“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Time Travel himself, Lt. Jack Thurber!”
“Good evening, Wally, and good evening to my shipmates,” said Jack. “Some of you know me as Seaman Jack, some as Lieutenant Jack. In a pinch, Jack works fine. The Captain has asked me to talk to you about something I have done a lot of research on for the book that Wally mentioned. When I reported aboard the California I never thought I’d get the opportunity to plug my book, so I figure this is just a hidden Navy benefit.”
Jack discussed his book, especially the interviews with the six time travelers, how they crossed the portal and how they got back. He also went into detail about the time lapse in past and present time, and how when they got back to the present, they were amazed that so little time had passed.
“So the good news, folks, is that we may have been gone a short period of time, maybe hours or days from 2013. But Captain Patterson has asked me to be frank with you. I have never, in all of my research, encountered a person, not to mention a ship, that crossed a time portal or wormhole in the middle of the ocean. As I said before, the way to get back seems to be to find the way you got in. But the ocean presents something new to me. Now, I’ll be happy to answer any questions.”
“Lieutenant Cheryl Goveia from the engineering department — By any chance are you from Sheboygan? I love that word. You’re on Lieutenant,” said Wally the showman.
“I’d like to ask Lt. Jack if there is any chance that we may not make it back,” said caller Goveia.
“No,” Jack lied. “In all of my research and interviews there was a way back in time and a way back to the present. Sure the ocean complicates things a bit, but I’m absolutely confident that we’ll find our way back to 2013.” My lips to God’s ears, thought Jack.
“Yes,” said Ashley as she slapped her desk. She was watching the Jack Thurber show with Father Rick. “That’s leadership. That’s called taking command.”
It occurred to Father Rick that Jack could have belched and Ashley would have thought it was wonderful.
“Here’s a caller on line 2, Lieutenant Tom Lawlor from CIC. Talk to us Lieutenant,” said Wally.
“It seems to me that we changed a lot of history in the last few weeks,” said Lawlor. “Will the world be different when we get back?”
“I don’t know,” said Jack, “I really don’t know. We’re still in 1861. Whether our actions changed all history going forward or whether we carry our own time with us is something I don’t have an answer for. Some people believe that there is such a thing as a parallel universe, two realms of existence separated by a wormhole. We’ll find out soon.”
“Caller on Line 1 — Lieutenant Donna Perricone from Personnel. Go ahead Lieutenant Perricone.”
“I realize that this is a tough question, Lieutenant,” said Perricone, “but do you have any idea, any guess, how long it will take us to hit the portal?”
“I wish I did,” said Jack. “Once we hit the wormhole, it will be a matter of moments, but how long it takes us to find it is anybody’s guess. Our Navigation department has plotted a well thought-out series of maneuvers to try to get back to our last position in 2013. But I can tell you this. It may be a good while before we get there. On the other hand, it may be a short time. It won’t be comfortable. We’re going to be making circles in the ocean every three miles. It’s likely to get rocky, maybe even rough. But we’re going to do what we need to do.”
“We have a caller on line 3, Warrant Officer Phyllis Ozarin from Personnel. Fire away, Ma’am.”
“I’d like to ask Lieutenant Thurber if we can expect the same event that got us here, a bumping followed by bright daylight,” said Ozarin.
“All we have to go on is what happened before,” said Jack. “Whether we cross the portal in daylight or darkness is something I can’t predict. In April, we experienced that strange bumping sensation and then the Daylight Event. My guess is that we’ll feel it again, but it’s only a guess. I hate to be evasive, but there’s no book out there called Time Travel for Dummies. We can only take guesses based on the small amount of data that I’ve found in my research.”
“Caller on line 2, our very own favorite Chaplain, Father Rick Sampson. Talk to us Padre.” “Lieutenant Jack,” said Father Rick. “I’m going to be holding a special prayer service at 0730 every morning. Will you join me?”
“Count me in, Father. I’ll be there.”
“We have a special caller on line 3, the Commanding Officer of the California, Captain Ashley Patterson. Please go ahead, Captain.”
“I’d like to ask Lieutenant Thurber if he could share with the ship his personal thoughts on the last four months,” Ashley said.
“That’s a tough question, Captain, but I’ll give it a try,” Jack said. “I think, like everybody on the California, that the last four months have been a time of fear, sadness, fascination, and wonder. But my most intense thoughts on the last few months involve the friendships that I’ve made. Some of those friendships are very deep and I have no intention of ever letting go. Whatever happens, these friendships will last.”
Both Jack and Ashley knew that they were having a personal conversation on the ship’s TV. Ashley thought of saying I love you, but concluded that it would be too adult for this viewing audience.
“It’s a wrap, ladies and gentlemen, another Emmy Award quality show from the TV California,” Wally said. “Remember, the early bird gets the wormhole.” A collective groan was heard throughout the ship.
Chapter 93
Lt. Cmdr. Frank Orzo has been the watch officer at Naval Operations at the Pentagon since midnight. He volunteered to extend his eight-hour watch because he thought it was important to have continuity in the search efforts for the California. Lieutenant Talierco, agreed to extend her watch as well. Orzo had served a lot of time at sea and had stood many watches as Officer of the Deck. Sometimes those watches could be emotionally draining. They were nothing compared to this.
Orzo and Talierco had been on emotional high alert for over seven hours, and they were beginning to feel it in their muscles. Warrant Officer John Chinnici, who worked in the physical therapy office at the Pentagon, walked into the room. He had orders from the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.
“Somebody tells me that massages are in order,” Chinnici said.
He first walked behind Orzo and said, “Just relax, Commander.” After five minutes of muscle manipulation, Orzo was grateful that this guy was on duty. Chinnici then went to Lieutenant Talierco and did the same.
At that moment, neither Orzo or Talierco had any more information than anyone else in the world about the USS California. But looking at a display screen and knowing that the California should be there brought on a special kind of stress.
Orzo went to visit the head. There’s something about taking a leak that seems to make things happen. If you’re in a restaurant waiting for your dinner to be served, going to the john is a great way to make your meal show up. Orzo realized that he was just playing mind games with himself, but there was little else to do.