[Chronicles of Time 01.0] Chronicles of Time

by J. C. Allen

  “Please close the door to the replicator and reopen it, Kaylie,” T answered.

  Kaylie obeyed, and her meal was ready, with hot sauce packets, just like she liked. “Cool, thanks, T.”

  “No need to thank me, Kaylie. Who’s next?”

  Kaylie took her food to the table as Jessica ordered, then Christy. When Anna ordered, an identical table rose from the floor. Anna grabbed her meal and sat there. Abby ordered, and Alex continued to play with the display instead of eating. Rick tried to convince her to eat, but she kept pestering him until he finally said, “T, allow Alex to share control, please.”

  “Done, Rick. Alex now has permission to control the console.”

  “T, I’d like a TV to watch...”

  “Where would you like it, Rick?” T asked.

  He pointed, “That wall, if you can?” A digital display formed instantly, it appeared to be solid, but he properly guessed it was holographic, like the display on the console. It was four feet high, six wide.

  “What would you like to watch, Rick?” T continued. Rick pondered the question. Christy butted in, “Do you have cable here?”

  “Better than cable, Christy, I can display any program or movie ever made. You can say whatever you want to see or I can replicate a remote for you.”

  “Hold off on the remote, T. I want to watch next year’s first episode of Battlestar Gallactica,” Rick told her.

  “Would you like it with or without commercials, Rick?”

  “Without, please.” It instantly started.

  “Is this volume level acceptable, Rick?”

  “Perfect, T.’

  “Whoa!” Christy shouted.

  “Oh… my… gosh!” Anna cried, “I can tell my friends what’s going to happen on Degrassi next week!”

  Rick felt a sudden pang of guilt, “Pause the TV, please, T.”

  The image froze.

  “I’d like to talk about this first, maybe we’re getting carried away already. We cannot discuss any of this with anyone. Period. And I’m not sure if we should even be doing it.”

  Alex was busy, mostly ignoring the conversation taking place, following Octavian all over Rome.

  “But Rick,” Kaylie said, “we already know about this, and we can’t unlearn it now, so what else can we do?”

  “I think the damage is done, as long as we are responsible and don’t tamper with the future,” Christy stated convincingly.

  “I agree with both of you, but it still makes me a bit uneasy,” Abby said.

  “Does this mean I can’t tell any of my friends about—”

  “Absolutely not, Anna! If you even think about it, I’ll ground you for life,” Rick vowed.

  “T can probably zap her memory out of her for you,” Jessica joked.

  “Yes, Jessie, I am fully capable of manipulating memories.”

  “Really, T?” Anna asked, shocked.

  “Yes, Anna, that technique was perfected in the 24th century—”

  “I won’t hear of any memory zapping of my—” Rick started.

  Alex interrupted, “Dad! Come here. I found it!” she yelled, bursting with excitement.

  “What?” Rick asked, jerking around to face her.

  “The yellow memory crystal!” She told him.

  Part II — When in Rome...

  Chapter 14 — A Walk Down History Lane

  Rick dropped his burger on his plate and rushed to his daughter’s side. She instantly began explaining, “I was running it 64 times normal speed and suddenly got a glimpse of it around his neck—”

  “Awesome, this may be easier than we thought,” he said happily.

  “I’m rewinding it now, slower—”

  The image was of Octavian walking through the street with guards all around him. The necklace he wore clearly had a crystal attached to it. The scene suddenly skipped to what appeared to be slightly earlier, where he was coming out of his home with the guards. “Stop, T, play at half speed, forward,” Alex commanded.

  “Those guys look mean,” Abby said.

  “Those swords look mean,” Rick added.

  “That guy looks gay,” Anna concluded.

  “Historians always describe Octavian as ‘very feminine’,” Rick told her.

  Kaylie giggled, “More like flaming little fairy.”

  Rick silenced her with a scowl, “Don’t be rude.”

  As Octavian began walking down the street, the scene skipped forward to where he had the necklace.

  “Rewind five seconds and pause,” Alex said, and then studied the scene. “He’s clearly not wearing that necklace now.”

  “T, how much time is missing when it stops?” Rick asked.

  “Exactly fifteen minutes and 48.3 seconds, Rick.”

  “Do we need to guess what happened to this missing time, T?”

  “I’m fairly confident that your guess would be completely accurate, Rick,”

  Rick thought a moment, looking at his daughter. He knew she had been studying the display carefully for some time and also wanted to assure her that he valued her opinion. “Alex, what do you think? How should we go about getting it?”

  “How should I know?” she shrugged.

  “You’ve been watching the boy, what are his habits? Where does he go? Who is he usually with?”

  “Who does his hair? That’s what I want to know — they should be hanged,” Jessica joked.

  “He does his own hair,” Alex told her. “He’s always looking at himself in the mirror and he’s always either guarded heavily outside or surrounded by servants inside. I wonder where he got it — he must have gotten it from them!” she answered her father at the same time.

  “OK, watch him for a few days; see if he takes it off. He has to lay it down at some time,” Rick said as she began cranking the speed up and following him about his day — shopping for clothes and jewelry, tossing coins to the poor, eating, etc. Rick soon got bored, or perhaps disgusted, by his habits, and patted Alex on the back and returned to his seat.

  “Resume TV, T,” he said, and dug back into his food as the next season opener of his favorite sci-fi show started.

  “Pause, T,” Alex said wearily. She walked over to the table, pulled Rick’s leg out as if it were a stool and sat on it, leaning her head into his shoulder. “He hasn’t taken it off in five days, Dad.”

  “Why don’t you go get something to eat; it’s at least three o’clock now and all you’ve eaten today were a couple donuts,”

  “OK,” she instantly perked up.

  Kaylie stood up with her, “You can have my seat, I’ll watch prissy-boy for a while,” she looked at Rick for permission.

  “Right. T, share control with Kaylie, please,” he directed.

  “Done, Rick.”

  Kaylie began learning to use the console controls, quickly resuming where her friend had left off.

  Alex carried over a steaming plate of chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, a roll, and drink. She sat down, “Dad, it’s no use — he’s always wearing it and is always guarded…”

  “Too bad we can’t lure him away with a woman,” Abby jested.

  Rick laughed, “I hope you aren’t suggesting I try?” and shuddered.

  “I think we should go in, see who gave it to him, then go back and get it from them,” Christy offered.

  “That’s a perfect idea!” Rick praised her. “T,” he turned to ask, “is that fifteen minutes missing from history altogether?”

  “No, Rick, those memories are intact; only viewing of them have been banned.”

  “OK, I should probably go alone. I’m not taking any chances on you girls getting hurt,” Rick said. The girls groaned in perfect harmony.

  “Come on, Dad, I found the cube in the first place!” Alex cried.

  “It’s completely safe, Rick, come on! Hey T, has anyone ever died using this machine?” Kaylie questioned.

  “No, Kaylie, nobody has. There have been thirty-one major injuries out of the 8022 uses since the safety controls
were added.’

  Jessica stood and placed her hands on her hips, looking imploringly at her father.

  “What?” Rick asked.

  “You’re not going wearing those goofy shorts, are you?” she said, instead of complaining.

  He looked down at his Hawaiian print, bright yellow shorts, “Hmmm. That does present a problem, doesn’t it?”

  “What’s in the lockers?” Anna asked. Nobody had bothered to look in them; they were too fascinated by everything else this day.

  “Let’s look,” Rick jumped up and they gathered around the lockers like school kids playing musical chairs. They finally settled on one each, opening and calling out what they found.

  One held boxes of coins from different times, one contained armor, swords, uniforms and many types of gadgets, old and futuristic. They found boots, shoes, dresses, pottery, tools, jewels, and gems.

  “I don’t see anything we could use,” Kaylie said, “but I think we could get some…”

  “OK, how?” Christy asked.

  Kaylie opened one of the boxes of coins, “Gold, coins, gems... all we have to do is find someone alone who has some extra clothes and buy them.”

  Abby stuck her head into the conversation, “That’s a great idea, but if banana pants goes up to someone in 44 BC, they will probably run, or try to kill him.”

  “I thought of that already” Kaylie said confidently.

  Abby patiently waited for her solution.

  “We,” she indicated herself and the other girls, “could take these shirts and cut them up into tunics that will fit us...”

  Rick didn’t want them to go, but she had come up with a solution that required them going. He couldn’t think of a better one either.

  “Rick?” Kaylie asked tentatively, putting on her most endearing face.

  “No fair! Not the puppy dog eyes!”

  “We can do it! All we have to do is cut the sides out of them and tie them together...”

  “Who’s we?” he asked.

  “Um... me, Alex, Christy?”

  “If I were to take anyone, it would be Abby.”

  Kaylie quickly drew a shirt over her head and pulled it down tightly, “But these shirts won’t fit Abby, they’d only come to her hips, they’d come half-way down our thighs.”

  Abby grabbed a shirt and put it on. Sure enough, it only went just past her waist. She raised her arms and it came up even further. “Uh, yeah, there’s no way I’m going out in public with this on!”

  “See?!” Kaylie begged.

  “It’s just too dangerous, Kaylie. Although you and Christy are at our house more than your own, I’m still not allowed to make such decisions for you.”

  “Oh bull!” Christy chimed in. “If we called our parents, you know they would say it’s OK. They don’t care what we do at Alex’s house because they know how incredibly over-protective you are!”

  “Besides, you heard T. She said you can use the safety protocols to return everyone before they can even get seriously wounded,” Alex reminded him.

  Rick thought a moment, fuming slightly. “We don’t have anything to cut the shirts with.”

  Kaylie grinned and pulled a box out of a locker.

  “What’s that?” Rick asked curiously.

  “Sewing kit,” she smiled.

  “Figures,” Rick sighed. “T, can you please list all of those injuries which have occurred during time travel with this time machine?”

  “Yes, Rick. Professor Nabakawa was injured by an arrow through the shoulder, Dr. Mandy Crane was stabbed with a dagger in the abdomen,—”

  “Just summarize the injuries, please, T.”

  “OK, Rick. There were eight puncture wounds caused by arrows or knives, six broken wrists or ankles, five lacerations by knives, swords or teeth, five broken arms, four broken legs, twelve broken ribs, a severed finger, and a fractured jaw.”

  Anna cringed, “I don’t think I want to go now!”

  “Me neither!” Jessica concurred.

  “I’m not afraid!” Kaylie said boldly.

  “I’m not either!” said Christy, standing a little taller.

  “A severed finger? Arrows through the shoulder?” Alex asked with a horrified look.

  “Come on, Alex, we get injuries like that at the playground or riding a bikes,” Kaylie tried to reason.

  “Who do you know that ever got shot by an arrow at a playground?” Jessica retorted in support of her father now.

  Christy took over, “Look, that’s 32 injuries out of over eight thousand trips, that’s like 0.4%. I bet that’s lower than playground accident rates and much safer than gymnastics!”

  “And car wrecks!” Kaylie added.

  “OK,” Rick said, “I’ll make this easy. You give me a good reason why I should let you go?”

  “Because you love us?” Alex said, changing her mind yet again.

  “That’s a good reason not to let you go,” Rick decided easily.

  “Because we can help?” Kaylie offered.

  “Honey, I hate to hurt your feelings, but I think you girls would only get in the way. And I would just have to worry about you the whole time.”

  Kaylie frowned. It was obvious his words hurt her feelings, as well as the rest of the girls, except maybe Jessica.

  Jessica was outraged. Of course it didn’t take much to get a response from her. “Who found the cube? Who opened the cube? Who learned how to operate the UC? Who found the tunnel leading in here? Who found out about the world ending? Who found the crystal? And whose idea was it to go buy clothes and make tunics and stuff—”

  Rick felt stupid… mainly because everything she said was true. “I thought you didn’t want to go!” was his only argument.

  “I don’t, but they do… and they deserve to!” she stared at him like a mother would stare at a child whose hand was still in the cookie jar.

  Now Rick felt stupid and guilty.

  “Rick, she’s right, and they would have so much fun,” Abby chimed in.

  “Not you too, Abby?” he looked at Abby as if she stabbed him in the back. How appropriate. “Et tu Brute?”

  “Why do people go sky-diving if it’s so dangerous? Because the excitement is worth the risk. This would be both exciting and educational. Think about it, Rick, you’d let them go to Washington DC for a field trip, wouldn’t you? That’s probably much more dangerous and couldn’t possibly be more rewarding in any way… plus you would be there to protect them!” Abby submitted.

  “Can I get some of this armor on before we do battle?” Rick asked facetiously. Everyone stared angrily at him.

  “Anna? Help?” He sighed, “OK, OK!”

  “YAY!” Kaylie led the cheers. Abby simply smiled at him to let him know she thought he had done the right thing.

  He still didn’t agree.

  “But first,” he tried to regain some of his lost authority, “we are going to set down some hard-core rules. OK?”

  “Which means,” Jessica started out sarcastically, “that we have to listen to a long, boring lecture while he over-prepares, as usual.”

  Rick wrapped his arm around her neck and pretended to squeeze, “Yes, that is what I intend to do! And if you don’t like it, you won’t go.” He shot a stern look at Abby, “And Abby will fully support me on that, won’t you?”

  Abby emphatically shook her head yes.

  “Alex, you and Kaylie need to find us an isolated family close to town who has an extra man’s tunic or uniform to sell, at least an hour, maybe two hours before Octavian acquires the crystal. Preferably close to the part of town he’s traveling in,” Rick started dispensing orders.

  “How will we know if they are willing to sell it?” Alex asked.

  Rick gave her an appraising look, “You two are extremely smart; I trust you to figure that out,” he told her confidently.

  The two girls glowed with pride as they hurried to the console.

  “Jess, Christy — I want you two to help make the clothes, and Anna, you find some
thing to tie them with, please?”

  The three girls launched into work immediately.

  Abby wrapped her arms around him, “And what chore do I get?”

  “You and I are going treasure hunting. We need to find enough Roman valuables to ensure our purchases, and maybe more to buy access, guides, or even the crystal itself.”

  The girls were all diligently working. Abby took time to show Christy and Jessica how to cut the shirts to make them look like the ones the children in Rome were wearing, then went back to where she and Rick were attempting to sort and classify coins and jewels.

  “I’ve never seen them so excited and united,” Rick whispered.

  “Yeah, it’s really incredible. Nice to be a part of it!”

  Was that an opening? Rick thought, suddenly feeling tightness in his chest. He recalled the last time he took a chance to extend their relationship to the next level and was summarily dismissed. He fumbled for words, playing with the coins absently. Abby didn’t notice his awkward behavior. He watched her skillful fingers nimbly picking through the treasures for quite a while before she realized he was lost in thought.

  “Where are you, Rick?” her words snapped him out of his trance.

  “I was just thinking how nice it would be if you were with us… permanently,” he stammered awkwardly.

  Abby’s rummaging stopped as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and stared at him over that same shoulder. “Is that an invitation to move in, or a proposal?” she asked coyly.

  Rick decided to play off his fear by bringing a finger to his chin thoughtfully in an attempt to figure out the answer. He often resorted to being silly when he was afraid to be serious, “Let me see… if I propose, you might backhand me.”

  “I might!” she said playfully, knowing his habit well.

  “But if I asked you to move in, you could possibly only verbally assault me...

  “...or I may assault you in other ways,” she said seductively.

  “Well,” he said, raising his eyebrows, “that may help the decision process along...”

  She stared, waiting, and then held up her hand, “OK, what is it?”

  Rick suddenly felt confident and played harder, dawdling a while before wrapping his hand around the back of her neck and pulling her into a kiss.