The Time Traveler Adventures
EPISODE 5 - TIME INTERLUDE
Stay
where I was????? I didn’t want to stay where I was!!! My family was gone. Gone
somewhere, perhaps in time and I didn’t have the Time Machine with which to go
and find them. I didn’t feel good that they were with my future self. I
don’t know what happened to me but I just didn’t trust this Henry from the
future!
I
dialed Emily’s number again and got a ‘no service” signal. I couldn’t
believe Emily would have turned off her cell phone so I assumed my future self
had done it. Almost angrily I set the phone aside and got to my feet. My side
ached but not as much. The Motrin had started to take effect.
I
went into the back room, just to see if the Time Machine was there. I hadn’t
heard it activate or return but I wanted to see for myself. The room was empty
and I took stock of what I had left.
I
knew that if I had to, I could build another Time Machine and I had a few ideas
to make it better. And really, when you looked at it, I had all the time in the
world to do it. It would take me perhaps 3 months to build another but I
suspected that I wouldn’t have to. My future self had the machine and he had
my family. Well, technically, they were his family too, which led me to wonder
where the future Emily and future Anna Marie were?
Then,
I had a horrible thought! What if the future Henry had somehow tragically
“lost” his family? What if he came to the past to regain them by stealing
mine? That could mean I may never see them again!! That thought almost buckled
my knees and I collapsed heavily on the floor!
I
had to think! Although time was a resolute and unyielding mistress, I had proven
it was not absolute! I had proven that time and reality could be changed, which
led me into a train of thought that I would rather not have had.
I
realized that, while my original hypothesis of equating time to playing cards
placed one a top another, was correct, it was not the complete solution! I
realized that the next moment in time depended upon what happened in this
moment! I had assumed that time would take me from the moment I was in and move
me to the next moment, an absolute chain of events stretching from the beginning
to the end of time. It was at that moment I realized I was mistaken! There were
an infinite number of futures resting on this moment and which future I took
would depend upon what I did here and now.
If
I laid down right here and went to sleep, I would wake up tomorrow in one
reality. If I began to build a Time Machine right now, then tomorrow, I would be
in a different reality. The difference would be subtle but they would be
different. If I just decided I couldn’t go on and ended my life here and now,
then tomorrow would be a different reality from the other two.
That
was when I realized that just waiting until I grew into my future self would not
guarantee I would see Emily and Anna Marie again. The reality in which they
existed with my future self might be far removed from the reality in which I do
nothing and wait. I knew I couldn’t do that so the logical thing was to try
and get them back. That would mean rebuilding the Time Machine and trying to
figure out why my future self was doing what he was doing.
I got up from the floor and felt the ache in my side and decided I needed to tend to me first before starting in the Time Machine. I wandered into the bathroom and turned on the light, looking at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t prepared for the person that looked back at me. I looked awful! My face looked haggard and my hair was a mop of tangles. Looking at myself, I tried to remember when it was the last time I had shaved. I couldn’t remember. It was probably before my trip to the past to put the Golden Arrow back. I took off my pajama shirt and turned on the shower.
That
was when I realized my razor was gone! I opened the medicine cabinet but it
wasn’t there either. My toothbrush was missing also, as was the soap, my
hairbrush and my roll of tooth floss. I would have to get them before I
continue.
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After shaving and showering, I felt better. When I looked in the mirror, I actually recognized myself. I quickly fixed myself some vegetable soup, put it in a cup and returned to the back room. There were things I needed but didn’t have so I sat down at the desk and began a list.
Razor
by Barlekis the Wizard
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It
took me about an hour to redesign the Time Machine and set out a list of
things I would need. I figured it would take me a day to track these items
down and I knew there was no better time to start than now. I folded the
list and put it in my pocket and walked back into the kitchen. After
rinsing out the soup cup, I grabbed my car keys and started for the door.
It was at that moment that the house shuddered and I knew the Time Machine
had returned to the back room!
Brush by Lady
Bladecroft |
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