Sliding Into Antar
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Reflections, Of Course
Chapter 34
XXXIV
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Varec lifted the "guts" of the timer out gently, all the time watching Quinn out of the corner of his eye to make sure that Quinn's heart was still holding out. Quinn was silent, but the look on his face was a perfect picture of pure agony. It spoke volumes that Quinn had even agreed to let Varec dismantle the timer. There was almost certainly no one else in the universe… any universe in any dimension, actually… that Quinn would have willingly allowed to even touch his timer, much less dismantle it; but in spite of the agonized expression on his face, deep down, Quinn trusted Varec. He had seen what the Antarian scientist was capable of.
"This is it," Varec announced, as he carefully separated a small chip from the rest of the timer and plugged it into an improvised machine of his own invention. Immediately, the screen in front of them lit up, and on it appeared a long string of code. The code was still printing out over a minute later and did not appear to be letting up. Four minutes after it had started, the code ended.
"That's it… the record of every slide you've made."
Quinn pointed at a segment of the code not far from the beginning… "That's where Conrad Bennish's double in an alternate dimension got a hold of the timer and reset it during one of our earlier slides. He corrupted all the code up to that point. That's why we couldn't use the internal memory to find our way back to our home world."
"The code was scrambled… but not undecipherable," Varec replied calmly, "To decipher it, it is necessary to determine what was done to it. It's like following clues and leads that unlock a mystery… or untangling a knot. Once the aberration has been revealed and resolved, the code can be read in the same way as any coded message might be."
Quinn nodded. "That's what I figured, too, but it was impossible to 'untangle' the 'knot' with the capabilities I had at my disposal. I thought it was a lost cause."
"Not lost, Quinn Mallory, just tangled. I unraveled it once before."
Quinn wanted to point out again to Varec that he must have unraveled the code wrong the first time… that the world they had wound up on had not been their own world… but he could not force himself to say it. The truth is, he was terrified, deep inside, of being asked one more time to explain his previous failure to provide a systematic and thorough scientific appraisal of the evidence they had encountered on the world they had been on. It was like arguing with God about religion. No matter what Quinn said, he just wasn't going to win.
Varec was a bit older than Quinn, and certainly wiser, in terms of experience, and he knew that he intimidated Quinn. It was purely intentional. Quinn was a genius beyond any doubt. Varec found it much easier to deal with geniuses if they felt a little intimidated by him, though his methods were subtle. He never claimed to be smarter or to know more than anyone. He merely had a way of identifying and capitalizing on their missteps or weaknesses… all very subtly. Varec had turned geniuses who were full of themselves and who were totally convinced of their own vast superiority into quivering masses of Jell-O after being with them for only minutes… without ever claiming to be at all superior or smarter himself.
Quinn was not like some of the "geniuses" Varec had met, who were conceited and convinced of their own superiority; but Quinn was a genius, and he was aware of the fact that his knowledge of science exceeded that of most other people he met. He did not claim to be or pretend to be smarter than anyone else, he just usually was.
Varec highlighted the portion of the code that had been corrupted and ran it through an internal filter in the device he had built, and moments later, a string of Antarian symbols popped up on the screen.
"There it is."
Quinn looked at the screen. "There what is? All I see is more gibberish."
"That's Antarian," Varec said with a smile. "I will have to transcribe it into your symbols so that you can read it."
Quinn stared at the screen intently… "What's this symbol," he asked after several moments, pointing at a symbol that appeared several times in the code.
"It's the equivalent of what you call 'pi' in your language."
Quinn nodded and pointed at another symbol… "And this one?"
"It means 'tangent' to you"
Quinn thought for a moment and then nodded. "What is this one here?"
"It is what you call 'sine.' Sine and cosine functions are useful to diagram cyclical trends, among other things."
Quinn stared at the symbols on the screen, mentally making sense of what he was seeing…
"It's like mathematics… it's just another code."
"You mean sine?"
"No… your language. The symbols are a logical sequence of thought… like higher math." Quinn pointed at one that Varec had not translated for him… "This one here, period pi… tangent or cotangent?"
"Tangent."
"Then this is cotangent," Quinn said, pointing at another symbol.
Varec nodded.
Quinn began pointing at other symbols, usually identifying them correctly through logical analysis of their positions and interrelationships with the other symbols, then Varec produced another string of code from the timer's memory chip and positioned the new code beneath the first one for comparison. Quinn stared at the two strings of code displayed on the screen in Antarian symbols, and he appeared to be mentally tracing them backwards from the point where the first code had been corrupted to the beginning…
"I need something to write on."
Varec handed Quinn a pad and pencil, and Quinn jotted down a series of calculations then gazed, somewhat triumphantly, at what he had written… "This is the earth you sent us to… and the one above it should be our map home."
Quinn turned back and stared again at his calculations, mentally working out the coordinates of his home world and comparing them to the coordinates of Varec's earlier code. He appeared to check and recheck his figures, as though what he was seeing was impossible… then all the color slowly drained out of his face, leaving a canvas of conflicted emotions, as he tuned to Varec again…
"We were there… We were home…"
Varec nodded, and the corners of his mouth rose ever so slightly into the barest suggestion of a smile.
8888888888
Alex spotted Liz in the hallway… "Have you seen Quinn?"
"Not recently. He was with Varec earlier. They were going to go over some of the data from his timer together. Maybe they're in the lab."
"Yeah, I should have thought of that. Thanks."
Alex turned to walk away, but Liz stopped him…
"Alex…"
He turned around again and looked at Liz.
"Alex, I know what you're doing."
"I'm not doing anything… well, nothing illegal or immoral."
Liz smiled. "Maybe not… but have you considered Maggie's feelings?"
Alex was silent for a moment, then he nodded.
"Well, don't you think maybe she loves Quinn, too… and maybe he may love her? I'm not suggesting anything, but maybe it's something you should keep in mind. I know you wouldn't want to cause anyone any undue pain or hurt."
Alex sighed and nodded, then he looked up at Liz with an indefinable conviction in his eyes…
"I do think Maggie loves Quinn, and I think he loves her, too… but it's different."
"How so?"
"Well… Wade's love has deep roots. She and Quinn have grown together in so many ways for so long. Maggie's love… it's real, I'm sure, but it's more superficial. It hasn't had time to grow deep roots the way Wade's has for Quinn and Quinn's has for Wade, even if he doesn't quite realize it yet. You know, Liz, Maggie had a whole life before Quinn, and it's still a very big part of her. She's not from Quinn and Wade's world. They picked her up on one of the alternate world's they slid to. Her people were under attack by the KroMaggs, a vicious but advanced species of humans who descended from the Cro Magnons and Neanderthals. Maggie was a soldier… I think she was even a captain or a general or something high up. She had this life that demanded her full attention and total dedication. She didn't have time for love."
Liz nodded. "She was a U.S. marine captain. But her world was taken over by the KroMaggs, then it was destroyed by a pulsar. She has nothing now except Quinn. That former life is gone, Alex."
Alex shook his head slowly… "Maggie's strong… and independent. I'm not saying that she doesn't love Quinn, but I wonder if she's really as devoted to him as he believes she is… or even as devoted to him as she believes she is right now… You know what I mean? Wade's love has withstood the test of time already. She's followed him everywhere. She's totally devoted to him, and even she doesn't realize it. He IS her life. He's every breath she takes. It's not the same with Maggie."
Liz nodded. "For whatever it's worth, Alex, I think you're right… but I'm just worried about the possibility of hurting people by interfering in their lives. Maybe it's not our place to interfere. I'm… I'm not telling you not to… I'm just cautioning you. Think about it, and consider the consequences… to everybody, especially Maggie."
Alex nodded and sighed.
8888888888
Two hours after leaving Liz in the hallway, Alex knocked on Quinn's door.
"Quinn… it's Alex. Are you there?"
The door opened and Quinn smiled at Alex… "Alex… What's up, dude? Come on in. I was just getting ready for bed."
"Yeah, sorry to bother you so late. I know it's almost midnight."
"No prob. I never actually hit the sack before midnight anyway."
Alex walked in and started to sit down, but he decided to remain standing instead. This time he had thought a lot about what he was going to say. Yet somehow, now that he was facing Quinn, he wasn't sure. But he quickly vanquished any doubts from his mind. He knew what was right, and he was determined to see right win out…
"How do you feel about Wade, Quinn?"
Quinn looked at Alex for a moment, puzzled, then he laughed… "I love her!"
"You DO? I mean… yeah, that's what I thought."
"Wade's been my best friend since we were kids pretty much. Wherever I've gone, Wade's always been there."
"Exactly! Wow… this may be easier than I thought."
"I can't imagine Wade not being there. When Maggie and I get married, we want her to be the maid of honor… I mean, it only makes sense, with Wade being someone so special to me and all, and since Maggie's friends are all gone…"
Alex sighed… "Or not…"
"Huh?"
"Or maybe not easier… nothing, forget it…" Alex thought for a moment and decided to just go for broke… "Quinn, the reason I wanted to talk to you was to try to convince you that you and Wade belong together."
"Yeah, well, I know that, Alex. She's my buddy."
"She's more than that, fool." Alex stopped suddenly and reddened considerably as soon as the words had left his mouth, and Quinn looked like he was unsure he had heard right.
"I'm sorry, Quinn! I didn't mean that. Well, yes, I guess I did, but I didn't mean to say it out loud… Damn! I'm not making this any better, am I?"
Quinn shook his head, but then he smiled.
"Look, Alex… I know that to a lot of people it may look like Wade and I are… closer than we are. I mean, we are close, but Wade only wants to be my buddy, and I don't want to destroy that relationship by acting like a lovesick idiot and making her run away. I don't know if you could understand that, but… I'd rather have a platonic relationship with Wade than no relationship. It's an understanding we've had since we were kids, so it's not like I'm going to be heartbroken or she's going to be heartbroken when I marry Maggie. It's just reality. We're buddies… friends… soul mates."
"Soul mates?"
"Well… you know what I mean… close… for two people who will never be… Why am I telling you all this?"
"Because I'm so lovable?"
Quinn rolled his eyes. "Because I don't want to mess up this nice room by pounding you into the carpet." Quinn smiled, letting Alex know that he was kidding, but Alex wondered how far he could push before Quinn might decide the kidding was over. He decided it was worth the peril to his health to go on…
"Well, you see, Quinn, the thing is, Wade loves you. I mean, she really LOVES you… She's buddies with you because she doesn't want to lose you and she doesn't think she's good enough to be your wife."
"That's crazy! I've never told her she wasn't good enough! Wade is… she's the equal to any woman… more than the equal to any woman!"
"Except Maggie?"
Quinn was silent for a minute. Alex had put him on the spot, and Quinn wasn't sure how to answer. Alex prepared himself to be pounded, but Quinn shook his head thoughtfully…
Wade is equal to Maggie… in every way. I'm not going to put myself on the line here and say that either Wade or Maggie is more woman than the other."
Alex smiled. "That's probably smart. But, you see, Quinn, Wade does believe that she's not woman enough for you."
"Well, I'll tell her differently."
"You will?"
"Yeah…" Quinn thought about it then groaned… "Or maybe not. I can't tell her that. It'll sound like I'm proposing or coming on or something. How do you know that Wade feels this way, Alex? You barely know her? I would think I'd be more qualified to say how Wade feels. I'm a lot closer to her than you are."
"Maybe that's the problem, Quinn. You're too close to see things in focus… especially matters of the heart."
Quinn reflected on what Alex had said for several long moments, then he sighed…
"Do you have a Y chromosome, Alex?"
Alex grinned. "I think so, but I've been told that some people do have doubts."
Quinn nodded. "I can see why."
"Okay, Alex… okay… you've made me think about it. Do me a favor, okay?"
"Anything."
"Get out! I've got a lot of thinking to do."
Alex nodded and quickly left Quinn's room. Outside in the hall, he took a long deep breath and then blew it back out slowly, relaxing his tensed nerves…
"Well, that went pretty well… I think."
End of Chapter 34
tbc…