🚀 go-pugleaf

                              RADIAN & SHADEBEAM
                                  Episode 29
                            (Timeline, Part Three)
                           "Turning Back the Clock"
                                      by
                                 Gary W. Olson

                                    -<=*=>-

     "We are beginning our approach!" Zen announced.
     "We are?" Shadebeam asked.  "You mean, you found this vortex?"
     "Of course!" Zen answered.  "I always reach my destination!"
     "It took us three weeks to get to it!" Andro' protested.  "And
according to the Galatlas, it was just one star system away from where we
were when we picked you up!"
     "Our destination proved most elusive," Zen told them, like a teacher
lecturing a student.  "We had to approach it in a roundabout matter, else
it would have moved elsewhere."
     "First the Vortex is, then the Vortex isn't, then the Vortex is," Karina
sighed.
     "Exactly!" Zen exclaimed, brightly.
     "Well," Carmine said, yawning.  "Let me know how it turns out.  I'm
going to hit the sack."
     "Night," Andro' said.  Carmine ambled into the small cabin that
adjoined the bridge, and closed the hatch.  Through the viewport, he could
see the Vortex, writhing and seething like a big writhing seething thing.
Now, it almost encompassed the whole view, obscuring the stars.
     It wasn't this that garnered his attention.  Rather, it was the fact
that, upon the small bed in the center of the cabin, Akane was stretched
out, in jeans and a t-shirt, apparantly sleeping.  Andro was there as well,
sleeping on her stomach.  There was something very familiar about the
scene...
     He shook his head, to clear it, and padded over to the bedside.  He
placed his paw on her shoulder, and gently shook her.  Akane's arm
flashed up, and grabbed his forearm.  Her eyes flashed open, and she
immediately let go.
     "Sorry," she said, smiling a bit.  "Reflex."
     "Guessed that," Carmine said.  "Sorry to disturb you, but the couch
is occupied, and I'm falling asleep so fast that parts of me are already
dreaming."
     Akane looked over her shoulder, at the rest of the double bed.
"There's plenty of room."  Carmine realized he must have been blushing,
even through his koala fur, as Akane smiled and said, "Don't worry, I
don't bite."  She flicked her tongue over her fangs.  "Well, not most of
the time, anyway."  Carmine responded by flopping down on the bed beside
her, pushing aide his feelings of deja vu, which were growing stronger all
the time.
     "So," Akane said, facing away from him.  "How is she?"
     "Who?" Carmine asked.
     "Farron," Akane told him.
     Carmine sighed, audibly.  "Long story.  How's Faith?"
     Akane sighed, audibly.  "Long story."
     "Damn."
     "Yeah."
     The vortex was on them, now.  They could see the glimmerings of other
altiverses, reflected in the non-euclidian fluctuations of the time-space
curvature.  The ship wasn't approaching directly, but on an oblique angle.
A sane person would have shut his or her eyes, at the sight.
     Carmine didn't know if Akane closed her eyes or not.  His eyes were
shut, you see.  Nevertheless, he could feel the impact of the twisted
n-spatial vortex.  To duplicate this feeling in the comfort of your own
home, eat three super-size submarine sandwiches, drink a six pack of
Schlitz, then do jumping jacks for as long as you can, while watching a
MacGyver marathon.  (If you have trouble locating a MacGyver marathon,
a special consultant is available to visit you in your home, apartment,
or cell and find one for you.  His name is Kevin.  Yes, you may hit him.)
     Images flashed against his closed eyelids.  Images of growing old...
a decimated skyline that had once been a city...the endless blending of
the days...and the nights...and he remembered...remembered...
     His eyes flashed open.  The bed was empty, except for himself, and
the viewport showed only a non-fluctuating field of stars and interstellar
nebulae.  He stretched, feeling rested.
     "That was some dream," he mumbled.  "Seemed almost real."

                                    -<=*=>-

     Karina looked up as Carmine stumbled out of the cabin, a towel over
his head to dry his headfur, apparantly following a shower.
     "You slept long enough," Karina said.
     "How long was I?" Carmine asked.
     "I didn't ask," Karina replied.  Akane glared at her, from the couch.
     "Fourteen hours," Andro' told him.  "Going through the vortex probably
mucked up your internal clock."
     "We've been traveling through overly-hyped space for the last ten
hours," Shadebeam said.  "Ought to be reaching the Hottentot system any
minute now."
     "We would have been their sooner, but your nav'puter had to recalibrate,
due to the time displacement," Zen said.  "I offered to navigate to Hottentot,
but Andro' assured me that it was not necessary!"
     "Go figure," Andro purred.  Karina scritched behind the cat's ears, as he
rested on her lap.  The notion of a talking cat had not particularly fazed her -
it was well known that the Commander in Chief's cat, Socks, talked.  Neverthe-
less, there was something strange about Andro, something that didn't belong
inside him.  She remembered the images she had seen, back in episode 18, and
looked down at Andro, then up to Andro'.
      "It all coheres," she whispered.
      "Er, what?" Shadebeam asked.
      "Never mind," Karina said.  Just then, the endless dull grey of overly-
hyped space dissolved away, to be replaced with a field of stars, a bright,
golden sun, and a large, lushly green and beige planet below.  A number of
large diplomatic vessels were in orbit around the planet, along with some
ships that looked like they had battle damage.
     "Well, looks like it's going to be some party!" Zen exclaimed.  "I think
I may have attended it before."
     "What's the time on the chronometer?" Carmine asked.
     "Nine, local time," Andro' said.
     "What about Earth time?" Akane asked.
     "Let's see, here," Carmine said, punching some buttons on the chronometer.
"Sol time is...9:51 a.m...February 17th...1993."
     "What?!?" Karina, Akane, and Shadebeam exclaimed.
     "What, is it off?" Andro' asked.  "I've been meaning to get it fixed, but
what with this question of Hegel's view of history as the dominant role in the
evolution of the state vs. the assertion of Mordius the Wise of Zanzibar XIV
that no one exists outside of himself, his cat, and Fred down at the local
tavern, I just haven't had time to..."
     "No, it is accurate," Zen Navigator said.  "We went back in time one
year and three months.  This is the party to celebrate Dana Wader's defeat
at the Battle of Dalan.  I was at this one, too, though Ninja Taxi-Cab Driver
kidnapped me and took me to Brainstem C, where I rescued myself and..."
     "Ahem," Andro purred.
     "Oh," Zen said, blinking.  "We should return to the Vortex.  Another
pass should restore us to the correct year."
     "Why?" Carmine asked.  "There's a great party going on right here."
     "But..." Karina began to protest.
     "I can pick up the minibus I abandoned here!" Zen exclaimed.  "And after
the party's over, I can guide you back to the Vortex so we can attend the
other party!"
     "Yay!" Carmine and Andro' exclaimed.
     "Rrrrrr..." Karina growled.
     On that encouraging note, the ship began to descend towards the planet.

                                    -<=*=>-

     "Damn, this city looks weird," Shadebeam said.  "Not bad, I mean.  Just...
weird."
     "It's a city designed for a humanoid species capable of flight," Akane
reminded her.  "No roads, no sidewalks...and what walkways there are don't
have handrails."
     *Lovely,* Andro purred.  *I'll just stay with the ship, if you don't
mind.*
     "Suit yourself," Shadebeam said.  "I'm looking forward to doing some
serious partying."
     "I thought you were just going to go, get the van, and come back,"
Karina said.  She looked at Zen Navigator.
     "Yes, of course!" Zen said.
     "Then I'm coming with you," Karina said.  "Just...in case."
     -Hardly surprising,- Kyoko said, sarcastically.  Symon rolled his
eyes at her.
     "Right, then we're set," Andro' said, straightening the tie on his
silver-grey tuxedo.  Carmine pressed the hatch button, and the airlock
cycled open.  Akane, Shadebeam, Zen Navigator, Carmine, Karina, and Andro'
descended down the gangway, and onto the landing pad.  All five summarily
stopped, drawing in their collective breath.
     Spaceports are, generally, drab affairs, mostly consisting of large
flat areas for spaceships to settle upon, with thin hovershuttle routes
extending out to the outermost edges like a spider's web.  All these
hovershuttles drove into the spaceport proper, which was often a functional,
drab affair clogged by disreputable swindlers, shiftless, greedy merchants,
obnoxious boors, and the like.  As such, they were indistinguishable from the
spaceport's non-employees.
     This port was quite different, however.  For one thing, there were no
hovershuttles, and certainly no spaceport proper.  The large flat areas were
extensions of the large luxury hotels that flanked the city.  As such, the
ships were suspended miles above the jungle-covered surface, suspended on
delicate padstalks which looked far too fragile to hold such vessels.
Nevertheless, they seemed to managed.
     And the view it offered was, as you might well expect, breathtaking.
     "I've been on this planet before," Shadebeam said.
     "When?" Akane asked, annoyed that Shadebeam was interrupting her
enjoyment of the aforementioned breathtaking view of the endlessly stretching
jungle far below.
     "Three years ago, in sfstory," Shadebeam said.  "It was called Karma
Chameleon II, and they didn't have a city, or civilization.  But this is
the planet.  I bet that volcano out there is the same one that the
Ottsamaddawidu tribe was going to sacrafice Gham to."
     "Well, just remember, this place isn't the same," Akane told her.  "It's
the seat of one of the major galactic powers, the Ottsamaddawidu confederation."
     "Yeah, I got that part," Shadebeam said, as she turned to follow Carmine,
Andro', and Zen, who were heading into the building.  "'Sides, Karma Chameleon
II blew up last year.  Only a few survivors."
     She gave the jungle one last look, before heading in.

                                    -<=*=>-

     If the view of the jungle was breathtaking, the view of the city would
take your lungs whole.  Metaphorically, at least.  Even though the sun was
low in the sky, almost at the horizon, the walls of the city glowed with a
thousand impossible colors, reflecting diamond, gold, silver, and elements
Carmine couldn't even guess at.  There was hardly a definite angle to be seen
- everything seemed to flow into everything else, while remaining seperate
and distinguishable.
     Especially the Imperial Palace.  It was the core of Hottentot City, the
heart of the Ottsamaddawidu Empire, and later, when the Galactic Civil War
had ended, the Ottsamaddawidu Confederation.  A popular, democratically
elected parliament had taken place of Imperial Rule, theoretically reducing
the Empress Glum and her consort, the Emperor Rad, to figureheads.  But the
question of power in the Confederation was as complex and hard to define as
the city itself.
     The parliament made the decisions, but it was to Glum and Rad that the
people still looked to for guidance.  They still had direct control of military
affairs, and they had considerable influence in most matters of state.  In
many ways, it was still an Empire, when you lifted the facade.  But, as
Empires go, it was rather a fun one, so many simply ignored the facade.
     Similarly, there was more to the city than mind-bogglingly beautiful
architecture and dazzling views.  The city was immense, and the lower
levels were reputed to be considerably less glamorous.  There were even
some who said that the city didn't have a lowermost level - just an endless
series of floors, penetrating deep into the planet itself.
     It was also said that the palace extended down through every level,
that in the old, pre-spacefaring days it had been more than a palace.  But
every city had its urban legends.
     Carmine noticed that Akane was handing him what appeared to be a small
jet-pack.  He looked at her, questioningly.
     "Safety precaution," Akane said.  "The winds aren't too bad tonight,
but this city walkways weren't originally built with non-flight-capables in
mind.  Besides, this way is more fun."  Carmine raised his arms, and Akane
slipped the pack onto him, making sure the straps were secure.  "The touchpad
controls your velocity and direction.  Max speed is 20 k.p.h.  You ready?"
     Carmine gulped, and nodded.  Akane led him to the precipice, and stepped
over.  He watched her, hovering in the air, as if the walkway extended
further, even though it clearly did not.  She pressed the button on the
pack marked 'hover,' and pulled him forward.
     Momentary panic was replaced by a certain elation, as Carmine realized
he wasn't falling.  In fact, it felt as if he was standing on air, which,
techinically, he was.
     "Okay," he said.  "Let's see...this one makes me go forward, right?"
He pressed an arrow button, and immediately found himself spinning in a circle.
"Er, maybe this."  He stopped spinning, and instead shot forward, directly
into the wall of the hotel.  Akane floated over and reset the controls to
hover.
     "Allow me," she said, taking Carmine's paw and pulling him along, moving
a bit quickly, to catch up with Shadebeam, Karina, Zen, and Andro'.  Carmine
sighed, and smiled a bit.
     The city really was nice.

IS THE CITY REALLY THIS NICE, OR IS IT JUST PRETENDING TO BE NICE IN ORDER TO
     LULL OUR HEROES INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY?
WHAT IS BEHIND CARMINE'S FEELINGS OF DEJA-VU?
WILL SOMETHING INTERESTING HAPPEN IN THE NEXT EPISODE, FOR A CHANGE?
ALL THIS AND THE COSMIC ROLE OF GEOMETRY ON AN UPCOMING...SUPERGUY!

+-------- Gary W. Olson --------+        "All roads lead *away* from Ankh-
| swede@drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu  |         Morpork, but sometimes people just
+----- swede@drycas.bitnet -----+         walk along them the wrong way."
                                          - Terry Pratchett, _Moving_Pictures_