Page 57 of Twin Flames
‘Purely out of interest, what timeline would you like to catapult me into?’
‘Well, I’m curious to see what we can learn from the citizens of 2100. Technology will be so advanced by then; there’ll bequantum leaps which we can apply now if we know what to look for. I’ll be able to lead my team of scientists at the university to replicate your findings.’
‘But is that not tinkering with the future, Eddie? What about the danger of unforeseen repercussions? It’s like a potential apocalypse movie.’
‘You’d report what you discover, and I’d only use what is safe to use.’
‘I see,’ Cara said. ‘It sounds absolutely terrifying. But because it’s you, I promise to think about it. Please don’t get your hopes up though as I have a lot of reservations. I don’t know if I can muster the courage, for one.’
‘You are worrying unnecessarily. I’ve never known a more courageous woman. You saved me from the hangman’s noose in Tudorville.’
‘One more thing,’ she said, touched by his affectionate words.
‘Yes?’
‘I’m confused. Why don’t you go yourself and then you would see it all firsthand?’
‘I wondered when you’d ask that. I’m afraid there’s one small problem.’
‘There always is, Eddie! What is it this time?’
‘I have already been to the future. I gathered fascinating data which is why we must continue the experiment. If in the very unlikely scenario you don’t come back as planned, I know how to come and get you. But if I go again and don’t come back, no one, including you, because you’re too inexperienced in time travel, would know how to reach me. Aside from the fact that I rather like my life here, me not returning would mean the end of the research. No one else on the team has the ability to time travel. This is why it’s so important for you to go. I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t vital. I’ve gone as far as I can using myself as a prototype which is why your timing is absolutely perfect.
It’s no exaggeration to say that what you discover, combined with our ability to analyse it, could save the planet from extinction. If we know what they know in 2100, we will be able to unpack the data and use it to set a different course. As crazy as it sounds, I think we will be able to save the world from a catastrophic end.’
Cara sighed. ‘Somehow I don’t feel any better after hearing that.’
York, the next day
Cara sipped her tea at the kitchen table and hummed to the radio. Energised after a good night’s sleep, she was enjoying a few peaceful hours of solitude. She had been spending a lot of time with George lately; their relationship was about as wonderful as it could be, given the precarious circumstances. After Sylvia’s reading, Cara had resolved to stop trying to control the situation and to accept it, for now, and then a couple of days later, as if by magic, George’s embargo on them seeing each other had lifted and the impasse between them dissolved.
The newspaper thudded onto the doormat and interrupted her reflection. She scooped upThe Pressand leafed through the pages, as she wondered what to have for dinner.
What the hell? No. . .
But there it was; a coloured photo of George, her George, slammed into her face. Her spirits plummeted as his dark eyes met hers. Handsome and relaxed, his arm cradled Joanna’s waist. The perfect couple. Cara’s senses reeled, her familiar insecurities resurfaced and slashed at the wounds in her tender heart.
Here we go again. I can’t take anymore.
Her thoughts raced as she read the article. There was a bit of back story about their life together, followed by a brief account of the history of theTudor Kings’ Manuscript. The programme would air the following week.
As if on cue, her phone rang. It was George.
For a couple of seconds, she contemplated not answering.
‘Hello?’ she said after a few rings, her voice unsteady.
‘Morning. You okay? You sound a bit odd.’
The anger fuse lit deep within her like a firework spark before it exploded with a loud bang. ‘Oh, yes! You could say that. I’m odd, all right. Even odder than I realised, it seems. A gullible fool, some might say.’
‘What are you talking about Car? You’ve lost me.’
‘Have you readThe Presstoday?’
‘No, why?’
‘You’re in it!’
