"Altered Time- Destiny in the Stars"

Paradoxes and Parallels

Chapter 8

VIII

"Here's your coffee, Max. What were you thinking about so intensely just now?"

"Thanks, Michael! Just why it is so important that we make this trip… and that we succeed. You know, besides Liz and Maria… and Isabel, there's another person that we need to be sure to bring back with us, too."

"Sheriff Valenti," said Michael, with a nod.

"Yep. Kyle's been our friend since we were kids. He's a great chief of staff, too! How do you think Valenti's going to take it, Michael?

"Take what?"

"Oh, you know, when we just casually lay it on him that his son has been living on the planet Antar for the last five years!"

Michael snickered and almost snorted his coffee. "Well, I'd say I'd like to be there to see that, but I guess I will, won't I!"

"Yeah. It should be interesting… You know, Michael, I have done a frikkin' lot of reading at the capitol library on Antar about physics and space-time continuums and all, and I have a theory about why everything seems to have gone to hell on Earth after my future self showed up."

"Why's that, Max?"

"Well, I believe that the future me upset the timeline. He didn't mean to and probably never even knew that he had done it. But I believe he altered time, as it were, when he came back to our time. Here's why I say that… the granolith that existed at that time traveled through time in a linear fashion. That's the only way anyone knew time existed back when that machine was built. But now we know that time is not linear. The universe is constantly traveling in a huge spiral, and timelines follow the spiral. It's like aiming a spaceship at another planet and flying in a straight line toward where you saw the planet. By the time you get there, the planet may be a light year away from where you arrive at. You have to figure for that and calculate a corrected trajectory. By going back linearly, as it were, the future me, I think, altered time as we knew it. Literally, our whole future became skewed."

"Interesting theory, Max! If that's true and your theory is correct, won't our going back skew the timeline and alter time further?"

"No, because our scientists worked the universal spiral algorithm into the equation when they programmed our ship. That's the difference in what we know now compared to what we knew back then. And that is why we must return to Earth before the future me arrives. Only by returning before he arrived will we be in our own true timeline, the one that we were supposed to be in. And another thing, Michael… The future me said that Earth was being destroyed in his timeline because I had married Liz instead of Tess and Tess' powers were needed together with mine to save Earth. But that might never have been true. It became true, because he altered time in our timeline and redirected our timeline into a different space, which in turn altered the time that he would experience in his future, resulting in the catastrophe for Earth that he referred to."

"Whoa! That's a mouthful, Max! If I understand what you're saying, though, then the very thing 'future Max' came back in time to prevent only occurred at all because he came back in time. Whoa! Paradox!"

Max laughed. "Yeah! Just whatever you do, Michael… never, ever, ever ask me to repeat what I just said!"

Max and Michael both laughed for a good minute. It was refreshing to be laughing again. The coffee was good, too.

"Put on some music, Michael! What have you got there?"

"Let's see, Max." Michael placed a crystal music ring on the spindle, and the name of the ring and artist appeared as a holographic lights display above the spindle. "This one is by Luvain Soongo and the Gungi Boys, Vui Gungi Chombos. They're kind of an Antarian N'Synch. Gungi means "New Wave" or something like that."

"Yeah, I've heard 'em. What else is there?"

Michael put another ring on the spindle, and the holographic lights display read, 'Jarfelle Sereli.'

"Sereli is Antarian for spears. You don't think Jarfelle…"

"…means Britney?" Michael laughed. "Not a chance! Jarfelle is more like… well… let's see… She's more like Diana Ross… her style is kind of like… early Motown music… only Antarian, of course, not Motown! She's good! I love it. It rocks, Max!"

"What else you got?"

"Um, let's see… 'Daneela Varel.' I'd say she's like our…"

"Dido," offered Max. "I've seen her on the HoloVision Screen. She could pass for her easy!"

"Yeah, but she sounds more like Sheryl Crow, I think. Nobody sounds quite like Dido. She's pretty unique. Okay, let's see… we've got 'Vui Zoombor J'koozzeen Chombos.' Come on, Max! What group would they be like back on Earth?"

"Hmmm… Let me think. How about…" Max thought a moment, "Oh! Oh! You know who? 'The Beach Boys! Remember 'California Girls,' 'Fun, Fun, Fun,' 'Surfin' USA,' 'Help Me Rhonda?' Beach stuff!"

"Yeah, I could go along with that. They sing a lot of songs about the j'koozzeen -the beach- and about wave-riding and zoombor boards, so Beach Boys is good…"

Michael put another ring on the spindle. The holographic display read, 'Maryk Varsno.' "Play song," Michael said.

As one, Michael and Max both yelled, "Sense Field!"

"Yeah," added Michael, "Sounds kind of like 'Save Yourself.' Awesome! I like this one!"

"Here's one for you, Maxwell!" The holo-display came up, 'Var Juma.'

"Oh! I know Var Juma," said Max. "You remember the song, 'Edge of the Ocean?' …Ivy! That's what Var Juma sounds like. That's another good one!"

Michael put another ring on the spindle. The display said, 'Terenlucit.'

"Coldplay," said Michael before Max could answer. Sounds like 'Brothers and Sisters.' Remember that one? Kind of a little like 'Ash,' though, too… in a totally different way."

Michael put another crystal ring on the spindle. The display read 'Vui Chanesio ShebbleOnessinje.' Both Max and Michael were silent for a few moments.

"Come on, Max… Whozit?"

"I don't know, Michael. 'The Shebblegirls from Chanesio?' Have I ever heard them?"

Michael said, "Play song," and a song from the ring began to play.

"Dixie Chicks!" Both Max and Michael shouted as one. Max laughed so hard that he snorted his coffee and had coffee dripping from his nose. "You (sniff)… you remember… (trying to sing) cough… There's your trouble… There's your trouble…" This amused Michael so much that he fell off his chair laughing. Both of them excused themselves to go to the bathroom and throw some water on their faces. Just the king and his general… A couple of royal cut-ups!

After a ten-minute break, Max and Michael both came back to the control room, and Michael chose some music. It was Maria's CD.

"Good choice, Michael," said Max. Max and Michael were feeling good. They were happy. The music was great. And Max had got them both refills on their coffee while he was out. They sat back and watched the stars streak by, listened to the music, and just smiled for the next three and a half hours.

Gonna find my way

To a sunny day

Though the rain may fall

Or skies be gray…

Climb every wall

And laugh and play…

Through it all,

Like butterflies in May.

On a rainbow tall…

Gonna find a sunny day.

--------------------End of chapter 8