A Glint In Time (History and Time) (7 page)

"Yeah, it says here that the engineers wanted time for more tests, but that Joe Junior pressed to go ahead with the mission. He flew a couple of practice missions with dummy cargo, but never with a cargo containing the detonator system."

Ted pressed the conversation in a different direction. "So how does Joe Junior's survival impact on his brother's death and the Vietnam war?" he asked.

"I don't know yet." Bill replied. We need to pull on every scenario string to see where it leads. We can work in parallel. We'll work from the situation you established and move forward. We need to understand the impact. In the meanwhile, let's all think about the problem of how to keep Joe Junior alive."

The four Americans returned to the computer room, sat in their chairs, and donned headsets. Bill had just finished an initial examination of the scenario when a electronic alarms began beeping on every console. "What have we got?" Bill asked.The question was aimed at both Ted and at the Russian computer technician who had entered through a side door when the alarms went off.

Ted answered first, "The Russian maintenance guys say that their maintenance system is reporting a high temperature on every CPU. It look like a loss of system cooling. We've got to initiate a shut down."

"Do we have everything backed up?" Bill asked automatically.

"Yup, we're in fine shape." he said over the interphone. Then more loudly for the technician, "Take the systems down now!"

"Well," Bill said. "It must be a sign. Let's take a break. A good long break."

TIME OUT

August 23, 1995
Siladen Island, Indonesia

Excerpt from the Personal Narrative
of Brigadier General Ted Arthurs

Recorded May 2006
CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL
/
TA

"I
was planning on a way to use their helicopter as an asset."

Sonny Woo offered them a sight seeing and shopping tour of Jakarta, but Bill and Sally asked for a day at the beach instead. Ted agreed with enthusiasm and Janet went along. Within an hour, they were in an Ammero Group helicopter bound for the coast. Sonny Woo acted like a travel guide as they moved along at over a hundred miles an hour. "We are taking you to a special resort on Siladen Island. The water is excellent for swimming and scuba diving is available. Our country has set aside a great deal of the ocean shore for underwater marine parks."

"Are any of you certified?" Ted asked the group. Sally knew that Ted was talking about scuba diving certification, but she was shocked when Janet said, "I am. I'm an advanced open water diver." Sally had to say, "It's something I've always

meant to do, but I never found the time." Inside she ground her teeth at the missed opportunity. Bill just shook his head in a negative reply.

"Maybe you could give me a lesson?" Sally asked. She wasn't going to be left that far behind.

"Sure." he replied. Sally knew that Ted's simple answer meant that Ted was an expert diver and instructor. Probably a certified dive master.

The resort was everything Sunny had promised. They were met at the helicopter by a stream of golf carts and taken to rooms to change clothes. Then it was back into the golf carts for the ride to the beach. Ted found a fully equipped dive shop and helped everyone rent the right equipment. Then, for then next hour he ran a course on scuba equipment on the beach.Then they entered the mild surf and coasted down to a ten foot depth. Ted led them through a series of drills demonstrating how to clear their masks, adjust their buoyancy devices, and share mouthpieces. Sally shared with Ted.

Back on the beach, they had lunch and Ted told them that they would do a dive to a shallow reef with a local dive master in the afternoon. As they finished lunch, they watched the water and waves. "Can we do it?" Janet asked. It was just like her to say the thing that everyone was thinking.

"Should we do it if we can?" Ted added.

"If we find a way, we'll check out every impact. We want to make sure we aren't trading one problem for another." Bill answered.

"I have an idea of how to do it." Sally said quietly.

Nobody said anything, but they each looked at her with expectation.

"Capacitors." she replied. "Capacitors are electronic components that pass alternating current while blocking direct current. Radio frequency energy is alternating current. Today, in electronic equipment we use thousands of capacitors to bypass practically every trace on a printed circuit board. In other words, small capacitors, they're the size of a pencil point today, bypass unwanted and potentially dangerous RF energy to ground."

"Did they know about bypass capacitors in 1943?" Bill asked.

"Sure." Sally replied.The techniques are old. We scatter these things around like popcorn today, but electronic components were scarce and expensive then. I've seen World War II radio equipment and they used very few bypass capacitors. Anyway, the ones they had were made of foil and wax -they didn't work very well at high frequencies. So, my thought is that we could send capacitors back in time. Disguise the new ones as the old style. If the technicians have them, they'll use them. More bypass capacitors protect the explosives from RF. Joe Junior turns on the transmitter

and there is no boom. Joe Junior survives and there's no war."

"It's as simple as my tacks." Ted observed.

"How big are these things, these capacitors?" Bill asked.

"Oh, in 1943 a bypass capacitor was about the size of a thirty-eight caliber bullet. But I've thought about this. We can take today's tiny capacitors, encapsulate them in glass or something, and make them bigger without adding much mass. Maybe we could etch the value and component name into the glass."

"But," Janet objected, "the time machine can't send things back to an accurate geographical place. Where are you going to put them?"

"I re-read the details of Joe Junior's flight. The airplane, "Zootsuit Black" was isolated by itself at a base in the English countryside of East Anglia. I say that we pepper capacitors on the ground around the airplane. The maintenance crew is sure to find them and if they find them I don't know an electronics technician in any time or place who wouldn't use them."

"So we send them back to the ground around the airplane and hope that someone thinks a box of parts got broken and spread around?" Bill asked.

"It could work." Ted observed. "In wartime, many strange things happen. Supply items mysteriously turn up about as often as they disappear."

The team talked for a few minutes and then they moved to the rubber boat that would take them to the reef. Janet and Bill moved ahead and talked intensely. "Great idea, Sally." Ted said as they lingered behind. "Hey, how do you know what a thirty-eight caliber round looks like?" he asked.

"Single girl in Atlanta. I went through the handgun course and I've got a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Georgia. I've never pulled it out, but I feel better having it." Sally kept walking.

"What do you carry?" Ted persisted.

"A nine millimeter Glock. Parts made in Germany and assembled in Atlanta." she replied. "But I don't have it here. I didn't think I'd need it, do I?"

"Listen, Sally, " Ted said.He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "if things ever go sour here in Indonesia, stick with me. The whole idea of what we're doing is scary enough, but some how I don't trust these Woo guys as far as I can throw them. And I don't mean throw them back in time either."

Sally squeezed his hand and agreed,"It didn't sound right from the very beginning, Ted. It still sounds funny now. I don't know what kind of trouble there might be, but I'll watch for

your lead. But God, Ted, how I wish it would work! How I wish there was no damn Vietnam war!"

They walked silently, still holding hands, the rest of the way to the boat. Underwater, there was no way to talk, but Sally stayed close to Ted the whole time. A few hours after the dive they saw the sunset in the helicopter back to the Ammero Group headquarters. Sally had her head on Ted's shoulder and his arm was around her. It was a beautiful sunset, but to Sally it appeared very very red.

DARK DECISION

Wednesday, August 23, 1995
1 100 Indonesian Western Standard Time
Ammero Group Compound
Indonesia

Retrieved image and sound.
Source TS/ Blackwatch Action

CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET / BLACKWATCH

"I
agree. If necessary. No one must know."

The three Woo brothers were in Jaya's office. He sat behind a desk that was hand carved, but not massive. The other two sat in low guest chairs facing the desk. The air was blue with smoke.

"When will they return?" James Woo asked his brother. "Not for another two hours." Sonyato Woo replied. Jaya turned to James, "Is what they found useful to us?"

"Yes, that's why I had the technicians report the high temperature readings and the need for maintenance. My people and I are not as experienced and don't have the same cultural references as the Americans. So, we've been working all day to re-run everything they did and then

extend it forward in time. Because it was late in the day when they made their discovery, they stopped and didn't look for consequences."

Sonyato asked, "What kinds of consequences?"

James replied, "When we went forward we found events that would not bother us, but would be very difficult for the Americans. We have made modifications to the databases and placed blocks in the logic so they will not see these consequences."

Jaya said, "I will make other contingency plans in case they are needed. A car accident, a helicopter accident. Either one is ready."

Sonyato was agitated. "I hope it would not come to that. He paused, searching. If their President Kennedy is the key, then why not just kill his assassin before he shoots?"

"It is not that easy." James replied. "How do we know exactly where the assassin was at specific time? How accurate can we be in the transmission? He would be a moving target behind a dark screen."

"And knowing the Americans," Jaya said, "they would not cooperate in finding that target even if it meant stopping a war." He made a dismissive gesture. "We will listen to their plans. But we must also plan for any circumstances. The Russians too."

"I agree." Sonyato. "If necessary. No one must know. We will watch them."

PRYING EYES

Thursday, August 24, 1995
0630 Indonesian
Western Standard Time
Ammero Group Compound
Indonesia

Excerpt from the Personal Narrative
of Brigadier General Ted Arthurs

Recorded May 2006
CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL /TA

"I
felt I could trust Sally and Bill, but my orders were to keep strict security. It strained relationships."

The next morning Sally woke early from a troubled sleep. She came back from the bathroom, flopped down on the bed, and watched the first rays of the sun filter though the drapes and hit the ceiling.Through her half-closed eyes, she saw a glint of light high in the ceiling. It was bright just for an instant. At first, her brain processed the light as a passing curiosity, but then her discussion with Ted made her come awake. The bright spot on the wall was now dark. It was a little spot, but it was just about the same size as the spot that Bill had shown her in Destin. It looked like the lens for a television camera.

Sally didn't look at the spot on the wall. She got up and did what she thought were natural looking things in order to get closer to the wall. Then she plastered herself against the wall, hopefully out of sight of the lens, and examined it from below. She could just make out a little convex glass lens. If the Woo boys had a video camera looking into her room, what were they up to?

At seven o'clock the next morning, each American received a phone call from Sonny Woo. It was a conference call and Sonny was excited, "The system is back up. Sorry it took so long, but we had to get a new cooling pump."

"We'll be there in... what gang? Fifteen minutes?" Bill asked on the line.

"You'll be ten minutes late, Bill." Sally said. She hung up the phone and started for the door. They all met in the hallway and Bill laughed. Sally was thoughtful.

"Kinda anxious, aren't we?" Ted said.

That morning the team started intense work. There were many scenarios leading away from Joe Kennedy Junior's successful return from the war. Some scenarios had Jack Kennedy as president with Joe as his prime advisor and other scenarios had the order the other way, with Joe Junior as president. But in every case, the president survived and there was no large scale American intrusion into Vietnam. Interestingly, while the Bay of Pigs invasion still took place, it was pre-ordained before a Kennedy administration ever took office, there was no Cuban Missile Crisis.According to

the computer, under the new conditions the Castro regime established relations with the US.

"I don't get that." Bill said. I have never found the point where the program has decided that the presence of Joe Junior on the national scene somehow defuses the Cuban Missile Crisis."

"But you agree that it does?" Ted asked. They were talking on the intercom. Everyone was working through potential threads of history looking for any reasons why they should not make the changes they had proposed.

"Yeah, it just seems to fade into a non-event. As if the Soviets decided never to install the missiles or maybe the US Jupiter missiles in Turkey, which Kruschev thought justified the presence of similar missiles in Cuba, were withdrawn when they were supposed to have been.. nearly a year before the crisis."

Another day went by and the American team went for a walk and a talk. By unspoken agreement, they didn't tell the Woo family about Sally's idea of sending small capacitors back in time. Ted and Sally had built a mini scenario, but since no one really knew why Kennedy's plane exploded they couldn't really use computer scenarios to judge the impact of sending the devices back in time.

"It's the best idea we've got." Sally said as they walked.