The Great Altruist (42 page)
In the time that he worked aboard the base, Archer overheard many late-night crewmembers discuss the future with a pessimism he was unaccustomed to hearing. Often, discussions turned philosophical, with nearly all of his assistants concluding that humankind would never put Archer's machine to good use. Curious of their fears, he decided to engage the time machine for the first time. While he often used pieces of fruit to verify the machine worked in
the laboratory, tonight he wanted to use it alone and learn for himself if the crew was right
–
if humankind would ever make it out of its technological adolescence.
Archer activated the machine and disabled the computer from logging the machine's activity, a feature he designed to make sure it was only used with sufficient authorization first. Since he considered it still to be in the testing phase, he felt no need to report exactly where he was going. He programmed the machine's target date to one thousand years in the future, the geographical coordinates somewhere in the heart of New York City. He stepped inside and, a moment later, disappeared in a flash of blue light.
Archer stood in silence, unsure that he went anywhere at first. Until he opened his eyes and looked around. There was not a single person in sight. There were no animals. No buildings stood where he imagined they would. Instead of skyscrapers, there were mounds of grass all around, trees growing atop them. The only remnants of civilization were the occasional stainless steel objects that littered the wasteland. He dared not move as the time machine in the past was programmed to transport him back in a few moments.
With the exception of the wind, Archer did not hear a sound. The sight of his civilization in ruins shocked him. Finally, just moments before he disappeared, he found a sign of life: a lonely cockroach brushed past his foot. In a second flash of azure light, Archer returned home.
A few days after Val arrived, she was called by Roger for assistance. True to his advice, Val spent most of her time reading books from the library, eating to her heart's content, and, despite the tough exterior she presented to Roger, she came to grip with her husband's death. Although he never mentioned grieving as something to keep her occupied, she saw how wise Roger was for giving her enough time to adjust. Finally, on the third day, she was ready to participate in her new mission.
“Are you well-rested?” Roger asked as she followed his directions to the strategy room.
“Yes,” she replied into the mic on her earpiece. She descended several decks lower to reach the communication hub of the rig. Adjacent to the control room was the strategy room, where Roger stood patiently waiting.
“Is everything to your liking so far?”
“It is, actually. The room is a bit quaint, but still cozy. In fact, I'm starting to like it more than that monstrous house I had before.”
“Most of us lived outside of our true means or necessity. It's been a welcome change for all of us coming here and living as a family. You'll find you learn to cope with differences better when you're a thousand miles from land.”
She laughed. “I'm not here to play den mother, am I?”
“Not at all. In fact, you'll meet a few of the other women later today. For now, I wanted to give you the grand tour of the strategy room. This is one of the few places that are restricted to the celibates. This is where we discuss plans and iron out problems that will inevitably arise.
“This is also the room that houses many of the security items we'll need after our mission succeeds.” Along the wall was a large cabinet that opened with the key Roger had around his neck. He reached inside and removed several large weapons. “These, for example, are some of the weapons we'll be using when we
begin our campaign to secure the device we need. We won't have a need for them when it's time to repopulate so they'll be destroyed. We secured them last week while Archer was retrofitting the vessel for flight. As far as he knows, his machine has never been activated.”
“What do they do?” she asked as she reached for one of the weapons and studied it.
“The one you have there is particularly lethal. We lost a member of my security team to one of these things in the future. Fortunately, there was nothing left for anyone to identify him. That's what it does: vaporizes human beings. I'm sure glad the future is no less barbaric than the present, aren't you?” he asked sarcastically.
After examining the gun a moment longer, and scared to push any of its buttons, she laid it down on the table in front of them. Roger placed it inside the cabinet and locked the door.
“Roger, I hope you don't think I'm prying, but...” she began.
“My organization is an open book to you, Val. Ask whatever you'd like.”
“Well, you've mentioned the hundred civilians for the repopulation and the twenty or so celibates for governing, but what's to become of everyone else? The crew, for example.”
“I'm afraid that's where I've been a little deceitful. You see, the crew is here for a paycheck. True, they believe in the mission and believe they will contribute in the new society. However, when the time comes, they won't be coming with us. I want no one in the new world to be concerned with greed; we will all work to better each other and ourselves. Does that sound harsh to you?”
“No,” she said. “I suppose no more than the mission itself.”
“My wife and I used to lose sleep over this, Val. But there's no other way. There's no other solution short of divine intervention; and the present system cannot be fixed.”
“I understand. All I want is unity.”
He smiled warmly at her. “Good. Please, feel free to explore the rest of the ship. Decks labeled in blue are for Archer's use, though, so I hope you'll keep our arrangement for the time being.”
“Of course,” she said. “Please call me if you need anything at all.” With that, she left and returned to her room. Once there, she slipped into a bath and then to bed.
Deep in the heart of the New World Organization's floating home base was the Conference Room. In the center of that room was a perfectly round steel table. Around that table sat the twenty-one future leaders of humanity.
Roger sat quietly among the men and women he called his brothers and sisters. Many of them were people who were with him before Jennifer died, and some more recent acquaintances, like Val Ferguson, their youngest member. She was introduced to everyone here shortly after she arrived, and was well liked already.
“Well, friends,” Roger began as he passed a stack of booklets around the table, “the time has come to prepare for the next phase of our mission. Doctor Archer tells me the time machine is finished, but it will still be a little while until our vessel is completed. Still, I thought it a good idea to finalize our new constitution for when we return and begin to govern.
“The one thing that probably jumps out when you look at page one is
the extensive moral requirements for our leaders. You already know of our celibacy
–
which, for the record
–
will not be enforced until we assume our place as rulers. This isn't to say I'm encouraging any wild parties, but if there's anything anyone needs to get out of their system, now's the time.”
The group smiled at each other as not a few of them shifted their weight out of discomfort – but not Val.
“The requirements are pretty straight-forward, and with the exception of sexual relations, we will expect the civilians to adhere to the same standards. Most of the items listed should be foregone conclusions – no murder, stealing, adultery, et cetera. One item that I have kept under wraps for some time is concerning the surprisingly small number of women among us. This was not by accident. It was Jennifer's original plan, and I've always agreed with her, that the three of you ladies will have the real power among us.”
Val looked up in surprise by the announcement. Despite her assumptions, the men at the table nodded in approval of Roger's suggestion.
I never thought I'd see the day
, she thought.
“We still have a lot to sort out, and I'll get an itinerary of the mission together for all of you. The next few weeks will be busy around here as I'll be going over many of the technical issues with Doctor Archer and getting the civilians motivated. Until now, they've been keeping busy in the recreation room, in the gymnasium, and to be perfectly frank, a few of them have begun their assignments as reproducers in earnest. No pregnancies to speak of, but not for any lack of trying on their part.”
The group chuckled nervously and shifted uncomfortably again.
No wonder some of these people were chosen for celibates
, Val thought.
They're a bunch of prudes!
“Anyway,” Roger went on, “I fear our civilian friends will begin getting bored. They've already sworn to keeping Archer in the dark, and to be honest, I think they're getting tired of his optimism. I'm not sure how we can sequester him any further, but I'm sure a solution will present itself. Are there any questions?”
The group collectively shook their heads.
“Okay, well, if any part of the constitution doesn't make sense, you all know how to reach me.”
The celibates were dismissed a moment later, they all filed out, leaving Roger and Val seated alone.
“So, the women in charge, huh?” she asked.
“Surprised?”
“Yes, pleasantly.”
“I thought you would,” he said, “but there's another reason I bring it up. You see, what we're working towards is not just my own dream, but also my wife's. I wanted the group to get used to the idea of answering to a woman because our itinerary will include a bit of a selfish detour. I promised Jennifer that if we ever succeeded, I would return to bring her with me. Do you understand?”
“Of course,” Val said. “Do you need
my
help with anything?”
“Not at the moment. But, Val, I would like you to come with me when we go back. I believe she will be very excited to meet you.”
“Thank you, Roger. I'll try not to let her down.”