John Hawks - The Traveler

Nash pressed a switch and three plasma-screen TVs were lowered from the ceiling. A technician on the other side of the room was staring at a computer monitor and he began typing commands. Seconds later, points of light and patches of darkness appeared on the left-hand TV screen.

“That’s what they’re sending us. It’s a binary code,” Nash explained. “Light and non-light is the basic language of the universe.”

The computers translated the code and numbers appeared on the right-hand screen. Another delay and Michael saw an arrangement of straight and angled lines on the center screen. It appeared to be the blueprint of a complex machine.

General Nash was acting like a true believer who had just seen the face of God. “This is what we were waiting for,” he murmured. “You’re looking at the next version of our quantum computer.”

“How long will it take to build it?”

“My staff will analyze the data and give me a delivery date. Until then, we’ve got to keep our new friends happy.” Nash smiled confidently. “I’m playing a little game with this other civilization. We want to increase the power of our technology. They want to move freely between the realms. You’re the one who shows them how it’s done.”

Binary code. Numbers. And then a design for a new machine. The data from the advanced civilization flowed across the three screens and Michael was swept away by the images flashing in front of him. He barely noticed when Ramón Vega approached General Nash and handed him a cell phone.

“I’m busy,” Nash said to the caller. “Can’t you wait until…” Suddenly the general’s face changed. Looking tense, he stood up and began to pace around the room. “You did what? Who gave you permission to open the cages? So where’s Boone? Have you contacted him? Well, hurry up and do it. Tell him to come to the computer center right away.”

“Is there a problem?” Michael asked when Nash switched off the phone.

“Someone has entered the research facility. It might be one of those Harlequin fanatics I mentioned to you. All this is highly unusual. Those people don’t have the resources to enter our facilities.”

“Is this person in the building?”

The possibility startled General Nash. He glanced at his bodyguard, and then controlled his fear. “Of course not. That’s impossible.”

After wandering through the dark city, Gabriel had finally found the passageway home. Now he felt as if he was at the bottom of a deep pool of water, looking up at the shimmering surface. The air in his lungs pulled him upward-slowly, at first, and then with growing acceleration. He was close to the surface, only a few feet away, when he entered back into his body.

The Traveler opened his eyes and realized that he wasn’t lying on a folding cot in a church camp dormitory. Instead he was strapped to a hospital gurney, being pulled down a long hallway with recessed lights. Protected by its scabbard, the jade sword lay on his stomach and chest.

“Where…” he whispered. But his body was very cold and it was difficult to speak. Suddenly the gurney stopped moving and two faces looked down at him-Vicki Fraser and an older man wearing a white lab coat.

“Welcome back,” the older man said.

Looking worried, Vicki touched Gabriel’s arm. “Are you all right? Can you hear me?”

“What happened?”

Vicki and the man wearing the lab coat pushed the gurney into a room filled with empty animal cages and unfastened the straps. As Gabriel sat up and tried to move his body, Vicki explained that the Tabula had raided Arcadia and flown them to a research facility near New York City. The man wearing the lab coat was a neurologist named Phillip Richardson. He had released Vicki from a locked room and then they had found Gabriel.

“I didn’t really plan this. It just happened.” Dr. Richardson sounded both scared and exhilarated. “A security guard was watching you, but he was called away. Apparently someone is attacking the research center…”

Vicki stared at Gabriel, trying to judge his strength. “If we can reach the underground parking lot, Dr. Richardson thought we could drive away in one of the maintenance vans.”

“What happens after that?” Gabriel asked.

“I’m open to any ideas,” Richardson said. “I have an old college friend who lives on a farm in Canada, but it might be difficult to get across the border.”

Gabriel’s legs felt weak when he stood up, but now his mind was clear and focused. “Where’s my brother?”

“I don’t know.”

“We need to find him.”

“That’s way too dangerous,” Richardson said. “In a few minutes the staff is going to realize that you and Vicki have vanished. We can’t fight them. It’s impossible.”

“Dr. Richardson is right, Gabriel. Maybe we can come back later and save your brother. But right now, we have to get out of here.”

They had a whispered argument until Gabriel agreed to the plan. By now Dr. Richardson was starting to panic. “They probably know everything,” he said. “They could be searching for us right now.” He peered through a crack in the door, and then guided them down a long hallway to the elevator.

They reached the parking level a few seconds later. The entire floor was nothing but concrete and support pillars. Three white vans were parked about twenty feet away from the elevator bank. “The staff usually leaves a key in the ignition,” Richardson explained. “If we can get through the front gate, we have a chance.”

The doctor approached the first van and attempted to open the door on the driver’s side. It was locked, but he kept pulling on the handle as if he couldn’t believe that fact. Vicki stood beside him. Her voice was calm and soothing. “Don’t worry, Doctor. Let’s try the next one.”

Vicki, Gabriel, and Richardson heard a squeaking sound as a fire door was pulled open, followed by footsteps on concrete. A moment later, Shepherd came out of the emergency stairwell.

“Now this is quite wonderful.” Shepherd strolled past the elevators, stopped, and grinned. “I thought the Tabula might get rid of me, but now they’re going to give me a bonus. The renegade Harlequin saves the day.”

Gabriel glanced at Vicki, then drew the jade sword. He swung it slowly through the air and remembered what Maya had told him. A few human-made objects were so beautiful-so pure-that they were free of greed and desire.

Shepherd snorted as if he’d just heard a bad joke. “Don’t be a fool, Gabriel. Perhaps Maya doesn’t think I’m a real Harlequin, but that doesn’t change my skill as a fighter. I’ve been trained to use swords and knives since I was four years old.”

Gabriel turned his head slightly. “Look inside the other van,” he told Vicki. “See if the keys are in the ignition.”

Shepherd reached into his carrying tube. He drew his Harlequin sword and snapped the guard into place. “All right. Have it your way. One good thing is going to come out of this. I’ve always wanted to kill a Traveler.”

Shepherd assumed the fighting position and Gabriel surprised him by attacking immediately. Running forward, he pretended to stab at Shepherd’s face. When Shepherd parried the blow, Gabriel spun around and slashed at the heart. Steel clashed against steel two, three, four times, but Shepherd defended himself easily. The two swords locked together. Shepherd took half a step back, made a quick movement with his wrists, and twisted the jade sword out of Gabriel’s hands.

The sword clattered onto the concrete floor. In the empty parking structure the noise was loud and distinct. The two men looked at each other and the Traveler saw his opponent clearly. Shepherd’s face had assumed the Harlequin mask, but something was wrong with his mouth. It twitched slightly, as if the lips couldn’t decide if they were going to smile or frown.