1 1 Prologue 3.15Pm. 11 August 2335. the View Was Pleasant But

1 Prologue 3.15pm. 11 August 2335. The view was pleasant but nothing like it might have been. The grass sloped down to the cliff and the sound of the waves seemed as good as it had for the 60 years Elizabeth had been listening to it. The cottages beneath the headland would have added life to the bay but they had now almost collapsed having been abandoned at the time of the last shelling. The most important element of the scene was, however, the one she had never seen. The hills and beaches of the opposite shore of the estuary were totally obscured by the tangle field. She could tell that they were working on the generating sets. She knew this because she had seen them going up there in the morning but she could have seen it just by looking at the field. She had spent so long looking at it that she felt she knew it almost as her only friend. She knew how the mist inside it was always moving and reflecting the light in different ways. Today she knew that it was weaker than normal, quite sufficient they had assured her, just a bit weaker. Not that she cared about it or, truthfully, anything else in the world. Just then a flier came through the field high above the boat. Soaring on the wind and glistening in the sunlight. She ignored it. The ones that were going to strike close to the field always came through lower. A few moments later she glanced behind her to see which village it was going for but it had disappeared. She thought little of it. She had never seen one return through the field near where it had come from; no reason why they should but where was the logic in an instrument of random destruction? She thought of it as a messenger from a war that was won or, for all she knew, lost, hundreds of years before she was born. The boat came through with such speed that she had to work hard to convince herself that it had not tacked up from along the coast. She lifted her binoculars to look at it, a ghost ship from nowhere. Built to a design from centuries past it was riding the heavy swell and sailing in perfect order straight towards her. The small cockpit of the boat appeared empty. A simple device with a wind vane was linked to the rudder and held it on its course, past the headland, too close for safety but clear through into the bay to be thrown onto the small shingle beach exposed at the low tide. The path down was difficult. She tried to remember when she had last attempted it, two, or maybe even ten years ago. With nothing to punctuate time it was so difficult to remember. The noise of the waves grew louder. It made her feel alive as it echoed from the rocks. At last she touched the boat. The wood felt warm and smooth. Over her head the sails snatched back and forth as gusts found their way past the surrounding cliffs. She found herself checking that she only touched the smooth surfaces. No hidden crevices that might carry organisms with plague mutations for which she had no immunity. The tide was rising. Soon the beach would be covered and the boat would break up on the rocks leaving no trace for border security to come rushing to incinerate. She heard the first cry quite clearly despite the noise of the waves. She staggered back. It had never occurred to her that there might be somebody in the boat. The tangle field would have left them unconscious and she would not have seen them lying on the cabin floor. She stepped cautiously up to the window and saw two children sitting up half conscious and confused. There was no sign of an adult. "Oh my God. Who are you?" The children looked vaguely up at the sound of her voice. A large wave drove the water up around her feet. Soon it would lift the boat. She had little time to think. She saw one of the children crawl up the companionway steps and out of the cabin. Instinctively she stood back. The child managed to half stand and look at her. It blinked slowly at her and started to cry. "You poor thing. Don't you see? If I come near you to help we'll both get the plague." The child looked down. His sister was crawling out behind him. They both managed to get up enough to look at the Elisabeth. Another wave came even higher and the boat started to move. 1 It lurched to one side and ground down on a rock. The children started screaming. "We'll die. It doesn't matter about me - it would be a relief. But you poor things" Another wave. The boat lurched back towards her onto another rock, which smashed a hole in the planking. "You'll die anyway if I leave you there" She went up to him and, with supreme effort, lifted him down. His sister followed. They were coaxed through the waves to the last of the dry sand. "Come on! Up the cliff path." The children were beginning to shake off the effect of the tangle field. They could not understand her speech very well but they got the message and managed to climb the path. "Come on home to my house. We may not last long be I shall do all I can for you" When she arrived at her cottage she soon reprogrammed the household systems to provide for the children. Clothing, toys and numerous essentials would arrive automatically from the manufactory. The children were soon clean, tidy and well fed. She tried to talk to them but all she could find out was their names. The older was a boy called George and, possibly a year or two younger, the girl was Tania. She resolved that even if their time was limited she would let them know who she was and that she cared for them. Later in the day she telephoned her nearest neighbour from further along the coast. She told him what had happened "Elizabeth, you must be mad" "I'm not mad Harold. They were dead from the moment they came through" "Couldn't border security have salvaged their little boat and sent them back" "It was too quick, they would have been too late. Anyway they would never have been accepted back. All the zones have the same rules. If in doubt kill and burn." "What about you? You'll die from their mutations if the security don't get you first." "I've been dead for years Harold. You know that. I am glad to trade a few lonely years for the joy of these two for a short time. What would you have done? I couldn't watch them drown." 2 I was 12 and proud of my knowledge of the zones. I couldn’t travel anywhere away from our house and see things for myself but I made up for it by reading everything I could find on the network about other places. The screen showed an aerial view of a large town. "That's Bristol." I pronounced. "Look, see the river coming up through it". The camera zoomed in. Close up each building could be seen to be a perfect example of its chosen architecture. Everything was freshly cleaned and painted. Flowers bloomed in beautifully landscaped gardens. Well-dressed people walked briskly about their business. Carefully segregated routes carried vehicles, which showed no sign of age or dirt. "Look at this George." Elizabeth told me. "Avon Zone must have something important to show us. We've never seen views like this before." She glanced at me with her old eyes always showing something resembling slight surprise that I was still standing beside her and was fit and well. The shot now focused in on a single man who was completely out of place. He had long straggling hair and a beard. His clothes were visibly torn and his feet were bare. He was running but the camera on the aircraft had no trouble following him. At the edge of the picture people could be seen running away in all directions. Finally the man came to a street that was blocked. In front of him a solid line of guards stood in biological suits. "What are they for?" I asked. "He must be an incursor." Elizabeth replied. "A fugitive from another zone, maybe this one." "Might he be all right, like we were?" She had been very honest with us and told us exactly how she had found us. "No, they wouldn't be showing it if he had been." 2 "You mean this isn't live. When did it happen?" "Just a few days ago I imagine." The man was now surrounded and the guards were closing in on him. Many had guns. "I can't see why they aren't shooting him" Elizabeth commented. "That would be horrible." Tania cut in. "Yes, I suppose so, with the cameras." Elizabeth was too mesmerised by the scene in front of her to notice Tania shudder. The end was coming. The man clearly knew that he would be killed as soon as he could be taken out of the way. He was dodging back and forth between the guards in their clumsy suits. Suddenly there was a glint of steel.

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