No Rest For The Weary (The Last Time Traveler Book 2) Page 4

  “Will not fix this,” Robert interrupted. “Doctor Sturm, we've been through this countless times. When random elements correct a paradox, the individuals involved in that paradox are completely unaware that it ever happened. The fact that we are aware...”

  “Proves nothing,” the doctor counter-interrupted, waving his hand. “We would only become unaware after the paradox was repaired. Up until that point, we would continue to experience time as we always had. In point of fact, we can draw an example from some of Mister Hood's own personal misfortunes. Robert, what happens to individuals outside of Never Never Land?”

  “They experience time in the general time stream,” the traveler answered, clearly annoyed by the question.

  “And, time passes at the same rate for them as it does for us?”

  “Yes.”

  “So,” the old man continued, once again adjusting his glasses. “If a person was left in the past, for say two years, and someone went back in time to pick them up mere minutes after they had been abandoned, they would still have experienced two years of life even though they would be completely unaware of it after they had been retrieved from their own past.”

  “It depends on your point of view,” Robert replied. “Once they were retrieved, they would have a new point of existence; meaning that the two years they spent in the general time stream would be completely undone. So, they wouldn't just be unaware of it, it would never have happened.”

  “I see,” Doctor Sturm replied. “Well, as it depends on point of view, let's look at it from the viewpoint of the individual within the general time stream. Would they have experienced feelings of outrage, abandonment, sorrow, and perhaps even despair during those two years before they were retrieved?”

  “If they were predisposed to that, they might, Alex,” the traveler replied, clearly trying to control his mounting anger. “But, you may want to make your point and shift topics. I'm beginning to get genuinely annoyed with you.”

  “Oh, I don't doubt that,” the old man chuckled. “You've found people who dare to underscore your faults annoying as long as I've known you. My point is that, if we were trapped in a paradoxical loop, we would continue to be aware of the passage of time until the paradox was corrected. So, the fact that we're currently aware of the paradox means nothing.”

  “Say I cede that point,” Robert replied. “So what? If you're right, the universe will fix itself either way. So, why put a stop to our work?”

  “Because, Mister Hood,” Doctor Sturm smiled, “At the moment, we're outside the general time stream. You're essentially immortal and have almost unlimited resources. So, although I'm quite certain time will eventually fix itself (if left to itself), it won't do that with you creating new paradoxes throughout eternity.”

  “I hardly feel that the statement: throughout eternity is justified,” Robert smiled. “So far, we've only done two jobs and only one of those had any complications.”

  “Well, one out of two certainly isn't bad,” the doctor replied sarcastically. “But, even at that, I disagree with you. In point of fact, I'd call you a liar.”

  “You'd have to do more than that to get under my skin,” the traveler said.

  “Don't worry,” Doctor Sturm replied. “I intend to.”

  “Doctor Sturm,” Chairman Ross said with a tone of warning.

  “Again, I apologize,” he immediately replied. “Robert and I have a long history. I readily admit that he and I do our best to nettle one another. I'll do what I can to restrain myself.”

  “I would appreciate it,” the chairman replied.

  “Mister Hood,” he continued, “I object not only to your task, but also to your methods. I have to admit I was utterly astounded by the fact that you managed to get time to move forward seven seconds by completing your first job. However, I was much less shocked when you lost five minutes with your next accomplishment.”

  “You know very well that there were complications.”

  “With you Robert, there are only complications,” the old man sighed. “Which is hardly surprising when one considers how irresponsible you are.”

  As he said this, Doctor Sturm stepped over to stand a short distance in front of where Morgan was sitting.

  “Mister Harker,” he said, smiling at the young man. “Would you mind if I asked you some questions?”

  “Probably.”

  At this reply, the entire council chuckled - including the doctor and the traveler.

  “I assure you, Mister Harker,” the old man continued, “the mild antipathy that Mr. Hood and I feel for one another was born over the course of centuries. I certainly feel nothing of the kind toward you.”

  “I'm glad to hear that.”

  “However, it is my duty to ask you about your role in both of these jobs that Mister Hood has taken you on. To begin with, what training were you given when you joined his team?”

  “Rob had me programmed for common and cleared out some of my memories. A little later on I learned how to use firearms.”

  “That was it?”

  “That's all so far.”

  “That's not quite right,” Robert asserted. “He's also been programmed with some advanced mind-management techniques. That's how he and I were able to crack the Enigma Code if you remember.”

  At this remark, a murmur of impressed general agreement echoed through the council chambers.

  “Oh, we're all very well aware of that,” Doctor Sturm smiled. “Even I have to cede that your antics are often very impressive, and even entertaining. However, they're even more frequently dangerous and irresponsible. For instance, due to Mister Harker's lack of training you were forced to shoot someone with a tranq-gun and then do your best to cover up that fact. Is that correct?”

  “I'm not sure I would chalk it up to lack of training,” the traveler replied. “It was honestly just one of those things.”

  “No, sir!” the doctor snapped. “No, sir, that it was not! Had Mister Harker simply knocked over a suit of armor in the museum that would have been one of those things. However, he did it in the past! He did it when the ramifications could have been truly paradoxical! And, Mister Harker, I don't mean to indicate for a moment that any of this is your responsibility. Mister Hood brought you with him on a mission without having properly trained you. As such, all of the very ample blame rests solely at his feet.”

  “I'm a big believer in in the field training, Alex,” the traveler replied confidently. “And, let's not overlook the fact that when I was done the armor was never knocked over, the man was never tranq-ed, and no cover up was necessary.”

  “Certainly,” Doctor Sturm agreed. “Again, I'll not argue the point that you're fairly good at doing clumsy patch up jobs to repair the damage done by your consistently careless actions. However, Mister Hood, what happens to the universe when you break something not even you can fix?”

  “I haven't yet.”

  “No, I agree. However, we seem to disagree about whether or not you should keep getting fresh opportunities.”

  “The current paradox was in no way my fault.”

  “Again, I agree! The fault lies with the concept that made the mistake possible. We cannot continue trying to fix time travel with time travel. It's completely insane and it's only a matter of time before you do irreversible damage!”

  “I disagree,” Robert replied. “We've already given the universe seven more seconds. We’re going to be able to easily undo this paradox and restore the five minutes we've lost. In point of fact, we may even gain additional time.”

  “Unless something else goes wrong, of course,” Doctor Sturm quipped.

  As he said this, he moved to stand in front of Vox.

  “Mr. Qwell,” he said with a broad smile. “You've worked with Mister Hood for years, have you not?”

  “I have,” Vox nodded.

  “Have you ever been injured?”

  “A few times.”

  “Have you ever been in a position where you could have been killed?”

  “I have.”

  “Mister Qwell, you're not a missing person are you?”

  “No, I'm not.”

  “What would happen to the universe if you were to die prematurely?”

  “I don't know.”

  “I'm not surprised,” Doctor Sturm replied. “I'm sure dear Robert hasn't revealed anything about your future to you. That just wouldn't be right, would it? I mean, it could change the time-lines after all! However, allow me to assure you, Mister Qwell, you matter. I might even go so far as to say that, in this point in your life, you are critical to the welfare of the universe. However, Mister Hood feels that he can risk your life for his own convenience! I don't know about you, but that strikes me as reckless.”

  “I volunteered to go with Rob.”

  “I'm sorry, Mister Qwell, but you don't get that choice. You don't get to live two lives. Each of us only gets one. You're living a life running around space and time with Mister Hood - playing at being an action hero - and living a life in the general time stream with your wife and job and whatever else you're involved in. Now, I don't blame you for a moment, Mister Qwell. Who could blame you for falling into temptation on the scale that Mister Hood can offer it? Once again, the blame rests with the commander, not his soldiers. Mister Hood, what would you have done had you gotten Mister Qwell killed?”

  “I have a plan,” Robert replied with a nod.

  “Oh well, thank goodness for that,” Doctor Sturm said sarcastically. “The mighty Robert Hood has a plan! I'll certainly sleep better tonight knowing that.”

  “I've successfully undone events in the past,” Robert pointed out.

  “And unsuccessfully as well!” the old man snapped. “Robert, you are so completely and totally irresponsible that you don't eve
n consider your actions. Your almost unfathomably confident ego is absolutely positive that you'll be able to take care of whatever situation you find yourself in. You simply do things and then do your best to repair the damage you've caused after you're done! Although I feel the council was ill-advised to pursue a fix using time travel, I have to question their sanity for deciding that you, of all people, should be given the responsibility of seeing it through!”

  “I didn't exactly inherit the job,” Robert chuckled. “I seem to remember something about me being the most intelligent man to ever live and...”

  “That's certainly true,” the doctor interrupted. “I can't argue with the science that proves that point. However, I implore the council to consider the fact that there is a vast difference between wisdom and intelligence. Putting your fate in the hands of a fool is a mistake, even if that fool happens to be a genius!”

  “I had more than raw intelligence going for me,” the traveler replied. “I also happen to have excelled at a number of tests...”

  “Tests which you created, Robert!” Doctor Sturm replied, laying his hands on the table. “How could you have failed to excel?”

  “There's also my manual dexterity, reaction time...”

  “Yes, yes, yes!” the doctor said dismissively. “I'm sure we all understand how physically perfect you are!”

  “Then, why is he five-foot six?” Morgan whispered.

  “His mother was short,” Vox explained.

  “Hardly perfect,” Robert replied, trying on false modesty to see how it looked on him. “But the fact remains, I'm the man for the job.”

  “No, you are not!” Doctor Sturm said, slapping his hand on the table. “You're completely unsuited for it psychologically. You don't drop the keys to the universe into the hands of a megalomaniac and just assume everything will be alright. You have to be stopped, Robert! For your own good as much as for everyone else's. You're going to end up getting yourself killed and I'm afraid you're going to destroy the universe before you manage to do it!”

  “This has gone on long enough,” the traveler replied, standing as his spoke. “Doctor Ross, may I have the floor? Alex has strayed into old business and we may not be able to get him back into the present for a few weeks.”

  “One last thing,” Doctor Sturm said, raising his hand.

  “Go on,” Robert sighed.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, gazing around the chamber as he spoke. “I warned the council years ago that something like this could happen. I will be the very first to admit that Robert Hood is driven by the finest motives possible. However, he is wrong! His confidence manages to outstrip even his truly remarkable abilities. This mistake is only the first, there will be others. This time, we lost five minutes. What will we lose next? What would happen if time collapsed to a point before Never Never Land was created? We can't take that risk! We have to stop now and let the universe repair itself. Trying to change the natural order is what has brought us to this point. Let us learn from the mistakes of the past and end this now.”

  “Very moving, Doctor Sturm,” the traveler replied, a very serious tone in his voice. “And, I would certainly agree with you if I could. The simple truth, however, is that I can't. There's not enough evidence to support your theory that the universe will undo the damage. If you're right, then whatever paradoxes we accidentally create will eventually be undone. If you're wrong, then the universe will be frozen until we repair the damage ourselves. We can't risk inaction. The current paradox was caused by a mistake in policy that we'll be able to correct. We're all still rather new at this, but the only way we can learn is by doing. The current paradox will also be very easy to fix.”

  “You hope,” the doctor said, shaking his head.

  “I do,” Robert nodded. “But, easy or not, we have to fix it. That will give us our five minutes back, along with the seven second gain. We may even get more time than that. That having been said, I would be willing to meet with the council again after the current task is complete. I also feel that Doctor Alexander Sturm is moved by the finest motives and he makes some very valid points. I feel he's mistaken, but I'm certainly willing to discuss it again once we have additional data to consider. I ask the council merely to allow me to finish this job. Once that's done, we can decide what direction it would be wisest to move in.”

  “Have either of you any more to say?” the chairman asked.

  Neither did.

  “In that case, I feel that we have enough information to discuss the situation. Given both of your positions on this, I'm sure you'll understand if I ask you each to abstain from voting.”

  “Of course,” both men replied.

  “We'll confer and let both of you know what our decision is as soon as it's made.”

  The traveler and his companions, along with Doctor Sturm, were escorted from the council chamber, having done what they had been called in to do.

  “Alex,” Robert said as soon as they stepped from the chamber, “no hard feelings.”

  “No more than usual, Rob,” the old man replied, giving the traveler's hand a shake. “I'm just trying to keep you from destroying the universe.”

  “I won't.”

  “Honestly, Robert,” Doctor Sturm said, gazing into the traveler's eyes, “this has to stop. I know this was just one mistake, but that's all it takes. You have to stop.”

  “I can't, Alex.”

  For a moment, the old man stared at him in silence.

  “You've always have been a blind old fool!” he snapped. “And, one day, that fact is going to catch up with you!”

  He then turned on his heel and stormed off.

  “You know,” Robert said, taking a deep breath, “Alex always has been kind of a belligerent jerk...”

  Chapter 3: Always Expect the Unexpected

  “What do you think they'll decide?” Morgan asked as he followed the traveler onto the bridge.

  “Well, almost certainly...” he began, before the comm flashed to life.

  Immediately, he reached down and pushed the button to accept the transmission. The image of Doctor Ross filled one of the displays.

  “Well, Mister Hood,” he began.

  “Funny, Joe,” the traveler chuckled. “What's up?”

  “It's all settled,” he replied. “We took a vote minutes after you walked out. You're going to be allowed to finish this job. After that, we do intend to discuss it again, but the consensus view is that the work should almost certainly continue. Which I never had any real doubt of.”

  “What was all that for, then?”

  “Alex is a member of the council. He called an emergency meeting. What was I supposed to do?”

  “You're right,” Robert nodded. “How did he take it?”

  “He's not happy,” Joe admitted. “But he'll deal with it. He's used to it by now. Still, we do want to make one slight change in our methods.”

  “What's that?”

  “We're going to have to be a little heavier handed.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Look at the situation with Mister Fullmer,” Doctor Ross replied. “If we had focused on stopping him completely we could have prevented all this.”

  “I know,” Robert agreed. “But, I didn't see any harm in the guy doing a little bird watching in the past.”

  “Well, there was,” Joe pointed out. “From now on, all previous time travel has to be stopped as early in the time-lines as possible. That means that the long range goal for this mission should be to prevent Fullmer from ever building a time-drive in the first place.”

  “Understood,” the traveler replied with a very lazy salute.

  “Perfect,” Doctor Ross said with a smile. “Brother should have the nav charts you need for the asteroid belt uploaded to your ship in just minutes. We're sending you in the day after Frank Brown convinced Mister Fullmer not to risk time travel.”

  “Sounds good. We'll start working on a video rig to send him our message from the future.”

  “I wish you luck,” Joe chuckled, before ending the transmission.