After that, he froze, unable and unwilling to speed it up anymore as events unfurled faster and faster. His heart began to beat harder, growing from a noticeable thumping in his chest to a pounding pulsation in his ears, and then a burning agony that failed to subside. Sweat rolled from his face and Gordon clutched his chest as if to contain a heart that threatened to burst from him, but he refused to look away.
On the screen, the video stream ended with the abruptness of a filmstrip ripped from the projector. Gordon saw nothing but static, but the last images would be burned into his mind for the rest of his days, not that he really had any of those left.
Nathan pulled up to the house with a spray of displaced gravel flying out from his truck’s tires. He noted with a wince that Kris’s motorcycle was already there, but then smiled when he saw her rushing up the front steps. He jumped out the door and ran across the driveway, pushed by the twin drives of future history and the need to not let Kristene beat him inside.
He was up the steps and standing next to her before she had even finished knocking. He gave her his most dazzling smile, and she responded with a shake of her head and a half-smile of her own. “I still won,” she said.
Nathan shook his head. “Noooooo. I believe the taunt was, last one inside’s a rotten egg. No inside-eee, no win-eee.”
“You cheated. You started out twice as close as me. I had to get over here from the shipyard, through worse traffic.”
“While no doubt doing about Mach seven. It all evens out. I drive a truck bound to the laws of physics, while your little turbine-cycle follows rules no one’s ever thought about defining. Tell me, do you outrun the police or just teleport out of their jurisdiction?”
Kris smiled. “Neither. I’m invisible to radar when I’m up to speed.”
“Ah, that explains it.” She reached forward and knocked again. “Besides, it’s not as if one of us will actually see the video before the other. Gordon’s probably going to wait until we all get here so he can make a grand event out of it—the Great Unveiling of my Mad Endeavour.”
Nathan laughed. “Of course, he’s probably watched the whole first transmission himself by now.”
“And marked all the good parts,” Kris added.
They both nodded and said together, “That’s Gordon for you.” That made them both laugh, and Nathan took a half-step closer to her, to which she responded with a half-step of her own to keep the space between them. It was a subtle little dance they shared but never acknowledged, the legacy of Nathan’s rejection.
For a month after their confrontation in his hospital room, Kristene had avoided any and all contact with him, and he despaired that not only was their friendship doomed, but the project was as well. She could not stay mad forever, though. It was anathema to her nature.
What had begun then was a gentle return to the status quo. They were friendly, but it was work-friendly, not the exciting and playful friendship of a pair of acquaintances on the verge of becoming something more. She resumed her bright, joking effervescence, but now without any hint of flirtation.
And Nathan missed it terribly.
The project was on track, their interaction was pleasant, and there was little to no awkwardness, but where before the future had lain significantly before them, now there was only the present and the memory of a discarded past. He knew he had perhaps made his life’s biggest error.
Nathan opened his mouth to say something, anything to her, but the door finally opened and Melinda waved them inside, a cell suite tucked between her shoulder and her ear. She said into the phone, “Thank you. Yes, we’re all assembling at the estate, and we’ll review the files when everyone arrives. No, you don’t all have to be here—just a representative, though Mr. Lee is quite anxious for everyone to view it and give their opinion. Yes. Thank you, Dr. Chen. We’ll see you soon.” She took down the suite from its perch atop her shoulder and smiled at Kris and Nathan. “It’s so good to see you two. What I just said only applies to the riffraff. You can both go in and take a look now, if he hasn’t seen it all a couple of times by this point.”
Nathan smiled. “Thanks, Melinda. I think we’d both like to get a look at the telemetry before the huddled masses begin arriving. Is he in his office?”
She nodded. “Just knock and go in. I’ve got a few dozen more calls and e-mails to make, and I haven’t even gotten to the official government contacts yet.”
They nodded to her and both began walking through the house. As they made their way through the rooms and corridors, they shared a glance and a nervous smile. Kristene began walking faster, edging ahead of him. “Big day, don’t wanna be late.”
“You’re going to be the late Ms. Muñoz if you make me run through Gordon’s pretty house.” Nathan took longer strides and kept pace, causing Kris to jog forward a few steps as preface to a run, but then she bumped a table and rebounded limping and cursing. Nathan shook his head and slowed his walk to match her now much slower gait.
They reached the estate’s home office together. Nathan knocked and held the door open for Kristene. He opened his mouth to say something, but it died away unsaid when he heard Kristene’s cry and saw for himself the scene in Gordon’s office.
Gordon lay on the floor in a pile of papers, face up and gasping, trying to raise himself up by pulling on the desk. His cheeks were sunken and a gray pallor covered his face. Static played on the surface of his pill-strewn desktop, and his chair was knocked over on its side.
Nathan rushed in, knelt at his side, and immediately felt the old man’s neck. The pulse was so rapid and light it was nigh indiscernible. He turned to capture Kristene in his gaze and commanded, “Call 911! Then get Melinda in here with the defibrillator. Go!”
She rushed out the doorway without a word, and Nathan laid Gordon flat on the floor, grasping his hand firmly, and catching the suffering man’s panicked gaze with his own eyes. “Gordon, lay still, we’re getting help.” He glanced at the top of the desk and saw all the little white pills scattered over its surface. “Your medication? Did you take your pills, Gordon?”
It took a moment for Lee to get control of his pained, gasping breath, but eventually he said in a harsh, broken whisper, “—es … took ‘em … no good.”
“Okay. Just lay back and rest. Melinda’s getting your AED and Kris is calling for an ambulance. You just stay still and concentrate on not dying, all right? The last thing you want is me giving you CPR, you know?”
Gordon grinned behind a mask of pain. “Ugliest … damn nurse … ever had.” He winced, arched his back and clutched his chest and left arm as another attack hit him.
Nathan looked desperately to the doorway as he held Gordon still, but no one appeared there. “Melinda! Hurry up!”
Lee reached up, grabbed Nathan’s arm and dragged him down close. He seethed through his clenched teeth, hissing, “Listen … saw it … bad. All bad … worse than I feared.”
“Gordon, lay still and calm down. Don’t worry about that now.”
“Not a ship … worse … cathedrals … burning stars for engines … Nathan … you have to go … soonest … have to test them … must start now.”
“We will, boss. The ship’s ready, and the crew’s ready, but don’t worry about that now! You’ll be there to see us launch and you’ll be there when we get back.”
“Don’t understand … government … wasn’t real before … is now … they’ll take it … from us … can’t let them … our ship … not theirs.”
Nathan felt Gordon’s grip slacking off. His eyes took on a faraway look as he lay back down. Nathan followed him to the floor, straining to catch every increasingly softer word.