Our Children's Children

31

Steve Wilson came back into the pressroom. The desk lamp still was lit, painting a circle of light in the darkened room. The teletypes muttered against the wall. Almost three o'clock, he thought. He'd have to get some sleep. Even with the best of luck, even if he could go to sleep, he had at the most four hours or so before he'd have to be back on the job again.

As he approached the desk, Alice Gale rose from the chair where she had been sitting in the dark. She still wore the white robe. He wondered if it was all she had. Perhaps it was, he told himself, for the people from the future had carried little luggage with them.

"Mr. Wilson," she said, "we have been waiting for you, hoping that you would return. My father wants to talk with you."

"Certainly," said Wilson. "Good morning, Mr. Gale."

Gale came out of the darkness and laid his attaché case upon the desk top.

"I am somewhat embarrassed," he said, "I find myself in a position that could be awkward. I wonder if you would listen to me and tell me how to go about this thing I want to do. You appear to be a man who knows his way around."

Wilson, moving to the desk, stiffened. The whole thing, he sensed, as Gale had said, had an awkwardness about it. He sensed he was going to be placed in a difficult position. He waited.

"We are well aware," said Gale, "that our coming from the future has placed a terrible burden upon the governments and the peoples of the world. We did the little that we could. In areas where we knew there would be food shortages, we arranged the delivery of wheat and other foodstuffs. We stand ready to supply any labor that will be required, for we represent a large, and idle, labor force. But the building of the tunnels and the supplying to us of the tools we will need in the Miocene will represent a vast expenditure of funds…"

He reached down into the circle of light on the desk top and, unlatching the case, opened it. It was packed with small leather bags. Lifting one of these, he pulled it open and poured out on the desk top a shower of cut stones that flashed and glittered in the light.

"Diamonds," he said.

Wilson gulped. "But why?" he whispered. "Why diamonds? Why bring them to me?"

"It was the only way," said Gale, "that we could bring anything of value in small enough volume to be conveniently transported. And we know that, if dumped upon the market all at once, these stones would ruin prices. But if they were fed into the market a few at a time surreptitiously they would have but small effect. This especially would be true if their existence were kept secret And we have been very careful that there be no duplications, that there are no paradoxes. It would have been possible to have brought from the future many of the famous gems that now exist and are well known. We have not done this All the stones in this case are ones which were found and cut in your future. None of them is known at the present day.

"Put them back" said Wilson horrified. "Good God man, can you imagine what might happen if it became known what was in that case. Billions of dollars…"

"Yes many billions" Gale said calmly. "At the going prices in this age perhaps as much as a trillion. Worth much more than they were in our time. We five hundred years from now did not place as great a value on such things as you do now…"

Unhurriedly he picked up the stones put them back into the bag fitted the bag back into the case closed and latched it.

"I wish most heartily" said Wilson "that you had not told me of this."

"But we had to" Alice said. "Don t you see? You are the only one we know, the only one that we can trust. We could safely tell you and you could tell us what to do."

Wilson struggled to put some calmness into his words. "Let us all sit down," he said, "and talk this over. Let's not speak too loudly. I don't think there is anyone around, but someone could walk in on us."

They went back beyond the circle of light, pulled three chairs together and sat down.

"Now suppose you tell me," Wilson said, "what this is all about."

"We had thought," said Gale, "that the proceeds from these stones, wisely marketed, could compensate in part some of the actual costs that helping us entails. Not one government, not one people, but all the governments and all the peoples of the Earth. Putting the proceeds into a fund, perhaps, and once all the stones are sold, allocating the monies in proportion to the actual costs involved."

"In that case…"

"I anticipate your question. Why were the stones not divided and offered each government involved? There are two reasons this was not done. The more people who are involved, the greater the possibility that the news would leak out. Our only chance was to keep the number who knew of it at a minimum. Among us there are not more than six who know. Here, you are the only one so far. There is, as well, the matter of trust. On the basis of history, we knew there were few governments we could trust — actually, only two, you and the British. On the basis of our study, we decided on the United States. There had been some feeling the United Nations should be the organization entrusted with the gems. But, quite frankly, we had little confidence in the UN. I was supposed to hand the stones to the President. I decided against this when I realized how many problems he had weighing on his mind, how he was forced to depend upon the judgment of so many people."

"I know only one thing," said Wilson. "You can't keep on carrying this case around with you. You have to be placed under security until it has been put into some safe place. Fort Knox, probably, if the government is willing to accept it."

"You mean, Mr. Wilson, that I'll have to be placed under guard. I'm not sure I like that."

"Christ, I don't know," said Wilson. "I don't even know where to begin."

He reached for the phone and dialed. "Jane, you still on duty? Do you know — has the President retired?"

"An hour ago," said Jane.

"Good," said Wilson. "He should have long before then."

"Is it important, Steve? He left orders if there was anything important that he should be called."

"No, this can wait. Do you think you can get hold of Jerry Black?"

"I'll try. I think he's still around."

The room was silent except for the teletypes. Gale and Alice sat unstirring in their chairs. Light still shone beneath the press lounge doors, but there was no sound of typing.

"We're sorry to upset you so," Alice said to Wilson. "But we were at our wits' ends. We didn't know what to do."

"It's all right," said Wilson.

"You don't know how much this means to us," she said. "The rest of the people may not know till later, but we'll know. That we did not come as beggars. That we paid our way. That's important to us."

Footsteps came down the corridor and turned in at the door.

"What's going on, Steve?" asked Jerry Black. "We need a couple of men," said Wilson. "I'm one of them," said Black. "I can find another." "It'll be a favor," said Wilson. "I have no jurisdiction. I'm acting on my own. It'll be until tomorrow morning, as soon as I can see the President."

"It's OK," said Black, "if it's for the President." "I think," said Wilson, "that it might be for him."

"All right," said Black. "What is it?" "Mr. Gale has an attaché case. I won't tell you what is in

it. You wouldn't want to know. But it's important. And I want him to keep it — him and no one else. Until we know what to do with it."

"That can be managed. You think it needs two of us?"

"I'd feel better if there were two of you."

"No trouble," said Black. "Let me use your phone."