2020-02-24 - spike - Trapped again Part one

Author: spike
Title: Trapped again. Part one.
Date: 24 February 2020

It’s been five years since the events of “Trapped.” (If you want to read that, look at the stories archive for August 2016)

Mike was fourteen when he found he could walk across time and visit alternative histories. The first world he discovered that was significantly different to our own was one recovering from a devastating war and not just any war. World War One. As it didn’t end until the 1950s and even then, ended in a stalemate, the population, the technology, almost everything about it still feels a lot like the 1900s. That world, after freeing the slaves from the camp in which he’d been imprisoned, became his and their new home.

Since then, a lot’s happened. The discovery of a new and previously unknown element he decided to name omnium and the further discoveries of what it was capable of, allowing interworld communication and high-speed travel. It arrived with a flash and a displacement wave that pushed every living thing out of the world it struck within a radius of five miles, but, it also presented an opportunity.

Since then, he’s seen a hell of a lot. A type of computer so small and powerful, it makes even the world’s most powerful supercomputer look like a pocket calculator. A sender, a dual laser-powered transportation device in the form of a tall, metal tube, communicators that with an amazing range that could fit onto your wrist and sensors that can detect any injury, determine the operation of any device.

He’s seen what the world would’ve been like if Cromwell’s son had managed to keep his grip on power. He’s seen living dinosaurs, a world of technology gone mad, another where tech was still stuck in the 1980s and one ruled by fascists.

Two years ago, a friend’s son, Rhy, suffered a horrific injury. A broken neck. In an effort to save him, Eric journeyed back to the high tech world to fetch a surgeon who could fix him. The doctor decided to stay after the treatments were completed, first, to monitor the boy’s progress and then, because he didn’t want to go home.

Mike isn’t called Mike anymore. His first name change was forced on him in the slave camp. Yi-erwusiyisan. The numbers tattooed onto his chest became his name, but as his old named collar ended up around the camp commandant’s neck. When he moved to his new home he adopted a new name. His name is now Eric Siyisan.

Due to help from the army to break up the meteorite and an offer to sample the life, Eric and indeed, the Neurosurgeon called on to help Rhy both found they loved army life and joined up. Eric’s now a lance corporal and due to his profession, the doctor’s a major, chief medical officer and commander of the army reserve barracks in Kidsgrove, the village Eric and his rescued slaves rebuilt.
* * *
Trapped again.
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Eric marched into the office and stamped to attention. “Sir, you wanted to see me?”

“Yes. I have a favour to ask. I won’t order it, Eric. I know the risks.”

Eric sighed. “You want me to deliver your findings, sir.”

“Yes.”

“I’d be glad to, sir.”

“I feel I should warn you. Be careful when returning to my world next time. I imagine they’ll attempt to apprehend you. Theft the first time there, kidnapping the second.”

“Yes, sir. It’s not like they can do anything, is it?”

“That all depends. You yourself claimed those orbs of yours came from a world similar to mine. Maybe even one pretty much identical. They will have video footage of not only the use of your ability several times, but your use of a sender, if my ale-fuzzled brain remembers the events of that night correctly.”

“You think they might have a countermeasure?”

“I think they’re very clever people. I do know one action they can and most likely will resort to. If that happens, you’ll need to allow them to capture you.”

“Allow? Why, sir?”

“Let’s just put it this way. I’ve studied your original world, courtesy of your downloads. If someone loses their mobile phone, what happens?”

“They use their phone tracker app to locate it, sir.”

“And if the phone was stolen?”

“They lock it, sir. Effectively brick it, turn it… My computer? They could send some blocking command to it? Lock me out?”

Anderson nodded. “And it’s worse than that.”

“How, sir?”

“Once locked, it can be issued with one overriding command. Send blocking codes to other computers within range. They could nullify every computer in this world were you to return here with it in such a state. In that world, the computers can connect to the internet to verify the codes are genuine and issue a counter code if they’re legally owned. If no internet connectivity is available, however...”

“Shit!”

“If it happens, you’ll need to convince them to unblock it. Even if it means your arrest.”

“So, appear, send the message and return immediately before they can act?”

Cal shook his head. “Not this time. You need to speak to my superior at the hospital. He has the influence to get the message taken seriously.”

Eric sighed. “Looks like a few more disgruntled mes in the near future, sir.”

“I’m afraid so, yes. Maybe not as bad as before, though.”

“Sir? I’d hate to be stuck there. That world would be hell for someone like me.”

“I suggest you speak to young Tad. I believe he has an insight that may aid you in such an instance.”

“A way back? Without omnium?”

“He believes so. He hasn’t tested his hypothesis for a long distance yet, but definitely something to consider. For it to work you will require a fully operational computer though. Another reason to get them to unblock it, should such a situation occur.”

Eric nodded and smiled as an idea struck him. “I’ll take the hat. If they don’t recognise me they can’t arres”

“No! I forbid it. In fact, before you make use of a sender again you’ll give me that hat.”

“Sir?”

“The technology, though not identical, did appear about forty years ago. It was designed as a novelty, a way to produce the most convincing fancy dress outfits, a way for actors to change personas when performing their art but the technology was abused. Terribly abused. It didn’t take long for retros and criminals to gain access to it to aid them in their… their atrocities. As a result, it was banned for public use. Such things are only used now for military and police purposes.”

“But I’ll look like someone else. How would they know?”

“Oh trust me, they’d know. The drones you possess are consumer level products and even they could be ordered to see through such a disguise by switching to infra-red. The drones in use by the security services are far more capable. They’ll see through such a cloak instantly and you’d likely spend ten years in prison for possessing such technology.”

Eric gulped. “Ten years? Just for disguising myself?”

“Disguising yourself using that, yes. Pasting on a fake beard and wearing a wig isn’t illegal but using a holographic disguise you can use to switch between thirty different people in a matter of minutes most definitely is.”

“Yes, sir. Such a shame. It’s been really useful here.”

The doctor chuckled. “Oh, don’t I know it. What the lad used it for was very creative. All the more reason to keep it here.”

“Oh well, I’ll have to disappoint sergeant Canning.”

“Oh?”

“He ordered me to collect more of those hats the next time I went there. He saw their potential immediately. I did tell him of the limitations, though.”

The doctor nodded and pushed a computer across the desk. “Take that one rather than yours. Just in case they do issue the blocking code and refuse to release it. It’s fully loaded with everything yours had.”

“Thank you, sir. Any advice? On dealing with them?”

“I can’t say I’ve ever had the need to involve myself with the police, Eric. I would suggest you insist they provide a power cell. For your taser, so you can ground yourself there. They’re likely to confiscate everything if it does come to your arrest.”

“I would get it back, wouldn’t I?”

“Anything they deem as stolen would likely be removed. The senders, no. The orbs, shouldn’t be. I’m unsure if they are from my world, but it seems highly unlikely. You did say you shifted a few times before acquiring your first computer upgrades, didn’t you?”

“I did, sir, yes.”

“Well, that computer is one collected when you… ahem… acquired me. Even if its registration number does exist, it should be clean. It contains the new files I intend to send, along with my testimony, should you face a judge. Your job now, London central hospital, neurology department. The head of that department is called Bren Van Holder. He's the person you need to deliver the package to. If you’re arrested, request him as a witness.”

“But he’s never met me, sir.”

“No, but it’s illegal to turn down such a request, and it would seem to me, to be the ideal opportunity to deliver the information. The computer should be unblocked if it comes to trial.”

“Yes, sir. I suppose I’d better be off. The sooner this is done, the sooner I can get back and start on the recruitment drive and then have some fun at the expense of those new recruits, sir.”

Cal chuckled. “Quite. On your way, then.”
* * *[/align]
Eric yawned as he decoupled his sender into halves and repacked them. Three hours to get to a world with a working train network, five hours to get to London. Another forty minute to walk to the bloody park. It’d been too late to get the tube by the time he arrived. When he got to Green Park, another six to get to his final destination… He sighed and hitched on his pack again.

“At least I got a kip on the train.”

He shifted, walked a few more minutes and *ping*. He was there. Doctor Anderson’s birth world.

He jogged down onto the street and looked around. “Now the real fun begins. Computer, where’s doctor Bren Van Holder?”

“Doctor Bren Van Holder is in his residence at”

“Well?”

The computer remained silent. He took it out and looked at it. “Computer?”

He tapped it. Nothing. When he tapped it a second time a red inverted triangle containing an exclamation mark rotated in mid-air. Beneath the sign, some text. “This device has been locked. If you think this was in error, please report to the nearest police station.”

“Typical. He was right. They certainly don’t waste their time. Computer, can you at least guide me to the nearest police station?”

“Permission denied. This device is locked under the authority of the chief inspector of the greater home-counties police force.”

“Can you do anything?”

“Permission denied. This device is locked under the authority of the chief inspector of the greater home-counties police force.”

Eric sighed, turned, strolled back into the park and sat on a bench.

He looked around, expecting to see a squad of armed men charging at him any minute… Nothing.

Then he spotted the drone. It hovered a few feet in front of him.

“Let me help you there.” He removed his cap. “Good facial recognition, now? Getting a good look? Well bloody well get your police here to collect me, then. As you’ve so kindly locked my computer, I don’t know how to find a station. Oh, and you might as well hear my demands. Demand one. I need an energy cell. Direct current. Between five and twenty volts with terminals I can connect wires to. Provide that and I’ll come quietly. More. Willingly. Demand two. I can guess you’ll have a shedload of trumped-up charges, so, when this goes to trial, I want doctor Bren Van Holder there as a witness. Demand three. You do not tamper with anything in this pack. By all means, scan the contents but no playing about with them. Some of the stuff I’m carrying is dangerous in inexperienced hands. Demand four, that my computer will be unlocked. Whether that’s when I’m in custody or on trial, I don’t care… Much… Obviously, I’d prefer sooner rather than later. I’ll just wait here.”

Eric remained alert and it wasn’t long before he spotted the first one, lurking behind a bush, weapon aimed. He glanced around and spotted three more.

“I can see you, gentlemen. You might as well come out of hiding, I’m not going to attack you or anything. As I said to the drone, I’m willing to come quietly as long as my demands are met.”

“And if they aren’t?”

“Then I suppose I’ll just have to return home and report mission failed.”

“You’re not going anywhere.”

“Until I’m in your custody I can go wherever I damned well please. Have you got the energy cell?”

One of the men emerged from the bushes, weapon still raised and approached him.

“Well? Have you got the energy cell?”

“We don’t strike deals with terrorists!”

“Just as well I’m not one, then.”

“But you’re a retro!”

“I’d never even heard the term the first time someone accused me of being one. No, I most certainly am not. I find computers incredibly useful. I’ve never destroyed one in my life.”

“Why don’t you have a chip, then?”

“Because something of that complexity hasn’t been invented yet where I’m from. I’m on a mission to help people, not hurt them. The computer you blocked contains vital medical knowledge that could improve the lives of millions of people and save you a hell of a lot of trouble. Now…” Eric stood. “Energy cell.”

“What do you need it for?”

“I exist in a state of… I suppose you could say flux. This world is very distant from my own and I am not grounded to it, which means when all my possessions are taken, they run the risk of vanishing into thin air within the hour. Maybe two, I’m not sure at this distance. I obviously don’t intend that to happen. With an energy cell, I can fix myself to this world and prevent that.”

“World? Serio”

“Yes, seriously. Ask your computer if you don’t believe me. Who do you think set your world on the path it’s on now, researching antibiotics? Search for the first use of the word. That would be me, a few years ago when I took the computers from the store in Manchester.”

“You confess? To sealing twenty-five thousands pounds worth of computing equipment?”

“That’s one way to put it… Not the way I would. I believe I’ve paid for those and a hell of a lot more with the information I provided before we left. Now, one last time… Energy cell.”

“I… I don’t know what specifications you require.”

“What do you mean? I was quite clear on that point when I spoke to the drone.”

“What, in the name of reason, is a volt?”

“Hmm… Interesting… Have you ever heard of an amp? A watt?”

“No! What are they?”

“Measurements of electricity. Volt, potential difference. Amp, electrical current. Watt, multiply the previous two and you get electrical power. You… I suppose you must have different measurements here. Suppose it stands to reason. You’d never heard of bits or bytes either. OK…” Eric pulled out his taser. “Scan this. It contains a nine volt battery. Use that scan to convert to your measurement system.”

“Drop the weapon!”

Eric sighed. “It isn’t a bloody weapon! Well, it’s not what we use it for, anyway. Scan it! Get me that energy cell or I’m off.”

The policeman chuckled. “You already know we have you surrounded.”

“In three dimensions, you have me surrounded. Not willing to fulfil my demands? I’ll just vanish into thin air the way my clothing and possessions will if you take them off me without grounding.” Eric shifted and took a step, keeping an eye on the man as he did so.

Another one to jump out of his skin. Eric jogged behind him, walked back and tapped him on the shoulder.

The man spun on the spot and took a step back, fear, no, terror in his eyes. He raised his weapon.

Eric held his hands up, palms facing outward. “I said I’m not going to hurt anyone. Now, are you going to comply with my demands, or am I going to just say sod the lot of you and go home? Your choice, but trust me, I do hold millions of pounds worth of vital medical information and I intend to deliver it. I’ve demonstrated that I can vanish. So… What’s it going to be?”

“Shitting blood! What are you?”

“Just a man. I admit I have an unusual talent but apart from that, I’m just as much flesh and blood as the rest of you. More, in fact, considering I’m not chipped.”

“And you’ll willingly submit to arrest, trial, imprisonment when found guilty?”

“If it means getting the information package to the desired recipient, the first two, yes. In fact, I’d insist on it but I won’t be found guilty. Not in any land that values justice anyway. I don’t know if that's one of the values you hold dear. I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed on that point.”

“Your… what…”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Look, just…” he pointed at the taser.

The policeman nodded. “Computer, scan the energy source of the device held by the suspect and determine its specifications. Does size or shape matter?”

“No, only electrical properties. It does need to have something I can connect the wires to.”

“Standard cell size, with terminals suitable for connecting wire to… Send to the nearest fabrication station.”

“Device will be ready for collection in five minutes at a cost of five pounds. Do you wish for it to be delivered to your current location? Additional cost for delivery, five pounds.”

“Yes, yes. Deliver it. Charge it to my office account rather than my personal one.” He glanced at Eric. “That will, of course, be added to your bill.”

“Bill? And what if I don’t have any money?”

“Everyone has some.”

“Back home, yes. Here, not a penny. Nothing. No bank account, no credit, no nothing.”

“But that’s… So, we can add vagrancy to your charges.”

Eric rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t born here. The reason I don’t have a bloody chip is, as I said, they haven’t invented it there. Frankly, I hope they never do. I don’t like the idea one bit.”

“You… You are a retro!”

“I might sympathise with some of their ideals, but I’ve never met one. I’ve certainly never committed any crimes on their behalf. There’s nothing illegal about agreeing with someone on one or two points.”

“And those points would be?”

Eric’s eyes narrowed. “You’re fishing, aren’t you.”

“Fishing? What’s fishing?”

“Oh no, you don’t. You’re just trying to prod me into saying things that’ll incriminate me in other imagined crimes. I’m very good friends with a couple of high ranking ex-police officers back home. It’s just the kind of thing they would’ve done. Look. The only reason I’m here is to help you people. I told you to look it up, so do it. First mention of the word antibiotics.”

The man sighed and took a pyramid-shaped computer from his pocket. “Computer, search for the first use of the term antibiotics.” He returned his attention to Eric. “It might speed things along if you gave context.”

“Location. Manchester, back Piccadilly. Can’t remember the date. That was the first time I’d been accused of being a retro. As I said, just after taking the computers.”

The screen that popped up showed an overhead view of an alley. Obviously a drone’s eye view. Eric, Quentin, Angela and Drake stood behind a dumpster. On the other side of it, a group of police officers.



Eric held up his hand. “You might want to review the entire scene later, but I was right, wasn’t I? The information I provided must be worth billions. What’s a bagful of computers compared to that? Not to mention the lives that knowledge will save. The information I have now is related in part. Some of it’s to do with Doctor Anderson’s work treating a boy with a broken neck. He’s made a few breakthroughs while he’s been with us.”

“You realise that’s not how we pay for things. The shop assistant was a wreck when he reappeared from wherever you sent him.”

Eric shrugged. “I still think the good I’ve done here far outweighs…” He looked around for the source of a whirring noise in the distance. It grew louder as, from across the park, a drone appeared above the trees. A full-sized drone this time. It flew directly overhead and something thudded into the ground nearby. “Is that what I think it is?”

“It is.” The policeman jogged over to retrieve the package and opened it as he returned. He handed Eric the contents. “One energy cell.”

Eric got his voltage splitter from another pocket, connected it up, set the power to the halfway point, connected it to the taser, placed it and the taser on the ground and stepped away.

“What are you…”

“You can do it. Just pick the whole lot up, prod me with the taser and pull the trigger. Doesn’t need to be long, less than a second.”

“You’re trusting me to do this?”

“I’m showing my good faith. I’m proving to you that I am here for nothing but beneficial purposes by placing my trust in you. Once you’ve done it, arrest away, I won’t put up a struggle. I said I’d come willingly, didn’t I?”

“Very well.” The policeman prodded him and pulled the trigger, eliciting a grunt of pain from Eric.”I’m arresting you for the crimes of grand theft, kidnapping, sedition, treason, actual bodily harm, terrorism, refusal to report to a registration centre for application of a mandatory citizenship tag or illegal removal of said tag. Anything you say or have said in the past will be used in court to aid either in your defence or prosecution.” He looked Eric up and down and fidgetted, twiddling with the dial. “You are obligated to answer any questions put to you and a refusal will automatically be seen as an admission of guilt. You will be provided with all you need to keep you healthy, both mentally and physically while you are incarcerated and you will be granted the opportunity to request an advocate trained in law to aid you in your defence. You will also be granted limited access to a computer to do the same. Do you have anything to say in reply to those charges?”

“Only that I’ve paid for the things I took a thousandfold with the information I provided. The rest of the charges, not guilty.”

“Very well. I’m not prepared to believe you.” He flicked a switch on the taser, pointed and fired. The barbed wires shot from the device, embedded themselves into Eric’s chest and electricity pulsed through him, just as it had prior to his enslavement.

Oh fuck… He’d forgotten just how bad it was. Eric lost total control over his limbs, he stiffened and the only thing that he could muster was “Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggghgghhh!” as he collapsed to the ground and curled into a ball. The shocks continued.

“You do not dictate terms! You do not tell me what to shitting well do! You are a terrorist and a plague on humanity!”

Another voice then, one from behind Eric. “Good job, lieutenant. The arrogance of the man! You’re right, he’s a bloody vector!”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Sooner he’s tried and locked up th”

The words faded to an echo, and then to nothing as consciousness left him.