The Shores Beyond Time Read online

  “Tens of thousands,” said Dad.

  “It’s closer, too,” said Mina. “The fleet of starliners could be at that portal we came through in a matter of years. Aaru is still over a century away.”

  Liam thought of his future, saying good-bye to Phoebe. He watched the Telphons talking, each race in its own huddle now. He wanted so badly to talk to her, but her back was to him.

  “You said transiting the door damaged the Artemis,” Dad said to Barrie.

  Barrie was biting his lip, like he was in thought. “Only because we initially tried to escape its pull. Had we flown right through, there might only have been some minor damage, if any.”

  “But we don’t know for sure that this Earth can even support human life,” Liam piped up. Even as the words were leaving, he wondered why he’d said it. The future he’d seen was a good one. He knew it was better than nearly any option he could have imagined. But still . . .

  “It’s true,” said Mom. “We also have no idea how closely the physical laws of that universe match those of our own. And just because the conditions of this new Earth seem identical, that doesn’t mean something hasn’t evolved there, a virus, a spore or insect, that could wipe us out.”

  “So let’s go find out,” said Mina.

  Dad took a deep breath. “She’s right. We should send a team down.”

  Mom looked at him for a moment, then to the map. “I’m so afraid to let myself hope.”

  “We’ll be thorough,” said Dad. “Do a full workup. We’ll need equipment from the starliners, and personnel. We could get a message to them, right?” he said to Barrie.

  “Yes,” said Barrie. He looked at Kyla and Jordy. “With the portal open, a couple of my officers have already devised a plan for establishing communication.”

  Liam saw Kyla pat Jordy’s shoulder.

  “But Colonial is not going to turn the entire fleet around, not even one starliner, unless they’re sure,” said Mom.

  “Then we should go down there ourselves and gather the initial data,” said Dad. “The Artemis must have basic scanning and sampling equipment?”

  “It’s probably not as cutting edge as what your ships would have,” said Barrie, “but yes, we’ve got it.”

  “Okay,” said Dad, “that sounds like our next move. If you agree, Captain.”

  “It makes sense,” said Barrie distractedly, gazing at the new Earth.

  “What about them?” Mina glanced at the Telphons.

  “Well, if this does indeed turn out to be our course of action, I can’t see how they’d object,” said Mom. “They can return to their people. We could even give them the turbine equipment for Phase Two as reparations. If they were already working on adapting the technology to suit their needs, then I’m sure they can make it work for them, wherever they end up.”

  Liam could hear the sense in this plan, and yet it made his heart race. He looked over, and finally Phoebe was looking his way, but her face was stony, and she offered Liam a perplexed shrug. Could she tell where this was going, like he could? He pictured the future, saying good-bye . . .

  “What if we let them live on this new planet with us?” he said.

  “Tuh,” Mina scoffed immediately.

  “Liam,” said Mom.

  “What? It’s a whole planet. We don’t need the entire thing. I mean—”

  “You know that is impossible,” said Mom. She waved at the image of the new Earth. “We’re not going to share our best chance at survival with . . .” Her eyes flashed to the Telphons. “With them, okay?” She shook her head, as if out of everything they had heard and seen in the last couple hours, this was somehow the most shocking.

  “But Mom,” said Liam, “you said before you don’t know if Phase Two will even work. What if they end up without a home?”

  “It’s not up for discussion!” Mom snapped. “And why would they even want to be on Earth? It’s not right for them. They had to wear those eye adapters—Phoebe with that cough.” Mom didn’t even seem to know about the auxiliary heart pumps. She folded her arms and took a deep breath. “We have eleven billion people who need a home, but even if there was room, even if those of us here could somehow forgive all that happened, think about the rest of humanity: How are they going to react to having the very beings who murdered thousands of us sharing our space, our resources?”

  “But we . . .” And yet Liam saw the scowl on Mina’s face, the way Dad was staring at the floor. There was no way they were going to listen. And maybe they were right, even if Liam felt a surge inside that said otherwise.

  “Don’t you agree, Captain?” Mom was saying to Barrie.

  Barrie was still gazing at the map. “Sounds right.”

  “Okay. Then our job is to verify this planet’s viability,” said Dad. “Should we go to the Artemis and get the survey team ready?”

  “Kyla and Jordy can take you over,” said Barrie. “I’ll keep analyzing this information and monitor you from here.”

  “We should probably discuss the plan with Paolo and Ariana first,” said Dad carefully.

  “What if they don’t go for it?” said Mina.

  “I can’t see why they wouldn’t. If this works, they’ll no longer have to worry about the human threat they’ve been so desperate to get rid of.”

  Dad and Mom started toward the Telphons. Liam fell in beside them, but Mom stopped him.

  “Liam,” she said, “take JEFF and we’ll meet you at the Cruiser, okay?”

  “But I want to—”

  “Let us talk with them,” said Dad. “It’s going to be complicated.”

  “So? I can keep up.”

  Mom sighed. “It’s not that. It’s . . . we know how you feel about them. About Phoebe. It will just be easier if we handle it.”

  “But I can—”

  “Liam,” said Dad, “we’re not asking.”

  “Come on!” Liam huffed. “Do I at least get to come down to the planet with you?”

  Mom and Dad shared a look: never a good sign.

  “We’ll talk about it later,” said Dad.

  “I’m not stupid. That means no.”

  “It will be much easier if you stay up here with Mina,” said Mom. “You two can catch up.”

  “You’re not listening to me!” Liam said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I’ve been through these portals, and—”

  “You’re right.” Mom put her hands on his shoulders. “You’ve already been through so much. You’ve been brave, and heroic, but you’ve also nearly been killed. . . .” Her voice caught in her throat. “We’d feel better if you stayed here. Please. Let us take the risks this time.”

  “But I can handle myself—”

  “We don’t have time to discuss this,” said Dad, his voice pinching to a nervous hush as the other humans turned their heads. “Go back to the ship. We’ll see you again before we do anything else.”

  Liam thought he might explode, everything inside him wound tight, but of course, there was no changing their minds, there never was when they were in agreement about something. And even Phoebe and the Telphons seemed to have noticed their heated discussion. If his parents were going to treat him like a child, the last thing he needed was for everyone else to see him that way, too. “Fine.”

  He spun and walked to Mina. If he’d been carrying anything other than JEFF’s head, he would have hurled it across the control room. Unbelievable! All this time, he’d been doing pretty well saving the entire human race on his own, and yet the moment his parents were back in charge, they just reverted to the old pattern of treating him like a child. With each step, his anger mixed with a cold shaking in his belly. Somehow, with all his experience, all his new abilities in time and space, he had just as little control over the future as ever, if not even less now that his parents were here. And while yes, the future Iris had revealed was in many ways a relief, it was going to come at a price for him that no one else in his family seemed to understand.

  And maybe the worst part was that
he agreed with them. They had to try this new Earth, and of course the Telphons had to find somewhere else to go. There was no other scenario that really made sense.

  We can look at some, if you’d like, Iris said from nearby.

  That’s all right. But Iris’s comment only caused a fresh wave of nervous energy inside. Not because of what she’d said, but because she’d been in his head, in his personal thoughts, and that made him feel even less in control.

  I would never betray your feelings, said Iris. I’m in awe of them.

  Liam didn’t respond. Just trudged across the control room and back toward the corridor. He glanced past Mina, saw the adults talking, grim faces all around. Where was Phoebe? There, at the edge of the conversation. She hadn’t been sent away like a child. In fact her parents had included her in nearly every part of their plans, all along, no matter how dangerous. But they didn’t listen to her either, he remembered. She saw him now and raised a hand to him, a small wave, and mouthed something—was it Find me?

  Liam nodded back to her. Then they were in the corridor.

  “Back to being little brother, huh?” Mina said, falling into step beside him. “I bet it was nice not having Mom and Dad around to act like prison guards all this time.”

  “They’re being jerks,” said Liam.

  “You don’t want to go on that survey mission anyway. Whatever fun you could have down there would just be ruined by all their rules and protocols.” She spoke in a fake Mom voice. “Don’t touch that, stay off that, don’t breathe that air.”

  Liam almost smiled. “Why aren’t you back there with them?”

  “Why? So I could listen to them have the same fight all over again? Also—and I know you feel different and I get it—but I’ve spent about as much time around those Telphons as I can stand.”

  They exited the corridor, crossed the landing platform, and boarded the Cosmic Cruiser that the Artemis crewmembers had come over on. A few minutes later, Mom and Dad, Kyla and Jordy, and the other Artemis officers joined them.

  Dad caught Liam’s eye. “The Telphons agree that our plan to investigate this Earth is the best next move. They say they will stand by and allow our fleet safe passage, if the planet proves viable. They’re going to dock on the Artemis for a brief rest and to gather supplies before they depart.”

  “They’re probably glad to have us in a completely different universe,” said Liam.

  “Or we’ll all be sitting ducks as we line up for that portal,” said Mina.

  Mom frowned at her, and yet Liam thought her face looked tight with worry. “I’d say we’ll all be better off.” As she came to sit down beside Liam on the benches in the main compartment, he put JEFF’s head down, causing her to slide farther over to sit. She dug around the base of the seat. “Is there a way to buckle up back here?”

  Liam just shook his head.

  They flew back to the Artemis and landed in the hangar. As they walked to the elevators, the airlock opened and the Styrlax ship hummed in.

  “Janis,” said Kyla to one of the officers, “call a few security personnel down to keep an eye on that ship, okay? Just a precaution.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Hearing that only roiled Liam’s insides further. How was he going to meet up with Phoebe if there were guards posted? He supposed he could ask to visit her, but he could practically hear his parents’ denials already. He’d have to figure it out on his own, using some of the skills that seemed of so little importance to them.

  The group split up in the main corridor, Mom, Dad, Jordy, and a couple others heading off to gather space suits and equipment, Kyla taking Liam, Mina, and JEFF’s head to the bridge.

  “Be safe,” Mina called after them.

  “We’ll try not to be too long,” Mom said to Liam and Mina, as if they were kids being left alone for the first time. “We have to do all the analysis down on the surface. Can’t risk bringing samples back and contaminating the Artemis until we’re sure everything checks out. Our goal is to visit five or six sample sites. Kyla says with the speed of that Dark Star ship we should be able to accomplish the testing in seven or eight hours.”

  Liam could’ve told her that it was going to go fine, that he’d already seen them living there for decades into the future, but why bother? Better to not have them around for a while, anyway.

  A short flight of stairs led to the Artemis bridge, a wide room with curved levels that stepped down like an amphitheater, all facing an enormous window. The levels were lined with workstations, most of which were dark. A cluster of officers staffed a few stations along the top level, and a few others stood at wall consoles along the back of the room. Out the window, Dark Star snaked and spiraled in and out of its own shadows, the green nebula feathered overhead, and now and then, brief flashes from the black hole glimmered just beneath their view. Out on one of the arms, the new portal glowed brightly.

  “Fascinating old technology,” said JEFF. When Liam didn’t answer, he added: “I am trying to interface with the Artemis’s VirtCom, but to do so, I must run my backward compatibility routines.”

  “That’s great,” said Liam, half listening. He noticed that Mina was holding both radio beacons in her hands, almost like she was comparing them. He had to remember, when she was snapping at him, that she was still devastated about Arlo.

  “We’re suited up,” said Jordy over the comm. “Heading down to the Carrion to prep for takeoff.”

  “Captain,” said Kyla, “the team is ready to go. How are things looking over there?”

  “All good here,” said Barrie. “The portal is stable, and new Earth is looking fine.”

  Soon, the sleek black silhouette of the Carrion appeared through the great window, darting away from the Artemis toward the towering new portal. One section of the bridge window lit up like a monitor screen, displaying blinking diagrams of the ship, the portal, and Dark Star on a field of crisscrossing lines. As the shuttle neared the rippling green center, the doorway’s metallic frame came alive with flashes of silver circuitry, as if it sensed the ship’s approach.

  “Dropping the hard line relay,” said Jordy. Though it was too small to see, a dot flashed on the monitor screen.

  “He’ll drop one on the other side,” said Kyla. “We came up with this when we ran into the first portal. We reconfigured two of our recon probes, the kind we’d use to get eyes on an asteroid or run a planet survey, and connected them by a data cable. It got destroyed when the Artemis was pulled through, but before that it worked well. The one on the far side will relay data to the one on this side, which will transmit it to us. These portals throw off a lot of interference, but don’t worry; with the hard line we should have no trouble maintaining contact.”

  “We’re going through,” said Jordy. “Wish us luck.”

  “Don’t screw up,” Kyla said. Liam noticed a tender smile on her face.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  For a moment, Liam felt an urge to say something to his parents. Good luck, or Be safe, because what if something went wrong on this mission? He suddenly remembered that feeling back on Mars, when they’d been trapped in the underground lab and he hadn’t known their condition, when it had seemed possible that he might lose them forever—

  “Here we go. Time is starting to thread,” Jordy reported, his voice clipping.

  With a brilliant flash, the ship disappeared into the green light. The blinking dot vanished from the screen. The comms hissed with silence.

  Mina rubbed Liam’s shoulder.

  “It will take a minute to drop the other probe,” Kyla said. “Captain, how’s it look?”

  “They appear to be through,” he said. “I can’t tell in what condition.”

  Ten seconds passed . . . twenty . . .

  “Artemis, this is the Carrion.” Jordy’s voice crackled with static.

  A chorus of relieved sighs sounded from around the room. Liam found himself uncoiling with relief as well.

  “We are through the portal, and ma
n, wait until you see this view. Sending feed now.”

  A new screen formed on the window, displaying a clipped video feed of the view out the cockpit of the ship. Through the static, the sun shone in the corner, and filling most of the screen was a broad curve of blue, with swirling chains of clouds, the scribbles of landforms blurred by atmosphere.

  Gasps sounded around the bridge, along with a smattering of applause.

  Liam could hear the sound of his parents talking in the background, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying, except for one phrase from his dad:

  “It’s beautiful.”

  A sniffle beside him: Kyla wiped at tears. Others on the bridge did the same.

  “Preliminary atmospheric analysis jibes with what already know: pretty near Earthlike,” Jordy reported. “We’re gonna make a pass in orbit, find a patch of land where it’s daylight and the weather’s good.”

  The video clipped in and out occasionally, but otherwise they watched the blue marble rotate beneath the ship. Vast oceans, patches of deep green, red-brown-and-white wastelands that could have been Mars, the white glitter of snow-capped mountain peaks. They passed the rim of twilight, and then pure dark, until the curve revealed the sun again.

  “Okay, we’ve targeted a drop zone. Heading in.”

  The view tilted and the planet widened and flattened. A flash, flames licking around the cockpit, and then they could hear the shudder of atmosphere from outside the ship. Everyone on the bridge watched the screen silently, as the Carrion lowered itself through wisps of feathery clouds and into sunny skies, not a red lethal shine like Liam had always known, but yellow and safe. There was a wide curve of deep blue ocean frosted with whitecaps, soon a coastline of black sand, hills of low trees and grass: the savanna that Liam had seen in his future, where humans would first make their homes.

  “Artemis, are you seeing this?” said Dad. “Liam? Mina?”

  “Like a VirtCom field trip,” said Mina.

  “It’s way better than that,” said Mom.

  “Whoa, check it out.” The feed jumped, repositioning and zooming in. On the grassland, hundreds of brown creatures surrounded an emerald-green watering hole. They had long snouts with stiletto beaks like Liam had seen in pictures of dinosaurs. As the ship neared, they took flight together, beating great wings with shimmering iridescent feathers.