Maddy looked at his face. ‘No, I guess you’re probably right.’
‘Since then, they’ve not experimented with military eugenic units. But we know they have eugenic workers. Hundreds — thousands — of them working the plantations. They must have a better understanding these days of how to control them, how to design obedience into their minds.’
‘In my time, that’s basically the same technology as genetic engineering.’ Maddy looked out of the open shutter at the moonlit ruins of Brooklyn. ‘You know, when we arrived here, I didn’t think things looked that, you know, that advanced in this timeline.’
‘Scientific development is not necessarily symmetrical,’ replied Becks.
She nodded. Becks was right. War, in this case a permanent state of war, seemed to have had the effect of accelerating some sciences and retarding others. For example, those bombers, the South’s sky navy that Bill had mentioned, seemed to be using a lighter-than-air technology far more advanced than was available in the normal 2001. While, on the other hand, it seemed that there was no sign of any computer technology, or, if there was, it was rudimentary.
‘The Anglo-Confederates have invested much in these modern sciences,’ said Devereau. ‘The British seem to have access to the finest scientific minds, the laboratories and, of course, they certainly have the money.’
Maddy made a face. ‘Well, they’re not doing so great in our time.’
‘I find that difficult to believe.’ He laughed drily. ‘The British Empire encompasses half the world.’ Devereau fiddled with the frayed cuff of his uniform tunic. ‘Whereas our government — ’ he lowered his voice — ‘useless self-serving politicians, the lot of them … rely on technology that is decades old. Tanks and steam-walkers that stall and fail in the middle of a battle. Rotor-flyers that drop out of the sky at the first touch of a bullet. But,’ he sighed, ‘so long as the Union High Command has an endless supply of men to throw into the meat-grinder, so long as this cursed eternal war remains a stalemate, there are businessmen, industrialists, weapons manufacturers who remain powerful, and very rich.’
Maddy noticed his voice had become almost a whisper. ‘You wouldn’t say those things in front of your men, would you?’
He shrugged. ‘I suspect they all feel the same cynicism as I do. But it would take only one of them to report my words to the High Command and I would be facing a firing squad. So — ’ he offered her a fatalistic smile — ‘I keep my grumblings to myself and I do my job … and hold my part of the front line.’
His tone changed, his expression changed, a little more hopeful. ‘So tell me, then, what piece of mysterious machinery is it that you need to fix this time-travelling device of yours?’
CHAPTER 43
2001, somewhere in Virginia
‘What? Did he just say we lost them?’ Liam swung a leg over the back saddle of the huff and dropped down on to the ground. The creature — half buffalo, half horse — snorted irritably at his sudden ungainly dismount.
Captain McManus nodded. ‘Yes, it seems we have. Clever creatures, these ones. They split up and one group left a dead-end trail for us to follow.’
White Bear, on his haunches studying footprints in the hard soil, nodded. He looked up at them. ‘They very smart.’ He shook his head, disgusted with himself. ‘Trick me.’
McManus patted the Indian’s shoulder. ‘It’s OK, White Bear. We’ll pick their trail up again in the morning.’
Liam stepped forward. ‘You can’t stop now!’
‘Yes, we can … and we should. We’ve lost them. We’ll end up spending the night chasing shadows and have nothing to show for it come sunrise.’
‘But … they’re going to get away! Please! We have to — ’
‘We’ll make camp here. First light — ’ he tapped the earpiece in his helmet — ‘I’m calling in the regimental carrier. We’ll have some more hooves and boots on the ground. I assure you, we’re going to find them.’
‘Find them?’ Liam’s voice rose, angry, exasperated. ‘But you’ve just lost them!’
‘On the contrary, Mr O’Connor, I’m almost certain they’re headed that way,’ he said, pointing to the horizon. ‘I’d say it’s less than ten miles from here.’
‘What is?’
‘The Dead City, what used to be known as Baltimore. We’ve had genics go rogue on us before … that’s where they tend to head. They know we prefer to steer clear.’
‘Why?’
‘Surely you know?’ He shook his head. ‘Good God, where exactly have you spent your entire life, Mr O’Connor?’
‘I just … I …’ Liam shrugged, ‘a priory. Kirklees Priory.’
‘Ah, Catholic, are you?’
‘Aye, something like that.’ Liam nodded impatiently. ‘What’s wrong with this city?’
‘The North poisoned it with virals. Killed thousands of innocent civilians with Habsburg’s disease. I know it’s been nearly twenty years since then, but they say the rats and wild dogs carry the spores. You really wouldn’t want to go in there if you can help it. That’s why the feral genics use it as a refuge.’
‘I’ll go in! Me and Bob, we’ll go — ’
McManus patted his shoulder reassuringly. ‘Don’t worry. If that’s where they’ve gone, and I do suspect it is, I shall be taking a company in there to flush those vermin out. My boys are all inoculated against Habsburg. We’ll find them all right. Now, if you don’t mind, matters to attend to …’ McManus turned away from Liam and began issuing orders to his walrus-faced sergeant who barked them out again in a parade-ground voice. The platoon dismounted and began to make preparations to camp where they were for the night.
Bob joined Liam. ‘McManus is tactically correct with this decision, Liam.’
‘But — ’ Liam balled his fists — ‘she’s out there. She needs us!’
‘Both of them are. It is our mission priority to retrieve them both.’ Bob was right, of course. They needed Lincoln to be alive too, if they had any hope of putting history back where it belonged.
Bob had a go at a reassuring wink. ‘I calculate a high degree of certainty that we will retrieve them unharmed.’
Liam looked up at the support unit and realized he was doing his best to be supportive. Even though his mind was little more than looping strings of computer code, somewhere inside his coconut computer head was a friend, reaching out and trying to help.
‘Yeah … maybe you’re right, you big ape.’
CHAPTER 44
2001, somewhere in Virginia
The tea was good. Strong and steaming. Liam gulped it down despite the heat scorching his throat. He hadn’t realized just how thirsty he was.
A brazier glowed in the middle of the field — a harvested field, rows of severed stalks flattened by army boots and the hoofs of two dozen one-ton huffalos, now tethered together in a surly huddle of muscle and hide, lowing and snorting.
Four soldiers stood guard, staring out into the darkness, the rest of the platoon wrapped in thick woollen ponchos. Most of them, used to the rigours of army life, were taking full advantage of the few hours of dark left and already fast asleep.
Captain McManus reached for the metal pot hanging from a metal frame over the glowing coals in the brazier. He topped up Liam’s enamel mug.
‘Thank you.’
‘My favourite time of the day,’ said McManus as he sipped his tea. ‘The few hours before dawn. There’s a wonderful tone to the sky just before sunrise. Especially such places like Asia Minor.’ He shrugged. ‘Afghanistan … very nice. The sky’s almost a vanilla colour before dawn.’
‘It’s almost always a grey dawn in Cork,’ said Liam.
‘Ahhh … now.’ McManus grinned and wagged a finger. ‘I knew there was a slice of Irish in your accent, Liam O’Connor. Just couldn’t quite place it.’