Time Beyond God? Chapter 1

Part 1

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Time Beyond God?

by Trebor Haldor

Chapter 1    A Matter Of Time

"Room 44, have a seat," he said dryly as he opened the door. This guy acts like a robot, I thought to myself, He didn't make eye contact once.

I decided to lighten the mood. I smiled and asked, "The big chair or the little chair?"

"You already know the answer to that," he replied and closed the door behind me. The sound of the door closing was synchronized with the last word he spoke. "My Uncle Joe was more charming at his funeral," I said under my breath.

I wasn't surprised to see a security camera on the ceiling. The rest of the room was simple enough, with only two chairs and a table. The walls, floor, and ceiling were white, and if it had a mirror on the wall I'd think it was an interrogation room. I respectfully sat down facing the far wall.

Fourteen minutes passed by, according to my watch; it felt quite a bit longer. I decided that at fifteen minutes I'd go look out the little window in the door. I did that every fifteen minutes, and the security camera followed me every time. I figured it must've been a high-tech camera. I was too nervous to check if the door was locked, and every time I looked out the window there wasn't a soul to be seen. What really bothered me was that I had flown over Lake Huron a few times, and had never heard of this island they took me to – Landis Island.

It was over an hour before the door opened, and a man in a military uniform came in. "Andrew, I'm Col. Locke, please address me as sir." At least he smiled and shook my hand. "I know this is an important interview and you had to wait a bit, but I've been busy."

"No problem, sir" I replied.

He opened a file folder. "For starters, we've ascertained your identity with your thumbprint and retinal scan. I'd like to confirm some facts about you. First of all, roughly four years ago, you aided the police in capturing a terrorist, and have kept the details confidential."

"I aided the police in capturing a wanted criminal named Lawrence Ellesmere, I didn't know he was a terrorist," I replied flatly.

"Oops, let that slip," he chuckled. "You have kept the details confidential, though?"

"Yes, sir, I did."

"Can you confirm you have a master's of science degree from Mountvale University?

"That's incorrect, I only have my bachelor's."

"I appreciate your honesty. Especially since I would end this interview if you lied to me. Can you confirm you were a high school physics teacher for one year, and then in the air force for two years?"

"That's right. Now, I was told I could become a part of history. Do you want someone you can trust to be a spy or something?"

"No, it's not like that. Do you have both a helicopter license and a small planes license?"

"That's right."

"You're an only child, your parents died in a car crash a couple years ago, and you're not married?"

"That's right."

"And you've known Dr. Nadine McEvenue your whole life?"

"Yes, she was friends with my parents and she was my prof for Physics 122 – Waves, Heat, and Time. It's my understanding she's now in some think tank for theoretical physics, something like that."

He slowed right down. "Yes. Time...uh, time for the last question – you've spent the last 18 months working as a pilot for a mission in Central America, helping poor people?"

"Yeah, I transported food and clothing, as well as missionaries. I suppose you know I was based in Guatemala and the mission was headquartered in Toronto."

"Yes, I knew that." Col. Locke shuffled the papers in his folder. "Thank you, Andrew, I have your character references and I think you're the right man for the job."

"Well, don't leave me in suspense. Do you need an astronaut to go to Mars?"

"No, actually Dr. McEvenue has discovered time travel. We have designed and built a helicopter that we believe will travel through time and we need someone to volunteer to be a test pilot. Naturally, I'd love to be that pilot, but the government wants to keep me in my current position as a colonel."

"Are you telling me you built a time machine out of a helicopter? What's the matter, sir, couldn't get your hands on a DeLorean?"