A Hole in Time

"The first Iraq war took six months, the second fifteen years. The first Afghani war took the Russians twelve years not to win. After that, the Soviet Union broke up, the Berlin wall came down and Germany was reunited.

"The second Afghani war took the US fifteen years to win. It was going on at the same time as the second Iraqi war. I guess you could say we won them both although there are those who still claim we won neither."

"What was the War on Drugs?"

"That was a misguided attempt by the US government to control the illicit drug trade in America and around the world. It was fraught with incorrect assumptions and scientific psychobabble. It was doomed to failure from the very beginning. It took the US twenty-five years to see the light."

"And what light was that?"

"Not everyone wanted to do drugs. Moreover, those that did were willing to purchase them at the drug store and pay the tax on them. The solution was simple it was getting the politicians to listen that was difficult."

"Global Warming?"

"Ah, my favorite subject. Scientists of your time right up until my time thought that man was responsible for global warming. They even skewed their data to make it look as if all the things that man did was causing global warming. The planet was warming all right, right up until it started to cool again. A never-ending cycle that happened repeatedly and would keep happening no matter what mankind did. Yes, we may have hastened the cycle but the cooling happened just as fast. There is still debate going on now about how, we, can stop it from happening again.

"Which is utterly impossible in my opinion, planets are so big and the eco-system not all that fragile. The warming brought none of the catastrophes that were predicted and the cooling cycle was completely unexpected by the scientists. In the last three hundred years we have had the one big warm up, a big cool off then it was steady for a hundred or so years, then started to slowly warm back up again.

"We're only talking a few degrees."

"The War on War?"

"I just threw that in there, it wasn't a real war."

"Oh. And what about the War on Aids?"

"That was a real war, a medical war. AIDS. A sexually transmitted decease that plagued the world, up until twenty-fifty-five there was no cure. It's virtually gone now. Back in your time, it was unheard of. It was like polio, only worse."

"What did AIDS stand for?"

"Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, it caused your immune system to attack itself. Very nasty, very contagious."

"Oh. How many died from it?"

"Hundreds of thousands."

"How many died from global warming?"

"A few thousand, maybe."

"That would be hundreds, Bill. Only a few hundred can be attributed to the warming of the planet itself."

"Seven, you're back."

"I am at that."

"Where are we?"

"We," Seven paused a moment, "are at TS coordinates four-five dot one-five dot one-two-three dot three-four-five dot five-stroke nine-four-eight."

"Seven?"

"Earth."

"What year?"

"I don't know yet. It is either very early or very late in history."

"Now I'm really confused," Bill said.

"I am too. There are no EM emissions. No satellites in orbit. I can discern no structures on the ground."

"Oh dear," Faith said.

"Oh dear is right," Bill chimed in. "How did you get us here?"

"I took your advice and thought about how I could move even with my primary mandate in place. I couldn't use the engine. There was, however, excess power generation capacity in the fusion reactor."

"Well?"

"I was also equipped with a TS dilation field."

"So?"

"I created a portal and fell through it to Earth. Although I seemed to have miscalculated the time factor involved."

"Oh, us in reverse," Bill said.

"Yes."

"How long until you determine the when we are?"

"I... have almost ninety-eight percent of my... capacity... trying to... figure... that out."

"And with us talking to you it is taking some of your capacity away from your computations? No need to answer, we'll just talk amongst ourselves."

Silence fell in the station again once Seven was silent. Bill smiled at Faith as they watched the planet below.

"Do you suppose there are any people down there right now?" Faith asked.

"I don't know. Without knowing what year we arrived, there is no telling. For all, we know there are still dinosaurs roaming around down there."

"Oh my. The war on ignorance what was that?"

"It was really only going on in the U.S. They, the educators, thought that keeping a child behind if he failed caused him to have low self-esteem, which in fact, it did but by not keeping them back a grade, they were turning out ignorant people. By not having to do the work, study the material, and still pass onto the next grade, a whole generation of children was less than useless, when it came to a workforce.

"It was finally decided to cancel the "No Child Left Behind" program. Not by the teachers but, by the politicians. The teachers union loved the program because they didn't really have to teach anyone anything."

"Watch it, I was, am, a school teacher!" Faith scolded.

"I didn't mean you or the several generations of teachers after you. It wasn't until two-thousand-one that the program Started. It took twenty years for the politicians to see their folly. Although the liberal masses loved the program and the dependency it developed on government."

"Hey, I'm a liberal too!"

"So am I but, not in the context that you mean. Your generation would actually call me an anarchist. But I'm more than that, I'm a rational libertarian."

"And what is that?"

"I believe in very small central government, just enough to protect the republic from foreign invasion and to keep the infrastructure of the republic in order, other than that, the individual states should handle everything else."

"Very interesting. So the states should handle foreign policy?"

"If they want, otherwise appoint someone to do that for them."

"Would you still have a president?"

"Sure, it's part of the constitution."

"So you believe in the constitution?"

"Sure, it's the law of the land."

"And the vote for women?"

"Hey, whatever floats your boat? One point though... the constitution does not guarantee you to be able to vote."

"Yes, it does."

"No, it only limits who the states say can't vote."

"It does not. It guarantees that women can vote."

"No, it says that you cannot prevent women from voting just because they are women. It does not guarantee you the vote."

"So where in the constitution does it guarantee you a vote?"

"It doesn't. That right falls to the states. The states determine whether you vote or not. And they can use any method they want as long as it does not discriminate against women because they are women and blacks because they are black, although that amendment doesn't get passed until the nineteen sixties."

"How do they determine who votes then?"

"In my time, you had to serve in the military for six years to become a voter."

"What? Women don't serve in the military."

"They do in my time. In fact, even in your time, there were women in the military."

"Oh, I thought you meant in combat."

"Oh, the women of my time are in combat. The military makes no distinction between men and women for duty assignments. Only what you can do."

"I see. If we get out of here, I hope it's back to my time. I don't think I would enjoy being in combat."

"But no one would force you to join the military, it's strictly voluntary."

"Oh. But I want to vote."

"Then you have to join the military and take your chances just like everyone else."

"I guess I can deal with that."

"Jim?"

"Yes, Seven."

"I have found the error in my calculations and now know when we are."

"That's good. When are we?"

"The late Jurassic period," Seven replied sounding a little peeved.

"Oh, dinosaurs."

"What?" Faith asked.

"The late Jurassic period is when dinosaurs roamed the earth."

"Can we see them from here?" Faith queried.

A transparent screen dropped out of the ceiling and lit up with pictures of living dinosaurs.

"Not what I meant but this will do. Are these accurate representations of them?"

"These are how they look now. They are not representations, this is actual video of the animals just below our position."

"Oh!"

"Seven, can you get us to an era with civilized people?"

"In process... having found the error I am now sure I can jump to a time of your choosing."

"Great, I think we should get Faith home first."

"Wait, wait just a minute. I don't think I want to go back, now."

"I think I know what you mean. Seven, do you have the capability to land on the surface of a planet?"

"Yes. What are you thinking?"

"Well if you have enough food and water maybe we can do a little exploring, in time as well as space."

"What a fantastic idea," Faith said.

"Supplies are no problem, this station can create anything needed as long as its fusion reactor is operating."

"And how long will that last?" Bill asked.

"I have fuel sufficient enough to power the reactor for one thousand of your years. My ion engines will need to be refueled in another one hundred years, but that can be accomplished easily enough."

"How?" Faith asked.

"By flying through a suns corona," Seven said flatly.

"Oh."

"Seven, if I give you a set of time coordinates could you take us to that time?" Bill asked.

"Yes, with a minimal error rate of zero point zero-one-five to the minus ten."

"Is that a small error margin?" Faith asked.

"Yes Faith, it is," Seven told her.

"Great! Copy these coordinates, please. 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on November 22, 1963, the place Dallas, Texas."

"In process. Why those particular coordinates Bill?"

"Just want to check something out."

Bill's attention was drawn to the window as a slight blip of light appeared.

"Seven, you will have to dodge the satellites in orbit. Also, can you avoid detection by radar?"

"Yes. As for avoiding detection by... radar you called it... I am currently absorbing a tremendous amount of energy in the em spectrum. It is being channeled to my internal energy storage banks."

"Now can we see the ground at these coordinates please thirty-two degrees forty-six minutes forty-seven seconds north by ninety-six degrees forty-eight minutes thirty seconds west."

"Searching... " A transparent screen again descended from the ceiling.

A picture started to form on the screen. When it resolved it showed a crowd of people lining the street and a motorcade just turning onto the street centered in the picture.

"Seven, scroll to the south please, that grassy area up ahead of the motorcade."

"Place your finger on the screen where you want to look," Seven responded.

Bill placed his finger on the area of the "grassy knoll". The picture centered over the spot he had touched.

"To zoom in just press and hold," Seven told him.

Bill pressed the spot on the screen keeping his finger in contact until the area magnified to where he wanted. The picture sharpened when he removed his finger and he swore under his breath.

"Seven can you capture that picture?"

"Done."

"What is it Bill," Faith asked.

"Nothing, it's not important now or... anytime."

"What was in that picture that upset you?"

"Nothing Faith, not a thing you need to worry about. I promise. Now, is there anything you would like to see what happened in your past?"

"Not that I can think of... wait, Omaha Beach, nineteen-forty-two... my father died on that day, there, can we go there?"

"Faith, do you really want to watch your father die? I can promise you it will haunt your dreams for the rest of your life."

"I just want to make sure there was no possible way to save him is all, it already haunts my every waking moment."

"It's not such a good idea then as it would, I'm sure, only make things worse."

"Might I suggest that I scan the area for her father, she can describe him for me, and report on... his... death."

"I can live with that if Faith can?"

"I just want to know if he could have been saved, that's all."

Faith described her father for Seven giving him the coordinates as best she could. Faith sat next to Bill snuggled up to him waiting for Seven to complete his research. Two hours later a tray slid out of the wall with dinner. The two ate mechanically staring out the window at the stars.

"I have finished Faith," Seven said softly.

"And?"

"Your father died a hero, Faith. His sacrifice saved twelve other men from their death."

"Thank you Seven, thank you very much."

Tears were streaming down Faith's cheeks as Bill hugged her to him. After a while, Faith gave a little shrug and Bill released her.

"He was awarded the Silver Star for his action on that day. I was very proud of him, but... "

"I know Faith, I really do, trust me on that."

"Who did you lose?"

"My wife to be," Bill said sadly.

"I'm so sorry, oh god Bill, I'm so, so, sorry," Faith began to cry again.

For a long time, Faith held Bill and Bill held Faith. Neither moved. Neither said a word or moved as they were held by the other. There was a noise after a while that sounded like someone clearing their throat.

"Where would you two like to go next?" Seven asked. "I am at your disposal."

"I really don't want to go home," Faith said looking out at the world below them.

"Neither do I," Bill added also looking out the window at the stars and the planet below them.

"Well?" Faith asked looking at Bill.

"Okay. Let's have an adventure. Seven, take us on a tour of the cosmos."

"It will be my pleasure." There seemed to be a smile associated with Seven's voice as the universe outside the window shifted to a new astonishing view. Both Faith and Bill gasped at the sight before them.