Timeline Taxi: chapter 3
“Jonathan Russel speaking,” the voice on the other end of the phone says.
“Is your offer still standing?” I ask him directly. He doesn’t need any other explanation.
“Of course, did you change your mind?”
“Can you meet me in an hour in Yokohama spaceport?”
“Sure can.”
“I’ll meet you at gate A44, that’s within the non-commercial section. I’ll see you there.”
I hang up. On my walk of shame back to the hotel, I decided there was no way I’d spend two years in prison. So the only option left is to do what I usually do: fix Earth problems by leaving Earth. Sure, half a lightyear back and forth is a little bit over the top, but there’s no way I can find another client on such short notice who’s willing to pay what doctor Russel pays. And I will need the money a hundred years from now. It’s not ideal, but it’s way better than two years in prison and being broke afterwards.
I pick up the phone again and dial the other number.
“This is Wakato.”
“Wakato, hi. There’s a change of plan, I need to leave as soon as possible, don’t ask any questions, I’ll explain later. How’s the ship?”
“Post-flight maintenance has been done, everything’s checked, sir. Refueling is scheduled within two days. Apart from that I’m looking into the kitchen upgrades you mentioned.”
“Yeah, we’ll have to scratch those upgrades I’m afraid. Can you prepare the shuttle and load it with enough rations?”
“I can sir, but can I ask what’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you when I’m at the spaceport, I’ll be there in less than an hour.”
“Sir, do you want me to ration the shuttle within the hour?” Wakato asks, surprised.
“If possible, yes.”
“That’ll be difficult —”
I interrupt him: “Can you do it?”
He pauses for a second.
“I can, sir.”
“I’ll see you in an hour.”
I hang up and make my bag. I don’t know how much freedom is involved in “having a week to get things in order”, so I’m not sure if I’ll even make it to the spaceport. I figure the faster I go, the better.
I rush out of the hotel, get a cab, and make it race to the spaceport. My bag in hand I run past the travel gates into the non-commercial section. I’m fifteen minutes early, so I don’t expect doctor Russel to have arrived yet, but there he stands, in front of gate A44.
In surprise, I blurt out “you’re fast!”
“I’m not fast, I’m prepared.” he replies.
“Hang on. Do you know what's going on?”
Now he looks at me, surprised. “I’m not sure what you mean? You called me, so here I am. I just meant that I didn’t need to pack anything, I had everything already in order. What happened then?”
I shake my head. “Later, we need to hurry.”
“Well I’m not that much in a hurry, I’m sorry if I gave you the impression I was. A couple of days of preparation time would have been fine.”
“Obviously I am in a hurry. I’ll tell you later. Let’s get to the shuttle. Do you have everything you need with you?”
He points towards two large bags in front of the gate. “Is there enough room for those?”
“That should work.”
I lead the doctor through gate A44, straight onto the shuttle fields. Wakato’s there, frantically directing two technicians who are rationing the shuttle.
“Sir!” he exclaims when he sees me. “Are you ok?”
“Wakato, I’m glad to see you! Let’s talk in a minute. This is doctor Russel, he’ll be my next client. Could you load his bags into the hold while I set him up in the shuttle?”
Wakato has a confused look, but smiles and takes the doctor’s bags without any questions. I lead the doctor into the shuttle, and set him up in the main passenger’s seat.
“Are you ok waiting here for a couple of minutes? I need to check some final things with my valet.”
I exit the shuttle and pull Wakato aside. I tell him what happened in the police station only a couple of hours ago. He looks at me in disbelief.
“I’m so sorry sir, if I had known that gentleman inquiring about you last year was a cop, I would have never told him anything!”
“Don’t worry about it, Wakato, even if you hadn’t told them anything, they would still know when I returned based on the public flight records. There’s nothing you could have done to prevent this. How’s the fuel situation? I know we can’t do a full powerup right now, but can I make it into Lunar orbit?”
“Yes, that should work perfectly. You can even reach Mars, but going any further would be too risky.”
I nod. Lunar orbit should do.
“I have to say, sir, I should have told you about ISTRA right upon your arrival, but I know you like a couple of days off before getting up to speed, and I figured it wouldn’t be this time pressing…”
“I don’t think it would have made a difference, Wakato. Those people knew I was here as soon as I contacted Earth upon my return. I’m surprised they weren’t here to meet me right on the spaceport. Probably because I made a last-minute change to my landing schedule.”
“So… you’re leaving for a hundred years then?”
“I’m afraid so. I’m lucky this client was here in the right place and time. No room for me to get picky, I'm afraid.”
“That means then…”
“I’m afraid so, Wakato San. I’m afraid so.”
We look at each other for a moment in silence. I extend my hand and shake his.
“Thank you for all your help these past decades. You’ve been the best valet I’ve ever worked with. You know I mean that.”
He bows. I bow in reply.
“Well, no more time to waste. I hope we manage to take off, otherwise we might see each other again in half an hour.”
The technicians have just finished loading the rations, and I make it back into the shuttle. Doctor Russel is waiting patiently and smiles when he sees me again.
“Everything ok?” he asks.
“Everything will be ok.” I reply. “I’ll tell you all about it once we’re on our way, but now we need to lift off.” I sit in the pilot seat, and perform all preflight checks in silence.
“Yokohama, Tower, this is Taxi LT-22, come in.”
“Taxi LT-22, this is Yokohama, Tower, we copy you.”
“Requesting permission for stationary departure, currently standing at gate A44, destination orbit lane A44, section D.”
“Copy, stand by.”
Silence as my heart throbs in my throat.
“Taxi LT-22, this is Yokohama, Tower. Permission not granted, I repeat: permission for stationary departure not granted.”
I curse. I usually don’t, but today I do. I look at the doctor’s puzzled face.
“Yokohama, Tower, copy that, permission not granted. Can you tell me the reason?”
“Taxi LT-22, your shuttle has been flagged for government inspection and is not allowed to leave the spaceport until further notice.”
I curse again. I turn to the doctor.
“So, doc. I need to tell you something.” I give him the short version of what happened. He listens patiently, without interruptions. When I’m done, I wait for him to reply.
“So, to be clear.” He replies. “My mission is absolutely crucial, not just for theoretical science, it will have a huge impact on the future of space travel in general. I came here looking for you, since you’re the only pilot we could find after two years of searching who’s able to make this journey. You noticed I came here immediately after you called me, that’s because I’ve been ready to go at any given moment for a while now.”
He pauses, as if he’s thinking about the best way to phrase this.
“Look, I’ve given everything for this research the past five years. It’s my life’s work, and I don’t care about the consequences in this current time. If I want this research to succeed, I need to gap half that lightyear. So, as far as I’m concerned, I’m fine to do whatever it takes to get there.”
I look at him in silence. If I’m doing this, I’m taking a huge bet on someone who’s practically a random stranger. I haven’t had the time to properly vet him as I usually do with my clients. I haven’t had the time to properly overthink the consequences of bridging a hundred Earth years. I don’t even know how he’ll be able to pay me a hundred years from now. But what’s the alternative? Prison and being broke afterwards.
I curse, one last time.
“Yokohama, Tower, be advised, proceeding with unauthorized stationary takeoff from gate A44. Please make way.”
“Taxi LT-22, permission not granted, I repeat, permission NOT granted.”
I hear a faint siren in the distance, but it’s quickly overturned by the sound of the engines.
“Hold on, doc.”