TW07 The Argonaut Affair NEW (29 page)

"Well, Orpheus did not have the stomach for committing murder, so he had waited to see what would occur that would give him an opportunity, yet he did not act because, he claimed, he had come to look upon us all as friends and, I think, although he did not admit it, because he was afraid. Yet now that the time had come when we would be sailing into Iolchos on the next day, he knew he had to act or else forfeit the reward. He did not believe that Pelias would honor the promise he had made to Jason and he believed that all of us would be set upon and killed if we came back to Iolchos with the golden fleece.

"While Medea slept, Orpheus had stolen into the cabin and taken the golden fleece. But it was heavy, as you know, and in dragging it out of the cabin, he made some noise and woke Medea. We found them both on deck, with the golden fleece between them, Medea screaming like as not to wake the dead and beating him about the head and shoulders with such fierceness that it was all poor Orpheus could do to cover his head and shield himself from her. Well, when we found them that way and Theseus pulled Medea off him, Orpheus cried and confessed everything to us. Medea demanded that we kill the traitor and Theseus looked to Jason to see if that was what he wished, but Jason said not a single word. Instead, he bent down, and with a great grunt of effort, picked up the golden fleece and threw it overboard.

"For a moment, we were all too stunned to move or speak, but then Medea let out a scream that was, if possible, even louder than before. She lost her head completely and demanded that Jason dive for it and bring it up, as if he was capable of such a thing. And to our amazement, Jason unbuckled his sword and stood upon the railing, ready, it seemed, to do exactly as she wanted. He leaped over the side, but instead of diving for the fleece, he struck out for the shore. At this, Medea went wild and sought to grab a bow, so that she could shoot an arrow after him, but Theseus, whose patience is not great, struck her a blow and felled her to the deck, telling her that if she wanted the golden fleece, she should dive for it herself. And then he, too, leaped over the side and struck out after Jason.

"And there it ended. A most peculiar conclusion to the story. We made port the next day and the Argonauts disbanded, each going their separate ways, yet no one complained that the journey was for nothing. I know a number of them stayed in Iolchos for a while, and several still remain here, telling stories of our journey in exchange for drinks and meals. I have heard some of those stories and, like the tales Orpheus had told, they grow better with each telling. Orpheus never received his reward from Pelias, who claimed to know nothing of any such arrangement. He left Iolchos and I doubt he will return again. Theseus, I have heard, returned to Athens and of Jason, I have heard nothing at all. Idmon lives nearby and still makes his living as a soothsayer. He comes to see me on occasion and he tells me that he feels his intuition was correct. Jason did not sit upon the throne in Iolchos, but wherever he has gone, he has found happiness."

"And what of Medea?" asked Delaney. "What became of her?"

"She found herself without a palace or a throne, without the golden fleece, and with no protector in a strange city where she knew no one. She was frightened at this prospect, so she found a man to take her in. This man was not a wealthy or a powerful man, but he knew how to handle a proud woman and was not so vulnerable to her beauty as younger men would be. In time, Medea became humbled and her nature grew much more agreeable." He turned. "Woman! Where is dinner? Our guests are being kept waiting!"

"Coming, Argus," said Medea, entering from the kitchen, carrying a tray.

The three agents sat in Forrester's den, surrounded by books and memorabilia from previous missions.

On a low table before them was a bottle of Irish whiskey and a small tray holding glasses. Forrester sat across from them in his reading chair, smoking one of his antique Castello pipes and studying their report.

When he finally put it down, he sat silent for a long while before speaking.

"Clocking back to Iolchos afterwards was risky," he said, staring down at the carpet, "but it did produce some useful intelligence." He nodded. "You were correct to do it and include it in your report."

He pursed his lips, thinking. "I don't know whether to call it a successful mission or not," he said at last.

He sighed. "A disruption
was
created, though it was mostly not your doing, and the S.O.G. will have their hands full attempting to adjust for it, but Drakov and this professor have apparently escaped. Major Curtis reported that their bodies were not found in the ruins, though it's possible they were burned. Still, knowing my son ... I wish I'd killed him when I had the chance, God help me."

His face looked grim. "The S.O.G. will probably try to hunt down Hercules, as well as Jason."

"I hope they make it," said Andre.

Forrester frowned, then his face cleared as he understood her meaning. "Oh, the hominoids, you mean."

He nodded. "Fascinating creatures. I see you've made a number of unsubstantiated statements here...."

"That's because there was no way to substantiate them, sir," Delaney said. "All we can do is guess. We figure the reason the Argonauts were drugged at Lemnos is because Drakov wanted to separate us from them there, or at least verify who was really who among the Argonauts. Maybe they were drugged because we broke out of that cell before he had a chance to get there. I'm inclined to think he meant to get us. During our fight with the harpies, one of them tried to carry Andre off. We're also guessing about the Dalion women who were carried off by the titans. It's possible they were required for Moreau's experiments. It's even possible they became the harpies. On the other hand, the hominoids were essentially human, or at least human-based life forms. The titans were extremely primitive, but I'm assuming they still had human urges. Now none of these things have any particular significance, except for our comments concerning the storage room on Lemnos where Creed discovered the inactive hominoids."

"And incorrectly assumed them to be androids?" Forrester said.

"Yes, sir," Steiger said. "There are two significant points there, again, neither of which can be substantiated, but the circumstantial evidence in their support is strong. Drakov told us they were early prototypes of hominoids made for S.O.G., a number of which he had stolen. That, combined with the fact of the dead warriors, strongly suggests that S.O.G. still has a significant inventory, if you will, of these early prototypes. And my discovery of them in the storage room on Lemnos supports our conclusion that they can be deactivated. Since they are not androids, but organic beings similar to ourselves, we think this deactivation is probably accomplished by placing them into some sort of deathlike coma, like suspended animation. The interrogation of our prisoner should give us more conclusive information."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," said Forrester. "Capt. Hunter has escaped."

"Escaped?"
said Andre. "How?"

"Well, more to the point, he was never placed in custody," said Forrester, wryly. "No one at HQ was aware that a prisoner was clocking in, so he managed to bluff his way past the transition station personnel and disappear along with his stolen warp disc."

"I'll be damned," Delaney said. "And now he's loose somewhere in our timeline."

"Yes, but at the moment, we have more pressing concerns," said Forrester. "I'd like to get back to your report, What about those nysteel birds that attacked the ship?"

"It's possible that they were Drakov's," Steiger said, "but he never mentioned them and they never showed up during the battle on Rhodes. That's what makes me think they were S.O.G. drones, equipped with nysteel projectiles and programmed not to kill certain members of the crew. They had to keep Theseus and certain others that were important to their historical continuity alive. That's why they couldn't make a direct hit on the entire ship."

Forrester nodded. "And the same applies to the so-called 'dead warriors.' Specifically programmed not to kill certain members of the crew. Which is why I find your final comments about Jason very interesting.

When you mention that he apparently acted counter to his programming in throwing the golden fleece overboard, you have in parenthesis the words, 'developmentally related?' What precisely do you mean by that?"

"Again, this is getting into conjecture," Steiger said, "but we're assuming that there was a programmed imperative in the Jason hominoid. It seems to be a fairly safe assumption, but we don't know for sure what that imperative might have been. Obviously, he was programmed to
be
Jason and to act accordingly, but there's no way of knowing precisely how that imperative was couched, so we don't know just how far his actions ran counter to his programming."

"There's also the fact that it's not as if we're talking about an android here," Delaney said. "Jason was purely organic, essentially a cloned human being raised under highly controlled conditions. Drakov implied that the generation of hominoids Jason came from was the most advanced one. Perhaps the level of development was responsible for the independence of the action. Jason might have been naive and emotionally simplistic, but he nevertheless had a fully developed personality. And then Moreau seemed to have a highly protective attitude toward his creations, so that could have been a factor as well. He may have specifically programmed them to allow them a certain amount of independent thought and action, especially the more advanced ones."

Forrester nodded again. "That about covers it, I guess. Unfortunately, it still leaves us with a number of unanswered questions. Archives Section isn't going to be very pleased. I notice that you never addressed the issue directly, but there are a number of implications here between the lines that are going to give them real headaches. Specifically, there's still the question of trans-temporal influence. It doesn't seem probable that the earthquake responsible for the 'Clashing Rocks' was arranged in any way, and yet the event fits the myth precisely.
Our
myth. And what was Drakov planning for this timeline that made Moreau turn against him? That has to be our single, overriding concern right now. And I'm afraid it may tie in directly with the question of trans-temporal contamination."

Delaney frowned. "What do you mean, sir?"

Forrester stood. "I'm referring to the fact that Moreau's body was never found. And to the fact that he is the creator of the hominoids and that his name happens to be Moreau." He scanned his bookshelves.

"There is a book here I think you should read."

He took down a leather bound volume and handed it to Delaney.

"The Island of Dr. Moreau,"
Delaney read from the cover, "by H.G. Wells?"

"I think you'll find it very interesting," said Forrester, "and highly disturbing, in light of your recent experiences. Perhaps it's only a coincidence. Perhaps it's also only a coincidence that Wells also wrote a novel called
The Time Machine."

"Those would be two very interesting coincidences," Steiger said, uneasily.

"Yes, they would indeed," said Forrester. "I realize you've just returned from a mission, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to send you out again almost immediately. Drink up. I want you to get a good night's sleep.

You'll be clocking out at oh-six-hundred. I think you three should have a long talk with Mr. H.G. Wells."

Drakov stood alone in the dark, dank cellar of the ruined castle. He held a torch in his left hand and in his right, he held a small electronic box.

"It seems as if we have come full circle, my friend," he said, looking down. "It began in a ruin much like this one, in Ruritania. In the cold, damp corridors of Zenda Castle, where I first encountered the temporal agents. And it is a fitting environment for your beginning, as well."

He pressed a button on the tiny box, activating the implant that would revive the creature from its deathlike sleep.

"You shall give them nightmares," he said, chuckling. "And you shall only be the first of many."

He put the black box back inside his pocket, activated his warp disc and disappeared. For a moment, all was silent in the cellar of the ruined castle, and then a hand came out from beneath the coffin lid.

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by Luca Calcinai