No True Echo , livre ebook

PUBLISHER S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jones, Gareth P.
No true Echo / Gareth P. Jones.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-4197-0784-1 (hardback) - ISBN 978-1-61312-486-4 (ebook) [1. Time travel-Fiction. 2. Mothers-Fiction. 3. Science fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.J712No 2015
[Fic]-dc23
2015006549
Text copyright 2015 Gareth P. Jones
Jacket photography copyright 2015 WIN-Initiative/Getty Images;
Ron Evans/ Photolibrary/Getty Images
Book design by Maria T. Middleton
First published in Great Britain by Hot Key Books in 2015.
Published in 2015 by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
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For
PATRICK YARKER
and
NICOLA FURNEAUX ,
two inspirational teachers
I have an affection for it, for
it was the offspring of happy days ,
when death and grief were but words ,
which found no true echo in my heart .
MARY SHELLEY on Frankenstein
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ECHO TECHNOLOGY
CHAPTER 2 SCARLETT WHITE
CHAPTER 3 THE VALUE OF COMMUNITY
CHAPTER 4 EMBRACING THE CHAOS
CHAPTER 5 SOMETHING STRANGE
CHAPTER 6 SOMETHING NOTHINGY
CHAPTER 7 CORNISHSTEIN
CHAPTER 8 CONSEQUENCES OF ACTIONS
CHAPTER 9 THE MEANING OF ACCIDENTS
CHAPTER 10 A CHOICE OF BISCUITS
CHAPTER 11 MELANCHOLY AND DESPAIRING
CHAPTER 12 CONSPIRACY THEORIES
CHAPTER 13 PLAUSIBLE
CHAPTER 14 A PICTURE OF REGRET
CHAPTER 15 A BURIED BOOK
CHAPTER 16 THE WORD PROTOCOL
CHAPTER 17 CAT THEFT
CHAPTER 18 A CAT CALLED RASCAL
CHAPTER 19 THE GREEN DOOR
CHAPTER 20 THE RECLAMATION OF SENSE
CHAPTER 21 A NIGHT AT THE HOSPITAL
CHAPTER 22 THURSDAY AGAIN
CHAPTER 23 SAME OLD, SAME OLD
CHAPTER 24 MONSTROUS THINGS
CHAPTER 25 LAUREN BLISS
CHAPTER 26 REALITY AND EMOTIONS
CHAPTER 27 HISTORY MATTERS
CHAPTER 28 THE TIME PARTICLE
CHAPTER 29 TEMPORAL COMA
CHAPTER 30 POSSIBILITY OF PARENTHOOD
CHAPTER 31 THE UGLINESS OF REGRET
CHAPTER 32 THE LOVE OF HEIGHTS
CHAPTER 33 THE ETA
CHAPTER 34 SECOND SATURDAY
CHAPTER 35 ECHO JUMPING
CHAPTER 36 DEMONSTRATION
CHAPTER 37 AN ALTERED VERSION
CHAPTER 38 THE RESILIENCE OF RUBY DANE
CHAPTER 39 THIRD THURSDAY
CHAPTER 40 THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
CHAPTER 41 ASK YOURSELF WHO S LAUGHING
CHAPTER 42 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
CHAPTER 43 WHICH YOU ARE YOU?
CHAPTER 44 THE TRIAL
CHAPTER 45 A LIFE WITH MELODY
CHAPTER 46 DEATH AND IGNOMINY
CHAPTER 47 THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE
CHAPTER 48 HISTORY OF THE FUTURE
CHAPTER 49 CHIPS AGAIN
CHAPTER 50 BEGINNING AT THE END
CHAPTER 51 A PICTURE OF FRUSTRATION
CHAPTER 52 DEATH DROP POINT
CHAPTER 53 THE END OF EDDIE DANE
CHAPTER 54 ECHO FREE-FALLING
CHAPTER 55 MANIPULATION
CHAPTER 56 THE END OF THE WORLD
CHAPTER 57 FINAL CHIPS
CHAPTER 58 THURSEABER
CHAPTER 59 THE TESTIMONY OF MR. EDWARD DANE
CHAPTER 60 THE BEGINNING
NOTES ON THE US VERSION OF NO TRUE ECHO
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ECHO TECHNOLOGY
SINCE THE TRIAL, LIPHOOK HAD FOUND HERSELF FEELING increasingly nostalgic. She didn t like it. All the other pensioners on the coach might have been content to natter on about the old days, but Liphook had never been interested in looking back.
Only now that her memories were shifting and twisting did it feel important to try to cling to the truth. A part of her hoped that by remembering, she would be able to make it more real.
She stared out at the lush landscape of Wellcome Valley. It had always bored her. The coach followed the winding valley road, passing rolling hills, tall trees, and fast-flowing rivers.
All of it so very dull.
You have arrived at the National Museum of Echo Technology, said the electronic announcement when the coach pulled into the car park.
Liphook waited for all the old people to shuffle off before standing up and making her way along the aisle. Every step hurt.
Do you need a hand, love? asked the driver.
I m fine, she replied quickly. She didn t want the driver s sympathy. She climbed off the coach and prayed that her legs didn t give up on her and justify his concerns. The doctors had recommended walking with a stick. All that technology at their disposal and that s all they could suggest. A stick. Liphook refused to walk with a stick.
By the time she reached the edge of the car park, the other pensioners were already in the queue at the bottom of the steps. She recalled how different it had been when she had first visited the place. There had been a field where the car park now stood. The trees that lined the field had been chopped down and steps built where there had been a slope. During the trial, she had explained how one of the rainiest months since records began had made the slope muddy and treacherous, but now when she tried to bring it to mind, she couldn t even remember what month it had been.
Can I help you? The enthusiastic young man wore a bright orange T-shirt with the logo of an arrow doubling back on itself to form a globe. There s an escalator a little further along.
I m fine. Liphook went to step down, but her leg wobbled and her body lurched forward. With no handrail, she would have fallen if the young man hadn t caught her. He was stronger than he looked. Or she was lighter than she realized.
Thank you, she muttered.
Please, I m supposed to look busy, said the young man. Would you mind letting me walk down with you? Otherwise they ll have me picking up rubbish again.
Liphook nodded and held out her arm, but her pride prevented her from acknowledging his kindness. Slowly they made their way down the steps together.
Have you come far today? asked the man.
It feels like a long way, yes, said Liphook. You live here in the valley, do you?
Yes. It s beautiful this time of year.
It won t last.
The man caught her eye but found no indication that she was joking. Liphook had always hated Wellcome Valley, even during the summer months when she first arrived.
By the time they reached the bottom, Liphook was out of breath. Pathetic old woman , she thought. Defeated by a flight of stairs . At the bottom of the steps, she looked at the queue snaking around the side of the building.
Will it take long? she asked.
Oh, that s the queue for the general public, said the young man. Special guests like you can go straight in.
For a moment, Liphook wondered if he had recognized her, but from the way he winked she understood that he was being kind again.
Thank you, she said. As a police officer, she had been used to jumping queues, so she felt no embarrassment about it.
She sat down on a bench inside the museum while the young man purchased her ticket.
Would you like me to accompany you? he asked when he returned. After all, I am here to help. He turned around, revealing the back of his T-shirt with the words Any Questions? Is there any specific reason for your visit today?
I ve been here before, said Liphook.
Well, you ll find we ve got a lot of new features. The aim is to keep up with technology and ensure that the museum stays relevant.
It s hard to stay relevant, she replied before accepting the man s help to stand. Together they went through a door into a room full of scientific equipment. The hologram of an annoyingly cheerful woman greeted them.
Hello, it said. Welcome to the Discovery Room, where Professor David Maguire created the first time particle accelerator, also known as an echo-
Can you turn that off? interrupted Liphook grumpily.
The hologram vanished.
Sorry, said the man. So, this room has been recreated exactly as it would have been when Professor Maguire was working here.
It looks different to me, said Liphook.
Really? Because I ve seen footage and I think they ve done an amazing job, said the young man.
It s not the same, said Liphook.
When exactly did you come here?
Before it was a museum, replied Liphook.
The young man looked at her with renewed interest. What s different? he asked. I m sure our experts would love to speak to an actual eyewitness. They re always looking for ways to make it more authentic.
As I recall, there was more blood, said Liphook.
SCARLETT WHITE
IT WAS ANOTHER MISERABLE DAY IN THE VALLEY. THE sky was so dark that I wondered if the sun had bothered to rise at all that morning. The long winter term had already dragged on forever and we weren t even halfway through yet. I could hardly remember the summer holidays, and those blue skies were now hidden behind a thick layer of cloud that rolled over the mountaintops.
No matter how far back I stood in the bus shelter, it was impossible to avoid getting wet. When the bus arrived, its front wheel hit a large puddle, ensuring that any part of me that had been dry was now wet.
Ready, Eddie? said the driver. Then jump on board and hold on steady, Eddie.
Bill, the bus driver, made the same journey every day along the winding road that connected the towns, villages, and clusters of houses in the valley. He had rhyming greetings for all the pupils. They were set on the first day he picked you up and remained unchanged until the last day he dropped you off.
I found my usual seat next to Angus.
Mornin