THREE

Chapter 4: A Call for Help

“Yes?” asked Emmet when the doorbell rang.

“It’s me!”

“Who is ‘me’?” asked Emmet.

“The computer programmer!  Didn’t you call?” said the voice outside.

“Oh, right!  My bad!  Something hit me on the head before and it must have hit me pretty hard.  Come right in!”

“Thank you, thank you,” said the programmer as he walked inside.  He seemed quite old to be a computer programmer, thought Emmet.  He was a little taller than Emmet, and he had a small chin with green eyes, which seemed to sparkle in the light.

“John, I’ll do some more job hunting later, go play some of your video games or something,” said Emmet.

“Okay, Dad!”

“Sorry about that.  Hey….have…I ever met you before?” asked Emmet, noticing the programmer’s familiar face.

“No…well, at least, not before this moment.”

“Oh.  Well, let me show you the situation.  You see, I was trying to look up something on my computer and all of the sudden I got a virus and now my computer is frozen solid.  Not literally, of course.”

“What were you trying to look up?” asked the programmer, with a slight grin at the end of his mouth.

“Well, I don’t know if I should tell you.  It might be something very important for the FBI or maybe even the President.   Can I trust you to not tell anybody?”

“Of course, you have my word, son,” said the programmer, looking trustworthy at Emmet.

“Okay, thank you.  Here, this is it,” said Emmet as he picked the tablet up from the dark shadows under his desk.

“Hmm…” said the programmer looking at the tablet curiously.

“Have you ever seen something like this before?” asked Emmet while looking at the programmer’s face, hoping for reassurance that he is not crazy.

“Well…I’m afraid not.  I’m a computer programmer, not an archaeologist.  But, maybe I can help you fix your computer.  What website were you on?”

“Here, let me show you,” said Emmet in disappointment.  So, Emmet showed the programmer the website, while he kept saying  ‘Mhmm’s and ‘Uh huh’s.  And after a couple of minutes, the programmer came to a conclusion.

“I think I see the problem,” he said.  “Your computer’s old hard drive is not working properly.  The virus must have done something to it. You need a new hard drive.   But, that’s what I’m here for.  Let me get some stuff from my car and we’ll get started on fixing your computer.”

“Oh boy!  Thank you….Um.  I didn’t catch your name; what should I call you?”

“Call me Rob.”

“Okay, Rob, thank you so much for your help!” said Emmet.  Before Emmet could get an answer out of him, Rob left the house.  Outside, Emmet could see Rob getting some machinery and screwdrivers and for some reason, a laser.  Emmet had no idea what Rob was going to do, but Emmet trusted him now.

“So, this is where things can get kind of strange,” said Rob as he was walking back into Emmet’s house.  “But trust what I am doing.”

“Wh…Wh..What are you doing?” asked Emmet as he watched Rob take out the computer, twist it around, and carve three letters into it.

“I said trust me, Emmet!” said Rob.  He quickly covered his mouth. 

“…How do you know my name?”

There was a long pause.

“…So..uh…this is what I am going to do, my boy,” said Rob, quickly changing the subject.  “I know this sounds strange, and you might get creeped out, but I am going to change your computer.  I am going to recreate it into a new form.  You won’t realize the purpose until later.  I am using a laser to carve into your hard drive to make your computer a super computer.  It will have the capability to time travel.””

“Wow, thank you sir! That was very nice of you to….Time travel?  Time travel? What on Earth are you talking about?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.  Only time will tell when destiny gives you a chance to use the time machine,” said Rob, mysteriously.  Then, he picked up his belongings and walked out the door.  Emmet had his mouth wide open the whole time.  He did not move at all.  What did Rob mean by time travel? thought Emmet.  Why was Rob, a programmer, changing Emmet’s computer into a time machine?  This man must be a lunatic, thought Emmet.  He kept staring at the computer, wondering what Rob could have possibly done.  Could Rob have actually created time machine for Emmet?

“Only time will tell…..”

The words were floating in Emmet’s head.

“Only time will tell…..”

What does it mean?  What is Emmet supposed to do with a (if real) time machine?

           

Only time will tell, my reader.