Back to the Beginning
Back in the castle, Jack brought the second disk out of his pocket from the coat he was wearing on the artic dig and set it on the table. Before he could do anything, Janet said “Wow that looks like a first generation Phase Shift Data Storage Device. Where’d you get it?”
Jack said “We found the first one in a briefcase in the back of that old van at the Arctic dig with the barn. We didn’t tell you because we were pretty sure you would not have let us see its recording.”
“You mean there are more of them? Janet said.
Jack said “Actually, this is the second. The first spoke of a treasure and warned us not to tamper with the box it was in, but to find the key first.”
Paul said “Turn it on and let’s see what he has to say.”
Jack pressed the button on top and as before, an 18 inch tall man appeared. “Hi. My name is Jesse. Assuming you are the same person or persons that accessed the first device, you will have by now discovered a secret chamber in the depths of the building. You may also have surmised that there is yet a third device, such as this.
“You are correct. There is indeed a third device and the three of them are needed to unlock the secrets of your past. I am hoping that this secret will be unlocked by myself and that the government will cease its illegal actions. But, my hopes are most certainly in vain.
“The third device will be much less difficult to locate once you allow some light to be shed on the situation. If you heed the mariner’s warning, you will discover a beacon that you will find rather illuminating. There you will find the third device. Once you have all three in hand, watch the message on the third and follow its instructions.” The recording ended abruptly and the four companions didn’t know what to make of it.
Jack spoke first and said “After getting the time machine free, Suzie and I went back to the original dig site and found this disk. It was attached to the underside of a chair in the secret room. We looked everywhere, including the remains of the barn and found nothing. Suzie even managed to search the lighthouse with no luck. The third disk is not there.”
Janet said “Jack, this is a Phase Shift device. As such, it will not show itself until certain events have occurred, such as the viewing of this recording perhaps.”
“Maybe the disk is now visible Jack” said Paul. “Or, it will be once we get back with this disk to trigger it.”
Jack said “You may be right, I suppose. I guess the next step will be to make yet another trip to the ice. To be honest, I’m not ready for that yet. Personally, I’d like to thaw out for a few days more before going back there. I really don’t like cold weather.”
“Then wait a while; when you are all ready then go. You have a time machine after all! Duh!” Suzie rolled her eyes at the obvious point that everyone had overlooked.
Jack said “She’s right. When we’re ready, we can just pop back to the same instant we left. We’ll have to form an expedition anyway. I don’t want to risk jumping into the ice again. I was very fortunate the first time.”
Paul said “Well, now that we have that figured out, lets get on with enjoying this wonderful, tropical island.” He and Janet then wandered off to enjoy the sunset.
~***~
The next morning, Paul found Jack gathering a pile of antique equipment. He said “What are you up to, Jack?”
“If we are going back far enough to see dinosaurs, naturally there will be no people or civilization. We’ll be on our own completely and I plan to have everything we might need on hand. I was also thinking that we should teach Janet how to shoot a gun. Dinosaurs are big and ferocious, from what I’ve read.”
“I suppose that might be a pretty good idea. After breakfast, we can teach her, if you like. I’ll let her know.”
~***~
Janet protested at first, but quickly saw the wisdom in the suggestion. Jack led them out to the plateau outside the castle walls and set up some targets. He brought along several types of guns. Paul had only ever seen him with the rifle he used for hunting and as such, was intrigued.
Suzie accompanied them dressed in cowgirl clothes, with pink western boots and a pink western hat, a pair of western six guns on her hips with what appeared to be pink pearl handles. Jack laughed out loud when he saw her. After composing himself, he said “Paul, you’re familiar with the rifle, and you’re a pretty good shot, I might add. The handguns, however, you have not seen. In a hostile environment, I insist that all of us be armed at all times.
“This is a Taurus Judge, which is chambered for both 410 shotgun shells and 45 Long Colt.” He showed them the difference between the two rounds and shot one round each while they watched. Then, he showed them the difference in the target resulting from the two different loads.
“This is a pretty powerful gun and may surprise you at its power when you shoot it. We’ll start with some smaller guns and work our way up to this one. I really want all of us to carry this gun for the stopping power, if we get in trouble and need it.”
They worked their way through the several handguns and by the time they got to the Taurus Judge, both were comfortable with the idea of shooting a large caliber handgun. Janet surprised herself by hitting the target every time, although Paul hit the center of the target each time.
Jack showed them both the rifle and shot guns and they spent the afternoon going through all of them. Once back inside, Jack showed them how to clean each gun and then gave them each a holster, with gun and a pouch of ammo, a rifle and shotgun and bandoleer of ammo for each. He also loaded a few extra boxes of ammo for each into the boat before he deemed them ready.
Once the camping gear and other supplies were secured, they headed back out. Jack said “I would like to get closer to the mainland, but still out of sight before jumping back 65 million years.” After that thousand year jump leaving him under a sheet of ice, he was a bit nervous.
~***~
They approached to within a few miles of the coast and Jack set the time machine to take them back 65 million years. However, the flash they expected to take them was different this time and the boat suddenly was no where near the water.
The abrupt manner in which the water vanished was simply astonishing. The boat was in the water one moment and the next was trying to remain upright with no water. Naturally, it came crashing down onto its side. The straps held the hovercraft in place, but they were straining.
Paul tumbled on top of Janet, who landed on Jack. Suzie popped out of existence, which had Jack worried. However, she merely went outside to see what happened. She took a quick look around and went back in to make sure everyone was okay.
Jack was grumbling about his back hurting and Paul seemed to have injured his leg. Janet seemed to be intact though. Once everyone was off of him, Jack said “What just happened?”
Suzie said “We seem to have landed nowhere near the ocean. We are resting on our side on dry ground, Jack.”
Jack pulled himself up to see the time circuit display. He said “It looks like we only jumped back about 6,000 years. I wonder what happened.”
The four of them made their way out of the boat and onto dry land to have a look around. They had come to rest in a clearing surrounded by trees and plant life. There was no water source anywhere in the immediate vicinity, but they couldn’t be too far from the beach in only 6000 years, could they? Taking in a deep lungful of air, Jack made the first major observation saying “Wow, the air here is amazing! I suddenly feel like a kid again.”
Paul, looking at the sky and pointing straight up, said “What do you make of that, Jack?” The sky had an odd look about it, as if there was a window over them.
Suzie, taking notice of Jack’s comment about the air began taking some basic readings. “The air here has a higher oxygen content than what you're used to and the air pressure is nearly double. I don’t know what would cause it, but perhaps that ‘window’ over the sky has something to do with it.”
Janet was looking at the plant life around them. She noticed that everything was much bigger, or, they had somehow been changed into much smaller people. She said “Is it just me, or are we smaller? Look around, everything seems bigger.”
Thinking a moment, Paul said “Well, if there was a window of sorts surrounding the earth, the air pressure would naturally be much higher. Perhaps with a higher air pressure and oxygen content things would just grow bigger.”
Jack said “I hate to be the spoil sport here, but we need to get this boat upright somehow and brace it in place if we are ever to jump back with hopes of landing in the ocean and remaining on the surface. Also, we need to check the hull for cracks and other damage.”
Paul said “I don’t know how far I can travel with this leg hurting like it is. I don’t think it’s broken because I can stand on it, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find it sprained.”
“I’ll go with you to find some wood, Jack. Maybe the two of us can come up with enough to build a frame for the boat to sit in” said Janet.
“Sounds like a plan to me” said Jack. Patting his holster, he said “Even though this isn’t the era we were aiming for, it’s still six thousand years in the past and the world is very primitive so make sure you’re armed at all times.”
Jack and Janet walked since the tree line was not far away at all. They didn’t get very far before discovering the local wildlife. As they were about to enter the woods, an enormous bear walked out and seemed interested in them, but strangely, non-hostile. The bear checked them out for a minute or so and then simply walked away.
Jack had his revolver drawn but Janet was still shaking in her shoes. He said “That was certainly strange. I’ve never seen a bear that big and certainly not one that wouldn’t show aggression. Weird.” No sooner had he spoken than a medium sized creature that he could only describe as a dinosaur walked the same path with similar results. Not knowing what to think, Jack and Janet immediately returned to the boat.
Paul said “That was quick, Jack. No wood nearby?”
“Oh, there’s plenty. However, we encountered a large bear, then a medium sized dinosaur. We figured a regroup was in order.” After collecting his thoughts for a moment, Jack continued “We know we only went back six thousand years, but we just saw a dinosaur and a bear. Everything I was taught says those two animals did not live in the same era. Something’s definitely wrong.”
Janet said “What really surprised me is that they didn’t seem interested in us at all. They looked at us then just walked away.”
“Maybe that’s because they’ve never seen people before” said Paul. “If there are dinosaurs, we must be further back than six thousand years, Jack. Maybe the time machine’s display isn’t working properly.”
Suzie said “I’m concerned with where the water is. Six thousand years ago there should have still been water here.”
The hovercraft took that moment to slip a bit in its straps. Jack said “We’d better get that thing down off of there before it slips off and further damages something.” He then climbed up to survey the situation better. After looking at it from every angle he could manage, he said “Janet, would you be so kind as to come up here and give me a hand?”
Janet climbed up and Jack said “If you would, get inside and start it up. When I release the straps, try to control it so it doesn’t crash. I would suggest just trying to lift higher as soon as I give the signal.”
“Okay, Jack. Although I’m not really used to driving these things, I’m sure I can handle it.” She got in and when they were both ready, Jack released the straps and signaled Janet at the same time. The hovercraft slipped dangerously low before shooting very high. Once under control, Janet brought it to a stop safely on the ground.
Paul suggested “Jack, why don’t you and Janet take the hovercraft back into the woods and see if you can find a downed tree. Use the winch on the front and try to lift or drag it back here. We can cut it to desired lengths when it’s here.”
“That makes much more sense to me too. I don’t know what I was thinking just walking in there like that. Maybe I took a knock on the head or something.”
Paul laughed with Jack about that as Jack and Janet returned to the hovercraft and headed back to the woods. Jack hovered over the spot where they encountered the two animals and noticed a game trail of sorts. He followed it back to a river about a mile or so from the wrecked boat. At a clearing around the river, they were astonished to see animals from every continent of the world, and every era all gathered together at a watering hole.
None of the animals seemed aggressive to each other at all. Jack didn’t know what to make of it. He said “As long as they seem docile, maybe we should just ignore them and hopefully they’ll continue to ignore us.”
Jack saw that Janet was not speaking or moving and that her eyes were as wide as saucers. He turned his head to see what she was looking at and saw a giant dinosaur head peering in at them. The head was attached to a very long neck and enormous body with a tail just as long and thick as its neck. Jack remembered that this was a Brachiosaurus, one of the biggest, if not the very biggest dinosaur ever to have lived. As nerve wracking as this was, he was certain that the big brute was a plant eater and probably just curious. However, he very slowly moved the hovercraft to the other shore, where there were fewer animals.
Finally Janet spoke “Did you just see that? That was huge! I had no idea animals could get this big! What was that thing, Jack?”
“Unless I miss my guess, I would say with a fair amount of certainty that it’s a Brachiosaurus, which is probably the biggest land animal, and eats only plants, by the way.”
“I’d hate to make him mad, that’s for sure!”
“Let’s find a tree and get it back to camp. I have to bring Paul here to see this.” They located a tree in no time but, as with everything else here, it was huge! Jack couldn’t lift the whole thing with his hovercraft, so he took his trusty Molecular Knife and wielding it like the hero in a space opera, smoothly sliced through the tree trunk at its center point. Attaching the winch to the top half, he managed to lift the tree and fly it back to the boat.