by John Huegel
Over the next moments, medical personnel came with a stretcher and carried the lady out, and a policeman escorted the husband, who was crying inconsolably. The stadium was eerily quiet, and play had stopped.
Moments later, the PA system announcer said, “Ladies and gentlemen. In light of this tragic accident, we will be cancelling this game. We hope that you understand and will keep the family of our unfortunate spectator in your thoughts and prayers. Good evening and safe travels home.”
As a sign of respect, the crowd rose to their feet. A standing ovation lasted perhaps a minute, and then the crowd began to head for the exits. Jade and the Watson kids joined the exodus. As they left, another spectator said to Andy, “That’s terrible. Never in a million years would I have thought that would happen!”
Andy paused for a bit, and then replied, “Yeah, it’s quite a shock.” Jenna and Laura were wiping tears from their eyes as they left.
Once outside, they headed for the door to Field 7. As they walked, Jade said, “Andy, it was good that you responded to the spectator. You see that there was no Timeline risk, and if you had stayed quiet, you would have stuck out more than if you had talked. And I need to remind you that this is only a simulation.”
Jenna said, “That’s hard to believe. It was so real! I’m still kind of shaky and I feel really bad about that lady.”
“I know you do, honey. As observers, you are allowed to have emotions. That’s part of what makes your recorded experiences so valuable. But you will have to really work hard to make sure that you don’t let the emotions and the experiences eat away at you. The Communication ability will help you to talk it out with each other, even if you can’t do it out loud. And if it’s too bad, I’m always there for you when you return from a trip.”
The kids participated in one more simulation, this one involving watching a couple meet for the first time. Jade explained that the couple would marry and their daughter would become the prime minister of Pakistan. In this simulation, their Timeline sense was used to keep them inconspicuous but able to observe the couple meeting, talking and leaving together.
Jade took the kids to an open eating area and she ordered chicken sandwiches, fries and milkshakes for them. As they finished eating, Jade explained the next step. “Up next are Biological controls. Are you ready to start?”
“I guess so. What does this ability do? Can I see through walls?” asked Andy.
“Not quite, Superman!” joked Jade. “It basically keeps you healthy and shall I say ‘safe’ when outside your home time.”
“What do you mean by ‘safe’?” asked Laura.
“Well, that’s the automatic part of the biological controls. Your body becomes temporarily sterile when out of home time. That means that observers can’t make or have children when on assignment,” explained Jade. Laura nodded and glanced away.
“Gross!” said Jenna. “Can we change the subject?” She was blushing. Andy was looking at his shoes.
“OK, just remember that part’s automatic, and it’s designed to keep you from changing the timeline. “
“The next aspect of Biological control is that your body will detect and destroy any infectious diseases you may be exposed to. This will be really important if you travel outside of your home time into the past, or you travel to other areas of the world. There are lots of bacteria and viruses that could hurt or kill you in other placetimes,” said Jade.
“How does it know?” asked Laura.
“Well, just like the normal white cells in your body, there are certain new white cells that are enabled when Biological control is activated, and they recognize any foreign body and isolate it. It can even speed up healing and minimize the effects of certain injuries.
“Hey, that’s what fixed up dad’s hand!” said Andy. “Now I get it. Not even a scar.”
“That’s right. It also sharpens your senses, but it can’t make them work any better than they usually do, so no peeking through walls,” said Jade. Andy sniffed in disappointment.
“So, turn it on and we’ll experiment,” said Jade.
Laura thought *ENHANCEMENT BIOLOGICAL ON*, and a voice in her head said %BIOLOGICAL ON. WARNING, SALMONELLA INFECTION DETECTED. QUARANTINE IN PROGRESS. EXPECT MILD SYMPTOMS FOR NEXT 3 MINUTES%
Immediately, she felt a bit queasy. “What is happening? It says that I have some salmon thing, is that poison?” she cried. Her brother and sister were also reacting with alarm.
Jade said, “Your lunch was actually doped with Salmonella bacteria. Your biologicals are scrubbing it from your system. It’s a field test.”
Laura said, “You mean you actually poisoned us? On purpose?”
Jade said, “Well, it’s technically not poison to you. It’s just a test to make sure your systems are working.”
%BIOLOGICAL REPORT. CONTAINMENT COMPLETE.% came into Laura’s head. She felt better immediately. “Wow, I feel much better. This could come in real handy when I get the flu at home!”
“It would, dear, but remember that your enhancements aren’t enabled in home time. It just wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the world.”
Jade continued. “A couple more things about Biologicals. You can simulate mild symptoms in cases where you are in an epidemic area. It will also neutralize many drugs, including alcohol if you wish, although you shouldn’t need that if you are the good kids I think you are.” All three nodded soberly.
“Let’s break for the day. Tomorrow we’ll start Communications. You should keep your biologicals and timeline abilities on from this point forward, mostly to get used to them. But also remember that we may throw some surprises your way, to test your abilities to react. Why don’t you head over to recreation and your parents can join you when they are done?”
The kids brightened, and took off running toward the recreation facilities. “Let’s hit the wave pool Laura!” shouted Jenna.
Andy said, “I’m going to try the BMX course. That should be a blast!”
Later, Andy had a chance to see his biologicals in action. Riding aggressively on the BMX course, he had a spectacular wipeout on the bike, and skinned his left thigh pretty good as he landed in the dirt and gravel. As he picked himself up, he received: %BIOLOGICAL ALERT. FLESH WOUND, LEFT LEG. CLOTTING AND ACCELERATING SKIN REGENERATION. ESTIMATED TIME 10 MINUTES. PLEASE CLEAN WOUND.%
He walked over to the locker room, wet a towel and rubbed off the gravel and dirt and blood. He felt no pain. He sat and watched as his leg scabbed over, the skin knit up and the new skin aged to match his leg, leaving no marks. Tom came into the course just as his enhancement followed up: %BIOLOGICAL REPORT: HEALING COMPLETE.%
Andy explained the accident and the healing. “That was awesome! I’m as good as new!”
Tom cautioned him, “You aren’t bulletproof though. Had you broken a bone, you may still have needed medical care. Try to not ride alone until you get Communications, OK?”
Andy nodded. “OK. Want to ride with me?”
“Sure!” said Tom, and they spent the next hour racing around the BMX course, sweating and having a wonderful time.
Chapter 24: Reading Minds
The next morning, the kids left on their own to visit Jade, leaving Tom and Liz in the suite. On their way to Jade’s, they got a red flash on their Timeline display. Looking at each other in confusion, they stopped, and slowly turned in a circle. The displays flashed orange in the direction of Jade’s office, and green down a side hall. They followed the hall, remaining quiet, and came to a door marked “Data Libraries”. Their alerts flashed green, and they entered the room.
Jade was sitting in the room, and smiled at them. “Good work, kids. You were stealthy and very focused. You worked like a team, and avoided my artificial placetime problem.”
“I figured this was your doing,” joked Laura, as they sat down. They told Jade about their evening adventures, and Andy explained how he was healed after his BMX tumble.
“Excellent, I figured you would personally get a lot of value out of that ability, A
ndy”, said Jade. “Boys tend to use the healing abilities a little more often than the ladies.”
“So, are you ready to read minds?” asked Jade. The kids were very excited to begin.
“OK, I’m going to turn on Communication a bit at a time. First you’ll learn Data Access, and then you’ll learn how to send and receive to people. We’re doing it in this order so you don’t accidentally broadcast your thoughts to everyone until you’ve learned to control it.”
After a pause, she said, “Now you have Data Access. Turn on your Communication Enhancements.”
Jenna closed her eyes and thought, *ENHANCEMENT COMMUNICATION ON*. Immediately, a voice sent, %COMMUNICATION ON, RESTRICTED TO DATA MODE.%
Jenna sent, *What kind of data can I get?*
%YOU HAVE LEVEL 1 ACCESS TO FULL HISTORICAL, LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL RECORDS, AND FACILITIES CONTROL AT LEVEL 1. ADDITIONAL ACCESS WILL BE GRANTED AFTER PROFICIENCY IS DEMONSTRATED, AND CLEARANCE PROVIDED BY YOUR COACH.%
*You talk just like a person. What should I call you?*
%MOST PEOPLE CALL ME TC. CALL ME ANYTHING YOU WANT, JUST DON’T CALL ME LATE FOR DINNER.%
*Funny, TC, you sound like my Dad. So tell me about this place,* Jenna sent.
%THIS IS A SECURE TIME TRAVEL HUB COMMONLY KNOWN AS TIME CAMP ERA 47. IT IS LOCATED IN AN UNDOCUMENTED SPACE ON EARTH APPROXIMATELY 2.37 MILLION YEARS BEFORE ERA 47. IT HOUSES MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC LABORATORIES, HOUSING, RECREATION FACILITIES, HISTORICAL ARCHIVES, TRAINING FACILITIES, AND IT MAINTAINS AN ACTIVE STAFF OF OVER 700 PERMANENT PERSONNEL.%
Jenna said to Jade, “This is amazing. I’m thinking to the Time Camp! He goes by T.C.”
Jade replied, “Well, it’s not really the whole Time Camp. You’re thinking to a Data Supplier. They are here, at most TimeStations, and occasionally one will be provided when you are on assignment. Go ahead kids, and ask it some questions!”
Andy sent, *TC, where is the nearest bathroom?*
%STRAIGHT AHEAD 20 METERS THEN OFF TO THE LEFT. SHALL I GIVE YOU TURN DIRECTIONS, WISE GUY?%
Andy sent: *No, thanks. Just checking.*
Laura sent: *TC, are there any boys my age here at time camp?*
REPLY: %BY ‘YOUR AGE’ LAURA, I ASSUME YOU MEAN BOYS WITHIN 1 YEAR YOUNGER TO 2 YEARS OLDER. THERE ARE 5 BOYS YOUR AGE IN TIME CAMP AT THE CURRENT MOMENT. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IMAGES OF THEM?%
Laura sent: *I guess so.*
Immediately, five images appeared in her visual field, showing the faces and names of each of the five young men. %DO YOU WANT CURRENT LOCATIONS OF THESE PEOPLE?%
*Uh, no thanks, just browsing, TC!* sent Laura.
Jade said, “OK, now ask a specific historical question, and request a download.”
“Download?” asked Jenna.
“It will retrieve and store the information in your memory. You can access it by thinking about the event and you can sort through it any time,” explained Jade.
“Holy cow,” said Andy. He went first: *TC, tell me about the Alamo, and download*.
%SMALL MEDIUM OR LARGE CONTENT?%
*Large. Make me smart!*
%STARTING WITH SMALL. FULL KNOWLEDGE DOWNLOAD IN 2.5 MINUTES%
Immediately, he saw images and sounds and he ‘knew’ what went on at the Alamo. There was background data on the construction, the background on the key players, and a timeline of the battle. As he thought more about it, more and more information came to his mind, and he found he could recognize the names of everyone in every photograph. He also knew that no one had ever observed the action as a time team, as there was only historical data and no record of observer brain dumps.
At the same time, Laura sent: *TC, tell me about the Berlin Wall falling and download.*
%SMALL MEDIUM OR LARGE CONTENT?%
*Large, please.*
In school, Laura had studied the event and had some context around it. As the information streamed into her mind, she recognized images, and sounds. Then she recognized her parents from the image, and as she concentrated on their image, a link appeared %OBSERVATION AVAILABLE, VIEW?%
*Yes, view,* Laura sent to TC.
Immediately, she was there, in Berlin. Looking through her parents’ eyes, she watched as the sledgehammers and later bulldozers took down the wall. She could switch between views, and she could fully see and hear and even pick up on other senses and the exhilaration that her parents felt on their first solo trip. Thought their experience was hours long in the recording, she found that her playback only lasted seconds in the Time Camp world. Her brain could process the playback much faster than it originally occurred!
*TC, Terminate observation playback.* sent Laura. Immediately she was back in the lounge. Andy had moved from the Alamo to the Colorado Territory, where he caught up with Bobby and Jake’s brain dumps. He was reliving their experiences riding and observing in Denver City as it was the capitol of the Colorado Territory in the 1870’s.
Jenna had found the Rascal Flatts concert and knew that it had taken place on March 12, 2011 in Oklahoma City. She knew that she and her brother and sister and parents had done a full observation. As she re-lived the playback, she found that she could not only see it from each person’s eyes, including her own future eyes, but she could zoom out and fly around the center of the stadium.
Terminating her playback, she described her experience including the flyaround. Laura said, “I couldn’t do that in Mom and Dad’s Berlin Wall. How come?”
Jade replied, “It is called triangulation. When three or more observers record the same event, the brain dump system can create a full dimensional view. Since there will be five of you, there will be excellent fidelity in the final observation of that concert.”
The Watson kids practiced a bit more, and found that they could store and recall on demand, and they could find a lot of information about Time Camp and about history in general. But they wouldn’t get any information past the date that they left their home time for Time Camp. TC simply replied, %YOU AREN’T READY FOR THAT YET.%
After practice, Jade said, “Andy, you get to order lunch today. Get our orders verbally and then talk to the Camp.”
He asked everyone for their orders, and then sent *TC, I need to order lunch.*
%OK ANDY, WHAT DO YOU WANT?%
*We’ll have three hotdogs, three fries, four cokes, and one salad for Jade, she said you would know which one.*
%AHH, JADE’S SALAD. I HAVE YOUR ORDER. SHOULD WE DELIVER TO YOUR CURRENT LOCATION NOW?%
*Yes, thank you, TC.*
%ANYTIME, BUD,% said TC. Andy smiled.
An orderly came around the corner with a tray and set it down by them. “How in the heck can they do that so fast?” asked Andy?
Jade said, “Time delay. TC sends the order back in time to the kitchen, so there is time to make it before you call for it. Only in Time Camp!”
Chapter 25: Hear Me Think!
They all dug into their lunches and relaxed for a bit. After they finished, Jade said, “Are you ready to think to each other?”
“Ooh yeah!” said Laura.
“I’m going to enable just the four of us for now,” said Jade. Immediately, each of the kids felt/saw a tiny image of each other and Jade. “When you turn on your communications, you can be private or public. If you are private, people don’t see you as available, but they can try to send to you anyway. If you are public, then anyone in your area can see you as available, even if they can’t physically see you. Jenna, think something to Andy.”
Jenna concentrated on the Andy image and sent, *Andy, you need a haircut!*
Andy sent back, *No I don’t! I’m growing it long!*
Jade said, “Did you communicate?”
Andy replied, “Yeah, that’s pretty neat. Couldn’t you hear it?”
Jade sent to all three: *No, people can only hear thoughts directed at them. Right now I’m sending to all three of you, but I had to choose to do that. There’s complete privacy unless you choose to send to someone. Otherwise it would be constant
noise in everyone’s head!*
Laura sent to all three: *I get it. If I wrap my thought around all of you, you all receive it.*
Then Laura sent to Jade: *Jade, this is just for you. Andy, did you get it?* Andy didn’t react. He and Jenna were thinking jokes to each other and laughing out loud.
Jade to Laura: *I got it, and Andy didn’t. You learn quickly!*
Jade to all three: *OK, here’s another trick. Andy, go back to your information download and send us some information on the Alamo.*
Andy concentrated for a minute, and then all three ladies started receiving images and information about the Alamo. Jade signaled, *If you want, you can download and record anything sent to you. We’ll get to that tomorrow.*