Chapter Nine

The time-trapped teens had experienced a rather dull day so far. Doc had locked himself in his lab so he could plan a way to harness lightning. Jennifer killed time messing around in the kitchen, and Marty alternated between worrying, chatting, tasting 'food' Jennifer had created, and teaching Copernicus to jump up some boxes he had found and stacked.

Eventually, it was time to head for the school to meet Marty's parents after class. In addition to Marty talking to his dad, Jen would try to see what Lorraine was thinking. Fortunately Doc had provided some less conspicuous clothes for Marty.

Marty spotted George heading for the street. "Hey, you, George! Wait up!"

"What? Hey, you're the guy who tripped B..." George recognised.

"Yeah, you're welcome. Uh... I'm sorry things got interrupted like that."

George, who had continued walking, looked puzzled. "Things?"

"Yeah, Lorraine was about to ask you to ask her to the dance."

"The Enchantment Under the Sea dance? Lorraine ask me? No way," George dismissed incredulously.

"Yes way. She told me herself."

"... Really?"

"Yeah, really. But because Biff interrupted, she's a bit afraid to ask now. So you should ask her."

"I don't know... Biff wouldn't like that. And if she's afraid, I'm even more... Oof!" George tripped on the curb, spreading his belongings over the sidewalk.

Marty grabbed books and papers before anyone could step on them. "Hey, what's this? 'The Merchant of Venus' - is that Shakespeare?"

"No... It's a science fiction story... about visitors... from other planets."

"You wrote this?"

George nodded slightly.

"Wow, I never would have thought you did anything creative. Are you planning to publish this?"

"Publish? Oh no, I never let anyone read my stories. What if people don't like them?"

"Naw, someone will like it. And if they don't, just try again."

"I don't think I could take that kind of rejection," George worried.

"That's what everyone says. But if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. If you keep writing, you'll find that people will like your stories. It would be a pity not to try. And it would be a pity not to ask Lorraine out. She said you're cute."

"Well, that's... nice... but I can't miss Science Fiction Theatre: It's my favourite TV program!"

"Girls are better than TV..."

"What is it to you anyway? I'm just not ready to ask her out, and no one on this planet can make me change my mind!" George stomped into his house, leaving Marty with a sneaky look on his face.

Back at the Brown Mansion...

"What did my mom say?" Marty asked his girlfriend.

"No luck finding a date. She thinks Biff's threatened the few remaining boys into leaving her alone. And she would only go with half of them if they did ask. What about your dad?"

"He needs a bit more motivation. I have a plan to frighten him into it. I'll tell you after Doc shows us what he's been up to. Doc?"

Emmet swallowed the remains of the cookie he's been eating (courtesy of Jennifer) and intoned, "Let's go to the lab. You will enjoy this."

The teens followed, and soon saw what Doc had been working on all day. "You've modelled Hill Valley?"

"It's only one street, Marty," Jennifer corrected.

"Please excuse the crudity of the model. I only thought to throw it together an hour ago, so I didn't have time to build it to scale or paint it."

"It's great, Doc," Marty encouraged.

"What else did you do?" asked Jennifer, figuring there must be more.

"I have perfected my plan to get you home. First, we run some industrial strength cable from the clock tower, to serve as a conduit for the lightning. This is represented in the model by copper wire. Next, we remove the quantum injection lasers from the DeLorean and mount them on a frame. These must be connected correctly to the conducting cable. Then, we adjust the reflectors so they work from the reverse angle. Then it's a simple matter of driving the DeLorean down the street at 88 miles per hour in a perfectly straight line. I should be able to add a lever to lock the steering once it's correct. The lightning will activate the lasers, which will hit the DeLorean's reflectors, exciting all the particles along the time dimension and sending it back to the future."

"Sounds great, Doc. But what if we reach the lasers too soon?"

"There will be a lever to raise the lasers out of the way, and then drop them back in the reverse direction. The frame is large enough that the DeLorean can drive safely underneath. The lasers have a range of a few yards, so we have a fairly large window of time to work in. I'll show you." Doc picked up a frame and set it down in front of the model courthouse.

"Are those real lasers?" Marty wondered, looking at the devices atop the frame.

"Yes, though they are much simpler than the pair on the DeLorean. Creating them took most of the day. They're fairly powerful, so stand back." The inventor connected the appropriate wires and produced a windup car. "Marty, you release the car. I'll simulate the lightning, and Jennifer, you pull this lever before the car reaches the frame. Then we'll do it again with the lightning coming after the car passes the frame. Marty, make sure you step back before the lasers fire."

"Check, Doc. Everyone ready?"

Jennifer tested the lever a few times. "Ready."

Doc attached a clip to the frame, and the other to the clock tower end of the wire. He readied his finger over the electrical switch. "Release!"

To his credit, Marty did line the car up perfectly. However, this was no match for the crease in the road, just before the frame. Just as the lasers switched on, the car swerved to the right and knocked the frame sideways. The blue beams of light swung around, no longer pointing up the street. Before Doc could switch off the power, a building had begun to smoulder.

Jennifer, whose lever-pulling hadn't made any difference, snatched the burning model off the table and stamped it out on the floor.

"At proper scale, variations in road surface will not be an issue."

"I hope not, Doc. But what if the lightning strikes while the lasers are turning around?"

"I'll have them disconnected in that position, so we don't cause any damage to surrounding structures. But we need to time your drive to avoid that situation, or you're really stuck here."

"You instil me with great confidence, Doc."

"The only other option is to leave the lasers on the car, put a hook on the DeLorean, and try to hit the wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88 miles per hour, the instant the lightning strikes the tower. No, it's much easier to avoid reaching the frame at that instant."

"I think I see your point. But what will you do with the lasers?"

"Which ones?"

"The qu... ones from the DeLorean," Marty clarified.

"I'll put them in storage until you get back to the future."

"Uh, about the future..."

"No, Marty. You've already changed the future too much. You mustn't tell me about my own future."

"But..."

Doc cut him off before he could say any more. "What do you have planned for your pop?"

"Can I borrow the small lasers?"