The Test

by Robert Longley

  By all accounts, he knew that I was his grandson. For the rest of his life, I kept that up because I thought it was in everybody's best interest. Part of me enjoyed having a family connection, and he quickly became my family. As it turned out, there was nobody in the town that knew me. Everybody simply knew my grandfather, which worked out well for everyone. Stephen's mother and father, we're not the best parents. They both died of drug overdoses sometime in the early 70s, but his grandparents told everyone it was a car accident.

  My grandfather would have raised me, but I ended up in foster care. My grandmother at the time was chronically ill and he simply didn't have the resources to take care of me as a small child. There were quite a few extended visits so there was a certain amount of contact growing up. I played the memory problem card quite a bit during my first couple of weeks back. My grandfather was more than happy to fill in the blanks for me.

  I know it's a little confusing describing two lives as your own. Try living it. I don't know if there is a rule book for something like this, but I tried to do the best that I could. I never took credit for anything the real Stephen might have done. And I tried to be the grandson that my grandfather wanted me to be. It wasn't difficult and it all sort of fit together. I think it generally worked out well for everyone given the circumstances.

  When the real Stephen was old enough to be out of foster care, he went into the military and didn't come home very often. So, there wasn't a lot of contacts there. Anyways, it turns out that my grandfather had gotten associated with IBM during the early years and started a small electronics firm that made parts that were sold to IBM.

  He employed roughly a dozen people when I returned. His first response was, "we've got to find a place for you, once you get settled again.” But for the next quarter of a mile, I was the star attraction. I was sitting next to my new grandfather in the back of a ‘69 Camaro (which eventually became my car) as we rode down the main street and all of its 10 businesses. There were probably several hundred people that looked on and waved.

  I think whoever was selling the flags and hotdogs that day made out the best. There was also a bunch of small vendors at the local town green. One of them had some great barbecue. The local Lions Club was flipping burgers and the VFW was there to greet me as well. There were quite a few people in uniform and several from my era. There were a couple of faces that almost looked familiar, but I really couldn't say anything. After about 1:30, the crowds start to thin out.

  My grandfather said, "You about ready to go back to the house?"

  And I said, "Yeah, I think it's probably time.”

  We headed back to his house and he said, "Just put your stuff anywhere.” And he goes, "your bedroom is just the way you left it.”

  So, I headed upstairs and figured out quickly which room was mine and I looked around and got an idea of some of the stuff that had happened over the years for his real grandson.

  That was Saturday afternoon. Next thing I remember, it's Monday morning and my grandfather is waking me up saying, “time for work.” I had slept over 24 hours continually. I got up a couple of times, but beyond that, it's all a blur. He figured I was tired, a little combination of jet lag and you know, trauma.

  I found some clothes that fit and hopped in my grandfather's Camaro and we headed down the street. We walked in and I was greeted with a round of applause, which is always nice. And my grandfather said, “This is my grandson and he's going to be running things here in a few years. I need all of you to show him the ropes.”

  Most people kept cheering, but at least one manager's face turned to a frown. So, I knew that was going to be a problem. My grandfather insisted that I start at the bottom and I was fine with that. People were kind of surprised that I took to electronics as quickly as I did. And I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was an electrician in my past life.

  Over the next two years, I learned every aspect of that small manufacturing business. And the one person that greeted me with a frown on day one decided that it was no longer in his best interest to work there. But otherwise, everybody that greeted me on that first day, continued to work with me until I took over as the company.

  My grandfather's health was starting to deteriorate. By that point, I had moved out of his house and bought my own house. I had a trust fund that I didn't know about and a rather large bank account. So, I returned to a reasonably comfortable life, even if it wasn't my own. It was a modest existence, but I was happy with it. For someone who came from where I started, this was quite a step up. The family had a lake house at Lake George, and I took every opportunity to visit that I could.

  I was a regular at the Veterans Administration Hospital. My "memory problem" and burns did require some attention. I think over time I wasn't there for the treatment. I was there for the girl. I had met one of the doctors, Dr. Kelly Ashe, who treated my burns initially. Just seeing her in the hall was enough to keep me coming back. After about six months, she realized that I wasn't there for the treatment and I got up the courage to ask her out. She said, yes. We went to a small burger joint and a movie and that was the start.

  We dated for about three months and her lease was up on her apartment. We decided that it was time to move in together. Two months after that I proposed. Our wedding was the following October at a small ceremony on the beach at Lake George. My grandfather was my best man and couldn't have been happier even though his health was starting to deteriorate rapidly at this point. He needed assistance to get down to the beach with his oxygen tank and was not able to stand during the service.

  We didn't have much planned for our honeymoon and we didn't want to give gifts to each other. We decided that each would do something for the other and write it on a card.

  At the end of the service, we exchange cards. Her card said, "Your student loans are paid.” Mine was a picture of an ultrasound and "it's a boy.” My grandfather couldn't have been happier and gave us the Camaro as a wedding present. Unfortunately, that was the only time he ever was able to see his great-grandson as he died three weeks later.

  Michael Stephen Tyler joined us the following May weighing in at 7 lbs. 9 ounces. Fast forward about a year, and we were pregnant again with my daughter Stephanie. Kelly cut back her hours at the VA so she could be at home with the kids. We had a sitter a couple of times a week so she could still go in. Once the kids were in school, Kelly left the Veteran's Administration to open her own practice.

  Over the next few years, the electronic business changed as more parts were outsourced to China. Eventually, we diversified into other areas. As I could see that the computer market was drying up, we moved into making parts for solar and wind energy. The business has grown from 12 to 20 people and we've added a small subsidiary in the Midwest.

  In general, for the last 18 years, I've led rather common existence. I go to PTA meetings, go to school functions, and no one would know my true history. This brings us about back to my 50th birthday or hundredth birthday if you will, and that's when the trouble all started.

  Chapter 11 - Just Another Day at the Office

  So, my birthday went off without a hitch. Later in the day, there was a cake waiting for me when I got home, and we did go out to dinner. There were also a couple more presents. I grabbed the baseball and the over 50 construction worker stuff and brought that into my work. The DNA test ended up in a pile with bills on the shelf and I forgot about it for about a month. Then one day at work I get a call on my office phone.

  "Hi, this is Dave from Genentech.”

  I wasn't paying attention because I thought it was one of those robocalls.

  "Yes, what can I do for you?"

  "We'd like to talk to you about your test results"

  I said, "I had no idea what you're talking about.”

  He said, "a few weeks ago you submitted one of our DNA tests and you have some unusual results. We would like to talk to you about it. Do you have a few minutes?"

  I said, "Can you hold for a minute?"

&nb
sp; I grabbed my cell phone and texted my son,

  "Do you know why I might have filled out a DNA form?" Michael replied, "I figured you'd never do it, so I did it for you. You're welcome!"

  I'm thinking - great! And I'm looking at the blinking light on my phone where Dave was now waiting for me.

  So, I picked up the phone and said, "Well, apparently I did, but I didn't know it. I guess that's one of the prices of getting old.”

  And Dave said, "Well, you'd be surprised how many times this happened, but we would like to talk to you about your results because it's a little interesting.”

  I said, "Interesting, how?"

  And he said, "As in talk in person interesting.”

  "Okay, I don't know what that means, but what do you want to do?"

  "It's like I said, we are about an hour and a half south of you and we'd like to set up an appointment to come meet with you later this week if possible.”

  I said, "how about lunch on Tuesday?"

  They said, "Fine, would you like to meet at the office?" "Sure. Not a problem.”

  So, I went home and wondered about what my son had just gotten me into. I read the package and saw that it could trace back lineage for many generations. And that's when I started thinking about Mira again. I had forgotten about our time together and it never occurred to me that our relationship may have turned into more than just a few nights together. I had become a father in the remote past.

  I wasn't sure how this was going to be explainable. It seemed like my secret may be out at this point, but I figured let's wait and see and just go from there. Naturally, I get home and my son in front of everybody says, "So you get your DNA results back. What, what did it say?"

  My wife and daughter look at me.

  "So, what are you, are you American Indian? Are you Scottish? Are you German?"

  I said, "I don't know. They said that there was something unusual with my results and that they want to talk to me.”

  "Maybe you're the cure for cancer.” My son says.

  "I doubt it, but I'm talking to them tomorrow and I'll find out.”

  Fast forward 24 hours and Tuesday comes. Two of the geekiest people I think I've ever met meet me for lunch at the local diner.

  The first one (Dave) says, "Very excited to meet you, Mr. Tyler. We've been going over your results for days and the likelihood of this happening is probably one in a trillion or one is a zillion, I don't even know how unlikely this is.”

  I'm like, "what are you talking about?"

  And then they laid out what is normally a one or two-page printout. Mine was 32 pages long. Based on the results I had approximately 2000 living descendants throughout Europe and the United States and lineage dating back over 4000 years.

  They said, "Either this is the craziest anomaly we've ever seen or you're a time traveler"

  They both laughed and I said, "yeah, right.”

  Dave said, "Normally we just run the results through the computer and send out a package to people and then our social media site picks up the rest and people get to connect with family members. But in your case, we honestly weren't sure what would happen. And we didn't know if the results were correct. We wanted to know if you'd mind taking the test again just to rule out any irregularities.”

  I said, "how about another alternative. I'm not much on publicity and I know how this whole thing could just get blown up regardless of what it is. So, is it possible for you to just pretend that this test was never taken and delete the results? I'll pay for your lunch and we'll call it a day.”

  Dave and his associate looked disheartened, but they said: "yes, that was an option based on the general data protection laws that were enacted in England recently.”

  They assured me that all records would be removed from their system and they would never be publicized. They gave me copies of the report, I bought their lunch and they left probably in tears. But I felt better about things and went back to work. But as you're probably guessing, that's not the whole story. I did get home, told the family that they found something strange and the whole thing was a mistake. I hoped that was the end of it. My kids were a little disappointed. I told them I even got their money back for the DNA test. So, my daughter and son thought that they could get something else with it. That night in bed, Kelly turns to me and says, "You lied to me today.”

  I'm like, "what?"

  She said, "I know you lied to me tonight about the DNA test. What happened?"

  "Okay."

  I figured what the heck? So, I told her everything. First, she laughed, and she looked kind of dumbfounded and said, "I want to see the results from the test.”

  I went downstairs and got the 32 pages of test results and brought it upstairs and she poured over it only as a doctor would.

  "This is incredible", She said

  "I never would've thought this is possible"

  And my response was, "as far as I know, it's never happened before.” "There are two DNA strands on this report that are more indicative of a human over a thousand years in the future.”

  "Well, I guess that's what happens when you travel back in time 4000 years and get someone pregnant.”

  "It's going to dramatically change our family reunion at the Lake"

  "Very funny," I said.

  I felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders, sharing it with my wife. She wasn't entirely sure that she believed me, but she was at least curious at this point. And she said she wasn't going to tell anyone, so I thought that was important. I hoped that was going to be the end of it until about a week later when another two gentlemen showed up at my office. They weren't from Genentech.

  Chapter 12 - Sunglasses

  When I got to my office, my secretary said, there are two gentlemen in sunglasses waiting in your office. I think it's serious.

  As I walked in, they introduced themselves. One said he was agent Smith, and the other said I'm agent Jones and I'm like, "guys, really that's the best you can do.”

  "We'd like to talk to you about your DNA results.”

  I said, "You mean the ones that aren't public?"

  Smith says "well, they're not public, but it doesn't mean they're not accessible.”

  I said, "Who are you again?”

  “I'm agent Smith."

  "And I'm agent Jones."

  "And what agency are you with?"

  "That's not important right now. The issue is that you are in danger and that we need to get you somewhere secure.” "How am I in danger? I'm just a guy who happened to take a DNA test and the results got all messed up.”

  "We just need to ask you a few questions. That's all really", "and we can't do that in my office.”

  "No"

  "Is this a matter of national security? Do I have an option in this?"

  "No, not really.”

  As I headed out to my office, my secretary knew something was wrong and said, "Are you being arrested?" I said, "No, don't worry about it. It's just a kind of misunderstanding. But I’ve got to go work on some stuff going back to when I was in the military" and she kind of went along with it. I said, "I'll see you soon.”

  We got in a rather unmarked black SUV and headed south towards New York City. After about a half an hour of sitting in silence agent, Smith looked up and says to the other guy, "it looks like we're being followed.”

  "Why would anybody be following us? This is not right.”

  At about that time there was a flash and a dodge pickup crashed into the passenger side of the car. I was dazed for a little bit but being in the backseat on the driver's side; I wasn't hurt by the airbags. Smith and Jones were unconscious but still appeared to be alive.

  Next thing I know my driver's side doors being opened and the familiar voice says, "come on, we are the B team, we got to get you out of here.”

  "Who are you people? I just run a small electrical company",

  To which the guy said, "Yeah, but in 1946 you were an electrician on a navy destroyer.”

  I wa
s still a little dazed from the car crash, so I wasn't sure what to think, but I didn't seem to have much choice in the matter. Getting out of the car, one of the guys went up to the driver and gave him a shot. "He'll be fine.” "What about the other guy?" They checked him over and gave him a shot too.

  "Concussion, broken arm, some internal bleeding, but it will stop on its own.”

  I said, "How can you tell that just from looking at them?" "No time for questions my friend. We've got to get you out of here and get this mess cleaned up. "

  As they took me back to the car I said, "You guys look familiar.” To which he replied, "You don't think you're the only one who took a little ride when that thing went off on the ship.” I said, "It didn't occur to me.”

  He said, "you're probably going to want to take a little nap now.”

  I said, "I'm not sleepy other than the headache I've got.” Next thing I know, I feel a needle in my neck and then it was lights out for what I guess was about eight hours.

  Chapter 13 - Regarding Henry

  Petty Officer Henry Waxman was not exactly a friend, although we both were from the Boston area. We both loved the Red Sox and occasionally we were drinking buddies. So, I guess that was pretty close. I didn't know him very well. He tended to get into bar fights and was kind of a thug. I tended to steer clear of him when he was drunk. He was a diesel mechanic, so we didn't see too much of each other on the boat, but we knew each other enough to talk and chatted. And now I'm sitting with him, over 70 years later. He was older than what I would have expected if we had both gone through the same portals, but it was clear that he had done some time traveling.