Chapter 12

I completed the installation of the security devices and after that I made a trip back to Fritz. I needed his advice, and there was a question nagging me that needed an answer.

I was welcomed with open arms by the whole group, or was it family? They didn't want to hear anything about my troubles until we'd all had a light lunch and when I asked if they had any more of that ham they served me last time, I was double welcome. It turned out that Sabine, who was the only one that spoke French fluently, had come up with the recipe after they had eaten it in a slightly different variety the first time. Sabine was the only one that had any contact with the people from the village and the difference in her pronunciation and the villager's she had blamed on the fact that she had just moved here with her husband, an invalid from the Crusades. This gave her, and him, a certain leeway by the fact that Fritz was never seen and that she seldom showed up in public.

The women talked about food and wine while we ate. I just hummed and nodded in agreement, as most of it went way over my head. I know when something tastes good, but as to why it does so, I have only the vaguest idea.

Later, while the women did their tasks, Fritz and I had a moment to ourselves.

"You remember when you told me that I left a trace in the time-waves?"

"Mhm," he looked at me a little bewildered.

"Have you traced others?"

"Yes."

"How? Where?"

"You don't want to know. So far I have traced eight travelers. None of them, besides you, are nice people. They seem to get some sort of paranoia, megalomania, from time traveling and act as kings in their hideouts or whatever you'd like to call it."

"Well, for me it would be a safe-haven. A place where I could live with my family without any moral judgments. Where there could be as many women for every man, or men for every woman if that is what the women want, and do as we please, with no one around to condemn it."

"Mhm, just my idea. I've suggested to my wives that we should bring in another man, or a couple of them even, but they absolutely reject it."

"Lucky you," I smiled.

"Have you found your place then?"

"No... Well yes... Maybe. There is an island just off the coast of Scandinavia I've been thinking of. I just haven't had time to check it out completely yet. It could, as far as I know, be connected to the mainland during the time I'm thinking of."

"What time is that?"

"A couple of hundred years AD."

"Well, I should have thought it was too cold to consider that."

"No, as a matter of fact the climate in Scandinavia at that time was subtropical."

"Oh. Just as it is here?"

"More or less, I guess. I haven't been there yet. That's part of why I came here today. To ask you to calculate the correct coordinates for me. I'm not sure, but I think that you have to take the... , I don't know what you call it, when the land recedes away from the coast."

"Mmm, the term escapes me at the moment, but I know what you mean. I don't think there was much of that so far up to the north, though. You could probably ignore it. Do you have a map with you? I'll tag along if you don't mind. I've got nothing to do and I'm a bit bored."

"Sure, why not? It would be nice to have some company, and someone who can give an opinion before I show it to Anita and Nina."

"Your ladies?"

"Yes. You must have scouted a few places before you decided on this one?"

"Yes. I had, as you, a rough idea where I wanted to settle but it took me a couple of trips to find this one. Yours is, if I understand you correctly, much smaller?"

"Yes. You can easily cross it on foot in a couple of hours. My father took me there when I was a kid."

He told his wives where he was going and off we went.

When we arrived at the time and place I had decided on, we stepped out and, as we stood outside of the Machine, I just knew that this was the place, if Nina and Anita would be willing to move here with me.

"Nice. Very nice," Fritz mumbled, as he let his eyes follow the soft curve of the shoreline.

"More so than I thought it would be. I saw it as it is about a thousand years later. Do you think its safe to look around?"

Fritz sniffed the air.

"I don't think there is anyone else here. I can't smell any smoke, and it has been my experience that whenever there is a human close by you can always smell the smoke. It is like a primal need for man to have a fire burning."

"Mhm. And being here, I can see why. It's almost as if it needs a fire to be perfect," I laughed a little. "How did you build your house, that far away from your own time? And, by the way, which is your own time?"

"Oh, I thought you already knew. I told you about my friend who went off to war, so the early nineteen thirties is my real time. The last time I was there was in thirty-nine. It was ugly. I was so ashamed of what my country had turned into. And I couldn't rescue anyone!"

I glanced over at him at his outburst and I saw tears in his eyes. Sixty years ago and he still ached!

"But... You don't look a day older than me!" I exclaimed.

"I think that the aging mechanisms in our bodies slow down, or they may well even stop completely as far as I know, when you travel in time."

"You mean that you - we, are immortal?"

"No. I don't think so. If we were exposed to an accident, a lethal one, I'm certain that we would die. But as long as we just travel and live our lives, I think that we can keep on living for quite some time."

"How did you manage to build your house then?" I changed the subject. I had so many questions that I just had to ask them as soon as an opportunity showed.

"Oh, all it took was some time and planning. First of all you need a comprehensive plan, not only for the material but also for the house itself. You can't just add a room here and a room there. I don't think that heating will be more of a problem here than it is at 'Die Freude', well we call it that," he glanced at me, a little embarrassed.

"I can understand why," I replied, and I really could.

"Anyway. We built it more or less all by ourselves. It's not that difficult. All you have to do is plan it very well. Get the lumberyard to saw the boards to your specifications. For the groundwork, you'll have to rent a small bulldozer. You only need it for one day and then you can use it as long as you want to. The benefit of time travels," he smiled. "I can help you with everything. And I think that at least Helga, Ela and Katja will help with the actual labor. They are very skilled with a hammer and saw, and they can even build a wall of bricks if you need one. Maybe for the chimney. But otherwise, I think it should be wood only. Well insulated, of course. It's easier to build and easier to destroy if you have to. You never know," he added when he saw my worried expression. "As I told you. There are some very nasty people out there in The Time-dimension. And you wouldn't like to leave a trace of an invention that is a couple of hundred years away."

"Are they able to trace us the way you traced them?"

"I don't know. I hope not. I stumbled over the first trace quite by accident but once you've seen it there's no problem in following it. Well, perhaps a little. It is more or less like navigating at night."

"Well, lets hope that they are just as inept with a map as I am."

Fritz just shrugged his shoulders.

"Have you talked with your... ladies yet?

"No, I'm planning to. I just introduced them to each other."

"I take it that it went well, otherwise you wouldn't be standing here making plans, would you?" he grinned.

"Oh, the meeting went well. More than well, as a matter of fact."

"Yes. There is something about time travel. It seems to increase your libido a bit; Quite a bit actually."

We searched the area, and when we reached the other side of the island, we found the perfect place. It was the side that faced the mainland. There was a very steep slope and when I looked down it, I saw some very nasty looking rocks in the water which looked wild and angry. What made it perfect was that there was a thicket which would hide any light from being seen, either from the sea or from land.

"This place is perfect. We could put the building there, and there we can have the garden. Do you think we can build a pool? That would be just perfect!"