Concord {Star Trek Enterprise fan fiction}

Chapter 4

“I know I’m real,” Malcolm said, after some moments had passed. 

“And I know that I am,” Charlotte said, “and that Mister Warren here is as well.” 

“But none of us know about Lennox, right?” Benjamin asked. 

“I suppose not,” Malcolm said. The injured man had certainly seemed real enough. 

Charlotte beckoned them both out of that room and shut the door behind them. They were in the hallway. “He did not hear, did he, when we were discussing Dorcas and Jim, right?” 

“It’s doubtful,” Malcolm conceded. 

“So if this is Mister Lennox’s nocturnal vision, it cannot be, for how could they exist, even in memory if he is the driver of this scene yet did not hear their names?” she asked. 

“But you heard, Mister Reed,” Benjamin said, “What I don’t get, is that even before I mentioned them to you, they were, I know they are – they are very real. And not just today, but for years! Sir, my wife and me, we’ve been together for over two decades. That was the case even before you showed up.” 

“I suspect we are going about this all wrong,” Malcolm said, “and it’s not a dream at all. I am, somehow, transported here. In some fashion, I have arrived, but I do not know the purpose or the means. What I mean is that there are transportation means, but they are purely spatial. They are not temporal.” 

“Temporal?” Charlotte asked. 

“Traveling through time,” he said. 

“This is madness,” Benjamin concluded. 

“We don’t know that, not yet,” Charlotte said, “In the meantime, perhaps, let us operate under the assumption, that we are where we say we are, and we are when we say we are. And whether Mister Lennox is involved at all, or even if he belongs here, that is to be determined.” 

There was another sound of moaning and so she left them to attend to Lennox. Malcolm and Benjamin were left alone. “I have a question,” Malcolm said. 

“All right.” 

“Is there a place where I could wash up?” Malcolm had noticed all sorts of rooms, but none of them seemed to be for that particular purpose. 

“The outbuildings are close by,” Benjamin said, “There is a water pump there, and a basin and a pitcher and soap. Take a towel with you. There is also a mirror out there.” 

“Oh, thank you,” Malcolm said as he stood near the linen closet and Benjamin fished out a towel for him. 

Benjamin looked at him closely, “Since I am guessing that you are unfamiliar with the particulars, sir, I should tell you that there is a chamber pot under the bed for the middle of the night. You empty it and wash it at the outbuilding, the following morning.” 

“Oh.” 

“That is wholly unfamiliar to you, isn’t it?” 

“It is,” Malcolm conceded. If it was an illusion – and he still was not convinced otherwise – it was a damned detailed one. 

=/\= 

There were a few hours before supper. Charlotte was busy attending to Lennox. Benjamin laid out the dishes and silverware. He went into Lennox’s room. “Miz Hayes, are you all right with my departure?” 

“Yes, of course, as always.” 

“But, ….” 

“I shall be all right.”