The Sphere: A Journey In Time (21 page)

Erica jumped in again. "Think of it as though your physical existence is not going anywhere. It's not like we're putting you in a plane and flying you somewhere very fast. It's more of a shift in the state of your existence. You're merely moving from one point in time to another, not one place to another."

“But we end up in different places as well, not just different times.”

“Again, your physical existence is irrelevant. Your state is merely changing, not moving.”

I was having trouble separating those two things out in my mind. Actually I was having trouble keeping any of what I was told straight in my mind. “But you described it as a path through time. You kept seeing my path.”

“Yes, you can think of it as a path. But I see everything at once, so a spot further back is equally as accessible as any other closer time. It’s like your memories, you don’t have to think backwards through time to remember something from your childhood. It’s just accessible to you. And the same with locations. I’m sure you can remember the lab without having to think back through how you got here from there.”

“So we can travel without any of the side effects.” My mind felt so slow. Everyone else had already figured all this out for themselves. I felt like a child.

“There is still a little bit of dizziness, like Noah said. I’m not perfect at it.” She smiled apologetically.

I was amused at her humility, as though she was anything other than extraordinary. “Sounds like you’re much better than our previous programmers.”

She wouldn’t take the compliment. “They were kept under very strict control. If someone distracted me while I was trying to get you back it probably wouldn’t go well for you either.”

“Are you not happy about having this power?”

“I don’t see it as a power so much as a burden. Before Noah and Jim came along it was terrifying. And even after finding out what was really going on, to know that people would kill to keep me out of the hands of other people... Very few people know I can do this, and I intend to keep it that way. In fact, I’ve largely been guiding Daphne at this point and letting her take care of Noah.”

I glanced at Daphne again. She looked so small and harmless. “So you could send me back somewhere if I wanted?”

She didn’t answer me, but looked nervously at Erica, who answered for her. “Yes, Daphne can send you wherever you decide.”

“And whenever,” Noah chimed in. He seemed a bit giddy. I knew he wanted me to be as excited about the idea of traveling again as he was.

So it turned out that I could do it, I could travel through time with no restrictions. Go wherever I wanted. See whatever I wanted. And not suffer the side effects I always hated. It was very tempting, but I still had a nagging feeling of guilt for starting all of this in the first place. I knew I wouldn't really fix things, that this timeline would still occur. But I didn't belong here, really.

There were so many things to consider and I was still trying to sort through this new information. There was one thing I knew for certain, I wouldn’t be able to focus with everyone hovering around me and waiting for me to make my decision. I stood up from the table with everyone still watching me. "I need some time to think," I said. I stalked off towards the beach, certain that their eyes followed me but refusing to look back to see.

Chapter 21

I started walking down the beach on my own. I knew from my last visit it would take about two hours for me to circumnavigate the island. I hoped that would be long enough to sort out my brain. I felt like someone had been smacking me in the back of the head for the past few hours, and I had had enough. My brain was jelly, I needed a mental break. I needed to refocus and get my thoughts organized. I spent the first mile just focusing on the sand beneath my feet, trying not to think about anything important and letting my mind wander.

The sand was cool and hard where the tide had been retreating. It stuck to the bottom and lower sides of my feet. It was pleasant in the shade from the palm trees but a little too warm without it. I stood at a break in the trees and let the sun warm me for a few moments until I was sweating. The water occasionally running over my feet helped cool me back down. I thought it was strange that it should make such a difference.

I watched the bubbles push themselves up through the sand next to my foot whenever I took a step and watched the pockets of air sucking their way open when the waves retreated. I stopped for a moment and focused on the waves coming into land, letting my feet get sucked further down into the sand with each new volley of water. The repeated pattern helped me empty my brain as I drifted into a bit of a trance.

After a few moments, I pulled my buried feet out of the sand and moved onward further around the island. I tried to start thinking about what I wanted. I wanted to continue my work. That was a definite. With or without the lab supporting me, I wanted to keep finding the answers to life's mysteries. There were so many left that I had wanted to do. The Loch Ness monster, the disappearance of flight 370, and the Roswell Incident were still on the top of my list. I wasn't sure I wanted the lab on my back though. Noah’s love of staying one step ahead of his enemies and constantly dodging capture did not sound appealing to me.

I turned into the trees and grabbed a dead branch from the ground, then walked out to the packed sand. I used the stick to carve my options into the ground.

1-Stay here and travel.

2-Fix things and go back to my time.

3-Drop both spheres in the ocean.

4-Meet up with Jim and Noah and travel with them.

5-

I couldn't think of a fifth option. So option 1 where I merely continue along in this timeline meant I could travel as I liked, but with the ever present threat of the lab hunting for me. Noah is older here, he won't live too much longer. Marina as well. After a while it would just be Daphne and me, and I didn’t even know her yet. What if she didn’t want the rest of her life to be tied to moving me in time?

Option 2 would put me back where I was meant to be. I could fix things so the Gardians never find out about the lab, then return with Noah where we were supposed to go originally. I'd have to pretend I didn't know anything that I had learned in the past few days. I'd have to ignore the things about the lab I didn't approve of, like what they did to people who got in their way, and Eliza laying there with her head splayed open. I thought of that poor older married father version of Noah being killed. Is the reward of traveling through time worth the guilt, knowing who I really work for? Could I do that and live with myself? After all, it keeps their other, more noble projects funded so there is some good that comes out of the situation.

Option 3 meant we would all be stuck here. It might be harder for Noah, and myself once they realize I'm here, to keep ahead of the lab once our ability to travel in time is gone. And if they found us... I didn't think our options would be pleasant. Besides, if we made another sphere, they could make yet another once they figured out Noah and Jim did.

Option 4 would put me in this timeline, but the lab would still be destroyed. I could help them find Erica much more quickly and the three of us could continue our work. On the con side, Jim would still die rather young, and the lab would still be on our trail.

I crossed off option 3. I wasn't going to let myself get stuck here. Did I care about Noah’s age? Did I want to be back at a time when we were closer? It didn't seem to matter too much for our interaction, but I would lose him much sooner than I had anticipated. Although for all I knew, if I went back in time close to where I was meant to be, Noah could die rather quickly from something entirely unexpected. Jim would still die rather young. I wanted to find a cure for Jim. The only place I knew of that could potentially cure a disease like that would still be the lab.

I finally thought of an option 5. I took the stick and wrote in the sand:

             
No5-Take over the lab.

Noah would love that. I stared at the words. My mind had trouble gaining any ground on this idea, but the words burned into my brain as though there was nothing to think about. This was the answer. It got the lab off my back, left me the convenience of a place to live and thrive, the other research areas could continue, the programmers could have a life. I just didn’t know how I could possibly accomplish that.

How had the Gardians done it? They broke in-that wouldn't be a problem for me given I lived there. They had weapons. But surely we had weapons. Were we taken by surprise? Was that it? I couldn't imagine them breaking in through the dome would give them much in the way of a stealthy attack plan. Maybe I should just let that bit of time carry on and take over the lab after they'd killed most of the important people. I tried to think back to what Montgomery had told me. They knew exactly where to take out the guards. They must've had inside help. If they'd been planning for years, it probably wouldn't have been that hard to get someone in the lab and work them up to a position of importance. They killed the people in the boardroom. If that was so, who has been chasing Noah? Who else survived?

I kicked at the sand in frustration. The option 5 written in the sand was destroyed along with part of 4. I left the others to be swallowed by the tide in a few hours and continued around the island. Even if I did let the Gardians take over the lab, what was to stop them from finding out I had restarted the time travel and coming back to kill me? I supposed I could just find out the answers they wanted, then they might leave me be.

I needed help, my thoughts were getting me nowhere. I was having enough trouble keeping the different timelines straight in my head. There was no way I would be able to figure out what to do without talking to someone first and working through it all. I wondered if Daphne was so quiet because she had no opinions or for some other reason. Perhaps she was the perfect person to talk to. She would be largely unbiased, having never dealt with the people from the lab. I wondered if she would be willing to leave this timeline and travel back in time with me. Perhaps if she went back to before the timeline splits, she'd be able to see each of them more clearly and send me into a specific one. New possibilities opened up with that idea.

I turned toward the mountain, and my walk turned to a jog as I climbed to the top and found Adam's grave again. There were fresh flowers on top of the marker. I guessed Marina or Carlo must come up here every day to replace them and pay their respects. I had forgotten about Adam, but I couldn't change what happened to him here. This timeline would continue even if I fixed things. "I'm sorry," I said to Adam for the second time.

I stood in front of his grave for a moment, and my gaze fell to the base of the tree at which I had thrown the surveillance robot. I wanted to see if I had damaged it at all in my previous encounter and possibly throw it down the side of the mountain. When I approached the tree, I couldn’t find the robot anywhere, but there was a small metal structure. I picked it up and upon observation decided that it must be the lower segment of one of the legs. I had done some damage to it after all. Whoever was up here must have seen it and gotten rid of it, not realizing this piece was left behind.

I shoved it into my pocket intending to throw it out and turned to follow the path back down to the hut. When I arrived back at Marina’s hut I found just Erica and Daphne sitting at the table. Daphne had been speaking but quieted when she saw me. At least I knew she wasn't mute. I sat down at the table with them. "Can I talk to you two?"

Erica responded, "Of course."

I turned to Daphne and asked, "Do you speak?"

Her cheeks blushed and she seemed to shrink into her chair. "Yes. I'm sorry."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No!" She seemed frightened by the sound of her own voice though. She coughed slightly and sat up straight again. "No. I'm just, distrustful of people I don't know. I’ve been told my gift might make some people want to hurt me."

She didn’t trust me, and here I was about to ask her to travel through time with me and help start a rebellion. "Noah and Marina's opinion of me isn't good enough for you?"

"Noah does not show the greatest judgment sometimes. And I've only just met Marina."

"That's fair," I allowed. I paused for a minute as my mind shifted gears. "I want to find a way to take over the lab."

Silence filled the open space. Erica looked dubious, but an amused smile crossed Daphne's face. Neither spoke so I continued.

“My plan is sort of based on an assumption on my part though. I take it neither of you have tried to travel yourself?”

Erica shook her head no, and Daphne looked curious about the idea.

“You mentioned you can’t really see into other timelines, but I’m wondering if you were to go back in time to before a split, would you be able to see both options that lie before you? Is it simply because you’re in this timeline that the others are inaccessible to you?”

“An intriguing thought,” Erica said. “And if it turns out to be true?”

"The short version of the plan is: Daphne and I take the sphere and the box back to 1692 and alter Noah’s journal to inform the Gardians that there are two spheres. My theory is that once you’ve traveled back to before time splits, you should be able to see any timelines emanating from that point and travel into them. We then go to 1882, give Noah my sphere and tell him he needs to come up with a story about me dying in 1882 when he gets back the present day. That way they have possession of every sphere that they know about. The Gardians take over the lab with the knowledge that there are two spheres and insist on using both of them. The lab is destroyed, along with both spheres. Daphne and I use the box to travel to when Noah and Jim escaped and tell them what is going on. After the lab is destroyed and the board members are killed, we waltz in and take over the place. We free the programmer, or at least ease his work. We keep doing missions that will keep our funding going without the interference of the lab. We push for a cure for Sunithe's disease. We all live happily ever after." I paused. "At least in that timeline."

I knew it was a lot to take in. If Daphne came back with me she'd never be able to make it back to this timeline. She seemed to be working it out in her head. "I've never tried to travel myself. With the box."

"Are you willing to try?” I asked. “A short trip into the past and back?"

She thought for a minute. She didn't look like she wanted to do it, though behind the fear in her face excitement danced in her eyes.

"I can keep track of you Daphne," said Erica. "If you have trouble navigating yourself, I can get you back here. Then we'll at least know."

She nodded.

I took the sphere out of my pocket and handed it to her. She flipped open the lid and closed her eyes with her thumb on the button. Nothing happened for a moment except her head twitching slightly to the side. Then she was gone. I turned excitedly to Erica but she held a finger up to silence me. She was focusing very hard on something when suddenly Daphne reappeared in her chair. Even expecting it I was startled. I looked back and forth between the two of them. Daphne smiled at me and Erica seemed to relax finally. Before I could speak Daphne held up a finger to silence me and disappeared again. I looked to Erica who merely shrugged and then focused again.

This time when Daphne reappeared she was laughing. "You are right, Adelaide," she said. "I can see into all the timelines, not just this one. Scared the heck out of a horse when I arrived in 1690." She giggled again.

I smiled. "So you can do it! You can get us back into my original timeline?"