Back To The Viper (3 page)

“Okay, but what does this have to do with our case?” Wayne persisted.

“Well, what would it have been like if we could have sung “Where is Your Lover,” changing it a little so that it resembled “Burn?” Do you think that the producer and the audience would have liked it in that case?”

The others became thoughtful. After a while, Wayne broke the silence. “Ash, what’s the matter with you?”

“Just imagine if somehow it was possible for us to go back in time; wouldn’t that be great?” added Peggy, who had been silent until now. “I bet the producer and the audience would have fallen in love with your song!”

“That’s just bullshit. There’s no way we can go back in time, thank God.” Wayne laughed. “It’s impossible!”

Chapter 6

“Latte and cappuccino, here you are. Here’s your change – two dollars and sixty cents. Have a nice day and welcome back to Starbucks.” Ashley had just attended to yet another customer when she saw her old friend, scientist Harry Neil, coming into the café. “What’s he doing here?” she thought and smoothed her skirt. She had hated the idea of wearing a uniform since her teenage years, and now she had to wear one every day.

“Harry,” she yelled.

He looked around nervously and came closer to her. Harry had quite a peculiar appearance: he wore glasses too big for his face that almost touched the tip of his nose, he had curly, medium-length hair, and was dressed in a funny shirt with a pattern of oranges and bananas. To top it all off, he always made nervous hand gestures as he spoke. Ashley was used to him, but people who saw him for the first time would get slightly baffled.

“What’s up, Harry? What brings you here? I haven’t seen you for a while.”

“I came… for something important, uhh… I’d like to ask if you’re willing to test an invention of mine. I tried it myself, but I’d like someone else to try it, too.”

Harry Neil taught physics and chemistry at Belmont’s local school and had invented several machines that Ashley proudly used. One of them was a little USB device that connected her to wireless networks without a password and then, of course, a special software that allowed her to use the web without the distraction of ads, which were growing in number every day.

“I’d love to, but first you have to tell me what it is.”

He hesitated and then said: “Come to my lab at eight tonight, and you’ll find out. Are you okay with the hour?”

Ashley nodded. She wanted to know more about his discovery, but Harry had already left. He had the habit of not saying hello and goodbye.

“He’s been acting really strangely and mysteriously recently,” she thought, but decided to take part in his experiment. She was scheduled to work until nine in the evening, but it was no problem for her to call her boss and think of an excuse to leave earlier. One of the few pros of her current job was how understanding her employer was. If he hadn’t been, she would have surely quit a long time ago.

Ashley’s daily routine was monotonous and boring. But the idea that her band could perform a new version of its song had already nestled in her mind. After their meeting, she had wished for the universe to find a way to take her ten years back in time to their live showcase. Back then she had been a rising star, the band had been breaking through, and Wayne had managed to set up a live showcase at Hollywood’s most exclusive club, The Viper Room. The future had belonged to them. If anyone had told her back then that ten years later she would be a single mother serving tables at Starbucks, she would have laughed in their face. Now, however, she didn’t feel like laughing.

Ashley finished work an hour and a half early and drove to Harry’s place in Belmont. She had no idea what kind of an experiment it would be, but she knew Harry well enough to trust him. He explained the essence of the test briefly: she was only required to relax and follow his instructions. Then he would inject her with UTST (Unique Time and Space Travel) – the chemical compound he had discovered. Soon after that, she would be able to choose a time and space into which she could be transferred.

“UTST? What’s in it?” Ashley asked curiously.

“
Galbulimima belgraveana
and
Homalomena
leaves and my special top secret ingredient. There are no side effects; at least, I haven’t noticed any myself.”

“And what’s this special top secret ingredient?”

“I’m sorry, Ash, that’s confidential.”

Ashley frowned and Harry had to reassure her: “I promise there is nothing dangerous in it.” He raised his hand and announced ceremonially, “I swear by my mother.”

Ashley had nothing else to do but trust him.

“Okay, Harry, let me see if I’ve gotten it right: while I’m lying on the bed relaxed, you’ll inject me with the chemical compound. When it starts working, I’ll be able to pick the time I’d like to go back to, right?”

“Precisely so.” Harry smiled at the simplicity with which Ashley had described the work that had taken him a year.

“And the whole time my mind will be somewhere else, my body will lay here motionless on the bed?”

“Well, yes, yes,” he confirmed, squeezing his knuckles nervously.

“And what if I want to cancel the experiment? How do I do it?”

“Just make your mind focus on the sensation of your body. That will bring about a physical reaction such as the movement of your legs, and then I’ll inject you with an anti-compound. You should wake up a few minutes after that.”

Ashley sighed and lay down.

“Now close your eyes and relax. Riiight… Imagine that your whole body is growing heavier. Your arms, your legs,” Harry instructed her.

After a while, he injected her with UTST and Ashley felt really strange. It was as if her whole body had turned into a balloon filled with air under pressure. After a few seconds, she no longer felt her physical body. For a moment, she became unconscious, and when she came to her senses she saw she was in a white room with several doors in it. She wasn’t anxious, but she wondered which door to open. She pressed the handle of the closest one and found herself in a vast, brightly-colored meadow with beautiful and sweet-smelling flowers. Butterflies were fluttering to and fro and she could hear birds singing. She began to jump around joyfully, enjoying the wonderful fragrance that surrounded her. She remembered what Harry had told her:

“When you want to go to another time or space, just think of the year and the place and you’ll get there.”

Ashley paused in the middle of a path and thought about where she wanted to go. She was afraid to peek into the future, so she decided to go back in time. What was the moment in her life when she had been happiest? Undoubtedly, that was the moment when her daughter Briana had been born. But she didn’t feel like experiencing the birth pangs all over again. She went further back in time mentally and visualized in her memory The Jackal’s first rehearsal. They had still been students back then and had played all day long during the summer. She recalled August 2003, and in the next moment, she found herself with the rest of the band in Wayne’s garage.

“Not that tonality, try G major.” Ashley heard Craig’s voice. Although it wasn’t as thick as in the present, she couldn’t mistake it for anyone else’s. He was sitting behind the drums and was following the rhythm with the drumsticks. How young he looked! She looked at her own body – how slim she was! She had gained some pounds after giving birth to Briana.

“I’m slim again! Oh, my God! I can’t believe it!” Ashley shrieked with joy.

The boys were looking at her, puzzled.

“Is that your PMS, Ash?” Chad winked at her.

“You always look great, baby.” Wayne smiled. Ashley blushed. She remembered that once she’d had a thing about him. In the present, she had long gotten over that thrill and considered him a friend only. But back then, there had definitely been something more between them.

“Are you ready for the rehearsal?” he asked her.

“I need the lyrics. Where are they?”

“You forgot them already? I thought
you
wrote them?” Chad was surprised. “Ash, are you all right?”

“I…I…” She wondered what explanation she could give. “I’m so excited I forgot them. You know what an introvert I am, don’t you?” She shrugged. She hoped the others would buy it.

Chad sighed and handed her the lyrics.

Wayne slid his hand along the strings of the guitar.

“Ready? One and two and…” The garage filled with the sound of guitar accompanied by drums. Ashley and Chad started singing. During the song, Ashley remembered she had wanted to change “Where is Your Lover” so that it resembled The Dragon’s Circle’s popular song “Burn.”

“Guys, how about making some changes to “Where is Your Lover?” I have an idea – let’s increase the tempo and play the song in E major.”

Wayne looked at her in surprise.

“Why, don’t you like its current rhythm and tonality?”

“Yes, yes, I do, but I think in a faster tempo and in E major. the song would sound better. Please, let’s just try it.” She smiled at him warmly.

Craig and Wayne quickly adjusted to the tempo Ashley had in mind and the song achieved was definitely better. At the end of the rehearsal, Wayne exclaimed that Ashley was a musical genius. She hadn’t had such fun in a long time. She was infinitely happy with being sixteen years old and slim again. When they finished playing for the day, Wayne offered to see her home. They went out on the street and he walked her all the way to her house, several blocks away. Back then, both of them had lived in Redwood City. After a few years, Wayne would move to Los Angeles. He kissed her goodbye.

Ashley stood by the front door, thinking about how much longer she could stay in this reality. Wasn’t it time to go back? What had Harry told her? To remember about her physical body and make a movement. After a while, the surrounding space began to fade – all she could see was white light. She half-closed her eyes and felt her head heavy. When she opened her eyes wide again, she was already in Harry’s lab. He was looking at her, breathless.

“Well, what do you think?” He fired the question at her impatiently, helping her step down to the floor.

Ashley was dizzy with the rapid change of time and her age.

“Well, what can I say? I did go back in time. It was fun.” She examined her body. The sudden transformation from a teenager into a mature woman was too much for her. She felt giddy.

“It’s working, isn’t it?”

“Oh yes, definitely. Harry, have you told anyone else about your discovery?”

“No, only you. You know I’m not very sociable.” Harry slid his hands into his pockets.

“This might be a blessing in disguise. I know that every scientist wants his discovery to do good to people and yet, somebody could misuse it.”

“Yes, you’re right, Ashley, and yet, wouldn’t it be great if people could rewrite their lives? Imagine how many accidents, mis-chances, or other kind of catastrophes could be avoided. And now, could you describe exactly what you experienced?”

Ashley told him everything in detail, starting with the odd white room and the meadow and continuing with her return to twelve years back in time. Harry was listening really closely. In the end, he explained:

“In the beginning, the compound works as a psychotropic substance – it widens the consciousness and has a slight hallucinogenic effect, but that’s okay.”

“Oh, God, what did you inject me with, some drug?”

“Don’t worry, it’s harmless, I told you already.
Galbulimima belgraveana
and
Homalomena
are indeed psychotropic substances, but when mixed with other ingredients into the UTST compound, they make time traveling possible.”

“But then what I experienced was only a hallucination?”

“Did you feel it was?”

“No, I don’t know. You confused me…”

Harry laughed. Ashley was already feeling well enough to go home. Staggering a bit, she took her handbag and bid the scientist goodbye: “Thank you, Harry, for taking me back to my teenage years.”

He saw her to the door.

When Ashley was on the street, she called Chad.

“Honey, I need to see you immediately.”

“What’s going on, Ash? You sound overexcited.”

“Harry’s experiment…” She sighed. She realized he knew about neither Harry nor his invention. “My scientist friend has discovered something amazing.”

“Really? And what is it?” Chad asked curiously.

“I can’t talk about it on the phone.” She hesitated. “Are you free to see me tomorrow?”

“Argh, tomorrow I’m going to the premiere of Martin’s play
Of the Creative Work and the Artist
. Can’t we pick another day?”

“What if I come to the play, too? Will you be able to talk after that?”

“Ash, you’re beginning to act really mysteriously. What happened?”

“Not now, Chad. Tomorrow evening. At which theater and at what time is the play?”

Chapter 7

It was already half past nine when Ashley managed to get to EXIT Theater in San Francisco. The actors were already performing the second act when she noticed Chad in the third row from the stage. She had to make several people stand up in order to move closer to him. It wasn’t nice, but there was no other way. Taking a seat next to him, she whispered: