Chapter Three
A TIME MUCH, MUCH EARLIER
This unbelievable story must begin, in the past – No! Not the past. Then it must begin now, the present – No! It isn’t exactly in the present either. How can this be? It surely cannot be the future. No! Thank goodness it isn’t. It began with him of whom much is known, but an explanation is still needed. Who? The Captain, of course – Captain Robert Edward Scarburg, Junior!
CAPTAIN ROBERT EDWARD SCARBURG, JR
Captain Scarburg had a nickname ‘Little S’. This had been his handle since his days in Vietnam when he held the rank of Captain in the Intelligence Branch of the 5th Special Forces. His father, Master Sergeant Robert Scarburg, Sr was also in Vietnam. He too, with the 5th Special Forces Group, but he was a medic. He was known as ‘Big S’. The family just called him Papa. No, they weren’t Big and Little S because of the Scarburg name.
Papa Scarburg had long been gone when this story happened, and everyone connected with this story had sworn himself or herself to remain silence on the matter, but the fact was clear – this extraordinary saga had to be told.
Also, going public with this information could be an embarrassment to our government. Some of the things are criminal if the Statutes of Limitation have not expired; however, there are no time limits to murder. Finally, the public has a right to know if the truth hurts so be it.
Robert Edward Scarburg, Junior, a.k.a. Little ‘S’, the one called Captain or Grandpa was present and participated in it all; he was a witness first hand.
Even today parts of this story are hard to believe, but he certified to the truth of it all. If you doubt for a minute what is about to be told is not factual, quit reading, for what follows will forever haunt your memory. If you think what you are about to read will make you feel terrible just wait until you have read this entire chronicle, you are right - you will feel even worse! You will think about it while awake, and it will be the last thoughts you have before Mr. Sandman arrives. If you decide to venture on, good luck in the future! You may need meds only available from your local physician. All right you have been warned, if you are ready lets proceed.
Robert Edward Scarburg, Junior – yes the Captain; to his grandchildren he was just Grandpa; to his old Vietnam Special Forces buddies he was known as Little S - sat facing the rear wall of his office. His left hand gently rubbed the short stubble of the beard on his chin, contemplating – was he daydreaming or did he have something particular in mind?
He brushed the smoke from his latest Cuban (he would insist Puerto Rican) cigar from the air. With the right hand he reached for a book in his bookcase as he began to spin his red Corinthian leather chair back around to face his office. All things in his place of business seem to convey the prestige of his position - it tended to accentuate the Captain’s stature.
Was the Captain unquestionably an influential person? Directors of the FBI, CIA and the NSA would tend quickly to agree. The Captain was head of a most unusual group called the Studies Concerning Antiquated Records (SCAR). Was it a Department, a Bureau, a Division, who knew? SCAR was not on any governmental organizational chart. No, it was none of the above. SCAR was a black ops type operation buried deep within the National Security Agency or was it the Department of Defense? Even personnel within SCAR were not quite sure who their bosses were. Why so clandestine? Well most people don’t need or want to know what their missions were. They were known simply by the acronym ‘SCAR’. All covert operations within the U.S. Government knew the name - enough said.
ANHUR
Retrieving the book from the bookcase, the Captain spun around to face his massive, mahogany sea captain’s desk. A pint-sized, not quite five-foot tall person startled him. This small ‘person’ was standing directly in front of his desk. Where did this mysterious person come from? Captain Scarburg’s office door had not opened, nor had his Chief of Staff announced any visitor on the inter-office Personal Communicator System.
The diminutive individual was dressed in a brown overcoat and a black fedora hat. A beautiful, ornate, silver medallion hung lazily around his neck. An oversized pair of dark, ebony, sunglasses covered two similarly hued, almond shaped eyes. Huge black eyes that overpowered a grey face the color of dry cement, a face that appeared as if it had never been exposed to the warm rays of the Earth’s sun. In his hands, he carried two objects. In one, a large black umbrella, although the day was warm and sunny with no chance of rain; in the other a device, which reminded the Captain of a chrome motorcycle helmet with a shiny, metal looking full-face shield. On the front was inscribed an unusual circular emblem. This emblem, about three inches in diameter was divided equally into four sections. Each section contained a symbolic drawing. In one quarter was a face of a man; the second a lion, the third a bull and the final section contained an eagle. Captain Scarburg immediately recognized this circular design. He had seen it before in Cambodia. It was like the Stars and Stripes to the U.S.; this was the planet Sunev’s national ‘flag’.
“What the... ANHUR! Is it you? Is it actually you?”
“Yes, Captain Scarburg my old comrade, it is me, Anhur indeed,” the diminutive fellow replied.
Anhur and the Captain had known each other over forty years since their chance meeting at a place named Pac Toul in the jungles of Cambodia in 1967 during the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. By his appearance he obviously was not an American – Anhur was a foreigner. He was not even a European, in fact, he was not even human - he was an extraterrestrial!!
Yes, a spaceman, a space being, a visitor from another planet, a planet by the name of Sunev, located in the Constellation of Orion. Yes, he was indeed a foreigner, a real foreigner.
Anhur was one of the ‘good guys’. Although Pac Toul was the first place the Scarburgs were introduced to him, he has since befriended most all the members of their family at one time or another. He was instrumental in preventing the crash of an airplane carrying a SCAR team that included brothers Bud and Forrest and their sister Olive Marie as they were on their way to an archeological site in Mexico. And he was there to give support to Lou and Gabby when SCAR had an eventful expedition in Egypt.
“Anhur, I never got to thank you for saving that planeload of passengers bound for Mexico back in 2005. Especially I thank you for my grandchildren Bud, Forrest and Olive Marie who were on that flight.”
Grandpa Scarburg had a total of five grandchildren. They all worked for SCAR. Forrest was the oldest. Born July 14, 1984, a year before brothers Lou and Bud and sister Gabrielle. They were all born July 25, 1985, triplets, yeah, - triplets. Olive Marie, five years younger, was born July 8, 1990. July was a fantastic birthday month for those youngsters. Their Mom Krista and Dad Robert, with all the children’s birthday’s hitting them at the same time, did not quite see it that way.
Robert Edward Scarburg, III, also know as ‘Trey’ and his wife Krista took advantage of it though and lumped all their children’s birthday celebrations into one large to-do. The children felt like Papa Scarburg (the Captain’s father) sometimes - his birthday was the 29th of December. He would insist his family not combine his birthday with Christmas, and they didn’t. Papa Scarburg always had a cake, and of course, more presents for him on ‘his day’. Bud, Lou, Olive Marie and Forrest had no such clout. They always had a collective birthday party.
Anhur continuing with his story to the Captain explained that after the airplane incident, his Sunev leaders thought long and hard about his, as the Captain said, involvement with that plane. Its destiny was to crash and, yes as it is now known, Anhur intervened and prevented the disaster. He detailed how the leaders on Sunev believe when fate is preordained in an event on Earth, all leaders and workers alike are specifically ordered not to intercede. There were no orders given for Anhur to interfere, and he knew the rules, but he interjected himself into the fate of the Mexico flight anyway. Disobedience to the rules by workers was punishable by death.
Anhur continued to explain in more detail. He said on Sunev
they have two classes of beings: leaders and workers. The workers have only one duty, and that duty is to take orders from the leaders and obey these orders without questioning why. He said on Sunev they do not even have the word ‘why’ in their vocabulary. Orders are to be followed by the workers. Anhur was a worker. He knew the aircraft’s ultimate fate was to plunge into the murky depths of the churning sea below. He was not personally ordered to do so, and was not at... at... struggling for the right word said, liberty, yes the word he used was ‘liberty’, to change the Mexican bound airplane’s fate.
Anhur explained to the Captain it was a mistake he appeared on the Mexican flight, and in doing so referred to Captain Scarburg as his dear friend. He explained further that ‘Friend’ was another word that was not known on Sunev; there the leaders are leaders and workers are, well, what he called them - simply workers. Anhur noted to the Captain that he had learned to appreciate and honor that word since he had met the Captain and his family.
“Friend’, my dear Captain is such a beautiful word. A word you Earthlings should love and cherish.”
Trying to explain himself Anhur told Captain Scarburg he simply could not allow the Captain’s family members to die such a horrific death, and he did not. But after the plane was safely on the ground, he was ‘arrested’ by Sunev ‘police’, returned to Sunev and subjected to a trial. He was knocking on Death’s door when the Supreme Council had mercy and spared his life. He had always wondered why. Today, Anhur said he had found out their reason - they had another mission for him.
After his exchange with the Captain Anhur talked about the Zapruder film that Papa Scarburg, the Captain, Spook and Tinker watched at Pac Toul. The Zapruder film was a 26.6 second eight-millimeter home movie a man by the name of Abraham Zapruder filmed in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. He shot this film the day the attempt was made to assassinate President Kennedy on November 22, 1963.
Dr. Spurgeon Loo Kim was a CIA operative by the name of Spook. Using the Sp from Spurgeon; the oo from Loo; and the K from Kim; Captain Scarburg’s Special Forces A-team in Vietnam had given Dr. Kim the nickname “SPOOK.” It had been suggested Papa Scarburg had a fetish: ‘to make a nickname of everyone and everything!!’ It doesn’t stretch the imagination much to see Papa Scarburg had a hand in selecting Spook’s name too. His fingerprints are all over that one, but it has stuck to this day - he is still known as ‘Spook’.
Tinker was Dr. Spurgeon Kim’s wife and a former Taiwanese university student. Her given name was Ling Lu – Papa Scarburg at work again.
A couple of other relevant fact worth mentioning - Dr. Spurgeon Loo Kim had been one of the Captain’s closest friends all those years and was also Sam Lin and Si Lei’s older brother.
Continuing Anhur said to the Captain, “As you watched the film of the attempted assassination of your President John Kennedy you and the rest of your group were totally amazed you had heard four weapons fired instead of the three shots your history books have always reported as facts. It was I Anhur who caused your President Kennedy’s life to be spared.”
Shocked the Captain asked Anhur to explain.
“Notice I am carrying a large black umbrella,” Anhur said snapping the device into an open position.
“Anhur, no! It is unlucky to open an umbrella inside.”
“What? Surely Captain you make a funny statement?”
“Just a silly superstition Anhur... sorry, please continue.”
Anhur began by stating he stood on the curb in Dealy Plaza in the city Dallas, Texas on that, November 22, 1963, morning on the north side of Elm Street as President Kennedy’s automobile drove by. A man, whom he later identified as Abraham Zapruder, was standing on a concrete pedestal behind and to his right taking moving camera pictures. He explained how he opened this devilish same umbrella and held it high above his head causing Mr. Kennedy to turn his head and look directly at him. At that exact moment in time, the shooter on the roof of a building fired a powerful weapon. The projectile missed.
Anhur continued, “This weapon’s violent noise caused the government agent guarding your man Kennedy to jump on the rear of the black motor vehicle just as the assassin fired his weapon again. This second projectile struck the government man in the back and wounded the President and your state of Texas’s man Mr. Connally.
“Almost at the same time, another person located on the grassy area back behind the sidewalk where I stood fired a large hand weapon. This projectile smashed into the side of the President’s head, causing considerable injury, but was not fatal. The shooter in the building fired once again, but it was too far a distance, and the aim of the old military weapon was faulty, he hit nothing. Again, that was my first attempt at interfering in your world’s destiny and, obviously, I was not particularly adept at it.”
“Okay Anhur, let me see if I understand... you opened your umbrella causing President John Kennedy to turn his head to his right and look at you; next the turning of his head caused the first shooter to miss. After that, the gunman on the sixth floor fired the second shot and wounded the Secret Service agent, the President and Governor Connally. Then a shooter with a handgun fired from the Grassy Knoll a third shot, which hit the side of President Kennedy’s head. Finally, the assassin on the sixth floor fired the forth shot, missing his target entirely. Is this the way it happened?”
“Yes, that is the way I believe the firing of your world’s primitive weapons at your president happened, and the opening of my umbrella did cause your President to turn his head, but the turning of his head was not what caused the first shot to miss.”
“Okay, I just have one question - the first shot - what did it hit?”
“It was the key to the whole shooting attempt - when the assassin fired, the noise of the first explosion caused the government man, who was guarding your President, to jump on the back of the black vehicle, which put him in the direct line of the projectile of the second man in window.”
“I’m following all this, but what happened to the first gunman’s bullet?”
“It hit a pigeon!”
“What? Did I hear you correctly Anhur – the bullet hit a PIGEON?”
“You are correct - I cannot lie, we are not allowed to make these things up. Lying is forbidden also!”
“Okay... okay... all right,” said the Captain. “If he shot a pigeon what happened to the pigeon, it should have fallen from the sky onto the street.”
“It fell, not in the street, but into the grassy park like area south of Elm Street. The place you refer to as Dealy Plaza.”
“You mean to tell me no one saw a dead pigeon just suddenly fall out of the sky?”
“Oh yes, many people saw the pigeon falling to the ground but the pigeon was not killed - only wounded. Witnesses thought the pigeon just landed in the grass.”
“Okay, so the actual turning of the President’s head did not cause the shot to miss, right? You’re thinking your umbrella dance resulted in President Kennedy to only receive wounds, right?”
“Yes you are correct Captain. Head turning did not cause the first shot to miss. The first shot hit the pigeon. Whether this was due to my action, is still not clear. At least at my trial, on Sunev, leaders were not sure either, but they believed, and so do I that the President turning his head caused the shooter in the bushes to hit only a glancing shot to his head.
“Remember my friend we have the ability to travel back in time but are not allowed to interfere with events taking place on your planet that would result in one of your Earthling remaining alive that should have been killed. Nor are we allowed to influence actions that result in dead Earthlings being brought back to life. Either of these two events can cause catastrophic results to your planet. My interference kept one of your Earthlings alive who should have been killed - your President, the one known as John F. Kennedy.
“I knew my interference in the crash of the airplane was prohibited. Our leaders knew I prevented the plane from crashing, but it was learned Sunev had a rogue leader
that had determined to crash your family’s plane. Sunev’s Supreme Command knew the plane was not destined to crash, so I was not charged with saving lives in that action.
“I admit, at the time, I thought my actions in Dallas would result in the best outcome for your country and the whole world. I was extremely selfish. I tried to impose my own will on the shooting of your President Kennedy - I was wrong - terribly, terribly wrong. The result is you now live in the wrong Parallel Universe.”
“What...Parallel Universes? What in the devil are you talking about Anhur?”
Anhur began to explain that this world of Captain Scarburg had thousands, if not millions of Universes running simultaneous and parallel to the one the Captain currently lived in; however, this one may change within the next few minutes, it is never known. He said Earthlings sometimes know what causes the space/time continuum to shift, but most times it just changes unnoticed - the Supreme Council had a name for Captain Scarburg’s present universe, but that name was unimportant. What was notable was the fact Anhur caused Earth to shift Universes!! He knew exactly when the shift occurred – it was precisely at 12:30 p.m. November 22, 1963, on the north side of a place known as Dealy Plaza, in Dallas, Texas.
The Captain knew since that fateful day in November 1963 the United States became involved in a war, in Vietnam. This became bigger and bigger until it mushroomed into a horrific war with the countries of Russia and China. Back then it was referred to as the Viruchi War. A name derived using Vi from Viet Nam, ru from Russia and the chi from China. During the remainder of the 1960s and all of the 1970s, this terrible war continued with massive loss of life to all the participants. The dead and wounded were in the millions.
This devastating war finally ended on July 4, 1982 with the Russians exploding a nuclear device over South Vietnam’s capital city Saigon, making South Vietnam uninhabitable for the next one thousand years. Retaliation, six minutes later, by the U.S. military was swift and just as destructive... it annihilated the Russian capital Moscow. After the detonation of these two nuclear devices, all parties finally saw the possibility they were playing with the extinction of your human species, and they sat down and drafted a peace plan. Peace in the Viruchi War was officially declared on January 1, 1983. Shaky at best, but a peace agreement never the less.
Captain Scarburg knew, a slight spark could ignite the whole turmoil once again.
Through those years up to the present there have been sweeping wars, famine, pestilence, plagues and politicians who cared more about enriching their own pockets than the welfare of their country. And do not forget the Southwest Asian War from 1998 through 2008. Over 20,000,000 died in a ten-year period with the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The countries of Iran, Iraq and Syria, unleashed against the Allied forces of the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Israel germ warfare along with the deadly use of poisonous gas. This same germ warfare Saddam Hussein of Iraq released in 2007 is still killing people worldwide.
In the early 1960s, Earth’s world’s population was nearly three billion people - at the time Anhur was talking to Captain Scarburg it was only two billion. If the events of the last half of the 20th century and first part of the 21st had not occurred, the Earth’s population would now be close to seven billion. The Captain’s world had lost five billion souls!! Anhur related how those on Sunev thought of all the art, music, literature and inventions that might have been produced if those five billion people had not been killed or in millions of cases were not even given the chance to be born.
“I have accepted the blame, the Supreme Council has already put the weight directly on my shoulders, but they have given me one last attempt to set things right on your planet and help to redeem myself with my Sunev leaders.
“You noticed when I arrived I was carrying a device that can be placed on the head... if you would be so kind to place it on your head Captain.”
Captain Scarburg had been sitting behind his desk, leaning back in his chair, absorbing all Anhur had been saying. “I heard your explanation about the mistake you made back in 1963, but President Kennedy survived, in fact, he is still alive, living at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. I do not understand - what do you want me to do Anhur?”
“I put your world on its current Parallel path. The current Universe you live in should not have been its destiny. Please put on the Visiondome Captain Scarburg. I believe the Visiondome can better explain why I was sent from Sunev to contact you.”
Captain Scarburg picked up the chrome football helmet, turned it over a couple of times as if he were examining it, and finally slipped it on his head. It was snug but not uncomfortable. Anhur pulled the face shield down and snapped it shut, allowing the helmet to envelope the Captain’s entire head.
At first the Captain could see nothing. Faintly he heard a whisper of a sound, which seemed far away. It made him think of wind gently blowing through the treetops before an approaching storm, soft and extremely soothing. It seemed to calm his anxiety. Was this emanating from outside this helmet or from inside, he thought? Before he had a chance to consider that question, the visor in front of his face began to glow. The glow gently materialized into a picture, black and white at first, but within seconds he was looking at brilliant scenes unfolding before his eyes. Scenes as beautiful, and in bright High Definition color, as any he had ever seen. If he had not known better, he would have thought he was actually witnessing these scenes happening in person.
For a few minutes, Captain Scarburg was shown an entirely different world than the one he knew, and grew up in. The ‘movie’, inside the helmet, began at precisely the moment of the shooting of President John F. Kennedy at Dealy Plaza, Dallas, Texas and progressed almost year-by-year up to the present. He was shown a synopsis of Earth’s destiny that could have, should have or might have been. When the face shield dimmed back to its original state, the Captain removed the helmet and sat back exhausted. He felt as if he had been in a trance. Finally, he spoke, “Anhur, I cannot believe the future I just witnessed, was this view of an alternate Earth’s future real?”
“Indeed it was Captain, in another parallel time, and another dimension, a Parallel Universe quite different from this one today. As earlier stated, the universe you are currently living in has been named by my Supreme Council on Sunev, but suffice it to say, its name, as I said earlier, is unimportant.”
“Well I must admit the course of history is certainly more pleasant in your helmet version. I just wish those events I saw had actually transpired. If so, our Earth could have experienced peace and tranquility instead of death and destruction. Peace and tranquility - what a wonderful thought. Without the horrors of nuclear war, the U.S. and countries around the globe would certainly have enjoyed a much more happier and fulfilled existence. Oh, how I wish that had happened for real. Let me get this straight - if the Earth were in the Parallel Universe as displayed in the ‘Visiondome’, Bud, my grandson, would be alive. Is that a correct assumption Anhur?”
“Yes he would be alive and well and do not forget - it can happen!! It is possible, it CAN happen Captain Scarburg!”
“What are you saying Anhur - how can this be possible?”
“With your help Captain. It is possible to shift these Universes.”
“What? How can we change the path of the destiny of our world?
Anhur began to explain how the Captain could use the Timetraveler. A machine, which had the ability to jump between Parallel Universes, the same Timetraveler the SCAR team had developed, using Sunev’s plans. He told Captain Scarburg how he and his team could return to Dallas at exactly 12:30 on the twenty-second day of November in the year 1963.
Anhur made sure the Captain understood it was imperative when he got to Dallas to stop the man on the roof of the building from shooting the President of the United States of America. The projectile he fired must hit the pigeon... the Captain must make sure the man on the sixth floor of the building shoots the second bullet. The man in the window must fire the second projectile and th
e Secret Service man will not be wounded. In addition, the President will be fatally shot. That will allow the person on the Grassy Knoll and the ones still in the building to accomplish their missions. The alternate future the Captain witnessed in the “Visiondome” will then occur.
History’s bumpy road into the future split at the moment of that first shot by the sniper on the roof of the Texas School Book Depository. Earth, unwillingly, was diverted from the Universe it was traveling to the Universe of today. Anhur pleading said, “You can put it back, you are living in the wrong Universe Captain Scarburg.”
“Anhur,” said the Captain, “may I ask you a question? When the Universe jumps from one Parallel path, say ‘A’ to another path let’s say ‘B’ would we notice? I mean if one were aware this ‘leap’ was going to take place at exactly 12:30 on November 22, 1963 will they notice or perceive the change?”
“Yes, Captain they would... it is always accompanied by an intense, micro-flash of blue light, but a person would have to know when it was going to occur and would have to know what to look for. Most people simply would pay no attention to it at all. It happens in the twinkle of an eye as you would say.”
“Thanks... I guess Anhur. I believe I am more confused now than before.”
“Captain, the Supreme Council, believes your world should have stayed on its original path. This original Universe is the world you witnessed in the Visiondome. You can allow the Earth to return to this better world by stopping the shooter on the roof from firing the first shot at President Kennedy. Simple you think?”
“Simple? Simple? Your people are simple Anhur... simple-minded! Are you suggesting I allow the assassination of the President of the United States?”
“No Captain - you are not allowing your President to be killed - in the original Universe this tragic event has already occurred. You are just going to insure that Universe be allowed to continue just as you saw within the Visiondome.
“Anhur you must have lost your marbles. The Timetraveler does not work. It has failed the last three times we tried it. Who will guarantee it will not fail on the fourth attempt?”
“First, Anhur does not play this child’s game - marbles! And second, I cannot guarantee it will work, but I have faith your team of scientists at SCAR will solve the time machine’s problem!! It is particularly beneficial they understand – there is no such thing as ‘time-travel’ what your people are trying to accomplish is ‘time-reassignment’.
“Thanks, that is easy for you to say Anhur, but I don’t know about our ability to correct the enigma. We have already lost three machines – we got them to dematerialize to another dimension, but we were never successful in getting them to return,” the Captain said as he was turning in his chair to a four drawer filing cabinet located directly behind his desk. “Let me pull the lab reports on the first three flights and see where our failure analysis stands.” He extracted the folder and turned back to address Anhur, but the Captain was sitting in the room - alone. Anhur was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished! He was gone!
Captain Scarburg sat for a few minutes contemplating the recent exchange - was a different future possible? What if he actually could alter the course of history back to the correct Parallel Universe? What an incredible world we would have, he thought. Can I change Earth’s destiny? Is it conceivable, just barely conceivable I can prevent Bud from getting killed in the Southwest Asian War? If this is remotely possible, I will try anything - anything, even if it has only a one in a million chance of success, he thought as he mulled over the idea.
The time was 11:30 a.m., Friday November 16, 2012.