Sliptime

by Jeffrey Grode

  Ben’s eyes drilled into Tiger’s. This older version of himself seemed so confident, and strong, and in love with Ruth. What does he know that I don’t? Maybe Ruth would be better off with someone like him; someone who could be there for her. “Okay. I’m willing to try the separate timeline thing if you are. But you’ll have to stay away from Earth. I don’t want you to confuse Mom and Dad.”

  Tiger sighed, but did not look surprised. “Done.” He turned toward Jack. “You okay with that, bro?”

  “Sure, Tiger,” Jack said. “You may need a shave and a change of clothes, if you’re willing to become Ben Fuller again. Have you thought about going back to school and finding a job?”

  “Yes,” Tiger said. “Every day for the last year. I’m all in.”

  Ben’s eyes grew moist. I’m going to miss her. “I’m still not sure I like this, and I hate saying goodbyes, but one of me will be enough for Terra . . . and that should be you, Tiger. Please take good care of Ruth and the baby.”

  “I promise I will, and I appreciate the chance you’re giving me. We can stay in touch via Jack, but before you go, let me show you a few wrestling moves you could use on LaGreca. I want you to whoop him for me.”

  Ben grinned. “I think I’m starting to like you. Let’s do this.”

  After Tiger showed Ben ten wrestling moves, six of which were probably legal, Ben began to feel more confident. He shook Tiger’s hand and thanked him, not only for the demonstration, but also for his sacrifice on Erde and his commitment to Ruth.

  “I’m going to miss my family on Earth,” Tiger said. “Make sure you tell Mom and Dad you love them. Often. And take care of yourself and GranPat. Remember—Albert is not his friend.”

  “Of course. I’ll take the booby-trapped medallion back with me and warn GranPat.” Ben turned toward Jack. “I’m going to miss Terra, but you better come visit me.”

  Jack gave Ben a hug. “You know I will.”

  “Good. I want to see my doppel-brother again.”

  Ben made sure the bronze time medallion stayed in his shirt pocket as he used his p-medallion to return to Earth. He had no idea how he might find GranPat’s jail cell on Earth, but knew someone who might be able to help. Using the portal medallion around his neck, he left Terra and traveled to GranPat’s house in Carmichael, PA Earth-side. He appeared in GranPat’s guest bedroom and heard a grinding, clanking noise outside.

  After peeking out the upstairs bedroom window, Ben gasped. Three large Erdian tanks with hundreds of troops, both human and robot, moved through a large portal toward GranPat’s home.

  Chapter 24

  “Shit and double shit!” Ben cried, as he watched the three large Erdian tanks fan out across GranPat’s property on Earth. In the time it took the troops to form a line behind the tanks, three flying drones lifted, one from each tank, and maneuvered up and out of sight.

  Ben turned and sprinted from the bedroom, down the stairs, and through the kitchen to the cellar door. He tugged at the knob, but the door was locked from the inside. Triple shit! “GranPat, Amo, if you’re here, please unlock the door!” No one responded.

  Fwump. A shell shook the house and plaster fell from the kitchen ceiling. Ben took a slow calming breath, reset his portal medallion, and teleported directly into GranPat’s cellar at the base of the stairs. Fwummmpp. Something heavy crashed down upon the floor above and the basement shook. He smelled . . . rotten eggs? The gas line! Seeing no one else in the basement, he raced to the furnace, pressed the red button, and walked through the wall and into the phased lab.

  Amo stood tall on repaired legs. Vsshhhh-click. “Ben. I am glad to see you.”

  “Amo! Erde is blowing up GranPat’s house as we speak.” Ben’s hands turned to fists.

  “They’ve invaded again, but there are no National Guard troops outside the house to stop them this time. We have to do something now, or we’re all dead.”

  Amo’s blue eyes whirred. “We are safe in this phased lab for now, and will not be disturbed. I also have dire news.”

  Ben stepped past Amo and saw his grandfather lying unconscious on the worktable as if he were napping, but the blanket lay flat against the tabletop from the waist down. “Oh my God is GranPat dead? What happened?” Tears rolled down his cheeks.

  Ben’s world collapsed. Here lay his beloved grandfather the master inventor, the man who shared his dream of becoming a scientist, the family member who understood him the most. His legs became weak as held onto the work table for support.

  “No, Master Ben. He is alive, but barely. His injuries are quite serious,” Amo said. “I placed a stasis field around his body to slow time and keep him alive, but it is only temporary until we determine what should be done.”

  “I thought we had to break him out of jail, but this is horrible.” A bubble of pink air sparkled around GranPat’s head and chest. “What happened? Oh, God. Did Albert do this? I’ll kill him!”

  “No. An enemy robot did this. I hoped for a more peaceful outcome and failed to protect my commander.”

  “Oh Lord. GranPat is dying isn’t he?”

  “Yes,” Amo said, “though I can save him if that is his desire.”

  “How? I would do anything to help.” Ben began to pace.

  “Using spare parts. My programming includes repair modules for cybernetic organisms.

  Ben pictured his Erdian doppelganger, Ben-Gen, and his synthetic parts. “You want to turn him into a fricking cyborg?”

  “Do you have an alternative?”

  “Maybe it’s time for a reset. GranPat is cut in half and dying, and there is a whole army of Erdians outside the house. If we go back there now, all we’re going to find is a big ass crater. Why don’t we travel back in time, before he was injured, and warn him?”

  Amo’s eyes whirred. “We must first consult with the Commander, however, bringing him out of stasis will increase the likelihood of death. Whatever we do, it must be thoughtful and quick. Do you have a bronze time-medallion?”

  “Yes, but this one isn’t safe.” Ben gave the t-medallion to Amo and told him how Albert had rigged the device to trap GranPat in the past. Unsure why, Ben kept Tiger’s existence a secret.

  Amo examined the exterior of the bronze t-medallion. He moved to the workbench and polished away the scratches. “I will examine the internal functions later.” The green robot moved to the computer desk, opened the desk drawer, and exchanged a functional t-medallion with the rigged medallion. “Please take this working device and guard it from others, young Sir. You may need it someday.”

  Ben placed the functional t-medallion around his neck. “Thank you.”

  The robot’s ceramic eyes blinked. “I will wake the Commander so we may consult with him.” With a flip of a switch, Amo lowered the stasis field. He took a syringe from a nearby tray and stuck GranPat’s arm.

  After a moment, Patrick woke with a ragged wheeze.

  “Commander. I am here with Ben. Can you speak?”

  GranPat coughed up a wad of pinkish phlegm. “Me legs hurt. How badly am I injured?”

  “GranPat,” Ben said. “You’re . . . gone from the waist down.”

  “Chrissakes, I’m on me way out for sure.”

  “No. Not at all.” Ben took hold of his grandfather’s hand and squeezed. “Amo said you’re dying, but he can repair you.”

  “How?” GranPat narrowed his eyes.

  “With robotic parts. Like Ben-Gen from Erde.”

  GranPat winced. “A cyborg? No. I have other plans.”

  “Dying isn’t a plan, it’s giving up.” Ben cleared his throat. “I love you, GranPat. Please stick around a while longer. Who knows what you’ll discover.”

  “I love you too, Ben, but we all die sooner or later.” GranPat met Ben’s eyes. “It’s strange, but I’m excited. I’ll find out if there really is an afterlife and if Betty has been waitin’ for me all these years. She’s been gone for so long, but there were nights when I saw a flicker of light and shadow in the old house and sme
lled her perfume. She’s been in my dreams,” GranPat raised his left hand off the bed, “but just out of reach.”

  “What if we reset?” Ben’s eyes pleaded. “We can go back in time and stop this from happening—”

  “No. Absolutely not.” GranPat coughed up blood. “Meddlin’ with time is dangerous. We hope it makes life better, but it can backfire. Look at me. I just wanted to find me wife in the afterlife. I twisted science until it screamed and brought doom onto myself and the world. Lord forgive me.” A tear ran down his cheek. “Now that I’m on the brink, I’m ready to walk the lonely road to heaven if they’ll have me.” GranPat forced a smile. “Guess I’m just dyin’ to see her.”

  Ben scoffed. “How can you joke about this? Erde’s army has dropped by for a visit and shelled your house. You have to do something. We’re running out of time!”

  “Actually,” Amo said, “the lab is on the default setting. Only a second will have passed outside when we decide to leave the lab. We have time.”

  “C’mon GranPat.” Ben folded his arms. “Don’t give up now! You can’t leave me with a huge mess. Tell me what to do!”

  GranPat’s body wracked with a wet sputtering cough. “Ben, I must follow through with this timeline to get where I’m goin.’ I love you, boy. You’re a good person with a good mind. Just follow your gut and trust Amo.”

  Vsshhhclick. “Someone is opening a direct portal to the phased lab.” Amo grabbed Ben’s shoulder, and drew him two steps backward and away from the flashing light.

  Ben felt tingly all over and realized Amo had i-phased him into invisibility.

  The cold Terran wind howled outside Jack’s bedroom window as he and Tiger made plans. Ben had returned home to Earth. If it hadn’t been for Tiger’s arrival, Ben would have been trapped in the past—and yet Tiger’s return had proven at least one timeline existed where Ben had been trapped on Erde. How might this impact our lives?

  Time travel paradoxes made Jack’s head swim. Did opposing events cancel each other out and set the course for one future, or did they divide into multiple branched timelines that spark through the multiverse ad infinitum?

  Jack also had mixed feelings about letting Tiger assimilate into his world as ‘Ben’. He loved Ben as a brother, but Tiger was Ben, only older. Did he treat Tiger like Ben, or as a new acquaintance until he got to know him better? Maybe, if he—

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “Who is it?” Jack signaled Tiger to hide.

  “It’s Pop-Pop,” Grandpa Albert said. “Can I come in?”

  Jack stalled while Tiger hid. Since Tiger’s visit had disrupted the previous timeline, he had no idea what Pop-Pop would say or do. “Come in.”

  Pop-Pop entered the room and looked pale. “I’ve had second thoughts about giving Ben the defective bronze medallion.” Albert swallowed. “I should give it to Patrick personally.” Pop-Pop looked around the room. “Where’s Ben?”

  “Gone. Ben tinkered with your bronze medallion and just disappeared,” Jack lied. “Not sure where he is now. Do you?” Jack narrowed his eyes.

  His grandfather shook his head. “Damn fool. I told him not to fiddle with it, but he didn’t listen.” Pop-Pop’s shoulders sagged. “I’m not sure if I can help him now. His fault not mine.”

  Jack frowned at the smug resignation on his grandfather’s face. “Where do you think he went?”

  “Where, when, who knows for sure.” Pop-Pop turned to leave, then came back into the room. “Hmm. I should see if Ben made it back home.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Jack said. “Want me to come with you?”

  “No. I need to do this, but . . . I’ll need to use your portal medallion to visit Earth. Mine is on the fritz and I’m locked out for some reason.”

  Jack gritted his teeth. “I’m not sure—”

  “Trust me, Jack. It’s best I go alone. For Ben’s sake.” Pop-Pop smiled.

  His grandfather looked sincere, but could he trust him? Pop-Pop had helped Ben in the past. “Okay, but give me yours just in case.” Jack and his grandfather exchanged p-medallions.

  “Thank you,” Pop-Pop said. “Don’t worry. I’ll set things straight.”

  Ben and Amo, still invisible inside the phased lab, watched Albert walk through the portal. Ben and Amo kept quiet on the far side of the table as Albert neared a recumbent and dying GranPat. He felt Amo squeeze his shoulder and Ben nodded back, understanding he must maintain physical contact with Amo to stay i-phased.

  “Oh, Patrick what have you done now?” Albert snickered. “You’re half the man you once were. And by the pallor of your skin, you’re not long for this world.”

  GranPat opened his eyes. “I thought we blocked your medallion signal. What do you want?”

  “Ha. You’ve always underestimated me. I’d hoped Ben would have brought you something by now, but he may be . . . detained somewhere, or some-when else. Nevertheless, I’d be honored to see you off this world permanently.”

  GranPat grimaced. “Despite your accomplishments, you’re still half the scientist I am. And, yes, the solar chip was grand, but Earth’s scientists put men on the moon and brought them home—something Terran’s never attempted. Pity.”

  “Men on the Moon? Really?” Albert walked around the table and examined the stasis field equipment. “Now you sound demented. Need some help pulling the plug?”

  Ben’s body tensed to spring upon Albert, but Amo restrained him.

  “Hmmm.” Albert said. “Maybe I want you to live. My wife should see you this way. You would . . . make a lasting impression.”

  GranPat coughed up a trickle of blood. “Why bother? You already fixed it so she doesn’t remember me.”

  Albert made a typing motion with his hand. “A few program modifications, a little Wi-Fi magic, and she will remember. Besides, she’s become rather droll of late with her constant praise for me. Let’s see how much fun we can have.”

  Ben rolled his eyes and looked at Amo.

  “Wait,” mouthed Amo.

  Ben saw it now. Amo knew something he didn’t. Ben remembered how difficult it was to beat his computer at chess. The computer thought thirty-two moves ahead and sideways on every turn, and so did Amo. More, if you factored his ability to contact his future selves through his internal time processor. There may be an infinite number of branched timelines stemming from this exact moment. Trust Amo.

  Albert smiled. “First, we’ll keep you alive.” He flicked on the stasis field button and the air sparkled around GranPat once again. He walked across the room, laid his p-medallion on the desktop, and looked inside the drawer. “And then, I’ll borrow your spare time medallion.” Albert examined the medallion casing, but looked satisfied. “I’m going to play around in your past. Based on your current condition, your future looks rather bleak.

  “Goodbye for now.” Albert turned on the t-medallion and frowned. “What the . . . oh, shit!” A red mist enveloped the Terran scientist and he disappeared.

  Amo dropped the i-phase and he and Ben materialized.

  “Did Albert fall into his own trap?” Ben asked.

  Vsshhhh-click. “Based upon what you’ve told me, I believe he is marooned in Erde’s past.” Amo checked GranPat’s vitals and switched off the stasis field.

  Ben placed his hand on GranPat’s. It’s so cold. “Is he . . .?”

  “Gone to a place of hope and dreams. I am sorry, young Sir.”

  Ben’s stomach twisted. “We could have helped him, but he was so damned stubborn! I’m sorry Amo, I might be selfish, but I can’t accept this outcome.”

  Amo pulled the thin blanket over GranPat’s head. “What do you have in mind, young Sir?”

  Ben filled his lungs, held it for a moment, and exhaled. “I think I know how to fix this, but I’ll need your help.”

  Amo’s blue ceramic eyes whirred. “Yes, Commander.”

  After six hours of discussion and planning, the white boards were filled with mathematic equations and branching diagrams of futu
re probabilities, possibilities, and unknowns that could lead to calamity if Ben changed the past. None of the potential outcomes led to world peace, a few outcomes offered varying degrees of relative safety, but none were guaranteed. Though time crawled outside the phased lab, and the Erdian forces wouldn’t have time to finish bombarding GranPat’s home unless Ben left the lab, he realized he was starving.

  “Amo, there are too many choices. Tell me what to do.” Ben rolled GranPat’s bronze t-medallion in the palm of his hand.

  “I cannot direct you, Commander. I only advise.”

  “What would you do if you were human?” He furrowed his brow and activated the power switch. Out of curiosity, he scrolled through the destination memory and his eyes opened wide. GranPat had visited Carmichael’s past. He checked the coordinates—the Bus station?

  Vsshhh-click. “Again too many possibilities. Am I a good human, or am I debased by wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, or gluttony? Am I peaceful, deceitful, kind, compassionate, weak, strong, or indifferent? Would I kill a person to save the world, and be ostensibly damned for that choice, or let good people die to keep my hands clean? I can advise you. I will do what you command, but I cannot tell you what to do. That choice is yours alone.”

  Ben took a deep breath and expelled it slowly. “Fine. All this,” Ben said as he pointed to the whiteboard diagrams, “was helpful. But being human, I’m going with my gut.”

  “The one that’s been growling this past hour? I still do not understand why humans would lend more gravitas to an organ designed for digestion than the one intended for cognition. Very well.”

  Over the next half hour, Ben discussed his plan with Amo.

  “Are you certain?”

  “Yes. It feels right,” Ben said.

  “Shall I accompany you?”

  “I got this. Please stay here in the lab with GranPat. I don’t want him to be alone.”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  Ben offered his hand to Amo. “I’ve enjoyed working with you. Robot or not, you are a good man.” He hoped to see Amo again soon.