Quantum Times Read Online Free Page B

successful.
         He came upon a vast open parkland with people sitting on benches or strolling or running down a myriad of pathways. He kept walking and observed as full darkness fell that the crowd of people had vanished. He kept walking northward. Out of the park, he approached a neighborhood where people seemed to live in high rise buildings showing wear and tear that the buildings he had passed earlier did not reflect. The stores on the street also shared in the general disrepair.
         As he passed along a particularly shabby and ill-kept alleyway, he noticed that three young men seemed focused on him as he approached where they were leaning against the side of a building. “A long way from home, aren’t you?” the tallest of the three spoke up as the three of them stepped in front of him to block his passage.
         Quickly the alien looked them over to determine their probable intention. On other worlds he had seen their kind before. Their facial expression and unkempt appearance communicated to him all he needed to know. With them there were no smiles of fellowship or offers of assistance. Further, they believed themselves to be menacing and took satisfaction from that. They believed themselves to have power over him. These three sought to victimize him in some manner.
         His instructions were clear about such encounters: be friendly, say as little as possible and go on about his way as quickly as possible. He did not think that approach would work with these three, but he would attempt to do so. So he answered in a respectful manner, “Yes…actually. My home is far away. Thank you for asking. Have a good evening,” he said and then tried to walk around them. The three seemed to have anticipated his movement and once again they moved to block his path.
         “Not so fast big man, first give us your wallet and that nice coat you’re wearing,” the one who had first spoken said.
         The alien then realized that now he was being directly threatened; the demeanor of the three young men had become more bellicose. He thought about his instructions but they had not covered this point, and besides he knew he was not going to surrender his coat and he had no wallet. “I’m sorry but that cannot happen,” he said.
         “What you mean ‘cannot happen’? And where you from anyway, your accent is strange as hell!” This speaker was the shortest of the three. His facial features were not at all attractive, the alien thought. His nose looked broken and his skin was splotchy. The alien was surprised that someone would allow himself to have such a deficient appearance.
         The alien was disappointed to hear that his accent seemed strange to their ears. He thought he had pronounced his English appropriately. But he had to admit that their pronunciation did seem different from his. “I think you should let me pass now – it would be better,” the alien responded. He regarded the three young men with what he thought was a benevolent and friendly gaze. He observed however that it seemed to have no effect. In fact their look at him seemed to harden and take on a feral anticipation.
         It was then that things went badly. One of the young men, the tall one who had first confronted the alien reached into a pocket and pulled out what the alien recognized as a dangerous projectile weapon and pointed it at him while the other two tried to grab hold of his arms. The alien came from a warrior culture where such actions were intolerable and the insult unforgivable. So his response was immediate and severe. Though he had been issued none of his usual advanced weaponry for what was supposed to be an unprovocative excursion, he had of course carried within the sleeve of his right arm what in English he thought would be called a ‘slicer’, the electromagnetic blade of which could instantly cut through the hardest of materials.
         It sprang into his hand and in the next instant