by A. E. Albert
Billy felt numb with shock and stumbled backward. Dickens was him! But that was impossible! He looked up at the old man before him, his expression fearful. “You’re lying,” he said in a trembling voice.
“No, Billy,” Dickens replied, as he sadly shook his head.
Billy’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “You said that a person can’t meet themselves in the time stream.”
“Yes, I did. But what I left out was a person cannot knowingly meet themselves in the time stream. My age, the color of my eyes and this truly wonderful accent, were all carefully prepared to deter you from discovering the truth. The paradox occurs in the psyche and would shatter it.”
Somewhere in Billy’s mind he knew that Dickens was speaking the truth. The shock began to wear off and the anger began to once again set in. “Ya, well I know now!” he yelled.
“But your mind can handle it due to my physical appearance, which does not fully associate me with you.”
“Why did you have to go through all of the trouble?”
“Billy, your father opened the door to that other world. But it was someone else who learned to extract the cosmic gases forty five years later.” Dickens hesitated to continue before adding, “It was you who did this. You grew up to be a scientist like your father and continued his work on the Time Sphere and the worlds that it led to. The war was not fully in motion until late in my lifetime.”
Dickens slowly sat down on a nearby chair, his face a mask of shame, as he recounted the horrors that he had caused. “I went in to the past to rectify the future. I worked with your father on the project and we became close friends. I even celebrated with your father when you were born.” He looked up at Billy, his eyes shining with unshed tears, “But I knew what needed to be done, so I took Preston Thorn’s son and I hid him.”
“You said my father hid me!”
“I never said that. That was your own assumption.”
Of all of the things that Dickens had told him, nothing enraged him as this confession did. He could have had a family, a life! His eyes blazed with fury and he shouted, “You took me!”
“There was no other way! I tried to reason with your father first. But he would not close the door to the alien world. I even told him what was to happen, but he refused to listen. He was lost in his work. He wouldn’t believe that such an amazing discovery could have such terrible consequences.”
“Then why am I going back?”
“I told you, you are the one who needs to close the door the Time Sphere has created.”
“Why can’t you do it? We both have the same genetic code remember?”
“Because I happen to know that it is a young Billy Townsend who accomplishes the task.”
The scowl melted off of Billy’s face. “What? You have been me. Everything we have been through, you’ve already done?” his asked in a low voice, his lips barely moving.
For the first time, Dickens actually allowed himself the barest of smiles. “You were right, Billy. Our journey is a part of the natural order of time.”
It now all made sense. How Dickens always knew all about the people and places they had gone too. All of the times Billy would feel exasperated when he felt that Dickens was not taking a situation seriously enough.
“That’s how you always knew what was going on, were always calm, and always knew the facts. What about Jeanie? You seemed afraid when she was accused of being a witch.”
“I’m not the hero in this story. I only play a role and I played it to the best of my abilities. And I have had many years to prepare myself.”
“But that doesn’t make sense, if you were once me, then how could you have done what you did in the future?”
“I changed my part in the future. However, a rather unfortunate side effect of entering the Time Sphere is that although a person may change a time stream, they remember all tangents of it, even the altered ones. I do not pretend to understand the mysteries of time. All I know is that there is only one palatable outcome to this story, and you are the one who will end it. Every aspect of our journey has affected the streams and is necessary for its completion.”
“But if I’m not in the future, I could not have done what I did,” Billy argued, his voice conveying his frustration.
“After I had hid you, I returned to that future time stream. However, your father without a son became immersed in his work and he made your discovery years ahead of time, resulting in the eventual war. I have learned that we may try to change time, but those very events we try to change may still happen.”
“Fine, but why the travelling all over the place for no reason? You always knew how to use the Device. And Jeanie, you put her in danger…” Then the answer became so obvious. He looked at Dickens with contempt. “Of course, you knew she was never in any danger, didn’t you?”
Dickens ignored this question. “Because the boy who left his world in the Time Sphere was not ready to do what needs to be done in the end.”
“Not ready?”
Dickens straightened his shoulders and looked Billy right in the eyes as he said, “I am going to tell you something, boy, something the adults in your life will never tell you.” He leaned forward and placed his hands on his knees. “You have behaved like a spoiled brat. You had everything you needed and every opportunity to live a good and prosperous life. But you were constantly feeling sorry for yourself, comparing your life to those around you and assuming that everyone had it better than you. You complain of being alone, but never embrace the friendships that come your way. Instead of learning from your life’s experiences, you choose to let them weigh you down and justify your self-pity. And where we’re going, I cannot bring that boy.”
All of Billy’s short life, he had believed that everything Dickens had just said was true. However, he felt a searing pain in his chest as he heard it come out of another’s mouth, someone he had come to actually care for.
“I hate you!” he roared, his eyes and throat burning with tears that refused to fall down his cheeks.
Dickens stood and began to slowly walk toward Billy; his voice soft and his eyes bright. As Billy’s tears began to silently drop down his face, Dickens continued, “No, that child has no place in the rest of this story. We need the young man who jumped off the walls of Syracuse to save his friends. We need the young man who learned that appearances are deceiving and to have faith that what is right will overcome all wrongs when they choose to walk that path. We need the young man who learned that love is not defined by its duration, but by the person’s choice to endure.”
Dickens put his hands on Billy’s shoulders and looked deep into his tear streaked face. “I need the boy who chose to be a leader and do what is right, who has stopped thinking about himself, but of others. In fact, I am terribly proud of the young man you have become. Are you willing to finish this, boy?”
All of a sudden the tent flap opened and a shy Jeanie poked her head into the tent. “Is everything ok?” A look of concern was etched across her features.
Billy turned to Dickens, his body rigid and his eyes hard. “Do I really need to answer that, Dickens? You already know, right?” And he walked out of the tent.
Chapter 34
Billy was sitting on a grassy hill, watching the day end as the sun began its journey toward the horizon. His expression was solemn and his eyes red from angry tears. He saw Jeanie approach out of the corner of his eye and he turned his head so she couldn’t see his tear streaked face.
“Billy, are you ok?” Jeanie timidly asked as she sat down.
“I’m fine, Jeanie. Did Dickens tell you?” His tone was clipped and cold.
She rested her head on her knee, as she slowly let out a breath. “Ya, I’m not really surprised though looking back, you know.”
Billy yanked out a fistful of grass. “Why did he think he needed to lie to us?”
She turned her head to face Billy. “Dickens said that this is the way things needed to happen, were meant to happen.”
Billy whipped his head around to look at her for the first time. “Jeanie, don’t defend him!” he bit out, his voice sterner than he intended.
Both became silent as they continued to sit on the grassy knoll, looking up at the setting sun. Billy didn’t know how to feel at this point. He knew that logically Jeanie was right, but he felt so betrayed by Dickens. How can he continue to the end knowing what he knew? How could he look Dickens in the face knowing what he had done to him? As he sat there, he felt that his life’s beliefs were justified because Dickens proved that people will always disappoint you in the end.
Billy just wanted to go home. However, if there was anything good that came out of all of this, it was his friendship with Jeanie. She was the only person in the whole world who he cared about what they thought of him and didn’t want to disappoint.
He decided he would finish this with Dickens. He didn’t know where they were going or what he had to do, but he would do this for Jeanie. He felt an overwhelming need for her to get home safely. She was there because of him, after all.
He stood up and brushed the grass off of his pants. He looked down into her face and held out his hand. “Ok, let’s get this done.”
The travelers said their farewells to Rene Descartes. Billy had really liked the entertaining Frenchman, he thought with a little smile. They quietly exited the military camp and wandered into a nearby forest, so not to be seen disappearing into thin air. Billy hadn’t spoken to or looked Dickens in the eyes since he returned to the tent after their confrontation.
Billy just wanted whatever he needed to do to be done and over with so he could go home and never see Dickens again. Billy was determined that if had to see his young self someday in the future, he would never do what Dickens did. He would be honest and let the kid know everything. Maybe adults need to have a little more faith in us sometimes, Billy scowled to himself. He silently promised he would never turn into such a jerk.
The three travelers stood side by side. “Everyone ready?” Dickens asked.
Both children just nodded in agreement. Then, in an instant, the world was gone.
The tiny group opened their eyes to find themselves on a cold hard metal surface and in a very dark room. Billy allowed himself the few minutes he needed to re-orient himself, due to the surreal feeling he experienced whenever he left the Sphere.
As Billy’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out softly illuminated glass jars lining the walls. Silver tubes and cables protruded from them, but he could not see what they contained.
As Billy scanned the room looking for a door, a voice came out of the darkness. “Who’s there? Is that you, Herald?” The voice was mechanical, but there was also a touch of human expression to it.
“What is it, Conrad, who’s there?” asked another mechanical voice. This one, however, was of a higher pitch.
“I don’t know, Richard, they won’t show themselves,” the voice said, sounding frustrated.
Suddenly, the room came alive with numerous mechanical voices talking at once.
As Billy continued to try and locate a door, he noticed Jeanie walking slowly toward the voice.
“Who’s there?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“What do you mean? It’s Conrad! Are you a new scientist?”
“My name is Jeanie,” she said, as she moved closer.
Billy began to feel nervous butterflies form in his stomach. He moved toward Jeanie, wanting to steer her away from the voices. But as he reached her side, he was close enough to see into one of the jars. Jeanie took in a sharp breath and all Billy could do was stare at the bizarre and unnatural contents of the glass container. Inside, was a grey and pulsating human brain floating in a thick clear fluid. Billy couldn’t stop himself from moving closer.
“What? You look like you’ve never seen a floating brain before?” The abrupt question caused Billy to jump back.
With wide eyes, he whispered, “Well, no, I haven’t, actually.”
“Then what are you doing in this room? We’re a part of a top security project!” inquired the high pitch voice.
The brain to the left of Billy spoke out in a pleasant and cheerful manner. “Don’t mind him. He’s always uppity like that. He’s gotten a little vain due to our top secret status. I’m Conrad and snooty pants over there is Richard.”
“Of all the…” gasped an affronted Richard.
“Oh, get over it, Richard! We don’t get a lot of visitors. Well, the kind that likes to sit and chat for a while, anyway. Usually, the scientists just come in here and write down their data and leave. Well, except Dr. Thorn, he’s real nice.”
Billy felt a jolt at hearing his father’s name. The reality that he was going to see him soon was beginning to sink in.
“Why are you all like this?” Jeanie asked with awe in her voice.
“Man is about to achieve their greatest challenge! The answer they have been searching for since the dawn of civilization! The most momentous-”
“We’re here to see how long the human brain can live without a body,” replied Conrad flatly.
“How dare you! I was speaking!” yelled Richard in a huff.
“If we let you give all of the explanations, we’d have to listen to you for hours,” countered Conrad. “Not that I don’t have a lot of time on my hands. Well, figuratively speaking anyway.”
“Why is knowing how long a brain can live so important?” Billy asked.
“What?” yelped Richard, only to be cut off again by Conrad.
“We’re a part of an experiment. They're trying to figure out how long a brain can live. But they’re not having as much luck with the human body.”
“The scientists are on the brink of discovering the key to immortality,” said Richard with glee at getting to the punch line before Conrad. “I have lived in this existence for 56 years, 142 if you count my life before. I gave my brain to the experiment, which I am entirely responsible for creating,” Richard stated proudly.
“I just gave up my body to science. If I had known that I was going to end up in a jar, I would have checked off no on my donor card,” said Conrad, his mechanical voice tinged with regret.
“You are not worthy to be a part of such greatness! It is I who has had to listen to your belly aching for the past 23 years!”
“Ya, well, when all you can do is think, it gets to be pretty boring.”
“Oh, Conrad,” said Jeanie with sympathy. “If you don’t want to be here, why don’t you say something?”
“I just figure that being a brain in a jar has to be better than being none at all. It’s just that, all I’ve thought about is food since I’ve been in here. If I had a mouth, I’d be drooling over a slice of cheese pizza right now.”
“Cheese Pizza! You don’t have a stomach, you fool!” shouted Richard.
“Well, it’s your brain that tells you you’re hungry!” Conrad countered. “You know when someone loses an arm and they feel phantom pains? I think I get phantom hunger pains,” he lamented to Billy and Jeanie in a depressed voice.
“You have all this time to ponder the mysteries of the universe, but you think about food! What a waste!” snorted Richard.
“I’m sorry, Conrad,” offered Jeanie.
“Um, me too, Conrad and it’s been really nice talking to you, but do you think you could help us? Do you know where the door is? We’re in a bit of a hurry.” Billy felt really bad for the guy, but he knew they couldn’t waste anymore time.
“Oh, it’s on the wall directly in front of me,” replied Conrad helpfully.
“Wait a minute! Why are you here? You don’t know us or your way around!” accused Richard.
“We…Um…we just…came for a visit,” said Billy nervously.
“A visit! You are not supposed to be here. I know who you are, you are thieves! Intruders!” yelled Richard.
“Wait, we’re not thieves! We just want to talk to Dr. Thorn!”
“Oh, of course you do! Intruders!” Richard yelled, which would have
been at the top of his lungs if he had any.
“We need to get out of here now!” bellowed Billy, running to the other side of the room.
As the trio felt the wall for the door, Richard continued to scream for help. Finally, Billy felt a cold metal frame and the door promptly opened, sliding into the wall.
As they ran through the exit, Billy could hear Conrad call, “Come back and chat sometime, ok.” Then the door closed, cutting off any sound from the room behind them.
A horrible stench immediately filled Billy’s nostrils. This is even worse than the rabbits! he thought. The travelers looked around them in stunned silence as they gazed at mountainous piles of rotting garbage filling an enormous room. Some of it was being boiled in large vats, with large metal rods sticking out of it. Other piles were being squished in between huge sheets of metal.
“Oh, it’s so gross in here!” exclaimed Jeanie, as she held her nose.
“Let’s go, we need to find my dad!” Billy yelled, as he raced to the door at the other side.
They entered a brightly lit room with shelves lining the walls. They were filled with glass containers and all of them had neat white labels on the front. Suddenly, a loud alarm began to sound and red lights were flashing about the room.
“They know we’re here! Thanks a lot, Richard!” Billy ranted.
“They’re going to come through that door any second!” screamed Jeanie in a panic stricken voice.
“Let’s move a shelf in front of the door, maybe it’ll slow them down. Come on, Dickens!” urged Billy, who suddenly noticed that Dickens had been uncharacteristically silent since they arrived in the future.
All three of them grabbed the nearest shelf and began moving it toward the door. However, the shelf became unstable as they moved it away from the wall and the glass jars began to fall to the ground around them.
“Keep moving!” yelled Billy.
However, as he pushed, the side of his face started to feel funny and then it began to itch horribly.
“Billy, Dickens, something’s wrong!” Jeanie cried out.