chapter 33
TEAM 3, YEAR: 2095
Time Remaining: 132 Days
Finn still felt under the weather after the accidental overdose on Friday, but the majority of his nausea had passed. He sipped from his glass of water; his voice hoarse after explaining for the better part of an hour, the 271 lines of code he would have to modify to increase the guns’ output of zeno rays. He wrapped up his presentation by showing a cross-section image of how the extended cartridge clip would look with the second and third cartridges.
“And that’s 271 lines of code, per gun?” asked Riley.
Finn nodded.
“Looks like we’ve got some late nights ahead of us,” said Owen.
“And what are we not going to do?” asked Riley, looking at Finn.
“No Skyscrapers,” said Finn.
Time Remaining: 128 Days
It took Riley and Owen four full days to finish the physical modifications to the first gun while Finn made adjustments to its programming. With the programming changes completed for one gun, Finn ran the new code through a simulation program, testing the gun’s operation in a virtual environment. When Finn read the results, he sank heavily into his chair. Had he bypassed the virtual tests and checked the gun manually, he would have blown their office right out of the building. After two days, many code changes and nearly fifty simulations later, the gun finally operated as he had intended.
Finn set the reprogrammed gun in the testing tank to get a precise reading of the gun’s improved output levels. The miniaturized gun stood solitary in the centre of the tank. No Elevanium was required for this test; they merely wanted to confirm the output of zeno rays had increased as calculated before modifying the other guns.
Finn hit the button on the remote control. The gun’s output, previously a faint mist, now shone bright red.
Owen grinned ear to ear as he held the scanner for the others to see. “It’s better than we’d expected.”
Time Remaining: 125 Days
With all three guns reprogrammed, Riley and Finn were anxious to test their improved output on a brick of Elevanium, but waited for Owen to arrive from his first real day back at work. To the team, it seemed as though a lifetime had passed since the start of the project until this moment. They had endured innumerable setbacks and failures and were hopeful that failure was behind them. By their calculations, the total output of all three modified guns should neutralize the Elevanium in less than a second. However, their hopes were dashed when, even at their maximum output, the neutralization still took on average, twenty-five seconds.
Finn shook his head. “Not enough. Thirty-four seconds.” Riley watched Finn set the scanner on the table, crestfallen. After all of his hard work and late nights, he seemed to take the failure personally.
Riley patted him on the back. “Don’t worry yet. Nothing we’ve done so far has worked the first time. Let’s look at it again tomorrow with fresh eyes.”
Even refreshed eyes the following morning made no difference. Nor did changing any additional variables throughout the next five days. After working into the nights and through weekends with no success, the team’s spirits had dampened considerably and the oppressive weight of the looming deadline grew heavier and more suffocating with each passing day.
Suddenly, Owen stood upright so abruptly that he startled Riley and Finn.
“Why don’t we just use the VersaTool and make the guns twice as big?” It seemed like such a great idea, he could not believe that he had not thought about it until now. He expected Riley and Finn to pick him up on their shoulders and parade him around the lab.
Riley smiled and shook her head. “Unfortunately, the VersaTool’s compression setting is only really suited for making things smaller. Making objects smaller isn’t as strenuous on them as making things larger. Making something bigger is easy enough to do, but everything becomes more fragile and unpredictable the larger it becomes. That’s why the world’s oil crisis couldn’t be resolved by making barrels of oil larger, in the same way that world hunger couldn’t be solved by making giant food. It just doesn’t work.”
Time Remaining: 110 Days
An uneasiness had taken up residence in Riley’s stomach and it gnawed at her from the moment she woke to the moment she fell asleep. All of their ideas had been tried and failed. There was no consistent pattern of results onto which they could build. Out of ideas and variables to try, Riley’s steadfast belief in their ability to succeed began to waver. Falling asleep had become difficult. The previous night, she lay in bed watching Owen, who slept like a baby every night, physically exhausted from working such long hours. Worried her tossing and turning would wake him, she went for a run hoping to tire herself, but it made no difference. She showered and returned to bed, no more or less tired than she had been before. Nothing she could do would allow her mind to quiet.
Now, sitting in the lab, her body finally decided it was ready to sleep. Her brain felt muddy and sluggish and she debated passing out in the dorm room for a half hour, but knew there was no time. She rubbed her eyes. “Finn, do you have any of those Skyscrapers left?”
She waited for him to make a smart comment, hassling her for all the grief she had given him about popping pills. To her surprise, he looked sympathetic and rubbed her shoulder as he walked past her to grab the bottle from his backpack.
“Only take one,” he warned. Finn knew Riley’s clean eating meant her system would not have a fraction of the crap in it that his did, thanks to his diet of junk food. He looked at her and smiled knowingly. “And if you’re looking for a good time, give one to Owen, chase it with a few beers and you’ll have a nice little cocktail in your system that will keep you two buzzing and busy all night long.” Riley punched him sister-like in the arm but said nothing. Though Finn had no proof, he suspected there was a cat to be let out of a bag somewhere.
“What?” he asked, smiling innocently. “I just thought you might like to know.”
Riley washed the Skyscraper down with what was left of Finn’s lukewarm cappuccino and hoped she had no reaction to it. She avoided mental enhancers, energy pills and things of the like, preferring a more holistic approach to whatever ailed her.
As she set down the small mug, the phone rang. Riley groaned as she leaned forward to pick up the wireless handset. Neither she nor Finn could get used to the concept of a physical, tangible phone nor the need to hold it up to their ears. Before she finished saying hello, Owen cut in. His voice was loud and he spoke fast. Riley’s mind laboured to keep up.
“Owen, Owen! Slow down and start over. Sorry, my brain’s a little fried at the moment.” She switched the phone to speaker mode so Finn could listen in.
Owen’s voice echoed in the cavernous kitchen. “Maybe this is too simple, but what if we broke up the Elevanium to smaller pieces? Think about it. Whenever we do these tests, we can see on the scanner that it’s always the centre that takes the longest. If we broke the brick up into smaller pieces, the rays could hit more surface area of the deposit. The smaller the better, right?”
Finn and Riley did not respond immediately. Finally, Riley spoke. “It’s quite logical actually. I can’t believe we didn’t think of this sooner.”
Finn nodded and shrugged. “We’ve tried everything else.”
Owen arrived at the lab thirty minutes later. In the meantime, Riley had already broken an Elevanium brick into small, pea-sized pieces. Owen tossed his jacket on the island, grabbed a salami sub from the fridge and inhaled it with a speed that rivalled Finn at his top form. He cracked open a can of iced tea, snatched an armful of fruit and snacks from the counter and strode to the testing tank. Riley poured the Elevanium pieces into a neat pile in the centre of the tank while Finn sat slumped over on a stool, his mouth gaping in a cavernous yawn. Owen was surprised by Riley, whose energy level seemed far more lively now than she had sounded earlier. He watched her bounce across the lab to grab the scanner off the back counter.
“What’s up with Riley??
?? whispered Owen.
Finn, now half-sitting, half-lying on the lab station with his chin resting on his folded arms, watched Riley. What little energy he had left drained as he watched her speed around. “Skyscraper,” he yawned.
“Really?” Owen was stunned after the speech she had given Finn. “Is she alright? Is she going to crash?”
Finn’s eyes were closed, but he could hear the concern in Owen’s voice. He smiled to himself and reached up blindly to pat Owen on the back. “No worries, it’s not cocaine or anything. She’ll crash later tonight, but she’ll sleep.”
“Hey, you guys!” exclaimed Riley as she approached. “Are we doing this or what?”
“Yes, Dear,” said Finn in a mocking, falsetto voice. He sat up slowly and yawned again.
Riley kicked the leg of his chair. “Finn, move your ass. Here’s the scanner. Get it ready.”
Riley passed Owen the remote control. “Do the honours, sir.”
“Fair enough,” said Owen, taking the remote from her. He positioned his thumb over the button. “In three, two, one.” Before Owen had a chance to release the button, Finn let out a wild whoop.
“We did it!” yelled Finn. He jumped out of his chair knocking it over backward. He turned the scanner so Riley and Owen could see it.
“Point three seven of a second.” Riley read the numbers and looked from the scanner to the pile of Elevanium in the tank, back to the scanner. “We did it,” she breathed. The enormity of what she said seeped in. “We did it.” Louder this time. “We did it! We did it!” She danced a circle around Owen and then gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Finn landed on his bed within minutes of reaching the house. Riley—still feeling the effects of the Skyscraper—could not sit still. Owen took her for a walk down a path behind the house that followed the river.
“Are you nervous about the leap back on Friday?”
“Nah,” said Owen casually, though inwardly he felt extremely anxious. As the final days of their work in 2016 drew to a close, he found himself contemplating what came next, both for the op and for his life. Logically, he knew the actual leap part was relatively safe. He continually reminded himself that Riley and Finn had arrived with their limbs attached in the right places. But the physical leap back was not his sole concern; it was everything that could go wrong. What if they became stranded, got hurt, or were unable to make it back? What would Riley’s life be like after the timeshift? Would it be better than before? Would it be worse?
At hearing something in Owen’s would-be casual voice, Riley sensed he felt less confident than he was letting on. She stopped walking and turned to face Owen. She opened her mouth to speak, said nothing then looked at him appraisingly for a moment.
“Well, I have the NRD line I can give you about all the safety precautions we have in place, blah, blah, blah…very simple operation of excavation, then executing the device that we’ve created and then return you home safe and sound with a little financial bonus. But I’ll be straight with you. Here’s how it really is. Any operation with time travel has an added component of complexity, not only in the leap itself but the hardware. Hardware sometimes malfunctions, accidents happen. And it can make you nauseous. Finn nearly puked last time. The operation itself, well, we’re digging a big hole in the ground and then setting up our guns and then…well, you know the rest. Is it safe?” Riley nodded her head contemplatively. “Yes, on paper. Most times, things go right. But I’m not going to lie to you, shit inevitably happens and you can’t control it. There’s generally a lot of recalculating on the fly. In theory, it should be a very easy operation, but I don’t prepare for easy operations. I prepare for worst-case scenarios. If you don’t want to come, I totally understand. You can back out any time you like. Well, anytime between now and Friday morning that is.”
Owen chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m still going. But I do appreciate your honesty. Even if it is, quite frankly, terrifying.”
Owen ached to say something that had been on his mind for some time, but worried the airing of his feelings would make the unspoken complication in their relationship too real. Without having to say so, they both knew nothing good could come from discussing their relationship. Talking about its inevitable end seemed pointless so instead, they focused on what time they did have. But Owen could no longer deny that something about his relationship with Riley was different. He felt things he had never felt before—an intensity and caring deeper than he imagined possible. The importance of everything in his life paled in comparison to her; nothing else mattered except her happiness and their time together. Owen initially suspected the high-stakes nature of the operation for the depth of his feelings for her—that the constant adrenaline spikes and long hours had wreaked havoc with his dopamine levels. Their one glorious month together as a couple felt more like six. But as time passed, Owen realized neither the project nor the hours had anything to do with how he felt. The strength of his feelings were a result of nothing more than who she was and how well they complimented each other.
“Riley, I can’t imagine my life without you. You’ve completely changed it and I don’t want to lose you.”
“I know, Owen. I feel the same way. I feel like we’ve been together for ages. I know more about you than I’ve ever known about anyone. I think that this really could have been something.”
Owen saw a pain in Riley’s eyes that had not been present after being attacked by a horde of thugs or after stumbling out of a burning house.
“Rile, if this is too hard, we…”
She silenced him with a kiss. When she pulled away, she caressed his cheek and yawned. “I wouldn’t change a thing. I think that Skyscraper’s finally run its course.”
He wrapped his arm around her and they turned back. “Let’s get you home before I have to carry you.”
Time Remaining: 107 Days
Riley awoke in the same place she had for over a month—in Owen’s arms. She lay motionless and enjoyed the stillness of the morning. Through the partially opened blinds, she saw five pelicans floating down the river, basking in the sun. She felt a pang of sadness at how desperately she wanted to continue waking up in this bed, next to this man and seeing that view every morning. She took in the scene for another quarter of an hour before trying to slide out of Owen’s arms without disturbing him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked softly. He cast his arm around her waist and reeled her back to him, kissing the back of her neck.
She laughed and fought his restraint half-heartedly. “I’ve got to pack and get to the lab. And don’t you have things to do—people to see, last-minute errands to run before we go?”
Owen groaned at the defeat and nodded as he rubbed his eyes. He sat up, leaned back against the headboard and watched her slide into his grey cotton robe. He marvelled at her naked body, the faint outline of each active muscle was visible as she moved.
Riley stopped at the bathroom door, let the top of the robe slip off her shoulders. She looked back at him seductively. “That being said, I do have a few minutes to spare.”
She let the robe slide down her arms and it landed at her feet. Owen ejected himself from the bed and followed her into the bathroom.
Owen walked out of the bathroom with his towel around his waist to find Riley already dressed. She was wearing the same SWAT-style outfit she had the day they met—the day she saved him from being by hit the bus.
“Can you please check on Finn for me and make sure he didn’t sleep in? I don’t want to be late.”
“Sure.” Owen kissed her on the forehead as he threw on a pair of jeans and a faded Skid Row t-shirt before heading to the basement. Owen’s stomach flip-flopped at the thought of the leap back to the year 1200 they would be making in mere hours. He had a case of nerves unlike anything he had ever experienced and anticipated an ulcer before sundown.
Owen knocked on Finn’s open door and saw the contents of his bags spread across the bed. “How’s it going, champ?”
/> Whereas most of Riley’s possessions were necessities like clothing and toiletries, Finn’s consisted of two cases of energy drinks, four large cans of coffee, eight large bottles of honey, two flats of Coke, a stack of magazines, newspapers, and an assortment of chips, popcorn, candy and chocolate bars, plus whatever else lay beneath the surface layer of the snacks.
Owen picked up one of the honey jars. “Honey?”
“Yes, sweetie?” quipped Finn, looking up from the tins of coffee he was jamming into his bag.
Rolling his eyes, Owen tossed the jar back to Finn. Finn caught it and smiled like an entrepreneur who had stumbled across the next greatest thing. “Do you know how much I can sell this for back home?”
Owen pointed to the jumbo-sized box of condoms. “And they don’t have these in 2097?”
“Nope. Most women have some kind of electronic implant that emits a high-pitched frequency or something that disrupts their goings-on. I don’t know how it works exactly. It’s one of those mysteries of women that they don’t tell me about and I don’t ask.”
Owen laughed. Finn was so young, he had so much to learn about life and women and everything in between. He thought back to when he and Riley had discussed protection, she had said it was all taken care of. He just assumed she meant she was on the pill.
Owen arrived at the lab several hours after Riley and Finn; his last-minute errands had taken less time than he had anticipated. He found Riley and Finn going through their checklist. He set his two bags and a metal, fireproof case neatly beside the pile of supplies in the centre of the lab then listened in as Finn double-checked their inventory. Riley eyed Finn’s extra bag. “What’s that?”
“Just a few souvenirs,” he said innocently. “Don’t worry, I’ve tagged it already.”
Riley handed Finn and Owen each a black nylon backpack. Owen remembered Riley showing him her pack on the day they met. He watched as Riley and Finn opened up their packs and removed what looked like a large watch. Mirroring their actions, he strapped the watch on his wrist and looked over the various buttons and screens.
“What is this thing?”
“It’s the external control interface for the packs.” She held up his wrist and explained the different settings and dates. She handed him a tiny red, bean-shaped device and showed him how to position the communication device to his ear.
Riley retrieved a piece of paper from her pocket that listed their landing coordinates and read them out to Finn and Owen. They each entered their destination settings by sliding their fingers across the numbers on the touch screen. The cavernous room filled with muffled beeping sounds as they scrolled to each number.
“Oh, I should mention,” Riley said looking at Owen, “we need to adjust the numbers a bit or we’ll all land on top of each other. I’ll change mine,” she said, and her watch beeped twice as she adjusted her coordinates. She looked at Finn.
“Already done,” he said. “More west.”
Riley smiled. “Yes, that will be perfect.” She looked at his bags. “And you said you tagged those?”
“Yes, Boss Lady,” Finn said, mocking her caution. “And Owen’s.”
Riley saw that Owen had no clue what they were talking about. “Anything you want to bring during the leap needs a tag. We register the tag with the control pack and then it’ll bring along whatever items the tags are affixed to.”
Riley looked from Finn to Owen. “You guys ready?”
Finn squeaked out a yes as he rocked slightly on the balls of his feet, no doubt psyching himself up for the time leap. Owen nodded silently and closed his eyes. Riley counted down from three. When she reached “one,” they each pressed the button on their watches and disappeared from the lab.