Free Fugitives of Time: Sequel to Emperors of Time by James Wilson Penn Page A

and into the hallway of the underground complex.
    “Hallway E’s going to be this way.  I think that’s
where he told us to go,” Rose said.
    “Yup.  E 233, I remember,” Julie said.  “I wish we
could have had you be the blonde girl and I’d be brunette,” she added, to
Rose.  “I don’t know how I’m going to get used to that.”
    “Wow, nope…  You definitely can’t complain about having
to change your hair color.  Have you seen my guy’s beard?” Tim
asked. 
    “Oh, come on.  Haven’t you always wanted to have a nice
bushy beard?” Julie asked with a wink.
    “No, I can honestly say that that desire has never crossed
my mind,” said Tim.
    “Well, I’m still nervous,” Julie announced.  Her body
shook again, warding off some unseen force.
    “You’d better not do that once we’re done in there,” Billy
said.  Julie looked at him, confused.  “You might shake the disguise
off.”
    Julie frowned.  “I’ll probably wish that was true.”
    Soon, they were at room E233.  The door opened
automatically as the four teens entered.
    The room looked like a dentist’s office with several extra
chairs.  It made Tim nervous, even though he’d never been particularly
scared of the dentist’s office.  He saw Julie give another one of those
creeped-out full-body shakes. 
    He remembered that she’d told him earlier that year, back in
their high school cafeteria, about how much she hated the dentist’s
office.  Apparently, that was an aversion that was still true for this
Julie, despite coming from a different timeline.
    Hopkins wasn’t there yet, but Paul was lounging on a bench
integrated into the wall of the room.  He smiled and waved at the four of
them as they entered.  Billy and Julie were pleased to see him, which made
sense.  They seemed to get along better with the younger, less formal,
Paul than they did with Hopkins.
    “What’re you doing here?” Billy asked.
    “Well, my nephew suggested that you guys might be
nervous.  I get the feeling he might be right, so we figured I could go
over the specifics of how we’re going to disguise you one more time,” he said.
    Tim wasn’t sure that understanding the process would make it
any less creepy, but Billy and Julie at least seemed ready to listen.  Tim
shrugged and followed his friends to a bench on the wall adjacent to the one
where Paul sat. 
    After giving them a moment to sit down, Paul
continued.  “So, back in the 2100s, people got tired of having to go
through extra steps to make themselves look how they wanted to.  People
had been putting on makeup, using anti-aging cream, acne medication, and even
plastic surgery for centuries, all trying to control how they looked. 
People used the same kind of stuff in your time, only less effective.”
    “Right,” Julie chimed in.  “Like sometimes when I put
on anti-acne medicine and break out more.”
    “Sure,” Paul agreed with a smile.  “Just like
that.  Only over time, technology to alter appearance got more and more
advanced.  Back in your time, only professionals like plastic surgeons
could alter your personal appearance to the extent we’re doing for you
guys.  But, as technology progressed, it kept getting cheaper until you
could do it from the privacy of your own home.”
    “Plastic surgery from your own home?  I don’t get
it.  Who’s holding the scalpel?” Rose asked.
    “That’s the point.  No one.  One of the big
breakthroughs was people starting to use nanobots to do all the work. 
Manufacturing synthetic tissue where it was needed, removing tissue and
imperfections where they were no longer desired,” Paul explained.
    Billy frowned and said, “Wait…  nanobots?  I think
I’ve heard of them before, but…”
    “Ah, right.  I keep forgetting how much is after your
time,” Paul said with a wave of his hand.  “Just really tiny robots. 
Basically invisible.  These days, there are all different types of
nanobots, but the ones used