Project J

by Sean Brandywine

  “That is Joseph and Nicodemus, isn’t it?” Myers asked, pointing to the two behind the couch.

  “It is,” said Jesus. He then proceeded to name the disciples who stood before his image. “Peter, John, Mark...” Those in the room who understood Biblical history did not miss the fact that he named two Johns and two Judases.

  “That is Judas Iscariot?” Myers asked him.

  “Yes.” Jesus turned from the screen to Myers. “You told me he killed himself.”

  “That is what the Bible says.”

  “Then this Bible is wrong.”

  Jesus turned back to the screen. Several of the men came forward, kneeling before Jesus and talking with him. Several kissed his hand. This went on for a while, with no one certain what they were talking about.

  “Frustrating as hell not to be able to hear,” Myers muttered.

  After a while, Nicodemus gave Jesus a cup of wine and helped him hold it to drink. Jesus seemed to be having trouble with his hands. The current Jesus touched one wrist where, under the leather cuff, there were the scars of a vicious wound.

  Maybe ten minutes later, Joseph stepped forward and put an end to the discussion. He and Nicodemus gently lifted Jesus and helped him out of the room, leaving his disciples behind talking and gesturing animatedly.

  “That’s enough, Jacques,” said Fielding. The screen froze. “Well, we know now. Jesus did survive the crucifixion!”

  “Yes,” Myers agreed, “but was it because of our intervention?”

  Fielding looked aghast. “You mean...”

  “Maybe it was only our entangling his body with this Jesus that allowed him to survive the ordeal. If we had not fetched Jesus and saved his life here, maybe that Jesus would have died and never been resurrected.”

  Chapter 61: God’s Plan?

  After Stryker called for a meeting the next morning and adjourned this informal one, everyone left the building lost in their own thoughts. Myers, Jesus and Tamara went back to Jesus’ apartment, all deep in thought.

  As soon as they got there, Tamara asked, “Does this mean that Jesus here might die if the Jesus back then does? What will happen to the original will also happen to this... to Jesus?”

  “Very probably,” Myers said with a sigh. “That’s what happened to that T-Rex. The original was attacked and killed, and so was our copy.” He shrugged, and added, “Of course, that works both ways.”

  Jesus was sitting on his bed, looking down at the floor. Slowly he looked up at them. “You said I died. Now you say I lived. Why?”

  Tamara tried to explain about quantum entanglement, but failed utterly. It was just too weird. Finally she told him it was a special kind of magic. A good magic, not the evil kind. She remembered Myers telling her that the Jews of that day believed most magic was done for evil purposes. In fact, to be called a magician was very negative.

  Myers finally put the issue to rest when he told Jesus, “You are Jesus. That man in the past is Jesus. The two of you are the same. Yes, if he dies, so will you. I am sorry.”

  He was remembering, as was Tamara, just what a harsh and dangerous time and place Jesus had lived in. In fact, if Jesus lived long enough, he would see a massive revolt against Roma started in 66 CE and end a few years later with the destruction of Jerusalem and slaughter of thousands of his people.

  And that was not to mention the danger he faced if Pilate found out that he had been tricked and Jesus had escaped death. Jesus and all his disciples would be hunted down and killed.

  “So what do we do now?” Tamara asked.

  “Do? Why do anything?” Myers responded. “We have no control over what happens back then. And haven’t we messed things up enough? I can’t believe our interfering has changed history.”

  “Maybe it hasn’t. The Gospels tell of his resurrection. They did before and they do now. What has changed?”

  “I don’t know. This is hard to get a grasp on.”

  “Classic time travel paradox?” Tamara suggested.

  “Right! But... I just don’t know. But what I do know is that I will suggest the Machine be shut off. This is too dangerous. The power to change history is just too dangerous to mess with.”

  “Amen to that!” Tamara agreed.

  For a while none spoke, still trying to make sense of things.

  Jesus finally reached over and put his hand on Tamara’s. “I am not mad. Magic is always dangerous. If I understand... I would have died and never come here if you did not use that magic.”

  “That is correct.”

  “Then I thank you for my life. There are many good things you have shown me.”

  “We are glad we did, also,” Tamara told him, patting his hand gently.

  * * * * *

  “We’ve got to shut the Machine down!”

  Fielding, once an advocate for increased use of the time machine, was adamant in his feeling. “There is too much danger!”

  “I agree. But what will we tell the executives back in their ivory towers and the stockholders?”

  They were seated in Stryker’s office. The Project Director had just poured generous glasses of whiskey for them both.

  “And the spooks! What do we tell them! Oh, Christ! I just realized – there is absolutely no way we can tell them the truth!”

  “And give them the ability to change the past – you got that right.” Fielding took a deep swallow. “Might as well kiss our world goodbye!”

  Stryker choked on too big a drink and put the glass down. “But what can we do? We’ve had so much success with the Machine. Think of all the history we’ve uncovered. Of all the science we’ve corrected and expanded. We can’t just say, sorry, we’re shutting it down, but we can’t tell you why. They’d crucify us.”

  Fielding glared at Stryker, but apparently the Director was not aware of the pun.

  Several impractical suggestions and well into their second glasses of the strong drink, Fielding came out with, “Too bad the damned Machine didn’t explode the first time we used it.”

  Stryker put down his glass and stared at Fielding for a long time.

  “Maybe it will,” he finally said.

  “Huh?”

  “What would happen if the Machine here were destroyed?”

  “They’d tell us to build another.”

  “But what if we made it look as if the reason for the destruction was a basic flaw in the theory?”

  “What basic flaw? The damned theory works fine.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t make a good scientist when I’m drunk.”

  Fielding was thinking out loud. “Maybe... No. Or... No again. Damned! There’s got to be something.”

  “Double damn!” Stryker said with real conviction. “We’re out of whiskey.”

  * * * * *

  Back in Jesus’ apartment, two of the three were saddened at the thought of the loss of all the potential the Machine represented. The third, Jesus himself, was happy. “I am happy that Judas did not kill himself. He was a good friend.”

  “What do you think will happen back then?” Myers asked him. “Where will you go? Back to Galilee? Or stay in Jerusalem?”

  “I do not know. It is as I told you at first: I failed. I was chosen by God to bring our people to a glorious new kingdom. God would give back the land promised to us and we would live under his righteous rule. But I failed. I was not good enough, and God turned his back on me.”

  “Maybe not,” Tamara told him. “Maybe you succeeded in what God really wanted you to do. Maybe he wanted a new kingdom on earth, but not just for Jews. Maybe he wanted you to do exactly what you did. You inspired a new religion! One of peace and love. One that has done a lot of good.”

  She turned to Myers, who responded with the tiniest of shrugs.

  “If that is what he wanted, then you succeeded.”

  Jesus looked unconvinced. “What of the words spoken to the prophets? I was to do as the prophecies proclaimed and he would bring about his kingdom on the earth. That was what had to be. I
wanted nothing else.”

  Tamara felt sad inside. Jesus apparently could not let go of the idea that he was the chosen one to bring forth the Kingdom of God. And had failed.

  “Well, I still believe that it is possible God arranged for you to be resurrected by having us do it for him,” she said.

  Myers gave her a sharp look.

  “God moves in mysterious ways,” she added.

  Jesus still looked unconvinced.

  “You can’t be serious?” asked Myers.

  Tamara nodded uncertainly. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I… Look at what we do know. We’ve established that when an animal is brought back, it may still be linked to what happens to the original in the past. We’ve established that what happened to Jesus here, linked back to his body in the past. But, your scientists say that they established beyond doubt that inanimate objects did not retain the link, and we’ve also established that whatever is happening to Jesus in the past since we brought him here isn’t having any effect on him in the present, otherwise, apart from anything else, he would know all about it. His memories would update with the experiences he had in the past after we brought him here. That’s not happening. What does that tell us?”

  “Just a quirk of quantum entanglement,” Myers replied promptly. “Doesn’t it…?” A strange look came into his eyes.”

  “Yes?” asked Tamara.

  “You’re not serious?”

  “You’re the one with the degree in Biblical Studies,” Tamara pointed out. “What does it tell you?

  “You mean that there’s something in animals and humans that isn’t present in inanimate objects, something the Machine can’t transfer.”

  “Not quite,” said Tamara. “Or, at least, not as I see it. But I’m not a scientist.”

  “Go on,” Myers insisted. “How do you see it?”

  “All right,” Tamara said, with a quick glance at Jesus. “As you said, there’s something in animals and humans that the Machine can’t transfer. And, it’s something that can’t be measured in quarks or whatever other tiny particles the scientists talk about. It can’t be entangled in the same way, because it’s not… well, I don’t know how to put it: it’s not part of the physical world.”

  She looked at Jesus again, wondering if the translator was coping with what she was saying, and wondering whether it would make any sense to him even if it did. To her surprise, he was smiling broadly.

  “Of course,” he said. “It is the soul.”

  “I can’t believe….” Myers started, and then shook his head. “No,” he said to Tamara. “There’s a flaw in your logic. If the Machine can’t transfer the part of the person, or animal, that is life itself, then neither Jesus nor any of the animals would be alive here.”

  There was a long silence. Jesus was the first to speak.

  “She knows,” he said. “Ask her to explain. I cannot.”

  Tamara sighed. “So much has happened, and I’m really not sure of anything any more. All right. Put it this way. If whatever gives life is really not something physical – call it the soul, or whatever – then maybe, just maybe, there is only one soul for each living creature. And yet, the Machine creates an identical physical body with everything the same as the original. So, regardless of time and place, the soul, the life, must be in it, as it is in the original. It cannot be split; it cannot be created; it must be shared… And when either physical body is damaged in a way that comes close to the soul leaving it, the link extends back to the physical body as well as the soul, so… Oh! I’m talking rubbish, aren’t I?”

  Jesus put his hands together and touched his forehead.

  “So much knowledge for one so young and so beautiful,” he said.

  Chapter 62: Basic Flaw

  The next morning, a meeting of all department directors was convened by Stryker. He immediately got down to business.

  “All of you are aware of what has happened the last two days,” he said. “Our pet T-Rex was killed and we found that, due to our use of entanglement, Jesus actually survived the crucifixion.” He paused for a moment. “Because of the danger inherent in entangling the past and present, I have decide that the Machine will be shut down.”

  There were a few gasps, but others just nodded their heads. No one objected aloud.

  “Further, the Machine will self-destruct because of a basic flaw in the time entanglement theory. A flaw that, hopefully, will prevent anyone from constructing another such machine in the future.

  “Dr. Fielding and I have worked out the details of a plausible sounding explanation. We can give you those details later.

  “Project Dry Wells will be closed down. I will push Chronodyne to find projects in other areas that you may work on. Please feel free to take any of your findings with you, but nothing of the principles of the Machine. It would be better were this to die right here and now.”

  No one objected, but none seemed overly happy either.

  “Needless to say, you will all keep the secret of what we have done here with regard to our guest,” he motioned to Jesus who was sitting there, translator to his ear. “I am sure all of you can imagine the problems if news of his presence here got out. We know that there was a leak, courtesy of Dr. Buerer, but we hope that can be allowed to die as Project Dry Wells closes.

  “Dr. Fielding, do you have anything to add?”

  “Only that it is too bad we cannot continue the project. But there is no way that we can keep tight enough control over it to prevent misuse.”

  “I quite concur,” Stryker said. “The destruction of the Machine will occur at 3:12 pm tomorrow, so get anything you do not wish to have destroyed out of that building. And...”

  “May I make a suggestion?” called out Tamara, interrupting him.

  “Well... of course.”

  “I have been doing a lot of thinking about this,” she began in her auditor-lecturing-auditees voice, “and I suggest that you delay the closing of the project – for a few days at least.”

  “And why is that?” Stryker asked.

  Tamara explained.

  Chapter 63: Aftermath

  The meltdown of the Machine was not very spectacular, at least not from the outside. There was no explosion, the building was still standing, and, needless to say, no one was hurt. But the machine inside was a total loss, most of it fused into useless lumps of metal and smoldering plastic and insulation. Unfortunately, along with it, the Machine took most of the blueprints and other specifications one would need to rebuild it in a small fire that started from the main power overload.

  Stryker spent a lot of time on the phone explaining to several government agencies why they could no longer have time on the Machine. Then he had to explain to irate executives in Chronodyne what had happened and why it was not really his fault. None of them questioned his explanation that a fluke of quantum entanglement theory caused the meltdown, and that it would happen again if another such machine were attempted. But then, most of them had never understood what was going on anyway. Fortunately, most of them also had no real knowledge of the extreme progress that time machine had made, including the distinguished guest they had hosted.

  Stryker offered his resignation, as did Dr. Fielding, but both were turned down, most likely from fear that those two would go someplace else and make another time machine. The process of finding new positions for the staff continued, with most of the academics finding positions in education or an assignment on the new project replacing Dry Wells. It was supposed to be a continuation of the “cloning” done by the original project. Work was immediately begun on using frozen mastodon tissue to clone wooly mammoths, and an attempt to continue Smiley’s line by mating him with assorted big cats. That project was headed by Dr. Brown and located in the old Dry Wells facility.

  Dr. Myers went back to teaching, this time at the University of Northern Arizona located in Flagstaff, which, not surprisingly, left him only a short drive to Jesus' cabin.

  Tamara quit her job with the DOD and,
after a long vacation, became an employee of Chronodyne.

  Chapter 64: Packing

  Stryker was taking items out of his desk and putting them into a cardboard box when Fielding walked in.