Ensemble [Book 1: SEKTOR V Trilogy]

Chapter 18: Lab Rat

Chapter 18: Lab Rat

Stanley was glad to be out of the Ministry's clutches. However, he wasn't keen on being a lab specimen for a bunch of overly-eager academics. That was exactly how he felt but that wasn't how the techs and scientists who'd been poking and prodding him since morning saw him. He was a freak for sure, but a good kind of freak. In fact, it was sounding as if, for once, he was exceedingly good at something. Handling the biological rigors of time travel apparently was his thing. Of course, being "good" at something like that was nothing more than dumb genetic luck and not something he'd had a say in.

The numerous verbal accolades Stanley received for the past six hours began to tire him. Still, he did take comfort in knowing his wife and kids were having fun. Maria was being pampered at the Institute gym and athletic facility with a spa and sauna treatment while the kids were playing paintball, with Director Maddy Wilheim of all people. He knew they were enjoying themselves, which in turn made him smile. Just as he was drifting off thinking about their happy adventures, he was stuck with yet another probing needle.

"Ouch, watch that!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry, Mr. Dial," said one of the countless techs who'd pinched, prodded, and poked him throughout the day.

"Any idea when we'll be done here? I'm very tired and very hungry."

Phil Battiste, the British research physician in charge, promptly replied, "Very soon, Mr. Dial, very soon."

Stanley rolled his eyes. He'd heard that reply several times already and now he suspected some sarcasm in the repetitive use of the word "very".

"You truly are an extraordinary man, Mr. Dial. Normally the rigors of time travel exhibit significant adverse effects on the autoimmune system, hormone levels, synaptic responses, and pulmonary performance. You, sir, exhibit nothing of the sort. It appears as if you didn't travel at all! Truly brilliant! But I am still struggling with, how is any of this possible?"

Stanley rolled his eyes again and shook his head. "Seriously? You're asking me how this can be possible? How the heck should I know? You're the doctor and so-called time travel physiology expert."

Before Dr. Battiste could reply, yet another nerdy-looking young intern began ushering Stanley into what looked like a reclining medical chair.

"We need to remove the optical device," she said.

"What are you talking about?"

"You've had a very small and very well-disguised retinal recording implant in your left eye for the past five days."

Stanley stared at her. "Wait. What?"

"The device has recorded everything you've seen and experienced before and after the Jump. As you know, you were on an alternate timeline. We haven't attempted that before, so we needed to record what you saw and then compare that record with your baseline experience."

"What's your name?" he asked impatiently.

"Lynn. My name is Lynn Wilde."

"Look, Ms. Wilde, I'm no scientist. Truth be known, I hated math even as a little kid. I can't tell my children that, but it's true. Can you and the others here keep things simple for folks like me with inferior brains?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dial," she said with a soft smile.

Genuine curiosity overtook Stanley's grumpiness so he decided to play nice...for now. "Please...call me Stanley."

"OK, sure." Her smile grew a little wider. "I'm sorry, Stanley, let me try that again. When people normally think of time travel or 'Jumps' as they're commonly known, the perception is that there's a single timeline and that you're jumping forward into that timeline's future. Most of the time, that assumption is correct, and that's exactly how the Ministry operates. They typically conduct small time-step Jumps of a couple of days or a week or two at most. We, however, operate very differently. We're trying to stretch the science far beyond simple temporal drift."