Wake Me In The Future (27 page)

‘Whoa, calm down Richard, please. Let me tell you what’s happened. Are you ok, or do you need some time to settle yourself?’

Both my hands were clutching tightly onto Jon now, as if letting go would sever some sort of link I'd managed to make with Helen. I was almost begging, ‘please tell me where she is.’

‘I wish I could Richard, but the truth is we don’t know at the moment. She was captured and we have no idea if she’s being held somewhere,’ then more solemnly, ‘or she’s been killed.’

Helen’s wedding ring flashed into my mind and I said, ‘Could she have been reborn?’

‘Forcibly, yes, that’s what they do to most criminals, but I am hoping they think she’s more valuable to them alive while we’re still at large.’

Jon held his hands up to prevent me from carrying on, ‘Hold on Richard, before you say anything else I need to show you something.’ Then, as I reluctantly unclenched my bulky hands and let him go, he went over to the far wall and spoke to it – too quietly to be overheard.

I stared at him as he walked back and sat down beside me, while the wall on the other side of the room began to light up. And although the image that appeared in front of it was just a few feet away, I found myself looking back, more than a thousand years into the past. Because I was staring right into the eyes of the woman I’d last touched over ten centuries ago.

The 3D image of the upper half of a youthful Helen was hovering against the wall and she was just as I’d remembered her when we were in our twenties. She still had those classic features that made her plain face stunningly attractive, and her poise was that of the confident woman I’d married all those years ago. To me the sound of her voice was like one calling from far further back than just the few years when this recording had been made. It was as if it was reaching to me across the centuries.

‘Richard,’ she paused and took a breath, ‘if you’re looking at this message then I am either dead or missing. But I don’t care about that because it means you’re alive and that’s the most important thing to me. If I am missing and there’s a chance I can be found, then Jon will help you. Just as I hope you’ll help him. Listen to him Richard, we’re all at risk and we need to find the truth and expose it. It’s the only way we’ll ever be safe, and hopefully be together again.’

Then she swallowed and reached out with her hand as if to touch me, ‘If you do find that I am dead Richard, then I want you to know that I still love you more than anything, and I want to tell you that I was thinking of you when I closed my eyes for the last time.’

As the image faded and the illumination from the wall reduced to that of the rest of the room I realised I was gripping tightly onto Jon’s arm for support. The simulated muscles in my forearms were beginning to knot so I let go and sat back in my chair. My emotions were taking me for a ride and they had a brand new vehicle to do it in. I didn’t know if the tears in my eyes were ones of laughter or sadness. The message from Helen made me feel elated but she could also be dead, finding her wedding ring in Jane’s possession wasn’t complete proof that she was Helen; but if she was, what about Rachel? Who did I love and should I even be thinking like this? Oh God, just how cruel was fate going to be?

I had to concentrate on something other than the party that confusion and turmoil were having in my head, so nodding at Jon I croaked out what Ramoon had told me about Helen’s revival, leaving out my suspicions about Jane, and guiltily explaining about my marriage to Rachel.

Jon just looked at me sympathetically; I couldn't imagine there was any other way he could react to my predicament. He didn’t say anything about Rachel, but just said, ‘Ramoon has obviously been trying to throw you off the scent, and from your current situation I'd say he must think he’s done a pretty good job.’

‘You’d better tell me everything Jon. Then I’ve got a million and two questions.’

He walked across to the wall behind us and requested some drinks from the panel. Then sat back down next to me and began to tell me the story of the protesters.

‘When the Manoorans first found the store of preserved humans on the far side of the Moon, almost all of them were pleased and wanted to fully integrate us into their diverse societies. Their long term aim for their whole race is to get to the stage where everyone thinks of themselves as human, because for some reason they seem to hate where they came from and what they were.

But there is a minority of them, some of which have become increasingly influential, who don’t want us Cryogens walking about, reminding them that they’re not true humans. They’re afraid of ‘contamination’ and that we might bring all of our old hateful ways of thinking back into their societies. I guess they’re afraid we’ll deliver the same fate to them that we bought on ourselves.’

All I could do was nod, because I was absolutely certain Jon was right in what he was saying about humanity’s failings. Because to be honest, if the human race hadn’t changed dramatically from what it was like in my time, the Manoorans definitely had something to worry about.

‘When they first started reviving us,’ he carried on, ‘we know that most attempts were successful and almost all the survivors retained their memories intact. But this has changed, and it’s difficult for us to prove why.

People working on the project are only trained to undertake individual tasks, so none of them have access to all the records and research into the process. That information is restricted to a very few high officials.

It all started when Ramoon and his people began a concerted effort to take over the project, which they’ve now done. And as soon as they achieved full control, all of a sudden most Cryogens were being rated as unviable, and consigned to rebirth. They’re saying that it’s because they’re now trying to revive people who were preserved using earlier techniques but we think differently.

We know that when Ramoon joined, he assigned new people - his own people - to the final stages of the process, and all the existing staff have been moved out of that area. This was all done with unnecessary haste, and, although he isn’t openly anti-Cryogen, what we've heard leads us to believe he’s involved in some kind of systematic attempt to destroy all of us.’

None of this was a surprise to me, ‘My friends and I have got some evidence that will support that Jon,’ I said, and then I told him about the information I’d found in Ramoon’s office.

He listened excitedly as I talked and then said, ‘It will certainly contribute to the evidence we've already accumulated against him and his group. I can’t wait to see it.’

‘I’ll send it to you as soon as I can.’ I promised.

Jon took a sip of his drink and looked back up at me, ‘It doesn’t end with what he’s doing at the Cryogen centre though. Even those that have been reborn and are settled are starting to go missing. We’ve been tracking them for the last ten years and slowly but surely they’ve been having mysterious accidents, and remember it’s almost impossible to destroy one of these bodies completely.

Most citizens aren't aware of the link in all these deaths because they’re not conscious, or even concerned about any particular individual’s racial background. But one by one we’re being exterminated Richard. First the un-revived, then the reborn, then it’ll be us.

We’re the only hope for saving what’s left of the human race, we have to expose Ramoon’s plan and have him and his people removed from the Cryogen project.’

‘So where does Helen come into all this?’

‘She was successfully revived about twenty five years ago and immediately started looking for you. She joined the Cryogen project for the same reasons you’ve been trying to. But when Ramoon joined she became suspicious and started to ask questions about the new people being bought onto the team. Of course Ramoon didn’t like that and started to make life difficult for her.

That was when she contacted us. We’d just begun to form our group and she’d started to fear becoming one of Ramoon's victims, and she also believed joining us was the best way of giving you any chance of being revived when you were found.

Then fifteen years ago she was captured and taken away and we have no idea if she’s being held captive, been treated like a criminal and forcibly reborn,’ then pausing he said, ‘or even completely destroyed.’

I didn’t believe this last option was the case anymore, not after finding her wedding ring, so I didn’t show the emotion I thought Jon was expecting. Instead I just said, ‘So how come I was revived successfully if Ramoon has been interfering with the process?’

’We have a sympathiser working on the project Richard, but she has to be extremely careful.

It’s only as each pod is opened that there’s any indication of the identity of the person being revived, and we instructed her to look out for the things Helen said you were going to be taking with you, particularly your distinctive wedding ring.’

I looked guiltily down at the new wedding ring that had replaced my original.

Then I remembered and pulled out the message I'd found, 'did your contact put this warning message in with my things then?'

'That’s right; we thought it advisable to make you wary of those around you.

When she eventually came across your pod she was able to interfere with the process and ensure you were revived. It was only when you started to give information about yourself and ask questions about Helen that Ramoon’s suspicions were raised, and now we suspect he’ll try his hardest to get to you because of your link to Helen, and hers to us.’

‘That explains my feelings about him then, but you're definitely convinced that Helen could still be alive?’ I asked this, realising I’d have to show more emotion than I had, if I was going to withhold the information I knew about Jane.

‘I hope so Richard, even if she’s been reborn there’s a chance that enough information has been stored for her to be re-integrated. It’s only if that’s not happened, or they’ve totally destroyed her that she’ll be lost to us forever.’

‘Will you help me find what’s happened to her Jon?’

‘Of course I will Richard; it’s one of my highest priorities. She’s a good friend and one of the most valuable assets of this group. Our leadership hasn’t been as strong since she’s been gone.’

I smiled, recognising the description of the woman I loved. Or was that, one of the women I loved?

‘The problem we face, is that the information we need to help us find out what happened to her and the information we need to blow this whole thing wide apart, is stored in the same place; the main information hub. And only the highest ranking officials have access to it through their terminals. So what do you say Richard? Will you help us save humanity and find Helen along the way?’

‘If Helen told you anything about me Jon, you’ll already know the answer to that.’

‘Yes I do,’ he said holding out his hand to me, and as I shook it, he said ‘welcome aboard.’

The protester's plan was to fix the template of one of the Manooran high officials after they’d jumped out of their primary body, and then use it to gain entry to their terminal to access the main information hub. This would allow them to retrieve the data that would prove Ramoon's involvement in the attempted extermination of the Cryogens, and hopefully provide an answer to what had happened to Helen.

‘However,’ he said, ‘to be able to do that we need to get access to the schedules that will tell us when these high officials are planning to
jump
to different locations.’

‘And how will you get hold of those?’

Jon gave me a knowing look, ‘that’s where you can help us Richard.’

‘Oh?’

'The schedules are held on the system and are only available to Manooran officials of a certain rank. We don’t have any contact with Manoorans of that rank. But you do.'

‘Ankit?’ I offered, smiling at the thought. Because I’d never been invited to Ankit’s apartment before, and considering how private and secretive my friend was, it wasn’t going to be as easy as Jon had just described.

Just prior to jumping back to my own body I imagined Helen’s face, and smiling at it thought of the miss-quote from
our
favourite comedy duo from the early Twentieth Century. We'd said the words to each other so many times before, and I found myself thinking of them again.

Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into.

Chapter 29
- Deception

I wondered if anyone, in the whole history of the human race had ever had to tell their current partner that their first partner, who happened to be the love of their life and who you thought was dead, could still be alive. And if they had, I was damn sure that they'd never had to compound the devastation by telling them that the child you'd both helped create could possibly be that first partner. It was ridiculous; I just couldn't think how to do it to Rachel. So I took the cowards way out, and didn't

But what I did do during the weeks, as I waited for Ankit to return from the surface, was gradually introduced my other friends to Jon. I had no choice once I’d told them of my encounter with him. They’d all been eager to sign up, and after the delay in taking action over the evidence we’d found, they were all excited, and as relieved as I was, that something was finally beginning to happen.

However, their disappointment was impossible to ignore when Jon only asked them to support me in my attempt to get the information needed from Ankit’s terminal. I think Earl in particular was expecting to be asked to undertake something more significant.

‘But it’s good to have you with us,’ Jon assured them, ‘I know you’ll be valuable assets to the group, I just don’t want to expose you to any risks unless it’s absolutely necessary.’

‘In that case,’ said Earl turning to look at me, ‘we’d better start formulating a plan for when Ankit finally shows up.’

But even that didn't distract my mind from wondering, and constructing a mountain of unfathomable questions about the situation I found myself in.

Was Helen really buried deep within Jane's psyche, and if so, what was Ramoon’s involvement? Why would he want me to adopt her anyway, was it all just one big sick joke caused by his hatred of the successfully revived Cryogens. And for that matter, why did he seem to want us all dead? I had absolutely no idea where all this was heading, but I felt sure it was to a point when I'd have to make a choice between the women I loved; and what saddened me more than anything was that deep in my mind I thought I knew what that decision would be.