The Nick of Time

by Mike Parker

  “Okay, I think that should do it. Oh, wait, one more thing.” Nick removed the apple from inside the Old Bird and then pulled a potato peeler out of his pocket.

  “Where did you get that from?”

  “Old man Carl’s kitchen.”

  “You stole the guy’s potato peeler? What on earth for?”

  “For this,” Nick replied using the tip of the peeler to carve the letters THNX into the skin of the apple. “There we go. All set now,” he affirmed as he placed the apple back into the Old Bird.

  “What’s next?”

  “According to Barry, you slide this tab over and then…” Nick slid the tab over and a small door popped open on the Old Bird revealing a coiled-up wire. “He said he plugged this into something to recharge the device. It should be right here. Oh-oh.”

  “What is it?” a concerned Ainsley asked. The margin for error here was slim enough as it was without any oh-ohs.

  “This,” Nick said holding up a wire with the end cut off. “Either this used to have a connector on it or good ol’ Barry forgot to mention he had a knife with him.”

  “What are we going to do? If we can’t connect the wires, the system won’t overload and this whole thing will be for naught.”

  “Tada!” Nick smiled broadly pulling the potato peeler out of his pocket once again. “How do you like me now, Ms. Ryan?” he joked. Using the sharp edge of the peeler Nick cut the end off the wire coming out of the Old Bird and then carefully used the peeler to remove the coating of the wire. He removed the coating of the wire from the beamline as well and then twisted the two ends together tightly. “Hopefully that holds long enough to get the job done. How much time do we have?”

  “According to Carl’s records, you teleported out at 9:03 PM which means you should be returning at 9:03 AM today,” Ainsley recalled. “Barry said he was charging for about a minute before the overload occurred.”

  “Okay, so we just need to know when it is 9:02 then, but I don’t see any clocks around.”

  “I’ve got it covered,” the reporter said pulling out her cell phone again. “I noticed when I logged on earlier that my phone updated to the current time. How do you like me now, Mr. Jones?” she chuckled. “Get ready to begin charging in 3, 2, 1.”

  “Charge initiated,” Nick stated. “Okay, let’s not stick around here any longer than we need to. I’ll teleport out and you follow me. Don’t hang around here. The last thing we need is for you to get spotted standing here or get injured when the overload occurs.”

  “I’ll be right behind you, I promise.”

  “Alright. See you soon!” the time traveler said, pushing the green button Old Carl had installed and vanishing from the room.

  Ainsley waited a few moments and then went to press the teleport on demand button on the Turtle Dove. However, just as she was about to do so she heard someone walking around in the synchrotron room.

  “Is somebody in here?” a man called out. Ainsley recognized the voice as belonging to one of the building security guards named Bill. “Who’s in here?”

  The reporter slipped behind a large liquid helium tank and pondered what to do. She could just teleport out, but if the guard found the Old Bird he might disconnect it before the overload occurred. On the other hand, she had no desire to get caught at the point of the incident either. Bill called out again. She could hear him walking around on the lower floor of the synchrotron room. The footsteps seemed to be getting closer. In desperation, she grabbed a tin coffee cup and chucked it as far as she could to the opposite side of the room. The cup made a loud bang and crash as it landed on a workbench and then bounced to the floor.

  Bill heard the noise and sped towards it. He was moving quickly and was so intently focused on the origin of the sound that he went right by the beamline with the Old Bird attached without noticing it was there. A few strides later, he stopped and spun around. He was sure he had seen something out of the corner of his eye. After surveying the area for a moment, he concluded it must have been the lights reflecting off the polished surface of the large helium tank and he continued on to find the source of the sound he had heard.

  “Carl, the Phoenix is powering up!” Dr. Stevens called out across the lab. Carl rushed over and waited anxiously. “So, you say her last message sounded off?”

  “Yeah,” the physicist replied. “It was kind of cryptic. She talked about going to the lighthouse at Stanley Park – whatever that is supposed to mean. I’m worried something isn’t quite right. I sure hope they come back this time. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to them.”

  The Phoenix finished running its cycle and the pair waited nervously to see what would follow. Nearly a minute passed and no one had exited the machine. That didn’t bode well. The best option was that Nick and Ainsley were continuing on their travels through time. The much worse scenario was they had returned to the present but were for some reason unable to exit the Phoenix on their own.

  “I guess we better look,” Carl said reluctantly.

  The doctor moved toward the door and was about to open it up when it began to move on its own. The door swung open and a cheerful voice greeted the men saying, “Sorry I’m late fellas!”

  “NICK!” Carl exclaimed.

  “Thank heavens,” Dr. Stevens cheered.

  “I’m here to tell you guys that Dorothy was right,” Nick said stepping out of the Phoenix and into the lab. “There really is no place like home.”

  “We’re so glad to see you,” the physicist declared. “We were starting to get worried.”

  “I’m going to need to give you a full check up young man. You were gone for a long time and made a lot of jumps,” the doctor stated in a rather professional tone, then rushed over and hugged Nick tightly. “It’s great to have you back.”

  Carl walked over and hugged his friend as well and then peered into the Phoenix. “Where’s my sister?” he asked with a hint of concern growing in his voice. “Why isn’t she back yet?”

  “She should arrive anytime now,” Nick explained. “You, um, I mean we added a one minute delay to the Turtle Dove.”

  “How could you possibly figure out how to do that?” Carl asked. “Never mind, I’ve waited this long I can manage one more minute I suppose.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be here any second. We were just together when we set off the synchrotron overload.”

  “That was you?” the bewildered doctor said.

  “Yes, it was. Well, at least this time it was. It’s a long story, guys. I’m sure we’ll get a chance to walk you through it all eventually.”

  The three men continued to talk as Doc and Carl filled Nick in on all the latest news he had missed while on his journeys. Then, right in the middle of describing scores from the past few weeks of the football season, Carl stopped short and said, “You said there was a one minute delay, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s right.”

  “By my watch, you’ve been back for over three and a half minutes now. Where’s my sister?” Nick rushed back to the Phoenix to look for any sign of Ainsley’s return, but there was none. “Nick! Where is she?”

  “I, I, I don’t know,” he stammered.

  The three men stared blankly into the empty machine for a few moments and then Carl started pacing frantically around the lab.

  “How could you leave her?” the physicist exclaimed.

  “She was right behind me. All she had to do was press the button on the Turtle Dove and she should have shown up right here,” Nick explained. “I don’t know what could have gone wrong.”

  Nearly ten minutes passed and their panic had turned to despair. Nick sat slumped over at his desk with his head down, Dr. Stevens stood silently across the room and Carl just stared hopelessly into the still empty Phoenix. They were all so engrossed in their gloom, none of them noticed the door to the lab slide gently open.

  “Did you miss me?” Ainsley’s sweet voice greeted them. All three men ran towards the door, embracing the reporter wit
h no thought of appearing manly. “I’m glad to see you guys too.”

  “Where have you been?” Nick eventually asked.

  “Well, I had to move a little before teleporting out of the synchrotron room, so I ended up across the courtyard from here.”

  “Fair enough, but according to Nick, you should have been back long before now,” Carl objected.

  “I was, but it took some time to walk back over to the lab, plus I wanted to check my email.”

  “Seriously?” her brother asked.

  “And that took ten minutes?” the doctor inquired suspiciously.

  “No, I spent most of that time trying to convince three undergrads that I didn’t just magically appear next to them out of thin air,” she chuckled.

  “Well, you’re here now and that’s all that matters,” Carl beamed, giving her yet another hug.

  – 36 –

  The Question

  Still Remains

  The four friends sat around their usual table at the local Red Robin laughing and sharing stories from the past months. The doctor had given both of the time travelers a thorough check-up and awarded each of them a clean bill of health. Carl and Dr. Stevens were captivated by the details of their friends’ escapades across time. Nick and Ainsley were curious to know what things had changed as a result of their actions in the past.

  “So, what about your last stop?” Carl asked. “In the future. What was that like?”

  “Pretty cool,” Nick answered. “Not as different as you might think. Definitely more technologically advanced but it wasn’t like Star Trek or anything.”

  “And that’s where we met Barry,” Ainsley stated tentatively.

  “Yes, Barry. He’s the one who tapped into your Turtle Dove recordings, right. How did he manage that? Who was, or is this guy?”

  Nick and Ainsley looked at each other awkwardly for a moment. “He’s your son Carl,” the reporter explained. “Or he will be or might be, I don’t know.”

  “My son?” the physicist gasped.

  “Yes,” Nick affirmed. “He used the Little Bird he found in your attic to come back in time which set off the original time burst when the synchrotron overloaded.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Before we tell you anymore,” his sister said. “You need to decide how much of the future you want us to tell you.”

  “That’s right,” the doctor chimed in. “Especially considering that Nick and Ainsley’s actions since leaving 2042 may have already altered that timeline.”

  “If I had a son, I must have had a wife too.” Carl hypothesized.

  “You did,” Nick said sympathetically. “But she died in a car crash six months before we arrived in the future.”

  “Is that what prompted my son to time travel?”

  “Partly,” Ainsley explained, “But it was more than that. It was us. According to Barry, in his original timeline Doc, Nick and I were all killed about a month from now when the synchrotron building was destroyed in an explosion.”

  “That’s awful!” Dr. Stevens gasped.

  “That’s what prompted Barry to travel back in time to warn us all,” Nick stated. “Unfortunately, in doing so he inadvertently triggered the overload.”

  “Barry never had a chance to warn us, but his actions caused the burst that sent Nick bouncing randomly through time. I chased after him, however, we were both eventually killed somewhere in the past.”

  “Which is why you packed everything up and moved to Canada, met your true love and, after a few years, Barry was born,” Nick concluded the story. “Although I have to admit I’m a little hurt you didn’t name him Nick.”

  “So what do we do now?” Carl pondered. “Do we keep using the Pheonix or is that destined to end up with the two of you in body bags? And what about this ‘true love’? Do I chase after her or continue with my work?”

  “We can’t tell you what to do, bro,” Ainsley said gently. “This has to be your choice. But Doc’s right, we’ve already changed that future by simply being alive.”

  “You,” Nick started and then corrected himself. “The older version of you wrote down everything he considered important information about the major events of his life: like the patents he sold, when and where he met Jessica, all those kinds of things. It’s all in this envelope. It’s up to you if you want to read it or not.”

  Carl took the envelope from his friend and sat quietly for a moment. He tapped the envelope nervously on the table as he pondered his options. After a few moments, he switched from tapping to flipping and that’s when Nick noticed something strange.

  “Hey! Wait a minute,” Nick exclaimed taking the envelope back from this friend and examining it closely. “I’m certain that old you wrote your name on the front of this envelope.”

  “I saw it too,” the reporter confirmed. “It said your name and ‘confidential’ in big block letters.”

  “It seems entirely blank now,” Dr. Stevens observed.

  “Does that mean…” Carl ripped open the envelope and examined the pages inside. “They’re all blank.”

  “I was worried about that,” Ainsley said.

  “About what?” Nick asked.

  “That whatever actions we took here in the past would change the future and therefore 2042 Carl would never write that note and therefore the pages would be blank.”

  “But without that information how am I supposed to meet this Jessica?” Carl asked in exasperation.

  “With this,” Ainsley said, pulling out her cellphone.

  “Thanks, sis, but I can’t call the future.”

  “Don’t be a goof,” she chuckled. “I put all of Old Carl’s information into my phone when we were still in 2042. Then, while Nick was wiring up the Old Bird to overload the synchrotron, I emailed the info to myself. I figured even if the information from the future disappeared, the email I sent in our past should still remain. And sure enough when I arrived back this afternoon, there it was in my inbox.”

  “Very clever, young lady,” the doctor applauded.

  “The question still remains, though, Carl. Do you want to read it?” the physicist’s sister asked.

  “I can’t believe it’s been twenty-five years already!” Ainsley said in disbelief.

  “I’d say time flies,” Nick replied with a chuckle and then leaned over and whispered, “But I still remember the days when a hundred years took about thirty seconds.”

  His wife laughed. “Me too, honey. But the long way has its advantages too.” She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I think that’s it up there.”

  “I see it.”

  “Okay, kids,” Ainsley turned to instructed the two young teens in the back seat. “I’m just going to run in here for a second and say hi to an old friend. You wait in the car with dad and then we’ll be back on the Express and our way to Uncle Carl and Aunt Jessica’s place. Okay?”

  “Yes mom,” the pair responded in unison and with a distinct lack of enthusiasm that only teens can muster, without looking up from their data screens.

  Ainsley walked into the Pike Place Starbucks and gazed around the restaurant. A bizarre sense of déjà vu swept over her. She ordered two grande smochas, which seemed to catch the girl working the till by surprise. She sat down on one of the couches and waited. In only took a few moments before a young barista walked by.

  “I believe this is for you. Not many people order my signature drink by name.”

  “I’ve been looking forward to this for a really long time, Will,” Ainsley said taking the drinks from the barista.

  “Do I know you?” the confused young man replied.

  “Not really,” Ainsley smiled. “Um, your name is on your name tag though.”

  “Oh, right. What can I do for you, ma’am?”

  “Ma’am?” Ainsley thought to herself. That certainly didn’t happen last time! “I know this is going to sound weird, but, well, what I’m trying to say is that you probably don’t remember it, but you helped me out
once when I really needed it and I just wanted to say thanks.”

  “Um, okay. You’re welcome, I guess.”

  “So, thanks,” she said extending her arm to shake his hand. Then she stood to leave.

  As she was walking away Will noticed that a large sum of cash had just been transferred to his wrist implant and was waiting to be accepted. “Excuse me, ma’am.”

  “Will, you don’t have to call me ma’am. Ainsley will do just fine,” she smiled at the confused young man. “Why don’t you head up north after you get off work and take Erin for a nice dinner somewhere.”

  “But, how?” Will stammered.

  “Take care, Will,” Ainsley said and headed to the door.

  Ainsley stood on the curb for a moment before Nick pulled up. “Sorry babe, there’s no parking here so I had to circle the block.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “How was he?”

  “Just like I remembered him,” Ainsley said nostalgically. “But apparently I’m a ma’am now.”

  Nick laughed and pulled back into traffic. “I guess time catches up with us all.”