Time Awaits
Three days later Jack had melted his way down to his boat. Not only did he get there, but he made the hole big enough to get his hovercraft down to the boat as well. Granted, it would be awkward to get the hovercraft actually secured on the boat, but he would figure something out.
What he didn’t count on was the state of his vessel. The bubble that had shown up with him had frozen solid and now he had to deal with thawing the boat out a bit at a time to free it.
Suzie came up with the idea to just get to his engines and start them up. If they would start, they may just thaw the ice out all by themselves, at least enough to make the jump. So he began the painstaking task of freeing the deck clear of ice enough to allow the doors to open to access the decks below.
Finally, he got the doors free and made his way down to the engine room. Not knowing much about them, he was a bit apprehensive to learn that they were encased in ice. Knowing that they were powered by sea water, which was frozen at the intake, he began attempting to melt the ice around the intake. He got a significant area clear and started the engines. They acted like they didn’t want to start at first, but after a few minutes, they came to life.
Jack made his way to the master control panel and turned on the heaters. Mission accomplished for he moment, he said “Suzie, I have the feeling this is going to take quite a while to thaw completely. Do you think we will have enough time to sneak over to the original dig site and have another look around?
“I would estimate, based on the ambient temperature and the current rate of thaw, that we have somewhere between twelve and eighteen hours before the boat is free of the surrounding ice.”
“Okay then. Let’s go see what we can find. The hologram of the man said that we had to find the key to open the box that was in the briefcase. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
They made their way over the ice in the hovercraft in a matter of minutes. With the government gone, there was just a hole in the ice with a barrier around it to keep Polar Bears from hurting themselves. Apparently, someone still had the idea that Polar Bears were endangered. Whoever it was really needed to make a trip up here sometime. The big white creatures were everywhere!
Jack parked the hovercraft near the hole and using the winch attached to the front, lowered himself down into it. Suzie met him at the bottom. They made their way through the ice tunnels to the barn and walked inside. Inside, they found it had been trashed by the government idiots that Janet instructed to gather tools for the museum. These people had absolutely no idea what archaeology was all about.
Fortunately, they had left the van alone and it seemed like they didn’t even notice the trap door to the secret room. Checking the van first, Jack found nothing. Next, he made his way through the piles of debris that not long ago were viable artifacts on an archaeological dig site. Now, it was just a bunch of trash. Thousand year-old trash, but trash nonetheless.
Jack got the trap door open and found Suzie already down there looking around. When he entered, the lights came on as before. He said “Okay, this place is set up like a church. Maybe the key will be behind the podium at the front. He carefully made his way to the pulpit, looking at everything along the way.
Stopping at the second row of folding chairs, Jack spotted something odd. Attached to the underside of the third chair in the row was another disk, similar to the one that was in the briefcase. Turning the chair over, he easily freed the disk and put it in his coat pocket. “Take a look around if you would, and see if you see anything like this under any other chairs, or anything else, for that matter.”
“Sure thing, boss” she said.
“Boss, huh? That’s a new one” Jack said with a chuckle.
The two of them found nothing else, and most notably, no key. The only thing Jack found that he did not notice before, aside from the other disk, was on the podium at the front. There were three indentations that the disks would fit into as if they were a key to something.
Assuming that the two they already had in their possession were part of the “key”, Jack came to the conclusion that there was still one disk missing. Finding nothing else in the secret room, they climbed the ladder. Well Jack did, Suzie merely met him at the top.
Jack said “I’m going to look around here and see if there is another one of these disks somewhere. Do you think you could make it over to the light house, through the ice and have a look around?”
“Sure, Jack. But, if it’s encased in ice, I won’t be able to communicate until I return.”
“Okay, if you find nothing, come back here and help me look around this mess. Otherwise, meet me here in, say, one hour” Jack said looking at his watch.
After nearly an hour of looking, Jack was under the impression that they wouldn’t find the other disk, if it in fact actually existed. About that time, Suzie popped back in and scared Jack. Jack jumped and fell on his backside. Suzie laughed and eventually Jack did too. She said “That really never does get old!” and laughed some more.
“Did you find anything?”
“Nope. Sorry Jack. Maybe when we watch the recording on the disk, it will give us a better idea.”
“You’re probably right. However, I say we go get the boat free of the ice and then follow up on our plan to free Paul. As it stands, he’s been Janet’s prisoner for a few days already.”
~***~
Meanwhile, back in Harmony, Paul was having the time of his life. He had no idea that the government people lived so good. He and Janet had spent nearly every waking moment together. He had to admit that she really was a fun person to be around. They had been dancing every night and ate at fancy restaurants every evening. Still, Paul found himself secretly wishing for one of Jack’s steaks. Who would have thought he would like eating cow? He still hadn’t worked up the courage to tell Janet about that, yet.
Janet had been equally appalled at the living conditions Paul and the rest of the civilians endured. When they got back to Harmony, Paul had agreed to have dinner with Janet, but insisted on stopping at his apartment first to change. He naturally invited Janet in and while she waited in the kitchen, he took a shower, cold again, and dressed in the bedroom, which was the only other room in the house.
When he came out, Janet was sitting on one of his two chairs, looking very sad. He asked “Janet, what’s wrong? A few minutes ago you were excited to go out this evening. Now, you look like it’s the farthest thing from your mind.”
“Paul, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Is this typical of how all civilians live?”
“Yes, as far as I know, this is a standard housing unit. Everyone I know has one just like it. We pay one third of our salary for it. Why?”
“Paul, I had no idea. I am so sorry. I would bet that no one on the government side of things actually knows how the civilians live. We treat them, you, I suppose, like dirt and blame all of our problems on you as well. But, at the same time, we enjoy a much different lifestyle. You have to believe me, I really had no idea.”
“What are you talking about, Janet?”
“It will be easier to just show you” she said. “Come with me.” She led him back to the hoverlimo she had checked out for the evening and had the driver return them to the government side of the city.
They went to her apartment and as he walked through the ornate front door, Paul was shocked. Still, he couldn’t help himself from saying “Janet, can I ask you a question?”
With a very demure look on her face and a slump to her shoulders, she replied “Sure, Paul, you can ask me anything.”
“Do all government employees live like this?” he asked with a smile. He had already figured out that there were vast differences. The time he spent with Jack had opened his eyes to what was really going on. He had no idea there was this much difference, but was not as shocked as he would have been a few weeks ago.
“Yes, Paul. I am sorry. I didn’t bring you here to make fun of you or rub your face in our differences. I just wanted to have some fun. I like you.”
“It’s okay, Janet. I’m sure it’s not your fault. This division between our lives has been building for hundreds of years. I’m an archaeologist, remember? It’s my job to study things like this.”
Janet had no idea what this man did to her, but she suddenly felt strange. No one else made her insides feel like this. It was not an unpleasant experience. She found that she wanted to spend a lot of time with Paul.
Paul was having similar feelings. He found himself thinking of Bob and Rachael in their underground home. He wondered what it would be like to actually raise children instead of letting the government do it for you. Never in his life had he entertained such thoughts. What was this woman doing to him?
~***~
Back on the ice or under it as it were, Jack secured the hovercraft to the roof of the top deck of the boat. He was fairly certain, based on his observations of the ‘bubble’ that enveloped his boat ten years ago that it would make the trip along with him.
He said “Okay Suzie, here we go.” He engaged the time circuits and in a flash they were on the open ocean off the coast of eastern Canada, a thousand and ten years in the past. “I used the auto return function to make sure I arrived exactly when I left, so if someone was watching at the lighthouse, they wouldn’t notice anything weird. I can use the same function to get us back to save Paul, but first, I want to get to warmer waters. I’m thinking of the Chesapeake Bay, near Washington, DC. That will put us very close to Harmony.”
~***~
In the lighthouse, a small boy was watching the boat on the water and said “Mommy! A car just landed on top of that boat!” To the boy, it looked like the hovercraft just suddenly appeared on the roof of the top deck of the boat as it was sailing.
“That’s nice, dear” his mother replied having not really heard what he said.
~***~
Jack set the course on his auto pilot and turned to see Suzie already relaxing on deck wearing a bathing suit, big floppy hat and sunglasses. Secretly, he knew that she needed to recharge herself by sitting in the sun, but was pleasantly surprised at how she went about it.
“It certainly didn’t take long to make yourself at home” he said with a chuckle. Since time was certainly not of the essence, Jack took his time traveling down the coast. Suzie enjoyed seeing places she had only ever experienced via the internet or through pictures and videos. She had to admit that seeing it for herself was a much better experience.
She pouted when Jack wouldn’t stop so she could walk around Times Square in New York City. “Suzie, there are so many people there in one place that people are constantly bumping into each other. You would be noticed right away as something unusual. The government of this time is rather paranoid and would probably think you were some kind of spy and we would be in serious trouble. Let’s get back on track to rescue Paul.”
With a pout she said “Okay. Man, you certainly know how to spoil a good time, Jack.” She thrust out her lower lip and crossed her arms while looking as angry as she could manage without laughing.
“I’m sure you’ll get over it. And if not, we can come back when it isn’t such a big deal. Right now, Paul is counting on us and we’re playing around like we’re on vacation.”
“I know. You’re right, as usual, Jack. I was just playing a bit, anyway.”
“I’m sorry Suzie. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” They made their way back to the Chesapeake Bay and Jack re-engaged the time circuits, instantly transporting them back into the year 3012. Looking at the surrounding landmass, he couldn’t help but notice that the water levels in the ocean were significantly lower than they were during his time.
Naturally, he thought of his island and wondered if it was any bigger in this time or if it was the same size. For all he knew, all of the Bahamas may now be one vast island.
As he thought about all the ice up north, it made sense, but still, he wondered what happened to cause it? After all, the scientists during his time kept on about ‘Global Warming’. This certainly looked more like Global Cooling to him.
He made his way to an island that appeared to be uninhabited and dropped anchor. He camouflaged his boat as much as he could and they headed off in his hovercraft. At his best speed, he made it to Harmony in under an hour and parked in his normal hidden parking place.