Chapters (45)
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Prologue
- 2046
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- About the Author
In the device room he stared at the blue portal but knew he could not go through. Malcolm was on the other side but there was a risk that by setting the portal again he was overriding the previous one. That thought made him swipe the screen and switch the device off but his mind had not finished with the idea. Instead, he found the settings and located the GPS coordinates for Rio 1999. The six-digit latitude and longitude numbers were there. All he had to do was adjust the last digit of each to move the position along. The original portal would be unaffected. He would simply be creating a new portal from this time through to that time but to a new location. He did it. He deleted the last number of the latitude and increased the value by two. He did the same with longitude and pressed the buttons to make the beautiful blue light fill the room. He took a tentative step forward and eased through his head, which bounced off the wall the portal was set against. He adjusted the values and tried again, leaning through. Sound filled his ears. Hot air hit his face. The carnival was close. The smell of Rio that he instantly recalled from six months ago. He looked round while leaning through. There off to the left was the telltale glow of the other portal, out of sight round the corner of the alley. He realised he must be further down the same alley. He crept out and paused to listen. The feel of it was incredible. The humidity, the smells of life, the sounds of people and music. He eased to the corner and peeked round to see Konrad leaning against a wall smoking while staring down at the main road. The blue portal right next to him.
Ben’s heart thudded. That was Konrad six months ago. The concept was too much but the lure and temptation were also too much. He went the other way and wound through the long alley, which fed on to the same main road further down. He stepped out to lights and music and people dancing. He stepped out to crowds cheering, whistles, klaxons and the thrumming beats. He spotted a gap in the procession and sprinted across the road to the other side then started down through the crowds. He was jostled, pushed and bumped into but it was wonderful. He smiled and nodded at people. They smiled and laughed back. The atmosphere was electric, pulsating, and it gave energy to his already excited state.