TW06 The Khyber Connection NEW Read Free Page B

the head of the dead tribesmen. The S & R team leader realized Court had tried to leave a message. He thought Court might have been attempting to indicate an implant in the body of his twin, but their scan did not reveal one. Despite that.
    the team leader took a gamble and risked clocking back with both bodies so that an investigation could be conducted. An autopsy revealed the presence of an implant, but it was calibrated to a different frequency than standard Temporal Corps implants, which is why S & R's scanning equipment didn't register it. More significantly, both bodies had the same fingerprints and the same retinal patterns. A thorough biochemical analysis revealed that the two bodies were identical right down to the DNA. They were both the same man."
    "That isn't possible," said Delaney. "That would involve a temporal paradox."
    "Which is precisely why the findings were checked several times and then reported directly to the Referee Corps." said Forrester. "There was no question. Moreover, the dark pigmentation of the dead Afridi's skin and the slightly larger nose were both discovered to be the result of minor cosmetic surgery procedures. Both bodies were Thomas Court."
    "That's crazy," Lucas Priest said. "There has to be some mistake."
    "The results were checked and rechecked," said Forrester. "There's no doubt. The Referee Corps has determined that two possibilities exist that might explain this situation. You're not going to like either one of them.
    The first possible explanation is that someone has figured out a way to alter implant signals and is experimenting with a procedure meant to sabotage temporal conflicts by somehow programming individuals to carry out certain tasks. In the ease of Court the theory is that someone might have gotten their hands on him in Plus Time and brainwashed him into going back into the past, programmed to kill 'himself' while he was involved in a temporal campaign. A sort of test case.
    Since both Courts died at the same time, or at roughly the same time, temporal paradox was avoided. Or perhaps the brainwashed Court, assuming that was the case, would have died upon clocking back to Plus Time, in which event the end result would have been the same."
    "It could be possible," Delaney said. "We experimented with similar problem modules in RCS and determined that it could happen, theoretically. Only this isn't theory. I can think of only one other possible explanation. A timestream split."
    "Precisely," said Forrester. "I told you that you wouldn't like it. If a timestream split has occurred, there are no indications to show at what point it occurred. In that case, the fact of a non-standard implant indicates something even more frightening. If a timestream split has gone down, assuming the people in the parallel timeline are aware of it, then their entire existence depends upon that split."
    "Which means they have to prevent us from adjusting it," said Andre.
    "Exactly," Forrester said. "The second Thomas Court could have been from that second timeline, a parallel universe created by an historical disruption.
    There is a possibility that in spite of our defeating Drakov during our battle with the Time Pirates, a split might still have occurred, but the Referee Corps has determined that clocking back to that battle would be too hazardous. We barely got through that one by the skin of our teeth, and trying to go back to it again would increase the odds of creating even more temporal splits.
    And there's no way of determining if that particular scenario was the cause. It could have occurred in any of a dozen temporal campaigns, or hundreds, or even thousands. Without knowing for certain, no standard adjustment operation can be attempted."
    "With all due respect, sir," said Delaney, "if that's the case, what the hell are we supposed to do?"
    "You will have the unenviable mission of trying to determine whether or not we're dealing with a massive timestream split, Mr. Delaney," Forrester