ADVENTURES THROUGH TIME (2025 Edition) by Michel Poulin - HTML preview

CHAPTER 21 – PEACE CONFERENCE

09:52 (Paris Time)

Friday, June 5, 1942 ‘B’

Council Room, Paris Town hall

Paris, France

“Where is Laplante? She should be here by now.” asked to nobody in particular a British reporter who was occupying the visitors’ gallery of the Paris Town hall’s Council Room with the other representatives of the Press Corps. Edward Murrow, the head of the CBS radio news European department, also kept asking himself the same question. Nancy Laplante was officially listed as the chairperson of this peace conference, which was supposed to be inaugurated at ten O’clock. Such a conference would have been unthinkable two weeks ago, yet here they were in Paris, ready to discuss the future of post-war Europe, something they owed entirely to Laplante and her Time Patrol. Murrow was very conscious of how crucial this conference would be and had been relieved to learn that Washington had seen the light and accepted to participate in it, even if it was only here in an observer status. Looking down from the visitors’ gallery at the rows of desks and seats facing the elevated bench to be occupied by the chairperson, Murrow could see representatives from all the countries of Europe, plus observers from other countries which had been concerned with the war in Europe, including the American Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, and his aides. At one end section of the rows of seats and desks sat representatives of Germany, Italy and of their former allies in the war, relegated to the role of observers at talks which would decide their future. As for General De Gaulle, co-host of the conference and also one of the participants, he was looking nervously at his watch while pacing behind the bench.

Nancy Laplante finally showed up four minutes before ten, walking in the Council Room at a hurried pace. She was wearing her gray combat uniform and her body armor and was still fully armed. There was also blood splattered all over her, something that attracted a buzz of whispered comments and questions. Murrow was however only a little surprised by her appearance: Nancy Laplante was first and foremost a soldier and she still was fighting the Japanese in China. Taking place behind the elevated bench,

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Laplante conversed briefly with De Gaulle, then put down her rifle and her sword out of sight. While she did that, De Gaulle used one of the microphones lined along the bench and addressed the participants and spectators in French. Murrow already had a headset earphone on that was connected to the English translator for the conference, so he had no trouble following the short speech.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Paris for this conference on peace in Europe. I am General Charles De Gaulle, head of the Provisional French Government and co-host of this conference. While war is still going on in the Pacific theatre, fighting in Europe has all but died down and it is high time that we start planning the huge task of rebuilding our countries and of taking care of the millions of people who suffered and are still suffering from the war. In this, I am in full agreement with Miss Laplante, the chairperson and co-host of this conference, that this is the time for reconciliation and atonement, not one for recriminations or for revenge. The true responsible ones for this war are already either dead or in jail, facing imminent judgment. This conference is planned to go on for six days, of which Sunday will be used for private meetings and discussions between the participants. You have all received a copy of the conference’s detailed schedule, so I won’t talk further on this. As you may have noticed already, there is some very high technology in use at this conference, thanks to the generous support of the Global Council, the society from the 34th century, where the Time Patrol originates. That technology includes the wide screen television sets distributed around this room and on which various presentations and maps will be shown. There is a lot more to say about this but I will let my co-host, Miss Nancy Laplante, speak and elaborate on this and other points. Miss Laplante…”

Respectful silence fell as Nancy Laplante switched on her microphone and adjusted it, then spoke in English.

“Good morning and welcome to this peace conference, ladies and gentlemen. Please excuse my shabby appearance and late arrival, but the Japanese Army is still far from finished in China. I can however announce to you that Shanghai, like Nanking, is now firmly in the hands of the Time Patrol, and that all the Japanese counter-attacks to date have been defeated with very heavy losses to the Japanese. The battle for Beijing has now started and is quite ferocious, as you could judge from the state of my uniform. More details on the China Campaign will be available to all at the press question period, at 17:00 hours. To elaborate on the equipment in use at this conference, here is some information for the benefit of the Press Corps. First, cameras are filming the

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proceedings of this conference and the pictures and sound from them are being retransmitted live to the various capitals of the states involved in the conference, so that the respective governments can follow our progress and react quickly to developments here. Second, the Time Patrol will provide a taxi service for the diplomats present so that they could bring quickly documents and information to their respective governments for approval or discussion. Thirdly, in the Salon des Arcades, you will find a large number of individual communications booths to be used by both the Press Corps and by the delegates. These booths are linked via satellite retransmission to a network of communications booths dispersed around press and government agencies in various countries. This arrangement in particular is a late development, so we are still adding up to this network as the needs arise. Please do not expect that we will provide such booths to every press agency you represent. You will have to come to an arrangement to use them as a pool resource. The list of stations connected to the network is provided in each booth. This is for the technical arrangements. Now, concerning the logistical arrangements. You are of course welcome to have your meals in the various restaurants of Paris and enjoy the hospitality of the city, while boosting at the same time the local economy, for which General De Gaulle will certainly be grateful for.” A round of laughter broke around the delegates and reporters at her last remark, while De Gaulle grinned.

“For those of you on either a low budget or a tight schedule, a permanent buffet will be operating from 06:00 hours to 22:00 hours in the Salon Bertrand and will be totally free. Being myself a war correspondent in my own time period, I am sure that some of you who work for a miserly editor will appreciate this service. While the catering company is from Paris, the foodstuff and supplies are compliment of the Global Council and the Time Patrol. You may thus find a few items on the menu that are not from this time period. The maids and waitresses are however definitely from this time period and are of the best vintage Paris can offer. Please do not indulge too much.” The laughter then was general and genuine. Nancy then became serious again.

“You certainly all noticed the strict security measures and the searches on entering the town hall. While we came here to discuss peace, there however always will be a few individuals or groups ready to use violence to further their own agenda or simply to create anarchy. Another thing about security: we are here to discuss our mutual problems, not to fight over them. While the diplomatic status of the delegates will be respected, no weapons or bodyguards will be allowed inside the town hall during this

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conference. Anyone who starts a fight will be ejected from the conference, diplomatic status or not. Be assured that my combat robots are totally impartial about who they have to manhandle. If need be, I am more than ready to personally boot out any senior delegate who does not behave like a diplomat.”

Nancy paused for a moment, so that her words could sink in. She then pointed to her left, at the section of desks and chairs where the representatives from the Axis powers sat.

“As you all certainly noted by now, I have invited representatives from Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, who will have the status of observers at this conference. While they may not participate directly in the debates unless invited to, I encourage the various delegates to hold talks with them on a bilateral or multilateral basis during this conference. I myself will now give the floor to the representative of Germany, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, who asked me to address you briefly. Admiral Canaris, as you may all know, was the head of the German Army Intelligence. What many of you may not know is that Admiral Canaris was also part of a group of German officers and civilians secretly plotting the assassination of Adolf Hitler, something I will vouch for. Admiral Canaris…”

A buzz went around the delegates and reporters as the old admiral, wearing a dark blue civilian suit, walked to the lectern and microphone set in front and below the elevated bench occupied by Nancy. He put a few sheets of papers on the lectern, then looked around at the delegates facing him before starting to speak in English.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I decided to give this speech in English instead of in German because many of you understandably heard way too much German in your own streets during the war. I will not try to downplay the atrocities committed by German forces in Europe, which are too horrible in scope and nature to be denied. I will not try to find excuses for us starting this war, which was the sole product of the thirst for power of the Nazis. While not all Germans either wanted the war or profited from it, too many did, to our national shame. The German Government of National Salvation, which I represent, pledges to do its utmost to return promptly all the prisoners of war, forced laborers and internees still in Germany to their countries of origin, along with the artistic treasures and other valuable assets looted by the Nazis during their occupation of Europe. Those persons who will be returned will be compensated for their work and suffering by the German state. We will also, through the good offices of the Time Patrol, provide access to suspected war criminals hiding in Germany and make them available

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for future prosecution. The profits they made from the war will be seized and will be used to compensate the poor souls who were exploited by the German war industry. To help in this, I will ask the cooperation of the Swiss delegation, in which country’s banks much of that money has been stashed.”

Many eyes turned towards the two Swiss diplomats participating as observers to the conference. The senior Swiss diplomat was about to protest that no such money existed in Swiss banks but had to sit down under the hard stare of Nancy, who spoke up briefly while keeping her eyes on the Swiss.

“The Time Patrol is ready to provide the account numbers and the bank addresses where Nazi war profits were deposited, so that the Swiss government can cooperate with the German government in retrieving those funds. This concerns in particular the gold coming from such sources as the gold teeth pulled out from the bodies of the Jews exterminated in Nazi concentration camps. You may continue, Admiral Canaris.”

The Swiss cringed as an indignant roar went through the council room. Edward Murrow enjoyed Nancy’s barb at the Swiss: she certainly knew how to drop verbal bombs. Even the Soviet foreign affairs minister, Molotov, a normally stone-faced man, grinned at that arrow shot at those ultimate capitalists hiding behind the much-vaunted secrecy of their bank accounts. Canaris continued once the room fell mostly silent.

“The present German government knows that simple excuses will not be enough to repair the wrongs done in this war. It however pledges the following: Germany will never again use its armed forces offensively outside of its borders. Thus, and under the control of the Time Patrol, all offensive weapons will from now on be banned from German inventories. These include submarines, warships larger than destroyers, bomber aircraft, artillery weapons other than mortars and anti-tank guns, ground-to-ground missiles, tanks and self-propelled artillery guns. The few such weapons still in German hands will be destroyed or disposed of under Time Patrol supervision. As for war reparation payments, Germany will do its honest best to pay for the damages it caused, but our only request is that the future of our children not be mortgaged by excessive repayments, one factor which directly led to the rise of the Nazis after the war of 1914-18. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention.” There were a few scant, polite applauses as Canaris walked back to his seat. Nancy then took back the microphone.

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“Before other delegates who wish to speak do so, I would like to say a few things on behalf of the Time Patrol. First, I planned this conference so that the efforts of the Time Patrol in bringing this war to an end would result into a durable peace and not simply in some short-term break before more wars. Thus, while I truly hope that you will be able to resolve your differences by peaceful means from now on, the Time Patrol will not hesitate to act decisively in the future against anyone, and I say anyone, who will endanger peace again. Also, if a reasonable consensus cannot be reached by the end of this conference, we will be forced to propose our own solutions and then enforce them if there is still no consensus between yourselves. Many of you may consider this as a thinly veiled threat to enforce our will on you but believe me: we will not let peace be sabotaged by either thirst for power, hatred or a wish for revenge. Second, the reasons which caused this war should be well understood, so that the same mistakes will not be repeated in the future. Many will say that simple thirst for power by German leaders caused this war. That would be a most myopic and incomplete view of the problem. As Admiral Canaris mentioned earlier on, the Versailles Treaty that concluded the First World War was partly to blame for this war. While not wanting to diminish the responsibilities of Germany in that war, the very harsh and, in my mind, unrealistic terms of that treaty caused long-term public resentment in Germany. The refusal to embrace true democracy through much of Europe was also a big factor, with militaristic or dictatorial regimes refusing to share power or to hand it over when they were no longer wanted by their people.”

Edward Murrow couldn’t help notice that Nancy’s eyes went firmly on the Polish delegation, which was led by an army officer, as she said that last sentence. She was far from finished, though.

“One other big factor that should be firmly pointed at is racism and ethnic hatred. Too often, when times get tough, the people and governments of Europe turned against specific ethnic groups or minorities in their countries, as if murdering, persecuting or deporting someone seen as different could make the true problems disappear. In this, hardly any of the governments represented here are blameless. Before anyone is tempted to protest that their government is innocent of such conduct, be sure that I have enough tales to shame most present here. But enough about the causes of war! Since many now probably wish me to shut up, I will now let the floor to a representative of another delegation present here as observer, that of the Global Council. Ladies and

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gentlemen, please welcome Global Chief Administrator Tomi Kern, leader of the Solar System in the year 3386.”

Edward Murrow, as surprised as the others present, then got up and applauded as Tomi Kern entered the council room, dressed in a futuristic women’s suit that was certain to make the headlines of every fashion magazine in the world. Flashbulbs exploded continuously for many seconds as Kern went to the lectern and took place behind it. Murrow was struck by how mixed her racial background appeared to be: it would be difficult to decide if she was either Oriental, Caucasian or African. She appeared comparatively young for the position she held, looking to be in her mid-forties. After looking around at the delegates, she chose to speak in English.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say first that it is an honor to be able to speak at this conference. The Global Council has in fact a vested interest in the success of this conference. Many of you must be wondering why the Time Patrol, an agency of the Global Council, got involved in this war at all. Some will probably even think that it had no business in it. The truth is that, by stopping this war and creating a balanced peace in your time, the Time Patrol was trying to prevent two future wars. One of those wars would have resulted in the near extinction of the Human race, followed by the emergence in the far future of a militaristic empire called the Imperium. The other war was the intended destruction of the Global Council by the Imperium in 3386. On May 20 of this year, the first ever act of military aggression through time occurred in London, when a raiding force of three Imperium ships looking for one of their scientists attacked Buckingham Palace and kidnapped the King’s equerry and young Princess Margaret, who were then transported to the Imperium capital in 3386 ‘B’. I say 3386 ‘B’ because there is actually more than one historical timeline. This timeline where you and I are presently is timeline ‘B’ and was created from timeline ‘A’ in September of 1940, when a certain woman was kidnapped and brought back in time against her will as part of an illegal time travel experiment, then found herself marooned. The Imperium is, or rather was part of the future of timeline ‘B’. The Time Patrol, which is tasked by the Global Council to prevent illegal time travel and protect history from irresponsible tampering, reacted to the Imperium raid, shooting down two of the raiding ships. Miss Laplante then went with a British diplomatic delegation to visit the Imperium in order to win the negotiated release of Princess Margaret and of the King’s equerry. Unfortunately, the Imperium showed bad faith and, while freeing its two British hostages, then tried to take Miss Laplante prisoner, hoping to extract vital information about the Global Council and

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the Time Patrol by torturing her. That is unfortunately when the then government of the Global Council showed inexcusable and despicable moral and political cowardice by refusing to let the Time Patrol go to the rescue of Miss Laplante, being scared of the military might of the Imperium. Please bear in mind that the Global Council is a pacifist society that has not known war for over 500 years. It had no armed agency until the Time Patrol was created in 3384 ‘A’. As a result of the abandonment of Miss Laplante by the Global Council, the Time Patrol mutinied and exiled itself here in 1942, from where they mounted a rescue operation that was able to extract Nancy Laplante from the clutches of the Imperium. The Time Patrol, knowing that the Imperium was planning to attack and destroy the Global Council as soon as it could find it, then proceeded in changing the history of timeline ‘B’ in order to prevent the Imperium from ever appearing in the future. They chose to do that by stopping this war and now by creating a durable, balanced peace through the world. The Imperium, led by their king, had however succeeded in sending one warship to the safety of the past. That warship, a huge battleship capable of devastating this whole planet, was eventually able to find a way to the Global Council. Five days ago, relative time, that Imperium battleship showed up on July 10 of 3386 ‘A’. The Global Council then learned about war first hand for the first time in 500 years. The Time Patrol was able to destroy that battleship, but not before losing two of its ships and before heavy damage was also done on the ground. The Global Council now realizes how heavy a dept it owes to the Time Patrol and has decided on a few steps to repay that debt. One of those steps is to support the Time Patrol’s efforts in bringing peace to this time period. That support will include help in rebuilding your world and in relocating the millions of refugees and displaced persons victims of this war.”

Tomi Kern waited until the wave of exclamations and comments caused by her words had died down, then went on in her calm but firm voice.

“Another aspect of that support and also a byproduct of the public knowledge of time travel in this timeline, is the recent decision by the Global Council to authorize intertime tourism and trade between this time period and the Global Council, subject to the close supervision of the Time Patrol. High technology items will however not be allowed to flow down from the Global Council. As soon as the governments of Europe can rule out their differences and restore a stable peace, an official transit point for trade and travel will be opened here in Paris, connecting Europe with the Global Council. In time, more such transit points will be opened as trade develops. I will now let you

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continue this conference but I will be available for questions from the press this afternoon.”

As soon as Tomi Kern had left the council room, the majority of the reporters present rushed out as well, heading towards the communications booths in the Salon des Arcades.

19:04 (Paris time)

Salon Roll, Paris Town hall

British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden had a hard time taking his eyes off Nancy’s dress as she invited him and the Jordanian representative to sit down on one of the gold and royal blue sofas of the Salon Roll, a large lounge decorated with paintings by the artist Alfred Roll. Nancy had shed her bloodstained uniform for a Chinese style dress made of a fantastic fabric that changed colors and embroidering patterns depending on the angle one looked at it. The style of the dress was also decidedly futuristic, the opening along her left leg being much wider than in traditional Chinese dresses and with the front opening in a wide, deep ‘V’ that gave a tantalizing glimpse of her fantastic breasts. Faisal Husseini, the Jordanian representative, was close to salivating as he took his seat. On her part, Nancy moved an armchair so that it would face the sofa where the two diplomats sat, then sat down, crossing her left leg over her right leg. A cart had already been rolled beside the sofa, with a computer sitting on top of it and with a map of Jordan and Palestine pictured on its screen. Anthony Eden had one look at the map and smiled.

“Let me guess, Nancy: you want to discuss our mandate on Palestine, isn’t it?”

“That is correct, Sire Anthony. Would you and Mister Husseini like something before we start our discussion, though? Tea, maybe some pastries?”

“I will go for tea, Nancy.”

“I will have tea as well, Miss Laplante.” said Husseini. Nancy nodded, then made a signal to a maid waiting besides the door of the lounge.

“Please, tea for three.” she ordered politely in French. She then looked back at Eden and Husseini, switching to English again. “I hope that the facilities and

arrangements for this conference are to your liking up to now, gentlemen.”

“They are most satisfactory, miss.” replied Husseini, a handsome man in his forties wearing the traditional Bedouin headdress and a western suit. “May I also say

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that you are most beautiful in that dress? My wife would kill to have some of this…multicolored fabric.”

“It is called holographic silk, Mister Husseini, and is a product of the Global Council that will soon be exported to this time period as part of the announced program on intertime trade.”

“Then I shall impatiently wait for the first arrival of such holographic silk, miss. What kind of products could we offer to the Global Council that would be of interest to them, though? They will have a marked edge on us in terms of tradable products.”

“True, Mister Husseini. What may interest the people of the Global Council will be actually simple products, like certain types of fruits which cannot be found in the Global Council anymore, or like good old Scotch. The main thing will be tourism from the 34th century, though. Please understand that, in timeline ‘A’, a horrible war happened in the mid-21st century, nearly snuffing out the Human race. Nearly everything was destroyed and land and water were contaminated for centuries. All the historical archives and artifacts were destroyed as well. As a result, there is a widespread public fascination in the 34th century towards visiting this time period, once it is safe to do so of course.”

The maid then returned with a cart supporting a full tea service. Nancy let her pour three cups, then thanked her and told her to leave the cart near her. She let Eden and Husseini sip some of their tea, then touched the subject of discussion she had in mind for this meeting.

“Well, let’s talk about Palestine if you don’t mind, gentlemen. You both know that the place is already like a powder keg, ready to explode because of ethnic tensions between the Arabs and the Jews living there. The British soldiers stationed there, apart from fighting until recently against the French Vichy forces in Lebanon, had to contend with terrorist acts from both sides and are having a hard time of it. If nothing is done to improve the situation, it will get worse, much worse. On the other hands, we now have in Europe millions of Jews barely out of the clutches of the Nazis, most of them reduced to mere skeletons by the time we could free them from German concentration camps. Many of those Jews have nowhere to go, being unwanted in their countries of origin and having lost everything. The only hope they have left is to immigrate to Palestine, where they could rebuild new lives. Before you protest about this, Mister Husseini, please understand that I am well aware of the potential problems of such a wave of Jewish immigration to Palestine. I am considered an expert on Middle East affairs in my own

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time and have witnessed firsthand the conflicts in Palestine. True, there is not enough good arable land to support millions of new citizens in Palestine and the existing water resources are already stretched thin. I however have a plan to propose that will not infringe in any way on the lands possessed by Arabs and will make it possible to house most of the Jewish immigrants in parts of Palestine which are presently mostly empty.” Husseini put down his cup of tea, his face somber.

“Does The Hand of God propose to make water flow out of the desert sand and grapevines grow on rocks?”

“The Hand of God, no. The Global Council has the means to do it, though, and I already have the support of Global Chief Administrator Kern for this particular project. Most of the new settlements will be in the Negev Desert and will use potable water extracted from seawater pumped out of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. That potable water will in turn be used to grow food inside enclosed gardens which will use what is called hydroponics, where sand or even rocks are used to support the growing of plants. In exchange, I would like to be able to form a new country out of Palestine, a multiethnic country that would be a peaceful home to Muslims, Jews and Christians alike. That country would be called ‘The Holy Land of Palestine’. To do all this, though, I will need total free rein to act there. In essence, Sir Anthony, I am asking that Great Britain hand its mandate on Palestine to me and the Time Patrol, while I will ask Jordan to be ready to let go the lands West of the Jordan River. As ‘The Hand of God’, you have my solemn promise that the holy sites in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Palestine will remain accessible to all and that the rights of none of the present inhabitants of Palestine will be infringed on by this plan. As a bonus, Great Britain will gain durable political stability in the region and will be able to pull out its troops presently stationed in Palestine. What do you say to this, gentlemen?”

Both Eden and Husseini were silent for a long moment, measuring the implications of her plan. Husseini was the first to respond.

“Miss Laplante, why this particular interest in Palestine, a land that has been ignored by so many in the last decades?”

“Because the first home of my spirit was in Jericho, 9,000 years ago. Because I lived two more lives in Palestine since then. Because I was Sarai of Ur, the wife of the great patriarch Abraham, who traveled all the way from Sumer to Palestine. Because I am The Hand of God. Gentlemen, I can help you avoid over seventy years of bitter

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conflicts in Palestine which would otherwise poison the political atmosphere of the whole Middle East. What do you have to lose?”

Eden looked at the map of Palestine on the computer while thinking furiously.

“Could you tell us more details on your project, Nancy?”

“Of course! Here is the map of the proposed new settlements…”

Nancy exposed the details of her plan for a good half hour, answering a number of questions from Eden and Husseini. Finally, both men reached a consensus and got up from their sofa.

“Your project is most interesting indeed, Nancy. However, such a decision will need the approval of the British cabinet. Be assured that I will support your requests, though.”

“I will also have to request the approval of my Emir on this, Miss Laplante.” said Husseini. “Knowing that it comes from The Hand of God, I am sure that he will look favorably on this project.”

“Thank you, gentlemen. Please tell your governments not to take too much time on this: many lives are at stake here, along with the political stability of the region.”

“We will do our best to hasten things, Nancy.’’ replied Eden. ‘’It was a pleasure to speak with you this evening.”

“It was a pleasure for me too, miss.” said in turn Husseini.

Nancy stayed for a moment in the lounge after the departure of the two diplomats. Feeling tired and in need of fresh air after this long day indoors, she decided to go take a walk outside to change her mind a bit. Leaving the lounge, she walked down the grand staircase and then crossed in succession the Salon Willette, the Salon des Tapisseries and the Salle des Prévôts before emerging outside and climbing down the few stairs to the wide plaza facing the town hall. The French soldiers guarding the entrance came to attention and saluted her. Nancy thanked them and informed the lieutenant in charge of them that she was taking a walk before going towards the River Seine nearby. There was little vehicle traffic in the streets at this time, most of it being French military patrols, but there were quite a few pedestrians walking along the riverbanks. She attracted numerous stares with her holographic silk dress as she walked towards the bridge nearest to the Notre-Dame Cathedral, the ‘Pont du Change’, crossing it and cutting her pace as she got nearer to the cathedral. Nancy particularly loved this part of Paris,

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which she found so romantic. There were dozens of people sitting around the wide plaza situated in front of the cathedral, most of them quiet couples of lovers kissing and caressing each other while admiring the scenery. Even better for Nancy was the quietness of the evening, with no detonations, shots or other noises of war, something she relished after nearly two weeks of constant fighting and countless deaths. The souvenirs of the people she had lost in that fighting then came back to her, bringing tears to her eyes: young Martha Pfalz, killed by a Nazi sniper; Dana Mulano and her team of 17 surveillance technicians, vaporized with the headquarters building in New Lake City; Sandra Billings and Keith Strong, shot down with their scoutship in the battle with the ROYAL SOVEREIGN. Then there were the ones who had suffered in battle and endured wounds: Klaus Manheim; Tatiana Korbut and Ingrid Weiss. Nancy herself had been wounded twice up to now, once in Rabaul and the other time this morning, in Beijing. The physical wounds were nothing though compared to the mental wounds caused by seeing so much cruelty and human suffering on a continuous basis, especially while liberating German and Japanese internment camps. All of the members of the Time Patrol were indeed in serious need of prolonged vacations, while some could actually use the help of psychologists to get rid of the nightmares they were experiencing. The positive side of this was the millions of lives they had saved in this war and in the Global Council, which had come very close to experiencing a second nuclear holocaust at the hands of the Imperium. Looking up at the gallery linking the two spires of the cathedral, with its stone gargoyles lined along the parapet, Nancy decided that watching Paris from up there would help change her mind. The cathedral was closed at this hour but that was no obstacle for her. Concentrating on her levitation power, she flew off the plaza and rose along the façade of the cathedral, attracting exclamations from the people present in the plaza. Getting to the level of the gallery, she stepped over the parapet and landed softly on the old medieval stones of the walkway. Now facing her, a grimacing gargoyle seemed to mock her, attracting a smile on her face.

“I know what you think, gargoyle: you are saying that you will outlast me through the years, isn’t it? Well, you may be right but don’t grab the jackpot yet.” Standing against the parapet and looking down at the city, Nancy took comfort at thinking that they were close to truly ending this war.

“Only a few more days, Nancy. Just a few more days.”

She then dreamed about the nice, quiet days she could spend together with Mike on Europa. She still had that offer from the manager of Station One for an all-expense paid

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week, a reward meant to thank her for that suicidal rescue mission she had conducted on Io.

12:41 (Tokyo Time)

Monday, June 8, 1942 ‘B’

Imperial palace, Tokyo

Japan

Emperor Hirohito, having finished his frugal lunch of rice and dried fish, signaled to the imperial lady-in-waiting that she could take away his empty plates and his sticks. Hirohito’s face was expressionless, like most of the time, in the way that was fitting for a living god. Hirohito however knew very well that he was no god. In fact, he didn’t want to be one. However, the militarists and the ultra-nationalists would not let him tell that to his people, even now when most of the militarists were dead or in the hands of the enemy. The enemy had struck hard at Tokyo last night, not with bombs but by setting foot directly on Japanese soil and killing thousands of army soldiers and officers. The few senior army officers who were left until yesterday and who had been the most strident supporters of continuing the war at all cost had then gotten what they asked for. They were now dead, having paid the ultimate price for their fanaticism. That left only a few junior officers alive in the whole of Tokyo, like the ones guarding his pavilion, but even those young officers were too fanatical to be ready to accept that the war was lost and had to be stopped. The sound of paper being shred and the scream of horror from his lady-in-waiting made Hirohito snap his head up, in time to see the officer guarding him fall through the paper wall of his lounge, a knife stuck deep in his throat. The officer was still twitching when a shape in dark gray uniform crashed through the flimsy wall, a sword in one hand and a knife in the other. The newcomer was of medium height and wore a complicated full-face helmet and a sort of molded cuirass. It also happened to be a woman, as her voice showed when she told in perfect Japanese to the lady-in-waiting to leave at once, which she did at a run. Now expecting to be killed in the next seconds, Hirohito got to his feet and faced his attacker with as much courage as he could muster.

“If you came to kill me, then do it, but don’t expect me to beg for my life.” His attacker’s answer was to raise her faceplate, revealing the face of a mere teenager with brown hair and blue eyes. Looking with stunned surprise at her face and then at the nametag on her right breast, Hirohito couldn’t help stare at her with disbelief.

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“Princess Elizabeth of England? But…you are supposed to be dead. And what are you doing in that uniform, killing my officers with knives?”

“I only came close to dying, Your Majesty. The Time Patrol saved me and I then joined them. As for killing you, that is not what we came here for.”

“We? Who else is with you?”

“Her!” simply answered Elizabeth while pointing at a tall woman wearing the same sort of uniform and who was now stepping inside the pavilion through the rip in the paper wall, a pistol in her right hand. Hirohito did not have to ask who she was, since she was known all around the World and had been so for a year.

“Brigadier Laplante! Why did you come here?”

“I came to end this war, which has gone on for far too long. We destroyed your navy, then your air force and now we have destroyed your army. Japan has nothing left to fight with now, unless you want to use civilians armed with bamboo spears.”

“How could you say that you destroyed our army? We have over three million soldiers in China, Manchuria, Burma and the rest of Asia and the Pacific.”

“You had three million soldiers!” replied harshly Nancy, studiously refusing to use any honorary title to address Hirohito. The Japanese emperor may not have been part of the ones directly responsible for this war, but too much bloodshed and atrocities had been committed in his name. “We massacred your soldiers to the last man, giving them as much mercy as they had given to the unarmed civilians and prisoners of war they tortured, starved to death or killed while shouting your name. Now, all the ones in Japan who were screaming for having this war are either dead or facing a war crimes tribunal. Your army reaped what it had sowed and nobody outside Japan will cry for your soldiers, I assure you.”

“Three million young men, all dead?” said Hirohito, in shock. Nancy Laplante didn’t give him time to recuperate from that, walking to him and dominating him by over a head.

“It is now time to end this war, by Japan declaring publicly that it is surrendering unconditionally to the Time Patrol. You will at the same time proclaim that you, the Emperor, are a simple mortal man and not a god. Too many people either died or killed others because they believed in that myth.”

“But that could cause social chaos in Japan, Brigadier.”

“It would be a normal reaction from a people who had been lied to and obliged to sacrifice so much for a mere myth. Maybe it is time for a shock treatment, to wake the

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Japanese people up and take it out of its false sense of superiority. If you are not ready to announce it yourself, then I will do it, in a manner that you may find most humiliating. The choice is yours.”

“Why be so harsh with me, Brigadier? I didn’t want this war personally.” said Hirohito, his head bowed. As an answer, Nancy took a document out of a pocket and presented it to him, speaking with near rage in her voice.

“This is an official army general order, signed by you, authorizing the formation of Unit 731, a unit dealing with biological warfare and which conducted experiments on live prisoners, infecting them with all sorts of diseases. The goals of Unit 731 were clearly stated in this order, yet you signed it, the same way you signed many more orders that resulted in widespread atrocities and war crimes. Doctor Ishi, the head of your biological warfare program, had it proudly displayed in his office in Manchuria.” Nancy then pocketed back the order while looking down with contempt at Hirohito.

“You were the puppet of the militarists for all those years and refused to stand against their monstrous ambitions, instead letting them use your name to justify their crimes. Did you ever stop even one minute to think about how many millions of people have died because of this? You could have broken that infernal circle by publicly denying your divine nature, or by stepping down as emperor, but you chose to save your life and your title. That is understandable enough in most people, but by safeguarding your position, millions died instead. I, personally, would rather die than be the puppet of anyone. The only one whom I will obey without question is The One.” Next, Nancy took out another document, along with what looked like a simple hand microphone.

“This is the declaration I want you to read aloud. This microphone is linked by radio to my ships overflying Tokyo and the rest of Japan. Your declaration will thus be heard all over the country.”

Thoroughly depressed now, Hirohito read silently the short declaration once and then looked up at Nancy, who gave him a warning look.

“You either read it or I will. If I have to do it, the conditions will become much harsher. Push the ‘on’ button up before speaking.”

Now resigned to his fate, Hirohito played the puppet one last time. He switched on the microphone and read aloud the declaration.

“People of Japan, this is your Emperor speaking! I am now in the custody of the Time Patrol, which just took control of Tokyo. Our Navy, Air Force and Army are no

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more and none of our soldiers will come home, as they are all dead. Further resistance would be both futile and wasteful. Thus I, as your Emperor, orders you to accept defeat and to refrain from further fighting. Japan is to surrender immediately without conditions to the Time Patrol. The present government will step down at once and I will ask the

Jushin22 to step in and to govern temporarily the country. All war production and manufacturing of weapons and ammunitions will cease immediately and emphasis will from now on be put on the production of food and consumer products. If there are any prisoners of war or forced laborers from other countries still in Japan, they are to be treated decently until they can be repatriated to their respective countries. Any act of revenge against them will be severely punished by the Time Patrol. The armed forces of Japan are to be disbanded as of today and its surviving personnel to be retired. The Time Patrol will enforce our surrender and will supervise our new government until true democratic elections can be organized. It will also protect Japan from any attempt to invade it by foreign powers while it lies defenseless. Lastly, I, your Emperor, declare solemnly the following: I, like all my predecessors, am a simple mortal man and am not of divine origin. Those who plunged Japan in this disastrous war used the myth of imperial divinity to make you follow their ambitions and to consolidate their personal power. That myth has cost too many lives and is to be put to rest now, permanently. I, your Emperor, have spoken. For the sake of Japan’s future, I exhort you to obey my commands.”

All the while he was speaking, Hirohito could hear his speech echo around Tokyo, amplified and retransmitted from above. When he was finished, he switched off the microphone and gave it back to Nancy, along with the text of the speech.

“Now, you can do whatever you want with me, Brigadier.” Nancy stared down at him, her face softening a bit now. While he had a lot to answer for, Hirohito was basically a decent man who had only been too weak to stand up for himself. Harming him further would be both cruel and unnecessary. She was about to say something to him when the Empress and her six children burst in the pavilion, fear and anxiety on their faces. Nancy looked at them, then holstered her pistol, while Elizabeth, following her lead, sheeted both her sword and her throwing knife. Seeing this, the Empress ran to Hirohito and knelt before him, imitated by her four daughters and two sons. The eldest son, who was nine years old, looked fiercely at Nancy.

22 Jushin: National council of elders formed from previous government Prime Ministers

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“You have no right to do this! My father is the Emperor!”

“He still is, Prince Akihito, but from now on he will rule as a human being, not as a living god. There is only one true superior being and he is called ‘The One’. With him, there are no such things as a ‘Chosen People’ or a ‘Divine Race’, only Humanity as a whole.”

“How could you be sure of that?” replied the boy despite signs from his mother to keep quiet. Nancy stared at him and answered telepathically.

“Because I saw and touched The One, twice. I also spoke with him on other occasions.”

The whole imperial family heard her thoughts and stared at her with awe and disbelief. Nancy went on, looking now at Hirohito.

“You may stay as emperor if you wish so and if your people still want you. You can also pursue a career in marine biology if you prefer to do so. As for your government, a Time Patrol team led by Elizabeth Windsor will supervise its work and provide guidance as needed. Contact both the members of the Jushin and of the now deposed government and tell them to meet you tomorrow at nine in the morning, in your imperial library. Elizabeth will be there to brief them on what is expected exactly of Japan.”

Hirohito couldn’t help look doubtfully at Elizabeth.

“I mean no disrespect towards Princess Elizabeth, but isn’t she a bit too young and inexperienced for that role?”

“Your Majesty,” replied calmly Elizabeth, “I may be still shy of my seventeenth birthday, but I benefit from the experiences of my past incarnations, which span over 11,000 years. I lived a total of five lives as a Japanese, including one as the 12th century Shogun Minamoto Yoritomo. I also received some training from my father on state affairs. I will actually enjoy my role as Overseer of Japan, Your Majesty.”

16:14 (Paris Time)

Tuesday, June 9, 1942 ‘B’

Council Room, Paris Town hall, France

The assembly fell silent as Nancy Laplante, resplendent in her Time Patrol parade uniform, took control of the microphone on the elevated bench of the Council Room. The peace conference was now in its final stage, with all the political discussions

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concluded and the formal treaties being prepared for ratification tomorrow. The going had been rough at times and more than a few tempers had exploded but a lot had been accomplished, thanks mostly to the firm, some would say dictatorial, manner Nancy had chaired the conference.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the final results of our hard work are now close at hand, with the signing tomorrow by the heads of states involved of the various treaties we agreed on. We now have peace in Europe, hopefully a durable one. I can now also announce that we have peace as well in the Pacific. This morning, the new provisional government of Japan officially signed a declaration of surrender to the Time Patrol and also signed a twelve-point plan to put a demilitarized Japan on the road to true democracy. All the territories occupied by Japan, including in China and Korea, are now free. Japan will now, for the time being, be supervised by the Time Patrol, which has named Field Agent Elizabeth Windsor as Overseer of Japan on a temporary basis.” Most delegates and all the reporters present applauded and cheered at those news, with British Foreign Minister Eden being particularly happy, no doubt mostly because of the role played in this by Princess Elizabeth. The American delegation, while happy to see the end of the war in the Pacific, was obviously not thrilled by the fact that the United States had been sidelined on the subject of post-war Japan. Nancy went on as soon as silence had mostly returned.

“Despite all the progress we made here, however, I have a solemn warning to give to all of you. If there is anything that this costly, cruel conflict should have taught you, it is that the age of imperialism is well past and should go, forever! The ideas and attitudes which went with that imperialism, like the smug and racist belief that it was the white man’s burden to civilize the rest of the world, have been discredited by the way so-called subhuman specimens, as the commander-in-chief of the Singapore garrison described Japanese prisoners he saw in China, outfought European troops during this war. Europe has treated up to now the people of Africa, Asia and the Middle East with a mixture of racism, snobbery and overconfidence which has profoundly alienated the populations of these areas. Well, these populations now want to govern themselves and to be able to form their own countries. They don’t want any more to be ruled from afar while Europeans living the easy life in their country treat them as if they are their personal slaves. The people of Indochina, India, Algeria, Africa and of the Dutch East Indies, to name only a few, now want true independence and they will fight to get that. You can either start to cut your imperialistic ties to those countries now or you can spend

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more blood and money trying to retain your empires. Either way, you will eventually lose control of those countries, I assure you. Some of you may dismiss this warning as the ranting of an idealist, but I am dead serious about this. Let your empires go now or be ready to pay an awful price in blood for nothing. On this word of caution, I will now let you enjoy the rest of the day. Thank you for your attention, ladies and gentlemen.” Edward Murrow, sitting in the visitors’ gallery, thought that the applauds were decidedly lukewarm this time as Nancy Laplante walked out of the council room. Edward, who favored frank and open talk and who was a true humanist, had actually enjoyed her stinging speech. So had Mahatma Gandhi, from India, who was applauding about as loudly as the rest of the delegates put together.

Murrow, like the rest of the reporters, left the council room and went to the Salon des Arcades, where the communication booths were. He however changed his mind and, after giving his notes to be transmitted to an assistant, followed Nancy Laplante, who was disappearing inside the Salon Bertrand. It turned out that she was actually headed for the Salle des Fêtes, the largest room of the town hall. Murrow suddenly realized that something was up: assembled in the long, splendidly decorated room was more members of the Time Patrol than he had ever seen together in one spot, all wearing parade uniforms. He could now also see on the tribune at the end of the room a number of dignitaries, including General De Gaulle, the Polish Prime Minister Sikorski, King George the Sixth and the Global Chief Administrator, Tomi Kern. Standing near the tribune was that beautiful giant reporter from the future, Lori Kano. Seeing that Nancy had stopped just outside the door to the room and was pinning a row of medals on her uniform, Murrow hurried to her. Nancy smiled to him when he stopped near her and pointed at her medals.

“Aah, Mister Murrow, just in time to help me. I am having problems putting my medals on so that they are level. Could you adjust them for me, please?”

“With pleasure, miss.”

Murrow quickly repositioned the medals so that they would be both centered on her left breast and level, but couldn’t help notice that her British medals were absent.

“Here you are, miss. I don’t see your Victoria Cross, or your Distinguished Service Order. Did you lose them, miss?”

His question seemed to embarrass her a bit.

“Uh, no. I am just not wearing my British medals anymore.”

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“Why, miss?” asked Murrow, genuinely shocked. “I have been following your exploits since 1940: you earned these medals through your courage, suffering and sacrifices.”

“Mister Murrow, let’s say that I have political reasons for not wearing them.”

“Are you talking about the attempt by the British to kill you in Colditz Castle, miss?”

“That and other things, Mister Murrow. If you will now excuse me, I have an official function to attend.”

“May I watch, miss?”

Nancy hesitated only for an instant before pointing at Lori Kano.

“You can stand next to Lori over there, but please keep quiet during the ceremony. I will speak to you later.”

“Thank you, Miss Laplante.”

As Murrow entered with Nancy, two French soldiers closed the doors behind them: this was obviously going to be a strictly private ceremony. Walking along the left side line of decorated arches, Murrow finally took position to the right of Lori Kano, who smiled down to him.

“I see that you got lucky, Mister Murrow. Good for you!”

“Please, miss, just call me Ed.”

“And you may call me Lori, Ed.”

Murrow took out his notepad and a pen as Nancy went to the dignitaries and started speaking with them in a low voice. He had to strain his hearing to be able to make out what she said.

On the tribune, Nancy saluted first the dignitaries before going to General De Gaulle and speaking to him in a low voice, so that the other members of the Time Patrol could not hear her.

“General, you told me that you had medals for my troops but you didn’t tell me that other dignitaries would be present as well.”

De Gaulle smiled with malice, as if he was a kid who had pulled a swift one on a classmate.

“I’m sorry for that, Miss Laplante. They approached me at the start of the conference and expressed their desire to award your men and women for their bravery

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and dedication, so I decided to tag their presentations to mine and keep discreet about it.”

“Hum, I see!” said Nancy, a slight smile appearing on her face. She then went to King George the Sixth, who was accompanied by Sir Anthony Eden, Group Captain Peter Townsend and Princess Margaret. Nancy glanced briefly at her British medals, resting on a red cushion that lay on a nearby table, along with numerous other medals.

“Your Majesty, you know that I can’t accept back my medals: it would be pure hypocrisy, especially since many of my men and women are German and won’t get anything from you.”

King George nodded his head gravely but replied in a soft voice.

“I know that Great Britain did you wrong twice, Miss Laplante. There are a few things you should know first, though. This is the text of a public apology from Prime Minister Churchill that was read in the House of Commons yesterday and will be published in tomorrow’s London newspapers.”

Taking the sheet of paper from the King, Nancy then read it carefully. It was actually a sincere apology that exposed all the facts concerning the Colditz Castle affair and the detention and brutalizing of Farah by the M.I.5. There was no hidden truth this time and it was certain to cost Churchill politically at the next British general elections. Farah, who was part of the pack of dignitaries, stepped forward and gently touched Nancy’s arm.

“Please accept them back, Nancy. I have spoken with Prime Minister Churchill and he truly regrets what happened. I have forgiven him and so should you.”

“But what about my German members? Are they going to be ignored?”

“No!” replied King George the Sixth. “Everyone will be honored today, without exception.”

“In that case I will accept my medals back, Your Majesty.” said Nancy reluctantly.

“Then, if you don’t mind, we will leave you last in the distribution, miss. General De Gaulle, as the host you should go first, I believe.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Signaling three officers who were bearing boxes full of medals and another one who held a list to follow him, De Gaulle went to the members of the Time Patrol lined up in two ranks and separated into two groups, Nancy by his right side. The ground assault specialists and the combat aircrews formed the first rank of the first group, while the new apprentices and the non-combat aircrews formed the second rank. The second, much larger group, consisted of the ground support specialists and of the administrative and

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scientific staff. Taking his cues from the officer holding the nominal list, De Gaulle then distributed French War Crosses and War Crosses with Leaves to the members of the Time Patrol, with the field agents receiving the medal of Knight of the Legion of Honor on top of their War Cross with Leaves. Even the German field agents got their medals, something Nancy was most grateful for to De Gaulle. Three small tables had been set to the left of the second group of members, bearing pictures of the three field agents killed in action. De Gaulle put medals as well on the red cushions lying in front of the pictures, gazing for a moment at the picture of young Martha Pfalz.

“Too many young people died in this war. Let’s hope that it will be the last we see in Europe, or in the rest of the World.”

“I am afraid that this would be asking too much from Human nature, General.” replied softly Nancy, getting a nod from De Gaulle.

“You are too right, miss. I have still more medals to give, but I will leave you and Doctor Tolkonen for the end of this ceremony.”

He then distributed War Crosses to the support members of the Time Patrol. Returning together to the tribune, De Gaulle handed Nancy over to King George, who first pinned her old British medals back on Nancy’s chest while smiling.

“Do you realize that you are the first person ever to win the Victoria Cross three times, miss?”

“Does that mean that I’m crazier than most, Your Majesty?”

“Something like that. You will not need back your C.B.E., as it is going to be replaced by a higher class of the Order of the British Empire. Let’s go honor your members now.”

Peter Townsend, Princess Margaret and two British officers followed the King and Nancy to the ranks of waiting men and women. Distributing medals of the Order of the British Empire in either the Member Class or the Officer Class, he soon came to his daughter Elizabeth, who stood proudly in the first rank.

“My dear Lilibet, you can’t know how proud I am of you. I was sorely tempted to award you the K.B.E. but your sister pointed out that it would have been rank favoritism and I had to agree with her.”

Margaret, who was holding only one medal in her hands, then passed it to her father while smiling to her big sister.

“Sorry, Elizabeth, you get only the O.B.E. this time.”

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“That’s alright with me, Margaret.” replied a grinning Elizabeth as her father pinned the O.B.E. besides her two French medals. She then exchanged an emotional hug with him and with Margaret. The King then continued down the ranks. He and his officers were frankly shocked when they faced the four young cadets lined up with the adult apprentices. Lakshmi Saduranidrasekar, Roger Stone and Carolyn Anderson stood beside a much taller but equally young Baran Mishtar. The King read himself their names and ranks on the list held by Peter Townsend.

“Cadets Lakshmi Saduranidrasekar, Roger Stone, Carolyn Anderson and Baran Mishtar… How old are you actually? Did you see action?”

“Me and Baran are both thirteen, Your Majesty, while Lakshmi and Roger are fifteen.” answered timidly Carolyn. “We didn’t have to shoot once but we were armed and helped our team in the Warsaw Ghetto and during the evacuation of the various German and Japanese internment camps.”

The King looked at the four teenagers, who were wearing gun belts like the other members of the first group, then took M.B.E. medals and pinned them besides the French War Crosses the teenagers were already wearing. The three last persons of the first group drew another confused look from the King, who looked at the letter ‘B’ following their names on their uniform nametags.

“First, Germans, then teenagers. Now, Imperium people. You do recruit from everywhere, do you, Miss Laplante?”

“I grab the best where I can find them, Your Majesty, and I am not done yet.”

“Hell, at this rate I will soon be giving away medals to Martians.” mumbled the King, proceeding to the second group. As he was stopping in front of a ground crew technician and was about to pin a M.B.E. on his chest, Nancy smiled maliciously and spoke softly.

“Technician First Class Ron Buran was born on Mars, Your Majesty.” King George the Sixth froze at those words, while Princess Margaret burst out in laughter. Peter Townsend and the two other British officers had to keep their own laughter in as the King looked crossly at Nancy.

“You do love to spring surprises on others, Miss Laplante. Well, I did ask for that one. Anything else I should know?”

“Nothing more, Your Majesty: we don’t have natives from the moons of Jupiter or Saturn in our ranks, yet.”

The King let it at that and completed his distribution, then returned to the tribune.

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The Polish Prime Minister was next to distribute medals, rewarding Nancy and the members of the Warsaw Ghetto team. Lastly, General De Gaulle called in front of the tribune Nancy, Farah Tolkonen ‘A’ and Lori Kano. Lori, while surprised, did walk to the left of Farah. She was the first to be visited, but by King George, who pinned the M.B.E., Civilian Division, on her chest. The King smiled in embarrassment as he put the medal in place, having to touch the very wide opening of her cleavage.

“Miss Kano, you may not have fought in this war, but for a pacifist you showed a lot of courage under fire, apart from volunteering for some very difficult assignments. Your sterling support to the cause of the Time Patrol indirectly helped Great Britain, while your positive influence on the public of the Global Council secured crucial support for the fight to end this war. I thus award you the medal of Member of the Order of the British Empire. Congratulation, Miss Kano.”

When the King stepped in front of Farah Tolkonen ‘A’, General De Gaulle joined him there. Together, they put around her neck the long ribbons of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and of Commander of the French Legion of Honor. Both men then kissed Farah before moving to Nancy. De Gaulle stared in mock despair at her left chest, already covered with medals.

“My God, we will soon have to find another place to pin medals on her. Actually, a young officer had a suggestion about an appropriate spot on her.”

“Don’t say it, General.” Said the King, laughing. “I can guess what he was thinking. Let’s keep to her chest, though.”

De Gaulle was the first on Nancy, pinning on a War Cross with Leaves, then putting over her right shoulder the wide red ribbon sash of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor and pinning on her lower left chest the large silver star of the order. He finally kissed her on both cheeks.

“I could not in good conscience award anything less to a national heroine. For me, Joan of Arc and Nancy Laplante will always be synonymous.”

“You are too kind, General. However, I doubt that the British would want to honor Joan of Arc.”

“But we will certainly honor Nancy Laplante.” said King George. He then put in place the rose-pink ribbon with pearl-gray central stripe sash of Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, followed by the large gold star that went with it. As if this was not enough, Tomi Kern then stepped forward to join the two men in front of Nancy.

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“Don’t move yet, Nancy!” she said before adding the medal of the Purple Shield with three rubies, which denoted the fact that she had been wounded three times while on duty with the Time Patrol. She also pinned on her right chest two new golden campaign stars, adding to the three golden and two silver stars already pinned there.

“Here you are, Nancy. I believe that you are well fixed now. You may now distribute the Time Patrol awards to the others.”

“Thank you, Chief Administrator Kern! Hell, I’m going to walk bent to the left with all this hardware on my chest.”

“Oh, the heavy price of success.” quipped Tomi Kern. Both Tomi and Nancy thanked the dignitaries and waited for them to leave before continuing. Nancy elected to go to each member instead of calling them forward, distributing campaign stars to them and to Lori Kano and pinning Purple Shields on Tatiana Korbut, Klaus Manheim and Ingrid Weiss. Nancy next pinned the Time Star medal for bravery on Lori Kano, kissing gently the reporter afterwards.

“Lori, you are one admirable woman. You can be proud of yourself.”

“Thank you, Nancy. Could I ask you one favor later?”

“Sure! What is it?”

“I would like to explore my past incarnations with you, when you will be available of course.”

“I will be most happy to assist you with this, Lori. I will visit you in the next few days.”

“Thanks, Nancy!”

That left only two things to do for Nancy. The first was to pin Stars of Courage on the cushions in front of the pictures of Sandra Billings and Keith Strong. After a moment of respectful silence, she moved to Ingrid Weiss and Tom Allen, looking at them somberly and letting Tomi Kern speaking to them.

“What you did while attacking the ROYAL SOVEREIGN was brave to the point of recklessness. However, by risking point blank shots down the throat of its plasma cannon, you prevented it from doing much more damage and deaths on the ground. For your incredible act of courage under fire, which very nearly cost you your lives, I both award you our highest medal: the Valor Cluster.”

Tomi Kern took in succession the two medals and put their blood-red ribbons around the teenagers’ necks, then kissed them on both cheeks.

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“Well done, you two! You are going to have truly distinguished careers in the Time Patrol.”

Nancy then saluted the teenagers and returned with Tomi Kern to the microphone on the tribune.

“Men and women of the Time Patrol, what we accomplished in the last two weeks was crucial for the future of both this timeline and that of the Global Council. Our job is however far from finished. In fact, it is barely beginning. We do need however to blow off steam and relax if we are not to burn ourselves out. God knows we have been through tough times lately. I have thus decided to put our operations on minimum manning level and to give away as much vacation time as possible. I will work out a duty and vacation roster tomorrow and publish it as soon as it is ready. For this evening though, I want you all to go out and profit from the pleasures and sights of Paris. The only thing I will ask you is to be armed and vigilant: we don’t have only friends around and I don’t want to lose anyone now that this war is over. Miss Lian Karosh will be at the door to provide you with local funds for your outing. Have a good evening and have fun!”

The members cheered as one and nearly assaulted Lian Karosh, who however had prepared herself in advance, anticipating such a rush. She and her assistant clerks had already rolls of pre-counted French Francs ready to hand out, with only a thumbprint needed to acknowledge receipt of the money. In less than ten minutes, the close to 340 members had departed with their money, leaving Nancy alone with Mike Crawford, Farah ‘A’, Tomi Kern and her husband Boran. Mike passed an arm around Nancy and Farah’s shoulder, looking and smiling at both alternatively.

“What do you say to go have a nice drink at a Paris restaurant to celebrate this, the five of us?”

“That sounds like a very good idea, Mike.” replied Nancy. “Let’s go!” They first collected a large sum in Francs at Lian Karosh’s table and then walked out of the town hall at a calm pace while exchanging small talk. Crossing the nearby bridge to the Île de la Cité, the small island in the middle of the River Seine that had been the nucleus of Paris, they walked for fifteen minutes at an unhurried pace, ignoring the stares from the pedestrians they met. They finally settled on a small, quiet restaurant on the left bank of the Seine, from which they had a good view of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, across the river. The eyes of the Maître D nearly popped out when he saw

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Nancy with her multiple rows of medals and her sashes. Bowing profusely, he quickly found them a quiet corner table next to a window and left them with a wine card, which Nancy studied.

“Would you say that this occasion warrants a bottle of Champagne, guys?”

“I would certainly agree with that.” replied Farah.

“Then we will go for the Dom Perignon. Waiter!”

Nancy gave her order to the waiter, then looked at Boran and Tomi Kern, who were holding each other like young lovers.

‘’Now that this crisis is over, are you going to take back your post as Global Administrator, Mister Kern?’’

The giant surprised her by shaking his head.

‘’No! What the High Council did to you and the Time Patrol disgusted me forever about touching politics again. On the other hand, serving as the Time Patrol Chief of Personnel and Services proved to be a most rewarding job to me. Since Tomi has already been elected as interim Global Administrator, I will let her keep the big seat. I will of course continue to see her as often as possible. After all, you amply

demonstrated yourself that living two separate lives in different time periods is quite feasible.’’

‘’Talking of you living two lives, Miss Laplante,’’ said Tomi Kern, ‘’I was told that you have started a new career as an actress in the 21st Century and that your first film opened in theatres in 2014 ‘A’. How did it do in the public opinion?’’ Nancy grinned with pride as she answered, while Mike pressed an arm around her shoulders, equally proud.

‘’The movie ‘CROSSROADS’, while not a true blockbuster, was a frank success at the box office and was also well greeted by critics, apart from making more than enough money to make Universal executives happy. My role in it actually made a lot of people talk and take notice of me. I was subsequently signed on to play in another action movie which will be presented to the public in 2015 ‘A’.’’

‘’Wow! Congratulations, Nancy! Could the public of the Global Council hope to be able to see this movie ‘CROSSROADS’, along with your next movie?’’

‘’Only if it is distributed for free through the Global Council, Misses Kern. It would be dishonest to commercialize it in the 34th Century while the actors and the studio who made it in the 21st Century don’t get a solar for it.’’

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‘’That sounds fair enough. It will then be distributed the same way as all that music which was imported from the past by the Time Patrol and which has become so hugely popular with the Global Council public.’’

The waiter returned at that moment with their bottle of Champagne in a bucket of ice. They waited until they were served and then raised their glassed high.

“To peace!” said Nancy.

“To peace!” replied the others before taking a sip from their cups. Lowering her cup, Tomi Kern looked at Nancy, snuggled close to Mike Crawford.

“And what are your plans for the near future, Nancy?”

Nancy smiled, and then kissed Mike on the cheek.

“My plans? Let’s say that I have one true ambition now: to have a baby in the year to come. I’m sure that Mike will do his best to help me realize that ambition.”

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ANCIENT MAP OF NORTHERN ISRAEL

 

Blue arrow: Bethlehem of Galilee (actual birthplace of Yeshua). 7 km from Nazareth.

Red arrow: Nazareth (homeplace of Yosef, father of Yeshua, and family home). Yellow arrow: Kafr Kana (Canae, location of the Wedding of Canae). 4 km from Nazareth. 14 km from Bethlehem. 20 km from Tiberias.

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ANNEX ‘B’ – ANCIENT JERUSALEM IN 33 C.E.