by Eric Black
“The anesthetics are wearing off. Give it about an hour and your head will feel like the worst hangover you’ve ever had.”
“Did we restock the pain meds before we began?”
“We might have a few aspirin left,” Jasper answered.
Jack smiled weakly.
“You’re going to be fine. I put a little something extra in your IV. It should make you feel as right as rain.”
“I hate the rain,” Jack said snarky.
“Go to sleep. I’ll bandage you up. You’ll need to rest for a few days but after that, we should be ready to go.”
“Was it successful?”
“It was. You are the proud owner of a time travel implant.” Jasper looked closely at Jack. “Do you feel any different?”
“I feel like I need a drink.”
“In a few days. I’ve given you something to help your body fight rejection of the implant. I’ll watch your vital signs to make sure you remain stable. Now get some sleep.”
Jack nodded and closed his eyes. His recollection drifted back to when they had first met in Albuquerque.
They were men with similar ambitions and with the letters PhD and MD following their name. They found themselves at the same conference and next to each other at dinner. Conversation ensued and two years later, a business partnership was cemented with a handshake.
Aside from their hometowns - Jack was from Nasvhille, Tennessee and Jasper was Welsh, originally from Chepstow – the similarities went beyond their education. Both men were divorced and neither had children. Both had put their careers first (something they both now regretted) so it was of little surprise when their wives left.
In response, they both consumed themselves with their work which brought them to their current discovery.
Jack entered Stage 1 sleep and his mind shifted to his ex-wife. He woke with a start. With his waking vision, he saw Jasper.
“It’s been twelve hours, mate,” Jasper said. “Are you rested?”
Jack was perplexed for a moment before recognition settled in. Then, his eyes settled on Jasper. Jasper looked genuinely concerned which amused Jack. Jack tried not to smile as he responded, “I’m sorry, Jasper. What did you ask me?”
If Jasper saw the smirk, he didn’t mention it. “I asked you if you were rested.”
“I feel much better, thank you.”
Jack took a moment to look around the room that was now their lab. Briefly, his mind wandered and he thought of Coolidge Park, one of the many local parks. There were a series of stone animals surrounding a fountain which for some reason always brought a peace to him. There was something magical about the fountain that Jack couldn’t explain.
It was in the calm of that reflection that Jack realized his head was pounding. He had not felt the discomfort until that exact moment. “Jasper,” Jack said, “I think I’m ready for that drink.”
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
Chattanooga, Tennessee – Present Day
“Do you want to head downtown for a drink?” Jasper asked the following week. “They’re supposed to have a good band tonight at our usual pub.”
“Pub, old chap? In America we don’t have pubs. We have bars.”
Jasper rolled his eyes. “Bar? What an uneducated-sounding place. Sure, mate. We’ll head down to your bar.”
“With that settled,” Jack replied, “would you do me the honor of driving to the pub? Something tells me I may out-drink you tonight.”
Jasper bowed and extended his arm. “After you, sir.”
Jasper drove to their favorite restaurant downtown. It was mid-summer and the streets were bustling. The local minor league baseball team had just completed a five game sweep and the crowd, in good spirits, headed out to continue enjoying their evening.
On the patio of the restaurant, Jack sipped his beer and looked into the distance at the full moon silhouetting Lookout Mountain.
“A full moon tonight,” Jasper commented, following Jack’s gaze.
“A full moon,” Jack agreed. “Perhaps I shall assume the role of the wolf and give reason to howl.”
“You’re referring to a certain redhead.”
“Indeed, I am.”
“Ah, young love. When is she supposed to be here?”
“She should be here any time.” Jack leaned in. “And she’s bringing a friend.”
“Really? Another friend for poor Jasper.”
“This friend is very attractive from what my sources tell me.”
“Your sources? By that you mean a certain female convinced that the colleague of the man she is seeing is incapable seeking out women on his own?”
Jack didn’t have time to answer. He looked up and there was his beautiful redheaded doctor.
“Sorry we’re late,” Jasper heard a voice say but it seemed to come from far away. His world suddenly stopped as he gazed at the woman next to Carmen. She was dark haired with a dark complexion. Deep brown eyes surrounded by long lashes watched him. Her full lips parted into a smile revealing perfect white teeth.
Jack looked over at Jasper and smiled. He turned to Carmen and the two shrugged and laughed. Jack’s thrown forearm into Jasper’s shoulder brought Jasper back. “Snap out of it, old chap.”
Jasper looked at Jack and then at Carmen and blushed embarrassed. Carmen saved him. “Jasper, I’d like you to meet my friend, Marni.”
Jasper beheld the angel Marni. “Your name is beautiful.”
Marni smiled. “It is Israeli. It means rejoicing.”
“Well,” Jack interrupted, “if we’re all acquainted then I’d like to buy you beautiful women a drink.”
The four talked over drinks, listening to the band for several hours until the restaurant closed. Afterwards, Carmen and Marni followed Jack and Jasper to their home. Once there, Jack and Carmen disappeared upstairs leaving Jasper and Marni alone.
The next morning, Carmen and Marni thanked them for the wonderful time and left to go about a new day. As they left, Jack noticed a kiss between Jasper and Marni.
Jack smiled. “You sly old Brit!” he exclaimed loudly after Jasper closed the door. “You seduced that beautiful young doctor.”
Jasper knew he looked like a boy who had been kissed for the first time but didn’t care. “On the contrary, she seduced me.”
“Kinky,” Jack replied.
“A gentleman never tells.”
Jack considered the comment but dropped it. “Well, I’m off to bed. Some of us didn’t get much sleep last night,” Jack replied, winking at Jasper. With that, he disappeared up the stairs, leaving Jasper to his thoughts.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
Chattanooga, Tennessee – Present Day
The day of the Phase 2, Jasper made lunch and took it to the back deck. The house had a higher elevation than the surrounding houses and from the back deck there was a great view of mountains in the distance. Sweet iced tea completed the ambiance.
He turned on the deck’s television and absentmindedly watched one of the qualifying round games of the World Cup. Rather than focus on the game, however, his thoughts were on Marni. He was thrilled to have met her but at the same time he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He had been in other relationships since his divorce and they had all ended the same way. At first, they would find his work exciting. Then, after time, they started to resent his long hours in the lab. They would ask him why he worked so much and paid so little attention to them. Finally, they would part ways. Marni didn’t deserve that.
Jasper was still lost in thought when he heard the back door slide open. “Wales still in it?” Jack asked.
“They are. Your Americans are playing tomorrow.”
“Your Americans, huh? Did you forget you live here, too?”
Jasper smiled. “Soccer supersedes current living conditions.”
Jack scoffed. “Whatever you say. By the way, did you save any lunch meat?”
“I did. I also made some iced tea.”
Jack went back into the house and came out a f
ew minutes later with food and beverage in tow. He joined Jasper and watched the highlights of that day’s games in the World Cup qualifier. “So tonight’s the night,” he said more aloud than to Jasper.
“Tonight’s the night,” Jasper agreed.
The two sat in silence for a few moments thinking about what was to come that evening. Jasper broke the silence. “Marni and I had a very interesting conversation.”
“Oh, yeah? And how is Miss Rejoicing?”
Jasper suppressed a smile. “She’s quite well. Anyways, back to our conversation; it was quite stimulating.”
Jack started to speak but Jasper ignored him and pressed on. “We spoke on Jack the Ripper.”
“Jack the Ripper?”
Jasper nodded. “We discussed how interesting it would be to use today’s technology in forensics to solve old crimes. Both Marni and I agreed that the Ripper crimes would be the most interesting to solve. There was so much evidence associated with the crimes that with today’s technology, it would have been easy to determine the killer.
“Nineteenth century forensics was not completely useless, although nothing like today. Wouldn’t it be great if we could use our time travel technology to help solve some of the world mysteries?”
Jack thought about Jasper’s comment for a moment. “Perhaps. Then again, some people may not like the identity of Jack the Ripper discovered. The Ripper was rumored to be the Duke of Clarence. That could be very embarrassing for royalty, even today.”
“Still,” Jasper said, “maybe someday we’ll decide it’s at least worth looking into.”
“Maybe,” Jack agreed.
“Speaking of someday, have you decided on a time to which you might like to go?”
“All this talk about nineteenth century England makes me want to go there. Rippers and dead bodies and everything,” Jack said sarcastically.
Jasper shrugged. “I think nineteenth century England would be very interesting. London had very unique dynamics around the turn of the century.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Jack said rising from his seat. “Well, I’m going to take a shower. I’ll see you later on.”
As Jack walked away, Jasper considered the possibilities.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Chattanooga, Tennessee – Present Day
“Are you sure you’re ready to test the implant? We’re on our own time schedule and we can push it back if we need to.”
Jack shook his head and then smiled reassuringly. “Relax. We’ve crunched the data a thousand times.” He turned his head to admire the model of the implant on the table next to them. It had taken them years to develop the research and then contrive that research into this technology.
There was nothing remarkable about the appearance of the implant. They had coated it in silicate glass which was common with other implants. But while the implant looked ordinary, it was certainly not ordinary in function. Now that it was implanted in Jack’s brain, the device would allow him to travel through time.
Through their research, they had studied the human brain extensively and advanced a theory that the subconscious mind could actually be found. All of their research led them to the association areas of the cortex that generally control perception, thought and decision making which they determined was the most likely place for the subconscious to exist.
That was the easy part. Their biggest challenge was to cease the laws of physics long enough for time travel to exist. Using Einstein’s equations on general relativity, they designed the implant to self-generate traversable wormholes. But to create a wormhole, the device relied on a specific type on energy that science said did not exist on earth.
Through years of research, they hypothesized that the human subconscious was the one place that could generate the exact type of energy that they needed for the device to work properly.
Previous theories on time travel predicted that there was only a specific amount of time that ran backwards which limited the range of time travel. By harnessing the subconscious mind and using thought, imagination and memories, Jack and Jasper were able to overcome this projected constraint.
In the end, they had built the perfect means of traveling through time. Of course, everything was still theoretical. Jack hoped to change that.
“How’s your vision?” Jasper asked a few weeks after the operation.
“It’s fine,” Jack lied.
Jasper looked closer at Jack but didn’t convey what he was actually thinking. “That’s good. Do you feel like going out tonight? Nothing crazy, maybe go to a movie or something?”
“Maybe,” Jack answered. “Is that new movie playing that you’ve been talking about?”
“It is. The next show starts at seven thirty.”
“I guess we could go. Should we invite the ladies?”
“They’re both working late. I though you already knew that?
“I guess I just forgot. I’ll go get ready.” Jack got up and walked past Jasper. As he did, a vision flashed through his mind of grabbing Jasper and driving his head through the glass table. The violent thought scared him a little because it was so foreign and unexpected but he shook it off and went upstairs.
During the movie, Jack found it difficult to pay attention. He had felt strange ever since the surgery. At first, he was sure it was just the lingering effects of the anesthetics. Now, he wasn’t so sure. Everything was hazy.
The area around the point of surgery had healed nicely but his head still throbbed dully around the area of his incision. It wasn’t a white pain but more of a blue flame that gave off a deep heat. He knew his body wasn’t rejecting the implant because the symptoms would have been different. He just knew that something wasn’t right.
It was almost dusk and Jack was reading a book when Jasper came into the room. “So, this is it. I have to admit, I’m more excited than I was before the surgery.”
“Speak for yourself,” Jack replied, “you have the easy job.”
“I would have gladly traded places with you but you would hear nothing of it.”
Jack merely smiled.
“So,” Jasper said, moving forward, “you’re sure about the timeline?”
Jack had not been sure at first but after their discussion over lunch, he decided he would travel to nineteenth century London as Jasper had suggested. He wasn’t sure why that time was appealing to him. He didn’t find that period overly-exciting. It was almost as if something was drawing him back to that time.
“As long as you’re going back, you might as well go to a time where we can study an integral part of history,” Jasper explained, excited. “Who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and solve the mysterious identity of Jack the Ripper.”
“You can solve the mysterious identity,” said Jack. “I’m going back to prove that time travel works. I’m only going back to this particular time and place because of your suggestion. I doubt that I’ll go back to that specific time again. Instead, I’d like to go back and visit some of the great physicists of our history. Imagine having an actual conversation with Einstein.”
Jasper sighed disappointedly but perked up at the mention of Einstein. At that moment, he started to fully understand the possibilities that existed with their technology.
“You’re ready then?”
“I’m ready,” Jack agreed. They had spent the last few days reviewing old phonograph recordings from late 1800’s London to make sure Jack had the accent as well as the slang and pronunciations down. They had also made arrangements for money and authentic clothing from that period.
Jasper cautioned Jack that most of the men of that time frame were around five foot six and with Jack measuring six foot one, he needed be careful not to draw too much attention to himself.
Jack listened as Jasper went over the procedure one final time. “You will start by inducing yourself into a state of hypnosis. This will allow you to tap into your subconscious. The energy from your subconscious will be released and will activate the chip.
“Once the chip is activated, the wormhole will be created. Because the wormhole is created by the energy from your subconscious, your subconscious will have the ability to affect the wormhole. You must control your subconscious through the association areas of your cortex. Because this is the area that controls thought and decision making, you have the ability to make the wormhole exit in a time and location of your choosing.”
Jasper looked at Jack. “Do you have any final questions?”
“No, Jasper I do not,” Jack answered seriously. “Thank you for your work in making this possible. I am forever indebted to you.”
Jasper smiled in appreciation of the comment. “It’s been my pleasure to work with you. Now,” he said lightening the moment, “if we’re going to hold hands and make out, let’s get it over with. If not, let’s move on with the task at hand, shall we?”
Jack smirked and nodded.
“Okay, now close your eyes,” Jasper said softly.
Jack did as he was asked.
“Jack?” Jasper said in a slightly louder tone. Jack opened his eyes and looked at Jasper. “Be careful,” Jasper finished.
Jack nodded and closed his eyes. He started with the number ten and counted backwards as he initiated the self-hypnosis sequence. By the time he reached one he had hypnotized himself.
Jack inhaled slowly and searched his thoughts until he felt his inner-mind. He concentrated and felt himself being drawn inward. He could see flashing as if heat lightning danced across the sky and felt himself continue inward.
Finally, he reached a dark, quiet spot in his mind. He knew this was his subconscious. He concentrated on the nothingness that was there and soon felt a breeze. The breeze increased until the wind howled as a lamenting widow. The winds took on a physical form and slowly began to gather in the center of the nothingness. Collected, the winds revolved in unison. Then, a cyclone appeared.
The cyclone was thin at first but thickened exponentially. Before long, the cyclone had grown to such a size that it dominated his sight. If possible, the winds gained again at a tremendous rate and he felt himself being pulled forward. He watched as the cyclone churned and he found himself looking down into the heart of the cyclone, resembling an elongated spherical passageway – the wormhole.
