Chapter 9
"What do you mean it doesn't work? It worked perfectly back in that hole in the West Country!"
Lester tutted and rolled his eyes as his cry was answered by a deafening chorus of shrugs. Scientists. They were always so sure they had all the answers, so why were none of them able to come up with one now? Expectantly, he looked at Connor.
"Maybe it has to be directly on a fault line," Connor sighed.
"I thought we were on the fault line?" Lester shot back. "That was the point in building this centre here!"
Cutter shook his head. "You can never be absolutely certain where a fault line is unless you can see it," he said. "They twist and turn and can even fracture to go off in two completely different directions. Whatever is causing the anomaly fault lines, we can't pinpoint them yet: we don't even know how many there are."
"You mean there may be more than one?" Becker cut in, his eyebrows raising.
"Well, there would have to be, wouldn't there?" Kate replied. "I mean, you can't exactly draw a straight line between the ones you've had recently, can you?"
"Not without playing join the dots!" Cutter nodded.
"So how do we find out how to pinpoint them?" Lester asked, bringing the discussion back to a more practical point.
"We go back to where they've been," Cutter suggested, shrugging. "Take some readings, do some studies."
"Such as?"
"Physics isn't really my field."
"We would need a secure site," said Connor. "One that we could get access to without causing too much disruption around about it and where we could contain anything that came through if we reopened an anomaly there. Preferably one where we have a record of the exact position of the anomaly and we don't have to keep guessing until we hit it."
Lester caught Becker's eye and saw him give an almost imperceptible nod. He took a deep breath and turned to Connor and Cutter.
"I received information this morning that the building work at Darwin House is now complete and the building ready to be opened for use," Lester paused to make sure all confused stares were directed at him. "When you were all efficient enough to demolish half a house in the process of trying to reopen an anomaly, the government thought it might be prudent to purchase said property, along with the adjoining land. Having done so, they have rebuilt the house to somewhat more apt specifications, leaving the second prototype imploder in place. I had hoped to save it for an early Christmas present," Lester drawled wearily, "but it seems a late birthday gift may be more in order at present.
"Mr Temple, you may leave for Darwin house as soon as you have your team assembled. I will expect regular updates on your research."
A mixture of emotions played across Connor's face. He had been given free reign in his research into the anomalies, with his very own testing centre, but he had also retained his mantle of command. In a way, Lester was still the boss, but he had grown to hate having to order people around and make decisions millions of pound, or millions of lives, may rest. On the positive side, at least he got to choose his own team.
"Right then," he said, clapping his hands together. "Let's get this show on the road. Peta, Nigel, you two start packing up what we'll need. Abby..."
"I'm not coming with you Conn."
Abby's voice cut through the sudden rattle of activity like a knife. Time stopped for a moment as numerous pairs of eyes looked uncertainly from one to the other. As the silence pressed down upon the group, the others began to move quietly away. When the atrium had emptied, the two remained in silence. Connor's expression hadn't changed. It was one of mingled shock and despondency, his eyes searching Abby's face for an explanation.
"It's not where I belong," Abby shrugged. "I can't sit around punching buttons on a keyboard, Connor: that's not me."
"But I'll be there," Connor said quietly, "and we belong together."
"Do we?"
"How can you say that? After all this. After everything we've been through?"
"Things aren't right between us, Connor," Abby shook her head. "They haven't been for a while. You know that."
"Abby, we've had our ups and downs but..."
"It's more than that, Connor, you know it is. Maybe it is just a rough patch. Maybe it'll pass. All I know right now is that my place is here, where I can do what I'm good at."
"Fine, then I'll stay. Peta can lead the research team."
"It won't do any good, Connor: you'd just end up being miserable and resenting me for it," Abby sighed, walking over to him. "Just like I would if I went with you."
"So, what? This is it?"
"Yes, no... I don't know. I just think we need a break from each other. Start living our own lives a bit, then see if they can fit back together later on."
"And that's what you want?" Connor's voice had shrunk to a whisper.
Abby nodded wordlessly, reached up and kissed his cheek, then turned and walked away.
XXXX
Helen looked up from the soft pillow to see a shadow hovering by the window. She rolled over and pushed herself up on one elbow to get a better view.
"You look thoughtful, my love," she said, breaking the man's reverie and causing him to look round suddenly. "What's on your mind?"
"Nothing," he replied, turning and walking over to sit down on the side of the bed. "At least nothing that should be there. How long does it take for the memories to filter back in?"
"I don't know: it's different for every person. Mine came back in about a month, but there are still some things that escape me. Yours might return sooner, or they may take longer. There's no way of knowing. At least not here."
"And the new memories? The implanted knowledge? Will I be able to tell them apart from my own?"
"Some of it. All the things that you cannot recall actually being present at: those you will know are implanted memories. The rest..." Helen shrugged. "It can all get a bit hazy."
XXXX
Connor stood on top of the flat side of the ARC's roof, leaning on the railing and staring out at the city below him. Rain poured down, hiding the tears on his face. So many people living their lives normally without even a passing thought that there might be something so utterly bizarre as an anomaly and whatever may come through it just round the corner. Millions of people in the world who knew nothing about anomalies and their effects. Nothing about archaic creatures walking, flying or swimming into the present, or terrifying creatures from the future invading their own past. Nothing about how quickly they might one day have to wave goodbye to everything they took for granted about the world.
In all those millions who knew nothing about it, a handful of random people had been brought together to contain, and one day perhaps control, the threat. Now that handful was being ripped apart. He and Abby were being ripped apart by it all. Shapes that went together so well, in his mind, now no longer fitted in the same space.
Connor's reverie was broken by a buzzing from his pocket. He sighed and drew a hand over his face, dragging the mobile out of his pocket with his free hand. He flipped the cover of the phone and frowned down at the inbox screen. A new message had arrived from an unknown number. He rolled his eyes and opened the message, expecting some random sales pitch. Before he could hit the delete button, however, his eyes focussed on the message on the screen and his frown increased. He snapped the phone shut and hurried back inside the building.
XXXX
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Cutter whispered in Abby's ear as they gathered around Lester's desk with Becker and Kate.
"Definitely," Abby replied quietly, her voice steady. "I can't keep feeling like a spare part in this. I need to pull my weight. I can't do that stuck in a house near Bodmin."
"Right ladies and gentlemen, if we can possibly focus our attention for a few minutes," Lester called, drawing Abby and Cutter's eyes back to him. "With the increasing possibility of anomalies turning up off the line of the main fault, and in any possible conditions imaginable, I have decided it would be prudent to ensure that you all have the necessary training to deal with any eventuality. Each of you has different skills. If we can go through a programme of co-operative training to bring you all up to the basic level in each skill, then we should be left with four individuals all capable of leading four teams.
We must be aware of the possibility that at some point we may have to deal with simultaneous anomalies at different points in the country. I need to know that if I send two of you in one direction with a team, I can still rely on the other two to be able to deal with whatever is at the second location.
I have acquired private access to a local diving club. Miss Barratt has agreed to train Captain Becker and Miss Maitland to an advanced level in diving. I have asked her to ensure that you, Professor Cutter are capable of leading a diving based team. Once we have the capability to run two teams simultaneously, we will then start to worry about four.
I would also like Miss Maitland to assist Captain Becker in training Miss Barratt and Professor Cutter in one or other of the martial arts. I'm well aware that you know how to use your fists, Professor, but there's no harm in adding a little grace to your repertoire."
"And what skill am I to be teaching?" Cutter asked tersely.
"Your knowledge of Zoology, of course," Lester replied. "Miss Maitland is a reptile expert. Miss Barratt is a marine expert. They will both be able to bring their own special expertise to the table in those areas. You however, have the broadest knowledge of our current biodiversity, as well as that of previous eras. It is that broader knowledge that I want to see passed on, particularly to Captain Becker, who is entirely a novice in this respect."
"Connor has a better knowledge of prehistoric creatures than I do. He could help too."
"Only in some areas," Lester shook his head. "Besides, Mr Temple will be busy enough with his research on the anomalies themselves. He is our only true expert on them. Jones and her team have only studied his work. Their true field is programming. We need his input at Darwin House."
"And what do we do if an anomaly turns up before the training is finished?" Abby asked, changing the subject.
"Carry on as normal, my dear Miss Maitland: we put everything on hold until the threat is dealt with."
Abby opened her mouth to reply but was cut off as the anomaly siren sounded abruptly. Sometimes it seemed as if inanimate rips in the space-time continuum were possessed of an excellent sense of timing.