From: Coast2C@aol.com Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 21:22:15 -0400 Message-ID: <960430210743_387201187@emout13.mail.aol.com> Subject: Convergence: Part 4 of 25 Convergence by Dana Anderson Part 4 of 25 (Author's Notes and Disclaimer found in Part 1) * * * * After a quick shower, Al settled onto a canvas and metal lounge chair on the balcony. He placed a cup of hot coffee on the table at his elbow and lit a cigar with a grunt and a long blissful sigh. "Can anyone overhear us, Ziggy? I'll put this out and go inside if it's necessary." He hoped it wasn't. He _really_ wanted this cigar. "This is fine, Admiral. I can insure that we are not overheard" the computer responded. "Good" Al said. "All right, let's discuss our new 'Deputy Director'. I want to know everything you've got on her up until 1989. That's the person we're dealing with, not the one whose history you gave us earlier." "That is not precisely true, Admiral" Ziggy corrected him. "As she assimilates herself into this timeline, there is a ninety five point six per cent probability that she will incorporate the memories of her alter ego into her psyche. The effect is similar to the manner in which you have absorbed duplicate and sometimes multiple memories for the same periods of time as Dr. Beckett has changed history in a way that affected your past. In her case, however, the effect will be more profound. Since she has leaped into another version of herself, the experiences of her persona in this timeline will seem to be her own. She will have two distinct and equally authentic sets of memories of the past ten years of her life." "Okay, I get it" Al said. "To get the whole picture we have to take into account her history from the time she was born until September 1st, 1989, the history you gave me already from then until now and the ten years of leaping." "Correct, Admiral" the computer confirmed. "Well, let's get on with it. I'm listening" Al said. "Tyler, Jenna, no middle name" the computer began "born May 25th, 1956 in Berkeley, California." *Forty-three?* Al thought to himself. If he didn't know better he would have guessed she was still in her early thirties. Ziggy continued "The illegitimate daughter of Phyllis Lederer Sorenson and Lt. Earl Williams, USN." "Illegitimate!" Al sat bolt upright "How do you know that?" he demanded. "Most of my information was garnered from the in depth research done on her after the incident in 1989" Ziggy replied. "The project scientists explored every aspect of her they could think of; genetic background, environment, experience, medical history, physical and mental development and psychological profile. They wanted to know why an agent that debilitated thirty six people in three minutes and killed them less than twenty minutes later appeared to have no effect whatsoever on Colonel Tyler, even though she received an identical exposure." "Yeah, I'll bet they did; the bastards" Al growled. "How did they find out she was illegitimate?" "Her father's name was listed on her birth certificate" Ziggy responded. "Since, at the time, her mother had been married to one Richard James Sorenson for ten years, Colonel Tyler's illegitimacy was a matter of public record from the day of her birth." "Her mother didn't try to hide it?" Al was amazed. It wasn't that he was shocked that a married woman would have an affair or even a one night stand; but a married woman might well pass off an 'accident' as the legitimate child of her husband. "Colonel Tyler was one of a pair of fraternal, or non-identical, twins. The twin required a blood transfusion shortly after birth. Her blood type was O-positive. The mother's blood type was O-negative and her husband's O-positive. When they typed and cross matched Colonel Tyler's blood, in the event she required a transfusion as well, her blood type was established as AB-negative. It was a medical impossibility that she was the offspring of Phyllis and Richard Sorenson. When the mother was confronted with the evidence by her doctor, she admitted the affair and named the father. He was a Navy pilot who had been killed six months earlier while test flying an experimental aircraft. His medical records confirmed his blood type as AB-negative. This suggested the possibility that he could be the father of Colonel Tyler, but not the other twin." "I understand the incompatibility in blood types" Al interjected "but how could the twins have different fathers?" Ziggy was in full lecture mode now. "In women with a genetic predisposition for producing fraternal twins it is not extremely uncommon for ovulation to continue for one or even two months after conception. As the birth weights of these twins were eight pounds nine ounces for Colonel Tyler and five pounds four ounces for her twin, it was considered extremely likely that they were conceived at least four weeks apart and, due to their blood types, by different fathers." "Well, it was a tough break for her from day one then" Al said. "Did they keep the kid?" "Yes, but perhaps that was not the best choice that could have been made" Ziggy continued. "Her early medical history shows evidence of constant physical abuse." She stopped here because she knew what to expect from Al at this point. "They _beat_ her! For something that wasn't her fault!" He rose from his chair, flung his cigar butt down on the ground and stalked back and forth the length of the balcony. There was nothing that riled Al more than child abuse. His own childhood had not been a particularly safe and protected one and he hated to think of any kid having it as had as he had, much less worse. Ziggy paused another moment, then decided she might as well get this over with; additional delay wouldn't improve the Admiral's mood a bit. "Her hospital records from infancy to the age of eight years show a severe injury of some type on an average of every three months. Burns, cuts requiring stitches, near drowning, broken bones and a whole series of less serious bumps and bruises." Al froze and every muscle in his body tensed. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down. It was all in the past and beyond his power to fix. He counted to ten and opened his eyes. He very determinedly walked back to his chair, sat down and unwrapped another cigar. After lighting it, he said softly "Okay, Ziggy; I'm not going to blow to pieces. You said until age eight. What happened then?" Ziggy resumed her story "On June 9th, 1964 Richard Sorenson returned home unexpectedly early from work just in time to observe his wife strike the child on the head with a cast iron frying pan." Al groaned and gritted his teeth, but did not say anything. "He rushed the child to the hospital" Ziggy continued "where she was found to have a severe concussion. The doctor who attended Colonel Tyler on this occasion was a young intern who had never seen her before. After examining and treating her injury and reading her medical history he confronted Mr. Sorenson with what he considered to be incontrovertible evidence of child abuse. While the doctor was questioning Mr. Sorenson regarding the abuse, the child's maternal grandfather burst into the doctor's office. He stated in no uncertain terms, in the doctor's presence, that he was unwilling to see his daughter eventually go to jail for the murder of his grandchild. According to the doctor's professional diary, which the project scientists also seem to have procured, he said "Bastard or no, she's still my flesh and blood. If you don't convince Phyllis to sign over custody to me I'll drag this whole sordid business into court and force her to give that kid up. I swear to God I will." "What do you have on this guy, Ziggy? He sounds like a real pistol." Al liked the take charge sort, especially when they agreed with his point of view. "William Lederer, US Marine, retired at the rank of major after twenty years. He then began a career as a prison guard until he was severely wounded in a prison riot and escape attempt in 1942. He was hospitalized for a year and then remained on permanent disability. His wife died in 1962 and he was living alone at this point in time." "So, did he get the kid?" Al asked. "Yes" Ziggy replied. "The action did not go to court; the Sorensons signed over custody in the week following Colonel Tyler's admission to the hospital. Less than three months later both husband and wife and their five children were killed when their car was struck by a train while they were on vacation." "Jesus, Mary and Joseph" Al breathed. "This kid's life is one tragedy after another." Then he brightened somewhat "But at least she already had a place with someone who wanted her before that happened. So she lived with the grandfather while she was growing up? He seems like a straight shooter but not exactly the family type." *After all,* he thought, *he was the one who raised that bitch of a mother.* "Most of the information I have in relation to Colonel Tyler's personal history from the age of eight until September 1st, 1989 was garnered from interviews conducted by the project scientists during her detention" Ziggy said, apparently delaying an answer to Al's question. "Interviews?" Al said, letting his previous question wait for the moment. "Why would she tell those nozzles anything? She's not stupid and I doubt they fooled her for long with that 'medical facility' dodge." "All the interviews were conducted with the aid of chemical or hypnotic enhancement or both" Ziggy replied. "In other words, they drugged her." Al was incensed. It always enraged him when helpless, innocent or honorable people were preyed upon. Ziggy was resigned to being interrupted by now. There wasn't much she knew about this woman's life that didn't seem designed to touch on one of the Admiral's pet peeves. "Yes, they drugged her. In answer to your earlier question; her grandfather, by her own testimony, was not demonstrably affectionate but cared for her deeply. He was a strict but fair disciplinarian and never resorted to corporal punishment." "Good" growled Al. "The kid finally caught a break. How long did she live with him?" "He died of a heart attack on December 10th, 1964" Ziggy responded and stopped. This would cause a reaction as well. "Christ Almighty, Ziggy! I don't even want to hear about this kid's life! How could she have lived it!" He was pacing again and puffing on his cigar. Either the excessive smoke or something else was stinging Al's eyes and there was a single tear running down one of his cheeks. Ziggy had sufficient tact not to mention she had noticed. She waited until his pacing slowed and then spoke again, "Would you like to continue this now or resume our discussion at a later time?" she asked. Al dropped back into his chair and sighed deeply. "You'd better go on, Ziggy." He had never believed in delaying unpleasant tasks for long. They just seemed all the more difficult to face. Ziggy resumed her recitation. "Following the death of her grandfather, the local department of Social Services attempted to place Colonel Tyler with one of the surviving relatives. Her mother had a brother and sister, both of whom were married and had children of their own." "Let me guess" Al spat. "Neither of them wanted to raise their sister's bastard kid." "Correct." Ziggy replied. "Since her biological father was dead and had no living relatives and her mother's relations refused to assume responsibility for her, she was remanded to the custody of a Catholic Children's Home in San Francisco." "You mean an orphanage" Al retorted. *Here we go again,* Ziggy thought. Another sore spot with the Admiral. He had had to live in an orphanage after his mother had deserted his father and his father had gone overseas to obtain work. His father had returned and retrieved him for a short time, but had died soon afterward. This had landed Al back in the orphanage until the age of eighteen. Because of this experience, he was adamant in his belief that every child should live in a loving family environment; not an 'unwanted kid warehouse' as he described orphanages. "I know your opinion of orphanages, Admiral" Ziggy said, in hopes of mollifying his attitude somewhat. "But considering what she endured early in life, she might have experienced worse." Al snorted but did not say anything more, so the computer continued. "In an early evaluation of Colonel Tyler by the staff, one of the sisters was intrigued by what appeared to be knowledge well beyond the normal grade level of an eight year old, so she was given an IQ test. Her IQ tested at 185." Al's eyebrows rose and he straightened in his chair. "She's a genius?" he stammered. "Unquestionably" the computer replied. "When they attempted to enter her in high school classes she demonstrated a complete grasp of the subject matter from the first day. Further questioning revealed she had already read every book at three local libraries and the ones that her parents and grandfather had owned, at least the ones that were not on a shelf beyond her reach." Al chuckled, then laughed out loud. Ziggy was relieved that something had finally punctured the sour mood into which the Admiral had sunk while she was relating Colonel Tyler's early history. Al laughed until his sides ached, then wiped his eyes and took several sips of coffee; attempting not to choke when the laughter erupted again while he was trying to swallow. Finally, the laughter subsided and he addressed the computer again. "And you mean to say that up until this point no one even _suspected_ she was a genius?" "Evidently her early history had taught her that her best option was to remain as inconspicuous as possible" Ziggy responded. Al sobered somewhat at the reminder of the earlier abuse the Jenna had endured. "In any case" Ziggy continued, not wanting Al to revert to his dark mood "the staff decided there was nothing else to do but send her to college. She attended the University of San Francisco and the University of California at Berkeley and received Bachelor's Degrees in Applied Mathematics, History, Political Science, Physics and Electrical Engineering in 1966 and 1967; Master's Degrees in Physics and Mathematics in 1968 and 1969 respectively, a Doctorate in Theoretical Mathematics in 1971 and a Doctorate in Physics in 1973." "That plus her being illegitimate must have made her _real_ popular among her 'peers' at the orphanage" Al said. He was very familiar with the pecking order among the orphans he had grown up with, and being either a 'brain' or a bastard put you way down on the food chain, to say nothing of being both. "She said in one of her interviews that she had no friends among the girls at the orphanage, but was close friends with several of the children from the Boy's Home which was on the opposite side of the block from where she lived" Ziggy replied. "Boy friends? What kind of boy friends?" Al asked, bristling but intrigued. Ziggy sighed inwardly again. She had learned enough from watching Dr. Beeks at work and by reviewing texts on human psychology to recognize full blown big brother syndrome when she saw it. "Buddies, Admiral. Pals." She paused and decided she'd better get this over with, too. "At least at first. When she was twelve and a half, one of the priests at the Boy's Home discovered her in a compromising position with a fourteen year old boy in the basement of the cathedral. From then on, her activities were closely monitored at all times by the sisters at the Girl's Home. Even so, she often disappeared; sometimes for days at a time. She had a history of running away from the time she was first placed in the orphanage, but the occurrences stepped up in frequency and duration at this point. No matter what they did she wouldn't stop disappearing and would never tell them where she went, what she did or with whom." Al maintained a stern look on his face for several moments, then began to laugh. "So, she may be Sam's mental twin; but not his spiritual one. I'll bet the nuns had fits." "They seemed primarily concerned that she was completely unrepentant" Ziggy responded. "This may be why, in November 1973, when she was seventeen and a half years old, the Catholic Church, as her ward, gave its' permission for her to enlist in the Army. After a year, her commanding officer convinced her to attend Officer Candidate School and she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in March 1975." "She met her husband in the Army?" Al asked. He had not forgotten what he had observed of Jenna's late husband while Sam had temporarily assumed her identity in 1989. "Yes" Ziggy replied. "She had a number of relationships with fellow soldiers, all male, between 1973 and 1978. Every relationship was exclusive, on her part at least, no matter how short or long the duration of the attachment and there is no evidence of rancor at break ups, broken promises or pregnancy. She appears to have had a very relaxed and liberated view of sex from a very early age." "She didn't learn that from the sisters" Al snorted. Ziggy ignored the remark "She met Paul Tyler in March 1978 and married him in June of that year. The government agents who investigated her life uncovered evidence that her husband was unfaithful to her for nearly the entire duration of their marriage. Colonel Tyler, on the other hand, was either faithful to him or much more discreet as they did not discover any indication that she reciprocated his actions." "I told Sam that jerk didn't deserve her" Al grumbled, then shook off the anger that had begun to rise in him again. "So, they had been married for eleven years when he died" Al continued. "And that brings us up to 1989. The next ten years she spent leaping around in the past and the only way I can find out about that is from her, I suppose. That just leaves what she is supposed to have done here since she arrived. When was that?" "August 16th, two weeks ago" Ziggy said. "Since then she has communicated with Washington once, to report her arrival. Other than that all she has done is scrutinize every aspect of the project; in a very systematic way I might add." "But she hasn't reported anything to anyone other than her arrival?" Al asked. "You're sure?" "Yes, I'm sure" the computer reiterated. "She has not left the complex since that time and I would be aware of any communication she made from here." "You said 'every aspect of the project'. What about the more, um, unusual components of your processors?" Al asked. "As Deputy Director she has carte blanche. As I said, my records show she has been everywhere and looked at everything." "Okay" Al stretched and looked at his watch. "One a.m. Unless you think there's something vital you haven't told me, I'm going to bed now." "Only one more thing, Admiral" Ziggy replied. "You haven't asked, but Dr. O'Farrell-Martinez is still married to Gushie." "Thanks, Ziggy" Al retorted "I don't think I could have dropped off without having _that_ confirmed for me. Good night." He reentered his quarters, stalked into the bedroom and closed the door. "Good night, Admiral" Ziggy answered. * * * * When Jenna was left alone in her quarters she had not gone to bed immediately but had explored her new home. There was a couch, an end table, a lamp, an arm chair and a set of shelves, upon which rested a portable stereo system, in the main room. There was a small but fully functional kitchen behind the main room, with a table and two chairs off to the side near a sliding glass door that led to a balcony. Behind the table was the doorway to a bedroom. In the closet she found a complete wardrobe of uniforms from utilities to dress blues, but no civilian clothes. The dresser revealed lingerie, socks, T-shirts, a selection of exercise clothing, a well-worn white cotton shirt, an oversized red cardigan sweater and one pair of jeans. She undressed and showered. On the back of the bathroom door she found a white cotton robe that she donned. A quick survey of the kitchen revealed nothing to eat, but there was a bottle of scotch identical to the one the Admiral had in his office, except this one was full and unopened. *Probably a welcoming gift,* she thought; *even if I wasn't exactly welcome.* She opened the bottle and poured herself a short drink. Returning the bottle to the cupboard, she went into the living room and seated herself on the couch. *I've certainly found myself in much worse places over the years,* she thought. She replayed the conversation with the Admiral and that surprisingly astute computer in her mind. It was unlike her to reveal as much as she had on such short acquaintance with anyone, but it had seemed such a relief to unburden herself to someone who took a statement about traveling in time as an everyday occurrence. It was also immensely gratifying to be herself again after all the years of pretending to be someone else. Every time they had said her name it had cemented her more firmly in a reality that had seemed nothing more than a dream for a long, weary time. How did they know about traveling in time? "You leaped into other people, lived parts of their lives?" That was how he had put it. Of course, Sam Beckett. Dr. Samuel Beckett, to be more exact. She had read his doctoral thesis and had even met the man once, at M.I.T. in 1983, and had discussed his theory with him. She thought back to the last leap before she had returned to 1989. She had looked down at the reflection of the person she had replaced and the face was familiar. She had then examined his wrists, looking for a scar that would confirm her identification. She had seen that scar before, when they had talked over his theory, and she recognized it when she saw it again. So, Sam Beckett had built his monster and proved his theory to be correct. And now he was leaping in time. She was sure of it, and had never felt so sorry for anyone in her life. She finished her drink, rinsed out the glass and went to bed. * * * * End Part 4 of 25