by Jack L Knapp
“Oh, my. Do you understand what this means? The dreary wait between stations need never happen again. You could simply step onto a device like a train and immediately step off at your destination.”
“Something like that, yes. The problem is that it’s not predictable. That’s why I asked for your help. My arrival time was off by days or even years from what I predicted, based on the first trip I took.”
“And the degrees you recorded; are those taken from polar coordinates or from magnetic north?”
“I used a compass, so they were based on the magnetic pole.”
“Tom, I fear your notes are useless unless you also accounted for the movement of the magnetic pole. You are aware that it moves about in a somewhat predictable fashion, are you not? By orienting yourself before departure, then traveling back in time, the magnetic pole will have shifted by the time you arrive.”
“I never thought of that! Just one more complication; the offset based on movement of magnetic north would have to be calculated before going back in time, then?”
“It would. You would have to know when you would arrive in the past and where the pole would be at that time. You also have only a few data points, Tom. A rigorous analysis would require more, much more. It also appears that displacements in distance sometimes produce different displacements in time. In absolute terms, the additional distance is linear but the difference is not. Think of it in this way; a journey of one hundred miles places you back five years, while a journey of two hundred miles may send you back nine years or eleven.
“Calculus can help with that, at least. Allow me to think about this and I should have at least a preliminary solution for you by the time Wardenclyffe is ready for testing. I must tell you that my figures won’t be exact, because your measurements are not exact. You did not allow for the deviation from your planned course, so the angles you used are off to some degree. You understand trigonometry, I hope; a small angular change can result in considerable error in distance.”
“I gathered that from your comments.”
“It’s not all bad, but there are several variables to be accounted for, and you cannot expect a perfect outcome when the values you use are no better than estimates.”
“Garbage in, garbage out.”
“Tom, I don’t understand the term.”
“It’s not important, Nikola.”
#
Libby worked her way east, one short teleport at a time. She’d begun in the afternoon but soon realized that she was emerging earlier in the day. Eventually she realized that her next teleport would cause her to arrive somewhere before dawn, so she spent the remaining time hunting for food and finding a place to spend the night. The nuts and cress she found were filling, if not very nourishing.
Waking two hours after dawn, she faced the rising sun and formed her bubble.
The sun was like a strobe, always in a slightly different position after she materialized. Teleporting was instantaneous, getting her bearings and listening for a telepath took longer.
And then everything changed.
The amusement was clear.
Ray floated above Mount Taylor, looking west. The air was thin and cold. The sun was visible from this height, even though the land below was covered with darkness. Accelerating, he flew toward the setting sun. The bubble kept the wind off, but the cold bit through his buckskins. Short teleports without using his bubble would have been faster, but dangerous; no, this method was slow, but it was certain.
Libby, I want to try something, but it’s cold above the mountains. Do you have a coat?>
Libby didn’t respond this time. Ray made the best speed he could, heading toward the setting sun, but wasn’t able to keep up. Slowly the land below became fully dark. Above him, the stars appeared, then brightened.
t’s dark there, right?>
