I don't own either the Misc. Books on this site, in this case, Isaac Asimov's The End of Eternity and Quatermass.

Enjoy.

Forward Thinking.

1934.

After the Kettle disappeared and Harlan embraced Noy's philosophy, that Eternity was causing more harm than good and thus needed to be destroyed in every continuity to ensure humanity rose to become a power in the galaxy so their extinction would not be happening, the more he felt like a baby who had learnt how to crawl and then later to walk.

Noys, who came from the Hidden Centuries and told him of how her time had time travel technology as well but used it to explore rather than change history, had told him the story of how humanity had died out after finding the galaxy crowded and so they'd returned to Earth to die. Once they had found out about the fate of the species, they had put into effect a plan to change history so Eternity in every continuity would die out.

Harlan hadn't liked the idea. He had been a Technician at the time and it was his duty to ensure the growth and sanctity of humanity. But was it necessary? The caste system of Eternity looked down upon the Technicians, people like himself, people who changed history and erased developments in space flight. He and his fellow Technicians had been responsible for humanity's fall, so he had let Eternity fall when he had seen and witnessed the truth.

What worried Harlan the most was he had known Eternity was corrupt; at its core, they believed they were helping humanity and yet all the time they were driving the nails deeper into the coffin.

It had been a year since the kettle had vanished, and all trace of Eternity had been erased as well. Now Noys was pregnant with his child, and as he watched his beautiful wife run a hand down her body lovingly, Harlan wondered more about the future.

His silence was quickly seen by Noys. The beautiful blonde woman wrapped her arms around him comfortingly. "Are you still worried you didn't make the right choice?"

"No," Harlan replied, and he was stunned by how much he meant the answer. "I was a technician for a long time, Noys. I had to watch as the Computers and the Cubs looked at me with disgust as my work ensured the Reality Changes. When you confronted me with the truth, I couldn't deny it."

"Believe it or not, I think Eternity began with the best of intentions, its mission just became corrupt further down the line; instead of just observing history, Eternity could have gone further and ensured humanity survived. That's why the Hidden Centuries masked themselves and protected themselves against Eternity, Andrew. There's an old saying, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Somebody in Eternity likely believed with space flight humanity would no longer need Eternity, and so went out of their way to make sure it didn't happen."

"Is that what you believe happened?" Harlan whispered, believing that would make sense.

"I don't know, but it fits. Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. Soon a new history will come to pass."

Harlan remembered seeing the beautiful sight of the electro-gravitic space flight technology before Twissell gave him the job of mentoring Cub Cooper before discovering the link between Cooper and the founder of Eternity. "Noys, what would happen if you and I passed on our knowledge to this era?"

"You mean time travel?"

"No, I mean advanced concepts like mathematics and science, would they have a better chance of building this Galactic Empire?"

Noys considered the possibility. "It's possible, but I hope you're not thinking solely on introducing time travel technology…"

"It is tempting, but I know if that happens then there's the chance of a form of Eternity happening, so the cycle would begin all over again. I don't want that to happen, Noys. I really don't. But if we introduce time travel to the people of this time, will they destroy themselves? Or do we introduce scientific principles that haven't been invented yet?"

Noys was silent as she took in the meaning of what he'd said. "My time advocated observation rather than active interference, but I think it's a good idea. We could teach at scientific institutes, pass on our knowledge from there."

"Noys, do you know anything of space travel technologies?"

Noys frowned, her lovely features creasing in surprise and confusion at the question. "I know about some of the basic principles of interstellar hyperdrive, gravimetrics, rocket science, and ion propulsion. Why?"

"If we are in the 19:32nd our knowledge of science and technology would be of benefit. What if we use the money we have of this era, use it to construct a basic space capsule. Would that not help advance the Primitive technology?" Harlan knew he was being rhetorical. He knew it would.

Noys saw where he was going with this. "And give it to them, and let them develop the technology in turn?"

"With us teaching them as much as we can. When I was a Technician before Twissell assigned me to look after Cooper, I performed a Reality Change as humanity developed electro-gravitic drives. Afterwards, I looked over the principles and the math for some of it; I think I remember the basics to put it to work."

"I know what you're talking about, Andrew," Noys smiled at him. "However, I think there's a flaw in this idea. I don't have the technical skills that would make constructing something like this possible. Do you?"

Harlan's excitement faded a little, but he brightened up again quickly. "I think if we worked with scientists and engineers, they would have the means of constructing a rudimentary space capsule."

1961. Britain.

Andrew and Noys Harlan stood in the launch control room at the British Rocket Group headed by a scientist, Professor Bernhard Quatermass. Both time travellers, both from a timeline that didn't exist anymore, were looking on in unhidden pleasure and excited anticipation at the image of the rocket on the screen.

Quatermass turned to face the enigmatic duo from America, although their strange accents and their somewhat strange philosophies and attitudes made it clear they were not American. There was something timeless about them like they were not meant to be here and yet they seemed right at home. However, both of them had been a great hope to him and to his projects. "We're ready," he said.

Noys smiled kindly at him. "Okay, Professor. Let's do it!" She clapped her hands, unable to hide her glee.

Quatermass chuckled at her while Andrew looked at his wife adoringly.

For the last 27 years, the duo had been helping and pushing the Primitive reality that was now their homewhen, or home time. When they had finalised their plans, they had spread their knowledge of nuclear physics among the scientific community in order to push humanity onto the path of devising the technological and scientific comprehension they'd need to get out into the stars. They had found a few scientists who had begun experimenting with rockets.

Andrew and Noys had been horrified when the Second World War had broken out, but they had been pleased when the Nazi's rocket technology was put to more benevolent use. After the war, the Harlans had provided Professor Quatermass's British Rocket Group, which was one of the first organisations established to try to pierce the veil separating humanity from space.

The Harlans had met with Quatermass, and they gave him advanced rocket formulas for fuels and technology for the professor to see they could be of great benefit. The Harlans and Quatermass began working together after that and with their help, they had begun launching people into space for brief periods.

Their work had opened the doors for many to a new world, and now Andrew and Noys had both agreed to provide the scientist with the basic building blocks leading to the building of gravimetric propulsion technology for a rocket. Gravimetrics were cleaner, more efficient and less dangerous than a rocket. It had taken Quatermass over seven years to construct this latest model after conducting many experiments with small aircraft built and flown on Earth propelled by electro-gravimetric engines, and ordinary chemically driven rockets which separated and jettisoned the gravimetrically driven probes into space, which relayed its data back to the mother craft which returned to Earth. All of those experiments and failures and successes and the lessons derived from them had led to this.

Earth's first solely gravimetric rocket-propelled only through one method. It was hoped the rocket's launch would allow the quicker launch of space vehicles and allow Mankind to explore the solar system. As she studied the screen with a smile on her face, Noys considered the last 27 years of her life. While being stranded in a Primitive era was incredibly tedious at times, she was rewarded with her children and the delight that the knowledge she and Andrew possessed would ensure humanity's survival in the galaxy. The bleak future where humanity went out into space only to return when they found the galaxy crowded and occupied by other races would not come to pass, not if she had anything to say about it.

"Launch in 20….19…..18….17…16…..15…..14….13…..12…..11…10….9…8…7…6…5…4…..3…..2…..1….. ZERO! BLAST OFF!" A technician called.

The rocket lifted off, slowly, into the air as it were a living being awakening from a deep sleep. The rocket was supported by four thick fins around a bulbous section that contained ion thrusters, and as the rocket took off the crew onboard the ship shifted the gravimetric propulsive fields so the rocket was no longer travelling vertically upwards like a conventional rocket of the kind launched by the Rocket Group in the past.

"What are they doing?" Quatermass asked curiously.

"We told them to experiment with the gravimetric thrusters and make their way up differently than a conventional rocket for a show," Andrew explained, hoping he and his wife hadn't overstepped their bounds with the Professor. "We explained electrogravitics allow a greater flexibility when it comes to propulsion, and they should experiment."

"That hardly seems like a scientific experiment," Quatermass commented, not sure how he felt about this.

"It was going to happen eventually, Bernard," Noys commented, folding her arms. "We've been experimenting with electrogravitics for some time, and we've also provided a few aero-nautical firms and institutes with the basic technologies and principles. It's only a matter of time before some daredevil pilot does the same thing, considering how they have been doing the same with jet engines."

Quatermass tilted his head, thinking about it before he realised they had a point since many pilots, or 'reckless idiots,' as he termed them had a habit of flying like maniacs. It was only a matter of time before someone did the same with one of the new rockets. He only wished they wouldn't, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Professor Bernard Quatermass and Andrew and Noys Harlan watched as the rocket shot up into the stars flying in a spiral out of Earth's atmosphere.

"Gravity 1 to base. Gravity 1 to base. We are leaving the atmosphere now…! We are in space! WHOOOAAAA! I REPEAT WE ARE IN SPACE!"

Quatermass turned to Andrew and Noys, a smile on his face and tears in his eyes as he beheld the fulfilment of a dream he'd had for a long time. "This is it, Mr and Mrs Harlan. The big event."

The Harlans' grinned back. They knew this singular event would ensure that humanity would never die out.

Author's Note; When I began this one-shot, I had just planned it being a Misc Books oneshot, but then I thought of the possibilities of transforming it into a Quatermass crossover showing Noys and Harlan guiding humanity to building a Galactic Empire from scratch.