From Time to Time (30 pages)

This is a story of Petty Officer Jensen who departed for a weekend liberty in 1983 only to find that when he returns three decades have passed. The year is now 2016.

From time to time

Flash! Petty officer Eric Jensen snaps to consciousness as if awakening from a dream. Slowly his surrounding makes sense. He is on a bus returning from a long weekend away from the daily routine. The darkness of the evening sets in the dreaded reality of having to return to work the following morning. The weekend is over.

“Next stop, Naval Air Station, Mayport,” yells the bus driver, “Everyone on the bus must have military IDs”.

The bus lumbers along through the night passing run down apartments, mobile home parks, and shanties.

“We’re at the base,” announces the driver, “Everybody get your ID’s out.”

The bus slowly stops near the guard station at the entrance of the base. The shore patrol board the bus checking IDs with a flashlight looking at each person then matching the picture on the badge. Eric displays his ID.

“What’s this?” the shore patrol inquires.

“What do mean?” Eric replies.

“This,” the shore patrol states, “is not a valid military ID”.

The shore patrol shines the light around the bus.

“You!” the shore patrol points to another sailor, “Show him what a valid ID looks like.”

“What do you mean? This is the ID that I used just yesterday when I left the base, 3-Sep-83”.

“83! What kind of drugs are you on? This is 21-Jun-2016!”

Eric is bewildered. Everybody on the bus is watching to see what happens.

“You either present us with a valid ID or we’ll have to take you in.”

“This is all that I have so I guess you’ll have to take me in.”

“Master at arms,” the shore patrol announces, “Take this man into the detention cell.”

“Yes sir!”

Eric is escorted off the bus into the guard station as the bus continues on to the base.

35 Years Earlier  1981

In a government funded lab on the naval base, Jacksonville (JAX), two elderly scientists and the young PhD student Ralph Smathers anxiously await the results of an experiment.

Silence is so heavy in the room it’s haunting. Each person in the room scans their watches even though only seconds have passed.

In one of the walls, at countertop level, is a stainless steel door that leads to a small chamber. The content of this chamber is the focus of these three men.

Ralph, being the the most junior in the room is primarily an observer. The two older scientists disagree. The two older scientists have been at this project for years without advancement. They resisted when the program call for an apprentice. They soon learned that a fresh look from another perspective was all it took to advance that project to become a working model.

“Six,” one scientist announces.

“Five, Four, Three,’” he continues.

“Two, One.”

An alarm sounds and red light appears over the door. Soon the light turns green.

One of the scientists reaches for the handle of the door. They look at each other in anticipation.

The door is opened and inside is a white lab mouse.

The mouse is placed under a scope used for detecting radiation. Next to that scope is an identical scope with another mouse that did not come from the chamber.

Radiation is measured from the two mice and the readings are different.

Without a word, excitement fills the air.

One of the scientist performs a quick calculation … “3 minutes!”

They all celebrate.

Two Years Later 1983

Petty officer Eric Jensen is preparing for long deserved weekend away. He’s been stationed on a ship out of Mayport Florida for almost a year and yet, with the exception of his arrival, he’s never been to Jacksonville. His plans are to find some low rent motel near the center of the city and see what there is. Like many sailors stationed on board ships, he does not own a car, nor does he want one. He has seen many times where his shipmates purchase a car and suddenly the are bumming money to get by. This is not because of the car but opportunities the car provides. Before long these sailors have apartments, girlfriends, and bills that they otherwise would not have. Without the luxury of a car Eric must rely on public transportation. He packs a small duffel bag with enough clothing for an overnight stay, then leaves the ships for the bus stop.

Eric is no stranger to riding the bus. He knows that to ride a bus you must have exact change so he loaded up with many denominations of small bills and coins.

He is wearing a typical outfit of the early 80’s, a green and yellow, horizontal striped polo shirt, tight fit designer jeans that have stitching on the back pockets as well as tapered legs, and bright white Puma running shoes.

He takes a seat at the bus stop while a person in similar dress sits at the other end of the bench. He is carrying a an over sized portable cassette deck with speakers large enough to stage a concert. Fortunately he is respectful of others and the volume is kept to a minimal level. ‘Who Can it be Now?’ by the pop group Men at Work is playing, then followed by ‘Stray Cat Strut’ by the Stray Cats.

The two sit in silence as the bus works it’s way to the bus stop. A release of air is heard as the driver applies the brakes. The door open and they take random seats on the almost empty bus. The bus continues around the base as other sailors take their place. Eric is sitting directly behind the driver’s seat as the bus makes its stops at the guard station while exiting the base. The shore patrol make a random visual check to make sure sailors are not smuggling contraband off the base. Eric looks out the window and notes the security camera on the guard station is at his level and coincidentally pointed directly at him. The bus continues off the base making stops at civilian bus stops along the way to Jacksonville.

2016

Petty Officer Jensen is escorted off the bus by the shore patrol. They pass by security cameras and metal detectors as they enter the guard station. Eric is confused at the changes from just two days ago. He did not remember there being jersey barriers staggered along the entrance.  

Some of the uniforms are different as well. The uniforms are a lighter, more pale green than the should be. Eric thinks that they must be from a different branch of service.

The level of security seems to be enhanced. The seriousness of the attitude seems almost paranoid. Everybody appears to be in a heightened stage of alert.

“What going on?” Eric asks the shore patrol.

“We’re not sure,” he replies in a harsh tone, “but we can’t take any chances., and until we get to the bottom of this you’ll be staying with us.”

“If I don’t show up for muster, I’m going to be U A!” he tells them as he is escorted into a holding cell and told to place his duffel bag on the counter.

Once the door in closed and Eric is firmly locked inside, the shore patrol begins rifling through his bag.

“Hey!” Eric yells out of the holding cell, “What are you doing?”

“We’re checking for weapons,” he answers and continues, “now sit down and shut up.”

“This is not right!” Eric yells through the door, “I have done nothing wrong. Yesterday morning I left here like any other Saturday. I come back the next day to return the ship and you’re giving me a load of crap for it.”

“No weapon here,” the shore patrol announces.

“What do you mean yesterday being Saturday?” the shore patrol reacts harshly, “Yesterday was Wednesday. What day do you think it is?”

“Sunday, 4-Sep-83,” Eric replies.

“For your information,” the shore patrol mentions to Eric, “today is Wednesday, 21-jun-16.”

Eric sits in silent confusion.

“Petty Officer Smith,” the shore patrol summons a junior shore patrol, “Contact the Command Duty Officer.”

1981 - 35 Years Earlier

PhD student/apprentices Ralph Smathers and his two older co-workers jubilantly celebrate. One of the older scientist hands Ralph a cigar.

“Are you suggesting that we smoke in the lab?” asks Smathers.

“Heavens no… We’ll contaminate the entire lab. What do you think this is, a movie?”

“Then what are we to do with the cigars?”

“Take it out in the hallway like everybody else.”

The other old scientist says, “Perhaps we should offer Barney a cigar,” as he points to the mouse in a cage.

“Can you believe that? We’re looking at the first known time traveler.”

Ralph ask the other two scientist, “Explain the isotope again.”

“Seaborgium-226 has a half-life of 30 seconds. That means that if we inject that into the mouse, every 30 seconds the amount of radiation measured will be ½ of what it was to begin with. We injected two mice at the same time. We sent Barney on a little trip. If he did not travel in time, the two mice would have the same level of radiation after the experiment. When barney came back from his little journey, he had six times the radiation of the other mouse. That means that Barney stood still in time while the other mouse ages an additional 3 minutes. That makes Barney the first time traveler, and we made that happen.”

The three scientist continue to celebrate. Ralph is in awe at the thought of his contribution to the project. The two older scientists were continually running into roadblocks. Ralph knew this and did not want to tell two very experienced scientist how to do their jobs but he had something that the other two did not have, a fresh new perspective to an old problem. The older two kept getting hung up on old ways of thinking. Ralph knew how to performing similar equations using a backwards logic. The two older scientist were too stuck in their ways to see the alternative.

Ralph gingerly approached the subject as if presenting it to a child. He could see in their facial expressions that he had their interest. As he continued one of the older scientist  jump in and finished Ralph’s sentence as if he thought of the idea himself.

Since the introduction of the new perspective the lab has had the atmosphere of a hopeful new solution to an old virtue.

Two Years Later 3-Sep-1983

The weather looks promising for a long weekend. The bus stops to pick up civilians on the way to Jacksonville. There is an advertisement for the new show ‘Miami Vice’. The advertisement shows Don Johnson in a very white sport coat, collared shirt, unbuttoned at the top and no tie. This seems to be a new trend in fashion because on the bus there are three others wearing similar outfits.

This is Eric’s first time to Jacksonville. He’s not sure what he’s going to do when he gets there, but he knows that he won’t be on the ship. He didn’t tell anybody where he was going. After all this is just a weekend outing to the city.

This is a common weekend for many sailors that live on a ship. When not on duty, their weekends are free, however, if they are on ship and not on duty, they’ll often get called to duty just because they are available. To avoid being called to duty on their OFF weekends they will take a trip anywhere just to get off the ship, thus making themselves unavailable.

The bus enters an expressway. To the horizon appears to be a thick blanket of green as he looks across the canopy of trees. Looking forward through the windshield of the bus Eric sees the silhouette of the city towering over the lush evergreens.

Before long the city is upon them and Eric begins looking for a suitable, yet, affordable place to stay. Eric is not into pampering himself and is quite fine with staying at some low rent place despite the threat of a bad neighborhood.

The bus lumbers through the business district. Hotels are available but Eric can tell they are way out of his price range.  The bus continues along as passengers board and depart the bus. By the declining quality of fashions of the passengers, Eric can tell that the bus is destine for place that are more in his price range.

Soon the bus is passing through an urban area where he see a motel sign the read, ‘Sleazy 8 Motel’.

“Perfect!” he thinks to himself.

He gets off the bus at the next stop and doubles back a few blocks to the motel.

He pulls $40 out of his pocket and tells the clerk that he’d like a room. The room however, is $39.99 plus tax. Eric does not have enough. The clerk tells him that they do not accept checks.

Eric know that the Naval Station Jacksonville (JAX) is near and that he can cash a check there. He finds a bus stop for JAX and awaits arrival of the bus.

2016 - 33 Years Later

Eric has now been detained overnight and he has no idea why. His biggest concern is that he’ll be marked UA (Unauthorized Absences) when he does not show up for roll call on his ship.

“Attention On Deck!” is announce by one of the shore patrol in the reception office.

A shore patrol approaches and unlock the cell door. Two senior officers, a Captain and a Commander enter the cell. Eric jumps to attention.

“At ease sailor.”

Eric takes a ‘parade rest’ stance.

“I am Captain McCall, the commanding officer here at NAS Mayport, and this is my chief security officer Commander Baseman. Tell us what you think is going on.”

“Yesterday, I left the base for a weekend away from the ship. When I returned, or should I say, tried to return, the shore patrol will not let be on the base to return to my ship. Sir, if I don’t get back to my ship they’ll mark me as UA. I really need to get back to my ship before I get in trouble.”

“Master at arms, Is that correct?”

“Yes sir. He tried accessing the base using this ID,” the shore patrol hands the security chief the identification card.

The two senior officer review the card closely.

“This card appears to be a valid ID card. There’s just one problem. It’s 33 years old.”

“Sir?” the shore patrol interjects, “I believe this man is an impostor and him and his dad look alike and that ID card is actually his dad’s from 33 years ago, and he’s trying to access the base using that card.”

“That is an interesting theory.”

“Who’s the President?”

“Ronald Reagan.”

“What ship are are you stationed on?”

“The USS Samuel Eliot Morison, FFG-13”

Who is your commanding officer?”

“Captain Larry J. Andrews.”

The security chief thinks for a moment then asks, “Where is the base commissary?”

“ It’s across from the post office, near the gym.”

“Sir,” the security chief directs to the commanding officer, “Prior to 1995 the commissary was on base across from the post office. For the last 21 years the commissary has been off base.”

“Let’s try one more thing,” the commanding officer states, “Put your signature on this piece of paper.”

The security chief hold the signed paper next to the ID, “It’s an exact match.”

“Well congratulation Petty Officer Eric Jensen.” announces the Commanding Officer, “You’re going to get access to the base, only you’ll be restricted to the base detention center until we can get to the bottom of this.”

“Sir, can you send word to my ship so I will not get in trouble?”

“Petty Officer Jensen, The USS Samuel Eliot Morison has been decommissioned for about eight or nine years.”

Eric is more confused than ever.

“Master at Arms,” summons the security chief, “Take this man to the detention center. Give him a meal pass and a couple changes of clothes.”

“Yes sir!”

As the two senior officers leave Eric overhears the commanding officers telling the security chief to find out everything he can on Petty Officer Eric Jensen.

Two marines show up with a base van. Eric is escorted into the van by the shore patrol and the two marines.

Eric is driven to a compound on the base that is a building surrounded by a high barbed wire fence. Eric is taken inside and checked in.

3-Sep-1983 JAX

Eric is frustrated that the Sleezy 8 Motel charges $40 a night only to find out that all of the surrounding motels charge the same rate. Eric is just arriving at the guard station at the Jacksonville Naval Base. The shore patrol boards the bus checking IDs. Eric displays his ID and the shore patrol continues through the bus. Once the IDs have been check the bus makes its way on to the base. When the bus arrives at the BX (Base Exchange) Eric exits the bus and walks towards the building.

The BX is nothing more than a tax free, non-profit grocery/department store, where military personnel and their dependents can shop at a reduced rate. The BX also offers services that otherwise difficult to obtain like weekend banking, and tax free alcohol.

Eric decides to purchase a small bag of chips then write a check for over the amount to get cash back. This is a relatively new concept and to Eric’s knowledge the BX is the only place that provides this service.

Eric enters the line to the check stand and is followed by an elderly gentleman. From the tabloids Eric reads, “MAN TRAVEL BACK IN TIME TO MURDER HIS WIFE!”

Eric gives out a little laugh then mentions to elderly man behind him, “Not that I’d want to murder somebody, but I’d give anything to travel in time.”

“Watch what you wish for,” the elderly man responds, “Time travel may be just around the corner.”

“I’d still give anything.”

“Kary Mullis just accomplished a feat first thought to be unobtainable,” the man continues, “She created a process called Polymerase Chain Reaction. In short it allows DNA to be copied even if the sequence ranges in the millions.”

Eric has no idea what he’s talking about.

“This will make cloning possible. If that can be accomplished, Who’s to say time travel isn’t right around the corner?”

“You say that is if you know that it has not been accomplished yet.”

“You are very observant.”

“If you were offered to be the first time traveler would you do it?”

“In a heartbeat!”

2016 Mayport Detention Center

For the remainder of the day Eric has had a relatively light day. He has had free rain access of the court yard, the detention centers mess hall, and library. He was given BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform) unlike he has ever seen before. The uniforms were not like the solid green uniform of the Navy CBs (Construction Battalion), or the dark green jungle camouflage uniform of the Marines, these BDUs are more like what would be used in desert combat.

There’s something different about the other sailors. Among the overheard scuttlebutt (gossip) there was no mention of fighting those communist b*****d Russian. Their focus seems to be fighting Ahab the Arab and other such names. Many of these people appear to be insane talking about firefights in the front lines.

Normally Eric has no problem jumping right into a conversation, but he can not relate to anything these guys are saying.

They also all have some sort of pocket devices that have their attention. Many of them stare at this device for hours as if being entertained by it. The receptionist have some sort of computer screen that is flat not boxy like a TV, but then TVs were not like TVs either. They were also flat and hung on the wall.

Night time comes and he is assigned a bunk and locker. As he sleeps Eric dreams of vividly of traveling through space at great speed. And soon he is awakened by the call of reveille.

After breakfast an announcement is made over the 1MC (public address system), “Petty Officer Jensen to the conference room.”

Eric walks into the room and his heart skips a beat. Upon seeing the base commanding officer Eric snaps to attention, “Sir.”

The commanding officer is accompanied by the security chief and two federal agents.

“Take a seat Petty Officer Jensen.”

“Yes Sir.”

After introductions are made they get down to business.

“Petty Officer Jensen, before we begin we want to hear step by step, everything you remember from 3-Sep-83 until now.”

“ You mean yesterday? I had breakfast on the ship like any other Saturday. After breakfast I went to the berthing compartment to change my clothes before going on liberty for the weekend. This was to be a one night in Jacksonville then returning yesterday, which I did. Only I couldn’t get back on the base because the entire world seemed to have changed overnight and my ID is no longer valid.”

“Go back to when you left the ship.”

“I left the ship about zero eight hundred and walked to the bus stop. While at the bus stop another sailor sat down and the song ‘Who Can It Be Now?’ by the new group Men at Work was playing. The bus came around. We all got on the bus, left the base and headed for Jacksonville.”

There is a long pause.

“What is it?” one of the agents asks.

“I don’t remember staying in Jacksonville. Where was I?”

There is another pause.

“The next thing I remember is being on the bus and the driver announcing that Mayport is ahead and that we need to get out our IDs.”

“Think hard Petty Officer Jensen. We need to know what happened between the bus ride off the base and the bus ride returning to base.”

“It’s blank. I swear I… I can’t remember a thing.”

“Here is what we know,” one of the agents says while opening a laptop.

A screen on the wall lights up as if connected to the laptop. Eric is amazed and confused.

“You left the base 33 years ago.”

An image appears on the screen of Eric on the bus wearing the same green a yellow horizontal shirt that he was wearing when he returned the the base.

“You were never seen again… well.. until yesterday.”

Naval investigation reports are shown on the screen.

“When you did not return, you were reported UA, then AWAL, then missing.”

Eric is without words.

“Somehow,” he continues, “And this is the most baffling part. In 33 years, you did not age.”

JAX 3-Sep-83

The older gentleman that Eric met at the check stand is actually one of the older scientist. The older gentleman offered to give Eric a tour of the lab. Although this was not authorized, there was nobody there to enforce it.

They walk into the main lab where his two colleagues are busy performing algorithms.

“Hey guys!” the older gentleman announces to his colleagues, “This is Eric Jensen and he said that he’d give anything to travel through time.”

“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” replies a colleague.

The younger scientist is in a state of disbelief at the suggestion of using a person as a guinea pig.

“We all know without a doubt that it works. We’ve been doing this for almost 3 years now. We have approval to use a chimpanzee. Why not just skip a step and go directly to a human?”

“What are you talking about?” asks Eric to the group.

“Time travel!” the old gentleman says in a luring way.

“Over the past 3 years we’ve been on a quest for time travel. Actually it’s slowing time down. You see, as an object approaches the speed of light, time slows down. Thanks to President Reagan’s unlimited budget for research we have figured out how to slow down time.”

“Are you serious?” Eric asks in astonishment.

“”Yes. We have created a device that accelerates upon itself until it reaches the speed of light… or at least close to it. The objects that come back are younger than the object that were left behind.”

“How can you tell if they are younger?”

“We inject a harmless radioactive isotope and measure its decay relative to an object of equal mass.” the scientist continues, “We have performed this for the last 3 years on everything for mice to rabbits with great success. We are now approved to send a chimpanzee.” the scientist states to Eric, “How would you like to trade places with the chimpanzee and be the first ever time traveler?”

“When will I come back?”

“Two minutes… and we’ll have to give you a mild anesthetic to put you out for the journey.”

“I’ll do it!” Eric replies.

2016 Approximately One Month  After Returning to Base

A month has passed. Eric is found to not be a threat, yet the commander of the base can not release him until they get to the bottom of what happened to him. Being that he is still a Navy petty officer he was assigned orders to the Mayport base as a Mess Inspector. his job is to inspect the base’s mess hall for health and cleanliness. It’s not a very glamorous job but it’s job. He is free to roam the base at will, however, he is advised not to leave.

Technology over the past 33 years has advanced so much that Eric is having difficulty grasping the concepts of household computers, laptops, debit cards, and cell phones.

Three weeks ago Eric was randomly shopping at the BX. He was there with the sole purpose of relieving boredom. A young, very attractive, Norwegian woman working behind the check stand ignored the come-ons from other sailors and made her way through the crowd to Eric side. Eric did not understand. As  irresistible as she was, he was not making a move on her. Others were, yet she sought him out as if with a purpose and introduced herself as Marit Bjork.

Eric and Marit over the past three weeks have befriended each other.

Today is Saturday. Eric and Marit are sitting on a park bench near the base golf course.

“It’s more like a pocket computer than a cell phone.” she tells him. “There’s no keyboard unless you want to key in particular words.”

“I can’t even make a typewriter work much less something as complex as this.”

“Don’t worry. Your doing great.”

“You’ve been telling me that for three weeks now.” he tells her, “Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful. It’s just that the entire time we’ve known each other you’ve been working very hard to catch me up with events or technology that I’ve missed over the past 33 years.”

“That is my mission…. I mean that’s what I enjoy doing…. helping you adapt to life in 2016.”

“I appreciate it.” he tells her then follow up with, “can we do something different?”

“Sure, What would you like to do?”

“How about taking a stroll along the beach?” he mentions, “We can watch the ships come and go from the harbor.”

“That sounds like fun,” she enthusiastically replies.

Eric is having difficulty reading her motives. She is so attractive… Something is not right.

3-Sep-1983 JAX Lab

Three scientist vary very distort. The light above the chamber door is staying red. That tells them that Eric has not returned. They have performed this about 40 times without error. This time is different.

“Oh my god. What have we done?”

“Let’s give it a little more time.”

“What could have happened?”

“I don’t believe it. It’s worked every time for the past three years!”

They nervously pace the floor while checking and rechecking their calculations.

“This is bad… Real bad.”

“Does anyone know that he was here?”

“To the lab, no!” the older scientist affirms, “he was just a passer-by in the checkstand that was interested in traveling through time.”

“ Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“He’s got to come back… he just gotta!”

“What are we going to do?”

“What are our options? We can go to jail for the rest of our lives or we can live with our conscience forever… Which is worse?”

“We’re not bad people.”

“If we go to jail, all of this is over. If we don’t go to jail we can continue working on a solution. For all we know, he has reached critical mass and time has stopped for him. If we can find him, bring him back, it will be instantaneous. From his perspective, no time will have passed. “

“He’s has to come back...Please come back…..”

10 years later the older scientist dies taking his secret to the grave, “For what I have done may God have mercy on my soul.” are his dying words.

2016 Mayport

Eric’s morning routine is interrupted by a phone call from the base commander’s office. Most people would be terrified by such a call, but to Eric it may be clues to the last 33 years.

En route to the commander’s office he sees Marit he tells her of the call from the commander’s office.

“My I come with you?” She asks.

“Fine by me,” he tells her as they begin walking,  I hope that they have some news as to what’s going on.”

“Me too.”

Before long they are at the receptionist desk.

“Petty Officer Eric Jensen to see the CO,” he informs the receptionist.

“You may enter. They are expecting you.” she tells Eric then points to Marit, “You will have to stay here.”

“That’s okay,” she tells Eric, “Just let me know what happens.”

Eric enters the commander’s office, salutes the commander officer and awaits a reply.

“At ease Petty Officer Jensen. Please, take a seat.”

Eric sits in a chair facing the desk.

“We have a lead.”

“That’s great!”

The FBI agent begins speaking, “We’ve discovered that the day of your disappearance, you cashed a check at NAS JAX. Does that sound familiar?”

“No sir. That doesn’t ring a bell.”

“How can that be? For you that was the day before you arrived to the base. How can you not remember cashing a check yesterday?”

“I swear I’m telling the truth. I do not remember cashing a check.”

“I suggest we jog your memory,” continues the agent. “With the CO’s permission I’d like to take him to NAS Jax and see what developed.”

“That’s fine by me,” replies the commanding officer.

“Good, let’s take a ride.”

“I have a friend in the lobby. Can she come along?”

“I don’t see why not...Sure.”

They drive for about an hour. During the drive Eric is seeing the same trip that he took last month yet everything has changed by 33 years. This is the first time he has left the base since his return.

“Agent , do you have any problem with lifting restriction to the base? It’s been a long time and it’s obvious that I’m not a flight risk. after all where would I go?”

“I don’t have a problem. I’ll mention it to the CO when we return.”

“Thanks you.”

They reach the base and the guard salutes agent and allows them the pass.

“Start looking around. Let me know if anything stirs a memory.”

“Yes sir.”

They drive the the BX where the check was cashed and enter the store. A lot has changed is 33 years but the agent is hopeful.

****

55 year old Dr. Ralph Smathers stocks up on supplies then proceeds to the BX checkstand before heading back to the lab.

He looks across the isles and from shock and he drops his groceries. He can not believe what he’s seeing. He is looking at a face that has haunted him for his entire adult life. Of the three scientists he is the only one left alive. His former colleagues went to their grave with a very dark secret. Here Dr. Smathers has a chance to redeem himself and free his conscience. He hopes that this is the same person that he sent into space 33 years ago. Without revealing himself, Dr Smather approaches Eric to see if there is a reaction. As Dr. Smathers pretends to walk by him, he gives Eric eye contact and a nod. Eric does not react but the FBI agent took note of the nod and stopped Dr. Smathers.

“Excuse me sir,” summoned the agent.

“Yes?” Dr. Smathers answers while turning to face him.

“I noticed that you gave him a nod…. Do you know him?”

Dr. Smathers looks at Eric more deeply hoping for a reaction from Eric, “He looks like somebody I met a long time ago.”

Eric does not react.

“How long ago?” the agent questions.

“33 year ago. Why do you ask?”

“I am FBI agent and we’re investigating disappearance that took place 33 years ago.”

“I am Dr. Ralph Smathers. I run the biolab her on the base.” Dr. Smathers replies followed by, “What would he have to do with a disappearance 33 years ago? He looks to be in his early 20s.”

“We’re not sure but we’de like you to tell us everything that you remember about this… the person that he reminds you of.”

Speaking with an FBI agent changes things for Dr. Smathers. He should go to jail for what he has done, but right now all he can focus on is redemption and only Eric can do that. He must get Eric alone.

“It was a long, long time ago. We were at a checkstand similar to this one and one of the tabloids mentioned something to the effect of time travel and this young man… or should I say that young man that he reminds me of, said to me that he’d give anything to be able to travel through time. I don’t remember my reaction exactly but it was something like watch what you wish for. You may get it.”

Dr. Smathers clears his throat then continues, “after that we went through the check stand and went on our way,” he lied.

“Well Dr. Smathers.” the agent states, “thank you very much. You’ve been very helpful. Do you have a card so we may contact you in the future?”

“I don’t have one on me but I’m in charge of  the biolab here on the base. You’re more than welcome to come by and I’ll give you a card from there. Oh and where can I contact you should something come to mind?”

“We can get your information from the base files. Here’s my card we’re at NAS Mayport.”

2016 Mayport

Now that Eric has full liberty privileges, he is able to leave the base. One day after work, he and Marit decide to take a walk along Jax Beach, near Ponte Vedra.

From a distance Eric can see the Sea Turtle Hotel, “Well that hasn’t changed.”

“How are you coping with 2016?” Marit asks Eric.

“It’s tough. Many of these people grew up in this technology… Everybody seems to be able to naturally type on a keyboard for example.”

She takes a hold of his hand.

“For me,” he continues, “a month ago only secretaries knew how to type.”

“That must be hard,” she sympathises.

“Look at that.” he remarks, “even little kids can operate a phone.”

“You’ll get there,” she encourages.

He thinks about how helpful and compassionate Marit is, and yet when they met, she practically walked through the whole store to get to me. Why? She walked past many other sailors that were all trying their hardest to get her attention, and yet, I was not trying to get her attention and she sought me out of the crowd. She is the prettiest girl/woman I’ve ever met and she encourages me with everything I do. He is becoming suspicious of her motives. This does not happen to normal guys like me. Guys generally have to work much harder to get a girl of his caliber.

“Why are you so good to me?” he asks her.

“I like helping people. It makes me feel good…. This is my most enjoyable assignments yet.”

“Assignment?”

“Oh..a..” Marit stumbles, “I, that is, consider you and assignment. You need someone to guide  you in 2016. And I need someone to guide,” she recovers.

“I guess so.” he replies, “Thank you then for assigning yourself to me.”

Eric cautiously accepts her answer.

2016 Mayport

Dr. Smathers sits at a park bench near the Mayport base golf course. He has become a regular at this for his off hours are consumed with finding Eric. Daylight hours he waits and watches. He knows that most of the traffic entering the base passes this point before viering off into individual directions. The sticker on his car for JAX allows him access on most military installations. He knows that this is somewhat abusing his privileges but he not breaking any rules by accessing another base and sitting on a park bench. Day after day he looks forward to dusk so he may go home. If Eric is going to be seen by him, it’s going to be during daylight hours.

One evening before heading home he decides to make a pit stop at the Mayport BX to pick up snacks for the ride home.

Immediately upon enter the BX he sees her, the most beautiful girl/woman he’s seen in his life. He is not attracted to her romantically because he’s 55 years old and she could be his daughter. He can, however, take note of her radiant beauty. He has seen her before and recently, but where?

He gathers his supplies then enters the checkstand where she is working.

She recognizes him, “I know you.” she tells him, “You’re the doctor that we saw last week in Jacksonville.”

He remembers where he saw her. “You were with an FBI agent and another young man, weren’t you?”

“Yes, that right.”

“Do you work at Mayport as well?”

Dr. Smathers know there’s no time for small talk so he tells her honestly what he doing, “I must be honest, I’m here to find that young man that you were with.”

“Eric?”

“Yes, that’s right! That was his name.”

“Was?”

“I’m sorry… that IS his name.”

“I have very important news for him. I must see him without the FBI agent.”

“I get off in 30 minutes. I’ll call him.”

“Wonderful!” he replies.

Marit calls Eric and arranges to meet at an outdoor pavilion near the beach. Dr. Smathers returns to his car and drives to the pavilion while Marit and Eric begin walking from their own location. They all arrived about the same time.

“Ahhh, Eric.” Dr. Smathers begins, “I am Ralph Smather. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me without the FBI agent. You will understand when you hear what I have to say.”

Eric, Marit and Dr. Smathers, take seats in the pavilion.

“We did meet a long time ago. It was not me that you met in the BX that day in Jacksonville, it was my colleague. He told us, over the years, every little detail in hope that we can learn your identity and possibly redeem what we have done.”

Eric and Marit have become very intrigued.

“You mentioned that you would give anything to travel in time.”

“That sounds like something I’d say.” Eric comes back with.

“Back in the cold war, government funded research was the cat’s meow. If you were in a government funded lab, you could requisition anything that you wanted and the government supplied it without question.”

Dr. Smathers shifts in his seat. “Our mission was time travel. For close to three years before you arrived we had been sending every kind of rodent out to space at the speed of light and successfully returning to its place of origin.”

Both Eric and Marit are riveted to what the doctor is telling them.

“I was just a young PhD student when I started at the lab. We could confidently send an object, or a mammal, out to space at the speed of light thus slowing time down and having it return with very minimal aging. “

Marit begins to say something but is cut off by Dr Smathers continuing. “We knew without a doubt when these objects were returning.”

“So..” Marit interjects, “YOU made these object return?”

Eric and Dr. Smathers looks to Marit wondering why she would ask that.

“Who else caused it?”

“Oh nothing. I don’t know why I said that.”

“We had authorization to send a chimpanzee and had a chamber built large enough to handle a 100 Kg (220Lbs) object. Just before sending the chimp out you came along saying the you’d give anything to travel in time. I remember this like it was yesterday… We asked you if you’d like to be the first time traveler. You then asked how long would it take. My colleague said three minutes. and you said ‘I’ll do it.’ You were excited about it.”

With the information being told to Eric and Marit, the sounds of the waves on the shore and the seagull squawking was non existent.

“Just before entering the chamber, we gave you anesthetic for the ride. then...”

“That’s why you couldn’t remember cashing the check!” Marit blurts out. “the anesthetic!”

Eric and Dr. Smathers, once again are question where Marit is coming up with these thoughts.

“We performed the launch as we have done a hundred time before….. Only you didn’t come back.”

A revelation came over Marit and she gasp as if to know more than she’s revealing.

“That day has haunted us the rest of our lives. One of my comrades dying words were ‘For what I have done, may God have mercy on my soul’.”

“When I saw you last week, I felt great relief and shock at the same time.”

“I have sought you out for the purpose of asking...no begging, your forgiveness for what we have done.”

Eric is in awe. He is still trying to digest this new information.

Marit shifts uncomfortably in her seat as if to say something.

Both Eric and Dr. Smathers notices her behavior.

“Marit, Are you okay?” Eric asks.

“We’ll.. a before you answer that… I have something I should add…”

She struggles a little, “I may know why you didn’t come back.” she says with a ‘forgive me smile’.

2016 Revelation

Marit is speaking:

“I will try to explain in a way so you may, or may not, understand. Keep in mind that without a common point of reference this may be difficult.”

Now Eric and Dr. Smathers are intrigued.

“I am human, but I was not born. I was created the day that you came back to Earth. The human body that I occupy was dead and the energy that I possess was inserted in order for me to become your so called “guardian angel”. It is my job to see that you adapt to your new future.”

”This is beginning to sound like science fiction,” Dr. Smather notes.

“Science yes, fiction no.”

Eric and Dr Smathers give each other a questioning glance.

“To proceed,” she continues. “I need to give you a little background. Energy exist everywhere. Energy also exist at different speeds. Ultimate energy exist at the speed of light where time slows to a halt.”

Marit tries to read into Eric’s and Dr. Smathers’ comprehension by their body language.

“Forms of energy.” electricity and radio waves, to name a few, travels at the speed of light.”

She is debating how to present this next part.

“This next part you’ll just have to accept as truth. At the speed of light, exist ALL that governs the cosmos.”

Dr. Smathers have been on this mindset for years but could never prove it.

“Yours scientist were right. Energy can not be destroyed, only transformed into other forms of energy. When things die their energy is released into a different form. Religions call this existence heaven or hell or the afterlife. A soul’s energy is released and intertwines with all other existing energy. In a way I can not explain because there is no point of reference, the combined energy has a conscientiousness that dictates ALL of life.”

She swallows hard hoping not to offend anybody, “Some call this physics. Some will call this God. Whatever it’s called, It exist at the speed of light.”

“Energy” she continues, “has different levels of consciousness. Plants, tree, bushes have almost no consciousness yet they know where the sun is and what the season is. Animals have the next level, instinctiveness, humans have the next level, a cognitive level, and the next level exist at the speed of light. This level is beyond human comprehension. This is where emotions come from like love, hate, hope, fear and so on. Religions use metaphors in an attempt to explain this level, however, it’s is beyond human comprehension just as a dog can not comprehend math.”

Marit nods to Dr. Smathers.

“You and your colleagues sent instinctive life forms to the threshold of time and light. WE sent them back. Then you sent a cognitive life form.” she nods to Eric, “and some decisions had to be made.”

She takes a deep breath. “Imagine if animal became cognitive. Humans would become extinct. That is the same dilemma as cognitive life form understanding the next level. ALL of life would become extinct.”

She takes another deep breath and looks to Eric.

“The sedation was you only saving grace. By you being sedated with anesthetic you were completely unaware of your surroundings. Time from your perspective had slowed down so much, 33 years had passes before your sedation wore off and we could sent you back.”

Marit stands up and paces as she talks.

“By that time,” she continues, “you were on the bus heading back to Mayport.”

She sits next to Eric and take his hand in hers, “We didn’t sent you back because projecting matter faster than light, to reverse time travel, have unpredictable results.”

Eric and Dr. Smathers are speechless.

“We can try to send you back, but you may not survive. If you DO survive, you will become the first ever time traveler and you will not remember anything forward of when you left in 1983.”

“The first ever time traveler?”

“The first ever.”

“I’ll do it.”

1983 JAX LAB

Apprentice/Student Ralph Smathers and his two colleagues anxiously await the results of their latest experiment - sending a human into space at the speed of light in order to slow down time.

The light above the chamber from which the subject was placed is out. The three men scan their watches then look back to the light above the chamber as if checking their watches will speed up the process.

Each in their own way flash upon the consequences of their actions then quickly and deliberately think of positive results. They know that if this does not work they will be sending a man to his death.

The system begins to hum and the scientist feel better for that means that the system is performing as expected.

They look to one another without saying a word. They don’t need to. They are all thinking the same thoughts. ‘If this works, it will open the door for so many applications.’

Anxiety is slightly relieved as the red light illuminates over the chamber door. When the light comes on the scientist look to each other with anticipation of successful results.

Again, they each glance at their watches.

After what feels like an eternity, the red light turns green. Slowly and cautiously the chamber door is opened. Eric is fastened to a chair still unconscious from the sedation.  Something about him doesn’t look right. His skin is a pale gray color.

The scientist quickly remove him from the chamber and lay him out on the table. Ralph Smathers quickly jump under a scope for radiation comparison while one doctor test Eric for his radiation level. The other scientist scrambles to find out what is wrong with Eric.

After a quick calculation, “They have the same levels…. He did not reach critical mass.”

All three are now vest in Eric’s well being.

“His pulse is weak,” announces one of the scientists.

“His breathing is weak also…. Ralph, get the oxygen over here quickly.”

They quickly rig a mask to an oxygen line and hold it to his face. Soon his pulse and breathing strengthen. His eyes open and everybody in relieved. The experiment was a failure.

1983 Aftermath

After an hour Eric is feeling as though he has just woken from a long nap. The scientists tell him that the experiment did not work. The radiation levels were the same for both subjects which indicates that the same amount of time had passed for each of them.

Although Eric feels for their disappointment, he needs to get back to the Sleazy 8 Motel before the sun goes down.

He leaves the lab and thanks them for the opportunity to be the first time traveler, and wishes them luck on reaching their goal.

He runs to the bus with just enough time. He has the feeling of coming out of a vivid dream but it’s just out of reach of his consciousness. He want to get back into his dream but he doesn’t know why. The bus has way too many stops so he doesn’t go to sleep in fear that he’ll miss his exit.

Ahead in the distance is the Sleazy 8 motel sign in the glaring afternoon sun.

Stepping off of the bus there does not seem to be the enthusiasm for this weekend as he had when he arrived this morning.

Eric continues to the motel’s office as more of a mechanical effort than for a desirable outcome.

Despite what his intuitions are telling him, he feels that his future is at stake so enters the office door.

The office is empty. He ring the bell and waits….. and waits…. and waits some more.  He know that there is one last bus he can take back to the base should this not work out. He is confused at the time that he has to wait.

“That’s it… I’m going back.”

The last bus arrives and he takes a seat. “That was ridiculous having to wait that long!” he thinks to himself.

The bus stops at the next stop. Eric looks up just in time to see the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life. The bus is almost full and she takes a seat next to Eric.

He resists the awkwardness and introduces himself, “Hi, I’m Eric.”

She looks back to him and he feels himself melting in the seat, “Hello, I am Marit Bjork.”

33 Years Later JAX

55 year old Dr. Ralph Smathers leaves his lab for the BX. He is planning to grab some snacks for the ride home.

This is a day like any other, until he saw a familiar face. The boy in his sight has him captivated but he doesn’t know why. The boy can’t be more than 15 or 16 years old. There is something very familiar about this boy.

A slightly younger girl approaches the boy as if to be siblings. The girl has strong Scandinavian features and also has his full attention. For fear of what it must look like, Dr. Smather forces himself to look away.

‘Why do these children have my attention?’ he thinks to himself.

Soon the parents catch up with the children. Dr. Smathers knows the father, but from where.

He follows them outside then it comes to him just as the father turns around and make eye contact.

In a curious way that father asks, “Do I know you?”

“Yes! Yes you do know me. And.. And I know you…. you are First Ever Time Traveler.”

Author's Note

Critiques are welcome, but please have mercy, for my dyslexic brain often leave undesirable results in my writings.

Reviews

[Stephen Brayton]

One helluva tale; kept me reading.
Present tense narration works here; not so much in some of your other stories.
Steve

[Dave Potter]

Thanks for the review. Advice is welcome.