CHAPTER 5

STEALING TIME

Christopher Stasheff

CHAPTER 5

Angus said she was beautiful in a very matter-of-fact tone, without the slightest emotion except, perhaps, impatience—certainly no hint of personal involvement.

Alarmed, Yorick started to say something, then glanced at Ada and bit his tongue.

Ada wasn't sure she enjoyed being evaluated from a completely aesthetic point of view. Slowly, she said, "I thank you, Dr. McAran, but I must beg leave to differ. I have always been told that my appearance is younger than my years—but plain."

"Plain nonsense!" Angus snapped. "You only need to stop trying so hard to hide your looks with that severe hair style and those steel-rimmed glasses."

"Glasses?" Ada asked, at a loss.

"He means your spectacles, Ada," Yorick said helpfully.

"Oh! But how would I see well enough to read?"

"So carry the glasses in your purse and take them out when you need them," Angus suggested. "You see well enough to walk down the street, don't you?"

"Well, yes, unless I need to read a sign."

"So take the glasses out when you do." Angus turned away to a sort of desk and began to adjust dials. "Besides, you're going to the 1970s."

"What has that to do with..."

"By 1970, they'll have wonderful things called 'contact lenses,' Ada," Yorick explained, "lenses that you put right onto your eyes, so there's no rims to hide your face."

"And it might help if you learn to use cosmetics," Angus said. "It won't really be necessary, but by the 1950s, everyone expects it."

"Expects?"

Yorick nodded. "If a woman doesn’t wear make-up in the 1950s, they figure she's eccentric."

"But it's only been sixty years! Can there have been so vast a change in so short a time?"

"Social change has kinda speeded up in this century," Yorick said.

"Besides," Angus said, "things like cosmetics are a matter of fashion. Odds are your grandmother used them—if she could afford them."

"I... I don't really know," Ada wondered if the grand old lady hadn't thought she should mention such matters to her Victorian granddaughter.

"Well, you can find out." Angus turned away from the panel. "One of the fringe benefits of working for a time-machine company."

"you mean I could—could go back in time and meet my grandmother?"

"When she was grown up and before she was married." Angus nodded.

The notion took Ada's breath away—and she wasn’t sure she wanted to do it. How diminishing would it be to discover her grandmother had been a beauty?

The thought reminded her of her own shortcomings. "I would appreciate it, Dr. McAran, if you would stop patronizing me and spare me your pity. Why, after all, would you comment on my appearance?"

"Because I can," Angus answered. "I have nothing to gain by it. One look at me and you know I'm not going to try to seduce you, because I wouldn't stand a chance."

She stared, realizing the little gnarled man was a kindred spirit, that he too felt rejected by romance. Feeling horribly guilty, she said, “I - I wouldn't say that."

"And you're very kind," Angus said, "but now who's being patronizing? Do me a favor, though—have a makeover before you try to tell me again that you're plain."

He picked up the album and took it back through the door to the storeroom. Ada stared after him, feeling rather sick.

"Don't worry, Ada," Yorick said. "You haven't offended him. In fact, he's probably already forgotten the conversation. He gets that way when he's setting up a time-travel trip."

"Really?" Ada asked hopefully, then turns to Yorick ad asked, "What's a makeover?"

Before Yorick could answer, Angus came back in holding several garments on hangars. "These are 1970s clothes, Ada. If the trousers seem too daring, you can wear the dress of the skirt and blouse. I know the hemlines will bother you, almost up to the knees, but that's the fashion and you'll have to get used to it, if you're going to live in modern times."

Ada stared at the blue denim. "Trousers? For women?"

"Not just acceptable—almost required." Angus thrust the hangers at her. "Changing room's over to your left. Selection of shoes on the floor."

Ada took the clothes, plucked up her courage, and went through the door.

The closet was roomy, with a small chest of drawers; opening them, she saw that Angus had been too delicate to mention underclothing. How had he... then she realized there was a variety of sizes, from too large for her to too small; he had done as well as he could. She worked out the layer order the garments should be worn in, then tried on the blouse and the blue denim trousers. She stepped over to the full-length mirror on the back of the door, stared at herself, then turned away, cheeks burning, but feeling oddly excited. Still she couldn't bring herself to wear them where the gentlemen could see; she tried on the dress, then settled for the blouse and skirt. She found a set of shoes with heels not too high and turned to the door, feeling quite exposed with her calves bared to public display—well, not quite bared, but the marvelous stockings concealed very little. Face flaming, she stepped forth to meet the future—and if it wasn't her future, it soon would be.

"Ready to go?" Yorick asked.

Ada nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Angus was staring; he shook himself, muttered, "Remarkable transformation," and turned back to the desk. "Ready for 1975?"

"No, but I'm going anyway." Ada turned a look of naked appeal on Yorick.

"Think I'll come along for the ride," the big man said breezily. He stepped in

beside her.

Angus nodded. "Have a good trip." He punched a button.

The world spun and the nausea hit again, but this time, Ada was braced for it; she didn't really need Yorick's arm, but took it anyway.

Then the world steadied, and she found herself gazing at the same room, wondering if for some reason the machine had failed—until she realized that the person rising from the desk with the knobs and buttons was a woman, and a young woman at that.

"You must be Ada," the woman said with a friendly smile. "Dr. McAran sends his apologies, but he thought your seeing his fifty-year-old self might be rather disconcerting. I'm Margo."

"I'm... pleased to meet you," Ada said slowly.

"Come along ad we'll meet some of the other agents," Margo said. "Over dinner—Dr. McAran doesn't usually think of food."

They went through the door into the cavern, ad Ada halted in surprise.

She was no longer standing in a globe of light that was swallowed up by the gloom overhead and all around. Instead, she was in a large, brightly-lighted room with a twelve-foot ceiling, filled with tables and people, some coming or going, most sitting and chatting over drinks or food. Everyone seemed to be talking; the sound filled the room. It might have been a lunch-hour restaurant in any city, if it hadn't been for the clothes. Ada could see Byzantine nobles, medieval peasants, fur-clad hunters, Persian merchants... there seemed to be people from every country, every era of history, and every part of the globe; she could see faces from East Asia and West Asia, Red Indians and East Indians, Africans and Eskimos, and felt sure that somewhere in that throng there must be Australian aborigines.

"Looks like our future selves have made a few improvements," Yorick said beside her.

"This is our break room," her guide said. "Sometimes we call it the common room. It's a good place to wait on your way out, and a great place to come home to at the end of a mission."

"I can see that it would be." Ada felt a bit dazed.

"You'll have your own suite, of course," Margo said, "upstairs. Come on, let me show you."

She started to lead the way. With a touch of panic, Ada glanced back at Yorick. The big man nodded and said, "You get settled in. I'll be here when you get back. Might have a shower and a change of clothes, myself."

"That's right," Ada said slowly, "this is your home, isn't it?"

"In every time," Yorick assured her.

Somewhat less reluctantly, Ada followed Margo through the throng.

Yorick watched her go. aware of the Japanese merchant who came up beside him, middle-aged and from the middle ages.

"She'll be okay, Yorick," the man assured him. "You've met her future self often enough, haven't you?"

Yorick nodded. "You and I know that, Monoyen, but she doesn't. Am I here?"

"Your thirty-two-year-old self is just back from a visit with the Olmecs. None the worse for wear," Monoyen hastened to add.

Yorick nodded. "Ask him to be on hand in case she needs him, would you? I've got to get back to Angus."

"Will do, Yorick," Monoyen said. "I'm sure you'll remember this moment, no matter what age you are."

"How could I forget?" Yorick agreed. "Okay, see you later."

"Let us know if we can help," Monoyen said.

"Thanks." Yorick grinned as he went back into the lab.

Another operator had replaced Margo; Yorick said, "Hi, Hal. One minute after I left, okay?"

Hal nodded and laid aside his e-book reader. "Already got it set, Yorick.: He turned to the console, finger on the red button. "Go well."

"Stay well," Yorick returned. The room seemed to shift; he fought down a moment's nausea and stepped out of the cubicle and nodded to Angus. "Delivered safe and sound."

"Hope she doesn’t have too much trouble settling in." Angus set the machine on standby.

"You know she won't; we've both talked with her older self." Yorick spent an inordinate amount of time reassuring people. "Of course, transition times are always rough, but if ever there was a place where it was hard to be lonely, our common

room is it."

Angus nodded. "Homesickness shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"We know she and Nancy are going to hit it off and go to Ann Arbor with Susan, and the three of them will have a high old time as roommates while Ada's getting her GED and all three of them are going to college.”

Angus nodded. 'Then Ada will disappear into the Law Quad for four years and come back as a full-fledged attorney. Nothing to worry about."

"Except her heart," Yorick said. "She has a crush on you, y'know."

"Only because we rescued her." Angus didn't look up from the time machine's control console. "Of course, it didn't help that you made me look like the autocratic genius who planned out her protection single-handed.'

"Scarcely autocratic," Yorick objected.

"Autocratic or not, you made me look like the boss.'

"Yeah, the boss of two." Yorick didn't bother pointing out that Angus really was the boss, and would still be that when he was guiding hundreds of agents.

'But I certainly can't take sole credit for her rescue." Angus looked up, shaking his head. "She's made an emotional transference, and it will fade at the sight of the first good-looking, athletic male."

"Maybe," Yorick said, "but until it does, you'd better be very careful of her feelings."

"Then I'd better be planning how to bring in enough money to pay her college bills, hadn't I?"

'Come off it," Yorick said. "You've never needed more than a fraction of your take-home pay for living, and from the odd comment you've dropped, I've figured out that you've invested the rest very effectively and could probably send a dozen young women to college if you wanted to."

"Or operate a time travel organization." Angus looked up. "Not both. Ada's education will be a minor expense compared to buying this mountain and setting up McAran Research, Inc."

NOTE TO MY READERS:

The rest of this chapter includes the short story “King John’s Treasure,” our very first posting on this website. If you haven’t read it already, now would be a good time. In case you don’t want to read it separately, though, just go the next chapter!:

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