Time Travel Universe, page 2
Dr. Green unrolled the scroll flat on the table. The parchment held its form, surprisingly well-preserved yet rough to the touch. Golden embossed hieroglyphs decorated the treated papyrus. Its tan background contrasted with the gold. Fanciful spheres and pyramids, undoubtedly inspired by the ancient Egyptian culture, lined the edges of its fibers.
The symmetry of the design suggested a careful and deliberate hand in their creation. Quinn imagined the artisans at work, arranging each element until the perfectly balanced shapes told a story.
Dr. Green hovered his hands over the messages as if he were about to touch them, but never did. “Remember what you said your future self told you from one of the digital files we retrieved?”
Quinn ran his fingertip along the edges. “You think this document can tell us more than what we learned from the alternate array?”
“I do. And more importantly, I trust it more. Call me a cynic, but I’m skeptical about the ideas that system forced in her head. Maybe it’s all true, but a healthy bit of skepticism goes a long way.”
Dr. Green explained some of the details on the parchment and what he thought it meant, along with a few missing pieces of information he was still working out.
“It matches up so far with what we found on the surface, the room I accessed.”
“True, but that could be by intent,” Dr. Green replied.
Quinn understood that The Way excelled at spreading disinformation to seed chaos through timelines. His team suspected they aimed to foster cynicism, obscuring the truth even when apparent. Quinn grappled with fully countering this tactic and questioned its feasibility.
“And how can you be so sure this manuscript is more reliable?”
Dr. Green gently pulled the parchment taut from both sides and then pointed to a few intersecting lines that juxtaposed the Great Pyramid and Egyptian characters holding small spheres.
“I can’t, but two pieces of data are more conclusive together than by themselves. Now back to what that other version of yourself from the future said in the new video archive.”
When Quinn and his team found the archive initially, they found dozens of videos with different versions of Quinn that contained explicit intel about The Way’s organization. It also displayed bits and pieces of information about time travel, multiverse travel, and the technology surrounding the orbs, along with general information about the nature of the universe.
Much of the info was coded or incomplete. Other pieces of info they thought might be in code, and even more conflicted with itself. Since their return, they had little time to parse through it.
Quinn squinted, inspecting the message that Dr. Green assumed he understood. “You mean not just a Quinn for every timeline, but a Quinn for every multiverse?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
Dr. Green traced several lines on the papyrus, each a different color. Quinn understood the holographic mind version of time travel, which allowed his conscious mind to travel within his body in his lifetime, but intersecting lines represented mechanistic time travel, not in a parallel universe, but a parallel multiverse.
Quinn always pondered the fate of the original mind’s awareness when he time-traveled. The scroll imagery hinted at the possibilities for that consciousness.
If the multiverse is like an infinite pot of boiling water with each bubble being a parallel universe, then another multiverse would be like a separate pot of boiling water. There would be no issues with causality or a grandfather paradox if one found a way to hop pots and the orbs would allow them to do that, in theory.
They would need to test the infinite multiverse hypothesis first. As far as they knew, they’d only jumped through parallel universes within a single multiverse. Quinn and a select few others could do it with their minds, but the orbs allowed all of them to do it with their physical body and anything else they brought with them.
The orbs suggested a method to traverse alternate multiverses, potentially revealing various pasts or futures without altering their reality.
Dark matter was largely responsible for Quinn’s prior mental time travel, and exotic matter allowed for travel between universes through a wormhole. The orbs used a similar mechanism that, in principle, could allow them to travel between multiverses and interact with themselves.
Quinn considered his actions as if he were the other Quinn in Egypt, but without the precise time and location, understanding eluded him. Despite analyzing the video, they remained clueless. Quinn questioned if the problem was even theirs. Speculating about the coordination and origin of their findings made his brain hurt.
“You think your scroll can help us?” Quinn asked.
“I’m sure it’s already helped us in some other universe. But this is from Ancient Egypt and deals directly with the spheres. The glyphs on the top appear to be the key to decoding a cipher, a message deeper than the surface meaning the images depict. From what I’m seeing, I think we can use the signatures of each video to isolate a direction to a specific universe and multiverse. The spheres will guide us to the right multiverse and the array to the right universe.”
“How can you be so sure?” Quinn asked.
“There’s three repeating numbers: seven, three, and two. Those are represented by the glyphs here,” he said, pointing. “And if you noticed, there are repeating intervals in the spaces on each line,” he said and then went on to explain additional clues embedded in the papyrus.
Dr. Green paused for a moment and then jumped up. “I think I might know how to find what you’re looking for. But it might require something special.”
He gave Quinn a familiar look. “You think that’s such a great idea?” Quinn asked.
“If you want to do this thing and discover what it means, I don’t think we have much of a choice,” he said, pausing, “or time, for that matter. You can use your implants to speed up the process, but each activation attempt will take time, more than we have if you take this journey.”
Quinn could loop time to sort through the footage and follow any other technical analysis each time, comparing a few decoded scroll hieroglyphics and cross-referencing them to the background images in the video. He could also review the captured video from the Ghost Array they found surrounding another parallel Earth to find clues about the orbs.
Dr. Green interrupted, “Unless we can jump both into the past and into another multiverse at the same time, which just might be possible.”
Quinn hadn’t even considered how to combine time travel with multiverse travel. That would depend entirely on the spheres. And assuming they made it, he wondered if he could still use his mental time travel in a different multiverse. In the prior adventure, he couldn’t loop to before they entered the new universe, and he thought it likely that would hold true if they decided to leave.
Quinn, Dr. Green, and the rest of the primary crew spent the better part of the day discussing the possibilities and analyzing the video for possible clues before returning home.
The risk Quinn took when looping was running out of juice and getting stranded. A short loop a day or two wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but he was more concerned about running out when he needed to use it the most.
From what he’d gathered from the scrolls, they suggested that time itself was a critical component of how much of the dark matter was consumed with each loop. A shorter loop was much smaller. The number of particles consumed was an inverse square like gravity. What he hadn’t determined was the starting point. All he knew was that the total amount of dark matter used grew exponentially the farther in time his mind went. So he decided to travel short hops, a single day.
Chapter 3
Date unknown, Cairo, Egypt, Earth 2/Multiverse 732
Alternate Quinn awoke flat on the desert sand, and the rest of the group hovered over him. His head throbbed, and his ears rang like he had a bad case of tinnitus.
“What happened?” Quinn muttered.
“You got a glancing blow to the back of the head. You’re lucky you’re still alive,” Cameron replied.
The sound of shaking and low-pitched murmurs rumbled in the distance.
Quinn eased himself into a sitting position. Cameron and Jeremy helped him up. “Where are we?” he asked.
Quinn attempted to stand but quickly stumbled before gathering his bearings one final time.
“We’re on the other side of the pyramid, but they’ll spot us soon. We threw up a micro dust storm with a few of the tools we have, but it’s fading fast and its range is limited,” Dr. Green replied.
Quinn rose and traced his hand along the pyramid’s surface. At first, it looked like he was using the side for support, but soon the motion became more deliberate.
“We need to find the entrance,” Quinn said, scanning the structure for any sign of a way in. Jeremy and another member of the group finally caught up and then ran ahead, checking for a way in.
Quinn gave a brief explanation of their current situation to the recording and used his cortical implant commands to complete the message and integrate them with the enhanced features from their equipment, hoping another version of himself would find the plea for help and come to their rescue. He knew the odds were slim. And in the likely scenario it failed, he now had to go on to plan C, seeing as plan A failed from the moment they arrived.
A few moments later, Jeremy waved his hands in the distance, barely noticeable. Quinn and Dr. Green packed up the enhancer and sprinted toward him, followed closely by the others, who had all caught up.
They arrived at Jeremy’s position, and an entrance barely large enough for one person came into view. “Get in,” Quinn said, glancing at their pursuers. He motioned for them to cram inside. A rush of energy surged through him and renewed some of his lost strength.
Just as they squeezed through the narrow opening, an energy bolt slipped through and skimmed Jeremy’s cheek.
“Seal it up,” Quinn shouted.
Jeremy pulled out a small satchel filled with designer resin. It hardened and set instantly when exposed to the air, making it nearly impenetrable, which meant that they’d need to find a new way out.
Once inside, only a few torches illuminated the pyramid’s dimly lit interior. Quinn’s heart hammered away as they ventured further and he breathed in the scent of ancient stone. The deeper they descended into its base, the more he sensed something lurking in the shadows, like eyes spying in the dark.
Thanks to the floor plans in their cortical implants, they avoided getting lost. Quinn closely monitored the identified entrances and exits, pinpointed after their failed attempt. However, the plans weren’t precise, with several discrepancies and secret passages at the pyramid’s base.
They meandered further inside the labyrinthine structure, exploring for hours and hoping their pursuers would eventually give up and turn away. Eventually, they stumbled upon a hallway containing a few ancient pedestals, where they took the time for a brief rest.
Twenty minutes later, Jeremy inspected the nearby walls. “Another dead end,” he said.
Quinn analyzed the plans on his holo-screen and the error. “Maybe this section was sealed off for a reason. There could be a room inside. This pathway should lead to four other locations. That means there’s enough space for an enclosed room. If it’s here, we could loop around each of the other three sections. One of them might be an entrance. Let’s see if we can find anything.”
In the pyramid’s dim corridor, flickering torches cast elongating shadows on the walls and made the hieroglyph-covered stones appear alive.
A faint rustling whispered from the very depths of the pyramid, a sound that was neither the wind nor the breath of Quinn’s companions. “Does anyone else think we’re being watched?” Jeremy asked.
“Maybe it’s from the same people who lit the torches,” Dr. Green added.
“Where are those people anyway? Nobody said anything about torches, or people living here. I thought these were supposed to be tombs?” Jeremy said.
Quinn strained his eyes, searching for any sign of movement but only saw shadow dances. Every so often, a scarab’s rustling broke the silence.
Suddenly, one of the torches blew out and plunged the group into near darkness before their cortical implants activated night vision. And for some reason, the temperature plummeted. Quinn shuddered and realized just how deep they were and how little they knew about the structure.
One of them lit another torch from the embers. They continued their descent, and the walls became more elaborate, covered in hieroglyphs and carvings. Quinn ran his hand over the rough surface, feeling the grooves and contours of the coarse limestone.
They arrived at a large chamber at the base of the pyramid. Intricate Ancient Egyptian carvings covered the walls and matched symmetrically to emphasize the placement of the sarcophagus in the center of the room.
The dark, polished stone that absorbed the ambient light made it appear almost black. Complex shapes decorated the polished obsidian lid.
They drew closer, and a faint glint emerged nearby, accompanied by a soft buzzing sound coming from within.
“Should we open it?” Jeremy asked, inching closer.
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Dr. Green said.
“We keep looking for what we came for. Try not to get distracted,” Quinn replied.
“But it’s beaming. That means something, right? Are we just going to ignore it?”
“This is not what we came for. It’s either a protection, a trap, or something else we don’t need,” Dr. Green added.
“He’s right. This doesn’t match what we’re looking for. We move forward. We’ll know it when we see it,” Quinn said.
Jeremy frowned. “Fine. Let’s find this thing then.”
They left the sarcophagus and continued their journey using the few clues embedded in their cortical implants overlaid on their existing floor plan. Most of the locations matched up, but Quinn wondered if whoever had designed it had anticipated them being there searching for what they’d come for.
Quinn knew about boobie traps to protect treasure buried with pharaohs, so he wasn’t surprised they’d find the unexpected. Dr. Green even warned him of that before they arrived. Quinn kept a close eye on the clues, still not sure how they might appear in real life should they come upon them.
The group continued searching for roughly twenty minutes until they found an easily missed narrow passageway at the heart of the pyramid. It opened to a room fifteen yards across on all sides. A pedestal lay in the center of the room. Resting on top sat a small, flickering orb. Warmth radiated from it.
“That looks like it,” Jeremy said, reaching out to take it.
Quinn cut in. “Wait, we . . .” Before he could finish, a low, primal growl arose from the darkness, followed by the soft scrape of scales against stone.
A creature emerged from the shadows. Its eyes gleamed yellow and orange as if possessed. Its claws glinted in the dim torchlight, but the darkness still hid the rest of its features.
The scent that accompanied the creature was equally disturbing, a mix of damp earth, decay, and something metallic and tangy, like the smell of fresh blood. The overpowering stench filled the room.
The animal snarled. The beast easily stood ten feet tall, with scales covering its body, like a snake-cat hybrid. Its long tail whipped back and forth behind it, and its humongous jaws opened and closed, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Sweat beaded on Jeremy’s forehead. He stumbled, almost dropping the orb in his hand, but retrieved it just before it touched the floor. The rest of the team drew their weapons. Quinn quickly spun his head, looking for any advantage they could use. Pillars supported the ceiling, and the encircling creature blocked the only exit.
“Get its attention on one side of the room, and then we make a run for it on the other,” Quinn said.
The team said nothing, just quickly split up and took positions behind the pillars. Jeremy stepped forward, holding the orb. “Hey, you ugly thing,” he yelled, waving the orb as his heart raced. “Come and get me!”
Jeremy’s stomach sank the moment the words left his mouth. The creature crept toward him, its eyes locked on the sphere. It inched closer toward him in slow, deliberate, silent steps.
The team made their way toward the other side of the room. Once they were completely on the other side, the creature lunged toward him, its massive claws extended out to grab the orb. Before the beast could reach Jeremy, Quinn threw a large stone and hit it squarely in the noggin. Its head flicked back, and then it let out a deafening roar. The rest of the team sprinted toward the exit. Jeremy quickly caught up, the strange cat now focused on Quinn.
The creature’s footsteps pounded behind them as they ran. In one giant leap, the beast landed behind them, now forcing them to turn in the other direction.
“Why does this keep happening to us?” Jeremy said.
“If not us, then who?” Quinn asked.
“How the hell should I know? Anyone but us. That works for me.”
As they chatted, Dr. Green stood ready to act, though Quinn wasn’t sure Dr. Green would be able to do much of anything. Cameron stood immobile, moving her eyes busily as she scanned something using her cortical implant.
The creature retreated, paused for a fraction of a second, and then slithered its torso in their direction, stretching itself to double its prior length.
“Cover your ears,” Cameron shouted.
Once the team’s hands were over them, she tapped her temple and activated a sound grenade from her cortical implant.
The creature’s mouth gaped open, trembling. The scene unfolded like a silent movie. It shrunk to its original size, and they dropped their hands.
“Quick. This way,” Cameron said. She took a small rod reinforced with exotic matter and punched through a section of the wall opposite the creature’s position. They burst through the entrance into the blinding sun-lit desert.
