Kill Them Wherever You Find Them (24 page)

"We thought that might be the case. Our
museums and many period television programs and movies depict the
19
^th
century fairly well. Additionally their use of
English was fairly consistent with modern usage – for the most part
the differences would be technology-specific. Some words for daily
house goods and clothing would be a little different but let's face
it – women's clothing and fashions are often a whole different
language for men in any age!" Rachael hoped injecting some humor
into the conversation would relax Jeff, seem less like an
interrogation.

"On returning here I did have one dream which
awoke me cold. I dreamed that I killed the wrong person, was caught
and escorted to a scaffold to be hanged." Jeff appeared a little
shaken as he recounted this.

"Some strange dreams usually the product of
unbidden memories when awake, are to be expected. Even without this
experience you – we all – have had strange dreams. I wouldn't read
too much into it. Should they persist, or you begin to feel
anxiety, you should tell me. Otherwise, this is both natural and to
be expected. Well, at least we think so." Dr. Siwel went on, "As
you are the first person to experience time travel – let alone a
dangerous mission while doing so – we have no benchmarks for
comparison. For that matter, as long as there are no long-term
negative impacts in your life or relationships,
you
are the
benchmark. As you can imagine, we'll be monitoring you pretty much
the rest of your life. Just because things are going well now is no
guarantee that you will not have psychological or physical
complications at some time in the future. Now, if you begin to see
unicorns in the room with you while you're wide awake, be sure to
let me know!"

Both laughed. Then a silence settled on the
room, that comfortable silence of communication unspoken that
neither person seemed eager to terminate. Finally, Jeff spoke
again, almost a whisper while staring at the ground.

"You know, Rachael, I have never had a
problem killing a known enemy to my country, now helping your
country as well, or even an enemy to humanity in general. There was
a time when the enemy was known – usually wearing a uniform or some
kind of insignia. You should know that though I have no regrets
killing Martin McGlothlin two things about this are bothering me.
Really, I wish I could speak with either my wife or one of my
church leaders about it, as it's deeply personal and impacting how
I feel about my actions. I realize I can't, so I hope you meant it
when you said I could tell you anything. I know you wouldn't judge
me, at least not intentionally, but I'm asking you now to do just
that."

"I'm here Jeff, and I have nowhere else I
need to be for at least a couple of hours."

"Well, you know I'm not a person of many
words, so I hope it won't take that long!"

He continued, "I don't feel even the
slightest ambiguity about
The Project
. I'm fully aware
what's at stake. Believe me; I had no problem taking McGlothlin out
of play. I know the world – then and now – is better without him.
My concerns that I just can't shake are two-fold:"

"First: Before, when I have killed it was
done in a very cut-and-dry way. It was almost like I could
compartmentalize my thoughts, take life without feeling – or at
least without dwelling on my feelings after. This seems different.
I was a personal witness to the atrocities McGlothlin inflicted on
others, including his own wife and children. I need to know what
became of his family. Did their lives improve, or worsen due to my
actions? Were the slaves blamed for his murder and suffer
consequences, or did the note I left behind exonerate them and his
family? I need to know I didn't make matters worse for those people
who were already so steeped in sadness and pain. That's not all of
this first worry or better stated, 'concern.'"

Jeff went on to explain. "We know that future
generations spawned by this odious man also were rife with people
equally heinous and cancers to society. The world is better without
them. Yet, among his descendants were good and honorable people.
Who knows but that somebody who was yet to be born might have been
the person to find a cure for diseases currently considered
hopeless? In my theology, all people are literal spirit children of
God, our common father. I firmly believe that we all come to this
mortal life to gain a physical body and have learning experiences
that are unique to mortality. So I know they will be born. Here the
age-old Nature vs. Nurture argument comes into play. Will these
people who would have been good now be born to families where they
are abused themselves, leading a totally different life? Or will
their inherent goodness remain strong and help them to become the
person they could be. Vice-versa, will his descendants who were
racists and criminals still be so when they are born, or maybe they
will then be born into good and loving homes and grow up to be
exemplary contributors to society? I know I can't but I wish I
could address this issue with my Bishop. Perhaps there just is no
answer – no scripture or belief system from any religion or
philosophy in the world quite covers this."

"My other concern was that I actually
enjoyed
killing Martin. I killed him quickly, not that he
deserved a quick and fairly painless death. Having seen for myself
what a truly horrible person he was, how he loved to terrorize and
abuse the helpless and weak, I found killing him to be a
pleasure
. I have to admit, that really worries me more than
anything else. I know it was a large group of people, independent
of me, to identify and target him for elimination as this first
step of
The Project
. I'm glad for that. Still, the fact that
I felt no qualms about being his executioner, I didn't think myself
capable of such a thing. Before when I've taken out enemy
combatants it was at a distance, with a sniper's bullet or a remote
bomb. This was up close and personal, yet it didn't bother me as I
feel it ought to have." Jeff finished, appearing a little relieved
to have confessed his feelings to another person.

"I am unqualified to address your first
concern. As you concluded, correctly I think, no holy book of any
faith community covers what we are doing here. For me to attempt
any speculation as to the feelings of deity regarding would be an
exercise in futility, not to mention a high degree of arrogance.
But I do have to add, the God I believe in would want us to use all
within our power to protect the innocent. I have no doubt that you
feel the same."

"As to your second concern, it is certainly
valid. You are free to review the records on the outside, as well
as our Temporally Shielded Room records to see what became of
McGlothlin's wife and daughters. You are also certainly free to
review the original and then altered history of any other person or
persons you wish. I do hope the new history will bear-out the fact
that you did his wife and daughters a charitable kindness. Even if
their lives did nonetheless turn out to be difficult, even tragic –
keep in mind that with him alive throughout most of their lives,
that would have been the same situation anyway if not worse.
Ultimately, while Martin's death was certainly a good thing - it
could
not
have made matters worse for his family. I would
like to know what you find."

"As to your personal feelings about killing
him, I respect that. These feelings, you may want to know, were in
your psychological profile as you were being considered for your
role in
The Project
. It was critical that we had somebody
with field experience in assassination but also somebody who did
not relish and enjoy his job. He had to be somebody who could kill
quickly and effectively – but not sadistically or to satisfy some
sociopath flaw in his psyche. The fact that you have these
feelings, and have been able to verbalize them to me, assures me
that you are a good man who has done a difficult thing and, in so
doing, protected the innocent. Do you understand and accept
this?"

"Certainly. Logically I know it to be
correct. I knew then, and know now, that it had to be done. I think
once I know what became of his family and the others on the
property I may feel better."

"There is something else I wanted to raise
with you Jeff.
The Project
, now moved from theory to
reality, is impacting all of us. The greatest impact is on you. You
were selected because of your military expertise, linguistic
aptitude, and scientific background. More than that we needed a
born-and-raised American to execute – poor choice of words, sorry –
to initiate and carry out the first mission."

"
Execute
is as good and honest a word
as any, Rachael. No need to tip-toe around me."

"Thank you. We believe that your experience
and the fact that you returned – physical wound notwithstanding –
no worse for the wear bodes well. We know that emotionally you have
handled the shift from present-to past-to present again without any
evident damage to your psyche. That you may have concerns about
your actions and their consequences to others is to be expected,
any feeling human would. That you are mentally and emotionally
stable – as expected given your psych profile – bodes well. It is
now a near certainty that you can experience time travel without
any lasting negative results. I must add here that while it isn't
known how many times you would be able to shift through time
without physical or psychological problems, it now appears that at
least two or three times should be possible for you. Perhaps
more."

She continued, "Thus, the leadership of
The Project
feel it safer to send you back again for the
second and final, most crucial, history-changing mission. It is
felt that to send somebody back who is completely inexperienced
would be to add a needless unknown element into an equation that we
know otherwise works. This means that we would need you in a few
months – or less if possible – to step into the past again and
carry out the mission for which
The Project
was conceived in
the first place."

"Other than being an American, with military
training, thus ideally suited to go to 19
^th
century
America, you were also selected because of your wife and
children."

"Come again? What do they have to do with
it?"

"It's simple, really. There was precedent in
another field altogether. The first man selected to have an
artificial heart transplant was very near death with no other
options. As you might reason, many people fit that description.
What made this man special were his faith and strong family bonds.
His name was Barney Clark, a retired dentist. You'll be interested
to know that one of the considerations was that family support to
that first experiment was critical. Like you, Mr. Clark was a
faithful Mormon with a strong and loving wife and children
surrounding him. While expected to live just a few days, Clark
survived 112 days after that pioneering surgery in 1982. Since
then, others have had the surgery while awaiting human heart
transplants. It was Mr. Clark, a man of great faith and a strong,
supportive, loving family that made it possible."

"In many ways you are like Mr. Clark, Jeff.
Your faith, your desire to serve humanity, the support of your
wife, combined with other required attributes made you our prime
candidate. We know how difficult it has been to be away from your
wife and children for so long, even more difficult still to have to
use deceptive measures when you contact them. Because we must ask
you to continue with us, we would like to bring your wife in on
what is really going on. We wish to invite your family to live here
in Israel for the next year or so. Your children would be kept in
the dark as to your real job. We feel it is best for you – and
therefore for the success of
The Project
itself – to have
your family here with your wife knowing, at least to a certain
degree, of your work with our government. She would know that it is
work approved by your own government, though even they are not
aware of the full and exact nature of
The Project
."

"Wow, Rachael, this is a great deal all at
once. How much would I be able to tell her? For that matter, how
would I even begin to tell her?"

"Yes it is and I'm sorry. Though we can now
go back in time, where the present is concerned, time is not on our
side. We must move as quickly as possible. To do that, we need to
know you are with us the entire way. This would include having your
family here for your sake, and for our sake as well. The success or
failure of
The Project
may well depend on you. As a matter
of course we are researching other possibilities as we speak. All
things considered, you remain our best hope. I don't mean to lay
this on you but the truth is you may be our only hope for a
successful outcome."

"My wife, Lynn, will eventually accept this
situation, I'm certain. She won't be happy that I have deceived her
all this time. I know that she'll be resistant to moving away from
her family for any length of time – let alone to another country.
Though intelligent and skilled in many areas of learning, acquiring
a new language is not her forte. I realize she could get by just
fine in English alone here but no knowledge of Hebrew will cripple
her socially."

"We are already making plans to avoid as much
culture and language shock as possible. There are plenty of
American businessmen and women here with their families. With the
Mormon university here, she and your children may be allowed some
contact with your church, which we know is important to all of you.
For you to stay here, and all of you to live openly here and be
part of the small Mormon community, we would have to create a cover
– something already in the works. We just need to know if this is
something you would be able to accept, your wife and children as
well. We know your children are college age and ready to move out
of the house and be on their own but we feel that for security
reasons they need to be here, too. Your family can be much more
easily protected here than there. They'll be able to go to college
here, courtesy of the government, and live in flats with their own
roommates."