Infinity Cage Read Online Free PDF Page A

far.’
    ‘So, I guess we’ll portal to one, then the other.’
    ‘That might be unwise, Maddy.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Think about it … this is 2070. There are many monitoring agencies in this time scanning for tachyon particles. When we open a portal, we run the risk of being picked up on someone’s particle-scanning array. We may be attracting attention.’
    ‘Seriously?’
    Rashim nodded. ‘Trust me, in 2070
every
world power is busy scanning for tachyon emissions.’ He shrugged. ‘Just as every world power is busy, secretly, racing to build their own time machines. Portalling in once, we will attract someone’s attention. If we’re portalling around all over the place, we will get zeroed in on.’
    ‘Well, OK … if we open one, say, in New York, and Waldstein’s not there, I guess we can catch a plane or something to Denver?’
    Rashim shook his head. ‘It is not quite that simple. America is not like it was in
your
time.’
    Maddy raised an eyebrow, querying him. ‘There
are
planes, right?’
    ‘My time is in chaos. Things were beginning to break down. Law and order, government control. There were … 
will be
, I should say … food shortages, power-outs. It is a very difficult time. A dangerous time. America is fragmented badly.’
    ‘Fragmented?’ Liam looked up from his pie. ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘In 2070, it is called the Federated States. It is a much smaller nation that extends from the west coast to the Midwest. All of the eastern states have been abandoned.’
    ‘Abandoned?’
    ‘It is a wilderness. Ungovernable. Largely unpoliced, chaotic. A no-man’s-land of refugee camps.’
    ‘Why?’ asked Maddy.
    ‘There is the rising Atlantic, the rising Gulf of Mexico; the eastern coast and many of the southern states are partially flooded. The Capitol was relocated from Washington to Denver in 2063.’
    ‘Why didn’t he just send a location data stamp with the message?’ asked Liam. ‘If he really wanted to meet, surely he’d do that?’
    ‘Well, obviously he didn’t want to broadcast who the message was from,’ replied Maddy. ‘That was a broad-bandwidth message computer-Bob picked up. He’s just being super-cautious. Rashim, come on … where do you suggest we go first?’
    ‘New York, perhaps? There was the W.G.S. Tower, overlooking Times Square. Even when the levees eventually failed and Manhattan became waterlogged, a section of thebusiness district remained open, operating several floors above street level. I know Waldstein spent some of his time living at the top of the W.G.S. Tower.’
    ‘Why there? Why not one of any of the other more secure places where W.G. Systems had facilities?’
    ‘I don’t know. I do remember, in that digi-docu programme, one of the last interviews he gave was from there. From the rooftop of his tower. He said something about loving the view from up there. The sunrises and sunsets across the sea. “Watching the green lady slowly wading into the deep.”’
    ‘You mean the Statue of Liberty?’ said Liam.
    ‘Yes,’ replied Rashim. ‘He said watching the sea level rise made it look like she was a bather slowly wading out into deeper waters.’
    ‘So … we aim for the beginning of 2070. New York, then. If he’s not there, we’ve got enough time to make our way across to Denver before that Kosong-ni virus outbreak begins.’
    ‘That’s your plan, Mads?’ said Liam. ‘That’s it? A leisurely stroll across America in the hope of bumping into Mr W.’
    ‘It’s the best plan I’ve got. So what’s yours? Huh?’
    He shrugged. ‘First-century Jerusalem, round about the time of you-know-who. I’ll go back there and see what I can see. Might even get his autograph if I can.’
    She shook her head. ‘Sheesh, so just about as concise a plan as mine, then?’
    He shrugged. ‘Details to be ironed out. The difference is nobody’s scanning for tachyons back then. Nobody’s out to kill me back then and nobody’s got guns back