“Who’s they?” asked the doctor. This was why he was briefed.
“The rest of the people Tim took in there, Sims, Margie, Jake, Coyle,” Ann paused, thinking.
The President leaned over to the man on his right and said, “Get in touch with Miser and tell that SOB; there are civilians in there. We can prove it. You make him understand that!”
Ann continued, counting the people in her head. “The Paulsons, Jenny, Mark, the kids, oh, and my workers,” Ann finished with.
“Do you know how many there are in there?” the Doctor asked as he made more notes.
“I guess there are fifteen in all, counting the three prisoners,” Ann said.
“Prisoners?” the doctor asked.
“Yeah, my three workers, I already counted them.”
The doctor made another note. “Can we get back to Timtown? Can you describe it?”
“It’s huge and parts of it are beautiful,” Ann said projecting her awe.
“How many parts are there?” the doctor asked, also enthralled.
“I’m not sure, I didn’t get everywhere.”
“Can you tell me about the places you know about?”
“Yes,” Ann sat silent again.
“What is the first part you remember?” The doctor wasted no time.
“The entrance!” Ann’s voice rose considerably.
“Can you describe it?”
“It was, ah, it was such a surprise. We’d been trudging up the mountains, and Tim kept telling us not to worry because we were going to this fantastic place. Then he says; we’re here, and there’s nothing, just a big split in the rocks. I thought he had really cracked up. Then all of a sudden the rocks started to dissolve, and there was this pretty blue light. Then we went through it.” Ann stopped at that point.
The doctor quickly asked another question. “Can you describe the inside? The first thing you saw?”
“We went down a tunnel, it was dark.”
“Where did you go?”
“Into a chamber, Tim called it the control chamber.”
“What was that like?”
“Like a cave, but there was nothing there except the strange walls.”
“What about the walls?”
“They were covered with tiny plants.”
“What kind of plants?”
“Like a really tight hedge and they felt good. Oh no, that’s not right, they made me feel good. Mr. V said the people who built the base; put the plants on the walls to eliminate stress. They’re really advanced to what we’re used to.”
“Mr. V, who is that?” the doctor asked.
“He’s the computer who runs the place.”
“Can you describe him?”
“Ah, not really, except, he’s just a voice. That’s why Tim named him Mr. V, Mr. Voice.”
“This Mr. V never made himself available then?”
“He wasn’t a someone; he was just a voice that was everywhere. He did appear as one of the old inhabitants to guard the prisoners, though.”
“Can you describe this old inhabitant?”
“Really tall, but just like us.”
“How tall?” asked the doctor, almost breathless.
“I just came up to his stomach, but not scary or anything, just tall, and he was a hunk.”
“You’ve mentioned prisoners?”
“They were three men Tim captured,” Ann’s kind tone changed. “They had been Scum,” Ann spit it out. “Tim caught them torturing people and brought them inside. Mr. V brought his replica of the Sooaunts—they built the base—to guard them. They sure didn’t cause any more trouble.”
“This replica, is that one of the things you and Tim argued about being dangerous?”
“Oh no, that guy could never leave the base. It was what Mr. V knew that Tim was afraid of because if someone got a hold of the technology they could rule the world. We’ve already gone over this!” Ann said annoyed.
“You didn’t think it was possible, so you argued with Tim about it?” the doctor questioned.
“I’ve already told you, it was possible!” Ann scolded. “It was definitely possible, but that wasn’t why we argued. Anyone who has access to Mr. V can do anything they want, and no one can stop them. Tim was just being so dramatic, like he was supposed to be the great protector, or something. I didn’t want to get cooped up inside a mountain for the rest of my life. Besides, he wasn’t there when my family needed him, and I didn’t want him telling me what to do.”
“What was the argument then?”
“Well, mostly about Arty.”
“What did you two argue about, concerning Arty?”
“Oh, Arty was a cripple. Tim rescued him from the hospital and brought him to Timtown to be fixed, and Arty went a little overboard,” Ann continued.
The President, Ed, and especially Samuel Steiner leaned farther forward.
“This is getting good,” Ed whispered. The President agreed with a small nod. Samuel was silent, but intensely interested.
“What do you mean by fixed?” the doctor asked.
“Mr. V could make it so Arty wasn’t crippled anymore?”
“You believed this to be possible then?”
“At first I don’t know if I really did, but Mr. V did it, well sort of. I mean, Arty doesn’t really walk now, but he could if he wanted to.”
“You said Arty went overboard. Can you describe overboard?” the doctor asked quickly, not wanting to waste any time.
“He,” Ann giggled, “threw his body away, and that really pissed Tim off.”
“I don’t think I understand?”
“Tim left Arty with Mr. V to be fixed, so he could walk again, and Arty went and replaced his body with this cute little metal thing that floats along. It just has mechanical arms and no legs.”
“It floats in midair?” questioned the doctor. It sounded like he didn’t believe Ann.
“Yes, and boy, can it go fast!”
“I’d love to see you two stuck in the same room.” The President looked quickly at Samuel.
“Do you think this is possible?” the doctor asked, with kind of a snicker.
“Mr., we are talking about Timtown,” Ann scolded him for his condescending attitude, “everything is possible there!”
The President chuckled to himself. The doctor, he knew, had not been entirely briefed on Timtown and was having trouble grasping the truth.
“And, Tim was concerned about what Arty had done to himself, correct?” the chastised doctor commented
“Oh yes, Tim said he constituted a freak. It was a little weird, I have to admit.”
“And you stood up for Arty, then? On what he had done to himself.”
“Not really, because I thought it was a little weird too. I just told you that,” Ann rebuked the doctor.
“I’m sorry; it’s just that I’m trying to get to the bottom of the argument between you and Tim.”
“Oh, Tim was convinced the alteration—the abomination he called it—had made Arty think differently. I think he was just jealous because Arty took over after that.”
“Stop!” the President commanded. He sat back in his chair and thought for a moment.
“Ha! It’s just as I’ve been saying all along!” Samuel shouted. “The kid isn’t in charge! I told you; you’ve been dealing with the wrong person.”
“Samuel, god-damn-it, this only means we know, for sure, who the other party is. It does not constitute a change in our policy,” the President returned.
“But, Tim is not in charge, you heard her!” Samuel wailed.
“She is not privy to what is really going on in there. I’m sure of that,” the President said. Let’s go on, please.”
The video started again, the doctor asking. “What made Tim think Arty was thinking differently?”
“Because, when Tim first found the base, he said some guy killed him at the entrance. Anyway, Mr. V fixed him up, and Tim said that he had felt entirely different while he had undergone the surgery
, or whatever it was.”
“Did he explain this different feeling?”
“Yes, he claimed when he was dead, or only his body was dead, there was a short time that he felt, ah? Oh, let me think about how he told me this. He said, ‘without his body to worry about, his mind was able to see much clearer,’ that’s it, he thought much clearer.”
“So Tim figured, Arty had gone through the same thing when he was operated on?”
“Well, that’s part of it. You see, Arty threw his body away. The part about the strange feeling was only temporary with Tim. Arty doesn’t have a body anymore, so Tim thinks that Arty is totally different all the time. He says Arty is not human anymore.”
“And what do you think?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Arty was nice to me. He didn’t try to boss me around, like Tim. He said it was okay to talk about Timtown, and he said he would protect us from anything bad.”
“Tim didn’t want to protect you?”
“Ah, I don’t know what Tim wanted to do? It was like he was afraid of everything, all the time. I mean, he had no reason to be. He had all that protection stuff, and the hand lasers. No one could hurt him.”
“Maybe he was afraid for you?” the doctor stated.
“Could be, but I could have taken care of myself, if he would have let me have any of the stuff. All I got was to ride one of the Sky-bikes and then I couldn’t get out of his sight.”
“By stuff, you are referring to what?”
“Ah stuff, ah, like the protection thingy Tim always wore? That’s what you’re wondering about?”
“Yes, that sort of thing. Tell me as much as you can about those sort of things.”
“Oh geez, ahum, the protection suit, that’s what Tim called it, was a, ah, a force field. It was an energy field that surrounded his entire body and protected him.”
“You couldn’t see this protection field then?”
“No, I told you it was energy. No wait, I made a mistake. Normally it couldn’t be seen, but it could be made to change colors, if you wanted, but normally it was transparent.”
“How strong was it?”
“I don’t know, it was strong though? I remember Tim fired a bullet into his hand and the bullet ended up sitting in his palm, and he wasn’t hurt.”
“That is strong,” the doctor commented. “Is there any other things, or gadgets that Tim used? You mentioned lasers?”
“Yeah, hand lasers. Ah, they were really small, he showed me once. Real thin, round things that fit in his palm, and fired a laser down his finger. They were real powerful, if he wanted them to be.”
“He could adjust them then?”
“Yeah, if he wanted to just stun someone he could. He didn’t like to ‘really’ blast anyone. He got mad one time and really fried a couple of these Scum guys, then he was really down in the dumps about it.”
“You mentioned Sky-bikes?” the doctor said as he made another note.
“Yeah, they were neat. Just like motorcycles, but without wheels. I wish he would have let me go farther, but I’m just a girl, you know. Arty said it was okay, but Tim was being an asshole. He said it was too dangerous.”
“Where did you ride them, where there was any danger?”
“Outside Timtown. God, I had been stuck inside that place for weeks, and I wanted to get out. So did everyone else, so we all got Sky-bikes and went for a ride.”
“You enjoyed that?”
“Oh yeah, they’re neat. Like really fast, but Timmy Boy made sure that I didn’t have too much fun.”
“He was still trying to protect you, maybe?”
“I know, I know, but nothing happened. I mean what’s the big deal. Tim’s there, Arty’s there. No one is going to be able to hurt us. Those two could have blasted the shit out of anyone.”
“I guess maybe they didn’t want to hurt anyone,” the doctor said, “And you never went again?”
“No, Mr. Sims disappeared, and Tim got all hyped up at Arty.”
“What was he so excited at Arty for?”
“Well, Tim claimed that Arty was responsible.”
“Why would he accuse Arty?”
“Because Sims sided with Tim about Timtown. He was afraid, just like Tim. They were afraid Arty was going to cause some shit if he took over completely.”
The President said nothing, but looked directly at Samuel, and lifted his eyebrows.
“And, Arty had a different idea about what to do with the base?” the doctor asked, getting a feel for the politics in Timtown.
“Yes.”
“What did Arty have in mind, I mean, what did he see as the purpose for the base?”
“I don’t know, he never really told me much. I know that he wanted to run things, and wanted Tim to stay out of it. He felt Tim was being too cautious. Arty knew no one could hurt us and he thought it was silly to hide like Tim wanted us to.”
“Did you feel that Arty was right?”
“Right, smight, who cares? Shit, the world’s all screwed up. Scum running all over. They were in charge outside, and we were stuck inside. Arty said, ‘Fuck em, they can’t hurt us, so let’s go kick some ass!’ That made some simple sense to me, but Sims and Tim had some complicated scenario going on in their heads.”
“They didn’t want to go outside? They surely couldn’t have been afraid,” the doctor said, getting involved.
“Of course they didn’t have to be afraid of anything outside, but they had this thing about Arty. It’s hard to explain."
“Can you please try?”
“Ah, they were convinced Arty was going to conquer the world, like I said.”
“And you didn’t agree with them?”
“I don’t know, I mean, like who cares. Shit, the place is a mess, someone’s got to run it, and Arty would be better than anybody else.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because Arty’s smarter, and the most powerful. No one could tell him what to do, so he could do it better.”
Samuel Steiner just smiled.
“What about Tim?”
“What about him, he just wants to do nothing?”
“Does Arty run Timtown then, at this time?”
“Um, I don’t know. Him and Tim fight about it, but I don’t know who’s really in charge.”
“You said just a moment ago that Arty was the most powerful. Is he allowing Tim to remain because he is his brother?”
“Sure, I kept telling Tim that, but he wouldn’t listen. He claims that Arty isn’t real anymore, and he refers to him as Clank. It hurts Arty to hear that.”
“How do you know?”
“Arty told me. He doesn’t want to go against his own brother, but Tim won’t listen. He just keeps disappearing, and going to his special, secret place he calls Donnart-Ele-Io.”
“Can you describe this, ah, Darnan-elsio?”
“It’s Donnart-Ele-Io,” Ann corrected him, “and nah, I can’t go there, it’s just for the Number One, that’s Tim.”
“Arty can’t go there either?” the doctor questioned. He knew how important this was.
“Nope just Tim, I told you.”
“What is this Number One thing you mentioned?” the doctor asked carefully.
“I really don’t understand it all that well, but it was something that Mr. V gave Tim, before the rest of us came there.”
“Something, ah, I can’t get a grasp on what you’re trying to describe?” the doctor asked. “This Number One, is a thing, a place, a what?”
“Oh, excuse me, uhm, I’m sorry. Number One means Tim has special access to the central computer.”
“To this Mr. V that you mentioned?” the doctor continued.
“That’s the part I don’t understand,” Ann confessed, sounding genuinely confused. “At first there was Mr. V, but after Tim went to Donnart-Ele-Io, he was given control of another computer. He calls it Et. I guess this Et is more powerful than Mr. V. I think that’s why Arty is so mad at Tim. He can’t take completely over.” br />
“Stop!” the President commanded. He looked directly at Samuel, as the video went blank. “Is this enough to make you think about what you have been doing?” the President asked.
“It doesn’t prove a thing?” Samuel snorted.
“It proves that this is all about who has the biggest computer, the same thing we fear nowadays,” Ed said.
“She said she was guessing,” Samuel returned
“She’s confirmed there is a struggle, and Arty is mad at Tim because Tim is Number One. What does that mean to you Sam?” Ed asked. “And, don’t say nothing because you aren’t that dumb.”
“We can’t confirm anything from the blathering of a teenage girl!” Samuel yelled.
“Enough!” the President interrupted. “Let’s see the rest of the tape.”
The video started again.
“Arty is mad at Tim, can you explain more?” the doctor asked.
“Arty’s mad at Tim because he’s running the base now, but Tim still has control of the bigger computer, and they’re both acting like little boys.”
The President looked quickly at Samuel, but didn’t say anything.
“Do you want to go back there?” the doctor asked.
“I don’t know, I would like to see the forest again, I guess.”
“The forest?”
“Oh yeah, it’s really fantastic, it’s the best part of Timtown.”
“You are saying; there is a forest contained inside this base, inside a mountain?”
“I’m not just saying it, it’s true, and it’s really, really big.”
“Can you describe, big, for me?”
“Really big. Mr. V told me once, but I can’t remember exactly.”
“Can you make a guess?”
“I remember that it was many thousands of acres?”
“You believed that?”
“I saw it! I spent most of my time in there, and it was so big you couldn’t see the other end or the sides of it.”
The doctor didn’t ask anything more immediately, but scanned his notes.
“You mention Scum. I take that to mean some sort of people,” the doctor asked after close to minute.
“Scum are the people doing all the bad things. They are really terrible. They killed my family.”
“I see,” the doctor said. “Does Arty want to do anything to the Scum?”
“I don’t know. I think he doesn’t really concern himself with that part of it? They can’t get into the base, so he doesn’t worry about them.”
“Is there anyway anybody else that might be able to get inside the base?”
“No. I don’t think so. Not without Tim letting them in.”