Beyond the Triangle

By C. P. Stewart

Captain Valentin Chang is en route to Florida in 2086 commanding the large submersible destroyer, Wynarte, as part of a coordinated, worldwide nuclear attack on major cities by the Sovereign Republic of Africa. As Wynarte waits for the appointed time to launch her missiles at Jacksonville, Orlando, and Atlanta, Chang discovers they are now in the year 2288.Jake Myers is sent to San Francisco to fix a vacuum problem in the westward portion of the Transcontinental Underground Railway (TUR). He is helped by two maintenance workers and succeeds in correcting the problem in spite of a hostile attack. Thomas, one of the maintenance workers, confides that his grandfather related that he had traveled in time from WWII to 2234, so Jake meets with Thomas’ family, assuring them that it was possible because he had also traveled in time from 2005 to 2283.Juan Morales visits Jake and his family and relates that he is going to Savannah to reunite with Skye Davenport, and then to Jacksonville to find his former boss, Mason Bankowski, whom he hasn’t been able to contact. Skye seems strangely distant and attracted to Mannard Heinrich, her employer, so broken-hearted Juan travels to Jacksonville. Finding a militaristic atmosphere, he contacts Jake, who joins him.Together, Jake and Juan start their search, but are chased out of the city and captured by “outsiders.” Jake finds a commonality with a leader of the outsider village and enlists their help. Meanwhile, Jake’s family’s concern over hearing nothing from him leads to his son, Nathan, traveling to Jacksonville, accompanied by Thomas, who volunteers to help.Jake, Juan, and the outsiders search for answers within the city, while Nathan and Thomas independently do the same. They determine the city is populated by many soldiers, guards, and individuals under mind-control, and that many citizens have disappeared. WWII Nazis are included in the mix and someone called the Fuhrer seems to be in charge.Thomas is captured and sent to an island prison housing the missing citizenry. Nathan discovers Jake is living with outsiders and sets off alone to find him, almost dying in the process. Jake and Nathan are reunited before Jake, Juan, some outsiders, and a few Nazi turncoats succeed in overtaking the island prison and rescuing the prisoners. Among the freed prisoners is Thomas’ grandfather, Bill Reynolds, and two of his crewmembers from the WWII submarine, USS Crosshatch. Both Crosshatch and a German submarine, U-857, were transported from the same time, although U-857 arrived recently.Juan, with help, rescues Skye from Mannard as they are being presented as the first Aryan couple, arranged by Karl Rudolein, a powerful Nazi trying to establish the Fourth Reich.Chang intends to obliterate the area using his unfired nuclear missiles, but a skeleton ensemble of the 3 Crosshatch crew, Mason, Juan, Thomas, and the Nazi turncoats use U-857 to engage Wynarte. Both vessels are destroyed. Three survive unscathed, while Juan, Mason, and Bill are badly injured. As they seek medical help, Mannard tries to reclaim Skye and shoots Juan before falling to his death.An epilogue set five years later reveals the fate of the characters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: Sep 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781977235336

C. P. Stewart

C. P. Stewart’s career began with teaching high school chemistry, evolving into teaching high school and university physics. A lifelong resident of western Pennsylvania, he is married, with two adult children and three grandchildren.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Monday, April 10, 2288

Time: 0918

Jacob Myers, report to my directory, 7E24! Rosen Jakareh’s gravelly voice shot from the speakers, splitting the air in the control room. Jake felt he hadn’t done anything to incur his boss’s wrath, but had an unsettled feeling as he turned the controls over to Smerline Basher before heading out. Once in the hallway, he stepped on the eastward moving floor, taking a step backward to catch his balance. Not sure what awaited him in the boss’s office, he let the floor move him instead of walking forward. He stepped off when he reached the administrators’ section of the building, marked with a red stripe on the walls at about the same height as Jake remembered chair rails to be in his former life.

Jakareh’s office was 7E24, designating it to be on the seventh level, east wing, number twenty-four and Jake stood before it, tentatively reaching his hand toward the sensor panel that would read his hand print. If he was expected, which seemed obvious, then his hand print would be accepted and he would be permitted in. The light panel glowed green and he entered.

Jake noticed two secretaries flanking his entrance, both glanced up as he walked past. Both secretaries wore entirely too much make-up, which caused their faces to appear nearly as white as porcelain dolls. Although they didn’t seem to have applied lipstick, their lips appeared natural and stood out in sharp contrast to their faces because that was the only part that wasn’t covered by the white make-up. The door to Jakareh’s office stood open and he motioned Jake to enter, told him to close the door, and indicated a chair saying impatiently, Sit … sit.

Yes sir. You wanted to see me? Jake asked tentatively.

Myers, I’ve been watching you and I like what I see. You seem to be cut from a different mold than the other people working here, somehow willing to do your work without complaining … and do it better and faster than the others. Jakareh paused, fingers tented under his chin as if preparing to pray, possibly to judge Jake’s reaction, or to gather his thoughts before moving on. In that moment, Jake studied the man for the first time, having only ever heard his voice since being hired shortly after he, Ronni, and the boys had moved north from Florida. His boss was of average height, average build, and nondescript in all ways except his black hair was rather longish, like the mullets from the nineteen-eighties but coming to a point part way down his forehead. The hair style reminded him of the son on either the Munsters or the Addams Family television show; it had been so long, he couldn’t remember which show nor the name of the character.

Thank you, sir, Jake replied quietly, not sure if his response was being elicited or whether it was what the man wanted to hear at the moment. He waited as Jakareh shifted his eyes from the far wall to meet Jake’s gaze.

"For the stated reasons, I am recommending you for strata five, starting tomorrow."

Thank you, sir; I appreciate your confidence in me. Jake stammered, unsure he had heard right. He was presently at strata three, the pay which permitted them to rent their apartment, purchase all their necessities, and buy an occasional luxury item. He wasn’t sure what the pay scale would be at strata five, but figured it had to be significantly higher. Ronni and the kids will be happy when I tell them tonight, he thought.

You’ve earned it, Jakareh said, but I need you to do something for The Company. The Company was how everyone working with the Transcontinental Underground Railway referred to the total organization. Jake wondered what was coming, but didn’t have to wait long. There is something wrong at TS-3; the pressure won’t go below 0.08V and we need someone to get out there to check the system. You. You’ll need traveling clothes, work clothes, meals, … and lodging if you’re there that long. All reasonable expenses will be reimbursed to your universal account as soon as you pay for any of these. I am transmitting your information ahead to SanFran. They’ll be waiting for you with all necessary clearances.

Jake’s heart sank. It was 0945 according to the holographic time display in the corner above Jakareh’s plexan desk. By the time he prepared, made it down to the terminal, and took the hour-long trip from Newport News to San Francisco, it would be nearly noon. That certainly didn’t give him much time to find, correct the problem, and return home at a reasonable time tonight.

So, when do you want me to leave, sir? Jake asked, hoping for nearly any answer other than today.

As soon as you can gather what you need; that problem has to be corrected as soon as possible. East-bound trains can’t reach maximum speed and are running twenty minutes late. That’s going to back up the entire system. Jakareh’s voice dropped at the end, indicating that he was done. To ensure Jake understood that there would be no further conversation, he said, I am sending the information for your upgrade now … you can close the door on your way out. He then focused on his desk as he looked over some documents that were scrolling through the surface and pressed at strategic locations.

Jake stood and started for the door, pausing only to say, Thank you. Jakareh dismissed him with a movement of his hand to indicate he had heard. Once on the westward moving floor, he called Ronni on his Portable Telecommunication Device (PTD), looking at her lovely face as she answered.

I’m being sent to San Francisco this morning to see if I can fix some problem out there. I don’t have any idea when I’ll be home, but I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can.

Please be careful, Jake. This will be the first time we’ve been apart since … well, since Florida. I almost lost you once, and I’m afraid of losing you for good. Ronni’s concern caused him to wonder if he should actually go. Was the offer of a raise in strata a bribe to get him to go, or was this just a minor problem that could be a quick-fix. He ran the fingers of his free hand through his hair and almost decided to back out when he heard her say, I love you with all my heart … please be careful.

I will, and I plan to be home as soon as possible. I love you too. Tell Nathan, Davy, and Lisa I love them and will see them soon. Oh, and stay off your feet as much as you can. Have Nathan and Davy do more of the housework so you can relax; remember how your legs ached when you were carrying Lisa?

I’ll try, she said with a chuckle, remembering how he had worried over her pregnancy three years ago. She added, Nathan just called to say he’s on his way home, and he was excited that his finals went well.

That’s great! I am proud of him and I’m glad he’ll be there soon to help you. I’ll call you later to let you know what’s happening. Jake closed his eyes, picturing Ronni’s face and fighting the urge to change his mind and just go home. He disconnected and returned the PTD to his pocket. He didn’t want to go, but figured it was an expected part of his job.

Jake hurried back to the control room to inform Smerline that he would be left in charge of TS-1 for an undetermined amount of time, much to Smerline’s chagrin. Although he knew the system and what needed to be done to create a complete vacuum in Tunnel Section-1, he still didn’t feel total confidence in his abilities. Jake reassured him that things would be fine, making him feel a little better.

Jake had to purchase some new clothes, because his lime green jumpsuit indicated his control room position here in Versailles Center but would stick out like the proverbial sore thumb while traveling. He took the elevator down to level four, and then left the building. He hurried to The Company Clothier and walked to the Choice Panel. He punched in the type of clothing he wanted, along with color chosen from a panel of color swatches, number and placement of pockets, type of fasteners, and desired price. He then placed his hand on a HandScan to make payment.

He stepped into the Scanning Room, where he stripped off his jumpsuit and followed the holographic directions. He stood, arms relaxed at his side, then outstretched both arms to the side, and then extended both arms to the front. Next, he squatted, and then stood and bent over at the waist. He had gotten used to this way of buying clothes and knew just what to expect. The room was scanning his body frame in all those positions so it could tailor-make requested clothing. All clothing made in this fashion was slightly loose-fitting, but extremely comfortable. One minute later his new clothes extended from the wall, folded neatly and a traveling bag extended from another area of the wall. He removed them and dressed in one of the outfits before gathering his lime green jumpsuit and hurried back to Versailles Center to catch the 1130 train for San Francisco.

Chapter 2

Jake purchased his passage at the HandScan kiosk and sat in a lounging area with around five hundred others waiting to board the train. This was the first time he had seen this many people in one place since before transporting to this time. He was immediately aware of the effects of the melding of races on society that went hand-in-hand with the melding of governments. The physical characteristics of nearly everyone in the lounging area were somewhat similar. The complexions varied from a medium russet to a tanned appearance; occasionally his scan found someone close to white and a few with darker complexions. The vast majority seemed to exhibit oriental traits in varying degrees.

Forcing his thoughts away from interbreeding, he mentally studied the task that awaited him at the other end. Jakareh said that TS-3 was having problems. TS-3 was Tunnel Section three, the final of the three sections going east to west, and ran from a short distance west of Salt Lake City, Utah to San Francisco. He said they couldn’t get beyond 0.08V, which meant the lowest atmosphere they could achieve in that section was eight-hundredths of a total vacuum. Nothing greater than 0.02V could exist and still have the trains running at optimum speed.

He mentally reviewed the parameters – there were three tunnel sections, the first and third were designed for acceleration at one end and deceleration at the other, while the second, or middle section was for high speed movement. It was a little over 4300 kilometers (about 2700 miles) end-to-end. The first 800 km (500 miles) was for acceleration, the next 2700 km (1700 miles) was for running at a constant high velocity around 6400 km/h (4000 mi/h), and the final 800 km (500 miles) was for deceleration. By spreading the acceleration and deceleration over so great a distance, the passengers would feel little discomfort. All they know is that they leave one coast and an hour later are at the opposite coast. The reason they can transport passengers so quickly is that practically all air in the tunnels is pumped out, essentially producing a vacuum, permitting the trains – levitated on two rails by superconductors – to reach very high speeds because of negligible resistance and stabilized by a side rail on either side of the train, again utilizing superconductors. With the end section on the westbound side not able to evacuate totally, the trains experience more air resistance than usual, stopping them more quickly and thereby creating more stress on the passengers. For the eastbound trains, the increased air resistance would keep the trains from reaching their intended speed, thereby causing them to travel at a slower speed than normal and thus arriving later than usual.

There could be a number of reasons for the problem, Jake thought. Any one of the twenty huge vacuum pumps called AirOuts might be malfunctioning, which he hoped was not the case. That would necessitate checking each one over the 500-mile distance, a task much more time-consuming than he wanted. He just wanted to get back to Ronni and the family. A second possibility was worn out seals, but that also meant covering the entire 500-miles until the problem was found. A third possible cause was operator error, or maybe a combination of that and gauge malfunction – if a pressure gauge was supplying the operator with incorrect readings, he might make wrong decisions based on those readings. Anyway, he wouldn’t know for sure until he got there.

T-U-R number W-1130 will board in two minutes, the synthetic voice spoke from several speakers in the ceiling of the huge terminal. Jake had never traveled on one of these trains, even though he had worked for The Company for four years. This was going to be a unique experience.

From his vantage point in the terminal, Jake couldn’t see whether the train he was about to board had already arrived. He gazed at the far wall, approximately fifty feet high and convex as if he was looking at a cylinder lying on its side. The color was black and spotless; apparently the coating didn’t show marks or fingerprints … just a flat-black finish. Suddenly the wall parted vertically, similar to the cars – transcaps – he first saw in Florida. A low frequency tone emanated from the speakers while the top half moved upward and the bottom half moved downward until a huge gap existed. People started moving forward to enter.

When Jake reached the opening, he saw another opening, somewhat identical to the first one but about twenty meters beyond the first. He realized these were the outer tube and the inner tube that the train passed through on its trips. The inner tube was a tunnel supported by shock absorbers within the larger tunnel. This design was necessary to keep the train’s motion unaffected by disturbances in the earth’s crust, like earthquakes. Passing through the second opening he saw the train – the same color and shape as the outer wall, now opened. There were no visible windows, which made sense because they would be moving so fast underground that windows would be rendered useless. Since people moved off in both directions once they had entered, Jake figured he was looking at somewhere around the middle of the train. He mentally calculated the front of the train to be to his right, judging from his orientation in the terminal and therefore turned left, wanting to sit toward the rear.

Small bright lights illuminated the floor as he walked until he found an unoccupied seat and claimed it. He stored his bag in the compartment under his seat. The only way he knew to do this was by mimicking what other travelers were doing. He watched others pull down their shoulder restraints until they locked, and he followed suit. He studied the interior and found it to be nothing special: the interior was illuminated by soft blue lights now that the floor lights had gone out, the seats were in pairs along each side with enough room to recline, and the train appeared to be in one piece, not segmented into separate cars. Again, this made sense because their travel was in a straight line from beginning to end and it made the train all that more streamlined.

Jake looked up in time to see the large door close and heard the announcement, All passengers, lock in and remain seated. Depressurization commencing; train will depart in one hundred twenty seconds. Jake realized that where the train now sat was known as the AirLock, a section of the tunnel only slightly longer than the train and shielded from the rest of the tunnel by a thick door that opened and closed like the iris of an eye, except it had the capability to totally close. Once the train arrived at this end, the door was closed and the AirLock was pressurized before the passengers could disembark. After boarding, the AirLock had to be depressurized before the door could be opened to permit the trip to commence.

There were time alerts every thirty seconds. When ten seconds was reached, each second was announced, which caused Jake to reminisce about the NASA launches when he was a kid growing up in Maryland … he almost expected the announcer to say, Blast off.

The experience of going from rest to 4000 miles per hour in fifteen minutes was a new experience for Jake, but not nearly as noticeable as he feared; taking off in a commercial airliner in Jake’s former life pushed him back much harder into his seat.

Some of the passengers reclined, trying to catch a few minutes of sleep, but Jake was too wired. After the initial fifteen minutes, the slight feeling of acceleration eased and as far as he could tell, with the super-smooth ride, it felt like they were sitting still in the terminal – the absence of any outside reference rendered him unable to tell whether they were moving or not. He had to force the realization that he was moving in excess of Mach-six, or more than six times the normal speed of sound.

He finally laid his head back and rested for about twenty minutes until he noticed his weight shifting forward, which signaled the beginning of the deceleration phase. Since he felt more force in this phase than the acceleration phase, he knew they were slowing down quicker than they should; obviously, the vacuum problem was legit.

The man sitting in the next seat looked to Jake and said, This is different. It feels like we’re slowing down quicker than usual.

Not wanting to alarm the man, Jake replied, It does seem like that, but this is my first trip on this train so I’m not quite sure what to expect.

First time, huh? I’ve been traveling on this thing for six years now. I live in Virginia Beach and work in Oakland, right close to SanFran so I commute. He closed his eyes and laid his head back, making Jake think he was going to sleep until the end, but without opening his eyes, he asked, Where do you live?

Philly.

Nice place. They have a good wall there … not much of one around Virginia Beach … outsiders roaming around everywhere. Guard Troopers are always chasing them out, but they just keep coming back in. Don’t know how to get rid of them permanently.

I’ve only been in Philly four years and still don’t totally understand the walls; what’s up with them?

Where you been? The walls have been there for generations. They keep the undesirables out of the cities or else it would not be safe to leave your living quarters. Don’t get me wrong, I have heard there are some nice people out there, but most are wild and criminal types. No, it’s best to keep them out if you can. Don’t take chances. After a long pause, he opened his eyes and focused on Jake. Are you from the outside?

I don’t think so, Jake answered, and seeing what seemed like fear in the man’s expression, he said, I came north from Florida. There weren’t any walls down there … at least in south Florida where we came from.

The man sat up, now fully focused on Jake. No walls? Were there no outsiders down there? I can’t imagine there being no walls. Did the people live in peace or something?

Jake wondered what the man’s reaction would be if he told him the full story of being transported to this time from the far distant past, and that the enemy lived within the deserted city instead of outside. He considered telling him, but changed his mind, figuring it would take much longer than the time remaining until they both disembarked and went their separate ways. He simply said, Yeah, something like that.

Holy Supreme Being, the man muttered, I didn’t think there was any place where people live peaceful enough to go without walls. Why did you ever leave?

The train was almost stopped and Jake wasn’t in the mood to take this conversation in directions that could delay his trip, so he said, It’s a long story that you probably wouldn’t believe, but ends with me coming north to find work.

Passengers, please remain seated and restrained until told to release, the synthetic voice resonated from the ceiling of the train. The man reached under his seat to retrieve his items, suddenly oblivious to Jake’s presence. Jake wondered whether he had offended the man in some way, but decided to not worry about it … he would probably never see this man again.

Everyone waited while air was allowed to fill the AirLock, and then the train moved outside where it and the track section it was sitting on were elevated and rotated 180° and then returned to the same level. The train was now ready to make its return trip eastward, and moved slowly back into the AirLock.

Passengers may release now. Jake returned his shoulder bars to the upright position, gathered his bag from beneath the seat, and stood to follow the other passengers when the man he had been sitting beside tapped him on the shoulder. Turning, he saw the man take something from one of his pockets and extend it.

Here, take my card. My name is Stampor Cardone and if I can be of any assistance while you’re here, just contact me. Jake examined the card, which was extremely thin but rigid, and was clear with a name and other pertinent information scrolling through its surface.

Jake looked up quizzically, as the man continued, I’m not exactly sure about what you ‘re here for, but my trade is finding things. So, if there is something you are looking for, contact me. With that, the man walked out, leaving Jake standing, pondering the meaning of his words.

Chapter 3

As Jake exited the train, a tall woman stepped forward to intercept him. She was dressed all in black with black hair piled unceremoniously above a thin face accentuated by a prominent nose. You are Jacob Myers, she said, extending her hand.

Cautiously, Jake shook her hand and said, Uh, yes, but how did you …

We received a file on you, which is including your image an hour ago, she interrupted. My name’s Georginette Byloscan, and I am being the western terminal receptionist. How were your preparations?

They went well, Jake answered simply, and I am pleased to meet you. He wondered about her manner of speech, obviously different from what he was used to.

If you will walking this way, I can trying to get you situated. Jake was relieved to now have a guide, not knowing the area. He walked beside the woman in silence for a few minutes until she turned to face him.

Did you having a good trip?

It was okay … my first time on the train.

I have traveled it many times, don’t really thinking too much about it anymore. Did you noticing the vacuum problem? We are having some complaints about it lately; are you thinking you can fix it?

Jake waited a few moments before saying, I’ll try to find the problem, but fixing it will probably be up to someone else. The speech was still throwing him and he had to concentrate to make sure he got the full meaning of her end of the conversation.

Well, we are being here, the woman said curtly as they walked through an automatically opened door into an elevator. Jake stood back while she selected a floor and waited until the door opened. She led the way to the moving floor and stepped on; Jake followed and then searched the walls for some sign of their location and which direction the floor was taking them.

We are being here, the woman clipped as she stepped off, following me. Jake acquiesced, but was having an increasingly difficult time liking this guide because of her curt detachment. He thought, besides her speech, she has the personality of cardboard.

She walked about twenty paces to a door, where she placed her hand on a HandScan. The door opened and she motioned Jake to enter. Jake turned back to see if she was following, but she was already gone. He walked to a man sitting at a desk, figuring him to be the receptionist. The man looked up and queried, You are Jacob Myers?

Yes, Jake replied while taking in the rather spartan room. Other than the seemingly standard holographic clock displaying military time, the room was bare, with only the plexan desk as furniture.

The man spoke, seemingly into mid-air, Jacob Myers has arrived. He paused as if in a trance, and then said, You may enter, as he gestured toward a newly opened passageway in the wall. Jake walked in as a heavyset man rose and crossed the floor to meet him, hand extended.

We are welcoming you to the western terminal of the TUR, Mr. Myers. Having a seat. As Jake sat in a chair positioned in front of the plexan desk, the man re-positioned himself behind it and said, I am being Tyholdren Narwawl, Head of the Western Directorate. Was your trip enjoyable?

Quite, Jake replied, but very quick. He noticed some of the same speech patterns the woman exhibited a few minutes ago but was jarred from his speculation when the man spoke again.

"That’s what we are wanting to hear – quick and enjoyable, Narwawl said with a smile. As dower as the woman had been, this man seemed affable. He focused all his attention on Jake and then said, We were hearing good things about you, Mr. Myers. I am hoping you can be helping our situation while you are being here."

Thank you for the kind words, Mr. Na … Nar …

Nar-wall.

Sorry, Mr. Narwawl, I guess I wasn’t paying attention. I will try to remember next time.

Do not be worrying about it, Narwawl said with a wide grin, it is not an easy name to getting the first time. I am not sure I even remembering it at times. Why do not you just calling me Ty?

Jake was sure now … he liked this guy. Thank you … Ty. I’ll certainly try to find the reason something is fouling up the vac system. Is there anything you can tell me … anything that might help me narrow down the possibilities?

I do not know, like what?

"Well, for starters, when did you notice the problem? What measures have