Seeds for Time

Raj is preparing his equipment and gear for the next time trip. He is still surprised that the powers that be agreed to allow the missions to resume. Someone knocks on the door of his room. He answers the knock and finds Assistant Director Smith standing there. She walks into his room holding a thick folded cloth garment. She hands it to him, “Do you remember this?”

Some years ago, before Samantha had been promoted and moved up the ladder with the Science Agency, the two were both stationed at the same lab. They had worked close together on the same project. After a few late night sessions of conversation and cocktails, a brief romance had developed between the two.

“Oh my god, what’s it been? Fifteenth, maybe eighteen years ago that I gave this to you.” The garment is a worn hooded cloak. Raj had given the gift on her birthday. He spreads out the robe sized garment and inspects it.

Samantha seems depressed but fakes a positive voice, “I have read the reports of your trips. You continue to encounter other humans on most of your trips. I think you should add this to your traveling wardrobe. It may offer a bit of a disguise. At least if seen, you might blend in a little better.”

“I love it, thank you, Sami.” He reaches to hug her but she pauses and then slowly embraces him. He can feel the sadness in her.

Raj attempts to comfort her. “Hey there, you are my superior now, you have to be strong. It’s only the end of the world.”

“Always joking in the face of trouble. Your optimism was what first attracted me to you.” Tears rolls down her cheeks and she releases a soft sob, “Now...it just makes me cry.” She squeezes him tighter and pulls in closer. They cry together.

The doctor enters the Time Chamber through the door that is near the altar. He looks around the room and spots the two technicians who are powering up the activator. “Has the time platform been sanitized yet?”

One of the technicians offers a thumbs up to the doctor. “Yes, we hit it first so you will only need to hit Raj with your clean spray.” The doctor prepares his equipment for the brief health inspection he will perform. It is one of the new protocols for any mission.

Raj enters the room carrying the gray cloth cloak. He nods to the technicians and speaks to the doctor. “Good day, Sir.” The doctor begins checking Raj’s vitals.

The exam is over and he has been sanitized. Raj drapes the cloak around himself, ties the cord just under his chin and raises the hood over his head. The technicians are watching him, one ask “Hey, do you know who you look like?”

Raj catches his reflection in the glass door near the altar. His brown eyes scan his reflection from head to toe. With his brown, hood draped face and his thin black beard, he understands who the technician is referring too. He holds up a hand, “Don’t say it, it may bring bad luck.”

“Ha! Sure man. Good luck! Be careful and hurry back.” Raj steps through the light circle. The one technician turns to the other, “I was going to say that I thought he looked like Gandalf.”

The three women travel the dirt pathway and are carry their containers of oil and spices. They are traveling to a burial site to anoint one who has recently died. A circle of light appears before the women and they think they are observing the appearance of a divine being.

As Raj steps through and his feet touch the ground, he hears the moans and cries of the women. He is sure that they saw him step through the time portal. They are now bowed to the ground mumbling words and prayers. “Holy shit!” He thinks to himself. He turns away from the women and hurries down the winding pathway.

After a few bends in the path, he slows his pace and eyes the area for any of the species on this mission’s list. Just a few steps off the path are a few different species of flowers. He can gather seeds from some and maybe have the time to dig up a few tubers.

As he works he keeps checking the time on his wrist band. He needs to work his way back towards the entry point. One of the theories of time travel led to a rule regarding the return trip. All travelers have followed the rule. Though it has not been tested what would happen if one disregarded it. All return trips should be initiated near the point of entry. Raj believes he can move through the brush and follow the pathway back to where he first encountered the women.

He sees the tomb that is up ahead in the direction that he is traveling. He will pass right in front of it on his way back to the entry point. He slows his pace as he nears it. A large oval boulder sets to the side of the tomb’s opening. Raj stops and looks inside. He feels that it would be disrespectful to enter.

The small room seems to be carved out of the landscape. There is a shelf like structure on the east wall. Raj understands that is where a body would be placed. But the shelf is empty, there is no body, only a dingy, wrinkled burial shroud. No one is here and the tomb is empty. Perhaps the tomb has just been prepared for a burial, or...Raj smiles at a thought. He remembers his mother reading stories to him.

The alarm on his wrist band beeps. Raj begins to move towards the entry point. He approaches slowly and can see that the women are gone. On the pathway he sees it. A pile of rocks has been erected on the ground at his entry point. Someone has constructed a crude altar. He activates the time stream and steps from one altar to another.

“Time check!” The technician calls out.

Raj answers, “Six minutes, thirty- one seconds.”

The technician shakes his head, “Over two hours this trip.” Raj approaches the control board to check the time for himself. The technician is trying to hand him a paper tissue, “What, did you think I was joking?”

Raj acknowledges the time, shaking his head. He takes the tissue from his comrade, “What’s this for?”

“Your nose is bleeding.”