Chapter One
Monday, November 13, 2000
11:20 A.M.
Hill Valley, California
Patrick Ross was angry.
A worker at EBE, Ross was not one of the nuclear scientists. Rather, he was a worker on the team that developed one of Doc's other inventions, the ReadyMade automatic breakfast maker, which debuted on Memorial Day, May 29. To Ross' fury, he found that his name was not on the patent along with the other workers, and he was determined to prove to his employer that he was capable enough to deserve it.
Thanks to what he saw on Sunday morning, he now had an excellent opportunity to do so.
EBE's main headquarters was in the building that once housed the Hill Valley Telegraph, next to the Essex Theater. Doc's office gave him a terrific view of the courthouse, which was currently undergoing renovations to become the Courthouse Mall. The exit for Skyway C25—indeed, C25 itself—wouldn't be present for another ten years.
Doc was soldering wires in his latest invention when he heard a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"Sam."
"Come in."
Sam stood next to Doc and glanced at the new invention, "How much longer?"
"Just a sec'," Doc said, finishing the soldering work. "The hovercam should be done in a day or two."
The hovercam, as its name suggested, was a video camera that hovered. It wouldn't be available until 2007, but when one had a time machine that sort of problem wasn't an issue. This hovercam, however, was special in another way. It came with a cloaking device that Doc had developed, allowing for the unobtrusive monitoring of history.
It was bullet shaped, about a foot and a half long, with the camera in the "nose" which pointed down. The camera would hover at 15,000 feet and take a birds-eye view picture of more than thirty square miles at one inch resolution. The images would be stored on a million terabyte hard drive from the year 2045.
"Good," Sam said, handing Doc a piece of paper, "'Cause I've already narrowed down some destinations. I was thinking we would use the hovercam to observe the Battle of Gettysburg. Some other possibilities I've considered are Agincourt in 1415, Tours in 732, and Milvian Bridge in 312."
"All historically important events," Doc said, "Which is why I would prefer not to view them."
"Doc?"
Doc stood up and handed the paper back to Sam, "The hovercam is still experimental. What if it became visible during a battle? What if, then, the losing side viewed it as an omen and rallied to win? No, I have another idea."
"So, when and where, Doc?"
"October 16, 1824 in Lyndhurst, New Jersey," Doc said. Before Sam could ask, he said, "To witness the birth of Daniel Clayton, my father-in-law. Or at least get pictures of the town during that period. Clara requested the date."
Sam nodded, "Check, Doc."
"We can research military history when we work out the bugs in this system," Doc said.
Sam nodded and asked, "Are we teleporting to Lyndhurst?"
Teleportation, as Doc and Marty found out the hard way, was not an exact process. Indeed, it could be outright dangerous, in that one could rematerialize too high or too low, damaging the time machine.
"It's easier than driving or flying there," Doc said. "Wednesday, if my calculations are correct, you and I will set up the device in 1824, leave it hovering, and then travel forward to retrieve it at some point in 1825."
"Sounds good to me, Doc. It'll stay hovering that long?"
Doc nodded, "It's the way antigravity works. Its fuel source isn't conventional, but rather the energy of the universe. You see…"
Sam smiled and held up a hand, "You can lecture me later, Doc. Call me when the cam's ready. I've got other work to do."
"I will."
As Sam left, he nearly ran into Patrick Ross, who was listening through the door.
"Sorry!" Sam said as he left.
"Mr. Ross," Doc said, quickly hiding the hovercam, "Can I help you with anything?"
"Uh, yes," Ross improvised, "I was wondering if you had the blueprints to the breakfast maker?"
"Just a minute," Doc said, turning to his office. Papers were stacked in messy piles on nearly every available surface with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Despite this, Doc was able to locate a copy of the blueprints within a minute.
"I'll make some photocopies!" Doc said, "Follow me!"
Ross groaned inside, but followed Doc anyway on the pointless errand. He couldn't blow his cover just yet.
