0 comments/ 9976 views/ 1 favorites Tempus Fugit By: SummerMorning "Shakulu, the mountains! Tonight the Spice Palace of Makkon beckons!" the voice seemed to reverberate in the empty steppe and swirl in the constant breeze. "Heron Gardens is close. But it has been long years, time passes," the second voice sounded pensive and the creaking of the old polished wagon was the only sound for a while. A robed man sat cross-legged at the front, guiding it with gentle touches to wagon's controls that controlled the fleshmechanic creature. The intricately carved and worked wagon shivered slightly, as though laughing. "You men, always so full of your problems! Shakulu, lighten up! Time passes, good! She's probably gone after all these years anyway!" "Wagon...not now. I'm remembering." "Right...you're fondling my controls, you know. It's the Spice Palace for you and no mistake, you need some soma and a good girl, or two, or three!" the wagon floated serenely on towards the mountains, hovering slightly above the ground. Shakulu sighed and focused on the patch of green that marked the oasis of Heron Gardens. --- Outside the window the city seemed to smoke and sizzle. Paperboys shouted the latest news; old women hawked their vegetables at the markets and ships' horns sounded out in the harbour. The little room seemed overstuffed, full of papers and books, a leather sofa and an unmade bed. A delicate, black-haired girl lay on the bed naked, gently caressing herself as she read a book. Every now and again she would grin mischievously at a young man typing away with gusto on an old and cranky typewriter. The man groaned and pulled another paper out of the machine, crumpling it up and lobbing it theatrically towards the overflowing trashcan. He missed, hitting the girl instead. She smiled and put down the book to saunter over to him. "Poor dear, your piece de resistance not going well?" she asked as she massaged his shoulders through his thin cotton shirt. He just groaned again and buried his head in his arms. "Honey, lets go to the seaside. The sun's out, summer's arrived. It's a wonderful morning," the girl slid her hands inside his shirt, scratching his chest playfully as she lightly breathed in his ear and kissed the nape of his neck. "Fine...I can't write a word that makes sense. My head feels like it's going to burst, but I can't get the words out..." he muttered, "...where do you want to go, Kali?" "Mmm...Lokrum sounds nice...I loved it the other time, when you ate bitter chocolate out of my..." Kali laughed then, tousling his long, blonde hair as she moved to the closet and started getting dressed. "Well, you know I like my chocolate like I like my girls, bittersweet." "You think I'm bitter?" "Nah...You�re an exception, I'd say you're more the biter-sweet sort," he chuckled as he stood up and stretched, popping his stiff joints. "Mare!" Kali threw a pair of panties at him in his mock disgust, even as she started laughing again. --- Shakulu shook his head as he strode along the darkening street. Wagon was smart, smarter than most regular fleshmechs. It was strange that Wagon had never asked for a different body, the Sculptors could have grown him into a human in just a year or two and with what they earned being split two ways he could sure afford it. He stopped in front of the ebony doors of the Spice Palace and had to smile. Wagon had been right; it would be good to relax a bit. The storytelling would be good here; they appreciated his talents for mood and atmosphere. Besides the Days of Iron Moons were coming, so there would be many pilgrims seeking his gifts. Shakulu gave the door two polished bone coins and it opened with a demure, "Welcome, good sir. Makkon will be pleased to see you." "Thanks," he said to the door and went inside. The Spice Palace was tastefully decorated with sparse, minimalist furnishing. Wood and leather recliners were arranged around stone tables in small alcoves. Numerous spice bowls glowed in the reddish light and he could see several late night customers dreaming in the hands of Makkon's pets. He strode down the familiar hallway towards Makkon, smiling politely at the pets and people he met along the way. At the door he stopped nervously, it was twelve years. Hopefully Makkon's relationship with her hadn't changed in that time. "Teller! You've returned!" boomed Makkon's jovial voice and with something like relief he turned around to face Makkon. Makkon hugged him tightly, her slim, black body looking stunning in a clinging red silk dress that seemed almost translucent, "Come, the pets will be absolutely delighted!" --- Kali looked absolutely stunning in the front of the little motorboat as Mare untied the mooring ropes and jumped in. The boat rocked and he nearly lost his balance, causing her to laugh again. Huffing slightly he proceeded to tank up the offboard and start it up. Soon the massive medieval walls of the seaside city were slipping past as they headed out of the harbour. A light breeze raised slight goose bumps on their skin and the spray was delightfully salty and fresh. "Mmm..." she murmured as she hugged Mare, "You look like you're making love to her." He grinned and ran his hand over the walnut steering wheel, "Kali, don't tell me you're jealous?" "The typewriter back in the apartment, the boat now...honestly, Mare, you're just like a little boy with his toys. Makes me wish I was a little toy, the way you treat them." "Baby, you like the way I treat you!" Playfully she pushed him forward, until his hips were resting lightly on the wheel. Her hands gripped his taut buttocks and squeezed, leaving a salty stain on his beige trousers. Kali snickered as he struggled to regain his composure. It was May and the cruise ships hadn't arrived yet, even though summer was already here. Nevertheless a couple of fishermen shouted catcalls at them as they went past. They continued past the two stone piers where the tourists stopped and continued towards the south end of the island, where the bleached rocks created several tiny hidden beaches. Mare dropped the anchor and rounded on her, "You�ve been a naughty little girl, haven't you?" "Who, me? No...I've been good, but you look like the big bad wolf, with that gun in your pocket!" "Nobody to see it here," he said, kissing her lightly. She returned his kiss and wrapped her arms around his muscular shoulders. Their tongues touched briefly, as they caressed each other slowly. "Mmm...That�s true," her left hand slid into her pocket and squeezed his erect cock slightly. "You're asking for it, baby," "Asking for what? I'm just an innocent little girl," she said, batting her eyelashes softly. Mare grabbed her and lifted her until she was sitting on the steering wheel, her white skirt raised around her shapely, lightly tanned thighs. "You packed the wine glasses?" his hand ran gently up her smooth skin, teasing the edge of her white bathing suit. "Yeah, you know I did..." she replied, unbuttoning his shirt and running her hands through the light down on his chest. As her hands coursed down towards his trousers he breathed roughly, before laughing. "Good, then since you've taken care of that I think a little reward might be in order." "A reward..." Kali purred, licking her lips with her soft pink tongue. He gently hooked his thumbs behind the straps on her swimsuit and pulled it down, revealing her waxed pussy and the dark, trimmed landing strip leading to it. Mare left the swimsuit around her ankles, restricting her movements as he leaned forward to kiss her on the mouth again. His hand stroked her gently, caressing her soft labia with soft, slow strokes. Kali returned the kiss, arching her back with delight, while he continued to play with her sex. She undid the buttons on her white blouse, revealing her dainty white string bikini. Mare was trailed kisses towards her left breast, when she suddenly twisted and pushed him to one side. He shouted in surprise as he tried to catch his balance, but another push from her tumbled him over the side into the cool azure Adriatic waters. Kali laughed, quickly pulling on her bikini bottom and jumping into the water on the other side. "See you on the shore, Mare!" she cried out to him before turning to swim with powerful strokes towards the shore. "Kali! I swear you're the devil's own bitch!" Mare yelled ruefully. He clambered back into the boat, hid the keys and took the waterproof hamper. Once he'd stripped down to his black swimming trunks he followed with the hamper, grumbling to himself. As he staggered up the pebbly beach she laughed at him from the top of a flat rock. "My poor, poor Neptune! Where's your trident, hmm?" "You little devil! I'll show you where my trident is!" he said, dropping the hamper and sprinting towards her. Kali jumped off the rock and was off, laughing at him. "I see the cold water's done wonders for you! More blood for your brain, maybe you'll write something now!" "You!" he shouted and pounced on her. They tumbled in the shallow water, laughing and ending in a slow, salty kiss. Her hand slipped into his trunks, massaging him slowly. Mare groaned slightly and pressed her close, his fingers quickly and expertly undoing her top. Her breasts were small, but perfectly shaped with light brown nipples. He licked one erect nipple and felt it harden even more as he teased it slowly. Kali sighed happily, while her other hand tugged down his trunks. "We can't have you getting a white bottom this year, Mare," she whispered in his ear, "I prefer my buttocks crisp and golden." Mare nodded silently, still kissing her round breasts. He picked her up and carried her to the shallow water, with the surf breaking around them. With her free hand she tossed his trunks and her top onto the beach, while continuing to explore his body with her other one. His erect penis pressed against her swimsuit, stretching it, trying to enter her despite the thin white fabric. Kali took hold of him and rolled him onto his back, straddling him. She gave him another long, slow kiss, while he pulled her swimsuit off until she was as naked as him. Gently she rubbed herself on Mare's long, stiff cock. His buttocks clenched with the pleasure and it was all he could do to resist ramming her wettening pussy there and then. His hands gripped her round, tight ass spreading her so the cool spray made her shudder with shock as it hit her naked pussy. Slowly she slid down on him, enveloping him with her tight, wet pussy. They moaned together as she began to ride him, slowly and sensuously. Time seemed to compress into a single now. The morning sunlight glittered and refracted from the water, sliding sinuously over them, keeping time to their movements. --- The sensuous pets with their almost feline forms greeted him with squeals and laughter, hugging him close and licking his face. Shakulu had to laugh, Makkon's taste hadn't changed one bit. He recognised some of them, the others had obviously heard about him. "Yes, they've heard of you," nodded Makkon, her jade eyes glittering as she read his thoughts, "Who wouldn't have heard of you. Not only one of the best tellers around, but also one of the more scandalous." "Makkon, you know it wasn't intentional!" Shakulu grinned wryly, and pushed one eager pet trying to get under his robes away. The pet looked slightly hurt, but recovered his composure when Shakulu petted him affectionately on the rump. "You're the only one saying so," Makkon said with a thin smile, then to the pets, "The lot of you, back to work! I won�t have people saying my Spice Palace is slacking! Ris, you stay." The pet named Ris was one of the females, she bowed deeply and without waiting for a word from her mistress brought a spice bowl and two fluted wine glasses to the little jet table. Makkon settled gracefully on an ebony recliner and Shakulu took her lead. "She would have liked this spice bowl, don't you think?" Makkon held the bowl out to him for inspection. He turned it over slightly, feeling the texture. Bone. Thin silver inlays glittered inside the bowl in mesmerising geometric patterns. "Whose skull was it?" he asked, returning the off-white bowl to the jet table. "Not hers, if that's what you're thinking. I'm not that evil, wouldn't taunt you like that." "Are you saying she's dead?" "No, the coffin's unused," replied the black beauty as she delicately tasted the ruby wine Ris had just poured. Shakulu had to repress a slight sigh, whether of relief or anxiety he didn't know. Before he could reply Makkon continued, "It's not here though." Shakulu's eyebrows went up, wrinkling his tall forehead. Makkon raised an elegant, thin hand to his face and ran her long black nails through his beard. His face was hard, abraded like granite by the steppe winds. The travels had left their mark and she wondered if his telling would be the same as in those far of days, when he'd lived in Heron Gardens, not yet a wanderer. He kissed her fingertips gently and looked into her gleaming green eyes. Her pupils narrowed and she breathed in sharply, his eyes were still that maelstrom of swirling colour that seemed to swallow your soul when you looked into them. She'd never believed his line, that he wasn't a mind-fucker. If nothing else because of those eyes. "You haven't been with anybody all these years," she said and his eyes seemed to blaze slightly. Makkon shook her smooth head, "acting like a petulant mortal. You're incredible. You know you're not supposed to be in love, you're a teller!" "I haven't told anything in twelve years." "Well, drink up the wine. Finest ruby from the On. Uncle's vine," she ordered and he tasted the thick, nectar. It flowed like liquid passion down his throat, coating it, seeming to set his blood on fire. "I see Uncle hasn't changed his grapes," he laughed, "Very well Makkon, I feel the nightbirds are out and the guests are here. Shall we go and dance and dream?" "Shakulu, I thought you'd never ask," they rose together and she lifted the spice bowl up between them. She was slightly taller than him and very slender, looking like a birch next to a rugged oak. Their eyes locked and flared slightly and the spice in the bowl simmered, sending its sparkling fumes up into the air. They inhaled deeply, several times, their faces beginning to glow as they ascended into the dreamtime. Suddenly they were in the large, open dance-hall of the palace. The guests were twirling around and Sat was leading the band in a wild and abandoned symphony. When he saw the mistress enter the music slowed and the musician laughed, showing bright white teeth. Shakulu held her gently, his nimble fingers running across her slim body as they danced. Slowly at first, seeming to explore one another's body, they turned across the checkerboard floor. As they moved his robes seemed to fall away, leaving him in a simple red shirt and black pants, matching her red silk garment. "Mmm...You�re still telling as well as you used to," she murmured, her snakelike tongue licking his ear and playing with his neck. "We shall see," he said and picked up the pace, Sat matching their speed with his silver trumpet. To all the guests their image seemed to flicker and double, they couldn't quite tell whether Makkon and Shakulu were having sex or dancing. Their bodies seemed blurry and indistinct, except for the glow that seemed to suffuse both of them. Suddenly they fell still, he holding her tight as the last note hung golden in the air. The guests clapped and the two of them slowly disentangled. "Still only her?" asked Makkon, kissing his lips gently. "Still. Come, the dream waits." --- Kali and Mare lay on the beach naked, clothed by the sun. She was eating an apple, each bite crunching between her small, pearly teeth. "You're looking thoughtful, baby," he said, shielding his eyes from the light as he marvelled at her sensuous body. His eyes traced her slim arms, her small round breasts, and the long mane of black hair that cascaded down her back. Mare stroked her slightly boyish waist and smooth thighs. "Just wondering you know," she took another bite of the apple, "It's so perfect here. Can it last?" "The city has lasted quite a while; I think we can as well." "You and your city!" she laughed throwing the red, half-eaten apple at him. Mare caught it with one hand and grabbed her with the other, pulling her close. "Kali, baby, you know I can't love you like I love the city," he teased. "You're horrible; I'm going to have to teach you a lesson!" "Mmm...Right..." he took a bite of the apple and nearly choked as she suddenly squeezed his flaccid cock, pulling the foreskin back sharply. He looked down and saw his cock's head caught between her white teeth while she grinned wickedly. He swallowed the apple slowly, as she began to lick the tip and the rim. "You didn't think I would bite, did you?" "With you, my demoness, one never knows..." his words ended in a gasp as she ran her teeth down the length of his hardening shaft, relishing the feel of him, his vulnerability. She looked up into his sea-grey eyes as she gently licked her index finger while clutching his balls with the other hand. "What are you planning?" "Just relax. I'm going to teach you a lesson," she said as she slowly licked his salty sack and teased his perineum with her tongue. Suddenly he stiffened as he felt her tongue on his ass, flicking and teasing gently, until it was all he could do to stop himself bucking. Suddenly Mare felt her finger press on his ass and gasped as she pushed in roughly, stretching his sphincter. She began licking his cock roughly, her tongue darting around while she massaged his balls with her free hand. He groaned as she removed her finger and she proceeded to lick his ass, lubricating it with her saliva. She pressed her fingers back against his ass, pushing three of them in, stretching him roughly. He moaned as she massaged him, running her fingers in and out while she nibbled and licked his cock. Kali enjoyed having him in control, bucking beneath her hands. She could feel him tensing, his muscles twitching. She stopped suddenly, looking up into his eyes. Her black eyes sparkled mischievously. "You like it, don't you?" she asked. Mare managed to nod somehow, "Well, so do I...but you're not getting off this easily. I just wanted you to know what I'm going to do to you tonight, now you have to pleasure me, honey!" She pulled him to her and kissed him roughly, he smiled and turned her over. She wriggled her bottom playfully as he kissed her wet pussy, smearing her juices over his face. Mare spluttered and looked at her, pretending to be angry. "Ok. Baby. Now you're going to get it!" he jumped on her, lifting her into the air. She whooped and kicked the air, but he was too strong for her and carried her easily to a pile of ash left over from the 1st May bonfire. She screamed and tried to hit him, but he dumped her unceremoniously into the ash, lifting a grey cloud. "You..." she didn't have time for words as he jumped on top of her, the soft grey-white flakes like a pillow beneath them, sticking to their wet, sticky skin. Mare kissed her gently and she curled her legs around his flanks, guiding him into her gently. The ash got in their hair as they rocked back and forth, her panting getting more and more needy. Suddenly he pulled out, causing her to start. Kali's eyes narrowed as he licked his fingers. "You wouldn't," she said trying to get up, but he quickly pressed her down with his body, pinning her. He gently massaged her asshole, lubricating it with spit. She started to relax, but suddenly stiffened again, as he pressed his cock to her ass, stretching it. "Fair is fair, Kali," he explained "I used three fingers, you lummox! Are you trying to rip me in half?" she spluttered, but her smile gave her away. She lifted her legs up and relaxed as he slid softly and slowly into her ass. Kali moaned slightly as he filled her up, stretching her. Mare began to move slowly in and out, and she began to finger herself. The intensity of the feeling, the soft pillows of ash beneath them, and the sea breeze all came together. She could barely think from the pleasure that was coursing through her, squeezing Mare's cock with her ass. Tempus Fugit --- Shakulu's eyes suddenly flickered open and the room spun about him. He got up reeling and looked around the supine figures in a shock, shivering. "Makkon!" he shouted, staggering about disoriented, the spice smoke irritating his eyes. He stumbled out into the corridor and a few pets looked at him surprised, "Where is Makkon? You! Ris! Where is she?" Ris smiled uncertainly and took him by the hand, but he brushed her off roughly. Moving on down the dusky wood panelled hallway. Suddenly he felt strong hands on his shoulders and he turned to find himself face to face with Makkon. "What was that? What the hell was that?" he was wide eyed and breathing shallowly as swabbed his brow with a wet cloth. She escorted him silently towards the ebony door, "Where are you taking me? You can't kick me out without an explanation!" "Shh, be silent." she replied, almost carrying him along. She was incredibly strong and weakened as he was he couldn�t resist her. The door opened as they approached and he saw his wagon resting on the ground, there was a bloody rent in its side. His mind reeled as he tried to make sense of what he saw. Shakulu peered into the fleshy gouge torn in his wagon and suddenly recoiled. There, in the heart of his wagon was a silver and brass casket, still half-full of bluish jelly. "Ether jelly," he muttered to himself, "Ether jelly!" With a snarl he rounded on Makkon, "You knew!" "Yes," she nodded "Where is she?" he roared, his hair seeming to crackle and sparkle. "Leave her alone, you old Coyote!" sounded a hauntingly familiar voice from the door. Shakulu turned and there stood Kali, dressed in a fluffy white bathrobe, her hair still wet from the preservative ether jelly. She laughed as he stared at her, �You really thought I'd let you go wandering around all on your own? You silly little boy!" "How did you hijack my telling?" he asked. "Hijack? Oh, come off it! Sure, you're one of the best tellers, but I know a bit about dreamtime as well! It never was your telling, it�s ours - you just had a big part." "I return after twelve years and you," he began, but she interrupted. "No, you listen to me - I love you and I'm sick of you dreaming that silly Earth all the time. It's time for you to come down to the real world for a change and stop running away from us, from me especially!" "You'll be the death of me," he laughed suddenly, feeling light and buoyant before this lovely, laughing creature. "Well yes," she smiled wickedly, "I hope I will be." "Goddess of death, hmm? We'll see, we'll see," and with a lunge he grabbed her swinging her round. "That's just for the dreams, you old trickster!" "Right! And I'll show you some tricks!" As they ran laughing towards the warm waters of the oasis Makkon looked after them, shaking her head ruefully. Sat came up behind her, putting a hand on her shoulders. "Those kids, still dreaming are they?" he asked, nibbling her ear with his sharp teeth. "Who knows? Who knows?" she laughed, embracing him gently. Tempus Fugitives In his comments on my story 'A View from the Bottom' 'Oldmarriedtar' stated that there is no cure for depression, and I tend to agree with him. My personal experience with depression is that there are three avenues open, the first is the chemical approach and this may be necessary to stabilise the condition, but it is not a cure. The second and third can be used individually or together to minimise the effects, that is to recognise the cause of the depression, and take steps to combat that cause. The reason that I mention this is, that this story is the first time that I used writing as part of the process of minimising the effects of depression. This story, my first by the way, was first written in 1986 following the breakdown of my first marriage. What my main character went through in 'A View from the Bottom' was close to my personal experience, unfortunately I did not find a good woman at that time to help me. The story took my mind off my problems for a short time, the original draft of 60,000 plus words taking just 10 days to write on a clapped out old typewriter, no mean feat when you consider my digital dyslexia. I have since then used writing to prevent myself from sinking into depression, not always successfully, but I get by. As to the story, it is a reflection of attitudes existing at the time that it was written, so situations as presented may no longer apply to the present. In the past I have posted my longer stories in stages and been criticised for that, so this time you get the whole bleeding lot in one hit, so you can read it at your leisure. BTW, my change from 'single' status is a work in progress, but I have to admit that there seems to be little likelihood of success in the short term. CM 1 I was awake. I was instructed to assume an alert mental state by the sensors attached to either side of my head. It was not an unpleasant procedure, at least not as long as I obeyed the instruction, it was more like a gentle nudge in my brain that said to me 'Leandara it is time that you were awake'. If I ignored the first message the stimulus becomes much more insistent, and painful, until I eventually react to it and rise. Somewhere in Central Monitoring a demerit is recorded against my performance record. I was not usually awake before the first instruction entered my brain but so far I had managed to wake before the second message and thus far avoided demerits. Turning to face the new day I saw the same boring walls of my same boring apartment. The very fact that it was called an apartment owed more to the imagination of the constructors and less to reality. Of course I wasn't aware at the time that the walls were boring because boring was not an emotion that I was programmed to have. It was one of many emotions that I was not programmed to have because I was not programmed to have any emotions at all But I wasn't to know that, yet. I removed the sensor pads from my temples and they retracted into the wall above me in my Passive Energy Replenishment Chamber or PERC. As soon as this action was completed the cubicle came alive. The illuminators rose from nocturnal to diurnal; the transparent panel that enclosed me shished out of sight into the wall, a set of audio-sensory modulators rose from slumber mode to fill the room with pleasant sounds that I had been reliably informed were music. Getting out of PERC I strolled, if walking two metres could be considered strolling, to the scenic view panels that took up all of three of the four walls of my apartment and looked out over the world as seen from what would have been my window if I had one. A silver flash caught my eye as one of the early morning shuttles swooped out of the sun and hovered briefly before coming to rest out of sight but, as I knew, adjacent to the terminal building at Adelaide Airport. There were several of these about to arrive and they constituted all of the visible human life forms, not that I could see the passengers in the shuttles but I knew that they were there. The green expanse of parklands was devoid of human form. Only the birds and animals doing busily what birds and animals busily do, and the trees bending and swaying in the dying remnants of the overnight gully winds, gave any indication that this scene could have been real and not some static display. It was all an illusion. My apartment was on level 23 of the apartment building that meant that I was twenty-three levels beneath the ground. There was no outward sign that my building actually existed, no doorways or windows opening to the outside world, all that could be seen from above were the trees and grass. This was because all apartments were built underground, and the view out of my view screen, like all other view screens, was via computer generated imagery beamed onto the large flat screens from a series of video cameras mounted on a slender tower high above the ground. The absence of human life from the scene was no illusion. As all urban transport was by means of the Teleport Transfer Link or TTL, there was no need for any surface transport of people over short distances. The system instantaneously relocated people from source to destination by means of a molecular refraction process. As all such journeys were monitored by Central Monitoring, there was no need for police because every person in the city was constantly tracked and their location recorded. If in the unlikely situation where a crime was committed, and the opportunity for this was in the billion to one category, then Central Monitoring was instantly aware of the perpetrator and the necessary actions were taken. Such summary punishment was seldom publicised and the population as a whole remained blissfully ignorant of any transgressions. That there were no people to be seen on the surface didn't mean that there was never anyone there. There were such Environmental Maintenance Personnel as was necessary to maintain the general appearance of natural bushland. The only outward sign that there could conceivably be an underground city was the presence of a tall communications tower in the centre of the lush bush. This tower controlled all View Screen Imagery, monitored all personal monitoring systems and controlled all communication between the City of Adelaide and the outside world. A voice entered the room through the sound system, "Good morning, I hope that you are sufficiently rested for the day ahead. The external ambient temperature is presently 15 degrees Celsius with an anticipated maximum temperature of 40 degrees late in the afternoon before a cool South Easterly breeze moves in overnight. The programmed workplace temperature has been set at 22 degrees Celsius, well within the Comfort Zone as specified in the Occupational Health and Safety parameters. Aren't you pleased to be working in such a pleasant climate?" I felt that I should hate the saccharine tones of the voice but hate was another of those emotions that I was programmed not to have. The news at 7:00 am appeared on a monitor set into the wall and was read by a particularly mono-dimensional newsreader who gave the impression that a major global catastrophe would have the same impact as the image of a person rescuing a cat from a tree. "The President of Australia has met with a delegation from the North Americas and has agreed that the reconstruction works could be speeded up if the peoples of those countries could find sufficient unaffected personnel who had the minimum intelligence necessary for training in the basic construction skills. She has insisted that all management and supervisory personnel should continue to be sourced from Australia." "In local news the Australian Sporting Federation has agreed to teach the basics of Australian Football to some of the more developed countries in Europe. In a statement made by the Chairperson of the Federation it was pointed out that of the four football codes, Soccer, Rugby Union, Rugby League and Australian Football, the latter required significantly fewer skills than two of the other three codes and was therefore within their limited intellectual capacity." "Adelaide Security Service Chief, in a statement issued at 6.00 am has announced the infraction figures for the previous 24 hours, they are as follows: Murder, nil; Forcible Sexual Relations, nil; Anti-social Behaviour, nil; Larceny, one, perpetrator has been apprehended and as he has been given three previous, and unsuccessful, opportunities for rehabilitation he will be terminated, I'm sorry that should read, has been terminated. That is the news for the moment, further bulletins will be broadcast as the information is released. Now doesn't that make you feel proud to be living in this wonderful country we call Australia." "By the way Leandara, today is Wednesday and that means that your new Assistant will be reporting for duty so you must not be late." Today was Wednesday. Today I would be getting my new Assistant to replace the one that had provided me with good and faithful service for the last ten years. She had in fact been in the job for ten years already when I started and had helped me over the first day or two until I had assimilated myself with the intricacies of the work environment of my office in the Department of Compulsory Leisure. We had maintained a polite and I suppose friendly relationship at work but that was as far as it went because the commencement and maintenance of any relationship outside the workplace was illegal, impossible and inconceivable. On Monday I had felt an emotion, at least that is what I was later told it was, of sadness when my Supervisor's face appeared on the office view screen. "Leandara, on Tuesday you will lose Panderana because she has reached the mandatory retiring age and will no longer be able to work for this Department. Today you will assist her to choose her retirement destination and prepare for the arrival on Wednesday of your new Assistant." "Can you tell me, why it is that Panderana has to retire now, she has many good years ahead of her?" "Precisely. That is why she is to retire now so that she will have many good years to enjoy the rest of her life." "Can you tell me something about her replacement?" "Of course, she was programmed twenty years ago to take this role and her preparation has been rather spectacular. She has exceeded all expected academic scores throughout her formative years. You will find her most stimulating." Today is Wednesday and the emotion of sadness passed quickly to be replaced by one of anticipation to meet this 'most stimulating' person. Thirty seconds in the Decontam Chamber and my epidermis had been scrubbed clean of all dead cells and sprayed with a sweet smelling deodorant before being inserted into my garb of office. I wore the red skin tight suit with the four white chevron insignia of an Administrative Service Officer Grade 4 in the Public Service, the role in life for which I had been cloned from a long line of Public Servant genetic elements some thirty years ago. I sat at the Energy Intake Centre and partook of the prescribed nutrients, a cereal capsule that magically changed into a bowl of grain derived flakes on the application of reconstituted lactomilk. This was followed by a container of a brown liquid that contained caffeine and several other stimulants. Having consumed this repast I was ready for the day ahead. I stepped into the Teleport tube and instantly found myself seated at my work station. There was a knock on the door and, on my invitation, my new assistant entered. I concentrated on her dossier for a minute or two before looking directly at her. "Please won't you be seated. My name is Leandara and I am your Supervisor. I don't know how much you have been told about this organisation but I will assume that you have a basic knowledge of Public Service protocol and move on from there." I took the time to look more closely at her. She was considerably different from Panderana in that her Garb of Office didn't have to strain to hold her body in place, even her frontal appendages seemed to stand straight out rather than droop like Panderana's. Her face was unlined and her hair that was cut short in what I assumed was the modern style was gleaming black as opposed to Panderana's grey. I wondered if Panderana looked like this when she first started work or if the newly cloned replacement would look like her in twenty years. This examination must not have taken more than a minute but by the time I had finished I could tell that she was not comfortable with it. "My name is Jadixna. I have been fully briefed on my duties in this place and I will probably be able to tell you more about the running of this department than you can tell me. For instance I know that the Department of Compulsory Leisure was formed from the remnants of the Department of Employment following the introduction of the WPC system. WPC stands for Workforce Projection Cloning. What this achieved was the cloning of personnel for specific tasks eliminating the hit and miss approach to careers that existed prior to that system." "Good, when we have some time maybe you can explain more about it to me. For the moment we will just have to confine ourselves to doing our jobs as best we can. How much do you know of the Retirement side of the business?" "Just about everything that there is to know. All retirement choices are entered into the Master Computer. As each is allocated, statistics are kept on the transaction keeping track of who goes where, and when they eventually move on to their just reward, records a vacancy against that destination on the Computer thereby allowing that place to be re-allocated." "I can see that you don't need me." "Hey, C'mon boss, don't get your knickers in a twist. I guess that I came across as a real smartarse, but I don't like being looked over like I was some exhibit in a zoo and I most certainly object to being grilled on my first day on the job as to how much I know or don't know about a job that I haven't even started." "From the tone of your voice I get the impression that you are offended in some way by my actions and for this I must plead lack of experience, but the language that you are using is one with which I am definitely not familiar. 'I mean to say, knickers in a twist', 'smartarse', what do they mean?" "Oh it's just something that I picked up while studying at the University. My Doctoral Thesis was on twentieth century Australia. As for the meanings, 'knickers in a twist' means upset and 'smartarse' means someone who acts clever." "That is interesting but I don't think that it would be such a good idea if you were to use that sort of language at work, certainly not while there are members of the public present." "Hey bend a little will you. Don't be so hostile until you have tried it for yourself." "I am, I will have you know, as flexible as the next person when it comes to dealing with the public, we and this includes you, must project the right image, and I'm afraid that means using the right language, not some ancient gibberish." "Okay, you're the boss, but doesn't being so bloody stuffy get boring?" "If by being, as you so colourfully put it, bloody stuffy means what I think it means then I haven't given it a great deal of thought, in fact I have given it absolutely no thought whatever." "And do you know why you have given it no thought?" "No." "It's because you are programmed not to think about anything other than what is needed for your job." I didn't much like the way that this conversation was heading, but, on reflection I was at a loss to understand why. My discomfort was rescued by the arrival of the first customer of the day. As part of her training Jadixna was to sit in on the allocation interviews for at least the first week before she was let loose on the general public. Each interview cubicle consisted of comfortable, ergonomic, adjustable chairs, a view screen, a computer terminal linked to the central Database and a palm print scanner. The client entered the cubicle and following the introductions we all settled into our chairs. He placed his hand on the palm print scanner that read the surface of his palm and immediately accessed his record, a copy of which was displayed on the view screen. A synthesised voice emerged from the speaker set into the wall above the desk. "Welcome to the office of Compulsory Leisure Frazniac. You are to follow the instructions as they appear on the view screen. You will be given several preferences as we work our way through the process. You will indicate your preferences in descending order by touching the screen in descending order of priority. I hope that you will enjoy the rest of your life. Have a nice day." The screen in front of me and out of line of sight of the client lit up with the details of the client's life from clonebirth to the present. He had been a construction engineer on the new parliament building and had reached retiring age at around the same time as the project had reached its much overdue completion. The Vidnews releases during the construction phase of the operation had explained that the initial delay was caused by strategic considerations in the site selection process. Significant discussion had taken place between the representatives of both Sydney and Melbourne as to which of those cities should be the site of the nation's capitol. The government of the day had decided in its wisdom, if one can use both of those words in the same breath, chose Adelaide for the simple reason that, if any hostile nation decided to attack this seat of government, they would have to run the gauntlet of not only the four hundred kilometre coastal exclusion zone, but would have to go past just about every major city to reach Adelaide. An example of where isolation had its advantages. The site chosen was accessed by a side tunnel from the South Eastern freeway tunnel that passed under the Mt Lofty ranges to emerge on the eastern side of Stirling. The official reason for the side tunnel was that it was as a result of a surveying error. The fact that we all accepted that explanation was a testament to the powers of persuasion of the subliminal messages that we received each night as we slept. The reason that all of this had become necessary was that the nations of the Northern Hemisphere, following the disintegration of the Soviet Union and others, each obtained through dubious and not particularly ethical means, a nuclear strike capability. When the ethnic differences between some of these countries reached the point where they could not possibly co-exist, all hell, as they say in the classics, broke loose leaving the entire Northern Hemisphere blanketed by a fall-out cloud of disastrous proportions. The ensuing nuclear winter had lasted for the last fifty years without giving any indications of significant improvement. This scenario had left Australia, as the dominant power in the Southern Hemisphere, with the task of slowly, as the radiation was absorbed or dissipated, rebuilding the nations of the world. The screen in front of me indicated that Frazniac had selected North East as his first preference of retirement destination. This part of the country had once been called Queensland in honour of some obscure British monarch but this name had been dropped when Australia assumed ascendancy over its former colonial master. The states had all been reclassified by geographical locations; thus Queensland became North East Australia while the former Victoria, also previously named after the same obscure monarch, became South East, New South Wales, East, South Australia, South Central, Tasmania became, much to the chagrin of its inhabitants, annexed to South East, the Northern Territory became North Central while Western Australia kept its original name. Tempus Fugitives The former Queensland, it was explained, was almost, before this practice was circumvented by the introduction of geographic description becoming the basis of state names, named FloJohland after a former premier an his wife who had ruled it as their own private fiefdom with little effective opposition for many years, at a time when that state was emerging as the retirement and holiday capitol of Australia. The report quoted an unsubstantiated rumour that Sir Joh and Lady Flo had requested that their mortal remains be cryogenically preserved to be revived on the second coming of their religious leader, Jesus Christ. Jadixna scoffed at this part of the report, "What a joke! Why bother to revive them when they were long past their use-by date when they departed this earth, what makes them think that they would be any better when they were thawed?" When we were alone I spoke quietly to Jadixna, "Your language when you arrived here was bad enough, but now I have to warn you that your attitude is hardly appropriate for occasions such as this. These retirees are here at a sensitive time and we are asked to treat them with a certain degree of dignity and civility. Do you think you can manage to do that?" "I understand. I'm sorry boss but I found it difficult to watch the Vidscreen without thinking that it is all a load of rubbish, especially that bit about Flo and Joh. They, or at least he, thought that he was above criticism, the law and second only to the deity. It's a measure of his arrogance that he hadn't figured out that by the time that the people realised that Jesus Christ had arrived for his second visit, under the terms of the totalitarian regime, Christ would have met the same fate that he did on the occasion of his first visit." "Oh, who is this Jesus Christ any way?" "I forgot that the modern histories have deleted any mention of Christianity, or for that matter, any other religion from the record. Except for vague references to Jesus, Mohammed and Baha'u'allah as leaders of Middle Eastern religious cults which, in the case of Christianity and Islam, were the root cause of many of the wars that raged throughout the previous millennia. Religions, for that reason, are prohibited in these times." "Where did you get all this information?" "From the University. While I was there as a student, I had access to classified databases. It wasn't all that difficult to gain access to the highest security databanks because, the powers that be failed to make allowances for someone like me who has little time for convention. I was able to extract information that has been denied access to the general public, if they wanted it which of course they don't, since the beginning of our time as the major power on earth." Our conversation was cut short by the arrival of our next client and after she had left the office I was denied a further opportunity to talk to Jadixna by a summons from the halls of power requesting my appearance before my supervisor. I stood in his office for several minutes before he even deigned to acknowledge my presence, this did not bode well. "Sit!" I sat. I waited for what seemed like another hour for the question to arrive. "Your new assistant, how is she performing?" "Fine, why?" "You don't find some of her ideas and attitudes a little radical do you?" "A little, yes, but I don't feel that it is any of my business what she thinks as long as she does her job correctly within the parameters set down for her performance. She was a little unsure of herself at first and I have spoken to her about this so I don't feel this will be an issue unless she continues to make the same mistakes." "All right I will leave at that for the time being but I must warn you that her performance will be monitored and any inefficiency will be viewed as a failing on your part." I spoke to Jadixna on my return to the office, telling her of my conversation with our superior and explaining to her about the monitoring system in the office. Her reaction was not what I had expected. Instead of showing contrition she took a small note pad from her garb of office, I hadn't realised that it was there, and wrote on it 'are you interested in what I was talking about earlier? If so blink your eyes once.' Even before I could decide what my answer would be my traitorous eyelids decided for me by blinking once. She then wrote on the pad 'I will come to you tonight, expect me just before curfew but don't say anything when I get there.' She took the pages from the pad and ate them without any hint of distaste. The afternoon passed somehow. I couldn't stop thinking about how she intended to call on me when she didn't know where I lived, there is no way that people could move from place to place without being detected, there are no passageways or doorways into my apartment, no windows that she could climb through and apart from all of those considerations there had been no social interaction allowed between people since the government had decided that war and sedition was the product of people getting together. This process had been successful in preventing war because, even if the people had the power to think that they had a grievance against the authorities they had no way of comparing notes with other people. I wondered if my thoughts were being picked up by the monitoring system that kept a check on all people. Every waking moment was continually being monitored and dissected in order that any problems in a person's performance of his duty could be modified if necessary before the next cloning. The way the world was progressing would see the Genetic Engineering section controlling all aspects of life. I was surprisingly uneasy at this thought. Jadixna had, in the short time that I had known her, upset my ordered existence. "Hey Boss what's the matter?" "Just thinking. Don't you think you could see your way clear to call me by my name instead of calling me boss?" "Sure thing, but that's not what is bothering you is it?" "No." I sighed and indicated to her to let me borrow her pad and pen. 'I think that it is too dangerous for you to come to me this evening, even if you could somehow manage it without being discovered.' I wrote on the pad and showed it to her. "It won't be dangerous as long as you don't make a sound when I arrive. I'll get there just before you attach your sensors for the night.' She showed me the message before slipping it into her mouth and eating it as before. I thought to myself that if this was to keep up I would have to get some of those pads and wondered in what flavours they came. The office closed at four o'clock and for the next hour we were subjected to the video Discs of the reconstruction work being carried out in the Northern Hemisphere. The last remains of the nuclear devastation had almost been cleansed from the land masses and new growth was beginning to form. These areas were being developed as future retirement sites and those of the surviving population who were considered sufficiently 'normal' and who had retained some inherited learning abilities were being trained as servants for the retirees. At five we were able to leave. I teleported to my apartment and set about preparing my evening meal which consisted entirely of reconstituted ingredients which formed what was in fact a bland mass of tasteless mash. For the first time I thought that there might just be more interesting foods around, even the paper that Jadixna had consumed during the day would probably have tasted better. Meal prepared I sat down to watch the evening Vidnews and while I watched it I had the uneasy feeling that just maybe things were not as rosy as they were being depicted on the screen. Nothing seemed to ever go wrong in our part of the world. Each new development was a triumph of Australian ingenuity and technology. With this country the undisputed centre of science, education, the arts and technology, all new developments were designed specifically for the betterment of our way of life. For the first time in my life I was having a problem with this concept. I found myself wondering how the other people of the world who were not as fortunate to survive the apocalypse unscathed would feel about the way that they were being exploited. After the news there was the usual array of sitcoms and dramas all of which seemed to perpetuate the image of Australians as the master race and depict the other nations as considering themselves as being fortunate just to serve the Australians. I was just beginning to worry about the strange way that my life has begun to be influenced by a person who I had only just met when she just appeared in front of me. It was all that I could do to avoid calling out in amazement. Two distinct and new emotions passed quickly through me, the first was that I was joyed at seeing her and the second was that I was feared that we would get caught out. Jadixna held her finger to her lips indicating that I should remain quiet, which was just as well because I was about to say something to her. She crossed to the monitor on the wall and placed a small box like device over it. "It's all right we can talk freely now." "What does that thing do?" "It substitutes what should be happening for what is happening." "How do you know what should be happening here?" "I had a fair idea what it was that you were supposed to be doing so I just borrowed some of their own technology and produced a simulation that should be good enough to fool them." "Oh." I had lost her after the mention of substitution and simulation. "This place and my own apartment are the only places at present that we can talk freely." "How do you know all of this?" "One of the reasons that I was assigned to you was that I was the cause of some considerable amount of trouble at the University and the powers that be did not know what to do with me, so here I am." "In what way did you cause trouble?" "Well you see I have this capacity to absorb information from a variety of sources to the point that I was willing and able to enter into debates with the lecturers and in nearly every case beat them. They found this very disturbing and took steps to overcome the problem but not before I had managed to crack their computer's security code and absorb a lot of classified information that was being withheld from the students in general. This much they did not like." "What sort of information?" "Mostly pre-apocalypse History, a subject that has been quietly lost in the computer memory and most of the professors have not even seen it. I have learnt much about the way of life back then and it has started me thinking, which is a new concept in these times of mind control that, life back then wasn't so bad after all, you see one of the basic tenets back then was the right to free thought and speech. This got me wondering why we no longer exercised that right and it led me to the conclusion that our minds were being controlled." "This in turn led me to investigate the monitoring system that we have to endure each night. This device," indicating the sensors in the sleeping chamber, "does more than monitor our sleep patterns, it also programmes us with subliminal messages. In this way we are brainwashed into accepting our existence without question." "Obviously you have overcome the system." "Naturally." As if it was the most natural thing in the world for her to have done. "And I suppose that you are about to suggest that I should follow your example." "Only if you want to." "I want to." I don't know what made me say it but the words came out sounding as if I wanted nothing more in life than to follow her, which I suppose is true although I was not yet ready to admit it. "Right! Here's what I want you to do. I will attach this device to your sleep monitor. It will record your sleep patterns while not interfering with the messages passing through. Tomorrow I want you to bring it with you to the office, give it to me without being seen by the monitor and tomorrow evening when I come I will have a device that will not only tell it what it wants to hear, but will start your education." "How do I smuggle it into the office without it being noticed?" "It is very flat and thin so what you can do is to lick the back of it and press it to your chest just before your garb of office is applied, when you get to the office you face away from the monitor and put your hand into the neck of your top and remove it, much the same way as I did this morning. The glue by the way is quite tasteless." We talked about everything and not much for a while longer before Jadixna left to return to her own apartment leaving me with my non-subliminal thoughts. I slipped the sensors on and the last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep was this sickeningly pleasant voice pointing out that I should be eternally grateful for the opportunity to live in Australia. Yuk! The redeeming thing was that if Jadixna was right this would be the very last time that I would have to listen to this rubbish. 2 The next morning surprised even me. I managed to secrete the device on my person without detection and slip it to Jadixna just as easily. That she managed to hide it in her skin tight garb intrigued me to the point that I was about to ask her where on her person she had hidden it when she signalled to me to keep my question for later. The day passed almost as uneventfully as the previous one except that I was getting the impression that the clients of the Department for Compulsory Leisure were a uniformly dull lot. There seemed to be a singular lack of imagination when choosing their retirement venues, it was beaches and tropical climate and doing nothing. Where was the adventure, the having a good time and actually doing something? Eventually we left work and headed home. My evening meal was boring, the Vidnews was boring, it was the same stories as the previous night but with the names changed, the programmes that followed were boring. Jadixna was not boring. I was pleased when she arrived but had to control my pleasure until she had plugged the new device into the monitoring system and given me the all clear. I didn't know how to show my pleasure, it was a new experience for me you know, but she took care of that. Crossing to me she placed her lips against mine and her arms around my neck she whispered "It's safe to talk normally now." "Then how come you are whispering?" "I needed to keep you calm otherwise you would get carried away. Now, this device I want you to put over your sensors before getting into your PERC tonight. It contains a subliminal history disk that I copied from the University Data Bank. It will give you an insight into what went on before the Apocalypse and some of the root causes of it." I was reluctant to let her go, my lips still felt hers and my neck would never be the same again. I was enjoying her company and while I didn't understand why, I knew that somehow it would get me into trouble. Jadixna must have felt the same way because even though there was little to say she kept talking. We sat side by side on the floor beside HERC because each apartment was equipped with only one chair and this way I could feel her closeness. I wasn't sure whether it was her closeness that was affecting me or her smell. It was something I had never experienced before. When it was time for her to leave she stood up and waited for me to stand as well. Turning to me she placed her arms around my neck and once again pressed her lips to mine. I felt something that I had never felt before. There was a movement in the area where my legs joined. Jadixna felt it also and after pressing her hips hard against mine she pulled away from me. "I had better get out of here before we do something that we are not ready for yet." "What is that?" "I'll tell you later when we are both ready for it." With that she left. I didn't sleep properly. I dozed fitfully between listening to the Discs and wondering just what possessed humanity to get itself into the situation that left it no alternative but self destruction. That this destruction should have resulted from an incident so trivial was beyond my limited comprehension but then the Discs had told me that some of history's greatest and bloodiest battles were the result of similar trivialities. Someone in the past once said that to start world war three you simply had to put two Irishmen who had been best friends since birth into a hotel and give them a drink each and stand back and wait for the skin and fur to fly. But then that was before it became politically incorrect to make such a statement. One of the more intriguing aspects of life in the past, apart from death, was the beginning of life. The Discs that Jadixna had given me touched on the subject superficially but enough to tell me that what she said and I had experienced was a precursor to that action. Our lives took a dramatic turn on the tenth night that Jadixna came to my apartment. It was something of an anniversary for us and we were holding each other close as before, our lips, as was now often the case, were locked together and our breaths were coming in short pants. What followed was not as before, Jadixna took another disk from that hiding place in her garb of office. We had been discussing procreation the previous evening and she had mentioned that she had found a video that showed how it was carried out. This time it was not one of the subliminal Discs that would be plugged into the sensor circuit but one that she managed to set up on the viewscreen. She had fiddled with some of the connections at the back of the screen and clipped some wires leading from a small box onto it. The screen came to life revealing a writhing mass of arms and legs that eventually separated to reveal that they belonged to a man and a woman who were locked in a passionate embrace. Their mouths touched once more, but instead of their arms being about each other, their hands began to move over each other's body, touching and exploring all available flesh. They appeared to become very agitated. The hands seemed to be concentrating on a couple of specific areas instead of a random number of places. I felt a hand on my thigh and it wasn't mine. I looked away from the screen to see Jadixna, eyes still on the screen, lips parted revealing the tip of he tongue. I felt a stirring in my groin region as her hand edged slowly closer. My appendage was growing, amazing. I felt my breath shortening as her hand reached its destination. I reached for her thigh. The couple on the screen had also become somewhat exited. She had grasped his appendage and was looking at it closely. One of his hands was between her legs, his fingers out of sight. When I followed his example Jadixna spread her legs apart to allow my hand access. It was then that I discovered that, unlike me she did not have an appendage. She got to her feet and peeled her way out of her garb of office and standing before me she looked so inviting that I was compelled to reach for her. Instead of coming fully into my arms she manoeuvred so that her frontal appendages were resting lightly in my hands. They felt soft yet firm. I didn't know what to do in this situation but my fingers, having it seemed, a will of their own, began to move slowly over her skin until they found the darker centre mounds. A sigh escaped from her lips and she was no longer looking at the screen. Jadixna bent forward and started to peel my garb from my not unwilling body. The sensation that followed would have rung all sorts of alarms in the Central Monitoring Centre if we had still been connected to it. Her hands were holding my appendage, not so hard that it hurt but enough that I was compelled to move closer to her, she guided me to her and we sank onto the floor, me on my back and she on top of me. Tempus Fugitives Having been led into her body instinct forced me to move my body to her rhythm, slowly, pleasure increasing with every little movement until she could hold back no more. Her body began to move in smaller but sharper movements. I was starting to worry about her but she didn't seem to mind the fact that her body was contorting and convulsing on top of me. I felt a rising momentum inside me and then my body took control and with much lunging upwards I felt something was leaving my body for hers. My spasms ceased after a short while but hers seemed to continue forever before, panting heavily, her head dropped to my shoulder and she lay there shivering. "Are you cold?" "No." And that was all that she said for at least two minutes. "Hmmm, that was the most wonderful feeling that I have ever experienced." It couldn't have been as good as mine. How would I know what she was feeling, I didn't even know and couldn't even begin to understand what it was that I was feeling. We lay there for some time, my appendage shrinking but still inside her, neither of us wanting to make the first move to separate, our closeness now much more than physical. It seemed to me that we, Jadixna and I, had become the one person, something that would not please the authorities. I don't know how long we stayed in that position, but it must have been fifteen minutes later that I once more felt that stirring of my appendage. I wasn't the only one to feel the movement, Jadixna's eyes opened with a startled look in them. She urged me over on top of her, and this time it was I who controlled the action, moving slowly in and out of her body, her hips rising to meet me at the start of each stroke. The result was the same as before, we both reached the heights of our feelings at the same instant. Her eyes were closed but the smile on her face told me that she had found the experience every bit as enjoyable as I had. Her eyes opened ever so slowly, mistily she looked at me, smiling with her whole face, "I'm going to say to you something that people used to say to each other at times like this, I love you." "If love is this new and wonderful thing that I am feeling right now, I reciprocate." After what seemed like an eternity we separated. It was getting very late and Jadixna would soon have to return to her own apartment. "It doesn't seem fair that you should come here all the time. How is that you are able to flit about the countryside seemingly at will without being detected?" "It is something that I discovered while carrying out my research. It had been rumoured for centuries that certain people were able to teleport themselves around the place any time that they felt like it. I dug deeper into the rumours and found that there was an element of truth in them. It was this same skill that we use to get around today. Being able to teleport without the machine has its advantages. You should see what I have managed to find out in my travels." "I would very much like to learn this skill. Can you teach me?" "Yes. If you want, I will include the instructions in the next series of discs that I bring over." "Great! Then, not only will I be able to visit you but it will be fun to be able to wander at will around places that we are not supposed to be in. Now you had better get out of here so that I can get some sleep, we have work to do tomorrow, remember." "What places that we are not supposed to be?" "The university. If all of this information is stored there just think of what else might be there?" "You're right. There are parts of the campus that are off limits to the students which I didn't see the need to explore at the time, but now in the light of what we have talked about, I would dearly love to get into them. There is one very strange thing about those sections and that is the people working there are positively ancient, and I'm not talking forty here, and they don't seem to be governed by the same rules of retirement that we are." "What departments were they?" "One was Temporal Physics and the other Spatial Dynamics. They must be working on a Time/Space continuum." "Go." There was a decided lack of enthusiasm on my part. "I'll go, but it is good to see you starting to think like me and question life's values." "Get!" She got. The next day we went about our duties with a certain detachment, our bodies in gear but our minds in neutral. I sometimes wonder why we had not been made redundant and our jobs taken over by the computers, after all we were processors of information. I suppose that the reason was the fact that the last thing that people wanted after working for twenty years on computers was to be faced by yet another computer telling them how they were to spend the rest of their lives. Little did they know that the choice was made possible by the subliminal messages that they received during the night and this was based on projected occupancy rates, all of which was controlled by the computer. There was no sign that our secret had been discovered but that wasn't to say that we could relax our precautions. Jadixna's visit to my apartment was worth waiting for. She had taken to coming immediately after the Vidnews, after all our work decreed that we should keep abreast of the latest news and she was not really able to attach her little gizmos before it had finished. She had by this time managed to stretch her visit to almost the entire night. To make it any longer would be to invite investigation because, while it was possible to fool the sleep monitors unless the sensors were removed immediately an alarm would ring in the Central Database that would certainly warrant an investigation, the last thing that we wanted at this stage. We were jammed as usual in HERC. "I ran that check. There is no record anywhere in the Databank of anyone from either of those sections having been processed through our department. There are however several mentions in the Obits of former members having died without having retired. The ages given are all under forty and to the casual observer that would be enough." "But you're not a casual observer any more are you?" "No I'm not. Do you know what I found out?" "Let me guess, their ages didn't match any cloning records?" "How on earth did you guess that?" I was being cynical. "As soon as we can get you mobile we will pay that section a visit. Now this tape has all the information that you need to start practising your technique. I'll plug it into your subliminal sensor and when I get here tomorrow we will give you are trial run. It might take a few attempts before you get the hang of it but when you feel confident enough we will start our clandestine visits." Two of the most enjoyable hours that I have ever spent passed before I had a chance to plug in the Discs. As she was leaving, that is after we broke off our embrace but before she physically left, I said to her, "Do you realise that we have grown so close to each other over the last few weeks that I find myself in tune with you mentally, thinking what you are thinking and knowing what you are about to say almost before you say it. If this is some sort of power that we can harness it will come in very handy in that we can talk to each other at work without fear of being detected by the central monitor." "I seem to recall reading somewhere that just such a power had been attributed to an ancient sect called witches or magicians. It was called telepathy or something like that. If you like I can research this so that we can learn it. As you suggest, it could come in very handy." Once more she left a void in my life when she returned to her apartment. This void was partly filled the next day at work but we continued to be careful with the way that we communicated with each other lest the monitors detected something unusual in our behaviour. The days dragged on while the nights sped by. Work was assuming the status of something that we had to do while the evenings together were something that we desperately wanted, not only for our closeness, which we enjoyed, but for the education. My first attempts at teleporting were, not to put to fine a point on it, a monumental disaster. I found myself in all sorts of weird places and in some interesting situations before I had worked up enough confidence to attempt my first solo trip to Jadixna's apartment. We had made the trip together on a number of occasions before I tried it myself. It worked! I don't know who was the more surprised, Jadixna or myself. It was lucky that I timed my attempt when I did as she had just finished setting her monitor screening system when I suddenly appeared in front of her. "You did it! How wonderful!" She squealed as she flung herself into my arms, "Did you ever doubt it?" "Never!" she said in an entirely unconvincing voice. "I was waiting for you, you know." "Sure you were. I caught you completely by surprise." "I did have some warning. I heard you going over your co-ordinates as you came in." "Does this mean that you have discovered the secrets of telepathy?" "Yes. It isn't all that hard once you understand the mechanics of it." Jadixna explained the direction that her research had taken and gave me yet another disk to take with me. The following morning I decided to try it to see if I had managed to pick up any of the skill. "Good morning Darling." The look that I received in response was enough to turn my knees into jelly, it was pure love, an emotion that I was only just coming to terms with. In my mind I saw her message of love and promise as well as telling me that she not only picked up my message loud and clear but that she had picked up the emotion that had accompanied it. We practised at every opportunity and by the end of the day were able to transmit and receive with incredible clarity messages without mistake. Our training period over, it was now time to travel. We chose the Temporal Physics Department at the University for our first visit. If only we could hover and survey the area before landing it would have solved some of the problems that we faced if we suddenly appeared in the middle of something that we weren't supposed to be in the middle of. We chose a clear area inside the perimeter fence from where we could observe the building to check that it was clear before we decided an entry point. We walked around the building looking for a window through which we could see what was going on inside, and by the sounds coming form inside it was obvious that something was going on. We chose the only darkened window, figuring that if it was dark it would be empty. We almost got it right. The landing was inelegant to say the least. There was a loud clattering as we hit the floor and it was then that we realised that we had landed in a cleaner's room or something for it was littered with what appeared to be the paraphernalia of the cleaning trade. The noise in that confined space was deafening so we waited for some time before venturing out of the room, ready to teleport out if anyone came to investigate. No-one came so we left by the door and walked down a passage until it opened out onto a landing overlooking a work area. There were dozens of people, all clad in the same white coats, hovering around two strange looking contraptions. There were wires dangling out of several apertures, several panels opened revealing rows upon rows of PCB's, solenoids and switches. The workers connected circuits and tested them before closing off each section. It was obvious that whatever they were building was nearing completion and we were going to be there when they were tested. "What do you make of that?" Jadixna thought for a while before replying, "There were a rumour going around that this department was getting involved in time travel. If I'm no mistaken this is proof that the rumours were in fact reality." "You mean that these things could be Time Machines?" "I don't think that it is beyond the realms of probability. We will have to wait until they test the machines before we find out what they are." "Do you think we could use one of these machines?" "Of course. Since my university days I have always wanted to witness the past at first hand, if this machine gives me the opportunity to realise that ambition, then I would be stupid to turn it up." "I wonder how many people the machine can hold." "Knowing the thinking of these university types it will have enough room for two people, if not more. Are you suggesting that you want to come along?" "Having found you, you don't honestly think that I would allow you to go back on your own, do you?" "Not afraid that I'll meet someone back there and not return?" "Of course not." I tried to sound hurt that she should even suggest something so patently stupid. I did not succeed. "Don't worry. Even if it only held one person you wouldn't lose me because, when I return it would be to now. You wouldn't even know that I had gone." The screen next to me, out of sight of the client lit up with the information that the client had been a construction engineer on the new Parliament House building and had reached the retiring age at about the same time that the project had reached its much overdue completion. The Vidnews released from time to time during the course of construction had explained that the initial delay was caused by the selection of the site. The strategic considerations had caused some significant argument from the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne who both insisted that they be the city of choice. The government in its wisdom, if one can use those two words in the same breath, chose Adelaide for the simple reason that if a hostile nation decided to attack this seat of power they would have to run the gauntlet of, not only the four hundred kilometre coastal exclusion zone, but have to go past every major city to reach Adelaide. A case where being so isolated had its advantages. The site chosen was accessed by a side tunnel from the south eastern freeway tunnel that passed under the Mt Lofty Ranges to emerge on the eastern side of Stirling.* The official reason for the side tunnel was that it was as a result of a surveying error. The fact that we all accepted the explanation was a testament to the powers of persuasion of the subliminal messages that we received overnight. The reason that all of this became necessary was that the nations of the Northern Hemisphere, following the disintegration of the major powers, each obtained through not particularly ethical means, a nuclear capability and when the ethnic differences between them reached the point that they could not possibly get along, all hell, as they say in the classics, broke loose leaving the entire hemisphere blanket by a fall out cloud of horrendous proportions. *Note: This story was written before the Heysen Tunnels were built, they do not extend as far as Stirling. The Northern Hemisphere's descent into a century of nuclear winter had begun. The radiation cloud barely touched the northernmost tip of the Australian Continent, but the effects were real enough. The mutations that followed the first season's monsoon which dropped diluted radio-active rain after the holocaust were insignificant when compared to that which emerged from the devastation of Europe, Asia and North America, which had carried the brunt of the warfare. The first animal to emerge from all of this was the rat. The rat has a remarkable resistance to radiation and disease and was therefore little affected by the situation. It found a ready diet of dead and dying animal and human corpses to which it took with an enthusiasm matched only by its hurry to breed in the face of abundance. The progeny of these survivors were larger and more ferocious than their forebears and, having no natural predators found themselves to be the dominant species. To be fair to the rat it did have a major role in the overall scheme of things and that was to rid the area of disease carrying and rotting carcasses so that when the first exploration team from Australia arrived in the North there would be little actual cleaning up to do. It wasn't until this occurred that the new breed of rat met for the first time its nemesis. The Australians, realising that the usual method of rat control would do little to curb the breeding frenzy, devised a unique form of control based on rat habit. They first gathered up all of the rats' food supplies and making huge funeral pyres, burnt the lot. The rat, having no ready supply of food stopped breeding and when it got hungry it turned on its fellow rats until the orgy of self destruction had decimated the rat numbers to the point where they were easily controlled. The other great survivor was the cockroach and it also bred in large numbers. At first the rats didn't bother with the roaches as they had better food in plenty, but when the food source stopped they swallowed their pride and ate cockroaches for a while. Man introduced the same method to control the roach as he did with the rat and that was to not only deny it food but shelter as well. Some humans either survived the devastation or ventured back too soon. The Australians coming into the area for the first time were confronted with some pretty horrific mutations. The bodies were contorted into weird angular shapes and the number of limbs and digits varied from person to person. Some could see while others were blind. Some could hear while others had lost their hearing. The language that they all spoke was a mixture of several different languages and at times seemed to consist of nothing more than a random series of grunts. They did however make willing workers and their physical deformities were put to great use in performing a variety of tasks that the 'normal' man could not achieve without discomfort. It was hard to say if the mutants felt any sort of discomfort because they were afraid that if they complained their food supply would be cut off. Australia's mutations were confined in most part to the northern extremities of the continent. There were a few human birth defects and some among the animals especially the crocodiles which scavenged on the rotting carcasses of those that didn't survive. Their mutation was in their size. They grew in both size and ferocity which led the government to ignore the protests of conservationists and introduce a program of heavy culling of the more dangerous salt water crocodile and penning the less aggressive freshwater variety. As this information was divulged on a 'need to know' basis and I, in my position, didn't need to know, this was all new to me. History didn't exist apart from some vague reference to there having been a war in which much of the world was virtually destroyed which explained why Australia was the dominant country in the world. What happened before the war didn't happen and I was getting the impression that we in Australia weren't all that powerful. Jadixna of course had learnt all of this at university and I was beginning to understand her dislike for the present world order. She insisted that it was preferable to fail doing something over which you had some control than to have no control over your life at all. Before meeting her I would have disputed this if I had been able to dispute anything but now, with the information that was being presented to me I found myself in agreement with her. It was now about four weeks after we had 'discovered' the machine and we were hidden in our vantage point overlooking the workshop when we noticed a new sense of urgency among the workers. Hatches and panels were being secured and instruments checked. Then a white coated person climbed into the machine and set about punching numbers into a control panel. After several minutes he gave a signal to his fellow workers which indicated to them that something was about to happen, then he pushed one more button. Tempus Fugitives Beside me I heard Jadixna's whispered voice. "One thousand, two thousand, three thousand...." I was just about to ask her what she was doing when she cautioned me not to say anything. She got up to thirty thousand and we were wondering when something was about to happen when the main hatch slid back and the white coated figure emerged clutching in his hand something that Jadixna told was a newspaper. The others hurried over to him and he held it out so that they could read the date on it. They immediately burst into applause and started jumping around the workshop in a frenzy of excitement. "Gentlemen, and ladies, we have succeeded." We returned to our separate and lonely apartments in an almost trancelike state, the means to achieve what we planned to do was available to us. We could see nothing stopping us. When I logged into my computer the next morning a message was flashing on the screen "Leandara report to your controller immediately." 3 It was with fear and trepidation that I approached the Controller's office. It was the first time in my long career that I had been summoned in this manner, usually there was a gentle message on the Vidscreen which was designed to make me maintain my work throughput, of course I had believed every word of it and redoubled my efforts. This time however, I got the impression that trouble was waiting on the other side of the door and while I was able to exchange thought messages with Jadixna I was unable to read the Controller's mind. I hand printed the door lock. "Please wait." a recorded voice told me. I waited, and waited until several minutes, going on an hour, later the door shished into the wall. "Please enter" the door told me. I entered. I stood staring at the top of the controller's head as she pretended to pour over the vid screen in front of her. "Sit down." I sat. I sat waiting while she continued to pour over the screen in front of her. At last she looked at me, fixing me with a glare that was designed to freeze me in my tracks. I froze. "Leandara, I am concerned about your section, just what is going on down there?" Figuring that innocence was the best reaction I reacted, "What do you mean?" "I have been getting complaints. Now your section is not one that usually gets complaints, so how do you explain the several complaints that I have personally received over the last few weeks?" "If I knew what the people were complaining about I might be able to explain them. I certainly am not aware of any dissatisfaction from any client." If I didn't know better I would almost have convinced myself. She once more consulted her papers. "I have here a complaint from a client who states that you and your assistant tried to dissuade him from the retirement destination that had been so carefully chosen for him." "Oh that. He had changed his mind a couple of times and we tried to get him to stick with his first choice." "That is not the way that it was put to me and the monitor record tends to support his version of the story." "Would it be possible for me to view the record?" "Certainly." She reached for a button on her desk and a Vidscreen burst into life on the wall behind me. I swivelled my chair just in time to see myself interviewing the client. I said a silent thanks for my habit of talking softly because you couldn't hear any of what was being said. Saved. "You can't hear what is being said." She opened her drawer and took from it a sheet of paper. "I took the liberty of getting a person skilled in lip reading to translate what has been said." She rewound the tape to the start of the interview and read from the transcript, matching word for word my words. It was an adequate translation but I felt that I had to protest my innocence for as long as possible after all, she would still believe me to still be under mind control and not even think that I could lie to her. I did. "Stop there! Now go back. Stop! Now play it from there." I sat and watched for a few minutes while at the same time looking for an innocent sounding statement that would fit the circumstances. "There! Your person said that I said 'You can't go to the Gold Coast because they are working on erosion control and you could find yourself in the way.' What in fact I said was 'You CAN go to the Gold Coast, but they are working on erosion control and you could find yourself in the way.' I was merely pointing out that he could find his retirement disrupted by the erosion control along the coast, after all his dossier indicated his retirement would be spent soaking up the sun on the beach." She considered this for a few minutes before deciding to give me the benefit of the doubt. "I will accept your explanation this time but if there are any further complaints of this nature I will be forced to take disciplinary action." I left her office with a mixture of relief and concern. Relief because I had been able to explain my way out of a tricky situation and concern because Jadixna and I had left ourselves open to this sort of accusation. We would have to be more careful in future. "You managed that one well." Jadixna's concern was profound. "How did you know I was in trouble?" I asked needlessly. "I knew as soon as you went into her office that something was wrong. She left you hanging for a while to stew before she hit you with it, then your brain really started working overtime. Even though you weren't directing your thoughts at me I was still able to pick them up so I was working on a contingency plan in case you got into it too deeply but I was glad that wasn't necessary." "Not this time any way, but we will have to be more careful in future." "I agree that we were a bit slack with our precautions and I blame myself for that. I assumed that because I am able to think more freely than you I could stay one step ahead of them but I underestimated their resourcefulness. We are going to have to tighten up our defences." "Does that mean that we won't be able to see each other outside of work in future?" "Hopefully not. Tonight we had better check out our apartments for any sign of tampering." "I wouldn't know the first thing about tampering so I wouldn't recognise it if I tripped over it." "That's no real problem, I can check yours out as well as mine. I figure that they will use the same method on both of our apartments, if they have done anything, so, when I find out what they have done I will be able to counter it even before I arrive at your place to defuse yours. Just don't do or say anything out of the ordinary until I get there." She caught my thoughts that I was feeling hurt by her suggestion that I wouldn't take precautions. "Hey come on! You don't think that I will leave you on your own any longer than I have to, do you?" "How could you suggest that I would even think of such a thing?" "Forgive me Darling, I don't know what came over me." This was the light-hearted banter between us that I enjoyed. But behind this light hearted exchange were fears that we would find ourselves discovered before we could carry out our plans. Our evenings became a ritual of checking out the progress of the Time Machine at the university as it was checked and tested, and checked and tested, before going through the archive disks on the history of the world, making love at either of our apartments after first making sure that there were no new monitoring devices. Central Monitoring, having been alerted to an anomaly in our behaviour, had taken an even greater interest in our work attitudes. This was to be the trigger that forced us to bring forward our plans. I had just arrived back at my apartment when my head was hit by an alarm from Jadixna. "Leandara, get out of there now!" This message came simultaneously with the appearance from my TTL of a heavy duty Security Personnel. I didn't stay to look at the amazed expression on his face as I suddenly wasn't there, I was immediately at the university looking down at the deserted workshop with Jadixna. "It looks safe to go down there.' Jadixna had been telepathically scanning the surrounding area so we went. "Are you sure that you know how to operate this thing?" "While I was waiting for you to get here I took a quick look inside. It seems easy enough." She punched numbers into a key pad on the console. "These are the co-ordinates that we need to take us back to where and when we want to go." As she reached for a button to start the machine a group of security police burst into the workshop. Jadixna didn't stay to exchange pleasantries with them, she punched the button and we were off to the past, hopefully. 4 Our research had prepared us for most things except the noise and smells. Our environment was sanitised to the point that there were virtually no natural smells, here we were confronted with a barrage of new and exciting aromas. The trees and flowers gave off clear fresh smells while the vehicles emitted strong acrid fumes which offended our senses. The sounds that confronted us were a confusion, people talking with each other as they walked along the paths, vehicles rumbling, screeching, blaring and roaring their way around. Our ears rang. I looked around me, "What are those buildings?" "The old university." "Which University?" "Adelaide. Now let's get out of here in case we were followed and before the locals get curious about the time machine." "How could they follow us?" "If you remember when we were watching the trials the machine didn't seem to move. I think it has something to do with the Time/Space Continuum and if they are smart enough they will figure out that by looking into it they can duplicate the settings and arrive here with us." she paused in thought for a few seconds, "It actually won't make any difference how smart they are, the settings won't change so that can take a week and still arrive here and now." "Can't we change the co-ordinates now and move to another time or place, or both?" "There's no point in doing that, because if they don't find us here they will just have to go back to find out the new settings." "If I were them I would have set the co-ordinates for a couple of minutes ahead of ours and be here waiting for us." "They are obviously not as devious as you are. Let's get away from here before they arrive." They were as devious as I would have been. As we walked away from the machine an amplified voice came from behind us. "Stay right where you are!" We didn't stay. Jadixna told me to teleport 100 metres to the South so I did and we met in an almost deserted shopping mall. Our first priority was to change our clothes so that we were less conspicuous but looking in the window of the shops was enough to convince us that we didn't bring enough money with us to buy new clothes. We were still deciding whether we should steal some clothes when we saw the first of the security police approaching. He hadn't seen us so we quickly teleported into the shop hoping that they would not look inside. They didn't, so having a little breathing space we set about acquiring a new wardrobe. The arrival of the local police was the first indication that we had that we had triggered some form of alarm in the store. The rattling of the door handle was the first indication then the shining of a torch beam into the store further confirmed our predicament. We crouched behind a counter as the light probed the interior of the store. Just when we thought that it was safe to leave a new sound greeted us, that of the door being opened, it was no longer safe to stay so we teleported outside and stood just behind the gathering crowd and watched to see what would happen. Our faith in human nature took a beating over the next few minutes when the store manager announced that while he would need to do a thorough stock reconciliation to see how much was missing, he had checked the cash register and found that all of the days takings were missing. The police questioned the man for some time, concentrating on why he would have left the takings in the register instead of taking it to the Night Safe at his bank. His explanation, while plausible, somehow didn't ring true and the police were not convinced. "As you can see sir, there is no sign of a forced entry into the store," the policeman in charge pointed pointedly to the unscathed door frame, "The door was locked, and it would seem from the outside because you had to be called out to unlock it and it is fitted with a dead lock which can't be locked by just pulling it closed, how would you explain that?" "I don't know. Maybe the burglar is still inside, maybe he got in through a ventilator and left by the same means before you got here, you did say that there was no-one here when you arrived. Why are you asking me this, you are the experts on burglaries aren't you?" "Is there any other way in or out of the store?" "There is a back door that can be pulled shut behind you, this is how the staff lock up when they are working late and I'm not here to close up." "Were you the last to leave the store this afternoon?" "Yes." "No other person was in the store when you left?" "No." "Does any other person have a key to the front door?" "Yes, my assistant manager has a key." "And you are certain that this assistant manager could not have stolen the money?" "Yes I am sure." "You are sure?" "I have already told you that I am sure, why are you pursuing this line?" "We have to be sure. How can you be so certain that your assistant could not have done it?" "The information that I give you, is it confidential?" "As far as its use as evidence is concerned, if it is an open court then it is open for the media to use unless you can somehow get a suppression order, which I doubt, but if the offender is a juvenile then no evidence is permitted to be released to the media." "My assistant could not have taken the money because she was with me at the time that the alarm went off." "Why should this be a problem?" suddenly the obvious became clear to him, "Oh, you have a wife who thinks that you a conscientiously working late to provide for her and your children while all the time you are cheating on her, them." "If you must put it that way then, yes that is what was happening." "How does the alarm work, it's not switched through to your house?" "No, I have a device like a pager and when the alarm is triggered it comes through this to me personally so that I can respond quickly." "How convenient, and you can tell your wife that you were called back to the store because the alarm went off giving you a bit more time for your extra-curricular activities." The finger print person came back from his task a t the rear of the store, "I have lifted two distinct sets from the back door which match perfectly the two distinct sets from the front door. One set I know are this man's and I presume that the other set belongs to an assistant." "Not an assistant, the assistant." "When can you be certain of the ownership of the prints?" "In the morning, after I have got the prints from the assistant." "I'm afraid sir, that at this time all the evidence is pointing to an inside job." This point was not lost on the manager. "Well then the evidence must be wrong. There is no way that either myself or my assistant could or would have done this." "Maybe it is not a case of either or but one of both?" "I believe that my best interests will be served by contacting my lawyer." "Whatever. If you don't mind before you rush off to your lawyer, I would like the name and address of your assistant." "Her name is Janine Grahame and she is sitting in my car if you must talk to her now. I will of course be advising her to say nothing until I have discussed this whole thing with my lawyer, who will, I'm sure be only too happy to represent her as well." The police and store manager left in the general direction of the end of the mall and left us alone outside the store. We went inside and decided that as long as we were supposed to have stolen all of the money we may as well find where it was kept and help ourselves. It didn't take a mental giant long to find the concealed safe and it didn't take the same mental giant long to find the key to the safe beneath the cash drawer in the register. Inside the safe there were several thousand dollars, it was obvious that the manager had little faith in the bank, or he was operating on a cash transaction basis and didn't want the taxation department to find out how much he was earning. We took just enough for our immediate needs and left the store to find some form of temporary accommodation until a more permanent base could be found. As we were new to this sort of thing we decided to ask someone and the most obvious person was a policeman. "Excuse me," I said as I approached a familiar looking figure, it was one of the police who were in the store, "We are new into town and our luggage has been held up in transit, so we are looking for somewhere to stay until our stuff arrives, do you have any suggestions?" "That depends on what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend." "While money is a little tight, we want something comfortable." "What about a motel?" "I suppose so." My thoughts were racing, what the hell was a motel? "There is the Travelodge, it's pretty expensive but nice and then there are a few cheaper and just as comfortable ones on the other side of the parklands." He listed off several and gave us directions to them. Thanking him we left. This was the beginning of our troubles for the evening. Arriving at the motel we were greeted less cordially than one would expect. The inconspicuous name we had chosen seemed to provide the receptionist with some form of amusement. "Mr and Mrs Smith, you have your luggage with you?" "No, you see it was misplaced in transit, we only have this small bag between us." "How inconvenient for you. And how will you be paying your bill, cash or credit card?" "Cash of course." "Of course. And how long do you intend staying?" "One or two days, at least until we find somewhere permanent." "Would you be wanting a double or twin room, or would you wish the honeymoon suite?" the Receptionist sneered. I didn't have a clue what the honeymoon suite was but I thought that accepting it would humour him, "The honeymoon suite sounds just right doesn't it Darling?" "Why yes," Jadixna simpered following my lead. "Very good." He reached for a key and walked around from behind the counter. "Follow me." We followed. He led us to the honeymoon suite which was quite different from the Spartan accommodation to which we were used. "There is the bathroom," he indicated a door at the rear of the room. "If you feel the need for a cup of tea the facilities are here and in the mini bar you will find a complimentary bottle of champagne." He at last left us to ourselves and we took the opportunity to explore our first taste of twentieth century living. We opened and shut doors and peered into cupboards and cabinets. At last we arrived, simultaneously, at the bed. It was huge compared to the narrow lonely sleep platforms of HERC. We jumped on it from different sides and bounced together in the middle, laughing we held each other for several minutes, just savouring the moment then, slowly, we began to undress each other until we were both naked. We were just getting our rhythm worked out when there was a knock on the door. Scrambling back into our clothes I walked over to the door to be greeted by our leering receptionist. "Have you filled in your breakfast menu card yet?" "No, where is it?" He indicated a card on the table. I looked at it in some confusion. I recognised none of the stuff on it so I ticked a couple of items from each section but by the way that his eyebrows arched up into his hairline when he glanced at it, I felt that my selections were less than normal. Oh well, time will tell. Tempus Fugitives Chuckling to himself he left us to resume our encounter and I got the impression that this was a deliberate ploy on his part to upset the amorous adventures of the clients. Our first real embrace as 'husband and wife' left all of our cares forgotten. Our hands and lips seldom left each other and our bodies clasped each other, even in sleep. It was the most glorious night both of us had ever spent and I hoped that there was some way that we could make it never end. End it did. We were lazing in bed after yet another session of love making when there was a knock at the door. I scrambled out of bed and dragging on my trousers went to the door. There was no-one there. I peered around the courtyard to see a woman place a flat metal dish thing on which were several metal containers on the ground outside one of the other doors, tap gently on it and move on, pushing some sort of cart in front of her. I looked down and sure enough there on the path outside our door was a similar tray. I picked it up and carried it inside. We sat on the bed and explored the contents of the containers. One of them, a silver cylinder with a spout and handle, was filled with a similar brown liquid to that which we had in our time, but this stuff had a pleasant aroma, another had a cold white liquid that we were unfamiliar with, and two boxes with pictures on them depicting the contents in a bowl with the white liquid being poured over it. We emptied the contents of the box into a bowl and poured some of the white liquid into it. The taste was bland but the texture was interesting and it crunched as we bit into it. Under one of the other dishes was a couple of square shaped pieces of a brownish spongelike substance. On the side of the dish were several small packages, some of which contained a yellowish substance that didn't taste very nice. One of the other package contained this black paste that tasted very salty and not at all pleasant while other packages contained a brightly coloured and sweet paste that tasted quite nice. We worked our way through each of these items as we discussed our movements for the day. The first task was to find somewhere more permanent to live. We would then have to find a way to earn enough money to support the programme that we were about to put into action. The receptionist was again on duty when we walked into the foyer. His tone hadn't changed. "Did Mr and Mrs Smith enjoy themselves last night?" "Mr and Mrs Smith did in fact have a very wonderful time last night. Now we are about to check with the airline to see if our luggage has turned up." We left him on that note and walked out into the clear crisp morning. The grass of the parklands was green and felt soft under our feet as we walked over it. The birds in the trees seemed oblivious of our presence as they whistled and squawked their songs to the world. We were not used to this sort of thing and, as we strolled, we luxuriated in the experience. As we walked in the parklands we passed a number of people dressed in abbreviated clothing loping towards the city. The expressions on their faces ranged from relaxed enjoyment to flushed agony. A strange way to behave. Other people propelled themselves along on flimsy two wheeled contraptions, but the vast majority of them sat behind a clear screen in those noisy, smelly, fume belching monstrosities. With fixed expressions they stared at the patch of road immediately in front of them and reacted violently when anyone dared to intrude into their field of vision. Coupled with this lot were several large vehicles containing dozens of people also staring fixedly, this time at the back of the head of the person in front of them or the pilot as he navigated his way through the streams of vehicles, stopping every now and then to release some of the occupants. The first obstacle we encountered was that we could not prove that we were the people that we said that we were. We couldn't get an apartment because the agent wouldn't accept our word that we would be model tenants, he insisted that we produce a reference from a previous landlord attesting that we had never missed out on a rent payment or left an apartment in a dirty or untidy state, or had absconded with furniture or fixtures from previous apartments. Even our offer of cash for the first month's rental didn't change his mind. This was a problem that we hadn't foreseen, and one and one that we would have to solve and solve quickly. The less attention that we brought on ourselves at this time, the better. We decided to return to the time machine and go back further so that we could establish some sort of useable identity. Next problem, the Security Police were keeping a close watch on the machine. Jadixna was quick to formulate a plan of action. "Darling, I want you to use your extensive powers of persuasion and create a diversion that will keep them occupied for at least two minutes. Then I want you to teleport over to the parklands opposite the motel. If we get our timing right we can be there and gone without anyone noticing us." I wasn't sure about my powers of persuasion but I had a job to do. I walked among the students for several minutes until I heard the right conversation, a group was involved in a heated discussion about the American involvement in Australian politics. I walked over to them. "Do you people realise that, at this very moment there are several members of the CIA on campus?" "Where?" The response was immediate and encouraging. "Not far from here, they are hiding in some bushes watching a contraption that has appeared there." The person I spoke to called for quiet, "Hey people, people," he had their attention, "On campus, right now are some CIA infiltrators, what are we going to do about it?" "Let's get them!" The vote was almost unanimous and I was getting more and more encouraged. Just then a small voice from the fringes of the crowd spoke up. "Wait a minute. If we start another fracas we could find ourselves in trouble again." I was now less encouraged. "But they are here right now." "But we still can't get involved in any trouble, you remember what the Chancellor said to us the last time, we were given a final warning." My encouragement had just disappeared. "Wait a minute!" I was getting desperate. "What if they were the ones to get into trouble?" "How are you going to manage that?" I looked around until I found a female member who looked as if she could turn the head of any normally virile male. "If one of them was to make an unwanted attack on your person, how would you react?" "I'd give him what for." She was quick to pick up the train of thought. I didn't know what she meant exactly, but it seemed close enough. "All right, what I want you to do is to walk past them and then stop, turn around and go over to them and ask directions to anywhere. Make sure that no-one else hears your conversation, he probably won't know where you want to go, but when he replies, I want you to be standing close to him. I want your reaction to be as if he had made an indecent suggestion to you. Leave the rest up to us, do you think you can do it?" "Is the Pope a Catholic?" I didn't know what her reference to this Pope person had to do with what I had asked her to do, but I got the impression that she was willing and able to do the job. Off we set, they chatting amongst themselves and me hovering in the background. She was good, no, to give her true credit, she was brilliant. She was walking a few metres ahead of the group as if she wasn't a part of it. She strolled past the guards, stopped, looked around her as if lost, opened a folder that she was carrying, looked again and then turned to the security police. We couldn't hear what was said but the reaction was spectacular. "You filthy bastard! I ask for directions and all you are interested in is getting into my pants. Who do you think you are!" Needless to say he protested his innocence, "What are you talking about. I made no such suggestion!" "Bullshit! If you think that you can worm your way out of this one you've got another think coming." I strolled over to them, "What is going on here?" "This slimy creep thinks that just because I can't find my way around the campus I'm a helpless female who he can take advantage of. I ask this pig for directions and he suggests that in exchange for his help I should allow him to fuck me!" Again he protested his innocence. "She's lying. I made no such suggestion, ask my friends here." His friends were about to help him out when she continued her attack. "What the fuck do you think his friends are going to say? 'Sure we heard him ask her for a fuck!' Of course they'll support him!" I walked over to the crowd, "I'm a member of the faculty here, what seems to be happening?" "This pig here wants to fuck me! All I wanted was directions and he puts the hard word on me," She turned to her alleged assailant, "What accent is that? American? You think that you can come to this country and inflict your slimy American chauvinistic WASP attitudes on us. You're definitely not a Mormon are you?" Both side took up the argument with vigour. I sidled away from the melee and looked to see how Jadixna was getting on with the machine. As the crowd grew in size I noticed that the original group of students had also extracted themselves from it and drifted off, satisfied with their efforts. I walked over to the woman who had stared it all. "That was brilliant to watch, thank you." "No worries. I enjoy stirring up things like that. Why did you want me to start something, it wasn't because of any patriotic fervour or anti-American attitude and what is that machine over there to you." Indicating the Time Machine. "The less you know about this the better. All I can tell you is that we are the good guys in this." "You are definitely not a student. Who are you and what are you doing here?" "Would you believe it if I told you that I was doing post graduate work in Temporal Physics and the dynamics of Time and that the machine that you are looking at is a Time Machine." "Yeah right, pull the other one it has bells on it." "Believe what you will." Jadixna's head appeared above the console and she gave me the signal that all was ready. "I haven't got time to stand here talking to you, I'm running late for an appointment." "Maybe I'll see you around. I would like to know more about this Temporal Physics" I could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't sure what to believe. "Maybe." I walked away from her and as soon as I was out of sight I teleported to our rendezvous point to find Jadixna waiting. I scrambled into the machine, Jadixna set the controls and once more we were mobile. The acquisition of ID wasn't as difficult as we had originally thought. First we opened a joint bank account, then armed with the bank details we applied for a Drivers Licence. With the Learners Permit in hand we returned to the motel. We then went out and hired a computer with a modem which we connected to the motel's power and phone lines. Jadixna then proceeded to access the computer records of the bank and Motor Vehicles department. She teleported into the Motor Registry long enough to gain a valid access code so that she could tap into the system without having to search for codes and passwords. In no time at all we had current Drivers Licences and bank details which showed that we had been affluent customers of several years standing. With this information we approached another rental Agency and had no problems leasing an inner city Town House which was comfortable and unobtrusive and which suited our immediate needs. With forced and false reluctance on both sides we bade farewell to the motel and its Receptionist. We now set about acquiring the wherewithal to carry out our plans. Money, and in vast quantities. Our plans required us to obtain as much money as we legally could in the shortest possible time. We also had to make sure that anything we did and any method used would be up front and open to even the most intense scrutiny. If our plan to take control of the World's economies and Governments was to succeed there was not to be one hint of wrong doing on our part, even though evidence had indicated that there seemed to be sympathy for anyone who could get the better of the Government. Cross Lotto, that maker of instant millionaires was our first venture into the realms of money acquisition. By zipping into the future we were able to get the winning numbers of the following week's draw and submit one or more entries with those numbers thus gaining a lot of money quickly. We gained some notoriety as the luckiest people in the country when the media picked up the story after we had one the first division prize three weeks in a row. We were interviewed anonymously by the major television networks and by representatives of the Lotteries Commission. We confounded them even more by picking the winning numbers four weeks in a row, something that had been thought to be mathematically impossible and something that caused considerable angst within the halls of the Lotteries Commission. If the general public had known which was our door they would have clamoured to it but luckily for us they were kept in the dark. The Lotteries Commission could see interest in Cross Lotto dropping off as people got bored with us winning all the time and their own chances of gaining instant wealth being eroded. We saved them by publicly destroying the computer disk supposedly containing the probability program which enabled us to so accurately pick the numbers. We did receive several very tempting offers from people interested in buying the disk but felt that we couldn't in all honesty sell them something that didn't exist. Having become instantly wealthy we set about establishing ourselves in legitimate business enterprises. Jadixna, using her assumed identity of Susan Smith, her knowledge of computers and programming, and Résumé that we had concocted, had gained work as a Computer Programmer with a company that had contracts with various Government agencies. By introducing the 8th generation program from our time she was able to write programs well within the contracted time frame that were not only fast and efficient in operation, but had both a self diagnostic element built into them which allowed the program to not only diagnose faults within the operation, and a fuzzy logic program component that allowed it to repair any glitches. She was so successful with this position that within one month she was offered a Directorship and given a substantial share holding. This position also enabled her to gain access to passwords and access codes which allowed her to gain information that would assist our goals. Not entirely legal but who would find out. I obtained employment with a Management Consultancy company which specialised in executive appointments. I was able, by using the Time Machine and teleporting around the place to accurately find the right person for the positions for which we had to find people. All the while I was keeping my eyes peeled for people with the necessary credentials in the commercial and legal professions for the company that we were planning to establish. It was a front for the other companies that we would be establishing later. One of the people who had come to my attention was Micha (short for Michelle which she hated almost as much as 'Shelley') Longmuir, the young Thespian who had given us the valuable breathing space at the University when we needed it. I hadn't realised at first, when she came into my office for an interview for a legal position that I was handling for the consultancy, that it was her, and it took some deft talking to explain to her how someone who was undertaking Post graduate studies in Temporal Physics would be working as a Management Consultant. I was pretty certain that I had been successful at covering my tracks, but I wasn't prepared to take any chances. She accepted a temporary position as an Articled Clerk with a Law firm and I took the opportunity to tell her that I was planning to establish my own company and would be in a position to offer her a full time permanent position. Also filed for future reference was Tony Phillips whose previous position had been with a marginally legal firm of Bullion and Commodity Brokers. He had the expertise in the legal niceties that we would be looking for in that area. Given our resources of time travel we had decided that Commodity Trading would be the area that we would most be able to exploit successfully. We had given ourselves three months to become established within the business community and that time was now at an end. I left the Consultancy after announcing that I had been offered a position in an investment brokerage. Jadixna left her position, while retaining her directorship, using a similar excuse. What was not immediately obvious, even under the most intense scrutiny, was that the brokerage company for which we were to work was in fact our own. By establishing a confusing system of holding and shelf companies operated by non-existent family trusts, we had distanced ourselves from direct involvement in the ownership of the companies. Our suite of offices were small but impressively furnished. It was located in a multi-storeyed building close to the commercial centre of the city. We had the necessary computer links, computers, printers and fax modems installed. The reception area was furnished in black leather and chrome. The potted greenery was hired and well maintained. The magazine racks next to the leather lounge chairs contained the latest issues of Rydges, the Bulletin, Time and Newsweek, Business Review Weekly, the Financial Times and folders containing computer printouts of the most important transaction from the international commodities market. On the surface of it a thriving brokerage with a large client group. One thing that we didn't actually have was a large client group. While we didn't discourage clients, we didn't go out and encourage them either. We had a receptionist who was both decorative and efficient, and whose job it was to make sure that the reception area remained spotless and to fend off enquiries. Margaret Loveridge was in her mid thirties and had been trying unsuccessfully to gain employment after spending the previous fifteen years as firstly one of a pair of parents and then a solo parent. Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for her, was that the previous positions for which she had applied didn't recognise that the skills level that she had maintained, by undertaking voluntary work for school and sporting organisations, made her at least as competent as the other applicants for the position. The Underhill Corporation, Commodities Brokers, was now in business. Jadixna was working on a method of fund transference by which we could move money around the world at will. She set up a system of electronic fund transference using the fax modem by which money could be debited or credited to and from accounts in any bank or financial institution without us ever having to carry out the transactions personally. Micha was looking through the various Company Laws for legal loopholes that we could exploit. I was busy flitting around in time researching commodity futures. Tony would follow my instructions and invest long or short as dictated by the information I supplied him. He began to express his amazement that I, a commodities Luddite, was able to predict with uncanny accuracy, the rise and fall of prices. For instance, I told him to sell the equivalent of 10,000 ounces of gold futures at the existing price of $356 per ounce, then in three months buy the whole lot back at market prices. What in fact happened was that I was gambling money that I didn't actually have on the fact that the price of gold would fall over the next three months. On the initial transaction I made the modest profit of $240,000, then, in an effort to recoup some of his losses the broker that I had sold the original parcel of futures to decided to gamble on the price of gold falling even further and offered to buy them back in three months at market price. What he didn't know was that, following the initial fall and due to a weakening of the American Dollar, the price of gold rose sharply and the broker was forced to buy back at $417 per ounce. On the entire transaction covering a period of six months, I had earned $1.09 million that would stand up to scrutiny by the Stock Exchange and anyone else interested.