Time Travel Universe, page 7
“Why haven’t you gone already?” Jeremy asked.
Axel’s face remained unchanged. “I’ve got no good reason.”
A comms message from Tier 1 beeped on the side communications panel on the left side of the shuttle. Quinn tapped the command to open the channel. “There’s something . . .” was all Cameron could get out before the shuttle shook violently.
“We struck something,” Axel said.
“An asteroid?” Quinn asked.
“It’s an energy field,” Axel replied.
“What’s our status?” Quinn asked Jeremy.
“The hull is undamaged, but the energy field is keeping us from getting closer. I’m scanning for the source. Once I do, we might be able to fly around it.”
Quinn activated the comms channel to Tier 1. “Thanks for the warning,” Quinn said to Cameron.
“Don’t mention it. I would’ve warned you sooner, but the shield wasn’t active until you passed through the L1 Lagrange point. There must be hidden sensors somewhere. I don’t think your shuttle will be able to pick them up. The construct interface is suggesting you return until we find a way around it.”
The channel went dead the moment she finished her message. The shuttle rocked violently. “Pull us away from the planet,” Quinn said.
“I already did, but a charged field has surrounded us,” Axel replied.
“Any way we can muscle through it?”
Axel entered a few navigation commands on the panel. Wild jarring followed. “Losing partial inertial dampeners. Something’s interfering with the hull coating.”
Quinn frowned. “That’s impossible.”
“Not impossible since it’s happening. My guess is it has something to do with the envelope surrounding us.”
“Cameron, can you jettison a reinforced nano-tether?” Quinn asked.
“I can try, but it’s made from the same material as the hull.”
Jeremy interrupted. “What is that?”
Quinn squinted. A multicolored fissure on the shuttle interior exploded into a mixture of shimmering bright shades. The hues ranged from a deep indigo to a light, iridescent pink. They blended and swirled together, creating a captivating kaleidoscope of color. Deeper blues and purples formed a base, while the lighter pinks and oranges layered on top, creating a stunning contrast.
The fissure grew larger into a blur of motion. A loud pop rang out from the inside of the shuttle, like metal buckling. Before Quinn had time to react, the force of the explosion sucked all three toward the tear in the hull.
Quinn fought against the suction in a vain attempt to snatch the nano-spray. Just before the vacuum of space sucked him out, he quickly attached the satchel holding a sphere to his side. He tapped it against the other haphazardly during the struggle. A bright light engulfed him, and the whooshing sound ceased. He exhaled. The shuttle stopped rocking. Only he remained mobile.
Quinn wasn’t sure how long the pocket of slowed time would last. He lunged toward the nano-spray, assuming the worst, and sprayed a wide coating over the entire fissure. As he did, the bubble around him oscillated. It was as if waves of gravity rolled through him. Time resumed its normal motion.
Jeremy stared at Quinn’s position and the nano-gel that now secured the fissure and then turned his gaze toward Quinn, who shrugged. The team took stock of their position and then returned to their panels and analyzed the shuttle’s integrity.
“Whatever you did, it’s working for now,” Axel said. The shuttle plunged hard, and all three smacked into the roof. “We’ve lost partial inertial . . .” Axel trailed off.
Unsecured items in the shuttle careened wildly in all directions as if shaken in a blender. Quinn struggled to stay conscious. Several more bright lights formed on the inside of the hull, this time in numerous locations. He attempted to locate the satchel strap holding the spheres but failed to do so. The fissures ballooned into a blinding light, and then blackness overtook him.
Chapter 8
Tier 1, Earth 2 Orbit/Multiverse 732, arrival loop/day 2
Quinn’s sight returned. Cameron tapped away at her holo-panel and scanned the readouts. “I think it’s working.”
The room shook violently. “Partial internal dampeners activating now,” Jeremy said.
On the main screen, an area of pitch black shot out from the center of the central node into a region of space directly in front of them. The region grew larger until it encompassed half the sky in front of them. The change was subtle since they were facing away from Earth and in the opposite direction of the Sun.
“Crap,” Quinn said.
In a microsecond, all the stars disappeared. Total darkness surrounded them.
“I’m not getting any readings on the space around us, but we are moving,” Jeremy said.
A chime sounded from the newly constructed panel that allowed the spheres to interface with Tier 1. Cameron activated several controls on the interface. “The panel shows we’re traveling through the network multiverses.”
“What’s wrong?” Cameron asked. Quinn gave her a look she’d seen many times and instantly shot an eye of recognition. “Or I should say, what went wrong?”
“We descended in the shuttle, but an energy barrier activated when we reached the L1 Lagrange point. We suspected there might be hidden sensors somewhere. We were scanning for them when an energy bubble swallowed us up before we could return. The only signal we picked up early was a faint reading inside the Great Pyramid. But I think we should hold off on any active sensors of the surface in case that contributed to the activation,” Quinn said.
Quinn thought for a moment. “I’m going to steal some time,” he said and headed toward the simulation room.
Quinn reflected on what Cameron explained earlier regarding Sentry. He could’ve logged into the streamlined version in the control room but hoped he’d be able to access Sentry with all the bells and whistles so he could brainstorm while in time dilation mode. He just wasn’t sure if he could find the relaxed mental state Cameron had. That’s when another thought occurred to him.
Quinn doubled back for the control room. On the return trip, the hallway suddenly jostled side to side. He lost his balance and then tapped his cortical implant. “Cameron, what just happened?”
“That energy bubble you mentioned before. Well, it just activated.”
Quinn scuttled faster, steadying himself in a vain attempt to move forward. Before he made it, a blinding light exploded and faded into black.
Tier 1, Earth 2 orbit, arrival loop/day 3
Quinn’s sight returned. Cameron tapped away at her holo-panel and scanned the readouts. “I think it’s working.”
While Quinn didn’t have time to activate the spheres, he at least knew his mental time-travel ability was working. He wasn’t sure how much residual dark matter he had left to loop since his team still hadn’t completely discovered a way to measure it, but he had another loop to think about it.
The room shook violently. “Partial internal dampeners activating now,” Jeremy said.
On the main screen, an area of pitch black shot out from the center of the central node into a region of space directly in front of them. The region grew larger until it encompassed half the sky in front of them. The change was subtle since they were facing away from Earth and in the opposite direction of the Sun.
“Not again,” Quinn said.
In a microsecond, all the stars disappeared. Total darkness surrounded them.
“I’m not getting any readings on the space around us, but we are moving,” Jeremy said.
A chime sounded from the newly constructed panel that allowed the spheres to interface with Tier 1. Cameron activated several controls on the interface. “The panel indicates we’re traveling through the network multiverses.”
“What’s wrong?” Cameron asked. Quinn gave her a look she’d seen many times and instantly shot an eye of recognition. “Or I should say, what went wrong?”
“We descended in the shuttle, but an energy barrier activated when we reached the L1 Lagrange point. We suspected there might be hidden sensors somewhere. We were scanning for them when an energy bubble swallowed us up before we could return. The only signal we picked up early was a faint reading inside the Great Pyramid. That was the first time. The second time, the energy bubble arrived before we even left. I think whoever has that signal on the surface already knows we’re here. I’m going to try something else,” Quinn said.
Quinn retrieved three of the spheres that powered their journey and tapped them in a specific sequence. A second later, gravity waves shot outward through the entire control room and beyond. He wasn’t sure how long the time bubble would last and bolted toward the simulation room.
Once Quinn arrived, he thrust on the visor with his mental commands already running and landed in what could only be described as a Total Recall moment, where his mind took him to another world. Immediately he found himself in the sand-strewn desert next to the Great Pyramid.
Sentry, are you there? he thought to himself. Nothing responded.
Any insight into how an energy shield might go undetected or how it might detect us? He waited but still got no response.
Several hundred yards of desert separated him from the Great Pyramid. He glanced at both sides. On the right, a dust trail appeared in the distance, maybe two kilometers.
“Sentry, you there?” he said, this time aloud. There was still no response.
He wasn’t sure what might be riding closer in the trail of dust but didn’t think it would be anything he wanted to discover, so he jogged forward. Every sense within the simulation was indistinguishable from reality, at least as far as he could tell. He tasted and breathed in the dryness of the air, the warmth of the sun on his skin, and the pounding heart in his chest as the dust trail inched closer.
He halved the distance between himself and the pyramid, still only seeing himself and the growing dust trail. He wondered if anyone might be around the other sides. He kept running and hoped he could find enough time out of sight from whatever was approaching to calm his thoughts and connect with Sentry.
Figures emerged within the small cloud of dust. He made out only one initially, then two, and then three. One figure was riding on something he couldn’t quite make out, a horse or camel, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t think camels moved that fast, so he assumed it was a horse of some kind.
Quinn hurried to the side of the pyramid and moved as far out of sight as he could while looking for anything to give him cover and keep whoever was approaching from seeing him.
“Let’s try this again,” he said aloud. He closed his eyes and reflected on what Cameron had said regarding slowing her breathing before Sentry appeared for the first time in the simulation. He slowed his breath and followed a simple mindfulness practice. Sentry, are you there? he thought.
He waited, calming his breath, striving to clear his mind of the looming, albeit unreal, danger. His main concern was to relax enough to either activate Sentry or access his mind, the mechanics of which remained somewhat mysterious.
Ah, Quinn. Yes, I’m here, the voice in Quinn’s mind replied.
The desert setting bled into white and then receded into a completely new location. The pyramids vanished, and in their place towered the White Cliffs of Dover. Waves pounded on the shore far below. The sun hung low and bathed the expansive English Channel in golden light. The majestic cliffs rose from the shoreline, and their gleaming white faces reflected the sun’s rays.
The cliffs towered over the water like a Medieval fortress wall. Salt and seaweed mingled with the sweet fragrance of wildflowers growing in the grassy meadows up to the edge. The rolling waves crashed against the base, echoing in a constant background noise.
A second later, a promenade with several opulent benches materialized a few feet from the precipice. Its tiles glistened to a high sheen, reflecting the sun. Intricate patterns decked the tiles. Benches and flowerpots lined the walkway. Their bright colors contrasted against the muted narrow pavement surrounding it.
A figure appeared, sitting on the bench closest to Quinn, and beckoned him to sit.
“Care for some tea?” Sentry asked.
Quinn sat and gazed upon the setting, facing the English Channel. “How much of what’s happening outside do you know?”
Sentry brought the teacup to his lips. “Most people prefer Earl Gray or English Breakfast, but I fell in love with Yorkshire long ago.”
Despite the urgency, Quinn embraced the calm and allowed the setting to get him out of his head. “Maybe I will take a cup.”
A porcelain teacup resting on a small plate appeared on the table in front of him. Vapors rose from the liquid and quickly disappeared. Quinn brought the tea to his lips and inhaled its earthy notes before he sipped.
“I only know what’s happening to the construct and what’s holding it. From what I can sense, there’s an energy barrier from the Old Ones, who you know as The Way. I recognize its frequency. Beyond that, I know nothing,” Sentry said.
“The energy bubble, or whatever it is, already killed me twice. It’s in the process of doing it again. I’ve activated the spheres and created a pocket of delayed time. They collapsed the bubble when I was returning from the shuttle. How is that even possible?” Quinn asked.
“It’s good you came here and accessed the reverse time dilation, but from what I’m reading, you’re racing against the clock. You will die again once you leave the simulation.”
“So much for coming here then.”
Sentry sipped quietly as if pondering Quinn’s statement. “You shouldn’t be too surprised. You’ve embarked on a perilous path, as have your companions. And despite your likely death, all is not lost.”
“What can you tell me exactly about the Old Ones and how they are interfering with the time bubble?”
“My memory banks give me a few specific details on setting up beacons around a fixed radius. With three, they can create a sphere of influence. Any use of the time travel technology they’ve developed can be dampened, though not completely suppressed within that radius of influence. Based on the information you provided, any use of the time bubble won’t last more than a minute at most. That won’t, however, stop you from using other types of time travel or any technology that operates on a frequency different than the spheres.”
“How can you be so certain I’m going to die when I leave here?”
“That’s the other thing. The spheres you took from the planet where you found my construct were once controlled by the Old Ones. While you are within their controlling radius, the spheres will act as a beacon.”
Quinn wondered if he could eventually reverse-engineer the spheres.
“Can they detect the spheres once we return home?”
“Only if they can create a new region of influence. So provided that doesn’t happen, they won’t be able to. But anywhere you travel where they do, the spheres will give away your location and allow them to piggyback on the signal and turn the signal itself into a weapon to destroy you.”
“Is there anything you can do to hide our use of them?”
Sentry’s eyes gazed deeper as if pondering Quinn’s question. He sipped more tea and inhaled, then turned toward the cliffs. “The short answer is I don’t know. The way the technology works impacts everything around it in the current universe. On the surface, it would appear impossible. But your Arthur C. Clark once said, ‘The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.’”
“How much time do I have here? How much can you help me?”
“Less than you need, a few days at most, maybe, in what would feel like your linear time. Certainly, not enough to find a way to shield the use of the sphere from triangulation.”
“What if we don’t have to hide their activation, just the spheres themselves? You said they’re only detected if we are within the sensor region. We can just move outside that area.”
“Yes, but then you wouldn’t be able to use them.”
“True, but we may not need to. We only need to avoid detection,” Quinn said.
“The only problem is that you’ve already used them for your arrival. The address you’ve plotted has you arriving within that zone.”
Quinn thought for a moment. He wondered why they encountered trouble only after crossing the L1 Lagrange point during their first entry. In later instances, the spheres revealed their position immediately upon arrival.
“Why didn’t the energy field appear when we first appeared?”
“The only possible answer is that you did something different that changed the outcome. You are the only variable. When you died and your mental time travel brought you to the same location in six-dimensional space, you did something or created a change that alerted them to your presence. The L1 Lagrange point is one of the beacon points. My guess is that a second is in the Great Pyramid. A third is someplace else, likely within the solar system.”
“What should I do with the time I have left?”
“Discover what you did differently. Start with the moment when things changed, and work backward.”
Over the next few days in simulated time, Quinn scrutinized every minor deviation until time ran out.
Chapter 9
Tier 1, Earth 2 orbit/Multiverse 732, the descent, loop 14
Cameron tapped away at her holo-panel and scanned the readouts. “I think it’s working.”
The room shook violently. “Partial internal dampeners activating now,” Jeremy said.
On the main screen, an area of pitch black shot out from the center of the central node into a region of space directly in front of them. The region grew larger until it encompassed half the sky in front of them. The change was subtle since they were facing away from Earth and in the opposite direction from the Sun.
“A wormhole is opening up directly in front of us,” Quinn said.
In a microsecond, all the stars disappeared. Total darkness surrounded them.
“I’m not getting any readings on the surrounding space, but we are moving,” Jeremy added.
