Chapter 9
“Well, I’m about done with this,” Al growled as he returned to the Control Room, where Donna, Gooshie, and Tina were looking exhausted. “We’ve gotta find out what’s interfering, because I’m not sure I had the least bit of a coherent conversation with Sam just now. Who knows how much he heard, but what I heard didn’t make a lick of sense. One moment he’s talkin’ about having a twin brother and the next, he’s talking about outhouses.”
Donna glared at him. “Outhouses?”
Al shrugged broadly. “Maybe I heard wrong, but that’s what it sounded like, ya know? Either Sam’s losing his damn mind, or the Imaging Chamber’s crossed wires with the phone line of a plumber.” He slapped a hand on the console. “Let’s figure this out, people. What do we know?”
“Well,” said Gooshie, loosening his collar, “when Ziggy locks on to Sam, she gets a secondary signal that she doesn’t know how to deal with. It’s splitting the hologram broadcast, so Doctor Beckett is only receiving partial optic and otic sensory input. And it seems that no matter the power usage, it’s not helping strengthen the connection.”
“Secondary signal…” Al muttered. “What kind of signal? We’ve never had something like that before, right? And how come I came in like normal at first?”
“That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out,” Donna lamented. “Ziggy insists that she can’t isolate one signal from the other. But at first, the second signal was weak enough that it didn’t matter.”
“Right, what else do we know?” Al continued. “We know Sam’s having some kind of meltdown, and the kid in the Waiting Room has a foot in the grave, and he’s not been making a whole lot of sense.”
“And his atoms are unstable,” Donna added.
“Right. That thing,” Al said, scratching his head. “What does it all mean?”
Tina crossed her arms, eyes wandering upward. “Is Ziggy super-duper positive that Doctor B’s there only to save his life in Vietnam?” she asked. “’Cause he sure got there early, didn’t he?”
“I’m running scenarios,” Ziggy said shortly. “So far I have not come upon anything outstanding, but I will notify you as soon as any relevant data comes up.”
“Thank you, Ziggy,” Gooshie said warmly up to the orb in the ceiling.
“And this thing with the twin brother,” Tina pressed, barely skipping a beat. “What was it you told Doctor B, Al? A drug raid?”
Al nodded. “Well, yeah. Richard’s gonna be arrested in a couple of days. But the guy fled the draft and joined a group of strung out hippies out in Arizona. He signed up for what he got, and the deed’s already done. He’s either gotta keep hiding out until the amnesty in ’77, or face up to his time in the Big House.”
“Outhouses…” Donna mumbled, wandering in the direction of the Waiting Room.
Al watched her with a frown for a moment, before returning his eyes toward Gooshie and Tina. “Look, you two work with Ziggy on this split signal issue. There has to be some way to cut out the interference, surely. If only we knew the source of the damned thing.”
He sighed, patting his jacket in the hopes of finding a cigar he hadn’t yet smoked. “You know, I can’t help but think there’s something we’re all missing.”
* * *
Doctor Donna Elesee-Beckett knocked cautiously on the Waiting Room door, nervously toying with her hair.
She didn’t need to knock; she had full access, like everyone else with top level clearance, but she made a point not to go in the Waiting Room on most occasions, since the occupant had Sam’s aura. It was just too eerie to interact with a person who looked exactly like her husband, with the voice of her husband, but was simultaneously a complete stranger.
But today, she just had a weird feeling.
The door slid open, revealing Verbena, who let out a startled noise when she saw who it was.
“Donna? Is something wrong?”
“May I come in?”
Verbena stepped aside. “Sure. What brings you here? I know it’s not your favourite place to be.”
Donna took a deep breath before stepping into the blue room and seeing the man in the bed, his face—Sam’s face—pallid and sticky with perspiration.
She hated to see him like this, and she fought the urge to scurry back out of the room.
“I just wanted to talk to… the patient,” she said quietly.
“Well, I’m afraid he’s not the most talkative guy, Donna.” She looked over at the bed. “Are you, Bobby?”
The man who looked like Sam rolled over, facing away from Verbena. “Stop it,” he moaned.
“See what I mean?” Verbena said, shooting Donna a wry look. “This is as far as I ever seem to be getting with him since the first few hours after he arrived. He seems to be upset that I’m calling him Bobby, but he hasn’t provided any other name. He’s just stonewalling me.”
Donna nodded. “And Al said something about LSD in his system?”
“Yes, but I don’t think that has anything to do with this, truth be told.” Verbena picked up his chart from the end of the bed, scanning an eye over it. “It wasn’t in a high enough concentration to be giving him any long-lasting effects.”
“Well,” Donna said, pressing her lips together as she decided on how to continue her thought, “something Al was saying made me wonder. See, this man is having issues on an atomic level. It’s like there are two configurations fighting over the same space.” She leaned in towards Verbena, whispering. “Bobby has a twin brother who’s going to be subject to a drug raid. The Imaging Chamber has a split signal. Al said Sam was babbling about outhouses or something of the sort. Bobby’s twin is a draft dodger who lives in a commune. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t this kid terrified of being sent to Vietnam earlier? And if he had LSD in his system too…”
Verbena’s eyes grew wide. “Are you saying that it’s not Bobby in that bed?”
“I’m saying that it’s not just Bobby.” Donna turned to the bed, clearing her throat. “Excuse me… Richard?”
Donna saw the Sam-shaped leapee stiffen at the name.
“Oh, Lordy,” Verbena whispered, as Donna nodded.
“Ugh…” Richard rolled back over, facing Donna with sunken eyes. “So you’ve figured me out. Are you gonna put me in jail?”
Donna placed a shaky hand on his. “I don’t have that authority,” she said, “but I’d like to know if… well, if you’ve seen or spoken to your brother lately?”
Richard frowned, averting his eyes from Donna, and he spent a long moment in silence formulating his reply.
“Sure. We talk all the time.”
“You do?” Donna was surprised by this answer.
“Yeah,” Richard said, closing his eyes. His voice slowed as he appeared to be drifting into sleep. “He’s my… ya know… accomplice. Better arrest him too, huh?” He yawned, and his neck relaxed as he began to fade.
Donna exchanged a look with Verbena.
“I don’t think that was the truth,” the psychiatrist said.
“Why’d he say it, then?” Donna asked.
“I think he’s trying to get his brother out of having to go to Vietnam.”
Donna fought the urge to laugh. “I guess he doesn’t quite realise they’re sharing that bed, then.”
“So…” Verbena said, mind racing, “if there are two people here, then what happened to Sam?”
Donna gestured to the sick leapee. “If the twins fused into one, then Sam must have—”
“Split into two?!”
“I’d better tell the others what we’re dealing with here,” Donna said, striding for the door.