The Long Winter Time
by Quintin Snell
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Table of Contents parts: 1, 2, 3 4 |
part 3
Genset told Shet that he would be travelling to fifteen years before the comet destroyed the Earth, the time it would take to convince a rich businessman, obsessed with conspiracy theories, to finance the Bunker’s construction. During those years, Shet would work behind the scenes as an architect and engineer and insist that the gen-set be his exclusive domain, he would choose and train his own replacement when the time came. Bunker would be built to house at least 15,000 people even though only 7500 — exactly half — would be sealed in safely on the fateful day when the world would burn.
The current population was currently a little shy of 12,000 people. It turned out, as well as keeping tabs on the date and time, Genset also kept an accurate annual census. “I had to design the Bunker for expansion, I estimate the winter will break in another ten years; you saw the blue sky yesterday. Giving another year or two for the acid rain and weather patterns to return to safe levels, we won’t run out of living space or resources before then.
“You will need to stock enough food, water and other resources to last the first ten years, whilst the atmosphere is first too hot, then too frigid and toxic for people to venture outside. You will need enough fuel to run the generators until it is bright enough outside to install the solar panels. I have all the plans and lists ready for you. This is what I have been training you for these past years.
“When you start work on Bunker, you will have all the skills you need for the job. As soon as you arrive in the past, you can contact Mr. Pritchard. The comet will have just been discovered. He is already a doomsday prepper, so it won’t take much to convince him the comet is not as innocent as everyone believes.
“The scientists and astronomers will proclaim the comet will narrowly skirt by the Earth, harmlessly shooting off into space. They will be wrong. As it passes Venus, it will fragment and enter Earth’s orbit soon afterwards. I don’t know what it was composed of, but it reacted violently with the atmosphere, setting the very air on fire and burning everything.”
“We didn’t have the time, technology or resources to build an ark, nearly everything on Earth will go extinct, either from the fire or the following winter. Some people did bring pets with them, but they either died off or were eaten. Even the inevitable rats that made it into Bunker didn’t last long.
“I have compiled a list of the plants and seeds you should take in with you. They have been chosen for their hardiness and nutritional value. Once the skies clear, they will be all humanity has to rebuild an ecosystem.
“I/you built/will build the time machine once Bunker is sealed. The components will be manufactured by many different companies, none will know exactly what they’re for. The machine has to be built; its entire purpose is to send you back in time to save the human race. Your responsibility is incalculable, as is your sacrifice. You will have to work in secrecy and near isolation for 115 years. Nobody can know who you are.
“It is a terrible burden, which is yours, mine and countless incarnations of us, to bear. But it does have its benefits; you will live on the outside for fifteen years before the Burning. You will see humanity at its peak, civilisation and its people, and its re-birth. You will be the father of mankind, even if your name will never be recorded as such.”
“Why must it be me? Why can’t you go?”
“I have already gone. It is a one-time, one-way trip. During those hundred years, I had/you will have plenty of time to study our machine, and how it works. The reason I haven’t aged and can’t go again is that I am outside of my timeline. The moment you step into the machine, I will catch up with my own time, and I will once again age as normal. One can travel only to the past, to a defined point of space and time. Even though I go from my present to my past, the time I come from hasn’t happened. It doesn’t exist yet, even though I can remember it. You cannot touch a thing or go to a place that doesn’t exist.
“The reason I can’t go back again is that we are creating a time loop, which needs to be closed. I start my loop, so I have to close it, as will you. In order for my loop to close, you have to start yours. It is an endless cycle. The good news, is for those 15 years, you are free to live however you choose, as long as the Bunker gets built and, as long as the financier or anyone else doesn’t know you’re fully involved in the project. It would cause hard questions if someone were to recognise you from photographs. You will need to wear your clean suit at all times when working around other people. You can quote allergies as the reason.”
Genset handed him a vacuum sealed bag. “In here are clothes, identification and money. This will enable you to get started on the other side.”
Shet was also given the contact details and a detailed biography for Mr. Pritchard, the man who was to finance the construction of Bunker.
Shet scanned through the file. “I already have an idea on how to approach this.” he said. Looking around him, he added, “Although, whatever plan I come up with will obviously work, because, here we are, in Bunker. Kind of takes the pressure off, knowing I’m destined to succeed. Is there no way of saving the world from the comet?”
Genset replied. “We tried, but nobody wanted to listen. People with lists of credentials longer than your arm insisted there was no danger, and everyone believed them.”
“When do I go?”
“Midday on Wednesday.”
Three days, then.
They spent the remaining time going over the details, clarifying anything about which Shet was unsure. “Don’t worry so much. You will succeed.”
“It’s sort of mind boggling, having such a huge task ahead of me; even though I know the outcome, I am still responsible for the survival of the human race. All I have to do is build a massive underground bunker and convince people to live in it, construct a time machine and wait a hundred years until I am born so I can send myself through it. What could be easier? Then, you, who is me, had to wait all this time, mostly in isolation. It must have been terrible.”
“I won’t lie. It hasn’t been easy. So many times I wanted to throw that damned suit aside and live as a normal person. But that couldn’t happen if you were to have a normal life, and myself, once you’ve gone back in time. The stakes were just too high.”
They were both standing looking at the time machine when it activated. The blinking light turned a steady green, and the machine began to hum. The hairs on their bodies stood on end for a moment then settled again. Slowly, silently, the inner disc started to spin, the space within it rippled and shimmered, with the toxic beauty of oil on water.
Genset typed some code into the computer and, although blurred, with no definition, Shet could see blue and green through the swirling rainbow in the machine’s portal. “I guess it’s time to go,” he said.
“Yes, but before you do, I have something for you.” Genset handed him a watch. It had the word “Rolex” on the face. It was identical to the one Genset wore, with one exception: Genset’s watch’s hands were still, whilst this one’s second and minute hands swept smoothly around the face.
“Thank you.” Shet put it on, enjoying its comfortable weight. “What’s going to happen to you?”
“I have no idea. From the moment you step through that portal, the future is unwritten. I guess I will become you, taking up my life where I left off. Genset will return to the Ash and be no more. Shet, his apprentice will take over his duties.”
After double-checking his briefcase — there would be no going back for forgotten items — Shet said farewell to Genset, shook his hand and stepped into the shimmering portal.
The portal closed, the time machine stopped spinning and shut down, never to run again. Genset, now Shet, looked at his watch. The hands were gliding around the face; he was finally back in his time.
Shet was in agony. He wanted to scream, but had no mouth. He felt like microscopic blades were slicing him apart atom by atom. The fire of creation, the blast at the end of the universe collided within him. He was everywhere and nowhere, being born and dying. He was a grain of sand and God, all at the same time.
As soon as it began, it was over. He dropped to his knees and opened his eyes, suddenly feeling foolish, realising he actually was screaming.
* * *
Everything was so bright, he was temporarily dazzled. While his blurred vision cleared, he realised something. He was warm. The ever pervasive frigidity of his world was no more. Warmth enveloped him like a favourite blanket. The air he breathed didn’t sting in his throat, freezing the snot on his face.
He blinked the tears from his eyes and looked around himself in wonder. The sky was the purest blue he had ever seen. A few fluffy clouds drifted languidly across the sky, but these were white, unlike the dreary grey he was accustomed to.
Another revelation struck him. The air didn’t stink. It smelled gorgeous. Back home, all one ever smelled was sulphur. Here, a myriad of tantalising scents wafted on the breeze. He could only identify a few, the rest were completely foreign to him.
He was standing on a hill overlooking a town. The same hill that would eventually contain Bunker. He brushed his hands over the waist-high grass, revelling at the feeling. So much life! He knelt, digging up a handful of the rich, brown earth.
A small worm wriggled between his fingers. He carefully put it back. A tiny grey bird flitted onto a nearby grass stalk and chirped shrilly, as if chastising him for invading its territory, then flew off. Shet caught a sob in his throat, wondering at the beauty of the world.
Finally, he looked down at the town below. He could see cars and people going about their business. He started recognising landmarks: the ruins of that church steeple had been his beacon, pointing his way home, there to the south, that river, that was the smooth frozen path he always used, rather than clamber over treacherous snash covered ruins. Over there was where he had found the pepper seeds. He could make out the words “Super Saver Shopping Center.”
The topography wasn’t quite the same though. He could see the glittering ribbon of the ocean almost on the horizon. In his time, the ocean had been much nearer, sluggishly heaving beneath the ice and choking LG.
He wondered what the time was. He looked at his watch. The hands were still, reading 12:15 as Genset’s had been. I’m outside of time, he thought.
He made his way down the hill, reaching the town. Genset had told him what to expect, but actually experiencing it all made him feel weak at the knees. He made his way to a restaurant; more than being hungry, he needed to sit down for a while and compose himself. As he walked in, the smell of cooking food was almost overpowering, so intense that for a moment, he experienced nausea.
“Are you all right, sir? May I show you to a table?’ All he could do in response was nod, and he was ushered to a small booth. He asked for a glass of water and was handed a menu. The waitress left. If Shet could have seen her rolling her eyes at his strange behaviour, he would not have understood what she was doing.
He perused the menu. There was such a choice of meals, most of which he had never heard of. He read the descriptions and decided to have something at least slightly familiar and ordered a thing called a club sandwich. He knew what bread was, in a fashion, was familiar with chicken, cheese, lettuce and tomato, and had heard of mayonnaise in books he had read, so decided that would be a safe meal to start with.
When it arrived, he was shocked at the size of it. That was more food than he usually ate in two days! The ice in the water he could have done without, there was more than enough of that where he came from.
He took a bite, and flavours exploded in his mouth. Even the water tasted different, fresher, with less chlorine in it. He had never eaten anything this delicious. He took delight in every bite, until he was about half-finished, and could eat no more. When he explained to his waitress that he felt awful wasting the leftover food, she told him it was no trouble.
She took his plate and returned with his leftovers in a wax-lined cardboard carton. He thanked the young lady, paid her, as Genset had instructed him, and left the restaurant.
His hunger and anxiety dealt with, his next pressing need was accommodation. Genset had pointed out a building in the ruins where he would be able to rent an apartment. On his way there he passed a shop called a “jeweller” and something caught his eye. It was his watch. He went inside and bought it, carefully placing the stopped one in the case and replacing it with the new, functional one on his arm.
The estate agent was asking for something called “references” but stopped asking when he offered to pay a year in advance for a small furnished flat. After looking over his new home and locking his briefcase in a cupboard, he went to the mall and bought a bicycle and some extra clothes. After taking stock of his finances, he realised he would need a job, at least until he started working on Bunker. He needed to get his head around this whole money thing. In Bunker, everything had either been supplied or been bartered for.
After many failed attempts to find work; everyone wanted formal qualifications, although Shet knew a great deal, he had no pieces of paper saying so, he eventually found a job as a gardener at a nursery. The pay was enough to get by on and he found the work deeply satisfying.
* * *
Copyright © 2023 by Quintin Snell
