So, of course, Tyler kicking off was just the sort of thing to bug Clio; she was a tad overprotective and able to start a fight in an empty room. And win. All I wanted was a fun night, lots of laughs and a drink or two. So first I braided her hair, so I could literally hold her down, and then I got her to do my nails. And then we laughed and I drank too much.
I groaned again as the fish sub-routine started again, and rested my head on Ramin’s shoulder.
‘Wally,’ he said. Throwing his arm around my shoulder, he gave me a hug then handed me an energy tab. It would be my tenth this morning. One of them had to work, surely?
Sitting next to Ramin was Paul. They had stepped back from their mission this morning, otherwise they'd have been out with us last night. Which could have been a blessing or a curse. Ramin would have convinced me to stick to tomato juice, Paul would have challenged me to a shots race, and we'd both be waking up in casualty. Again.
He leaned past Ramin and knuckled me on the head. ‘Morning gorgeous! You and Clio up for lunch after briefing?’
Trying not to vomit, I weakly agreed, wondering when this torture would pass. Ramin gave me another tab and grinned at me as I tried not to fall asleep, or pass out. If Clio was my best friend, Ramin was like my brother. We’d been mates since childhood, when I first arrived in playgroup wearing feathers in my hair. All the other children looked at me weirdly. The following day, Ramin came in wearing feathers as well. We had been inseparable since then. Then there was Paul, and if Clio was my best friend and Ramin was my soul mate, then Paul was great in the sack. We'd been dating for a few months since he moved to this division. We competed in everything and cheered each other on. Life was uncomplicated and enjoyable. Occasionally we'd been asked if we were going to move to a more official setting, but who needed the hassle? Life was good. Why spoil it?
Clio dashed in ahead of the bosses and handed me some water. Great Ra, I loved that girl.
A general wave of silence permeated the room as Chancellor Soliman Alvarez walked in. The chancellor’s presence was unusual at a weekly briefing, and we became a little more alert. In his normal pompous manner he welcomed us, and asked Sam to bring the room up to date with the previous week's recoveries. Some were mundane. A poem, a speech never given, a painting never shown. Others were flashier, like Shakespeare’s copy of “Love’s Labour’s Won”.
The problem was how the quantum field worked. When we stepped through, we wore a wrist brace that was effectively tethered to the Q Field. When it was time to come home, we would hit recall and we’d be pulled back. Because the quantum bungee cord was always there, the technicians could also snap us back if we were late or ill. But not if we were dead. It seemed that the Q Field recognised the lack of brain waves, and spontaneously cut the cord.
The science on how it interacted with brain waves wasn’t fully understood yet, but we did know that it only seemed to be human brain waves. We tried placing a quantum harness on an animal, but the Q Field couldn’t tell where the animal ended and the harness began, and sometimes it fused them.
After a while new protocols had to be imposed. It was simply too distressing for all involved. For a while, very brave souls stepped through holding or leading the animals. Once again, the Q Field failed to properly differentiate the two life forms. The resulting chimeric messes were considered too high a risk to continue to bring through livestock. Although we did have an incredible drill instructor in training, who had fabulous wings and a beaked face. We all called her Horus, although not in front of her. And after Clio’s little outburst, the nickname died altogether.
‘And of course, yesterday Neith became the Lady of the Lake.’
The hoots and laughter started up again. Oh, the embarrassment to be caught playing a mythical character. Especially with the chancellor in the room. One of the things that had allowed our earth to flourish and grow was a lack of religious systems. Some semi-religious belief systems existed, but they didn't extend beyond, “be nice to people and take care of things”. It was a philosophy that pretty much all of us respected and understood. Sam continued to explain about the recovery of the sword, which led to a few puzzled glances. He then continued to outline the briefing for the week ahead.
‘Hang on,’ I said and nudged Ramin, ‘what about your retrieval?’
Ramin frowned and said he'd tell me about it later. In the meantime, Sam was wrapping up. ‘Finally, ladies and gentlemen, we possibly have a live event currently unfolding.’
Everyone, including me, sat up.
#6 Julius – Beta Earth
‘I've found him!’ Julius was so excited that he had almost fumbled the phone as he dialled Charlie’s number. He loved a treasure hunt and he had been chasing Filip Guskov all across Europe. Every time Julius had found Filip’s name on a legal document, he moved again. Eventually he appeared to be living in London, having changed his name to Philip Guscott.
Filip — or Philip — had worked in the publishing trade and had finally retired to a house in London he had bought in the 1980s, just before the market had exploded. He had modified his name slightly to sound more British, and it was that which had made the paper trail go cold. Lots of Polish and German emigres altered their names in the fifties. For whatever reason, they wanted to blend in. Some had
