Success!

SUCCESS!

Wednesday, March 6th 10:00am, 2015

“General!” yelled a jubilant Professor Skorzenzy into the 400” LG overhead wide screen. “The machine works! Captain Christopher has returned of sound mind and body. He holds in his hands the treasures of Egypt once thought lost, and his renderings of the happenings are astonishing, to say the least. It is time we put the machine to the task we set out on. The correction of all...” General McCulloch’s hard facial features remained passive as the good doctor danced around like a madman, or a child who had received a treasured Christmas present. “...the mistakes of the past! We have the tool to control our destiny!” The word destiny did not escape the general’s attention. He would allow the doctor a few more minutes of elation before he broke the news.

Doctor Leonoid Rostov Skorzenzy was a man beyond reproach. His paper on the integration of Quantum Physics and Extrapolated Thermodynamics with Applied Electronics was leading the scientific community in time travel research. He published the paper two years after the cancellation of the “Superconducting Super Collider Project” in Waxahachie, Texas. It was his first taste of governmental waste, meddling, and foolishness. He and his colleagues continually warned Washington of the mismanagement of funds and the colossal waste occurring daily. They knew that if the current trend of unchecked, irresponsible spending continued, it would result in the promising project meeting an ignominious end. Because of the rampant spending, he notified his team to keep secret diaries of all the experiments and the results in case the facility was shut down without warning. So the surprise of the program being discontinued in 1993 came as no real shock.

The government led the people to believe the main purpose of the “supercollider” was the generation of a more environmentally friendly energy source, and soon, the production of Middle Eastern Oil would be a thing of the past. That was partly true. The main purpose of the project was advancing time travel. Skorzenzy and his team were led by the government-appointed scientist, Dr. Richard Alexi Chavez (he was a competent scientist, but his loyalties were to the members of the US House Budget Committee) knew if they could reduce the emissions of the enormous heat generated during the initial inertia of time travel, they would be successful. This was the lynch pin that kept delaying further experiments. The inception of fiber optics assisted in the heat conductivity issue, but it still wasn’t enough to thwart the enormous amount of energy required to power the machine. Many times the fibers became overloaded and melted, resulting in an immediate shut down. Dr. Skorzenzy believed he knew why the problem kept cropping up and destroying otherwise very promising experiments. The Intel and Texas Instruments processors of the day couldn’t handle all of the information streaming through the lines required to efficiently run the electromagnetic inverse particle separator, or in short—EIPS. Skorzenzy discussed the issue with the engineers of both Intel and TI. They agreed to work on the problem together. Of course, when the collider was shut down so was their research, but the technology was resurrected in 2005 with the new project, code name TS – Time Slip.

The paper and its contents were brought to General McCulloch in 2005 by Doctor Loerke of the Department of Energy. Doctor Loerke briefed him on the exact contents and theories Doctor Skorzenzy proposed. Based on the briefing, the general made contact with Skorzenzy and proposed he be placed in charge of the new project with no meddling or budget constraints from Washington. Skorzenzy balked at first, but the lure of finishing the work he began in Texas was too enticing to turn down. He agreed; always knowing in the back of his mind that this venture too could come to a sudden and abrupt end.

“Doctor, I too have some interesting news.” replied McCulloch.

General McCulloch had been a true stalwart to the project. He agreed with the philosophy of going back in time and possibly altering a few events in history for the better, such as Vietnam. It was his belief the war could have been won with the proper guidance, execution, and political backing. If Richard Nixon had been supplied the correct intelligence concerning the effects the B-52 “arc bombings” were having on Ho Chi Minh and the populace, he (Nixon) would not have called off the air campaign in the hopes the Paris Peace Talks would yield results.

His illustrious career spanned four decades. He learned the ways of the military and politicians. The latter he cared not for, but being the leader of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he learned how the game was played no matter how it affected the men under his command, or the consequences of canceling programs. He had become what he feared the most as his career moved forward—a military political pawn. Just the thought forced bile from his stomach to the back of his throat. It had to be done no matter how many billions of dollars had been spent on the current project.

“Doctor, effective last night at 00:01 hours, the project is canceled. All funding has ceased. The complex will be completely shut down by the end of the week. All personnel will receive new assignments.”

The words hung heavy in the air. The professor was stupefied. His work over the past decade was now producing fruit, and just like that, he would have to abandon his life’s work, again? This was absurd.

“General, did you not hear what I said? It works. We have proof. We can proceed with the plan we envisioned so many years ago. It works, General—it works.”

His words were frantic and pleading. He knew how easily the winds of Washington moved from day to day. All they wanted were results. They cared not how they were achieved or obtained, as long as the taxpayers’ (he always cringed when he was reminded they were spending the hard-earned money of the American people) money was properly spent. What bullshit! They print as much money as they choose to further their own agendas. If the American people only knew how much was being wasted, they would revolt.

This time the money wasn’t being wasted. This time it was achieving a technology that would spare the world of the most traumatic events in history. They could make the planet a better and safer place. The Duke of Austria would live, and the millions of French and British men would be allowed to live full lives instead of fertilizing the fields of Argonne, Verdun, and Flanders with their youthful blood. The ovens at Dachau and Auschwitz would never see the light of day, for Adolf Hitler wouldn’t live long enough to reap his wrath on the world. Lincoln and Kennedy would live.

The atomic bomb would still be in its infancy. Roosevelt would never approve the Manhattan Project. The Cold War would not fill any history books, for without the infamous destruction of Germany, no wall would separate Berlin. The soils and fertile lands of the Delta and Highlands in Southeast Asia would be the rice center of the world, instead of the soil where over 58,000 young men and women would shed their blood in a war the politicians refused to fully support and win. The fools in Washington care nothing of their fellow Americans or mankind in general. They strive only to pursue their own greed and political agendas.

“General, surely there is a mistake?” The question came out as a plea more than a question.

“I’m sorry, Professor. The project is canceled. There is nothing I can do.” The screen went blank with no other explanation.

This isn’t over, General. No, this isn’t over by a long shot. I cannot stop them from cutting off funds, but I shall remain behind in my hidden quarters, and reap revenge when the opportunity arises. My work and that of my colleagues will only temporarily be placed on hold.

A slight gleam sparked in the old man’s eyes.

Yes, I shall bide my time.

* * *

Sunday 10:00 hours

“Has anyone seen or heard from Skorzenzy?” queried General McCulloch.

“No sir, not since the day you informed him of the shutdown,” replied Captain Wilson.

“No matter,” commented the general as his eyes scanned the vast room. “Congress refused to listen. This is the first time we achieved the desired results and are immediately terminated. The folly of Washington. Captain, I’ve been in this man’s army for over forty years and still don’t understand how it operates.”

“Yes sir.”

“Captain, shut it down and lock it down.”

Captain Wilson turned off the control console, walked over to the large bank of light breakers and pulled down the switches. The men were shrouded in darkness except for the emergency lights leading into the hallway. The only sounds were the echoing of their highly polished shoes tapping the cold pavement as they exited.

* * *

Two weary eyes peered at the monitor as they walked away.

“We shall meet again.”