The Doomsday Code

Maddy watched their guest through the open door of the hatchery. He was sitting on the arm of one of the armchairs and talking Bob and Becks through the relevant bits of Plantagenet-era history.

The hatchery was illuminated by the soft peach glow of half a dozen growth tubes, each holding a curled-up foetus, maintained in stasis and ready to be activated and grown at the touch of a control screen; they hummed softly, the gentle aquarium-like noise of the pumps of their filtration systems.

‘He dies. I looked him up.’

‘When?’

‘Soon. Very soon.’

‘Jay-zus,’ uttered Liam. ‘How?’

‘That’s not important. The point is, even if he does blab, there’s not much chance for him to get anyone to listen. And, anyway, no one’s likely to believe him. Remember, the poor guy’s been a laughing-stock before.’

‘I don’t understand why you let him in,’ said Sal.

Maddy bit her lip. ‘I didn’t have much choice. He turned up on our doorstep. He knows we’re time travellers. I couldn’t just tell him to go away, could I? Anyway, he knows everything there is to know about the Voynich — ’ she turned to Liam — ‘and about the time period you’re going back to. And if we’re going to try and find out what else is in that document, having the only guy to have ever decoded some of it around … might be a smart move.’

Sal nodded. ‘This is true.’

Maddy sighed. ‘I feel like I’m pushing you two on this. It’s not like the last two times, when we had no choice but to act and act fast. This time … I dunno, this time maybe we could just let this go; let some other team worry about it. But there’s been a change — not a big one, I’ll admit, but it’s right under our nose and — ’

‘It’s OK, Mads.’ Liam put a hand on her shoulder. ‘We got a job, so. An important one.’

Sal frowned unhappily. ‘Maybe I got it wrong? Maybe that movie was always on and I just didn’t notice it before.’

Maddy shook her head. ‘You haven’t been wrong yet.’ She glanced at Adam again. ‘Thing is, what he decoded …’

Tell them, Maddy — tell them about the message in the safety deposit box.

‘What he decoded sounds too much like an important message. You know? Like our kind of message. We need to know.’

Liam grinned. ‘Ahhh, it’ll be fun anyway. Knights and maidens and maybe even a chance to meet Robin Hood? I can’t wait to go!’

‘It’ll be interesting to see,’ said Sal, lowering her voice pointedly, ‘to see how our two pet killing machines work together.’

‘What, Punch and Judy?’ said Maddy. She nodded thoughtfully. ‘This’ll be a good field test for Bob, I guess.’

‘Aye.’

‘And this Adam … do we trust him?’ asked Sal.

‘Not really,’ said Maddy. ‘But he’s here right now, and I figure what he knows may prove useful. And … this is going to sound harsh, but he dies really soon anyway.’

‘Seriously?’ said Sal.

Liam looked at her. ‘And you’re going to let him die?’

She sighed. ‘I have to. It’s the way we have to do things, isn’t it?’

CHAPTER 19

2001, New York

Liam climbed up the creaking ladder behind Bob and Becks. Bob was the first into the displacement tube with a hefty splash of water.

‘Why the big water tube?’ asked Adam.

Maddy was busy at the computer table discussing portal coordinates with computer-Bob, so Sal answered for her. ‘It’s filled with a mixture of water and disinfectant so they won’t be carrying back any of those bugs on your skin.’

‘Oh, right.’

‘And it’s also a buoyancy device, so we send back them and the water, and nothing else.’ She pointed to the small yard-wide crater in the middle of the archway’s floor. ‘We’ve had to open a portal not using the tube a couple of times. And that’s the result: we end up sending a chunk of floor back too. Which is not good.’

Becks splashed into the water beside Bob, kicking her legs to stay afloat and holding a plastic bag stuffed with clothes in one hand.

Maddy finished finalizing the coordinates and activated the countdown. She joined Sal and Adam standing round the bottom of the tube.

‘All right, then, five minutes until launch.’

‘Right-o,’ said Liam, sitting atop the ladder and letting his bare feet dangle into the cold water.

‘Just remember, guys … it’s January 1194. Dark times.’ Her voice reverberated around the archway.

Adam nodded. ‘King Richard’s been away for four years, crusading in the Holy Land. In the absence of the king, England’s become a lawless place. The king’s brother, John, is struggling to maintain order and failing badly. So you need to be careful, all right? This is bandit country.’

Liam cocked a mischievous eyebrow. ‘Not like in the flickers, then?’

Adam shook his head. ‘Sorry. No. Nothing at all like the films, I’m afraid. No men in tights, or maidens with golden locks waiting to be rescued from Disney-like castles. It’s a dark and brutal time. Warring factions, barons vying for power, roaming bands of bandits, mercenaries and murderers.’

‘Be careful,’ said Maddy. ‘All you’re doing is looking for this Kirklees place and find this Cabot guy. Sound him out, but be discreet, Liam, OK? Be very — ’

Liam’s face straightened. Time to be serious. ‘Hey, Mads … I know, I know. Discreet.’

‘Bob and Becks have been uploaded with French, which you may need,’ she added.

‘It’s spoken by much of the aristocracy,’ added Adam. ‘The merchants and low-born of the time, on the other hand, speak a primitive form of English. Just bear in mind the pronunciation of words we use today will be very different.’

‘Anyway,’ said Maddy, ‘the support units can do the talking if you’re struggling. You can use them as translators if it’s too difficult to understand what’s being said.’

‘Right.’

Maddy realized she was fussing and clucking like an over-protective mother. She turned and glanced at one of the screens behind her. ‘So … three minutes and twenty seconds.’

‘You’ve got winter clothes,’ said Sal. ‘It’s going to be very cold, I think. Wrap up tight when you get there.’

Liam raised the Ziploc plastic bag he was holding in his left hand. ‘Is this not going to cause a contamination? You know? The plastic?’

‘Bio-degradable,’ replied Maddy. ‘Bury the bags quite deep. They’ll break down over a few years.’ She shrugged. ‘Well, they should break down if the eco-label’s kosher.’ She checked the clock again. ‘You should probably get in the water now, Liam.’

He nodded and eased himself down into the cold water. ‘Aghh! Hate this bit!’

Maddy climbed the ladder to the top and squatted down beside their bobbing heads. ‘All right, so … I’ve set a return window at the same location you arrive in. It will open, as normal, for only a couple of minutes. There’ll be one set to open an hour after your arrival. A second window for twenty-four hours after. A third window set for a week after. And then, of course, the emergency six-month window. Is that clear?’

Liam, Bob and Becks all nodded silently.

‘Two minutes!’ called Sal.