The Time Travelers' Handbook (11 page)

You've landed on RMS
Titanic
—the biggest passenger steamship in the world. The
Titanic
is sailing about 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland on its first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from Southampton, England, to New York City. You're standing at the top of the Grand Staircase. It's huge, and sweeps down five decks of the ship in a long curve. It's just too tempting. You hop on the banister and slide down to the first-class dining room below. You've only been on this ship for 20 minutes and you've already found a swimming pool, a gym, a squash court, and even a library. It's like a luxurious floating palace—on the top decks, anyway.

At the bottom of the staircase, there is a restaurant full of well-dressed people.

The ladies are dripping with diamonds that glitter almost as much as the chandeliers that hang from the ceiling above their heads. The food looks delicious, too.

Tempting Fate

Feeling a little hungry, you sit down, hoping to get some food. The people at your table are impressed with the ship, too. “RMS
Titanic
is the first unsinkable ship ever built,” enthuses one man. You want to say something—if there's one thing you know about the
Titanic
it's that it is far from unsinkable. Remember—you must never change the course of history (
see
). In a few hours, RMS
Titanic
will be at the bottom of the ocean. More than 2,200 people are on board, 1,517 of them will die, and there is nothing you can do about it.

That Sinking Feeling

A waiter notices you, and looks as if he's about to ask whether you belong in first class. So, you shoot out onto the deck. An icy wind cuts straight through you, and even though it's dark outside, you see a faint white shape looming in the distance…an iceberg.

Unable to stop yourself, you run to tell a member of the crew. He has already seen it—but it's too late. “It doesn't look too big,” says the crewman, but you know that only about one ninth of an iceberg can be seen from the surface. It is what is under water that can do the damage. You persuade him to sound the alarm. The crew have already had warnings from other ships in the area, but they have ignored them.

There is the terrible sound of ripping metal as this gigantic ship hits the iceberg. It tears holes all the way along its side below the waterline and water rushes into the hull. The whole deck shudders, but the crewman tells you not to worry—the
Titanic
is unsinkable.

You look back into the dining room, where the music is still playing and food is still being served, and people look as if nothing is happening. They laugh at the few passengers who have gone to fetch life jackets. They really don't think the ship will sink.

Titanic
Survival Tips

As a time traveler, you know you can't do anything to save anyone else on board. You can and you must save yourself.

“Save yourselves, the Vikings are coming!” A cry pierces the morning air as you tumble into the long grass beside a stone wall. You find yourself in a tiny walled settlement beside a monastery on the coast of Ireland. It's a beautiful spot, if it wasn't for the six Viking longships that have just appeared on the horizon.

The monks and villagers are panicking. They must try to hide the monastery's treasures and get as many people as possible to safety before the ruthless raiders get to shore.

Buried Treasure

A monk hurrying past you thrusts a golden goblet covered in rubies and emeralds into your hands. “Follow me!” he shouts, and takes you through the monastery to a spot under a tree beside the walls. There, you see a freshly dug hole that the other monks are filling with armfuls of gold coins, religious books, and silver cups and plates.

The monks hope that by burying their treasure, they can stop it from falling into the hands of the raiders, who have come to steal it.

In the distance, you can see that the Vikings have landed on shore. Their longships are designed to sail up shallow rivers and to land on the shores of sandy beaches, making it easy for the men on board to get ashore quickly. Some raiders are on horseback. Planks are pushed out from the ships, and the horses walk on them down to the beach. Other raiders are on foot, shrieking and shouting, as they run toward the settlement. Only a small group of men are left behind to guard the ships.

You spot a group of Vikings killing a herdsman who had been grazing his sheep on the hills above the beach. They herd the sheep back toward their boats and will enjoy eating them later to celebrate the spoils of their raid.

The Enemy At The Gates

A terrible noise reaches your ears. Raiders are using a battering ram to break down the wooden gate to the monastery. As the gate splinters and falls, men wearing helmets that flash in the morning sun pour in through the gap. Mercilessly, they cut down monks and villagers with their big metal swords. Some raiders set fire to the houses, once they have searched them for anything worth stealing.

The abbot, who is in charge of the monastery, pulls you and another monk to one side and tells you to go for help at the fort a half mile away.

As quickly as you can, you help each other over the wall at the back of the monastery garden. As you look back, you can see a long line of women and children who have been rounded up and are being led toward the longships. The Vikings will take them back to Norway, in Scandinavia, and sell them as slaves. You can also see that they have taken the abbot who sent you for help. He will be held for ransom—the church will need to pay a fortune in gold to have him returned safely.

The raiders know they don't have long before help arrives, so they are carrying off anything of any value as quickly as they can. The settlement disappears from view as you run toward the fort. All you can see is a plume of smoke rising from the burning buildings. You wonder if the Vikings have found the hidden treasure beside the wall. If not, it might be worth looking for it when you go back to the future. It might still be buried there and the local museum would love to have the treasure on display for visitors.

As you reach the fort, you send the monk ahead to plead for help. You have seen enough, and since there is nothing you can do, it is time to go.