by Karl Morgan
The presentation continued for some time. Dave felt himself spiraling out of control. He was about to be asked to leave his family and life for something totally foreign. He was having a hard enough time taking care of his family now. How could they expect him to fix all of humanity? The announcer said something about the starship Texas leaving on its maiden voyage of exploration, which made Dave look up. There, on the bridge of the ship next to him, holding his hand tightly was Darlene. He could also see Charlie and Aria in the picture. Everyone was smiling. It seemed okay now. He was with the love of his life; and with Darlene around, he knew that everything was going to be fine.
As Charlie and Dave walked back down the hallway toward the portal room, Charlie draped his arm around Dave’s shoulders. “Hey, buddy, are you doing all right?” he said. “I know this was a huge surprise for you. Just remember it is your decision. There is no right or wrong or good or bad in the universe. Things just are. If you decide to do this thing, that will be fantastic. If not, that’s okay too. The future of the universe isn’t written yet. If you stay in 2012, that will be the future. If you come to 3186, that will be the future. You can always go back. It’s like your kids, Bill and Cybil right? They moved out of town and now everyone has to travel around to see each other. You can travel to visit them too. Now it’s across space and time, but you’ve already done that once. And you didn’t even throw up like me. That makes you twice the man as me already, and you haven’t even made up your mind yet. After all, I may become Charlie the Wise, but you could be Dave the Founder of Worlds! That is pretty awesome, friend.”
“It certainly sounds amazing,” Dave replied. “I don’t think of myself as a Founder of Worlds though. Do you think I could do it Charlie?”
“Dave,” he said as they turned into the portal room, “what I think doesn’t matter. You’ve already seen evidence that it is true. You saw your own picture and you saw Darlene with you on that ship, ready to face new adventures. You know, I could use a coffee. How about we return to the Starbucks at the same time we left and have a break?”
Dave nodded in agreement. Once the operator initiated the portal, Dave looked around again at the future of San Diego. He could see Mencius walking by, who stopped and waved at Dave before continuing. Dave smiled, and stepped back into absolute black and onto the sidewalk outside the coffee shop.
Chapter 6
Dave changed his mind about the coffee and drove home instead. While the first jump did not make him queasy, the meeting and the return jump was too much for him. When he got to the house, he crawled back into bed and thought about what had happened. Did any of that really happen, or was he delusional? He had known Charlie for a couple weeks, and was now being told he would establish new colonies for mankind eleven hundred years in the future. It was just too crazy to take seriously. Dave, the Founder of Worlds; what a joke that was. He knew he was smart and inventive, but still an accountant by trade who rarely traveled beyond his neighborhood. They say each person has a double out there on Earth somewhere. Maybe his double was the real hero of the future. He tried to push all thoughts out of his head. His brain needed time to assimilate this information so he could face the world again. Soon he had drifted off to sleep.
He dreamed of space. He and Darlene were flying through space in a massive ship with thousands of eager settlers milling about. Every other person looked exactly like Muncie. It was a ship of clones. He saw the field of stars in front of the ship, and tried to imagine how many years it would take to reach the first one. The ship started to shake and rattle, and everyone was frightened. It felt like it was about to fall apart. Dave finally woke up to find Darlene shaking him.
“Dave, are you still in bed? It’s five o’clock. I just came home from work. Are you okay?” she asked. “You look pale and sweaty.” She pulled back the covers. “Jeez, you’re completely dressed, shoes and all!”
“Sorry, Darlene,” Dave replied, pulling himself up to sit on the side of the bed next to her. “I had a really bad day. I went for coffee with Charlie again, and after that, I felt really nauseated, so I came back home to rest.”
Darlene held him close to her, kissing his forehead. “My poor baby, you look a thousand miles away.” She helped him to his feet, and they walked into the family room. She helped him sit on the couch, saying, “I’ll get us a couple glasses of wine. Then we can both feel better.”
Dave was thinking how lucky he was to have Darlene in his life. She was pretty close to being correct: while he was not a thousand miles away, a thousand years away would have been right on the money. He turned on the television to see the news. More bad news about the economy seemed to come out every day. The unemployment rate was up again. No surprise there! Dave knew exactly what that felt like. The news then switched to cover Afghanistan and other global hot spots. More people dying for nothing. He remembered Mencius the Kalidean and his words of wisdom. Perhaps a change of scenery would be good. Maybe he should talk to Charlie and Muncie about the problems in the future. There could be many wars and constant killing there. He had only seen a small part of San Diego. How could he know what else was happening in the future?
Darlene returned with two goblets of red wine, and handed one to Dave. She sat next to him, took the remote from his hand and switched it off. They touched their glasses together and each took a sip of wine. “Ah, that’s better,” she said, savoring the wine. She reached over and gently kissed his lips. “Dave, I’m afraid I have bad news.”
Dave put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” he asked.
“Dave, my company filed for bankruptcy today,” she started. “The home office sent everyone an e-mail this morning. Our entire office will be closed in the next four to six weeks.” Tears welled in her eyes. “With both of us out of work, I just don’t know what we can do. It was such a mess there today. Everyone was freaking out and trying to update their resumes. Oh my God, I’m scared.”
Dave kissed her again. “You know Darlene, I know everything is going to be fine,” he said. “Charlie and I went to a meeting today about a new joint venture. I’m still not certain if it is right for us, but maybe your loss is a sign that I should take a shot at this.”
“Dave, what is the new job about?” she asked. “Tell me more. It would be a miracle if something great came along.” She squeezed him tight.
“Sweetheart, it’s going to take a few weeks to work on some details. I’m going to call Charlie right now to discuss some of them. The whole thing is a bit shaky right now, so I don’t want to get into any details. I don’t even know that much yet. But I am beginning to have a good feeling about it. As soon as I know more, I’ll let you know too,” he finished.
“This calls for a celebration,” Darlene beamed, “Let me go get changed and cleaned up, and we can go out to dinner.” She rose, then bent over to kiss Dave on the forehead again. Smiling, she went toward their bedroom.
As she walked away, Dave pulled out his cell phone and dialed Charlie. “Charlie, it’s Dave. The strangest thing just happened.”
“Dave, how are you, pal?” Charlie answered. “You were looking a little stressed after the jump back. Muncie was worried too. Tell me what happened.”
“Darlene just lost her job,” Dave said. “For some strange reason, I think that’s a great coincidence after the meeting we had today. What do you think?”
“Dave, I don’t believe in coincidences,” Charlie replied. “Everything happens for a reason. This chapter closing for Darlene is a door opening for both of you in the thirty-second century.”
“For some crazy reason, I’m beginning to believe the same thing,” Dave said. “Do you think we can get together with Muncie or Rence tomorrow to discuss some details that are still unclear to me?”
“No problem. Since it might be a lively discussion, why don’t you come to my house? It’s more private here,” Charlie responded. Charlie gave Dave his address and they agreed to meet the following day. As Dave disco
nnected the call, Darlene came out of the bedroom looking refreshed and even more beautiful. Dave hugged her close, and the two left for a restaurant, hand in hand.
Chapter 7
Dave Brewster had never been in this neighborhood of San Diego before. Charlie was clearly doing quite well. He was driving along past one large gated home after another when he reached a gate in a large stone wall with the address Charlie gave him. As he approached, a tall man in a business suit approached his window. Dave could see that the man had a machine gun slung across his back. The guard was another man from the future with features like Muncie and the rest. He wore a nameplate with “Taron” engraved on it.
“Good morning, Dave,” he said. “Charlie and the rest are waiting inside. Please pull to the front entrance and Kally will show you in.” Taron touched a button on his belt, and the gate slid open silently. Dave smiled back and pulled through the gate. The driveway was easily two hundred yards long, and a large lawn filled the open space. Rows of annual flowers bloomed along the road side. The house was very big. It looked like one of the mansions in Beverly Hills, with marble columns and a stone façade. As he approached the front of the house, another future-man appeared from the front entrance in a tuxedo. Dave pulled to the side and parked his car. Kally came to the car door and opened it for him. He took the keys and then led Dave through the fifteen foot tall glass front doors and into a large foyer. They walked across the marble floor to a small door to the left of the entrance. Kally opened it and led Dave into the room.
“Dave, I’m glad you found the house,” Charlie said as he rose from a couch and crossed the room. They shook hands firmly. “Come on in and have a seat. Muncie had to jump today, but Rence will be down shortly.” They walked back to the couch and sat down. “Kally, please bring us some coffee and pastries. Dave, our chef makes the best pastries I’ve had since I was in Paris.” Kally nodded and left the room.
“Charlie, I guessing writing pays pretty well,” Dave mused, looking at the beauty of even this small meeting room. The furniture appeared to be antiques, with thick Afghan rugs on the floor and paintings on the walls. Kally reentered the room and set down a tray with a coffee pot, cups, cream and sugar. A woman followed with a tray of pastries, which did look amazingly good. As they were setting everything up, Rence joined them. He came to Dave and shook his hand. Finally, Kally and the woman exited, leaving the three men alone.
“To be frank, Dave,” Charlie began, “this place is a front. I’ve done well with my books, and I had a nice nest-egg when I ended my corporate career, but most of this is paid for by the High Council for Humanity. Almost all of my book income is from sales in the thirty-second century. People of that time love to hear about life in the twenty-first. They are amazed at the diversity and the struggles of existence of our time. Plus, there are a lot more people to sell to. Now, that’s progress. Let’s have some coffee and relax a bit.”
The three men prepared their coffees and helped themselves to the pastries. “Okay, Dave, you have questions, we have answers,” Charlie said. “You have me from your time. I am here because I have decided to help our future brothers achieve their destiny. Rence is from the future. He can tell you more about then.”
“Rence, please tell me about life in the future,” Dave asked. “Is there war and crime? What do people do for a living? What do the Kalideans want from us? I know I’m just rattling off a bunch of thoughts, but I want you to understand that this time is what I know. I am being asked to give it all up for a time I know nothing about.” Dave dropped his head for a moment, and then looked into Rence’s eyes. “Why should I give up everything I have for you?”
Rence’s face flushed bright red. He cleared his throat and adjusted himself uneasily in his chair. “Dave, no one is asking you to give up anything. We believe… I believe that you have an opportunity to fulfill a great destiny in my time. As Mencius told you at the meeting, his society reached a stagnation point, just like mankind in the thirty-second century. They had become so homogeneous that the desire to risk and explore was gone. Just like his people, we decided we needed to go into our past and find those things that have been bred out of us. We needed to rebuild the strength of will we had lost. Otherwise, our society, the society of your future will wither and die. We will become so set in our ways that we will lose all ambition for new adventures and spend all of our lives reading books or traveling through space and time for recreation.” Rence rose and walked to the coffee pot for a refill. “If you remember, I have personally traveled to the future of mankind. I have seen the wonderful things we can achieve. I know that you, Dave Brewster, are a key reason for the success of mankind for thousands of years. As a temporal physicist, I also know if you do not take this step, there will be someone else. If you reject us now and forever, I will likely jump ahead again and see what changes have occurred. Of course, there is a chance it will be even better. My experience is that the universe follows the course of least resistance. That is, the flow of the universe and the Will of God follow the shortest, straightest line to the future. Since we hadn’t met you yet, and saw that you were in the timeline as a great explorer, I have to believe you are the best choice. What do you think, Charlie?”
“Rence, as always, you answered brilliantly,” Charlie beamed. “Dave, please don’t feel pressured here. We want you to choose on your own. I want you to know if you go to the thirty-second century, that doesn’t mean you can’t come here from time to time. You have to commit to making the future your home, but we know your children are here and we don’t want them to think you disappeared. You will rent out your house to some of our people. We will take care of everything. When you come back, you can be in your own house. You can visit your children and their children. However, there is one monumental problem you will have to face.” As Charlie finished, he walked over to Dave and put his hand on his shoulder. “Dave, if you take this new challenge, you will live probably another two hundred and fifty or three hundred years. Your children will be here in this time, living lives on this time scale. After some time, they will grow old and die, and you will be flying around the galaxy on giant starships full of human colonists. In fact, in every moment when you are in Rence’s time, your children will have already been dead for one thousand years.”
Tears welled in Dave and Charlie’s eyes. Both men knew what they left behind by taking this new calling. “Charlie, how about if I take them with us?” Dave asked.
“Well, that could happen,” Charlie answered. “Of course, there are still other family members and friends. We certainly can’t take everyone alive now and zip them into the future. If we did, there wouldn’t be any generations of mankind to be the ancestors of Rence, Muncie, Aria and the billions of humans alive in the future.”
“Dave,” Rence started, “You can talk to Darlene now. I want you to know we have the technology to selectively erase certain memories from people. That comes in very handy when we jump. If someone sees a portal open and a person stepping out of thin air, it tends to lead to problems, especially in ancient times like yours. If you two discuss this, and decide not to take this role, I will erase the memories of all of this, except your friendship with Charlie. That way, you and Darlene won’t be tortured by the memories or accused of being insane by your families and neighbors.”
“Thanks, Rence, I guess that’s good to know,” Dave replied, shifting uneasily in his chair. “So, I go home now and talk to Darlene? She’ll be the one who thinks I’m insane. Being out of work has halfway driven me there already.”
“Dave, how about if Aria and I invite you two to dinner here tonight?” Charlie asked. “That way, you will have us to show her that it is all true. Rence, perhaps you could get permission for all of us to jump and meet with some folks, and see some sights. All Dave has seen so far is the mayor’s office in San Diego. Perhaps Dave and Darlene should have a grand tour.”
“That’s a great idea, Charlie,” Rence said. “Rather than me talking about the future, let’s
have Dave and Darlene live there for a while. Dave, you know we can jump out and back in the same minute, but spend as long as we want in the future, right?”
“I honestly hadn’t thought about that, Rence,” Dave smiled. All of them laughed. “Okay, Charlie, call me when it’s all set up and tell me when to bring Darlene over.”
“If not tonight, tomorrow for sure,” Charlie replied. The three rose, shook hands, and Dave walked out the door. As Dave reached his car, Charlie called out, “One last thing, Dave. You can tell Darlene that I hired you today on a temporary basis. I need you to research my new book on time travel. I’m paying $10,000 per month, okay? Don’t worry, Lanz and Mencius already approved it.”
“You never fail to amaze me, Charlie. I accept!” Dave said as he climbed into his car. As he headed home, his mind was on fire. “Living in the future and being a great explorer; could any of that be possible?” he thought to himself. It seemed impossible to be true. He had no idea how Darlene would respond to these revelations. Dave could barely handle it himself. “As long as Darlene and I are together, everything will be okay,” he thought as he pulled onto the freeway.
Chapter 8
The following evening, Dave and Darlene were driving back to Charlie’s house. The sun was sliding down toward the horizon, and the temperature was starting to drop from the high of eighty degrees. Darlene had been happy with the news about the job, but apprehensive about whether it was real or would last. Dave had known Charlie a couple of weeks, but now he was going to pay him $120,000 a year to help write a book? It seemed too good to be true. How could a casual friendship developed at a coffee shop turn into such a great job so quickly? As Dave turned onto Charlie’s street, her fears dropped a bit when she saw the massive homes that lined the street. “Wow, Dave, Charlie does live in a nice neighborhood,” she gasped as each house seemed larger than the one before. As Dave turned into Charlie’s driveway, Taron was there again, smiling broadly.
