Chapter 2: Outside

Location : Melbourne, Oceania
Era : Monday, 22 May 2299 CE

They stepped out onto the pavement, which was crowded with a colorful assortment of pedestrians.

“But it is not just medicine you seem to know, it’s everything, and anything. You know English, when the other people around here don’t, and you know about time travel.”

“All human knowledge at finger tips. The trick, the art is finding right knowledge at right time.”

“So you’re saying you are just good at ‘Googling’ things. Are you using the tarka to connect to the internet?”

“Huummm. Google, yes Google good metaphor. Using tarka yes. Public network called Mesh now. Using public network, and data-stores, but also am using many private networks, and data-stores.”

“So if you are not a doctor, what are you?”

“I Mage.”

Small vehicles zipped along the road at high speed. Most of them were two wheelers. None of them seemed as large as the cars of Mark’s era.

“You mean like magic? You say ‘abracadabra’ and I turn into a frog.”

“Not magic, although may look like it from outside. Sleight of hand, and misdirection is part of it. Exploitation of unintended consequences of rules and laws, much part of it.”

“Exploits huh? Sounds like you are a hacker. That makes sense, you hacked those poor doctors.”

Kara guided them towards the curb.

“There more to Mage level work, than hacking communication, and control system.”

“I am sure there is. What’s with the non-standard appearance?” Mark said, tugging his ears.

“You mean this?” said Kara running her hands down her body.

“Yes, you and about a quarter of the people in this crowd.” said Mark noting the bizarre body shapes, and skin colors of some of the people within sight.

A small vehicle pulled up in front of them at the curb. The doors opened revealing that the vehicle was empty.

“This actually Queen Lielesi, from the 2297 version of ‘Elves of Atlantis’, with few changes because Intellectual Property laws. It pretty popular body.”

“And when you say you have someone else’s body, you mean -?”

“Physical appearance matter of choice here.” Kara helped him into the vehicle.

“Is this cosmetic surgery?”

“No, your tarka does it. Physical customization not something need doctor for. The average person takes few weeks to change appearance. High level Tarkika do it faster.” The vehicle contained a recliner big enough for two. There was no steering wheel, and no driver. “So you don’t actually look like this.” said Mark as Kara slid in beside him and closed the door.

“Of course I look like this. These things you keep looking at are me.” Kara grabbed his good hand and placed his hands on her pointed ears. The vehicle pulled out from the curb and sped down to road.

“These other things you keep on looking at are me too.” Kara moved his hands to her breasts. “The third thing you keep on glancing at is me too.” Kara moved his hands lower. Mark automatically jerked his hand away, then instantly regretted it.

“Tomorrow I will look different. That will be me too.” Kara said.

After a pause Kara continued. “Before go to your arrival point, must pick up equipment. Need to create equipment. We go to Cafe with printer.”

“Kara, how come you were at the clinic? You are not a doctor, not a patient. You are not the person who took me to the clinic. You don’t seem to be an average person at all. The more I talk to you the less ordinary you seem,” asked Mark.

“Those all very good questions, not sure have time to answer now. We need move quickly.”

“Try to answer them.”

“Unlikely things happened, bring us together. Things that make me believe this is not wild goose chase. That we find what we search for. Which good because things turn out badly for both of us if we do not,” said Kara.

“You are not making much sense. What unlikely events are you talking about?”

“Instead of calling ambulance like sensible person, Good Samaritan carry you to nearby clinic himself. I get message from friend asking to meet. Friend does not turn up. You turn up, and I investigate disturbance. I run into Good Samaritan carrying you, and I realize you have no tarka. I help Samaritan take you to clinic. Rest you know.”

“What happened to the Good Samaritan?” asked Mark.

“He took off like demons chasing him. He did not want involved.”

“Did you say something about improbable events being good? I did not understand what you were trying to say there.”

“Some events that would ordinarily be improbable, become probable in presence of time loops. We need to talk about the Cafe we are nearly there,” said Kara.

“Really, but how do you know an unlikely event is caused by a time loop, and it’s not just a coincidence?”

“I don’t know if not coincidence. Makes life interesting. We need to talk about the Cafe. I need to use Cafe’s printer create equipment to detect, capture, and utilize the item we are after. However there is complication. I need to physically alter the printer without anyone seeing me do it.”

“Item? You mean the time machine?” asked Mark.

“I mean Chowdhury-Shmakov particle. The object responsible for your arrival in this time?”

“How do you know all this?”

“Theory of time travel, and design of practical time travel device discovered in 2143. All that is missing is Chowdhury-Shmakov particle. We need two things device, and particle. Will you help me?” asked Kara.

“Why do you want this time travel device so much?”

“I think I can save you, my friends, everyone. Will you help me?”

“What do you want me to do?” asked Mark.

Kara pulled out a sharp nail-like object, and a small black circle. “How good an actor are you?”

Kara and Mark wandered into the Cafe arm in arm gazing at each in adoration. As they reached their table, Mark kissed her and pushed her against a large black cabinet. There was a loud crack that Mark was sure everyone in the Cafe had heard. Then something sharp poked him in the arm. Belatedly Mark remembered to take the nail from her hand and give her the black circle. She covered the hole she had made in the printer (which Mark gathered was some kind of distant descendant of his century’s 3D printers) with the black circle. She slipped around him and led him to the table. Mark sat down in a daze.

“Mark! I need you focus. This life and death. If we get this wrong we both die. Paaay atteeention.”

“Sorry, I guess I really got into the role.”

“No kidding.” Kara brought his right hand under her nose, sniffed, then bought it under his. It was wet, sticky and had a strong Jasmine scent with a hint of sharpness that set off a response in the base of his skull.

“I didn’t?” asked Mark.

“Yes, you did. On the positive side, no-one in Cafe was paying any attention to what I was doing to printer. On the negative side, I was doing something complicated at the time, and I did not need the distraction. Also you tried to lift me up. All my weight plus your weight went on bad leg. It is going to hurt much bad, when painkiller wears off. Plus I had to stop you doing something stupid, with your left arm. You DO realize it is broken? You can’t just wave it about. I KNEW I gave you too many painkillers.”

“I am sorry. I guess I was distracted.”

“I need you to help me. Drink your soup.” Kara gulped down some of her milkshake. Mark stared blankly at the cup of hot liquid and the small pastry in front on him. He had not even noticed, when they had served the food. He sipped the hot liquid from his cup it tasted like seafood chowder, really good seafood chowder.

“I am trying to keep us alive. I need you to focus. Repeat after me survive first, fuck second.”

“Fuck second.” Mark said struggling to keep a stupid hopeful smile off his face. He could not seem to help himself.

“Aaand I have lost him again. It is really just as people say about men, blood drains out of big head, and goes into little head. Mark I need you to help me help you.”

“Jerry McGuire.” Said Mark as he bit into the pastry, it melted in his mouth flooding his senses with the taste of cheese, spinach and egg.

“Who!? No, No, please don’t explain.” Kara looked disappointed in him. “Remember the elevator. This is going to be much worse. First, I have to compromise the café’s systems so they do not notice when the printer misbehaves, then I have use the automata, that I introduce to the printer to jailbreak it, then I have to modify the design of the extraction device, because the open content version does not do exactly what we need. The time travel device only needs minor changes. When the printer prints both devices you need to collect devices from the output tray, then drag me into the restroom and shove me under a cold shower. I will upload 21st century English language package to bathroom control logic. Bathroom should respond to voice command,” said Kara.

Mark sobered at the mention of the elevator. He still remembered his panic when he thought she was dying. Flying drones picked up his empty cup and tray and replaced it with a new cup and a tray of dumplings. He took a sip from the new cup. It tasted of beef, apple, curry and a little chili. He realized that Kara was now completely naked. He had not noticed her taking off her skirt. Not that the skirt covered much.

“Any chance of something with a little alcohol in it?” asked Mark.

“You are already as high as a kite. The only reason you are hobbling around, or even sitting up, is your blood stream is full of chemicals, which do not react well to alcohol.” Kara crunched her ice. She was starting to look flushed. The drone brought a bucket of ice.

“Mark! My face is up here,” said Kara gesturing at her eyes. “Mark I swear, if you don’t focus I will inject with the antidote for that happy juice, I gave you, and you will feel all the abuse you have inflicted upon your poor body. Well, all the abuse WE have inflicted upon your poor body.” Kara grabbed a hand full of ice, and rubbed it across her face and neck.

Mark remembered rubbing ice all over her body in the elevator. His eyes followed the path of a drop of melt water as it flowed down her body.

“Mark!” Kara held a hand in front of him. Mark blinked. A needle was protruding from her finger tip.

“I will be good.”

Suddenly needles were protruding from all fingers “I don’t want you to be good. I want you to ... what?”

“You want me to focus. When the printer has finished creating both devices, I collect them from the output tray, then drag, or carry you to the toilets, and give you a cold shower,” said Mark.