Power Up

CHAPTER 8

POWER UP

Judith instructed Larry and Abdul in the proper sequence for powering up the components.

It was an ingenious design. It rivaled the Air Force’s ballistic missile system, requiring two people to initiate the start-up. The sequence was precise and exact. The ingenious part of the system was the built-in fail-safe. Each button triggered a timing system displayed on the left and right side of the panel. Upon enacting one button, the timer would start on the next counter. The intervals for depressing or pulling the switches for the power-up were never the same. The 10000 automatically changed the sequence each time the machine was started up. Thus, the sequence was never the same. It was hack-proof.

Yes, if one were able to penetrate the first line of firewalls, suppressors and routers, the console controls would detect an invader if it tried to access the panel. A hacker would be looking for multiple random signals, sequences and paths. That would be the trigger for the 10000’s virus system to go into high gear. The end result for the hacker would be a very long-term jail sentence. The 10000 had the ability to pinpoint the location of the attacker in under a minute. Local law enforcement would be notified, and descend upon the intruder like a Chinese finger torture. There would be no escape.

Larry and Abdul attentively took their stations and prepared for the test. “Ready?” called out Judith. She was still poring through the manual and checking her mental notes.

“Ready,” they both replied. Their eyes were concentrating on the vast lifeless controls laid out before them.

“Capt...I mean, Larry.” He looked up to his left, stunned that Abdul used his real name. “I believe we are really venturing where no man has gone before, and to be honest, starting this machine up is scaring the hell out of me.” Larry couldn’t agree more.

“I know exactly what you mean.” But what if it does work? What if he could go back and help his dad and Leroy that night in Atlantic City? “Don’t worry about it, Abdul. If the test works and we validate the initial experiment, maybe we can call it a day and continue with our real journey.”

“Are you two morons ready or are you going to continue talking?” Judith’s eyes were burning into both of them. They could feel and sense her intensity. Larry took the lead. “We’re ready when you are.”

“Good.” The words were hard and final. She was taking the stance of a Mission Control Director. She would accept no excuses or child’s play. The thought of traveling back in time was enveloping her soul.

She never looked up from her notes as she barked out commands. “Muki, is the chair ready for placement?”

“Yes.”

“Lower it into the pit.” Muki pushed the green button activating power to the overhead crane. She pushed the up button and the chair started ascending. As the chair lifted off the floor, she smoothly started walking towards the platform. The crane was designed to move with the operator and respond with her movements.

“Larry, Abdul – are both the sequence counters reading zero?”

A stereo response, “Yes.”

“Prepare for sequence activation.” She studied the notes once more.

“Boys, move your power levers to the on position on my count. Three, two, one. Now!”

Simultaneously, they moved the levers to the on position. A low humming noise filled the room.

“Larry, push the initiate scrambler button on my count. Abdul, keep your eyes on the sequence counter. Once Larry starts, the process must be perfect.” She could feel the power of the complex filling her body.

“Larry—three, two, one. Now!”

He pushed the button. The entire console lit up in every color and shade known to man. She looked up from her notes, admiring the faces of the boys bathed in the rainbow of colors. Their eyes were transfixed to the panel while their minds were locked to hers.

“Abdul, scrambler button two, when counter numbers turn green. You will have only one second. Don’t fuck it up. Call out done when finished.”

Abdul said nothing. He nodded. His eyes were glued to the counter and the button. He was trying to anticipate the light change. Small beads of sweat started appearing on his face. Green!

“Done!” He took a deep breath.

“Larry, scrambler four.” His eyes darted around the panel scanning for the button. Green!

“Done.” Larry glanced at Abdul. His face was filled with intense concentration.

“Scrambler five.”

“Aye, Ensign. Done.”

“Knock the shit, Abdul.”

A muffled “aye” followed.

“Scrambler six.”

“Done.” Beads of sweat were forming on Larry’s brow, not only from concentrating, but from the heat emanating from the panel.

The sequence counter numbers started moving quicker and quicker with each button depressed. The tempo was that of an orchestra laying in wait for the audience to respond. The first tempo was lento and slowly moved towards allegro. The audience was in sync with the conductor as she took them on a frenzied ride.

“Scrambler ten.”

“Done.”

“Scrambler fourteen.”

“Done.”

“Power feeds two and three.”

“Where are they, where are they,” muttered Abdul. The buttons weren’t close enough for one hand to depress them in a second. He positioned both hands on the panel watching the sequence counter.

Green.

“Done.”

“Power feeds four and five.” Larry noticed the same problem and placed his fingers appropriately, waiting for the counter to turn green.

“Muki, is the chair in position to be lowered?”

“Yes.”

Green. The buttons required more than normal pressure as they locked into position. His fingers were getting sweaty. “DONE!”

“Conductor releases four, six and seven.”

Larry was stumped. “Repeat again.” His voice was nervous and cracked.

“Conductor releases FOUR, SIX AND SEVEN, MORON!” He didn’t hear or detect her sarcasm, only the switches and buttons he needed to worry about. The counter moved quicker. Green. “FOUR, SIX AND SEVEN, DONE.” He quickly moved his hands on his shirt to wipe off the accumulating sweat.

“Conductor release one, two and three.” Abdul easily found them and prepared for the green light. “Done.”

The humming in the building increased in intensity, but the sound remained steady as the sequence counters’ tempo increased. The panel lights appeared to be in sync with the humming. The boys’ faces were alight with a myriad of colors as if the control panel were a spinning strobe.

“Intake valves, one through four.”

“Shit, four operations? Shit!” Green. “ONE, TWO, THREE AND FOUR, ON!”

“Capacitors four through seven.”

“Repeat.” The light show was interrupting Abdul’s concentration. “Repeat dammit, repeat!”

“Capacitors, FOUR THROUGH SEVEN YOU—”

Green.

“Four through seven activated.” Droplets of sweat fell to the panel.

“Muki, lower the chair.” She pushed the down button. The hoist cables quietly lowered the chair into the cavern. She could feel her hair standing on end as if she were walking into a field of static electricity. The entire platform was glowing with an unseen energy.

“Final phase. Masters one through six and seven through twelve.” The boys knew exactly which controls to work.

Green. “Done.”

Green. “Done.”

The pace was frantic. The orders she barked were drowned by the deafening humming. Somehow, the boys heard each command. Her voice was being magnified with the vibrating air. More commands. More acknowledgments. The boys and Judith were saturated with sweat. Muki was absolved from the three as she watched the chair come to rest on the platform. She hit the quick-release button disengaging it onto the floor. The chair appeared to be absorbing the energy surrounding the void.

“Last command!” screamed Judith. The boys only heard a calm steady voice say last command.

“When the sequencer light turns blue, slide the bar marked SLIP to the left.” She repeated the command not knowing if the boys could hear her.

“DONE!” Came the words from Larry and Abdul. Silence enveloped the room. Only a low humming was pulsating through the floor and walls.

The control panel was bathed in white light. The flashing stopped. Calm flowed over the four.

“I did it. Son of a bitch. I did it.” Judith beamed with the successful power-up.

Larry wiped his face with his soaked shirt. “Don’t you mean, we did it?”

She looked up. “Of course. We did it.”

Abdul was still transfixed on his half of the panel. His words weren’t so sure. “What exactly have we done?”

“We started it up, you Star Trek idiot. Aren’t you always talking about other universes, warp drive and space-time continuum? That’s what we’ve done.”

“Great, now what?” Again, his words were unsteady.

Judith approached the panel and roughly pushed Larry to the side. “We select a date and turn the calendar dial to a time and place we choose, you idiot. Muki, is the chair in position?” No response. “Muki, is the chair in position?” Judith’s words carried annoyance with them. “Well?”

“I think you all need to come down here and see what’s going on.”

“Muki, all I need to know is if the chair is in position. That’s a simple question. So, is it—”

Muki ignored Judith’s impatience. “Larry, Abdul – you need to come down and look at this.” The boys wasted no time. They wanted to distance themselves from Judith in hopes she would regain her composure.

“Captain, what the fuck is that?” Larry couldn’t believe it either. The chair was suspended six feet off the floor. It was spinning around in a perfect three sixty. It was moving so fast if appeared to be stationary. Nothing any of them learned could provide an answer. It was dumbfounding.

“Larry,” asked Muki. “What do you think? Should we continue with the exercise or shut it down?”

“Muki, I’m not sure. The section I read about the molecular conversion can’t harm us or the complex. The only danger is something falling into the chamber while it’s activated. The danger occurs when the stream is broken or bumped by an object not already acclimated to the artificial magnetic field. If the stream is disrupted, the original object will instantly result in total molecular separation and reanimation in seconds, thus the original object, and the foreign one, will become one and the same with a completely different molecular structure.”

Abdul pondered the thought for a moment. “So, a good example would be if a person were being transported, and a foreign object entered halfway through the process, those beings would become one?”

“Correct.”

“So this machine could be the great-great-great-grandfather to a real transporter?” His apprehension was dissipating.

“Abdul, you would be correct.”

Muki still wasn’t convinced though. “Larry, do you still think it’s a good idea to test the machine? What if something goes wrong?”

Her skepticism was weighing on Larry. He knew Abdul was changing his thinking; Judith was hell-bent on trying it. Even his own curiosity was challenging the course of caution. “Muki, I think it’s safe. Let’s go ahead and finish the test run. After that, we’ll see what happens.”

“Okay Larry, but remember, the only information we will gain, is that the chair comes back whole. We won’t know if it actually travels to the specific time frame or not.”

* * *

Shut the little Asian girl up. She could ruin everything.

* * *

“Well? Are you three going to gawk at a normal household chair, or are we going to make a little history of our own?” Judith’s composure was slowly returning, but her impatience remained high.

“We’re on the way up,” answered Abdul.

They congregated around the control panel trying to decide where to send the chair. Muki was right. It didn’t matter what time frame they chose. There would be no hard evidence if it ever arrived, just that it returned in one piece. They agreed to set the dial to June 10th, 1997. Location 38° 53’ 53.5” N Latitude and 77° 02’ 09.9” W Longitude: The White House. They hoped that maybe the chair would wind up in the Oval Office and with luck, there might be a stain or two, that upon further examination, might reveal DNA of the sitting president and his young intern. Well, maybe.

“Who read the portion on time propulsion?” Judith asked.

Larry answered. “I understand the molecular structure of items sent and their reanimation.”

Abdul was next.”I’m familiar with the working of the 10000 and the virus systems.”

Judith looked at Muki. “Imagine that. Miss Lucky got the section on how to actually move the objects into the past and bring them back. Muki, show us what you know.”

She reluctantly approached the panel as if she were looking into the future. “I don’t think we should do this.” Her comment shocked Judith.

“What do you mean?” Her voice was threatening. “The boys and I didn’t spend ten minutes sweating our balls off to have you decide to wimp out.”

“Judith, we don’t—”

“We don’t what? If you won’t do it, I’ll read the manual myself and figure out how to do it, you shit.” Muki abruptly turned and bore her black eyes into Judith.

“Listen Barbie, I’ve tolerated all of your fucking shit for the last time. I bailed your ass out at the diner, and how many countless times on campus. No more.” Her voice was even-tempered yet serious.”I will not listen to your rantings or beratings anymore. Of all of us, you are the most spoiled, ungrateful bitch I’ve ever known. And if you don’t shut your fucking mouth, I’m going to shut it for you. Understood?”

Larry and Abdul took a step back not knowing what to expect. Abdul leaned towards Larry. “I’ve never seen her like this. I mean, she’s one sweet little Asian, but I’ve never seen this side of her.”

Larry tilted his head as Abdul’s words sank in. A very small grin appeared as he looked at Abdul.

“Are you saying what I think you said?”

The question woke Abdul up. He needed to backtrack quickly.

“Uh…no…I mean she is…ah…, you know.” The words failed him.

“Scotty, I believe I know exactly what you’re saying.”

“Shit,” was all he could say.

“You and Muki?” The thought triggered a small chuckle from Larry.

“Man cannot live on warp speed alone, Captain.”

“What the hell are you two laughing about? Muki is threatening to ruin the experiment.” Judith turned her anger and embarrassment on the boys. She’d seen what Muki was capable of and wanted no part of it.

“Nothing, Judith.” Larry approached Muki. “As I said, it’ll be alright. We’re safe. Go ahead and let it fly.” He placed his right hand on her left shoulder as a father would to a daughter, hoping to convey some reassurance.

“Okay.”

The process for initiating the propulsion wasn’t difficult. She slowly pulled the black lever attached to the side of the panel straight back. The black monitor in the middle of the panel turned on, revealing the massive doors. They strained to open. The humming sound increased. Next was the red surge protector button. The humming further increased. The panel lights started flickering again in their bizarre dance.

The air was again being filled with a warm electric feeling. The hairs on their arms and heads started to frizz. Next, the SLIP activator button. The humming notched up another tone. Their skin started itching with the energy flowing through the room. Muki took a deep breath in and held it as she pushed the last button, SLIP ENACTOR.

The humming stopped. They could see the chair in the monitor stop. It hung motionless while being bathed in a bright, subdued, white hue. The chair appeared to be a living organism.

Before any of them could blink, it disappeared. The air filled with a heavy silence. The humming stopped. They stood motionless staring at the empty monitor. A strange residual hue hung in the screen. The color didn’t register. It was its own creation.

Larry was in awe.”Okay, anyone believe what just happened?”

Abdul was still dissecting and cataloging the events. “I believe we actually reached warp speed. Do you think it was transported back in time, or did it vaporize?”

Larry shook his head, “I have no idea.” He took a deep breath and finally settled back into his own body. It was the first time since the power-up started he felt normal again except for his heart racing at 140bpm. “Damn,” came the quiet words. “Is everyone all right?” He looked at Judith and Muki, noticing a bright sheen surrounding their bodies. “Judith, Muki. You girls okay?” They appeared to be in a deep trance.

“Judith! Judith!” Larry grabbed her by the shoulders. Her eyes were glued to the panel, yet they were looking at nothing. “JUDITH! Snap out of it!” She dragged her right hand across her face pushing the soaked bands of hair from her face. Her eyes were deadpan. No emotion radiated from them.

“What are you doing, Larry? Get your fucking hands off me.”

“Hey, I’m checking to make sure you’re okay.”

Judith took stock of herself without letting the others know that she too was concerned. She noticed her increased heart rate and her drenched clothing. Her eyes started to refocus and take in the strange, warm hue filling the room. “Yeah Larry, I think I’m okay.” Her voice returned to normal.

Larry turned his attention towards Muki. “You okay?” She too was transfixed to the monitor. Small beads of sweat hung from her thin, black hair, and then cascaded to the panel. “No Larry, I’m not all right. Physically, nothing is wrong.” She turned her wet face towards his. “Mentally, I’m not sure. At the time, I didn’t think it mattered, but a section of the manual was missing.”

Larry’s look was confusing. “What are you talking about, a section is missing? We all read it, or at least everything that was available.”

“True Larry, but a section is missing.”

Larry scanned Abdul and Judith for a clue. “Did either of you notice any torn pages or an area that was overlooked?” They shook their heads in the negative.

“Muki, what section is missing?” Her eyes did a quick, yet complete, search of her own body. “Larry, does your body feel different? Is your heart racing with no physical activity? Judith, Abdul – the color of your hair has changed.” The words took them by surprise. Larry looked at both of them, and again at Muki. It was true. Judith’s hair was now a reddish-brunette; Abdul’s showed flecks of gray, and Muki’s was darker than pitch with an unnatural sheen. Before Larry could address the issue, Muki stepped in.

“Do you realize how many electrons and positrons this machine generates? The number is off the charts. Scientifically, it’s impossible. We conducted many experiments in the lab, and could only generate enough power to run a small hydro electric dam. Nothing spectacular to be sure. This machine generated over one-hundred million times one-hundred megawatts in a few seconds. More than enough energy to run every electrical device in the world for years.” She let the knowledge sink in.

“The amount of electrons and positrons filling the room during the process would take the most sophisticated measuring devices ever manufactured to record the amount of gamma rays we were just subjected to.” The mention of gamma rays got everyone’s attention.

“Muki,” asked Larry, “if what you say is true, we should all be dead. Right?”

She didn’t look up. “Yes. The amount of radiation created should have burned us up in seconds. We wouldn’t have felt a thing. We would have internally imploded from the massive heat, and then the magnetic field surrounding us would have crushed our remains to dust. The gravitational force generated is 1one-hundred times greater than the Earth’s.”

“Then why are we still alive?” asked Abdul. “If what you say is true, we should have died halfway through the sequence?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the material lining the walls? Maybe the professor developed a buffer filtering out the gamma rays? I don’t know. What I do know is we have been exposed—”

The word exposed triggered Larry. “Protective clothing. There is no section on protective clothing. How could I have overlooked that?” His words were true. His words prompted an immediate search by his friends as they checked their skin for unusual burns or blemishes.

“Captain, I’m proud to say my shorts are clean, and everything is in operating order.

“Larry smiled at the comment. “Same here, Abdul.”

Judith rolled her eyes as the juvenile in the boys was starting to resurface.

“Well, we’re not dead, at least not yet. If the section is missing, where would the clothing be?”

“I’m sure they took it when the facility shut down. No sense in leaving behind expensive equipment when it could be used somewhere else,” replied Larry.

“So what are we supposed to do now?” quipped Abdul.

Judith responded first. “Finish the experiment. And Abdul, if you get the idea you might need to die, please do it someplace else. We have work to do.”

Her hard words weren’t unusual; it was the tone and iciness of them which caused concern. Judith’s temper was becoming harder and more difficult to anticipate since reading the manual. Larry hoped it was only temporary, but it didn’t appear so. She was becoming completely wrapped up with the surroundings and the machine, almost as if it were possessing her in an unreal manner.

Abdul’s patience was growing thin with Judith’s continued ranting. He started moving threateningly towards her. Before he could attack, Larry broke the tension.

“Scotty, it appears our executive officer might need a visit to sick bay. I’m sure Dr. McCoy and nurse Chapel could provide the correct remedy.”

Abdul stopped and agreed.

“Yeah, she could use about a thousand milligrams of morphine or Dilaudid. That’d knock her ass out.”

She paid the comments no mind. Her focus was on the control panel.

“Muki, bring it back. It’s been an hour. Let’s see if it returns.” Muki wasn’t going to argue the issue.

* * *

Yes, my children, bring it back.

* * *

“Okay, Judith.” She looked down at the button denoting RECOVERY.

Without thinking, Muki depressed the button. A whirling sound resonated from deep in the hole. The lights on the panel went black. The same strange hue seeped out of the launching pad. It bathed the room and surrounded them in a deep blanket of electricity and color. It was the same warm electric charge surrounding them when the chair disappeared. Larry tried to tell Muki to shut it down, but the words wouldn’t come out. Lightning bolts danced from the launching pad floor to the overhead crane, adding more confusion and intensity as the machine whirled. The kids were frozen as the energy climaxed. A thunderous whoosh filled the massive hall, followed by abject darkness. The monitor on the panel was the only visible light. The chair appeared in the middle of the screen.

Her words were quiet with awe. “It worked,” uttered Judith. “It worked.”

She was the first to exit the control panel and descend the iron ladder to the floor of the launching pad. The metal was still warm from the reaction. Larry tried to tell her to wait. He knew she wouldn’t listen, so he motioned his partners in crime to follow.

Judith ran her hands over the chair making sure it wasn’t a mirage. Yes, it was still whole. The wheels worked, the recliner worked, the armrests were complete. The back sliding adjustment was in perfect order. She looked up as the others gathered around.

“It works,” she proudly exclaimed. “The fucking thing actually works!”

Larry wasn’t as convinced. Sure, the chair returned with no appreciable damage and apparently whole. But what proof was there it actually arrived at its destination?

“How can you be so sure it actually went to the White House, Judith?” She cringed with his lack of confidence.

“Larry, if it didn’t work, explain this.” She stood up and spun the back of the chair for the others to see. They couldn’t believe their eyes. They all knew what the stencil mark represented. They had all seen the symbol behind the press secretary during interviews. It was unmistakable—the seal of the President of the United States was stamped on the back panel.

“And if that doesn’t convince you, explain the red lipstick marks on the front of the chair?”

The three peered down. “Lipstick?”