Chapter 1624
The Only Constant Is Change
The two Grays moved into the passageway on the right side.
"We're bound to find something else." The first man said.
It was exactly what the second man feared. He was sure it wouldn't be anything good. He wanted to get out of the destroyed complex.
"Let's just check it out and get it over with." The second man said.
Two men went down the passageway for a few hundred feet. It appeared to be a dead end in front of them. It turned out to be another zigzag.
"At first I thought this wasn't going anywhere." The first man said.
The second man hoped it would have been a dead end. It wasn't. He was worried the further they went inside, the less likely they were going to come out. There was no apparent goal or pay off to their efforts. The unknown offered nothing but worry and fear.
"This is a little too spooky for me." The second man said. "What do you expect to find?"
The first man was a little irritated with his question.
"It's why we're here to find out what there is to find." The first man said.
The second man really didn't care.
"Keep moving." The second man said.
The two men carefully moved through the zigzag.
The first man paused before he reentered the passageway on the other side.
"I think we're close to something." The first man whispered.
The second man thought it was a little late to start whispering. He felt the flashlight would have given away their approach if anyone was paying attention. The second man was sure the only thing they were close to was their termination. The quicker they hurried, the quicker they would be done.
"Keep moving." The second man whispered.
They moved out of the zig zag into the passageway. Both of the men were a little surprised at what was there.
"I sure didn't expect to see one of those." The first man said.
The second man didn't either.
"It's an elevator." The second man said. "I doubt there's any power to it."
First man didn't think there would be. He knew there was power somewhere.
"Let's check it out and see." The first man said.
The two men cautiously approached the elevator. The buttons weren't lit. There was only a down button. There was no up button.
"It looks like there's only one direction to go." The second man said.
The first man pushed the button on the elevator. Nothing happened. There was no sound or noise of any type. He wanted to take a look inside.
"Let's force the doors open and see what we can see." The first man said.
It seemed like a really bad idea to the second man. What if one of them slipped? He didn't want to fall down an elevator shaft.
"Let's just be careful when we do it." The second man said.
The two men were able to open the outer set of doors. There was nothing behind them when they opened them about a foot.
The first man shined the flashlight into the void. He shined it down. All there was, was darkness below. He shined it up. There were nothing but some pulleys and electric motors above. There was something very important missing.
"There's no cable." The first man said.
The second man looked around and found a small piece of debris. He moved over to the foot wide opening and dropped it through. A few seconds later they could hear a metallic impact noise.
"The cable probably broke when the explosion occurred." The second man said.
The first man wondered how many more levels there were.
"Maybe this place is bigger than we thought." The first man said.
The prospect of the place being larger than what they already found, didn't sit well with the second man at all. He didn't want to spend any more time down where they were at than necessary. He was sure everything would collapse before they could make their way back out.
"There's not much we can do about it." The second man said. "Let's go."
The first man shined the light further down the passageway they were in.
"We're not done here yet." The first man said. "There must be a stairway around here somewhere."
The second man was in no hurry to find a stairway either. It was probably the stairway to doom. He looked back behind him the way they came. He thought about telling the first man he was on his own. He should make his way out and back to the vehicle. He would wait for him there. He was sure it was going to cause a problem when he mentioned it. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He continued to follow the first man.
CamNet's Terminator moved back into the hall to follow the two men down the right branch of the junction.
There was no light behind him so he didn't need to worry about being backlit. He didn't think the beam of the flashlight would be able to reach him. He was pretty sure the batteries in it were fading already. It seemed to produce less illumination than it did previously. If the men needed to switch back to their cell phones, it was going to be even worse for them.
He watched them go through the zigzag. He approached it carefully to make sure there was no ambush. He paused for a minute to listen. There was no sound. He went through the zigzag and came out on the other side. He could see the men further down the passageway.
CamNet's Terminator was a little surprised when the men found the elevator. Right now it was the elevator to nowhere.
There was some activity in Claire's room. Allison, Claire, Jesse, and Vanna were all together.
Vanna lifted her head and looked back. She motioned for Cam-Holly to enter.
Cam-Holly wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, there were plenty of other places where she would be able to look.
She was sure everyone would cycle through and get 'a piece of the action'.
Jesse and Vanna tagged themselves out to allow Cam-Holly to share with Allison and Claire. They decided to go check on Precious. They would head for one of their rooms if they weren't needed.
Claire and Allison were both glad Holly was there. It didn't bother either one of them because her chip was currently in Cam's chassis.
Cam-Holly, Allison, and Claire all shared with each other.
After a while Claire wanted to wrap things up. She knew she needed to do other things.
Allison took a moment to look at Claire.
"I can honestly say I had a really great time." Allison said. "I don't think it should be something we do again."
Cam-Holly didn't think it was a big deal. She was actually surprised it took so long to happen.
"You mean it won't happen again until I'm back in my own chassis." Cam-Holly said.
The three girls looked at each other and giggled.
Allison would have preferred Holly to have been in her chassis now anyway. As much as she didn't mind her own appearance, she preferred Holly's normal appearance much more. It was what she was used to.
"As long as you keep your chassis, I'm game." Allison said. "I'm not the only one here."
Claire smiled at Allison and gently touched her cheek.
"You're my best friend, regardless of anything else." Claire said. "Thank you for what you've allowed."
Cam-Holly, Allison, and Claire dressed. There were other things which needed to be attended to.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Temporal Mission:
Past Timeline:
November 26 1963
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Young Allison wanted to ask about a few things related to the Lone Pine Branch.
"I've read about the 'Slim Princess'." Young Allison said. "I know it was how the narrow gauge line was referred to. There weren't too many Class 1 railroads which operated narrow gauge lines into the Sixties. I think Denver and Rio Grande is the only other major one to still operate a narrow gauge system. I know the operation will hang on for a few more years yet in Colorado and New Mexico. There will be two tourist railroads created out of what's left over. They're both still operating in modern times."
Cameron thought it might make a good side trip to visit the narrow gauge Rio Grande system in 1963. They would have until 1968 to do it. It would take a few years later for the tourist railroads to spring up. She thought about the former Southern Pacific narrow gauge line.
"The Carson and Colorado railroad operated from Mound House Nevada to Keeler California." Cameron said. "It took approximately just over three years to construct. It was originally associated with the Virginia and Truckee railroad. It was purchased by the Southern Pacific about seventeen years later. The SP operated it for approximately sixty years as it continued to cut the line shorter and shorter. It survived long enough to get a 50 Ton General Electric locomotive delivered new. It operated for a few years. It allowed the remaining two steam locomotives to be retired."
Young Allison viewed photos of the 50 Ton unit in both the Black Widow paint scheme as well as Red and Gray. She couldn't help but think about the quote from one of the officials who toured the line soon after its construction. Based on her experience in the desert areas, she agreed with his assessment, 'It was built either 300 miles too long or 300 years too early'. The route was approximately 301 miles long.
"I read it was referred to as the Jawbone Branch." Young Allison said. "They thought they found the jawbone of the Saber Tooth Tiger at the time. I know they refer to the animal by several different names now."
Cameron previously studied all of the big cats. They fascinated her. They were very efficient predators. The ones which survived were as well. There were a few renditions of them throughout time.
"The Smilodon is also known as the saber tooth cat." Cameron said. "I could see why people would rather equate it to a tiger, even if it's not closely related at all. A 'tiger' sounds more vicious than a 'cat'."
Cameron still found the small felines to be quite effective at terminating other animals. They didn't always do it to eat them either. She believed some terminations were carried out to hone their skills as they acted on their natural instincts. Any animal with claws and fangs was one to contend with. In reality, the size did matter. It was a reference she heard too in regards to other things as well. She believed it was a two-way street when it came to males and females about size.
They were on the main highway. The rail line for the Lone Pine branch cut across the joint highway of Route 6 and Route 466. Soon after crossing the railroad track, Route 6 headed off in a north east direction. It paralleled the railroad tracks for much of the way. Route 466 continued north. The route would soon turn in a northwesterly direction. It closely followed the railroad tracks as well. Route 466 would make its way through Tehachapi Pass and the small communities located within it.
"Even though it's referred to as the Lone Pine branch, the connection with the narrow gauge was actually at Owenyo." Cameron said. "There was an interchange track where equipment needed to be unloaded from standard gauge cars to narrow gauge cars and vice versa."
Young Allison thought it sounded like a total hassle to have to double handle everything. She viewed pictures of giant sections of pipe being moved when the Los Angeles Aqueduct was constructed. They were switched from the rail cars to mule teams to be taken further up into the Sierras. It looked like an even bigger hassle to her.
"It's a shame they never made the track standard gauge." Young Allison said. "I know it made a Sierra crossing at Montgomery Pass. It was at just over seven thousand feet in elevation. It's a shame to see someone's dream fade away."
Cameron tilted her head slightly.
"It was still in operation until 1960." Cameron said. "Well, the last segment of it was anyway. In modern times the standard gauge track goes to Searles where it interchanges with the Trona Railway. The Trona Railway is approximately thirty miles long on its own."
Young Allison understood it was all about money.
"People start businesses to earn money." Young Allison said. "Money is what makes the world go round."
Cameron tilted her head slightly in the other direction.
"It will be perceived by many as such until Judgment Day arrives." Cameron said. "It will still take about a year for everyone to realize money no longer matters. The only thing which will matter is survival."
Young Allison hoped the Resistance would be able to prevent Judgment Day. They already prevented several Judgment Days from occurring
"Let's just hope money will still matter and Judgment Day won't happen." Young Allison said.
Cameron looked over where Route 6 headed.
"Route 6 runs all the way across the country." Cameron said. "There was a point in time when it was the longest route. It ran from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. When the highway system is changed next year, it will be truncated at the California border but still continue the rest of the way across the country. Route 14 will take over a portion of what was once Route 6. The road we're on now will be changed from Route 466 to Route 58. You need to remember the only constant is change."
Young Allison took one look in back of them as they departed Mojave. She spotted the Ford dealer in Mojave Speedy referred to. It was before they crossed over the Lone Pine Branch. She really hoped he would get his Thunderbolt next year.
Cameron looked at the bleak landscape around her as they headed for the hills. The flatlands were behind them for now. You pleased her greatly to see the hills not littered with wind turbines. She believed they were an extreme eyesore. She thought they were more efficient ways to produce electricity. In modern times, they expanded from just north of the Mojave airport about a third of the way through Tehachapi pass.
She knew her power cell was much more efficient. Larger versions were known to be constructed in the future. Savannah and her destroyed one along with a parent version of Skynet. It was hard to say which actually did more damage when it exploded, the giant power cell, or the Nike Hercules missile warhead.
Young Allison spotted the full signal bridge over the dual track as they headed north.
"You don't see too many of those on the Southern Pacific." Young Allison said.
The Only Constant Is Change
Ideas and thoughts from one
Are not always easy to exchange
They can be narrow in scope
They can be wide in range
Some try to be dominant
So things aren't always pleasant
Rather than being a stimulant
They turn into an irritant
Even when one is careful
Things are hard to arrange
It never goes over well
When another tries to rearrange
A new course isn't always instant
Even if it's significant
There will always be a variant
When things should be consistent
It's impossible to know what will come next
Which makes it a little strange
The reality is actually
The only constant is change
Nobody