The Fog of Time by Brenda W. Clough

Author:Brenda W. Clough [Clough, Brenda W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Time Travel, Asian Heroine, Victorian
ISBN: 9781611387704
Publisher: Book View Cafe
Published: 2019-01-29T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Jack’s hospital room was high-end and top-security, the VIP suite designated for Ang family members. It was odd to reflect that he was once again sleeping in her room, in her bed. The luxurious space looked residential, not institutional. The usual hospital curtain that ran on a track across the doorway had been upgraded to a standing wooden screen carved out of teak. The walls were painted an un-hospital yellow and adorned not only with soothing landscapes but a portrait of the Generalissimo as well. To Jack’s eye the old soldier looked as if he disliked foreigners.

Jack spent the rest of the day resting and modifying his equipment, so that when Calla came back in the morning everything was ready for her. The destinations had to be adjusted, and the security key that locked it to his own voice and hand modified, so that they would work with either Ben or Calla’s voice and touch. The last thing Jack wanted was to let amateurs use his tech. Of course Calla was not truly an amateur, but she had no idea how time really worked.

Automatically he fell into lecture mode when she arrived. “Do not become separated from these devices. Don’t make my mistake. Wear them even if you wear nothing else — in the bath, in bed.”

At least Calla grasped how important this was. She sat in the chair beside the bed, her dark eyes very sharp. “Will we be able to signal each other?”

Jack frowned. “You won’t be able to phone, that I know. No comsats, in the Roman Empire. But in theory you should be able to ping, Action to Action. Try it when you get there — set them to vibrate, as low as possible. They’re loaded with the Hotpower app, so they’ll charge themselves if you keep them warm. And, my dear, most importantly: they both default here, to your phone. The one around your neck now.”

“So that’s why whenever you pop back you always show up in front of me,” Calla said, enlightened. She touched her Action with one finger. “So I should leave mine here.”

“With me, if you permit.”

Calla thought about this. “Not if you’re going back to California with Marilee. When I come back, I’ll need to be in Ponpet.”

“I don’t think the doctors will let me travel for a while.”

“I’m leaving standing orders, Jack. The minute they okay you for travel, you have to get out. And Marilee’s with me on this.”

Ben lounged at the foot of the bed, idly scrolling through the medical-records tablet in its rack on the rail. “There are guards outside this door, dude. Did you know?”

“How should I? They haven’t even let me get out of bed yet.” But with surprise Jack realized that he felt no dread. Even Calla’s grandfather in full uniform, peering aloofly down from his picture frame, was not disquieting. His irrational terrors had been defanged by bigger fears.

“And, Jack, I’m sorry,” Calla said. “But I had to pull your Jalanese passport.”

“What?” Even though he neither wanted nor valued his Jalanese citizenship Jack felt insulted.

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