Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More

by Karen D. Badger

  Kale grinned. “Actually, gravity is an essential part of the equation. We need to travel faster than the speed of light to break the gravitational attraction of the earth. The only thing known to science with that kind of power is a black hole.”

  “A black hole? Isn’t that the result of a dying star? Is it really possible to create a black hole?”

  “I believe it’s totally possible. I’ve been working on a design that emulates the gravity produced by a dying star, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.”

  Jordan’s eyes grew wide. “Are you saying you’ve produced a black hole right out there in our barn?”

  Kale looked Jordan squarely in the eye. “That’s exactly what I am saying, or, rather, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

  “Get out of here,” Jordan exclaimed. “I don’t believe you.”

  “You’ve seen what I’ve been working on out there for the past two years.”

  “That pile of junk in the barn?” Jordan sat back in her chair. “No way.”

  Kale ran his hand through his hair. “Well, considering it hasn’t worked yet, you might be right. But, yes, that pile of junk is going to create a black hole.”

  Jordan tried hard to hide her grin. “Forgive me for laughing, but your time machine is just a collection of spinning rings. How on earth can that produce a black hole?”

  “In theory, if I can generate enough energy while they’re spinning, the centrifugal force should generate enough gravitational pull away from the center to create a black hole. An object in the center of that black hole will be sucked into the space-time continuum.”

  “In theory,” Jordan pointed out.

  Kale nodded. “In theory.”

  Jordan was about to question the stability of Kale’s ideas when the waitress approached with their check. Kale paid for their meal. When he returned, Jordan was staring at a slip of paper.

  “What’s that you’ve got there?”

  “It’s her airwave code,” she replied.

  Kale’s eyebrows shot up. He looked from Jordan to the waitress.

  Jordan grabbed the front of Kale’s shirt and dragged his face down to hers. “Say one word and you’re dead meat, you got it?”

  Kale grinned. “No clue, huh? Did you forget to turn your gaydar on?”

  Once in the parking lot, Kale turned to Jordan. “So, why the hit and run?”

  “What?”

  “You were flirting with her, but when she gave you her airwave code, you ran like a scared rabbit.”

  Jordan looked down at the paper in her hands. “I’m too busy with our research to engage in a relationship.”

  “No, Jordan. You’re too busy avoiding another heartache. This one may turn out to be different. She seemed nice. Why don’t you give it a try? Not everyone is like Susan.”

  “I don’t know. I’m in the middle of remodeling, and the new implant will be ready in a few weeks. I don’t have time for a new relationship.”

  Kale brightened. “So, you’ve decided to go for it? The new implant, I mean.”

  Jordan saw his excitement and smiled. “A few weeks in this chair, and I’m more sure than ever that I can’t spend my entire life like this. Not if I can get myself up and walking and maybe ensure that no one else has to spend his or her life in this contraption.”

  “Hallelujah!” Kale said.

  Chapter 4

  Jordan sat patiently in Peter’s office, waiting for him to return from his lecture. She glanced at the medical degrees that adorned his office walls and thought about what an unlikely trio she, Kale, and Peter made. They’d become a team four years earlier, working on the spinal implant prototype. Jordan had lost both of her parents in an accident two years before, and she’d been living alone on the family farm. The only significant person in her life was her girlfriend, Susan Daley.

  Jordan sighed as a familiar wave of sadness washed over her. She and Susan were together for two years, until the first implant. Once Jordan had her mobility and independence restored, Susan ended their relationship. Two more years had passed since then. Two years of avoiding serious relationships. Two years of “hit and run” encounters.

  Jordan thought about her relationship with Peter Michaels. Peter was quite a stuffed shirt in the beginning, very prim and proper. It wasn’t until they were working together in the lab that he began to loosen up and show what Kale called his human side.

  Jordan’s thoughts were interrupted by Peter’s entrance. Peter immediately bent at the waist and enveloped Jordan in a fatherly hug. “Good afternoon, Jordan. I’m thrilled that you’ve decided to proceed with the implant. Kale called me at home last night with the good news.”

  Peter circled his desk and sat down.

  Jordan said, “I have to admit that I’m nervous. Finding myself back in this chair after two years of freedom was a pretty devastating blow. If it were to happen again, I don’t know if I could survive psychologically. I’m scared and more than a little skeptical.”

  Peter nodded. “That’s understandable.” He leaned forward. “My turn to be honest. I have to admit that I’m surprised the first implant lasted as long as it did. After all, it was only a prototype. For you to realize two years of use from it is truly amazing.”

  “How long do you expect the new implant to last?”

  Peter stood and walked around his desk. He sat on the corner facing Jordan, his arms crossed in front of him. “We’re hoping it lasts for several years, long enough to perfect the regrowth of synapses. Our goal is to give you uninterrupted mobility while the electrical stimulus prompts the regeneration of your spinal column. We have a lot to do between now and then, but I believe this new implant will go a long way toward helping us in the regeneration process.”

  Jordan leaned forward. “Will this second implant restore feeling as well as mobility? The first implant allowed me to look and move and live something close to a normal life, but I had no feeling in my lower extremities, nothing beyond an awareness of when I needed to relieve myself, and I only felt that because of the monitor in my bladder.”

  Peter squeezed Jordan’s shoulder lightly. “The new implant is designed to restore connections to all nerve cells, not just those associated with mobility. If we succeed, we’ll be light-years ahead in figuring out the regeneration process. It’s my personal goal to help you live a totally normal life, Jordan. If I can do that for you, it will be my greatest accomplishment. The biggest drawback will be recharging the energy source.”

  “That’s a small price to pay for mobility. With the adapter Kale developed, I’ve got access to all kinds of energy sources. The worst part has been learning new sleeping habits.”

  Peter rose to his feet once more and sat at his desk. He opened Jordan’s chart. “It’s only been a few weeks since we removed the last implant. You’ll need additional time to heal, say, three or four more weeks. After that, we’ll evaluate how far the new implant has developed. We’ll make a decision based on that and on your post-surgery test results. Sound okay to you?”

  Jordan exhaled deeply. “Okay.”

  Peter closed the folder and tossed it aside. “Until then, you need to give yourself ample time to heal—no overdoing it. Kale tells me you’ve started remodeling your home. That’s a good thing, as long as you don’t take over and start doing the heavy work yourself. Don’t you give me that indignant look, young lady. I know how stubborn you can be.”

  Jordan didn’t answer. She turned her hover-chair and made for the door.

  “Jordan…” Peter said in a warning tone.

  Jordan glanced over her shoulder, fighting to hide her smile. “All right. Nag, nag, nag.”

  Peter smiled back as she turned and glided down the hall toward the lab.

  * * *

  Kale pulled Jordan’s hover-chair from the trunk and guided it to the passenger door. He pushed the chair in as close as possible and stood behind it, holding it firmly in place as Jordan placed her hands on the armrests and hoist
ed herself into the chair in a single smooth motion.

  “You’re pretty good at that,” Kale said.

  “Unfortunately, practice makes perfect. I just hope it’s one trick I can put behind me.”

  Kale pushed Jordan toward the house. “What did Peter have to say about the implant?”

  “We’ve agreed to approach it with guarded optimism. We’re both hopeful, but I’m not going to set myself up for a huge disappointment if it doesn’t work.”

  Jordan opened the front door, and Kale pushed her through and into the house. They stopped short as they entered the kitchen. “Holy shit! Look at this place.”

  Exposed beams and insulation hung from the walls and ceiling, and a thick layer of dust covered everything. Kale was dismayed. “It’s going to take some work to get this kitchen clean enough to cook in.”

  “Well, better break out the cleaning supplies ‘cause I’m starved.”

  For the next hour, Jordan and Kale worked to clean the construction residue from the counter tops and appliances. Before long, they were seated in front of the holovision, enjoying grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Partway through the meal, Jordan picked up her bowl of soup and clumsily spilled it in her lap.

  Kale jumped to his feet and grabbed the bowl from her hands, cursing as the hot liquid burned his fingers. “Damn. Quick, get those jeans off.”

  “Kale! Kale, it doesn’t hurt. Really.”

  In the immediacy of the accident, Kale failed to register that Jordan’s condition made her indifferent to the burning soup. He scooped her up in his arms and laid her flat on the couch, pulling off her jeans.

  “Kale! What are you doing?”

  He grabbed the cuffs and tugged hard, yanking the jeans cleanly off Jordan’s body. He threw the jeans on the floor and pointed at Jordan’s legs. “I’m saving you from blisters. See?”

  Jordan raised herself with her forearms and looked down. Large red blotches covered both thighs. “Help me to sit.”

  Kale grabbed her ankles and swung her legs around while Jordan pushed her upper body erect. She reached down and ran her hands over her burned thighs. “Wow. It still feels hot.”

  Kale found a cold pack and placed it on Jordan’s reddened skin. “I hope we caught it before it caused too much damage.”

  Jordan touched the side of Kale’s face. “Thank you. I really appreciate your looking out for me.”

  Kale blushed under her praise. “Nothing to it. Sorry if I was a bit rough. I guess I acted before I thought.”

  Jordan grinned. “Oh really? I thought you liked forcibly stripping helpless women.”

  Kale turned bright red. “Ah, gee, Jordan. I…”

  Jordan laughed. “Relax, I’m just teasing. You did a good thing here. Thank you. Now, could you do one more thing for me?”

  “Sure, anything.”

  “How about finding a blanket to cover my scantily-clad ass?”

  * * *

  The next morning, Jordan was up and dressed before the contractors arrived. When Kale emerged from his room, she was in the kitchen removing a pan of muffins from the oven. She smiled up at him. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

  Kale bent over the muffins and inhaled deeply. “Hmm, that smells heavenly, but I thought I was supposed to do breakfast on weekdays.”

  “I was up early and too hungry to wait for you. Pour the coffee?”

  “You got it.” Kale poured two cups and carried them to the table. He placed one in front of Jordan, grabbed two muffins, and sat down. “How are your legs?”

  Jordan shrugged. “I suppose if I could feel them, they’d be tender, but so far, no blisters.”

  “That’s good. Sounds like we caught it in time. So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

  “The contractors are supposed to start ripping out my bedroom walls today, and we’ve got a second crew coming to begin restoring the kitchen. Would you mind helping me pick out cabinets? The contractors will need them in a week or so.”

  “You want me to pick out cabinets?”

  “Sure. You use the kitchen more than I do. My culinary skills are pretty much limited to soup and muffin mix. We might as well design the layout around what’s convenient for you. I don’t really have a preference other than to keep it as original as possible.”

  “Cool. I could probably be home by three o’clock. We’re making the final adjustments to the sensory connections on the new implant. Our goal is to have it ready for the first test subject tomorrow morning. I’ll call you before I leave the lab so you can be ready when I get here.”

  Jordan sat back in her chair and nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Now get going before Peter calls out the National Guard. Oh, and take a few of those muffins with you so I won’t eat them.”

  Kale finished his coffee and took two more muffins. “All right then, I’ll see you this afternoon. Have a great day.” Kale kissed her on the cheek.

  “You, too. Good luck with the final sensory tests.”

  No sooner had Kale left than she heard a knock at the door. She maneuvered her chair to the door and welcomed the contractors. The foreman took off his baseball cap and greeted her formally. “Good morning, ma’am.”

  Jordan touched the man’s arm. “Tom, didn’t I ask you yesterday to call me by my first name?”

  Tom twisted his cap between his hands and blushed. “Well, to be honest, ma’am, for the life of me, I can’t remember what you said your name is.”

  Jordan laughed. “I applaud your honesty, Tom, truly I do. My name is Jordan.”

  Tom grinned. “Jordan. So, do you still want to give us a hand with the demolition, ma’am... I mean Jordan?”

  Jordan clapped her hands excitedly. “You bet I do. Just let me know how I can help.”

  Moments later, baseball hat perched on her head, Jordan sat in front of one of her bedroom walls, polarizer in hand. For the next half hour, she used the tool to extract nails from the sheetrock. She freed the lower half of one sheet, pushed the elevation button on her hover-char, and floated up so that she could reach the top of the sheetrock. Once it was loose enough, she grabbed it with both hands and pulled hard.

  Jordan watched the wallboard fall to the floor. “What a mess. Look at all this junk between the walls. I wonder how it got here.” Jordan reached for the polarizer once more and poked at the objects she found resting near the floor between the studs. “Insulation, an old sock, shredded paper... critters must have dragged all of this stuff in here.”

  She moved on to the second piece of sheetrock. When she grasped the wallboard and pushed it aside, an object fell forward, hitting her on the legs. “What the hell is this?” she exclaimed. It was rectangular-shaped and wrapped in cloth. Jordan pushed it off her legs, and it fell to the floor with a clunk.

  Intrigued, Jordan reached down and retrieved the object from the floor. She removed the cloth wrapping. It was a book. Jordan opened it and read aloud.

  “This is the private diary of Maggie Downs, age sixteen.” Jordan held her breath as she felt a surge of warmth spread through her. “2004,” she whispered. “Well, I’ll be! That was a hundred years ago.”

  A noise behind Jordan startled her. “How are you doing in here?” Tom’s voice boomed.

  Jordan quickly snapped the book closed and looked up at the man. “Oh, you scared me, Look at what I found inside the wall.” Jordan held out the book. “It’s a diary.”

  Tom took the book and fanned the pages. “I can’t tell you how many times we’ve found odd things between the walls of an old home. You can learn a lot about the former residents that way. Is this the only one you’ve found?”

  Jordan took the book back from Tom. “Do you think there might be more?”

  “Let’s see,” Tom said. He picked up the polarizer and removed the next wallboard.

  By the time all of the boards were removed, they had discovered five more diaries.

  * * *

  Jordan was waiting outside in the driveway when Kale arrived home to take her cabinet
shopping. She waved her hands at him, signaling that she wanted him to hurry. Kale glided the vehicle to a stop and climbed out. As he reached for the passenger door, Jordan moved her chair close and prepared to transfer herself to the vehicle. Kale noticed the wide-eyed look on his friend’s face. “You seem quite excited this afternoon.”

  Jordan seated herself and fastened her seatbelt. Kale looked at her as he climbed into the driver’s seat and fastened his own seatbelt. “In fact, you look like you’re about to explode. Want to share?”

  Jordan turned in her seat, her hands moving quickly as she spoke. “You won’t believe what happened this morning. It was incredible.”

  Kale guided the vehicle down the driveway. “Whatever it is, it must be big. I’ve never seen you this animated.”

  “You bet it’s big. Tom and I were—”

  “Who’s Tom?” Kale asked.

  “The foreman of the construction crew. Anyway, Tom and I were tearing down the sheetrock in my bedroom and guess what we found hidden in the walls?”

  “You were tearing down sheetrock? You’re not supposed to be overdoing it,” he scolded.

  Jordan’s frustration was evident. “Will you please shut up and listen? I wasn’t overdoing it. All I did was pull a few nails. Tom did the rest. Anyway, guess what we found?”

  Kale thought for a moment. “I haven’t a clue.”

  “We found six diaries hidden in my bedroom walls. Can you believe it?”

  Kale frowned. “Six diaries? Who wrote them?”

  Jordan tucked her hair behind her ears. “I only looked closely at the first one. It was written by a girl named Maggie Downs in the year 2004. She was only sixteen. How cool is that?”

  “2004? Wow. That was over one hundred years ago. What kind of shape are they in?”

  “Actually, pretty good. The print is a little faded, but structurally, all six of the books are pretty much intact. Each one was wrapped in cloth, so they were shielded from the dust.”

  Kale glanced at Jordan. “Were they all written by this kid, Maggie?”