The Sphere: A Journey In Time (23 page)

"We've met?" He looked amused.

"I'll explain later," I broke in. "We need to find someplace a little less exposed."

Jim had joined us at that point. "I know of a little house not far from here. I'm friends with the family. I was going to take Noah there to sort out what to do next."

"That sounds lovely. But Paris sounds even lovelier." I gave them a devilish smirk.

Noah grinned in response and adopted a patronizing tone. "Ok, Miss Adelaide. How do you propose we get to Paris?"

"With this." I pulled the wooden box out of my backpack.

"You captured Paris in a box?"

I grabbed his hand. "Hold Jim's hand, Noah."

Jim gave me a curious look and Noah reluctantly took his hand. I handed the box to Daphne and took her hand. She flipped it open. Noah peeked inside and gasped slightly when he saw the glowing red button. We arrived on a deserted bank of the Seine. Jim and Noah were a bit stunned.

"Welcome to 2053!" Daphne said.

"Twenty years prior? Why did you take us back in time? We could've just stayed in the present."

"This is a great year in Paris' history,” Daphne said. She dropped my hand and gestured across the river. “Jean DuFreulle's unveiling of 'The Slathering of Snarlak', the opening of Susan MacInnes's groundbreaking play 'Trained Monkeys'! We'll have some time for sightseeing won't we?"

Those events seemed harmless enough. "Well, we do have a time machine. And I suppose it helps that at this point the lab doesn’t even know we exist. But first let's find ourselves a place to stay for the next few days and settle in, alright?" I held my hand out for the box.

She practically bounced with delight and seemed sated. "Alright." She gave me the box back without hesitation and I shoved it in my pack again.

Noah watched me. "What is that, Addy?"

"It's a sphere, obviously."

"Doesn't look very sphere like."

"Don't be so closed minded, Noah."

"I think you have a lot of explaining to do."

"Yep, but it would be much better over room service, don't you think?" I nodded down the river toward the city.

Daphne started off along the river bank toward the Eiffel Tower. We followed, Jim looking wary, Noah looking amused and me, exhausted. She led us to a hotel right off the Eiffel Tower. I knew it would be expensive, but we still had plenty of cash from my visit with Montgomery. We got four rooms, and with a stern lecture about remaining inconspicuous, I left Daphne to wander while I filled Jim and Noah in on the events of my past few days. "What I need help with now is figuring out how to take over the lab. From what I've been told, the board will be killed but Doctor Lancing survives. I have a plan to get rid of him, but I’m not sure where to find him. I saw a laboratory area that seemed to be his office, only he wasn’t there."

Jim had been able to fill in some of the gaps of my knowledge as I explained what was going on. However his knowledge of Doctor Lancing was even more scarce than mine. "I’ve seen blueprints of the complex. He lives in a dome isolated from everyone else, but it should be connected to that office you found. Do you know when he leaves it to come after Noah?"

"Montgomery didn't mention it to me, no."

"He probably won't leave his quarters for at least a few days. He'll need time to make sure it's safe for him to emerge and plan what he's going to do next. It won't be easy to get inside, it's heavily secured. And airlocked. Shame the Gardians didn't break into that one for us. But you might be able to lure him out if you can get to his lab area. You especially, Adelaide. If he sees you, he'll put two and two together and come after your sphere."

The locked doors I hadn’t been able to explore from Doctor Lancing’s office hadn’t looked that secure to me. "That's fine then, I can handle it."

Jim gave me a concerned look. "What are you going to do to him Adelaide?"

I tried to ease Jim's concern with a nonchalant look. "Nothing. I simply plan to deliver the doctor to some people who will want to see him and leave him there."

He didn't seem convinced, but changed the subject anyway. "I’m not looking forward to going back. I’ve seen what you guys go through on the return trip.”

“That won’t happen, Jim. I’ve traveled a few times with Daphne now, and no sickness.”

Noah perked up at this news. “I’m not going to vomit all over myself when we get back? That’s good news. Why?”

"You met the original programmer, right?"

"I did,” Jim said. “A very troubled young man."

"Well the restrictions they put on the programmers to keep them in line inhibit their ability to perform their tasks and move us through time. Once Erica learned how to control the sphere and the person holding it and got the hang of moving them through time it became effortless for both her and the traveller. She explained it as we're not physically moving, just time is shifting around us." I had to smile at his confused look as I remember Erica trying to explain it to me. "I don't pretend to understand it either." I thought back to my nervousness about Daphne's incredible abilities. "Let's hope he's still there though, it would be good to have a second programmer around. Jim, we'll need you to take over once we get back there. You know more about how that place runs than either of us. You're more likely to be able to talk people into staying and find ways to get in touch with the people who were funding us. We'll need to regain their trust quickly and assure them that everything is fine."

Jim’s face fell as he looked at me. "I don’t think I can do that, Adelaide.”

“What?”

“Look, I’ll put you in touch with the people you’ll need to talk to, but I can’t go back there.”

I couldn’t speak. My plan was suddenly falling apart all around me. “But Jim, we need you.”

He shook his head. “I can’t. That place has too many bad memories. I did too many things I didn’t agree with.”

“But it will be different if you’re in charge!”

Jim gave me a piteous look. “Adelaide, you have no idea what that place did to me. No idea how I tried to fight back. In some ways, I succeeded, but in most I didn’t. It’ll be different I’m sure, with you and Noah in charge, but I can’t have anything to do with that place anymore.”

I thought about telling him about Sunithe’s disease, and how he didn’t have that much longer to live. That he needed the lab to find a cure. I kept silent, because it felt like blackmail, and I couldn’t do that to Jim. He had confidence in us being able to pull it off, and I had to believe in that. I looked to Noah for help, but he just shrugged at me.

Chapter 23

We spent three days in Paris. Though I was eager to finalize things, I knew I needed a break. Daphne was beside herself with glee, and I wanted to spend a few final days with Jim. The time finally came for us to start putting our plan into action. Daphne dropped Jim off at the island, then came back for us. The three of us grabbed hands again and found ourselves delivered into the center of the living dome's central courtyard. Noah laughed at our arrival and I found myself overwhelmed with relief to be back, even though I knew we had a lot of work ahead of us. It was like coming home to a house that had been ransacked by a tornado. Some people milling about turned to stare at us. We had appeared out of nowhere. I registered shock and distrust on their faces.

One man who looked mildly familiar came up to us. “Where did you come from?” He looked like he was ready to run from us at the slightest provocation.

“We’re not with the Gardians if that’s what you’re worried about. We’ve come to get the lab back up and running.”

“We were told yesterday that the lab was closing.”

“Who told you that?” I asked, but had a feeling I knew it was Doctor Lancing.

"I don't know, some voice came over the loudspeaker system. I didn't even know we had a loudspeaker system in here. It was like a voice booming down from the sky." The man eyed me suspiciously.

Noah glanced at me, but I waved him off. “Well the voice was wrong.”

“Who are you, if you’re not with the Gardians?” His voice sounded accusatory.

“We work here too. We had to leave when the lab was attacked, but we came back as soon as we could. We’re here to fix things and get the lab back up and running. Spread the word!” I said as cheerily as possible. I grabbed Noah and Daphne by the arms and dragged them off to the time travel laboratory entrance before he could ask me more questions I wasn’t entirely prepared to answer.

The door slid open easily and we started down the hallway. There were a few guards, dead on the floor. Daphne gasped beside me. I tried not to breathe too deeply. The guards looked gaunt under the harsh lights of the hallway.

We peeked into the doors as we continued. Most rooms were fine but perhaps a little disheveled. The place was deserted, though. After passing a few more dead guards I didn't blame people for wanting to stay away. "Noah, what are we going to do with them?" I asked.

"I guess we'll bury them, Adelaide." He pressed onward. I recognized the room where Jim and I had last eaten a meal together after my return from my Shakespeare mission, and I knew that the return chamber was ahead. We entered the room where I had gotten my haircut. I wondered if Vanessa was still around, and if I could now voice my suspicions to her without fear of repercussions.

It felt strange going backwards through the rooms. The cleaning tub looked fine. There was no algae or dirt in it. I remembered the disorder from my last time through the examination room, so I was a little surprised to find Doctor Crebbs when we opened the door. She froze in place, organizing some paperwork in a drawer. Her usually stern demeanor melted in relief and surprise when she recognized us. "Noah." She put the papers down and came over to hug him. "Someone said you escaped."

"Jim got me out. He didn’t think I had much of a future here."

"I'm glad, I wasn't looking forward to helping her erase your mind."

I could feel Noah tense beside me as I wondered who Doctor Crebbs had meant by “her.” Before I could ask who she meant, Noah stepped forward slightly to confront her. "You mean you are the one who does it?" His temper flared.

She held a hand up and spoke quickly to stop him. "Noah, I didn't come up with the idea, and I certainly didn't approve of it's use. But I know to do what I'm told or I'll end up the one with the scrambled brain."

He seemed unconvinced.

"I've saved your life more times than you can possibly know, and it killed me to know that I was basically about to undo all that." She didn't seem to be able to continue and her head fell.

I turned back to her and glanced down at the box of files beside her. "Are you leaving?"

She didn't raise her head. She kept looking sadly at the floor. "There's nothing for me here. I was just trying to organize some of my research to take with me and then, yes. I was going to try and find another medical lab that would take me in."

"We're going to rebuild this place. Noah and I will be in charge. You can stay, you'll never have to destroy another person's mind again, I can promise you that."

When she looked up her face was clearly marked with pain. "I can't stay here. Now that I'm free to go-there are just too many memories here that I'd prefer to leave behind. I'm not proud of a lot of what I've done." She looked apologetically at us. "I'm sorry. There are other doctors here who can take my place. I'll leave copies of all my work, but I have to get out of here."

I thought about how Jim had the same reaction, the unwillingness to continue at this place now that they were able to leave with no repercussions. I nodded slightly. "I understand."

Doctor Crebbs’s eyes welled up before she turned away from us. I led Daphne and Noah to the other side of the room and through the door. The lights of the White Box were blinding. "Well at least we'll never have to use this room again." I turned to Daphne and gave her an apologetic look.

"This is where you made people come back?" She seemed appalled.

"Well the padding would protect people when they collapsed, and the mats were easy to clean up if someone vomited. Plus the lights made it easy to see if you brought back anything you shouldn't have and-"

"Enough!" She held up a hand to stop him. "Let's rip this out and put in some plants or something can we?" She looked uncomfortable in the room.

I couldn’t blame her. The mats on the floor still struck me as looking moldy, and for the first time ever I noticed another door on the other side of the room. I walked over to it but it wouldn't open. Noah came and stood next to me. “That’s where they take our stuff away to inspect it. That must be where they store the sphere too.”

“That would explain why it’s locked.” I sighed. There were a lot of places that we’d have to explore, and my last expedition hadn’t gone well. I wanted to go into the rooms off Doctor Lancing’s office and see what they were like now. I wondered if Eliza would already be in that hospital room.

"Come on, Adelaide. We have a few more things to deal with." Noah left the room, and Daphne and I followed him back through the examination room and the other return rooms to the hall. We turned left and continued onward.

I stopped Noah again in front of a door that I knew was the boardroom. It had been locked the last time I was here. Noah looked at me in confusion. "I don't want to go in there," I told him. It was not just the fact that I knew the board was dead, it was also the unease from my only memory of being in there.

"That's okay. I’ll check it out." Noah squeezed my shoulder and took a deep breath before opening the door. Daphne and I leaned with our backs against the wall facing away from the door. Noah went in and the door closed behind him. He was only in there for about half a minute when he reemerged, his face grim.

"Well?" I asked him.

"They're not in there, but I'm pretty sure you still don't want to go in."

"If the bodies aren't in there, how do you know the board is dead?"

"Trust me, nothing that had been in there survived. Come on, let’s find Doctor Lancing."

I stopped at a door that was familiar to me, but it took a few moments to remember why. This was the door I had noticed just a few days ago, where the older version of Noah had been kept a prisoner. "Montgomery," I whispered. I stepped towards the door and paused. “Noah, I think you should wait out here.”

“What? Why?”

“I have something rather personal to deal with. I can explain it later. Daphne.” She stepped up beside me as I made to open the door.

“Wait, she’s allowed to go in but I’m not?”

“Noah please, just wait.” I opened the door and pulled Daphne in after me.

Montgomery was lying on the bed. He looked weak and exhausted. I ran into the room and knelt by his bed. Daphne lingered by the doorway. "Montgomery, I'm so sorry."

"Adelaide,” he said in barely a whisper. “I knew you'd come back for me.” He glanced at Daphne in the doorway. “What's going on?"

"It doesn't matter Montgomery, we're sending you home."

“Adelaide,” Daphne broke in, “are you sure you can trust him not to talk about this place?”

I looked back at Montgomery. He nodded and I smiled. "Not like anyone would believe you anyway, hey? Okay. Let's get you back home." I took his hand and helped him up. Daphne walked over and handed me the box as I heard the door slam and looked to the sound to see Noah.

"Who the hell is that?" Noah had followed us. I should've known he wouldn't have listened to me.

I looked at Daphne. "His study, a few moments after he disappeared. Can you see it?"

She closed her eyes and was still for a few moments. I watched as the spark of recognition ignited the rage inside Noah.

“Daphne.” My voice both pleaded and warned her at the same time.

She held her finger up to silence me. She would be taking us into a split she hadn’t yet traveled in herself, but could at least see now. "Go."

"Good." I gripped his hand tighter and hit the button. We stood for a moment. I put the box down and let go of his hand, ready to catch him if he should collapse. How long had he been a prisoner in the lab, I tried to remember. Three weeks? "You're home." His frame trembled a little before he collapsed onto the floor and burst into tears. I knelt on the floor beside him, put my arm around him and tried to steady him. "Montgomery I am so sorry for everything that happened to you. I can only promise you that it will never happen to anyone else and we will never bother you again."

He tried to contain his emotions and pulled a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket while wiping his eyes with his shirt. He handed it to me with a shaking hand. I barely had to open it to realize it was the note I had left for him.

When I wrote it, I had thought for sure it was full of lies. I tried to keep my face pleasant as I stood back up. "I have to go."

He nodded. I grabbed the box off of the table. I opened it, but following an impulse I didn’t quite understand, bent over to kiss his forehead before pushing the button to return to the lab.

"All good?" Daphne asked.

I nodded.

Noah had had a small outburst. A chair was overturned in the room and he was raging about, yelling about his right to a real life.

I had now seen three different versions of Noah. It was interesting how his experiences and memories had shaped the man he was. "What did you expect?" I yelled at him.

He stopped short. Daphne glanced nervously between us, I could tell she was uncomfortable with this version of Noah. She didn’t quite know what to expect from him.

I continued my rant, "Did you think he'd be happy to see you? Like you'd be one of his sons and you could hang out together and it would make up for him losing his entire family?"

Noah glared at me. "It's not that. I would never want that life. Never. No matter what that man said to you. You should have let him stay."

I glared at Noah, but I didn't want to fight with him. I knew he'd claim that he knew himself better than I did, and there would be no winning that argument for me. I left the room with the calm silence and air of someone with the absolute certainty that they had just done the right thing, Daphne hurrying after me.

Noah barged back into the hall after me, turning to head back to the living dome.