Zarulium Chronicles I - Destination Nazca

Chapter 25: Anton's farmhouse – Aurica – same day

  After hearing Ruth's less-than-flattering opening remarks about his time traveling device's size, Anton explained, "It is a prototype, Ruth; of course I would not propose to send a human time traveller in this time machine; however, I might soon send a mouse!"

  Concerned, Natalia inquired, "Will you ask the mouse for its permission, father?"

  Anton had recently realized that whenever his daughter referred to him formally like that, she was angry or about to reproach him for something. He was not in the mood to fend her off, while he already had an unimpressed Lady Ruth to deal with, and so he tried a pre-emptive reply, "Natalia; you have made your point to me clearly enough before now. I respect that you do not approve of animal experimentation; however, I would like to point out two things. Firstly, I plan no harm to the animal."

  Unconvinced, she responded, "Yeah? And your second point?"

  "And, if you don't let me proceed without further interruptions, then I may as well send Ruth on her way. Time is of the essence!"

  "Indeed, Anton," added Ruth, approvingly. "Best foot forward, Natalia! Let us trust in your father. He's the doctor – the expert!"

  Pleased that Ruth respected his position, Anton, in a formal sounding voice, continued, "Lady Ruth Clarkson-Smythe, I conducted my first of several successful time travel experiments beginning last October."

  Disappointed to hear so late of such early success, Ruth complained, "So long ago as then! Anton, why didn't you mention . . ." She stopped when she noticed his impatient stare.

  He interjected, "No interruption!" Then Anton paused. Hearing no more interruptions, he quickly continued, "Now then, according to the dictionary, Chemistry is the science that systematically studies the composition, properties, and activity of organic and inorganic substances in various elementary forms of matter."

  Whispering to Joe, and with one raised eyebrow, Natalia let him have it, suggestively stating, "I hear some people just think of Chemistry as sexual attraction!" Quickly checking his reaction, and discovering Joe's face growing redder by the second, Natalia received no comeback, and so she silently praised herself. Mission accomplished!

  Not noticing Natalia's antics, Anton continued, "With that definition in mind, and given my accrued Physics data to date on time travel . . . I started with a stone!"

  Thoughtfully, Joe interrupted, "Very monolithic. Very 2001 Space Odyssey!"

  Appreciative of the reference, Anton commented, "Thank you, Joe," and then continued. "Anyways, a stone has the chemical property of being inorganic, and so it was a safe and logical place to start. I could not harm the thing traveling, nor could it harm humanity's past or future."

  Quietly, Joe mused, "But, I could pick up the stone in the past, use it to kill a young Adolph Hitler, and completely change modern History".

  Anton was prepared to provide theories as needed – now was not the time! Quickly, he interjected, "Save that thought, Joe, please!"

  "Anyways," began Ruth, "I take it by that you've moved a stone in time, doctor?"

  Joe took a turn whispering to Natalia, explaining, "Not to be confused with A Wrinkle in Time, eh. That was a sci-fi novel."

  As he noticed Joe whispering, Anton continued, "Moving along; to answer your question, Lady Ruth, yes, I have moved a stone in time."

  Impressed, Ruth remarked, "Incredible, Anton! Can you show me?"

  Anton nodded affirmatively and then asked Natalia to videotape the event on Anton's camcorder. Then he asked Joe to monitor the synchronized timepieces throughout the experiment.

  "Alright, Lady Ruth," began Anton, "please focus your attention for a moment on the two synchronized timepieces that Joe is holding and note that they show the exact same time."

  "Yes, I see that, Anton," replied Ruth.

  Anton continued, "Now I'll have Natalia show you that I synchronized the camcorder timer for the purposes of this experiment also." Natalia showed the timer to Ruth.

  "Indeed, Anton," remarked Ruth. Then, she inquired, "Or should I say 'check', or 'affirmative', or some other spacey-like thing?"

  At least pleased she was interested, Anton replied, "Affirmative is fine, Ruth. Please pay attention."

  Natalia asked, "Dad, is that clock on the wall synchronized as well?"

  Looking at it, Anton answered, "Yes, Natalia, indeed it is." Then, in case it actually mattered to Ruth, he added, "That is, I should say 'affirmative'."

  Enthusiastically, Joe asked, "Are we really to begin now, doctor?"

  Anton answered, "Almost, Joe, but first I have to explain what everyone will witness in the next few minutes."

  With a thumb up signal, Joe replied, "Affirmative, eh!"

  Anton turned to Natalia and said, "Alright, Natalia, roll the film!"

  Nodding, she replied, "Gotcha, dad." Realizing her error, she quickly added, "Oh, sorry – affirmative!" Then, Natalia started to record with the camcorder.

  Anton turned to address the camera, and raised his voice, dramatically stating, "This is Anton . . . Doctor Anton Vladimir Yakushev recording this historic event from my basement laboratory here in Aurica, Ontario."

  In a whisper, Natalia interrupted, "Don't forget to say Canada, dad."

  Slightly irritated, Anton explained, "Yes, Natalia, but I believe the camera picked up what you just said." Then he continued, "For those of you watching, please note that all four timepieces in this experiment are synchronized to show the same time. The clock on the wall, the camcorder time, and both pieces that my assistant Joe currently holds, all show 12:57 PM."

  Joe added, "And forty seconds!"

  Anton continued, "Good point, Joe. In fact, please note that in twenty seconds all the timepieces with change to 12:58 at precisely the same moment." Anton paused for that event to occur.

  When all the timepieces changed in unison to 12:58, Anton continued, "Now for the important part . . . I will ask Joe to place one of his two timepieces inside the time-travel chamber where you will see a stone already in position."

  As Joe followed these instructions, Anton continued, "Now then, it is my intention to send this stone travelling 5 minutes into the future. If I am successful, then you will witness the following sequence of events. First, both the stone and timepiece within the chamber will disappear. According to my hypothesis, when the stone reappears, its timepiece will still display the same time as when it left."

  Ruth interrupted, "But it will have left, Anton. The stone will have experienced some passage of time, surely!"

  Remembering that he was on camera, Anton did not roll his eyes as he responded, "Ruth, that is precisely the point of the time machine. When it returns its timepiece will show that it effectively did not leave. Our time will pass by 5 minutes, but the stone's timepiece will show precisely the same time that it left."

  Joe tried to explain, "The stone will experience temporal stasis, eh, lady."

  Natalia attempted to clarify for Ruth, saying, "That means time passes for us, but not for the stone."

  Ruth asked, "So the stone misses the 5 minutes?"

  Anton confirmed, "Effectively, Ruth."

  As if concerned, Ruth slowly questioned, "It will miss the entire event?"

  Joe replied, "Well, it's inanimate, eh, it lacks the feelings to miss anything, lady."

  "Of course," commented Ruth, recovering, "please continue."

  Anton began, "We will begin at 1pm precisely, in 10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . ." When he reached zero in the countdown, he pressed the button on his remote controlled device and the stone and the timepiece within the chamber disappeared.

  Ruth gasped.

  When he saw the items disappear, Joe remarked, "It's like in that movie again, with Christopher Lloyd as the mad scientist!"

  Innocently, Natalia added, "Nowhere near so exciting though! I mean, that doctor used a fast car!"

  "Yeah," began Joe, "this sure isn't a car – more like a toaster oven!"

  Ruth added, "Personally, I thought, more like a
microwave."

  Natalia concluded, "Yeah, dad, the machine needs work!"

  Somewhat frustrated, Anton explained, "If my calculations are correct, then other than me, the three of you have just become the first human witnesses of an actual time travel event." Then he caustically added, "The vessel this occurred in is irrelevant!"

  Joe sympathized, saying, "He's got a point, eh." Wishing to cheer up Anton, Joe added, "That was really sweet, Dr. Yakushev, and you are much more stylish than that white-haired nerdy doctor in the movie!"

  Natalia reasoned, "Yeah, dad, your hair isn't white at all."

  Ruth smiled hearing Natalia's comment, then Anton responded, "Thank you, Natalia . . . I think!"

  Recollecting, Natalia continued, "I liked how the kid managed to change the future!"

  Anton quickly interrupted, "Yes, we'll deal with that prospective problem a little later. Let us not get ahead of ourselves! We need to refocus on the demonstration."

  Joe chimed in, asking, "So what happens for the next three minutes and forty-five seconds, doctor?"

  Anton had not pre-considered this comparatively lengthy time gap, and hesitatingly replied, "Well, uh . . . we wait!"

  After a few beats, Natalia inquired, "Do you want me to keep videotaping the empty machine, dad?"

  Agitated, he replied, "Well, of course, we have to keep taping, Natalia. Time is of the essence!"

  A pause ensued as they waited.

  Finally, Ruth diplomatically asked, "It is possibly not my place to comment like this, Anton, but would not two minutes into the future have sufficed?"

  Trying to be helpful, Joe quickly added, "Yeah, you know, the doctor in the movie only sent his dog ahead a minute – the scene had great flow that way." Joe detected that Anton possibly found his comments underwhelming. Joe smiled sheepishly and added, "I thought."

  No one said another word for the duration of the experiment, although Natalia fidgeted, Anton paced, Joe dropped his timepiece, however, managed not to damage it, and Ruth waited patiently except for the occasional drumming of her fingernails.

  Thirty seconds before the stone was to reappear, Anton spoke again, stating, "In twenty seconds I will begin counting down from ten seconds. When I get to zero the stone should reappear."

  When Anton counted, everyone watched in anticipation. When he said zero, the stone and its timepiece reappeared. Everyone except Anton gasped, and Ruth then applauded. The stone had been to the future!

  Ruth sat amazed, then turned to Anton and slowly questioned, "I'm not sure I understand this, what would you call it?"

  In the form of a question, Joe answered, "An explanation of the timeline continuum?"

  "Yes, you have just witnessed time travel, Lady Ruth," began Anton. Then he requested, "You can shut off the video recorder now, Natalia!"

  As Natalia turned it off, Anton continued explaining time travel concepts to them all. He said, "You see, Lady Ruth, time travel defies the conventional linear concept of time – one might say you have to curve your thoughts to wrap the concept of time travel around your brain."

  After a pause, Ruth asked, "Anton, you mentioned in the recording that other than yourself, the three of us are the only ones to witness this?"

  "Yes, Lady Ruth, that is correct!"

  Ruth wondered, and asked, "So then, what happens next?"

  Anton explained, "Well, I continue moving up the science ladder from the chemical to the biological, experimenting with other subjects."

  Ruth confessed, "I'm not sure I understand the difference, Anton!"

  Anton admitted, "Yes, Lady Ruth. It is a bit complicated." Then he explained, "Suffice to say that I will continue to conduct experiments with an aim towards using a human subject eventually, and inside, of course, an expanded-size version of this prototype!"

  Catching on, Ruth remarked, "Ahh!" Then she enquired, "So, eventually you do intend for a human to travel in a larger version than the . . . microwave-sized . . . version?"

  Anton explained, "Indeed, Lady Ruth. I will be investigating Joe's suggestion of altered DNA in human subjects moving forward, but not before we conduct a second experiment prior to your departure!"

  Mildly perturbed at the idea of the young lad being involved further, Ruth began questioning, "Joe's suggestion?"

  Anton detected her sudden discomfort, and reasoned they had slipped back into slave labour territory. He needed to clarify his position. Tacitly, Anton replied, "Yes, Lady Ruth. I feel Joe's suggestion is the key to safe human time travel. I mentioned that already. Did you forget?"

  Ruth quickly answered, "No, of course not." Then she began her explanation, "It is just that . . . I am concerned for their welfare. I mean, this should remain top secret . . . there are unscrupulous people out there who would assuredly stop at nothing to obtain these secrets!"

  Recognizing the validity of her concerns, Anton admitted, "Well, I suppose there would be, and I know you know a lot about exposing unscrupulous people. You previously explained that is the reason for your visiting Peru in a few hours."

  Ruth continued, "Indeed . . . and so you understand my concern is for the children's safety. For their sake, perhaps you should continue the work alone."

  Natalia interrupted, "But Lady Ruth, it's too late now! If someone captured me and I refused to confess, then they would torture me slowly and kill me when I refused to say anything!"

  Joe supported her by adding, "Me too, eh! Although, I have to admit, I might confess if they threatened to knock out any more of my teeth before killing me!"

  "Children," began Ruth, "please refrain from making light of this. It is a serious matter. I think it is best if Dr. Yakushev and I spend some time alone discussing the matter in private."

  Natalia looked at her father. Anton nodded in deference to what Ruth had suggested. Natalia had to respect that Ruth was the money source, and thus the boss. Her words also made a certain amount of sense.

  Regardless, Natalia felt offended. Ruth was shutting her and Joe out with this stupid excuse about it being unsafe for 'the children'. Natalia did not see herself as a child, but respected she was not an adult yet. This was frustrating. She had thought Ruth was on her side.

  Motioning to Joe that they should leave, Natalia complained, "I guess we'll just leave since that's what you want!" Then she scoffed and added, "Suddenly, I notice the air is stale down here!"

  Sympathetically, Ruth explained, "Natalia, please try to understand, it is for your own welfare!"

  After the two youths departed, Anton spoke up, reasoning, "Alright, Ruth, I apologize for the remarks my daughter made, but both she and Joe have been faithful to the project, and even if your conclusion turned out to be true later, for now, this exclusion is hard for them to tolerate and accept."

  Cautioning him, Ruth countered, "I know that, Anton, but we must proceed with caution. This is an astounding accomplishment – truly! You should be very proud!"

  Anton continued reasoning, stating, "Significant hurdles remain, Ruth. If I cannot have Joe, then I need a different assistant."

  Uneasy at the thought of other prying eyes and minds, Ruth hesitatingly asked, "Another adult . . . assistant?"

  Passionately, Anton explained, "Indeed, Ruth. I am at a critical stage, and had come to rely on Joe's help. If I accept that Joe is inadequate due to his illegal worker status; moreover, that regardless, with his continued help I would be endangering my child and her friend, then you or I will need to hire a new assistant."

  In her most far-fetched imaginings of what would happen here today, Ruth would have guessed a time travel demonstration very low on her list. Possibly even lower, however, was the idea of hiring Anton a helper who would almost certainly discover the nature of his work. She countered, "Well, Anton, I really think we need to continue to keep this secret . . . perhaps we can discuss the matter further when I return."

  It had taken Anton years to arrive at this point, yet, even after the many failures he had experienced along the way that had depre
ssed him; nevertheless, he always told himself that if he ever succeeded, everyone in the world would at least appreciate his creation. In his most negative thoughts, however, Anton had not anticipated such antipathy. Tersely Anton replied, "Fine, Ruth." Then, caustically he asked, "Should I suspend research for the next two and a half weeks while you chase bad guys in Peru?"

  Plaintively, Ruth replied, "Anton, really, it is rather more complicated than that!"

  Aggressively, he continued, "Really, and my work is uncomplicated and trivial beside your own?"

  Seeing his growing anger upset Ruth. She wanted to help, but there just was not the time. She would not fight with him though, and so Ruth turned away from him.

  For his part, Anton had not experienced such heightened anger since just before his marriage broke up. Even then, he remembered that his ex, Susan, was almost invariably the one who lost their cool, while he managed to keep his. Anton presumed that the within-grasp closeness of success had grown his rage at the sort of rate that his lily pads did.

  After a lengthy pause, Anton unreservedly began, "I am sorry, Ruth. I appreciate your position, and I will await further instruction from you on the matter. It is not necessary for us to conduct a second test today. It can wait until your return."

  Ruth genuinely explained, "Anton; I am afraid that I cannot help the timing of certain events that need to play out on a schedule for the next few days. Then she confessed, "But I owe an apology, too."

  Slightly confused, he asked, "What do you need to apologize about?"

  Ruth explained, "Well, it is rather ironic, Anton, but while driving here, I suspected I was coming to assist you with another Natalia problem that you turned out to not actually have, yet, if I were to leave now, I strongly suspect I would be the cause of a future one! I consider that unfair to both of you!"

  Appreciating her difficult admission, Anton honestly confessed, "I see. Well, Ruth, my relationship with Natalia improved immensely in conjunction with my including her in any facet of my life she deemed relevant. I believe that it helped considerably when Natalia picked Joe for a friend without my influence, and he accidentally turned out to share a great deal in common with me. Joe serves as a sort of go-between."

  Pleased to hear of such fortunate progress, and detecting an emotional side to Anton that previously seemed non-existent, Ruth enquired, "Really, Anton?"

  Still free with his thoughts, Anton enthusiastically explained, "Yes, he interacts with me as an adult peer might even, yet he interacts with her like a teenaged best friend would."

  Ruth thought about things for a moment. She looked around at the windowless lab. She thought about how she never would have guessed Anton had been conducting successful time travel experiments down here since October. Finally, she searched her thoughts for any clue as to how she could make Natalia happy if Ruth did not rescind her earlier demands.

  When she found no clue, Ruth cheerfully suggested, "Well, in the interests of both our needs, then perhaps you should just continue with things as they were!"

  Surprised at her almost mercurial change of position, Anton questioned, "But, Ruth, their safety? I hadn't given it much thought before, but now, I certainly share your concern that they could be in danger!"

  Ruth explained, "Indeed, but then, you are working here in a basement without windows, in a location – I am sure – no one except locals have ever heard of; furthermore, who would believe you or the children if any of you suddenly had an urge to share the secret of time travel with them? I suspect the listener would more likely submit your names to the police as believe you. In such case, I would expect you to dismantle things accordingly. I believe the North American vernacular is you'd 'lay low for awhile!"

  Recalling that he had run a similar logical pattern of thoughts through his mind shortly after Joe had begun assisting him, Anton agreeably suggested, "Ruth, I think continuing on as we were, is for the best in the short run. Let's give them the good news and continue with another short test before you leave!"

  "Fair enough, Anton," began Ruth. Enthusiastic again, she continued, "Let us bring those children back in here and . . . how should I say it? Turn the crank on that machine!"

  Briefly serious, Anton explained, "Uh, there is no crank, Ruth. The system is rather more complicated than that." Then he realized he was being a stuffy, nerdy scientist again, and quickly added, "I'll explain it some other time."

  Anton smiled, nodded, and then they both went upstairs to assure the two youths that they had sorted things out. Ruth wanted very much for everyone to reconvene for a second session after refreshing the tea and biscuit supply. Natalia and Joe quickly returned to their positive moods and assisted with the preparations. A few minutes later, they all returned to the lab together.

  Ruth playfully started things going with a question. As if she were a media reporter, she began, "We're here in Dr. Anton Yakushev's laboratory where he recently perfected time travel. Dr. Yakushev, this must be a satisfying moment for you, sir." Then she held an imaginary microphone towards his mouth and asked, "It is a form of redemption is it not, after your peers in the scientific community chastised you for researching this topic?"

  Playing along, but actually really appreciating a chance to speak his mind about that particular subject, Anton began, "I have never been concerned with the nay-saying scientific community. They continue to follow logical paths of physics conveniently prescribed for them by past masters: however, after a hundred years of playing it safe with physics, nary a one of them has made a progression that is any more than theoretical."

  Playful still, Ruth thought he was finished, and began, "Excellent, doctor . . ."

  Not finished, Anton interrupted, "I know what I have created, Lady Ruth." Then Anton began passionately gesticulating with his hands and continued, "What I have created is as real as your pounding heart – as important as . . ." He paused, and then, considerably raising his voice, he shouted, "Life itself!" Then Anton walked off stage, so to speak, announcing, "Excuse me, I need to collect an item for my next experiment."

  Concerned that others might think the boss suddenly resembled a lunatic, Joe explained, "I'm glad he spared us his Frankenstein speech!"

  Natalia had not read the novel, but knew a little of it, and asked, "Wasn't that written by a woman?"

  Uncertain, Joe answered, "Mary Shirley, or something like that."

  Confidently, Ruth interrupted, "You are thinking of Mary Shelley, although I cannot recall if she actually married Percy, but they did declare their love for one another in a graveyard. Of that, I am certain!"

  Spooked a bit, Natalia remarked, "Now that is creepy weird!"

  Thrilled, Joe added, "Creepy cool!"

  Natalia reasoned, "No wonder she wrote a monster story."

  Confusing everyone else with her comments, Ruth excitedly continued, "Actually, she later stated that she based the story on a dream image . . . her inspiration was from galvanism and Darwin."

  Scratching his head, Joe inquired, "Wasn't Darwin the naturalist guy with the Theory of Evolution?"

  Ruth politely answered, "Ah, no actually, that would be his grandson, Charles." Then Ruth continued, "Erasmus Darwin was the scientific poet who, in the first part of his two-part poem The Botanic Garden, actually identified the Big Bang theory before the eventually accredited scientists did."

  Curious, Joe asked, "Scientific . . . poet?"

  Natalia enquired, "He was a lover and a science geek?"

  With a raised finger, Ruth corrected Natalia, saying, "Scien-tist . . . Natalia. No need to be rude!"

  Inspired, Joe remarked, "Excellent – there's hope for me yet, eh!"

  Continuing, Natalia asked, "So Charles Darwin was his grandson?"

  Suddenly seeming blissfully unaware of the doctor's science experiment timetable, Ruth joyfully answered, "Yes, and interestingly, he himself was the ancestor of Erasmus Earle who enjoyed a stint as Common Sergeant of England under Oliver Cromwell!"

  In common teen verna
cular, Joe asked, "Hey didn't he knock out the royal King of England and take over?"

  Diplomatically, Ruth answered, "To be sure, it was a tad more complicated; however, I think you have the gist of it, Joe!"

  Thinking it through from a different perspective, Joe asked, "So if he hadn't kicked him out, then we don't get the Theory of Evolution?"

  Deliberating over the point for a moment, Ruth finally reasoned, "Well, of course, that's possible; however, I imagine it would have happened eventually."

  Triumphantly, Joe declared, "That's what science calls the 'Butterfly Effect', lady!"

  Natalia quickly interjected, "Ew, I saw that movie – it was horrific!"

  It was a movie Joe had not seen, so he asked, "You mean 'scary' horrific, or 'lousy' horrific?"

  Emphatically, Natalia responded, "Both!"

  Seeing Anton returning, Ruth inquired, "What's a butterfly effect, Anton?"

  Advisedly, Anton answered, "I think at this point, an explanation of that theory would be premature, Ruth."

  Suddenly, Joe decided he was the fictional character Austin Powers (possibly, because they shared dental problems). Winking, he asked, "You mean it wouldn't be a very . . . linear . . . way of proceeding, Dr. Yakushev?"

  Clearly taking his response seriously, Anton replied, "Correct, Joe!" Then he continued, "There is an order of comprehension to follow at this stage. We should curve around this issue for now. You see Ruth, once a person comprehends order . . ."

  Changed from Powers to Dr. Evil, Joe interrupted "Then they can screw with chaos?"

  Playful again, Ruth demanded, "Alright you two, I sense another 'ladyperson' explanation is in order." Then she asked, "What do you plan to move through time next, Anton?"

  Anton produced what he had gone to collect, and then as a circus host he declared, "Lady Ruth, may I present for your pleasure, a bottle of . . . Coca-Cola."

  In a beat, Ruth admitted, "Thank you, dear, but you see, I've had two cups of tea, and, frankly, I rather avoid such gassy beverages."

  Joe reasoned, "I don't think she's getting it, doctor."

  Anton acknowledged him, saying, "I think you're right, Joe." Then he mentally added to his earlier pronouncement, and began, "Lady Ruth, may I present for your time travel pleasure, a bottle of . . . Coca-Cola!"

  Still baffled, Ruth repeated, "Coca-Cola?"

  Recalling its recent slogan, Joe declared, "Life Begins Here!"

  Anton good-naturedly countered, "It was 'Coke adds life' in my youth, Joe."

  Trying to follow, Ruth suggested, "I suppose the connection is 'life' then, doctor?"

  Anton admitted, "In this case, that statement is truer than you know, Lady Ruth."

  Winking at Natalia, who smiled back, Ruth requested, "Explain . . . in ladyperson!"

  Anton obeyed her request, and explained, "Transporting a living thing within the time machine was not the second experiment for me to conduct. You see, living things are complex biological organisms, and regardless of whether or not a scientist believes in the human soul; nevertheless, he would want to either rule that possibility in or out, before he began an actual test. We are still at the Chemistry stage."

  Natalia asked, "And how does the scientist go about that?"

  Anton continued, "Coca-Cola sits in an inorganic container, but a portion of its contents were at one point, decidedly alive. That is, the sugar came from either sugarcane or corn, both of which are plants. Plants, as you know, are living things. I wanted to experiment on something in a transient state – once alive, but now dead!"

  Admiringly this time, Joe added, "Frankenstein again, eh!"

  Anton answered, "To some degree Joe; however, the interesting thing about time travel, as I am sure you know, is that it works both forwards and backwards."

  Understanding what Anton was thinking about, Joe remarked, "Oh, now it gets interesting!"

  Not understanding, Ruth asked, "What does he mean, Anton?"

  Anton continued, "Time travel poses several questions, the answers to which are only theories. I think now is the time for a short explanation." He walked to his large portable chalkboard, flipped it to the dry erase side, where he had obviously pre-written some headings, and then continued, "Perhaps the easiest theory to understand is the Novikov Self-consistency Principle. Novikov is also a Russian physicist and . . ."

  Natalia interrupted, "Did you ever meet him dad?"

  Anton answered, "No, although there would have been a very good chance that he would've been my supervisor had I stayed in Russia." Then he requested, "Let me continue please." Anton continued, "Novikov asserted that if an event exists that would give rise to a paradox due to time travel intervening, well then the probability of that event is zero. In other words, to Novikov, there is only one timeline possible: the one that has happened already."

  Ruth asked, "We can't go back and change the past?"

  Anton replied, "That is correct Ruth; however, that is his theory."

  Ruth reasoned, "You mean there are others?"

  "But, of course," replied the doctor. He explained, "For all we know we could create alternate universes with one simple act of time travel."

  Confused, Ruth inquired, "Alternate universes?"

  Enthusiastically, Joe interjected, "Yeah, because of the Butterfly Effect!"

  Weakly, Ruth asked, "What's affecting the butterfly again, Anton?"

  Unused to ladyperson definitions, Anton began, "It is a component of chaos mathematics – which involves strange attractors in a non-linear system. It is the non-linear aspect of chaos math that links it to time travel, which I have already identified as likely non-linear."

  "Anton," began Ruth, "that explanation does not help me to understand."

  Joe asked, "Lady, didn't you see Jurassic Park?"

  "Sorry, but no, Joe, I did not!"

  "Well," began Joe, "one character was a chaos mathematician. In one scene he ran a drop of water down the pretty lady doctor's hand, eh."

  Not making a connection so far, Ruth politely remarked, "I see."

  Joe explained, "Well, the path the water takes can be entirely different depending on even a microscopic shift in the starting point."

  Anton took Ruth's hand into his own pointing at the tiny cells on the backside of it, as he added, "Also, Lady Ruth, the woman's hand itself could be the catalyst for the path's possible redirection."

  Noticing that Anton was continuing his hold, Ruth commented, "I could see how moving her hand would do it, but your machine is stationary is it not?

  As he gestured to the hand he still held, Anton answered, "Ah, yes, it is, but the hand does not have to even move. It could be because of a freckle, an oddly placed hair or even a wrinkle on the hand."

  As it concerned her own hand, Ruth was less than impressed hearing the word 'wrinkle' so closely preceding it. She complained, "Doctor, it seems you are suggesting my hand is imperfect in some way. I'll have you know that I have bathed it in top quality lotions these past 20 years or so."

  Natalia let out a snort.

  Joe reasoned, "The lady in the movie complained in the same way, doctor. It must be a thing with ladies!"

  Natalia snorted again.

  Apologetic, Anton began, "Sorry, Lady Ruth, I did not mean to suggest . . ." He stopped when he noticed the time. Then Anton remarked, "Oh, dear! Look at the time! The Coke bottle from the future will be arriving very soon!"

  Wondering what she had missed this time, Ruth asked, "What Coke bottle?"

  Gesturing at the same Coke bottle they had discussed earlier, Anton explained, "Why this one here, of course."

  Ruth stated, "But it is here already!"

  Anton continued, "Yes, but I have decided to send it back in time to about 5 minutes from now."

  Ruth reasoned, "But how can you be sure . . . I mean the future hasn't happened yet . . . you could change your mind!"

  Joe admiringly interjected, "Lady, he's like a Time Lord now, eh!"

  Noticing the reference,
Natalia asked, "Like that Dr. Who guy? Then she reasoned, "He's kind of cute . . . but his time machine is way bigger, dad!"

  Joe remarked, "Then I guess we'll just have to call him, Dr. Y, eh?"

  Still not following the thread, Ruth slowly repeated, "Doctor . . . Why?"

  Dr. Y asked, "Why what, Lady Ruth?"

  Natalia reasoned, "This could take awhile." She turned to Joe and stated, "I think I’m going to break it up!"

  "Good idea," added Joe.

  Natalia explained, "The letter Y . . . as in short for 'Yakushev', Lady Ruth." The she spoke to her father, saying, "Anyways, dad, your time machine is pathetically small."

  Agreeing, Anton further explained, "Yes, yes, Natalia. I'll work on size and looks later. For now, we need to transport this Coke bottle and move ourselves out onto the front lawn immediately!"

  While everyone continued to stand in the lab, Ruth inquired, "Why with the Coke bottle? What is our rush, doctor?"

  Freely confessing it, Anton answered, "Because I have no idea what could happen when a bottle that exists here meets it's traveling self from the future. For example, it could cause a rip in time."

  Enthusiastically, Joe added, "Yeah, or worse; like in that sci-fi movie where the traveling bad guy meets himself in the past and when his two bodies touch each other, he turns into a puddle of primordial ooze! It was wicked!"

  Concerned, Ruth queried, "Joe, do you watch a lot of films?"

  Matter-of-factly, Joe answered, "Strictly science fiction, lady."

  The two less-scientifically oriented females pondered 'puddles of primordial ooze' for a brief moment and then, with genuine concern, Natalia asked, "Um, if , like, what Joe said were true, then shouldn't we be trying to get as far away from that Coke bottle as possible, dad?"

  Concurring with mild sarcasm, Anton questioned, "Didn't I just say we should be leaving, Natalia?"

  Natalia remembered another thing that worried her and, attempting to clarify, commented, "Yes, but as I recall, you said to take the Coke bottle with us."

  Relaxed, Anton said, "I did."

  Very concerned, Natalia strongly suggested, "Well then, considering what Joe just said about ooze and stuff, I don't think that's such a good idea, dad!"

  Pointing to the clock, Anton advisedly stated, "Thanks to our dallying, we now have a little over three minutes until the event." Then he explained, "I will carry the Coke bottle to a theoretically safe distance from the experiment. Then, I will find us a safe distance from which to view the results."

  As he bolted for the lab door, Joe admitted, "That works for me, doc!"

  As she followed him, Ruth declared, "What an excellent idea, Joe!"

  As she grabbed her father's free hand, Natalia exclaimed, "Let's blow this joint, dad!"

  They ran out to the snow-covered front lawn, each grabbing a jacket on the way. Anton stopped at his car and placed the Coke bottle on its front hood. Then, he and Natalia ran to join the others, who by now were about 50 yards from the car. Once they had all met up, Ruth asked, "If something bad were to happen to this Coke bottle, doctor, would it by any chance resemble an explosion of some kind?"

  "I cannot say for certain, Lady Ruth; however, my guess would be that it would more resemble an implosion. Why do you ask?"

  "Well, doctor," began Ruth. Then, diplomatically she explained, "I asked because your car is rather close to my car, and although I am certain that today is possibly the most important day in Earth's scientific history; nevertheless, it is still a day during which I will need, before long, to drive my car. I would not be able to drive my car, if it had in fact exploded because of a chemistry experiment gone awry!"

  Joe reasoned, "Actually, lady, this one's more of a physics experiment."

  Anton checked his watch, decided he had the time, and then blurted out, "I'll relocate the bottle, Ruth!" He ran towards the Coke bottle; scooped it up; ran with it towards a tree stump; and placed it there. He quickly judged its proximity to the cars as adequate for purposes of any imagined explosion and then returned to the others.

  Once returned, he checked his watch again, and saw that approximately two minutes remained until the anticipated time travel event. He began to sing 'Rave On' by Buddy Holly.

  After he had sung a couple lines, Ruth interrupted, "Excuse me, doctor; not to sound prudish, but why are you singing?"

  Pleased with himself, Anton answered, "Because they all told me I was a madman." Then he elaborated, "Moreover, Buddy Holly is my favourite American singer; and finally, because the song is just under two minutes long."

  Joe remarked, "Cool!" Then, those who knew the song joined the doctor, and no one asked why anymore.