Dr. Mark Chapel ran his finger over the surface of the Wilson sundial, and with a little concentration, he managed to help the two agents Artie had sent cross the temporal barrier. They suddenly appeared in the chairs across from him in this little cafe.
"Whoa," Myka said.
"Welcome to 1990," Chapel smiled. "Might I suggest the coffeecake?"
Pete automatically picked up the menu and flipped to the desserts.
"Pete, focus," Myka admonished. She turned the Warehouse psychiatrist. "So what's this Quantum Leap project?"
"Keep your voice down. They're a bit paranoid." He took a swig of coffee. "It's the brainchild of Dr. Sam Beckett and Admiral Al Calavicci. The basic idea is one can travel through time, provided you stay within your own lifetime." He ripped a strip off his paper napkin. "So let's say this is your life. You tie the ends together to get a loop, and then you twist it and crush it so all the dates are touching. They aren't in sequential order any more. That's the Quantum Leap. The thing is, they were going to end the project, but Beckett had enough faith to jump in the accelerator, despite the advice of their central computer. Now he's stuck leaping around in time, so Calavicci is in charge while they try to figure out how to get Beckett back. Unfortunately, it takes them 6, 7, maybe even 8 years to pull it off. Where we are now, they've just had their budget renewed after the first year. Needless to say, there is an undercurrent of euphoria."
"And what's going on here?" Pete asked.
Chapel sighed. "That's just it. I don't really know, but I'll give you what I have. Around 48 hours ago, there was an explosion in the Imaging Chamber. Someone was in there, the admiral, to be exact. Since then, he's been in a deep coma."
"An explosion?" Myka asked doubtfully.
"Yeah. It's far more likely he came into contact with an artifact. Just what, that's the question. Did you bring neutralizer?"
"Of course." Pete reached down and lifted up the canister.
"I have no idea what we're dealing with, but it's powerful enough to send someone's mind elsewhere, possibly by telepathic transference. I couldn't get anything off the admiral."
"Speaking of the admiral," Myka said. "What's so important about him?"
"He's the top dog out here. He gets everything done from ensuring funding continues coming in to helping Beckett in the past. He was actually fired some time ago, but was reinstated, and no one's willing to talk about it. Blackmail by the looks of it."
Myka raised an eyebrow.
"And, needless to say, there are a couple other skeletons rattling around in his closet. And he's obsessed with sex."
"And you got all of this, where?" Myka asked.
"Readings of his coworkers, and gossip. The Quantum Leap rumor mill runs at a high speed and boats a very high truth percentage in its information."
"Alright. Well, how are we going to get in?" Pete asked.
"You are hens forth my assistants. I can pull a string or two. Don't worry."
And, just as good as his word, and hour or so later, the two Warehouse were standing at the admiral's beside hoping clues would come up, fast.
"Tell us more about the accident," Myka said to Gushie.
"Well, he was using the Imaging Chamber. Nothing was odd, but then Ziggy suddenly lost contact with Dr. Beckett."
"Ziggy?" Pete asked.
"Our Parallel-Hybrid Computer. He runs everything from temperature control to the locks on the doors."
"You have seen 2001, right?" Pete asked.
"I don't know what you mean by that," Gushie replied.
"I mean, if Ziggy fails or goes insane, you're sunk."
"Hadn't thought of that."
Chapel cleared his throat. "You lost contact with Dr. Beckett. Then what?"
"Then somehow something ignited, and suddenly, there was a a bang. We raced in and found Al with his clothes on fire unconscious on the floor. We couldn't take him to the hospital, so we made our own."
"Did anything odd happen before it? Or did you notice anything strange?" Myka asked.
"Strange how?"
"Anything that felt out of place, or even just plain wrong," Chapel supplied.
Gushie shook his head. "No, couldn't say that." Then after a moment, he added, "No, wait. Al was acting a bit... odd. Just out of it. He didn't really seem to be himself. I thought he just hadn't gotten enough sleep."
"Thank you. You can go back to work. If we have any more questions, we'll find you," Chapel said. Gushie nodded and stood.
"Can you really fix this?"
"Yes, we can. Just give us some time," Myka replied.
Gushie left. Chapel went to stand next to the admiral. He couldn't get rid of the funny feeling he kept getting. The sundial whispered to him, but he couldn't quite make it out.
"Doc, you okay?" Pete asked him. "You look a little out of it."
"Him...? Oh, I'm fine. It's just that there's something odd about this."
Myka came over. "What do you mean?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. I just get this odd feeling when I look at him. It's probably the fact he's totally gone. Everything's on auto."
"Could he have really transfered his mind?" Pete asked.
"You're Warehouse vets. You've seen stranger, and so have I. The real question is what caused it."
Myka nodded. "We probably can't call Artie, can we?"
"Here." Chapel said and held out his hand. "Let me take your Farnsworth."
She handed it over, and he fiddled with it for a moment before pulling a small sundial on a chain out from under his shirt. He ran a finger along the edge of it and tapped it on the Farnsworth. He handed it back.
"There you go. It'll contact you're Artie, not the one currently on the verge of working alone."
She opened it and turned the dial. "Artie, are you there?"
"Yes, I am. Mark must have gotten the Farnsworth working. How's the investigation going?" Artie asked.
"Not well," Pete said and got into the frame. "We've got a guy in a coma, and Mark says his mind is totally gone, possibly by mind transference."
"Know anything that might cause that?" Myka asked.
"Let me see." He punched something in the computer. "There isn't much that isn't in the Warehouse. Let's see... There's only Jung's pen missing. Nothing else out there could cause something like this, but I'll keep digging."
"Thanks. We'll call if we find anything else," Pete said. Myka closed the Farnsworth
"Well," she said. "Now what?"
