by Jeff Yee
Ryan had the floor and he wasn’t going to stop. He continued, “Beyond the butterfly experiment, we have many more challenges to consider before putting a man forward for a long period of time. This was a short trip – less than a week. For long-term travel, will these machines be safe? What happens if there’s a power outage? What if decades from now, Tace Technologies is no longer here? What about natural disasters, like an earthquake hitting San Diego? Or a terrorist attack on this building? These are all problems that we need to consider as we move beyond trials into commercial applications. Today, we celebrate our great achievement. Tomorrow, we begin planning for the future.”
With a big smile on his face, Sean put his arm around Ryan and addressed the team. “Ryan, I would have normally said that was a party killer. But, given that it could be me one day in the machine traveling to the future, I’m very glad that we have you running the show.”
Ryan laughed. “Alright. Let’s get a drink!”
Chapter 39
Frustrated that he was back in Washington D.C. for a second day without being called to testify, Sean waited patiently in Room SD-342 of the Capitol Building listening to Senator Cordeiros and his committee interview best-selling author Gabe Dierks. A science fiction writer? Unbelievable! This man has no reason to be here!
Sean wanted to shout out the answer to the question, but it was not his turn in the hot seat. Instead, Gabe Dierks provided the answer. “Yes, parallel universes are very likely,” answered Gabe. “It is incomprehensible to imagine that a universe as large as ours can have an infinite number of other universes that branch from the root, but this is the reality and the setting behind my last book.”
“And what is the root?” asked Senator Klein in a follow on question.
Dierks replied, “The root is the Big Bang. Fifteen billion years ago. When time first started. Parallel universes began branching from that point and who knows how many have been created since then. When something happens that causes these universes to intersect, or come together, they implode. Time stops and we create a new universe. In essence it is a new Big Bang and the process starts all over again.”
At least he got something right, Sean thought to himself – referring to the Big Bang comment. But where does he get the rest of his facts?
Senator Cordeiros asked the next question. “What triggers the implosion of these universes?”
“An issue that occurs while jumping from one universe to the next. The two universes remain joined at the intersection point. This can cause a wormhole at the intersection that ultimately swallows the matter in the universes until they implode.”
After hearing Gabe Dierks’ unintelligent science fiction answer, Sean wanted to scream. But before he could say anything, he felt a vibration in his pocket. It was his mobile phone. Retrieving the phone, Sean found a text message from Alex Hartley, the private investigator.
Are you in Washington? If so, I have the list and we should meet. Alex H.
Sean thumbed a reply.
Yes. Can we meet in one hour? Corner of Delaware and Constitution Ave?
As he waited for a text message reply, Sean watched the senate committee continue to listen to science fiction and treat it like gospel. If he didn’t have a chance to refute the statements, he knew that the committee would make a decision based on information not backed by scientific evidence. He wanted a chance to speak, but it was apparent that he would have to wait at least one more day before he was called to the stand again. As expected, his phone vibrated a second time.
Ok. See you in one hour. Please come alone.
After restraining himself for another forty minutes, Sean was delighted to see the chairman finally call for a recess. He had twenty minutes until his meeting and only one block to walk from the Capitol Building. With the extra time, Sean walked leisurely down Capitol Circle towards his destination, enjoying the cool air and autumn colors. It was a beautiful time of year to be in Washington. Despite his tourist pace, Sean still managed to arrive at his meeting destination early.
Alex Hartley, on the other hand, was right on time. His taxi pulled up to the corner of Delaware and Constitution, five feet from where Sean was standing. Alex rolled down the taxicab window and asked, “How ‘bout some coffee? There’s a place right down the street.”
It was only a few blocks to the nearest coffee shop, but Sean realized that it would be faster to drive than to walk on foot. Joining Alex in the taxi, Sean promptly asked, “So, you have a list of names?”
“Yes,” answered Alex, gesturing to a manila folder that he carried in his left hand. “But not here. I’ll show you as soon as we sit down.”
Sean was extremely curious and persistent. “Was it hard to obtain?”
“No, not really. Thankfully, a lot of this is public record. Good ‘ol U.S. government. The hard part was taking the initial list and narrowing it down further.” Alex looked at the taxi driver to see if he was listening and then realized that it was safe to proceed. “I had to cross-reference the building access logs with documented meetings that were taking place. I ruled out anyone that was in a known meeting.”
The taxi stopped at a coffee boutique on Constitution Avenue. A paranoid Alex Hartley surveyed the street to see if he had been followed. “We’re good,” he said.
Sean smirked. “I feel like I’m in a spy movie. Shall I get you a latte – shaken, not stirred?”
“A latte is fine,” Alex said, not understanding the joke.
After ordering two drinks, Sean found Alex tucked away in a corner holding a seat at a table. Similar to their first meeting, Alex had chosen the table furthest from the coffee shop’s entrance. Must be a habit of private investigators, Sean thought to himself.
“Here you go, one latte,” said Sean.
Alex grabbed the cup of coffee with one hand, and with his other hand, he opened the folder and displayed its contents. “Thanks. Here it is. Here’s the list.”
Sean looked at the list. There were two pages. The first page listed only five names. The second page was filled with names from top to bottom. “What’s the difference between these two lists?” he asked.
Alex pointed to the first page. “This is the list that you want. These five people.” Then pointing to the other page he said, “This one is the entire list of people that were in the building at the time, but I can find reasonable alibis for most of them when the call was made by cross-referencing meeting logs or other phone calls that were publicly recorded. Just in case I’m wrong about the first five, you have the entire list.”
“I think your approach is a sound one,” acknowledged Sean. He pointed to the first list and picked out a name. “I agree that it’s likely to be one of these five. So why have you circled this one? David Kim?”
Looking at Sean very sternly, Alex said, “Because David is a member of Rob Cordeiros’ staff.”
Stunned, Sean held the page and looked at it a second time. “Oh… I get it.”
“That doesn’t mean that it was David. I picked him out because I understand the potential connection. There are four others on the list that are just as likely to be your man.”
“And potentially many more than that if your alibi assumptions are wrong, but…” Sean stuttered, “I can’t believe that we’re even looking at this list.” Sean stopped to think. “This is our government. They’re supposed to represent our country.”
“That’s why I hope you’ll understand that this is about as far as I can take this.”
“You can’t take it any further?”
Alex was apologetic. “Sorry, not only would it be very difficult, it’s also dangerous. Look at what these people have done to your friend. This is too big for me to help you. You need government to fight government.”
Sean closed his eyes, tired, distrustful and unsure of his next move. Then, he opened them and asked, “Who? How do we know who we can trust?”
The only thing he received was a shake of the head from his private investigator. Sean was disa
ppointed. Nevertheless, after returning the lists back to their folder, Sean showed his appreciation. “Thanks very much for getting us this far. I’ll take it from here. I have someone that I may be able to trust.”
“Well then, good luck to you,” said Alex. “And Sean… be very careful. You don’t know how deep this runs.”
Chapter 40
Karl McDowell from the Washington Post waited outside the senate meeting room where the hearings on time travel were being held. The twelfth day of the hearings had just finished and he knew the chairman of the committee would be leaving the Capitol Building shortly.
As Cordeiros emerged from the room, McDowell grabbed his attention. “Senator, I’m Karl McDowell from the Post.”
Cordeiros kept walking. The persistent reporter kept pace alongside the senator as he walked.
Without looking McDowell in the eye, Cordeiros said, “Sorry, son. No interviews until the hearings are over.”
“It’s not about the hearings,” said McDowell. “I want to get your thoughts on the disaster at Tace earlier today.”
“What did you say?” Cordeiros stopped walking and turned to the reporter.
“A failed experiment at Tace Technologies today. Have you heard about it?”
“No. I’ve been busy. What happened?”
“We have reports that butterflies were being transported in time. Then something went wrong and everything was lost. All of the butterflies have disappeared.”
Cordeiros laughed. “You call that a disaster? A few dead butterflies?” Irritated that a novice reporter had stopped him, he lifted his hand to gesture that he was not to be followed. Then, he continued walking and mumbled something loud enough for McDowell to hear, “They’ll do anything to sell news nowadays.”
Before Cordeiros could reach the end of the hallway, his mobile phone rang. According to the call display on the phone, it was Meg Jennings, from the White House.
“Hello?” he said.
“Senator, it’s Meg Jennings. Did I catch you at a good time?”
“Let me guess. You saw the news at Tace.”
“What do you think about it?” asked a hesitant Meg.
“It’s just butterflies, right?” answered an uncaring Cordeiros. He knew that he needed to downplay the event.
“Yeah, but you’re missing the point. That could have been you and me in there – gone forever.”
Cordeiros stopped walking. He needed an answer to appease the press secretary. “Meg, we’ll need to work out the kinks before we allow men and women to travel in time. This is exactly why we’ve put a temporary ban on human travel. We’ll open it up when we believe it is safe for people.”
“Well, I’m sorry. But I’m calling to tell you that you can take my name off your list. I’m flattered by the offer, but it’s just not a risk that I’m willing to take right now.”
“Perhaps we should give it a few days and let you think about it. This news is fresh. When you understand the tremendous benefits of time travel, I think you’ll come to your senses.”
“Senator, today’s event demonstrates that there’s a high probability that someone could die traveling in time. I’m not going to be that person. I don’t need a few days to think about it.”
Cordeiros was furious that he had been rejected, but he knew he had to be a savvy politician and keep the White House on his good side. “Well, I’m very sorry to hear that, but I understand.”
“Thanks for understanding. Let’s get together again at the conclusion of the hearings. I’ll be interested in the details and to hear more about the proposal to send a delegation to the future.”
“Certainly, will keep you posted.”
The button to end the call was pressed so hard that Cordeiros nearly broke his phone. He grasped his phone tightly, letting out some of his anger on the small electronic gizmo that he held in his right hand. Then, he dialed another number.
“David, it’s me,” said Cordeiros.
“What can I do for you?”
“Meg is out. Get me another member for the team to replace her. And this time, find me someone that does not get butterflies in her stomach! No pun intended.”
Chapter 41
Sean Harrison sat at the desk in his hotel suite, absorbed by the list of possible suspects in the Hart Senate Building that were possibly linked to the kidnapping. Minutes before, he had called and reached the office of Lisa deVeas at CIA headquarters and was placed on hold by the director’s assistant. Using his laptop, he browsed the biographies of the men and women on the short list while he waited to speak to Lisa.
“Mr. Harrison, I’m transferring you to the Director now,” said the assistant on the phone, relieving Sean of the annoying hold music and then transferring his call to the CIA Director’s mobile phone.
The call transferred and a woman’s voice answered, “Sean? It’s Lisa. What can I do for you?”
Carefully testing the situation to make sure that the CIA Director was not involved in the alleged consipracy, Sean asked, “I’m back in Washington now and I was hoping to get an update on the Graves case. Has the CIA learned anything more about the true conspirators behind the kidnapping?”
“I have to be honest with you. After we successfully completed the primary mission, it became lower on my priority list – too many other issues right now. I left it in the hands of the FBI.”
“Lisa, the FBI is not getting anywhere,” said a frustrated Sean. “I’m not sure if it’s incompetence or if it is deliberate. So I took matters into my own hands and I have information that you might find interesting.”
“What is it?”
“Let’s find a quiet place to meet and then I’ll show it to you. It’s rather sensitive, if you know what I mean.”
After a brief pause, Lisa asked, “Have you shown it to anyone else? The FBI?”
“No. I don’t know who to trust right now. In fact, I’m relying on my intuition to trust you based on the fact that your team wanted to save Ryan.”
“Okay, I’ll meet with you. I’m in my car on my way home. Where are you?”
“I’m staying at the Westin Grand,” said Sean.
“I know where it is. How about we meet at the hotel bar in thirty minutes? I can’t stay long as I have a dinner appointment, but I can meet quickly.”
“Thanks Lisa. I just need a few minutes of your time. See you shortly.”
After finishing the call, Sean took off his shoes to relax in his Westin Grand suite. He had thirty minutes before his meeting. He sat down, stretched out and turned on the television. It was no more than a minute of unwinding before his phone rang again. Based on the call display, it was Stacey.
Sean answered the phone. “Hi Honey, how are you?”
“Fine,” answered Stacey. “I got your voicemail. So, what’s this about a list?”
“We’re closer to finding the people behind Ryan’s kidnapping. In case something happens to me, I’ve already sent the list over to Kris. He has a copy.”
Stacey snickered. “Sean Harrison, you’re being overly dramatic. Everything will be fine.”
“Stacey, don’t say anything to anyone until I get home. It’s important.”
“Okay,” said Stacey. “I won’t tell anyone. But you know that this list is the least of my concerns today. I’m more worried about something happening to you in your time machine than playing detective.”
“You heard about the issue at the lab?”
“Yes.”
With his best soothing voice, Sean explained, “I’ve already talked to Kris and they know what happened. It was a mistake in the calculations. After taking yesterday off, the team rushed into this one and didn’t check the calculations before starting the butterfly experiment. We should have prepared more before executing the test.”
“I won’t say another word, Sean. This just reinforces how dangerous I know this can be.”
Sean knew that he would not be able to convince his wife that traveling in time was safe. Deep inside, he kn
ew and understood the dangers and that it was quite possible that his fate could end like the butterfly that had disintegrated in the time machine. His next best option was to change the subject and to talk about something other than the failed time travel experiment. For the remainder of the call, Sean provided an update from the senate hearing, and when he had exhausted his entire day’s status, he talked about the lovely autumn weather on the east coast. The approach worked – Stacey did not revisit the lab issue again.
After taking the last five minutes of the call with Stacey en route from his room, down the elevators and to the hotel bar, Sean found himself ending the conversation with his wife while searching the bar for his meeting guest. Although there were a number of businessmen having drinks at the bar, he could not find Lisa deVeas. Sean ordered a rum and coke from the only bartender working the watering hole and waited.
Lisa finally arrived mid-way through his first drink. “Sorry, I’m late,” she said, finding a chair next to Sean. “Traffic was a bit worse than I expected.”
“No problem. Thanks very much for meeting me on short notice. Would you like a drink?”
Lisa waved to the bartender to get his attention and said, “I’ll have what he’s having.” After confirming her drink order, she turned towards Sean. “I’m short on time, so if you don’t mind, let’s get right to it.”
“Absolutely,” replied Sean. The folder given to him by the private investigator was on the bar next to his drink. Sean kept the folder covered with one hand while he provided background information. “According to Ryan Graves, a phone call was made shortly after his abduction. From Ryan’s info, we know the approximate time and length of the call. We hired an investigator to track the call…”
“You hired an investigator?” Lisa interrupted. “Why did you not report this information immediately to the FBI?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. It was my son’s idea. It was a gut call. But you know what? It turned out to be right.”
“What turned out to be right?”
Sean slid the folder across the bar table to Lisa. As she opened the folder, he explained the information. “We found an anonymous prepaid phone that made a call at the approximate time Ryan suggested. We then linked the phone that made the call to another phone that was used to call Ryan Graves in the restaurant the night he was abducted. Both phones were purchased from the same retailer on the same day. When we investigated the phone call, it turns out that it was made to a third untraceable phone, purchased along with the others. Care to guess where the call was received?”
