A story exploring time travel and societal issues in the wake of 9/11. This is chapter 17. See previous posts for chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16.
Eating a giant piece of fresh cornbread with his hands instead of using the plastic fork that came with it, T2 sat on a bar stool at The Yacht Club, a dusty cowboy bar near the border of Colorado and New Mexico. Technically, since a statewide indoor smoking ban had come into effect, the establishment was a private club, which exempted it from the new restrictions. Having paid one dollar to become a member of this club, after finishing his cornbread, T2 turned his attention to the conversation that had captured the room.
"I'm just saying that the CIA basically manufactured Al Qaeda when they armed Afghanistan against Russia," said a large man in blue overalls.
"Sure, but didn't Vladimir Putin seize power in Russia after the FSB killed hundreds of civilians in bombings that they blamed on Chechen separatists?" asked the bartender.
"What's your point?" asked a spindly woman at the end of the bar.
"That governments and terrorists have more in common than dogs and coyotes," said the bartender.
"Right now," said T2, loud enough to get their attention. "Inside US military prison camps in Iraq, a new kind of terrorist group is forming. ISIS, they're called. This new group will eventually become an army and begin overrunning the region. Unintentionally or not, the US is making it happen."
"No way it's unintentional," said the woman. "Just wait until the next big thing. Then you'll really see what they're capable of."
"You think there'll be another 9/11?" asked overalls.
"9/11 was Pearl Harbor all over again," said the woman. "I doubt they need another one of those any time soon. No, I think the next one will be more like a new Spanish Flu. I read that they could bring in the military if there's a flu epidemic."
"They wouldn't even have to," said T2. "Get people scared enough and they'll do everything the government says. Even if it breaks society."
"Not us!" said the bartender cheerfully. "We go our own way here."
The conversation relaxed into meaningless bar banter. Paying up, T2 left, stepping out into the crisp desert night. It was two miles back to the yurt he was staying in, and he welcomed the walk. Alone, on a dirt road cutting across a mountainside, T2 paused to look out over the vast valley below, seeing a few islands of light floating in the darkness.
Above the horizon was an ocean of stars. There was no moon, but T2 saw at least one satellite. Then he saw something unexpected. Three lights, forming an equilateral triangle, hovering over the valley. This was no traditional aircraft. It hovered above an area some thirty miles distant, then bolted north. After fifty miles, the object altered its trajectory abruptly before disappearing.
T2 laughed out loud. A UFO! Resuming his journey, he recalled that there was a military base in the mountains to the northeast and wondered if he'd just witnessed a test flight for some kind of new experimental aircraft. Could have been, T2 decided, turning off of the main road onto the smaller dirt road that led up the mountain to his property. Reaching his driveway, which was all but invisible in the darkness of the surrounding pinon forest, he smelled a campfire and found a small group of people lounging by the fire pit.
"T2!" said Eggs, who had taken up residence here only recently. "How was the bar? Did you bring the cigarettes?"
Chuckling, T2 tossed Eggs a pack of smokes from his pocket. "I saw a UFO on my walk," he said. "A triangle, flying over the dunes in the valley. Pretty cool."
"Far out!" said Eggs. "You think it was aliens or military?"
"Probably military," said T2, pouring himself a bit of coffee from a thermos he'd stashed in the camp before his trip to town. "Still far out, though. Anything happen here?"
"All quiet," said Eggs.
"Eggs told us the story of how you helped Trish Lupo start the Cascades Ecovillage," said Owl Horns, a young woman T2 had been introduced to only recently. "How you put her in charge of TAP and got this whole thing going."
"Oh?" said T2. "Did he tell you that I traveled back in time from a dystopian future to get the ball rolling on stuff like this?"
"No, he just said you were really chill," said Owl Horns.
"I saw your bit on the internet," said a man named Pocket. "You and Thomas. Your whole video about time travel and proving it with genetic tests. I've got to admit, you two really do look alike."
"They're clones!" said Harry the Drunk, who was laying on the ground in an out of the way shadow. "Alien clones!"
"Whatever Harry," said Eggs, who had clearly had enough of Harry's ramblings for the night.
"Well, regardless, I'm leaving tomorrow," said T2. "I might not be back here for some time. So if there's anything you need, or want me to know, this is your chance."
"Some old guy was up here earlier, spying on us with binoculars," said Pocket. "I tried to go talk to him, but he ran to his car and drove away."
"Let me guess," said T2. "He had long white hair and drove a green Buick?"
"You know him?" asked Pocket.
"That's Grandpa Craig," said T2. "He's a local. Friendly enough. Introduce yourselves if you ever see him around town. If you want gems or minerals, he's the guy to see. And if you ever want someone to have a feud with, he can keep up a good feud for years."
"I thought you didn't want us to start any trouble," said Owl Horns.
"No real trouble," said T2, laughing. "But things can get boring this far off of the beaten path. If you were to, say, hang a pair of underwear from Craig's mailbox one day, I guarantee you'd get at least half a year of trash talk and petty retaliation out of it."
"How would he know it was us?" asked Pocket.
"Trust me, he'd know," said T2. "And this brings me to a slightly more serious point. Remember how every TAP ecovillage is supposed to have a pair of ambassadors maintaining good relations with the local community? Well, that seems to be missing here. What's up with that?"
"I'm the ambassador!" declared Harry.
"Um," said Owl Horns. "Harry and I were supposed to do it, but then we broke up and it just sort of slipped through the cracks."
"Okay, that is not acceptable," said T2. "Get your shit together. Appoint new ambassadors if you have to. We may be creating our own little world off the beaten path here, but we're still a part of this community, with all of the social obligation that implies."
(Feature image from Pixabay.)
Read my novels:
- The Paradise Anomaly is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Psychic Avalanche is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- One Man Embassy is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Flying Saucer Shenanigans is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Rainbow Lullaby is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- The Ostermann Method is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Blue Dragon Mississippi is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
Check out the comic I wrote:
- Finney Vol 1 Immutable Journey is available as a free e-comic.