Time After Time

Prologue

Area 52
Undisclosed Badlands, South Dakota
United States of America

"Sir, all systems are a go for beta testing," a teenaged boy announced from his desk.

Herds of plastic dinosaurs and a toy robot decorated the teenager's workstation as he furiously typed codes into his computer. Flashes of data casted an electronic glow on his name tag, which read E. Watts.

"Initiate power up sequence," the man in charge ordered.

Around him, the laboratory bustled as scientists and military personnel switched buttons and input sequences into machines. A row of computers faced a raised platform in the center of the room, where a large machine began to hum to life.

The futuristic machine was a gyroscopic vessel surrounded by a framework of concentric rings. As the machine activated, the three gimbals unlocked from their central alignment.

"Ezra, power up the space ring." The supervisor instructed.

The teenaged coder gave a nod,"Activating the space gimbal. Stand by."

He input a series of numbers, and the outermost ring began to rotate around the strange craft.

"Continuing actuation of the rings," Ezra reported,"turning on gravity ring, now."

The second ring started to spin without error. The air began to energize around the machine, and the hair on Ezra's arm began to stand up.

"Activating the final ring. Time gimbal is underway."

The innermost ring began to gyrate, and Ezra smirked,"All systems are fully operational. Increasing power levels to one hundred percent."

The three rings began to rotate around each other rapidly, and the air generated off of them swayed the lights hanging from above. Ezra monitored multiple charts on his computer screen as the machine reached full power.

The air began to ripple with energy around the machine as the rings blurred into faster than light speeds. The machine's hum now was a deep, resonating drone.

The machine reached maximum power as every chart on Ezra's monitor switched to green. An alert popped up on the screen, declaring the simulation a success.

"Ladies and gentleman, the time machine works!" Ezra exclaimed.

The lab broke out into applause. Scientists bursted into laughter and embraced each other. Ezra, caught up in the heat of the moment, hugged the girl beside him before quickly pulling away.

Ezra began to blush furiously,"Tamara, I..." The girl gave him a sheepish smile before returning to the neighboring computer.

Ezra sat back down, and typed in a code,"Time for Grandson to power down."

The rings spun back into view as they slowed down. Ezra began to flip the switch that locked the rings back into alignment when he felt cold metal press against his temple.

The armed man frowned,"I wouldn't push that if I were you."

The supervisor looked to the man, appalled,"Marcus, what are you doing?"

Two other men amongst the lab's personnel took out concealed firearms, one holding the supervisor at gunpoint.

Marcus shot his gun in the air before scanning the room,"Isn't it obvious, old friend?"

He approached the supervisor,"I'm making history."

Marcus and his henchmen stepped onto the platform, and began to board the time machine. Marcus was the last to enter, who let out a maniacal laughter before closing the hatch behind him.

Activated from the inside, the rings began to whirl around each other once more. Ezra watched in horror as the energy levels shot up, reaching full power. Then in an instant, the time machine imploded on itself, disappearing with a sonic boom.

A shock wave washed over the room. The lights flickered, papers were sent flying into the air, and everyone shuddered as they were struck with the blast of air.

The supervisor frowned,"Where did they go?"

Ezra looked to his computer before shaking his head,"I don't know."