"So you are our new Intern," the timeline Manger said. She sat in front of a smooth, white block, her gaze fixed in the air. The older woman was dressed in a green jumpsuit, her brown hair pulled tightly back and fastened in a bun at the back of her head. She made a few movements with her hands, interacting with the computer terminal that only she could see.
"First lesson," she said, still not looking at Andrea, "Learn how everything works. We prefer the Socratic approach to learning here in the timeline preservation department. I will not be leading you by the hand. This is your first task. It may take you several shifts, so don't think you need to learn it all today. Once that is complete, come back to me and we can move on. Other than that, stay out of the way and learn all you can. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," Andrea answered, bowing slightly.
Andrea glanced around waiting for someone to show her the ropes. But when no one seemed to be interested in her, she left the Manager and walked around the edge of the department. The large room was similar to classrooms she had frequented in the University, and other important buildings she had visited. Walls in this building, however, were different than the traditional sort; smooth, white barriers curved into a narrow countertop, three-quarters of the way to the ceiling. Glass completed the high vaulted room with faint scenic projections beyond the transparency.
There were three terminals situated in the center of the room. The Manager occupied one in silence. Andrea had been told to stay out of the way, which confused her. How was she supposed to learn?
She ran her gaze over the room again, and wondered where two other people that had been in the department center went.
Andrea saw no obvious start to her task, so she decided to approach one of the consoles.
She sank slowly into the seat, taking another quick scan of the room. She and the Manager were now the only ones present. With little direction to go on, Andrea made up her mind to jump headlong into what she had been told: learn everything. She placed her hand on the smooth top of the pillar and the console activated.
Bright, translucent lights leapt to life from the horizontal surface. Andrea Woodbridge watched, amazed. Had a casual observer entered the room, they would have seen two women sitting at pillar like blocks, interacting with thin air. The new Intern had used similar terminals in her schooling, now understanding that they were made to prepare her for the use of advanced versions, such as the one she had just activated.
She navigated the system, having been verified by the network guardian as a Student turned Intern, authorized to work in the timeline preservation department. The console used micro changes in facial expression and peripheral vision tracking to respond to her movement through the system. The Non-Sentient Intelligence was designed to create a custom atmosphere that tailored its responses to the new user, developing a seamless bond over extended interface time.
Andrea loved this part; setting up new interface parameters with a Non-Sentient Intelligence. While it was designed to custom conform to the user's personality, and one would expect each new setup to be similar, there were tips and philosophies a person could use to change their responses in order to bring about a novel interface. The trick was to stay consistent and keep your strategies in mind...
Not long in, after browsing the contents of the Keepers closed system, Andrea was happy with the outcome of her manipulations. The layout was like a garden, full of flowers and fruit trees. As if by thought, she lowered herself down from an overhead view and drifted towards the center of the garden. Along the way, she ran her fingers over a piece of fruit from the branch of a small fruit tree. A much larger tree loomed before her. Andrea made her way in its direction. She now could see that it was the centerpiece of the program, and it dominated her attention. A pale ghost floated among the orange trees branches. The ghost had a look of familiarity to her, and Andrea understood what the Manager was doing on her terminal. Observing the flow of time.
For the seasoned Manager, Andrea could only guess what she saw when she looked into the past. Perhaps it was a waterfall or the boards of a fence. But for the new Intern, it was a lush orange tree, full of fruit and leaves, branches and blossoms. Each tiny wrinkle on the skin of the fruit, or vein on the underside of a leaf, was a complex piece of the past. This was the way the timeline preservationists kept an eye on the history they had dominion over. Insignificant changes might occur as a discoloration, a fleck too small to worry over. A single blemish would not rot the beautiful tree. But should a significant change occur, starting small but spreading until a leaf or even branch fell, the managers would study the cause of the change and set the tree back to right.
Andrea thought it all beautiful. Should their tampering from the present cause a paradox or timeline split, the Keepers of this small department were there to maintain the beauty of the timeline. Nothing could be worse than a disorderly universe thrown into chaos by the actions of men who had mastered time but not the wisdom to wield such power. This was the noblest job she could imagine, and so she spent the rest of her shift, in her own clumsy way, assisting the manager in observation of the timeline for signs of change that would echo forward to their place, watching from the present.
CHAPTER 9