Laws of Time

by Jeff Yee

  “That sounds terrific. Thanks.”

  Sean walked towards the kitchenette of the private plane, which was stocked with food and beverages. He found what he was looking for. A coffee machine.

  As Sean was brewing the morning coffee, Stacey asked, “Sean, was the text message you received in Kathmandu from Kris?”

  Sean didn’t acknowledge his wife’s first question as he stumbled for the right words to respond. His inquisitive wife, not pausing to wait for an answer, continued, “You didn’t say anything after looking at your phone and I didn’t want to say anything at the time. But I’m guessing from the look on your face when you read the note that it was Kris. Is that right?”

  “Yes, it was the news from Kris,” Sean finally answered.

  “And?”

  “It was successful. They pulled the rat out of hibernation. It’s a major win for the company.”

  Stacey knew what it meant. Not just for science or for Tace Technologies, but for her future. She was excited, yet uncertain about how to react. “So… we’re going to go through with this?”

  She was asking the same question that had been discussed many times before. Now that it was official – that cryogenic freezing was possible – she had to ask it one more time.

  “Yes, as long as you are with me, I would like to do it. I will not go without you, Stacey. You are my love. Together we have an opportunity to be history and to see history. You know that it is my life-long mission to travel in time.”

  Stacey didn’t answer. She was thinking about all of the people that she would be leaving behind by making the decision. In previous discussions, Stacey was supportive of the idea. Now, the chance to join Sean and be cryogenically frozen was a reality. Answering Sean’s question this time had new meaning. It was no longer a hypothetical question.

  It was true that Sean was very committed to the science of time travel and that he had made it one of his goals in life. Upon reaching his fifties, Sean became increasingly concerned that the possibility of time travel might not develop during his lifetime. Then, as luck would have it, NASA sent a proposal for a Mars mission. Cryogenic freezing for the Mars mission meant life suspension from one time period to the next period. Sean had quickly realized that it was a close runner up to his goal of traveling to and from the future or past. But he had also recognized that cryogenic freezing itself was not true time travel. Cryogenics allows time shifting, meaning that the traveler is only able to go forward in time and only does so by skipping time while the body is not aging. Nevertheless, it had occurred to him that there could also be a major side benefit to the time shifting technique – that he could arrive in a new time period in the future with established technology capable of doing true time travel, both forwards and backwards in time. In other words, he could sleep until sometime in the future after time travel was invented. Thus, he had quickly taken the opportunity to dedicate the resources within his company to work on the NASA research project.

  Stacey sat in her chair, high above the Pacific Ocean, thinking. She looked at her hands, which were cold as she contemplated her decision. The potential loss of time and missed events with friends and family sent a chill through her body.

  “Take your time Stacey. We don’t need to arrive at a decision today, tomorrow or anytime soon. It is a big decision and one that we will want to make carefully.”

  Sean was beaming with confidence. He had no reservations. After spending time at the top of the world on Mt. Everest, he felt like he could accomplish anything at that moment. The two events, Mt. Everest and the success back at Tace Technologies, were not coincidental. Sean knew that his company was getting closer in their research and experiments to make cryogenic freezing possible, and thus he was busy checking things off his lifetime goals list. Climbing to the top of Mt. Everest was one of those goals. But the top priority goal, which had not changed since he was eight years old, was the ability to travel in time.

  For Sean, time travel was a very strong ambition, with roots back to his childhood. Sean’s beloved dog, Kai, had passed away when he was eight years old. When he was young, his dog was his best friend. Because of his father’s job, Sean moved a handful of times during his youth. His brother Christian, four years younger, was too little to play with. Kai, on the other hand, was a playful little pup that made up for the inconsistent friendships in the three cities in which he’d lived in his eight short years. When Kai unexpectedly died due to a rare heart disease, Sean was heartbroken and devastated. One evening, shortly after Kai’s passing, he sat alone, crying on the roof of his home in Austin, Texas, staring at the stars. If space travel was possible, why couldn’t man travel in time? It was a question that the young Sean Harrison could not answer, but he vowed to make an attempt. If he could travel in time, he could see his faithful little dog again one day. Sean visited his roof frequently during his adolescent years, staring into the stars and reminding himself of his goals to travel in space and time. When he reached his college years, he stopped making the special trip to his rooftop. It would not be until the age of forty-three, after a tragic car accident, that he would be driven to the roof to renew his vow.

  It took nearly the entire crossing of the Pacific before Stacey responded, “Sean, I’ll do it. I’ll go.”

  Stacey’s sudden answer took Sean by surprise. He was thumbing through the remainder of his unread emails on his Blackberry when Stacey brought up the subject again. He put his phone away and gazed intently into his wife’s eyes.

  “It’s an extremely difficult decision to leave family behind,” continued Stacey, “but I don’t want to lose you. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from this trip to Nepal, it’s that I cannot let you go alone. We both know what happened when you attempted to summit without me.”

  Sean was elated. In previous discussions, Stacey had already committed to their journey together. This time, when she said it, there was sincerity in her voice and it was now clear that it was a joint decision between the two of them.

  Before Sean could respond, Stacey added a condition to her approval. “First, there is one important thing that I want you to promise me.”

  Sean’s eyes widened with curiosity, not knowing what to expect next.

  “I will only agree to the proposal if we have a maximum limit on the time that we will miss. I do not want our kids to be older than us when we return from our frozen state. You need to promise me that we will be unfrozen in a time that is determined by one of two things. Either your time travel machine is developed or Kris reaches fifty-two years of age, whichever comes first.”

  Sean had to think over the proposal for a moment, and then responded enthusiastically, “That’s a fair deal. Actually, it’s a good idea. I agree with your proposal.”

  “Oh, and one more thing,” Stacey said as she continued to add conditions to her agreement. “You also have to promise me that it is completely safe. Remember, we are not rats.”

  “Yes, I understand,” replied Sean, giving Stacey a light kiss on her forehead. “I love you more than anything and I’d never put you in harms way. I believe in Kris and his team’s work and we will ensure our safety, first and foremost.”

  Then, Sean returned to the kitchenette while Stacey looked out the window replaying their recent discussion silently in her thoughts. He poured two glasses of champagne, returned to his wife and handed her a glass. He held the other glass slightly above his head to toast. “To us, and to our future!”

  After toasting her husband, Stacey took a long sip of champagne, nearly polishing off half of the glass with one gulp. She needed the buzz from the alcohol to calm her nerves. She returned her stare to the window and the cloud patterns beneath the wing of the plane, wondering if she had made the right decision. Only time will tell, she thought to herself. Only time will tell, seemed to have new meaning.

  Chapter 4

  It was early in the afternoon upon Sean’s return to San Diego when a conference call was held with John Simmons, the leader of the M
ars project at NASA. Sean Harrison, along with his son Kris and the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Steve Kuhl, listened to the conference call from Sean’s office.

  “We’ll send the detailed report to you by email within the next hour,” Sean explained to John Simmons.

  “Great, thank you,” said John. “I’m very excited to see the details and to see the experiment in person next week. As soon as I have my flight times and the names of the team members that will be joining me for the demonstration, I will let you know.”

  “Please do. We’ll help to arrange everything for your stay during the demo. In the meantime, let me know if there are any questions as you and your team review our findings.”

  John concluded the conference call. “We certainly will. See you next week Sean.”

  As the phone’s receiver was placed down on its base to hang up, Kris excitedly pumped his fist. NASA still needed time to confirm the experiment and to witness the results personally with an on-site visit, but Kris knew that they had a reproducible method for cryogenic freezing. He also knew that it would lead to a major contract for Tace Technologies worth billions of dollars.

  “When will we release this information to the public?” Steve asked Sean.

  Sean replied, “We have not locked the long term contract, which even after NASA’s verification, might take a couple of months to finalize. Since we have two competitors trying to win the same bid, and we don’t know where they’re at with their experiments, let’s wait until after we have the deal. Assuming we get the contract wrapped up, we have our company annual meeting in a few months. Let’s use that time to announce our achievement to our company and to the general public. Everyone agree?”

  “Ok with me,” said Steve.

  A very excited Kris was reluctant to hold off on the big news, as he wanted the world to learn immediately about his team’s accomplishments. He would need to wait a few more months. Nevertheless, he agreed. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Now, let’s discuss our other matter,” said Sean. “This information must also remain confidential until such point that we are ready to release it.” Sean waited to make sure that he had everyone’s attention before confirming, “It is agreed upon that Stacey and I will be frozen in time until some point in the future.”

  Steve, not surprised by the announcement, assured Sean, “We will all miss you. We will continue the mission that you and I set forth long ago and it’s future will be in good hands with Kris.”

  Sean put his hand on Steve’s shoulder and said, “Steve, it’s been a privilege working with you over the years. I know you will be very capable of leading the ship, with or without me. We’ll quietly begin a transition of the CEO duties immediately and I trust that you’ll do the same for Kris to prepare him for the role when you retire in ten years.”

  “Yes, I will respect your wishes… Kris will assume control at that time.”

  Then, Sean turned to his son. “Kris, there’s a lot to learn over the next decade, but I know that you’ll do a great job one day. To ensure that you have the opportunity, I will be transferring my voting shares of the company to you and your sister. Between you, Alyssa and Steve, you will have the majority vote necessary.”

  “I won’t let you down,” replied Kris.

  Sean continued, “There is a new twist to our plans. Stacey has asked for a time limit. We can be frozen no longer than twenty-five years. We must conclude our shift in time by Kris’ fifty-second birthday, or when a time travel solution is developed, whichever comes first. My preference, of course, is that you find that travel solution much sooner than twenty-five years from now.”

  Kris was mixed with emotions. “I’m happy that we’re setting a known deadline. Don’t get me wrong… I’m very happy to know when I’ll see you again. But that puts a lot of faith in science and pressure on us to find a solution in a relatively short time frame given the enormity of this task. Aren’t you afraid that we will waste a quarter of a century searching for a solution just to wake you to no avail?”

  “It’s a difficult task and it is very possible that we may not reach our goal,” answered Sean. “I cannot control the collaborative scientific efforts around the world. But we can make a decision here in this room to spend our own resources wisely. Therefore, I’d like to suggest that we commit five percent of all Tace revenues towards the study of a viable time travel solution.”

  “Five percent is quite a bit for a project with unknown returns!” Steve interjected. “If we do, it has to be the max. It will be difficult to commit more to the R&D budget because we need to sustain a healthy business.”

  “I understand,” said Sean. “Given the resources and a deadline, my hope is that our great scientists will come through. Also, remember that it is quite possible that someone outside of these walls develops a solution. It does not have to be developed here. It just has to be developed.”

  The three men continued to chart a transition plan and a commitment of company resources towards the mission, continuing late into the evening. The direction of Tace Technologies’ future was being planned by the current CEO, and his two successors, for the years to follow. Together, they mapped a plan that would allow the company to isolate its top scientists on a multi-year project that would pay uncertain dividends. It was clearly a gamble of the company’s resources, but it was one backed by a clear objective – to bring Sean Harrison and his wife out of a cryogenically frozen state when time travel had been proven.

  Chapter 5

  Julie Bartells lived alone in a beautiful three-bedroom home on a hillside in La Jolla, California. She was working outdoors in her garden when a car pulled into her driveway with her daughter and granddaughter.

  “Hello Mom, ready for our girls night?” asked Stacey as she walked up the driveway alongside her daughter Alyssa.

  “Oh! It’s so good to see you. How are you? Please come inside.”

  The three generations of Bartells-Harrison women sat down for tea and exchanged stories, something they did quite often. Julie always loved an opportunity to get together with her girls. At first, the meetings were infrequent, but they had become regularly scheduled events each month after her husband passed away four years prior.

  “How are the plans coming along?” Julie asked Stacey.

  “We’re only a few days away now until the company’s annual convention. The last couple of months were very difficult to arrange everything, especially in secrecy, but I believe we’re almost there. It will be made public on Friday.”

  “My neighbor Tom asks me how you are doing every day. But I haven’t told him anything.”

  Alyssa chuckled. “Good work Nana.”

  Stacey continued, “Our attorneys have advised us to treat the situation very similar to a patient in a coma. We will be unable to make decisions and manage our estate. Therefore, we will entrust Kris, being our oldest, with the power of attorney privilege. If anything happens to Kris, that power transfers to Alyssa.”

  “It sounds so complicated,” replied Julie. “It’s unfortunate that you have to be the first one to go through these details and determine the legalities.”

  Alyssa interrupted, “Nana, there’s still outstanding questions that are very interesting. Mom, tell her about the issue with age calculation.”

  “When we wake from our state,” added Stacey, “in who knows what year, it is quite possible that we could be eligible for social security. Will I say that I’m my biologic age of fifty-two? Or will I be in my chronological age… late sixties or seventies collecting my social security check? My body will be one age, but my birth certificate will tell me I’m another age.”

  “Oh… I see,” Julie remarked.

  “It’s actually a very interesting legal problem. If cryogenics becomes widely adopted, we could have a situation where people skip time to collect certain benefits like social security, pensions or Medicare. Of course, it’s still dependent on their contributions, but nevertheless, these are good examples of why we will ne
ed new laws to determine someone’s true age.”

  Stacey could see that her mother was still trying to comprehend the extent of the issues. It reminded her of the look that she received when she told her mother, long ago, that Sean had proposed marriage. It was a similar look of curiosity and formulation of potential scenarios in her head.

  Alyssa reached for a second cup of tea as Stacey continued, “There is another interesting issue that we are facing. For estate planning purposes, we need to delineate between hibernation and death. If we are in an unrecoverable state, we wish for preparations to be made according to our will with Kris and Alyssa receiving much of our estate. Of course, that’s the worst-case scenario. We do plan to return… and we will return… in which case we need to ensure that we have access to our finances when that day arrives. The nearest applicable laws are ones that support comatose patients, and under these rules, there is a chance that our will could be executed prematurely. We need to protect ourselves from this scenario, otherwise we could have nothing when we return.”

  “Kris and Alyssa would never…”

  “I know. And I agree, but we have to be very careful and acknowledge the risks.”

  Alyssa, who was quietly listening in on the conversation interjected, “Mom, you know that won’t happen. I’ll make sure that you’re taken care of in the future.”

  With a big, proud mother’s smile, Stacey said “Thanks Aly.”

  The women enjoyed watching the sun disappear into the deep blue sea of the Pacific Ocean. Spectacularly large windows were designed into Julie Bartells’ La Jolla home to capture the beautiful California sunsets. Julie hoped that she would have many more opportunities with her girls to experience the simple pleasures of life. However, she also realized that time was running short with her daughter.

  “Do you and Sean have a date yet?” Julie asked her daughter, referring to the anticipated date for cryogenic freezing.