The Age Atomic

FIFTY-SIX

They stood in front of the portal: Rad and Jennifer and two of Evelyn’s robots and two of Nimrod’s agents. The two robots carried the metal body of James Jones between them, while Nimrod’s agents held a stretcher, on which lay Captain Carson. The old man breathed deeply but too slowly for Rad’s liking, and when he exhaled there was an asthmatic rattle.

“He’ll be better when you get across, trust me,” said Nimrod, his eyes on his other self. “The incompatibility sickness is making his condition worsen. Are you ready?”

Rad pulled his collar up and his hat down, and he looked at Jennifer. She nodded.

“And the sooner we get back, the sooner we can work on getting James help,” she said, looking down at her brother’s lifeless machine body.

Rad frowned. Inside he hoped she was right, but he also knew that getting James fixed, if that was even possible, depended largely on whether Carson would pull through. Carson and his New York counterpart were their best hope, but Rad wasn’t too sure about relying so much on Nimrod’s co-operation.

“OK,” he said, turning to Nimrod. “We’re ready.”

“Very good,” said Nimrod. “These robots will obey your every command. With luck, they will be able to overcome the programming of the robots on the other side, and those will in turn begin reprogramming their brethren — and so on, and so forth. The process will be exponential. When you are ready, simply give them the command, and they will go about their work.”

Rad shook his head. “There’s an awful lot of assuming going on there. You should come with us. We’ll need your expertise, not just with the robots but with James here too.”

“I have much to do here,” said Nimrod, “but I shall try to be quick. With the portal open, we can come and go as we please.”

Jennifer tapped Rad’s arm. “We need to go.”

Rad nodded. He shook Mr Grieves’s hand and reached out for Nimrod’s, but the Captain merely took a step backwards and bowed.

“Quickly, detective.”

Rad frowned. He turned to the robots and the two agents.

“Follow me,” he said, then he hunched his shoulders and walked into the Empire State, the others right behind.

They watched Rad and Jennifer for a moment, and then Mr Grieves coughed. Nimrod turned to him.

“Excuse me, sir,” said Mr Grieves. “We’re still federal fugitives, aren’t we? Even with Evelyn gone…”

“Yes,” said Nimrod, fire in his eyes. “There is something we need to do.” He turned to the two robots behind him. “Come with me.”

In Soma Street the hour was early, but there was something different. Rad paused, letting the others go ahead, as he looked at the sky. Morning would come soon, and it was still cold, colder than the coldest winter in the Empire State, but the deadly bite was missing, the chill that made Rad fear for his life. The Pocket and the Origin were reconnected, and now perhaps the Pocket was healing.

Rad turned around. The middle of Soma Street no longer existed. Instead, there stood a huge arch of shimmering blue, three or four stories tall and just as wide. Evelyn’s New York factory was right there, the silver army frozen in place just beyond the threshold. Rad guessed the portal would be permanent, which meant access to Soma Street would have to be restricted. Something to worry about another time.

Nimrod and Mr Grieves were nowhere to be seen. Rad sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He liked Captain Carson, but there was something about his New York counterpart that made Rad nervous.

“Rad!”

The detective turned. Jennifer waved at him from farther down the street, the agents and robots trudging forward, carrying their charges.

“Coming,” said Rad. And then he pulled down his hat and jogged to catch up. Beneath his hat he smiled.

Home sweet home.