Chapter 4
Enik led Rich through the tunnels and they easily found the key and plaque to the temporal regulator. The next step was to locate the pylon. Rich found it interesting that this pylon was different than others in that the location was hidden. Enik showed Rich that it was possible to use the temporal regulator as a compass to lead them to the pylon. Finally, they arrived at their destination.
Enik spoke. "I have done all I can to help you Rich Marshall. Place the temporal regulator on the matrix table." Rich did as he was told and Enik pointed to the black wall away from the crystal and continued. "Concentrate on that which you need to accomplish. The pylon will show you what you must do. Turn the key to the temporal regulator counterclockwise to move time backwards and clockwise to go forwards. Only you will retain your memories of this timeline." With that, Enik exited the pylon.
As the black Sleestak departed, Rich thought about his position. He considered moving forward in time to see if he could watch his family exit the Land of the Lost or if he could prevent future disasters. But he quickly decided that no one should know their future. "What if there was something unpreventable?" he thought. "What if he saw a good outcome and his knowledge of that future prevented it from happening? No. Life will unfold as it unfolds."
"I have to help the other Holly," he said aloud, returning his focus to the task at hand. As he touched the temporal regulator, it showed the events from the prior day, with Beige Universe's Holly's body lying next to the box creature. If this didn't work, he would have to bury her. That was not an option. The sight of the child alone broke his heart, but his paternal instincts kicked in. He knew how he would feel if he lost his daughter, and in a way, he did. He grieved for his counterpart in the Beige Universe and somehow knew that if the situation was reversed, this Rick Marshall would do anything to help.
Rich turned the key counterclockwise and immediately began to feel hope. He saw images from around the Land of the Lost which looked like a movie running backwards. He was doing it. He was travelling back in time. "Great," he said, "but when should I stop this?" He thought so much about just getting the ability to reverse time that he hadn't actually considered what to do when he got to the past. He pondered his next move as he talked to himself. "Ok Marshall, so if the skulls were telling the truth, the second I step out of the pylon, the version of me of the past will disappear and I will take his place. I don't want to scare Bill and Holly, so I will need a point where we were separated." The pylon read Rich's mind and showed him the events as they unfolded, focusing on when Bill and Holly ran ahead just before the Moongiver Pylon opened.
"That could work," he observed, "if I have enough time to get to the pylon from here." He let time move forward again and watched events unfold as they had the prior day, trying to figure out just how long it took from the time Bill and Holly ran ahead to the time Holly's counterpart met her grisly fate. When he was done, Rich looked up from his watch with a satisfying smile on his face. "Five and a half minutes. I can make that work. The other pylon is less than half a mile away. It's been awhile since I've run track but with all that running from Grumpy, Big Alice and the Sleestak, I believe I can make it with time to spare. But what do I do? Should I yell at Holly to stay in the pylon?" He considered the idea, but quickly dismissed it. "No," he thought, "I know if my Holly heard me like that, she might not listen. She could think I was in trouble and want to help. I can't have her see or hear any of us." He considered the situation a bit more and suddenly came up with a way that should hopefully save the young girl's life. With a solid plan in his head, he manipulated time to the moment his children separated from him, prepared himself to run, left the temporal regulator in the pylon, and sprinted as if his daughter's life depended on it.