Traveller Inceptio
34

“Insane, absolutely bloody insane,” exclaimed Hurley over another steaming mug of tea. They were seated in the cafeteria and each knew that their conference-style schedule, with civilised afternoon teas, wasn’t going to last. They took every advantage of the unaccustomed luxury. Hurley shook his head again. “Here they were, kids—geeky university kids—and they just decided to trip God-knows-where to catch a frigging surf.” He laughed and looked at Hunter and the other Australian in the group, the tall, blonde, pockmarked Lieutenant Tony Osborne, also of the SASR. “Is that the way you do things in Australia?”

There was a collective rumble of laughter. The team had taken to meeting as a group in their familiar Special Forces squad format. They had only briefly met and were making sure they got to know each other better. All seasoned professionals, each was quietly dumbfounded at the creation of The Transporter. Yeti’s presentation had quickly become casual and friendly with probing questions to make sure the full story was given. The men even saw footage that was unavailable to the media, security camera images of Phil’s spectacular naked backward roll over the cooler box getting a good laugh. With a great deal of experience in potentially fatal situations, each of the men knew the discovery team’s level-headed and panic-free approach to the extraordinary meeting with the aboriginal warriors prevented fatalities and met with their admiration.

“You know where this is going, of course,” mentioned an American by the name of Anderson.

There were nods all round. “Well, let’s get back and see how we fit into this.” Hurley smiled grimly.

***

Hunter and the others watched the tweedy academic as he paused a moment. “Yes, this was all my idea, of course,” smiled Professor Adrian Taylor a little meekly. “To recap, as historians, let me tell you how we view the period of one-thousand years in the past. It’s called the Dark Ages by popular media, which is absolute rubbish, but it was a terribly tempestuous time.

“You see, the beginning of the eleventh century is a time from which historical data is comparatively scarce. Many cultures had little writing and relied on oral traditions, and many of those cultures were in conflict with peoples who were technologically more advanced.” He gestured to a world map projected to a media screen. “The Vikings were on the move to settle Greenland, parts of North America, Russia, France, and Italy in an extended series of sea-based raids. In the Americas, the Mississippian Indian cultures replaced the Hopewell and built walled towns and earth mounds from Wisconsin to Florida, while in Central America, the Moche culture collapsed and the Mayas were in decline. Even the precursors to the current Eskimos, the Tuniit, were being wiped out by the invading Inuit.

“In Asia, China was more or less unified under the Sung Dynasty, though in constant fear of conquest, paying protection money to hostile neighbouring tribes, while in India, as the Chola kings ruled the south, Rajput kings in the north warred with Arabic Abbasid armies. In West Asia and Africa, the Arab empire collapsed into smaller kingdoms ruled by different, often warring dynasties. The Turks took over Baghdad and the Fatimid dynasty took over Egypt. There were small Islamic kingdoms in West Africa and along the East African coast as Indian and Arab traders assisted in the aggressive spread of the Islamic faith.

“In Europe, kingdoms geographically similar to modern states saw the Carolingians fight to rule an area comparable to France, while an empire was established in what is now modern Germany. The Lombards dominated Italy, the Slavs ruled Eastern Europe, and all were in a state of perpetual, bloody conflict.” Professor Taylor looked up past his glasses. “It was a terribly nasty time!

“So why do I tell you this?” He paused for effect. “With The Transporter, we have the very real, incredible opportunity to explore the time and cultures of which we know too little. In academic circles we’ve been forced to admit we fail to possess any Indiana Jones-types who would survive more than a minute if they were sent back in time one-thousand years. Let me add that strangers would not generally be treated well. In many parts of the world, cannibalism was surprisingly common, especially in the Americas, the Pacific, and Africa. If we were to use The Transporter, we would have to select a location where we could integrate researchers that would look like locals and where the locals would have the least propensity to eat, or at least, murder strangers. We also must consider the ethnic and linguistic heritage of the nations who are doing their very best to claim ownership of The Transporter, being Australia and the USA, which makes the obvious choice for any potential Transporter project England.

“In addition, we needed the host nation to be politically stable and allied to both vested-interest nations. This first project will most likely be a trial run. If it’s successful, we can fine-tune our systems and procedures, make sure The Transporter works like it should, and learn from our mistakes. We hope for additional projects to be in other locations. England is a logical choice when we look at language, culture, and the ability to at least not look totally different to the indigent populations.

“But who! Who could be used as researchers? Our researchers would ideally be intelligent, super-fit, have a highly developed ability to observe and record, have superior linguistic abilities, and be trained to survive the most hazardous situations. Each of us know that most governments have at their disposal those in the military who have the very abilities we require, and who survive and even thrive in the most hazardous environments imaginable. These are our military’s very elite, better known as our Special Forces.

“I don’t need to tell you how difficult it was to have this project confirmed, but at the moment it still looks to go ahead. It has been funded in part by the governments of Australia and the USA, because of The Transporter ownership issue. The UK is, of course, involved because our past will be the one that is to be researched, and Canada is included because of some secret payback that the US government owes to their northern neighbour. Additional funding and approval has been received from Helguard Security and Woomera Technologies, who are the owners of the device and have a keen interest in the wise use of The Transporter. This makes Project Traveller essentially a civilian project with a military command structure overseen by the British military.”

Professor Taylor took off his glasses and half sat on the desk next to the computer, chewing thoughtfully on his glasses’ arms. “Forgive me, but as you can imagine, all of this has a purpose. As you will by now have guessed, we haven’t just brought you from all over the world to hear some fanciful stories about the invention of a Time Machine and then fill your heads with local English history.

“The invention of this amazing machine, The Transporter, presents us with an unbelievable opportunity and an insurmountable risk. Here we have the means to discover more about some of the most unknown segments of our relatively modern history, yet to use such a gift means we must venture into times that are extremely dangerous, when life can be lost so easily.” He stood, his face flushed with excitement, and spoke with passion and intensity. “As Mister Chandler briefly described, there has been considerable discussion as to how best use The Transporter and on where to go. After all, we can only send back to one time, approximately one thousand years into the past of wherever the system is located. There has been an enormous amount of hope, hope we can indeed learn more, discover our ancestors, our history, and fill in the vast gaps in our knowledge. Now we must consider who to send.”

The room became very quiet, as if everyone was holding their breath.

“You have been selected from Special Forces of participating countries to constitute a team of potential researchers to be sent back in time to Saxon Aengland. We’re to provide you with specialised training so you can be sent back one thousand years to interact with the people of that time and survive to return and tell the tale. That’s why we’ve selected you, not only due to your obvious skills, but also your appearance. If we do this right, and I might add we have every intention of doing this right, we hope to place some of you into Saxon England. Details are sketchy, because we’re still determining the most productive mission format. We want you to look like a local, talk like a local, and be a local for the duration of your mission. This, we hope, will be aided by your Anglo Saxon ancestry, family culture, linguistic abilities and apparent intelligence.” He paused for the obligatory smile at his joke. “We also understand you have the ability to handle yourself in a tight spot. We have some very interesting areas of study we propose would be useful for you over the coming year, and at the end of that year, if all goes well, we anticipate an early summer Transport.”

Professor Taylor paused and there was an audible, collective exhalation of breath. Anderson nodded, as if confirming his guess, and Hurley turned and raised his eyebrows in uncharacteristic surprise. There were a few quiet comments and the buzz of murmured discussion.

Murdoch stood and walked to the front of the room. “Professor Taylor’s committee is obviously guiding part of your training over the next year, so we’ve listed a selection of skill sets that will require your attention and expertise. Not only are we to concentrate on your usual physical endurance, unarmed combat, and survival skills, but you’ll develop an affinity with the sword, knife, and other weapons of the time. You will learn Latin and Saxon, you will become more than proficient hunters and learn traditional skills such as leatherworking, iron-working, farming, and even brewing.” She risked breaking into a smile when the Australian Osborne gave a small cheer.

“You are professionals, gentlemen, so we will rely on your advice and feedback to ensure you receive the very best training. As Professor Taylor suggested, we’re still coming to a conclusion as to the best mission format. As you can appreciate, we can’t send a team with night goggles and automatic weapons. This mission is about fitting in and doing the job without leaving a historical footprint. Your orders are to cease shaving and grow your hair. Formal sessions will be conducted on the subjects Professor Taylor’s team have identified and these will be conducted both on and off location. You will start at 0500 tomorrow with a PT session. Assemble on the forecourt in fatigues. Before we dismiss, I must advise that this is a volunteer mission. Anyone wishing to remove themselves from Project Traveller simply has to advise me and you’ll be returned to your regiment.”

Murdoch paused., No one moved. Professor Taylor nodded and smiled. Zak Chandler looked pale and worried.

“Dismissed!”