The Ocean of Time Read online

  Contents

  About the Book

  About the Author

  Also by David Wingrove

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Character List

  Part 7: Upriver

  Part 8: A Stitch in Time

  Part 9: The Gift of an Owl

  Part 10: The Language of the Blood

  Acknowledgements

  Copyright

  About the Book

  The War For Time Continues.

  From the frozen tundra of 13th Century Russia to the battle of Paltava in 1709 and beyond, Otto Behr has waged an unquestioning, unending war across time for his people.

  But now a third unidentified power has joined the game across the ocean of time, and everything Otto holds dear could be unmade ...

  About the Author

  David Wingrove is the celebrated author of the Chung Kuo series; co-author of Trillion Year Spree with Brian Aldiss; and the Myst novels with Rand Miller. He lives with his family in north London.

  Also by David Wingrove

  The Empire of Time

  The Ocean of Time

  Roads to Moscow Book 2

  David Wingrove

  To Robert Carter, Brother-in-Arms

  CHARACTER LIST

  Alexandrovich, Alexander — Carpenter’s Assistant at Cherdiechnost, in 13th century Russia.

  Arkadevich, Yakov — Master of the Carpentry shop at Cherdiechnost, in 13th century Russia.

  Arminius — also known as Hermann, Chieftain of the German Cherusci tribe and victor over the Roman legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (17BC to AD21).

  Baeck, Leo — son of Minister in German government in 2343.

  Bakatin, Fyodor Mikhailovic — river haulier in 13th century Russia. Has three sons.

  Behr, Otto — our narrator, a German ‘Reisende’ or time traveller.

  Belikof — posadnik at Tver, in 13th century Russia.

  Ben — jazz fan at the Unbeachtet jazz club, in California, June 1952.

  Birgitta — Mikahil Razumovsky’s second wife.

  Bismarck, Otto von — German statesman who unified Germany (1815-1898).

  Blagovesh — The Bandit King; leader of the marsh bandits in 13th century Russia.

  Bobrov — Russian time agent and killer of at least a dozen German agents.

  Burckel, Albrecht — German time agent and ‘sleeper’ in 2747 AD.

  Chkalov, Joseph Maksymovich — otherwise known as Yastryeb, ‘the Hawk’ and Grand Master of Time for the Russians.

  Dankevich, Fedor Ivanovich — Russian time agent. Otto has shot him at least twice, the last time fatally.

  Dick, Kleo — First wife of Philip K. Dick.

  Dick, Philip K. — Science Fiction writer in Fifties California.

  Dmitri — innkeeper in 13th century Russia.

  Efimenko, Anna — old widow from Cherdiechnost, in 13th century Russia.

  Eisenstein, Sergei Mikhailovich — Soviet film-maker of the mid-20th century (1898-1948).

  Ernst — see Kollwitz.

  Fedorchuk — ‘Head Man’ of Belyj in 13th century Russia.

  Franke, Roland — student at the Akademie in Neu Berlin,in 2343.

  Frederick I, ‘Rothbart’ or ‘Barbarossa, King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor (1122-1190).

  Frederick The Great — Prussian King Frederick II, known more commonly as ‘Old Fritz’, Germany’s great hero.

  Freisler, Jurgen — German ‘Reisende’ or time agent. Hecht’s special henchman – his Jagdhund, or ‘bloodhound’, responsible for doing all the dirty work.

  Gehlen, Hans — aka, ‘The Genewart’. Architect of Four-Oh, scientific genius and inventor of time travel. Has existed for 200 years as a gaseous presence in the midst of Four-Oh’s artificial intelligence.

  Greg — friend of Philip K. Dick in 1952.

  Grigor — chief hand to Shaposhnikov.

  Grikov — Head Man of Velikie Luki, in 13th century Russia.

  Gromov — Official in Rzhev, in 13th century Russia.

  Gruber — one of the eight Reisende carrying Seydlitz’s DNA. ‘Turned’ by the Russians.

  Gunsche — student at the Akademie in 2343.

  Haller — student at Four-Oh.

  Haushofer, Klaus — liaison officer at the Akademie in Neu Berlin in 2343.

  Hecht — ‘The Pike’; Meister of the Germans at Four-Oh.

  Hecht, Albrecht — Hecht’s older brother and keeper of the archives at the Haven, way back in time.

  Heinrich — ‘Henny’, Burckel’s friend, and a revolutionary, Undrehungar.

  Horst — researcher at Four-Oh.

  Hudner, Irmin — ‘Grand Master’ of Four-Oh in its early years.

  Iaroslavich, Alexander — see Nevsky.

  Ignatev, Tikhon — ‘Young Tikhon’; field worker and runner at Cherdiechnost, 13th century.

  Ilyushkin — boyar in Rzhev in 13th century Russia.

  Inge — one of the women at the platform in Four-Oh.

  Iranov — ‘Priest’ at Cherdiechnost in 13th century Russia.

  Jablokov, Master — runs a workshop in Novgorod’s central market, 13th century.

  Jamil — nurse/nanny to Katerina and Otto’s daughters (in 13th century Russia). Also twin to a time travel agent centuries up the line.

  Katerina — Otto’s beloved. See also Razumovsky.

  Kaunitz, Stefan — young student at the Akademie in Neu Berlin, in 2343.

  Kempner — ‘Master’; one of Four-Oh’s Elders.

  Kerenchev — Kolya’s false name in 1952 California.

  Kessemeier — ‘Reisende’ or time agent, at Four-Oh.

  Kilik — innkeeper at Rzhev, in 13th century Russia.

  Kirchoff — Master in charge of mental health at Four-Oh.

  Kleist — Blacksmith at Cherdiechnost in 13th century Russia.

  Koeler, Edmund — ‘Reisende’ or time agent in Baturin in early 18th century.

  Kollwitz, Ernst — ‘Reisende’ or time agent. Otto’s best friend and travelling companion; damaged in the Past.

  Kramer — ‘Reisende’ or time agent.

  Kravchuk, Oleg Alekseevitch — agent of the Mongols in 13th century Russia, and, in some time-lines, married to Katerina.

  Krylenko — boatman in 13th century Russia.

  Kuhn, Matteus — (aka Matt Caldecott). Sleeper agent for the Germans in California in 1952.

  Lishka — a haulier in 13th century Russia.

  Luwer, Hans — artefacts expert, based in Four-Oh. Uses his other selves to multi-task.

  McLean, Jackie — American jazz musician/alto saxophonist.

  Maria — German woman in charge of the platform at Four-Oh; replacement to Zarah.

  Natya — Katerina’s maid, in 13th century Novgorod.

  Neipperg — German time agent at Baturin in 18th century.

  Nemtsov, Alexander Davydovitch — Russian time agent, operating in the Mechanist Age (23rd to 25th centuries).

  Nevsky, Alexander Iaroslavich — Russian Orthodox Prince of Novgorod in the 13th century. Victor of the ‘Battle on the Ice’ (or Lake Peipus) in April 1242, a battle which ended the expansive Northern Crusades.

  Odin — Chief God of the Germanic mythology; ‘father’ of his people.

  Old Mesyats — boatman in 13th century Russia.

  Old Schnorr — ‘Master’ at Four-Oh in charge of project to trawl Time for faces; Elder.

  Otto — see Behr.

  Pavlenko, Igor — steward at Cherdiechnost, in 13th century Russia.

  Peter — Katerina’s first betrothed, who died, in 13th century Russia.

  Peter the Great — six foot six Tsar of Russia, from 1672 to 1725. Architect of modern Russia.

  Podnayin — ‘
Master’ and boyar at Rzhev in 13th century Russia.

  Puskarev — black ex-slave; field worker at Cherdiechnost in 13th century.

  Rapushka — innkeeper in 13th century Russia.

  Razumovsky, Katerina — eternal love of Otto Behr. Daughter of Mikhail Razumovsky in Novgorod in the 13th century.

  Razumovsky, Mikhail — rich boyar (or merchant) living in Novgorod, Northern Russia, in the 13th century. Father of Katerina.

  Reichenau, Michael — Doppelgehirn, also Supervisor of Werkstatt 9. Somehow involved in time travel. Product of a genetics experiment, he has two skulls ‘hot-wired’ together.

  Rieber, Lothar — aka Aaron; ‘Reisende’ or time agent in Baturin in 18th century.

  Ripke — records clerk in Four-Oh.

  Rollins, Sonny — American jazz musician/tenor saxophonist.

  Rudy — jazz fan at the Unbeachtet jazz club, California, 1952.

  Sanger, Gerhardt — student at the Akademie, 2343.

  Saratov, Sergei Ilya — harbourmaster at Tver in 13th century Russia.

  Schelepin — boatman in 13th century Russia.

  Schikaneder, Jakub — ‘Sleeper’ time agent in 19th century Prague; painter and exile.

  Schmidt, Andreas — alias for Russian time agent Dankevich.

  Schultz, Auguste — Chief Operative of the Investigative Institute in 2343.

  Semevskii — field worker at Cherdiechnost, in 13th century.

  Seydlitz, Max — ‘Reisende’ or time agent, in charge of Project Barbarossa.

  Shafarevich — German time agent; henchman to Yastryeb, ‘The Hawk’, Grand Master of the Russians.

  Shaposhnikov — captain of a trading boat in 13th century Russia.

  Smith, The — a smith, also possibly a time agent; from Belyj, in 13th century Russia.

  Stahlecker, Dr Walther — commander of Einsatzgrupen A in the 1940s.

  Stein — German time agent in 18th century Baturin.

  Svetov, Arkadi — Russia’s chief agent in the 24th century.

  Sviatislav — Grand Prince of Vladimir in 13th century Russia.

  Talyzin — posadnik of Rzhev in 13th century Russia.

  Terekhov — the miller at Cherdiechnost, in 13th century Russia.

  Urd — Goddess of Norse mythology.

  Urte — one of the women at the platform in Four-Oh. Also an expert physicist, technician and mathematician.

  Werner — brother of the Northern Crusades in 13th century Prussia.

  Woolf, Paul — student at the Akademie, Neu Berlin, 2343; son of Chief Geneticist Woolf of the Institute in Vienna.

  Yakovlev, Alexander — boyar in the Tver veche (or council) in 13th century Russia.

  Yastryeb — see Chkalov, Grand Master of Time for the Russians.

  Zarah — most senior of the women who run Four-Oh’s operating system, the platform. Sweet on Otto.

  Zhukof, Georgy — marshal of the Soviet/Red Army (1896-1974).

  Part Seven

  Upriver

  ‘Thus his path had been a circle, or an ellipse or spiral or whatever, but certainly not straight; straight lines evidently belonged only to geometry, not to nature and life.’

  – Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game

  154

  IT IS AUGUST 1239 in Novgorod, northern Russia. The weather is hot and dry, the sky the deepest cerulean blue. Close by, the window – a Western touch – is open wide, giving a view across the central garden.

  This is my house, the land purchased with my silver, made from my DNA, the house itself built only this spring to my own design. A Russian-style house, of course, but with Western touches, such as the sanitation.

  Ernst stands beside me at the huge pine table, poring over the hand-drawn map. It looks crude – as crude as anything in this god-fearing, god-forsaken century – but the details are accurate. It only mimics crudity.

  Ernst is frowning, as he always does when he’s concentrating, then he looks up and, meeting my eyes, smiles.

  ‘It looks fun. I only wish I was coming with you.’

  ‘You can if you want,’ I say, but he knows I don’t mean it.

  ‘No, no … I’ve plenty to do here. Besides, when winter comes …’

  He doesn’t say it, but I know what he means. When winter comes, it would be best to be inside a town, not out in the wilds of Russia.

  ‘You’ll need to keep good time,’ Ernst says, tracing the course of my prospective journey with his finger. ‘If you delay …’

  Again, it doesn’t need to be said. There are few roads in the Russia of this age and none at all between Novgorod and Moscow. Russia’s rivers are its main means of transportation, and when winter comes …

  The rivers freeze. Those roads are closed.

  Besides, Ernst has been ahead of me already, checking out the route beforehand and making deals. Arranging things.

  There are four points marked along the way in bright red ink. Those are my supply dumps, already set up and in place. Again, this is Ernst’s doing. At each dump are duplicates of everything I need: food, equipment and weaponry.

  And a focus. To jump to if in need. Or to send a message up the line to Four-Oh. We’ve worked it all out, you see. Each dump is marked by a tracking signal, which only I, in this non-technological age, will be able to locate. To make the hazardous journey safer, less subject to accident.

  And there’s a good reason for that this time. Because I’m not going alone.

  Ernst looks past me, and, in his quaint Germanic manner, comes to attention and bows his head. I turn and smile.

  ‘Katerina … you didn’t have to get up.’

  She grins. Her long, dark hair is tousled and she’s still in her sleeping gown. But that doesn’t worry her this once. It’s Ernst. She squeals and hurries over to him, hugging him to her, like a long-lost brother.

  ‘Otto, why didn’t you tell me Ernst was in town!’

  For a moment, in her happiness at seeing Ernst, she doesn’t notice the map spread out on the table. But then she does and looks at me sternly.

  ‘Otto …?’

  ‘What?’ I say nonchalantly. She turns and looks at the map, struggling to take in its details, but knowing what it means. Then, looking up at me again, she scowls, a hurt expression in her eyes.

  ‘Otto … are you going away again? Is that why Ernst is here?’

  ‘Yes,’ I say, and see the disappointment in her eyes. But I’m teasing now, and I really shouldn’t. She goes to speak again and I raise a hand. ‘And before you ask, no. Ernst isn’t going with me. Ernst is staying here in Novgorod for the winter.’

  ‘You’re going alone?’

  And now I smile. ‘No, my darling little one. You’re coming with me.’

  155

  The apprentices have wandered from their benches to come and stare over each other’s shoulders at the drawings that their master, the chief carpenter, has unrolled and fastened to his worktop.

  The old man is frowning heavily and pulling at his beard, in a state of what, for him, is almost agitation.

  ‘I’ve never seen the like,’ he says. ‘Never in all my life.’

  It’s true. The design comes from the future. It’s one of Hans Luwer’s, a beauty if you ask me, but the master can’t see that. All his life he’s been used to making sleds a certain way – the way his father made them and his father before that – and this is too new, too revolutionary for him.

  He sighs deeply, then straightens up and looks at me across the bench.

  ‘No, Meister Behr. I am afraid I cannot make this. This … blueprint, as you call it … it makes no sense.’

  It makes perfect sense, of course, but that’s not what he means. He is frightened of it. Frightened of the departures in its design. It is, after all, radically different from any design he’s seen or is ever likely to see. But next to him, his senior apprentice is staring and staring at the diagram, his eyes filled with pure wonder at what he’s seeing. He wants to make this new thing. In fact, he absolutely burns
to turn my drawing into something real, something he can touch with the palm of his hand.

  ‘But Master …’ he begins, daring to interrupt the old man in his excitement. ‘This is—’

  ‘Be quiet, Alexander Alexandrovich. I cannot make this thing. It would not be safe.’

  ‘But Master …’

  This time the old man turns and even raises a hand. Alexander Alexandrovich desists. But his eyes still burn.

  I take the old man aside.

  ‘Here,’ I say, handing him a small bag filled with silver coins – dirhams, freshly copied, using my own DNA, in Four-Oh not six hours past subjectively. It’s the only way we can transfer such copies, from place to place and age to age. Only our DNA can survive the jump. ‘Let your boy take this on. If it doesn’t work …’ I shrug. ‘I’ll pay you anyway, understand? Another twenty dirhams.’

  The master’s eyes have lit at the sight of all that silver and the promise of yet more. I have paid him lavishly – ten times the worth of the sled, as much and more as a prince might pay – and so he bows low before me.

  ‘Whatever you wish, Meister.’

  ‘Good. Then I want the job done for St Vladimir’s day.’

  His head jerks up. ‘St Vladimir’s day? But that’s—’

  ‘Ten days away, I know. Is that a problem?’

  Before he can answer, Alexander Alexandrovich steps in. ‘It will be done, Meister. I guarantee it.’

  ‘Good. And there’ll be a bonus if you do a fine job.’

  But now I’ve overstepped the mark. Both the master and his senior apprentice straighten, almost bristling at this insult to their pride.

  ‘Meister Behr,’ the old man says sternly. ‘Understand one thing. When Yakov Arkadevich takes on a job, it is done not just well, but perfectly. We are the best, you understand. The finest in all Russia.’

  156

  Walking back to Katerina’s father’s house, I find myself smiling broadly. I know the sled will be built to my design. I knew it long before I knocked on Master Arkadevich’s door. After all, with the slight improvements Alexander Alexandrovich makes to it, it forms the basis of those sleds we copied and which wait, even now, at the supply dumps along the way – the same basic design that will be used throughout Russia for the next seven hundred years.