” Oliver repeated.
They were in a military sedan Lieutenant Forrest had procured for them. Tyler
drove with Artemis sitting next to him, picnic basket on her lap. Oliver had
taken a seat in the rear. Artemis had not yet chosen a destination for them,
merely telling Tyler to “drive around” for the time being.

“You can thank Sally for that,”
Artemis said. “It is how she introduced me when I accompanied her here through
the mirror the first time. I believe she thought it was funny.”

Oliver didn’t normally think of Sally
as having a sense of humor. “How did you sell that to everyone else?”

“I did not. I merely performed one of
my many miracles for them.”

“You found a coin behind somebody’s
ear?”

“No. I walked through a mirror. To
the uninitiated, it is a fairly impressive feat.”

Oliver would have had to admit that
it was. “So what do we do next?”

“I am considering that matter. I am waiting
for a memory.”

“You’re waiting for
what
?”

“Time travel is a strange thing, Mr.
Jones, particularly for me. In this case, Tyler and I both exist in this world
in other places. I am already aware of my other self. I can feel it, on the
edge of my consciousness. No doubt she is aware of me, as well. I fear this
experience will shortly grow very unpleasant.”

“I don’t feel anything,” Tyler said.

“You are not me. There should never
be two of me in the same place at the same time.” Artemis massaged the bridge
of her nose. “Keep driving.”

“Can I get one of those muffins?”
Tyler asked. Artemis fished one out of the picnic basket and handed it to him.

“You shouldn’t eat and drive,” Oliver
said.

“You think anyone is going to give me
a ticket? We’ve got the President here.”

Tyler kept the car in motion and
Oliver took the time to look out at the city. Artemis had said that it would be
very similar to his own world, but Oliver had spotted nothing that stood out as
very strange so far. Federation City looked much like every other large city
he’d ever visited. As they drove they passed convenience stores and
restaurants, small office complexes and parking lots. From their location he
could see what had to be the downtown area in the distance, where skyscrapers
seemed to compete with each other to see which could reach the highest. Beyond
them black smoke rose into the sky.

“That doesn’t look like a normal
fire,” Oliver said.

Tyler looked out the window. “I’m not
sure exactly
when
we are, to tell you the truth. The last time I was
here, before the cure, the cyborgs were bombing some of the outer areas. That’s
probably what that is.”

“Indeed,” Artemis said.

“Well, other than that, it seems
pretty ordinary here,” Oliver said. “This place is just like home.” He’d barely
finished the sentence when he spotted an airship overhead. It reminded him of
the blimps that flew over stadiums during sporting events, but this one was
reinforced with steel plates that wrapped around it from top to bottom. The
crew area underneath was larger, ran from one end of the airship to the other,
and had missile launchers jutting out from the sides.

“Forget it,” Oliver said.

Artemis sighed. “Linnea has gone
missing,” she said. Her voice sounded pained.

“What?” Tyler asked. “How do you know
that?”

“My memories are beginning to merge
with those of the me that exists here.”

“Oh.”

“Are you all right?” Oliver asked.

“No,” Artemis said. “It is quite
painful.”

“Can I help?”

“Thank you, Mr. Jones, but no. Tyler,
stop at one of the convenience stores. I need some aspirin.”

“Will that help?” Oliver asked.

“It cannot hurt.”

Tyler parked in front of a small
shop. “I don’t have any of their money,” he said.

Artemis went back into the picnic
basket and came out with a few purple bills. “That will be more than enough.
Get some water, also. Attempt not to buy any junk food.”

Tyler disappeared inside the store. “Mr.
Jones, should I lose consciousness at any time, wake me at once. Do not let me
sleep.”

“Is there any reason why not?”

“Yes.”

Oliver waited but Artemis didn’t say
anything else until Tyler came back outside and handed her a bottle of aspirin.
She took two of the pills and washed them down with water while Tyler handed
another bottle back to Oliver.

“Thanks,” Oliver said.

“You don’t look so good,” Tyler said
to Artemis.

“I’m fine, Mr. Jacobsen, but I may
need you to drive me somewhere shortly,” Artemis said. “Go outside and find a
car, and wait for me unless I call you back here.”

Tyler cast a worried look at Oliver
in the rear view mirror. “Um…we’re already in a car.”

Artemis blinked. “Oh. I apologize,
Mr. Jacobsen. That was not me. That is, it was the
other
me. She is at
Federation Command and is now well aware of the time fracture. She will be
attempting to decide how to proceed.”

“Okay,” Tyler said. “Is there one of
those magic time houses here?”

“Not that I am aware of, and hence
not that she is aware of.” She looked at the radio unit in the car’s dashboard.
“Call Federation Command on the executive frequency.”

Tyler fiddled with the console for a
moment. “I barely remember how this thing works,” he said.

“Oh, for goodness sake,” Artemis
said. She turned a knob on the console and pressed a switch. “Federation
Command, this is President Artemis speaking.”

Static crackled on the speaker for a
moment. “Federation Command,” a man’s voice said.

“I will speak with Colonel Rain. I
believe she is in the operations center at this moment.”

“Colonel Rain is occupied with a
personal matter,” the voice said.

“That is not my concern,” Artemis
snapped. “I will speak with her immediately.”

There was a short pause. “Forgive me,
Madam President, but…aren’t you in the building? I thought I saw you on your
way to the operations center just a minute ago.”

“Clearly you did not. I will ask you
not to waste my time any further.”

“My apologies, Madam President. I’ll
put you through now.”

A longer pause followed, and then
Sally’s voice came over the speaker. “Artemis? Where are you? Did you find
anything on my sister?”

Artemis nodded to herself. “I have
not, Salera, but I am endeavoring to do so at this very moment. Could you
please remind me of the last time you saw Linnea?”

“You want to go over that again?”

“Please humor me. Time is a critical
factor.”

“Yeah, I figured that, so I don’t
know why we’re…oh, forget it. I haven’t actually
seen
her in months. I
visited her at the Kholon facility after I got back from St. Louis, but we’ve
been kind of busy since then.”

“And when did she disappear?”

“
When
? Artemis, you know I
love you, but I swear to the gods you’re trying my fucking patience right now.”

“Please, Sally.”

“Sally?”

“Salera. I’m sorry. When did she
disappear?”

Sally sighed. “A week ago. She walked
out of the Kholon facility without a word to anyone and nobody’s seen her
since. Nobody. But you know this already. I don’t know why you’re asking me.”

“I see,” Artemis said. “Let us
consider a question I won’t have asked you before. If you had taken her
somewhere, where would you have gone?”

“If
I
had taken her somewhere?
What the hell kind of question…” her voice trailed off. “Here’s a question,”
she said. “Who the hell are you?”

“It’s me, Salera. Artemis. You know
my voice.”

“No, you’re not Artemis, because
Artemis just walked into the operations center and I’m looking at her right
now. Who are you?”

“An excellent question,” Artemis’s
voice came over the speaker. “Who is speaking?”

“This just got weird,” Oliver said
quietly.

“I think it was pretty weird before,”
Tyler whispered.

Artemis hesitated for a moment, then
said two words in a language Oliver didn’t understand. She clicked the radio
off. “Drive us to a public place,” she said to Tyler. “That park where they
sell those sausage rolls you like should do very nicely.”

“I’m not going to argue with that,”
Tyler said. “I missed those.” He turned the ignition and pulled the car out of
the parking lot.

“What did you say to her?” Oliver
asked. “I mean, to yourself.”

“I told her to find me,” Artemis
said.