Chad thinks to himself; this woman is crazy, she sounds like a Star Wars Imperial. He also knows that should his answer be in the negative she will most likely have him studied in a lab in a very unpleasant way and then dissected in order to find out if his success in the chair is in any way physiological as well as phycological. He must play along until he can figure out how to stop this plan of hers to rule our Universe and in her head all the Universes in time. Although she may have started out as a well-meaning person as soon as she had the taste of power, she lost the ability to consider thoughts of others outside of herself. He thinks of that famous quote; "Power Corrupts, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely." She actually believes she is the savior of all life in the cosmos and that she must do whatever is needed and everyone will thank her in time. Chad feels he can use her thoughts of personal grandiosity against her.
Chad turns and looks at Sun and says, "That sounds very bold but also very interesting, I would like to hear more about this idea of yours that sounds like it would eliminate conflict on a grand scale." Sun smiles and says, "You do understand." Then she goes on to explain an overall plan to Chad about how she will use his ability to navigate the 5th dimension to gain power and wealth on every planet and then consolidate that power in the form of a Board of Directors of which she will personally pick and head. Chad says "Wow, that is beautiful if you can pull it off." Sun says "I can with your help, I will make it well worth your while. You will never want for anything. Land, houses, the latest intergalactic ships all yours, your wildest dreams will become reality." Chad says, "That sounds too good to be true and I don't think the Secretary will sit still for it." Sun replies "Don't worry about the Secretary, she will not be a concern. I expect your answer in the morning. You're a smart man, sleep on it and I'm sure you will come to the right decision. Good night."
Chad tosses and turns all night thinking of a plan that will end Sun's dreams of megalomania. He decides he will act somewhat skeptical so he doesn't raise her suspicions that he has another agenda hoping that she will instead be so into trying to convince him that her plans are 100% achievable. He meets with her over breakfast and asks could she go over her plans again and exactly what his part will be, and could he ask a few questions? After two hours he tells her he is in. He must stall her progress as long as it takes for him to covertly sabotage her program. He says he would like to get back in the chair as soon as possible to get use to it. Chad suggests that he not have a preset destination set for him so he can just explore. She agrees that would be a good use of time.
Sun informs the project staff that Chad has full access and authority in this area, but she must be informed before each 5th dimension operation is initiated. Chad wastes no time once in the 5th dimension he sets out to explore the future to see how long he has before Sun succeeds only to discover what seems to be billions of different paths to different futures branching off from the very end of the one past and present branch. He remembers his quantum mechanics, that all futures are possible until one is actually realized in the present, at that point the other futures collapse and new futures again branch out from the new present repeating endlessly. He decides he must look for futures that he succeeds in stopping Sun and then trace that path back to a present that he can create in his home dimension.
A few days go by with Chad finding Sun has a future in almost every scenario which indicates he must act quickly before there are no futures without her dominance. Every day she is moving closer to her goals although she is becoming frustrated with Chad saying he is not ready yet. He decides to travel further back into the past events and notices a barely visible string like substance. He follows it to its end and realizes it is the disembodied consciousness of one of the missing pilots just floating around. He is able to nonverbally communicate and lead him back to the lab where he is rejoined with his physical body. Now that Chad knows what to look for he is able to bring back the other five pilots safely over the next few hours.
Sun says "That's nice but it's time for us to go to work tomorrow, you seem to have gotten the hang of the 5th dimension navigation with not one error or incident. It's time. Meeting in the conference room at 0700 to lay out your targets and launch promptly at 0900." Chad can no longer delay Sun, he must act by tomorrow.
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SECOND CHANCES
Science FictionA sci-fi story about a burn victim getting a new body
