“Bah! No one’s perfect!” David said as he stormed away, “We have work to do!”
Tom laughed and followed after his friend, thinking that maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad day after all.
An hour passed before David was calm again. Tom knew Sally could get under David’s skin like no one else, which made him wonder why David looked at her the way he did. He’d been watching David attempting to write out some calculations for the past half hour. But every time Sally walked by, it was as if she were a magnet and David’s face was made of metal. His head would follow her across the room and then linger as she disappeared from view. Could he be interested in such an ice queen? Did David see something in her that Tom couldn’t? Tom decided to discover the answers to these questions, but right now, there were more pressing matters demanding his attention.
A slew of scientists sat behind the myriad of consoles that filled the control center. The place smelled of warm computers. The excitement in the room was nearly uncontainable. Every member of the science team, led by Tom and David, had dreamed of this moment for years. Some spent their entire careers at LightTech for the slim chance they would succeed.
David, Tom and Sally stood in front of the glass wall, peering into Receiving Area Alpha. The room was smooth from top to bottom; not one ninety-degree angle could be seen. The walls were brushed silver, like a giant frying pan. The massive sheet of glass separating the control center and the receiving area made the whole scene feel like an oversized children’s aquarium. Tom’s eyes eagerly searched for something, any anomaly that would suggest a breach in the time stream had occurred.
Sally looked at her watch, “By my time we should see something in forty-five seconds. Not that I really expect to see your entire future life’s work suddenly appear.”
“If we succeed within our lifetimes, we’ll see something. Even if it’s just a fluctuation,” Tom added.
“Then I don’t expect we’ll see much because if my future self is anything like my present self, she will have pulled the plug on this little-”
Tom interrupted, “Hey, that’s not-”
“Quiet!” David yelled, “Both of you! All this talk, this bickering, it’s all pointless! In ten seconds, our world will change forever and all you two can do is nag each other. Please…for the love of Moses, just shut up!”
“For the love of Moses?” Tom said with a raised eyebrow. “Really?”
Sally’s reaction caught both David and Tom by surprise. A smile cracked onto her face, if only for a moment, before she smothered it and began waiting patiently as David had demanded.
Tom glanced away from the receiving area and saw David eyeing Sally, inspecting her soft lips for any sign of the smile’s return. He imagined David was even more shocked by the emergence of Sally’s smile, especially at a tense time like this. But it wasn’t important now and Tom certainly wouldn’t let David miss a second of what they hoped would happen next.
“David,” Tom whispered.
David jerked his eyes toward Tom, who motioned with his head for David to look at the receiving area.
“Right.” David turned toward the wall of glass.
Tom shook his head. What was with him?
Silence consumed the room. Tom glanced at his watch. Five seconds overdue. Tom closed his eyes and lowered his head in disappointment. They were defeated.
David’s fingers tapped against the thick glass, expelling his nervous energy. Sally crossed her arms and tapped her foot. Ten seconds late… This was not good.
A sound like the popping of popcorn began to fill the air. Something was happening. Scientists around the room began checking their equipment, recording the sound and preparing for more. The sound grew louder, crackling through the thick glass, and causing the control center to shake. A metal cabinet at the back of the room popped open and its contents crashed to the floor. There was a flash of light inside the receiving area and then everything went black.
After a moment of silence passed, the room erupted with cheering. Tom looked at David, and their eyes were wide. “Not quite what I expected, but a good turnout nonetheless,” David said with a tinge of disappointment.
“I expected more of us too,” Tom replied.
They shook hands as Sally approached in the darkness. “Congratulations. Your funding will be doubled.”
As Sally spoke, she failed to notice the light level in the room was rising. Blue light slowly lit up the room, glowing on Sally’s face. David and Tom noticed right away. With wide eyes, they stared just beyond Sally, into the receiving area.
“But we better get a little more then a light show next time…” Sally noticed their fixed gazes.
She followed their eyes back to the receiving area, which was glowing with a dull blue light, luminescing from nowhere at all.
The control center fell silent again. Scientists frozen in mid-hug watched the receiving area with beaming eyes.
Tom lifted his head and rested his hands on the glass wall. His jaw slowly dropped open like a drawbridge. “It’s happening,” was all he could say.
A small, white shimmer appeared inside the receiving area. The light glowed steadily at first, but then began to fluctuate. It strobed slowly and with each burst of light came a loud, bassy Whump.
Whump… Whump… Whump.
Faster and faster. Light swirled and flashed like at a rave nightclub.
Whum. Whum. Whum. Whum. Crack!
Several brilliant, vertical streaks of blue and white light ripped into the air within the receiving area, creating thunderous booms. One after another, cracks of light tore into reality and then disappeared. In the wake of each spear of light, an object was left behind. A table covered in diagrams, charts and graphs, a cabinet full of supplies and tools that had yet to be invented, and several countertops covered in small devices. Several large chunks of electronic equipment also appeared. An ozone-like odor filled the room and grew stronger with each explosion of light and materials.
The raw power unleashed by the event was both fascinating and horrifying. Everyone in the room, except Tom and David, took a step back. Computers began to malfunction. Sparks exploded into the air. No one noticed. All eyes were transfixed on the tears in time-space opening up in the next room.
The show concluded with a loud boom, causing everyone in the control center to jump. As the final streak of light blinked out of existence, the control center was plunged into darkness. The receiving area still shimmered with light, like a luminous snowstorm, as thousands of blue, glowing particles fluttered down to the floor. No one moved. As the last particles extinguished, the emergency lights suddenly burst on. David yelped like a Chihuahua. The room full of normally composed professionals exploded with clapping and uproarious laughter.
Tom’s hands squeaked down the glass wall. He looked at David. “We did it… We did it!” Tom yelled, as he picked David up off the ground and administered a crushing hug.
“What did I tell you!” David shouted, “What did I tell you!”
Tom bounced David in the air and danced around like a child on Christmas morning. Sally stood still, staring into the receiving area. “I don’t… I can’t…”
Tom put David back on his feet, strode up to Sally’s face and yelled at the top of his lungs, “HA!”
After Tom had expressed his victory to Sally and moved on to shake the hands of several excited colleagues, David approached Sally with a smile. “Thank you for letting this happen. We owe you everything.”
“I… You’re welcome.” Sally replied.
David extended his hand and Sally took it. Rather then shaking her hand, David let their hands linger together, while he looked kindly into her eyes. And then she did it again: Sally smiled.
THREE
Teetering
2005