The Eve of Abounding Wickedness

by Mark Spaid

  “We can do modifications to this place and make it work,” Kleinschmidt said.

  “That should do fine,” Warren said.

  “I take it, that you’ll be constructing the apparatus, Mr. Peabody.”

  “Yes, I’m the experimentalist.”

  “But you also led your team theoretically to the right method for solving the UFT.”

  “I had an idea and it worked. As I said, if people had been using the same approach for a hundred years and it didn’t work then try another way.”

  “And we’re all glad that you did…your results so far are terrific. Keep up the good work.”

  “I have a list of things I need,” Warren said.

  “Wow, this is extensive.”

  “I know but it’s all necessary; to build it.”

  “Will it work?”

  “I think so and as you might imagine, I hope so.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you do.”

  “When can you get these things?” Dave asked.

  “In a day or two,” Kleinschmidt said. “How long before it’s ready to be tested?”

  “Difficult to say…perhaps a week.”

  “Good, we’ll have the bulk of these large items by tomorrow morning so you can begin construction.”

  “That’s fine,” Warren said.

  “I’ll send a car to take you home early since you can’t do much more today.” Kleinschmidt left and twenty minutes later a car took them home.

  * * *

  “Any news?” Lexi asked as she and Ariel met them at the door.

  “You’re home early,” Tatiana said and that worried her, which gave rise to the expression on her face that alerted Dave.

  “Nothing’s wrong…except that everything’s wrong,” Dave remarked. Justin arrived with three glasses of iced tea and they sat at the dining room table.

  “Can you tell us anything?” Will asked.

  “Oh, sure…we’ve solved the first leg of the journey,” Sol said. “Or rather, Warren did.”

  “It’s a collaboration,” Warren said.

  “But we’d still be laboring over nothing if you hadn’t shown us the right way,” Dave continued.

  “That’s true,” Warren said and Ariel chuckled and shook her head.

  “It must be nice to be married to a genius,” Jozette said smiling Ariel’s way.

  “It is but there are three geniuses here. If we get out of this alive it’ll be because of the work they’ve done and will continue to do.”

  “Oh, ye of great faith,” Dave said.

  “What would you like for supper?” Belinda asked. Dave and Sol looked at one another.

  “I’d like to go out to eat…maybe The Evergreen Club,” Dave said.

  “Sounds good to me,” Lexi said. “Why don’t we all go home, get ready and meet here at five-thirty,” Jozette said and it was agreed. They did just that and Ariel had three limousines waiting for them when it was time to leave. There were twenty people going so they needed the room.

  “I like this place,” Will said as they stood in the foyer of The Evergreen Club. It was indeed a private club and the most exclusive one in the city. A few years ago, Jozette was given a complimentary pass by a client for a meal and she and Andy brought Justin and Belinda. The snobby hostess for some reason didn’t like the party of four and gave them a horrible, dinky table by the kitchen door. Jozette was upset because the evening was ruined in her eyes. Despite Justin and Belinda’s assurance that it was fine Jozette ran to the bathroom in tears. Now, the one thing you better not do is hurt Jozette when Belinda’s around. She was mad at the hostess and she saw the table in the center of the room…the nicest spot in the entire club. It was the table of a state senator who was not there that night. People he knew were using it at his behest. There were three couples and three single men…single men were an easy target for Belinda. She went over and introduced herself, being careful to display her amazing bosom as she leaned over smiling and giggling. Within five minutes they were all sitting at the main table and she spent the rest of the night torturing the hostess. Now, when Belinda called, she always reserved the center table. Everyone at the club knew Belinda. In the center of the table was a placard that was always there when Belinda called for a reservation…Reserved for Belinda Fanelli. The table always had gold flatware instead of the usual silver, the best champagne, the best hor douvres, the best wait staff and they were catered to and fawned to by the hostess and management.

  “Lind likes it too, right, Lind,” Jozette said. Belinda smiled that big Belinda smile that they all knew well.

  “Yes, I do.” At the club she led the party as she always did to their table, head held high, strutting like only Belinda could strut. It was a given that Belinda always went first. At a restaurant, a museum, art gallery, amusement park ride or anywhere, she always went first. On that rare occasion that someone was accidentally ahead of the Princess, someone else would clear their throat and the offending person would stop and let Belinda go by them. As she walked through the tables at The Evergreen Club tonight, the men were wide-eyed and salivating and the women were staring daggers through Belinda. Partially, because their counterparts would be thinking of the image of Belinda all night and partially because they all wished they could look anything like that image.

  “Belinda, thank you for getting us this table and, Ariel, thank you for picking up the tab,” Will said followed by thank yous all around.

  “What’s next?” Lexi asked as they finished eating and were waiting for dessert.

  “We need to talk to all of you when we get home,” Warren said.

  “What’s wrong?” Ariel asked her husband.

  “I’ll explain.” It was unusual for Warren not to be in a good mood…even goofy sometimes but tonight he was somber. Ariel saw this and wouldn’t bring up the subject again. He said he’d tell when he got home and that was it.

  “I’ll make some tea,” Belinda said and Lexi helped her as they all found seats in the living room. Gabby and Beth were relegated to Gabby’s room since the topic was a rather edgy one to say the least.

  “I can stay with the girls,” Zara said.

  “No, baby, you need to hear this too,” Will said and she sat on the arm of his chair. They settled and everyone looked to Warren. He wasn’t one for the spotlight and shrunk back in his chair.

  “Warren, you’re best able to explain things to everyone. Sol and I will add what we can. Okay, we’ve hit a major turn in the road with our work for these guys. Warren will construct the time portal tomorrow and over the next few days. As we know…it’ll work.” Dave said. “When it does, these guys will be sending a team to the past to change the outcome of things.”

  “What things?” Lexi asked.

  “World War Two,” Sol said.

  “How can they do that?” Ariel asked.

  “It’s tricky and they might meet opposition but they’re going to try and if they’re successful then the world that we know now will disappear,” Sol replied.

  “What do you mean?” Belinda asked. Belinda wasn’t the only one drawing a blank on this idea...most were in the dark.

  “Dave, how about a crash course,” Sol posed.

  “As we know at the end of World War II Hitler killed himself and the other Nazis either killed themselves or were imprisoned or executed. But now, with what Justin has discovered, the descendants of those Nazis are alive and ready for the moment of opportunity when the Reich will be restored.”

  “How could that happen?” Andy asked.

  “They’ve been waiting seventy-five years for their chance and now it looks like it’s here.”

  “You mean time travel?” Will posed.

  “Yes, time travel. Once Warren’s done with the device and builds the transformer, there’ll exist a portal to the past for these crazies,” Dave related.

  “How can we stop it?” Tatiana asked.

  “We can’t, that’s the problem. We’re forced to complete the UFT and give them what they
want or they’ll kill every one of us. But when we give them time travel, they’ll go back and change things.”

  “Explain, please,” Lexi said.

  “Little Wolf why don’t you tell them. I’m talking too much.”

  “Mr. Dave, you’re the one with a doctorate in history.”

  “Yeah, Native American studies.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Alright, I’ll give it a try,” Little Wolf said. “The biggest mistake Hitler made was invading the Soviet Union in 1941. When these guys go back, they’ll want to get there around 1939. They need to do three things in my opinion. The first is, Germany needed to be on a total economic war footing production wise. They waited until 1943 and that was too late. The second thing is to convince Hitler not to ally Germany with Japan. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the U.S. declared war on Japan and Germany followed with a declaration of war on the U.S. Big mistake by Hitler. Third, instead of invading the Soviet Union, Germany should invade England. Eventually, they would attack the Soviets but not in 1941. England could easily be invaded and defeated. The British navy is out of the war and North Africa would fall to the Nazis. Plus, with England out of the war there’d be no staging area for D-Day and if Germany stayed away from Japan then they wouldn’t be at war with the U.S. anyway.” Little Wolf looked at Dave.

  “Hey, you’re doing great, keep going.,” Dave said and Little Wolf nodded and grinned.

  “Now, with no battles taking place, Germany could focus on building war materials, like tanks, planes and ships. And, finally they could push for the development of nuclear weapons. Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner split the atom. The next step was to start planning for a bomb. It’d take years but with Germany in control of the European Continent, they had all the time they needed. Once the bomb was perfected and they could produce a couple of dozen, it’d be time to strike the Soviet Union. This would be about 1945 or so. The attack should start by the first of May. This would give them plenty of time to capture Moscow before late fall and snow. In 1941 they attacked on June 21st…too late. With the construction of aircraft carriers by Germany as part of their war production blitz and the commandeering of the many British aircraft carriers, the Nazis would have a devastating strike force. Now, when they attacked, they’d have about two hundred and fifty divisions, with a preponderance of tanks and aircraft to bomb out Soviet troop installations. At the same time the German Navy, would start round the clock bombing of Leningrad. The city would be left in perpetual flames. The Germans would move forward as rapidly as they did in 1941 with less resistance because the Luftwaffe would be wiping out Russian bases and aircraft while bombing Soviet troops. They’d have Moscow by August first if not sooner. The prize would be to capture Stalin but he probably would run long before the capitulation. With Moscow occupied and Leningrad a corpse, the Germans could push to Stalingrad and surround it. If they didn’t surrender then they’d move their troops back a few miles and drop a couple of atom bombs on the city. That’s the end of Stalingrad and all the soldiers defending it. Leningrad would also be offered surrender terms. If they took them then the Germans would occupy the city and raise the Nazi flag. If they refused to surrender then two more atom bombs or maybe three and the city is gone and all the people and soldiers.”

  “Russia is a big, big place but now, the Nazis had time. If Stalingrad and Leningrad surrendered then they’d set up administrative areas. And turn the cities into Nazi strongholds. If they were nuked then they’d bypass the cities that were bombed and set up command centers farther to the East. As they moved East what was left of the Soviet army would fight or give ground. Any Soviet troop concentrations could be hit with an atom bomb. The Nazis would hold out a hand of peace if the Soviets handed over Stalin. Who knows if they would but somewhere down the line there’d be enough underhanded commies, who couldn’t pass up a prize for turning in a man they hated anyway? With the Soviets defeated, Europe would be a Nazi stronghold. The United Sates would be tied up with a war against Japan. Hitler and his gang could then continue to build up their forces for the war against us. They could use their V-2 rockets to launch attacks against the East coast, though with the unreliability of those rockets they might be better served to launch an amphibious attack on Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. They could move inland easily against a weak Canadian army; establish air bases from which they could attack New York, Boston, Philadelphia. Atom bombs on those cities would render us nearly incapable of continuing the war. We might be compelled to surrender. If not, the Germans could move in their enormous and powerful navy and bomb the capital into submission or even use atom bombs on Washington. I may be off on some of this but one way or another the Nazis could win if they attacked England instead of Russia. Either way, we’d be forced to surrender and the world would be Nazi dominated.” Mouths were open and expressions were blank as they all tried to take in the world that Little Wolf portrayed for them. A world that might’ve happened if things went as he said they could have if Hitler had gone a different way.

  “That’s scary,” Will said.

  “It is and by the way, Little Wolf, you were spot on for everything,” Dave said. He nodded and Julieta gave him a hug. She was proud of her husband also glad he was done. What he said gave her the willies and she was glad when he finished. It gave everyone the willies; the girls knew what he was saying. The twins had been well versed in Russian history by Tatiana and Paulita was a history bug so she knew what Little Wolf was talking about. Darcy, Dixie, Jessica and Zara didn’t pick up on everything but if Little Wolf said something…anything, they knew they could take him at his word.

  “So, if these guys send a team back to 1939 and convince Hitler to do what they suggest, all of these things will happen?” Lexi asked.

  “Not necessarily…it’s just a possible scenario but I think it’s very likely that the world would turn out almost exactly like Little Wolf outlined,” Dave answered.

  “But what if the team goes back and sees Hitler but he doesn’t take their advice and has them shot instead?” Andy said.

  “Then they’d send another team and another until Hitler was convinced. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that these guys, as despicable as they are, nevertheless are very intelligent,” Sol added. “They are likely to convince Hitler to do as they suggest.”

  “What’ll they do after that?” Jozette asked.

  “They’ll come back through the portal and the world will be all Nazi. Their dreams will have come true,” Dave said.

  “Powerful stuff,” Belinda said.

  “It gives us much to contemplate,” Justin said. They sat silent for a few minutes thinking and trying to make sense out of what they just heard. That was hard because no one knew what might happen. What should they be looking for? If the Nazis are successful, will that change their lives today?

  “Mr. Dave, what if the time thing changes and one of our ancestors is killed then we wouldn’t be born, right?” Darcy asked.

  “I’m glad you asked that, Darcy, because that brings us to the next phase of this thing. Warren’s going to fill you in on some aspects of time travel.” Warren passed out a thick packet of information to everyone.

  “Will there be a test over this?” Andy asked.

  “In a way yes,” Warren said.

  “What about my question?” Darcy asked.

  “Yes, that’s one of the dangers of time travel or at least some think it’s a danger,” Warren answered. “Now, the old line is, what happens if I go back in time and accidentally kill my grandfather. Then I won’t be born?” There’re those who think you wouldn’t be born and others who feel that certain things are set in time and part of the panorama and can’t be changed.”

  “Where do you stand?” Mr. Warren?” Julieta asked.

  “A little of both I guess. I think that everyone who’s here today on Earth would be here no matter what was done in the past but our roles and the people we are with might change. But who knows if
I’m right, so, I think we have to proceed as if a loss of life would affect things today.

  “What do all of these terms mean?” Dixie asked.

  “Some time travel lingo that might come in handy when it happens.”

  “You think they’ll go back and change things?” Jessica asked.

  “I’d say the odds are very high that they will,” Warren said.

  “Can you explain these,” Mallory asked.

  “Okay…Time Displacement is going back or forward in time. Time Infraction is what Darcy asked about. The killing of a person who would’ve had descendants. A Time Stage is a period of years or months from the beginning of the displacement till now. Time Jumps refers to leap frogging over people with the same Time Displacement in order to affect some change. Time Skews refers to changing the outcome of today by changing the past. Time Frame is the new time sequence brought about by changing the past.”

  “Which is what the Nazis want to do,” Jozette suggested.

  “That’s right,” Warren said. “These are just terms that I invented to keep things straight but they’re related to the next part.” They opened the largest part and saw their names; in fact, everyone’s same.

  “What’s this?” Belinda asked.

  “It’s a history of our lives, at least it’s as close as I could get. Dave and Justin helped me.”

  “Why do we need this?” Lexi asked.

  “Because we don’t know how a Time Skew will affect our lives now. Maybe we wouldn’t know each other. If you hadn’t gone back to 1907, I wouldn’t be here and none of you would’ve ever heard of me.” Ariel put her hand to her mouth and gasped.

  “You need to read everything and keep this packet with you at all times,” Dave said.

  “What about Tom Westfield and Marvin Shellhause?” Andy asked. Dave looked at Justin.

  “Makes sense; if they’re in law enforcement we could use their help,” Justin said.

  “Alright, maybe Tatiana and Jozette could visit with Tom tomorrow,” Dave said.

  “Will we even know ourselves after the Time Skew?” Will asked.