Department of Applied Physics

University of Glasgow, Scotland

30 January 1929

          As the advanced physics class exited the lab, the professor picked up the coiled power cord near the stack of batteries and connected it to the base of the apparatus.  He handed a pair of goggles to his assistant.  After putting on his own goggles, the professor and his assistant moved to the workbench on the other side of the lab.

“Initiate inner sphere rotation…+2,500 RPM.”  MacGregor instructed. 

“Inner sphere rotation, clockwise…500 RPM…1,000 RPM…2,000…2,500…holding steady.”  Anton reported.

“Initiate outer sphere rotation…-1,900 RPM.”

“Outer sphere rotation, counterclockwise…500 RPM…1,000…1,900…holding steady.”

“System at 100% angular momentum target.”  Anton reported, over the increasing hum.

The vibrations from the rotating device caused the soapstone table top to shudder on its wooden frame. 

“Activate magnetic field.” 

Anton flipped the electromagnet switch, completing the circuit.  “Magnetic field on.”

The 18” diameter spinning silver sphere began to glow blue.  A flash of brilliant light was followed by a low frequency rumble as both MacGregor and Anton felt an inward tug toward the glowing sphere, then quickly released.  “Did you feel that lad?!”  Mac yelled over the din.  “Yes professor!”  Anton replied.  MacGregor measured the deflection of the wire indicator on the torsion balance and proceeded to furiously calculate the equations on the blackboard.  Mac circled the final result and took a step back.  “It worked!”  Mac bellowed.  “It may have only lasted a split second, but we did generate a gravitational disruption.” 

“Deactivate magnetic field…engage braking system.”  Mac instructed.

Anton flipped off the switch to the electromagnet, then activated the hydraulic braking system, slowing the nested spheres to a gentle halt.

“This appears to be a good-news bad-news situation, professor.”  Anton exclaimed flatly.

“That it is Mr. Zhukovsky.  The good news is, we’re on to something.  The bad news, we need a much larger set of spheres, and a lot more energy.” 

Mac and Anton returned to the blackboard to update their mathematical equations based on the recent results.  As Mac circled the final results, he threw the chalk against the floor, pulverizing the stick into a cloud of white dust.  “There it is.”  He exclaimed dejectedly.

Anton reviewed the deflating conclusions. 

“Professor, it took over a year to get these 2 spheres machined and polished to a 1/32-inch separation.  Eighteen-inch diameter.  Based on your updated figures, to generate a gravitational disruption longer than a split second, we would need a set of spheres 20 feet across with the same separation distance.  I don’t think that’s possible.  We would also need a 10-fold increase in energy to generate the target angular momentum.  Again, impossible.  Lastly, we have thousands of sterling worth of Lanthanum-Strontium coating the inner sphere.  I don’t think there’s enough of that material on Earth to coat a 20-foot diameter sphere.  We need to find another way.”  Anton said.

“You sure know how to cloud a sunny day lad.”  Mac commented.

“I’m just trying to manage expectations, professor.”  Anton replied.

“It’s getting late.   Go home Anton.  We’ll start again in the morn.  There’s many more permutations yet to try.”

The experiment did yield an unexpected consequence.  The gravity wave generated by the small device, although short lived, propagated at the speed of light from the small blue planet outward throughout the galaxy…signaling to all who could interpret and understand…that Earth was on the doorstep of an infinite network of interstellar transport corridors through space and time.

Time Tunnel Complex

September 12, 1968 01:14:57

          Ann was still gasping for air as she initiated the transfer.  General Kirk and Dr. Swain assisted the other technicians to their feet as the oxygen levels in the compound returned to normal.  Kirk picked up the radio.  “Jerry, we need you in the control room on the double.”

“Ann, were you able to get them out of there?”  Kirk asked.  “Yes, General.  They’re coming back from 1978.”  Ann replied.  Ann continued to monitor the transfer.  “Something’s wrong.”  She said.  “What is it?”  Ray asked.  “There’s a power surge, they’ve overshot our time.” 

“Terminate the transfer!”  Kirk instructed.  “I did.  The transfer is complete.”  She answered.

“Do you have a fix?”  General Kirk asked.  “Not yet” Ann responded.  “Time and location curves still synchronizing…converging now.”  She continued to adjust the temporal locus.  As the viewer activated and the image began to focus, the readings were confirmed.  Ann froze.  “I don’t believe it” She said with astonishment.  “What is it?”  Kirk asked.  “They’re back on the Titanic!”  They looked up to the view screen just as the image of the Titanic came into focus.  “How can that be?”  Ray asked.  “The computer is analyzing the transfer.”  Ann replied.

“The power surge increased the retrieval signal by a factor of 6.”  She said.  “The computer tried to find the closest temporal fix in the system database to that time frame.  April 12, 1912 was the closest target.”  “See if you can get an exact time lock.”  Kirk requested. 

“General Kirk, we can try a parallel synchronization retrieval!” Jerry said.  “This is the first time they’ve been in the same place twice.  We have two overlapping spatial dimensions and an exact solar time lock, which gives us a definite anchor in the time and space dimensions.  We just need to bring up the data from the last transfer off of the Titanic, and when they reach that same point in time, send a full power signal to retrieve them.” 

“What do you think Ray?”  Kirk asked.  “Theoretically it should work.  We have the data from the last time they were there.  Once they reach that same point, a full power signal should bring them right here.”  “What are the risks?” Kirk asked. 

“The last time we tried it, they ended up in limbo.”  Ann said.  “Depending on the strength of the signal on their end, they could under or overshoot the return time, but they would come back to these coordinates.  I agree we have to try, it’s the best chance we’ve had so far.  I can try to compensate for the variation based on the last transfer.” 

“Jerry, load the transfer history from September 10, 1968, 0400 hours.”  Ray instructed.  Jerry retrieved the data files and loaded them into the space-time coordinate module.  “All set!”  He called out.

On the Titanic, Doug and Tony were approaching the synchronized space-time horizon. 

“Is this déjà vu, or are we on the Titanic again?”  Tony asked.  “No déjà vu Tony, this is the Titanic.”  Doug replied.  “If the tunnel has a lock on us, they can use parallel synchronization.  We just need to stay on the upper deck so we’re easy to locate.”  Doug said, as the two made their way to the observation deck.

“When the delta of the 2 spatial coordinates equals zero and the delta for the 2 temporal coordinates equals zero, I’ll send a maximum power signal to the retrieving units.  Ann, you will then immediately initiate the transfer.”  Ray instructed. 

Ann monitored the spatial and temporal curves on the screen.  “xyz₁ t₁ and xyz₂ t₂ converging” …Ann began the countdown.  “Five, four, three, two, one…” the escalating thunder of power echoed throughout the control room… “Full power!”  Ray sent a full power energy beam into the tunnel retrieving units.  Ann initiated the transfer.  Doug and Tony vanished from the deck.  The image on the view screen faded to static.

Scotland

5 February 1929

          6’4”, sturdy build, dark blond hair grown unkempt past his collar, full beard.  Slate blue eyes.  Dr. Duncan MacGregor was a gentle giant.  Outside of the University grounds, nary a person in Glasgow would believe this hulking lad was a professor of physics.  Even the round framed spectacles he wore wouldn’t have convinced anyone.  At 14, he read Einstein’s papers on General Relativity, and it changed his life.  He earned early entry into the University of Glasgow’s physics program and was working on his PhD by the age of 18.  At 21 he was a full professor. 

Mac, as his students and colleagues called him, spent all of his non-teaching time perfecting his “Temporal Interspatial Confluence” device.  He started his project during his undergraduate program in physics.  Anton Zhukovsky, a young, bright prodigy was his graduate assistant.  Anton was the son of a scientist and engineer of great importance back in Baraki, Russia, a small village 184 kilometers east of Moscow.  Anton’s primary desire was to make a name for himself, out from under his father’s shadow. 

          By the time Dr. MacGregor left his lab, the sun had just settled below the horizon.  The underside of the cloud cover reflected back to Earth an intense red-orange glow.  As he was mounting his bicycle to head home, a loud bang from behind him snapped him out of his tired haze.  “What the devil!”  He turned around to see Professor Welch getting out of his newly acquired Lombard AL3.  “Sorry about that Mac!”  He hollered.  Mac demounted his bicycle and walked over to Welch.  “It was a faulty detonation.”  Welch explained as he inspected the engine compartment.  “I’ve never seen such a contraption.”  MacGregor said, eyeing the motor car with childlike amazement.  Bleu de France exterior…burgundy upholstery…bright silver instrument panel.  “I’ve seen steam engines…and read about these combustion engines, but I haven’t had the opportunity to actually observe one.” 

“Mac, this car raced at the ’28 Le Mans!  I purchased it from a friend of my father-in-law.” 

“She is a bonnie.”  Mac replied.

“Well, Mac…it’s the only way to travel!”  Welch grinned as he started the engine.  As he pulled away, Mac could picture the process…gasoline and air entering the combustion chamber, piston compressing the mixture, spark igniting the fuel…”  As he turned toward his bicycle, he froze.  “That’s it!”  “Compressive forces!”  “We don’t need giant rotating spheres; we just need to compress the magnetic fields!”  Mac tossed his bicycle into the hedgerow and ran back into his lab to his blackboard.

          When Anton arrived at 10:00 am, Dr. MacGregor had filled his 20-foot-long, 8-foot-tall blackboard with equations, diagrams and tables of data.  “Have you been here all night Professor?  He asked.  Mac was halfway up his ladder filling in the last open black space on the board with one last calculation.  “Professor?” 

“It will work!”  Mac exclaimed as he descended the ladder.  He stepped back from the board reviewing the totality of his brain dump.  “What is it Professor?”  Anton asked.

“What we need is a tube or tunnel, not a sphere.”  He explained.  “Sphere’s would never work…we’d need huge spheres and more energy than we can generate.”  He added.  Anton furrowed his brows, biting his tongue to avoid a sarcastic response.

“All we need to do is build a set of rings, properly spaced, decreasing in size…and fine tune each rings magnetic field to propagate a cascading wave in one direction toward the focal point.  If we can focus the compressed field into a singularity, it could open a rift in space-time.  That would allow us to send information or material into the opening!”  Mac walked Anton through the chalk sketching’s on the board.  “Your calculations are correct Professor.”  Anton continued “This could work.”

“Now we just need to build it!”  Mac said with eager excitement. 

35°40’13.5″N 114°04’03.7″W

3 Kilometers Below Ground Level

          A burst of blue light illuminated the control room.  Sparks and vapor filled the tunnel as Doug and Tony tumbled down the walkway, 6 meters deep.  Doug stood up and helped Tony to his feet as they both looked around at their environment.  “We made it!”  Tony said excitedly.  They both walked toward the entrance of the tunnel, into the control room.

The control room was dark and vacant.  The computers were off and covered in dust.  The only light came from a couple of dim security lamps on either side of the room.  “Where is everyone?”  Doug asked.  There was always at least one technician on duty at all times keeping an eye on the vast array of computers and monitors.  Now…no one.  Tony looked up to the monitor room window.  Dark.  Empty.  There was also an eerie silence.  No constant whirring of computer components and memory tapes recording all data.  No low frequency hum from the nuclear reactor.  “Something’s not right.”  Doug said grimly.

“General Kirk!  Ann!”  Tony called out.  Only echoes responded. 

Suddenly, a disheveled man with a strange looking rifle approached Doug and Tony from the shadows behind the computer banks.  “Hold it right there!” the man shouted.  “Put your hands up in the air!”  Doug and Tony complied.  “Where is everyone?” Tony asked.  “Just hold still…” the man instructed.  He produced a small handheld device from his coat pocket and pointed it at the two men.  Doug and Tony slowly retreated from the man; hands held high.  “Hold still!”  He repeated.  The device completed the scan.  The man reviewed the lights on the device.  “100% human…that’s a good start for you…now who are you and what are you doing here?” he asked nervously.  “I’m Dr. Doug Philips and this is Dr. Tony Newman, we’re scientists working on this project.”  “What project?”  The man asked.  Doug and Tony looked at each other in astonishment.  “Project Tic-Toc…the Time Tunnel” Doug motioned to the tunnel behind them.  “This facility has been out of service for decades” the man said, “Everyone associated with it is gone.”  “I’m here to protect this thing from being hijacked by the En’ki.”  “The En’ki?” Tony asked.  “The En’ki drones…where have you been?”  He asked. 

“What year is this?” Doug asked.  “Year?  Are you serious?  We lost track of the years a long time ago.  It’s around 2100 give or take a few.”

“Varno!”  A voice from the walkie talkie broke the silence.  Varno walked away from Doug and Tony, keeping his gun aimed in their direction.  He spoke quietly into the radio.

“2100?  Tony exclaimed to Doug.  There won’t be anyone left from Tic-Toc.”  “I know” Doug responded.  “We need to try to make contact with the 1968 tunnel to see if they can transfer us out of here.”

Time Tunnel Complex

1968

          “Try boosting the power, we need to amplify the signal!”  Ray instructed Jerry.  “We’re at 100% now” Jerry replied.  Still the image on the viewer was faint.  “There’s too much noise.”  Ray explained.  “Ann, can you detect if the noise is from interference or some other factor, maybe distance?”  Ann continued to adjust dials to pinpoint Doug and Tony’s location in time and space.  “I’m getting a time range…early 22^nd century, reducing the limits…2104.  Summer.  That’s as close as I can get.  No date.”  “Where are they?” Kirk asked.  Ann feverishly adjusted the spatial controls, minimizing the curves on the monitor.  As the curves continued to converge and diminish, the green location light began to glow and flash at an increasing rate.  Ann’s final adjustment locked in the fix.  The location light ceased flashing and remained stable.  “I have a location fix.”  She said calmly.  “Where?!”  Kirk asked.  “Here.” Ann replied.  “They’re within 3 meters of this console.”  Kirk and Ray looked at each other with amazement.  “They’re here in the control room…in 2104?” Kirk asked.  “Yes sir.”  Ann replied.  “Why can’t we get a good image?”  Kirk asked.  “It’s interference from the bedrock.”  Ray replied.  They may be in this room, but our signal is having to travel out of this complex through space-time, and detect the boys almost 3 kilometers below solid rock.”  Ray explained.  “It’s not just that.”  Jerry interjected.  “They’re so close to the transmission signal source that the return signal is overlapping with the outgoing signal, cancelling out the wave pattern.  Those two factors are going to make it almost impossible to get a good visual signal.”  Jerry continued.  “What about audio?”  Kirk asked.  “Can we record the audio and play it back through the computer to filter out the noise?” 

“The audio channel is on a different frequency; we can try that General”.  “Jerry, run the last few minutes of audio through the computer, see if you can get a print out of the dialogue.”  “Yes sir” Jerry responded. 

Jerry isolated the audio signals from the computer, ran the data through the filter program and printed out the dialogue. 

Scotland

23 May 1929

          For the 3^rd time in as many days, the freshman in the physics classroom next to Professor MacGregor’s lab endured yet another wall shaking tremor with associated gravitational wave that pulled at every students’ insides for a few uncomfortable milliseconds.  “That’s it!”  Professor Welch stormed out of the lecture hall and into MacGregor’s lab. “Mac!  This is getting out of hand.  You’re disrupting my class and causing mass nausea.  I’ve had 5 students cowk over the last 3 days due to your experiment!”  MacGregor slowly walked from behind the table.  Professor Welch looked upon the dazzling array of 30 iron busbars bent into circular rings, wrapped in coils of copper wiring.  The large ring near the front of the lab was 42” across.  Progressively smaller rings were spaced equidistant in increments of 6”, terminating with a ring no larger than a wedding band.  Hundreds of feet of wiring connected all of the rings to individual magnetic field generators, some on the table, some on the floor, others hanging from the steam pipes above.  “What the devil is this monstrosity?!”  He demanded.  “It’s a…gravity field generator.  Yes, I’m trying to create an artificial gravity beam in order to…lift objects!  Yes, to render heavy objects absolutely weightless so they can be moved with ease!”  Mac responded with hopeful anticipation. 

“I see…” Professor Welch responded.  “…I can understand how that could be…useful.” 

“Oh yes, very useful.  Imagine the ease with which we could load and unload freight from cargo ships or trains!” Mac said excitedly.  “Yes, yes, I see the benefit…just please Mac, limit your tests to avoid conflicting with my freshman class…I can’t have any more students getting sick.”  Welch said.  I’d rather not involve Dr. Gray, but I will if I have to.”  “Understood.  No tests between 8:00 and 9:00 am” Mac promised.  Welch left the lab and returned to his class.

“Gravity field generator…very good Professor.”  Anton said sarcastically.  “That’ll be enough lad, let’s get back to work.”  Mac responded. 

Time Tunnel Complex

2104

After a brief discussion on the radio, Varno returned to the men.  “I’m to take you to the council.”  They’ll figure out what to do with you.  “The council?”  Doug asked.  “There’s over 200 families living in this complex…most were born here.  We have a system of leadership that helps keep things under control.”  Varno explained.  He took them to the last functioning lift.  Once inside, Varno inserted a key into the panel and turned the switch.  The lift began to ascend quickly.  “You still have power; I noticed the reactor was down” Tony commented.  “There’s a solar panel farm about 38 km south of here.  It provides enough energy for our needs.”  Varno responded. 

The lift slowed and gently stopped.  They exited into a spacious room.  The smell of musty carpet hit them in the face.  Three wood paneled walls, coated in dust, were accented with ornate crown molding, cracking in many places, corners matted with cobwebs.  Opposite the lift exit, the fourth wall was made entirely of glass from floor to ceiling… a condensation covered window looked out over the immense nuclear reactor…now dark and quiet.  At the center of the room was a large cherry wood table, approximately 4 meters long.  6 people sat around the table cautiously watching Doug and Tony’s every move. 

          “This is the executive board room” Doug commented.  “Come, have a seat.”  The woman at the head of the table instructed.  “My name is Reena, I’m in charge of this base.  This is my first lieutenant, McKee…the others oversee specific areas of the compound:  Medical, Security, Education, and Supplies.  Doug, Tony and Varno approached the table and sat down.  “We understand you worked at this facility when it was operational.”  She said.

“That’s correct.”  Doug said.  “We’ve been lost in time for the last couple of months, we come from the year 1968.”  Doug explained.  Can you tell us what happened?” 

“1968?  Before the war.” Reena commented.  “What war?” Tony asked. 

“Records are limited, but sometime between 1980 and 1985, an alien presence arrived on Earth.  They were microscopic virus-sized particles.  Part machine, part life.  Our scientists called them ‘virobots’.  The initial outbreak was in London.  They began infecting humans by the thousands, then millions.  We couldn’t tell who was infected and who wasn’t, at first.”  Reena explained.

“The particles entered the host by inhalation and skin contact.  They immediately entered the nervous system, attached to specific receptors in the brain and essentially hijacked the higher reasoning sections.  Time from contact to infection was mere seconds.  The host lost all sense of self and free will.  Once the particles took control of the mind, they linked with an extraterrestrial computer system, communicating via quantum entanglement.  We’ve learned the En’ki computer memory core was composed of millions of minds, long separated from their physical body’s tens of thousands of years earlier, from a planet billions of light years from Earth.  The disembodied minds evolved into their own race, the En’ki.  The En’ki system produces the infectious particles and sends them to planets to infect local populations, linking their central system to the planet’s inhabitants.  We don’t know where the particles are produced.  We do know their computer core system is operating in a base 2 kilometers beneath Mount Logan in the Yukon.” 

“How do you know these details?”  Doug asked.  “We call them drones.  The infected humans connected to the En’ki system.”  Reena explained.  “They can be captured, they can be killed, there’s nothing extraordinary about them.  They can’t infect anyone by contact, unless they have the particles with them.  Some of the ones we’ve captured have had no issues telling us what happened to them.  They seem to be fully aware of their history.”

“Can’t they resist?”  Tony asked.  “No.”  Reena replied.  “It’s like when a computer’s hard drive gets re-formatted and new programs are installed.  The base human drives, the operating system, are still there, fight or flight, self-preservation.  Even the host’s ingrained skills were retained, so the En’ki could take advantage of their abilities or specialties.  It’s just that the higher level parts of the brain were now controlled by the En’ki system.  All of the hosts act as drones on behalf of the En’ki mainframe.  Those that were uninfected joined together underground and formed the Sedition Network.” 

          During the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the En’ki infected millions.  But the infected individuals stayed quiet, infiltrating private business, government agencies, news organizations, even political offices.  We have evidence there were high level En’ki at the Time Tunnel, NASA, and Alpha Control.  Since the En’ki controlled the media, they portrayed anyone who suggested the existence of an alien presence on Earth as fanatics and conspiracy theorists.  Reena handed the scanner to Doug.  The Sedition devised this scanning device to detect the particle presence in humans.  The En’ki began to shrink from populated areas and hide in remote areas to regroup.  We were then able to use our satellites, jets and bombs to take them out.”

          “Then they found another way.  They had infected many of our scientists, some of whom were in the Defense Department.  The Army was developing a weapon that could take out their central base in the Yukon.  The weapon was a magnetic disruption device, a massive Shiva Star Marauder that would kill all of the En’ki units without destroying uninfected humans or property. 

In 2027, the En’ki drones took control of the rocket.  They launched it, sending it toward the Sun.  When it detonated in the chromosphere, a Coronal Mass Ejection was generated.  When the plasma flare hit the Earth’s atmosphere 3 days later, it caused a global geomagnetic storm.  The storm overloaded every transformer on the surface of the planet and fried every electronic component.  Communications, transportation, everything.  It was a modern-day Dark Ages.  The En’ki drones were safe in their base, miles beneath Mount Logan.  Over the next 10 years, the En’ki drones came out of the shadows and began overtaking us.  Now we’re the ones hiding in the shadows.  It’s only a matter of months now.  There’s only a few pockets of non-infected humans spread over the planet.  “What do they want?” Doug asked. 

“Their intentions are clear.”  Reena responded.  “They were forced from their home world and want to re-create their society here on Earth.”  Reena stared blankly out of the window overlooking the nonfunctioning reactor.  “Over 115 years…everyone that was alive when they arrived is now dead.  Every uninfected human on the planet was born in the shadows…underground.  Just fighting to stay alive, to avoid discovery.”  Reena stood up.  “We estimate there are less than one million uninfected humans worldwide.  We’re just running out of time.  They were using this machine to access the transportation conduit to their home world.  Their planet is the only source of the fuel that runs their system and the infectious particles.  Now that we have control, they’ve run out of fuel reserves.  We’re just hoping we can outlast them.”  Reena said.

“We do have one other hope.”  McKee said.  “Our ancestors have passed down stories of an Earth ship that was lost over 100 years ago near Enceladus.  It supposedly contained a cargo of first generation Ka’kia that could be programmed.  If we can find those Ka’kia particles and get them back here, we could program them to attack and destroy the current versions.”  McKee said.

“What are Ka’kia?”  Doug asked.  “The virobots…the En’ki call them Ka’kia.”  Reena explained.  “The Ka’kia infecting everyone on Earth are not accessible via any known means of communication.  The quantum entanglement communication system cannot be re-programmed.  The Ka’kia on the 20^th century ship were cloned copies.  We have a few hundred that were smuggled out of Alpha Control before they shut down operations.  We were able to re-program them.  We wrote a code that directs the modified Ka’kia particles to seek out and attach to the current version and destroy them.  We just don’t have enough.  The cargo on the lost ship contained trillions of them.”

“Do you have more information on the ship?”  Doug asked. “No” Reena responded abruptly.  “First off, we don’t know if the story is real or myth, a fairy tale to keep hope alive.  Second, even if it were real, we don’t know where the ship is or if it still contains the payload.  We’re not able to communicate via deep space, and we have no way to send a ship to look for it.”  “It may as well be a fairy tale.”   

“We do have one of the En’ki locked up below.”  McKee said.  “We can’t get anything out of her, maybe she’ll talk to you.” 

57°27’40.5″N   11°06’45.6″W

12 June 1929 03:31:09

          95,000 feet above the North Atlantic Ocean, a greenish glowing sphere appeared.  A small figure emerged.  The man, outfitted with a full body pressure suit with an integrated antimatter catalyzed graviton jet pack, descended from the cloudless night sky.  Travelling east, the man neared the Outer Hebrides, landing on a beach near Baleloch.  He stood up slowly, acclimating himself to the change in gravity.  He immediately looked toward the west from where he came, as if someone were following him.  He removed his pressure suit/jet pack and began walking east, stopping occasionally to check behind him.  He pulled a device from his suit and activated a signal tracker with a touch.  The device would lead him to the source of the gravity wave he detected back on Chaos.  The source was over 275 kilometers south east.  He continued on through the night.

By morning, he reached the fishing village of Lochmaddy.  He was able to convince a fisherman to bring him to the village of Uig on the Isle of Skye. 

          As they sailed across the Little Minch, a sudden wave almost toppled the small craft, knocking the stranger off of the crate.  “Sorry about that lad!”  The fisherman apologized.  “A little chop this morning.”  The stranger steadied himself and regained his seat on the crate.  “What’s your destination?”  The fisherman asked.  “South.”  The stranger replied. 

“Where are you from, if you don’t mind my asking?” 

“North.”  The stranger replied.

“The name’s Warner.  Leo Warner.  Been fishing these waters for 20 years.”

The stranger sat silent. 

“What’s your name, lad?”  Warner asked.

“Dolos.”  The stranger replied.

“You have a ride in Uig?”

“I’ll made do.”  Dolos replied.  The fisherman continued to navigate through the light fog.

When the small fishing boat docked at Uig, only Mr. Warner was on the deck.  The stranger was gone.  Or so it appeared.  Dolos, the traveler from another world had taken over Mr. Warner’s mind and body, dumping his previous “vessel” overboard into the dark waters of the Minch.  He tied the rope to the cleat and stepped on to the dock.  He checked his tracker and walked south east.

He walked for 20 hours to the village of Armadale, on the southern end of the island, where he took a ferry across the Sound of Sleat to Mallaig. 

At Mallaig Station, he approached the ticket counter.  “Papers?”  The ticket agent asked.

Dolos produced a leather wallet from his coat pocket, removed a slip of paper and handed it to the agent.  “Leonard Warner.  Lochmaddy.”  The agent handed the paper back.  Dolos purchased his ticket and boarded the train on the West Highland Line to Glasgow.

The train pulled in to Glasgow Station downtown.  The proximity signal from the gravity wave source was strong. 

Dolos traced the signal to a lab on the campus of the University of Glasgow.  He asked a passing student whose lab it was.  “Professor MacGregor.”  The student replied.  “His office is right there.”  She pointed to room 101.  Dolos approached the closed door.  It was plastered with notices and assignments.  But one stood out.  “Wanted:  Graduate Assistant.”

          Dolos arrived at the next morning at 7:00 am.  Mac was sitting at his desk preparing his lecture for the day.  Mac didn’t notice Dolos standing at the door.  He knocked on the frame.  Mac looked up suddenly.  “Come in lad!  Have a seat.”  Dolos entered the room and sat across the desk from Mac.  “What can I do for you sir?” 

“I’m here about the graduate assistant job.” 

“You look…a bit mature for a graduate assistant, if you beg my pardon.”  Mac said.

“I started late, Professor, but I have the drive and the dedication to put in a hard day’s work.”  He explained.

“Right.  Well, my last assistant graduated in the spring and went back to Russia.  I now find myself shorthanded this summer.  I only have 1 class, but I really need help with my research.”

“What are you working on Professor?”

“This may sound a wee bit daft; I’m trying to open a doorway through space-time.  My current apparatus can open a small rift for a few seconds.  I need to be able to increase the rift size and duration in order to send information…and ultimately, a person, safely through to another time and return.”  Mac explained, searching the man’s expression for any trace of pity.

“I think I can help you.”  Dolos replied.

Mac released a pent-up sigh and relaxed.  “Good!  Good, good.  Tell me about yourself…Mr…?”

“Warner…Leonard Warner.”  “My background is astronomy and physics.  The project you’re working on is exactly what I want to pursue.  You’re on the cusp of a great discovery Professor, and I want to be a part of it.”

“I don’t recognize your accent Mr. Warner, where are you from, if I may ask?”  Mac asked. 

“Quite a distance north of here.”  He responded. 

“Inverness?”  Mac asked. 

“Further north.” 

“Kirkwall?” 

“A bit further.”

“We’re in the Atlantic Ocean now sonny!”  Mac bellowed.

“It’s just across the ocean” Dolos hesitantly explained.

“Iceland?”

“Yes, Ice Land.”  He finally answered.

“Well why didn’t you just say lad, instead of making me guess?!  I never met a fellow from Iceland.”

“Well, now you have.”  Dolos said.

“Aye.  Let’s take a walk” Mac took “Mr. Warner” on a tour of his machine.  He showed him the ring structure and associated filed generators, the calculations and results from the experiments and finally, blueprints for a scaled-up tunnel.

They returned to his office.  “Very impressive Professor.  You are indeed very close to a breakthrough. I do believe I can help.”  Dolos said.

“We’ll, based on your knowledge, and my immediate need for an assistant, the job is yours.”

Time Tunnel Complex

2104

          McKee and Reena took Doug and Tony to the lift.  They descended to level 801.  They emerged from the lift into a dark corridor. McKee brought them to the end of the hallway to a large metal hatch.  McKee entered a code into the keypad…9624.  He opened the hatch, and they entered a small room with 4 other hatches with small windows.  He approached door 4, looking into the window.  Drawing his gun, he opened the hatch.  “Stay behind me.”  He instructed.  As they entered the main room of the dwelling, which appeared to be a small living room, a figure emerged from the kitchen area.  5’6”, gold colored skin, black jumpsuit.  “Zee!”  Tony called out.  “Tony!  Doug!”  Zee ran to hug Tony.  “Do you know this person?”  Reena asked.  “Yes!” Doug responded.  “She’s not an En’ki, she’s from Earth’s future.  We encountered her a few weeks ago.

“How long have you been here?”  Tony asked.  “I don’t know” She answered, looking to McKee.  “She was found on the surface about a year ago.”  McKee explained.  “We assumed she was with them because of her appearance.”  “Where’s Vokar?”  Doug asked.  “I don’t know, I was in the hive with you and the next thing, I was falling through space and hit something warm and hard.”  “She was found injured and bloody in the foothills of Mount Tipton by one of our scouts.  We took her in, cleaned her up and she’s been here ever since.  She’s been talking about the “Masters” and that her duty is to serve.  That’s all we’ve been able to get out of her.” 

“Zee, we need information about your society.”  Tony asked.  “When we were in your complex, Nimon said the current year was one million AD.  Do you know anything about your history?”

“We do not speak of history.”  Zee explained.  “The Masters control all aspects of maintaining the complex.  Every individual has a role.  My role is to serve.”

“How do you serve them, specifically?”  Doug asked.

“I prepare cargo transports for them.”  She replied.

“Cargo transports?  What were you sending?”  McKee asked.

“They were silver canisters.  I do not know what they contained.  The Masters only said that because of my service, our society would expand across the universe.”  Zee explained.

“Tell us more about your Masters.”  McKee asked.  “Do they look like you?  Are they of your form?”

“No.”  She replied.  “We do not see the Masters.  They communicate through the system.” 

“Zee, does the work En’ki mean anything to you?”  Doug asked.

Zee withdrew and appeared terrified.  “Zee, what is it?”  Tony asked.

“You spoke the name of the Masters that is not to be spoken.”  Zee began to cry.

Tony and Doug looked at each other.  “I’m sorry.”  Doug said.  “We won’t mention that name again.”

McKee took Doug and Tony aside.  “One million years in the future?  She’s shipping those Ka’kia particles all over the universe.”  McKee said.  “We have to do something!”

“Zee, we have to go back to the control room.”  Doug said.  “Is she free to leave this area?”  Doug asked McKee.  “Of course, yes.”  He replied. 

“I’d like to stay here for now, if you approve.”  Zee stated.  “You can do what you want.”  Tony said.

          The men returned to the control room.  “We need to get back to our time” Tony said.  “We need to warn the British government of what’s coming.  Maybe we can prevent this before it happens.” 

“Can you get the tunnel running?”  Tony asked.  “It hasn’t been operational in over 70 years.”  McKee replied.  “What if the CME destroyed the computers?”  He asked. 

“The computers are almost 3 kilometers below sold rock, there is a chance the components are still functional.”  Doug said, as he opened the panels to the tunnel controls.  As he scanned the array of circuits and connections, he noticed a critical void.  “The space-time converter is gone.”  He said grimly.  “What is that?”  McKee asked.  “It’s a vital component to initiating the time transfer horizon.  The tunnel won’t work without it.”

“What about the prototype in White Hills?”  Tony asked.  If they had a functional tunnel, maybe there’s a converter there.”

“It’s a longshot, but that would be our only hope.”  Doug said.

“McKee, can you get the nuclear reactor initiated?  We’ll need it to power the tunnel.”

“The solar batteries don’t have enough power to run the reactor.  We’ll need to re-engage the transmission line from Hoover Dam.  The CME blew all of the transformers and breakers.  The dam’s generators were repaired about 5 years ago, but the breakers at the substation were never reset.  The line from the dam to Kingman has a switch substation about 40 km west of here.  If we leave first thing in the morning, we can get there before dark.”  McKee explained.

“We can stop by the White Hills site on the way to see if the converter is there.  There’s no point going further if it’s not.”  Doug said.

“Let’s get a good night rest.  It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”  McKee said.  He led them to a vacant cabin to rest.  Doug and Tony hit the bunks and immediately fell asleep.

Scotland

6 November 1929

          “Maybe we should add more rings on the proximal end.”  Mac said, looking over the tunnel, rubbing his beard gently.  “I’m not convinced that will have any effect Professor.”  Warner replied.  “Why not?   More rings, could increase the compressive force.  We need a larger focal horizon.  And it needs to last more than 1 second.  All we’ve been able to do is send radio signals through.  There’s no way of telling where or when the signals are ending up.  We need to send a physical object and return it to see if it’s travelling in space and time.”  Mac said. 

“The current focal horizon is approximately 1/100 of an inch with a tunnel length of 22 feet.”  Warner replied, as he wrote out the calculations on the black board.  “Extending the length of the tunnel will have no effect up to 225 yards.  The ratio of transition horizon diameter to tunnel length is quantized.”

“So, what are you saying, we need to build a tunnel 225 yards long?”  Mac asked. 

“No sir, what I’m suggesting is…it’s inefficient to increase horizon diameter by lengthening the tunnel.  We’d have more success increasing power to the field generators.”  Warner explained.

“How much more power?”  Mac asked.

Warner scribbled formulas on the board.  “300%” He replied. 

“Ok…”  Mac stared at the ground.  “The boilers can’t generate 300% more energy Leo.  How are we going to attain that level?”

“Carville B power station in Wallsend should be able to provide the energy we need.”  Warner said.  “I may be able to procure some lab space at Wigham Shipyards.”

MacGregor had much to think about.  He was up for tenure at the university.  Wallsend was over 120 miles away, much too far to commute.  He would have to leave the university and fund the remainder of the project himself.  He had a friend teaching chemistry at a nearby college, just ten miles from the shipyard.  Perhaps he could join the teaching staff there.

He was too close to a breakthrough…he knew it would take great sacrifice to attain such an achievement. 

Time Tunnel Complex

2104

“Let’s go!”  McKee hollered as he turned on the cabin lights.  Doug and Tony jolted upright, still in a daze.  It was the best sleep they’d had in weeks.  It took a moment for both of them to remember where they were.  “We’re heading out in 10 minutes” McKee said.  It was 4:30 AM. 

McKee led Doug and Tony to the control room, where Reena was waiting.  “It’s too dangerous to leave out of the main exit, we’ve seen En’ki forces milling around the area.”  She said.  “Back when the reactor was functional, they could sense the radiation and were trying to find the source.  Once it was shut down, they dissipated.  Sometimes a few come back to search the area.  There’s an emergency exit tunnel that bypasses the main entrance.” 

“Yes, the emergency exit tunnel emerges in the hills just west of the main entrance, I’m familiar with it” Doug said. 
“Good.”  Reena replied.  “McKee will take you through the exit tunnel to the hills.  Once you emerge, you’ll go northwest for 25 kilometers. You’ll reach an abandoned highway.  Follow the highway north for 4.5 kilometers.  On the east side, there are several deserted buildings.  Behind those buildings near a dry creek bed, you’ll find a concrete shed.  The power switch diverting electricity to the complex is in the shed.  It will take at least 2 people to close the circuit.”  She explained.

“Anyone we see will most likely be En’ki.”  McKee said.  “The uninfected rarely go out in the open.”  “Each of you should take a magnetic pulse rifle.”  Reena said.  “If you run across anyone, use it.”  “We don’t want to kill any innocent people!” Tony said.  “If they’re 100% human, the pulse will have little effect.”  Reena said.  “It only stuns infected humans.  It disables the Ka’kia.”  “And it’s only temporary.”  McKee added.  “They’ll be down for only about 7 minutes.  It’ll give us enough time to leave the area.”  Doug and Tony looked at each other.  “Ok” Doug said.  “Let’s go.”

          McKee grabbed 3 pulse rifles from the armory and several canteens of water.  He led Doug and Tony through the emergency exit tunnel.  After approximately 5 kilometers, they reached the spiral staircase to the surface exit.  The three men ascended the staircase and reached the hatch.  “I’ll go out first, scout the area and give you the all-clear sign.”  McKee said. 

McKee turned the wheel on the rusted hatch and slowly pushed it open.  Loud squeaks forced him to slow his movements.  He struggled with the weight of the heavy door.  Once fully open, he emerged into the cool morning air of the Mojave Desert.       

          He pulled himself up, staying low in the small valley.  He made his way up the hill a little higher and peered through his binoculars at the surrounding area.  Dawn was breaking over the Music Mountains behind him, illuminating the morning sky with shades of red and orange.  McKee forgot how beautiful the outside world could be.  He hadn’t been outside the tunnel in years.  He scanned the valley.  No signs of life.  McKee returned to the hatch opening and helped Doug and Tony out of the hole.

          “We have a long walk.  Let’s get started.”  McKee instructed.  The men headed west, staying low in the dry creek beds.  By midafternoon, the temperature was nearing 110 degrees.  They were approaching the ghost town of White Hills.  “Stay down” McKee whispered.  They lowered themselves at the edge of the arroyo.  “There’s usually a few En’ki in this area.  Something attracts them here.  We haven’t figured it out.”  Doug looked at Tony.  “It must be the atomic pile in the prototype tunnel.”  “They must detect the radiation from the old reactor.”  Doug said.  “That would do it.”  McKee commented.  “They haven’t found it yet; they just mill around the hills like they’re sleepwalking.” 

“How are we supposed to find it?”  McKee asked.  “There’s hundreds of abandoned mines in these hills.”

“There should be an historical marker at the entrance.” Doug said.  “There’s a picture of the site in the main tunnel headquarters.  It’s a 3-meter-tall black granite obelisk on a 1-meter cube pedestal.”

They continued to walk low along the valley.  As they emerged over the hill, Tony spotted the toppled monument reflecting the bright sunlight.  “There it is!”  he shouted.  “Quiet.”  McKee warned.  “They’ll hear you.”

The men descended the sloping hill toward the mine entrance. 

Doug read the inscription on the fallen marker.

On this site, September 9, 1947 A.D.

Mankind bridged the infinite corridors of time

— ab aeterno — de futuro —

          The men pulled aside the rusted-though wrought iron gate that had been installed to protect the entrance to the landmark.  Doug made his way to the main computer and gently extracted the space-time converter.  “This is it.”  He exclaimed.  “Let’s get going.”  McKee said.  “It’s only going to get hotter out here.”  The men exited the mine shaft and ascended the rocky hill.  As they reached the summit, McKee whispered…“There’s one.”  The men ducked low.  Doug and Tony scanned the area.  At the edge of the hills, a lone man slowly walked along the dirt road.  “Are you sure he’s one of them?”  Tony asked.  “Yes, I know the look.  It’s like he’s on autopilot.”  “We’ll need to get close and hit him with the pulse rifle before he sees us, or it will alert the others.”  “Can’t we just go around him?” Tony asked.  “No, better to disable him now, we can’t take a chance on him seeing us.” McKee explained.

The three men continued along the arroyo, up to a culvert near the dirt road.  Ahead, the lone man in dusty clothes slowly lumbered away from them.  “I have to be within 4 meters of him.”  McKee explained.  “You two follow directly behind me.  The rifle can only fire one pulse at time, then there’s a 30 second recharge period.  If I don’t get a direct hit, you guys will need to fire a shot.” He said.  They emerged from the culvert and slowly crept up toward the man in single file.  A rattlesnake suddenly appeared from the brush along the side of the dirt road, causing the man to turn his head to the left.  The men were still ten meters away when he caught them out of the corner of his eye.  He turned toward them as McKee rushed him and fired.  The pulse hit him directly, but at 8 meters, the effect was partial.  “Hit him again!”  McKee yelled.  Doug fired his rifle at 3 meters, disabling the En’ki.  “He saw us.”  McKee said.  “We need to get out here now, other will be here soon.”  The three men continued west.  Unknown to the men, an En’ki drone was closing in.  He was soon joined by another.  The two En’ki continued to trail the humans until a third drone completed the attack force.  They could now overtake all three humans simultaneously. 

          As the men entered a narrow gully, the drones attacked from behind, disarming them in the process.  As the 3 pairs fought, Tony was able to temporarily incapacitate his attacker.  He stumbled over to assist Doug, who was on his back on the receiving end of a flurry of fists to the face.  Tony pulled the attacker off Doug.  By this time, McKee was unconscious and his attacker was making his way toward Tony.  The drone picked up a large metal pipe from the side of the ditch and raised it over his head, about to bring it down onto Tony, when…he suddenly stopped in his tracks, dropped the pipe, then fell forward on his face, an arrow in his back.  A second arrow hit Tony’s attacker, and fell from his grasp.  The third drone was hit as he turned to escape the area.  Doug and Tony looked around the hills.  The sun baked sand was blinding.  Doug went over to check on McKee, who was coming to.  “Doug!”  Tony shouted as a man came down from a steep hill.  McKee grabbed his pulse rifle and pointed it at the stranger.  “Wait!”  Tony yelled.  “He just saved our lives!”

McKee, either concurring with Tony’s assessment, or too weak to hold the rifle, lowered it to the sand.  The stranger approached the men.  “My name is Hop’a.  What are you doing out here?”

“We’re trying to get to a power station.”  Tony replied.  Are you Hualapai?”  He asked.

“Yes.  And you are from Red Lake Playa, are you not?”  Hop’a asked.

“What do you know about Red Lake?”  Doug asked.

“I know the Great Spirit lives below the playa.  That there’s a tunnel of fire connecting Heaven and Earth.”  He said.

“Where did you hear that?”  McKee asked.

          My ancestors fought a war in 1869 with the American Army.  On these very grounds.  Many of my people were killed.  An Arapaho warrior from the north assisted my ancestors.  When his tribe was attacked in 1876, my g-g-grandfathered traveled to Montana to help him.  His entire family was massacred.  That was the Battle of Little Big Horn.  Yellow Elk returned to Arizona with my great-great-grandfather after the battle.  He had a vision on the eve of the battle.  He was inspired to live a full life and embrace new things.  His story of the place beyond the sunset beneath the playa was passed down through my family.”

          “My great grandfather was among hundreds of Hualapai hired to dig beneath Red Lake in 1958.  The Hualapai believe we were created from the sediment and clay from the river ha’yidada.  My great grandfather toiled for 2 years in that fossilized clay mining salt.  He felt the work he was chosen for was sacred.  And that what he was working on was bridging the divide between Heaven and Earth.”

“It’s dangerous for you to be out here in the open.  I’ll guide you to your destination.  I know where the creatures loom.”

          Hop’a guided the trio from White Hills 9 kilometers to the cinder block switch house.  A rusted steel door prevented direct access to the breakers, but the corrugated roof had long since blown away.  McKee and Doug hoisted Tony up to the top of the 8 foot wall.  McKee was pulled up next.  The two men identified the switch from the dam to the Tunnel complex.  Both men heaved on the huge steel switch, rocking it back and forth with little movement.  “We need leverage.”  Tony said, scanning the small room for anything that could assist.  There was a rusted section of conduit pipe hanging from one of the panels.  “Help me with this.”  Tony said.  McKee and Tony were able to dislodge the conduit from the panel.  They placed the pipe on the ground beneath the switch, between 2 large power cables.  They then pushed the pipe against the switch.  After 3 successive shoves, the switch flipped over, closing the circuit and sending electricity from Hoover Dam to the Time Tunnel Complex.  “That should do it.”  McKee said, exhausted.

Hop’a guided the men back to his “home”, a hidden mine shaft on the outskirts of Cyclopic.  The shaft connected to a subterranean freshwater aquifer.   Hop’a provided food and water for the men. 

“Thank you for helping us.”  Tony said.  “We couldn’t have made it there without your assistance.” 

“I help all who pass through.  This land is sacred, and the demons who infest it must be stopped.”  He said.  “Come, it will be dark soon, I must return you to Red Lake.” 

The men headed east toward the tunnel complex.  They arrived at the entrance hatch as the sun set over the horizon.  “Come with us.”  Doug said. 

“No, I must stay and protect all who need to pass.”  He replied.

“Good luck Hop’a.”  Tony said.  The three men descended into the entrance and closed the hatch behind them.

Northern England

13 January 1930

          MacGregor stopped by the lab on his way to the school to pick up his notes.  He was in a hurry and didn’t want to be late for his first day.  “Professor, the engineers plan to tie our power into the main circuits this afternoon.”  Warner said.

“Don’t throw the breakers until I return!”  MacGregor yelled on his way out the door.  “I want to be here when we go live!”  His voice trailed off as he ran to the train station.

MacGregor had secured a teaching position in the Department of Physics & Electrical Engineering at Sunderland Technical College.  He and Mr. Warner spent the entirety of November moving equipment from Glasgow to Wallsend, and the whole of December rigging the scaled-up tunnel.  Mr. Warner found work as a weekend turbine operator for the power station. 

          Later that day, the power supply for the tunnel field generators were tied into the power plants main line.  Mac and Leo were able to activate the system and by 3:00 am, had successfully initiated a trans-dimensional warp in spacetime. 

“Shall we run a test?”  Leo asked.  “It’s late Leo, and I’ve had a long day.  I have a plan for tomorrow.  I’ll be here on my lunch break and we’ll send a test signal.”  Mac explained.

The next day, after his morning lecture, Mac made his way back to the lab. 

          “All right Mr. Warner.  We’re ready to send radio signals into the future!  Please take notes.”

Leo retrieved the project notebook and pencil.

“It’s now noon Greenwich Mean Time.  Every day at noon, I will read this passage and send it to arrive the following day at precisely 11:00 am.  Each day at 11:00 am, we will check the receiver to see if the message from the prior day arrives.  Do you have that?”

“Yes Professor.”

Mac proceeded to enter the temporal coordinates into the targeting computer.  He then activated the magnetic field cascade, generating the transition horizon in the distal reaches of the tunnel. 

Mac took a seat at the wireless transmitter and tuned the signal to 1474 kHz.  He picked up the microphone.

“Testing…testing…

Comin thro’ the rye, poor body,

Comin thro’ the rye,

She draigl’t a’ her petticoatie,

Comin thro’ the rye!

Gin a body meet a body

Comin thro’ the rye,

Gin a body kiss a body,

Need a body cry?

“This is Professor Duncan MacGregor, transmitting this message at 12 noon Greenwich Mean Time on 14 January 1930.”  He then switched off the transmitter.

“You make a poor minstrel Professor.”  Warner chided.

“Ahh…wheesht Leo!  We’ll check on the morrow and see if we receive it!”

57°27’40.5″N   11°06’45.6″W

26 July 1934 03:31:09

          Once again, the greenish glow of the atmospheric anomaly above the North Atlantic burst into existence.  While 5 years had passed since our last visitor traversed this portal, the pursuant of the initial traveler was only seconds behind him, from her perspective.  Dressed in a similar pressure suit with integrated jets, Maia descended toward Barra Island off the west coast of Scotland. 

          She was injured in the landing and was taken to a local hospital.  She was treated and released to the local authorities, who would not release her without identification.  The tiny police office was manned by a single bobby.  Officer Hale gave Maia a towel to dry off and sat her in the lounge.

          “Please, sir, I’m looking for a man, he’s very dangerous.  His name is Dolos.  I was following him, he arrived right before me.”  Maia explained.  “Can you describe him?”  The officer asked. 

Maia hesitated.  “He’s two meters tall…” 

“And?  Anything else?”  The officer asked.  She slowly shook her head.  “No.”  She had never seen his face.  She knew she could not explain his jet suit.  It was obvious from her surroundings that this world was far behind her familiar Aeolian technology.  They would surely lock her away, or at the very least, not believe a word she said.  She had to leave this place to find him on her own.  “Can’t you release me?” She asked the officer. 

“Look lass, you have no identification, you can’t tell me where you’re from, and you have nowhere to go when you leave here.  I have to detain you for your own good.  We need to find a family member or friend to help you.”

“I told you, I have no friends or family here, I’m a traveler, passing through.”  Maia explained. 

“Where are you from miss?  I don’t recognize your accent.  You’re not from the kingdom, I’ve been all over the Isle and you’re not local.  You’re not American, either.”  The officer said.

“Wait here.”  The officer left the small room and returned shortly with a globe.

“We’re here.”  The officer pointed to Barra Island.  You were found on the western shore.  Does any part of this geography look familiar to you?”  He asked.

Maia studied the globe.  She recognized the coast of the island she landed on.  She mentally traced her trajectory backward toward the first land mass she could find, and identified her point of origin by placing her finger on the globe. 

“Iceland.  You’re from Iceland?”  The officer asked. 

“Yes.” She replied confidently.

“How did you get here, we found no boat?”  The officer asked.

“My ship was destroyed.”  Maia answered, looking down at her soaking wet boots.

The officer looked at her sympathetically.  “Wait here.  I’ll see if I can find someone to help you.”

Sergeant Wilbur arrived at the station as Officer Hale was placing a call to the local women’s home.  “We have a young lady at our station who was shipwrecked last night.  She’s out of sorts and has no friends or family.  I’m wondering if someone from your facility can come offer her a place to stay while she recovers herself.”

“Officer Hale, you have a lost young lady at the station?”  Wilbur asked.

“Yes, sir, found her last night on the beach, disoriented and banged up.” 

“She said she was on a ship from Iceland.  Her ship floundered and she made her way to the shore.”

“Where is she?”  Wilbur asked.  “She’s in the officer’s lounge sir.” 

Wilbur walked down the hall to the officer’s lounge with Hale behind him.

Maia was fast asleep in the overstuffed sofa chair.  Wilbur took note of her appearance.  She wore a strange one-piece body suit.  It appeared black at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the color shifted to dark indigo then to violet just by adjusting one’s angle of sight.  “That’s extraordinary.”  Wilbur commented.  “It’s like the iridescent sea glass I found on the beach as a young bairn.”  Hale said.  “Aye…most peculiar.”  Wilbur responded.

The pant legs blended into strange boots that appeared to be contiguous with the suit.  The sleeves tapered at the wrists and terminated just short of the knuckles.

Her hair was still slightly wet.  Short and golden yellow.  Swirls of the damp hair were matted in circles on her forehead. 

“Someone’s looking for her.”  Wilbur said.

“Who sir?” 

“There’s an engineer from Glasgow.”  Wilbur continued.  “Five years ago, he sent a message to all precincts on the Hebrides…be on the lookout for a young lady with short, gold hair.  She’d be wearing a full body swimsuit.  And she’d have an apparatus the size of a toaster oven with her.”

Officer Hale went to the desk and retrieved her jet pack.  “This is the only thing she had with her.”  He said.

“Margaret!”  Wilbur called for the dispatcher.

“Yes sir?”

“Send a wire to Mr. Leonard Warner, care of Wigham Shipyards in Wallsend.  Message:  Found your golden haired friend.  Sgt. C. Wilbur, Isle of Barra station.”

“Yes sir.”  She responded.

“And Margaret…please ensure this young lass gets a fresh change of clothes before she leaves.”

“Will do sir.”

Mr. Warner wired Sgt. Wilbur that he’d arranged to have a motorcar pick her up and take her to the ferry.  And another car would be waiting for her in Glasgow.

          “Miss, we seem to have found a friend of yours.  Mr. Leonard Warner.  He said your name is Hemera.”  Officer Hale explained.  “Does any of this sound familiar?”

Maia sat stunned for a moment.  Hemera was the name of Aeolus’ primary star.  Whoever Mr. Warner was, he knew she was familiar with Aeolus.  Could it be Dolos?  She wondered.

“Yes, it does sound familiar.”  Maia responded.  She needed to leave, and this was her opportunity.

“The motorcar is here sir.”  Margaret called through the doorway.

Officer Hale helped Maia with her jetpack and escorted her to the car.  “Safe travel lass.” “Thank you.”  She responded.

          After a half day ferry trip from Barra to Glasgow, it was another 3 hours before Maia arrived at the shipyard.  Mr. Warner met her in the lot.  “Hemera!  It’s so good to see you!” 

As he walked up to Maia, it was clear to her that this could not be Dolos.  This man was barely 1.5 meters tall potbellied…and old.

Warner hugged Maia as she stood motionless, arms at her side.  The driver unloaded her jetpack and departed.

Mr. Warner looked around the lot and fixed on Maia’s eyes.  “My name is Leonard.  I’m from the planet Gia.  Are you familiar with it?”  Dolos knew Maia would be familiar with that world.

“Yes.”  Maia responded.  “It’s in the Irydyx Galaxy.  The node planet is Grah’dyl.  We’ve sent many probes there.”

“Yes. I was stranded here five years ago during an exploratory mission.  The rest of my crew was killed after entry through the portal.”

“How did you know I was here?”  Maia asked. “And how do you know about Hemera?”

“I built an atmospheric sensor that sends a signal when a graviton reactor is detected.  The technology of this planet has yet to attain a graviton generator.  I knew if my sensor detected a signal, it would be from another planet.”

“The specific byproducts from your jetpack indicate an antimatter-Eximium power source.  Aeolus is the only planet I know of that as an abundant supply of Eximium.”  Warner explained.

“Why did you bring me here?”  She asked.

“The Earth man I’m working with is very close to creating a terrestrial portal…a stable portal that we can use to return to our worlds.”

“Aeolus is far more advanced that Gia, I thought you might be able to help us stabilize the portal.”  Warner explained.  “I can’t go back.”  Maia said.  “The last Sentinel is here.  If I don’t find him, he’ll return and renew the En’ki.  I have to find him.  You must help me!” 

“What is your name Aeolian?  What planet are you from?”

“Maia.  My name is Maia.  My home world is Saon.  I travelled to the Aeolian moon Chaos to help defeat the En’ki.  I confronted the Sentinel Dolos and he escaped into a transport portal.  I followed him.  He arrived before me on this planet.  He’s here somewhere.”  Maia explained.

Yes, his body is at the bottom of Little Minch.  Dolos thought to himself. 

“Maia, I’ve been here for 5 years.  This is a very large planet.  Much larger than Aeolus, Saon or Gia.  It will be very difficult to find one man on this planet.”

“Didn’t you receive a signal from his jetpack?  It would have matched mine!”  Maia said.

“If you both arrived within a few minutes of each other, my sensor would not have been able to differentiate the two.  I received a single signal Maia.”

“I have to find him…I…”

“Maia, help me with the portal.  If this Dolos was able to reach the atmospheric portal, he would be gone by now.  The portal we’re developing here would be the only other exit from this planet.  Help me complete it.  You can then return to your home world.” 

Maia thought for a moment.  “I’ll help you.  But, we must ensure Dolos does not use it to escape from this planet.”  Maia said.

“Neither Professor MacGregor nor I, will allow anyone to use the portal.  You have my word.”  Warner smiled.  He needed Maia’s expertise to get the tunnel operational.

“We have a vacant loft upstairs that you can use.  It’s small, but should keep you comfortable.”

“Come.  Let me introduce you to the Professor.  I’ll tell him you’re a former colleague here to assist.”  Mr. Warner took Maia by the hand and led her to the lab.

          MacGregor was underneath the primary ring, re-wrapping some loose copper wiring around the iron busbar.  “Professor!  MacGregor banged his head on the steel support beam as he raised up suddenly.   “Bloody hell!  What is it Leo!”

“I have someone I’d like you to meet.”  MacGregor walked up to Maia and was visibly flushed.  “Hello, lass, uh…it’s a pleasure to meet you!”  MacGregor stiffly reached to shake her hand, a gesture which was unfamiliar to her.  As she looked at his hand, he quickly withdrew.  “And you are…?”

“My name is Maia.”  She responded.  She noticed a sparkle in his eyes and it made her smile.  MacGregor smiled back sheepishly. 

“Professor, Maia is a former colleague of mine.  She excels in physics and astronomy.  She’s here to help us with our project.  Would you be receptive of her support?”

MacGregor, locked in a gaze studying her face suddenly realized he was being addressed.  “What?!  Say again Leo?”

“She’s here to help, are you okay with that?”
“Aye!  Fine!  I would be fine with her help.  We can use all the help we can get, right Leo!?”

“Yes, Professor.”  Warner replied.

“You two have the same accent, are you from Iceland as well lass?”

Maia, puzzled, answered quickly.  “Yes, as a matter of fact I too am from Ice Land.”   Two scientists from Iceland…in Wallsend…it’s a small world!”

“It is?”  Maia asked.  “I thought it was a large planet?”  She asked, looking at Mr. Warner, who was slowly shaking his head ‘no’. 

“What’s that lass?”  MacGregor asked.

“Nothing!”  She responded quickly.

“Mr. Warner, can you show our guest around the lab?  Get her acquainted with the equipment?”

Warner took Maia to the scaled-up tunnel, 115 feet long, composed of 66 12” wide iron busbars clad in copper wire bent in progressively smaller elliptical rings.  The proximal ring was 20’ across, 12’ tall.  Each ring was wired to its own magnetic field generator. 

          “The field generators receive power from the nearby station.”  Warner motioned to the distant stacks through the window.  “We regulate the magnetic field for each ring.  By creating a harmonic resonance, the field waves propagate from the proximal ring, channel 1, back towards the distal ring, channel 66.  The magnetic waves are compressed near the terminus, creating a conical singularity that extends into infinity.  A circular warping of spacetime is generated…a transition horizon between this world and the intergalactic network.”  Warner explained.  “What is the diameter of your horizon?”  Maia asked.  “Approximately ¾ inch” He replied.

          Maia walked up and down the length of the tunnel, inspecting the rings and associated field generators.  “3/4 inch” …that’s not going to work.”  She said.  “I know Miss Maia…what do we need to do?”  He asked.  “We can’t increase power…we’re maxed out.” 

“You can generate a larger magnetic field with less electricity that you’re using now.”  She said.  “How?” Warner asked.  “The busbars generate magnetic fields that are static in 3 dimensions.  If you replace the busbars with circular tubes of molten sodium, you’ll be able to control the fields with more precision.”  “Using variable cycle pumps and multiple diaphragms per ring, you’ll be able to increase the flow of sodium in specific sections and reduce flow in others, creating a rotating field around the torus.  If we time each rings fluid dynamics precisely, the field from the first ring will amplify the field around the second ring, and so on.  It will be like a horizontal whirlpool of magnetic fields swirling in towards the singularity.  You’ll only need electricity to heat the sodium and run the pumps.

          Warner took Maia to the black board, where she proceeded to write out the mathematical formulae. Warner reviewed the results.  “Each torus generates a field of 9,200 gauss…”  He continued.  “By the terminus, the field strength is 1.1 x 10^15 gauss.  That’s impossible!”  He said.

Maia explained.  “When activated, each torus generates its own 9,200 G field, however, due to the fluid dynamics and field harmonics, the precise timing of each torus amplifies the successive field by a factor of 1.48.  By the terminus, the field reaches 10^15 G.” 

“But Maia, any living being that tries to go through the tunnel would be killed before they’re half way through!”  Warner said.  “No, the field cascade is only needed to open the rift.  Once open, the magnetic field is deactivated.  If we can sustain the rift opening, we can send information or material through the rift.”  She explained.  “Well then.”  Warner said.  “We have some work to do.”

Time Tunnel Complex

2104

          Tony, Doug and McKee returned to the control room.  “I’ll go see if I can initiate the nuclear reactor, Tony, you install the space-time converter and enter the coordinates to get a lock on 1968.”  Doug said.

          Doug ran to the reactor core control room and was able to initiate the fusion reactor.  Computer banks and lights came to life as power was restored to the tunnel control room.  Tony dusted off the computers and entered the Time Tunnel spatial coordinates:  35°40’13.5″N 114°04’03.7″W

          As he locked the coordinates into the computer, the central monitor began to glow.  A familiar Lissajous wave pattern emerged on the oscilloscope screen, blurry at first, then came into focus.  “I have a fix on a gravitational singularity signature” Tony said.

“Isn’t that the energy wave pattern of the tunnel?”  Tony pointed at the monitor.  “It sure looks like it” Doug replied.  The spatial coordinates are within a radius of 40 kilometers of here, so that must be it.”  “The temporal dimension fix is weak, plus or minus 25 years.  We could be transferred to any time between 1943 and 1993.” 

“Can you tighten the limits?”  Doug asked. 

“No, this will have to do, that’s as refined as I can get it.”  Tony responded. 

“It’s better than when we are now, set the timer.”  Doug instructed. 

Tony finalized the mass:energy ratio calculations and programmed the acceleration constant.

The distant rumble of the reactor could be heard as the depths of the tunnel came to life.  A soft blue light began to emanate from the rings, pulsing in synchronized harmony with the magnetic field cascade.

Time Tunnel Complex

1968

          Ann and Ray struggled to clarify the fuzzy image on the viewer.  Only hazy shadows moved across the view field.  “I can’t clean it up.  Boosting the power seems to make it worse.”  Ann said.

“Do we have any updated transcripts?”  Ray asked.

Jerry printed out the latest optimized audio dialogue and brought the transcript to Ray.

“They’re setting the tunnel to send them to this time.”  Ray said.  “Their target temporal fix is weak, plus or minus 25 years.”

“Ann, see if you can get a lock on them and send a retrieve signal to coincide with their send signal.  It may reinforce the power and ensure they make it back.”  Kirk said.  “They’ll need all the help they can get.”  

“I’ve got a lock on both Doug and Tony” Ann responded. 

“All retrieval units are at 100% power.”  Jerry reported. 

“When they activate the transfer, there should be a bright flash that we can detect.”  Ray said.  “Ann, be prepared to initiate the transfer immediately on my mark.”  “Will do, Ray.”  Ann replied.

Northern England

24 January 1946

          11 years.  Maia though to herself.  11 years of trial and error.  Thousands of adjustments of dials, switches and settings.  Sodium pump retrofits, electrical wiring configurations, computer program modifications.  Over the 11 years, it was always two steps forward and one step back.  At least that was the case with the project progress.  Maia and Mac’s relationship grew stronger every day, even in the face of catastrophic setbacks and disappointments.  They had a hasty wedding in December of ’35, enjoyed a 2-day honeymoon on the Isle of Skye, and were back at work the following Monday.  They welcomed twins Ann and Allen in May of ’37, which caused a slight delay in the project as Mac needed to expand the cottage to accommodate the new arrivals.

          After 11 years of progress, they had increased the transition horizon to 6”.  It was a huge achievement.  The largest increase in years.  More power could enter the rift than ever before.  The daily ritual of tuning in the radio at 11:00 am to listen for Mac’s transmission was eagerly anticipated.  Starting a few days earlier, there was now a discernible difference in the static patterns from 10:59 to 11:01.  With the rift reaching 6” the day before, this would be the first opportunity to listen for the more powerful signal.

“It’s 10:58!”  Mac shouted across the lab.  Maia and Leo gathered near the wireless transmitter as Mac took his seat.

Mac switched on the receiver and tuned the signal to 1474 kHz.

Through the static, a voice was coming through.  He increased the volume…

…Gin a body meet a body

Comin thro’ the rye,

Gin a body kiss a body,

Need a body cry?

This is Professor Duncan MacGregor, transmitting this message at 12 noon Greenwich Mean Time on 23 January 1946

“Success!” Mac shouted as he and Maia embraced.  Leo smiled ever so faintly, reviewing the data file in the computer.

Three Weeks Later

          As Mac arrived at the lab, a black car drove up and parked next to the entrance.  A young man in military dress exited the car and approached Mac. 

“Are you Professor Duncan MacGregor?”

“Aye.  Can I help you with something?”

“I may be able to help you.  Is there somewhere we can talk?”

“Come with me.”  Mac took the gentleman into the lab and brought him into his office.

“I am Major Russel Parker.  I’m with the U.S. Army.”  He explained.

“I understand you’re working on a device that can transfer matter through time.”

“How did you come to know that Major Parker?”  Mac asked.  Parker removed some paperwork from his briefcase.  “You filed a patent with the U.K. Patent office 2 years ago.”  Parker said as he slid the file across Mac’s desk.  Mac reviewed the file. “What does this have to do with the U.S. Army?”  He asked.  “Our governments work together on projects that can impact national security.  Your Secret Intelligence Service division reviewed this patent and contacted me.”

“Why you?”

“Because we filed a similar patent last year.” Parker said, as he handed Mac another folder.  Mac opened the manila folder and read the patent description.  “Trans-temporal Omnispatial Conduit.”  Mac sat stunned.  “You copied my design?”

“Not exactly.”  He continued.  “There was scientist that came to us…Anton Baraki.”

“Our background investigation discovered his real name was Anton Zhukovsky…”

“Anton?!  My assistant?!”

“Yes…we didn’t know that at the time, he never divulged any of his prior work experience, never mentioned you.  We found out after he left that he was your graduate assistant.” 

Parker continued.  “He came to us early last year.  I was with the Office of Strategic Services.  Specifically, the Research & Development branch.  Mr. Zhukovsky arrived at our lab in Bethesda, Maryland saying he had a design for a time machine.”

“We reviewed his plans.  Our scientists believed the project to have…potential.  We built his machine at our top-secret facility in Silvermine Connecticut.  

          We were able to open a rift in space-time, for fractions of a second, maybe a millimeter in diameter.  We never sent anything through time, as far as we knew.  We went ahead and tried to patent what we had to protect the design.  That’s when the S.I.S. was notified.  I mentioned to Anton that the S.I.S. were coming to the lab to discuss the project. That’s when he disappeared.”

“The S.I.S. showed us your patent.  Your designs exceeded what we had by several orders of magnitude.”

“We can help you.  Tell me, what results have you produced?”

Mac pulled his notebook from the desk drawer and handed it to Parker.

“We’ve ran 24 tests, sending 13 mice, 8 rabbits and one uncooperative squirrel across time and space.  From 1550 B.C. to 1945 A.D.”

“You have dates here for 1956 and 1978.  What are those?”  Parker asked.

“Those two were tests sending radio messages into the future.  I sent one just last week to go 10 years into the future and the 1978 target was sent back in 1938 to go 40 years into the future.”

“How many of the animal subjects have you retrieved?”  Parker asked.

Mac hesitated.  “You can see that 5 were sent with a transmitter device that sent back sounds that could have been from the target destination.”  Mac pointed to the results on the page.

“How many were brought back?”  Parker repeated.

“We sent the wee beasties to…Pearl Harbor…the Alamo…Battle of Gettysburg…” 

“How many returned?”  Parker cut Mac off.

Mac removed his spectacles and wiped them with a cloth he pulled from his coat pocket.
“None were retrieved.”  He said quietly.

“I see.”  Parker said.

“It’s not that there’s a problem with my theory.”  Mac said.

“It’s a problem with the transition horizon.  We simply need a larger horizon in order to send the required retrieval power through.”

“We can send matter through time and space.  We can even locate the subject in the spatial and temporal coordinate system.  And we can generate the power needed by the retrieval units to bring the subject back.  It’s just that…the transition horizon of the rift is too small to accommodate the power signal.  We have to increase the diameter of the horizon in order to send the signal.”

“What would it take to increase the diameter?”  Parker asked.

“I think…we need a larger tunnel with more power.  The increased power should generate a wider rift.”

“How are you plans for expansion coming along?”  Parker asked.

Mac tried to sit straight without appearing to squirm, tightening his lips.  The sweat bead approaching his brow betrayed his anxiety.

“The project is…at a standstill.  For the time being.”  He said reluctantly.

“You’re financing the project yourself.”  Parker stated…not asking.

“Aye.”

“And…you’ve exhausted your funds.”

“Aye.”

“What if I told you, I could provide you with lab space to build a prototype 100 meters long.  And a computer to process data a thousand times faster than your current system.”

“Why would you do that…for me?”  Mac asked. 

“Let’s just say, we have a mutual interest in seeing you succeed.  We’d like to hand over our current project work and you can integrate it into your own.”  Parker replied.

“What about Anton?”  Mac asked.

“He’s gone back to Europe, set up a lab in Kiev.  We have 2 operatives keeping an eye on him.”  Parker responded.

Major Parker went over the details with Mac.

          “Talk it over with your wife and your assistant.  See what they think.  Here’s my number.”  Parker handed Mac his card.  “Just give me a call when you have a decision.  I’ll show myself out.  Thanks for taking the time to meet with me.”  Parker shook Mac’s hand and left the lab.

Mac called over the intercom.  “Maia!  Please bring Leo and meet me in the lab.”  Mac called out.  Maia and Leo joined Mac at the mouth of the tunnel.

          “The American government wants to contract us to build a larger tunnel.  They’re providing an abandoned mine shaft to construct the tunnel as well as a new computer to help us regulate the field harmonics.”  Mac explained.  “Where is it?”  Maia asked.  “Arizona” Mac replied. 

“Why are they offering this?”  Warner asked.

“They just want the technology.  They have the resources and the finances.  We have the patent.”  Mac explained.  “When the project is complete, we’ll own the prototype and the land.  They’ll take the technology and scale it up for practical use.”

“Practical use?  What does that mean?”  Maia asked.

“Major Parker said research.”  Mac replied.

“What say you both?  We can’t advance the current device any further.  We’re out of materials and cash.  The options are to take the offer…or abandon the project.”

Maia looked at Warner.  He nodded.  “We’ll take the offer.”  Maid stated.

“We’re too close to a breakthrough.”

Time Tunnel Complex

2104

          As the power units reached maximum, the cascading light pattern down into the tunnel increased in frequency.  Tony locked in the coordinates and set the timer for a 30 second delay.

“This is it.”  Doug said.  “We’ll do everything we can to prevent the attack when we get back.”  Tony said to Reena and McKee.  The two men ran into the tunnel.  “Good luck!”  Reena shouted as showers of sparks and plumes of radioactive vapor filled the tunnel.  When the cloud dissipated, Doug and Tony were gone.

Time Tunnel Complex

1968

          On the viewer, a bright blue flash interrupted the static.  “Ann, transfer!” Ray instructed.  Ann pressed the RETRIEVE button.  The tunnel released its built-up energy, glowing blue front to back in cascading waves.  The power units were at full force scanning spacetime for Doug and Tony.  The roaring sound from the tunnel was deafening.  “It’s taking too long; they should be here by now!” Ann screamed over the sound of the roar.  “Shut it down!” Kirk instructed.  Ann powered down the reactor.  Almost immediately, the viewer projectors activated.  “We’re getting an image!”  Jerry called out.

          The familiar image of Doug and Tony tumbling though the spacetime vortex came into focus.  “Why aren’t they here?”  Kirk demanded.  Ray and Ann were frantically reviewing the monitors and settings.  “I think I’ve identified the issue.”  Ray said.  “The signal they locked their transfer on was not this tunnel.”  “What do you mean?”  Kirk asked.  “The signal they locked on to is approximately 38 km west of here.”  “The prototype tunnel in the mine shaft!”  Ann said.  “Yes.  They thought as we did, that the energy pattern they saw on the screen was this tunnel.  It wouldn’t have occurred to them that it was the prototype from 1947.”  “But why are they trapped in the vortex?”  Kirk asked.  “We sent a retrieve signal overlaid with the 2104 tunnel send signal.  They’re being pulled in 2 directions, both temporally and spatially.”  “Are they ok?”  Kirk asked.  “To them, time is standing still…they’re not aware of any passage of time.”  Ann replied.  “When they exit the vortex, it will seem to them that they just entered the tunnel.  It will be instantaneous.”

          “What do we do?”  Kirk asked.  “There’s no way to shut down the send signal initiated in 2104.  We’ll have to shut down our retrieve signal here.”  Ray said.  “Won’t that cause them to appear in 1947?”  Kirk asked.  “Yes, General, I’m afraid that’s the only option we have.”  Ray replied.  “Once they arrive in 1947, I’ll try to get a lock on them and return them here.”  Ann said.  Kirk contemplated the strategy.  “Do it.  Shut down the retrieve signal.”  Ann moved her finger over the CANCEL button and hesitated.  “Ann?”  Ray was about to continue when she pressed the button.  The humming of the retrieval units ceased, as did the cascading blue light down the tunnel.  The room was quiet. 

White Hills, Arizona

35°44’05.0″N 114°22’54.3″W

September 9, 1947

          Deep inside a nondescript, unmarked abandoned silver mine on the outskirts of White Hills, a ghost town in far northwest Arizona, an atomic reactor ignites.  The desert ground above the mine rumbles gently, disturbing several lizards sunning on the smooth rocks.

          In the tunnel control room, Maia is scanning spacetime for Bugs #9, the latest time traveler to enter the rift.  “Find him mommy!”  Allen cried.  “I’m trying honey.”

          “See if you can widen the range limits.” Mac suggested.  “Target date June 6, 1944…increasing range plus or minus 7 days…”  Maia adjusted the temporal range.  Suddenly, the green locator light began to flash.  “We have a fix!”  Warner called out.  “June 4, 1944.”  Subject arrived approximately 48 hours prior to target.  Warner explained.  “Spatial coordinates are on target…Cherbourg.”

          “Try to move the subject forward 48 hours, same spatial fix.”  Mac instructed.  “There’s nothing happening on the 4^th.  We need to re-calibrate the temporal module Leo.  We keep missing our target dates.”  Maia checked to ensure the transmission units were powering up and adjusted the controls to move the subject +48 hours.  The atomic units were humming loudly as maximum power was reached.  “Ready to shift.”  She called out as she pressed the TRANSFER button.

After re-running the location probe, Bugs #9 was found, same location, June 6.

“Activate the radio transmitter.”  Mac instructed. 

The rabbit was outfitted with a leather harness, coated in Actinium, which allowed the subject to be tracked in spacetime.  Attached to the harness was a small wireless microphone that could send ambient sounds back through the tunnel.  Warner tuned the wireless to the transmitter’s frequency.  Only static came across.  “I’m amplifying the receiver power.”  Mac told Warner.

Suddenly, a loud explosion came through the speakers.  The volume and frequency damaged the paper cone.  Warner reduced the volume as the explosions continued.  “Those are tank rounds.”  Mac said.  “Our Bugs in in the middle of D-Day!  This is absolute confirmation!”

“Mama can you bring him back?”  Allen asked.  “Allen, honey, we’re going to try.  Why don’t you go back to the house and wait for me there?”  Allen reluctantly left the mine and headed home.

“Duncan, let’s try to get him back before he gets hurt.”

“Yes, of course.  Do you still have a lock on him?”

“Yes.  Powering up retrieval units.” Maia said.  The retrieval units roared to maximum power.  “We’re at full power.”  Warner said.  “Retrieve!”  Mac shouted.  Maia pressed the RETREIVE button.  The retrieval signal roared into the mouth of the tunnel, accelerating as it approached the transition horizon.  Within 3 milliseconds, 7% of the signal entered the rift…the other 93% reflected back toward the control room.  The energy wave exiting the tunnel blew Mac, Maia and Warner to the ground.  The rift collapsed.  Mac helped Maia up.  “We lost him.”  She said.  “I can’t tell Allen we lost another.”

          “The transition horizon is just not sufficient.”  Mac said.  “We need to find a way to enlarge it.” 

“We’ve increased the efficiency as much as possible with the new atomic energy source.  The timing of field compression per ring is perfectly controlled by the new computer.   Still, our transition horizon is only 8.1” in diameter.” Maia explained.  “What else can we adjust Miss Maia?”  Warner asks.  “The singularity formation is slow and unstable, limiting the size it can reach in the small time frame we have using compression of the magnetic fields.”  She explained.  “We need a catalyst to spark the singularity and stabilize the rift.  If we could speed up the singularity formation by 1%, it would increase the transition horizon by 800%, and would stabilize it.  That would do it.”  She said.  “What sort of catalyst do we need?”  He asked.  Maia paused, staring into the tunnel opening.  “Eximium.  We need Eximium to generate a negative energy beam.” She replied. 

“As you know, Miss Maia, there is no Eximium on this planet.”  Warner explained.  “There is no capability to create negative energy.”

Peach Springs, Arizona

35°31’58.0″N 113°25’16.8″W

October 18, 1947  23:55:02

 

          Doug and Tony materialized on a dusty road just outside what appeared to be a small town.  They got up and began walking toward the town.  When they reached the town, Tony found a newspaper in a trash can.  “October 18, 1947.  Peach Springs, Arizona”. 

“Hold it right there!”  Doug and Tony froze.  The young deputy approached the men with gun drawn.  “Don’t move.”  He instructed.  “What’s the problem officer?”  Tony asked.

“I seen you back on that dirt road near 66.  You came out of nowhere.”  Doug and Tony looked at each other, trying to decide if they should run or reason.  “Officer, we were on our way from Flagstaff to Kingman when our car broke down, we were walking toward the town to get help.”  Doug explained.  “Don’t give me that horse crap, I saw you!  I was pult over by the road takin’ a leak and I seen a blue flash an’ then you two come rollin’ down the road.  I know who you are!”

“Who are we officer?”  Tony asked, hands still in the air.

          “You’re with them Martians.  Came to Roswell back in the summer, and Michigan just yesterday.  I heard about the flyin’ saucer up there in Manitou Junction!  You Martians are comin’ here to take us over.  Not on my watch!”  “Git down on the ground!”  The deputy handcuffed Doug and Tony and walked them over to the small jail house.  He placed each of them in separate cells and removed their cuffs.  “You’ll be just fine sittin’ here.  I’m gonna get the sheriff and he’ll notify the proper authorities about you two.”   The deputy left the jailhouse.

          “Peach Springs?” Tony questioned Doug.  “The Hualapai Reservation…we’re only 40 miles from the Tunnel complex.  What year did they begin construction?  Tony asked.  “Spring 1958.” Doug responded, about 11 years from now.”  “Wait…” Doug said.  “The prototype tunnel is being tested now.  Dr. MacGregor should be there.”  Doug said.  “He may be able to help us.”

“We need to get out of here first.”  Tony said.

Time Tunnel Complex

1968

          “Ann, can you get a lock?”  Kirk asked.  “No.  They’re physically separated, I can’t get a good fix.  There’s also some kind of interference weakening our retrieval signals.”  Ann replied.

The image on the viewer was full of static.  But it appeared as if Doug and Tony were in some sort of jail cell.  “Maybe we can send something to them to help.”  Kirk said.  “Like what General?” Ray asked.  “Ann, do you have a time lock?” Kirk asked.  “It’s coming in General…last half of 1947.  October.”  Ann replied.  “It’s hard to tell through the interference…” Kirk commented, straining to interpret the scene on the image viewer.  “…but it looks like those jail cells are much older than 1947.”  “According to the history of the area, many of the buildings were constructed in the late 1880’s” Ann said.  “Ray, send an F-5 probe with a small piece of heavy gauge wire into Doug or Tony’s cell.  They should be able to easily pick the lock on that old door.”  Kirk instructed. 

Ray had the technicians implant a 6-inch-long piece of wire into the F-5 probe matrix. 

          “The probe is ready General.”  Ray said.  “Bring it into the tunnel” He instructed the technician.  The technician gently placed the probe onto the floor of the tunnel, 6 meters from the opening.  “Ann, are you able to lock a placement location?”  Ray asked.

“Yes, I have a stronger fix on Doug, the probe should appear within 2 meters of him.”  She replied.

“Start the countdown.”  Kirk instructed.

“Ten…nine…”  The roaring hum of the reactor began to escalate…”Six…five…four…”  A burst of light emanated from the tunnel as it came to life…”Three…two…one…Send!”  Ann pressed the send button.  Sparks and plumes of radioactive vapor filled the mouth of the tunnel as the probe disappeared.

Peach Springs, Arizona

1947

          The probe appeared suddenly in Doug’s cell, almost at his feet.  He moved away quickly.  “It’s an F-5 probe!  The Time Tunnel must have a lock on us.”  Doug explained.

He and Tony watched the Gallium alloy probe melt away, revealing the wire.  “They sent a wire; I can use this to pick the lock.”  Doug picked up the wire, bent the end 90 degrees, reached around the door and began working the lock.  Within 60 seconds, Doug had sprung the mechanism.  He exited the cell and freed Tony.  “Let’s get out of here, there’s no telling when they’ll return.”  They left the jail house and headed west.

White Hills, Arizona

1947

          They reached the abandoned silver mines west of town the next morning.  “We won’t have the historical marker to identify the site.”  Doug said.  “I know MacGregor and his wife had a small cabin just outside the entrance.  Let’s keep a look out for it.” 

The temperature was reaching 100 degrees as they reached the top of a small hill.  “Look!”  Tony pointed.  In the distance, they spotted a small wood cabin.  Doug and Tony, weak from dehydration stumbled toward the cabin.  When they arrived, there was no one present.  There was a faded grey 1937 International Harvester pickup truck behind the cabin.  Next to the back door, they found a water barrel and began drinking with their cupped hands.  Doug scanned the hillside.  “There’s 5 mine entrances, they have to be in one of those.”  Doug said as he poured water over his sun baked head.  “Let’s go.”  They walked toward the entrances.  The first two showed no signs of activity.  At the mouth of the third entrance, it was clear from the impressions in the sand that the foot and cart activity was recent.  “This has to be it.”  Tony said.  “We have to be careful.”  Doug said.  “They could be armed and to them, we’re complete strangers.”

          As they slowly walked into the mine entrance, Doug began to call out.  “Dr. MacGregor!”  They continued to descend into the mine along the cart rail.  The darkness was increasing as the temperature dropped.  “Dr. MacGregor!”  Doug continued to call.

          Just ahead, they saw a light coming from an offshoot drift of the main shaft.  As they approached and rounded the opening, they were met with the sound of a shotgun being pumped.  “I’d hold it right there if I were you young lads!”  Doug and Tony froze, showing their hands.

“Dr. MacGregor.  This is going to sound…unbelievable…but it’s the truth.”  Doug started.  “My name is Dr. Doug Phillips, and this is Dr. Tony Newman.  We’re scientist from 1968.  We came through the Time Tunnel.”  Mac stood for a moment, keeping the gun aimed straight.  “My tunnel?  Did they send you to check on me?  They said I had complete autonomy!” 

“Who’s ‘they’?” Tony asked.  “The government boys, they said they’d leave me alone!” 

“Dr. MacGregor, we’re not with the government.  We didn’t come through your tunnel.  There’s a larger tunnel under Red Lake, just over the hills east of here.”  Tony explained.  “It was built in 1958.  It was based on your technology.” 

“1958?  Do you know Major Parker?”  Mac asked.  “We know a General Parker.”  Tony said.

“General Parker?” Mac questioned.  “I suppose a successful project like this would warrant a promotion.”

          Just then, Maia entered the control room.  “Stand back Maia.”  Mac instructed. 

“Who are these men Duncan?” 

“These gentlemen claim they came from the future, from a bigger tunnel under Red Lake.”  Mac explained.  “It’s true.”  Tony said.  “We can tell you all about your tunnel.  When you first started in Glasgow, then moved to Wigham, then here.  We know at this point in time, your tunnel is only partially functional.  You need an antimatter stream to stabilize the rift opening.”

“They’re right Duncan” Maia commented.  “Without antiprotons or negative energy, we won’t be able to stabilize the rift.”  Mac lowered his gun.  “Can you help us?”  Mac asked.

“We can take a look at your system and see.”  Doug replied.  

          “Maia, take them back and show them the machine.  I need to pick up Leo and some supplies.  Allen!  Come stay with your mum.”  Allen was exploring one of the mine offshoots.  He came into the control room and gave his father a hug.  Mac left the mine and departed in the truck.  

“Honey, I’d like to introduce you to a few friends.”

“Hi Allen, I’m Tony, and this is Doug.”  Allen walked up and shook Tony and Doug’s hands.  “Where’s your sister?”  Doug asked.  “She’s with my nana in Oregon.”  He said. 

“Ann is spending the weekend with Mac’s mother.”  Maia explained.  “She should be back home tonight.”

Allen noticed Tony’s bright silver watch.  “Is that real silver?”  He asked.

“Actually, it’s made of a metal called platinum.”  Tony replied.  “I know about platinum.”  He said.  “I have a periodic table!”

“That’s great!”  Tony said.  “Do you want to be a scientist?”

“Yes!  A geologist.” 

“Well, you’re in the right environment for that field.”  Tony commented.

“Allen, I want you to go to the cabin and work on your math while we work, ok?”  Maia kissed Allen on the head.  “It was nice to meet you Allen.”  Tony said as he headed out of the mine and back to the little house.

“I’ll need to get a few extra hard hats and torches.”

“We appreciate your help.”  Maia left the control room for the stock cabinet.

          Maia returned with 2 hardhats.  “I could only find one extra torch; you’ll have to share.”  She said as she handed over the supplies.  “Thank you.”  Doug and Tony replied.  “So how far in the future are you from?”  Maia asked.  “About 21 years.” Doug responded.  “And there’s a larger tunnel under Red Lake?”  She asked.  “How much larger?”

“About 12 kilometers.”  Doug replied.  “Tell me, how did you resolve the magnetic field constraint?  Increasing the tunnel length or sodium ring diameter eventually requires an infinite amount of energy to maintain.”  Maia asked as she guided them to the tunnel control room.

“We replaced the molten sodium torus system with a series of tokamak devices.” Doug explained.  “Each tokamak ring uses plasma to generate a magnetic field.  The computer synchronizes all of the fields, generating a singularity at the focal point of the tunnel.  A beam of antiprotons enlarges and stabilizes the transition horizon, allowing matter to transfer.”

“Using plasma to generate the fields, what an elegant solution.”  Maia said.  “You could use that same process to generate fusion…produce energy.”  She added.

“That’s actually what the device was created to do.”  Tony said.  “We just found a serendipitous use for it.”

          They arrived at the tunnel control room.  Maia paused for a moment.  “I have to tell you something…but you can’t tell Duncan or Leo.”

“What is it?”  Tony asked.  “The machine…you were partially correct.  Antiprotons will help improve rift stability, but it’s not the long-term solution.”  She said.  “What do you mean?”  Doug asked.  “We need antiprotons and Eximium to fully stabilize the rift opening.”  She said.

“Eximium, what is that?”  Tony asked.  “It’s difficult to explain.  You had a scientist who described it…Poincaré, he called it…matière obscure.” 

“Dark matter?”  Doug asked.  “Yes.  When antiprotons are combined with Eximium it produces the energy we need to stabilize the rift.”  She explained.  “Wait here.”

          Maia left the mine and walked to the cabin.  Above the living area was a small attic.  She retrieved a wooden crate and brought it into the kitchen.  She pried open the lid, placed it beside the crate, and began removing items one by one.  A few quilts, some old textbooks…until she came upon her flight suit, the only physical object brought with her to this place 12/13 years earlier.  Maia removed the power source from the jet pack housing and returned to the mine. 

“That’s the space-time converter!”  Doug exclaimed.  “How did you…?”

“That’s what I need to tell you about, what you can’t tell Duncan or Leo.”

“I’m not from here.”  She continued.  “I’m not from Earth.  I am of Aeolian descent and I come from a planet called Saon.”

“I arrived here 13 years ago.  I was following a very bad person from a moon many light years from here.  We both went through a transport portal and I ended up here.  I’m not sure where the man I was chasing went, I never found him.” 

“The reason I’m telling you this, is because there is no Eximium on this planet, and this is the only piece of equipment that can generate a negative energy stream, which is what we really need to make this machine function correctly.” 

“We use antiprotons in our tunnel, but they weren’t produced until 1955, eight years from now.”  Doug said.  “I need you to help me integrate this into the system.  And you can’t tell Duncan or Leo about it.  We’ll get the machine running, send you back to 1968.  I’ll deal with Duncan and Leo after you leave.”  Maia said.  “Can you help me?”

“Well, you’ll have to tell us how it works, it was present when I came on board and the device was top secret.”  Doug said.

“This is a 2-part antimatter-catalyzed graviton generator.  One canister contains antiprotons and the other contains Eximium.  When the two streams combine, gravitons and negative energy are released.” 

Depending on the ratio of the mix, you get can 99% negative energy and 1% gravitons, or 99% gravitons and 1% negative energy…and every value in between.  The device is currently configured for the thruster of a jet pack, 97% gravitons, 3% negative energy.  We’ll need to configure it for 99% negative energy.  Once it’s integrated, the negative energy beam is aimed directly at the singularity.  At the point of maximum space-time compression, the beam is initiated.  The rift will open and the beam will maintain its stability.”

Doug and Tony helped Maia build a magnetic injection port and intermix controls in order to integrate the ɘnergy output with the magnetic field array.

          “It’s all set.”  Maia said.  “The antiproton-Eximium reaction can be very dangerous.  It needs to be cycled down when closing the rift.  A sudden shutdown would cause the rift to collapse with incredible force, generating a highly energetic gravity wave.”  “This stop button we installed to shut down everything in case of an emergency should be the last resort.  Everyone understand?” She asked.  Everyone affirmed.  “Maia, we have something we need to tell you about.”  Doug said.

“Before we arrived here, we were at the large-scale Time Tunnel in the year 2100.  The human race was at war with an alien presence and near extinction.”  Doug said.  “Was it the En’ki?”  Maia asked.  “Yes!  You know of them?”  Tony asked.  “Yes, the En’ki originated on Aeolus.”  She continued.  “They were in control of the planet for thousands of years.  We had just shut down their mainframe when I left and arrived here.  Somehow, they were able to arrive on Earth.”

“The survivors in the tunnel said there was an Earth ship that was lost near Enceladus at the turn of the century.”  Doug said.  “They said the ship contained En’ki particles that were programmable.  That if they could retrieve them, they could program the particles to destroy the ones infecting humans.”  Doug said.  “When we get back to our time, we’re going to warn the government of the impending attack.  If you’re able to contact your people, see if they can locate this ship.”  Doug said.  “Right now, I’m not able to contact my planet.”  Maia said.  “Their communication infrastructure is still nonfunctioning.  But I will continue to try.”  She said.

“Maia!”  Mac shouted from the mine entrance.

“In the control room!”  She responded.  Mac and Leo brought a cart full of reactor control rods into the mine.  “Leo, these are the two guests I mentioned…Dr. Newman and Dr. Phillips.”

“Very nice to meet you.”  Leo shook their hands.  “I understand we are to send you back to your time?”  He asked.  “Yes.  We must return as soon as possible.”  Doug explained.

“Tell me, how did you come to be in our time?”  Leo asked.  “We built a full-scale version of this tunnel under Red Lake Playa.”  Doug explained.  “Tony here decided to run an ad hoc test.”

“It was a desperation move.”  Tony said.  “They were going to shut down the project.  Doug followed me and we’ve been trying to get back for weeks.” 

“Well, I wish we could enjoy your company longer to hear about the future.”  Leo stated.

“Go place these rods in the reactor unit please Mr. Warner.”  Mac instructed Leo.

“If you’ll excuse me…”  Leo took the rods to the reactor.

          Mac then brought Doug and Tony to the tunnel control system.  A massive computer ran the length of the cave offshoot.  “This looks like the ENIAC in Philadelphia.”  Tony said.  “I had no idea this was the computer you were using for the prototype.” 

“Major Parker…I mean…General Parker provided it for us.” Mac replied. 

“Are we ready to test?”  Mac asked.  “Yes.”  Maia responded.  “First, we need to generate the rift.”  Maia said as she entered the sodium flow rates and magnetic field amplification parameters. 

Channels 1 – 50:  Sodium flow rate 82.1 cubic meters per second.

Inter-channel toroidal precession +1.03

Channels 51 – 100:  Sodium flow rate 95.2 m³/s. 

Inter-channel toroidal precession +2.3

Channels 100 – ∞:  Sodium flow rate 125.8 m³/s. 

Inter-channel toroidal precession +7.52

          Maia completed the data entry.  “Ready to test.”  She said.  “Initiate the fission reactor.”  Mac instructed.  Maia pressed the button to start the reactor.  The needle on the gauge reached 100%.  “Reactor at full power.”  Maia reported.  “Activate magnetic field cascade.”  Mac said.  Maia pressed a second button to activate the sodium pumps, programmed to pump molten sodium in precisely timed harmony and controlled flow rate.  As the sodium began circulating through the 100 circular tubes ringing the tunnel, the magnetic field cascade began pulsing from the first ring toward the most distant.  The temperature in the shaft began to rise dramatically, triggering exhaust fans to vent heat out of the mine.  “Field activated.”  Maia shouted over the hum of the pumps and fans.  “Initiate catalytic energy beam.”  Mac instructed.  Maia pressed the red button on the intermix control panel to initiate the antimatter/Eximium reaction.  “Catalytic energy beam activated…50%…75%…100%.”

          A booming sound with an escalating rumble began to emanate from deep in the mine shaft.  It was like a continuous roll of thunder.  Suddenly, a bright burst of light shot out of the mouth of the tunnel.  A gravitational wave exited the tunnel causing everything and everyone in the control room to be pulled forward then pushed back.  Everyone fell to the ground.  Doug and Tony helped the others to their feet.  “It’s working!”  Tony shouted.” 

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”  Mac warned.  “We need to send a test pod in to confirm its stable.  Warner, cycle down the pumps, reduce power.  Continue energy beam.”  Warner complied.  As the sodium pumps cycled down, the molten sodium flowed back into the underground tanks.  The heat in the mine was approaching a bearable level as the exhaust fans continued to run.  “Magnetic field strength zero, energy beam 100%.  The rift is stable at 2.23 meters in diameter.”  Maia reported.  “Prepare the pod.”  Mac instructed.  Warner dragged the 4-foot-long pod, a fiberglass shell supported by a wood frame, to the mouth of the tunnel.  He lifted the safety screen and placed the sample collection equipment into the compartment.  “Pod’s ready.”  Warner reported.  “Where are you sending the pod?”  Doug asked.  “Krakatoa, the day after the eruption.”  Mac responded.  Doug and Tony looked at each other.

“The pod has equipment to take air samples.”  He explained.  “Tony, help me enter the coordinates and transfer parameters.”  Maia asked.  “Temporal coordinates:  Monday, 27 August, 1883.  18:00 GMT.”  Tony entered the data.  “Check.”

“Spatial coordinates:  South Sebesi Island 5°58’09.2″S 105°29’10.9″E”

“Spatial coordinates…check.”

“Calculate mass to energy ratio to generate the acceleration constant.  The test sample is 70.3 kilograms.”  Maia said.  “70.3 kg…check.”  Tony entered the data.

“Next, calculate the compensation factor for G based on conduit manifold geometry.”  Maia said.

“What?”  Tony asked.

“We have to compensate for the change in the gravitational constant as the conduit pathway nears dark stars.”  She explained.

“Conduit pathway?  Dark Stars?  What are you talking about?”  Tony asked.

“Maia, are you saying the tunnel leads to a conduit through space?”  Doug asked. 
“Yes” She responded.  “The rift opening leads to an intergalactic network of pathways through space and time.  As the path nears dark stars, the gravitational constant changes, we must compensate for the gravitational effects.”  She explained.

Tony looked at Doug.  “Dark stars?”

“Black holes.”  Doug responded.  “But we’re sending the sample from here to Krakatoa, we’re not going anywhere near a black hole.”  Tony said.  “Between all rift origins and destinations, every conduit must pass near at least one dark star, sometimes many more.”  Maia explained, as she entered the gravitational compensation values.

“All set Mac.  Good to go” 

“Good to go.”  Mac responded.

“Countdown from 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1”…Mac pressed the green “SEND” button. 

          A burst of light and energy roared out of the tunnel filling the control room.  The test pod moved into the tunnel and vanished.  Doug and Tony moved to the back of the control room.  “Doug, did you know about the intergalactic conduits?” 

“No.  Throughout all our testing, we thought we were just connecting two points in time.  There was never any indication that the tunnel was a portal to an interspace network.”  He continued.  “This does explain why our tunnel is having issues with control.  We’ve never taken variation in the gravitational constant into consideration.  It’s hard coded in the computer formulas.”

Mac scanned for the pod.  It arrived 23.7 hours ahead of schedule.  “Bloody hell!  We missed the temporal and spatial coordinates again!”

“I’m shifting it forward 23.7 hours.”  Mac furiously entered the adjusted coordinates and hit TRANSFER.

“Target coordinates confirmed.”

Seven minutes later, Mac scanned for the pod’s signal.  “How are you able to get a fix on the pod?”  Tony asked.

“The pod is coated with a paint containing a low concentration Actinium 227.  Our probe signal is tuned to detect the isotope in space-time.”  Maia explained.

A green light combined with an audible tone indicated a lock on the pod.  “I have a fix.”  Mac said.  “What’s the power level?”

Maia checked the retrieval units.  “We’re at full power.”

Mac pressed the blue “RETRIEVE” button.  With a flash of blue light and vapor, the pod appeared in the tunnel, covered in volcanic ash.

Mac removed the glass sample container.  There was visible ash in the container.  Mac ran the tests.  “Elevated CO₂ and SO₂.  Consistent with levels taken in 1883.  This pod was in 1883.”

Warner returned from the reactor room.  “Mac, there’s an issue with the scram line for the control rods.  I think it’s caught on one of the pulleys.  Can you take a look?  I’ll stay and help Miss Maia.”

“Sure, lad.  Be right back.”  Mac left the control room and headed to the reactor.

Doug and Tony lowered themselves into the pod.  “I’m setting the time for 1968.”  Maia said. “Location, directly above the tunnel complex.  I’ll be able to trace the pod using the Actinium 227 in the pod casing.  If we miss the mark in time or location, I’ll know.  I’ll send an energy pulse into the tunnel.  It will interact with the pod casing and glow blue.  You’ll have about 7 minutes before I send a retrieval signal.”

“Maia, we tried using capsules in the full-scale Time Tunnel, they didn’t work.  The controls in the capsule interfered with the transfer.”  Doug explained.  “We found the same defect.”  Maia responded.  “This pod has no controls; it’s just used for protection when it reaches its destination.”

Spurred by curiosity, Allen had made his way back to the mine and snuck into the control room, hiding behind a cabinet.

After Maia entered the temporal and spatial coordinates, she went to assist Doug and Tony strap in to the pod.  Mr. Warner quietly approached the control panel.

“All set.  Good to go?”  Warner asked.  Maia checked with Doug and Tony, who confirmed they were all set.  “Good to go” Maia responded.  “Good luck!”  She shouted over the din.

 Warner pressed the SEND button.  The pod moved into the tunnel.  Once again, after a bright light and burst of energy, the pod was gone.  “Let’s confirm the destination coordinates.”  Maia said, as she moved to the control panel.  The locus readings didn’t make sense.  “What’s this?”  She said with concern.  The temporal and spatial coordinates were both set to infinity.  Settings only used for testing.  “What have you done?”  Maia looked to Warner for an answer.  He pulled a gun from his coat and moved toward her.

The pod containing Doug and Tony tumbled end over end in the black void of limbo.  On the edge of consciousness, Doug and Tony both felt as if thousands of needles were both stabbing and pulling simultaneously.  Some force prevented their minds from blacking out from the intense pain.  That same force affected their sense of time. In any given instant, they couldn’t discern if they had just arrived in this place, or if they had been here for thousands of years. 

Warner walked up to Maia, who was frozen against the control panel.  “I told you on Chaos, the En’ki will be re-born.”  Warner said ominously.  Maia suddenly realized who he was.  “Dolos.”  She said under her breath.

As he moved toward her, Mac returned from the reactor room.

“Duncan!”  Maia screamed.  As Dolos turned to fire on Mac, Maia picked up a heavy bakelite phone from the console and threw it at him.  The impact knocked the gun from his hand, and while he attempted to extricate his arms from the phone line, Mac charged.

They both fell to the ground as Mac pummeled Dolos’ face with fury. 

Maia saw Allen on the other side of the room behind the cabinet.  “Allen!  Go!”  She motioned to the mine exit.  Allen scurried away.  Mac was beginning to wear down from the continued beating.  Dolos’ face was covered in blood as each punch landed square.  As Dolos lay on the mine floor absorbing the blows, he felt around and located the gun.  As Maia was confirming Allen made it out safely, a shot rang out.  She turned to see Mac falling off of Dolos.  She ran toward the emergency stop button as Dolos rose with the gun.

He aimed the gun at Maia, freezing her in place.  “Aeolus was no longer a worthy home for the En’ki.  This planet…is worthy.  And it will be their new home.” 

Standing near the emergency stop button, Maia looked to Dolos.  She slowly moved within arm’s reach of the button.  “And as Sentinel, I will be their protector, as on Chaos.”  Dolos said.

“You, my dear, will live out the rest of your life in limbo, with your friends.”

Warner moved toward Maia.  Before he could get to her, she slammed her palm down on to the emergency stop button.  As he brought his gun up to fire, a loud boom and flash of bright light emanated from the depths of the tunnel as the rift collapsed.  The sudden collapse generated a powerful gravity wave that knocked Dolos and Maia to the ground.  As they both recovered from their unconsciousness, temporarily blinded and deafened, Maia crawled across the floor toward Dolos, feeling for the gun.  She located the gun and tried to bring herself up using the control panel for leverage.  As the haze of blindness cleared, she saw Dolos stumbling toward her.  She raised the gun and fired.  Dolos dropped to the ground.

Maia tried to focus on the control panel as her vision returned.  She activated the scanning probe to locate Doug and Tony’s signal.  Once locked, she initiated the retrieval process.

In the prototype tunnel, a burst of light and coolant vapor startled Maia.  The transfer pod emerged suddenly from the fog, thrusting toward the opening stopping just short of the threshold.

Maia ran up to the pod as Doug raised the canopy.  The two men exited the pod.  Allen had re-entered the mine and ran up and into Tony’s arms.  “Thanks” Doug said to Maia.  “I don’t know how much longer we could have lasted.” 

Maia sobbed as she released Doug from her embrace.  She couldn’t tell them about Duncan with Allen nearby.  While Mac was laying behind the main console, Dolos was near the tunnel opening.  “What happened to Leo?”  Doug asked.

“He’s not who you think he is.”  She replied.  “He’s the Sentinel I’ve been searching for.  If you see him in 1968, you have to stop him.  He’s trying to bring more En’ki to Earth.”  She said. 

An alarm tone emanated from the control panel.  “We must hurry, the reactor is losing power.  I have to send you back now.” 

“No!”  Allen cried, and hugged Tony’s neck firmly.  “You can’t leave!”  “I have to go home Allen; I have family where I’m from.”  Tony explained.  “I’ll tell you what…when I get back home, I’ll look you up.  You’ll be 32 and probably will have a family of your own.  I’m only 30 so you’ll be older than me!”  Allen smiled and continued to hug Tony’s neck.  “Here…” Tony took off his watch and handed it to Allen.  “You hold on to this.  I’ll get it back to you when I see you again.”

“Let’s go Allen” Maia took his hand and set him in a chair by the console.  Maia gave Doug and Tony a final hug.  “This time I’ll make sure you make it home, I promise.”  She smiled.

Maia set the spatial and temporal coordinates and energized the magnetic field.  The control rods in the atomic pile were removed and the fission reaction initiated.  Once full power was reached, Maia activated the magnetic field and the tunnel came to life, glowing in pulses from front to back.  With a flash of photons and a sonic shockwave, the distal end of the tunnel generated the conical singularity, propagating into infinity.  Once the rift was open and stable, the field generators were cycled down.  Doug and Tony lowered themselves into the pod and closed the canopy. 

Maia looked to Doug and Tony to indicate all systems were go.  Tony looked over his shoulder and saw Maia giving the ok sign.  Tony gave a thumbs up.  “She’s ready” Tony told Doug.  “Hold on” Doug said.  Maia pressed the SEND button.  The pod lurched forward through the tunnel. 

Another burst of photons and coolant vapor filled the tunnel as the pod disappeared from sight.  Seconds after the transfer, Allen ran into the tunnel calling for Tony.  Before Maia could get around the console, he disappeared into the vapor.  “No!!” Maia screamed as she instinctively ran into the tunnel after him, vanishing 3 meters in.  The transfer cycle terminated.  The catalytic energy stream deactivated.  The control rods automatically lowered into the atomic pile, halting the fission reaction.  The tunnel went dark.  Only the smell of ozone and a dissipating vapor cloud remained. 

A nearby drifter heard the rumble coming from the mine and entered the shaft.  He encountered Dolos at the mouth of the tunnel, touching him to see if he was still alive.  Dolos transferred from Warner’s body to the drifter.

Dolos rose and approached the computer console, reviewing the coordinates carefully.  He dragged the body of Leo Warner to the mouth of the tunnel.  He then walked over to Mac, and checked his pulse.  “Well old friend, I’m going to send you to a time and place where you will not be able to interfere any longer.”  He activated the machine.  Once the rift was opened, he placed Mac and Warner 10 meters into the tunnel.  He set the temporal and spatial coordinates and hit SEND.  After the cloud of vapor broke, the tunnel was empty.  Dolos picked up a rock and smashed the retrieving unit.

Dolos walked over to the breaker boxes and shut all power switches off.  He then went to the storage shaft and retrieved 7 sticks of dynamite.  He walked to the exit and methodically placed the sticks in strategic locations around the mine shaft entrance.

He moved behind a nearby boulder…and detonated the explosives.  In an instant, the entrance was buried under tons of rock.  When the dust settled, all evidence of a mine shaft entrance was erased. 

The Return

Time Tunnel Complex

September, 12 1968 17:01:30

“Keep scanning…expand your time horizon.”  Kirk instructed.  “I’m trying, we’re at the limits of the scan range.”  Ann replied.  Suddenly, a burst of light, sparks and vapor filled the tunnel.  When the cloud dissipated, the outline of a torpedo shaped pod emerged, 6 meters inside the tunnel opening.  The MP’s approached the pod, guns drawn.  The canopy raised.  Doug and Tony climbed out of the pod and walked toward the tunnel entrance.  “Doug!  Tony!”  Ann yelled.  All control room personnel rushed toward and into the tunnel entrance, swarming Doug and Tony.  General Kirk lowered his head and said a prayer. 

Ann, Ray and Jerry were able to work their way through the thick mass of technicians and took turns hugging Doug and Tony.  The hugs, handshakes and wide smiles continued for several minutes until Sgt. Jiggs was able to clear the way, leading the weary time travelers to the General.  Kirk tried to maintain his stoic stance as he shook Doug’s hand, but emotions go the better of him as he pulled Doug in for a bear hug.  “Welcome home boys.”

“How long were we gone?”  Tony asked.  “Three days.”  Ann replied.  “Three days!?” Tony repeated.  “It felt like three months!”

“Doug, Tony, you need to get some rest, but first, we need to debrief while everything is fresh.”  Kirk explained.  “We’ll convene in the executive conference room in 30 minutes.”

As Tony sat down in the plush leather chair, he looked around at the highly polished wood walls and ornamental features.  He was just in this room earlier in the week, although it was 136 years in the future.  He wondered if the faded wood, peeling paint and cobwebs were still the destiny of this room.  The lift arrived at the conference room.  Doug and Ray exited the lift discussing the time dilation effect of their travels.  “Tony and I were at the Battle of Little Big horn for almost 3 days.  We were on Devil’s Island for over 4 days.  It’s just hard to believe we were only gone for 72 hours.”  Doug explained.  “From our perspective.”  Ray said as the two sat down at the table.  “But those were three long days.  We were here essentially the entire time trying to retrieve you.  We had little to no control over the transfers.  We’d enter the Time Tunnel coordinates, and the computer transferred the two of you to completely different times and locations.”  Ray explained. 

Jerry entered the conference room.  “I completed the analysis based on the information you provided.  The legacy computer system had pre-set dates from the initial tests ran in the prototype over 20 years ago.  Our outbound retrieval signal was being contaminated by the archived data.”  Jerry explained.

“There’s more.”  Doug said.  “We found that the tunnel connects to an interspace network.  Depending on the origin and destination, the tunnel computer needs to adjust for variations in the gravitational constant.”  

“Variation in the gravitational constant?”  Ray was stunned.  The lift arrived.  General Kirk and Ann entered the room and sat at the table.  “Ann, I didn’t know you had a twin brother.”  Tony said.  I met Allen, I told him I’d look him up when I got back.” 

“Tony, Allen died with my mother and father.”  She said.  “What?”  Tony asked.

“While I was at my grandmother’s house in Oregon, there was an explosion at the prototype site.  They were killed.”  Ann explained.  “They were there when we left.”  Tony said.  “It must have happened after you left.”  Ann said.  “My grandmother ended up adopting me.”

Doug knew something was wrong.  He had seen Dr. MacGregor at the ground breaking ceremony in 1958.  Somehow, he and Tony’s arrival in 1947 had an impact on the timeline.  Perhaps it had something to do with Warner, Doug thought.  Maia said he was a danger.  Doug changed the subject.  “There’s something else we need to talk about”.  “After we were transferred off of the Titanic, we ended up here in the complex in 2100.”  “Yes, 2104 to be exact.”  Kirk said.  “We had a loose fix on you.” 

“Sometime in the next 10-15 years, an alien invasion of microscopic life forms occurs and we end up at war.  By 2100 the human race is close to extinction.  We have to find out exactly when and where the invasion takes place.  We know it’s in England, so we have to warn their government.”  “We have to help them prepare.”  Doug said. 

“Microscopic beings.”  Tony said.  “How are we going to know when microscopic beings invade Earth?”

United Kingdom Secret Intelligence Service Headquarters

London, England

13 June 1983

“This is the last box Agent Hoch.”  The young man reported as he unloaded the dolly.

“Thank you, sir.” Hoch responded without looking up.  The man left the room and shut the door behind him.  Hoch took the last box near the doorway and stacked it next to similarly sized boxes at the other end of the store room.  “There’s barely enough room to move, how are we supposed to go through this?” Agent Winton asked.  “It’s not staying here.”  Hoch replied.  “It’s being brought to Rudloe next week.  This is just temporary.” 

The cargo from the Spindrift was mixed with the crew and passenger personal belongings.  The ship had returned the prior day.  While the suborbital craft arrived in London on time, the crew had aged 36 years.  They claimed they were on another planet during the 40-minute flight.   

“It’s going to take years to go through this material.”  Agent Winton said.  “There’s thousands of pages of printed documents and some old-style film similar to microfiche we can easily convert to images.”  “The problem will be with the data tapes.  We have to find a way to extract the data and determine if we can even convert the data into something we can use.”  He said.

“I’m sure the boys at the computer lab will figure it out.”  Hoch replied.

“What about the biological samples?”  Winton asked. 

“They’re supposed to be DNA samples of giant humans, according to the crew.” Hoch replied. “The lab at Rudloe can run the analysis.”

“And these canisters?”  Agent Winton stood up one the 3-foot-tall silver canisters.  “It looks like a compressed gas cylinder, but there’s no valve or opening.” 

Hoch looked the cylinders over.  “We’ll send them to the materials lab.  They’ll determine what’s in them.”

The End

Concludes in – Lost in Space:  Terra Firma

The RETURN Trilogy:

1. Escape from the land of The Giants
2. The Time Tunnel:  Final Transfer
3. Lost in Space:  Terra Firma

Supplemental:

1. Chaos Rising [A Prequel]
2. Interregnum Obscura [1947 – 2035]