Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna knock you off your feet,
Better recognize your brothers,
Everyone you meet,
Why in the world are we here,
Surely not to live in pain and fear,
Why on earth are you there?
When you're everywhere,
Come and get your share.
-- John Lennon (Instant Karma)
=/\=
"How you feelin'?" It was Kevin, come to check up on Tom.
"I've had better days."
"Yeah, you're gettin' used to the stem cell growth accelerator, right?"
"Yeah. Ow. I feel nauseous."
Boris came in, "Not too much so soon. Don't try to sit up," he injected Tom with an analgesic.
"What did you do to me?" Tom asked.
"Lots of secret things," Boris said, "Kevin, you need to let him rest."
"Uh, sure. Tomorrow, we'll take Jack out for a spin," he said to Tom.
"Who?"
"Jack is a what, not a who. The Jack Finney – it's a time ship. I got it souped up and need to test it out anyway. Eugenics Wars, start of World War Three okay for you?"
"Uh, I guess so," Tom said, and he was out again.
=/\=
"Sheilagh? Sheilagh? You have a visitor," Marisol said.
"We're going to 1970 tomorrow," Rick said.
"My hair ...," she said absently.
"Crystal can take care of that," Rick said.
"Yeah, look at me. I was as bald as you, not two days ago," Marisol assured her.
"Oh, okay." She, too, was then back under.
Marisol led Rick out of the recovery room, "You're the one who brought in the new Quartermaster?"
"Yeah, she was, she used to cut my hair," he said.
"She's pretty good. I guess you'll see how well she does with clothing tomorrow, eh?"
"I guess we will. You going out for a spin at some point?"
"I think in the Audrey. I guess Boris would take me?"
"He doesn't travel, and Otra's not allowed to travel to the deep human past. You might find yourself enjoying Levi's company."
"It'll be a joy, I'm sure," she said.
=/\=
Rick went to his own office, a small room with little decoration, save for an occasional tiny temporal souvenir. There was a Comm badge from the Enterprise-E, a sash that had belonged to Empress Hoshi Sato, one of Lucretia Crossman's plain linen handkerchiefs – it was those sorts of things.
He engaged his implanted communicator and called his sister, "El," he said, "I'm off again tomorrow, staying here tonight."
"Ah, okay," Eleanor Daniels said, "Have you told Mom and Dad yet?"
"Nope. I'm not even so sure that they've even miss me."
"Oh, you were treated to the Steve and Chloe Show?"
"Please, it's the Steven and Chloe Show," he said, smiling, "They're like teenagers. Were they like this when we were growing up?"
"Oh, yeah," she said, "I used to hear them at times. Consider yourself lucky, your room was on the other side of the house."
"But the guest room isn't. My old room is an office – yours is for exercise now."
"I know, I know, it's weird to see that."
"They do put on music," Rick said, "I know when the music starts, it's time for me to either go out or find something really interesting to look at in the office," he said.
"I was living there a few years ago when my apartment building was being renovated, you remember? And Dad went away for maybe two days on business, to Rigel IX," she said.
"Oh, yeah."
"Mom was beside herself. It makes me wonder what'll happen when, you know, when they're really apart."
"Well, hopefully that won't be for a long time," he said, "Will either of us ever be in love like that?"
"I don't know."
"I'm thinking it must be rare," he said.
"At this point, I'd settle for deep like," she said, "I, uh, I heard from Tina." Tina April, a friend of Eleanor's, was Rick's most recent ex.
"Oh?"
"I told her if she wanted to say bad things about you, that she could."
He smiled, "So, does she hate me?"
"I don't know about that. She seemed more disappointed than anything else, that things didn't go the way they were supposed to – at least, according to her way of thinking."
"Probably a good thing I stopped it when I did, eh?"
"Probably," she allowed. "She's going back out there, you know. Are you?"
"Well, I've got a mission," he said, "coming up soon."
"I know enough about your missions to know you often find comfort out there," she said. "But those are quick. What about here?"
"Tina's not telling you to ask me that, right?"
"No, this is just me being a nosy sister."
"Ah, well, no, I haven't pursued anyone here." Not yet.
"Tell me when you fall in deep like, all right?" she chuckled, "And, uh, you'd better tell Mom you're off again. This is a safe mission, right?"
"It's training, actually," he said, "So it's just observational."
"Good," she said, voice brightening, "Enjoy."
They closed the connection, and he called their parents. Sure enough, he was obviously interrupting something, although Steven and Chloe Daniels denied it. He let them go quickly. He knew they hadn't settled for deep like.
He pulled out the jewelry he wore, two items on a chain around his neck. One was a nearly-millennium-old mock skeleton key, with a solid handle. There was a tiny clasp. He put his pinkie nail into it and it opened. He read the inscription aloud to himself:
Whene'er you feel you you are in need
Remember the Lili-Flower
is supported by the Reed
He knew that the couplet referred to Malcolm and Lili Reed, his and Eleanor's ancestors. Those people hadn't settled for deep like, either.
=/\=
The next morning, Rick came in to collect Sheilagh, "Headache any better?" he asked, by way of greeting.
"Much. God, it was terrible. Doctor Yarin must have shot me thirty times overnight!"
"Well, I don't know about that," Rick said, "Those last few times were probably just placebos. I know that's what they did with me."
"How do you get used to it?"
"I dunno – the way you get used to anything. I was on a mission and was helping to prepare dinner and cut my hand with a French knife. I about died."
"Were you distracted?"
"There were a lot of people, and there were little kids running in and out of the kitchen," he explained.
"So this was a private house?"
"Yep. You'll go to all sorts of places. Think you're up for the cafeteria?"
"Only if I can get my hairstyle fixed," she was still completely bald.
"Please, you could blend in with the Calafan contingent," he said. She made a face at him, so he added, "I am part that. So no slamming the Calafans."
"I didn't mean any disrespect."
"I'm sure you didn't. A lot of the people here are hybrids. Kevin's part Gorn, Boris has Klingon in him, and you know about Otra."
"What about Carmen?"
"Pure or almost pure human," he said, "I don't know about the others who were hired at about the same time as you were. Anyway, uh, hair. We'll go visit Crystal first, and get you all squared away."
Crystal met them at her workspace, "All right, let's get you set up. Sit here, please."
Sheilagh sat down, and Crystal grabbed a bottle of a brownish mixture. Using a tool that looked like a plastic frosting spreader, she applied the mixture – which had the consistency of vegemite – to Sheilagh's head.
"So, what year are you off to?" Crystal asked.
"1970," Rick replied.
"Specifics?" Crystal inquired.
"It's a Midwestern college campus," he stated.
"Hmm," she checked a PADD, "Oops, better stop your hair growth," she said to Sheilagh. Crystal grabbed a bottle of water and doused the other woman with it.
"Whadja do that for?" Sheilagh demanded.
"That stops the growth. Otherwise, we're calling you Rapunzel. And, sorry. Here, let's get you dried off," she switched on a hand-held hair dryer and the job was done quickly, "Okay, now, you're good and straight already. Just a few, let's get you all evened out," A few snips and she was done.
Sheilagh looked at herself in a hand mirror Crystal had provided, "I look a bit old for this."
"Huh, mutton dressed a bit like lamb. A moment," she took a jar of gel out from a drawer, "Sit still and let me, ah, that's good," A few dabs of gel around the eyes and mouth, and Sheilagh looked a good twenty-five years younger than her real age, which was forty-six.
"They should sell that stuff by the case," she said, "I look like I'm in college again."
"They do sell this by the case – but only to movie stars and the like. And, let's think about clothing. How do you feel about wearing a miniskirt?"
"Really?"
"Sure," Rick said. From his vantage point, it was all good.
"My thighs are a little chunky for them," Sheilagh complained.
"Not to worry – your body type will work with the time period," Crystal programmed the replicator and it spat out a black mini and a creamy white peasant top with a bit of blue embroidery. She punched a few more keys and out came black flats, "Now let's do makeup," A bit of blue eye shadow worked, with some dark mascara and a bit of blusher, "Here, take these with you. Oh! You'll need a purse," Another bit of programming, and out came an unstructured denim bag.
"Should I put these on now?" Sheilagh asked.
"Sure, why not?" Crystal said, "You can change in there," Sheilagh left to do that, "And now for you, Mister," she said to Rick.
"Oh?"
"Preppie look. So, chinos, corduroy jacket, light blue button-down shirt. Penny loafers, too, those should work."
"I wore those on my feet in '59."
"It's a classic style. You need longer hair, too. Prepare to get doused," Crystal said. She spread, doused and then clipped his locks, "Okay, that's good. A bit below the ears but not too much, and a bit of sideburns going on but not overdone. Here, let's gel you up, take off a few years – grad student age, I'm thinking. You can say you're getting your Master's in something or other. Ah, wait, dammit, you need a flare leg on the chinos," she went back to the replicator and reprogrammed it.
"You're enjoying this," he said.
"Like you wouldn't believe. It's fun – you're all my own personal paper dolls. Now, go try 'em on," she said, "Sheilagh! Look at you! A regular Peggy Lipton!"
"Who?"
"It's good, trust me. Do you need heavy jackets?" Crystal asked.
"I don't know. Rick, do we need heavy jackets?" Sheilagh called.
"It'll be in May. So, uh, probably not," he emerged.
"Huh. I hate the corduroy," Crystal complained, "Let's get you denim," she hit a few keys and he had a different jacket, "Ah, there you go."
=/\=
Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Yeah we all shine on,
Come on and on and on, on, on,
Yeah, yeah, all right, uh huh, ah.
Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Yeah we all shine on,
On and on and on, on and on.
-- John Lennon (Instant Karma)