Big Bang Generation by Gary Russell Read Free Book Online

sort of military organisation.’
    ‘What are you talking about?’ Sadkin frowned.
    ‘Peter?’
    ‘Mum?’
    ‘It’s time.’
    ‘Time for what?’ asked Colonel Sadkin, Father of the Chapel and leader of the military group who were, he was amazed – and a little annoyed – to see, lying unconscious on the ground. The Talpidian digger was down, too, and of Professor Jaanson there was no sign. ‘What is going on?’
    Peter held up a small black box with a switch on it. ‘Invention of mine,’ he said. ‘Go into a potentially hostile situation, or one where you are hopelessly outnumbered. Shake everyone’s hand, hug them even, and touch each person’s skin somewhere.’ In his other hand he held a small quantity of what looked like contact lenses made of rice paper. ‘So light, you never know one’s being attached, held there by sweat, like magnets. Then I press this switch and everyone falls asleep, painlessly, effortlessly. No bangs, no flashes, just five or six hours’ refreshing sleep.’
    ‘You’ll thank me for it eventually. It really is a good deep sleep,’ Bernice added.
    Sadkin looked at his hand, where he’d shook Bernice’s.
    ‘You bi—’ And he was down in the mud, snoring slightly.
    ‘Bless,’ said Bernice pocketing her own little black box.
    Jack and Ruth re-joined them. ‘Everyone accounted for except the stupid Professor,’ Jack reported.
    ‘We need to access the time portal.’
    ‘Which is inside the pyramid, right?’
    ‘Fundamentally, yes.’ Bernice held out the rock she had been given back on Legion. ‘Hopefully this’ll “open sesame” and nothing else will go wrong.’
    The others looked at her.
    ‘What?’
    Ruth took Benny’s hand (carefully throwing away Peter’s patented knock-out patches, otherwise things could have got pretty embarrassing rather quickly). ‘Benny. We love you, we really do.’
    ‘But?’
    ‘But when was the last time we ever did anything that didn’t at some point go slightly wrong?’
    ‘Majorly wrong,’ added Jack unhelpfully.
    ‘It does happen a lot,’ conceded Peter.
    Bernice looked at her son in mock outrage. ‘Even my own flesh and blood has no faith.’
    ‘I’d have more faith if the person who sent us here hadn’t been you.’
    ‘A future you,’ Jack reminded her.
    ‘And if,’ Ruth said, ‘a future you is in so much trouble that the only solution is to go back in time to ask for help from you…’ She shrugged. ‘But we love you. Really. We do.’
    Bernice shrugged. ‘I’m not going to tell you about thestrange blue woman and the stranger fat man, then. See how you like that when we bump into them and you’re not prepared. Yeah. That.’
    Ruth and Jack just looked at Bernice quizzically, but Peter was back on the alert, scouring the ridges and boulders for movement made by the duo he’d spotted earlier. He pointed across the way; it was possible to see the blue-skinned female through the ice and rain. Then the fat guy came into view a few paces behind her, obviously not built for this terrain.
    Peter was off in a second, expertly tracking them, moving across the plains, behind rocks, doing everything he needed to catch up with his prey without alerting them to his presence.
    Bernice looked at Ruth and Jack. ‘We ought to go after him.’
    ‘What about the grumpy Professor?’ Ruth asked.
    ‘She’s right beside you,’ Jack giggled and nudged Ruth. She gave him a look best described as ‘withering’ and shook her head slowly.
    But Bernice was beyond jokes now. It was time to get moving, to get serious and do what they needed to do. She was already heading off after Peter, carefully treading only in his footprints, knowing that this was the safest route.
    She eventually found him crouched behind a boulder, about thirty yards from the big door in the pyramid. She gave him a questioning look and he nodded, suggesting it was OK for her to take a look.
    As she did so, Ruth and Jack arrived, in utter silence,all joking