“Okay. I’m in. But you’d better pull the fuse and the power module from the weapon. We don’t want Yakberry or Freakshow getting their hands on them.”
Three hours later, Lucas and Fuji used the escape tunnel to return to the basement, once the intensity of the wreckage fire calmed down. He wiped the basement dust from his bare foot before he slipped it into the bottom of the Smart Skin Suit. Fuji helped him stretch the material up his legs and naked torso, then over his shoulders, allowing him to put his arms and chest into the form-fitting outfit. The material snapped shut around his body.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be comfortable in this thing. I hope your calculations are correct. I really don’t want to do this again.”
Fuji gave him the Google Glasses, but didn’t say anything.
“What’s this for?”
“Two-way communications.”
“Audio or Visual?”
“Both. It’s been hard-coded with your unique bio-signature to prevent unauthorized use.”
“Damn you’re good,” Lucas said, using a deep, matter-of-fact tone. He slipped the glasses onto his face. “With this, you’ll be able to guide me remotely with a full array of sensor data. It’ll be like you’re there with me. Ingenious.”
“Some adjustment was needed.”
“I see that,” Lucas said, noticing a slew of new indicators appearing on the heads-up display. “Where’s all this new data coming from?”
“The Akashic Field.”
Lucas smiled, realizing that he was wearing their version of Star Trek’s tri-corder device, except this unit had access to all the known information in the universe. “What’s the adjustment meter in the lower left-hand corner for?”
“Gravitational lensing.”
Lucas nodded. “To keep our transmissions from being distorted across time, especially if we come anywhere close to a multi-dimensional black hole. We wouldn’t want to bounce around time. I assume the glasses have sufficient battery life.”
“Two hundred-twelve hours.”
“That should work. Besides, if I need more time than that, then we’re all screwed.”
“Additional power may be available when connected to the suit’s residual energy.”
“Like a reserve fuel tank. Can’t I just recharge the batteries once I’m there?”
“The electrical systems of ancient Earth are no longer compatible.”
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it ancient Earth. It’s only been a few hundred years of time differential,” Lucas said, noticing that a small rectangular module had been added to the side of the headband. “What’s this thing for? Some kind of tracker?”
“Geodesic waypoints.”
“To leave a trail of breadcrumbs. Smart. That should help you maintain the trans-dimensional lock, especially through the layers of compressed time.”
“Multiple incursions may be required until the true originating source point is determined. Patience will be required.”
“Are you trying to tell me something?”
Fuji didn’t respond.
Lucas laughed. “Drew used to say that I had the patience of a desperate stripper trying to make rent at the end of the month. Maybe it’s true. I don’t know. But I hate trial and error, especially when space, time, and multiple dimensions are all moving at a different rate.”
“Patience is the enemy of frustration.”
“Yeah, and I’m the poster child. But you have to give me some credit. How many assholes would volunteer to step into the chamber and allow tera-joules of energy to be pumped through his body all in the name of Fuji physics?”
“Without risk, success is an illusion.”
“That’s easy for you to say. I’m the one putting my balls in a multi-dimensional sausage grinder,” Lucas said, hoping he didn’t just offend the cleric. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. This is all just a little nerve-wracking, that’s all.”
He looked at the Incursion Chamber and nearby video screens. “If I go back and make the wrong changes to the time line, won’t you be affected? Wouldn’t there be dead air on the other end, leaving me alone to fend for myself?”
Fuji slipped his robe off to reveal another Smart Skin Suit—size extra-small. It was nearly identical to his, except Fuji’s had a ring of connectors sewn to it along the waist. It looked like a string of empty light sockets.
“Of course. You’re going to plug yourself into my incursion. You’ll be protected from unanticipated changes to the time line.”
“There is one caveat.”
Here it comes, Lucas thought—a vitrified heap of cosmic goo. “What?”
“Each incursion will likely destabilize the entry point for the target vector, and those in proximity.”
Lucas understood. “Okay, only one trip back to the same time and place. Got it. How far apart will our penetrations need to be, in order to avoid the space-time disruptions?”
“Indeterminate.”
“That’s helpful,” Lucas said, wishing he could pin the monk down, just once. “I know you hate to guess, but throw me a bone here. Are we talking about a day, a week, a year?”
“Possibly a day. Maybe more.”
“At least that’s a starting point.”
“The spatial damage will increase exponentially with the volume of time traversed.”
“Then we’ll need to spread them out a bit. I’ll make you a list of important dates and locations.”
“Not necessary. We have already calculated the possible branch points in your history.”
Lucas smiled. “Maybe we’ll get lucky right out of the gate.”
“Chance favors the vigilant.”
Lucas nodded, putting on his paranoia hat. “Would it be possible to add a recall switch? If I lose contact with you, I want to be able to find my way back.”
“Yes. Do you want an autostart feature?”
“Good idea. If I miss a few scheduled check-ins, it will bring me home automatically.”
“A wise precaution.”
“Thanks, buddy. We should also program your list of event dates into your targeting system. I’d feel better if we eliminate any chance of manual error. Let’s face it, if there’s an emergency, you won’t have time to think. I certainly don’t want to end up face-to-face with a dinosaur.”
Fuji nodded.
Lucas took a few moments to allow his mind to chew through some of his own theories. “I suspect we’ll encounter some level of subspace cavitation as we penetrate each progressively denser band of time. If that’s true, then we’ll need to crank up the juice in order to access the target events that are farther back in time. But that might compromise our power reserves. So we’d better start with the most recent event and work backward to save energy. I’d hate to be inside when an E-121 sphere runs low on power.”
“Agreed.”
“How long would it take you to add the remaining E-121 spheres as backup power with some type of rollover, failsafe configuration?”
“Less than an hour.”
“Excellent. Okay, then, we’re on the same page,” Lucas said, exhaling a deep breath. “I hope I’m ready for this.”
Thirty minutes after he and Fuji had discussed the list of target event dates, Lucas slipped the snug-fitting hood of the Smart Skin Suit over his head, positioning a pair of clear-fabric sections over the pair of Google Glasses covering his eyes. The monk had adjusted the design of the hood to accommodate the spectacles, so the comfort level was acceptable.
Lucas was still a little unsure about wearing the fragile glasses during the incursion process, but Fuji had assured him that anything he was wearing inside the suit would be transported safely and in one piece, just like during the ransom exchange for Carrie Anne when the stunner weapon was transported inside the garment.
He put his hands on the conductive bars that had been welded to the upper corners of the tritanium cage. He drew in a long, deep breath, then exhaled as a few drops of sweat trickled from his armpits.
“Twenty seconds,” Fuji reported, plugging the ring of waistline connectors into the auxiliary feed lines from the Incursion Chamber. He leaned back in the console chair, securing himself with a nylon seatbelt taken from Kleezebee’s skimmer truck.
Fuji pressed a series of circular icons on the operations console, then swiped his hand across the screen. “Ten seconds. Power sequence initiated.”
Lucas tightened his grip and swallowed hard when he heard the amplified hum of the E-121-energized power systems. Seconds later, the wire mesh surrounding the chamber began to glow a white color, sending a wave of static charge tingling across his body.
He looked up and waited. Soon, a flood of electrical current entered the suit through the material covering his hands. It worked its way down to his elbows and into his shoulders, energizing the conductive pathways of the nano-wires as it went. He couldn’t help but admire the symmetry of the process. It was both beautiful and elegant—a true symphony of technology—even though the end result would mean a complete deconstruction of every cell in his body.
“Incursion process initiating,” Fuji said.
Lucas wondered if he would feel anything when the great machine was energized to full power, sending his molecular data stream across time and space for a rendezvous with his unsettled past. Moments later, the glow inside the chamber increased to supernova level. He closed his eyes.
FORTY-THREE
Lucas opened his eyes, adjusted the Google Glasses, then felt around his body. All his body parts were intact and right where they should be located. He waited for the brilliance of his suit to dwindle to a soft glow, indicating that the power level was now in standby mode. “Two hundred and twelve hours, and counting,” he mumbled.
He was standing on the leading edge of a mountain plateau that was covered with cactus, brush, and rock. He looked down into the valley before him, where a horizontal, brown-colored haze lingered over a grid-style city that seemed to stretch out to infinity. The scene was the same in every direction—an endless network of roads, buildings, cars, roof-mounted air conditioners, and palm trees.
To his left, a pair of ladder-equipped emergency vehicles weaved their way through a procession of slow-moving motorists. Even with their lights flashing and sirens screaming, it was obvious that their rendezvous with a raging fire across town was going to be delayed.
Dead ahead, about ten miles away, stood a multi-story cement structure with two upper seating sections and a massive video scoreboard. He recognized the football stadium through the seasonal temperature inversion layer that had trapped a blanket of dust and smog over the populous.
“Home sweet home,” he said, as the heads-up display identified the structure in white, italic letters. It said, Wildcat Stadium, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
He pulled the hood off his head, holding it tight in his hand. He tapped the ear piece to activate the unit. “Fuji, this is Lucas. Can you read me?”
He waited, but there was no response. He tried again. “Fuji, come in. This is Ramsay. I’m calling from sunny Tucson, Arizona. Do you copy?”
The speaker in his right ear crackled with static, then a voice blasted through. “Audio transmission received. Waiting for video stream to synchronize.”
“Damn, it’s good to hear your voice. I thought for a moment that—” Lucas said, stopping in mid-sentence when he heard a rustling sound coming from behind him. He turned, fearing a pack of coyotes was circling, ready to attack. But when his eyes reported the source of the noise, his mind stuttered. “Fuji? We have a slight problem.”
“Is the suit malfunctioning?”
“No, it’s working fine. But I’m not alone,” he said, watching a few hundred people approach his position. The Google Glasses lit up with a different number above each person’s head. Each visitor was slender, about six feet tall, and wore a faint-glowing Smart Skin Suit.
The six along the front of the crowd removed their hoods. They were all men and their faces were nearly identical—some had cheek scars, while the others didn’t. One man had braided, shoulder-length red hair and another was completely bald. But the rest wore a neatly-trimmed, crew-cut hair style, like Lucas.
A few steps later, all the visitors were hood-less and staring at him. A handful of the men in the back were older men—in their fifties—but everyone else looked to be about the same age as Lucas. There was also a man who was missing an arm. His Smart Skin Suit had been adjusted and tailored to fit the stump.
Lucas studied the crowd, trying to count how many of them were wearing Google Glasses. None of them were. He was the only one wearing the custom technology.
“Can you identify?” Fuji asked.
The unit’s heads-up display added a name above each of the numbers—the same name—Lucas Ramsay.
“Yeah, it’s me. Lots of me,” he said, sifting through the range of values. The lowest numeral he found was the number one, while the highest was two hundred-eleven. It looked like all the numbers in between were displayed, too.
“Apparently, I’m Lucas Two-Twelve.”
TO BE CONTINUED
In Reversion, Book 3 in the Narrows of Time Series (coming in 2015)
If you enjoyed the first book in this story and would like to see the series continue, please post a review about this book on Amazon.com and Goodreads.com to let the Author and the world know what you thought of Incursion, Book 2 in The Narrows of Time Series. Use the following links to post a review on Amazon: click here and for Goodreads: click here.
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COMING in 2015
A new series, Redfall, is also in development. The first season of this action Sci-Fi thriller is scheduled to be released in 2015.
THE EMILY HEART TIME JUMPER SERIES
There are several Glassford Girl books in the Emily Heart Time Jumper Series - all scheduled for release in 2015.
THE NARROWS OF TIME SERIES
There are three books in the Narrows of Time Series:
Linkage: Book 1
Incursion: Book 2
Reversion: Book 3 (coming in 2015)
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A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you for taking the time to read the second installment of the Lucas and Drew Ramsay saga. This is my second published book and hopefully you’ll agree that the storyline in this novel was smoother and more energized than my first book. My goal is to continue to evolve my art and entertain you at a higher, more refined level in each book that I release. Since you’re still here and reading the series, then I hope I’m on the right track.
The story continues in book 3, Reversion, which I’m working toward completing by the end of 2014 with publication slated for 2015. The two-year gap between the first two novels was due to a horrific leg and ankle injury that I suffered in the spring of 2013 that required reconstructive surgery and my learning to walk again. But I’m healed now and energized more than ever to keep writing.
I’d very much appreciate your feedback either through the posting of an on-line review or via the Contact Author form on my website at www.JayFalconer.com. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.
—Jay J. Falconer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jay J. Falconer is an independent author, publisher, blogger, editor, full-time engineer and Sci-Fi junkie who lives in the mountains of northern Arizona where the brisk, clean air and stunning mountain views inspire his workday.
He makes his on-line home at www.JayFalconer.com and is the author of the critically acclaimed Narrows of Time Series and
the Emily Heart Time Jumper Series.
If the mood strikes you, please use the Contact the Author form on his website to connect with him. Mr. Falconer would love to hear from you. He personally reads and responds to all inquiries.
You may also connect with him on Facebook at the following address: www.facebook.com/NarrowsOfTime
Twitter: @JayJFalconer
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