A Time Conundrum – Part 6

August 10, 2006

To Bill, who was on his third launch, the feeling accompanying time travel was expected, if not comfortable. It felt as if you were flattened out of existence then inflated back to life. As usual he felt somewhat disoriented after the jump. They stood in the emptiness of space in another time. After taking a bearing Rudder contacted Dr. Osbourne, they were on track. They would only have to set course for the black hole to collect it. He punched in the coordinates. The control panel in front of him came alive. The powerful thrusters hissed loudly as their jet of ionized matter propelled them to their destiny.

After a few hours of monotonous travel, alarm bells broke the silence that had set amongst the crew. They were near the black hole. Dr. Hillzinger went to his equipment, which had been installed in the large cargo bay. He quickly set his machinery in action. The drone of the ships mighty fusion generators increased in pitch under the load of the containment system. Bill looked out the window and did not notice anything unusual going on. He said, to no one in particular.

“I do not see the black hole. Are you sure it is there?”

Dr. Hillzinger replied. “It is of very small size, only a few centimetres in diameter. Though its mass is tremendous you will not see its effect due to the lack of matter entering it. If we were to collide with it, it would neatly bore a hole through the ship. When the containment field will be established there will be emission of high energy x-rays as the stray particles from the field enters it. Any matter in its vicinity will become ionized by the x-rays. You will see a glowing aura around the black hole.”

Hillzinger turned back toward his equipment and Phil joined him to calibrate the field. Everybody were busy around Sven and Bill. They felt somewhat left out as they watched, with interest, the activity around them. Soon the drone of the fusion generator reached a climax and a crackling ball of energy stood in front of the time capsule. Phil, using an electromagnetic traction device, skillfully captured the black hole and stored it in a containment cell in the cargo bay. He cheerfully slapped his thighs and turned toward Bill. He said.

“See, there was nothing to it.”

Bill smiled. He asked. “Do we have time to go have a look at earth before we set our plan into motion? I would like to have a look at what we are trying to preserve.”

Rudder, from his command seat, yelled at the men assembled in the cargo hold.

“If you want to go to earth first, we should go right now. We only have a few hours before our appointed meeting with the asteroid. We will go and have a quick look.

The thrusters throbbed back to life and they were on their way to earth. The view of the planet, as they approached was familiar to the crew. It had not changed drastically in the intervening eons. They touched down in a lush tropical area. They observed the scenery through the ships monitoring systems. They did not have the time for a full blown outing. Animal life teemed in the lowland area forested with massive fern trees. They caught the occasional glimpse of a massive sauropod lumbering through the tall plants.

Bill was amazed at the sight of the fauna and flora untouched by man. This was a dream come true. He wished that Sheila was with him to enjoy the experience. Their stay was too short. Their senses had just been teased by the complexity of the Late Cretaceous ecosystems, when they had to leave. Bill hoped that one day they would be able to study this unspoiled habitat at leisure. But a more pressing engagement awaited them. They reluctantly left the planet’s surface, the thrusters at full blast.

The trip to the rendezvous point with the asteroid was a short one. The crew got busy calculating the coordinates for the release of the black hole. Bill felt somewhat left out of the process. He anxiously looked on as they worked. Soon the machinery was set in motions. Phil used the electromagnetic traction beam to manoeuvre the black hole outside the cargo bay. After double checking his computations Dr. Hillzinger instructed Phil to use an impulse beam to propel the contained black hole towards the asteroid.

After a few wrenching minutes, the crackling ball of energy, containing the black hole, collided with the asteroid. A fiery release of energy ensued. In the aftermath of the collision the asteroid lost part of its mass. This matter was absorbed by the black hole. The result was a deviation of the asteroid’s path by a few degrees. Due to their distance from earth, this was enough to prevent a direct impact with the planet. The tidal forces from the close miss would create havoc with the earthly environment, but it would be a lot less destructive than a direct hit.

With the tremendous release of energy from the collision a great deal of static prevented communication with home base. It did not worry the crew who had been expecting it. Rudder Rudigast, with the help of Gina Lesage, set the coordinates for their return home. There would be a short delay before the capsule’s capacitors would reach full charge. At that point they would return to the Institute.

Bill spent this time thinking about his future with Sheila. This last week had been one of the happiest of his life. The woman he had always dream about, loved him after all. It had only been his shyness that had prevented them from hitting it on earlier. His new work association with Sven Blomquist and Sheila opened so many new possibilities that it would take a lifetime to unravel all of them. Both his personal and work life were at their zenith.

Bill’s ruminations were interrupted by Rudder’s voice. “We will be proceeding with time transfer in thirty seconds. Please brace yourselves.”

The crew experienced the now familiar sensation. When they emerged at the other end of the time warp, they were greeted by billowing clouds of noxious smoke. They were caught in a tremendous storm raging over an immense active volcano. Rudder controlled their position. He yelled in a high pitched hysterical voice, as he fought with the capsule’s controls.

“According to my instruments we are directly over where the Institute should be. I don’t know what happened while we were gone, but a massive volcano lies in its place. I will try to set us down.”

While Rudder and Gina were busy at the controls, the remainder of the crew prepared themselves for the worse. They buckled their safety harnesses tightly. All were tossed and buffeted as the experienced pilots tried to find a proper spot for a landing. A brief respite from the storm permitted them to locate such an area. Rudder aimed the capsule toward it, as the storm doubled in intensity. Any attempt at a soft landing was futile. Rocked by the storm the ponderous mass of the shuttle hit the ground with a terrifying crash. Only its great strength prevented it from rupturing. All aboard were knocked unconscious by the impact.

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From 1990: A Time Conundrum

The Sass