Post by Tim on Jan 5, 2021 17:25:01 GMT -5
The following two stories are recovered from that Wayback Machine. Enjoy.
Friend From The Future
THE PLACE: MOON COLONY, EARTH’S MOON
THE TIME: NOVEMBER, 2137
THE TIME: NOVEMBER, 2137
Janet Moreno smiled as she stood back and examined the plant before her. Like all the other plants in the greenhouse, it was growing well. The greenhouse in question was one in five that were connected to the rest of Moon Colony by a special access tunnel. Janet liked working in the greenhouses because of the spectacular view they gave of space. Janet knew she was safe here because glass of the greenhouses was completely unbreakable, not even a meteor could shatter it. The glass also allowed the plants in the greenhouses to soak up the suns rays while blocking out all the harmful ultraviolet rays that could cause serious damage to human skin. Janet was about to examine another plant when she heard footsteps approaching her. She turned and saw Commander Charles Fraser approaching her. “Hi.” Janet said. “Come to see how my work is coming out?”
“You know I don’t need to check up on you.” Fraser replied with a smile. “The reason I’ve come here is to remind you that the celebration is only a few days away.”
“Celebration?”
“You know.” said Fraser. “The 50th anniversary of the founding of Moon Colony. I’m just wondering if your family is coming?”
“Of course.” Janet said as she slapped her forehead. “Well I don’t think my parents can make it, because of my younger sister, Lisa. I’ve heard that she still hasn’t gotten over that virus yet.” Janet had heard recently from her parents. Her younger, and only, sibling was seventeen years old and apparently hated being confined to the house while she had this virus.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” replied Fraser.
“She’ll be okay soon enough.” Janet said as she shrugged her shoulders. “So the celebrations will go ahead then.”
“Of course.” said Fraser. “I’ve just received word that Patrick Harris will be among the guests.”
“Patrick Harris?”
“He was the very first commander of Moon Colony when it was founded. I took over after he resigned.”
“You sure he’s coming?” asked Janet.
“I’ve heard that he has booked passage on the Verne to arrive here two days from now.” The Verne was a huge space plane, one of several, that made regular runs between Moon Colony and Earth, ferrying people back and forth.
“Well it seems that we’re in for one heck of a party.” said Janet.
“I hope so.” said Fraser. “I want this celebration to come off well.”
“Well I better get back to work.” Janet said as she turned back to the plant. “But you can be sure that I will be there to celebrate with you.”
“Thanks Janet.” Fraser said as he turned to leave. “Would you like to get some coffee later?”
“Sure.” replied Janet. “I’ll be there.”
After enjoying a quiet cup of coffee with Fraser, Janet retired to her quarters to get some rest. Just as she was about to begin undressing, she noticed a strange humming sound coming from the far corner by her bed. As she watched, Janet saw a large crystal globe materialize out of nowhere in that same corner. After a few seconds, the side of the globe slid open and a young woman stepped out. The woman appeared to be in her early twenties with short dark hair and deep brown eyes. “What the hell?” an astonished Janet asked.
“Oh I do beg your pardon.” the woman replied. “I should have realized these quarters would be occupied in this time period. Silly me.”
“Who are you?” the amazed Janet asked.
“My name is Sarah Gibson.” the woman replied. “Your name is Janet Moreno, unless I’m mistaken.”
“That’s right. Just how did you know who I was?”
“I reviewed all the personnel files of the people who lived on Moon Colony during this point in history before I came here.”
“This point in history?”
“Perhaps I should explain.” Sarah replied. “You see I come from the twenty-seventh century. I’ve come back in time nearly five hundred years.”
“Okay.” said Janet, unsure of what to do next. “I think we should go see the commander about this.”
“You mean Commander Charles Fraser?” asked Sarah.
“The very same.” said Janet.
“Do you mind if I leave my time machine in your quarters?”
“Of course not.” replied Janet. “After all it’s not every day that a time machine appears in my quarters. Let’s go.” Janet headed out the door with Sarah following behind.
Fraser was relaxing in his office when the door buzzer sounded. “Come in.” he called and watched as Janet and another young woman entered the office.
“Hi Janet.” Fraser said. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Sarah.” replied Janet. “She comes from the twenty-seventh century.” Janet described the events of Sarah’s arrival.
“Okay.” Fraser said between gasps of laughter. “What’s the punch line?”
“I’m not joking.”
“Janet is telling the truth.” Sarah added. “I really have come from your future.”
“Hey now, a joke is a joke but...” Fraser began.
“If you don’t believe this, then come see her time machine. It’s in my quarters.” Janet suggested.
“I think I will.” Fraser said as he rose from his desk.
“Right this way then.” Janet said as she lead the way of the office.
The three of them stood in Janet’s quarters as Fraser gave the time machine a once over. “Well it’s certainly like nothing I have ever seen before.” He said after a few minutes, his voice full of uncertainty.
“Are you convinced yet?” asked Sarah.
“I don’t know.” replied Fraser.
“Well watch this.” Sarah said and closed her eyes. After a few moments, a wave of energy seemed to form over her head. Soon a perfect picture of the planet Saturn appeared in the energy. After a minute, the picture vanished and Sarah opened her eyes. “Thought wave projection.” Sarah said in a matter-of-fact voice to the astonished Fraser and Janet. “Something that will not be developed until about three hundred years after this time.”
“I need to sit down.” Fraser said as he went over and sat down on Janet’s bed. “Okay you’ve convinced me.” he said after a couple of seconds. “Just why have you come here?”
“To observed the 50th anniversary of this colony.” replied Sarah. “This is part of my assignment.”
“Your assignment?” asked Janet.
“I’m a historian in training.” Sarah said as she sat down in a nearby chair. “My field of interest is the early era of space travel, the twentieth through the twenty-third centuries. Moon Colony is the first permanent colony in space. Surely you must realize how important this is.”
“But why here and now?” asked Fraser. “Why not go back to the founding of the colony in 2087?”
“I have my reasons for coming to this time.” Sarah said slowly. “I’m afraid I can’t divulge those reasons right now.”
“Why not?” asked Janet.
“Because if I say to much I could risk breaking the number one rule all historians in my time must obey. Never change history.”
“Okay.” Fraser said as he got to his feet. “I guess right now we should just get Sarah installed in some guest quarters.” He turned to Janet. “I’m asking you to be Sarah’s guide for the duration of her stay here. If anybody asks about her, you just tell them that she’s a friend visiting from Earth. The less people that know where she actually came from, the less questions they are likely to ask.”
“Right.” Janet replied crisply.
“Do you mind if I leave my time machine here?” Sarah asked Janet.
“Of course not.” Janet replied. “I’ll make sure nothing happens to it.”
“Let’s go.” Fraser said and headed for the door. The two women following behind.
The guest area was a place on Moon Colony set aside for the visiting friends and relatives of the colony residents. There was a whole section of empty quarters for the exclusive use of the aforementioned visitors. It was to one of these quarters that Fraser and Janet had led Sarah. “Well I hope it’s to your liking.” Fraser said.
“It will be fine.” Sarah said as she looked around the quarters. “I’ll be comfortable here.”
“Well I have to get back to work.” Fraser said. “If you have any questions, I’m sure Janet will be happy enough to answer them for you.” He headed out the door.
“He’s very sure of himself.” Sarah said after a minute. “I guess running a whole colony calls for one to be sure of oneself.” She turned to Janet. “How is the colony run in this time period?”
“Technically the colony is really run by the United World Security Council, which operates out of the United World Headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia.” Janet said, remembering her first briefings about the colony. But in the last thirty years, the Security Council has turned its attention to more Earthbound matters, leaving the colony to be run by the serving commander. In this case, Commander Fraser.”
“What is the location of this colony?” Sarah asked.
“The Sea of Tranquillity.” Janet replied.
“Thanks for the information. It matches my historical records perfectly.” Sarah said as she went over and lay down on her bed. “I think I’ll try and get some rest now.”
“Okay.” Janet said as she turned to leave. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I will.” Sarah replied and then watched as Janet headed out the door. As she tried to relax, Sarah found herself thinking of the real reason she come to this time period, a reason she could not tell Fraser or Janet about under any circumstances.
A short while later, Fraser was back in his office when Janet came calling. “Our friend from the future all settled in?” Fraser asked.
“She seems to be.” Janet replied as she sat down across from Fraser.
“I just don’t know how to proceed on this.”
“What do you mean?” asked Janet with concern.
“Don’t you realize what this is all about?” Fraser asked her. “We have somebody here from five centuries into the future! Don’t you realize the ramifications this could cause?”
“I guess so.” Janet said slowly. Her only experiences with time travel, before this day, was seeing the concept used on one of those old movies and television series that could be played on the VR goggles.
“Think of the things this young woman could tell us about. We could find out the next five hundred years of our history.”
“I don’t think she is allowed to.” Janet said after a minute of silent thought. “Tomorrow I’ll see if I can find out why. I think she may be holding back something more than just historical facts. I thinks she knows something about both of our futures.” With that, Janet bade Fraser a good night and left the office to get some sleep.
The next morning, Sarah rose bright and early and called for Janet. “I’d like a tour of this colony now.” Sarah requested once Janet had arrived.
“Sure.” Janet said. “Let’s go.”
The Colony Engineering section was bustling with activity while Jared Douglas, the colony engineer, oversaw it all. Douglas was consulting a computer printout when Janet and Sarah arrived on the scene. “Miss Moreno.” Douglas said as Janet walked up to him. “What brings you here? Who’s your friend?”
“This is Sarah.” Janet replied. “She’s a friend of mine visiting from Earth.” Introductions were quickly made.
“I see this colony runs on fusion reactors.” Sarah pointed out as she went over to examine the nearby control console. “Quite efficient.”
“Of course they are.” Douglas said proudly. “Fusion power is much more efficient than the old fossil fuels that were used a century and a half ago. The only organization that didn’t care for fusion power was OPEC and for good reason. They went out of business within two years after the first fusion reactors went on-line.”
“I agree.” Janet added. “Those old fossil fuels did a lot of damage to the environment. They say it will take centuries for us to clean up the mess they made of Earth.”
“Maybe not as long as you think.” Sarah said cryptically.
“What was that you said?” Douglas asked.
“Oh nothing.” Sarah said with shrug. “Thanks for your time.”
“Your welcome.” Douglas replied. As he watched Janet and Sarah leave the area, he concluded that Janet’s friend was one strange girl.
“This is where I work.” Janet said as she led Sarah through the access tunnel and into the greenhouses.
“I see.” Sarah said as she took in the sights. “This is where food in grown to supply the areas of Earth in need of it.”
“Right.” Janet said. “The food is grown in the greenhouses and then loaded into special rockets. The rockets are then shot into orbit around Earth. Then they are collected by United World relief agencies. The food is then distributed to wherever it’s needed most.”
“A worthy operation.” Sarah said and then added. “Of course by the twenty-seventh century we have solved our food supply problems.”
“How?”
“I wish I could tell you.”
“There you go again.” Janet pointed out. “Surely if you just told me something about the future, or perhaps just my own future...” she trailed off as she saw the look of distress on Sarah’s face.
“Never ask me to do anything like that again!” Sarah snapped.
“Take is easy.” Janet said soothingly.
“I’m sorry.” Sarah said as she regained her self-control. “It’s just that I can’t do what you just asked of me. Look at it this way. Suppose I told you that you were going to die within the next year. Every time you got into danger, you would wonder if this was the time. Can you imagine having that hanging over your head? On the other hand suppose I told you that you would live to be a hundred years old. In that case you would probably blunder into every dangerous situation you found yourself in, thinking that you will survive to a hundred years of age, and get yourself killed in the process. I couldn’t with that on my conscience. So that’s why my answer to your request to know about your future must always be no.”
“Okay, okay.” Janet said as she raised her hands. “Let’s just drop the subject here and now.”
“Right.” Sarah said as she moved over to the glass wall of the greenhouse. “It’s amazing.” she said as she stared out onto the barren surface of the Moon. The expanse of the Moon’s surface spread out before her. After a few moments of silence, Sarah asked “Doesn’t it ever make you nervous about only glass separating you from the vacuum of space? It would sure worry me.”
“Well you don’t have to worry about that.” Janet said as she thumped her fist against the glass. She saw the look of alarm on Sarah’s face. “This glass cannot be broken by any known force. They would not have built these greenhouses without it.” Janet paused. “I get the feeling that they don’t worry about this on the Moon of your time.”
“Actually we call it Luna in our time, and you’re right about us not worrying about the vacuum. Please don’t ask me to divulge any more.” Sarah turned and stared at Janet. “How long have you been living here?”
“Just over a year.” replied Janet. “I originally came here on a work term program from college, but I liked being here so much I decided to stay. I took a college equivalent test, passed it, and Commander Fraser gave me the job I have now.”
“And your family?”
“They’re on Earth. Both my parents first opposed me moving here to the Moon, but they later relented. I also have a younger sister named Lisa.” Janet paused and stared at Sarah. “You told me that you had studied me before you came here. Why all the questions?”
“Because I like the personal aspect of it all.” replied Sarah. “Before time travel was invented, all we could learn about people who lived centuries ago came from archive records and history books. Now with the advent of time travel we can go and actually interact with people in the past, such as I’m doing now. Of course there are limits to even that. If one were to travel too far back into the past, the people there would think we were some kind of demons. So the rule of time travel for us is that if one of us travels back beyond the year 1800, we can’t reveal our true nature.”
“Well... “ Janet began and then stopped as a nearby comlink beeped. “Excuse me.” Janet said and went over and pushed the talk back button. “Yes?”
“Could you come to my office please?” Fraser’s voice asked. “There is something I need to tell you about.”
“On my way.” Janet said and closed the channel. “Duty calls.” she said to Sarah.
“I’ll just go back to my quarters.” Sarah said. “The two of us can meet up again later.”
“Right you are.”
Fraser was waiting in his office when Janet arrived on the scene. “Have a seat.”
“What’s the problem?” Janet asked.
“No problem really.” Fraser replied. “Just something I wanted to tell you about our guest for the anniversary, Patrick Harris.”
“You told me that he was the first commander of this colony.”
“That’s right.” said Fraser. “What you should also know is that he and I are not exactly friends.”
“Why not?” Janet asked with interest.
“Because I was a key factor in his resigning as commander of this colony.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Fraser said and then continued. “In the last year of his command here, rumours began to circulate that Patrick Harris was a heavy gambler and owned money to several loan sharks in Las Vegas. He then used colony funds to pay off his debts.”
“Patrick Harris was a gambler?”
“A committee was formed to look into that.” Fraser replied. “We did find quite a bit of evidence against him. Enough to make him resign.”
“He resigned? Just like that?”
“Yes, but he made it clear to me that he would not forget what he thought was a betrayal. I guess it didn’t help matters much when the committee appointed me the new commander of this colony.”
“I don’t understand.” Janet said. “If he hates you so much then why is he coming here for the anniversary?”
“I don’t know.” replied Fraser. “That bothers me even more.”
“Well we’ll just have to see what happens when Harris gets here tomorrow.” Janet added. She could not help but feel that things would start to get interesting once Harris arrived on the colony.
“Yeah I guess so.” Fraser replied in quiet agreement with Janet’s statement. The conversation now over, Janet got up and left the room.
Sarah lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. So far everything seemed to be proceeding just as history recorded. Her concentration was broken when her door buzzer sounded. “Come in.” she said and watched as Janet entered the room. “So what was that all about?” asked Sarah.
“Oh nothing.” replied Janet. “I just heard some dirty laundry about Patrick Harris.”
“The first Commander of this colony.” Sarah added, nodding her head.
“Sarah, do you have any friends in your time?” Janet suddenly asked. “You seem a little lonely.”
“Well to tell you the truth I really haven’t had the time to make friends.” replied Sarah. “Most of my time has been taken up with my studies. In fact, Janet, you’re the only person at the moment that comes close to being a friend, which is not a really good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re dead.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Janet.
“Sorry.” the blushing Sarah said. “What I meant to say that chronologically you died centuries before I was born. So did Commander Fraser and everybody else on this colony. How can I be friends with a person who lived centuries in the past?”
“I don’t really have a firm grasp on all this time travel stuff just yet.” Janet said as she walked over and put her hands on Sarah’s shoulders. “But as long as you’re here in my time, you can be friends with me as long as you like. Right now I’m alive and well.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Sarah said slowly. “Time travel can be unnerving to me as well.”
The next morning everybody gathered at the Colony Arrivals area to await the arrival of the Verne, which was carrying Patrick Harris. “It shouldn’t be long now.” Fraser told the crowd. Among the crowd were Jared Douglas, the colony engineer, Ralph Wong, the Head Physician, and Tom Paxton, Head of Security. Fraser also noticed that Janet and Sarah were there as well.
One of the great advances of the space age was the method of travel from Earth to Moon Colony. The first step a person took was to travel to the major airports of Earth’s important cities. Once there, a special shuttle takes the people up to one of six large space relay stations in orbit around Earth. This is where the space planes were docked. The space planes looked like giant aircraft, with a major difference, they never enter Earth’s atmosphere. They make the trips back and forth from the relay stations to Moon Colony. At each relay station, a space plane awaited to take on passengers. Once the passengers were safely on board, the space plane in question departed the relay station for the twelve hour voyage to Moon Colony. On the voyage, the passengers enjoyed the lap of luxury with full course meals served three times a day, a wide selection of movie holodisks and even the rest rooms boasted bigger accommodations than those on airplanes. The development of artificial gravity had abolished the problem of weightlessness and since there was no weather patterns in space, the threat of sudden storms and air turbulence was nonexistent.
The Verne glided down from space onto the huge runway that ran alongside Moon Colony. Once on the runway, the Verne fired reverse thrusters and slowly rolled to a stop by the colony link-up station. A huge boarding corridor automatically extended out from the station and linked up with the entrance to the main airlock of the Verne. There was a hissing noise as the boarding corridor was pressurized with an atmosphere. That process took a few minutes and when it was completed, the passengers began to debark from the Verne onto Moon Colony.
“Here they come.” Fraser said as the crowd from the Verne flowed into the Arrivals area. Most of the newcomers were quickly spirited away by eager friends and relatives, until only one man remained behind. He was grey haired and in his mid-seventies, Patrick Harris. “Mr. Harris.” said Fraser. “Welcome to Moon Colony.”
“Yes quite.” Harris said in a dry voice.
“If I may introduce my staff.” Fraser quickly introduced Harris to Douglas, Wong, and Paxton. He was then about lead Harris to his quarters when Janet quietly cleared her throat. “Yes of course.” Fraser said. “Patrick Harris, this is Janet Moreno. She works in the greenhouses.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Janet said as she held out her hand. Gesturing towards Sarah she said. “This is my friend Sarah.”
“Ladies.” Harris said as he shook both their hands and stared at them. “At least there are some things on this colony worth looking at.”
“Uh right.” Fraser said and then added. “If you’ll come with me.” He led Harris away down the corridor.
“What was that all about?” Sarah asked Janet.
“Ah Sarah, you have a lot to learn about this time period.” Janet whispered back.
Harris was taken to the guest area and assigned quarters right next to those that had been given to Sarah. As she took all this in, Sarah whispered under her breath. “It’s happening just as history records.”
Some time later, Janet and Sarah visited the Colony Plaza and took in the sights. Feeling hungry, they both ended up eating in one of the many restaurants located there. After the two women had finished their meal. Janet led Sarah to the indoor park that was attached to the Plaza. They found a place to relax among the grass and trees. “Pretty relaxing, isn’t it?” Janet asked as they stared up through the unbreakable glass at the stars.
“It is.” Sarah said as she looked around. Suddenly she lowered her voice. “Janet, I’m about to tell you something that I shouldn’t, but considering you’re my first real friend I’ll make an exception. Have you ever heard of the term terraforming?”
“Yes. In college I did a thesis on it. The theory is that any planet or asteroid can be transformed, over time, into an environment just like that of Earth, but it’s just a theory.”
“For now it is.” Sarah replied. “But about two centuries from now it will be perfected. The Moon will be terraformed starting in the year 2387. In the twenty-seventh century, the Moon has an Earth-like atmosphere, forests, lakes, parks, and many cities. The sky will be clear and blue with clouds. The forests will be populated with animal life, descendants of animals first brought to the Moon when the terraforming was completed.”
“So...” Janet began as she grasped with the actual concept of the Moon with a blue sky. “Will it take years to terraform the Moon?”
“Yes, it took about a hundred years, but only because the Moon was the first one. It took even less time when they terraformed Mars and Venus.”
“Mars and Venus.” Janet repeated. “There is a colony on Mars right now, much like this one.” It wasn’t hard for her to picture people on Mars, but Venus with its crushing atmospheric pressure. Could it really be true that people will one day live there in comfort and safety?
“That’s not all.” Sarah continued. “In my time we travel through hyperspace. We’ve established colonies all across the galaxy. Plus we’ve made contact with a few alien civilizations along the way.”
“Aliens?” asked Janet. “Tell me more.”
“I don’t think I should.” Sarah said as a look of concern swept across her face. “I may have told you too much already.”
“Who would believe me?” Janet exclaimed. “They would think I’ve gone bonkers.” She paused and looked at Sarah. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend?”
“Somebody you’re in love with.” Janet said helpfully.
“Oh I see.” Sarah said as she caught on. “Not at the present time. How about you?”
“Not now.” Janet said. “I guess I just haven’t met any suitable candidates for a boyfriend yet. Of course it was never easy for me to meet boys anyway.”
“Why not?”
“Because my parents were always so overprotective of me. Every boy I met had to be brought home so they could interrogate him. I think the poor boys all felt that they were being cross-examined in court. My younger sister, Lisa, is now going through the same thing.”
“I think your parents just had your best interests at heart.” Sarah pointed out.
“I know.” Janet said as she sighed. “But when you’re a teenager I guess it’s just hard to see it from that point of view. However, if I should meet a man in the future I guess you would already know about it.” Janet said as she winked at Sarah.
“Yes.” Sarah said slowly. “I would.”
“Is something the matter?” asked Janet. “You seemed kind of uncomfortable just a when you said that.”
“Oh no, it’s nothing.” replied Sarah. “Nothing at all.”
“Come on.” Janet said suddenly. “I want to show you something.” She led Sarah out of the park, across the plaza to a huge set of double doors nearby. Janet pushed open the doors and the two women entered a room completely made of unbreakable glass. This room overlooked a section of the Sea of Tranquillity that the colony was built not on, but completely around. In the center of this area was various pieces of equipment, more than a century old. Dominating this cluster was the landing legs of an old lunar module and an American flag standing proudly nearby. Janet pointed to a bronze plaque that stood on a pedestal at the center of the glass room. On this plaque read. THE SITE OF HUMANKIND’S FIRST STEP ON THE MOON. JULY 16, 1969. “What do you think?” asked Janet.
“The site of the first Moon landing.” Sarah said slowly. “It’s still hallowed ground in my time as well.”
“Pretty clever of them.” Janet added. “When they built the colony, it was decided, since this area is a historical landmark, that they would leave the area outside, still exposed to vacuum, so that it would remain undisturbed. This glass room was built for the sole purpose so people, colony residents and guests alike, could come and see where it all began.”
“Thank you, Janet.” Sarah said slowly. “It was wonderful for you to show me this.”
“Think nothing of it.” replied Janet. “It was the least I could do for a friend.”
At that same time, Fraser was in his office, having a rather tense meeting with Patrick Harris. “It’s all prepared.” Fraser said with forced calmness in his voice. “We will give our speeches at the banquet tomorrow evening.”
“Good.” replied Harris, who then lowered his voice. “I still haven’t forgotten the way you stabbed me in the back. I still think you’re a low life traitor.”
“Me? A traitor?” Fraser shouted. “I’m not the one consorting with Las Vegas loan sharks.”
“Is that old rumour still floating around?”
“Yes it is.” Fraser replied. “Only you know it’s true.”
“You may believe whatever the hell you wish.” Harris said and then stormed out of the room.
“What do you consider the biggest scientific breakthrough in the last hundred years?” Sarah asked Janet as the two of them headed back to Sarah’s quarters.
“Let’s see now.” Janet said, thinking for a moment. “I would have to say that the biggest breakthrough would have to be the development of artificial gravity. It allows us to be here on the Moon, as well as on the space planes that bring people here, and yet weigh exactly the same that we do on Earth. The idea was first conceived in various science fiction books, shows, and movies, but it was only in the last century that it became a reality.” Janet paused and looked at Sarah. “Why are you asking me this when you must already know the answers?”
“Just curious.” Sarah replied. “From our earlier conversations, it seems you have an excellent grasp on space exploration.”
“So I should.” Janet said, smiling. “Can you believe that just a little over a hundred years ago, many people were writing off space exploration as a dead duck industry. Look how far we have come since then. We have Moon Colony here, as well as the colony on Mars. We have a fully automated science station on the surface of Mercury. Finally we have an exploration ship, the Sagan, exploring the outer solar system.”
“There still is a lot farther to go.” Sarah added on. They arrived at Sarah’s quarters. “Well I suppose that I should get some sleep. After all it is going to be a big day tomorrow.”
“Me too.” Janet replied and then noticed that Sarah seemed somewhat distressed. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” replied Sarah. “I just need some rest.”
“Well I’ll leave you to it then.” Janet said as she started down the corridor. “Good-night Sarah.” Janet said.
“Good-night.” replied Sarah as she disappeared into her quarters.
“I wonder what’s bothering her?” Janet asked herself as she continued down the corridor. Janet strongly suspected that whatever it was that was bothering Sarah was more than simple fatigue.
With a groan, Sarah flopped down onto her bed and began to think. This was a problem she had not expected to encounter. Before the advent of time travel, history lessons were just dates, names, and pictures. Now it was different, and Sarah knew that the people of Moon Colony were not just historical figures far in the past. They were real people with feelings. Sarah especially focused on Janet. Their growing friendship was not something she had taken into account. Now she would have to face what was going to happen tomorrow. “It’s just not fare.” Sarah moaned as she pounded the mattress of the bed with her fists.
The next morning, Patrick Harris waited in the Arrivals area and watched as passengers disembarked from the Wells, another space plane, which had just docked. Harris stepped forward as a tall blond-haired man emerged from the crowd. “Your name Boggs?” Harris asked the man.
“I am.” the man replied. “I take it you’re Harris.”
“That’s right.” Harris replied. “But it’s not safe for us to talk here. Let’s go to my quarters.” The two men hurried away. Soon they arrived back in the quarters given to Harris, and the two men went over their plan. “You know what the job is?”
“Yes.” Boggs replied. “You don’t have to worry about a thing.”
“Did you get the proper tool for this job.”
“Yes.” Boggs replied. “I made all the arrangements before I left Earth. If everything goes according to plan it should come down a few miles west of this colony.” He checked his watch. “In a few hours from now.”
“Well then I suggest you go get it.” Harris said. “You can use Airlock Nine. It’s only used for maintenance checks and should be unguarded at this time.”
“I’ll leave at once.”
Meanwhile, a private shuttle called Willy’s Pride hovered in space at the exact position between Earth and the Moon. Inside the shuttle the owner, one William Barty, looked down at the package that he held in his arms. “Well here it is.”
“What is it.” asked Mike Nilk, Barty’s longtime partner.
“I have no idea.” replied Barty. “The man who gave me this package just instructed me to fly my shuttle out to this point in space. I was then to launch this package in my supply rocket towards the Moon.”
“You mean to Moon Colony?” Nilk asked.
“No that’s what is so strange about all this. I’m to program the rocket to come down a few miles west of the colony.” Barty opened a small hatch in the side of the supply rocket, placed the package inside, placed the rocket in the launch tube, and pressed the launch button. The rocket quickly shot out of the tube and began the journey to the Moon.
“This is strange.” Nilk muttered.
“I know.” Barty replied. “But if you saw the amount of money I was offered for this...” Barty broke off as the shuttle communication system beeped. He went over and activated his screen. Soon the image of a man appeared, the same man who had given Barty the package. “The package is on course.” Barty said with pride.
“Good.” the man replied with a cold smile.
“Now about the payment.” stated Barty.
“Well that’s a problem.” the man replied. “You see we don’t like to leave loose ends. While I was giving you this package, a few of our men did some tinkering with your ship.”
“What do you mea...” Barty began and then was forever cut off as a huge explosion swallowed Willy’s Pride. Soon there was nothing left of the ship except a cloud of debris floating forever in space.
Some time later, a spacesuit clad Boggs stood out on the lunar surface. As Harris had said, Boggs had made out through the airlock without incident. He had suited up, and waited in the airlock as the air was sucked out and the artificial gravity was switched off. Once he cleared the colony, he had made excellent time. Now he gazed up into the star filled sky and waited. Soon a small point of light appeared among the stars. It got bigger and bigger as it came towards the ground. The point of light soon resolved itself into the shape of a small rocket. As soon as the rocket landed, Boggs went over to it, opened the hatch in the side, and pulled out the package that the unfortunate William Barty had launched. With a nod of satisfaction, Boggs turned and started back towards the colony.
Harris was waiting in his quarters when Boggs suddenly returned with the package. “You made it.” Harris said. “I was starting to get a little worried.”
“Well don’t.” Boggs said as he opened the package and began to assemble the pieces of what was inside. “I’ve been in worse scrapes than this.”
“I knew you could do this.” Harris said with pride.
“Yes.” Boggs said as he held up the completed weapon, a high-powered laser rifle with targeting scanners. “Don’t you worry, I can personally assure you that Commander Charles Fraser is as good as dead.”
The next morning, Janet woke bright and early. “Well today is the big day.” She said as she got out of bed. After dressing, Janet headed over to Sarah’s quarters. After pressing the buzzer for a few seconds, Janet saw the doors open and a sleepy looking Sarah standing there. “You look like you didn’t get much sleep last night.” Janet said slowly.
“I didn’t.” Sarah replied. “Something just kept me up most of the night.”
“Would you like to talk about it?”
“I’d rather not.” Sarah replied. “Give me a minute to freshen up and we’ll go to breakfast.”
“Okay.” Janet said and watched as Sarah withdrew back into her quarters.
Fraser strolled into the cafeteria to get his breakfast when he saw Janet and Sarah sitting at a corner table. After getting his food, Fraser went over to join them. “Hello ladies.” Fraser said as he sat down with them. All ready for the celebrations later on?”
“I suppose so.” Sarah said without much enthusiasm in her voice.
“What’s wrong?” asked Fraser.
“Oh nothing.” Sarah replied slowly.
“She’s been like this all morning.” Janet exclaimed. “I’ve tried asking her about it, but she won’t tell me anything.”
“It’s not that I won’t tell you.” Sarah said after a few seconds. “I just can’t. That’s all there is to it.” She stood up. “Now if you too will excuse me, I think I would like to be alone now.” She turned and left the cafeteria.
“What the hell was that all about.” Fraser asked. Janet could only shrug her shoulders. “Maybe you should go and see what this is all about.” Fraser suggested.
“Okay.” Janet replied and then left the table.
“Not a very promising start to the day.” Fraser muttered to himself as he ate. Hearing the sound of somebody sitting down opposite him, Fraser looked up from his food and found himself face to face with Patrick Harris. “Well what can I do for you?” Fraser asked.
“Not a very promising start to the day.” Fraser muttered to himself as he ate. Hearing the sound of somebody sitting down opposite him, Fraser looked up from his food and found himself face to face with Patrick Harris. “Well what can I do for you?” Fraser asked.
“I just thought that we should call a temporary truce between us.” Harris said slowly. “Just for today. Just for the duration of the celebrations. What do you think?”
“Very well.” Fraser said after a few quiet seconds. “I suppose we could put aside our differences for that time.”
“Thank you.” Harris said as he rose to his feet. “That’s all a wanted to hear.”
“You’re welcome.” Fraser replied and watched as Harris strolled away.
Sarah was pacing back and forth in her quarters when her door buzzer sounded. “Come in.” she said and watch as Janet entered the room. “Come to cheer me up?” Sarah asked.
“No.” replied Janet. “I’ve come here to find out what the hell is bothering you. You told me that I was the first real friend you ever made. Well one of the purposes of friendship is to share problems and then help resolve them.”
“Not the problem that I’m having.” Sarah replied and then turned to Janet. “I can’t share this problem with you, or anybody else on this colony.”
“I see.” Janet said. “This has something to do with time travel.”
“Not that exactly. It’s more like tampering with established history.”
“It’s the anniversary celebrations.” Janet said with conviction. “Something is going to happen today. Something you already know about.” Janet waited and when Sarah did not reply, she continued. “Perhaps you could tell me about it. I promise that I won’t spread it around.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible.” Sarah said as she sat down on her bed.
“Oh come on now.” Janet said as she sat beside her new friend. “Surely just telling me won’t really change anything.”
“Yes it will.” Sarah replied. “One person can have an affect on many others. If I gave you knowledge of the events that will occur today, then who knows what effect on the time stream it will have. Your future, my present, could be changed radically.”
“It’s that bad?” Janet asked.
“That’s the same question everyone asks. When time travel was discovered, it was tempting to think that one could go back and kill Hitler before he rose to power, or prevent the assassination of President Kennedy. But nobody has ever attempted it.”
“Because they were afraid of what could happen to the time stream.” Janet said as she grasped the meaning of Sarah’s words. “They were afraid that the future they came from would no longer exist.”
“That’s right.” Sarah said slowly. “And that is the exact reason why I can’t tell you about today’s events.”
“I understand.” Janet said as she rubbed her eyes. “At least I think I understand.”
Tom Paxton sat in his office, studying some reports on his desk and looked up as Fraser entered the office. “Commander. What can I do for you?”
“Nothing much Tom.” Fraser said as he sat down opposite Paxton. “I just thought I would ask you to post some extra security at the celebrations today. I have a feeling that Harris is up to something.”
“What do you mean?” Paxton asked.
“Well he decided that there should be a truce between me and him today. I don’t trust him because he is not the man that easily forgives. Plus there is his connections to the Las Vegas loan sharks.”
“I thought that would come up.” Paxton said as he pushed a report over to Fraser. “I’ve been doing a little digging around. It seems that Harris is still gambling and has even joined the loan sharks in several of their illegal operations.”
“Really!” Fraser exclaimed as he rose to his feet.
“That’s right.” Paxton replied. “My sources on Earth inform me that he has been seen in Vegas with them on more that one occasion.”
“So there is a sinister motive to his coming here.” Fraser said with conviction in his voice.
“Not necessarily.” Paxton replied. “There is a chance that he is just here to enjoy the celebration. After all he did command this colony for a long time.”
“You don’t really believe that.” Fraser stated.
“No I don’t. I’ll post the extra security you asked for.”
“Thanks.” Fraser said as he got up to leave.
“There’s one more thing I’d like to discuss with you.” Paxton said suddenly.
“What is it?” Fraser said as he turned around.
“There’s this young woman Miss Moreno is with. Do you have any idea who this woman is?”
“Her name is Sarah Gibson.” Fraser replied, and watched as Paxton began checking his computer. “She is a friend of Janet’s from Earth.”
“That’s odd.” Paxton said after a few minutes. “I’ve checked the passenger manifests of all the space planes that docked here in the past few days. There is no woman named Sarah Gibson listed. Nor any woman matching her description.”
“Perhaps there has been an error.” Fraser said, being very careful not to divulge Sarah’s secret.
“I don’t know.” Paxton replied. “Perhaps she is connected to this Harris business. I’ll keep checking at any rate.”
“You do that.” Fraser said and hurried out of the office.
“Are you prepared.” Harris asked as Boggs gave his laser rifle one last check.
“Of course I am.” Boggs replied as he trained the rifle on a corner of Harris’ quarters. “When the time comes, Fraser will never know what hit him.”
“Good.” Harris said. “There is a small observation balcony that overlooks the main cafeteria.” Harris said as he directed Boggs over to a set of blueprints that were spread out on a nearby table. “The main table where Fraser will be sitting is in clear view of the balcony. You should have no trouble getting a clear shot.”
Several hours later, the celebration was finally under way. Fraser stood in the middle of the cafeteria, a drink in his hand, and watched as the people laughed and talked. “A very promising start.” he said to himself.
“There you are Commander.” Jared Douglas and Ralph Wong said as they walked up to Fraser. “I see that the party is finally starting.” Douglas said.
“It sure is.” Fraser replied as he scanned the room. “Have either of you seen Janet? She was supposed to meet me here.”
“I haven’t seen her all day.” Wong replied. “She must be with that new friend of hers. It’s possible that they decided to come here together.”
“That must be it.” Fraser said in agreement.
“Excuse me, gentlemen.” Paxton said as he arrived on the scene. “I’ve posted the extra security.” he told Fraser.
“Extra security?” Douglas asked. “What for?”
“Just in case.” replied Fraser.
“In case of what?”
“I hope we never have to find out.” said Fraser with a grim look on his face.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Janet asked Sarah as the two of them walked down the corridor towards the cafeteria.
“I’m okay.” Sarah replied. “After all the celebration is the whole reason why I’m here to begin with.”
“If you say so.” the concerned Janet replied. As the time for the celebration neared, Sarah had become more and more depressed. It seems she wanted to tell Janet what was wrong, but her duties as a time travellers prevented her. These thoughts continued to plague Janet as they proceeded down the corridor.
“Here I go.” Harris said as he headed for the door of his quarters. “You know your instructions.”
“I’m to wait here for half an hour.” Boggs replied. “Then I am to carry out my mission.”
“There they are now.” Wong said as he spotted Janet and Sarah entering the cafeteria.
“Thanks, Ralph. See you later.” Fraser said and then headed in the direction of the two girls.
“Well I supposed we better...” Douglas began and then noticed the stern look that Paxton had on his face. “Something bothering you, Tom?”
“Yeah.” Paxton replied. “It’s that Sarah girl. I’ve done some checking on her, or rather I have tried to check up on her.”
“What’s the problem?” asked Wong.
“The girl just doesn’t seem to exist.” the frustrated Paxton said. “Before I came here I asked Records to link me up with Earthbound computers. There is no birth record for this girl, no school or employment records, or any known place of residence. It’s like she just appeared out of nowhere.”
“That’s crazy.” Wong said with a laugh. “You must have missed something.”
“Believe me, I didn’t.” Paxton shot back. “There is something very strange going on here and I am not going to quit until I find out what it is.”
“Maybe we should help.” Douglas said after a few seconds. “After all, for all we know, that girl could be some kind of threat to this colony.”
“Well okay.” Wong said as he nodded his head. “But I still think that you guys are making something out of nothing.”
“Have some Champaign.” Janet said to Sarah as a waiter offered them both glasses.
“Thank you.” Sarah replied and then took a cautious sip.
“Hello there.” Janet said to Fraser as he arrived on the scene.
“Hi ladies.” Fraser said as he himself was served a glass of Champaign. “Enjoying yourselves?”
“Very much so.” Sarah said.
“Afternoon everyone.” Harris said as he strolled up to the group.
“I was wondering when you would get here?” Fraser said.
“Are you kidding?” Harris said. “I wouldn’t miss this party for the world.”
As soon as the correct amount of time had passed, Boggs slipped quietly into the corridors. Looking around him and seeing nobody in sight, Boggs quietly made his way towards the cafeteria with a large package in his hands.
The main table for the celebration had been quickly set up on a special stage that had been quickly built just for this occasion. From this position, the main table overlooked all the others in the cafeteria. Fraser sat in a chair at the center of the main table. Sitting to his right were Harris, Wong, and Paxton. To Fraser’s left were Janet, Sarah, and Douglas. “Thank you all for coming.” Fraser addressed the crowd of people sitting at the rest of the tables in the cafeteria. “I’ll try to keep this a brief as possible.” Fraser then launched into his speech.
Boggs had managed to reach the area of the cafeteria without being seen, but still he was not careless. He had just started to go up the stairs leading to the observation room when a voice said. “Who are you?” Boggs turned and saw a colony security guard facing him. “Stop right there.” the guard added quickly.
“I’m just going to the celebration.” Boggs said in an innocent voice.
“Then why are you going to the observation room?” the guard asked suspiciously. “The celebrations are in the cafeteria.”
“Oh I didn’t know that.”
“Of course you didn’t.” the guard replied sarcastically. “Right, you better come with me.”
“Of course.” Boggs replied just before he made a quick flip of his right arm. A small dagger shot out of Bogg’s sleeve and quickly buried itself in the guard’s throat. The guard made a short gurgling noise and then sank lifeless to the floor.
“Works every time.” Boggs said with an evil smile. After making sure the guard’s body was safely out of sight, Boggs made his way to the observation room without further incident.
“...and once again, thank you all for coming.” Fraser said as he concluded his speech and sat back down.
“Thought you would never finish.” Harris growled from his chair.
“Oh be quiet.” Fraser hissed back. “You are not going to ruin this for me.”
“Of course not.” Harris said, his eyes quickly moving to scan the observation room above and opposite the table.
With efficiency, Boggs withdrew the pieces of his laser rifle from the package and assembled it. Suddenly he noticed that something was wrong. The targeting scanner was malfunctioning. Damn, cheap second rate weapon! Boggs thought to himself. He decided to go ahead with the shot anyway, being sure that with his abilities that he couldn’t miss. Taking a small laser torch from his pocket, Boggs began to cut a small hole in the glass window overlooking the cafeteria.
At the main table, Sarah’s eyes kept switching from Janet to the observation deck.
Having cut a hole big enough in the glass for the business end of the laser to fit through, Boggs took aim. Despite the faulty targeting scanner, he had a clear shot. His hand slowly pressed the trigger.
“Janet, get down!” Sarah suddenly shouted, grabbing Janet and pulling her down behind the table. Seconds later, a deadly laser beam shot across the cafeteria, hitting the wall at the point where Janet’s head had been.
“What the hell is going on here?” Janet asked from the floor.
“It’s an assassin!” Sarah shouted to everyone in the cafeteria. “An assassin is here to kill Commander Fraser.”
“Kill me?” the surprised Fraser asked. “Sarah, what is going on here?”
“Patrick Harris.” Sarah replied. “He had an assassin try to kill you.”
“Oh he did.” Fraser said with anger in his voice. He turned and saw that Harris had slipped away in the confusion. “Find Harris and bring him to me.” Fraser thundered.
“Right away sir.” Paxton said and hurried away.
Boggs seethed with anger as he watched the pandemonium below. “They knew!” he growled to himself. “I’ve been betrayed!” Boggs turned and quickly left the room. He knew it was only a matter of time before they caught him, but he had a personal score to settle first.
Patrick Harris quickly ran down the corridor. His revenge was ruined, all thanks to that big-mouthed girl. How on earth had she ever found out? These thoughts were cut off as he crossed a corridor junction and ran into Boggs. “Oh thank God.” Harris said with relief.
“Don’t thank him yet, you rat.” Boggs growled.
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about!” the angry Boggs replied. “You set me up. They knew all about the assassination attempt.”
“But I...” Harris began.
“Save it.” Boggs snapped. “You know what I do to people who set me up.” Before Harris could protest further, Boggs flipped his left arm. Like the unfortunate colony guard before him, Harris found himself with a small dagger through his throat. Harris made no sound as he fell dead to the floor. With a grunt of satisfaction, Boggs turned to run and found himself face-to-face with a squad of colony security guards.
“Save it.” Boggs snapped. “You know what I do to people who set me up.” Before Harris could protest further, Boggs flipped his left arm. Like the unfortunate colony guard before him, Harris found himself with a small dagger through his throat. Harris made no sound as he fell dead to the floor. With a grunt of satisfaction, Boggs turned to run and found himself face-to-face with a squad of colony security guards.
“So that’s it then.” Paxton said a short while later as he, Fraser, Boggs, and the two security men watching Boggs all stood in Fraser’s office.
“So your from the Vegas loan sharks.” Fraser addressed Boggs. “Harris as well. Why did you kill him?”
“Harris was a stool pigeon. He was justly executed.” Boggs said with satisfaction.
“What about that guard you murdered?” Fraser asked. “Did he deserved to die as well?”
“He got in my way.” Boggs said as if that was reason enough.
“Get him out of here.” Fraser growled. “We’ll interrogate him more later on.” He watched as Boggs was taken away.
Sarah had been strangely silent since the incident in the cafeteria and Janet was puzzled about it. “Why are you so upset?” She asked Sarah. “After all you did save my life back there.”
“That’s just it.” Sarah replied.
“I don’t see...” Janet began and then broke off as enlightenment dawned. “Oh my God. I was supposed to die back there.” She looked Sarah right in the eyes. “Is that it? Should I be dead now?”
“Yes.” Sarah replied after a few seconds. “You should. Our history originally recorded that you were killed in a botched assassination attempt on Commander Fraser. The targeting scanner on the laser the assassin used was malfunctioning.”
“So instead of hitting Commander Fraser, it hit me.” Janet added.
“It was supposed to hit you.” Sarah said as she got up and paced around the room. “Of course that didn’t happen. Thanks to me.”
“Why did you do it?” Janet asked. “I must know. After all that talk about not changing history, you went and changed it?”
“It was because of friendship.” Sarah replied. “As I said before, you were the first real friend I had ever made. How could I just sit there and let a friend of mine get shot down?”
“So you risked it all just to save me.” Janet said slowly. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. My teachers told me that everything that happened in the past was all part of history. That I had no right to interfere. They drummed that lesson into my head. When I came here to this time, I tried to abide by that lesson. Then I met you and we became such good friends. I knew then I had to make a choice, friendship or history. I chose friendship.”
“Well what happens now?” Janet asked.
“I guess I should go home.” Sarah said. “And see if this change has had any major effects on my history.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Janet said with reassurance. “I certainly won’t do anything to change your history.”
“I know you won’t.” Sarah replied. “But what about any children you may have, or their children?”
“I know you won’t.” Sarah replied. “But what about any children you may have, or their children?”
“But why don’t we cross that bridge when we come to it.” Janet replied.
“Okay.” Sarah said. “Well I really should be going now.”
“How about we call Commander Fraser.” Janet suggested. “After all he might want to see you off as well I’ll have him meet us in my quarters.”
Ralph Wong , who was back in the Medical Area, looked up as Jared Douglas and Tom Paxton approached him. “What can I do for you two?” he asked.
“I think you already know.” Douglas replied.
“It’s that new girl.” Paxton said. “She knew all about the attempt on Commander Fraser’s life. Clearly she knows more that what she’s telling.”
“I guess you were right about her.” Wong sighed.
“I think we should go and talk to her.” Douglas suggested. “I saw her and Janet heading towards Janet’s quarters.”
“Let’s go.” Paxton said and the three of them headed out of the room.
Fraser met Janet and Sarah in Janet’s quarters and the three of them stood by Sarah’s time machine. “So this is good-bye them.” Fraser said.
“I’m afraid so.” Sarah said as she opened the side of her time machine. “I must return to my own time. I just hope the change I made doesn’t really affect things.”
“I don’t think that would matter.” Janet said with mischief in her eyes.
“What do you mean?” asked Sarah.
“Well since the change you made here happened in the twenty-second century, those in the twenty-seventh century will say it always has been this way. That I lived a long and healthy life.”
“You may be right.” the smiling Sarah said. Turning to Fraser she took his hand. “It’s been an honour and a pleasure meeting you.”
“Same here.” Fraser replied.
“I’ll miss you Sarah.” Janet said sadly.
“Not as much as I’ll miss you.” Sarah replied and the two women hugged each other.
“Come back and visit if you can.” Janet said.
“That’s a promise.” Sarah said and then stepped into the time machine. The side of the machine closed and then it began to hum. In an instant, the time machine had vanished, taking Sarah back to her own time.
“Well she’s gone.” Janet said to Fraser. “Now what?”
“Now we get on with our own lives.”
“What about the Vegas loan sharks?” Janet asked. “They did try to have you killed.”
“I imagine they have covered their tracks by now.” Fraser replied grimly. “They’ll probably disavow any knowledge of Harris or Boggs. Organizations like that are good at those sort of things.”
“I suppose...” Janet began and then broke off as her door buzzer sounded. “Come in.” she said and watched as Douglas, Wong, and Paxton entered the room. “What is this all about?” Janet asked.
“We need to talk to that friend of yours. The girl called Sarah.” Paxton said.
“You’re too late.” Janet replied. “She’s gone.”
“Well I’ll get Security to intercept her before she can leave the colony. She has to answer some questions.”
“I don’t think you’re going to find her.” Fraser said.
“Why not?” Douglas asked. “Commander, what is going on here?”
“Sit down, gentlemen.” Fraser said as he shared a smile with Janet. “This is going to be a long story.....”
THE END
