“But…there are 187 projects on that list.” Said Farah, not a little shocked. “It will take us forever to conduct all these projects, even with all of our present members.”
“Administrator Mien does not expect you to do more than a few of the top priority projects this coming year, Doctor Tolkonen.” Said Ronash in an accommodating tone.
Virna Inmaez spoke after him.
“Actually, there was one project that is in the top ten priorities of the History Council and for which Miss Laplante was deemed eminently qualified. That project is the third from the top on the list.”
Nancy looked for a few seconds at the list before looking up at Virna with shock in her eyes.
“You want me to investigate the life and death of Jesus Christ?”
“That is correct, miss. We understand that, through the memories of your past incarnations, you know that time period and geographical area well, and that you even speak fluently the local language. Jesus Christ was in many ways a crucial player in the history of mankind, yet what we know of him is limited to hearsays and historical documents of dubious accuracy written decades after his death.”
Nancy was thoughtful for a moment, watched by the others.
“Miss Inmaez, it is true that I am knowledgeable about the Palestine of the first century of the Common Era and that I speak Aramaic. That is because I was then a woman named Magdala who lived in Jericho, near Jerusalem. There are however a few factors that would complicate such a mission for me.”
“Such as?” Asked Inmaez.
“Such as the fact that I am a 183 centimeter-tall Caucasian woman. For the people of early Palestine, I am a near giant, apart of being obviously a foreigner. Worse of, I would be a woman traveling alone.”
“So?” Replied Inmaez, not seeing Nancy’s point.
“So? Miss, know that, in the Antiquity, women generally were not allowed to travel by themselves. They were expected to travel only when accompanied by their husband or by an adult male member of their family. Women traveling alone were quickly tagged as prostitutes or runaway girls, which was basically the same for the 177
people of the time. I could probably think of a plausible cover identity, but it would probably wear thin after a while.”
“Why not have one of your male agents accompany you then?”
“Miss, none of my agents, male or otherwise, are qualified yet. As for sending them untrained on such a dangerous mission, I flatly refuse to do so.”
“A dangerous mission? But, we are talking about simply documenting the birth, life and death of a single man. Your equipment would make you nearly invulnerable anyway.”
Nancy sighed audibly, more than a little annoyed by Inmaez’ ignorance.
“Miss, if I am to conduct a mission in the past, then I intend to make it in a way that will not endanger the integrity of history. Do not forget that the primary mission of the Time Patrol is to preserve and protect history. I am not going to perform what will be construed then as miracles or acts of sorcery in order to survive that mission. Believe me when I say that just visiting that time period is dangerous enough. Living through it is even worst. Life then had little value, especially in the eyes of those who held local power, like the Romans and the local kings. Add to that the numerous thugs and bandits and the wild beasts and it made for a very dangerous environment. My special powers will probably be the only thing that will keep me safe there, if I use them discreetly.”
“When could you depart on such a mission, miss?” Asked eagerly Nes Ronash.
“It will depend on a few things.”
Nancy then turned to face Farah Tolkonen.
“Farah, how advanced is our Project EQUUS?”
“The prototype was completed last week and is being programmed right now.
You will be able to test it in a few days.”
“Project EQUUS?” Said Inmaez, confused. Farah smiled to her.
“Yes! I initiated it on Nancy’s request. It is a project to build a robotic horse that, under mundane appearances, would also be a flying vehicle and a time machine for one person. I personally think it to be a brilliant idea. A horse will not attract attention in most historical time periods and is a big enough animal shape to house quite a few hidden systems and equipment.”
“Ingenious indeed.” Said Nes Ronash. “Are you an experienced rider, Miss Laplante?”
That made Nancy laugh for a few seconds.
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“You could say that I have been riding horses since my tender youth as a barbarian nomad 5,000 years ago, Mister Ronash. Believe me, I can ride with the best of them.”
Farah, who had been studying the list of projects, pointed at the second and fifth projects from the top.
“If I may, now that the Jesus Christ project is decided on, I think that those two projects could be done fairly quickly, since they do not require agents on the ground.
Once commissioned, our research ship and an onboard team of scientists could fulfill these missions with little risks.”
Nancy looked at the list and nodded in agreement.
“Hmm… Investigate the cause of the mass extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago… Observe the first hominids in the wild. All this could effectively be done adequately through the use of remotely controlled probes, especially where the hominids are concerned: the danger of historical contamination from direct contact with field agents is too great to act otherwise. Agreed!”
“Excellent!” Said Ronash. “So, we can count on you being able to start that documentary mission on Jesus Christ soon?”
“If the robotic horse turns out to be good enough to fool people accustomed to horses, then I will be departing in about two weeks. I will however have to use hidden time during my mission, so that I could continue training my apprentice agents without interruptions.’’
‘’Hidden time?’’ Asked Inmaez, confused.
‘’We call ‘hidden time’ the time spent in the future or the past by someone who returns from his or her mission only a few minutes after his time of departure.
Technically, I could leave this place tomorrow morning, spend ten years in the 1st Century and then return here five minutes after my departure. These ten years would then constitute hidden time. I have in fact just used myself twelve months of hidden time, spent living my official life in the 21st Century, where I served an eleven month-tour of duty in Afghanistan. However, our agents could burn themselves out quickly if they use too much hidden time and be forced to retire after only a few years of apparent service…that is if they survive all those years of duty in the past. I already can see the bureaucratic battles to have that supplementary time approved and added to our pay.’’
Farah threw her a falsely irritated look.
‘’Do I look that miserly, Nancy?’’
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‘’I don’t know! Aren’t you a government bureaucrat now?’’ Replied Nancy, smiling to her before looking back at Inmaez.
Returning on the subject of the mission in Palestine, I will need a support team at first, embarked on our about-to-be-delivered research ship, the BABYLON, in order to pinpoint accurately the date of birth of Yeshua before I start my own trek.”
“Yeshua?” Said Inmaez.
“Yes! That is the actual name of Jesus, as it was used in Palestine. On board the BABYLON, I will also need a team of probe operators to help better cover various locations. Since we don’t have accurate dates to go by and don’t know what Yeshua and his parents looked like, we will first have to spy on the inhabitants of the villages of Bethlehem and Nazareth to identify who were actually Yosef and Miriam. Once that is done, we will be able to find when Yeshua was conceived, which will be the starting point for my own mission. Thinking of it, that first phase of our mission could be of tremendous interest to historians and students of history alike: from the BABYLON, they could study firsthand the daily lives of the Galileans of the First Century. If that doesn’t create good publicity for the Time Patrol, I don’t know what will.”
“That’s an excellent idea, Nancy.” Replied enthusiastically Jan Bella. “Imagine the boost to motivation this will be for the students of the history department at the New Lake City University. You should have a flood of volunteers for that mission to Palestine.”
“Wouldn’t that put those students at risk?” Objected Virna Inmaez, appearing concerned. Farah shook her head and answered her.
“Short of a catastrophic equipment failure on the BABYLON, that mission will be no riskier than traveling on a regular passenger ship. We can have our scoutship WALKUREN escort the BABYLON as an extra precaution, though.”
“That sounds fine to me.’’ Said Nes Ronash, who then got up from his chair, imitated by Virna Inmaez. ‘’Well, you will certainly have more than enough to be quite busy for the coming weeks and months, Doctor Tolkonen. We thank you for your cooperation. If you need anything from the Science Council to help you in your missions, don’t hesitate to ask.’’
‘’I will certainly keep your offer in mind, Mister Ronash.’’ Replied Farah, shaking hands with her two visitors. Ronash and Inmaez then left her office, leaving her alone with Nancy. Sitting back and inviting Nancy to do the same, Farah examined the latter for a moment.
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‘’So, how was your time in the 21st Century, Nancy?’’
‘’Quite hectic, I must say. I spent eleven months in Afghanistan, helping to train female Afghan policewomen as their country prepares to assume its own security against the vicious attacks of the Taliban, a movement of fanatical religious extremists bent on imposing their ignorant, hateful and misogynistic rules on the Afghan people.
Those months were full of violence and hardship and I had to kill many times in combat.
In the process, I earned the Afghan Order of Military Gallantry and the Canadian Star of Military Valor…plus a Taliban religious edict calling for all Muslims to kill me on sight.’’
Farah’s mouth opened as she eyed Nancy with concern.
‘’By the stars, do you ever do anything safe, Nancy? How dangerous is that edict for you?’’
‘’Dangerous enough to make it unadvisable for me to do any reporting as an unarmed civilian inside Afghanistan, Pakistan and possibly Yemen and Somalia. Also, while I was on tour in Afghanistan, a major international crisis erupted when Israel attacked Iran, trying to destroy its nuclear facilities. The crisis was still ongoing when I left the year 2013. On the other hand, I made some good friends during my tour, including a young Italian female police officer and an Afghan female police officer. You would have liked them.’’
‘’I am sure of that.’’ Replied Farah, smiling. ‘’You always had good tastes in terms of choosing your friends. What else did you do during your time in 2013?’’
Nancy made a face before answering that.
‘’Well, I lost my job as a civilian war correspondent while I was on tour in Afghanistan. The magazine I was working for folded up, going under thanks to the competition from other, bigger publishing houses and media networks. Finding a new civilian job will be my first concern when I will return to 2013 after my present stint here.’’
‘’Oh! I am truly sorry to hear that, Nancy. Are you considering to join the Canadian Army full time to sustain yourself there?’’
‘’No!’’ Replied at once Nancy, surprising Farah. ‘’While I cherish my time spent serving as a Canadian military officer, I am at a point in my career where I will probably be promoted soon to the rank of major, which would mostly glue me to a desk from then on. In fact, I am seriously considering resigning my commission and leaving the Canadian Forces on my return to 2013 ‘A’. Since I just completed a long overseas tour, I cannot realistically expect to be called on another overseas tour for at least another 181
year. Besides, with the closure of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan in 2014, there will be very few theatres of operations left of interest to me.’’
‘’I see. I can only wish you luck in your future search for a job in Canada.’’
‘’Thanks,
Farah.’’
Nancy was then silent for a moment before speaking again.
‘’Farah, I had much time to think things over during my tour in Afghanistan. I now believe that we made a big mistake when we built our base here, in New Lake City and in this year.’’
Farah stiffened at once, her eyes fixed on Nancy.
‘’What do you mean?’’
‘’What I mean is that, by basing ourselves here and now, we made ourselves highly vulnerable to any attempt by someone to change or modify history in past centuries. If such an attempt succeeds and erases the Global Council as we know it, then we will be erased at the same time, without having the chance to find about that attempt and to stop it.’’
Farah’s jaws tightened as she saw the correctness of Nancy’s logic.
‘’By the stars, you are too right, Nancy. So, we should move our base to the past, to make us less vulnerable to historical alterations?’’
‘’Make it the distant past, Farah.’’ Said gravely Nancy. ‘’There is no way for us to guess in advance at what point someone would try to modify history to fit whatever twisted purpose he or she had. I would say that we should be based at least a few millenniums in the past, and that our operational base be able to move around in space and time if need be to counter any threat.’’
‘’I agree with you on that, but this will entail new, sizeable expenditures by the Global Council to build such a mobile base. I will have to have a serious talk with Grand Administrator Kern, but I can see already quite a fight with the High Council to approve those extra funds.’’
‘’Tough! If they can’t see the logic and the necessity of such a move, then they deserve a serious kick in the backside. This is an essential operational requirement, not some frivolous demand for extra candies.’’
‘’Again, I agree. I will call Grand Administrator Kern right away after our meeting and will start thinking about the design of that mobile base. It could in fact be a much enlarged version of the mobile mission control tower we already had in our book of projects.’’
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‘’Make sure that it is able to shelter, maintain and repair our scoutships then, apart from being able to house our whole organization. It should be able as well to connect with our surveillance satellites network.’’
‘’True! However, our present surveillance center here will have to do for the moment. I suspect that the High Council will demand that we at least keep that here, in order to keep some control on us.’’
‘’You may be right about that, even though that would constitute a wasteful duplication of efforts. Well, I better leave you alone then. In the meantime, I will go see how our engineers are doing with Project EQUUS. I will also need to modify the training schedule for the next few weeks. Good luck with your talks with Kern and the High Council.”
‘’Thanks! I will need it.’’ Said Farah, sighing.
08:01 (North America Central Time)
Wednesday, December 16, 3384 ‘A’
Main classroom, Time Patrol headquarters
New Lake City University campus
Nancy, standing behind a lectern and facing 58 apprentice members of the Time Patrol, unceremoniously banged on the lectern with the butt of her Glock 17 pistol to catch their attention. The apprentices, all ancestors except for four persons, quickly fell silent and looked at her with intense curiosity.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. In early December, you were given a print of our training schedule covering two months. However, following a long and fine tradition in military history, we will have to exercise that most practiced quality: flexibility!
You can now take your schedules and rip them, because everything changed as of last night.”
The 54 ancestors took that in stride and quickly ripped their schedules in two, followed more hesitantly by the four giants in the classroom. Nancy then switched on a projector and the picture of a new schedule appeared on a giant screen by her side.
“This is the new schedule we will go by, for the moment. Don’t bother noting it down, as I will pass printed copies later on. The pilots and aircrews in your lot will probably like it, as we will concentrate on developing quickly your skills on how to fly and operate a scoutship in combat conditions.”
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“What’s the rush, Nancy?” Asked Jeanne Leclerc, a French geomatics expert from the year 2052 ‘A’ who had been saved with six other astronauts stranded in orbit in a doomed space station. “What caused these sudden changes?”
“What caused this is that the Time Patrol is being pushed into its first historical research mission faster than we expected…or preferred. In about two weeks, I will leave on a long mission in the past. I will be alone, except on the first phase of the mission, when both the BABYLON and the WALKUREN will be used as support ships to pin down the exact date and location where my trek will begin. That first phase will require more qualified aircrews than what we have now, including gunners qualified and ready to operate the armament of our scoutship. For those of you who are afraid of not seeing my bum or chest for a few months, I will use hidden lifetime on that mission. The concept of hidden lifetime has already been explained to you by Farah Tolkonen, who will cover with you tomorrow the general theory of time travel. She will also explain the concept of parallel timelines, of which you are living examples. I know that this business of timeline ‘A’ versus timeline ‘B’ has confused a lot of people.”
“I don’t see why it is so difficult to understand.” Said smugly Jack Crawford, a big, athletic U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. commando from the year 2021 ‘A’. “We are the A-Team and these losers are the B-Team.”
Young Ingrid Weiss, from 1941 ‘B’, gave him the royal finger amidst an exchange of boos and catcalls, making Nancy grin in amusement.
“I am sure that this point will be hotly debated during the next practice session in unarmed combat tomorrow. Just remember that we are all part of the same organization.”
One hand then got up.
“Yes,
Susanna?”
Susanna Berghof, a 23 year-old blonde who was a living proof that not all blondes were dumb, cleared her throat and spoke loudly enough for all to hear her.
“What is the nature of the mission you are going on, Nancy?”
“Simply put, I am to document the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ.”
Answered calmly Nancy, bringing sudden and utter silence to the classroom. “Before anybody asks, no, you can’t come with me. I am the only one fully trained and equipped for such a mission.”
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“But a woman traveling alone would be out of place there and then.” Objected Samuel Goldman, an American Jew who had enlisted in the Royal Air Force in 1939.
“You will need a hell of a good cover story to explain yourself there.”
Nancy gave him a wide smile.
“Don’t worry about that, Samuel. You may be surprised, actually. Now, about your training…”
12:06 (North America Central Time)
Main cafeteria, Time Patrol residential tower
“May I sit at your table, Nancy?” Asked timidly Samuel Goldman while standing besides the table occupied by Nancy, Ingrid and Mike.
“Please, take a seat, Samuel.”
The brown-skinned young man put his tray of food opposite that of Ingrid and sat quickly, smiling briefly to the German girl before looking at Nancy, who was eating slowly.
“Nancy, I know that I can’t accompany you in Palestine, but I would like to ask a small favor from you. I suppose that you will take pictures and films while on your mission, right?”
“Of course! We are planning to put together a documentary from the video recordings I will take during my mission. Is there something that specifically interests you in Palestine?”
Samuel nodded his head quickly, hope on his face.
“The temple of Jerusalem, are you planning to visit it?”
“How could I not visit it, Samuel? My mission would anyway lead me to it.
Talking of the temple, how well do you know its history?”
“Quite well, Nancy. I may not be a very observant Jew but I always was fascinated by the history of Israel. There were actually three temples built one after the other in Jerusalem. The first one was built by King Solomon in the tenth century B.C.E.
and was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C.E.. The temple was rebuilt between 520 and 445 B.C.E. Then, the third temple was built by King Herod the Great in the last half of the first century B.C.E.. That temple, the last one to stand in Jerusalem, was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E..”
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“Very good, Samuel. I have a trick question for you: when did the Ark of the Covenant disappear from the temple?”
Samuel concentrated for a moment before answering hesitantly.
“Wasn’t it taken by the Babylonians when they destroyed the first temple in 587
B.C.E.?”
“Not quite! According to the latest archeological data in 2012, the Ark of the Covenant, which was said to contain the tablets received by Moses from God, disappeared from the temple around 926 B.C.E., when an Egyptian expedition looted Jerusalem after the death of King Solomon. The Holy of Holies stood empty from that date.”
“This is very interesting, Nancy, but is there a point to all this?”
“A big point, actually. I may be a Canadian now, but I was a Hebrew twice in my past lives and the fate of the Ark of the Covenant is of personal interest to me. That artifact is too important historically to be let in the hands of looters who will pick it to pieces for the gold in it. I have a plan about the Ark and I want you to be part of it.”
Samuel, now fascinated, bent forward.
“You can count on me, Nancy. What can I do to help?”
Nancy spoke for a good four minutes, at the end of which Samuel was nearly jumping in his chair from anticipation, a big grin on his face.
“God! I can’t wait! I will do my best, Nancy.”
“I am sure of that, Samuel. Now, you better eat your food before it gets cold.”
09:27 (North America Central Time)
Wednesday, December 30, 3384 ‘A’
Main hangar, Time Patrol complex
New Lake City University campus
Lori Kano, star reporter for Global News Network, had her cameraman do a panoramic sweep of the inside of the hangar, where a good hundred people were milling around the time research ship BABYLON and the scoutship WALKÜREN. Lori herself was supposed to travel aboard the BABYLON for that first official documentary mission in the past by the Time Patrol. She could hardly contain her excitement at the idea of traveling to the distant past, all in comfort and safety, of course. About forty excited students from the history department of the New Lake City University were going to 186
travel as well with her and her cameraman. They were now waiting for one last person to arrive before they could depart. That person was however the key to the whole mission.
One of the two side doors used by support vehicles and robots to enter and exit the hangar started opening, prompting Lori’s cameraman in pointing his lens in that direction. Lori herself switched on her microphone and head-mounted miniature camera and waited with anticipation. The details on how the mission was going to be conducted by Nancy Laplante once she set foot on the ground in the past had been kept secret from all but a few members of the Time Patrol. Lori and most of the other persons present were thus surprised to see Nancy Laplante enter the hangar on top of a brown horse. Horse riding was a sport that had been extinct in the Global Council until very recently, when a herd of horses had been reintroduced from the past by the Time Patrol, but Lori knew a few notions about it. She was thus confused when she detailed Nancy’s equipment as the Canadian rode towards them. The main thing was the absence of stirrups, something Lori thought essential for riding. Nancy seemed however to be able to control her horse easily enough. Dressed in a loose-fitting, colorful combination of trousers and long-sleeved shirt, she also wore red leather boots and a long blue cloak.
As befitted a woman with her reputation, she carried a number of antique weapons, including a sword, a bow, a lance, a dagger and an ax. Her fierce appearance was enhanced by a fur-lined sort of hat on her head and by a sort of leather headband incrusted with a few polished stones and worn around her forehead. A pair of saddlebags and a bedroll were attached to the back of her saddle, along with a large leather bag that contained unidentified objects. Everybody watched her dismount near the research ship and take her horse by its bridle, leading it towards the rear cargo ramp. Signaling her cameraman to follow her, Lori quickly made her way through the crowd towards the Canadian, finally meeting her near the foot of the ramp.
“Miss Laplante, is this what the women of first century Palestine wear normally?
This is a quite fierce-looking outfit.”
That made Nancy laugh hard for a few seconds.
“Hardly, Miss Kano. In fact, a Jewish woman dressing like this would quickly be stoned by passersby. I am actually dressed like an ancient Sarmatian female warrior.
Sarmatians were a fierce nomadic people who lived west of the Caspian Sea and who 187
raided frequently the surrounding territories. Some of them were used as mercenaries by various states and cities around the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea.”
“And they let their women go to war?” Asked Amelia E