Chronosphere Read online

  They heard more shouts from upstairs, then the sound of a door sliding open directly overhead. Ana’s smile disappeared.

  “They have breached the security door, Anton. It is imperative that we leave now.”

  “Shit, how’s that possible?”

  “I do not think it is beneficial for us to speculate on that right now.” She stepped into the chronosphere and calmly sat in one of the two black chairs inside. Less calmly, Anton followed.

  The shouts became clearer as the Draconian police officers shuffled down the spiraling steps. Just as the chronosphere’s door shut, he caught a glimpse of the barrels of their guns.

  They apparently no longer cared about disguising themselves. Still clad in police uniforms, the crowd of reptilians emerged into the basement with panic and fury in their yellow eyes. Anton had a good idea of what the horrible things truly looked like, but the glimpse made him shudder. Long snouts opened into huge flaring nostrils, scales jutted backward into spikes along the ridges of their skulls. They bared long, sharp teeth in a display of animal viciousness. They did not look as clever as he knew they were.

  It seemed impossible that they understood what the chronosphere was, but the desperation and aggression of their assault suggested that they might know what was at stake. It was too late. The door sealed, and the Draconians pounded against the giant white orb. They fired bullets that ricocheted against the basement walls. They screamed in their gurgling, clicking language to each other and into communicators for backup.

  His heart pounding, Anton sat back in his chair and allowed Ana to engage the system. Lights blinked, and though Anton had designed the chronosphere from scratch, he struggled in his panic to remember how everything was operated. Luckily, Ana was not subject to such human limitations.

  The time machine emitted a long, steady whir that drowned out the pounding. It felt like the device was spinning, and Anton gripped his seat to combat nausea. His vision faded in and out, the blinking lights and data displays blending in a technicolor swirl. His head pounded. His toes went numb.

  “Ana, am I supposed to feel like shit?”

  “I suspected that the human body would have a low tolerance for time travel. It seems I am correct. However, I do believe that it will get easier in successive journeys.”

  “How comforting.” Anton fought back another wave of nausea.

  The discomfort continued for several minutes, and all Anton could do was sit and endure it. Suddenly, though, it stopped.

  Anton’s ears rang. After a few calm moments, the headache and nausea subsided. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and exhaled.

  “Anton, whenever you are ready, we have arrived.”

  He took several more seconds to compose himself while Ana smiled at him patiently. Finally, he undid the straps holding him to his chair.

  “It’s safe to open the door?” he asked.

  “Of course.”

  Anton punched a code into the door, and it once again pushed outward and slid over. Streams of sunlight nearly blinded him. They were in a forest, and the mechanical sounds of the chronosphere were replaced by rushing winds and birdsong. The smell of sap and flowers flowed in. Though disoriented by the contrast, Anton relished the unfamiliar sensation of freshness.

  “Ana, can you tell me exactly when and where we are?”

  “We are exactly 873.45 years in the past, in a woodland region two miles east of the kingdom of Jagari.”

  He stepped out of the chronosphere and admired the unspoiled wilderness around him.

  “This,” Ana said, “is when and where the Draconians first infiltrated human society.”

  Chapter Two

  Anton wasn’t sure he’d ever seen true wilderness in person. Years spent shuttling back and forth between a soulless corporate office and a subterranean home laboratory left him in awe.

  The smell and the buzz of spring filled the forest. Old oak trees reached for the heavens with vines clinging to them like skyward snakes. Bees darted among tulips and lilies, spreading their sweet scent. Beyond the broad tree trunks, ducks chased each other across a pond, spreading ripples over the glasslike surface.

  Anton wondered if places like this still existed in his time, or if concrete jungles had obliterated every trace of them. Some people believed there were still sites of natural beauty on Androna, far beyond the titanic, sprawling city-state of Jagari, but he wasn’t so sure. His only memory of the world beyond modern Jagari was of one trip to the outermost accessible edge of society where he looked out onto endless, flat, barren ground.

  He watched Ana take in the scene. She, too, seemed charmed, her green eyes wide and attentive. Anton could not tell if she was experiencing awe or merely assessing and calculating their surroundings.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked. This was her first time out of his basement, and he was eager for her response.

  “It is very colorful. Calm,” she said. “A stark contrast to our previous environment. Humans have historically been attracted to places like this.”

  “Sure. But what do you think of it?”

  “It was among the most pragmatic places for us to land,” she said, turning to face him. “There were other, similarly practical choices. I thought you would prefer this one.”

  “That doesn’t really answer my question,” he said through a chuckle.

  “My reward system is activated when I do things that please you, Anton. So yes, I am enjoying this place.”

  He shrugged, feeling a little disturbed by that response. Fascinated though he was by her learning process, he thought it best not to push her.

  “So what, we’re two miles from where the Draconians first took over? Is that what you said?” He paced along the forest floor.

  “Yes.”

  He pulled the laser pistol from his waistband and twirled it in his fingers for a few moments.

  “Isn’t it tempting to just run in guns blazing?” He smiled and stared out over the pond, pointing the pistol at a distant tree. “What a dream. Damn, it felt good to blast through those lizard cops. Well, admittedly, I was kind of terrified, but looking back…”

  “I do not think that is wise, Anton.”

  He sighed.

  “Oh, I figured. Go ahead and tell me why. I probably need to hear it.”

  “The data I uncovered indicates that the Draconians here are a small landing party which must report to their home planet.” Ana’s head swiveled rhythmically as she watched Anton pace back and forth. “If you should murder them outright, someone will detect the interruption. Furthermore, we do not know what weapons and intelligence capabilities they currently have. Given the available information, I advise that we employ stealth tactics.”

  “Stealth tactics,” he repeated, lowering the pistol. “Play their own game. I guess I don’t hate the sound of that. We’ll have to kill them eventually, though.”

  “It is not fruitful to consider that at this time.”

  “It’s a little hard not to, but sure. What’s the plan then?” He asked this to himself as much as her.

  She was silent for a moment.

  “I do not know. My task was to access the unredacted Draconian timeline via the dark web as soon as the chronosphere completed its diagnostics. I was not asked to acquire every detail across all positions of the timeline.”

  “Okay, okay, learning sass already, huh?” He smiled. “I suppose it was more of a rhetorical question anyway. Well, what did you find out about the timeline?”

  Anton reached into the chronosphere and pulled out a jug of drinking water, then guzzled some of it down. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he realized how thirsty he was.

  “During this era, it was most common for systems of power to develop through the merging of royal families. Dark web historians theorize that the Draconians first presented themselves as a royal family as a means of gaining authority from a willing populace.”

  “Makes sense,” he said. “Anything else?”

  “There
is little other knowledge available. The Draconians systematically eliminated records of their history on Androna. It was fortunate that a few hackers were able to keep some data encrypted for any significant amount of time. They were not as skilled as you, Anton.”

  He half-smiled at her compliment. “We’ll have to make do then.”

  He grabbed a handful of dried meat rations and took a bite, then stopped himself.

  “Oh shit, Ana, I forgot to finish integrating your solar rig. How are you going to stay powered if we’re away from the chronosphere for too long?”

  She smiled.

  “I completed your solar rig several hours ago. Hours relative to us, that is. It seemed prudent to work on it while the chronosphere finished its diagnostics. So long as I receive at least half an hour of direct sunlight via optical input each day, there will be no issues.”

  “You did that yourself?” He nearly choked on his ration.

  “No. You did most of the work. I only added the finishing touches.”

  “Good thinking. I’ll be damned. Can’t believe I forgot.”

  “You were occupied with the chronosphere project. It was only a matter of taking the algorithms you developed and following them to their logical conclusions.”

  “Right, so simple. By the way, maybe don’t let anyone see you staring directly into the sun.”

  This seemed to confuse her, and she redirected the conversation. “I can explain how I completed the project in greater detail, if you desire.”

  “Later. We need to do some recon on this city as soon as possible. I don’t want to miss the boat on this royal wedding.”

  He looked down at his tattered business-casual attire, then to Ana’s white leather.

  “I don’t suppose these were typical fashions of this era.”

  “Negative. These fibers have not yet been developed on Androna.”

  “We’ll need some new clothes, then. And somehow, we’ll need to not rouse any suspicion from the locals when we get them. Where is the nearest settlement from here?”

  Ana stepped toward Anton then held her palm upward in the air. She pressed a pattern into her forearm and a hologram hovered above her hand. The bioscan technology he’d designed for her worked perfectly. There was a large swarm of blinking lights that he took to be Jagari, then several smaller clusters of light scattered at the edges of the hologram. These were most likely farm settlements. He settled on one that was closest to their current location.

  “Let’s give this one a try,” he said.

  “You will need to find a way to convince them to relinquish two sets of clothing in exchange for nothing.”

  “Do we have any money? That ought to do the trick.”

  His wallet, stuffed with a stack of modern Jagari currency, felt plump and useless in his pocket.

  “Negative, Anton. This currency will not exist for some time. We’ll need to find other means.”

  “Damn. Well let’s make our way toward that farm. I’ll figure something out.”

  He stashed the gun and the contents of his pockets in a compartment of the chronosphere and they set off.

  ***

  Eventually, the forest opened onto sprawling grassland, and the farm in question became visible. It was a small house, probably not much bigger than Anton’s office back at Minocorp, but what it lacked in size it made up for in land. The area surrounding it was covered in crops that he didn’t recognize, all laid out neatly into rows. The leaves and stalks of the plants were somewhat wilted, but they still held up. Nobody was working the field. In fact, if it wasn’t for the smoke streaming lazily out of the red brick chimney, he might have guessed it wasn’t occupied at all.

  Beyond the farmhouse and the plains, Jagari loomed atop a great hill. It was almost laughably small compared to the megalopolis it would become, but it still looked dignified and regal. Tall stone walls enclosed what Anton assumed was the inner city. Ostentatious turrets towered above everything. A few red rooftops were visible, but most of the inner city was concealed. Outside the walls, small buildings and stalls dotted paths leading away from the castle. Horses and carriages milled about. From the outskirts of the forest, it was all too far away to distinguish details. The Dromarre river ran in the distance, visible only until merging with the forest. Anton pictured the massive bridge that would someday run across it.

  “What is your plan, Anton?” Ana had her hand on her chin, stroking it awkwardly. Anton wondered if she’d seen that in one of the old movies she sometimes watched while he was away. “Farmers are traditionally not wealthy people. It seems unlikely that they would be willing to hand over two sets of clothing.”

  “I’m going to try an appeal of desperation.” He took a deep breath and started unbuttoning his shirt. Ana stared in curiosity. When he was unbuttoning his pants, she spoke up again.

  “Anton, nudity is typically viewed as unacceptable in public.”

  “Just wait here, I’m going to try something.”

  Once he was down to just his underwear, which was luckily a nondescript grey set of boxer-briefs, he set off toward the house. After a few steps, he thought better of it and went back to Ana.

  “I know this sounds strange, but can you rough me up a bit?”

  She obviously did not know how to react to this.

  “Just a few scrapes and bruises. Trust me, I have a plan.”

  “Anton, it is against my programming to harm you. I have no motivation to partake in that sort of activity.”

  “Please?”

  She just stared. Feeling bad, Anton stepped down.

  “Okay fine, I’ll do what I can myself.”

  Anton threw himself into the grass and rolled around for a minute. He found a sharp stick and scraped his torso in a few spots, then rubbed dirt in his hair.

  “Your behavior is illogical.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s being human for you. Wait here.”

  Sufficiently roughed up, he made for the farmhouse again. He tried to ignore the shame of wandering to a stranger’s door wounded and naked. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

  The door opened partially, and a woman’s face peeked out. She had sun kissed skin, green eyes, and curly red hair that was just visible through the cracked door. He guessed from the fine lines at the corners of her mouth and eyes that she was a handful of years his senior, but nevertheless a striking beauty. Just as soon as she saw Anton, her eyes went wide, and she slammed the door shut.

  “No, no, none of whatever this is about, please,” she said through the wood.

  “Listen, please, hear me out!” Anton said. “I’ve been robbed blind. They took everything I had- my clothes, my money, my cart and horse. I just need a little help.”

  There was a long pause.

  “I don’t want to get mixed up in any criminal business,” she said. “Good day.”

  “Look, I just need a set of clothes, that’s all. I can work for it. You need farm hands?”

  Silence.

  “I’ve got nothing,” Anton continued. “No money, no weapons, no clothes. If I were a thief, I’d be a damned terrible one.”

  “A lousy excuse and you know it! Perhaps you’ve hidden your supplies in the forest, or even in a heap behind my house. Your nudity is hardly proof of virtue. In fact, I’d argue that it might indicate the opposite.”

  Feeling idiotic, Anton tried to stammer out an excuse. He hadn’t been prepared for this. Weren’t peasant farmers supposed to be dim and uneducated? It occurred to him just how little he knew about Jagari’s past.

  “Look, just tell me what needs to be done,” he said. “I’ll work for a while, and if you decide the effort is worth a few tattered old garments, then I’ll be grateful for it.”

  The shutters on the window beside the door opened, revealing the woman’s face again.

  “What makes you so sure I’ve got men’s clothes here? You’ve been spying on me?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought maybe you had a husband or a farmhand
… Look, if you have women’s clothes, I need those too. My... partner needs some too.”

  “Your partner? Where is she?”

  “Back in the forest, waiting,” he said, feeling the woman’s eyes on his body. “She’s more modest than me.”

  The blinds slammed shut again.

  “Perhaps you could learn a lesson from her.”

  The woman stopped there, and Anton stood in the grass, helpless and exposed. He glanced around, wondering if anyone had seen him begging in the nude on some poor farmer’s doorstep. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be anyone else near. He took a step back toward the tree line when he heard her voice again.

  “My sons will be back this afternoon to help me harvest, but you can get started for them. Don’t try anything funny, and I’ll see if I can’t toss you a couple of old tunics. They won’t be much, but they’re better than the nothing you’ve got.”

  Anton sighed in relief. As much as he didn’t want to start this noble adventure with manual labor, he was grateful for some sort of direction. They wouldn’t get anywhere without clothes, anyway.

  “Oh,” she added. “Lots of the plants are tainted. Look for the grey splotches. Just toss those aside.”

  He turned to the massive field of vegetable he didn’t recognize. It looked something like corn, but the stalks were bright yellow and, as he inspected beneath the outer leaf layer, the cobs were solid rather than speckled with kernels. The flesh was a deep green. Anton had never so much as pulled a weed in his life, but he’d seen piles of harvested corn before, and it seemed like a simple enough process to cut them from the stalks.

  He wandered around the side of the house for a moment, hoping to find a tool. A long scythe lay against the side of the house, so he picked it up and gave it a few swings. The side shutters popped open for a moment, and the woman watched quizzically while he gave the tool a few practice swipes. Though he glimpsed her eyeing his muscles while he worked, he pretended not to notice. His fitness regime had kept him sane after endless lab work, but now perhaps the resulting physique might serve another purpose.