Alex Scarrow - The Doomsday Code

Becks’s eyes fluttered — processing going on inside. ‘This is possible. It is also possible this is a document that will be used at a later date by your team.’

Maddy shook her head. ‘No, there’s no way I’d use it now. Because it’s … look, now I know it’s been decoded by some teen hacker, I certainly wouldn’t allow Liam to use it to talk through time to us. Not now we know it’s compromised, that it’s been hacked. And I’ll tell Liam when we get back, of course. So, look, whatever happens in the future, we know we can’t use it. Therefore it has to be someone else.’

Becks nodded. ‘A logical argument.’

‘What we’ve got to do is get back home to 2001. Then I’ll send a warning message into the future, to 2056. I’ll send a warning that the Voynich Manuscript isn’t safe for any other teams to be using.’

Becks nodded approval.

There was the sound of a flushing toilet, and a moment later the lock clacked and Adam emerged. Maddy hastily picked up her anorak from his bed. ‘Adam,’ she said, ‘we have to leave. We’ve got a … got a train to catch.’

His jaw dropped open. ‘But — but … you said …’

‘We can’t stay, I’m really sorry.’

‘But I need someone else. I need someone to explain what this means!’

Maddy shook her head. ‘Sorry.’ She pointed at the door and Becks reached to open it.

‘Please don’t go! I–I’m completely freaked here! Who wrote that message? Why was it me that deciphered it? Why me?’ Adam grabbed at her arm, holding it tight.

‘I don’t know, Adam. But, look, we have to go. When I know what this all means, I’ll come back, OK? I’ll come back and tell you! I promise!’

‘Please! Don’t go!’ His grasp was tightening. Hurting her.

Becks noticed and with one swift movement she grabbed one of his fingers and twisted it savagely back. He screamed with pain and released his grip.

‘Ahhh! Jesus! It’s broken!’

Maddy winced. ‘I’m really sorry, Adam … We’ll be back, I promise.’ She stumbled out of the open door and into the hall, down the noisy wooden steps and past the young man who’d answered the door. ‘Everything OK, girls?’ he asked as they swept through the hallway towards the front door.

‘Fine,’ said Maddy hastily.

He reached out an arm in front of Becks, blocking her way. ‘Sure you don’t wanna stay and share a few beers with me and the lads?’ Lance offered her his most charming smile, the one that never let him down. ‘We could part-eee, sweetheart.’

Her cold grey eyes locked on him — calmly assessing what level of force would be appropriate to remove the obstruction from her path — but Maddy stepped in and casually pushed his arm out of her way. ‘I really wouldn’t recommend doing that — she’s, uh … she can get quite tetchy .’

2001, New York

Liam’s stomach was groaning from the burden of consuming a dozen pancakes glistening with maple syrup. He belched so loudly it made Sal jump.

‘Shadd-yah, you are too gross!’

‘Sorry,’ he uttered shamefaced as he sat down in front of the computer screen. ‘Hello, Bob.’

› Hello, Liam, did you enjoy a good breakfast?

‘I did, thank you. Although I’m feelin’ as sick as a butcher’s dog.’

› Information: I have two notifications for you. The displacement machine is fully charged and ready to activate the return portal. Also, the support unit in growth-cycle is now ready to be ejected.

‘Thanks, Bob. Looks like you’re going to be walking around with the living again soon enough.’

› I am very pleased. I enjoyed working with you in the past, Liam O’Connor.

‘And me with you. Be good to have another man about the place, so it will. It’s gettin’ all frilly and girlie in this place.’

› I do not understand. Please explain ‘frilly and girlie’.

‘Just a turn of phrase, Bob.’ He turned to Sal, pulling a face at her.

‘Well, I’m not frilly and girlie,’ she huffed.

Liam chuckled. ‘All right, Bob, which should we do first? Bring back the ladies or toss the new clone out of his tube?’

› Recommendation: I suggest activating the return portal first.

‘Right you are. Let’s get a wiggle on and do that, then.’

1994, UEA campus, Norwich

Maddy checked her watch: they had a few minutes to spare before the portal was due to open. The return coordinates were outside, beside a service entrance behind the university’s pool building. It was gone 2 a.m. and the hustle of life after dark on the campus had died down to the snuffling of a fox going through bags of rubbish nearby and the far-off wail of a police siren.

‘Becks?’

‘Yes.’

‘I need to discuss something. It’s something that — ’ She frowned as she tried to find the right words. ‘It’s something I’ve been keeping from the other two, because … well, because I have to. But I need someone else to talk to about it. It’s driving me nuts.’

‘You wish to talk to me confidentially?’

‘Yes … but I know everything I say to you becomes data. Everything you see, hear, becomes data that’s available to the others.’

‘I can partition my hard drive and create a folder that is accessible only after a certain code word is used. Data that is acquired while the partition is open will be stored there. The partition can be closed again and access-locked with the use of the same or a different code word.’

‘Do you mean everything you hear, see …? If we were to have a conversation while this partition is open, the memory of it would remain in there? Would remain a secret?’

‘That is correct. My normal functioning AI would also not be aware of those memories until you activated them with the code word.’

Maddy understood. It would almost be as if Becks was operating as a schizophrenic: a person with a multiple-personality disorder, unaware of the actions of the other personality. A little bit weird, to be honest. But she needed someone to help her make sense of things, someone to help her connect the dots. Something was going on out there, someone wanted her to know something … just her.

‘Do that, please, Becks: set up your separate partition.’

‘Affirmative.’

Becks’s eyes blinked rapidly, her cool emotionless gaze lost and far away for a moment.

‘Information: partitioned drive ready. Please provide an access code.’

‘What — anything? Any word?’

‘Recommendation: three words one after the other that would not normally appear next to each other in sequence during a normal conversation. This would provide adequately strong security.’

‘What, like … banana — alien — jigsaw?’

‘Correct. Is this your code-word sequence?’

‘No, hang on. I’d forget that. Let me think.’ She rubbed at her chin thoughtfully as the police siren faded, leaving the night still, quiet.

‘OK, this’ll do: iPad — Caveman — Breakfast.’

‘This is your code-word sequence?’

‘Yes.’

Becks blinked again. ‘Security measure activated. The partition is open.’ She turned slowly to look at Maddy. ‘I am listening, Maddy.’

‘OK.’ Maddy puffed a breath. ‘OK … this is what I’ve been keeping from Liam and Sal. When we went to get some new clone foetuses, back before that whole dinosaur mess — before you were grown, Becks — we got the foetuses from the San Francisco drop point, the one based in 1906. There was this secure deposit box where we found a crate of refrigerated embryos. But also there was this note … all scribbled, like somebody had tried to sneak it in real quick. It was a message addressed to me , for my eyes only. Liam didn’t see it. So it’s just me knows about it.’