Moonliner: No Stone Unturned

Synopsis

It’s the year 2069 and Cedric Davis, a graduate student of telecom, is on the brink of a major scientific breakthrough; the ability to transmit audio signals into the past via laser beam.   At a point when life couldn’t seem better for Cedric, dating a renowned, local news reporter and nearing his PhD, tragedy suddenly strikes, shattering his world and leaving him in his darkest hour.  In the depths of his despair, he sets out to apply the limited success of his scientific findings in an attempt to alter the past and evade the event that took the very meaning from his life.

Moonliner is an intense tale of love, obsession, and sheer wits.  It’s an unforgettable story of a bond unbroken by time. 

M
oonliner

     
 
No Stone Unturned

A tale transmitted through time…

Part 1
: July 10, 2069 

Vancouver BC

“Can you play the message back for me?” Cedric asks Phaedra.

“This is an attempt to send a message back in time,” his own voice is then heard saying over the sound system; “anyone who can hear this, please help me out.  Please ensure that
reflect
is activated in your message-mode control box so that I can compare time stamps.  I want to see if this message has in fact travelled through time.  Your help is critical.  Thank you.”

“Repeat ad nauseam,” Cedric tells Phaedra. “Scan all frequencies for unsourced transmissions.”

“Scanning,” Phaedra replies, as news can be heard in the background.

“DOT-5 news, weather & traffic information, up to date - on the dot.”

“Can you turn that up?” Cedric asks when he hears the news lead in.

“This is Nikki Nova with a DOT-5 news update; Steve Beckwood of Perth Australia plans to be the first visitor to the moon on a homemade spacecraft. Steve will set out on July 16th and plans to arrive at Moondock in time for the Apollo Centennial Celebrations on July 20th.  Steve’s craft, a modified Docker with 6 jet-pack engines has been approved for travel by the Lunar Council.  Back to you Mike”

“Thank you Nikki.”

              “She’s the finest thing on the planet, isn’t she?”  Cedric asks Phaedra, breaking away from the news.

              “I can’t argue with that,” Phaedra responds.

“No, I guess you really can’t, can you?” Cedric says with a light chuckle.  “Are you getting anything on the bi-wave?”

              “Nothing,” Phaedra answers.

              “Adjust the oscillator point-five and activate the diode, then mode lock it” Cedric instructs her.

              “Point five activated,” Phaedra repeats.

              “Anything?” Cedric asks.

              “Nothing yet,” she answers.

              “Then let’s recalibrate and start again.”

From its onset it’s been a hot summer, but that’s letting up a little.  The afternoon skies have darkened over the past few hours as a storm rolls through British Columbia.  The air has become steamy from its onshore flow.  A light rain begins to fall.  News continues to be heard in the background.

“Today’s forecast calls for variable clouds with a slight chance of mid-day showers.  Temperatures will be cooler along the coast and higher inland as a ridge of high pressure makes its way into our region.  Expect temperatures to rise over the next few days.

“Preparations are underway for the centennial celebration of
Apollo 11
, the mission which put the first men on the Moon.  On July 20, 1969 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon.  Festivities will be held both on Moondock and on the surface at Apollo Dome on July 20
th
.”

              “Let’s set the pulse rate to nano and the gain to pico,” Cedric requests.

              “Set,” Phaedra responds.

              “Are the interferometers optimized?” he asks.

              “Optimized,” she answers.

              “Continue monitoring all frequencies for unsourced transmissions,” he instructs.

              “Monitoring,” she replies.

              “Anything at all?” he asks.

              “Nothing,” she answers.

For Cedric it’s no longer just about the PhD, though he needs that as well.  No, for Cedric it’s now about proving true what he has thus far only postulated; that with the aid of laser transmission, messages can travel through time. 

Verifying his claim would prove an incredibly arduous task, but simply knowing that it could be done won’t satiate Cedric’s curiosity.  He wants to have something to hold up to the world aside from complicated algorithms and formulas, something substantial.  To do so, however, he not only has to transmit a message through time, but also somehow receive it and demonstrate a difference in time between the transmission and reception of that message.

Outside, crows caw angrily at something in the alley as the rain increases.

              “What is the repeater set on?” Cedric asks.

              “Differentiate,” Phaedra answers.

              “And the heat sink?” he asks.

              “To repeat wave sequence,” she responds.

              “Set both transmitter and receiver to open end,” Cedric says.

              “Both set,” Phaedra answers.

              “Keep monitoring all frequencies,” he tells her; “let me know if anything shows up unsourced.”

Distant thunder sounds as more news is heard.

“One climber is confirmed dead and five are still missing after an avalanche on Mt. K2, which sits on the border between China and Pakistan.  Crews searched throughout the day Monday for the missing climbers but were forced to put off the search until morning due to a new storm and nightfall closing in.” 

              “Sounds like it’s really starting to come down out there,” Cedric says.  “Let’s try one more sequence with the capacitor reversed.”

              “Capacitor reversed,” Phaedra confirms.

“Anything?” Cedric asks.

“Nothing,” Phaedra replies.

“Let’s try again with skywave suppression activated,” he suggests; “and maximize the modulation.”

“Activated and maximized,” Phaedra answers.

Cedric stares out his window at the rain.  This has gone on and on, test after test.  Frankly, he’s already given up on the day.  These tests are now just a formality.  True to scientific method though, he conducts them, tirelessly drudging through his own heuristic tedium with deflated expectations. 

              “Anything?” Cedric asks again.

              “Nothing,” Phaedra answers.

              “Well it looks like we’re back to square one,” he says. 

Leaning back in his office chair, exhausted, Cedric starts drifting to sleep to the soft sound of falling rain.  He’s brought to again, however, a few seconds later by the sound of crows cawing.  Only this time the sound is coming through his receiver.  Cedric listens carefully. 

A dog is then heard through the receiver, barking twice, followed by a man yelling in what sounds like Chinese.  There is a pause for several seconds, then the same pong sound Cedric uses to alert himself of a voice call, only this time coming through his receiver instead of over his sound system.  The pong is followed by what sounds like Phaedra announcing that Lennox is calling.  Cedric is puzzled.  Then, through the receiver he hears himself say, “Take it,” followed by a pause, then, “Lennox, what’s up?”  There is a quick patch of squelch, then radio silence.

Baffled, Cedric looks out at the weakening rain.  As he’s about to speak, crows caw outside his window.  He listens carefully.  Seconds later, a dog barks twice, followed by a man yelling in Chinese.  A grin comes over his face as the now expected pong sounds and Phaedra announces that there is a call from Lennox.  Only this time Cedric pauses, saying nothing.  There is a second pong and Phaedra announces Lennox’s call again. 

              “Take it,” Cedric finally says before saying nothing again for the next several seconds.

              “Cedric?” Lennox’s voice can be heard asking.  Cedric doesn’t respond.

              “Hello?  Cedric?”  Lennox asks again. 

              “Hey Lennox,” Cedric finally responds lightly laughing. 

              “What’s going on?” Lennox asks.

              “Sorry, I’ll have to tell you later,” Cedric answers; “I’m in the middle of something big here.  Can I call you back?”

              “Are we still on for some pitch n’ putt?”  Lennox asks.

              “Absolutely,” Cedric replies; “we’ll talk then.”

They hang up and Cedric sits in the aftershock of the moment, trying to wrap his head around what had just happened.  Using hand gestures, he begins mumbling to himself as though he’s not only asking but answering his own questions.

              “Did you hear the transmission received just prior to Lennox’s call?” Cedric asks.

              “Yes,” Phaedra answers.

              “Can you triangulate the signal’s tower?” he asks her.

              “Transmission showing no source,” Phaedra replies.

              “Can you scan for a time stamp?” Cedric asks.

              “It’s showing no time stamp either,” she answers.

              “How can a transmission have no source or no time stamp?” Cedric asks her. 

              “I don’t know,” Phaedra answers.

              “It’s because the message was transmitted from another time,” Cedric says smiling.

              “So you did it,” Phaedra says.

              “No,” Cedric replies; “we did it.  We sent a message through time.

We did it, but our discovery was somewhat inadvertent.  Why did it work this time and not the other hundreds of times that we had hoped it would?” he goes on to ask, though now feeling recharged from the unexpected success.  “What was different about this transmission?” he asks Phaedra again.  “Cross reference all tests for any variations in conditions.  What was unique?”

“Rain,” Phaedra answers after a pause to analyze data. 

              “Rain?” Cedric asks.

              “Yes,” she replies; “this test was the only test conducted during a rain shower.”

              “Did the rain affect the grid in any way?” he asks.

              “There was some atmospheric rerouting and sporadic, laser line overriding reported,” she answers.

              “That’s it!” Cedric says slowly nodding; “of course,” as the rain comes to a stop.

Moonliner
1:2

Cedric sits on a bench at the edge of Lost Lagoon, silently pondering his discovery.  Children are laughing, as are the ducks, but he remains too deep in thought to hear any of it.  The sun is out and there’s hardly a trace of the storm that had just blown through.  Suddenly, a stunningly attractive woman asks Cedric if anyone is sitting on the bench beside him. 

              “Aren’t you that news woman with DOT-5?” Cedric asks as he invites her to sit down.

              “No, you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” Nikki answers, before looking away. 

After a few seconds they both begin to laugh.  Cedric puts his arm around her and gives her a warm embrace.

              “Sorry I’m late,” Nikki says; “I was at the library with Chara and Oriona.  We were there during the rainstorm.”

              “How are they?” Cedric asks.

              “They’re fine,” Nikki answers with a smile.  “I got your message.  What was the big news you wanted to tell me?”

              “Not here,” Cedric answers; “let’s go to our private spot.”

              “You mean where we…?” Nikki says with a bashful smile.

              “You remember,” Cedric replies less bashfully.

They hold each other’s hands to manage the narrow trail that leads straight from the southernmost tip of Lost Lagoon, deeper into the thick growth of Stanley Park.  The path to their private spot is scenic and well concealed.

              “I saw your report on that Beckwood guy today,” Cedric says as they walk through lush ferns along a narrow path between enormous hemlocks; “the guy is crazy, but I’ll bet he makes it,” he adds as Nikki remains silent. 

They stop to rest a second at the hollowed base of what used to be an enormous fir tree that sits square in the path.

              “Look at that stone,” Nikki says pointing to a half-embedded, speckled, spherical piece of granite; “it looks like the moon, doesn’t it?”

              “I’d go with a dinosaur egg,” Cedric replies.

              “How long do you think it has sat in that spot, unmoved?” Nikki asks.

              “I really don’t know,” Cedric answers; “maybe decades, centuries.  Who knows?”

Further down the narrow trail, they come to their private place in the trees.  It’s a small, scenic grove of slowly decaying stumps; remnants of massive trees just like the ones all around them.  They sit in pure silence, taking in the peaceful moment.  Finally, they speak.