In the City of Tomorrow: Chapter 17

The Starfire arrived at the Alpha Mensae system on December 9, 1867 – two days after the Sentinel disappeared into the Poneri portal. Amy and Amanda Stryker remained on board until the ship landed at the Cedar Brook Spaceport. The twins found the name amusing; the planet did not have any trees of any kind, nor was it likely to be home to cedars for decades. But, like many colonies, this world had high hopes for the future.

The trip to the colony was uneventful. Although it did not come as a great surprise, they were a little disappointed that the portal remained dormant and the Sentinel did not reappear. Since there was nothing else to do the twins spent the first day exploring the abandoned section of the ship. Amanda found a library and spent her time browsing through its collection of old, damaged books. Amy, however, had no interest in reading so she spent her time watching the portal and staring off into space.

Both girls were happy to see the ship land and the passengers disembark. As they watched the crew struggle to unload the mining equipment Amy turned to Amanda. “So what should we do now?”

“I thought we were going to watch that portal for a couple weeks,” Amanda replied.

“We can just set up a bot to watch it for us,” Amy said. “If anything happens it can let us know and we can come right back. But we can’t just sit here and do nothing! I’ve got to go do something or I’m going to go crazy.”

“I guess you’re right,” Amanda agreed. “So where do you want to go?”

“I think we need to find a place to live for a few weeks,” Amy replied. “Like a hotel or something.”

“Well we can’t go home,” Amanda replied. “Steve said that Mars is on the other side of a Wall right now so that’s out of the question. And I really don’t think we should check into a hotel. Charlie seemed to think that we were really famous – I bet we’d be recognized anywhere we went.”

“We could adopt a disguise! I’ve been experimenting with our cloaking field. It can even make us look like grumpy old men! No one would be able to tell the difference.”

Amanda shook her head. “But that’s not really the point! We’re not even supposed to be alive in this timeline. If we go and do things we might change the future and cause all kind of problems.”

“But I thought the whole reason the Sentinel came to get us was so that we could change the future! Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?”

“But we’re supposed to change things after we get there, not before. Right now we just need to stay out of everyone’s way for a while.”

“Well, what about our brother?” Amy asked. “Can’t we spend a few weeks with him? I bet he’d be glad to see us.”

“I don’t know,” Amanda said slowly. “I’ve been thinking about that too. I feel like we should tell him that we’re ok, but that could really change the future. After all, the whole reason we were made administrators was because of him! Our DNA was put in all those probes because we died. If people find out that we’re still alive then that might ruin everything.”

“It will be fine,” Amy replied. “Besides, I’m sure our parents would want us to tell him what’s going on. He is our brother, you know! Do you really think we can’t trust him?”

“I guess not,” Amanda replied reluctantly. “But getting there isn’t going to be easy. Tau Ceti is protected by a Wall too. We can’t just zip right over there.”

“So we cloak ourselves and grab a ride on an incoming ship,” Amy replied. “There’s nothing too it. You worry too much.”

“That’s because this could all turn into a terrible disaster!”

“But I bet it won’t,” Amy replied. “Just wait and see.”

* * * * *

The twins did not arrive in Star City until 3:30 that afternoon. They had no trouble transporting themselves to the outskirts of the Tau Ceti system, but once they got there they ran into numerous delays. First, the Gate was experiencing some technical problems and all incoming and outgoing traffic was halted until they were resolved. On top of that, when the line finally started moving the ship the girls had stowed away on was chosen for additional screening and forced to wait.

Amy suggested jumping to another ship but Amanda convinced her to just wait it out. “There’s really no need to hurry,” she pointed out. “Tim doesn’t even get off work until 6 and we can’t exactly barge into his office and say we’re here. We might as well take our time instead of hurrying off to Xanthe and waiting there.”

“I guess,” Amy sighed. “I just hate waiting. Why is Tau Ceti still protected by this Wall, anyway? It’s not like the Empire is still a threat!”

“But you don’t know that,” Amanda replied. “What if the Wall around Sol fails? It’s only been up for a couple days, you know. Maybe they’ll have more confidence twenty years from now, but right now is not the time to be making dramatic changes.”

The twins waited as the automated systems guided their ship into the Gate and through the asteroid-filled Tau Ceti planetary system, where it finally landed on Xanthe. As the passengers were disembarking the girls transported themselves to the apartment building where Tim lived.

The nondescript building was a twelve-story brick structure that was located on the outskirts of town. To the north was the downtown section of Star City, a bustling metropolis of skyscrapers and activity. Tim had chosen a small, one-bedroom apartment in a rather modest part of town.

Amy walked up to the door of his residence and looked at it. The number 712 was written on a small panel beside the door. “Is this really where our brother lives?” Amy asked.

“That’s the place,” Amanda replied.

“But it’s so small! Is this really where he’s going to live after he gets married in March?”

“I think he’s saving up to buy a house, or something,” Amanda said. “At least, I think that’s what he said. He was pretty distracted the last time we talked with him.”

“It’s that probe project he’s working on – it’s got him all tied up in knots. It’s taking up so much of his mind that he keeps forgetting when he’s getting married. It’s awful.”

“Sure, but remember, if it wasn’t for that probe project we wouldn’t be here right now. In a way he saved our lives.”

“I know,” Amy replied. Still cloaked, she took a step forward and walked right through the locked door. Amanda followed behind her. Once inside the girls saw that the lights were off so Amy flicked the switch on. She gasped as she saw the mess that was strewn everywhere. Dirty dishes were piled high in the sink and laundry was scattered randomly throughout the house. A stack of empty pizza boxes was lying on the coffee table and a damp towel had been tossed onto a nearby recliner. The bed was not made and the garbage was overflowing.

“This place is a disaster!” Amy exclaimed. “Does Natalie Foster realize that her husband-to-be lives like this?”

“I’m pretty sure he wasn’t expecting company,” Amanda replied.

Amy lifted up a hand, but Amanda stopped her. “Don’t you dare clean this place up! We really shouldn’t touch anything until we talk to Tim.”

“Don’t be silly,” Amy replied. “Somebody’s got to clean this place up, and I’m sure not going to live here for weeks and not do anything about it! All of this trash has got to go.”

As Amy gathered up the trash and picked things up, Amanda wandered around the apartment. She glanced at a calendar on the wall and saw that today’s date was circled. “Hey Tiger, this says that our brother has a date tonight!”

“Oh wonderful. There’s no telling when he’ll get back home!” She sighed. “At least that will give me time to finish cleaning this place up.”

“Why don’t you just use the nanites?” Amanda asked. “That would be a lot faster.”

“And then what would I do? This at least keeps me busy! It beats sitting around and staring at the wall.”

Amanda sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. “Suit yourself!”

An hour later her sister sat down on the sofa beside her. “So is there anything good on?”

“Not really,” Amanda replied. “But I did find this.” She reached over onto the coffee table and grabbed a disc, which she tossed to her sister. Amy’s eyes lit up when she saw what it was. “Oh my goodness – it’s Night of the Werewolves! I had no idea that was out yet! We have got to watch this.”

Amanda sighed. “I just don’t see what you see in those movies. They’re ridiculous.”

“I can’t help it if you don’t have romance in your soul,” Amy sniffed. “They’re a touching portrayal of complex relationships.”

“If you say so,” Amanda replied. “I’ll go make some popcorn while you get it started.”

After the popcorn was ready Amanda dumped it into a large plastic bowl and sat down on the couch beside her sister, who was already deeply engrossed in the film. The two girls relaxed and soon lost all track of time. They didn’t even notice when their brother came home an hour later and unlocked the door.

Tim stepped inside and immediately noticed that his apartment had changed dramatically since that morning. Not only was it clean, but the lights were on and the TV was going. “What’s going on here?” he called out. “Who’s in my apartment?”