Day of the Assassins (5 page)

They stared at the extraordinary message on the screen.

“What the…?” Jack started to speak, but stopped mid-sentence, dumbfounded.

“What’s Taurus…? VIGIL? Zadok?” Angus said. “What does it mean?”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t know… but one thing’s for sure…”

“What?”

“Something’s going on… and it’s more interesting than your damned iPod…”

“But I don’t…”

Angus didn’t finish his sentence.

In the doorway stood Dr Pendelshape.

T
hey hadn’t even heard a footstep.

“Find anything interesting, boys?”

We’re stuffed,
Jack thought. Then, without a word, Dr Pendelshape did something quite unexpected. He reached for his inside pocket and pulled out a thin piece of plastic – a bit like a large pocket calculator. The sleek gadget was rather out of place with the rest of Pendelshape’s overflowing store cupboard of dusty books and papers. He gently pressed a button on the device and the cupboard door closed automatically.

He nodded towards the computer.

“Best encryption in the world… but it’s no good if you forget to lock the screen.”

Strangely, he did not seem angry. Instead, he peered at the message from ‘the Benefactor’.

“It makes no difference now anyway.” He spoke urgently, “But I will explain all that later. Come, we haven’t got long. I hope you two don’t mind… surprises. Step to the back, please.” He ushered them to the rear of the small store cupboard.

Pendelshape pressed the calculator device in his hand a second time and then, without warning, a slight aperture appeared in the floor. Angus gasped. Jack just stood, gaping. A very narrow, steep spiral staircase led down from the aperture, dimly lit by a blue light, which produced an unearthly shimmer.

“You can’t get out, so I’m afraid you will just have to follow me. But don’t worry – you’re perfectly safe. Please – on you go.”

Jack and Angus didn’t move.

With a little more firmness now, Pendelshape urged them forward. “Please – we have little time. Trust me.”

Reluctantly, they stepped onto the spiral staircase, quickly followed by Pendelshape. It was some sort of escalator and the steps began to descend automatically. As they dropped beneath floor level, the aperture above them mysteriously closed and after a couple of minutes they came to a gentle halt. Ahead of them was a door. Pendelshape pressed the device again and the door opened. There was a short metal-clad corridor illuminated by the same dull blue light. At the end of the corridor was a large round door, like the entrance to a bank vault – it looked very heavy, maybe it was steel. It had five letters etched on it:

‘V I G I L’.

The door opened silently and Jack noticed that it was at least seven centimetres thick. Next, they found themselves in an oval-shaped room. It was similar to his dad’s workshop at Cairnfield – although there weren’t quite as many books and there was no mess – in fact, it was spotless. Towards one side of the library were two large leather sofas between which a glass-topped table was positioned.

Pendelshape waved them forward. “Please take a seat, gentlemen. I think I have some explaining to do.” He looked at his watch and then waved vaguely in the direction of a modern fireplace, which suddenly erupted into a roaring log fire. Jack and Angus jumped.

“Don’t worry – it’s not real…” Pendelshape snorted. “Just adds a bit of atmosphere. Otherwise it can be a bit grim all the way down here.” He clapped his hands. “Now, first things first, would either of you like some tea?” But the two boys were still in shock. “I’m rather partial to Jaffa cakes… we usually keep a few goodies down here, you know, just in case…” Pendelshape moved over to what appeared to be an ante-room to the library. He talked over his shoulder.

“I should explain where we are. This is a facility of VIGIL. They oversee everything.”

Jack finally found his voice. “What’s VIGIL?”

Dr Pendelshape returned to the table with a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits on a large tray.

“Ah, apologies, of course, I will need to start at the beginning. One forgets how little is known…”

“Sir, I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to look at your computer…” Jack blurted out. “We were just… waiting for you…”

“You’re not in trouble,” Pendelshape said firmly and then added… “But I’m afraid you might be, if you don’t listen very carefully to what I have to say…”

“But, sir…”

Pendelshape put up a hand to quieten Jack, “Please… just listen.”

Pendelshape bit into a Jaffa cake, and then rocked backwards and forwards as if weighing something up in his mind. “Indeed. I think you will find what I have to say quite surprising… shocking even.” And with these words, their teacher launched into his story, which was quite unlike anything either of them had ever heard from him in a history lesson.

“VIGIL is the governing body of an elite network of physicists, engineers and computer scientists. However, VIGIL is not an institution that you will find listed in a library or on the Internet. It is secret.” Pendelshape picked up another Jaffa cake and waved it around in the air as he spoke. “We are beneath the radar,” he coughed, took a sip of his Earl Grey and swallowed. “Indeed. This is because VIGIL manages the most powerful technology ever invented.”

Jack and Angus looked at each other – surely this was a joke?

“I am talking about the technology of time travel.” He said it in a rather pedestrian way, as if it was something that he was quite familiar with and dealt with on a day-to-day basis – like switching on an electric light.

“The ideas have been around for many decades. I am sure you have heard of physicists such as Planck, Heisenberg and Schrödinger… and the concepts of quantum mechanics, parallel universes, wormholes and such…” He looked at the boys expectantly, but all he got back were blank stares.

He waved dismissively. “Never mind. All you need to know is that the world of subatomic physics is an extremely mysterious one, not one where our normal experience of everyday life applies at all. It has baffled some of the greatest minds… including Einstein…” Pendelshape frowned, “You have heard of Einstein, haven’t you?” They nodded stupidly.

“That’s a relief. More tea?” he asked matter-of-factly. But Jack and Angus had not touched the tea or the biscuits. “Come on, eat up, you’ll need to line your stomachs for what you’re about to hear, I can tell you.”

Jack steadied himself. “Time travel – that’s just theory, isn’t it? Mumbo jumbo. It can’t actually be done,” his voice trembled, “can it?”

“Yes Jack – it can. Let me show you something.”

He pressed the device he was holding and the room lightened. On the opposite wall, the shelves of books slowly moved apart revealing a solid wall of thick green glass that extended from the floor all the way up to the ceiling. The glass had the same hue and texture as the casing around the small platform back at Cairnfield, where they had discovered the lance head. Behind this glass screen was a flat metal platform surrounded by an array of scientific equipment – pipes, cables and steel. The platform itself was bounded by a semi-closed arrangement of hefty black girders. Jack counted eight of them. They rose from the ground and bulged out to surround the platform and then rejoined at the top of the structure. All together, it looked like a giant gyroscope. It was on a much larger scale, and looked more complex than the device back at Cairnfield, but the basic structure was similar – with one exception. Between two of the large metal girders, a gantry rose from the floor and up to the level of the platform. Whatever the thing was – it looked like you could go inside it. Through the thick glass, they could make out some lettering above a terminal. It spelled out one word:

‘Taurus’.

Pendelshape gestured proudly towards the structure, “Gentlemen, here is where theory becomes reality. It’s a far cry from H.G. Wells, I know, but Mr Taurus there will take you back in time.”

All Angus could say was, “Will it bring you back again?”

Pendelshape smiled, “Yes it will.” He paused. “Well, in general, it will.” He shrugged. “Details, details.”

Jack expected to wake up at any moment or, probably worse, find the host of some reality TV show jump out in front of some hidden cameras to reveal that the whole thing was a set-up and that they’d been humiliated in front of millions of viewers. Neither happened.

All he could say, lamely, was, “How does it work?”

Pendelshape laughed, “I’m afraid that would take a little while to explain… and you would need a PhD in theoretical physics or computer science and maybe genetics.” He frowned, looked down at his shoes and paused. “In fact, probably all three… but, if you like, I can give you the ten-second version…” He looked at the boys expectantly; there was no response.

“The ten-second version it is then. You switch on the power. You might think that is just a question of pressing a big red button – but it is a little more complicated than that.” He thought to himself again. “The button is green actually. Anyway, then you set the date and where you want to go, you stand on that platform,” he pointed at the circular platform inside the ‘Taurus’ structure, “and you click this…”

From his pocket he pulled something similar to a mobile phone – maybe a bit fatter and longer. He flipped the phone open and a very faint blue light came on from the inside. It was similar to the light of the stairwell and access passage. The boys could see a small screen and a number of small buttons.

“The Taurus itself, over there, stays put – it focuses the energy. But to move through time and space, you need to have physical contact with this little chap. It’s a time phone. You need it to go… and to get back.” He looked at them, “And that’s about it. Oh, except that while back in time, the time phone is controlled and tracked by the Taurus, and its console over there, using a set of codes – with a reasonable degree of accuracy…” A look of doubt ghosted across his face. “Most of the time, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it will only work when the Taurus is at the right energy state, and also when there is a strong enough signal.”

“What? Signal? Like a real mobile phone? Come on, sir, you’re winding us up.” Angus laughed. This couldn’t be serious.

But Pendelshape pressed on. “It’s a bit more complicated, but you’re more or less right – look – that bar, there at the side,” he held up the device so the boys could see and pointed to one corner of the display on the time phone. “It’s greyed out at the moment, but when it turns yellow, you can exchange signals with the Taurus, text messages if you like: it means the Taurus here knows where you are… and it means you can time travel. When it’s off, you can’t do any of those things.”

“Wow!” Angus exclaimed.

“It’s off at the moment?” Jack asked.

“Of course.”

“But…”

“This is all completely irrelevant. I’m afraid that none of it can be used… great tragedy.”

“Why not?” asked Jack.

“Not allowed. It’s known as ‘The VIGIL Imperative.’” Pendelshape sighed. “Rules, gentlemen, rules… which we must follow on pain of death. Literally.”

P
endelshape sat back and clasped his hands behind his head while he continued his extraordinary story. “About fifteen years ago, a small group of physicists, associated with the nuclear research facility at CERN, near Geneva, conducted the first practical experiments in time travel. At first, very simple non-organic structures were transported backwards and forwards through space and time. Then, we started to experiment with more complex structures. We then moved on to the first organic material, then living creatures… and, finally, a human being. Up to this point the level of excitement among the group was incredible, as you can imagine. But then, one of the leaders of the group, Counsellor Inchquin, started to think seriously about the power of what they had created. Here was a technology that had the potential to change the past, and thereby change the future. In the wrong hands, or, even in the right hands, this could be catastrophic.” He paused. “Think about it.”

“You’re right, you could go back and steal some money, no one would know…” Angus said, intrigued.

“Of course. But I’m afraid that’s the least of it. Think about the pivotal moments of history, some of which have rested on small, even chance, events that have had huge consequences. These are the ‘what ifs’ of our history.” Pendelshape’s eyes opened wide in enthusiasm. “Think about it: what if Hitler had been killed in the First World War and had not become the leader of Germany? What if Gavrilo Princip had not assassinated Archduke Ferdinand? The list is of course endless – and fascinating. The consequences for us and for future generations, however, are difficult to comprehend.”

Jack spoke slowly, trying to understand what he was hearing,
“So you’re saying that these scientists created this thing… the power to time travel… but decided not to use it?”

Pendelshape replied sadly, “It was debated. Despite the computer simulations that we could create to model the consequences of any changes made in history, most felt that it was too risky and that no one should be given the chance to exercise such power. Counsellor Inchquin felt this most strongly and led the group with this point of view.”

“Who won the argument?” Angus asked, engrossed.

“Who do you think?” Pendelshape said. “In the end it was decided that, although it was not possible to ‘un-invent’ the technology, it was possible to control it. VIGIL was formed and everyone agreed to abide by a strict set of rules. A code of conduct if you like. It came to be known as ‘The VIGIL Imperative’. All those in the know were forced to abide by it. The early Taurus experimental facility was closed down and, outside of a select group, it was suggested that the project had been an abject failure.”

Jack looked around, “What’s this place then?”

“It’s a replica Taurus made using components from the original machine. Although you don’t know it, yours is a rather special school: it secretly houses a working Taurus. All members of VIGIL have moved on to rather mundane jobs. I, for example, am now your history teacher. Rather appropriate don’t you think? And our Rector, himself a brilliant scientist, finds himself here as head teacher – during term time at least. But in fact he has a much weightier responsibility: to keep this facility permanently mothballed and secret, yet in working order so that the technology is preserved.”

“Why not just destroy it altogether?”

“That was certainly an option – but in the end the people who had worked so hard could not quite bring themselves to go that far. It was also anticipated that in the future, there might possibly be scenarios where it could be necessary to use Taurus. We might not even know now what these scenarios could be, but science moves very fast. It seemed sensible at least to retain the option to use it. But that’s not all…”

“There’s more?”

“Yes. There was also a small group with a different point of view to
Inchquin and the others. They were led by the Benefactor and they believed that the technology could and should be used as a force for good.” Pendelshape paused for a moment and eyed Jack with an odd, enquiring look. He seemed to be thinking about something and lost concentration for a moment.

“Benefactor – that was the name in your email,” Jack said.

“Yes, Jack… and…” but before Pendelshape could continue, Angus butted in.

“OK, hold it right there, sir… I’m not sure what this place is, but I have to tell you I’m finding it difficult to believe all this…” he glanced at Jack. “Very difficult – it’s a big joke – right?”

Pendelshape’s eyes flashed in frustration. “Wrong. I know, Angus, it’s a lot to take in. But I must ask you to try. It is quite important… for us all. As you are about to find out. However, I agree it is reasonable to ask for some proof…” He looked round the room, then stood up and walked over to one of the shelves and started leafing through a thin folder.

“Here. Maybe this will do it.”

Pendelshape produced a small photograph and handed it to them.

“So, Jack, remember our lessons on the First World War, the assassination in Sarajevo, the Black Hand… Gavrilo Princip… and all that…?” He looked down at the photograph knowingly, “Well…?”

Jack suddenly realised what he was looking at. His heart jolted. It couldn’t be. But the image was unmistakable.

It was an old black-and-white photo of four young men – grim faced and serious. One of them was the assassin from Sarajevo that Jack had seen in one of the early levels of
Point-of-Departure
– Gavrilo Princip. But on the other side of the photograph, to the far left, was a fifth man. Jack narrowed his eyes to be certain… he looked a little younger, but there was no mistaking him. The man staring out from the photograph was Dr Pendelshape.

Jack slowly raised his eyes to Pendelshape who smiled knowingly at him.

“So you see, boys, this photo was taken in Belgrade in the Balkans… in 1914. And no, it’s not a fake or a digital enhancement. It’s real.
There’s me on the left. On the right is Gavrilo Princip, the man who shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo and triggered the First World War. To the left of Princip are two of the other assassins – Grabež and Čabrinović.”

“And what about him?” Angus pointed to the fourth man standing next to Pendelshape.

“Dani Matronovic. Lesser known – was killed before the assassination. History does not relate what happened to him. His sister took the photo,” his eyes glossed over for a moment. “Pretty girl… Anna.”

Pendelshape flipped over the photo. “Their names are on the back – look.”

Sure enough on the back of the photo, in Pendelshape’s distinctive scrawl, were scribbled the words – ‘Belgrade, Serbia, 1914’, followed by the names: ‘Princip, Grabez, Cabrinovic, Matronovic.’

Angus just couldn’t believe it, “So you’ve gone back in time using that… thing?” He looked over at the Taurus brooding silently behind the green glass of the blast screen.

“Yes, Angus. Even though the purpose of VIGIL is to preserve the technology – and not to use it – everything still had to be fully tested. No point in deciding to keep the technology – unless you know it will work.”

“But why did you go back then, you know, to 1914?” Jack asked.

Pendelshape shrugged, “It was a pivotal point in history.”

“Why you? Why did they choose you?”

“I’m the historian, anyway, I thought it would be interesting…” Pendelshape’s eyes glazed over as he added, dreamily, “and I was right. It was incredible, to see even a tiny piece of what you had learned from a textbook, to see it, to smell it…” He smiled. “Keep the photo if you like.”

Jack took it gingerly, as if handling a precious jewel, and stared at it silently for a moment longer, before putting it carefully in his bag.

Pendelshape pressed on more quickly now, trying to bypass interruptions from his bewildered pupils. He revealed more about
VIGIL. He explained how the idea of hiding the Taurus in a school had worked well – the initial refurbishment of the school had been a good front for the early building work, with holiday periods providing quiet time for research and maintenance, and, of course, it was easy to maintain a staff of teachers, who were, in reality, scientists from the original Taurus team. It had taken them some time to identify an appropriate home for the Taurus – until they had finally found the quiet and secluded site near the hamlet of Soonhope in the upper Tweed Valley. The local community had been grateful for the sudden injection of cash that the endowment had provided and the creation of a new school on a rundown site. After a while, an increasing number of local pupils began to attend, assisted by generous subsidies. Pupil numbers had been kept low, ostensibly to preserve academic standards, but in reality, to free up faculty time for more important matters.

As Pendelshape talked, Jack saw the expression on Angus’s face gradually change. His mouth was morphing into that warped, toothy grin that meant only one thing. Trouble. Sure enough, as Pendelshape paused for breath, Angus seized his chance.

“So, sir… er, it all sounds great, but are you going to show us how it really works?”

To Jack’s utter amazement Pendelshape replied, “Yes, Angus, in fact I am.”

Jack nearly fell off his chair. Pendelshape looked at his watch nervously. “We’ve spent far too much time talking already. The truth is that unforeseen circumstances have arisen. This is why I have brought you here. I will explain why in a minute. I and, er, well, we have a kind of… mission to complete. But first, I would like you both to understand how it all works…” he smiled, “you know, just in case…”

A crack in the floor stretched from one side of the library to the other. A green glass barrier rose up from it, extending to the ceiling. They stood in front of it.

“This is the blast screen. Press this…” Pendelshape clicked the
device in his hand, “and down it comes.” Jack and Angus jumped back as, with alarming speed, the blast screen descended into the narrow aperture in the floor and the whole Taurus structure was revealed to them in its full glory.

“Awesome,” Angus whispered reverentially.

“Be careful. You don’t want to be standing over that blast screen when it goes up again. It could give you a nasty bruise in your nether regions.”

Pendelshape moved over to one of the control panels and began typing at a keyboard. Soon they heard a slight rising hum. Pendelshape explained the basics of how the machine was operated. It was surprisingly simple. He showed them how you synchronised the time phone with the Taurus console by placing it in a special recessed pod. He showed them how you entered the Taurus through the surrounding girders from the gantry, and how you then positioned yourself on the steel platform by placing your feet between the etchings drawn into the metal. He reminded them of the limitations of the Taurus and its umbilical linkage to the time phone.

“As you said Angus, its a bit like a mobile phone – you can only use the time phone when you have a signal. Remember that bar?” he indicated the little greyed-out display on the time phone. “When it’s yellow – you’re good to go – you can communicate, we know where you are and the Taurus can send you back and forth through time. When there’s no signal, you’re stuck – although the phone’s energy source will continue to tell you where and when you are.”

“And if you lose the phone?” Angus asked.

Pendelshape looked back at Angus with steel in his eyes, “Lose that time phone, Mr Jud, and you’re not only
in
history… you
are
history. No way back.”

Jack was engrossed. “Can you go anywhere?”

“There are constraints. The variability of the time signals through the space-time continuum is a major one. It’s like shifting sands. Periods of time open up and then close. It’s not as if all periods of time and all locations are accessible all the time. Then there’s ‘deep time’.”

“Deep time?”

“A specific constraint that exists along the lines I just mentioned. It seems that the Taurus is only effective at transportation from when you depart to more than about thirty years or so in the past. We call it ‘deep time’. Anything sooner is a sort of no-go zone. This also means you can’t travel back from the past to just before you left.” Pendelshape’s brow furrowed, “And there’s one more thing. We call it the ‘Armageddon Scenario’.” Pendelshape said the words quickly – as if he was hoping the boys might not even notice he had said them.

“Well that sounds pretty harmless,” Angus said.

Jack frowned, “What is it?”

Pendelshape shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, “Another part of time theory. It postulates that if you revisit the same point of spacetime more than once, you dramatically increase the risk of a continuum meltdown. At worst, the possible destruction of the universe – but in reality, probably not as bad at that – probably only the destruction of some bit of it.”

“Oh – that’s OK then. Presumably it’s the bit we’re in?” Angus said.

“Yes. Think of a bit of tissue paper. It’s like putting holes in it with your finger. These are like visits to the past using Taurus to particular points in time. The tissue will hold together for a while but too many holes and the whole lot will disintegrate. So best not to risk repeat trips in and around the same point. The precise parameters of this constraint are not known – and of course have not been tested.”