Jack caught one hour's sleep then went into his office, arriving at 7:00 A.M. He checked whether any footage had already been received from Colorado—the raw record of the surveillance tapes. It had not arrived yet Damn! It would have been unrealistic to expect it so quickly, but this was an emergency-couldn't Solomon and his people understand that?
He checked what documents had arrived on his desk: two reports on progress with high-tech air defense contracts; one regular intelligence briefing, which he flipped through quickly, just to make sure there was nothing that couldn't wait. He checked
his e-mails and his computerized diary, finding the day choked with meetings-most of them not critical. With a sigh, he set to work, making notes to his secretary to reschedule whatever she could when she arrived at work later in the morning. He scribbled a handwritten note of those appointments he'd still need to handle through the day.
As soon as possible he needed to speak with Layton and Cruz, get them to come to Washington, and meet in person — if not today, tomorrow at the earliest.
He supposed they'd been up all night, too, but everyone just had to stay on the job.
They could sleep when this was over.
Amongst his e-mail was a brief report from Solomon, surprisingly brief, in fact, copied to Samantha and to some of the top brass, including the chiefs of staff. It told no more than Jack already knew, but promised more to come, including the original surveillance tapes, plus an edited version showing exactly what had happened. That was good work, anyway, but the report itself was third-rate-not what Jack expected.
It confirmed their suggested story that only two people had been with Rosanna and the Connors. All right, they'd stick with that.
Jack forwarded the report to the Secretary with a terse, critical covering message. He sent the same covering message to the report's other recipients, then typed up a note on the computer screen, setting out some thoughts of his own, just a series of items for discussion:
Item 1: The Connors had four accomplices (contrary to our "official" position).
The dead body of one has been found, a woman of Hispanic appearance. Despite the extraordinary abilities they all showed, this body appears human-it is not, for example, a cyborg being with a metal interior. Nonetheless, it will need to be examined. Some kind of technological enhancement can be expected.
Item 2: The experimental apparatus known as "the time vault" was used during the raid. It appears that someone or something was displaced in space-time, using the apparatus. Indeed, reports suggest that this was the fate of one of the four accomplices helping the Connors. To put the point more accurately, anything placed in the apparatus will have been scattered across the space-time continuum, disintegrated in four dimensions. Why was the time vault used?
Item 3: Reports have also been received of some kind of strange being or machine fighting against the Connors and their accomplices.
Item 4: Critical to the future success of Cyberdyne's research, Dr. Rosanna
Monk has disappeared, evidently with the Connors. Dr. Monk is not indispensable, but she is a huge loss for the project.
Those were important points, he decided. He quickly reformatted them, added some "top and tail" material, and included them in a further Top Secret report He would send it to the Secretary, copy to Samantha. Now it was getting so formal, he needed some recommendations, but that depended on further analysis. The surveillance tapes would show exactly what went on, and a detailed postmortem examination of the body found on the twelfth floor would tell them more about what they were up against.
Should the project be canceled? he wrote. He made that into a heading, since it led to further issues. Answering that question required a thorough knowledge of the origin of the Terminators that had been encountered by Sarah Connor in 1984 and 1994.
He recommended that Connor, her son, their accomplices and Dr. Monk must be found urgently, and interrogated. Meanwhile, Charles Layton and Oscar Cruz should be treated with suspicion until the issue was resolved. These
recommendations will need to be reviewed as information is gathered, he concluded.
Jack reviewed what he'd written, and saw that it still needed some finessing.
After another half-hour, he had a solid document: full of meat, but clear and punchy, and short enough that it might actually be read. He e-mailed it off just seconds before Samantha entered his office.
"I've been thinking," she said.
"Yeah, me, too." The computer screen showed the time as 8:26 A.M. There was still plenty of time to prepare for the meeting. "Have a quick look at what I've sent you. Then we'd better talk about it."
The Secretary looked tired and careworn, showing every year of his age. Jack braced himself for the worst from this meeting—whether an accusation of incompetence, or simply a judgment made without full knowledge of the facts. That could have even more dire consequences. Jack's career had taught him that political masters could get things very wrong, demand the impossible, and cause disaster when you tried to interpret their wishes in a way that made sense.
"This is tough for all of us," the Secretary said. "We've got the press climbing all over our backs."
"I know that, sir—" Samantha said.
"Well, just hear me out. I've read what you sent me, Jack, including this excuse for a report from Dean Solomon in Colorado. I've been reviewing the whole situation."
Jack was not sure what to say. Where was this leading?
The Secretary leaned forward confidentially. "I've looked again at just what this technology might be able to do, the reasons we're all so interested, the way the work has been handled — and where it fits in with all your other projects. The first thing is, I want you to know is that I think you're both doing a first-rate job. Nothing we discuss here now takes away from that. I've been around long enough to recognize good work when I see it."
"Well, thank you," Samantha said.
For the moment, Jack kept his silence. Something bad was coming, if it had to be prefaced like that.
The Secretary gave a tired laugh. "There's no need to sound so surprised. The second thing is, I know your work is important—including the contracts with Cyber-dyne. I've been reminding myself of how important it is, and how it fits our fundamental aims."
"Do you need any more briefing on any of those contracts, sir?" Jack said
"Hell, no. It's clear enough. Look Jack, the technologies your office is overseeing are crucial to us. I haven't forgotten that. You're helping us prepare for the threats of the new century — that's some of the most important work we could be doing right now. I appreciate it. Everything we say today is in that context."
"Thank you, sir."
"My pleasure. I like to give credit where I see it's due. But that doesn't mean nothing needs to change. This problem with Cyberdyne has gone on long enough, and we need to get it resolved. The reality is that it's distracting us from other programs.
That doesn't mean we drop it—I didn't say that. But we do have to resolve it quickly;
we can't let it just keep rolling on to God knows where."
"Yes, sir," Jack said. "I fully agree." This might not be too bad, after all: It sounded like the Secretary had nothing definite in mind.
"Now, I've been through all the briefings you've written for me — and we've had our talks about all this. I've never tried to micromanage the programs that you're looking after, you know that. Each one is important, and I like the whole mindset
you've brought to it — we need this kind of high-tech stuff. Cyberdyne's work could be critical to us, and I'm not going to stop it lightly."
Jack relaxed slightly. "All right. So where to from here? You have my recommendations. Do you agree with them?"
"As far as they go, yes." The Secretary passed back a hard copy of Jack's e-mailed report, with a note scribbled on top of the first page: Need to speak. He stuck out his chin, then said, "If this program goes well, it could be one of the most important we've got for the transformation of the forces in the twenty-first century.
I've absorbed the implications of that. Once it was just NORAD-we were thinking in terms of Russian ICBMs."
"That's still an important possibility," Samantha said.
"Yes, I know."
When Jack had first discussed the concept with Layton and Cruz, many years before, the emphasis had been on strategic surveillance, the possibility of phasing out the NORAD facility in Cheyenne Mountain, replacing it with something better. A strategic surveillance network based on Dyson-Monk nanoprocessor technology would be faster and more precise than humans in analyzing data that could indicate a nuclear strike. But there was so much more that the technology could do; it could become integral to every aspect of the forces' work.
"This technology could give us just what we need," the Secretary said, "a major boost in our capacity to win wars — and winning wars is what we're here for. Am I right?"
Jack half expected a playful punch on the shoulder, the way the Secretary was talking. He laughed; this was getting better, minute by minute. "Damn right, sir."
"Okay, now we agree on that, I can't understand one thing. Just who or what is behind these attacks, the one in 1994, and again last night? Nothing suggests any usual enemy — in fact it can't be any usual enemy. We know that, don't we? Let's not fool around about this."
"No-"
This scientist from Cyberdyne-what's her name?"
"Rosanna Monk," Samantha said.
"All right, Dr. Monk — what's she like?"
"She seems eccentric, but she's not so bad when you get to know her. Very intense, self-absorbed, even obsessed. But she's not at all flaky; she knows what
she's doing."
"She's convinced that these Terminators are real?"
"She is," Jack said. "I've got no doubt she's right. Sam and I have been over all her evidence."
"Well, that's your problem there."
"Pardon, sir?"
"That's your problem. You've got this wonderful technology, but something we don't understand is going on with it. We don't know what can of worms we're opening here, if we go ahead. That's what we've got to find out And it can't wait.
How am I supposed to sleep when I'm told that those things are out there? And what am I supposed to tell the President?"
"All we have to go on are Sarah Connor's claims," Samantha said. "We can't trust those."
"Well, you seem to have that right," the Secretary said. "Her story doesn't add up. We didn't have any 'Judgment Day.'"
"No, sir."
"Well, how do you explain it? Countries like Iraq don't have that kind of technology — neither did the Soviets. I'll say this: I want you to go on with the project for now. We can pull the plug later — if there's some reason. But we need to know that reason, if it exists. Find that out as your highest priority. Is that clear?"
"Yes," Jack said. "You couldn't be clearer."
"One other thing, I'm not happy with Solomon. Something earthshaking is going on over there and he's showing a mindset that it's not happening. I don't understand it-he's been competent before, hasn't he?"
"Always."
"You just keep an eye on him-replace him if you have to. Now, when are you meeting with the Cyberdyne people?"
"We'll fit them in as soon as they can get to Washington. Maybe tonight, if they get over here today."
"Good. I agree they're hiding something from us. You're going to have to put it on the line with them — whatever way you think is necessary, I don't want to know.
Understand me? Make sure they're safe, see they're not harmed, but get their story.
Get the truth out of them. Until that happens, we don't know if we're coming or going."
"Understood, sir," Jack said.
"All right, that's enough for now. You know what you have to do."
"Certainly," Samantha said. "I'm looking forward to meeting with Layton and Cruz. We'll take care of them."
The Secretary gave her a long, appraising look. "Well, see that you do that, Sam. There's something about Cyberdyne that I don't like. Just make sure that they don't take care of you."
SALCEDA COMPOUND
For a moment, John was speechless, standing in the warm desert wind. He'd never expected another Terminator to be sent back by his older self — the messages from the future, from Kyle Reese in 1984 and the T-800 in 1994, had never mentioned yet another time traveler sent by the human Resistance. The T-799 must have arrived here, at the Salceda camp, in the last two days, since John and Sarah had been here with the Specialists that recently, seeking help from Enrique's family.
Nothing had been said then about the Terminator.
"How did you find me?" he said. "What makes you think I can help you?"
"You have been on television," the Terminator said. The police are looking for you. I knew you would come here if there were trouble. You helped to program me, and you gave me that information."
Oh boy, this present tense/past tense thing got complicated. So John had programmed the Terminator in the fii-ture. Maybe it was a different reality, as the Terminator had said, but it was the year 2029-that made it future tense. But from the Terminator's point of view, it had already happened. It was in the machine's memory.
"Well," John said, "what do you think I can do?" "You will assist me. We will find help." But John shook his head. "Er, I don't think so." He had no doubt that Eve was a machine. She, or it, had the same grim, unchanging expression he'd seen in the T-800 Terminator, back in 1994. But he didn't fear it, despite the reactions from his mom and Rosanna: The T-800 hadn't tried to kill him — it had saved his life many times. What a Terminator would do depended entirely on its programming. Like most machines, it could be used for good or evil. But he wondered how far to push that thought, since Skynet itself had turned out evil in at least two worlds — perhaps it was mankind's enemy in every world where it came into being.
Anyway, this Terminator was asking the impossible. John looked from face to face, seeing that everyone else was just as confused as he was. The Specialists showed no particular expression, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be ready to move if the Terminator tried anything. Sarah had that wild look he sometimes saw on her face, like she was awake, yet staring at a nightmare. The gun in her hand trembled slightly. Enrique had lowered his rifle, but seemed like a man whose patience was running out Rosanna had calmed herself, Now she just looked thoughtful.
Juanita gave John an amused smile. "We must talk," the Terminator said. "We will find your leaders and persuade them."
A dust-covered Chrysler sedan that John hadn't seen before was parked one hundred yards from where they were standing, sheltered from the dusty wind between two of Enrique's trucks. That must be how the Terminator had come here.
"All right," John said. "Let's just get it all straight. You're a T-799 Terminator?"
"Affirmative."
"So what does that mean-T-799? The last Terminator we worked with was a T-800."
"The T-799s were Skynet's first cyborg design, the prototype for the T-800 models."
"So, you're like the prototype for the Terminator that helped us seven years ago, right?"
"Correct. You were assisted by a T-800, model 101. Each design model is based on a different human template. You may think of me as a different model of the T-800. My abilities are similar."
The machine seemed to know all about him, but that made sense if he'd programmed it himself. "Okay, but I just don't get this. What's the deal? I wouldn't know where to start if I wanted to help you. I don't know our leaders in this country.
I can't go finding you an army or anything."
"John's right," Sarah said, a little too quickly. "Whatever it is you want, you'd
be better off without us. We don't have contacts with politicians — they might know about us, but they all think we're crazy."
But John caught Rosanna's eye. She knew people in Washington, and she badly wanted to talk to them. He thought about that: What if they could get to those people? "Right now, we're the ones who need help," he said. "But maybe we can do something." Still, it seemed impossible. How were they even supposed to get to the
future? Nobody, and nothing, that came from the future ever went back. That was how it had always been. They didn't even have a workable time machine. The nearest thing anyone had built was Cyberdyne's time vault, and he wouldn't take his chances with that.
And the future that Eve came from wasn't even a future that awaited them now.
It had said it was from a different reality. If it came from the reality where Judgment had happened in 1997. . .what were the implications? How could it travel not only back in time, but from one reality to another?
"In this world," the Terminator said, "Judgment Day never happened"
"It hasn't happened yet," Sarah said. "That doesn't mean it won't."
The Terminator inspected her carefully, looking her up and down, as if taking measurements with its artificial eyes. "You are Sarah Connor."
"Yes, I am." Her finger tensed on the trigger of her gun; the barrel was aimed right between the Terminator's eyes.
"Your son gave me a message for you: The future is still not set. Our world depends on you."
Sarah laughed sharply. "You're kidding me, right?" She looked at Anton for support, as though figuring he was the expert on time and time travel.
But Anton shook his head. "I think we should hear this."
Enrique frowned with concentration, accentuating his hawklike features. "I think you've all got to be kidding. Just what the hell is this all about? And where's the other
Enrique frowned with concentration, accentuating his hawklike features. "I think you've all got to be kidding. Just what the hell is this all about? And where's the other