The Empire of Time Read online

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  About the Author

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  On Time’s Progression

  Character List

  Part 1

  The Tree of Worlds

  Part 2

  In the Footsteps of Napoleon

  Part 3

  Berlin, 1759

  Part 4

  Katerina

  Part 5

  To Asgard

  Part 6

  Rassenkampf

  Acknowledgements

  Copyright

  About the Book

  There is only the war.

  Otto Behr is a German agent, fighting his Russian counterparts across three millennia, manipulating history for moments in time that can change everything.

  Only the remnants of two great nations stand and for Otto, the war is life itself, the last hope for his people.

  But in a world where realities shift and memory is never constant, nothing is certain, least of all the chance of a future with his Russian love...

  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.

  For Susan,

  Always for Susan

  ‘Tok, Ick, jraule nicht vor Dir!’

  [‘Death, fear thee not!’]

  – German dialect, 18th c.

  On Time’s Progression

  It might be noted at the outset that this work is told, not in a direct and chronological fashion, but by great leaps forward and back through time. This is, I’d argue, how it should be. It is, after all, a time travel novel. Oh, H G Wells might have done things differently in his day, leaving out those complications that seem to come with the territory, but I am quite certain that had he, like I, witnessed more than a century of development of this sub-genre, he might have told it in the same way, experiencing all that happens through Otto’s eyes, through Otto’s thoughts; sharing each moment as he experiences it, and, by that means, giving the reader the very feel of travelling in time.

  Roads To Moscow was originally written, and was always intended to be, a singular work, though of considerable size. Throughout its six-year gestation, and through all the changes of mind and direction the work took, there was never any question in my mind that the story that began in Chapter 1, in the dark and distant depths of the ancient Prussian forest, should be the same story that culminates in Chapter 468, long years later and in the futuristic environment of Four-Oh.

  And so it is presented. Only … not in one book but three; those three books intimately connected – laced together, if you like – to form a seamless whole. Three books which, part through design and part through chance, came to chart the various stages of Otto’s ‘education’; an education that in a very real sense, is the work. What Otto learns, scene by scene, chapter by chapter, reflects how we, as a species, must change. Or die.

  Three books, then, each with its own distinctive feel, each charting a stage in the development of our hero, Otto, each taking us one stage further, and yet each embedded in the others, bound together event by event, until, at the end, we share some flicker of his understanding of the world.

  And so my singular trilogy, my journey back and forth through Time, on roads familiar and yet strange. A brief flirtation with infinity. A worm, swallowing its tail. Or simply a lesson in how to become fully human. Here it is. Make of it what you will.

  David Wingrove, January 2014

  CHARACTER LIST

  Adelbert — Grand Master of the Guild in Asgard, 2747 (part-human bio-mechanisms).

  Alekhin — Russian time agent, acting as part of Nevsky’s entourage. A bodyguard.

  Alpers — ‘student’ on Four-Oh.

  Axel — Chief of the Curonians.

  Balk, Hermann — thirteenth-century Hochmeister of the Teutonic order of St Mary’s Hospital in Jerusalem; in charge of the Northern Crusades in wildest Prussia.

  Batu — the Great Khan himself, leader of the Mongols in the 13th century.

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

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

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

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

  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.

  Conrad — Brother of the Northern Order (13th century).

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

  Diederich — German ex-time agent and leading physicist from Four-Oh.

  Dieter — eldest of the students at Four-Oh.

  Dietrich — Master of the Northern Order, 13th century.

  Ernst – see Kollwitz.

  Frederick the Great — Prussian King, Frederick II, known more commonly as ‘Old Fritz’. Fighting against overwhelming odds, he helped Prussia survive the Seven Years War, where he was faced with the alliance of France, Austria and Russia.

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

  Friedrich, Caspar David — assumed name of ‘Reisende’ Seydlitz in 1836.

  Funk, Walther — President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics for the Nazis, in the 20th century.

  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 the artificial intelligence known as Four-Oh. Twenty-eight years old in 2747.

  Goebbels, Paul Joseph — Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany, 20th century.

  Gotz, Carl von — Flugeladjutant to Frederick the Great (18th century).

  Gruber — one of the eight ‘Reisende’ carrying Seydlitz’s DNA. In his early twenties and ‘turned’ by the Russians.

  Gudrun — King Manfred’s giant niece, twin to Fricka; also niece to Sygny and Tief. In 28th century.

  Gunner — German ‘Reisende’ or time agent.

  Hagen — Manfred’s arrogant giant sixth son; his third wife Gunnhilde’s son.

  Haller — student on Four-Oh.

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

  Hecht, Albrecht — Hecht’s older brother and keeper of the Archives back in time.

  Heinrich — “Henny”, Burckel’s friend, a revolutionary (Undrehungar).

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

  Hermann of the Cherusci — known to Rome as Arminius, 1st century AD.

  Heusinger, Klaus — ‘Reisende’, loyal to Four-Oh. Acts as Otto’s secretary in Asgard in 2747.

  Hiedler, Johann Georg — itinerant miller and grandfather of Adolf Hitler.

  Himmler, Heinrich — Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel, or SS, and leading Nazi figure in 20th century Germany.

  Hitler, Adolf — Führer (‘leader’) of National Socialist or Nazi party, in 20th century.

  Horst — assistant to Diedrich on Four-Oh.

  Iaroslavich, Alexander — see Nevsky.

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

  Jodl — armourer for Four-Oh. In his late sixties and an ex- ‘Reisende’ or time agent.

  Johannes — Brother of the Northern Order, in 13th century Prussia.

  Kabanov — Russian
time agent.

  Kalugin, Grigori — Russian time agent and brother of Ivan.

  Kalugin, Ivan — Russian time agent and elder brother of Grigori.

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

  Katerina — Otto’s love. See also Razumovsky.

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

  Kondrashov, Alexi — Russian time agent, brother to Mikhail.

  Kondrashov, Mikhail — Russian time agent and brother to Alexi.

  Kramer, Hans — red-haired ‘Reisende’.

  Krauss, Phillipe — double-agent, working for the Russians and responsible for ‘turning’ eight German time agents.

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

  Kubhart, Klaus — Ernst’s replacement in 13th century Russia.

  Kurst, Herr — innkeeper in Dollersheim in Austria in 1836.

  Lavrov — Russian time agent.

  Leni — female courier in Four-Oh.

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

  Locke — one of the eight German time agents ‘turned’ by the Russians.

  Lothar — German head of translations at Four-Oh; expert on ge’not.

  Luder — Brother of the Northern Order (13th century).

  Luwer, Hans — artefacts expert, based on Four-Oh. Uses his other selves to multi-task. Has a woman somewhere in Time.

  Manfred — King of Greater Germany for 87 years. Three times the size of normal humans, he is a tenth-generation ‘Adel’.

  Manfred — three-year-old son of Gehlen.

  Manninger, Lucius — alias of Otto in Asgard in 2747 – acting as the envoy of the Confederation of American States.

  Maria — grandmother of Adolf Hitler, but actually a female Russian time agent.

  Matteus — young student at Four-Oh.

  Mindaugas — Grand Prince of Lithuania.

  Muller — innkeeper of the Black Eagle tavern in Potsdam in 1759.

  Muller — student on Four-Oh.

  Nemtsov, Alexandr Davydovitch — Russian time agent, working in the Mechanist Age (23rd – 25th centuries).

  Nevsky — Alexander Iaroslavich, Russian orthodox Prince of Novgorod in the 13th century. Victor of the Battle on the Ice (on Lake Peipus) in April 1242; a battle which ends the expansive Northern Crusades.

  Oleg — Razumovsky’s steward.

  Ooris — Neanderthal female back in the Haven.

  Otto — see Behr.

  Petsch — greatest artist for a thousand years; living in 28th century.

  Postovsky — Russian time agent.

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

  Razumovsky, Masha — wife to Mikhail and mother of Katerina.

  Razumovsky, Mikhail — rich boyar, living in Novgorod in the 13th century. Father of Katerina.

  Reichenau, Gudrun — ‘daughter’ of Michael (he claims).

  Reichenau, Michael — Dopplegehirn, and Supervisor of Werkstatt 9. Also somehow involved in time travel.

  Ribbentrop, Joachim von — Foreign Minister for Nazi Germany, 20th century.

  Ritter — German time agent.

  Rothaarige — ‘the red-haired one’, manager of the club of the same name in Neu Berlin in 2747.

  Schmidt, Andreas — alias for Russian time agent Dankevich.

  Schmidt — home owner in Berlin in 1759.

  Schwarz — one of the eight ‘turned’ by the Russians, and carrying Seydlitz’s DNA.

  Seydlitz, Friedrich — advisor to Frederick the Great, and one of the greatest cavalry generals of the 18th century.

  Seydlitz, Max — ‘Reisende’, in charge of Project Barbarossa, an attempt to change history in Hitler’s favour.

  Streicher, Julius — Nazi Gauleiter of Nuremberg, in 20th century.

  Subodei — Mongol chief in 13th century.

  Sygny — King Manfred’s aunt, assassinated in 2747.

  Taysen — stable owner and ostler in Potsdam in 1759.

  Tief — Chancellor to King Manfred in Asgard (2747). Uncle to Princess Gudrun. ‘Adel’.

  Tomas — young student at Four-Oh.

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

  Vyshinski — trader in 13th century Novgorod.

  Werner — Brother of the Northern Crusade, in 13th century Prussia.

  Werner — gene surgeon in the Neu Berlin of 2747.

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

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

  Zieten, Hans Joachim von — cavalry general in Prussian army, and advisor to Frederick the Great.

  Part One

  The Tree Of Worlds

  ‘There was a Vala who sang of the end of all things, of the doom of the gods and men, of the last dread battle and Odin’s death, and of the coming of Surtur, whose flames shall consume the world. In mid-air she sang, and at high noon. Odin, sitting in his throne of gold, was silent, and listening he understood, for from the beginning he had foreknowledge of the end. Yet was he not afraid. He awaited Ragnarok, ‘the Dusk of the Gods’, as in youth he had waited, and now he was grown old.’

  – Donald A. Mackenzie, Teutonic Myth and Legends

  1

  Picture this. Forest. One hundred miles of dense, forbidding forest on every side, cut through by streams and rivers that flow between the dark, straight stands of pine, mirror bright beneath the moon. And here, on an island in a river, behind a stoutly built stockade, is a wooden fort and a tower and a crude stone chapel. This is Christburg, built three years past on ground cleared from the virgin forest and defended against the heathen.

  Two guards man the tower, casting their weary eyes to the foreboding blackness of the surrounding forest. Deep snow carpets that bleak, unforgiving space between the fort and the river, while overhead a full moon shines down from a clear, blue-black sky.

  It is cold. Bitterly cold. Breath plumes in the air as the guards rub their gloved hands together and stamp their feet to keep warm.

  This is the edge of the Christian world. Beyond is only darkness: a hostile wilderness in which the heathen Prussians eke out their godless lives, praying to rocks and trees and the demons of the air.

  In the chapel the knights and priests are gathered, beneath the bright silken banners of the Order. Hermann Balk, the Hochmeister himself, the Magister Generalis, is there, along with six of his knights.

  Beside them are two dozen knights of the Teutonic Order of St Mary’s Hospital in Jerusalem, along with nineteen priests aged between eight and seventy. Kneeling on the cold stone floor, they pray to the Virgin, goddess of this holy war, asking her blessing.

  And, at the back, one other. Myself. Otto Behr, supplicant of the Order these past six months.

  There is a moment’s silence and then the Hochmeister stands, turning to look out across the bowed heads of the gathering. The candles on the altar waver, sending up their incense into the darkness of the rafters. As one, the congregation raise their eyes and look back at him. Meister Balk is a tall, gaunt figure, grey of hair and clear of eye. Like all the other knights, he wears full armour and long leather boots. About his shoulders is a white mantle, the emblems of cross and sword emblazoned in red upon the left shoulder.

  This is a special moment. Tonight, I will become a member of the Order, a monk-warrior, obeying the strict rules and codes of the Brotherhood. Smiling grimly, Meister Balk looks to me, then gestures for me to rise.

  I move carefully between the kneeling figures until I am directly in front of him. My scabbard is empty, my sword lain across the altar behind him. His grey eyes search mine, a stern pleasure in them; then, without preamble, he begins:

  ‘O
tto … do you belong to any other Order?’

  ‘No, Meister.’

  ‘Are you married?’

  ‘No, Meister.’

  ‘Have you any hidden physical infirmity?’

  ‘No, Meister.’

  ‘Are you in debt?’

  ‘No, Meister.’

  ‘Are you a serf?’

  ‘No, Meister.’

  The Meister pauses, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes, looking about him at the watching knights, then, with a nod, begins again.

  ‘Are you prepared to fight in the Palestine?’

  ‘Yes, Meister.’

  ‘Or elsewhere?’

  ‘Yes, Meister?’

  ‘Will you care for the sick?’

  ‘Yes, Meister.’

  ‘Will you practise any craft you know as ordered?’

  ‘Yes, Meister.’

  ‘Will you obey the Rule?’

  My voice rings out, clear in that tiny stone chapel. ‘Yes, Meister!’

  Again, the Meister nods.

  I have answered the five Noes and the five Yeses. All that remains is for me to swear my loyalty to the Order. I turn, facing the others, the practised words coming easily to my lips.

  ‘I, Otto Behr, do profess and promise chastity, renunciation of property, and obedience, to God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to you, Brother Hermann, Master of the Teutonic Order, and to your successors, according to the Rules and Institutions of the Order, and I will be obedient to you and to your successors, even unto death.’

  There are smiles now on the faces of many of those watching me, smiles of pride and satisfaction. I have lived and worked with these men and they know my qualities. Now I am one of them. A Brother.

  I turn back. Meister Balk takes my sword and, holding it flat across his palms, offers it to me. I take it and, lifting it in the air, kiss the embossed cross upon the pommel, then turn to face the others, repeating the gesture.

  Slowly I draw it through the air, making the sign of the cross. Then – and only then – do I sheath it again.

  I step back through them to my place, then kneel, facing the Hochmeister as we begin the final prayers. Yet we are not halfway through the first of them when there is a baleful shout from without, followed moments later by a hammering on the outer door.