The Future (Robert) May 9, 2349

The First Chapter

Chapter 1

The Future (Robert)

May 9, 2349

As a historian I have always been intrigued by the past, present and future. How does the future have anything to do with history, you are asking? Well it doesn’t, unless of course you are trying to see how events of the past will shape the future. Every event in history has an impact on the future. Change one small seemingly insignificant event and all of the future you think you know could be wiped out completely.

 

We all like to believe that we can learn from history. However, you would be surprised how often we repeat history and when we are repeating history again. In my experience, we can learn from history, but still be completely helpless to change the present course of events to prevent history from happening again.

 

The reason for that could be a combination of factors of course. However, the one reason I believe that has the most significant impact on repeating history is the lack of complete data on the insignificant events in history. Remember what I said, even insignificant events affect the future.  If you don’t have a complete account of the insignificant events, you could miss the same insignificant events happening again and thus repeat the very history you wanted to stop. 

 

My parents raised me to be inquisitive. As a result I learned to question everything, even when I thought I had the answer. ‘Things aren’t always as they appear’ as my dad use to say. ‘The first answer is not always the right answer despite what you may believe or have been told. Never be afraid to test what you think you know’.

 

The time machine gave me the ability to explore the past, present and future like no one ever had done before. History is not as easy to explore as you may think. You are asking yourself, if you are simply taking a look at what has been written up close and personal, how can it be difficult to review what has already happened?

 

See, here’s the thing about history. It’s up to the people who write it to get the historical facts accurate. The writers of that history tend to impose his/her values on what they witness and thus the account is biased. Before the time machine, a historian had to rely on multiple sources of biased details in order to try and piece together an accurate picture of history.  Even then those details still tend to miss a lot of information due to the insignificant factors individuals thought weren’t important enough to record.

 

The time machine gave us a better way to ensure that we can capture a bias agnostic view of the history. Of course, even as I say that, I realize that, as a time traveler, my view of history is still partially biased based on my own understanding of what has happened in history and my own values.  Everyone has opinions and despite our best efforts, our opinions shape how we view events as they are happening. The goal is to be as objective as possible when trying to observe history as it is happening.

 

I had planned a set of destinations over a period of years for a research project I was doing on the history of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Early world history is sort of my thing in case you were wondering. The dates I planned to visit were a range of dates from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II and so on.  If you did not already figure it out, my interests were with wartime era history. 

 

So how then, did I go from visiting past events in history, to making a jump forward to the future. My trip to 2349 was purely scientific at the request of my girlfriend Dolores. You see, Dolores was from the 1920s and was more interested in the future of how things ended up than she was of the past. The date Dolores chose for me was May 9, 2349. I really don’t know the significance of that date to Dolores. It didn’t matter to me as I had a time machine and could literally go anywhere in time I chose to go. 

As you may have guessed, Dolores was the reason I did a lot of this work. She was an amazing woman. Dolores was a particularly stunning woman of 25 years.  She was a brunette, slender and very sexy. Her eyes were blue/green like the color of the ocean waters just after sunrise. She stood 5’6” and with long legs and perfect curves. She has the cutest dimples on her face and a smile that would light up a room. She could gaze at you and give you a sense of calm like you never felt or stare you down with minimal difference.

 

I met Dolores on an expedition to 1929. To be honest, she was the reason I went back to 1929. My parents’ photo collection included shots of many of their teams they worked with, including one photo of Dolores that caught my eye early on.

 

Dolores: “Hey, I have been looking at your list of future destinations”

 

Robert: “Yes, why?  Something you think I am missing.”

 

Dolores: “Not specifically. Just that since we met in 1929 I had hoped to get aspects of all future events.”

 

Robert: “We will eventually.”

 

Dolores: “Here’s a suggestion.  Why don’t we visit 2349?”

 

Robert: “That’s a very specific date. Any reason for that date.”

 

Dolores: “No! I just think it would make for a good place to go to. We’ve come so far with technology. I just want to see if we ever made it to the stars.”

 

Robert: “Well if you want me to check that date out, I will move it to the top of the list.  Lets send a scouting drone to see what we are looking at.”

 

Dolores:  “Great.”

 

Robert: “Let’s send an ASD ahead for site viability.”

 

Scouting ahead is really a safety thing in order to prevent us from dropping in on something that is a danger to ourselves, or to the inhabitants where we are dropping in on. We use an aerial scouting drone or ASD for short. The ASD would be equipped with cameras and recording devices, as well as sampling probes for capturing air, water and soil samples. The drone has four props and a stand with motorized wheels, for both air and ground maneuverability.

 

There are several things we are looking for when we send in the ASD.  First, we want to know what the terrain looks like.  We could easily drop in to a volcano, or inside a rock basin, or worse into the vacuum of space.

 

Second, we want to assess the atmospheric conditions to ensure that we can survive the trip.  If the surface is surrounded, by a toxic sulfuric fumes then we would be showing up in an non-survivable location. We also want to find some signs of life to confirm survivability.

 

Finally, we want to be able to pick an optimal landing site and what gear we will need on arrival. 

 

Dolores: “Sending the ASD to May 9, 2349.”

 

Robert: “Set it to run continuous scans from the landing site to approximately one mile in any direction.”

 

Dolores: “The portal is open.  Sending the drone thru now.”

 

Dolores: “Drone has arrived.  Looks like the environment is hostile, but human compatible.”

 

Robert: “What is the make up of the atmosphere look like?”

 

Dolores: “Looks like the saturation is 19.5% oxygen to 65% nitrogen and 15.5% carbon dioxide.”

 

Robert: “Just barely survivable.  Let’s pack the hazmat suits.  We may need them when we get there.”

 

Robert: “Anything else?”

 

Dolores: “No.  We will need to go over there to get more detailed scans.  May I recommend we use the hazardous material suits and we can take them off if we don’t need them?”

 

Robert: “No. I think we are within survivable limits.”

 

Oh, I guess I should explain the time machine. Believe it or not, the time machine is an amazing piece of technology. It was actually invented in the 2150s by a team of scientists, responsible for many of the most influential discoveries of the 22nd century. My mother was a member of that team oddly enough. Probably the reason I became fascinated with time travel. 

 

This same team also developed the worlds’ most powerful clean energy source known to man. That source of power became the standard for our civilization and was also the major reason why time travel is even possible. At the center of that power source was an element known as SH470. SH470 was artificially created in the lab.

 

Actually, our time machine was quite a bit smaller than the original.  It is small enough that you could carry it.  In the previous versions, it was not portable.  So when you went somewhere you would use a return locator to get back home. In our case, the time machine we had made it possible to go anywhere and anytime.  However, I am getting ahead of myself.

 

I am not really a technical expert when it comes to the time machine. However, here is an explanation given to me years ago on how the time machine works. Basically, you have a concentrated burst of tachyons that are used to create a doorway.  The doorway is basically an entry point to a tunnel, or portal thru time. 

 

If you think of the portal as a road, then the length of the road determines how far in time you travel, forward or backwards.  The curvature of the road determines where you land in time.  The physical location if it were.  We control the length and curvature of the road by the tachyon stream we inject.  The larger the stream the further thru time you travel.  The concentration of the stream will determine the curvature.

 

The traveler uses that doorway to go from one time to the other. The doorway goes both ways, so you have the option to return thru the door once you get to the other side. However, the doorway closes at some point, so you have to reopen the door when you are ready to go back.

 

In the past, they used a cylindrical tube that was large enough for a person to walk thru. The tachyon stream would be injected into the tube and the individual can walk thru that tube to get from one time to the other.  Ours only requires us to point the injector to an empty spot in front of us.  It will inject the stream of tachyons to that single spot to create the door.

 

Before we had the portable time machines, we had to use a return locator to get home.  If there was a time machine available in the time we landed, then we could use that time machine to get home as well.

 

The return locator has one function.  It finds and opens the doorway that was used to transfer to the current location.  Remember I said the doorway goes both ways.  So as long as the door is open we can pass freely back and forth between times.  Once the door closes, the residual effects of the doorway linger on for some time after the fact.  The locator re-energizes that doorway and reopens the door. 

 

Note I said the residual effects of the doorway linger on after the doorway closes.  As you get further into the future from your new time, the doors effects dissipate and will eventually be lost. 

 

You can actually re-energize the doorway by using the return locator, but there are limitations. The return locator only has a limited amount of power available.  After two or three times the doorway would be lost once the return locator ran out of power. It is however possible to recharge the locator.  But if you are in a time where the power sources are limited, you may not be able to recharge the locator enough to use it.

 

The doorways residual trace is usually good for up to 96 hours after the door closes.  I have read of other ways to keep the doorways residual trace active for longer.  However, I have not taken the time to learn how that works.  No real need, since we have portable time machines.

 

While we are on the subject of time travel, I guess I should also lay down some ground rules. The first is when you go back in time, you have become a part of that history, whether you like it or not. You’ve already altered the past just by being there.

 

Any actions the traveler takes also have impacts to the timeline.  It is ultimately a requirement of the traveler to know the history of the time they are going into in order to minimize potential mistakes that will significantly alter the future. 

 

Historians are the primary users of the time machine.  They know the history and are there primarily to observe.  Any traveler has to be trained on the dos and don’ts of any trip back.

 

Dolores: “I think we have viable atmospheric conditions.  I don’t see any obvious signs of life though.”

 

Robert: “Let’s bring the ASD back and analyze the samples before we make a decision on what to do next.”

 

Dolores: “Bringing the drone back now.”

 

By the way! I forgot to mention that the doorway, only allows matter to pass that is aided by an external force.  The air in the room for instance cannot pass thru the doorway unaided.

 

Additionally, the doorway is driven by the amount of matter that is going to pass thru the door.  If the door is not sufficiently large enough, the traveler may not be able to make it thru the doorway.  

 

It is also entirely possible for the traveler to make it thru, but show up missing items of their person. In the very first experiments thru the time machine we had cases where individuals found themselves on the other side of the door naked.

It’s very disconcerting to show up on the far end of the doorway naked.  Worse when you realize that the door has closed and you have no way back because all you had was left behind, including the return locator.

 

 

The Jump Forward

May 9, 2349

When we arrived in 2349 I found myself gasping for air.  The air was noxious for some unknown reason. You could still breath oxygen, which would explain why the drone returned that it was a hospitable environment.  That’s a flaw in the drone software, I will have to fix when we get back home.

 

Robert: “The air is highly toxic.  Use your hazard suit’s breathing gear.”

 

Dolores: “Already switching to the gear now.”

 

Robert: “I don’t understand what has happened here. Any ideas?”

 

Dolores: “None. What do you want to do?”

 

Robert: “Let’s take a look around and get more detailed scans.  Try to collect as many varied samples as you can.”

 

Dolores: “Is it possible this was a global event?”

 

Robert: “I can’t imagine that this would be a localized event.   My guess is this was an ELE.”

 

An ELE or Extinction Level Event was more likely based on the level of devastation and the complete absence of life.  Everywhere you looked there was destruction. Buildings had begun to crumble under the extreme conditions. The sky had a red/orange tint to it and minimal light was getting thru. The air was cold which probably was a direct result of the hazy red sky. The ground was scorched and what looked like streams of red turned out to be dust particulates that had been caught in rainwater and captured as evidence of the disaster that had occurred.

 

We arrived at the center of a town we knew, with buildings all around us. There was a path in four directions from our current landing site. Along that path were scattered remains from bodies, which had died perhaps in the last five to ten years.

 

I desperately wanted to find out what happened to cause this level of destruction. Something to tell me if this was manmade or some form of natural disaster the inhabitants just was not prepared to handle.

 

Robert: “Lets spread out a bit and see if we can determine exactly what happened. Stay in visual contact and leave your two-way channel open. If you see anything, use the radio.”

 

Dolores: “OK, What are we looking for?”

 

Robert: “I don’t know. Anything I suppose that could tell us when this happened and perhaps how it happened.”

 

I was a little concerned that the scorch marks on the ground were caused by static discharge. 

 

Robert: “Be careful of static discharge. If you get hit, you may not be able to radio for help.”

 

We spent a little over two hours just making our way from the center of town to the outskirts. The destruction was complete and devastating in nature. We had found virtually nothing to give us a definitive idea what happened. 

 

However we did find newspaper stands with magazines and the like. From that we surmised that whatever happened here probably happened approximately eight years ago.  That’s when all the print stopped for whatever reason. The latest date on print we could find was March 5, 2341.

 

We captured as many samples of the ground, air and water we could get. Hoping that when they were analyzed, we would find at least examples of micro life of some sort. Even under a normal ELE, there usually is evidence of microbes or insects that will survive. After capturing all the possible samples we could hold, it was time to return home.

 

Oh, I guess I forgot to mention this. Even with our version of the time machine, we still had a return locator. Using it simplifies the work the time machine has to do.  All it has to do is reopen the doorway and allow you to pass thru. Using the time machine as a time machine, basically creates a new doorway.  It takes more power to create a new door, than it does to reopen an already existing door.  Our return was with the return locator.

 

When we arrived home, we were both literally exhausted. However, I was desperate to start analyzing the samples we had, to find out if there was any life at all remaining.  We had to be careful with the samples, or risk introducing life by mistake from our own environment.  It basically required a sterile environment to test in.

 

Robert: “Lets get these samples analyzed and see if we can figure out what caused this disaster.”

 

Dolores: “We should use the biology, sterile lab to analyze what we have.”

 

Robert: “Good idea.  Ask Dr. Banbridge if we can use their lab.”

 

Dolores: “Right away!”

 

Robert: “Make sure she knows we need to use the sterile lab and why we need it. Also make sure she is aware it is urgent. If she needs a reason, have her give me a call.”

 

Dolores: “Yes sir!”

 

 

 

Analysis Results

January 21, 2196

It took us a while to finish the analysis. The disturbing news was that the disaster was caused by the human race. The data conclusively pointed to the atmospheric conditions that were caused by years of dumping high concentrations of toxic greenhouse gases into the air.

 

As the atmosphere became toxic to life, the ozone layer deteriorated to the point where dangerous cosmic radiation built up and killed any life that survived the toxic atmosphere. The samples we had gathered appeared to be completely anaerobic with no evidence of microbial or bacterial form of life to be found. The planet for all intent and purpose was completely devoid of life.

 

Over the next few weeks Dolores and I went thru the process of planning. We needed to map out the atmospheric changes from the 1900s onwards. If necessary we could go further back. But we believed that 1900 would suffice. We would go on a per decade comparison to get a view.  If necessary we could pick out years between decades to get more granularity.

 

It would take us a few years and many trips into the past to map the changes on a per decade basis. Once we had though, we realized that it was a steady growing problem from the early 1900’s up to the middle of the 21st century.  There were periods in that time that appeared to be recovering.  However they did not last long.

 

After the middle of the 21st century, the steady growth of green house gases grew at an exponential rate despite any changes we tried to make to correct the atmospheric conditions.

 

After we realized that the changes were on a constant growth pattern after the middle of the 21^st century, we surmised that there was no way we could fix this today or even in the near future before the disaster. If this was going to be fixed, it would have to be done in the past.

 

Robert: “If the inhabitants in the 20^th & 21^st century had made changes to implement different sources of clean energy, this could have been prevented.”

 

Dolores: “We have a time machine. Wouldn’t it be possible to try and alter opinions in those centuries to make the changes.”

 

Robert: “You have to be kidding. You know how hard it is to get government to do anything, even in our own time.  The inhabitants of earth in the 20^th & 21^st were so dependent on fossil fuels, that they could not have made changes without significant disruption to the economy.”

 

Dolores: “Nevertheless, if we don’t do something our civilization will end sometime in the early 24^th century.”

 

Robert: “You know, clean energy was not really used widely until after the discovery of SH470.”

 

Dolores: “That is true. What if we introduced that at an earlier stage of development in human history?”

 

Robert: “It is possible that we could alter the course of history by introducing 470 at a much earlier stage in human development.  However, it is strictly forbidden to make significant changes in history. The consequences could be devastating.”

 

Dolores: “The consequences will be devastating if we do nothing.”

 

Robert: “Do you think the ends justify the means?”

 

Dolores: “You tell me? I think you know how I feel about this.”

 

Robert: “You are right. Doing nothing is not an option either.”

 

Dolores: “How do you suggest we proceed?”

 

Robert: “I think the first thing we need to do is map the stages of human development thru the 1900s onwards.”

 

Dolores: “The purpose being?”

 

Robert: “With that hopefully we can get a picture of when the most optimal points in time we can make a change with the least disruption.”

 

Dolores: “That makes sense.  Anything else?”

 

Robert: “We also need to come up with a plan of how we intend to make the change.”

 

Dolores: “What do you mean?”

 

Robert: “Well SH470 is the most likely option.  However, it was not created until the 22^nd century.  Do we need to have it re-invented earlier, or just introduce the element somewhere in the past?”

 

Dolores: “I understand that. I think it makes more sense to artificially advance human knowledge.  That way, they can not only use the knowledge but also advance the knowledge on their own.”

 

Robert: “Exactly.  So then the next question is how much do we advance human knowledge? What do we need to make the advance possible and is there a way to make artificial changes other than our current idea?”

 

Dolores: “Creating SH470 in the 22^nd was not easy.  They had to use a supercollider.  Although they had supercolliders in the 21^st, they did not have the computers fast enough to handle the calculations necessary for injecting the materials at the proper sequence.”

 

Robert: “Right!  So that will also have to be taken into account.  I think whatever we do we are going to need help.”

 

Dolores: “What about the scientists responsible for the original discoveries?”

Robert: “That’s a good idea.   Just so happens that I know one of those scientists.”

 

Dolores: “That’s right.  Your mother was a part of the original team that created SH470.  The time machine to if I remember correctly.”

 

Robert: “I don’t remember telling you about that.”

 

Dolores: “I must have read it somewhere in your notes.”

 

 

 

 

 

The Plan

March 31, 2198 (Robert)

Mapping historical changes since the 1900s showed multiple places in time we might be able to alter the path of the human race. Nothing we found was ideal or perfect by any means. We believed that, SH470 was the key to solving this problem.

 

There were several issues with SH470 though.  The first of course being that the technology to recreate it earlier in the cycle of human development would require significant advancements in technology.  In addition, whatever method was used to synthesize SH470 would need to be cheap and easy to reproduce.

 

In order to solve this problem regardless of where we did it, Dolores and I would need help to accomplish this goal. Neither the two of us had sufficient knowledge to introduce the element into the past or for that matter how to integrate it into the culture.

 

In order to accomplish our goal we decided that we would have to enlist the services of my parents.  My mother primarily because she had the technical know how to synthesize the element.  My father had the technical know how to potentially build a time machine at an earlier stage in history. 

 

Curious fact about my parents is that my mother and father were in fact born 150 years apart. I never really discussed with them how they met.  It was obvious the time machine made that possible.  But the simple fact that I was about to bring them together made me wonder if this was predestined to happen.  Without the time machine they would never have met.

 

My father actually invented the design for the time machine.  However, he did not have the technology or the power capabilities to make the time machine a reality.  It wasn’t until my mother came along that the energy requirements were met.  It was the same team that used my father’s research to make the time machine a reality.

 

If we were going to make this work, we needed to bring them together in the early 21^st century and have them duplicate the development process used in the 22^nd century in a cheap and effective way in the 21^st.   The plan sounded simple enough. The implementation was the biggest problem. In order for us to bring them together, we would have to let them in on certain details to persuade them to do what was necessary to make our plan work.

 

Our initial plan that we started with involved going back to the 22^nd century and working with my mother.  She would help in the development of SH470. There was a two-fold purpose to this. The first was to give Dolores a chance to learn everything she could on how SH470 was developed.  That way she could help to advise on future or rather past development.

 

My part of the plan was to start in the 21^st century working with my father.  My goal was to learn everything I could learn from my father on the design of the time machine. At some point I would join Dolores in the 22^nd century and help my mother to develop the time machine.

 

After we were able to successfully develop the time machine in the 22^nd century, I would convince my mother to go back to the 21^st century to help my father do the same thing. The plan didn’t come without risks obviously and it also didn’t come with any guarantees.

 

I know what you are asking.  Why didn’t we just start in the 21^st century? Well as I said before, creating SH470 had a lot of technical hurdles in the 21^st century.  Without knowing how to do it, trying to overcome the technical hurdles were not only improbable, they were quite probably impossible.

 

Dolores: “Are we ready to set off?”

 

Robert: “Yes.  Here is a picture of my mother from the 22nd century.  You will need this to identify her when you get there.”

 

Dolores: “Wow, she was a very beautiful woman.”

 

Robert: “Yeah, I think so. My father obviously felt the same way. It was my understanding the two fell in love on first sight.”

 

Dolores: “How did you mother fall in love with your father?” 

 

Robert: “I don’t honestly know for sure.  However, she told me once that she was in love with him before they ever met in person.  Once they finally did meet in person, she fell in love all over again.”

 

Dolores giggled as she asked.

 

Dolores: “What does that mean?”

 

Robert: “Don’t really know. I guess she fell in love with him for his intellect first then fell in love with him again for something else.”

 

Dolores: “Interesting.  I suppose the two of them were both intellectually attracted as well as physically attracted to each other.  If you know what I mean.”

 

Robert: “It helped that my mother thought my father was a romantic by nature.”

 

Dolores: “Wonder what she meant by that.”

 

Robert: “When she comes back to the 21st century I will ask her.”

 

Dolores: “Alright!  Better get underway.”

 

Robert: “Be careful.”

 

Dolores: “I will.”

 

Robert: “No really Dolores. I don’t want to lose you.”

 

Dolores: “I will be there when you arrive.  I love you Robert.”

 

Robert: “I know.”

 

Dolores: “Are you going to say it?”

 

Robert: “You are right as usual.   I love you.  Be careful.”

 

We kissed and each went on to our respective coordinates in time.  

 

Reviews

[T.S. Sky]

A well thought out write.

[Chris A Jones]

Thank you!