Rewinder

CHAPTER FIVE

“Once you’ve finished training, your official title will be Personal Historian for the Upjohn Institute. But that’s still three months away, so until then, you’re only probationary trainees.”

We are in a theater-style classroom, in six rising rows of four students each. On the stage below, our lecturer is an older man who was introduced to us as Sir Wilfred Pell, head of institute security. He’s an imposing figure. Six and a half feet tall, at least, with a chest that stretches the fabric of his shirt and arms as thick as his legs. What hair he has on his head is shaved close, but is more than compensated for by his black-dyed Vandyke beard and moustache.

“As trainees, you have restrictions on where you can and cannot go on the grounds of Upjohn Hall. You will find a map detailing these locations in your guidelines manual. I suggest you commit these to memory, because if you are found where you’re not supposed to be, your participation in our program will be seriously jeopardized.” He pauses, staring up at us to emphasize his point. “On occasion, Upjohn Hall receives visitors from the outside. If you happen to come in contact with them and they ask what you do, you will tell them your job is to research and put together the family histories of institute contributors. If pushed, which you likely will not be, you should say you spend your days looking through dusty books and delicate parchments, and then report whoever has made this inquiry to the security bureau. We are all responsible for the secrets of the institute. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” we reply in unison, though we’re no closer to understanding what these secrets are.

“Good,” he says. “Then I expect we’ll have no problems.”

He walks to the chairs along the back wall where several others are sitting, so I take advantage of the break to take my first good look at the other trainees. They all appear to be the same age as me. A few meet my gaze with looks of disdain that I’m very familiar with. They come from upper castes, Fives at least. And though I’m technically a Five now, I know they see the Eight in me. The ones who don’t look at me have an air about them that makes me put them in the same upper category. Am I the only one from the lower castes here?

“Good morning, everyone.”

I look back and see that Sir Gregory has stepped to the lectern.

“Good morning, sir,” several of us reply, though not quite as together as our previous response.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome you all to our summer 2014 session. Those of you who have been here for several days, we appreciate your patience while the rest of your classmates were brought in. Now that you’re all here, it’s time to begin.”

I realize I must’ve been the last one to arrive, as I barely had time to be shown my quarters before I was brought here.

“I imagine you’re all wondering what profession it is you’ve agreed to join,” Sir Gregory said.

Nods and a few murmurs of assent.

“Sir Wilfred is correct,” he says. “You will indeed be personal historians, but your heads will not be buried in dusty books and delicate parchments. As Rewinders, you will be getting your hands dirty.”

“Rewinders?” a girl in front of me asks. She wears her long hair in a style popular among the nobility and has the haughty manner to go with it. Which explains her asking the question. I’m wondering the same thing but would never have spoken up.

“It’s not the official title,” Sir Gregory says. “More of what we’ve come to call ourselves.”

I see disapproval on some of the faces of those sitting behind him, making me think not everyone uses the term.

“Where was I?” Sir Gregory thinks for a moment. “Right. As personal historians, you’ll be at the very heart of what we do here at the institute. Your work will take you places you never thought you could go. Never even thought possible.” He pauses. “Three calendar months from today, your training will end, but to be clear, not all of you will complete the program. Those who do not become Rewinders will be moved into support positions that, I can guarantee you, are also critical to the work we do.”

“Like a servant?” the question comes from the same girl as before, but is whispered so only a few of us hear it. As she says it, she shoots a look in my direction.

“Those of you who do complete the program will be assigned to a senior historian who will work with you for your first nine months, and then, as long as you’ve proven yourself, you’ll be on your own. The job is an all-consuming one and will become your life, and you will likely only see your fellow students in passing, if at all. For that reason, attachments during training are discouraged.

“Your instruction will occur through various methods, including daily individual sessions and occasional group meetings such as this. Let’s see.” He looks back at his colleagues. “Have I missed anything?”

The others shake their heads.

When Sir Gregory looks back at us, he says, “I know you have many questions. The best way to get answers is in a one-on-one meeting with your personal instructor, so if you will all rise.”

We stand.

“Single file, please, after me.”

When we leave the classroom, Sir Gregory leads us through the building and into a hallway with twelve numbered doors on either side.

“I’ll call out names followed by a number,” Sir Gregory says. “Once you hear your name, proceed to the corresponding room. This will be the room you use throughout training, so don’t forget your number.”

As I wait for my name to be called, I try to memorize the others’ names. The girl who all but called me a servant is Lidia Brewer. She’s sent to room 18, and I can’t help but hope I’m assigned a room nowhere near hers. When Sir Gregory says my name, though, the number he announces after it is 17.

When I enter the room, the first thing I notice is how white it is — walls, ceiling, floor — and then the three pieces of furniture that fill the space — a wooden table between two metal chairs. No one is present so I’m unsure which seat to take. I decide I want to see who comes into the room so I scoot around the table and claim my place.

It’s several minutes before the door finally opens, and a woman in a simple gray dress with a bag over her shoulder enters. She’s shorter than I am by nearly a foot, and if she weighs more than seven and a half stones I’d be shocked. Her hair is dark, almost black, and cut so that it barely touches the tops of her ears. What I notice most, though, is the aura of confidence that moves with her. It’s not something you see in the neighborhood where I grew up.

After closing the door, she takes the other seat. “Hello, Denny,” she says, holding out her hand. “I’m Marie Jennings. Welcome to the Upjohn Institute.”

“Thank you,” I say as we shake.

“I’m to be your personal instructor during your training,” she says. “And you are to be one of our potential Rewinders.”

“Yes, um, so what exactly is a Rewinder?”

“That’s the big question, isn’t it? What do you think?”

I’ve done nothing but try to figure that out since leaving the classroom, but am no closer to an answer so I shrug and shake my head.

“The definition’s very straightforward,” she says. “A Rewinder is a verifier of personal histories.”

“Okaaay,” I say, still not understanding.

“Had you heard of the Upjohn Institute before you came here?”

“Never.”

She sets her bag on the table and removes a leather-bound sheath. After opening it, she studies one of the papers inside and then looks up. “That’s right. You were an Eight before.” There’s no judgment in her voice, which surprises me, as she clearly comes from a higher caste.

“I feel like I’m still an Eight.”

“Give it time,” she says. “Pretty soon you won’t even think about what you are or where you came from. All right, let’s talk about the institute for a moment. It was established with a singular purpose. People come to us to trace and verify their family histories. To have a history certified by the Upjohn Institute means that no one can dispute your lineage. No one. Our results are accepted by the very top of society.”

By very top, she must mean the king. Just the thought of working at a job even remotely connected to the Crown is terrifying.

“So a Rewinder does these verifications?” I ask.

“Correct.”

“How, exactly?”

“Quite simple. You will observe and report.”

“Observe?”

She reaches into her bag and pulls out a wooden box — approximately five inches by seven and an inch thick — and holds it out to me. When I take it, I find it’s not nearly as heavy as I expected, and it’s not made of wood at all but some kind of metal designed to look like wood.

“Open it,” she says.

On the top is a flap that’s latched on the wide side. I try to open it but it doesn’t budge.

“Right here,” she says, touching a smooth section next to the latch. “Touch it with your right thumb.”

I do as she says and the latch pops open.

When I look at her, she says, “It’s been keyed to you.”

I start to ask, “How?” but my attention’s drawn to the display screen and buttons that were covered by the flap.

“What is this thing?”

She holds her hand out and I give it back to her. “The engineers call it a temporal transmitter, but it’s more commonly referred to as a Chaser.” She sets it on the table.

I know temporal has something to do with time, but what would a temporal transmitter be? A radio clock?

Seeing my confusion, she says, “A little history. The Upjohn Institute received its royal charter from Queen Victoria in March of 1841.”

I blinked. Eighteen forty-one is an extremely important year in the history of the empire.

“Yes,” she says, noting my reaction. “That was only three months before she was killed. When King James III took the throne, he reconfirmed the charter, and the institute’s been here ever since, serving the upper castes of the empire.

“Until thirteen years ago, the only means we had for verifying lineages were old records. This was sufficient to a point but not always one hundred percent accurate. Records can be falsified, and whole histories can be changed to suit someone’s interests.

“In 1998, Lady Williams learned of a project being conducted at a small university in Virginia. She saw the potential immediately, so she made a sizable donation to the school in exchange for hiring Professor Clarke and moving his project to the institute. Under her guidance, the professor turned his research in a direction more useful for our needs. It took him a little over three years, but finally he did it.” She touches the Chaser.

“Did what?” I ask.

“Perhaps it’s time for a demonstration.” She picks up the Chaser. “Think of a date, sometime in the past couple years, one you know exactly where you were at a specific time.”

“A date? Why?”

“Please, just think of one.”

Without my even trying, a date comes to me.

“Ready?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“I only need to know three things. The date, the time, and the city or district you were in.”

“May 9^th, 2009. Three p.m. The Shallows, New Cardiff.”

“All right. Now I’m going to ask you to stay in your chair no matter what happens. Can you do that?”

“Yes. Of course.”

She opens the Chaser’s lid and works her fingers across the buttons and screen. After a moment, she says, “I’ll be right back.”

I expect her to get up and walk out. What happens instead is that she stands up, pushes a button on the device, and disappears.

Despite my promise, my chair flies backward into the wall as I jump away from the table. I want to yell, but I can’t even take a breath. She was there, standing by her chair, and then she was…gone.

With effort, I calm myself enough so that air can flow back into my lungs.

It has to be some kind of trick. An illusion created by projections, perhaps. I’m half convinced she was never actually in the room, but then I remember that we shook hands.

I slowly approach the table again. When I reach it, I lean forward and wave my hand through the air where she was standing. Empty.

I eye the door and consider fleeing, but my curiosity is strong enough to keep me there. If this is some kind of test, the moment I step out of the room I’ll probably fail and be removed from the program.

Without turning my back on the table, I fetch my chair and take my place again. My foot taps nervously on the floor while I wait for what happens next. Several seconds pass before I feel a slight movement of air on my fingertips. A split second later Marie reappears in the same spot she was in before.

I jerk back again, but am able to keep myself from jumping to my feet this time.

“Good,” she says. “You’re still here.”

My hand rises, reaching to see if she’s really there.

She holds out her arm. “Go ahead. You have my permission.”

When my fingers touch her warm wrist, I yank my hand back.

“How did you…where…” I barely get these words out before I feel my throat tightening again.

“May 9^th, 2009. Three p.m.,” she says. “The first anniversary of your sister’s death. You visited her grave. Alone.”

“You contacted my father, didn’t you?” I ask. He was supposed to go with me that day but couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“I’ve never spoken to your father.”

“Okay, maybe not you, but someone here. They were probably making the call before you…you left.”

“Would your father have seen you trace her name on the headstone? Would he have seen you take the blades of grass from above her grave and stick them in your pocket? Would he have followed you after, when you wandered through the village and stopped behind the mechanics shop and cried?”

I stare, dumbfounded. She can’t know this. She can’t know any of this.

“Someone told you,” I whisper.

“We both know that’s not true.”

“I don’t believe you. Someone must have seen me. You must have found out who.”

With a patient look, she says, “All right. Why don’t we try a different date, then?”

I open my mouth to give her one, but quickly shut it. What I almost chose was another date she can easily find information on. What I need is something with details only I know. I think for a moment, then say, “December 13^th, 2013, 4:15 p.m. The Shallows.”

“Don’t go away.”

After a few taps on the Chaser, she disappears again. This time I barely move when she vanishes. I wait a few seconds, check the air above her chair again, and confirm it’s once more empty.

When Marie returns, she’s holding the Chaser in one hand and clenching something in the other.

She says, “Quarry,” and sets an old cookie tin on the table.

It’s impossible.

There’s no way.

And yet as I pick up the tin, I know it’s the same one I kept hidden in the rocks at the edge of the old abandoned quarry. The scratches, the dents, the worn paint are all exactly as I remember them.

I’m scared to open it but I do anyway. Inside are pictures of my mother and sister, a few odd coins, and the dried blades of grass from my sister’s grave. In the excitement and mystery of the day I received my test results, the tin was the one thing I forgot to get before leaving to meet with Lady Williams and Sir Gregory.

“How did you find this?”

“You told me where to look. December 13^th, 2013. I just had to follow you to the quarry.”

“Follow me? I don’t—”

“Is that yours or not?”

“It’s mine.”

“Not a fake?”

I shake my head.

“Good. Now I need it back.” She snatches it out of my hand and closes the lid.

“Wait. What are you going to do with it?”

“Is December 13^th the last day you saw it?”

“No. I stopped there at least once a week.”

“Then I need to put it back so it’s there when you return.”

“Return?”

“I guess, grammatically, the correct word should be returned, but things can get a little…mushy.”

Before I say anything she’s nothing but empty air again, but she’s gone only a few seconds before she returns without the tin.

“Will you please explain to me what’s going on here?” I say.

“Let me ask you, Denny — what’s the most reliable form of historic data?” she asks.

I think for a moment, remembering my history lessons at school. “Um, eyewitness accounts.”

“Correct. So wouldn’t eyewitness accounts be the best way to trace the lineages of the great families?”

“Sure, but it would be impossible to always find—”

“So a tool that would allow a Rewinder to actually witness events would make the job easier, would it not?”

“Yeah, but—”

I stop myself. She can’t possibly mean what I’m thinking she does.

“You know the answer,” she says.

“You want me to believe that…” I can’t get the words to leave my lips.

“Believe that…” she says, locking eyes with me.

I stare at her for several seconds before I whisper, “That you go back.”

“Finish it. Go back where?”

“In…in…in time.”

Marie smiles as she leans back. “So now what do you think a Rewinder does?”

I remain silent, both afraid of and excited about the answer.

“When you complete your training, you, Denny Younger, will be one of those who travels back.”