Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More (21 page)

Jordan lifted her head from Andi’s shoulder and looked her in the face. “Yes, I do mean it. My life has been nothing but hell since I found them. I feel like I’m losing my mind. She’s all I can think about, all I can dream about. It’s impossible—can’t you see that? She’s dead! She’s nothing but a name in the town’s historic register. Leave it to me to fall in love with a dead woman. I’m so fricking pathetic.”

Kale’s heart broke for Jordan. She put her head back on Andi’s shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably.

Andi’s eyes met Kale’s. “Shh, Jordan. It will be all right. I know it will. Don’t lose hope.” She arched an eyebrow at Kale, who added his assurance.

“Andi’s right. There’s reason to hope.”

Jordan lifted her head from Andi’s shoulder. “How can you say that?”

Kale tipped his head back, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. As he released his breath, he looked at Jordan. “We had a breakthrough. Andi and I have figured out how to reach zero-gravity in the center of the spheres.”

Jordan was suddenly animated. “It works? Are you telling me the machine works?” she asked excitedly, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“Whoa, slow down. No, I’m not saying it works—at least not yet. What I am saying is that we’ve accomplished the first step toward making it work.” Kale watched as the hope on Jordan’s face faded, and she physically shrank back into the fold of Andi’s arms.

He reached for her hand. “This is a huge breakthrough. Without this step, we would never be able to accomplish what we’re trying to do. Don’t give up on us yet. Okay?”

* * *

Andi stood at the kitchen stove the next morning, turning the eggs in the frying pan. “I’m worried about Jordan’s emotional state.”

Kale leaned back against the cupboard, holding a coffee cup in one hand while the other ran through his hair. “I know. So am I. If she isn’t able to hold it together, she risks losing the candidacy for the implant. There’s no way Peter will allow her to participate in the study if she’s emotionally unstable.”

Kale looked at Andi. “I won’t risk the time travel experiment without the implant. There is no way I’ll attempt to send her through time without her being able to take care of herself. She needs to realize that.”

Andi nodded in agreement. “Well then, I guess one of us will have to kick her ass and break her out of the funk she’s in.”

“Are you volunteering for that job?” Kale asked.

“Volunteering for what job?”

Kale and Andi turned to see Jordan approaching them in her hover-chair.

“Damn it, Jordan. You aren’t supposed to be dragging yourself in and out of that chair yet. Do you want to end up back in the hospital?” Kale scolded.

“Don’t get your panties in a wad. I’m fine,” Jordan responded. “I’m tired of being in a funk. I’m sick of being helpless. I want to help with the machine.”

Kale glanced at Andi, then back at Jordan. “I’m not sure you should be spending that much time in your chair. We tend to lose track of time out there, especially if we’re making progress.”

“Which is exactly why I want in on the action. Do you have any idea what it’s like sitting idle day after day unable to participate in life? You wonder why I’m in a funk? Try it for a while.”

“She’s got a point there,” Andi said.

Kale raised his eyebrows. “A lot of help you are,” he complained. He looked back at Jordan. “Okay, but only if Peter gives his permission. You need to clear it with him first. You’ve got some convincing to do. Don’t forget that his original instructions had you taking it easy for a few more days.”

“I can handle Peter,” Jordan said. “Which one of you is volunteering to take me to the office this morning? I can’t wait to tell him about the time machine.”

“Hold it right there, girlfriend,” Kale exclaimed. “You can’t be serious. Do you know what Peter will do if he finds out about the machine? First, he’ll throw all three of us off the implant project, and then he’ll have us committed to the insane asylum. You can say good-bye to any plans you have of dropping in on your dead girlfriend if that happens.”

Jordan grinned. She knew her comment would push Kale’s panic buttons. Andi smiled.

Kale finally caught on to the teasing. He approached Jordan’s hover-chair and placed his hands on the armrests. He leaned in close so that he and Jordan were face-to-face. “You are so lucky that I love you. Otherwise, I’d have to beat your ass.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it. I’m just irresistible and you know it.” Jordan placed a quick kiss on the end of his nose. “Now, how about a cup of coffee?”

“Grr!” Kale responded. As he poured her coffee, Jordan caught Andi’s eye and winked. 

* * *

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company today, Jordan?” Peter asked as he enveloped Jordan in an affectionate hug. “You aren’t due for your checkup for another few days.”

“I’m climbing the walls with boredom. I want to go back to work.”

“Absolutely not. It’s only been, what, two, three days? You’re not ready to spend that much time in your chair. In fact, you’re supposed to be in bed right now.”

“Peter, I can’t stand it anymore.”

Peter sat down behind his desk and leaned forward on his elbows. “You should take advantage of this time and do some reading. Knit. Write. You have a marvelous brain. Surely you can think of something to keep you busy while you convalesce.”

“Knit? You want me to knit? Honestly, do you really see me as the knitting type?”

Peter chuckled. “Well, no. I confess I was grasping. But surely you can think of something to do. How about reading those diaries you found?”

Jordan frowned. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” she replied, thinking about how upset she’d been with the last entry. The last thing she needed was to read more about how happy Maggie was with Cleft Girl.

Peter studied Jordan for a few moments while she sulked. Finally, he spoke. “I have an idea.”

Jordan perked up. “Yes?”

“I understand that you’re bored, but it’s vital for you to allow the incision to heal properly. If you’re sitting up, you’ll only aggravate it. So let me propose this. What if Kale found a way to set up a computer that would allow you to conduct some of the research from a reclining position? Maybe you could even use a thought projection system while lying prone? It might be possible to set it up inside the new lab so you can actively participate in the development and testing of the new implant. Would that be acceptable to you?”

Jordan was definitely interested. “Hell, yeah. It would be a thousand times better than lying alone in the house every day for the next few days.”

Peter smiled. “All right then. I’ll talk to Kale this afternoon.”

Jordan turned her hover-chair toward the door then looked back over her shoulder. “Thanks. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

“No thanks necessary. All I want is for you to be happy and to live a full and healthy life. If we can accomplish that and make medical history in the process, the world will be that much better for it. What you need to do is listen to your doctor and do nothing to sabotage our efforts. I know how stubborn you are, so I appreciate you coming in here today to discuss this before going ahead with your own agenda.”

Jordan pretended to be insulted. “Would I do that?”

Peter grinned. “That, and so much more. Now get out of here. Go home and get out of that chair.”

“Aye, aye, Doc!”

* * *

Jordan was lying on the bed beside the time machine as Kale positioned the boot in the center of the platform and carefully wrapped the grounding hardware around it. “I can’t believe you talked Peter into letting you do this.”

“He was putty in my hands. What’s the filament for?”

Jordan watched as a knowing look passed between Kale and Andi.

“Okay, you’re scaring me here. I’ll ask again. What’s the filament for?”

“It’s a ground,” Andi said. “We discovered during the first round of anti-gravity testing that a high level of molecular activity within the object made it heat up. We realized that was due to the buildup of electrical charge within the center of the rings. We can dissipate the charge by grounding the object to the platform and then grounding the machine to the earth.”

“Holy shit! How did you discover that?”

“Kale burned his hand while retrieving a bucket we had levitated. It was so hot it blistered the skin on his fingers,” Andi said. “But don’t worry. Grounding the object ensures that it comes out of the machine at the same temperature it went in.”

“Okay, ladies. I think we’re ready for our first test. Andi, why don’t you move Jordan behind the barrier? The first time I tried this, the blast knocked me off my feet and threw me against the wall. I’ll join you after I set up the remote program.”

Jordan propped herself up on her elbow so she could see the platform through the observation window. She watched as Kale positioned the old boot on the center of the platform and programmed the computer for remote control. He joined them behind the barrier.

“All right. Here we go.” Kale initiated the inner sphere program and then slowly turned the speed control dial as they watched the rings begin to spin. “I’m going to start by rotating the outer rings in a counter-clockwise direction.”

They watched as the rings gained momentum.

“Maximum velocity, Kale,” Andi announced as she watched the speed gauge stabilize. “Go ahead and start the inner ring rotation.”

“All right. We’re almost there,” Kale said.

Jordan watched, wide-eyed.

“Watch carefully, Jord. Once the rings reach maximum velocity, something amazing happens.”

Jordan’s gaze never wavered from the boot in the center of the platform.

“Maximum reached,” announced Andi.

The loud humming from the spinning rings made it virtually impossible for the three to communicate as they watched the boot slowly rise. The boot was very old and the leather so worn that it floated bent in half over the platform.

“It’s floating,” exclaimed Jordan. “Kale, it’s floating!”

“Watch it carefully, Jordan. Let me know when it’s dead center,” Kale instructed.

For the next several moments, Jordan watched the boot intently until finally it became eerily still as it hovered like a bent old man in the exact center of the spheres. “Okay. Dead center,” she yelled.

“Put on the dark glasses. You’ll need to protect your eyes from the flash. I’m going to release an energy surge into the center of the rings. If this works, the two sets of rings will produce the amount of energy needed to create and rotate a black hole. In theory, this will open a wormhole to alternate time.”

Andi signaled to Kale that they were ready then held tightly to both her companions as Kale initiated the power surge. Suddenly, the barn was illuminated by a blinding flash of light as a wave of energy passed over them. A steady, but gentle tug of gravity pulled them in the direction of the machine while sucking the air out of their lungs. A moment later, the pull of gravity ceased and they were jolted back. The room became still.

Kale looked at his companions. “Are you two all right?” Each nodded her head but continued to stare at the platform in the center of the machine.

“It’s gone! The boot is gone,” exclaimed Jordan.

Kale powered down the rings and the room quieted. He gathered Jordan in his arms and together, the trio emerged from behind the barrier and walked toward the machine. There on the platform was the filament, and nothing else.

“We did it! I can’t believe it. We actually did it,” Andi exclaimed.

Kale replied calmly, “Yes, we did. But where did it go? Better yet—can we get it back?”

Jordan massaged her forehead. She looked up at Kale, then back at the computer. “The stats are stored in the computer. We need to record the exact timing and coordinates of the event and then reverse the process to retrieve the boot.”

“Of course. We’ll have to reverse the direction of the rings and apply the power surge with the exact same timing that was used to send it. Jordan, you’re the computer savvy one. Maybe you can search the event logs and find the information we need to reverse the process.”

“I can try. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll see what I can do.”

As Jordan searched the logs, Kale and Andi walked around the lab, inspecting the other equipment that had been exposed to the black hole. Everything seemed to be intact, with the exception of loose papers that had been sucked toward the machine

“Got it,” Jordan said. “Everything is here.” She handed a list of numbers to Kale. “Here they are. I recorded them exactly as they appear in the log. These two numbers represent the points of maximum velocity for the inner and outer rings, and this number is the point at which you applied the energy surge. That’s the one I’m most worried about. I’ll need to program the computer to apply the surge at exactly 249.3 seconds after the rings reach maximum velocity. ”

Kale looked over the numbers and smiled at Jordan. “Great job. Get back behind the barrier. Let’s see if we can retrieve the boot.”

The rings were again spinning at maximum velocity, only this time in the opposite direction.

Jordan watched the timer carefully. “Okay. Watch the monitor carefully. The computer will apply the surge when the timer reads exactly 249.3 seconds.”