—The reason we can’t send information zipping through time, as you said, is that we don’t know where it will end up. How do I put this? Stuff moves fast. Really really fast! The Earth spins on itself a thousand miles an hour. It flies around the sun at sixty-six thousand miles an hour, while the sun is going about half a million miles an hour around the galaxy. Of course, the Milky Way is also moving in our cluster of galaxies, which is also moving, very very fast. And all of this is happening in a universe that’s constantly expanding. Four years is a lot of mileage to keep track of. I’m sure there’s a proper bullet analogy, but I can’t think of any that would do this justice at the moment. The point is, we can’t do it.
But her information did move through time. It was sitting in a drawer for four years. It took four years for it to travel four years into the future.
—So between the time of her death and her reappearance, Dr. Franklin did not exist, but information about her did, in a drawer, somewhere.
—I told you this conversation was a bad idea. Oh, thank God! Our food’s here.
FILE NO. 1433
SURVEILLANCE LOG—WORKSTATION #3
Location: Earth Defense Corps Headquarters, New York, NY
[01:01]
It’s 6:00 A.M. London Time. Jamie MacKinnon at workstation #3. Continuing remote video surveillance of Regent’s Park. Monitoring southeast cameras 1 through 5.
[01:03]
Selecting camera 1. Overlaying image from … 5:00 A.M. Perfect match. No movement.
[01:08]
Changing view modes. Toggle to infrared. No change in thermal readouts. Heat signature is uniform. Air temperature in London is … 8 degrees Celsius, 47 Fahrenheit. The robot registers at 10 degrees, 2 degrees warmer than ambient.
[01:21]
Toggle back to visible light. Lea, did anyone check the EM readings?
[Still nothing. That thing’s like a rock.]
Figures.
[01:31]
Switching to camera 2. How’d we end up with the graveyard shift again?
[Seniority]
Oh! Come on! We’ve both been here longer than Nathan and I don’t see him here. I think Dr. Doom just hates us.
[Shhhh! She’ll hear you!]
She’s still here? Does the woman ever sleep?
[Just go back to work.]
[01:43]
What the hell? Lea, scoot over for a sec. Tell me what you see …
[That’s just a bird flying into the robot. Happens a lot.]
No, let me zoom in if I can. Now, what do you see?
[Shit!]
Get Dr. Franklin now!
[1:49]
[What is it, Jamie?]
Hello, Dr. Franklin. Sorry to bother you at this hour, but take a look at this. This is from camera 2 about ten minutes ago.
[It’s a bird.]
Wait. Let me go back. Look closer.
[Looks like it hit … ]
Yeah.
[That’s about what? A foot before the metal? Could just be an optical illusion. Can we get the same thing from camera 4?]
Sure. Rewinding to 06 … 42. Should be about now.
[Stop! Here it is. Damn! Play it again … ]
Should we wake up the General?
[I’d rather have more than a bird … Let me think for a second.]
Rain.
[What?]
It rained last night.
[Oh. That’s good, Jamie. Can you access it here?]
Yep. Just give me one sec. Time index … Let’s try three o’clock … No.
[Earlier. Try one thirty.]
Yep. It’s raining.
[We can’t see anything. Switch to infrared.]
Holy shit!
[The rain isn’t touching the robot at all, anywhere. Nice thinking, Jamie!]
How’d we miss that?
[We didn’t detect anything so we forgot to look with our own eyes. Can you measure the field around the robot?]
I get … 28 cm. Now, do we call the General?
[I have to call Kara. They won’t be able to defend themselves. Like a lamb to the slaughter.]
FILE NO. 1439
INTERVIEW WITH VINCENT COUTURE, CONSULTANT, EARTH DEFENSE CORPS
Location: Somewhere in the Atlantic
—How long until you reach your destination, Mr. Couture?
—We’ll be there by morning. It’s a good thing too, I’m starting to get seasick. We’ve been hitting rough seas for the last couple days.
—I understand all too well. I do not fare well at sea.
—I’m glad you called. Kara just got off the phone with Dr. Franklin. What’s this I hear about an energy field? They told us we didn’t detect anything around that robot.
—We did not. We are still unable to detect anything. But I have seen the video footage and you can trust me when I say that nothing will come closer than eleven inches to that robot. Dr. Franklin also believes that, in the event of a fight, your energy weapon will not reach the alien robot, nor that it could vaporize it, as it does normal matter.
—That I figured out on my own.