A Slight Miscalculation

Amy blinked, dazed and winded, as the crowds shuffled by her. The noise of the tightly packed traffic and the din of the people echoing off the skyscrapers. The dark rolling skies reflected off the towering walls of glass. Stumbling, she leaned against sign displaying a large map. The words “New York Subway” printed in big white letters.

She glanced at the crowds of people streaming past on either side. No one noticed that she hadn’t been there a second before, or the odd clothes they’d no doubt think she was wearing. They were all trapped in their own little world.

“This isn’t right.” Amy said to herself, confusion mixed with anxiety.

Looking around for some reference to the year she was in, she noticed something caught in the grate below her feet. Reaching down to pick up an old newspaper she stared at the date, and cursed. June 23rd, 2010. Nine hundred years off. That last explosion must have damaged the calibration engine. These people would have never heard of the Collective, let alone the Ingrid armada.

Desperately, Amy racked her mind for what she remembered about New York city. Never the best student, she cursed herself for skipping those ancient history classes. Still, she remembered the name. “Something about an attack in 2001 and . . . . “ she muttered, “and. . .damn it, something else happened! What was it.”

Closing her eyes, Amy tried to remember. “In the summer of 2009, meteorologists were stunned when a sudden storm decimated the city of New York. It was only the first in. . .. wait, 2009?” Opening her eyes, Amy looked again at the paper in her hand as a fat drop of rain exploded on a picture of some school. She had to leave. Now. But go where?

Even if Amy could find someone who didn’t think she was insane, they’d be more concerned with the two Great Contagions and the Three Impacts. Let alone the resource wars soon to come. No, the world would survive those things without her, she new that. If the Ingrids are to be pushed back, it be up to her to get the world ready for them.

Saying a small prayer under her breathe, and thanking the maker for those life extending procedures she’d been granted, Amy set about getting off this island before it was to late.

“First stop, Atlantis” she said with a grin. That facility should give me the foothold I need. A glance at her reflection in the window made her change her mind though. “Clothes first, Atlantis second.”