John Schettler - Touchstone

There were just a few more details to work out on the spatial placement before Paul would be satisfied and give a final go for the mission. Maeve went off to confer with Kelly, and Paul pulled Robert aside in the auxiliary room. “Where are you manifesting at the target milieu? What time of day will it be, and how can we minimize observation by locals?”

“We’ll be northwest of the town,” said Nordhausen, “on the road that runs along Aboukir Bay towards Alexandria. We’ll arrive in the pre-dawn hour, 5:00 AM, so observation should not be a problem.”

“You’re sure about those coordinates?”

“As sure as I can be under the circumstances. We won’t really know what’s there until we manifest… What’s wrong, Paul?”

“Well, it’s just that all the other breaching points were quite remote from populated areas. What if you were to appear right in front of some passer by, or a French soldier patrolling the road?”

“That sort of speculation is useless. How can we know?”

“Recon,” Paul asserted. “We can certify the breaching coordinates with a Spook Job—a quick ten second manifestation before we run the final operation. You appear, take a quick look, and we yank you back. If the coast is clear, as they say, we rev up for a full breach and insert the team.”

“Won’t Kelly need to adjust his numbers?”

“Nope. We’ll use the exact same data he has planned for the mission. All I have to do is get the Retraction Module to wink appropriately. Spinning out a singularity for ten seconds involves—” The look on Robert’s face made it plain that the professor did not want to know anything more about the physics.

“I’ll tell Maeve,” Paul concluded. “In the meantime, I suppose you two can get ready to go down to the Arch.” There was a perceptible change in his voice, and the professor noticed it at once.

Nordhausen gave him a long look. Paul met his gaze, a solemn expression on his face. “So I’ll miss this one,” he said.

“You’ll miss the French Army,” said Robert. “The Battle of the Pyramids, French Squares, thousands of Mameluke Cavalry making their furious charges under the angry glow of the hot desert sun….”

“That was all over in 1798,” said Paul. “In fact, Napoleon had already been checked at Acre and he was making his retreat back to Egypt in May of 1799. By June it was clear to him that the campaign in Egypt was a disaster. He was already planning his exit strategy.”

“Yes,” said Nordhausen. “Secret instructions involving the frigates La Murion and La Carrière, to be ready to make sail at a moment’s notice.”

“But there was the Turkish Army of Rhodes to worry about first,” Paul continued.

“I see you’ve been reading the history.”

Paul was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Robert, the Turkish anchored a fleet of sixty troop transports off Aboukir Bay on the night of July 11 th. They were landing initial shore parties within hours. Just how far west on the road to Alexandria will you be?”

“Not far.” The professor’s voice tried to persuade that all would be well, but he knew what Paul was driving at now.

“The Turks had 15,000 troops ashore by the morning of the 12 thof July. You’re going in just two days later.”

“The French garrison held out at Aboukir Castle until the 18 thand by all accounts the Turks just sat on the beaches.”

“By all accounts…” Paul had a worried expression on his face. “Remember that 99% of everything that has ever happened is unknown to us. Why, 99% of your own lived experience is forgotten. Sure you have a recollection of the day you graduated college, but what did you do the previous afternoon? What did you have for breakfast the day before that? What book were you reading that week?”

“I get your point,” Nordhausen stopped him.

“Well, they could have pushed out patrols to reconnoiter the road. It could be very dangerous. The French effort to improve Ft. Julien at Rosetta was being hastened by urgent need. They were under threat of imminent attack, and Napoleon was not yet on the scene.”

“Napoleon arrived on the 24 thof July, Paul. The battle of Aboukir wasn’t fought until the 25th. That’s when the real danger will present itself.”

“Yes but—”

“We’ll be out of there by then. The retraction is set to give us a 48 hour window, just like my mission to London. We’ll be gone by the 16 th. I’ll bet Kelly was glad to hear that I had all those calculations worked out for duration timing and all. He said he could use my numbers on the retraction scheme, and it saved him hours. Don’t worry, Paul. We’ll be fine.”

“What if something goes wrong? Have you considered that? The first time we tried to open the continuum here the two of us ended up in Jurassic Park because Kelly made a typo! Lord, he was barely able to talk last night and—”

“That won’t happen this time. Kelly is fine. Is that what this is about? You’re worried about Kelly, aren’t you?”

“I’m worried about you all.” There was a moment of silence. “Look—if something does go wrong, you will need to stay with the stone. It arrives safely in Cairo, so they had to get it out of there somehow—most likely under escort. Stay with the stone, Robert, especially if you find it undamaged on the 15 th. Get to Cairo.”

“Paul!”

“Here me out. You get to Cairo and lay low. Stay out of trouble. In particular, be wary of a man named Ahmed.”

“Ahmed? Who’s he?”

“Nobody knows. He was a mysterious figure that appeared in Cairo just before the Turks were set to land. He called himself the Mahdi, and he stirred up insurrection in the city.”

“The Mahdi? Oh, the Muslims always call on the image of the Mahdi when they want to stir up trouble. Remember that Shi’ite Mullah in Iraq?”

Paul thought for a moment. “Muqtada al Sadr? Yes. He raised his Mahdi Militias and raised hell for a while. Holed up in An Najaf, if I remember. That was quite a scene at the Shrine of Ali.”

“Exactly. These Muslims are always calling up images from their religious mythology to add propane to their politics. This Ahmed was probably just the same. What would you say to the disaffected masses of Cairo if you wanted to ignite a revolution against their oppressive Western occupiers? You’d claim to be divinely guided; you’d claim to be the Mahdi they have been waiting for all these centuries to liberate them from the deceivers and infidels. The Arabs have been wrapping their politics in religion for millennia, but I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Be watchful just the same.”

Nordhausen seized on Paul’s concern and drove home a point. “You think this man… you believe he may be an Assassin—an agent from the future?”

“I have my suspicions.” Paul folded his arms, one hand stroking his chin. “There were several odd things in the history that began to stick out in my mind when I bored into it again. Did you know that there were at least two obvious assassination plots against Napoleon during this campaign? The first incident occurred just after he landed and seized Alexandria. Upon entering the city Napoleon and his party were making their way through a very narrow street and they were fired upon by a man and a woman with a musket. The second incident was an ambush by a Nablousian on the 24 thof May, 1799, as Napoleon’s troops retreated from Syria. The shot barely missed Napoleon’s head; they caught the man; four Guides put their carbine muskets to his back and pulled the triggers simultaneously. Now get this… All four guns misfired and the man leapt into the Red Sea, swimming for all he was worth. The entire troop fired at him as he went, but not a single shot hit home. He escaped.”