Chapter 4
This is only a game isn’t it, Jake said to himself. The orator was finally near the cover that hid the time machine and patrons were watching thinking the next one would still be average.
The machine was in some sort of time warp, and Jake was calming down trying to unfasten the seat belt. The machine didn’t have any fantastic rocking and rolling movements, and he thought he was going to be in big trouble if he didn’t get out.
The atmosphere was apparently changing to what looked like outer space, and the orator was just about ready to pull off the curtain. The crowd watched as the slowly pulled it off, but as that moment the crowd only saw glass, and when it was completely off they only saw a wall to exit the building.
People suddenly started to leave, and were shouting and screaming at the orator since there was nothing inside. The crowds of people were leaving out of the door, some asking for their money back, and the orator who was puzzled at the moment went outside to call the police.
They actually misunderstood and thought the exhibit just wasn’t brought in yet, and since there were no photos yet it was useless to make it believable that there was one.
The machine was apparently gone from the modern world, but Jake was actually trying to get some shut eye since he couldn’t get out. The machine was at optimal performance and he suddenly awoke to the stars that appeared before the window. He didn’t know what to think at first, but he checked his watch and the time was still the same.
The ride was apparently not ending since the machine felt like wasn’t stopped anytime soon. Jake still wanted to believe that it was just a very simulation, and it would soon land back on earth.
But, the universe that he saw outside of him was rather bleak, and eventually the stars were increasing in number, but they didn’t seem like the stars that he was used to when he looked up at the sky at night.
The stars that he experienced at night were usually bright but all the same color, texture, and shape. He was seeing nothing but the same figments of lights as the machine was apparently increasing velocity and also speed.
Meanwhile, the museum was losing more patrons every minute, and the orator even decided to quit, since he was fed up with the lack of progress. The museum was closed and nearby cops looked for potential suspects.
The machine was nowhere to be found as men searched around with flashlights, and was on the hunt for what they thought was just a simulation. Meanwhile, Jake was in the cockpit, and the machine was rapidly and steadily increasing in velocity and speed. He pulled up a switched which he thought would slow it down, but it ended up only speeding up.
Then the machine went into overdrive when Jake pushed a button that was apparently the accelerator and the machine was going off into hyperspace and there was bright flashing lights surrounding the whole cockpit as he was at the edge of his seat, and he thought it really was taking him on a journey through time but for how long?
The machine was rapidly moving light years ahead of anything he had ever seen in his life, and the machine wasn’t slowing down and even rocking back and forth like a simulation.
The machine was increasing in speed so fast that Jake held on to the grip of the shoulder rests so hard that he couldn’t let go. Then the machine slowed for only a second and then was increasing in speed even more.
The machine was feeling so much like real thing, he became frightened from the fact that he really could be leaving the present day. But how it could really be so sophisticated, he thought to himself.
He knew he wasn’t going to get out yet, since it was still in hyperspace, which made him wonder how realistic they really wanted the simulation to be. Then as he was watching the machine go through the time continuum more rapidly by the minute, he noticed something that was hidden into a small label beneath the main controls. It looked like something that was associated privately, but possibly government too.
Then he noticed that warning under it, and analyzed it very closely. It read for US government and scientific use only, not for any public or social interest. At that moment he realized that the machine may not be a game, but even professor Matthews told him that it was just built to be simulation and not to be taken seriously.
Then the machine suddenly stopped the lights turned off, and he could hear the sound of people walking around, and some security guards nearby. He knew he was going to be in trouble when he got out, but also noticed the covers were still up over the machine.
He thought the whole process was just one big fantastic light show, but that didn’t make up for the very realistic images that the saw, and how fast it was going. He decided to get it, and face the truth like a man, but the machine still wouldn’t let him go.
He pulled on the belts as hard as he could hoping to break the tight grip, but the belts soon came off as he heard the curtains starting to rise by nearby employees, and he would have to face his fate and possible embarrassment he thought.
The curtains slowly went up, and even though he thought that he definitely would be caught in the act when he opened his eyes, no one was screaming not walking away.
It didn’t seem to make sense at first how people would just ignore him, even though he felt like he was clearly in the machine. No this isn’t real, he said to himself as he looked over at his body and to his hands to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Then the crowd simply watched in amazement, and the orator discussed the machine as if he wasn’t even there, and as if he really didn’t exist.
The whole situation seemed so freaky he felt that he might lose his mind, and he even attempted to wave at people to get their attention but no one actually noticed him. Then he show soon closed after the orator gave the final discussion about the machine, and the curtains were closed over the glass casing that it was in.
Then he heard the sound of a door closing, and it was metal protective surface that resembled a door, and it shut right before his eyes. Jake was all alone inside, with not a single bite to eat or anything to quench his thirst.
He attempted to pull the thrusters to try and restart the simulation again, but it didn’t seem to want to start as if something was wrong, but he didn’t quite put his finger on it yet. The people were already leaving the museum, and even greeted people outside and inside by nearby greeters for the next show at eleven thirty.
Jake put his head to the large steering wheel hoping for a solution, but he thought about just leaving when they opened the curtains again, but he didn’t know if they would even open the shut metal doors again. So, he waited and as time continued, he realized the professor Matthew’s testimony would be coming up soon, and also the fingerprints could very well turn out to be his book, and he almost had no doubts that he would be listed as a suspect.
Then the door suddenly started to open and the curtains rose up once again. But this time the machine was real, and even though it was closed, he prayed that he wouldn’t be seen. He was wrong, and the crowd watched as the man was moving inside.
But, they actually interpreted it as part of the show, and it didn’t bother the patrons. Eventually though he was moved out by guards and asked to leave.
Why he was not seen the first time made not a bit of sense, but then he realized that the switch he pulled was actually a dimming device, and he thought the crowds were already there before, but he didn’t worry about it.
The next day when he called to talk to Matthews, he made an interesting discovery. The machine was never intended to be a simulation, and it was meant as a prototype, said Matthews. He told him that the simulation was a cover up to hide that it was the real thing.
But, Jake was skeptical about it since he was still in the same time period when he got out. Matthews tried to explain that even though it was a prototype if he had really attempted to type a date it may have worked. The whole thing to him was crazy, and Jake didn’t want much more to do with it so he hung up.
Then he soon cooked dinner from himself and he put the food down on the table waiting for Kyle to arrive. That night, he finally noticed that all the protests had stopped after watching the news, and he wanted to know if they would just stop all the controversy for good.
Then Matthews called him one last time that night, and told him that he should try and steal it or else he would just end up a suspect. He kept the notion in his mind that he still just crazy and getting caught would only leave him in more trouble.
That night though he realized that the fingerprints were identified and before he knew it, he saw fingerprints, and eventually photography of the main suspect appear on the television screen and it wasn’t Matthews. It was him, and he saw his face right before eyes on the television screen.
Jake quickly put his coat and hat on, and to his shock he was running over to his car, and hoping to drive away as fast as possible to he wouldn’t be identified. The car was working fine, and the engine started up as always.
He drove down to a nearby lake to make an escape and hide, and also to set up a plan to leave town. The machine was still an option, but Jake couldn’t believe Matthews just yet thinking time travel was ludicrous.
He walked over to a nearby bush to hide, and he waited for the time being. The sun went down, and as he walked down a windy country trail near the lake and he came across something quite out of the ordinary. It was a small cabin, and he thought that he was on someone’s property, and didn’t know if it was safe to approach it. The cabin looked empty at a distance as he came closer to the place.
But there was more to it, and it described how he was desperately attempting to save his daughter from a fire that was near the home. Although he read that it was nineteen fifty four, the document did continue. It also read that someone would someday read the hidden book, and realized that the man’s daughter died to protect the authorities from reading the book, by burning her and then throwing it in the ocean.
If the book was thrown in the ocean though, then how did it end up in the library? , he thought to himself. Then the document went on about the fact that she was really Da Vinci’s long lost descendent, and that she would actually know that since it was in good condition since it was thrown into a boat before she died. Where the boat was though she didn’t mention, and after her death, the book was apparently lost forever.