Through The Hourglass and Into The Future

Chapter Seven

Stranger in a Future Land

It was a Monday, and Tana had to leave early to head in for her job as a graduate professor at Rutherford Tech. Since she worked for Dr. Chronenberg, he was able to give her plenty of time to deal with me. Now that they believed that I had a handle on living in this time, I was now alone in the apartment, pretty much on my own.

Thanks to the doctor, I had a hefty amount of money in my account. His family was rather wealthy, and he had taken some of that wealth and placed it at my disposal. It was a nice gesture, but I knew that if I were to stay here in this time, I would have to make my own way eventually.

Which was why I had asked to see the doctor this afternoon, because I needed to have a serious talk about what was to become of me if I chose to stay in this time. I also needed to talk to him about what the realistic possibilities were about going back. My experiences in going along the Corridor had made me question staying in this future world.

Even now, as I look out onto the skyline of what was once known as the town of Rutherfordton, it seems too surreal for me to accept. It’s hard to just forget the past and accept what is now, especially when you consider just how bizarre this world is to me.

The weather had warmed up considerably, so it was now comfortable to eat breakfast on my balcony and watch people go on their way air was crisp and cool, but bearable in a sweater. The sky was slightly overcast, but the clouds were thinning and the sun looked to finally shine in its full glory sometime later today.

They still have laptop computers today, albeit smaller, lighter, and much more powerful than in my time. The QWERTY keyboard was still around after all this time, which helped greatly. Tana and the doctor had recommended that I surf the Internet (though it was just called the web these days) and look up sites that interested me. Tana even helped me set up some basic portals to use in my search, as well as helping to fully set up my identity online.

The news was relatively light on a Monday, from what the network news sites were reporting. President Portina de Soto had just returned from her meetings and now was back in Rutherfordton, dealing not only with the domestic situation in the Republic of Carolina (I have a bit of a hard time calling it that, in all honesty) but with a re-election campaign that was facing a stiff challenge from Rutherford City mayor Brigit O’Riordan. From what I read about the campaign, it seemed that an age-old political battle was playing out: that of Rutherford City verses the rest of the Republic.

Portina de Soto was originally born in Sao Paolo, Brazil, which was part of Aztlan. She was a former Olympic decathlete who used the fame from her athletic career to propel her into the political arena. It didn’t hurt that she also married a famous Hollywood actor by the name of Brian Hunt, and they became the stereotypical Hollywood power couple, basking in the warm southern California sun.

As I am sure almost all Hollywood marriage does, this one came to an end, when Portina found out that Brian was cheating on her with a co-star. Some things stay the same no matter how much time passes. Portina moved to San Francisco and ran for a state senate position in California.

Over the years, she rose up the political ladder. She became governor of California in 2494 before successfully winning the presidency of the Republic of Carolina in 2500 by a wide margin. It seemed as if she would win re-election easily.

That was until the frisky mayor threw her hat in the ring. Riordan had been born and bred in Rutherford City, having grown up in the Greenville suburbs just southwest of the old city. After a long career in the House of Commons and then Senate of Rutherford City’s Legislative Council, she became mayor of Rutherford City in 2492, and had become a popular figure both inside the city and outside.

Which brought up the dichotomy that was to become this election: the presidential insider verses the outsider who happened to be from the very city that many people in the Republic looked at with the same disdain as those from my time looked at Washington. An article from the Washington Post (almost all the major papers had survived the war and still published today) indicated that those who resided in the old Beltway really had an axe to grind with the new locus of power in the world.

I spent most of the morning reading up on all of this, thankful that the weather had warmed up enough to allow for sitting out on the balcony and feeling the cool breeze in my face. Reading about all of this swung my internal pendulum towards staying, but I knew that I would eventually go back to the other side and wonder if I should go back.

History, as it had always been, was an interest of mine, and so was politics. I had wanted to go to college to study both and teach them in high school (or middle school if I couldn’t get a high school gig), then perhaps even teach in college. But money was always tight as well as just lacking the confidence to make the big move, as well as the fact that I was unsure about what I had really wanted to do with my life.

That made staying here so very tempting, because if I did get the treatment, it was very possible that I could have several careers in my lifetime and be able to fully explore my myriad interests. I could become a writer, sportscaster, and even a starship captain if I wanted.

It still was strange to see transports flying through the air. The doctor had given me one to use, and I was tempted to take it out for a spin. I need not worry about driving it (or, in this case, flying it), because the computer handled all the piloting, and computers were far more stable in this time than in mine.

After a brief internal debate about what to do for lunch, I opted to stay in and fix something simple for myself. Lasagna and garlic bread was one of my favorite dishes, and it went well with the winter air as I ate outside and read some more, letting the noise of the denizens below serve as background static to help me focus.

This was also the year where the Global Alliance presidency was up for grabs as well, as they had the same five-year terms that the presidents of the Republic had. The current president of the Global Alliance was a Russian male named Piotr Chernov, who looked a lot like a middle-aged former athlete who still had that youthful look. In fact, he favored Sergei Bubka, the Olympic pole vault champion from my time who once competed for the Soviet Union and, later, for his native Ukraine.

Chernov, despite being from Russia, was extremely popular in the Republic, mainly thanks to his wife, Darlene Vassey-Chernov, a husky blond who was a popular singer for decades with a string of hits that made her a living legend even though she looked to be in her early thirties. She was a voluptuously tall woman with breasts and butt that would have made men of many races in my time thrill at the idea of bedding her. I had to admit that I had some thoughts along those lines as well.

He was facing a Global Alliance senator from Aztlan, Mariska Dolores Ortiz from Bogota, Columbia. She also looked young, sort of like Salma Hayek with an attitude. Unlike the Mexican-born actress from my time, Mariska was taller and had been a political power since college. She was also controversial in the Republic, as she had helped the Aztlan campaign in their bid to convince Panama to jump from the Republic to Aztlan, which had failed at that time but was still an ongoing issue to this day.

While Aztlan and Carolina had good relations, there was a political rivalry that flared up, and it usually happened in the old city, as Forest City and Rutherfordton suburbs were just a few miles apart. The fact was that Carolina was the proverbial leader of the world, and Aztlan chafed under that fact, as well as he rest of the world’s powers.

There were plenty of issues in the emerging campaign, one of them being issues with the colony worlds. The Global Alliance was more than just the nations of Earth, but Mars, Venus, Atlantis, the various orbiting colonies, and those worlds outside of the solar system that were under Alliance jurisdiction. They had a lot of influence with what happened in the Global Alliance, as more humans lived off the home world than on these days.

One of those orbital colonies was clearly visible in the eastern sky as the clouds finally began to break around two. Gargarin Colony, named after the first human into space, was also the first massive orbital colony to have been built, and it shined as the sun’s light reflected off of it. It was a massive spinning space station, where people lived inside and where the horizon curved inward. I hoped to see one of these soon, just to see the difference.

A ring of the doorbell broke my reading reverie, and I went to invite the doctor in. Julius looked to be stressed somewhat as he entered the flat and sat down on the couch opposite from me after having invited him to do so.

“Jason, I am sorry I couldn’t come earlier. I had a meeting with the investigative committee today, and they asked some very hard questions.” The doctor said this, unable to fully look me in the eye.

“How much do you think they know?” I asked.

“They know about the energy surge, and they know that temporal energies occurred, but they do not know about you. More specifically, they don’t know that we brought anyone or anything back.”

“How much have you told them?”

Julius looked me straight in the eye and said, “I’ve told them about the program, as much as I can without revealing anything to do with you. They did not approve of it, but they will allow me to continue with the project, so long as it does not pose a safety hazard.”

I leaned back and took a moment to think. Julius was clearly sticking his neck out for me, but I wondered why I needed to be hidden. Were they just paranoid? Surely they didn’t think Dr. Awri Shalitar would just stick me in an exhibit and showcase me like I was some ancient form of primitive life, like a Neanderthal or something.

These questions could be address later. At the moment, I had other concerns, which I address with Julius. “Let me ask you this, Julius. If I decide to stay here in this time, what is to become of me? I just can’t live off of you! I need a job, my own social circle, as well as a life within the community.”

“So you are deciding to stay?” Julius asked excitedly.

“I haven’t decided either way just yet, unless I can’t go back at all. So what can you do to help me have a life on my own in this world?”

Julius thought for a moment, and then said, “The best I can do at the moment is to try and see what we can do to establish you as a professor of twentieth century history. I may be able to find a way to get you assigned to my office while you’re technically on sabbatical.”

I threw my arms wide, exasperatedly, “With all due respect, am I going to have to live the rest of my life as someone else? I don’t know about you, Julius, but living a lie until I pass on is a bit much!”

Julius extended his arm and gave me the universal gesture to calm down. “I understand, Jason, but it’s the best I can do right now. Just bear with me, please? None of us expected anything like this to happen, and we’re still trying to figure out what to do. I have Tana and Alan looking at options right now, in fact.”

I had to get up and walk to the window. I looked out for a moment to think about what I was going to say, then turned to the doctor and addressed him. “Okay, let’s say that I somehow manage to convince people that I am, in fact, the real Dr. Trent Richards. What happens if someone finds out the truth? You know as well as I do that my DNA doesn’t match his!”

“We’re looking to change that in the system, Jason…” the doctor said.

“Wait! Stop for a second! Do you realize that you are committing fraud by doing this? You probably already have, as well as Tana and Alan, and I would be an accomplice as well! Why not just go to Dr. Awri Shalitar?”

Julius stood up and faced me, saying, “Because she’s new and I don’t know her that well. She’s from the University of Baghdad, and she’s done good work, but she’s mainly been a bureaucrat within the university system for quite a while now! I don’t know where her heart lies when it comes to something like this. Will she do like I wish and ask you to aid us in understanding a time in which we don’t have as much understanding as we would like, or will she opt to use you to enhance the prestige of the university as well as that of her person? That’s what I am worried about!”

“Then what happens if they catch you? What happens if they catch Tana and Alan? What would they do with me if they locked the three of you, along with Sarah and maybe even the landlord’s family, away?” I asked exasperatedly.

Julius looked away for a moment, unsure of how to respond. “I don’t know, Jason. Maybe I’ve gotten myself over my head in all of this, but I think this is for the best.”

I walked back towards the kitchen for a moment, needing something to drink at that moment. The doctor followed me and I offered him a glass of water, which he accepted. “You know, there is a way to end all of this.” I said simply.

“There’s no guarantee that you’d survive the trip back, or even if we could send you back!”

“Would you be at least willing to try?” I asked.

He drank some water, thought for a moment, then nodded. “I’d need a couple of days to set it up. Tana is going to be upset, because she cares a lot about you. Sarah does as well, and so do I. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I don’t know, doctor, but if it’s going to involve such a hassle to live in this time, then why stay around? I’m sort of on the fence, to be honest, but the more I think about it, the more I think I should go back.”

The doctor left later on to go back to the college to start working on setting up the experiment again that pulled me through into this time. He had no idea if it would work, but he agreed to give it a chance. I knew that I had to do it, because living in this time was so strange to me, and I didn’t know if I could handle it long term.

Tana came in that evening with tears in her eyes. “So you’re going to do it?” she said accusingly.

“I don’t think I have much of a choice.” I said back.

“Of course you have a choice, Jason! Does nothing we’ve done in the last week matter to you? Does the fact that we need someone like you to help us better understand that time in which you lived better?”

I countered, “What about me? When I asked the doctor what was to become of me in this world, he pretty much said that I would have to live the rest of my life as Trent Richards, not Jason Bond! Would you be comfortable in living someone else’s life, Tana?”

She burst out in an even greater flood of tears and emotion, practically yelling at me, “What about ME, Jason? What about the attraction that I feel for you? I don’t want you to leave!”

I managed to calm her down enough to let her go back to her place, promising that I would think more about it. I knew she would cry herself to sleep tonight, but there was nothing much I could do for that.

Nighttime fell early in winter, and the sky was pitch black with stars, the moon, and the orbital colonies breaking up the darkness. The clouds had been blown away hours before, and people were out in force on this Monday night all along Maple Street. Parliament Hill was well lit up, and there was plenty of activity there as well, because a major piece of legislation was being debated and could possibly face a presidential veto if de Soto didn’t like what it said.

I went to sleep somewhere around eleven, mainly out of boredom. It wasn’t an easy sleep, as I woke up several times during the night, my mind just too wound up from thinking about everything. Around five in the morning, I gave up sleeping and just sat in the living room, waiting for the sun to come up.

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2005 was pretty much the same as Monday had been. I sat around, reading stuff off the web and just fighting boredom until the doctor came by to update me on the setup of the experiment. Tana hadn’t even come by before work, which meant she was really upset at me. It hurt, but I felt this was for the best.

As the sun began to set, the doorbell finally rang, and I let the doctor in with a verbal command to the computer. “It took less time to set up, mainly because Alan helped. Tana refused to help set it up, but she did say she would help me when we began the process of sending you back.”

“Good. I’m sorry if I hurt her by doing this, but it’s for the best.” I said trying to convince myself it was.

The doctor left shortly thereafter to return back home for sleep, then back to the lab. He said he would be ready by tomorrow evening and he would send Adam to escort me to the campus. Tana never bothered to stop by, and it hurt to not see her. I did some crying of my own as I tried to fall asleep.

The next day passed slowly. No one came by to try and convince me to change my mind. Tana stayed away again, and I really began to have doubts about this. But I had to do this, or else I might go mad.

Soon enough, Alan came by to escort me to Rutherford Tech. We took the subway there, which was a short ride across the old town. He got me in past security, who were more preoccupied with a couple of hot blond students who had lost their college ID cards.

In the doctor’s lab, Tana sat behind a console with her head down, barely able to look at me. I could tell she had tears in her eyes, and she couldn’t hide a couple of sobs as I sat down in a chair that the doctor had laid out for me to try and travel back in time.

“You understand that this is not perfect. For all we know, Jason, we could be sending you back into the middle of something, like a wall, an old fashioned automobile, or into someone else. One last time: are you sure you want to do this?” Julius asked.

“Yes, doctor!” I said as I looked at Tana, who looked as if she were gazing at someone she loved dying before her.

The doctor charged up the machine, and the space around me began to glow. I began to feel pressure around my whole body as the process began to take hold. I could barely hear their voices over the hum of the machine, and I began to resign myself to going back to 2005.

That was, until something went wrong. “Doctor! The machine is malfunctioning!” Alan yelled.

“Power it down, Alan! Bring him back if we can!” I heard the doctor yell. Suddenly, I felt something shove me out of the chair hard, and I landed with a thud onto the floor, flipping over as the sheer power of the ejection from the seat. My body came to rest against the console from which the doctor, Alan, and Tana were working.

I started to black out as the three rushed over to me. Alan held a medical scanner over me and said, “Doctor, we need to get him to the hospital fast! He’s in very bad shape!”

Tana leaned down over me and said, “Jason! Don’t leave me! I love you!” She kissed me as I blacked out, my last thoughts being whether or not I would survive.