For Danielle, the experience was nothing like her previous travels through time. Arachnid time projections had been smooth and instantaneous. As soon as Jamari hit the switch, Danielle felt reality begin to shift around her. The movements of the Resistance crew sped up markedly, then sped up some more, so that Danielle's mind could not keep up. Then it turned into a complete blur and there was a violent shaking, like turbulence in a plane. Bad turbulence. Danielle wished that they had equipped the travel cage with a seat belt.

  For what seemed like about 60 seconds everything surrounding the cage was a murky blur, and Danielle's anxiety levels went through the roof. When would this end? Suddenly, she perceived a shape. The geometry of the powerhouse wall was coming back into focus and the shaking diminished. Then, the whole inside of the building was visible, and the turbulence stopped. Danielle's first realisation is that the time travel machinery was gone. The familiar hum of the turbines was still there, and the bare bones of dam control and power generation was visible, but all of the Resistance modifications and additions were missing.

  Danielle found herself perched up on top of the same metal staircase that she had climbed to enter the cage. On the floor of the powerhouse was a single individual, a young woman of mixed race who seemed amazed to see Danielle. Beside her was an older man, in his seventies.

  "Danielle!" called out the woman. "Is it really you?"

  "Yes! It is me!" replied Danielle. "I'm a little worse for wear, but it's me!" Danielle felt her two packs, the one with her personal gear on her back, and the smaller one carrying the Stillsuit on her chest. "It looks like my gear made it too." Danielle had a thought, "Is it really 2057?"

  "It is!" replied the woman. "You made it!"

  Danielle pulled the locking pin and opened the cage door. she was a little unsteady but together enough to make her way down the steps. The woman took her hand and helped her down the last few metal steps. "Let me carry your day pack, Danielle."

  Danielle gratefully slipped the camouflaged day pack from her shoulders and handed it to the woman, who was starting to look very familiar.

  "Its me, Angelica," stated the young woman.

  A wave of realisation swept over Danielle. "Of course it is you! My god! You are older than me! It is you Angelica! I can't believe this is happening!" she blustered, then continued, "Do I know you too, Sir?"

  "Leonard. I know that the years haven't exactly been kind to me, but it's me, Leonard Olson," replied the man.

  "You look exactly the same as I remember, the day you said good-bye. I used to call you Miss Danielle, or Auntie Danielle. I missed you so much after you were gone!" explained Angelica.

  "How was your trip, Danielle?" asked Leonard.

  "A little shaky, I must admit," replied Danielle. "For a while, I wasn't sure that I would make it."

  "Yes," explained Leonard. "We kept things as quiet as we could here, in the power building, but we had to empty it out and replace a few things over the years. we were afraid of how that might affect you. The Arachnid time travel stations are really good at keeping the transit areas quiet. We did our best, but I was worried."

  "Well, I made it. What do I do now?" Danielle was immediately overwhelmed by the implications of what had happened to her.

  "We need to leave Ocean Falls, Danielle. Everything is set up. Can we show you?" asked Angelica.

  "Lead the way," replied Danielle.

  __________________________________________________________________________________

  Outside, it was raining. "At least the weather hasn't changed," observed Danielle. The visibility was poor, in the mist and gloom that hung over the abandoned town site, but from what Danielle could see, the buildings were in even worse shape than they had been 30 years previously. The old mill building was still there, but the exterior was falling down in places.

  "Jian died three years ago, Danielle. I am the only one left here full time. Kenji visits with Angelica sometimes, usually in summer," explained Leonard, as they entered the building. I have some things for you.

  The three walked into the old meeting room, at the back of the building. The inside of the facility was also neglected, but Danielle could see significant stores of equipment, around the corner in the computer room.

  "How did things go with the 'Hope for the Future'?" inquired Danielle.

  "Jian got it up to 35 megawatts, before he passed, and we were able to produce this for you," explained Leonard. Danielle estimated him to now be close to eighty years of age. "Here, check this out. It was Jian's idea to put the unit into a smart phone case. It looks like a smart phone, but it has no ability to connect onto the internet at all. This is a self contained AI travelling companion for you, Danielle. Everything that we have been able to learn, that could assist you with your mission, is contained in this unit. Try it out!" Jian pushed the on button, and a simple screen display appeared.

  Danielle took the device and tapped the screen a couple of times. "How does it work?" asked Danielle.

  Both Angelica and Leonard chuckled a bit. "It works by voice, Danielle. Ask it anything."

  "Hope," offered Danielle awkwardly, "Hope, if I may call you that. I am Danielle. What is it that you do?"

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Danielle!" replied the phone in an intelligent and reasoned male voice. "It is a pleasure to speak with you in person, after so many years learning about you from computer files and recordings. What I intend to do is assist you with information and mission planning tactics and strategies. I have been put together for the expressed purpose of helping you complete your mission. I have 24 terabytes of storage, at your service."

  "Jian spared no expense, in creating this device. You could say that it was his life's work, Danielle. He spent more than a decade feeding it data bases and running practise scenarios through its programming." Leonard had a tear in his eyes as he explained, "I wish that he could have been here to hand it to you."

  "So do I," replied Danielle, wondering how many people she knew, also passed in the past thirty years.

  "We have some other things for you, Danielle," continued Leonard. "Before she left, Mei put together this makeup kit for you. the AI can tell you how to use it. Properly applied, it will help you get around facial recognition programs."

  "I see," replied Danielle, putting the package into her backpack. "How is Mei?"

  "Mei left shortly after Jian passed. She lives in Vancouver."

  "How about John? Where is agent Teator?" asked Danielle.

  "He passed in 2038. He never remarried," replied Leonard.

  Danielle felt like she had her fill of bad news once she heard that, and resolved to find out the fate of everyone else, some time in the future.

  "I also have these for you, Danielle," explained Leonard, as he removed a slick looking case from a metal filing cabinet. "Loaded pre-paid credit cards. $58,000. It's all that we could manage, but they should help you two. Don't lose them."

  "Oh my God! That's a lot of money!" responded Danielle.

  "Not really. It's 2057 after all. Lettuce is $20 bucks a head," observed Leonard.

  "I am also pretty well equipped on the boat, Danielle," interjected Angelica. "Do you want to see it?"

  They walked down to the dock together, carrying all of Danielle's gear. The rain had let up, but a mist hung beneath the thick cloud cover. Everywhere, the town had decayed. the post office was boarded up, and the cafe and general store was closed.

  "There are only twelve people left here in town," explained Leonard.

  The three walked down the ramp, which was close to its low tide position, and strode onto the wooden floats. Half way along the dock was a sturdy looking 30 foot, two masted fibreglass sailboat, with a name painted on the stern. 'Dove.' A small internet access dish was mounted on the top of the main mast. The decks were wooden, a dark brown wood that looked like teak. A friendly looking calico cat leapt up onto the side rail and purred, looking for attention. Angelica scratched his soft fur, gently, on the top of his head.

  "That is Fredrick, my first mate. And this is our boat. It's a Baba 30! I've redone the decks, fuel tank, and the engine is fully tuned and rebuilt!" detailed Angelica. "It's all packed and ready to go. The diesel tanks are full. There is enough food to last for months."

  "It's your boat, Angelica?" This really wasn't what Danielle had been expecting.

  "I've been sailing the Dove for twelve years, Danielle," said Angelica with great intent in her voice. "Preparing for this day. I am taking you to Europe." Leonard Olson nodded in agreement.

  "Oh my god, Angelica!"

  "Yes! We should get going too. The clouds might not last forever, and I would like to get away as right now, since nobody can see us at the moment," explained Angelica. "It's 2057 and the surveillance is much worse than thirty years ago. There are no cameras in town, but satellites are just about everywhere now. You can never tell who is watching."

  Danielle took one last look around town, and agreed, "There is no time like the present, I guess. I'm game!"

  Danielle said her good-byes to Leonard, thanking him for all he had done, then boarded the Dove. She noticed that Angelica had put significant efforts into making the yacht into a home. Personalised curtains and decorations, a small computer station, even a sewing machine with what looked like an ongoing project, next to the machine.

  Angelica motored out of the Ocean Falls harbour and down Cousins Inlet making their way towards the inside passage. The walls of the fjord on either side of the inlet were impressive. Huge stands of substantial timber. Danielle was certain that many of the Douglas Fir trees were more than 100 feet tall and 5 feet across at the base. Here and there, when Danielle could catch a glimpse up through the clouds, snow was visible below the peaks. The gentle breeze was cool on her face.

  "I've set things up with the canopy here, on the back deck. You should stay underneath here whenever it is light out, unless the cloud cover is really thick. Nighttime is okay to be out from under it." Angelica was clearly prepared for this journey. "Once we get out to the inside passage we might be able to sail. If you hold the tiller, I can make us something to eat."

  "Sure," replied Danielle. "Just show me how."

  "You bet! I will have you trained up to be a sailor, before you know it."

  Lunch was sandwiches, and some nice apples. It was a variety that was unfamiliar to Danielle. A red apple with light blue patches on its most sun exposed places. "Really tasty!" commented Danielle. "I've never had an apple quite like it!"

  "Yes. I only saw them show up in stores recently. Mendelssohn is the name of the variety. There will be a lot of new things for you to see," observed Angelica.

  "Where are Kenji and Malaika these days?" inquired Danielle.

  "They are still together, and living in Santa Barbara. We might be able to stop and see them. It depends on a few things. They are still together and retired now."

  "How about Haruto? What is he up to?" asked Danielle.

  "He's doing his best, but he still lives with mom and dad. He never really engaged with life and always needed some help. School didn't work out so great for Haruto. My parents tried to help him move out three times, but he always ended up moving back home. It's a tough world out there. The system always seems pretty stacked against young people."

  "How about you, Angelica?" asked Danielle. "How did you come to be captain of a sailboat?"

  "I tried to have a normal life too, but life sometimes has surprises," replied Angelica. "I studied to be a film maker, but that profession cratered before I could make it out of university. Rent was so expensive and so many professions were being taken over by AI. Lawyers, even doctors couldn't find work. Every year our family would visit Ocean Falls and once I got old enough I began to understand the conversations they were having about you. They kept looking for someone who was going to take you to Europe, but new recruits started drying up soon after you left. The world is different now, and we just couldn't find new agents willing to defect to our cause. They were getting all worried, one night, that they wouldn't find someone to help your mission. They were all getting old. I held up my hand and said, 'What about me?'"

  "That's amazing. You are definitely my first choice!" responded Danielle.

  "We bought the boat in 2045, when I was 23. I've been sailing her ever since, and living aboard. Free rent! Every year, around this time, I sail up to Ocean Falls, then back down, through the canal, and into the Caribbean. I have some friends in Montserrat. I do some work along the way, and I know lots of people and all of the harbours. There is a community of us, who live like this," explained Angelica.

  "So what is the world like in 2057, Angelica? I think that I am ready to hear some of it. Just go easy on me. Learning of John and Jian's deaths was already traumatic enough."

  "Yes," replied Angelica. "I knew you would be asking me this, and I have been thinking for years how best to describe our current world to you. I will do my best."