Capítulo 9: Chapter 9: Mean Time, Part 2
One week ago
Cyrus stood in the Raymond Room and was half-surprised as he watched Dawn appear before him.
"Cyrus?" she asked.
"You did it, kiddo," he said.
She threw her arms around him. "I made it, and I didn't jump in space. I understand it now. It's like a light bulb just went off in my head. I can feel it inside."
"I guess Kat's a great teacher," Cyrus said.
"She is, and she's a good friend, too. But man, she's the weirdest person I've ever met-don't ya think?"
"That's because she's not from our time," Cyrus said. "Last week she brought me a present...ha, come to think of it, that would be right now. She said it was her favorite scent because it reminded her of her father. It was a bottle of Old Spice aftershave-not the modern stuff that I like to wear sometimes, like their Zone Red or Matterhorn, but the old milk glass bottle you only see in antique shops. She told me that some girls react to smells of their dads and granddads. But for the past fifteen years, Old Spice has only sold these in limited editions for novelty purposes."
"So, she comes from the past somewhere?" Dawn stated.
"Probably...but get this. I asked her about one of her favorite songs, and she told me it was a song called ‘Sway.' I said, ‘Oh, is that an oldie by Lady Gaga when she was doing pop music?' She tells me no, it's a guy named Deano Martin or something. Then she tells me, that as popular as Lady Gaga was twenty years ago, she was nothing compared to her granddaughter."
"So?" asked Dawn.
"Lady Gaga doesn't have any grandkids, not yet anyway," he answered. "How do you suppose Katya can travel to the future? Anyway, I've been wearing that Old Spice-I like it."
"You've got it bad for her, don't you, Cyrus, old boy?" Dawn asked.
"I guess I make no secret of it. But she won't be my exclusive. Dawn, do you think she likes me?"
"Oh, she likes you; she makes no secret of it either," Dawn answered. "But I think she also likes Howie."
"Do you mean Howard Miller from the appliance center?" Cyrus asked. "He's a pompous jerk."
"No, he isn't. Howie can be nice. He likes to work late, just like her. He's also a pretty good pilgrim when he's on assignment. But don't worry-she won't be his XCL either."
"We better get back," he grumbled. "Hold my hand; we'll pop forward easier."
* * * *
"What's this?" Katya asked as they appeared, holding hands. "Do we have a rekindling of the hearts?"
"Very funny," said Cyrus. "She made it; she did it perfectly."
Katya looked over at Dawn, who was smiling from ear to ear and gave her a wink.
"All right now, you just have to apply that to travel in space. First, sit here in this chair and feel what it's like. Do you have it?" Dawn nodded. "Okay, now sit your bum over in the other chair and concentrate. Close your eyes and remember what it felt like while you were sitting in that chair. Pretend you're still sitting there, and then just go over to it again without using your legs."
Quicker than a person could blink, in one seamless moment, Dawn had traveled from one chair to the next. It was like watching a film that was spliced.
"I did it," Dawn yelped. "And I did it without time travel."
"Yes, you did it, but you actually did use time travel. It was just a mouse's whisker of time, but you did use both," said Katya. "The point is that you controlled it. I'm very proud of you." She gave Dawn a hug. "This will be it for the day; I can see how drained you are now."
"Yes, you're right. I'm exhausted," Dawn said as she watched Cyrus smiling at her from over Katya's shoulder. "Thanks so much, guys. Before long, I'll be assigned to great pilgrimages. Speaking of which, there's Howie and Louie. They just came back from the Russian War years. Hey guys."
"Don't call them...ugh," Cyrus said, half under his breath.
"Russian War years-what years are these?" Katya asked as the guys neared.
Howie's partner was Louie Cartier. Cyrus noticed that Dawn's eyes lit up around him. Howie and Louie were only temporarily assigned partners, as they did not have the ninety percent of the compatibility matches required.
"Hi Louie," Dawn said.
"Hey Dawn, hi Katya, Cyrus," he replied.
Howie looked at Katya. "What are you asking about the Russian War? You know-it lasted forty years, after all."
"No, Howie, tell me," Katya pressed. The others looked at her in disbelief.
"It's the war with Russia, the one that started in the Kennedy administration with the Cold War. First, there was the short-lived Vietnam War, and then during the Goldwater administration, the war with Russia broke out. Everyone knows that."
"What about LBJ?" she asked.
"Who?"
"Lyndon Johnson," she answered.
"Do you mean Vice President Johnson under Kennedy? What about him?" Howie asked.
"Oh Howie, something's wrong." Katya's voice sounded panicked.
Cyrus grabbed her by the arm and led her away. "Come on, Kat; we need to go see my dad. Are you feeling all right?"
"I don't know," she said. When they entered Kevin's office, he saw the look on her face.
"Kevin, something's wrong," she said. "The war with Russia..."
"What about it?" Kevin asked.
"Did it really happen?" Katya asked.
"Of course," Kevin answered. "But it's over and done with. Sure, it changed the course of America and the whole world, but it's over. For now, the USSR quietly minds its own business. What's this all about, Katya?"
"That's just it. There isn't supposed to be a USSR any longer. Something changed. What was Howard and Louie's pilgrimage about?"
"They were assigned to take readings from major events during the war, especially during the Goldwater years," Kevin answered.
"Goldwater? He was never president," Katya stated.
Cyrus looked at her. "Of course he was; old Au-H2O served two terms, from 1969 to 1977."
"Who followed him?" she asked.
"Jimmy Carter for a single term and then Walter Mondale," Cyrus answered.
"No, it's wrong!" she screamed.
Kevin picked up his phone, and soon Cheryl entered the room. After he explained the issue, she took Katya to her office alone and shut the door. Cheryl had Katya lie down on her couch and stroked her head as they talked.
"Cheryl, it isn't right; something's changed. You have to believe me. I don't know why I'm the only one who knows it, but it's all different. Tell me about the war and the aftereffects."
"All right," started Cheryl. "I don't know what to tell you. It was before I was born, after all. But I do know that while JFK was president, the Cold War started and there was the Bay of Pigs standoff with Cuba, and then during his second term, he declared an official war with South Vietnam."
"Wait!" Katya yelled. "That's it. John Kennedy never had a second term. He was assassinated in 1963. Tell me, what were the ramifications of this Russian War? How did it affect the world at large?"
"I don't know. We lost a lot of men. Then there were the two nukes."
"Nukes?" Katya asked. "Do you mean nuclear bombs?"
"Yes, panic caused us to break the no-nukes treaty, and we sent missiles towards Moscow. They deflected all but one, for which they retaliated, and sent missiles back to our East Coast. That's when President Goldwater's Star Wars initiatives went into action, but one missile hit off the Atlantic coast. It caused a lot of destruction. We're still feeling the effects today. When the war ended, we took a hit economically, as did the USSR. So today, China, India, and England are the world's economic giants."
"England?" Katya yelled. "That wasn't supposed to happen, either. Cheryl, we have to go back and put things right. Your biggest fears have been realized. Someone has changed the timeline drastically."
"But the governments promised us they would never do that," Cheryl said.
"Oh no! Do you mean the government's running us?" Katya asked.
"Of course," Cheryl answered. "How else could we be in business along with our overseas partner, Sundial?"
"That's wrong," said Katya. "You were a private enterprise before all this changed. Sundial did this. They had the most to gain. I understand now. They went back and changed something in our history that benefitted them. You have to let me go back."
"You want me to send you back so that one of our most beloved presidents can be assassinated?" Cheryl asked. "How can I do that?"
"Because it happened," Katya said. "It was awful, but it's the way it was supposed to be. Cheryl, you've got to believe me." Katya started to weep bitterly.
Cheryl left Katya alone in her office and went next door, where Kevin and Cyrus were waiting. "I believe her," she said after repeating the conversation they had had.
"But why is she the only one who knows the timeline changed?" asked Cyrus.
"I don't know," answered his mother. "But we do know that Katya is different than the rest of us. Her time displacement could be the reason."
"Well, that's true," Cyrus said. "Did you know she can travel to the future?"
"She can what?" asked Kevin.
Cyrus explained to his parents everything he knew about Katya, including the future references and the rolling travel they experienced together.
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