be, and this is from your ship’s chief navigator, plain
and direct.”
Volsky
looked from the moon outside to his chief physician. “Dmitri?” he said. “What
is going on here?”
“Something
is certainly off,” said Zolkin, “but I will not say it is our navigator here.
He is correct. The sun and moon do not tell lies. And yet… we just received a
properly formatted recall order from Moscow, if Karpov is to be believed. It
was authenticated with the proper final code word retrieved from the ship’s
command safe. If this is so, it would seem that message could not have been
sent in any year but the one we were sailing in, 2021. This is quite a puzzle,
Leonid. We have more of a mystery here than the accident with Orel and
the fact that Slava is still missing.”
“ Slava isn’t missing, sir,” said Fedorov, “It’s probably still out there towing those
targeting barges in 2021, but we’ve gone missing sir. That is what all
the other evidence points to, we’re not where we belong—not in our own time.”
“Yet
that recall order would seem to suggest otherwise, Fedorov. And you must admit
that, for us to believe the tale that moon is telling us now…. Well it would be
quite a leap, quite fantastic.”
“I just
wanted to share all the facts with you sir, for your consideration. This moon
is wrong,” he pointed. “I don’t know who is out there on the other end of that
recall message, but if the moon is not lying to me now, then we cannot be where
we thought we were. Something is very, very wrong. May I ask you to listen very
carefully to Chief Orlov’s report when the helo returns from the recon
operation on Jan Mayen? That will be another important piece of this puzzle.”
“Yes,
Karpov said he was going to have a look. He thinks the facility was destroyed.
In fact, the one scenario that might make any sense would be his take on this
matter—that this was an attack, in spite of the fact that we have found no
wreckage, and that the other anomalies are a deliberate deception. That
remained a possibility in my mind… until this moon business. Now I’m wondering
if my head is still spinning here!”
“The
facility will not be found there sir. It was not destroyed, but I believe Orlov
will simply report that nothing was even there.”
“And
why would you say this?”
“Because
if that moon is correct, it was not even built yet. I told the Captain this as
well.”
“I see…
And you are seeing this as more evidence the time is wrong. Well, we will get
Orlov’s report within the hour. I must say that you do not sound irrational, as
Karpov suggested, am I right, Dmitri?”
“Yes
Admiral, Mister Fedorov seems to be his old self, very logical, very observant,
and yet certainly a man who has long been fascinated with his history books.
Sometimes we see things we might wish to see, Mister Fedorov. Motivation
defines perception in more ways than people realize. The case you present here
is very well considered, except for one thing—that recall message from Moscow,
properly formatted, and with the correct authentication code. I don’t think
anyone in 1941 would know that code. It was known only to the Admiral here, and
to Karpov when he verified it. Yes?”
That
set Fedorov’s mind thinking…. Yes indeed. If there was anyone alive in 1941 who
might know that code, who would it be? Clearly Volsky would have known it, and yes …
only one other man on this earth… If he still was on this earth…
My god,
could this be so?
Chapter 6
Volsky sat for some time staring at that moon
rising off the port side of the ship, his mind beset with everything that had
happened. He looked at Zolkin, a bewildered expression on his face.
“He’s
right,” he said at last. “Look at that moon out there. Dmitri, how in the world
can we explain that?”
“Is it
true what Fedorov says?” asked Zolkin. “Is the position of the moon that
predictable?”
“It’s
like a finely tuned clock,” said
and direct.”
Volsky
looked from the moon outside to his chief physician. “Dmitri?” he said. “What
is going on here?”
“Something
is certainly off,” said Zolkin, “but I will not say it is our navigator here.
He is correct. The sun and moon do not tell lies. And yet… we just received a
properly formatted recall order from Moscow, if Karpov is to be believed. It
was authenticated with the proper final code word retrieved from the ship’s
command safe. If this is so, it would seem that message could not have been
sent in any year but the one we were sailing in, 2021. This is quite a puzzle,
Leonid. We have more of a mystery here than the accident with Orel and
the fact that Slava is still missing.”
“ Slava isn’t missing, sir,” said Fedorov, “It’s probably still out there towing those
targeting barges in 2021, but we’ve gone missing sir. That is what all
the other evidence points to, we’re not where we belong—not in our own time.”
“Yet
that recall order would seem to suggest otherwise, Fedorov. And you must admit
that, for us to believe the tale that moon is telling us now…. Well it would be
quite a leap, quite fantastic.”
“I just
wanted to share all the facts with you sir, for your consideration. This moon
is wrong,” he pointed. “I don’t know who is out there on the other end of that
recall message, but if the moon is not lying to me now, then we cannot be where
we thought we were. Something is very, very wrong. May I ask you to listen very
carefully to Chief Orlov’s report when the helo returns from the recon
operation on Jan Mayen? That will be another important piece of this puzzle.”
“Yes,
Karpov said he was going to have a look. He thinks the facility was destroyed.
In fact, the one scenario that might make any sense would be his take on this
matter—that this was an attack, in spite of the fact that we have found no
wreckage, and that the other anomalies are a deliberate deception. That
remained a possibility in my mind… until this moon business. Now I’m wondering
if my head is still spinning here!”
“The
facility will not be found there sir. It was not destroyed, but I believe Orlov
will simply report that nothing was even there.”
“And
why would you say this?”
“Because
if that moon is correct, it was not even built yet. I told the Captain this as
well.”
“I see…
And you are seeing this as more evidence the time is wrong. Well, we will get
Orlov’s report within the hour. I must say that you do not sound irrational, as
Karpov suggested, am I right, Dmitri?”
“Yes
Admiral, Mister Fedorov seems to be his old self, very logical, very observant,
and yet certainly a man who has long been fascinated with his history books.
Sometimes we see things we might wish to see, Mister Fedorov. Motivation
defines perception in more ways than people realize. The case you present here
is very well considered, except for one thing—that recall message from Moscow,
properly formatted, and with the correct authentication code. I don’t think
anyone in 1941 would know that code. It was known only to the Admiral here, and
to Karpov when he verified it. Yes?”
That
set Fedorov’s mind thinking…. Yes indeed. If there was anyone alive in 1941 who
might know that code, who would it be? Clearly Volsky would have known it, and yes …
only one other man on this earth… If he still was on this earth…
My god,
could this be so?
Chapter 6
Volsky sat for some time staring at that moon
rising off the port side of the ship, his mind beset with everything that had
happened. He looked at Zolkin, a bewildered expression on his face.
“He’s
right,” he said at last. “Look at that moon out there. Dmitri, how in the world
can we explain that?”
“Is it
true what Fedorov says?” asked Zolkin. “Is the position of the moon that
predictable?”
“It’s
like a finely tuned clock,” said
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