by John Huegel
Liz replied, “We didn’t hear from anyone who was there, but what if they were?”
Brad said, “We’ll try to lie low. And we’ll try hard to blend into the huge crowd that was on the mall that day. And speaking of blending in - Liz, your blouse is too new. We’ll have to change it out – that pattern won’t be released until fall 2010. Tom, you’re fine.”
Tom was a bit ruffled. “You mean my clothes are too old? I guess I’m behind the times! Well, at least we’ll get to hear the President’s first attempt at the Oath of Office. As I recall, he and the justice messed it up during the official ceremony.”
Brad cautioned, “Yes, this is very important. You know that something will be out of the ordinary at this event. You must not mention it in public, though. It may set into action a course of events that could be bad for lots of people, including us!”
“Duly noted. We’ll keep our mouths shut!” quipped Liz.
Brad took them to Wardrobe and they changed into clothing appropriate for the season and era, just for good measure.
Once they finished their preparations, Brad led them to the huge room that they came into the night before. Though mostly empty, there were a few people at desks near the center. Brad approached one of them, an operator. He told her, “Brandy, three for January 20, 2010, Washington DC TimeStation 4.” She tapped out a bit and repeated back the coordinates. “Booth 7. Return to now +1?”
“Roger, now +1, booth 7. Good day,” replied Brad, and led Liz and Tom off down the hall.
Booth 7 was lit in blue, and had the date and their names indicated on the front. Brad walked up and the doors opened. “How does the booth know it’s us?” asked Liz.
“My enhancements tell it who I am. It verified the flight plan as well. You two can’t travel without an escort until you’ve taken the enhancements.”
The doors whisked open and they entered. The booth was the size of a large elevator, nearly identical to the booth that brought them in from Tonawanda. After the doors closed, there was a brief delay and the far door opened into a brightly lit office.
Brad had a brief conversation with a man at a desk in the office. Opening an office door, they emerged into an outer office, which opened onto a side street in Georgetown. Across they alley, they saw a sign for ‘Blues Alley’. Shortly, a cab rolled up and drove them about three miles, taking them as close to the Capitol building as possible. The three travelers walked the rest of the way in, staying close to each other among the immense crowds.
The inauguration events unfolded as they had been recorded – the USMC band played, the San Francisco boys’ and girls’ choirs sang, the introductions and invocations and other celebratory events took place for America’s first African American president, and he took the somewhat fumbled oath, which he retook correctly a day later.
Brad, Tom and Liz blended into the crowd but stayed together and out of the reach of media cameras. Liz took Tom’s hand and gripped it tight during Elizabeth Alexander’s recitation of the poem “Praise Song for the Day”, and all stood proudly for the Navy Chanters’ rendition of the national anthem. Tears streamed down Tom and Liz’ faces as the anthem completed, and Brad watched them with a gentle smile.
After the ceremony, they slowly but quietly returned to the Georgetown office. As they walked, Tom asked quietly, “So would we mess up the timeline if we stopped and had lunch somewhere?”
Brad replied, “Not usually. Of course if it’s a place that gets some attention with a notable or historic event, you may step into a dangerous Placetime, which could disrupt the timeline. But with enhancements, you’ll know that before you get into danger.”
To prove that there was no real risk, Brad did take them to a café on a side street, and they had a nice lunch before they completed their return to the TimeStation. Brad paid with cash, and they set out walking once again.
As they approached the Georgetown office, they greeted the staff who set the door for return. Once they were through the lock, they returned to the InterTime Zone exactly a minute after they left.
“It’s so immediate. I can’t get used to traveling to a different place and time in the blink of an eye!” said Liz.
Brad replied, “It is amazing. No one from our time exactly understands all of the principles involved. Let’s go talk about the whole experience, OK?”
Tom and Liz nodded, and they went to Brad’s office to debrief.
“So, how was it?” he asked, as they sat down in comfortable overstuffed chairs.
Liz commented, “Not bad. I knew I was out of place in the mall, but I was conscious of needing to be inconspicuous. I guess since it was so recent, I didn’t feel too strange.”
“Tom, how about you?” asked Brad.
“It was good. I’m still getting used to the whole time travel thing, but I really got into the experience. I was suprisingly moved by the whole inauguration ceremony.”
“I noticed that about both of you, and that’s a good attribute. Observers are prized for their emotional responses to historical events. It really enhances the sensory experience.”
“Just who are these people in the future that made the Guild? Have you ever met them?” asked Liz.
Brad shook his head. “There’s a huge separation between us and Era 50, the tattooed ones. Beyond them, the gaps get bigger and bigger as humanity evolves and diverges. They are still human, still us, but communication is very difficult. To help with communication, there are actually translators at both sides of each of the Era boundaries, people who specialize in translating from one Era to another. I’m afraid it would be about as easy for us to communicate with Era 60 people as it would be for us to talk to whales.”
“Whoah. That’s pretty strange. When will someone explain these Eras to us?” asked Tom.
Brad replied, “Soon. It’s part of Time Camp training, and that’s your next decision. “
“Explain Time Camp for us,” asked Tom.
“Well,” said Brad, “It’s an orientation program where you learn how to be observers on your own. You’ll need to be taught some things, and you’ll receive your enhancements. These will prepare you to travel and operate as observers in time.”
“We’re still a bit freaked out by the whole enhancement thing, but it feels like you guys know what you are doing,” said Liz.
“I do, we all do, and we have been recruiting in various eras for many thousands of years. We’ll take good care of you!”
“Thanks, we appreciate that,” said Tom, yawning. “Can we get some shuteye? I’m bushed!”
“I hear ya. Let’s pick this up tomorrow. And I’m even going to sleep this time!” said Brad.
They all smiled, and the Watsons headed off to their suite for a good meal and some rest.
Chapter 12: Commitment
They slept well and in the morning after a magically fast breakfast delivery, were met by Brad, wearing a fresh outfit. He also had a young lady with him.
“Tom, Liz, meet Kara. If you sign up for Prime Mission, she’ll take you through Time Camp and get you ready. Let’s go to my office,” said Brad.
Off they went to Brad’s office. He took orders for coffee and seconds later, an orderly arrived with excellent drinks for everyone. As they sat drinking coffee, Kara introduced herself.
“I’m from California, born 2010, and recruited 2030. I’m single, and loving the temporal life. So are you ready to jump in the pool?” asked Kara.
“What’s involved? We went on our Observation Mission and I guess the next step is Prime Mission?” asked Liz.
“Well, the next step is Time Camp training. It gets you ready for your Prime Mission. But this is kind of the ‘point of no return’. You are either in or out at this point. Are you ready to commit?” asked Kara.
Tom and Liz exchanged glances. They had talked it over extensively in their suite. They were very much excited by the promise of adventure, and were ready to go. “Yes!” they both said. “But we miss the kids terribly. We would like to get ba
ck as soon as possible.”
“Great!” exclaimed Kara. “I assure you that the training will proceed quickly and you’ll be back to your family right on schedule.”
Brad gleamed, and congratulated them. “I’ll see you after training. Good Luck!” he said. Kara led Tom and Liz out of the office and down the hall.
Kara took them to the operations center. “Melissa, please set us up for Time Camp, Era 47 registration.”
“Era 47 registration. Booth 12. Return in +1?”, asked Melissa.
“Booth 12, return +1, have a Good Day”, said Kara and led the couple off to booth 12.
Back in the living room, the family took a collective breath.
“Holy crap,” said Laura. “This is getting deep. You’re telling us you stayed in some hotel in the middle of time, went back to Barack’s inauguration, and are now headed off to some camp?”
“You bet, kiddo. It gets better. You ready?” said Tom.
Andy piped in. “Let’s take a potty break. This sounds like it could take a while.”
“Granted. Let’s meet back here in 10 minutes. We’ll make some sandwiches and get ready for round 2,” said their mother.
In a short while, in which no one said a word, they were all back on the couch with sodas and sandwiches, ready for the next part of the story.
Chapter 13: Time Camp
Upon entering booth 12, the trio was zoomed off to a new destination. When the gateway opened, the room was huge and filled with a brilliant light streaming in from a huge clear domed ceiling, which was at least a 200 feet tall and nearly a quarter mile across. There were hundreds of people milling about, in a variety of clothing styles. Entrance booths appeared around much of one side, and passages headed off in many directions, with signs above each in a variety of languages. Tom and Liz noticed that most of the people in the area were adults, with very few children present.
“This looks like the same place we came from. Where is this? Or When is this?” asked Tom.
“You are right, it’s the same place, but a much different time, about 10,000 years later. We bring new recruits in at times of low activity. This is our main Placetime for Era 47 operations.”
“It’s about two and a half million years in your past, in a very neutral location that will, in your time, be buried under a mile of ice. We use it as a station for training so we don’t have to maintain a strong temporal field around it.” replied Kara.
“Does everyone who comes to Time Camp come here, and now? Wouldn’t it get crowded?” asked Liz.
“Great question. No, people come here at staggered times, but they are divided by Eras. The entire place gets torn down and rebuilt about every 50,000 years to accommodate visitors from different Eras, as they have very different needs. For example, we need very different atmospheres for beings from Era 53 and beyond. It’s complicated, but understand that not all of our ‘visitors’ from the future breathe Oxygen,” commented Kara.
“Curiouser and Curiouser,” moaned Tom. Liz nodded in agreement, and they followed Kara into the massive station.
Kara said, “Your first stop will be Medical, followed by Enhancements. Since your Prime Mission will be in your Era, you won’t need education. I’ll be with you the whole time, so you don’t need to worry.”
At Medical, they were introduced to a small Asian woman named Jade. “Good to see you again, Tom and Liz. I will take your medical profile”, she said.
“What do you mean again?” asked Liz.
Jade chuckled. “Sorry. You’ll get used to that. We’re very good friends in your future. This happens to be the first time you have seen me, but I’ve known you for years. If this timeline stays solid, you’ll be the sponsor parents of my daughter Lindsay.”
“My head is spinning, but we’ll take your word for it,” laughed Liz.
They submitted to a barrage of tests with equipment that they did not recognize. Tom asked, “What is this stuff?”
Jade said, “The best primitive equipment that they could make for us Level 47’s. Without full Level 50+ enhancements, this is the limit of what we can comprehend. It does fully interface with Level 50 and beyond, so they know what we are testing and how to interpret it.”
“So do we pass?” asked Tom.
“With flying colors,” replied Jade. “Now on to Enhancements if you’re ready”.
“I guess so, we’re pretty nervous about this”, said Liz. Tom nodded in agreement.
“Not to worry. The Enhancements have been grown for a year and tested on an analog of your body, so there’s no risk of rejection or malfunction,” commented Jade.
“A year? Oh, wait, the time thing. We get it. It’s still a bit strange,” said Tom.
They went across the hall to Enhancements, with Jade leading the way. She had them sit, and gave them each a cup of liquid to drink, and a tissue. “It’s a bit primitive but it works,” said Jade.
“What’s the tissue for?” asked Liz.
“As soon as you swallow the liquid, the agents will incorporate themselves into your cerebral-neural system. The signal of incorporation will um, come out your nose.”
“Hmm, OK,” said Tom. He took the drink in one swallow, and before he could set the glass down, he sneezed violently into the tissue.
“Look at it,” said Jade. It was of course snotty, but bright purple. “Purple is Good. Orange is Bad,” said Jade. “Orange means the match didn’t work, and we’d have to try again.”
Liz did the same. Sneeze, Purple, Good!
Tom said, “I don’t feel different. Did it work?”
Kara said, “We haven’t turned them on yet. You might want to sit down.”
They sat down on the chairs nearby. “Ready?” asked Jade. They nodded their assent.
Kara and Jade looked at each other and nodded. Immediately, Tom and Liz experienced a flood of sensations that left them reeling – motion, thoughts, sounds, sights, sensations.
Jade hollered to them over the roar, “Think ENHANCEMENTS OFF!”
They both thought *ENHANCEMENTS OFF*, and immediately, the sensations disappeared.
It took a bit of time for them to recover. Once they had their bearings back, they asked “What in the blazes was that?”
Jade replied, “These enhancements are very complex, but at their core, they provide four functions. One is a temporal flow detector, to let you know how strong the time flow is around you, and to warn you of impending temporal violations. It’s called the Timeline ability. The second one allows you to record sensations that you are experiencing – that’s the main purpose of the enhancements. The third lets you communicate with anyone and anything that is enhancement enabled while you are on a mission. And the fourth will control certain biological functions while you are on a mission.”
“I’m not so sure I want all of that control inside of me!” exclaimed Liz. She was visibly upset.
“Please relax. You will have complete control over most of these functions, once you learn to talk to them. Over the next two weeks, you will learn how to use and control them. They will become second nature to you, I promise. For now, I will disable them so you don’t have any problems until we meet tomorrow.”
Jade led them to a suite similar to the one at Recruitment, where they wearily drifted off to sleep. When they awoke and emerged, Kara was right there. “So, ready for Enhancement training?” she asked.
“I guess so. Time to tame the beasts within,” commented Tom. Kara led them back to Jade, who was their coach for the Enhancement training.
The next week was taken up with intense sessions where they learned to turn on and off the various senses, and, strangely enough, to be able to communicate with each other without speaking!
The first thing they learned was that the Timeline and biological controls were pretty much unconscious and automatic. The temporal controls showed them how strong the critical timelines were to any place they were, so they knew which places or actions to avoid in order to avoid disrupting the time line. Of
course inside Time Camp, they needed a simulator to provide that input, but they learned how to deal with it in any case.
The biological controls were pretty much automatic, although they could control some of them. The main function was to make the travellers sterile while on a trip, so they couldn’t have or make children in a strange time. It also served to make them aware of impending infections, and render them harmless or minimize the symptoms and effects of toxic substances.
