Regression (22 page)

“
Let’s see what
Abraham has to say.”

They rode the elevator to the top
level. Adya waved cheerily to Jennifer as they passed her office.
They found Abraham at his desk.

“
Abraham, good to see
you. Thank you for inviting me to collaborate on the population
genetics projections.”

“
You’re our expert in
the field. Adya, how are you finding medical services?”

“
Babak’s an excellent
mentor.”

“
Actually, in
completing the intake process Babak discovered something intriguing
about her which merits further study in my area.”

“
Oh?”

“
I would like her to
come to Sanctum earlier than planned. I have a battery of tests to
run using the more sophisticated equipment in my lab.”

“
And what is this
trait requiring study?” Abraham eyed her
contemplatively.

“
Adya has a genetic
abnormality, one so exceedingly rare I’ve never personally heard of
an occurrence. I want to investigate further the presence of
extra-nuclear DNA in her cells”

His eyebrows raised in shock.
“That is certainly not what I was expecting to hear. Are there any
concerns, security or health risks?”

“
No, none we are aware
of. The anomaly was present in the original timeline with no
adverse effects I expect there aren’t serious concerns. I think it
bears study in light of our presence here. Anything out of the
ordinary demands investigation.”

“
Certainly.” Abraham’s
eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. “I think it would be an
excellent idea for Adya to relocate to Sanctum.” She smothered a
gasp at the implication of his words and tone while he continued to
speak. “There is a meeting scheduled in three days, think it can
wait until then?”

Peter nodded. “Yes, I don’t expect
there’ll be any sudden changes.” He glanced at Adya. “You haven’t
felt different since regression, have you?”

“
No, not at all.” She
shook her head in emphasis.

“
Okay, it’s settled
then. You will return with Peter to Sanctum after the meeting.”
Abraham’s tone held dismissal.

“
I do have a favour to
ask.” Both men looked at her.

“
I am only fourteen in
this timeline and my parents are concerned. In transit to Sanctum
would it be possible to layover in Stamford and meet my parents? We
need their authorization for travel and to extend my time with
Three Eleven anyway.”

“
I apologize, Adya,
for not having taken care of that sooner. I will personally escort
you to Sanctum via Stamford to reassure your parents. Peter, can
you please advise Jennifer of the departure time when you set the
schedule with Transport?” Peter nodded. “Great. See you both in a
few days at the meeting.”

“
Oh, wait, Abraham, I
just thought of something. Will the little cottage be held for me,
or will someone new move in?” She did not want to have to pack up
all her new clothes if possible.

“
It will be yours for
the duration of your involvement with Three Eleven.” Peter again
regarded Abraham with confusion as Adya gritted her teeth in a
brittle smile.

“
I guess it will be
mine for a long time, then.” She turned. “Good bye,
Abraham.”

“
We’ll see you later,
then.” They left the office, Adya heading to her
cottage.

“
Nice volley. Can you
be on our team?” Adya and a few neighbours were playing a pick-up
game of volleyball with some of the local children.

“
You chose the teams,
remember?”

“
Yeah, but I
thought…”

“
You thought a girl
couldn’t play.”

“
Okay, you caught me,
I plead guilty. Your serve.” She served and the point again went to
her team.

Jennifer came around the corner of
the cottage. “Hey Adya, I hear you’re heading out soon. What’s
going on?”

“
I’m being relegated
to Sanctum, to remove you from my influence.” Adya spoke with half
serious irony.

“
Hah, too late, I’ve
already learned how to let loose.” Jennifer volleyed the ball back
at one of the neighbours, an attractive single man in his late
thirties. “Point.”

The game continued to grow as more
neighbours joined, the teams becoming so crowded a second net was
used to extend the playing area. Adya and Jennifer were introduced
to each new addition without any hope of keeping all the names
straight.

“
I need to sit out
this round, I haven’t played like this in…a very long time.”
Jennifer feigned weakness as she collapsed into a seat on Adya’s
patio which offered an excellent view of the action.

“
I’ll join you on the
sidelines, too many cooks spoil the broth.” Adya sank into the
lounge beside her.

The older woman leaned in close to
her. “What happened with Abraham today? He was in a real snit all
afternoon.”

“
I don’t know if he
appreciates us spending time together. I think he was relieved to
send me to Sanctum.”

“
Why are you going?
You have more weeks to finish here.”

“
Well…” Adya
deliberated. “Peter wants to do some testing. I have a genetic
defect he thinks might give a clue to the mystery of our presence
here.”

“
Mystery, what
mystery?” Khalid came up behind them.

She twisted in her seat, smirking.
“The mystery of why we allow you near us. Where were you earlier
when we needed your wicked serve?”

“
I went to get snacks.
Here, want some?” Khalid opened a bag of chips, offering them to
the women. Adya heard her doorbell and rose to answer it, walking
through the sliding patio doors to reach the front door.

“
Peter,
hello.”

His hands were full of documents
and binders. “Hello Adya, I thought you might want to know more
about Sanctum before you go.” He looked through the house toward
the yard filled with people. “Wow, what’s going on?”

“
Block party. Would
you like to join us?” She motioned for him to follow her out the
doors.

“
Block party? I
haven’t lived on the Island for some time but I don’t remember them
happening when I did.” Looking uncomfortable as he noticed the
close to twenty people outside, he stumbled on the
threshold.

“
Perhaps they didn’t
in your neighbourhood, but Adya sure knows how to throw a good one
here.” Khalid chipped in, puffing his chest and stepping to Adya’s
side. She moved back, taking Peter’s arm.

“
Does everyone know
Peter?”

A chorus of “no’s” intrigued her.
“Oh. Peter, this is everyone. Everyone, this is Peter. I thought
maybe some of you would know each other. I apologize, I can’t
remember all your names so here, I have a game.” She motioned the
players to approach her. “Here, make a big circle. C’mon, circle
means round, this looks more like a square. There. Okay. Pass me
the ball. Any more balls anywhere?”

“
I’ve got three beach
balls, does that count?” At her nod, Jacob Van Dyne ran to get
them, eight year old legs pumping as he yelled, “Don’t start
without me.”

“
Alright.” She tapped
her foot with an exaggerated sigh, Jacob quickly
returning.

“
Now, I’m going to say
the name of the person I’ll throw the ball to. Jacob.” She tossed
the ball across the centre of the circle to the boy. “I will always
throw to Jacob, no matter what. The rest of you, raise one hand so
we know who hasn’t had the ball. Now, Jacob, say the name of the
person you’ll throw the ball to and then pass it to them. Good.
Continue with the next person. So, the person you received from
will always throw to you, and you always throw to the person you
choose. And, always say their name. Pretty easy?” The group nodded.
“We’ll see.”

The ball was passed quickly and
caught deftly by most participants in spite of a few sloshed
beverages. After two rounds through the group, Adya picked up
another ball. “Okay, now things get harder. Keep the same order,
but now we have two balls in circuit.” The balls collided in the
centre. “Oh, that was the shortest round I have ever seen. We can
do better.” Both balls were put into motion again. One careened out
of control, hitting Abraham on the head as he walked around the
corner of the cottage. His startled expression sent Jennifer, Adya,
and Peter into peals of laughter, the remainder of the group
stunned.

“
I am so sorry Mister
Fairfield, I never meant…”

“
No harm done, no harm
done. It’s Prateek, is it not?”

Prateek sheepishly replied “Well,
no, it’s Khalid.”

“
Nice try, Prateek.”
Adya scolded. “Welcome, Abraham. This is a surprise.”

“
I am actually looking
for Jennifer. Jennifer, could you please come with me? Peter, I am
surprised to see you here.”

“
Well, yes, I was just
seeing if Adya knew what to prepare for Sanctum.”

A number of the partiers said in
chorus, “Sanctum?”

“
Oh, yes, Adya is
moving on to Sanctum and will no longer be in residence here.”
Abraham appeared well satisfied with the pronouncement while the
faces around him fell with disappointment. Voices spoke in
unison.

“
Oh, Adya, you didn’t
tell us.”

“
I didn’t even know
you made the internship.”

“
Congratulations, how
exciting!”

“
We’re going to miss
you, it’s been such fun.”

Abraham quietly slipped away with
Jennifer in tow.

“
Well, that was almost
rude.” Nora glanced questioningly at Adya who simply
shrugged.

“
Peter…not Peter
Merten?” Mark’s eyes widened.

“
Yes.” Peter’s eyes
were wary.

“
I…well, I’ve heard so
much about your work, it seems unreal to meet you in Adya’s back
yard. Nora, did you realize this is Peter Merten, leader of the
genetics department at Sanctum?” Nora appeared suitably impressed,
as did a number of the onlookers. Questions began to fly too fast
for Peter to respond, asking about his projects, the underground
city, and genetics.

“
I didn’t realize all
of you would be so in the know about what’s going on up in the cold
blue north.” Peter lamented. “We feel so isolated up there.” Adya
thought he appeared to be enjoying his time in the limelight. Her
doorbell rang again.

“
Wow, busy spot here,
Adya.”

She smiled, “You don’t know the
half of it, Peter,” leaving him chatting with Prateek as she
entered the house. She invited Babak, found puzzled at the front
door, to join the party still going strong in the back yard. The
smell of barbecue and campfire smoke permeated the air as families
around the block started dinner preparations. The newcomer slapped
Peter’s back.

“
Peter, here you
are.”

“
Babak, good to see
you.” He looked around helplessly. “It’s quite a madhouse
here.”

“
I see that. What’s
going on?”

“
Apparently Adya gets
together with the whole neighbourhood regularly. You just missed
Jennifer and Abraham.”

“
Abraham? Can’t
picture that.”

Peter grinned. “I think he
actually came to…rescue Jennifer. Couldn’t let her have any fun, of
course.”

“
Of course not. Fun is
not part of the regular regimen.” Adya smiled to take the sting out
of her words. “Everyone, this is Babak. Babak, you know Nora, Mark,
their daughter Stephanie, but you may not have met Khalid, Prateek,
Jacob…” Adya allowed Nora to continue the remainder of the
introductions while she went into the cottage to retrieve more
chairs. Prateek followed her in.

“
Wow. You hang out
with some pretty important people.” His voice deepened in
awe.

“
Just in a regular day
for me, Prateek. You knew I was here for an internship, which means
hobnobbing with the leaders of each department.”

“
Yeah, but having them
show up at your house…I mean, no one hangs with the big bosses. No
one.” He looked aggrieved.

“
Well, perhaps I am
going to change that. They’re just people, after all.” She led the
way to the storage room, handing him two chairs to carry.
“Thanks.”

“
You just use me for
my muscles.”

“
Well, that’s all I
need you for.”

“
Ouch.”

“
You’ll get over it
and move on to the next resident of this cottage.”

“
There will never be
another like you.” He cornered her against the wall, out of sight
of the patio. Putting the chairs down, he placed both his hands on
her shoulders. “I mean it. I really like you, Adya. Don’t you like
me the least little bit?”

She sighed. “You have been a good
friend and a fun time. I’m not looking for anything
else.”

“
Oh, sorry…didn’t mean
to interrupt anything. Just looking for the bathroom.” Peter’s face
darkened as he came upon the pair.