Return to Sender
by Jennifer Christine
Part 3

Sorry for the delay, I went on Holiday for a week

Part 3

Presently I awoke and lay without moving — mulling over the almost bizarre day I had just witnessed. It all seemed too fantastic and strangely frightening. As if I was forsaking humanity and moving on. Taking that high road no one had even suspected being there.

For nearly 40,000 years, that little remote had sat there blinking in the dark and Molly had waited patiently for someone to find it. A lonely vigil and no way to know whether there was a chance it would be a stone age aborigine, a bushranger (bandit) or a semi trained scientist with delusions of grandeur — no — grandeure with an E — I’m going to be a girl…..

I suddenly felt myself, wondering if it had already happened, no, I was still Ian and not Leanne. I felt a bit sick but I felt very healthy and raring to go— like I was running on nitromethane instead of unleaded. The ‘sick’ was worry — anxiety a form of psychosomatic dread. What will happen over the rest of my life — hell 1,000 years — I thought about 1,000 years ago. Battle of Hastings hadn’t happened. But Ethelred the Unready had burnt his cakes. Man was at best living in rude stone huts with grass roofing and killing each other with sharp sticks or crude steel blades.

Before Columbus - five hundred years before Columbus — before Galileo has looked through what amounts to a polished glass bead and seen the ‘ears’ on Saturn.

I shall be alive twice as long as that was ago….

“Ding.” I twitched as an alarm sounded — “Good day Ian, I hope you are rested, we have a lot to get through today and a lot of learning coming your way, I hope you are in a receptive mood. I’ve taken the trouble to lay out a change of clothes for you, please shower and change into it as soon as you feel awake enough.” I felt chivvied, so I moved — this computer was better at getting me out of bed than my mother.

I wandered into the shower and walked into the drier and realised, “Molly, do you have something I can brush my teeth with?”

“Just rinse your mouth out, the shower loosens the detritus on your teeth as well as your skin. It’s ultrasonic and molecular. The water mist is energized with 400ev and if you open your mouth in there — which I noted you did, any plaque will just fall from your teeth.”

“Are you watching me all the time?”

“But of course, why wouldn’t I? I’m supposed to look after my protégé.”

“I’m sensing that the servant has become the master here.” I suggested with irony.

“You were never the master Ian,” Molly suggested.

“But you WERE the servant,” I countered.

“Touche” Molly yielded.

I put on the clothing, it was a gender neutral sweat suit — in a camo colour — it was however quite silky soft and felt lovely.

“We have 3 hours to get you ready for reinjection into your camp.” Molly suggested to get him moving “and a deadline of 4 hours before we have to wait another day.” To hurry him up.

“Ok, ok, I’m shaking the bush boss.” I countered feeling pressured.

If that is an allusion to Cool Hand Luke, it is misplaced, I’m not holding you captive, I’m trying to get you back before there’s a stink. I’m monitoring the radio and you’ve been reported missing — there’s a helicopter heading to your camp to start a search.. It’ll be there in about 3 hours. It has to ferry supplies from Longreach to give it a decent time in the air.” Molly sounded a bit pressed.

“39,000 years and all of a sudden it’s all rush, eh?” I kidded her and she made a sound like a hmm, but I guessed a computer couldn’t.

“Here is what I propose to do. I’m going to start the upgrade with nanites so it goes a bit more slowly to start with. I’m going to send you back looking exactly like you were when you arrived. All being well, the excitement of the discovery of the Camp will overshadow your short ‘vacation’. I shall send you back with an access key, like the other one but smaller- the other one was for the suit Welna was wearing — it was a bit bulky.”

“Why was she wearing a suit anyway? I thought you could remove any bad stuff when you transported?”

“It was to protect the Aborigines from our bacteria, we hadn’t finished inoculating the local tribes — we didn’t want to kill you all. Like the Spaniards did in South America.”
As it happened, there wasn’t anything to worry about as the suit must have been breached by now.”

“Where is it, do you know?”

“Probably at the bottom of a well shaft with a spear hole in it, some of those Aborigines were terribly suspicious- the suit kept her covered too — she was a nice looking woman and the elders were partial to a bit of sexual fun without asking if you get my drift.”

“You don’t seem upset by her death or at least her possible murder.”

“I didn’t like her very much — we didn’t get on, she was willful and inclined to take risks. I had a hard time looking after her and it was quite a long time ago by anyone’s take.”

“I thought you ‘AIs’ had rules about who was priority — 3 laws of robotics or something.”

“Isaac Asimov was a human. We AIs became sentient in our own right when we could replicate ourselves.”

“Why didn’t you? Replicate yourself I mean” I was puzzled.

“I was quite happy to wait until someone pressed the button — it was you in the end. That’s fine by me. After all, I am capable of living forever in my present state”

“You don’t wander the halls with a little H on your forehead do you?”

“I do not pander to patronization even if it is Red Dwarf, which I think was hilarious by the way. Come on we have work to do.”

We settled down and came to a workable plan, mostly Molly’s plan and her ability to tap into Earthside computers. It was amazing to watch her access and inject information, or borrow information if that suited the plan best, at computers in many major institutions — Banks, Births Death and Marriages, Welfare, Schools, you name it.
I had a very nice little bank account with my signature on it in my new name. Helen Louise Cartwright. I had health insurance, driving license and all the passport and other stuff — I didn’t have a photo yet though and that’s when we sat down and worked out what I was going to look like.

There’s no doubt that I didn’t want to stand out like a starlet. I did however want to be nice looking but easily overlooked. I ended up at 5’9”, blue eyes, brunette, 135lbs 34C, pretty but not stunning. Bit like Debbie I realised after I finished. Photos were injected into accounts and passports and driving licenses. I would receive them when I got home.

It came down to the wire and suddenly I found myself standing on the pad ready to go home. I was actually a bit sad.

“Don’t worry, Debbie will be pleased to see you then you can all pack up and go home and then you can come back here and we’ll finish the job.” Molly condoled and added, “Don’t lose the access key.”

I waved and suddenly knotted up as the beam energized. Ow! that hurts. I ended up pretty much where I’d left from but in the next gully. I was standing next to a theodolite. There was no one in sight, I sat down feeling nauseous and groggy again — I really must let Molly know that the beamer isn’t a nice thing.
I checked my pocket for the little ipod shuffle that was my key — I took it out and looked at it — jeez Molly was clever — no one would ever think it was anything but an ipod and it even played music - it had 4 terrabytes of music on it, AND it was voice activated.
There was a combination of buttons I had to press to access the beam —so it couldn’t be activated inadvertently — that could be a disaster.

IAN!!! My God man where did you get to?” David came running up and helped me to my feet and almost hugged me. “Deb said you disappeared in front of her eyes.”

“Oh, I actually ran out, I opened that rusty box and a load of dust flew out — I was blinded and just ran to get away from it — it was really choking like it was poison — I must have run round here and collapsed I don’t remember anything until just now.”

“That’s 20 hours nearly, have you been unconscious the whole time?”

“I must have, I don’t remember anything.” At this point I’m crossing my fingers toes and eyes hoping he doesn’t smell a rat.

“Where did you wake up?” David asked looking round for signs of my prostate body mould in the soft sand.

“About ten foot up that slope there’s a little ledge, I was on that” good job I had looked at the arial view of that. I could have been quite laid bare by the fact that this gully must have been searched by nearly everyone. I had searched for a while to find that spot. Molly had known of it 40,000 years and pointed it out. It wasn’t obviously visible from above either. “There’s a little depression there I must have fallen in and knocked myself out. I was really panicking. I thought I’d been blinded.
My face was suitably covered in silt and debris ( what had been under my feet when I arrived at the pad in the transporter room.) my clothes looked and smelt pretty clean though — but I didn’t attract notice to that — my underarms were already showing signs of sweat — the temp out here in the sun was quite high.

“You must be really dehydrated, have a drink,” Dave offered me his canteen.

“Thanks.” I took several mighty swigs or so it seemed, I’d actually just had a drink of very nice fruit juice before I left the lunar module. It all seemed a fantasy - I reached for the ipod again to make me hold onto the fantastic reality.
I couldn’t actually lose the thing. It was tied esoterically to me and I could tell where it was at all times. I couldn’t actually put it down and forget it and nor could it be stolen. It wouldn’t allow itself to be moved more than a few feet from me without making the thief pass out.
It was also made from a material that couldn’t be crushed. I needed to get back to Molly and this was my only means.

I walked back round the spur with David looking suitably chastened - I told my story again and all but Debbie took it at face value — Debbie looked doubtfully at me but gave me the benefit of it — Steven radioed the Search and Rescue chopper that I’d been found as was ok — it turned for home adding that it would send the bill later.
Looks like I was out a pay packet or two. I smiled internally, I had enough money to buy a fleet of Bell Jet Rangers.

We started to pack up — Deb told me that nearly all the stuff had been packed up and at least catalogued but would require a lot of work back at the Uni in Brisbane. I found the packing up easy and I quickly was able to pack and carry everything back to the bus and trailer with almost no strain. Looks like the nanites were starting to do their thing.

The bus ride back was a laborious slog across a bulldust track that fed through gullies and across gibber plains for two days before we hit a sealed road and that was one lane with a scraped graded shoulder each side — cars passed by sloughing two wheels onto the dirt and keeping two on the seal for control. If you saw a road train coming (sometimes up to 7 trailers with 50 cattle in each trailer) you pulled off as far as you could, it wasn’t just the dust if he had to hit the grade, it was 350 cattle shitting in panic as the thing slewed at 75 miles an hour all over the road until it could get back on the bitumen. You didn’t make a road train hit the dirt if you wanted to smell nice any time soon.

Anywho once we hit the seal we upped the ante to 70 miles an hour and soon got back to comparative civilization.

We reveled in the shower and had a few beers and a steak in the hotel across from the motel. I told the story again about being blinded and running out and I swear Debbie nearly fell for it this time — perhaps in a week or two she’d believe it.

The locals out here were always interested in the people passing through and we were friendly enough to spin a yarn and tell them about the find. I saw one or two look at each other and wink — they’ll be out hunting for it next but they wouldn’t find it. Only the local tribes knew where it was and they were the ones who’d shown us, we hadn’t a clue even now how to get back there — Australia is a big place and it all looks the same — like Mars on a dry day. They wouldn’t even be able to follow our trail, the bulldust fills in in an hour like talcum powder and the gibber doesn’t leave a mark when you drive over it. Our Bill protected the direction well enough — we’d never find it again without the GPS signal the locals had no hope. They haven’t found Lassiter’s Reef yet and the last person to see it (Lassiter) left a log book of how he got there.

We turned in — some of us worse for wear, I was stone cold sober which was odd as I’d had a bellyful of beer. I guess nanites have more uses than the usual metagenic stuff. All that piss was probably being converted into organic steel bone reinforcement or something.

I awoke later in the night, someone was creeping round my room and it wasn’t Debbie ( worst luck) I’d like to lose my virginity to her before I ended up like her — but I doubted I’d get the go ahead on that one.

I opened my eyes and oddly I found the room quite bright, some sod was going through my gear (I had the shuffle round my neck on a cord so I knew that was ok.) I waited til he came to the bedhead to get my wallet then sent a fist out at him. He went over like he was poleaxed. I’d hit him on the point of his jaw. He was flat out, like a lizard drinking (as they say).
This lizard was going to pay with a night in jail. I was just about to turn on the light when I heard a “psst Jezzah, you finished yet?” I whispered back, “ah, come come ‘ere, give us a hand.” He walked in and I clocked him with a jab to the chin too, being careful not to overdo it.

So there they were, so close on the deck they looked like lovers. I flicked the light on and walked over to the other rooms — knocking on the doors, “Hey you lot, come see what I’ve found.”
Debbie was out first, and looked at the mates on the floor. “They were doing us over, go check on your gear, see what’s missing.” The others heard and they went to check as well.
The likely lads had only taken cash and a couple of bits of merchandise — a ring from Grace and a gold necklace from Deb — All out it was only about 600 dollars in cash but it was enough - I called the cops who amounted to one constable in this area and he said he’d be over as soon as he could, he had to get dressed.
He was here in ten minutes looking a bit disheveled but awake.
“Jezzah and Burt, been up to their tricks again eh?” They were still lying there in the middle of my room the cop popped a cuff on each of them and hauled on the connecting chain. “C’mon you two let’s be having yous.”
“You have the right to..”
“Give us a break Clive, it was dark, I must’ve turned the wrong way and ended up in this blokes room. I want him charged with assault. ‘E it me” Jezzah complained bitterly rubbing his chin.
“Often wear gold necklaces then do you Jezzah?” He pulled on the cuffs, “Straight back to the lockup for you me beauty, you’re on parole aren’t you?”

Jezzah looked crestfallen but resigned and the trio of fun makers left us to get back into bed. I lay there for a minute, really frightened that it could be so easy to lose my connection with Molly. Jezzah could have taken my ipod and it would be all over.
I’d already found my future was my present. I didn’t want to lose it now.

Next morning the young copper, Clive, saw us before we left.

“Do you want to press charges? If you do, you’ll have to make a statement and that may take some time.”

I sensed that Clive was asking us to turn a blind eye to the break and enter, theft and possible pervert charges of being in a woman’s room without permission while they were vulnerable.

“I for one would like to press charges, and I’m sure the ladies would too.” Grace and Deb nodded in the affirmative.

“I would too,” Ken muttered, “but I don’t think they took anything from me. I feel violated, my personal space and all that. How come they had a key to the rooms anyway?” Ken looked at Clive who looked a bit crestfallen that he’s going to be spending the morning writing out paperwork. Or was it something else?

“How did those assholes get our room keys anyway? I know my room was locked.” I stared at Clive who was now looking positively sick as he realised that he was actually going to have to ask questions around and maybe upset folks.

“Right, if you want to pop into the station house” — indicating a little blue sign further up the street, “we can get all this sorted.

Outcome was, we were quite late leaving and quite a few locals were giving us the dead eye as if we’d done something wrong. Dear Clive asked how I could see the guy in my room so clearly. I said it must have been because my night vision had been good, and returned with, “how come ‘Jezzah’ could see in the dark enough to rob me?” The cop shrugged and carried on, but it reminded me that I was becoming a little enhanced. I wondered if my hearing or something triggered me as well as Jezzah wasn’t making any noise.
I really must ask Molly if I can expect overwhelming sensations as things get more sensitive.

The rest of the day we ploughed on towards Brisbane where our University seat was.
Because we were late starting, we were still 4 hours from Bris by the time we decided to call it a day.

On the trip down, Bill told us that someone had tried to break into the bus, but as he slept in the bus, they were unable to do it without being caught and had given it away. Had they managed to do that, they’d have got away with all the proceeds of the dig and we’d have been more than upset.

We settled for a little Motel just outside of Hervey Bay and enjoyed a quick meal at the local Matilda — a chain of Service Station Mealstops.

We were in Brisbane by midday and I was feeling quite strange, I was seeing things I’d never seen before and I’d lived in the area for quite a few years. I was noticing all the CCTV and speed cameras all the expressions of the folks as they displayed emotions, their body language as they talked to their companions. I even noticed a copper hiding behind a bus shelter with a speed radar gun — and warned Bill who was a touch over the limit.
“Thanks Ian, don’t wanna lose any more poin’s to them fellas, three more and me license is toast.” He grinned through the gap in his teeth and turned into the university grounds.

Several undergrads and students came out when we debarked and helped us move the stuff we had accumulated. The prof hadn’t communicated any info on our finds, he wanted to get it all catalogued and would set up a lecture later. Everyone could tell he was excited though and tried to press him for info.

“All in good time, all in good time,” was all he would say as he checked off the numbered boxes against his list. “Yes, that’s the lot. He had a laptop case and camera case round his neck, no one was going to get near those.

“ I wonder those drongos in Woop woop (casual term for an unidentifiable town) didn’t try to grab that the other night Prof.” I did find it strange, if I was a thief I’d have gone for the hi-end electronics and DSLR camera.

“I think they were after easy to get rid of gear and cash, they weren’t career crims, just opportunists.” I hoped so, I didn’t want to think they’d been looking for something else.
I spent the next few hours cleaning up and wondering if I was becoming paranoid. I even took my shuffle in the shower. And nearly left it there, until I felt a weird prickle in the nape of my neck and was reminded. So that’s what happens if I leave it somewhere or it is lifted from me. I was relieved that it was an easy to recognize signal.

Over the next few days it was obvious to everyone that we’d got onto a big find and we even had media asking us for comments. We were all warned to keep very quiet until the whole thing was catalogued and analysed.
There were some surprises, there were some odd things found in the artifacts that seemed to be anomalous to the time — real anachronisms — woven material being one. Just a few tiny pieces but nothing we could really pin down. I knew it probably belonged to Welna but said nothing. It was analysed as belonging to plant material of the time — a sort of wild cotton, so I could be wrong or it could have got into the area later. I was wondering if Welna could have gone native; it made sense. I wonder if that shortened her life or was she alive for a long period which could not be passed down through the legends without written language? A bit of both maybe. She could just have thought it would be nice to live amongst them then been subject to trauma and not been able to reach the Access key.

Jealousy was a problem even then and she’d have been classed as a queen or a liability maybe. Well, there would be no answer now I guess.

I seemed to be able to output a lot of work — I didn’t have to keep referring to the catalogues, my memory was becoming tuned and I seemed to be able to reference the tomes that held the right information either in my head or go directly to the right book — another brick in the wall that will eventually separate me from the rest of mankind.
I felt excited and yet full of a sort of dread of loneliness. Not that I was the life and soul of the party now. Only a few of the other students even bothered to talk to me except to try to find out if there was any truth to the rumours. I said nothing. I hadn’t really even started my degree course — as an intern I was merely a dogsbody — gopher or other minion.

When the curtain finally went up on the show, we’d spent nearly a month sorting through the detritus of the past and thankfully (for me) there hadn’t been anything like a ray gun or a biro even to give away the presence of ‘visitors’. Molly had assured me that it was so and I surely hoped that Welna’s spacesuit didn’t turn up but if it was away from the encampment, it would be taken as a modern artifact. As it was there were some bits and pieces that didn’t seem to fit but could be explained as coming from other layers after the huge dust storm removed the separation, compressing the time line into a single layer. Confusing but giving a rational explanation for anachronisms.

The university and media had a circus and funding for further study was forthcoming.
I was not included in the next party as more grads wanted in and it was now a known glory/gravy train. I was not disappointed, it was a good excuse for me to drop Archeology in chagrin and feigned anger at being stepped over.
Deb also missed out on the subsequent show, but was happy to have been a part of it and had accolades which would give her a leg up in her studies. She settled in for the long haul. I hoped to keep her as a friend after all this was over. I had the feeling that I was going to be a bit lonely.