The Impossible Future: Complete set by Frank Kennedy (e novels to read online TXT) 📗

Ben threw up his hands. “If this will give you some comfort, I’ll answer your questions best I can. But it’s a reality we’ve all had to live with for fifteen years. I guarantee, knowledge won’t change the outcome.”

“Because I got what … something like five hours to live?”

Ben nodded as he looked at his watch. “And nine minutes.”

Jamie faced the lake. He felt much older, but none the wiser. He listened with little patience as Ben verified what Lydia told him about the Jewel’s incubation, how it received Caryllan Wave energy, and was resequencing his DNA. At the end of eight hours, he would die, replaced by a new personality primed as a Berserker.

“We’ll be able to return the hybrid to our people on the other side of the fold.” Ben touched Jamie on the shoulder. “What they do next, I have no idea. There was talk of an army of prototypes, but it’s been years. Plans might have changed. The Chancellors behind the program might have lost power to The United Green. Jamie, do you really want me to keep going?”

“Why the hell not?” His voice faded. He shrugged. “I mean, if I only got five hours until I become a nuke - if this is all I got, then better now than later. Right? Hell, Ben, maybe I’m just one of them pricks that’s gotta know every little detail. Or maybe, dammit, you owe me.”

Ben wanted a drink. “That’s what our parents said about a month after we arrived. ‘You owe him,’ they said. ‘Be the best brother you can.’” He paused, staring out across the dark lake. A few distant house lights speckled the shoreline. “Yeah, so I owe you. You want to know about the fold and how we got to this point? You really want to know?”

“Yeah, bro. I really do.”

Ben sighed. “These folds do not appear at fixed points in space. Like Earth, every solar system, every galaxy, they are constantly moving. If the rotation of this Earth and the other were identical, the fold rift would be easy to find. But the rotations and revolutions vary by seconds, and that’s enough - especially over a period of years. Without Chancellory tech, without Caryllan energy, the rifts are almost impossible to track. It’s like walking through a hall of mirrors and never finding your way out. Dammit, Jamie, you have no idea what we sacrificed to reach this day.”

Jamie’s head began to hurt. “Here we go. Now the pity party. I’m the one’s gonna die, but this whole mission hurt you, too. Whatever, bro. So, let me guess: Your mission didn’t go as planned, huh?”

Ben’s eyes drifted toward the stars. “I was 8. You got no idea what it was like; I gave up so much.” He coughed. “Mom and Dad said we were going on a great adventure. They said studying a primitive culture would enlighten me.

“The observers brought a small transmitter that allowed us to maintain the lock on the fold rift. We used it long enough to upgrade local tech in order to detect a Caryllan pulse. First, we used pagers. Recently, we turned our phones into receivers.

“I lost the most important fifteen years of my life, J. Everything a Chancellor might become is determined by the age of 14. If I went back now, I wouldn’t know how to fit in.”

Jamie tried to push everything he was hearing into the far, hidden depths of his consciousness.

“I don’t give a shit about how you’ve you lost fifteen years on account of me. The one time I’m actually the center of attention, and you still try to turn it all back on yourself. Unreal.”

Ben reached out to Jamie, who recoiled. “I know, J. Trust me, I know. But you have to understand: They took me from my home. The Earth I left behind … you wouldn’t recognize it. Think if you lived in the Dark Ages and suddenly you were thrust into the 21st century. Your mind couldn’t conceive it. So how about the 54th century? The difference is beyond comprehension. It was stunning, it was exciting, it was dangerous. But it was my home.”

“Home?” Jamie couldn’t look Ben in the eyes. “Is there where I break out the violin?”

“Please. Let’s focus on the time we have left together. You are going to start to feel changes the closer you get to the rebirth. Have you been seeing or hearing anything unusual? Experiencing distortions in reality?”

The sounds of a million crickets and shattering of glass remained fresh in his memory, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it.

“Unusual? You mean like my neighbors trying to waste me? Lydia told me that Rand and Queen Bee are trying to kill me because they decided the rebirth is a bad idea for everyone. What about you and the Hugginses?”

“We believe the same as Mom and Dad. You deserved to have a full life, and we tried to give you as much of one as we could. But we can’t stop the program.”

Jamie let go of the railing and started for the sliding door.

“Full life? Dude, my whole life’s been a lie. Mom and Dad were the worst. You know how much I loved them? You know how much I missed them? Now they ain’t worth my tears. None of you people.”

Jamie grabbed the sliding door and yanked it open. Ben raced after and grabbed him by the shoulder, but Jamie swiped him away.

“J, there’s a third option. It may give you a chance at that full life.”

“What? You already said that ain’t gonna happen.”

“No, I can’t prevent you from dying. But there may be another way, if you’ll just …”

Jamie sped through the kitchen. He listened for voices and took a hard left into