I have concrete evidence that all these conspiracy theories are part of a conspiracy. The people in power are flooding the media with conspiracy theories in order to submerge the real conspiracy which is to keep people distracted with false conspiracies while they secretly get on with doing stuff (that's right they do stuff) without the constant distractions or fear of conspiracy theorists constantly finding the real conspiracy. When they've got enough false conspiracies there's going to be a prize draw and those who are anywhere near revealing the true conspiracy will disappear into a maximum security prison on Mars with the lizard people. You heard it here first so there's no need to fact check anything.
(The copyright for this image is the property of Dain Yoon.)
Emerging from the cave onto a small sandy beach, Jake considered that at some point in the not too distant future he'd have to sit down with this firewave inductor thingy and find out exactly what it could and couldn't do. On the stroll out of the tavern's capacious basement he'd discovered there were games he could play on it. Though that was the one which got him excited, he'd also found it was a communicator or cellular device. Doubtless there'd be a phone book of some description stored on it. The sun was heading for the horizon. He had a couple of hours at most before it became dark. Which would be a good time to check the settlement out. No need to interact with its denizens he could map out the basic layout on his firewave. That was another application he'd spotted. Off to the left was nothing he could see except some coast and a lot of Bristol Channel. To his right was the harbor with all those sailing ships docked there. In essence Sharon had sailed here, knowing of its existence already.
Jake walked along the strip of sand until he found a path up the rocks. From here he had a good view of a lot of the surrounding area. This would do to try out the mapping function. Jake pulled out the device and brought up the screen. Scanning through the tiles he selected the app he needed and then attempted to puzzle out precisely how to use it. Until it bleeped quietly and a message appeared. "It looks like you want to create a map of your local area. Our handy wizard can walk you through" , he activated it. The screen blinked and blurred slightly before displaying a highly detailed plan of the settlement, harbor and the surrounding area. All he had to do was hold his finger over a particular part and it automatically zoomed in with details of what was there. This being a ramshackle cluster of buildings there wasn't a lot of information beyond domicile or food store. Hang on. He'd done something. Now he was viewing a street level vista. Google Earth might want a word here about copyright and so on.
Well he'd scouted out the settlement. Mild disappointment settled over him. Of course he could walk through the place on the ground to get a good feel. It didn't seem worth it now though. He'd take a look at the harbor instead. There was a very slim chance he'd spot Sharon's boat there. Unless she'd sailed on to some other destination which was equally as likely. With evening wearing on and the light failing there was little going on down by the docks. The only real activity was a ship making its way into the channel. Sails unfurling as it caught the wind. Hundreds of years ahead of his own world yet they still used sailing ships? He checked out the other vessels in dock. With a few exceptions all of them were sailing ships or boats. All of the exceptions were either ones he couldn't see clearly or he had no idea of their means of propulsion. He broke into a small chuckle. Wouldn't it be crazy stupid if the Scarlet Harlot was a sailing ship. Boy would he feel an idiot. Mistakenly thinking some planking and sails was a star ship. He looked round to take one last look at the one headed out. It had disappeared. Funny, he didn't think he'd been ruminating that long. Even if he had that ship must have undergone some impressive acceleration.
The map he'd so artfully and skillfully made was great. However, although it showed the settlement and the domed city of Bristol, it didn't show a route. There were no roads to speak of here. The only one he'd encountered so far being to the prison where they'd held Doxy. That meant he'd be negotiating open countryside in the dark. Even in the most civilized of countries that could be hazardous. It would be a good idea to ask directions. The harbor was also the best place for a stranger to ask. He could have arrived on that ship that had departed. There was a man on the landward end of the stone jetty he was on. As he drew closer Jake could see he was whittling or carving something. That knife wasn't a weapon like most of the others he'd seen. It was a tool. One that was being used very skillfully. As soon as he was close enough, Jake decided to hail him. That way there'd be much less chance of causing offence.
"Excuse me." Jake called across to his intended guide.
"Why what you done?"
"Um... Sorry? I haven't done anything yet."
"So why do you need excusing?"
"What?" Jake was perplexed at this unwelcome turn of events. "I was being polite."
"Why?" The man asked taking a long critical look at his work so far.
"Um... That's how I was brought up. You don't need to excuse me for anything. It's a figure of speech. All I'm doing is politely asking for directions to Bristol."
"Why are you asking me?"
Jake was swiftly becoming annoyed, which was normal for him. He was reaching a point where he'd have to display his annoyance, which was not.
"Because you're the nearest person to me. Do you know the way to Bristol?
"Why would I want to go to Bristol?"
"Maybe to learn some fucking manners." Oh God he'd snapped. Not a situation he had any experience of. No point backing down now though. "Yes or no. Can you please give me directions to Bristol?"
He waved his arm vaguely.
"It's over there."
As the red mist cleared Jake stopped punching the mans face.
"Now I'm not a violent man..."
"You could've fooled me." The man gurgled past the blood.
Jake punched him again.
"Don't interrupt. That's rude to. Now give me directions to Bristol." Having established his urgent need the man was only too happy to comply. Jake punched him again. "Now if these directions prove to be bullshit I'll be coming back here to fuck you up so badly even the seagulls won't touch your carcass."
Still annoyed by the whole needless violence scene, Jake asked another sailor. He, having witnessed the assault, gave directions immediately. They were very close to the original ones he'd received. Close enough that he could trust them he thought.
There was no direct route to the city. From what he'd gathered so far there was no need for one. The people of the settlement rarely visited the place voluntarily. There were paths though. Ones that meandered between obstructive geographical features. Sticking to the right ones in the dark was important. It would be very easy to become lost. Not critical he guessed. There'd been no warnings about wild animals. The most dangerous thing he'd have encountered on his own world would have been cattle or a big dog. Neither of which scared him. There might be wolves though. Reintroduced to the landscape as man had retreated into the mega cities. Wolves kept clear of humans. According to every wild life documentary he'd ever seen. It would still pay to be ultra cautious. He hadn't seen the dome of the conurbation yet. Although the pale blue glow from it brightened the sky before him. Okay, according to the reluctant sailors it was two rights, a left then a couple of straight on's before taking a left. Those he'd done. There should be a pathway crossroads in a short while. Where he'd go straight on again before taking the left fork. At which point the pathway should be visible by the light from the city itself.
Bristol wasn't that impressive, from the outside at least. Sure it was pretty spectacular that there was a dome several miles across. It didn't look spectacular though. Even at over a thousand feet at its highest point the surrounding close packed hills and hollows made the place scarcely visible from a few miles away. Now when you entered New York, or London for that matter, you got big tall structures and a sense that things were happening here. Bristol looked sedate and safe. How safe he was going to find out shortly. Ah, he hadn't inquired about how to get in. There had to be an entrance somewhere surely. According to Pip there were people arriving from other realities on a frequent basis. Not in swarms. Generally only one or two whose timelines drew them here by accident or design. Son of a bitch. Here he was barely a hundred meters from the exterior, yet all he could see was that they didn't even bother to prune the vegetation in the immediate area of the place. He'd have to walk round it. Now if the dome was eight kilometers in diameter that would be a circumference of about 25 klicks. The thing being that any entrance could be a hundred meters to the left or 25 kilometers to the right. The firewave was no use. As far as it was concerned the dome was a circular blob with no distinguishing features.
He'd gone left before and been wrong. This time he'd go right. Ah well, he had on some good sturdy walking boots that had handled the dew and water he'd walked through. Casting a glance back over his shoulder he set off to hopefully not circumnavigate the whole place. His guess of an 8 kilometer radius couldn't be trusted as it was. For all he really knew it could be twice that. With something this large it was impossible to judge. The firewave would know only he didn't want to risk being depressed by the possible length of his walk. Not that he was experiencing any tiredness. As he walked, Jake studied the surface of the dome. It ought to be translucent. It looked to be. He'd pressed his face up against it. Another new sensation for him to catalog. There was a barrier there, that was certain. What is was made of wasn't. Neither hard nor soft. Akin to the resistance you felt trying to force two strong magnetic north poles together only more solid. He recognized that there might indeed come a time when he'd become fed up and try running into whatever the dome was made of. It would hurt of that he was sure. Gaining entry was not so certain. If and when he tracked down Sharon he'd come back and set up an induction center for new arrivals if there wasn't one already that he'd missed.
Then he saw it in the sky again. That arc of silver with the swirling bands. Tiny motes of light slowly climbing up towards it before flashing into that band of lightness. Making tiny splashes in the swirls. That was The Never the place he had to get to, in order to track down Sharon. One spaceship was all he needed to find. Then he'd be on his way. That glittering band though, how far away was that? It split the sky more or less where he'd have expected to see the Milky Way on his earth. A dusting of stars from the local galaxy. There was so much out there. Why had he wasted his life? He'd been safe and secure, relatively. Too stuck in his ways to even explore a tiny part of the planet his existence depended upon. He'd get there or die in the attempt. Given where he was headed now it was feasible he'd die a few times in the attempt. Not something to look forward to. Also not guaranteed where he was concerned. He didn't have one of those neural net things to record his unique brain patterns. As a new arrival this current life he was living might be his last. Sobering, but not in this instance a discouragement. It might seem impossible to anyone who had known him but Jake Halliday had found something he'd die for.
Meanwhile back at the settlement Doxy was sobering up in preparation for the assault on the prison. This would be a tall tale to tell when she got back. There might even be a song in it. Failing that there'd be an additional verse about her in one of the older more variable songs. Suitably saucy she hoped. Plenty of lewdness and blood. Things were coming together at last. It had taken a lot of work and even more preparation to reach this point. Only a few small steps to go before they could do the real business. One of those steps was finding out where Sparky had got to. She'd sent Pip to find the poor simpleton. He had literally no idea what he was carrying around with him. Doxy took a swig from her inebriation remover. A little cocktail that would remove the alcohol from her system. It was a shame to spoil a good celebratory hangover, but there was work to do and a reputation to create. Damn the Scarlet Harlot and all her crew would become legends. The rapid beat of steps running up the stairs caused Doxy to sit up on the spare bunk she was resting on. Pip arrived red faced and breathless.
"Well where is he?" Doxy demanded.
"He's gone." Pip gasped between breaths.
"What the fuck do you mean Pip?"
"He broke Clarence's arm, knocked out Stavro and escaped through the storage cave. Fuck knows how he worked that out. It's like he knew it was there and that's impossible."
"Unless he's working for them."
Pip looked shocked.
"Do you think he is?"
"No. Not likely. He'd still be here if he were. So far he knows nothing about what we're up to. Any idea where he's headed?"
Pip looked pained.
"I'm not sure but someone matching his description was asking for directions down at the harbor."
"Directions to where?"
"The megapolis." The girl gulped.
"Son of a whoring bitch. How much of a head start has he got?"
"At least three or four hours."
Doxy threw herself off the cot and kicked a few things.
"I'm going to have to go after him."
"Into the city?"
"Fraid so my darling." She looked around shaking her head. "Get the kit out of storage I need to make some preparations. Fuck. That's going to take a few hours to. And all the while he'll be getting deeper and deeper into that place. Harder and harder to find."
"I'm sorry Captain." Pip added sorrowfully.
"It's not your fault Pip. It's mine. I got too cocky and got caught up in celebrating how great I am. Awwww shit. Why didn't I put a tracker in that translator bud?"