Destiny Sails

CAPTURE

'Science is a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena, involving unbiased observations and systematic experimentation. Generally, it seeks to understand general truths or the operations of fundamental laws. Please explain to me again the science behind what you are claiming to us today'.

This day one of the interrogation of the woman known to us only as Destiny Sails. The session had lasted for seven hours with no signs of this woman, if indeed she was a woman showing any signs of wavering in her story. I had asked the question, not because I was an idiot in these matters, but because I needed to be able to grasp further what this strange being was talking about. Bright green eyes, that shone almost luminescent looked at me from beneath a veil of red hair. It hung wet from perspiration caused by the effort of concentration against the pain inflicted by previous methods of information extraction. This same exertion caused sweat rivulets to trace small rivers across her dirt-smeared breasts - breasts that rose and fell slowly as each breath was considered and controlled. Her dress was blooded and stained with mud, ripped and torn at the hem caused by the long chase that had ended with her incarceration. A metallic looking garment that clung to her as a second skin.

'What part do you want to hear?' she rasped in a voice that carried bile and hatred towards her captors. I sensed irritability in her tone caused by having to explain a seemingly simple principle to an imbecile.

'The Telephone theory' I replied. I knew this was getting to her, but I figured the more she had to repeat herself the more likely it would be that she would make a mistake.

'If you have a phone by itself, it is useless without having another to receive the call'

Her eyes rose in expectation and hope that I had finally got it.

'Go on' I said.

'So even though time travel is freely accessible where I come from'.

I interrupted her by checking a part of the many notes I had made.

'The year 2678' I said, not as a question but as a reminder of her earlier statement. She raised her eyebrows at me.

'3499 – nice try' she added.

I smiled and held out my hand as an invitation.

'Please continue' I said.

'Even though time travel is accessible in 3499' She tilted her head slightly as if to punctuate her annoyance at my interruption 'We cannot travel to any point in time that has not made the discovery, and most importantly has not the technologically advanced enough to build a 'receiver'.

'And yet, here you are' My tone was one of sarcasm as her previous statement was flawed and contradicted her claims. She answered me with a resolute sigh.

'And yet, as you say – here I am.'.

'Miss..' another check of my notes, purely as a destabilizing tactic. 'Destiny Sails – quite a name' I added.

'I am quite a person' came the reply.

'As far as I know, we have not yet invented a means of time travel'.

'As far as you know – yes, you are right.'.

I leaned forward a little, but not too far as to be anywhere near her head, for the attack she had launched on the two guards on her capture was still visible on their much-abused noses.

'So how did you get here? – If indeed you did travel from another time.'.

'The Hadron Collider' she said simply.

This was the part I had difficulty with. She knew this and seemed to take great joy in explaining to me something that I no knowledge of.

'Which is what exactly?'.