John Moralee - Future Imperfect - A Collection of Science Fiction Stories

“That’s very interesting,” he said. “Because you had a visitor. Your mentor from the guild. She came to discuss your suspension , but you weren’t here. A suspension? You didn’t tell us . What’s going on, Veya? Are you into drugs or something?”

“No, Dad, it’s nothing like that. I lost my concentration during a training session, that’s all. The guild suspended me because they have stupid protocols. Did my mentor say much? Has the suspension been lifted?”

“No, it hasn’t. She wants you to visit her in the morning if you need to talk. She sounded concerned, for what’s that worth. I suggest you take her advice. Now, go to bed so you’re fresh in the morning.”

“We love you,” my mother said. “We just want what’s best for you.”

“I know,” I said.

I kissed them goodnight, then made a show of going to my bedroom. I switched off the lights so my parents would think I was going to sleep, and then waited for them to retire.

At Paulo’s apartment, I’d tranced each of the airwalker memories and learnt all I could from them. The first three recordings hadn’t helped much, because the airwalkers didn’t look at the bridge. The fourth performer had been higher up, looking down as it twirled through the spray from the Great Falls. The bridge was far, far below, but even the sharp eyes of an airwalker couldn’t see useful details at that distance. The fifth recording was better. The fifth airwalker had been flying lower and looking in the right direction. It captured the moment in its memory. My sister was there, leaning over the rail, when the stranger approached. The stranger said something and held out a pale hand. Amazingly, my sister took it and went with the stranger. The fifth airwalker lost sight of them moments later, but the final recording provided more clues. That airwalker had been circling over the city’s rooftops. My sister was recorded leaving the bridge. Holding the stranger’s hand, Marila boarded a taxi parked on the street. The craft was lifting off when the airwalker passed by. Its hawk-like vision captured the vehicle’s ID.

“Ava, I need you to analyse something for me.”

“Yes, Miss. How may I assist?”

“A taxi with the registration S724Q5 was parked on Ibis Road on the day my sister disappeared. Access the flight information and show me its route.”

A map appeared on my tablet with the taxi’s route marked in red, with stops marked in green circles. I studied it, my eyes widening, more questions forming in my mind than answers.

My sister had been kidnapped by Gileanor.

The next morning the streets were hot, as usual, but the air was cooler when Paulo and I reached Gileanor’s home beneath the Great Falls. She lived in a white villa surrounded by a high security wall.

“So,” Paulo said. “What’s the plan?”

“I’ll question her alone,” I told him. “I’ll record everything she says as evidence, with you listening in.”

“You should take my weapon as protection.” He offered me his Navy Peacekeeper. “Take this.”

“No. I’m not going in armed. It’d just set off the home security. I want her confession. I don’t want to kill her.”

“Be careful,” Paulo said. “I’ll be listening. I’ll come in shooting if I hear you’re in danger.”

Gileanor was expecting me, so I wasn’t surprised when the security gates opened as I approached them, though it was a little creepy, given I knew she was a kidnapper. Her voice came out of a speaker.

“Come in!” she called out. “I’m making tea! Come down the hall to the kitchen!”

A spiral path led through her garden up to an entrance. I’d never been in Gileanor’s home and didn’t know what to expect inside. Filtered sunlight filled the atrium with soft pink light. It smelled of roses. The white walls were decorated with framed pictures of men, women and children. I’d never known Gileanor had a family until I saw her with people I assumed were her children and grandchildren. They looked happy. I wondered why she would want to kidnap my sister when she already had a family. Why did she do it? Why?

Gileanor was in a light and airy kitchen with a panoramic view of the city, her back to me as she boiled a kettle on a marble counter. I was tempted to attack her before she turned around. It took strength staying calm and focussed.

“You wanted to discuss my suspension?”

“I think I can sort it out for you,” she said. “But it might take months. The Guild moves very slowly in these matters. I’ll explain everything, but first you should join me for tea. It’s English Breakfast Tea imported from Earth.”

“Sounds good,” I said.

I didn’t want tea, but I didn’t want Gileanor anywhere near a source of boiling water when I confronted her. I followed her onto a balcony and acted like I appreciated her hospitality. She talked about how she was going to help me, making me want to throw my hot tea in her face. My right hand trembled. I had to put down my drink and hide my hand under the table.

Paulo’s voice spoke into my ear, saying what I was already thinking. “Quit stalling. Confront her.”

“Gileanor, I know you kidnapped my sister.”

Her mouth became a tight line. “What makes you think that?”

“I’ve evidence: a memory recording of you kidnapping my sister. It shows you both getting into a taxi. That taxi came here. I’ve got all I need to have you arrested, but I don’t care about that. I just want to know what you did to my sister. Tell me the truth. Where is she?”

“I’m right here,” Gileanor said.

“What?”

“I’m your sister. I’m Marila.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s complicated. But I hope you’ll believe me when I’ve explained. As you already know, your sister sneaked off to see the Tralian airwalkers. What you don’t know is what happened next . Marila wasn’t tall enough to see over the adults in the market, so she went onto a bridge to get a better look. During the show, she climbed on the rail to see better and fell to her death in the rapids below.”

“What are you talking about? That never happened. I saw you kidnap her.”

“Yes, you did. But I’m talking about what must have happened originally . The original Marila died. You were so grief-stricken that, years later, you tried to open a hyperspace gateway through time to save her. You succeeded, but not in the way you hoped. You probably intended to transport her somewhere nearby, but you made a miscalculation. The second Marila was transported to another planet in a different galaxy, five hundred years into the past. I’m that version of your sister, the one saved by you. A paradox-created version.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I have no reason to lie. One second I was on falling off the bridge, then I was on another world with an orange sky and three moons. It was very confusing. I remember standing on a field of dark-blue grass that smelled like honey. In the distance, there was a farmhouse. I walked there and encountered an alien. It didn’t speak my language and I couldn’t understand it, but it took me in and gave me food and shelter. It was kind to me. When it became clear that I needed its help, it welcomed me to live with its family, adopting me like one of its brood. After being taught its language, I learnt I was on a planet called Rashoo, roughly eighty million light-years from home. I grew up the only human on that world. I tried to forget my other life, but I never did. I always remembered you and Mom and Dad. I remembered how I’d ended up there, though at the time I didn’t know how it had happened. I only worked that out when I eventually left Rashoo on a ship and returned home through a gateway. I arrived back here four hundred years ago. I’ve been living my life under a false identity ever since, being careful to not change the future too much. Five years ago, in the current time stream, I befriended my other self so that she would trust me when I came to save her on the bridge. I stopped her from dying that day, but I made another paradox.”