Read Online The Escape by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Ads: Link
the others like it in every Period, were the very soul and heart of the society spread out through almost a billion years of time.
Drickel liked this control room more than any of the other Periods he worked in. He liked the plants and the warm feel. The people here had made this place comfortable and welcoming. Some Controls had done nothing more than leave the rock walls the chambers were carved out of and stick in desks. Those always seeited dark, oppressive, and cold to him. He couldn't imagine how anyone could work there.
"Hey, Drickel, it's been a lot of Real Time." A heavyset man wearing a meter-tall red wig set his blackbean sugar water glass in the dirt beside a pine and extended his hand.
"About thirteen years, Red." Drickel switched his carryall bag to his other hand and stepped forward, grasping Red's firm grasp. He had forgotten how his name sounded when spoken by another person. And Red was one of his favorites.
He got his name from the red wigs he had favored since he was a boy. "You're looking young. Still living in One with all the masses?" Red laughed.
"Wow, what a memory. Actually when they promoted me, I moved to Eight-Seven. Got myself a place down in Southern City. Still crowded, but not as bad as One." "You really should try the wilderness life," Drickel said. He missed it already.
"My wife's been telling me the same thing.
Who knows." Red shrugged and then glanced around. "You just missed all the excitement. We actually had a Time Alarm right above us this morning." "You're kidding," Drickel said. He hadn't heard of a Time Alarm in all his years of service.
No wonder no one was working. This would be a real day to remember. "What happened?" "Amazing violations," Red said. "Four last I heard." "Four people?" "Nope," Red said. "Four violations before they got shipped to Control. One an eighthundred level." Drickel felt a chill run down his back. Eighthundreds were extremely serious.
"Actual physical violation?" he asked. "More than one, if you want to get technical," Red said. His normally placid eyes had a slight glint. 73 Shuttle Control never saw much excitement.
"Three PlanetHoppers tried to steal a Period shuttle. We backtimed a force of sixty to stop them. Control whisked the prisoners through here and back to One without much delay." "Enough delay to cause two more four-hundred violations!" someone yelled from the back. Clearly the group had been discussing the event ever since it happened.
Drickel shook his head in amazement.
Backtiming was seldom used and very dangerous.
Control must have thought the situation drastic. He wondered if he would ever discover the details. He doubted it. So he moved through the scattered groups, shaking his head when a man offered him a glass, and headed for the tunnel.
Red kept pace with him. They weren't really friends, but they might have been if Drickel had been the friendly type.
"What brings you back to good old Eight-eightynine?" Red asked. "A problem up-Period they want my help on." Red glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "I've got clearance now f6r up-time.
I'll walk you." They started off toward the back of the big room, following a path that led in and around desks and trees. "The promotion got you into the Back Room, huh?" The Back Room was the high-security part of Control! It was the branch of Control he worked for. Only a very few people in each Period knew the truth about. the future in Real Time. That wasone of the 74 many reasons why it was so forbidden to travel inside any 500,000-year Period. If knowledge of the Near Future got out, it would destroy the society.
"Yeah," Red said, shaking his head. "Sometimes I wish they'd never told me all the future-histoTy stuff. I would sleep better, you know?" Drickel knew. But he had done enough work uptime to stop fearing the Near Future. Now he just complained about it-to himself, since he was not allowed to discuss his work with anyone outside of the Back Room. Red stopped at
Drickel liked this control room more than any of the other Periods he worked in. He liked the plants and the warm feel. The people here had made this place comfortable and welcoming. Some Controls had done nothing more than leave the rock walls the chambers were carved out of and stick in desks. Those always seeited dark, oppressive, and cold to him. He couldn't imagine how anyone could work there.
"Hey, Drickel, it's been a lot of Real Time." A heavyset man wearing a meter-tall red wig set his blackbean sugar water glass in the dirt beside a pine and extended his hand.
"About thirteen years, Red." Drickel switched his carryall bag to his other hand and stepped forward, grasping Red's firm grasp. He had forgotten how his name sounded when spoken by another person. And Red was one of his favorites.
He got his name from the red wigs he had favored since he was a boy. "You're looking young. Still living in One with all the masses?" Red laughed.
"Wow, what a memory. Actually when they promoted me, I moved to Eight-Seven. Got myself a place down in Southern City. Still crowded, but not as bad as One." "You really should try the wilderness life," Drickel said. He missed it already.
"My wife's been telling me the same thing.
Who knows." Red shrugged and then glanced around. "You just missed all the excitement. We actually had a Time Alarm right above us this morning." "You're kidding," Drickel said. He hadn't heard of a Time Alarm in all his years of service.
No wonder no one was working. This would be a real day to remember. "What happened?" "Amazing violations," Red said. "Four last I heard." "Four people?" "Nope," Red said. "Four violations before they got shipped to Control. One an eighthundred level." Drickel felt a chill run down his back. Eighthundreds were extremely serious.
"Actual physical violation?" he asked. "More than one, if you want to get technical," Red said. His normally placid eyes had a slight glint. 73 Shuttle Control never saw much excitement.
"Three PlanetHoppers tried to steal a Period shuttle. We backtimed a force of sixty to stop them. Control whisked the prisoners through here and back to One without much delay." "Enough delay to cause two more four-hundred violations!" someone yelled from the back. Clearly the group had been discussing the event ever since it happened.
Drickel shook his head in amazement.
Backtiming was seldom used and very dangerous.
Control must have thought the situation drastic. He wondered if he would ever discover the details. He doubted it. So he moved through the scattered groups, shaking his head when a man offered him a glass, and headed for the tunnel.
Red kept pace with him. They weren't really friends, but they might have been if Drickel had been the friendly type.
"What brings you back to good old Eight-eightynine?" Red asked. "A problem up-Period they want my help on." Red glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "I've got clearance now f6r up-time.
I'll walk you." They started off toward the back of the big room, following a path that led in and around desks and trees. "The promotion got you into the Back Room, huh?" The Back Room was the high-security part of Control! It was the branch of Control he worked for. Only a very few people in each Period knew the truth about. the future in Real Time. That wasone of the 74 many reasons why it was so forbidden to travel inside any 500,000-year Period. If knowledge of the Near Future got out, it would destroy the society.
"Yeah," Red said, shaking his head. "Sometimes I wish they'd never told me all the future-histoTy stuff. I would sleep better, you know?" Drickel knew. But he had done enough work uptime to stop fearing the Near Future. Now he just complained about it-to himself, since he was not allowed to discuss his work with anyone outside of the Back Room. Red stopped at
Similar Books
