In the City of Tomorrow: Chapter 19

The Stryker twins spent the following day in Tim’s apartment. Their brother left for work early that morning and promised to let them know about their meeting with the governor as soon as he could. Meanwhile, the girls were left to fend for themselves. The excitement of finally reaching Xanthe faded when Amanda pointed out that they really shouldn’t go out and tour the planet. Amy argued that their cloaking shields would hide them from view but Amanda didn’t want to take the risk. Amy grumbled at this but decided to not press the issue.

Before they had left Alpha Mensae to come to Xanthe Amy created a small bot that she had hidden on board the Starfire and tasked with watching over the anomaly. So far it had reported nothing. However, the bot did report that the Starfire had left the planet late that night and was headed for the Tau Ceti system. This irritated Amanda but she decided to leave it alone for now.

“There’s always the chance that Steve will reappear and everything will be fine,” Amanda explained. “Then we could just leave the Starfire alone.”

“I don’t see that happening,” Amy replied. “I think if everything was fine Steve would have come out by now. I bet it’s going to take more than the two of us to rescue him.”

“We’ll see,” Amanda said. “I just wish I knew what was supposed to happen to the Starfire. I hate the thought of messing up history.”

“But we’re from this time period!” Amy protested. “I would think we could do whatever we wanted. It’s not like we’re from the future or anything! We were actually born in this century. We belong here.”

“But we have knowledge of the future!” Amanda argued. “Besides, we’re supposed to be dead right now.”

“We don’t have much knowledge of the future. All we really know is that in a few centuries things will get really bad. It’s not like we’ve been given a list of winning lottery numbers.”

“We know all about the Artilect and the future of Tim’s project,” Amanda replied. “That’s actually pretty important.”

“I guess. It’s just boring, sitting around here doing nothing.”

“Then find something to do,” Amanda replied. “Tim’s got a whole bookshelf filled with great reading material. I’m going through Applied Relativity right now. It’s quite fascinating!”

“I bet it is,” Amy said. “And maybe when you’re done with that one you can read Paint Drying: A Case Study. I bet that’s a real thriller too.”

“You really should learn to enjoy reading,” Amanda remarked as she reached over to the coffee table and picked up her book. “It would expand your mind. Bring you to new places. Teach you things. It’s like vitamins for the brain.”

Amy sighed and said nothing. She had a feeling that her sister was right but she just couldn’t bring herself to read any of Tim’s technical manuals. There were some books she enjoyed but right now she just wasn’t in the mood to read. She missed her dog and her family. Her world had changed dramatically and she felt out of place. Amy wanted to go home but she didn’t really have a home to go to. Xanthe was supposed to be her new home but that future was now gone.

In the end she decided to explore the nanites that the Sentinel had given her. She knew that she could do a lot of amazing things but the Sentinel didn’t have a chance to explain everything before he disappeared into the portal. Let’s see what I can do, she thought.

* * * * *

Late in the afternoon the girls got a phone call from Tim, who reminded them that he would not be home after work because he had a date that evening. He and Natalie had a lot of wedding planning to do that night but if all went well he would try to be home sometime between ten and ten-thirty. He also told them that there was a frozen lasagna in the freezer that they could fix if they wanted, but the girls were also welcome to fend for themselves. Amy told him that they had already figured out how to materialize food so finding something to eat was not going to be a problem.

“By the way,” Tim said, “after dinner a guest is going to stop by. That’s actually why I called. Governor Nicholas will be coming over around 7pm.”

“He’s coming here?” Amanda replied. “To your home? Does he realize where you live?”

“I’ve given him directions,” Tim replied. “And yes, he is coming over. After I explained the situation he thought it would be best if he came to you. He doesn’t want you appearing on any of the capitol building’s sensors or security tapes. Since you’ve already settled in he thought he would just stop by.”

“Who’s coming with him?” Amy asked.

“Nobody. It’ll just be the three of you.”

“How much did you tell him?” Amanda asked.

“Just what little I knew,” Tim said. “But you can fill him in when he gets there. I’m sure he’ll have questions.”

“All right,” Amanda said. “We’ll see you later then.”

After saying goodbye the girls closed the connection. Time crawled by. The twins had dinner and then watched TV. Shortly after seven they heard a knock on the door. They both got up to answer it. When they opened the door they saw an older gentleman standing outside. He was a short man with graying hair and wore a plain brown suit. He had a tired look about him, as if he had suffered a great deal in his life and was looking forward to retirement.

When he saw the twins he recognized them at once. His eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his worn face. “Hello there,” he said in a soft voice. “I’m Jack Nicholas. Did Tim let you know I would be coming?”

“He did,” Amanda said. “It’s an honor to meet you, governor. My name is Amanda and this is my sister Amy. Please come in.”

The girls stepped aside and allowed the governor of the Tau Ceti system to enter Tim’s apartment. After shaking his hand Amanda led him to the living room, where he took a seat. “So this is where Tim lives,” he remarked after settling down into a worn recliner. “I can see that he is a wise man.”

“Why do you say that?” Amy asked.

The governor smiled. “Your brother may not have told you this but he is very important to the Diano Corporation. His work on their self-replicating probe project has been invaluable and they pay him quite well. Yet instead of spending his wealth and showing the world that he’s an important somebody he has chosen to live a quiet life and save for his future. Few men in his place would have made that decision. Of course, he is Richard’s son so perhaps I should have expected it.”

“I’m sorry Dad couldn’t be here,” Amy said. “He’s busy traveling to the future right now. Amanda and I are the only Strykers available right now.”

“We also really wanted to thank you for all you’ve done for our family,” Amanda added. “You did everything you could to rescue us from the Empire. We’re very grateful and I know that Mom and Dad are too.”

“I only wish we had been able to save you,” the governor replied sadly. “As it is we have lost all of you. I was planning on retiring as soon as your father arrived and was going to hand over control of this system to him. But the Lord had other ideas. Perhaps it is for the best; from what your brother has told me your family has been given a much greater challenge.”

He was silent for a moment. The girls looked at him and said nothing. When the governor had finally gotten his thoughts together he addressed them again. “Your brother has told me your story. I have heard about the Artilect and the Sentinel, and the Artilect’s great plan for you. It sounds like you will soon be departing to finish the task you’ve been given.”

“That’s right,” Amanda said.

“Then I must ask two favors from you,” the governor said. “First, please do not tell myself or anyone else what the future holds. I do not know how much you’ve been told about the future, but such knowledge is not for us to know. I would rather live each day with the knowledge that the Lord holds tomorrow instead of dreading certain doom that I cannot prevent.”

“Dreading certain doom?” Amy asked, puzzled. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

The governor nodded. “I don’t know everything about why you are being sent to the future but I do know that you are being brought there because there is a need so great that only the two of you can meet it. If the future is in such great trouble that the Lord has allowed a machine to raise a family from the dead in order to change the course of history, then something has gone badly wrong. The future does not appear to be a happy, prosperous place where Tau Ceti shines as a beacon of light in an ocean of darkness. Now I may be wrong; perhaps Tau Ceti has survived and continues to light the way. But I would rather not know than know for sure that there is no hope.”

“Ok, I think I understand,” Amanda said. “We can definitely do that. But you said there were two things? What’s the other one?”

“The second one concerns the Poneri,” the governor replied. “I understand why the Sentinel chose to stay behind and fight them – they are desperately evil and no one in this time period has the ability to defeat them. Except for you two, that is. You are our only defense against them. Will you make sure that the Poneri threat is neutralized before you go on to your next assignment? If you do not take care of this then there is no one else who can.”

“Absolutely,” Amanda replied. “We will make sure that they’re eliminated.”

“Right,” Amy added. “But is there anything else you need? There’s a lot more we can do, you know.”

“Your brother told me that you had been given amazing gifts,” the governor replied. “That is all I need, however. Once the Poneri are gone then you are free to continue on to the future. There is no need for you to remain here.”

“But what if there’s another way?” Amy asked. “For example, look at this.” She materialized a small bottle in her hand. The bottle was made of transparent crystal, and inside it was a blue liquid that glowed softly. At the top of the bottle was a small metal cap.

Amy handed it to the governor, who looked at it curiously. “What is this?”

“It’s an extract from our nanites,” Amy explained. “If you drink that potion it will revitalize your cells and reverse the aging process. It will also extend your life indefinitely.”

Jack looked at her, astonished. “Are you serious?”

“Where did you get that?” Amanda demanded.

“I made it,” Amy replied. “I had to find something to do today.”

Jack looked at the bottle in his hand. A look of wonder covered his face. “The water of life,” he whispered. “Immortality in a bottle. I never thought mankind would get that far.” For a long time he stared at the bottle, saying nothing.

Amanda glanced at her sister. She reached out to her with her mind. Why did you give that to him? Amanda asked telepathically. Are you crazy?

But maybe we can fix the future another way, Amy replied. We can just live it and make better choices. We can stop the endless war from ever happening.

Their thoughts were interrupted when the governor shook his head and handed the bottle back to Amy. “I appreciate it, young lady, I really do. I know you mean well but I cannot accept this.”

“Ok,” Amy said uncertainly. She took the bottle from him. She held it in her hand for a moment and then it vanished. “If you don’t mind my asking, why not?”

“The Water of Life is a person, not a chemical,” the governor said. “The Lord can grant immortality because that is His prerogative. As the Author of Life He alone can forgive sins, drive away darkness, renew hearts, and bring to life that which has died. I have no doubt that this chemical could delay death but that is not the same thing as extending life. It cannot heal my tired soul. It cannot infuse strength into one who is spent and ready to go home. Nor can it give me the wisdom to make better choices than I have in the past.

“Girls, the two you have been given extraordinary power. In this age you have absolute power, and from what I understand about the Artilect you may have absolute power in the future as well. You can do whatever you wish and no one can stop you. If you want something you can have it. For you this is necessary, for it sounds like you must have that ability in order to finish the task the Lord has given you.

“But what you must realize is that for everyone else that ability would be a deadly cancer. Power can easily turn good men into evil scoundrels. It turned the man after God’s own heart into a murderer. There was a time long ago when men could live for a thousand years, and the result a world so evil that God was forced to destroy it in the Flood.

“Right now you may not understand these things. You may be so caught up in the press of events that you don’t yet feel the temptations gnawing at you. But that won’t always be the case. One day you will find yourself tempted to use your abilities for your own gain – to do a terrible thing, not for the good of mankind, but for the good of yourselves. When that day comes I implore you to lay your abilities down and walk away from them. Don’t doom mankind to forever living under the tyranny of an evil master who cannot die. Just let it go. It is far easier to stop at the beginning than at the end.”

“Ok,” Amanda said. “I think I understand.”

“It turns out I have one more thing to ask of you,” the governor said. “This is the most important thing of all.”

“What is it?” Amy asked.

“Promise me that you will never bestow your abilities on anyone else. Take your abilities to the grave with you. Do not tempt someone else with them.”

“Ok,” Amanda said.

“Do you promise?” the governor asked.

“I promise,” Amanda replied.

“I do too,” Amy said.

The governor stood up. He smiled at them. “Then I must be going. Ladies, thank you very much for your time. It is good to see you both and to know that your family did survive. It saddens me that you will not be staying with us on Xanthe but I understand. Perhaps when the Lord has returned and set all things right He will bring us back here and I can have the privilege of working with your father. But for now we must part.”

“Do you want us to come and see you before we go?” Amy asked.

“If you could let me know that the Poneri have been defeated I would appreciate that,” the governor replied. “That will be enough.”

* * * * *

It was nearly eleven before Tim got home. Both girls were still awake when he walked in.

“So how did it go?” Amy asked.

Tim sighed. “I will be so glad when all of these wedding preparations are over. Do you know what it’s like to spend a whole evening trying to pick out an invitation design?”

“You mean you still don’t have your invitations picked out?” Amanda shrieked. “Tim, the wedding is just four months away! Don’t you realize you have to order those things in advance?”

“So I’ve heard,” Tim replied wearily. He sank down onto the couch and glanced at the TV. “So what are we watching?”

All the sudden Amy jumped off the couch. She grabbed her sister’s arm. “Atzi! We’ve got to go right now!”

“What happened?” she asked, startled.

“The Starfire is gone – completely gone! It’s vanished!”