Time Leap (5 page)

“
We’d probably
have to change our clothes, though – so we didn’t stand out,” I
pointed out. “Having said that, you’re going to stand out whatever
you wear.”

“
Why? Because
I’m Chinese or because I’m a woman?”

“
Probably
both. I don’t think women were allowed to watch plays in those
days, were they?” I asked.

“
They could
watch – but they couldn’t take part in the
performances.”

We finished our coffees,
and as we were leaving Niki asked me if I thought we’d prevented
the bombings.

“
Well, if not
we’ll just have to come back and try again. Just a second...” I
went over to talk to an assistant at the counter. “’scuse me mate,
d’you remember the London bombings a few years back – in
2005?”

“
Yeah, sure I
do… I was working near Liverpool Street station when one of the
bombs went off.” Niki looked crestfallen. Then the young man added,
“Good thing they’d had a warning about it and no–one was
hurt.”

“
And the other
bombs?” I asked.

“
Oh, they were
all discovered in time,” he said. “Where have you been then –
another planet?”

“
Something
like that,” I replied, taking Niki’s hand. “So what d’you want to
do now Nik?” I asked.

“
I want to see
my mum.”

***

Six

We returned home late
having spent several hours with Gloria and Tang. In my universe
Niki was talking to Gloria less than a week ago, but in Niki’s
World she hadn’t seen her mother for nearly seven years. This was
going to be difficult to explain to her – it was hard enough for me
to get my head around it, and I’d been through this twice now. The
day before I went to the airport, we all lived in a universe where
the World Trade Center had been devastated by terrorists flying
passenger planes into the Twin Tower buildings. In that World,
Niki’s mother was very much alive and well. Then I intervened – and
by doing so I put part of the planet on a different path, one in
which over 3,000 people were not killed, but two World leaders –
and Niki’s mother – were dead. Not only had physical events
changed, but also the memories and thought patterns of billions of
people around the globe had been edited in order to accommodate
this new universe. Now we had changed events again, and in doing so
created a new reality of life on planet Earth.

For all I knew, the
previous reality was still in existence ‘somewhere’, though god
knows where; but wherever and whatever, Niki’s consciousness was
now firmly rooted in this alternate present. It was very difficult
to explain to her that her mother had never really died; and though
I did try, I thought in the end it would be better to let her come
to her own understanding. For me, it was something that our present
science, our present understanding of this universe, was not yet
able to explain in practical terms, even though the concept of
time–travel had been contemplated and discussed many times, and a
plethora of books written about the subject and its
consequences.

The next thing to
consider was the impact that our latest intervention might have had
on the World. We watched the News avidly every day for the next
week for indications of changes to the economy, to people, and to
society in general. Fortunately, we found nothing, and I felt we
could move on and consider what we should do next with this amazing
ability. We had no idea how long this window would be open, and we
both wanted to experience more and more, doing what we could to
change the past for the better, as we saw it.

*

One night after work, two
weeks after stopping the London bombings – well, the killings at
least, Niki and I chatted about the things we’d like to do next.
Despite Niki saying she’d like to meet Shakespeare and see one of
his original performances first hand, we both agreed that we should
embark upon projects for ‘the benefit of mankind’, rather than just
to satisfy our curiosities. I had in passing mentioned preventing
the Nazi holocaust by assassinating Adolf Hitler, and Niki also
mentioned killing off Emperor Hirohito before his invasion of
China, and thereby preventing the atrocities perpetrated on the
Chinese people by the Japanese.

In both cases, however,
we agreed that it would be very risky attempting these feats, given
that many others had tried and failed; and even if we were able to
eliminate both men, there was no assurance that other, equally
evil, dictators would not take their places.

One thing that appeared
paramount was that we should always go on these trips together,
never alone, so that if anything happened to either one of us, the
other could always take the phone, go back to a time prior to the
calamity and try to undo what had befallen the other. This seemed
to make good sense. It did, though, raise an interesting question
one evening after work.

“
Joe, I’ve
been thinking about what we discussed the other day.”

“
Go
on.”

“
When you went
back to the time of the World Trade Center bombings, you said you
spoke to me on the telephone.”

“
Yes, when you
were still in school.”

“
What would
have happened if I had gone back with you too, and made that phone
call instead? Would I find myself talking to a younger version of
me?”

“
Wow, that’s
spooky!”

“
Isn’t
it?”

I had to stop and
consider the concept of two Nikis talking to each other…
weird!

“
Well, I
suppose that
could
happen,” I replied. “I can’t see why not. Interesting
though.”

There was a lull in our
conversation, and I turned to see her staring serenely into space.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.

She snapped out of her
reverie, and looked at me slightly guiltily. “Oh, nothing – just
about the past.”

“
And?”

“
Do you
remember me telling you about my first boyfriend – when I was
fourteen years old?”

“
The kid who
killed himself… Steve, wasn’t it?” Niki nodded. I continued, “Yeah
I remember… I know you must have been very cut up about it at the
time. You don’t still blame yourself for that, do you?”

“
Oh no, not
really. It’s just that… what if I’d known about the pressures his
parents were putting him under…” She looked hopefully at
me.

“
You could
have intervened – and saved his life?” I said. We were both quiet
again, then I said, “Y’know, we’d be taking a big risk if we
changed this – I mean, personally. When we jump back to the
present, you could be married to him, not me.”

Niki looked at her feet
and nodded. “I know – I’ve thought about that. But what if we just
tell his parents what’s going to happen if they don’t let up, and
then I split up with Steve later.”

This was beginning to
sound insane. We would be risking our relationship on the suicidal
depression of one fourteen year old boy, when we could be saving
millions of lives elsewhere. And anyway, even if we could prevent
the suicide attempt, Steve might try it again because of something
else – Niki dumping him for instance. I told Niki what I thought,
and she agreed it was crazy and she shouldn’t have mentioned
it.

I thought that was the
end of it – but I was wrong.

The next morning, my
mobile phone was missing – and so was Niki. She must have been up
before me, and taken my phone by mistake. But hers has a pink
cover, and mine is black. And although she could grab the wrong one
by mistake if she was in a hurry, as soon she looked at it, she’d
know it wasn’t hers and call me. Wouldn’t she?

Anyway, I naturally
didn’t want her to use the phone to travel you–know–where,
particularly as we’d specifically agreed to only travel together.
And she agreed it was a stupid idea to go back and try to save her
old friend. But, I had this horrible nagging feeling in my gut
about this, so I called my phone from hers (which she’d left in our
bedroom).

“
I’m sorry,
the number you have called cannot be reached just now…”

Shit! I knew what this
meant. I was beside myself with growing annoyance all morning, and
by the time I heard the key in the front door at midday, I was
ready to explode.

“
Niki, we
agreed – you agreed – we’d only go
together
, never
on our own
… I can’t believe you’ve
done this!”

“
Happy
birthday darling!”

“
What?”

She handed me a
gift–wrapped box in blue and white paper, with a matching ribbon
and bow.

“
Oh, I’d
forgotten,” I said slowly.

“
Well, go on…
open it!”

As I was
tearing open the paper and opening the box, Niki apologized for
taking my phone by mistake. She didn’t want me to wake up and ask
her where she was going. She’d just popped the phone in her bag,
and hadn’t realized it was switched off – hence the reason I
couldn’t call her. Inside the box I found a very fetching blue
pullover (my favourite colour – being a Chelsea supporter),
and
The Time Machine
by HG Wells.

“
Thanks baby,
that’s so nice.” I kissed her and we hugged warmly. Then she pulled
away a little.

“
So what was
that ‘
only going
together
’ speech about?” I looked at her
with a guilty grimace. “Oh Joe, you didn’t think I’d do
that!
You really thought
I’d taken the phone to go time–travelling… to see my old
boyfriend?” I couldn’t deny what I thought.

“
I’m sorry,
Nik, I just reacted… it all seemed to fit…”

“
Trust
, Joe, remember? What we based
our marriage on?”

I admitted she
was right, and I was wrong. So that afternoon I couldn’t help
thinking I owed her the chance to at least
try
to stop her old flame topping
himself. After all, if we get it wrong, we can always go back and
do it all over again. I think.

***

Seven

When Niki was going out
with Steve, they were both thirteen. So it wasn’t some big
relationship thing – just first love curiosity more than anything
else. And I don’t think there was so much love about it either,
though she would say otherwise. Anyway, at the time Niki lived with
her folks in South Kensington, and attended Henrietta Barnett
School in Hampstead, North London. Very posh. (Rather different
from the government comprehensive school I went to). Steve was at
Whitefield School, a mixed comprehensive also in North London, and
his home was no more than quarter of a mile from Henrietta Barnett.
They were destined to meet. Well, in our current
universe.

“
What if you
two had never met?” I said to Niki the next day.

“
What d’you
mean?”

“
Well, imagine
if you’d never known Steve… you wouldn’t be concerned about him,
would you?

“
But that
wouldn’t stop the pressure on Steve – from his parents. He’d still
kill himself!”

“
True – and at
this exact moment in time, both you and I know that. But if I went
back in time, I could make sure your paths never crossed. You’d
have no memory of ever knowing Steve, so no concern about one of
the thousands of suicides that happen in the UK every year.
Right?”

Niki stared at
me, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you said that Joe! Ignorance
is bliss, is that it? And anyway, it was
you
who gave
me
the lecture yesterday about
travelling alone!”

I had to admit she was
right – again. I was just playing with an idea, that was all. I
knew what we had to do, and I’d every intention of seeing it
through – for Niki’s benefit. So I gave her the green light, and
Niki was happy. Then we got scheming.

Plan A was for Niki to
talk to her younger self – posing as some long–lost relative who
knew all about the relationship with Steve. Once Niki junior knew
all about the intense pressures Steve was under from his parents,
and the fact that he was actually contemplating suicide, then she
was bound do something about it. Meanwhile, I would talk to Steve’s
parents. That was going to be harder. How could I introduce myself
and then say, ‘Oh by the way – your son it going to kill himself if
you don’t take your foot off the pedal’? Mmm… In the end, we
thought it might be better if I talked to Social Services –
pretending to be a concerned neighbour, or something like
that.

Plan B was for both of us
to meet up with Steve and Niki junior and say, ‘Hi – we’re from the
future!’ That’s only if we get desperate, of course.

That night, after going
over the details, we took deep breaths, held hands, set the phone’s
date to 19 May, 1996 and waited. It didn’t work quite how we
imagined.

“
Who
are
you?
” We were
standing in an apartment which looked like ours, but it wasn’t
ours. “Well? What are you doing in my flat?” Whilst Niki gave the
middle–aged man an apologetic smile, I quickly switched the date
back to the present and we were suddenly back home. I’d forgotten
that I hadn’t moved into that apartment until 2004.