Jane stood silently and looked as if she were gripped by indecision. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. "I am not supposed to say anything to you, but... you should understand ... this was a unique opportunity."
"An opportunity?" said Con in a resentful tone.
"My field of study is held in low esteem. Our ancestry is considered distasteful and irrelevant. Time travel is banned, including the use of probes. Only the emergency brought us here."
"So you came along as the specialist on Homo sapiens" said Rick.
"Yes," said Jane. "I was only supposed to conduct the interrogations. Yet, when Con crossed the barrier..."
Rick stared at Con in amazement. "You crossed the pain field?"
"No human could have done that," stated Jane. "I was intrigued."
"You just called me by my name, and you still don't think I'm human?" said Con.
"It's a scientific fact," said Jane. "I am merely objective."
"And when you look at me with revulsion," said Con, "is that being objective, too?"
"It is sometimes hard to ignore ingrained attitudes," said Jane. "Your bodies are so... so exaggerated." As she spoke, her eyes focused on Con's breasts.
"What attitudes are you speaking of?" asked Rick.
"Ancient ones," said Jane, "dating back to the Purifica-tion."
"The Purification?" said Con.
"I cannot discuss it," said Jane. "What I have already said and done will get me in enough trouble."
"So letting me loose was not authorized," said Con.
"No, but I wanted to understand why you crossed the bar-rier," said Jane. "Such a thing is considered impossible."
"Perhaps it shows what you lost pursuing perfection," said Con.
Jane looked at Con thoughtfully. "Perhaps."
"Would her deed make any difference to your colleagues?" asked Rick.
"It is unlikely. I am an uncommon person with uncommon attitudes. Few people believe the past is important."
"This observatory doesn't reflect a disinterest in the past," said Rick.
"We did not build it," said Jane. "It is an artifact from a future that no longer exists."
"And you're here to ensure that doesn't happen to the current future," said Rick.
"That is our task."
"So when you discovered the probe's data," said Rick, "you came to stop us from playing with your fate. We're the apes in the control room, so to speak."
"You are very perceptive," said Jane.
"All we did was go on a vacation," said Con. "We're not playing with anyone's fate."
"Everything that occurs in the past affects the future," said Jane. "We are in an extremely delicate situation."
"Let us go," pleaded Con. "We won't change anything."
"We must take whatever action that results in our current reality," said Jane. "That is what my colleagues are research-ing."
"If our fate is already sealed," said Con, "can't we be left alone while we await it?" Jane said something in her own language before she spoke again in English. "If you desire privacy, you need only to command it. I have instructed the room to comply with your wishes. You will not be seen or heard."
"Thank you," said Con.
"You will be left in peace," said Jane. "At least until my colleagues return today." She started to go, but stopped. "Good-bye, Con. Good-bye, Rick." Then she quickly de-parted. As soon as Jane left, Rick said, "Give us privacy" and the openings in the colonnade filled with a softly shimmering silvery-blue.
"She changed," said Con.
"Yeah," said Rick. "It gives me hope for humanity."
"Too bad she said she was uncommon," replied Con. "I don't hold much hope for Hitler or Stalin. We don't have much time left." When Rick didn't respond, she feared he agreed. They made love, knowing it might be for the last time, and their passion was bittersweet. Afterward, Con found her thoughts turning melancholy. She thought of Joe and then of the dream. " Constance, I have a gift..." he said. "A mes-sage. "
They dressed and made the silvery curtain vanish so they could gaze upon the world. The sky was still dark gray, but not as dark as they remembered. They stepped beyond the stone pillars to feel the cold breeze from the sea.
"The smell's gone," said Con.
"The world's already beginning to forget," said Rick. "And, somewhere, our ancestors are poking their heads out from their holes and thinking, 'Whew! No nightstalkers!' "
Rick got a gleam in his eye. "Let's go to the beach."
"I don't have any shoes!"
"I'll carry you." Rick swung Con up in his arms and ran toward the beach. She laughed and screamed the whole dis-tance. Rick halted at the water's edge. "We had our first kiss here," he said.
"I'm getting cold."
"A kiss will warm you up."
"Only one? Some guide. I'm colder than that."
Rick laughed and was bending to kiss Con when she cried, "Look!"
Rick followed her gaze into the sky. The silver disk of the descending time machine stood out against the dark clouds. The laughter departed from Rick's face. He carried Con back to his stone room. Watching from the room, they saw Hitler and Stalin returning after the time machine had landed. As they marched through the snow, they were trailed by a large, intricately textured cube that levitated a few feet off the ground. They entered the room to the left and disappeared with the cube. A minute later, the multicolored barrier ap-peared between the columns of Rick and Con's room. Rick grasped Con's hand as they watched the silver panel and waited to hear their fate.
The panel opened, and Jane and Hitler entered the room. Both were carrying weapons. Hitler pointed his at Rick and Con.
Pale and shaken, Jane began to speak. "My colleagues have returned with the archive ..." Hitler silenced her with a burst of harsh-sounding tones. Then he addressed Con and Rick. "Tell me the exact date you departed in the time machine."
"February 17, 2059," said Rick.
Without a word, Hitler left the room, followed by Jane.
Con was trembling. "I thought that was it," she said, "and there's still something I need to remember."
"What?"
Con's expression became one of desperate concentration. "I don't know, but it's important." Only a few minutes had passed when the panel opened again. Hitler returned with Jane. Jane's face betrayed the bad news. "Con," she said, "you need to come with us." She spoke some words and the colored barrier vanished. Hitler gestured with his weapon, indicating Con should step out-side. Con turned pale and gently kissed Rick. "Good-bye," she whispered. "I love you." Con stepped into the snow, then, with a wild look in her eye, turned to Jane. "I'm Constance!" she shouted. "I'm Con-sta..." Her words were cut off as the barrier reappeared. Rick stared at the swirling colors as his vision blurred with tears. It's so ironic, he thought, that in her last moments, she wanted to be known by the name her father called her. The idea of Con, so brave and strong, reverting back to her child-hood name seemed especially sad. Rick stood, waiting to die any moment, yet the minutes mounted. "Come on!" he said angrily. "Get it over with!" An hour passed before the silver panel opened and Hitler entered with Stalin. Their childlike faces bore hard, cold ex-pressions. Hitler pointed his weapon at Rick. 'Take off your shoes," he ordered. Rick silently complied. When he was barefoot, he was told to lie down on the bed. Rick lay down and stared at the weapon pointed at him, determined not to betray his fear. Soon I'll be with Con, he thought. The weapon glowed blue and the world dissolved into darkness. 39
EVERYTHING WAS A SOFT AND UNBROKEN BLUE. CON'S
face appeared, then Rick felt her lips upon his. "It's about time you woke up!" she said. Rick found it hard to move, and he spoke with difficulty. "Where ... where am I?"