All the Colors of Time (6 page)

“I’m a little concerned about the combined effects of
Ephkal-A and the tranq they’ll receive. The tranquilizer will inevitably create
a condition that the Ephkal-A will counteract. I’m wondering if we shouldn’t
delay the infusion of Ephkal-A until after the Shift. That way they won’t be
subjected to an endorphin double-whammy.”

Oslovski nodded. “A valid concern. Trev? What’s your
opinion?”

“I can see a potential for metabolic confusion. There’ll be
a natural tendency toward rapid pulse and increased adrenal activity. The tranq
will damp that and it will depress some neural functions, which Ephkal-A will
then try to elevate. Frankly, that could be to our advantage.”

Judy Walsh flushed angrily. “What about
their
advantage? Or don’t we care if we drive them into a seizure?”

“Of course we care, Judy,” said Trevor. “I just don’t see a
clear danger. Q-Bert didn’t have any problem with the compounds.”

“Q-Bert’s a dog, not a man. His heart didn’t pound the way
theirs did. His nervous system didn’t go into overdrive. They may seem like
icemen, but they’re not. I’m afraid of what the combination of drugs and
adrenalin might do.”

“I think Judy has a valid concern,” said Oslovski. “Vance,
is there any way they can receive the Ephkal-A at your end?”

“I don’t see why not. We’ll have to get the timing
right—wait until their attention is engaged elsewhere—but sure.”

“All right. Trev, will you oversee that?”

He nodded, making a note on his handcomp. “Got it.”

Oslovski glanced around the table again. “More issues?”

Vance raised a hand. “I’ve got a couple. Which do you want
first, the good issue or the bad issue?”

“Oh, please. Let’s hear the good one first.”

“Well, as you no doubt noticed, Bert Ferris has been stuck
to me all week. He’s a nice guy, but sort of a bundle of contradictions. He’s a
very . . . religious man, I guess you’d say. Very active in his
church. The doctrines of his particular sect include the idea that world peace
is something that won’t or can’t or
shouldn’t
come until the literal and physical return of Christ. The current peace is,
ipso facto,
false and evil. He more or
less told me that he considers it his Christian duty to ‘undo the Devil’s
peace,’ as he put it, in any way he could.”

There was a moment of complete silence at the table. Judy
Walsh’s face was a deep red and Vahid’s lips moved in a silent invocation.

“The good news is, that this predisposition to—um—”

“Crusader mentality?” offered Trevor acerbically.

“Trevor, please,” Oslovski cautioned him.

“Sorry. I just don’t understand that mind set. If God hadn’t
wanted peace on earth, how the hell could we have achieved it? Look at all the
obstacles that had to be overcome. If the history of the last seventy-five
years wasn’t some sort of Divine miracle—”

Oslovski raised a hand to stop him. “No one here is arguing
with you, Trev. But our understanding of Ferris’s mind set isn’t germane. What
is germane is that that mind set might be an advantage to
our
crusade.”

Trevor mumbled something under his breath.

“As I was saying,” Vance continued, “Colonel Ferris has a
predisposition, even a deep-seated drive, to correct what he sees as a cosmic
evil. He’s a man with a mission—to see this false peace brought to an end. Now,
I suspect that, on some level, he is very likely aware of the contradictions in
that ideology. On another level, there’s every indication that because of that
ideology, this many years of peace we’ve enjoyed pose an extreme test to his
faith. The bottom line, if I may be so crass, is that he’ll
want
to believe he’s accomplished that
mission. He’s already proved to take post-hypnotic suggestion very readily.”

“Good,” said Oslovski. “So, what’s the bad issue?”

“The bad issue is that both of these guys are thoroughly
terrified by the idea that they might ‘erase’ someone as a by-product of their
mission. I think Ferris’s sectarian indoctrination will override that fear, but
I’m not so sure about Hilyard. He’s a cold-blooded S.O.B., but he’s got a mom,
a dad, two younger brothers, and a younger sister in Omaha, Nebraska. Even if
he doesn’t erase them, in any nuclear engagement that would be one of the first
places to go up in flames—it’s within spittin’ distance of SAC Headquarters. He
has what I’d call a very strong subconscious imperative
not
to believe that his mission was a success.”

Oslovski’s brow knit. “Has be been resistant to hypnosis?”

“Moreso than Ferris. It’s not insurmountable. I just wanted
to warn you.”

“Consider us warned. Anyone else?” When no one answered,
Oslovski started to dismiss the meeting. “In that case we’ll—”

“Excuse me.” Judy Walsh’s voice was barely audible.

Oslovski motioned for her to speak.

“I just . . . I just wanted you all to know
we’re not all like that. Christians, I mean. Some of us—maybe even most of
us—believe peace is God’s will.”

“And I must be honest in admitting,” said Vahid, “that there
are some very devout Muslims who feel much as Colonel Ferris does. I trust
their beliefs will not reflect on me.” He glanced at Trevor who shook his head.

“Of course not. I’m sorry if I was out of line. I hate
bigotry. Especially my own.”

oOo

At 0900 hours they were calibrated and ready. On strict
orders from Caldwell, Ferris would be the first to go, Hilyard following as
immediately as possible.

Magda Oslovski found that significant. It implied that
Ferris was the primary operative and that Hilyard was his backup.

She, Trevor, and Vance briefed them just prior to the Shift,
reminding them not to stray too far from the Temporal Field Grid lest they lose
track of it and become stranded.

“Of course, one of you could heft it and carry it with you,”
said Oslovski. “It’s portable enough, but the potential for damaging it is
increased if you move it. The nearer to the materialization point you can
accomplish your . . . mission, the better. We’ve positioned you
behind a support column, well out of sight so you should be able to just leave
the Grid in place.”

She glanced at her handcomp, checking her notes. “Oh, yes.
You’ll be invisible as long as you’re within about two meters of the Grid. That’s
part of the Field effect. Again, if you stay close to the Grid, you can use
that for cover.”

Trevor Haley bit the inside of his lip and peered studiously
at his own handcomp.

“Any questions?” Oslovski glanced from one operative to the
other. Both shook their heads. “All right, then. Colonel Ferris, if you’ll
follow Dr. Haley, he’ll set you up on the Grid. Major Hilyard, you’ll watch
from the observation deck with General Caldwell.”

Judy Walsh was nervous. Her hands shook slightly as she
prepared an infusion of tranquilizer for Colonel Ferris. She breathed a sigh of
relief that he wasn’t the type that liked to watch shots being administered.

She was just preparing to infuse him when he sighed and
said, “I don’t suppose you could give me a
pill
to adjust my electrolytes?”

She blinked. There was a smile on his lips and it unnerved
her. She glanced at George Wu, who was performing the last minute adjustments
on Ferris’s bio-monitor.

“Sorry, Colonel,” said George, “but we’ve got to get this
stuff into your blood stream pronto. Besides, Dr. Walsh likes to watch people
squirm.” He grinned conspiratorially. “We have to let our MDs have
some
fun or they get cranky.”

Judy smiled nervously and pressed the infuser against Ferris’s
neck. He winced, then sighed again and looked at her.

“Pretty women are so often cruel. I’ve never understood
that.”

“Yeah,” said George, his eyes on Judy’s blanched face. “Uh,
Dr. Walsh, we’d better hurry.” He jerked his head toward the O.R.

She nodded, picked up her tray and let him steer her out of
the Theatre. Once in the O.R., she set the tray down with a clatter and wrapped
her arms around herself. “Thanks, George,” she mumbled, her teeth chattering. “I’m
sorry, but this whole thing is just—”

“Shifting,” said Shiro.

Judy glanced at her, then at the monitors. The Spectral
Field glistened like a shower of diamonds. Within it, Colonel Ferris faded from
sight.

“Station, Dr. Walsh!” ordered Oslovski.

Judy exhaled sharply and slid into her seat. The data on the
Colonel’s vital signs rippled across her screen. “Heart rate spiked briefly to
150. It’s falling off now. One twenty . . . one hundred. Stabilizing
at . . . ninety-five. Respiration normal.”

Oslovski leaned toward Shiro Tsubaki. “Where is he? Or
should I say, when is he?”

“Green minus seven and Shifting towards Aqua.”

“On the timer, Shiro. Give the tranq a few more seconds to
work, then make the spatial shift and pull him in.”

Shiro nodded and glanced at her timer. “Okay, I’m going to
reset coordinates in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. Resetting coordinates.”
She punched up the new location on her keyboard.

“Cue Trevor. Reversing Field . . . now.”

Oslovski activated her headset and hailed Trevor, who was
standing by in the lower level Theatre. “Shiro’s reversing now. You’ll have him
in about twenty seconds.”

“We’re ready.” Trevor hefted the infuser-full of Ephkal-A
and waited, his eyes on the spot where Ferris and the Temporal Field Grid were
slated to appear. Beside him, Vance Keller took a deep breath and counted.

Ferris re-materialized right on schedule, head lolling
slightly, hands still clutching his compact weapon. He materialized facing into
a curving screen that all but engulfed him. His unfocused eyes saw the sweeping
upper gallery of the Word Conference Center. He wobbled his head to the right.
A pillar blocked his view.

Trevor moved quickly with his infuser, then nodded to Vance.

“He’s all yours,” he mouthed.

oOo

Ferris was troubled. The Time Shift had disoriented him
and he felt slow and muzzy. He was glad the chosen location offered so much
protection. He knew he was supposedly invisible, but he found that a little
hard to believe. He chucked inwardly at his own skepticism. Here he’d just
traveled through time and he was balking at the idea of invisibility.

He scanned the immediate area. It was completely clear.
According to their information, this part of the auditorium had been totally
sealed off and was guarded at either end. There was no way in and no way out . . .
except
their
way.

He could hear the sound of a myriad voices rising from below
and checked his watch. It was 1045. He settled his shoulder against the pillar
and waited for Hilyard, the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” playing softly in his
head.

oOo

Dr. Judy Walsh was ready this time, or so she thought. She
had a smile all ready for Major Hilyard as she prepared his infusion of
tranquilizer. Then, he turned out to be a watcher. She gritted her teeth and
smiled more broadly.

“What’s in that shot?” he asked unexpectedly.

The infuser wavered an inch from his neck. Judy’s face paled
then flamed. “Just . . . uh . . . vitamins and . . .
uh . . . a compound to-to balance your electrolytes.”

“Why is that necessary?”

She tried hard not to meet his eyes, but hers kept colliding
with them. “The effects of the Field cause certain . . . uh . . .
stresses on the—on the nervous system. This will counteract them.”

He studied her intently for a moment, eyes narrowed, then
asked, “Is there anything harmful in it?”

She stared at him, half relieved, half terrified. “Oh,
no!
”

He nodded. “Get on with it, then.”

Judy blinked at George—who stared back, owl-eyed—then
administered the tranq.

oOo

Bert Ferris swiveled as Hilyard materialized behind him.
He checked his watch. It was 1050. They checked their weapons—matte black
rifles with scopes that were as long as the barrels—then moved stealthily to
the steel and cement railing at the edge of the gallery.

Ferris looked back toward the Grid. He couldn’t see it
because of the pillar, but he gauged they were within the two meter
invisibility range. He raised himself up slowly and peered over the edge of the
gallery. He checked his watch again—less than a minute to go. He readied the
rifle.

Below, Gorbachev was introduced in several languages. The
audience cheered and applauded at length. Ferris’s lip curled—a standing
ovation for the Devil. He rose to his knees and lifted the rifle. He sighted.

A shot reverberated through the hall and the figure in the
center of the stage froze. In that second, Ferris fired twice.

The figure crumpled beneath a spray of scarlet.

In the pandemonium after, Ferris sank back and gave Hilyard
the thumbs up, then he crawled back to the Grid. After a swift peek over the
railing, Hilyard followed. Ferris mounted first and waited for the Field to
engage. A mere twenty seconds later, he was back in his own time.

Hilyard followed, coming out of the Field to see Ferris
wobbling away toward the door. His own legs felt weak and he staggered against
someone. He turned his head groggily to see Dr. Walsh blinking at him. She
tried to smile.

“You made it,” she said. “Welcome back.” She gave him
another infusion. “Something for the disorientation.”

He nodded and let her lead him from the room.

oOo

“I don’t understand it,” fumed General Caldwell, “You said
expect changes. And believe you me, we did. But nothing’s changed—not a
damn
thing. Fulfilling our mission seems
to have accomplished nothing. I called our contacts in Washington, Berlin,
Moscow—everything is the same.”

At the mention of his contacts, Magda Oslovski glanced
across the table at her husband, her heart suddenly feeling like an ice cube in
soda water. Did the contacts check their history books? If they did...