Birth of the Alliance (3 page)

Will had his own private mission as well. He wanted to be an eyewitness to key events in history. To actually
see
the key historical figures, hear the famous speeches, feel the ground thunder beneath his feet as cannon fired, smell the gunpowder as muskets and rifles put their own stamp on the events that would shape the future.

“Mr. Penn seemed a capable man,” Hope mused. “He might be an excellent choice as one your first recruits.”

Will smiled. “History has other ideas. I'll find plenty of people here. And eventually, I'll find plenty within the Aliomenti as well.”

Hope looked curious. “I thought you said Arthur had manipulated them? Changed their brains somehow, so that they literally can't disagree with him or go against his orders?”

Will nodded. “He has. But what can be done can be
undone
. We just need to figure out how he did it. Then we can figure out how to reverse the process.”

Hope sighed. “That won’t be an easy process. Most of them will attack you on sight as a traitor. How will you be able to figure out Arthur’s technique, let alone have the time to reverse it?”

“I don’t know,” Will admitted. “But I know that I need to try.” It wasn’t the first time he’d asked himself that same question. If Will was a traitor, what Aliomenti would sit still and consent to let him examine their minds and identify the technique to reverse Arthur’s brainwashing? “If I meet an Aliomenti, I’ll need to be subtle. Make sure they don’t know who I am. Take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself.” Perhaps he’d come across an Aliomenti knocked unconscious. Or sleeping. He frowned. Was that what he needed to do? Force them into a deep sleep to examine their minds and reverse Arthur’s brainwashing?

Hope sighed at his thought, one she’d picked up on with her telepathic skills. “If you’re successful, the major benefit is that they’ll choose whether to go with you, or head back to Arthur. Their life’s path won’t be something forced upon them.”

“I can tell myself that, but I still don’t like it,” Will admitted. “I simply don't see any other way. Arthur has a huge head start in terms of numbers. If the groups ever clashed like they did at Waterloo…” His voice trailed off.

“Then don't let that happen,” Hope said. “Don't let them find all of you, at least not in large numbers.”

That was the plan, of course. But it was easier said than done. Sebastian had shown his tremendous Tracking ability already, and Will suspected the man’s skill would only improve over time. Especially if Arthur set him to using it proactively to find Will and others. Tacitus' skill in ravaging a person's Energy would likely improve as well. He couldn't specifically recall what Victor's skill was, though it had something to do with truth detection. Victor’s skill only came into play if the trio could first find Will or other future Alliance members. He needed to focus his initial efforts on avoiding detection while still operating among the human communities of the world, seeking to make them a better place.

“I hope to have large numbers at some point,” Will mused. “The question is: where can we all go and meet with the least likelihood of detection? Eden is nice; it's beautiful, the weather is warm, and it could support a large population. But it's exposed; eventually our friends will sail in that direction and spot the island. They may one day fly over the island, which means they’ll be able to bring large numbers on us more quickly, even for those who can’t teleport the entire way. In either event, Eden is too exposed, too easy to find, and if we settle there, you can guarantee that one day we'll have problems.”

“The cave at the old North Village worked well,” Hope noted. “Nobody knew we were there. It was underground, nobody could see sparks of Energy, or even hear us talking.”

Will considered that. At the time, he, Hope (then known as Elizabeth), and Eva were the only three in the original North Village with any Energy capabilities. What they'd done in the cave would have gone unnoticed simply because they were the only ones capable of noticing it in the first place. But Hope's words, as they often did, sparked an idea in his mind.

“I like that idea. A lot. The reason that cave worked so well is that it was difficult to detect through available senses at the time, it was nearly impossible to find by accident, and it was very difficult to reach by…
normal
means.”

Hope smirked. “
I
got there without teleportation, though.”

Will winked at her. “You’re unique, though.” She laughed, and he continued. “Like I said, Eden is nice, of course, and I'd love to spend a lot of time there. The challenge is it doesn't really meet those criteria. I need to find a place that can, at least temporarily, host thousands of people while being difficult to find or enter, even by advanced Aliomenti. It needs to be difficult to find even by someone like Sebastian, who can trace Energy. The idea of being underground, in some type of cave, meets those criteria.”

“Do you think your being under tons of rock and dirt might hamper his ability?” Hope asked.

“I’m not sure,” Will admitted. “But I suspect it can't
help
him. And I think there's a way to make something that actually can prevent Energy from leaking out. That's easier if we're underground and have built-in walls on all sides.”

“You can make something that can lock Energy inside a place?” Hope asked, sounding skeptical. She glanced at the display screen of the sub, and shrugged. “Never mind. I concede that you could.”

Will laughed. “It's something I remember from my time far into the future. The Alliance had perfected that ability to the degree that they could set up an invisible barrier around an outdoor camp. That's an advanced application of such a technology. If I can go far enough below the ground I should be able to work on building something far less exotic that can be used to cover the inside walls of an underground cave.”

Hope nodded. “That should keep even
you
busy for a few days.”

Will laughed. “Or even a few decades. I won't know until I try. I need to think about the best place to even start looking for an underground cave, think about how large it will need to be, and think about the place Arthur and the others are least likely to look.” He stood up from the table.

Hope stood, and moved to embrace him. “And I'll keep an eye on Elijah, and see what other good I can do while I'm in this town. It’s called Philadelphia, correct?”

Will nodded, returning the embrace. “Over the next century, it will be one of the cities at the epicenter of some of the most transformative events in human history. I intend to see as many of them as I can. The people here will be worth watching and getting to know.”

Hope could only nod as she moved to collect a bag that held her possessions: a few changes of clothing, a modest amount of money, and the necklace and hair pin which had previously belonged to her mother, Genevieve. It was the start of a cycle she’d repeated countless times over the centuries. She’d move to a town, form a handful of relationships, and have to watch as those friends aged and died off. It was one of the most painful aspects of her immortality. “I hope we can save a lot of them.”

“So do I.” He took her hand. “You're a better judge of character than I am. You'll know the best candidates in this city. When I return…”

“I'll direct you to them,” she said, smiling. “I'll find so many candidates for you that this town may actually disappear from the map.”

Will, familiar with the size of Philadelphia in his birth era, couldn't help but grin. “Arthur won't stand a chance.”

Her face warmed at the thought. “It's time, then.”

And after a parting kiss, she vanished.

The last time she'd vanished, it had left a hole in his heart that had taken centuries to heal. Now, though, he knew where she was going and what she was doing. He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. She’d willingly accepted a mission as grueling and complex as his own. It was one that involved little action and lots of watching and waiting.

But it wasn’t in Hope’s nature to simply sit and watch. She needed to act. She’d explained how she kept herself busy during those long centuries of minimal activity. “I see opportunities each day to make the lives other people just a little bit better. Not a lot, but enough to make a real difference. I don't need to sit around and watch events unfold; I can be that change that makes the world a better place.”

It reminded Will of a saying he'd heard in his future, uttered by a man who would live in India two centuries hence. “
You must be the change you want to see in the world.
” Will had always liked the phrase; to him, it was a call to action, a call to do more than simply complain about how things were. It was how he had chosen to live his life. Hope, who had never before heard that phrase, had made similar comments. To Will, that meant that the sentiment was important. It was a perfect encapsulation of what he wanted the Alliance to represent. Men and women who would see opportunities to act and improve the world around them, men and women uniquely and powerfully equipped to act as few others could.

He nodded to himself. He had the core mantra that would drive the Alliance forward for centuries.

Now he needed to go find a place for them to live.

II

Cavern

1705 A.D.

After four years of searching, after developing instruments for detecting rock fissures that wouldn’t see their equal for centuries, after pinpointing the exact location of the tunnel… Will still drove the
Nautilus
past the entry.

He smiled. Perfect.

Will took several months after his conversation with Hope outside Philadelphia to consider the ideal location for his underground home for the Alliance. He sat on the island of Eden, making some repairs and enhancements to the
Nautilus
, enjoying fresh fish caught from the ocean and the plentitude of fruits and vegetables and nuts growing on the island. The delightful salty air relaxed him and the gentle breezes that rolled in off the ocean refreshed him. Coupled with the blue skies and temperate weather, it had proved the perfect locale for something like inventing a submarine. It had so far proved to be a safe zone, the place where he’d long ago moved all his money from Aliomenti vaults. It would also prove to be the ideal place from which to choose his
new
home.

As the aroma of fish permeated his nostrils, Will had a sudden inspiration.

His conversation with Hope had impressed upon him the importance of eliminating visual exposure for his new town. He’d find or build something underground. Accessibility should be a challenge; he wanted to ensure that if you didn’t know the underground city was there, you’d have no chance to find it. His eyes roamed to the
Nautilus.

Of course.

He’d find or build an underground cavern accessible only with an underwater boat. He suspected the Aliomenti would have no interest in such a craft. Arthur, though he’d instituted the daily community river baths, was deathly afraid of water. He stayed close to shore, and if crowds ever pushed him closer to the middle of the Halwende River, his panic would become palpable. Arthur would invent excuses to prevent the Aliomenti from doing any deep research and development on such modes of travel.

Yes, access via deep water would be ideal.

The question was: where should he look for such a cavern?

Europe was out of the question. The odds of him avoiding contact with Aliomenti while entering and exiting a base of operation there were miniscule. North America would be fine for a few decades, perhaps a century, but the economic conditions there would attract the Aliomenti like sharks to blood before long. It wouldn’t surprise him to see the Aliomenti move their headquarters and the bulk of their membership there in time. His memory fixated on a map he’d seen in the distant future, showing that the Aliomenti Headquarters he’d escaped from was, in fact, located on a private island within the Bermuda Triangle. Point proved. North America was out as well. Eventually, they’d move on Asia, Australia, South America, and Africa as economic potential developed on each of the world’s continents. So where could he look?

He’d look in a place without an economy, without a notable human population at any point in the next four or five centuries.

Will set sail to the south, surfacing the
Nautilus
only long enough to replenish food provisions. He could secure fish and plant life from the sea as necessary for survival, but tended to favor land-based flora and fauna for consumption where possible. It was important to stock up while he could, because his destination wasn't known for a variety of plant or animal life.

It took a few weeks of sailing, but Will finally surfaced and surveyed the ice and snow covered continent of Antarctica. The weather alone would be a deterrent to Arthur and the Aliomenti, for those men and women were dedicated to their own comfort above all else. None of them would brave the frigid conditions the continent would sling at them, not even if it meant capturing the traitor Will Stark. The fact that they could only reasonably be able to enter through a tunnel beneath the sea meant that Will and the nascent Alliance would have centuries to establish themselves and build their defenses against an Aliomenti invasion.