Time Camp Episode 1: Family Time (8 page)

“What do you mean? We only know the Johnsons, and Bobby and Jake and Jade and Kara. Who else would we know?”

“You know the Watsons. And I have it on good faith that they were at a Rascal Flatts concert on assignment and recorded this.” Said Tom. “I don’t know when, for us, but it appears that we’ll do it someday, and since it’s in the library, I guess we can see it now even though we haven’t been there yet.”

“Whoa,” said Andy. “Strange, but I don’t care. Now please quiet down. My favorite song is starting!”

So the Watson family enjoyed a concert that they hadn’t yet attended, and one by one, the kids drifted off to sleep. Tom carried them each to their beds where they had a peaceful, restful night, their first of many in Time Camp.

Chapter 23: Control

The next day was filled with many adventures. As the kids awakened to the smell of a wonderful breakfast, they dressed and wandered to the common area. Their parents were already at the table, enjoying coffee and juice. Some light jazz played in the background.

“So today we learn how to control our enhancements?” asked Andy. “That will be sweet!”

Tom replied, “Well, it will take some time to learn to control them all. They will work with one ability at a time and then you’ll practice integrating them and simulating assignments. But that will take several days.”

“Sounds like fun. How was it when you two got enhanced?” asked Jenna.

“It was a little scary at first, but once you get used to them, they are amazing. In fact, when we were back in home time, I missed them,” said Liz.

“Why are they disabled in home time? I’d love to have these abilities at school”, asked Laura.

“Well, you are supposed to be ‘normal’ in home time, and I guess that you would have too many advantages over other people,” Liz replied.

“Well, let’s go! I’m excited to get started!” said Andy. The family gathered and left their suite.

They went to Jade’s office and she greeted them. “Good morning Watsons! Did you have a pleasant evening?”

“Yes we did! Dad conjured up some excellent wings for dinner and we got to see a concert that we recorded in the future,” said Jenna.

“That’s great! Pretty soon, you’ll be able to do those things on your own. Are you ready to get started?” she asked the kids. They all nodded their approval.

Tom said, “Well, have fun and study hard. Your Mom and I have some work to do ourselves, so we’ll catch you later.” He and Liz left and the kids remained with Jade.

“OK you three, let’s explore the world of enhancements. First up is TimeLine Alert. I’m going to re-enable your enhancements but they will be dormant. There, did you notice anything?” asked Jade.

“Just a ‘blip’,” said Laura. Jenna and Andy nodded.

“You’ll get that blip when your enhancements turn on and off, for example when you leave your home time TimeStation. It’s just a signal that they are coming on or offline. Now, I want each of you think the words “Enhancement Timeline On,” instructed Jade.

As Jenna thought *ENHANCEMENT TIMELINE ON*, the edges of her vision flashed blue for a moment and then settled down to a steady green glow, just visible at the edge of her field of vision. It made her want to turn her head both ways to see what was there, but the color didn’t change. Andy and Laura were also looking to the either side, confused.

“Your brain will adapt very soon, and you won’t notice the colors or want to turn your head,” said Jade.

“What is this used for?” asked Jenna. “What does it mean?”

Jade explained, “The timeline is very sensitive in places, meaning that if you do certain things in certain places at certain times, you can change the future. We call this combination a ‘placetime’. In some placetimes, your actions will not have much impact on the timeline. Sensitive placetimes are detectable by your enhancements, and this will warn you. Obviously, in Time Camp, we are protected from the real world, and there are very few sensitive placetimes, but we can simulate danger here, and you can learn how to change your actions to minimize it.”

Jenna continued her questioning. “So why is it dangerous to change the future? Wouldn’t you want to do that sometimes, to make the world a better place?”

Jade paused for a moment, and then spoke. “You might think so, but time is very complicated. Even small changes in the timeline can have huge impacts downstream. What may make tomorrow better may make the distant future disappear and be replaced with a completely different one. Here’s a good example. You already know that there is a terrible world war in your next downstream Era, called Era 48. Billions of people will die horribly, and our race will become nearly extinct. A person with good intentions may try to intervene to change the events that caused the war and they may succeed in changing the outcome. But without the war, the recovery would not have happened, interstellar propulsion would not have been created, and most important, time travel would not likely have been discovered. So it’s very important to the entire future timeline that bad things happen sometimes. This is one thing that you will absolutely have to believe and obey: As observers, you can’t ever tamper with outcomes!”

The kids were quiet for a minute as they absorbed these ideas. Jenna said, “I guess I understand, but it will be hard to not want to try to help!”

Jade said, “It is very hard to not intervene. And that’s exactly why the TimeLine sense is an important ability. It’s that extra outside warning that you are straying too close to a timeline change. So, let’s practice. We’ll need to go to recreation for this. Let’s move!”

So Jade and the three Watson kids headed out of her office. She said, “We’re going to simulate an event that you are sent to observe. There’s a baseball game going on in that stadium. In the fourth inning, a line drive is going to hit a spectator in section 12, killing her. It becomes an incident that changes how baseball stadiums deal with spectator safety. Let’s go in and wander around.”

They entered field 7, which was a huge outdoor space with a baseball stadium. As they walked, Jenna asked, “How did you get all of these people here, just for us?”

Jade smiled and said, “It’s really an elaborate simulation. We’re the only people here now, but the stadium is real. The rest of the ‘people’ are like holograms, but they are solid. They will talk to you but they aren’t real.”

“Cool!” said Andy.

They entered the stadium and started walking around. The scoreboard showed bottom of the third inning. As they walked around the back edge, the green glow in their vision started to shift to yellow. “Do you see the yellow?” asked Jade. All three kids nodded.

“What’s it mean?” asked Jenna.

“It means that we are getting close to a critical placetime. There’s no need to react to yellow, just be aware that something is going to happen somewhere close, sometime soon. One more point: if your Timeline sense suddenly changes to red, you should freeze and backtrack, and be as inconspicuous as possible.”

They continued walking around the back of the stadium, where the concessions and restrooms were built. Barely thirty seconds later, as they rounded a curve to a concession stand, their Timeline sense flashed red. Shocked, they all stopped and looked at Jade. “Just remain quiet and still and keep your eyes open,” whispered Jade. They backed up to the painted concrete block wall and watched anxiously as the red began to blink, slowly and then faster. Shortly, a man carrying a cardboard carrier with hot dogs, peanuts and two large cups of beer walked past them and headed for the stands. He wasn’t looking very carefully, and would have run into the kids had they not stopped and moved.

“That’s the victim’s husband. Had we run into him, it would have delayed his return to the stands, and his wife would have come looking for him. She wouldn’t sit in the same spot when she returned, and the ball would have not hit her in the fourth inning. So you see, sometimes you have to avoid interactions with the timeline, even before events happen,” explained Jade. Immediately, their Timeline alerts went back to yellow-green.

As they climbed into the stands, a touch of orange flared as they came through the stairway to section 12. Jade instructed them to turn and face the first row, and their alerts flared bright orange. Then she had them turn and face the upper stands, and the alerts flashed yellow. “That’s to help you decide how to choose your motions to stay in a safe placetime”, said Jade. The kids understood, and they climbed the bleachers to sit higher. “In a real observation, we’d normally have you split up, to get the most perspectives possible in the Sensory Record. But since we haven’t turned that on yet, let’s just watch as a group.”

So they sat as the teams exchanged places and the fourth inning began. “How long until it happens?” asked Jenna, looking down to try to see the victim-to-be.

“Three minutes twenty eight seconds. In a real assignment, your communications ability will tell you this if the exact time is known, and a specific event is to happen,” said Jade.

The next two hundred seconds passed very slowly for the kids. A growing anxiety built up in them, causing them to sweat and fidget. “I’m shaking!” said Jenna.

Jade reassured them, “That’s natural. Part of the value of these simulations is to get your mind and body used to the anticipation and the stresses of being a helpless observer. Ten, Nine, Eight!”

The kids did the rest of the countdown mentally, and their Timeline senses shimmered.

CRACK! Went the bat. The line drive headed straight for section 12, and the young lady, looking up in reaction to the sound, was hit squarely in the forehead with the ball. She flew back into the second row, spilling beer and knocking down a several people. Her husband jumped after her, and the crowd behind her began to get angry, and then show signs of alarm as it was clear she wasn’t moving.

Though there was no blood, her forehead was crushed and she had no pulse. A mounting sense of alarm grew and the crowd and players focused on the action in section 12. There were shouts of “Get an Ambulance!” and “She’s dead!”

Over the next moments, medical personnel came with a stretcher and carried the lady out, and a policeman escorted the husband, who was crying inconsolably. The stadium was eerily quiet, and play had stopped.

Moments later, the PA system announcer said, “Ladies and gentlemen. In light of this tragic accident, we will be cancelling this game. We hope that you understand and will keep the family of our unfortunate spectator in your thoughts and prayers. Good evening and safe travels home.”

As a sign of respect, the crowd rose to their feet. A standing ovation lasted perhaps a minute, and then the crowd began to head for the exits. Jade and the Watson kids joined the exodus. As they left, another spectator said to Andy, “That’s terrible. Never in a million years would I have thought that would happen!”

Andy paused for a bit, and then replied, “Yeah, it’s quite a shock.” Jenna and Laura were wiping tears from their eyes as they left.

Once outside, they headed for the door to Field 7. As they walked, Jade said, “Andy, it was good that you responded to the spectator. You see that there was no Timeline risk, and if you had stayed quiet, you would have stuck out more than if you had talked. And I need to remind you that this is only a simulation.”

Jenna said, “That’s hard to believe. It was so real! I’m still kind of shaky and I feel really bad about that lady.”

“I know you do, honey. As observers, you are allowed to have emotions. That’s part of what makes your recorded experiences so valuable. But you will have to really work hard to make sure that you don’t let the emotions and the experiences eat away at you. The Communication ability will help you to talk it out with each other, even if you can’t do it out loud. And if it’s too bad, I’m always there for you when you return from a trip.”

The kids participated in one more simulation, this one involving watching a couple meet for the first time. Jade explained that the couple would marry and their daughter would become the prime minister of Pakistan. In this simulation, their Timeline sense was used to keep them inconspicuous but able to observe the couple meeting, talking and leaving together.

Jade took the kids to an open eating area and she ordered chicken sandwiches, fries and milkshakes for them. As they finished eating, Jade explained the next step. “Up next are Biological controls. Are you ready to start?”

“I guess so. What does this ability do? Can I see through walls?” asked Andy.

“Not quite, Superman!” joked Jade. “It basically keeps you healthy and shall I say ‘safe’ when outside your home time.”

“What do you mean by ‘safe’?” asked Laura.

“Well, that’s the automatic part of the biological controls. Your body becomes temporarily sterile when out of home time. That means that observers can’t make or have children when on assignment,” explained Jade. Laura nodded and glanced away.

“Gross!” said Jenna. “Can we change the subject?” She was blushing. Andy was looking at his shoes.

“OK, just remember that part’s automatic, and it’s designed to keep you from changing the timeline. “

“The next aspect of Biological control is that your body will detect and destroy any infectious diseases you may be exposed to. This will be really important if you travel outside of your home time into the past, or you travel to other areas of the world. There are lots of bacteria and viruses that could hurt or kill you in other placetimes,” said Jade.