A Universe Less Traveled by Eric von Schrader

Author:Eric von Schrader [Schrader, Eric von]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: science fiction, St. Louis, alternate universes
Publisher: ABSOM Books
Published: 2020-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Supreme Protector

1942

After Peter Tomlinson returned with the three products, patents were filed, deals were made, and money—quite a bit—changed hands. Jim’s plan was off to a great start. Now he wanted to see the other city for himself and begin the next phase.

Vern protested once again. Jim mollified his fears by agreeing to go for only two days, and to be accompanied by Peter.

“We’ll be careful. I’ll come back.” Jim mostly wanted to see his old home for himself. When Jim and Peter were ready to depart for the other city, Jim patted his lapel to assure Vern that he had the drug in his pocket.

“I have my return ticket.”

After they crossed, Jim and Peter hailed a cab to go downtown. Jim peered out the window intently during the whole ride, spotting places he remembered. They got out of the cab at Seventh and Olive, in front of Jim’s old office building, where he had taken his fateful fall on the day of the 1929 crash. It looked just the same. Jim took a deep breath. Even the scent of the air brought back memories of his earlier life.

In fact, all of downtown was remarkably unchanged. There was no sign of any earthquake and almost no new buildings had gone up in the intervening years. Since Jim was used to the construction frenzy in his St. Louis, this stagnation unnerved him. It was as if nothing had been built in more than twelve years.

After a few hours of looking around downtown, Jim proposed that they take a cab to the Chase Hotel to have dinner at one of his favorite old haunts, the Chase Club, the swankiest place in town. The lobby of the Chase was swarming with military men in transit on their way to war.

Jim saw two black soldiers, officers by the look of their uniforms, arguing with the Chase Club maître d, who was refusing them admission to the restaurant. They pointed to empty tables. The maître d shook his head. Reluctantly, they left.

Jim hadn’t witnessed a scene like that in quite a while. It annoyed him. What a stupid way to run a business! The CSP, which granted equal share rights to black citizens of his new St. Louis, had begun to wear down racial separation and animosity there. Jim was glad.

Unlike the black officers, Jim and Peter were seated without delay. The maître d led them through the large, high-ceilinged dining room, fringed with palm trees in large planters. Tuxedo-clad waiters floated about, handing out menus, lighting cigarettes, and pulling back chairs so ladies could sit. A small combo performed tasteful swing music. At their table, Jim ordered champagne and shrimp cocktails. He was elated to be here again.

Jim was eager to discuss the smuggling project. He told Peter that there were much bigger opportunities than zippers, coffee, and duck tape. “I don’t know what they are yet, but we’ll find them.”

Continued success depended on absolute secrecy. No one in either city must know about the existence of the other.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.