John Schettler - 1943

Yes, all the world was a stage, and from Karpov’s view, you could do anything here. You could remake this world to fit any guise, just as you like it. Oh, he had his ambitions, like that soldier Shakespeare wrote of… “ Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation, Even in the cannon’s mouth…” And I have taken many a strange oath myself, thought Fedorov.

“So what will it be here?” he said at last. “What will we do? Volsky is out there, with Gromyko and Kazan . What do we tell them?”

“That should be obvious,” said Karpov. “I have already shown you the futility of trying to gather up all our chess pieces, quit the game, and simply go home. What will we find there but yet another war? Here I keep this strange unspoken tryst with the Americans, only because they are the enemy of my enemy. Yet one day I must face them too. One day…”

“You’ve already done that,” said Fedorov, “in 1945, and again in 2021. Yet you know if you use Kirov to help crush Japan, you will eventually face them again. You’ll get a wink and a nod after the war, but little thanks. MacArthur will want to set up shop in Japan and establish himself as the new Pacific Emperor here, and by the time all this gets around to that, another two long years, how many missiles will you have left?”

“A very good point,” said Karpov. “But I have another little mission in mind myself, now that you mention it.”

“A mission? What kind of scheme could you possibly be hatching now, Karpov?”

“Nothing all that dangerous to these little people here—until the mission succeeds. In fact, now that Admiral Volsky is here, he could help out a good deal.”

“In what way?”

“His authority is good for nothing here, but in 2021, he still has considerable clout. I thought about trying to use the stairway at Ilanskiy for this, but it’s of limited use. Even though the Naval Armory is right there at Kansk, and just south of Ilanskiy, a Moskit II weighs over six tons. There would be no way to use that old stairway.”

“You’re keeping me in suspense. What is this all about?”

“You said it yourself, just a minute ago. How many missiles will I have left by the time I conclude these affairs? I’ll need power if I am to enforce my will in the post war world, and yes, I’ll probably have to face down the Americans.”

“That did not go so well in 1945,” said Fedorov. “And you even had the Admiral Golovko and Orlan with you.”

“True, but now I have Kazan . That boat is worth more than both those other ships.”

“That’s a pretty bold conclusion to jump to. We haven’t reached any decision here yet, and Volsky and Gromyko will both have to weigh in on anything we present to them.”

“Four votes? That won’t do,” said Karpov. “Who would break the tie, my brother?”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself—but first, tell me what you’re scheming on.”

“Missiles, Fedorov, missiles. I’ll be needing refills soon. That little scrap I had with the Takami forced me to expend thirteen SSMs, and a good many SAMs. I may have to use more to sink that damn ship, and I want to replenish.”

“But that’s impossible,” said Fedorov. “This is a come as you are party, Karpov…. Unless… Are you thinking to get more missiles from Kazan?”

“You and Volsky did that before, yes?”

“I don’t think Gromyko will be so generous this time. He’s been given a mission here as well, and one you may not like if we can’t reach an agreement.”

“Then I have another idea,” said Karpov. “First we’ll come to some accord here. Surely Volsky and Gromyko will understand what we’ve just determined. Trying to purge the contamination now is simply impossible. We have no other choice but to remain here, work our will upon this war, and bend it to an outcome that we can all agree upon as favorable.”

“Favorable for who? Right now, we may see Tojo, Hitler and Volkov as the enemies we must defeat, but something tells me that if we do accomplish that, then you’ll be lining up new enemies.”

“Only if they make an enemy of me,” said Karpov. “As to my idea, let me run it by you and see what you think.”

“Iwant to see if I can retrieve more missiles from our own future.”

“What? With Kirov? You were planning a shift?”

“No, not with Kirov . I can’t take a risk like that. You yourself know that. Isn’t this what Kamenski is so worried about? He’s afraid the ship will shift again, not forward, but backwards to a time before its first arrival. He’s afraid it will start this whole paradox hour thing again and create this insoluble time loop. I suppose he has a point, but I’ve already told you that I could care less about that. The future can be damned as long as I have the present, and the thought that I could live it over and over again, indefinitely, remembering the events that transpire in each loop, is very appealing. What was that American movie where that happened? Ah—Groundhog Day.”

“Do you realize how incredibly selfish that attitude is?”

“Let’s not start leveling fingers, Fedorov. There’s plenty of blame to go around for all of us. In any case, I was thinking to try and get some men to 2021, load a replenishment ship, and then try and move it back here. I like what you said earlier about this affinity to one’s point of origin during these shifts. That gives me hope that this ship might get back here safe and sound, and laden with munitions and supplies, spare equipment, the works.”

“I see…. So you can continue ripping up the history here.”

“You mean continue rewriting that history. Remember, we’ll never put this puzzle back together again as it was. I thought you understood that. You yourself pointed out my dilemma. I’ll need power after this war ends—power to prevent the Americans from throwing their weight around as we both know they will. I’ve seen fit to be their ally here, but I want to be in a position where they cannot simply discard me and impose their will on the world.”

“Which is to say that you want to be sure we get the Cold War after this one ends.”

“If need be. I won’t be marginalized, Fedorov. Nor will I let them patronize me. When I’m finished here, I intend to reunite the Free Siberian State with Soviet Russia—yes, the Soviet Union will live again. Isn’t that the inherent imperative surrounding this ship? Kirov was born of that union. The Soviet State must arise to give birth to this ship. Can’t you see that my aims are very much aligned with yours? Only then might we see the wounds on the face of this history heal and reach a point where we might recognize it again. You see, we both really have similar goals. I just go about it by taking action, here and now. You want to sit there and think about it until your head spins. The world is still turning, Fedorov. It hasn’t come to an end. Each second that passes takes us to a future that we build, moment by moment. It may not be the one Kamenski might prefer, but it will arise. I can guarantee you that, because I intend to build it myself, just the way I like it. Let’s stop all this speculation and get out there and do something about it.”

The world was certainly still spinning, thought Fedorov. But which world were they really trying to mend now? One thing Karpov said earlier kept sticking in Fedorov’s head…. “I don’t think our disappearance may have been the first instance of travel through time.”

He thought about that, feeling deep down that it was true. No, it was more than a feeling. The more he thought about it, the more he came to believe it had to be the case. The evidence was right there before him, all along. First off, there was this strange Commander Wellings who appeared on HMS Rodney , and who later turned out to be an American physics professor, Paul Dorland. He knew that man had developed a detailed theory of time travel, chapter and verse, complete with a lexicon of terminology to explain it.