by gerald hall
“I was so accustomed to the technology of the future that I came from that I took it all for granted. But I was very worried that you would be overwhelmed by this knowledge. A noted author from my past and your future once said that ‘any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic’. I am very glad to have been wrong about you in that regards.” Harold noted with relief.
“I’m sure that for most people of my time, this would still be considered ‘magic’. But even this one device offers so many possibilities for us.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know how long this technology will be available to me. Even this machine will eventually cease to function. When it does, all of the information that it contains will be lost, perhaps forever.”
“Maybe we can write down or draw some of the most important information to save it? I saw that you have already tried to do some of that.”
“Yes, but we have to be very careful in what we save. I am trying to establish a priority system for the most important information so that we can transcribe it first. I could certainly use some help. I believe that you mentioned that you took some art classes while you were in school.”
“Yes, I did. I also took shorthand classes as well to help me in Mister Bentley’s office. I believe that will help me copying down notes from your computer machine as well.”
“Yes, Sweetheart. I’m sure that it will help considerably.”
“When do you want me to get started illustrating some of the images from your information storage device, Harold? Now that I have finished my initial flight lessons and have received my official pilot’s license, I have a lot more time on my hands.”
“Hopefully, very soon. Things have been a little hectic at work lately. We have several major projects going on at the same time. Plus, we have had to deal with several annoying government bureaucrats who don’t like that we are caring for, educating and employing so many of the aborigines here.”
“Bureaucrats can be such idiots. Of course, it is the nature of big government to meddle in places where it doesn’t belong, isn’t it?”
“I can’t agree more, Dorothy.” Harold answered with a laugh and a sigh.
“Harold, I was thinking about that device of yours that has all of information of the future on it. I suppose that it would impractical to be able to build something to print all of that information onto paper?”
“I’m afraid so. The amount of paper needed to print out everything would fill every building in town. Plus, the technology to build such a printer that could connect to my computer would not even exist for at least another thirty years.”
“I do have an idea for perhaps capturing a few of the images. They say that a ‘picture is worth a thousand words’. Perhaps we can take a camera and take photos of specific images from your device’s display screen? We would have to do all of our development of the photographs, of course.”
Harold smiled as he considered Dorothy’s idea.
“That is a very clever idea. We would have to be very careful so that the photograph does not show any part of my computer except for the screen itself. Obviously, all of the photos would also have to hidden away from anyone else.”
“I know, Sweetheart. I’m sure that we have more than enough space in the house to set up a darkroom to develop the photographs. You do have information on that device of yours on how to do that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. But I also have to remind you again that we must limit the use of the computer as much as possible. While I have redundant data drives, if one of the critical components of the computer itself malfunctions, all of the data will be completely inaccessible, possibly forever.”
“I understand, sweetheart. But perhaps we will still be able to save a few things on film this way.”
“Oh, yes. I agree. Thank you for suggesting it. I will have to put considerable thought into what images that we will want to try to preserve on film first. They would certainly help along with the illustrations that you are also going to do.”
“Harold, there’s something else that I wanted to tell you about that is very important.”
“What is it, Dorothy?”
“I went to see the doctor this morning. I am very pleased to announce that you are about to become a father.” Dorothy answered, a huge smile appearing on her face.
“This is incredible! When is our baby due?” An ecstatic Harold asked.
“The doctor isn’t exactly sure, but thinks that perhaps we will be sometime in September or October.” Dorothy replied, her face already glowing.
“I guess that we will be preparing one of our spare rooms to be a nursery soon. You can’t believe how happy I am right now, Dorothy. I never dreamed that I would ever become a father, especially after what happened so many years ago.” Harold said while embracing and kissing his newly expectant wife.
“Just think of this baby as God’s way of helping to create a new future for you, Sweetheart.”
“Indeed, I do.” Harold said while wiping tears from his eyes as he continued to hold Dorothy, all thoughts of a future war and its terrible path of destruction far from his mind for the moment.
“We will have to think of a name for her.”
“Are you that sure that our first child is going to be a girl, Dorothy? Even in my future, we didn’t know right away without a bunch of tests.”
”Trust me, Sweetheart. I have a feeling that I am carrying a girl. But I guess that we will know for sure in about seven months, won’t we?”
“I guess so. Do you have any ideas on what you want to name our baby if we do have a girl?”
“I was thinking maybe naming her Judith, if you didn’t mind.” Dorothy said with a smile.
Tears began to run down Harold’s face again as he kissed her.
“Thank you, Dorothy. You don’t know how much this means to me. I love you very much.”
Of course, seven months later, Dorothy turned out to be right.
Chapter Fourteen: Harold Cavill’s Office Derby, Western Australia October 1, 1931
Dorothy had put a hold on her flying during the past couple of months as a result of her pregnancy. Now, she was spending most of her time either working at the office or back home in the secret room. In the latter case, she was always with Harold because he knew what historical events or technology to look for on the portable computer that he really felt would benefit his work in the current timeline. Dorothy still did not have Harold’s experience in the technology of the twenty-first century or the vision as to what could upset the timeline if revealed prematurely.
Dorothy’s clothing now could hardly be considered stylish, especially with her belly protruding so far out in her ninth month of pregnancy. But in Harold’s eyes, she was still as beautiful as ever as he came into their secret room shortly after noon.
“How are you feeling today, Dorothy?” “I’m getting those cramps again, but we’ve dealt with them several times already. I think that I will be alright for now.”
“OK. But if you have any other problems, I will take you to the hospital right away.” Harold said as he gave his wife a hug and kiss.
Harold started to pull up some information from his portable computer while Dorothy set up the camera to take photos of the screen when she suddenly stopped.
“Sweetheart, we need to go to the hospital. I think that the baby is coming now.”
“How do you know, Dorothy?”
“Because my water just broke.” She said while pointing to a small puddle of liquid on the floor underneath her.
Harold quickly shut down the computer, grabbed Dorothy and led her out of the room. He already had some of Dorothy’s clothing already packed in a bag and ready to go.
“How are you feeling, Dear?” He asked as he snagged the clothing bag on the way out the door with Dorothy.
“I’m OK. I guess that I am feeling real contractions now.” She said after grimacing for a moment.
“Don’t worry, it’s only a few minutes away
from the hospital. We just have to get you into the truck.”
By now, Harold had purchased a Ford Model A truck to replace his old Model T truck. Now, as Harold raced down the bumpy road to the hospital with Dorothy, he realized that he would have to buy a sedan too to accommodate his growing family.
The hospital quickly came into view. It was a series of interconnected one-story buildings, some with wooden frames while a few were made on concrete and brick. The facility had started with just one room and a single doctor. Now, it had over twenty rooms, four doctors, five nurses and ten beds in addition to one of the first medical labs in Western Australia. A swamp cooler kept the hospital rooms relatively cool during the summer season in Derby.
The truck skidded to a stop in front of the hospital entrance. Harold then ran to the other side of the truck, opened the door and helped Dorothy to walk inside. They were quickly met by Doctor Phillips and escorted to a treatment room for delivery of Dorothy’s baby.
The petite, blonde-haired, hazel-eyed Doctor Angela Phillips was a recent arrival to the Derby Hospital. She had received her medical training in England, but was fascinated by news of Harold Cavill’s work with the aborigines. So she paid for her own passage to Australia. Then Angela made her way to Derby and asked to be hired as one of its doctors.
Her request was readily accepted by Harold’s hospital. Angela had now been working at the Derby hospital for more than a year.
“Hello, Mister Cavill. I guess that you and Dorothy are ready to have your baby now. Let’s get Dorothy here comfortable here. I will get her a hospital gown to wear as we get ready for the delivery.”
Harold had expected that he would be allowed in the delivery room. After all, that was frequently the case for births in the twenty-first century. But he was surprised when Doctor Phillips had other plans.
“Sorry, Mister Cavill. You need to wait out here. I will let you know when your baby has arrived and you can come visit. Alright?”
“Yes, Doctor.” Harold replied as he turned and began to walk to the hospital’s small reception area. He was disappointed but wasn’t going to press the issue. He still had a lot to learn about this point in history, obviously.
Harold waited for over an hour before a smiling Doctor Phillips finally came out.
“Mister Cavill, your wife and new baby daughter are both doing just fine. You can come with me now if you want to see them.”
Harold quickly walked to the room where Dorothy and their newborn daughter waited. Dorothy was sitting up in bed, holding their baby.
“Isn’t our daughter beautiful? It can’t believe how wonderful it is to finally be holding her in my arms.”
“Yes, Dear. She is beautiful. Of course, you were right all those months ago when you said that you were having a girl. Have you thought about a name for her now?”
“Actually, I thought of one name in particular that we could name our daughter. But I wanted to see if it would be alright with you. “
“What name is that?”
“I want to call her Judith Marie. Marie was my mother’s first name. Of course, we both know that Judith was very important to you in another life. Now, Judith will be very important to you in this life as well.”
Tears welled in Harold’s eyes as he reached out and held Dorothy’s hand.
“Thank you, Dorothy. I think that it would be a most fitting name for our firstborn daughter.”
“Well, I think that it is about time for Judith’s first feeding.” Dorothy said as she began to loosen her blouse to expose her breast.
“You are going to breastfeed?”
“Of course. If it is good enough for the aborigine women, it is certainly good enough for our daughter.” Dorothy said with a smile.
Harold immediately returned the smile. He had not been sure what Dorothy had in mind for feeding Judith. There were still a lot of women in Harold’s time that chose to use baby formula instead of breastfeeding. But Harold was quite pleased with Dorothy’s choice in any event.
“I will let you go ahead and feed Judith while I talk with Doctor Phillips for a few minutes.” Harold said before stepping out of the room with the doctor in tow.
“First, Doctor Phillips. I wanted to say ‘thank you’ for your work in delivering our daughter. Secondly, I wanted to learn how well this hospital is doing in helping the people in this area.”
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work here, Mister Cavill. I’ve already learned that ever since you started this hospital, Mister Cavill, the overall health of the people living here, especially the aborigines, has significantly improved. It also appears that the birth rate for the aborigines has also gone up quite a bit as well. From what I have heard, this is a major shift from what had been a falling Aborigine population during the previous several decades.”
“Doctor, considering that only a couple of decades earlier, the white settlers were hunting down the aborigines like they were animals, this is very good news. But for me, taking care of all of my workers, regardless of the color of their skin, is just good business. I take care of them. They take care of me in return.
But in the long run, they are all human beings. Whatever happens affects us all in the long run.” Harold explained while thinking of the nuclear holocaust that happened in his future.
“That’s pretty unusual thinking, especially around this part of the world. But I’m glad that you do think that way. Someone has to for all our sakes.”
A few minutes later, Harold returned to the private hospital room that Dorothy and Judith had been moved to. It was really the only private room available in the hospital. Most of the hospital beds were still located in larger rooms with eight to twelve beds in each room.
“Hi, Sweetheart. Our daughter was very hungry, it seemed.” A smiling Dorothy said as she continued to hold a now sleeping Judith.
“She is beautiful, isn’t she? She takes after her mother, of course.” Harold said while bending down and giving Dorothy a gentle kiss.
“Before you know it, little Judith here will be running around the house and asking for everything.” Dorothy said.
“Speaking of children running around the house; that will be something which will cause us some serious problems in the future. Eventually, our children are going to either see us going into the secret room or will discover it and its contents on their own. We will perhaps have to find some other place to relocate my materials from the future. It will have to be someplace where our children cannot get into until they are ready for us to tell them about it.” Harold quietly said.
“You’re right. We still have at least a year before that could begin to be an issue. That should give us enough time to come up with a solution like your suggestion or perhaps something else.”
“But for now, I am so very thankful that both of you are here and healthy. I love both of you very much too. We will deal with the other issues in due time.”
Harold and Dorothy’s Home Derby, Western Australia December 25, 1931
Since this was Christmas Day, Harold had given all of his employees except those who were absolutely essential like some of the workers at the electric power plant and a few local police officers. This also meant that Harold and Dorothy would get to have an entire peaceful day to themselves as well.
That was not to say that Harold wasn’t busy. He spent most of the morning working in the kitchen. He had promised Dorothy that he would make Christmas supper this year. During much of that time, Dorothy tended to Judith and reviewed some of the notes from their recent research sessions in the secret room.
“Come on out, Dorothy. Supper is ready.” Harold called out from near the kitchen. Dorothy came into the great room which included the living room, dining room and adjoined with the kitchen. The table had already been set with a variety of wonderful-smelling dishes there, ready to eat. He was also holding a bottle of wine which surprised Dorothy.
“That all looks exquisite, Sweetheart.” Dorothy noted. Wine was a rare treat for Har
old and Dorothy although one of the area farms that Harold owned was a vineyard. But Harold had bought a bottle of wine for Christmas this year after the birth of their daughter Judith a few months earlier.
“Well, Christmas is a special time of the year. This year is even more special with the arrival of Judith this year.” Harold answered. “Yes, it is. Anyway, I just finished nursing Judith. She is sleeping now in her crib, so we have the house all to ourselves.”
“I just finished cooking supper. So let’s say Grace and then eat. I’m starving.”
Harold and Dorothy thoroughly enjoyed their meal of roast mutton, a staple of many Australian meals. The meal also included potatoes and a variety of vegetables that Harold and Dorothy had grown in their own garden. The garden also had a small chicken coop that supplemented the Cavill’s diet with eggs and additional meat.
Harold and Dorothy chatted as they continued to eat. Later, after they finished eating, Harold and Dorothy went to the Christmas tree that Harold had specially imported for the occasion. There were several presents inside wrapped boxes waiting under the tree. The couple sat down on the sofa next to the tree and began to pick up boxes with their names on them.
Dorothy picked up a long wide box that seemed to weigh only a few pounds. She quickly opened it to find a lovely silk dress that had been made in France. Dorothy smiled as she stood up and held up the dress.
“This is gorgeous, Sweetheart.”
“I picked it up during one of my trips overseas. You can go whenever you want to have it properly fitted. But I think that you would look lovely in it.” Harold replied.
“Thank you, Sweetheart. I am looking forward to wearing it for you. Now, start opening some of your presents that I got for you.”
Harold opened a much smaller but seemingly heavier box from Dorothy. Inside was a new DWM LugerPistole08 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
“I know that you came here with that huge Webley pistol. But I thought that I would get you something a bit more modern. It took some effort, but I think that I found the perfect pistol for you. I know that it is very ironic that I bought a man from the future a pistol that would probably be an antique in his time. But it was the best pistol that I could find in this caliber. I remembered seeing on some of the computer files that the 9mm round would be very widely used in the next big war.” She explained.
