A Collision In Time

Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another.

– Madonna, late 20th century

With an endorsement of only 48 percent, the petition failed. Shocked and furious, Dov glared at the final vote tally. It hovered above her, projected in crimson, rotating for the council to witness.

“This can’t be happening,” she said, unheard in the noise of the crowd. “It’s not possible.”

The next petitioner began to approach. Dov rushed off the platform and let him pass. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Elder Brumion leave his faction. He did not turn toward her—another disappointment. She hurried from the inner council grounds and avoided contact. Dov heard her name but did not acknowledge it. She walked head down, avoiding friends or acquaintances.

“Ariel, Uriel,” she called, back in the sanctuary of the forest. They rematerialized in a flash of light.

“I am so sorry, Dov,” said Uriel. “That was an unexpected outcome. Can we help?”

“We can’t give up,” Dov said, determined. “Maybe we can alter events from here without requiring time travel. Perhaps we can try using o-bots? As soon as we’re home, let’s get to work.”

In Dov’s office, they studied and rechecked the data, but with each new calculation, their confidence that they would discover anything different diminished. Depleted, Dov touched the three-dimensional holographic and rotated it. It spun like a ball moving in slow motion. She held her hand up and it stopped rotating. She was out of options. The analysis was complete. The time disruptions remained in place, the data remained stubbornly fixed and reflected the same anomalies in time and location.

The day proceeded quickly and afternoon evolved into the evening. Dov stared unfocused into nowhere, the data starting to blur in front of her. Uriel entered her office with a glass of pilsner. “You need a break. Here, enjoy.”

“Thanks, Uriel.” She stood and stretched. “Come and join me outside.”

Dov relaxed on the small deck, enjoying the evening temperature and view of the setting sun. In the distance, nocturnal insects began to chirp as they awoke to begin their evening chores. She detected a hint of roasting vegetables—Ariel must have started to prepare the evening meal. She breathed in deeply. “First time today I am relaxed.” She sighed, content. “Look at the purple sky, Uriel. It never gets boring.”

“The sunsets on Earth are pink- or orange-colored; rarely this color.”

She frowned. “I was excited and anticipated being on Earth. It’s one thing to watch videos or holos, but you cannot appreciate the sky, the air, the geography, and of course its history unless you experience it for real—” Dov didn’t finish her thought. She pointed. “What’s that moving on the horizon?”

“It’s not a drone,” Uriel said. His eyes narrowed. “It couldn’t be…”

“A meteorite? It can’t be aircraft; those are impossible to get permission to fly.”

“No, not a meteorite. It could be—”

“Look, it dropped behind the hill. How strange.” Dov studied the horizon. “It’s gone now.” She took a drink and finished the beer. “I remember when I was a child and I would spot a falling star. Elder Brumion would ask me to make a wish. He said the star offered a sign of something good to come, like an omen. A lucky star.”

She shut her eyes, breathed slowly, and whispered a countdown from twenty. “I did my best. It’s up to fate now.”

“You did everything in your power. You should be proud of the presentation.”

Dov sank into the cushions. “I think I will shut my eyes for a few minutes until dinner. The beer has gone to my head.” Dov relaxed. “We will send o-bots to Earth. At least we can bear witness to whatever is about to happen.” Her eyes felt heavy, and like a warm blanket came blissful sleep.

“Dov?” Ariel touched her cheek to wake her up. “A visitor is here.”

She opened her eyes.

“Elder Brumion?” Dov sat up and dusted off the remnants of her nap.

“Yes. How did you know?” Elder Brumion approached Dov and sat beside her.

Dov stretched, erasing the lingering drowsiness. “You are one of the few who cares.” They embraced.

“I’m so deeply sorry about this morning, Dov. How are you feeling?”

“I’m embarrassed.” Tears started to well in her eyes despite her efforts to hold them back. “Confused. Do they have no common sense?”

“You did well, Dov. You should be proud. You managed to convince almost half of the most miserable, skeptical humans on this planet that the world may end. That is a real accomplishment.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Dov wiped the tears. “The outcome is the same whether I had convinced one person or 48 percent. In the next ten days a time bomb will explode and I have no idea what will happen.”

“A time bomb?”

“It was a metaphor, Elder.”

“Ah, yes. Come, let us walk together.” Brumion headed toward the dark forest. “I remember you have a favorite route in the trees. Exercise is therapeutic. Please, lead the way.”

For the first few minutes they hiked together in the darkness and spoke little, comfortable in silence. Ahead, the trail pointed to a glowing entrance that, like a brightly lit tunnel, carved into the night shadows of the forest.

“I love how the trail radiates,” said Brumion.

“It’s magical.” Dov laughed. “You know each footstep generates a bio-electrical current. The glow is from the organisms reacting to our pressure.”

“What a marvel,” said Brumion. “I’m surprised it creates so much light. Has it always been like this?”

“As long as I can remember.”

The walkway elevated above a marsh, and they approached a fork. Dov veered left, as she often did, but Brumion stopped. “Can we go this way instead?” He motioned to the right fork in the path.

“That way goes nowhere. We’ll come to an empty field in about ten minutes.”

“I would like to go there.”

“Are you sure? I want you to see the view of the city. The night lights are amazing.”

Brumion smiled. “This evening, I want you to see my view.”

Dov laughed. “Fine, lead the way.”

They strolled until they could see the end of the trail ahead. The trees thinned and the path opened toward the field that Dov had mentioned to Brumion.

“How unusual,” said Dov. “It seems to be lit tonight. I wonder if people are there.”

At the end of the trail, they emerged from the cover of the trees. Dov covered her mouth and gasped, peering wide-eyed at Brumion.

Dov had never seen a real spacecraft in person. Of course she knew about them from videos and holofilms, but only the privileged, the rich, ambassadors, and top politicians accessed ships like this. Yet here it stood. A spacecraft, illuminated on the exterior by yellow lights reflecting the silver surface. Dov peered inside the pilot’s window. It was empty.

“Did you fly it here? I thought I saw a bright moving light in the sky. Was that this?”

“About half an hour ago? Yes, I tried to be as discreet as possible. Looks like I didn’t fool everybody.”

“Discreet?” Are you planning an escape?” She grinned. “Did your past finally catch up to you?”

Brumion smirked in return. He grew serious. “No, Dov, I am not planning an escape, but you are.”

Dov frowned, unsure if he continued to joke. His expression remained earnest. “What did you say, Elder?”

“Listen, Dov.” Brumion spoke with conviction, like a trial lawyer making his final arguments. “You know better than I do how essential this is—”

“But I was at peace and accepting the consequences.” She paused, confused. “Besides, I can’t exactly fly into our history.”

He turned to face her with the eyes of a man who knew every trick, but rarely had to use them. “You will regret this forever, should you not act. Dov, I believe you. You were convincing. I am worried that you are right, I worry for my people, I worry about this planet. The council made a fateful error, and it must be corrected. In this, the ends justify the means.”

The realization of his offer crept over Dov. She took his hand. “Thank you.” She examined the spaceship. “But how?” She pointed at the spaceship with an exaggerated swing of her arms. “How will this help me? I don’t need to travel in space, I need to travel in time.”

“For time travel to work, you will need a lot of energy and data. Now, you cannot access either…at least on this planet. You will be blocked.” Brumion touched the ship. “With this, you can fly beyond the Pachamama security sphere. It will give you the power and memory to time travel.”

“But—”

“I will have a pilot ready to go in the morning, just before the sun rises. Please, Dov, do this for me, for you, and do this for those who ever doubted you.”

“Oh my, I don’t know.”

“Let me walk you home,” Brumion said, “and you can pour me a drink.”

That night Dov fought to fall asleep. Her mind raced, and her body tossed and turned. She opened her eyes in the darkened room and stared at the ceiling. Yawning, she cursed how easy it was to nap during the day, so inversely proportional to her nighttime experiences. Outdoors, nature’s music played. Chirping insects and the song of wind and rain in the trees helped to calm her. Eventually, as she battled insomnia, sleep prevailed.

* * *

“Dov, are you paying attention?” The voice echoed through the classroom. “Dov, please finish your reading. We’re tired of waiting.”

Dov sat at her desk. She was alone in the room. A page of handwriting floated in front of her. She did not understand it. Laughing faces appeared in the window as the words on the page shifted into numbers. “Does this make sense?” a voice rang out. The people in the windows watched Dov without expression, without motion, but they no longer teased.

The numbers on the virtual page shifted to a hovering time-wave visual. A red line danced about the graph like a snake slithering across the ground.

“I have to go home now,” Dov said. Her voice sounded hollow in the empty room. The faces in the windows had disappeared.

She wanted to hurry home, but when she tried to run she realized she couldn’t, for Dov had forgotten how to move her legs. Eventually movement returned enough for her to walk slowly, step by step, until she arrived home.

Her mom had packed to leave. “I’m sorry, Dov, but we can’t stay. It will be only a few months.”

“Do you love me, Mama?” Dov asked.

Dov ran into the trees, but again lost her ability to move. Her feet suddenly felt heavy, as though rocks filled her shoes. She had no idea how to move her legs forward in a running motion. Again she forced each step, as if she waded in water.

Her father called, “Dov, we are going. Dov? Time to go.”

* * *

“Dov, wake up. Dov? Dov, wake up. Dov? Time to go.” Uriel rubbed her shoulder. “Quickly, the sun is about to rise.”

Awareness crept in. Dov opened her eyes. “The dream is back. My legs couldn’t move; I was paralyzed.” She stopped and ran her hands across her face. “You’ve heard it before.”

Uriel brushed the hair away from her eyes. “It’s time to get up. Our adventure awaits us.”

“Okay, give me ten minutes. I’ll be right there.”

The dream lingered in her psyche. She hated the sensation of being unable to walk or run when she needed to. She closed her eyes and counted to ten. “Okay, let’s do this. Time to get up.” She swung the sheets aside and dropped her feet to the floor. Her legs worked, to her relief.

The pilot greeted Dov, Uriel and Ariel at the crack of dawn. They had struggled to make it in time with everything they needed to finish and resembled a rather haggard group as they boarded.

The pilot seemed hurried and irritated. “Hi, welcome, my name is Sierra. Nice to meet you.” She got right to the point. “It’s best we leave in haste, to avoid detection.” She helped Dov settle. “Your robots should in observe mode, please.”

Uriel and Ariel’s holographic images dimmed and they transformed into small points of light.

“I was hoping to have been long gone by now,” Sierra said. “We don’t have the proper clearance, as I was saying.”

“Is that a problem?” Dov said, worried.

“Actually, yes,” Sierra responded briskly. “Please strap in. We launch in twenty seconds. Oh, and also, this craft has an artificial atmosphere but not gravity, so…” Sierra didn’t finish that thought. “Get ready, here we go.”

Dov closed her eyes, then opened them wide. “You have flown a mission like this before, I assume. Right, Sierra?”

Sierra didn’t bother to answer. She pushed the glowing red start button and the engines roared to life. Blue flames consumed the view from the window, and the vehicle vibrated with expectation. The spaceship pushed to be let free and instantly it was. Dov’s body glued itself to the back of her seat as though a hand pushed hard against her chest. She felt her stomach drop as the ship accelerated upward. Forcing herself to relax, she directed her attention to the outside of the ship, marveling at the shrinking geographic features. Her city disappeared into the broader landscape of parklands, fields, and lakes. In seconds the geography blended into a colorful tapestry of the planet’s natural hues dominated by reds, yellows and the silver and blues of the ocean. She began to experience the effects of the elevation. Gravity lessened, and Dov’s hands floated as she released them from the chair arms.

For these few minutes, she had forgotten her stress, wholly immersed in the liftoff and flight. The ship continued upward past Pachamama’s atmosphere, and dark replaced daylight. Stars appeared in the window. Dov wondered if one of the sparkles was Earth, the birthplace of her ancient ancestors.

“I’ll soon be there,” Dov said and looked toward where she figured Old Earth resided. “This is surreal.”

Nausea interrupted Dov’s enjoyment. “I don’t feel well, Sierra.”

Sierra glanced at Dov. “In the cabinet above you, with the red cross. Open it. There will be some fast-acting anti-nausea medication.”

Feeling the blood drain from her face, Dov opened the cabinet and found what she needed. She swallowed the pills. “I hope they are quick-acting.”

“Me too,” said Sierra, “because we’re almost there.”

Dov leaned back and closed her eyes.

Three minutes later, they reached their position clear from the Pachamama datasphere. The spaceship had found the high orbit and Sierra slowed the engines.

“Okay,” Sierra said a little impatiently. “Do what you need to do.”

“That was fast,” Dov said, stalling for more time. “Can I bring back my AIs now?”

Sierra nodded.

There was a flurry of activity after Ariel and Uriel sparked into form.

Dov remained in her seat, still dizzy and generally feeling useless. “Do you mind going over the checklist, Uriel?” Dov fought her body. “I just need a few more seconds for the medication to act.”

“Of course,” said Uriel. “Ready, Ariel?”

“Yes, ready,” Ariel yelled while he disconnected cables from the ship’s computer systems.

“Copy of the data?” Uriel asked.

“Check.”

“I will begin the scanning.” Uriel worked, eager to get to the next stage.

“Supplies scanned?” Ariel inquired.

“Yes, check.”

“Costumes for me, 1914?”

“Check.”

“Translator algos?”

“Check, though I am less confident with the Sumerian language algos. We may be forced to figure that out in near realtime.”

“If we must,” Ariel said. “Location?”

“An alley, near the central train station. Our supplies will be in the luggage.”

There was a momentary pause as the reality of what they had to do set in. No more planning, persuasion, and calculation. Anything forgotten or overlooked was now too late.

“Do we have a green light?” Uriel asked. “Dov, do you feel better?”

“Yes, I guess we do.” Dov had forgotten about her nausea. General panic replaced motion sickness.

With a determined shift in posture, Dov straightened in her chair and floated toward them. “Let’s do this?” It was a question, an exclamation, and a surrender. Dov grimaced and let out another big sigh as her mood oscillated like the red time-wave. She nodded at Ariel, and whispered, “Ready.”

“See you in 1914, my friends. There is history to not change.” Uriel smiled, pleased at his comment.

Ariel began, “Countdown from three, two, one…”

* * *

From his apartment balcony Elder Brumion watched the spacecraft leave the surface. He smiled, then nodded to himself, allowing a few seconds of satisfaction. He knew that it wouldn’t take long until the Law and Order AIs traced the illegal excursion to him. It didn’t matter. His mission on Pachamama had come to a conclusion.

He opened his desk drawer and pulled out his handwritten journals. He opened the bottom journal to the first page that began with a date, 212 Pachamama Era, d17, and read:

I was able to find Dov Sabastien. She is an exceptionally bright girl whose parents are obsessed with their own political careers and involved with a movement called the Heretical Reest. I will need to offer my services to them in order to gain favor, even though what they speak of seems nonsense. If Asmodi has been here he has not shown himself or supplied evidence of the sort. On the other hand, the Heretical movement has many aspects in common with the antisocial impulses of my brother. One day I may have to consider which political movement to ally with but first I must introduce myself to the Sabastien family.

Elder Brumion closed his journal. It was time to leave Pachamama, after all these years. He picked up a black diamond-shaped rock and turned the top of the device. A bright light filled the room. He stepped into the light, recasting into Arion as he walked through.