30th Century: Escape (30th Century Trilogy Book 1)

by Mark Kingston Levin

  * * *

  The two comrades walked to the inflatable and loaded the vessel.

  “Can you remove the mooring lines from the cleats?” Jennifer asked.

  “Aye-aye, Captain!” Kylie exclaimed.

  After a long trip out to sea, where each woman remained in character to foil anyone listening, the submersible surfaced nearby. Jenny was cautious but happy to see her sister in disguise.

  “May we have permission to come aboard?” Jennifer asked.

  “Permission to come aboard,” Jenny replied.

  The submersible opened its forward hatch and swallowed the smaller vessel. The light went on and the water drained away. Kylie spent a moment looking back and forth between Jenny and Jennifer, the latter still disguised as a native.

  “I’m Jenny Heros, Jennifer’s twin sister,” Jenny said, holding out her hand. “You may speak freely here inside this shielded vessel.”

  “Roger that,” Kylie replied. “Commander Kylie Brown, deputy leader of the SS.”

  Jenny took Kylie’s hand to help her get out of the boat. She gawped at Jenny so it nearly made Jennifer laugh.

  Jenny appeared unbothered by Kylie’s staring. “You’re welcome aboard. I’ll take you to the time machine. It is about thirty-eight hours away at maximum stealth speed; therefore, we can enjoy some food together and have a good night’s sleep. The vessel is robotic and does not need any additional control.”

  “I’ll cook while you two get acquainted,” Jennifer said.

  “Can I get a tour of this vessel? It looks state of the art,” Kylie asked.

  “I need to swear you to secrecy because this is thirty-second century technology,” Jenny replied. “We have the time travel technology and this is part of it, so you must keep this vessel and our identities secret.”

  “I swear to keep your secrets,” Kylie said.

  “You can be sure she will,” Jennifer declared. “I chose her as my second for a reason. Let’s get started.”

  “Can you tell me how the time machine works?” Kylie asked. “The one we had only made one-way trips, right?”

  Jennifer shrugged. “I can tell you some of the basic but I don’t understand every detail of the machine.”

  “Please, the basics will be fine. By the way, I’m so happy you’re alive.” Kylie hugged her. “I was worried when you didn’t arrive near the rest of us. It’s been four years in this time.”

  “Thank you. I’m happy to see you alive as well. You’re still my best friend and more.” Jennifer leaned into the hug. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you.”

  “I’d like some time with you soon. I’ve missed you.”

  Jennifer stepped away and swallowed. “Let me try to answer your question on time travel and we can discuss our personal lives in more detail later. I’ve missed you as well.”

  * * *

  The three entered the submersible control room. Jenny checked the instruments as the other two sat.

  Jennifer explained, “Time travel involves warping space time. There are several ways to accomplish that but most require enormous quantities of energy. Zexton worked out the physics of the components of electromagnetic radiation. In his theory, there are three major particles comprising the photon. The two linear segments have spin in opposite directions. It is this spin that creates the temporal field. When type one particles are concentrated, it warps space-time to the past. Therefore, one must create and separate these particles. That detail involves thirtieth-second century engineering and physics that we can skip as we’re just focusing on the basic concepts. By separating type two particles in the time travel device, one can choose to move forward in time. Trans-Time One was destroyed but it was capable of only one-way travel to the past with the limit of one small sub-cap per activation. The thirty-second century model, Trans-Time Eleven, can create high enough concentrations of either particle type and thus can warp space-time enough to transport the entire machine to the past or future depending on how you set the controls.”

  “Thank you for the basics,” Kylie said.

  “I can tell you more later, but now please help me to complete our mission first.”

  “Who’s running the SS in the thirtieth century?” Kylie asked.

  Jenny spoke. “Tom Page is running the SS now. They may have little to do, because your mission was successful, but they’ll need to keep all of your team a secret. The thirtieth century world thinks you all died in the Big Bang Sacrifice, which they think changed the Syndos’ position. We want to keep the world believing that.”

  Jennifer noted, “Using the technology to prevent genocide is worthwhile and acceptable but it must be done in secret to prevent our work from being undone. Do you understand?”

  Kylie nodded. “I understand now why you’re checking me out and not bringing the entire team at once.”

  “We need a plan to remove the SS members from prison,” Jenny said. “We want to use non-violent methods. Can you help us recover everyone? Does everyone want to return?”

  “I don’t know, but my team wants to return and the nine other team leaders want to return,” Kylie said. “We talked about it even knowing it was unlikely. We must ask them to be sure.”

  “If we go back, each person will need a new identity,” Jenny clarified.” You must explain this to everyone.”

  “I will not return, but I will visit time to time.” Jennifer had reached a moment to be truthful to her old friend. “I did not come straight here when I took Time-Travel One, four years ago on your timeline.” She took a deep breath. “I went instead to the twenty-first century. I went back to school, I met wonderful people, I fell in love with a man and we recently married...” She trailed off, her throat closing over threatening tears. “I’m sorry I failed all of you—I just couldn’t...”

  Kylie stroked Jennifer’s arm with one hand. “You needed the R and R, Captain, whether you knew it or not. I don’t fault you at all. We were prepared for the mission, and we completed it without you just fine. I’m happy for you, really. I’ve loved you since our high school days together. Love means acceptance for who we each are and what we need.” She smiled, tears in her eyes, too. “It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re alive.”

  Jennifer burst into tears, relieved at last to unburden herself of the guilt she had carried since entering the destination date in Time-Travel One. Kylie held her and let her cry.

  After the storm passed, Jenny cleared her throat. “I’ll permanently return to the thirtieth century, but I hope to visit my sister often. Let us get a good night’s sleep after the tour.”

  After the four-hour tour of the submersible, the women shared cappuccino and fresh fruit dessert then went to bed. Jennifer retired after removing her aboriginal disguise to return to her own look.

  Jennifer got up early the next morning. She found Jenny and Kylie already up and eating their breakfast. The three women planned to use a special excavation robot on board the submersible to rescue Kylie’s five imprisoned people.

  Kylie told them she could communicate with her imprisoned team through their watches. She sent coded messages to alert them to a visit and a plan to shorten their sentences. She planned to relay communications to James Dong, a trusted member of her team. He was excellent at tapping code and should serve as the central communicator to coordinate the entire plan. James agreed to prepare the other four SS operatives with information Kylie sent him.

  After the visit to the Trans-Time Eleven, they returned to Sydney to execute the plan to free the prisoners.

  Kylie purchased several vehicles including trucks, vans, and cars. These were located strategically to allow for the escape. Jennifer hacked into the prison’s computer system and studied the security system before planning some needed changes for the escape. She worked out a rapid recovery plan for the escape, inputting a plan that would cause a disruption and give the women an opportunity to rescue the prisoners.

  As part of the plan Jennifer purchased fruit from the local farmers in the ar
ea. She made an introductory special and sold it cheaply to the supermarkets. She hired five rental trucks and loaded them with fruit. Meanwhile, the robot dug out escape tunnels deep underneath the prison to avoid detection.

  Jenny and Kylie studied Jennifer’s plan. Kylie put in for vacation and other free SS members took family leave and assembled for action. Jennifer assigned thirty members of the SS under Jenny to create a second diversion. The plan was to rent a large ship, damage it so it would take on water slowly and capsize just outside Sidney Harbor. Twenty-six of the members would be there to make sure the captain and crew were not harmed. The crew would be rescued by the Australian Coast Guard. This plan was aimed at creating a diversion that would tie up the coastal search and rescue equipment and workers at a critical time, allowing Triton to pick up the SS members and sneak off into the deep unnoticed.

  Jennifer proposed precise timing for this event. “There is a large piece of space junk, an old space station that is not expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere for several years. However, it will soon collide with another piece of debris and cause a commotion. I’ve read that the Australians thought they were being invaded during this moment of history. It would be the perfect time for mass confusion.”

  “I’m not sure if this will work,” Kylie said.

  “You’ve lived in this century. Jenny and I are just visitors, so we must put more weight on your opinion.”

  “Kylie, what would you do?” Jenny asked.

  “Clearly there will be a big relaxation about twenty-four hours later. Everyone will be tired so they’ll no longer be on alert. I would strike then.”

  “Okay, let’s reformulate the plan based on Kylie’s input,” Jennifer said.

  The planning continued until all the details were understood; the computer simulations were studied and agreed to by the three women.

  Kylie explained everything to her team members. Training and practice followed until the group ran like a well-oiled racing car. In the meantime, low priced deliveries continued to the stores.

  * * *

  The day came and the old space station burned up over Western Australia. Panic ensued and everyone worked double and triple shifts investigating the invasion alert but nothing happened other than a few pieces of the space station hitting near Alice Springs, in the Australian Outback. The people were sent home to get needed rest, leaving a skeleton crew behind.

  The cruising ship crashed into something, leaving a hole below the waterline. The ship took on water and slowly listed to port, just as the three women had planned. The rescue had begun. Three vault alarms went off in downtown Sydney. The police mobilized. A disturbance erupted near the fence at Madison Prison and all the alarms went off. The prison guards locked down the prisoners and investigated. Several false alarms went off at other prisons. The electronics flickered, which was all part of the plan. The cameras came back online but Jennifer had hacked the system and programmed them to loop through an earlier recording.

  The five prisoners escaped from Madison Prison down the tunnels as the robot broke through the prison floors. They ran with the robot to the warehouse nearby. The robot then collapsed a one hundred-meter section of the tunnel after the escapees were clear. They all arrived at the warehouse and boarded the enclosed aft-section of a fruit truck.

  Five delivery trucks went out at once. At the road tunneling through the mountain, one of the fruit trucks carrying the prisoners was abandoned. The escapees entered a van, which was driven to another location where they met up with prisoners from the other prison. All the prisoners got into another truck. Soon the truck came to a flat-roofed warehouse. A robotic aircraft with vertical capability picked up the escaping prisoners. The aircraft headed to open sea where it rendezvoused with the submersible; Triton jammed the coastal radar and other systems just long enough. The pilotless aircraft, purged of its flight recorders, hovered briefly, dropped the prisoners off, and headed to a coastal location.

  The remaining SS members were picked up including those on the cruise vessel that hit the unknown object. The captain and crew were rescued by the Australian Coast Guard. The first forty of the surviving SS team members dove one hundred sixty feet to reach Triton using a small air supply. They were recovered in a chamber that held forty people. Soon the remaining six plus Kylie and Jennifer were in the recovery chamber designed to recover small undersea vessels. The Coast Guard continued to look for the passengers but none were ever recovered.

  Within in a few hours, the weather conditions turned foggy in the Sydney area. The escape was completed and all SS members were on the submersible headed for the time machine. The ultra-stealth submersible sneaked away in the deep ocean at four thousand feet under the waves.

  Jennifer and the others were trans-timed to the twenty-first century with the entire time machine. Once there, Jennifer and Jenny hugged goodbye. Jennifer knew she would see Jenny again but she felt like she was losing her sister. Triton took Jennifer about fifteen miles south of Tahiti Iti, setting her adrift with an engine-driven Zodiac. Triton returned to the Trans-Time Eleven.

  Jenny set the transfer to take everyone else to the thirtieth century. She told Jennifer she would return and visit in sixty days, if she could secure permission from the SS leadership.

  Jennifer started the Zodiac engines and was on the beach in Tahiti within minutes. She needed to get back to Marty. She wanted to tell him the truth but didn’t know how. He was her husband, her best friend. She could no longer go on deceiving him. Until her sister’s return, she would do what she was trained to do…deception.

  The conflicts in her fragile mind needed to uncork the tube of truth or it would explode, Jennifer thought as she wrote a poem for Marty in French. Perhaps Jenny would translate it upon her return in two months.

  The weight of a black hole was lifted from her cerebellum,

  Redeeming her self-worth from the ominous trip to Hades.

  Forever rising and falling cycles of Persephone’s momentum;

  A beautiful spring flower opening like one of Helios’ babies.

  Brought to the corporeality of nuptials’ manipulation,

  Her psyche was still in peril from the weight of deception.

  But in the eyes of her confederates she was now forgiven;

  Only the truth would free her from her past sedition.

  About the Author

  Dr. Levin was born and grew up in Vermont with many winters spent in Florida as a child. As a teenager he wrote poetry, served as a lifeguard, and played football. He currently enjoys sailing, exploring underwater caves, snorkeling, writing science fiction, and other pursuits. After working on the Apollo and Mars projects, he decided to return to study under Nobel Laureate Paul Dirac, obtaining his PhD in two and a half years. Dr. Levin founded two companies and served as a science advisor to President Ford. He has published over forty-four times in the scientific literature and was awarded over thirty-two patents. The science fiction writer is now emerging with his first work, the 30th Century Trilogy.

  Website: http://30thcentury.org/

  Copyright

  30th Century: Escape

  Kindle edition

  Copyright © 2017 by Mark Kingston Levin, PhD

  Editing by Kelly Lynne and Robin Quinn

  Cover art by Kit Foster of KitFosterDesign

  Interior art by Shellz-art, Sophia Chekhnita, and Bojan Rajic

  Dark Energy diagram by Ann Feild for NASA/STScI

  First electronic publication 2017

  EBooks are not transferable. All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, an
d incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, actual events, locale or organization is entirely coincidental.