Time Excellerators

She Was in the Rain

Beep, beep, beep, groan. Beep, beep, beep, groan.

I moaned lightly. My head, feeling like it was on pins and needles, rolled back to bump against the headrest. My eyes strained to open and when I managed to accomplish that taxing task, I didn't comprehend what I saw.

The world I had known had simply vanished and was replaced by a never ending tunnel that curved this way, then that, back and forth smoothly and gently. The interior itself was encompassed by multicolored rings that varied in sizes (and splotches of what looked like abstract art, with moving images inside them) but never wandered close to the Xclerator. A luminous mist of varying hues enveloped the vessel as well. Even massive gears appeared faintly outside the fissure; admittedly I teared up a little. It was beautiful.

The twisting and turning hither-thither began to speed up gradually.

Worried I asked of Sobiete, "Where in Keroggsman's name are we?"

She replied, "the Time Tunnel."

I immediately bolted upright. Oh my glish.... the alleged Time Tunnel, and I was inside it! Theoretically the Time Tunnel was a twisting tunnel that was interlaced with the Fabric of Reality and could transport you to any point in space, time, and reality itself. I kissed the steering wheel and instantly wish I hadn't: the ship was still new and the adhesive was still drying, which was responsible for the "fresh engine-vehicle odor" as my Father called it. My lips smelled of fixative.

"Sobiete", I inquired gently, "if we're in the Time Tunnel I assume this is a 'never back up, never back down' situation?"

"If it comforts you, yes."

"Not really, no. So... where are we hurtling off to?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"You wont tell me?", I asked cautiously.

"My reasons are plentiful and mysterious", she shot back.

"Super helpful and not at all vague whatsoever."

"All I can tell you is that I am currently engaged with a temporal displacement."

I stopped talking. Temporal displacement?! "Sobiete... you mean to tell me your time traveling? I find that hard to believe considering my Father could only send back cameras and probes through wormholes that inevitably led back to that time period in which they were sent, never a spaceship like you. If it were possible, how would you pull it off? I mean where would we go?"

"To Earth, of course."

"Earth? I beg your pardon?", I asked perplexed.

"Insufficient data input to answer your inquiry."

I thought for a moment. "Measure the distance between the rings on the wall of the Tunnel", I commanded.

"Insufficient data input to answer your inquiry."

"What are the pictures on the surfaces of the splotches?"

"Insufficient data input to answer your inquiry."

I was getting worried and irritated simultaneously. "Corralate the distances in between, horizontally, vertically, width-wise as well as perminiscus berbation incrementals to the top and outside layers."

She paused.

"Insufficient data input to answer your inquiry."

I doubled my fist. "What can you gather?!"

"Nothing. There is no data to gather."

I sat back a little, astounded. Sobieté... no data? What's going on?

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