Page 107

At this, the man hesitated. “I don’t know it.”
“And you claim to come from the future?”
“Yes,yes!Look, just find Pendergast, he’ll explain everything!”
Leng took a step away from the cell and turned to Norcross. “May I see his possessions?” he murmured.
Norcross led the way back along the corridor to a tenantless cell that served as a storage area. He unlocked a metal drawer, slid it out, placed it on a table in the center of the room, and opened it. He handed Leng a pair of white cotton gloves, then stepped away.
Leng glanced at the two items inside the tray. Then he reached in and removed one of them, holding it in his hand. A very queer feeling came over him as he gazed at the object. A glowing rectangle was set in a black frame, backlit as if by a candle. But there was no candle or even the sensation of heat, and the source of the light was mysterious. Within this illuminated rectangle, black numbers in an ugly font were blinking. The biggest set of numbers read2:01 27, with the last two incrementing every second. He watched until these two numbers reached59, and then they reset to00, and the time changed from2:01to2:02.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his heavy gold pocket watch, which told him the time was six minutes after two.It always did run a little fast, he thought to himself as he slipped it back into his waistcoat pocket.
The object was held by a wrist strap that resembled gutta-percha or India rubber, but of marvelous flexibility and strength. Leng was reminded of the “wristlet watches” currently in vogue on the Continent: women’s bracelets with small clocks attached, instead of the far more sensible and reliable pocket watch.
The silence lengthened as Leng pondered the blinking numbers.
Then he laid the object aside and took out the other one. It was much less impressive, but finely made, a thin rectangle of glass on one side, set into a case of brushed metal like aluminum. The glass surface on one face was blank. There were a few buttons on the side, which did not respond when he pushed them. The metal back had several round pieces of glass in one corner and, bizarrely, the image of an apple in the middle, polished to a high gloss. The object was entirely inert, appearing to have no function whatsoever.
He put both devices back in the tray and indicated for Norcross to lock it up once again. Then he followed the resident down the hall a second time.
“Are you getting Pendergast?” the man in the cell asked eagerly as they once more came into view.
“May I have your name?” asked Leng.
“Ferenc. Gaspard Ferenc.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ferenc. I should like to ask you a few questions.”
The man wiped sweat from his forehead with the butt of his wrist. “Can you please make it quick? It’s been at least four hours. I have to get back,right away…” His voice started to rise again.
“I shall be quick.” Already—from years of observation—Leng sensed this man was not insane. But he kept this to himself. “Now, Mr. Ferenc, would you please repeat for me the information you’ve given to others? Especially about this man you seek—Pendergast.”
The man fought back another spasm of panic and impatience. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m from the future. Well, not the future in a literal sense, but an alternate timeline.”
Leng was careful to betray no expression. “What was your purpose in coming here?”
The man hesitated. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then tell me what youdiddo.”
The man hung his head. “I came back to purchase some coins. Coins that would be very valuable in…the future.”
“And how, exactly, did you ‘come back’?”
“I used Pendergast’s machine.”
“Tell me about this machine.”
“It’s complicated. It involves a lot of quantum theory, and…forget it.” He fetched a long, shuddering sigh. “Pendergast hired me to fix it. You see, I worked on the Mars Perseverance mission—but of course you’d know nothing about that. I used the machine to come here and exchange some money. Nothing wrong about that.” He was babbling.
The Mars Perseverance mission, Leng repeated in his mind. “And this man Pendergast? What is his role in this situation?” He spoke in a calm, coaxing voice.
Ferenc suddenly fell silent. Then he said calmly, “Doctor, I don’t believe I caught your name.”
Leng ignored the question. “Are you saying that this man you’re looking for, Pendergast, also used the machine to come back here?”
Ferenc hesitated, as if warned by some sixth sense. “I’ve answered your questions.”