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  “To a fourth dimensional observer, it is just as simple to rescue the third dimensional person from his cube.” Adler continued unfazed by the bright lights. “It is just as simple to the fourth dimensional person, yet just as unreal to the third dimensional person.”

  Once Ellis’ eyes adjusted to the lights, he slowly lowered his hands from his face. He stood in a large room, not as large as the underground facility in Denver, but large. In front of him was a familiar stage with tall pistons at each corner, but the whole thing looked a little more makeshift. Additional wires wrapped around the pistons, and unlike in Denver, the control panel was out in the open. Generators were spread out around the room, humming and whirring as they struggled to feed power to the entire room.

  “If a three dimensional person is trapped, we only have to pull him into a fourth dimension, move him slightly, and then return him to his ordinary three dimensional world. It is quite simple.” Adler said in a self-congratulatory tone.

  Ellis stood somewhat speechless in front of the large time travel device. It was not that he had never seen one before. But he was amazed by the man power and collective knowledge it took to assemble such a device. Most of all, it was that this had been done in secret, in constant hiding from the Ministry and the TDA.

  From behind him, someone approached. He turned to see Emery standing next to him. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder, and Ellis felt her energy transfer from her to him. It calmed him and slowed his racing mind. The spotlights warmed the room with their energy and enveloped both Ellis and Emery in their bright light. They stood in silence together, and Beckett and Adler stood behind them.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Emery asked with a smile. Ellis looked into Emery’s bright blue eyes, and their contrast with her pale light skin almost took his breath away.

  “Yes.” Ellis replied and smiled back at Emery.

  CHAPTER 56

  2068

  ASHTON, IDAHO

  The sky glowed a deep purple as the sun dipped down over Ashton. Emery and Ellis walked through the abandoned streets.

  “So why you?” Ellis asked. “Why did they recruit you? Or better yet, how?”

  Emery smiled. “Did you know your father?” She asked Ellis.

  “Not well,” he replied.

  “That’s too bad,” she said with great sincerity. “My father raised me, since my mom wasn’t around. I don’t even know if she is still alive. But my dad did everything he could for me.” Ellis could tell she liked to talk about her dad, and he was a little envious of the joy she found in her family. “He was a teacher. History. It was his favorite subject, and he would quiz me at the dinner table on different things. ‘Who was the twenty third vice president?’ he asked. Or ‘What caused the fall of the Soviet Union?’ He knew I didn’t know, but he asked anyway.”

  “When I was older I started college. Criminal Justice with a History minor. My dad suggested the minor,” she said and rolled her eyes playfully. “He didn’t want me to work while in school. ‘Just focus on your studies,’ he told me, and to cover the cost of my school he got a night job as a janitor at a small company; Tri-Gen Solutions. They manufactured printed circuit boards.”

  “Well,” Emery stopped and swallowed, like a large pill or a piece of food was lodged in her throat. “The Technology Development Agency raided Tri-Gen. They had an ‘after hours’ warrant that gave them authority to go in at night when no one was there.”

  “So they could recover more of their materials?” Ellis asked, with the required level of sarcasm.

  “Yeah, they assumed the company would destroy what they could before the TDA got their hands on it. Surprising how people would rather destroy something than have it confiscated and given to someone else,” she said returning his sarcastic tone. “So they went in at night and placed a charge on one of the back doors. You know how they make these circuit boards?” she asked Ellis.

  “Kind of. I worked in that area a little with the TDA,” Ellis replied. They strolled down the street at a slow pace. Their feet swung wide in an unnatural gait. It was a method of walking that only people without a destination would employ.

  “Then you might know that when the circuit boards are etched they use peroxide and hydrochloric acid, and when they clean the circuit boards after they are etched they use acetone.” Ellis nodded. Emery’s jaw clenched, and any joy she exhibited when talking about her father was gone.

  “Well if not handled properly these chemicals can mix to make acetone peroxide; a white crystal that is used as an explosive agent.” Ellis nodded to acknowledge he understood where this story was headed. He saw the end of the story displayed on Emery’s face. Her eyes watered and she bit her top lip to keep it from quivering.

  “The explosion from the charge on the door ignited the acetone peroxide in the warehouse, and a chain reaction ripped through the building. The entire structure came down, killing all of the agents as well as my father. He would have been simply mopping the warehouse floor when the raid was attempted.” Emery looked down at the ground. Ellis wrapped his arm around Emery and she leaned into him.

  “He was paid off the books by Tri-Gen, and the explosion was so massive that they couldn’t distinguish between one body and another. So the TDA never named him as a casualty in their report; they never even knew they killed him.”

  “I am sorry,” Ellis said, but felt useless offering such a trite response. Emery nodded her head in acknowledgement.

  “After the funeral I got an email from the owner of Tri-Gen,” Emery continued. “It was Dr. Adler. He said he knew my father, and that they were friends. Adler told me he would continue to pay for my school. I only had one thought from then on. I wanted to hurt the Ministry in some way.

  At that point in my life, I would have settled for any disruption in the Ministry’s efforts. I would have been happy slashing the tires on the agency vehicles or pulling fire alarms in their headquarters; anything. But after I graduated, Dr. Adler suggested I become an agent; he said I could do more damage from the inside.” Emery stopped sniffling. This part of her story was told with force and confidence. “He said I might have to bide my time, but my opportunity would come; of that he was sure.”

  “So I continued with a single focus. I trained for and passed the Technology Development Agency’s physical exam, and I aced their aptitude tests; they hired me on as a special agent second class. I skipped three ranks before I showed up for my first day of work because of my test performance.” Emery’s expressions came full circle, and once again she smiled and was proud of what she said. Ellis didn’t even realize that he had left his arm wrapped around her from when he had comforted her. Emery didn’t seem to mind.

  “While I worked as an agent, Dr. Adler met with other owners of companies that were raided and had their tech components stolen; their businesses shut down by the Ministry or one of its Agencies.” The owner of the fertilizer plant in Ashton was one, she confirmed, adding that he acquired all of the real estate here to create the place Ellis just visited. Dr. Adler had then contacted her and said that her time had come. “Once the Time Anomaly Agency was created I put in a transfer request, and the Ministry signed it without question. What we started has grown way beyond what I ever expected,” she added, looking up with a wry smile as she leaned into Ellis’ body.

  “It’s one hell of an accomplishment,” Ellis replied.

  They found a rusted bench to sit on, and they just let the peaceful silence of Ashton fill the air.

  “I watched you during the tour of the facility here. I watched you and I couldn’t help but smile.” She looked at Ellis and still couldn’t fight back a grin.

  “I watched you discover the facility for the first time in your life, and in turn I relived my first experience here. After he got in touch again, almost one year ago, Dr. Adler brought me to St. Anthony’s. He told me that this is what my father’s death sparked; it was a catalyst that caused us both to head down this path. It was such a wonderful experience.
Everyone here wanted to help with this cause; no one was drafted or coerced.” As she rested her hand on her thigh it brushed against Ellis’ hand. He didn’t move his hand and neither did she.

  “Every moment that you were speechless, I grinned. When you ran your hands over the tools and workstations, I knew the feeling. People like us, were not meant to have access to this type of equipment and technology; the Ministry hoards and confiscates it. They keep it for their own development, or they just destroy it.”

  Ellis agreed with Emery, but he didn’t need to say anything. He didn’t need to because she knew it. Ellis had only read about most of the devices in the lab, or, at the very best, he used them minimally while he was in college. When he worked for the Ministry as an engineer he loved building, dismantling, and piecing things back together, but the Ministry took that away from him.

  But now he saw the machinery and tools in the facility in Ashton, and he was filled with wonder. And Emery felt that through him, she felt joy. Ellis stretched his arm behind Emery and placed it on the back of the bench; Emery moved ever so slightly toward Ellis.

  “I watched you walk through the lab like a parent would watch their child open gifts on Christmas morning. I’m not just here for revenge; I have the same longing for discovery that you have; Beckett has it too. But even more important than the ultimate discovery, is the process of discovering. The trial and error in the process makes the end result that much sweeter. Me and Dr. Adler, Beckett, and the others we all have that same desire, and I know you have it too.” Ellis causally brushed his hand on Emery’s shoulder. She didn’t jump or act surprised, so he left it there; he felt like a teenager, but he didn’t care.

  “It’s a selfish desire. This project has become an organic entity and it has taken on a characteristic unlike the separate parts that make it up. Adler, by himself, is just an old man who wants to tinker with time travel; Beckett just wants to build. You and I are the same way too; we are all selfishly involved here. We want to be the one who discovers something great. We want to be able to say ‘I was there, and that I helped.’

  But now, we have brought all of our selfish intentions together, and when combined, these will create the most unselfish result. We want to benefit the rest of our society. We can really map out the life span of the human race, and not just use time travel as a way to test products or ship off prisoners. Society doesn’t care about the discovery process; only we are concerned with that. They only want the result. That is the beauty of this place; we can enjoy our discovery and society can have its beneficial result. That’s the side effect of our process.”

  Ellis felt her shoulder burrow into his side, and he grasped it and squeezed, finally acknowledging that he actually meant to touch her. As they sat in the abandoned town, Ellis thought into the future. He looked around the vacant main street and saw the empty streets and the vegetation that grew up through the cracks in the asphalt. He felt the wind rush down the street like it was playing a game of tag, running down the street free of human interaction. There were no sounds of traffic. No chatter. Just the two of them. Ellis watched a small rabbit hop near them and sniff the ground before it scurried away into one of the buildings.

  Ellis held Emery and thought that this is where he wanted to be in his future. For the first time in his life he was living in the future he hoped for himself, just them and an abandoned town. Maybe they wouldn’t stay in Ashton their whole life; perhaps they could find another town similar to Ashton. Forgotten, empty, and removed from the rest of life. There, at some point in the future, Emery and Ellis would make a home for themselves and start a family. He saw it like it had already happened. Like it was inevitable.

  UNIT 5987D V.

  FEDERATED NORTH AMERICA

  CASE NO. 2070FN99823

  Prosecutor Klipton: You claim that you waited until Pierson was dead before you removed his organs, correct?

  A: Yes.

  Q: In fact, the coroner’s report could not confirm or deny that that was the order in which the events occurred, right?

  A: I believe so.

  Q: You stated earlier that you and Pierson worked together?

  A: Yes.

  Q: You spent a lot of time together?

  A: Yes.

  Q: You taught him many things?

  A: Yes.

  Q: And he told you of his time spent abroad?

  A: Yes.

  Q: You were both close, weren’t you?

  A: Yes.

  Q: You would consider him a friend?

  A: Yes, I would.

  Q: But you almost immediately began removing his organs after he died?

  A: It was not immediate. I -

  Q: How long after he died did you wait to remove his spleen?

  A: I do not recall exactly.

  Q: Can you estimate for me?

  A: I guess about an hour.

  Q: An hour. Did you wait an hour after your friend died before you removed his liver?

  A: I suppose, probably.

  Q: Did you wait an hour to remove part of your friend’s brain?

  A: All of the organs were extracted at about the same time.

  Prosecutor Klipton: Your honor, may I approach the witness?

  Court: Go ahead.

  Prosecutor Klipton approaches witness and hands Defendant a sheet of paper.

  Q: Do you recognize this?

  A: Yes.

  Q: What is it?

  A: It is the autopsy report for Pierson.

  Q: How are you familiar with it?

  A: As Pierson’s caretaker and the last one to see him alive, I was asked to sign the autopsy report and death certificate.

  Q: So that is your signature at the bottom?

  A: Yes.

  Prosecutor Klipton: Your honor I would like to present State’s Exhibit Three to the court and have it entered as Exhibit…what are we at now? Exhibit F?

  Counselor Powell: Yes, exhibit F.

  Prosecutor Klipton: As exhibit F, and let the record reflect I am providing defense counsel an opportunity to review the document.

  Court: Powell any objections?

  Counselor Powell: No your honor.

  Court: Ok it is entered into evidence as Exhibit F. You may continue.

  CHAPTER 57

  5065

  NEW ALCATRAZ

  DAY 9

  Hamilton and I sat on the cool ground with our backs against the cement wall. Beams of flashlights flickered around in the nearby maze of rooms and offices where Red and Ellis looked for the main power switch. We ate directly from the bags of dehydrated food.

  The food was dry and chalky. Beef flavored chalk. Chicken and rice flavored chalk. Broccoli chalk. Each piece was a perfect cube the size of a dice, light and mostly air. As my saliva changed the cubes’ structure, each flavor spilled over my starving taste buds. Like a dilated pupil starring at the sun, each crevice on my tongue expanded. The initially bland chalk sat in my mouth and then exploded into the best food I had ever tasted as it was absorbed into my system.

  Hamilton spoke with bits of chalk flying out of his mouth. “You know our universe is expanding?” He asked me with a mouthful of some flavored chalk. Possibly spaghetti. I didn’t know, and I could only guess. “Yeah,” I told him. “like a shattered aquarium,” I said unenthusiastically; my mind was only on the food.

  “Exactly,” Hamilton continued. “It is expanding so much that eventually the entire universe will sit stagnant. Everything will be so far apart that nothing will be able to interact. Like a highway that was once congested, our universe will stretch to unimaginable lengths.” Hamilton tossed more chalk cubes into his mouth. Maybe grilled cheese cubes or tomato bisque cubes. The food and water seemed to help Hamilton string together complete sentences.

  “But,” Hamilton continued. “We also know that the universe is curved. It isn’t just infinite space. The universe may stretch forever but it won’t be linear. It won’t be two separate ends heading in opposite directions. It will be two separat
e ends stretching out along a curved path. The universe is finite, but at the same time it has no end, so...technically, it is looped. Like an optical illusion or a funhouse mirror.” Hamilton popped what could have been a handful of Salisbury steak chalk cubes into his mouth.

  “When I was young I played with this gummy paste my father gave me.; like clay but more pliable. I molded it, stretched it, and balled it up. I could get it dirty, wet, or greasy, and it always returned to its original state. When I think of our universe I think of that putty. It could stretch for a long time. But eventually it would snap, and I would be holding two separate pieces of it.” Hamilton washed his mixture of chalk food down with water from a glass bottle; he had yet to purify any of it.

  “Most people think of our universe like a person stretching that epoxy. They don’t think it will break, just that it will reach a point where it can’t stretch anymore. One day, when I was six, I stretched this stuff over a large rubber ball I had. I started at the top, and I wanted to cover the whole ball. I worked it around, nudging it bit by bit, pushing it down on all sides, like I was spreading out pizza dough. It got so thin on the top of the ball that it eventually pulled and fell apart, but not at the bottom,” Hamilton shook a single finger coated in bits of dehydrated food in the air. “Just as the putty on the top snapped, the two ends of this gummy material reached each other at the bottom. I didn’t cover the ball, but technically the putty always stayed in one piece.”

  Hamilton smiled as he reminisced about his childhood; clearly, a time he wished he could get back to. “So when we reach that point in our universe, the point of stagnation, where we cannot spread out anymore and everything stops, all reactions will cease. At the point where everything, and I mean everything, dies, that might be the end of our part of the universe. The ‘top’ of the universe; the part visible to us. But somewhere else things will be meeting and interacting, colliding and mixing. Our universe will slow down and speed up at the same time. It will die and revive all at once, just in different places. It’s all a matter of perspective.” Hamilton threw a yellow, possibly banana flavored, chalk cube into his mouth.