Chapter Five: Your Mission, Should you Choose to Accept it...
June 20th 2035, Project Quantum Leap:
The Sam Beckett of 2035 had a dilemma. He had just seen his son speaking to thin air. He was so sure that someone had leaped into Nicholas. But who? After he had returned they had improved the Project so that the leaps were controlled and used for observation, as he had originally intended. Sammy-Jo had taken over the leaping, now followed by her daughter Abby. He sometimes regretted that Nicolas had never wanted to follow in his footsteps and travel through time. He was more interested in computers and machinery than theory though. In this way he guessed that Nicholas was more like Al, who had always liked getting his hands dirty. He was sure that Sammy-Jo had never leaped into Nicholas. He kept a close eye on her leaps. Practically all of them were closely controlled in terms of who she leapt into and when. He shuddered at the memory of a time before that, when he was stuck in time and space for what he sometimes feared would be forever. If it hadn't been for Al. But no, he wouldn't think about that. Al was gone, and God, did he miss him! But he knew he couldn't bring him back. Al wouldn't have wanted them to do anything to interfere in his death.
He forced his thoughts back to the problem at hand. He didn't know whether to talk to 'Nicholas', let 'him' know he that knew what was going on. He knew from experience that it was dangerous to interfere too much, especially as he didn't know what they had to do here.
The Sam Beckett of 2003 also had a dilemma. He needed to know why he was here, and what he could say to his future self without letting him know who he was or finding anything out about his future, besides the important fact that he was going to have a son, of course.
'What does Ziggy say the chances are about me, the older me, knowing that we're here?'.
Al punched the question into the handlink. 'She says that there's a 96.7% chance that you, he, already knows. Wow, that's high. Oh-oh, Ziggy also calculates that there's an 86.9% that if you and he talk, you won't ever stop leaping and come home. Nicholas is never born, and Sammy-Jo will have a breakdown at the age of 42, and eventually kill herself! God, that's some predicting! Sammy-Jo's already 34. Guess you coming back stopped her. I didn't know she was so stressed and worried. Maybe I should talk to her, or get Beeks to'.
'Al, if he knows, what's to stop him trying to talk to me, to us! And if he doesn't know, well, if I avoid him, he soon will know! Al, I've got to get out of here.'
'Oh, yeah, I forgot. Nicholas thinks you might be here to help Lucy, his girlfriend. He says she's acting a bit strangely. Very quiet and she keeps avoiding him, cancelling dates, that sort of thing.'
'Sounds like she's just giving him the cold shoulder.', remarked Sam.
'Well, with that information from Nicholas, Ziggy gives it a 60% chance of you being here to stop Lucy doing anything stupid, whatever that is. She can't be any more accurate without more data'.
'She managed with the predictions about me and Sammy-Jo'.
'Yeah, well, Lucy's an unknown; you and Sammy-Jo aren't'.
'Ok, can you get a lock on Lucy?'
'Erm, yep, she's in the canteen. Go and talk to her, and I'll probe Nick for further info. Take care and be careful from now on'.
'I will. See you later Al'.
May 17th 2003, PQL:
So, things were getting worse, thought Al as he stepped out of the imaging chamber. Why didn't that surprise him. He really, really hated being this close to past, and now future, versions of himself and Sam. The timelines were just so fragile, and every single point in his life seemed to be a crucial point in deciding the rest of his life - like did he work at PQL, did he marry Beth, did she wait for him, did Sam marry Donna, and now, did Sam come home? If history changed and he kept on leaping, then he must have made a decision to carry on, thought Al. A decision that would come about due to a Sam Beckett living 30 years in the future. That Sam had come home, did he regret it? Is that what he would tell Sam/himself? But why, he wondered. All Sam ever wanted was to come home; but then only Sam Beckett knew how Sam Beckett's mind worked. So far, all this was just giving Al Calavicci a nasty headache and a lot of worry about Sam and Sammy-Jo. He decided to go and talk to her in the morning, and went to his quarters to try to get some rest. Then he would tackle Nicholas. He was definitely taking to the boy. He was a lot like his father, and in that body, Al sometimes had to remind himself that it wasn't his best friend talking to him. It was giving him the creeps, but he knew he couldn't really avoid him, like he had done a lot of the time with past selves of himself and Sam. This time, they needed the visitor more than ever, if they were ever going to get Sam out of there.
June 20th 2035, PQL:
'Hi', greeted Sam/Nicholas as he approached Lucy. She just nodded vaguely.
'Want some company?' he continued.
'Sure. Whatever. I'm nearly finished anyway', she replied.
'Uh, you know, if anything's wrong, you can talk to me...'.
'Yes, Nick, I know. You've told me a thousand times, and I've told you, I'm fine. I just want to slow things down a bit. Surely you can survive without me hanging onto your every word every minute. Don't take it so personal. I just need some time by myself'.
'Are you sure that's all it is. We're supposed to be going out, you shouldn't be keeping things from me.'
'Nicholas, everything's OK. If you can't respect my wishes regarding this so-called relationship, maybe we should forget it altogether'.
'OK, ok. I get the message'. He paused and decided to try changing tact.
'So, what have you been up to anyway, since you're no longer hanging off my every word every minute', he asked casually.
'You don't give up, do you', Lucy replied, seeing right through his plan. 'God', she continued, 'you're just like your father!'
'My father!' Sam exclaimed, thinking of John Beckett, sadly deceased for some time now.
'What's my father got to do with anything?' he continued.
'You know, Mr. high and mighty Project Director'. Sam realised with a start that it wasn't John Beckett she was talking about, but him himself. It was certainly confusing being his own son!
'He's at least 80, he's stuck back in the last century. All the work we're trying to do here with Ziggy, he just doesn't understand it. Yet he's always there, trying to do everything himself, trying to help everyone. Now you're being just the same.'
'The white knight complex', remarked Sam.
'The what?'
'Just something Al used to say about doing everything and helping everyone.'
'Who's Al?'
'Who's...? He's my...my father's best friend. Was his best friend'.
'Guess he was before my time, huh. Was he at the project?'.
Sam nodded.
'Well, seeing as I've only been here 2 years...'.
Sam nodded again.
'Anyway, I just wish your father would let us get on with our work. And that Sammy-Jo, she's just as bad. Who does she think she is, trying to run everything around here. And she's the only one who's allowed to leap! Well, her and now her daughter'.
'His daughter. And SHE has a daughter?', Sam exclaimed, remembering Sammy-Jo, as another long-empty hole in his swiss-chessed mind suddenly filled. He was a grandfather!
'Huh? And of course Sammy-Jo's got a daughter. Where have you been the last 20 years?'
'Sammy-Jo's my, er, sister. Half sister anyway. Sam Beckett's daughter.'
'You're kidding?!'.
'No. I, er, thought you knew'.
'Well, you've never told me, how would I know?' she replied, looking at him strangely.
'So, er, Sammy-Jo's the problem, is she?' he asked, trying to get back to the issue at hand. 'You want me to have a word with her?'
'No, don't bother. I can take care of my own problems, thanks.'
Lucy left, leaving Sam sitting, shaking his head. He didn't see Lucy as she turned the corner out of the canteen, didn't see her have her own conversation with thin air which was really a hologram, didn't see that she was really Zoe, one-time hologram to Alia, an evil leaper, and now an evil leaper herself! And she still had only one objective. This time though, it wasn't to kill Sam Beckett, it was to destroy the life of his son, Nicholas.
May 18th 2003, PQL:
Meanwhile Al had been to see Nicholas once more.
'Nick, is there anything you can tell me about this leap? What do you remember? Sam is working on Lucy, but I'd afraid that's not much to go on.'
'Well, no-one really told me much. I'm sorry. I, I want to help but you and dad kept everything classified. You didn't want to change anything'
'Hmm, even to help us this end? Maybe they need to work on it your end, Sam's end? I bet Sam made lot's of improvements after he came back...'
'Al, don't, please. You know I can't tell you much. Would you tell if you were me? I don't like letting you down, but, whatever happens is supposed to happen...'
'No, it's not; and it's our job to put it right!'
'Look, I had a good childhood, I had loving parents, I was happy, dad was home. Nothing needs changing. I had you as well.'
'We, er, we were pretty close, kid?'
'Yeah. You, you were great. Like a second father. Well, you know how obsessed with work dad is. I miss you, Al.'
'Well, maybe this is God, time or whatever's way of giving us a last chance. Even with a version of me who hasn't met you yet?' He laughed.
'Come on, kid, what say I buy you a coffee and we catch up?'
'That'll be great; but what will you tell the others?'
'Don't worry I'll think of something. If your dad can wander around in the past I guess you can for a while as well.'
June 20th 2035, Project Quantum Leap:
The Sam Beckett of 2035 had a dilemma. He had just seen his son speaking to thin air. He was so sure that someone had leaped into Nicholas. But who? After he had returned they had improved the Project so that the leaps were controlled and used for observation, as he had originally intended. Sammy-Jo had taken over the leaping, now followed by her daughter Abby. He sometimes regretted that Nicolas had never wanted to follow in his footsteps and travel through time. He was more interested in computers and machinery than theory though. In this way he guessed that Nicholas was more like Al, who had always liked getting his hands dirty. He was sure that Sammy-Jo had never leaped into Nicholas. He kept a close eye on her leaps. Practically all of them were closely controlled in terms of who she leapt into and when. He shuddered at the memory of a time before that, when he was stuck in time and space for what he sometimes feared would be forever. If it hadn't been for Al. But no, he wouldn't think about that. Al was gone, and God, did he miss him! But he knew he couldn't bring him back. Al wouldn't have wanted them to do anything to interfere in his death.
He forced his thoughts back to the problem at hand. He didn't know whether to talk to 'Nicholas', let 'him' know he that knew what was going on. He knew from experience that it was dangerous to interfere too much, especially as he didn't know what they had to do here.
The Sam Beckett of 2003 also had a dilemma. He needed to know why he was here, and what he could say to his future self without letting him know who he was or finding anything out about his future, besides the important fact that he was going to have a son, of course.
'What does Ziggy say the chances are about me, the older me, knowing that we're here?'.
Al punched the question into the handlink. 'She says that there's a 96.7% chance that you, he, already knows. Wow, that's high. Oh-oh, Ziggy also calculates that there's an 86.9% that if you and he talk, you won't ever stop leaping and come home. Nicholas is never born, and Sammy-Jo will have a breakdown at the age of 42, and eventually kill herself! God, that's some predicting! Sammy-Jo's already 34. Guess you coming back stopped her. I didn't know she was so stressed and worried. Maybe I should talk to her, or get Beeks to'.
'Al, if he knows, what's to stop him trying to talk to me, to us! And if he doesn't know, well, if I avoid him, he soon will know! Al, I've got to get out of here.'
'Oh, yeah, I forgot. Nicholas thinks you might be here to help Lucy, his girlfriend. He says she's acting a bit strangely. Very quiet and she keeps avoiding him, cancelling dates, that sort of thing.'
'Sounds like she's just giving him the cold shoulder.', remarked Sam.
'Well, with that information from Nicholas, Ziggy gives it a 60% chance of you being here to stop Lucy doing anything stupid, whatever that is. She can't be any more accurate without more data'.
'She managed with the predictions about me and Sammy-Jo'.
'Yeah, well, Lucy's an unknown; you and Sammy-Jo aren't'.
'Ok, can you get a lock on Lucy?'
'Erm, yep, she's in the canteen. Go and talk to her, and I'll probe Nick for further info. Take care and be careful from now on'.
'I will. See you later Al'.
May 17th 2003, PQL:
So, things were getting worse, thought Al as he stepped out of the imaging chamber. Why didn't that surprise him. He really, really hated being this close to past, and now future, versions of himself and Sam. The timelines were just so fragile, and every single point in his life seemed to be a crucial point in deciding the rest of his life - like did he work at PQL, did he marry Beth, did she wait for him, did Sam marry Donna, and now, did Sam come home? If history changed and he kept on leaping, then he must have made a decision to carry on, thought Al. A decision that would come about due to a Sam Beckett living 30 years in the future. That Sam had come home, did he regret it? Is that what he would tell Sam/himself? But why, he wondered. All Sam ever wanted was to come home; but then only Sam Beckett knew how Sam Beckett's mind worked. So far, all this was just giving Al Calavicci a nasty headache and a lot of worry about Sam and Sammy-Jo. He decided to go and talk to her in the morning, and went to his quarters to try to get some rest. Then he would tackle Nicholas. He was definitely taking to the boy. He was a lot like his father, and in that body, Al sometimes had to remind himself that it wasn't his best friend talking to him. It was giving him the creeps, but he knew he couldn't really avoid him, like he had done a lot of the time with past selves of himself and Sam. This time, they needed the visitor more than ever, if they were ever going to get Sam out of there.
June 20th 2035, PQL:
'Hi', greeted Sam/Nicholas as he approached Lucy. She just nodded vaguely.
'Want some company?' he continued.
'Sure. Whatever. I'm nearly finished anyway', she replied.
'Uh, you know, if anything's wrong, you can talk to me...'.
'Yes, Nick, I know. You've told me a thousand times, and I've told you, I'm fine. I just want to slow things down a bit. Surely you can survive without me hanging onto your every word every minute. Don't take it so personal. I just need some time by myself'.
'Are you sure that's all it is. We're supposed to be going out, you shouldn't be keeping things from me.'
'Nicholas, everything's OK. If you can't respect my wishes regarding this so-called relationship, maybe we should forget it altogether'.
'OK, ok. I get the message'. He paused and decided to try changing tact.
'So, what have you been up to anyway, since you're no longer hanging off my every word every minute', he asked casually.
'You don't give up, do you', Lucy replied, seeing right through his plan. 'God', she continued, 'you're just like your father!'
'My father!' Sam exclaimed, thinking of John Beckett, sadly deceased for some time now.
'What's my father got to do with anything?' he continued.
'You know, Mr. high and mighty Project Director'. Sam realised with a start that it wasn't John Beckett she was talking about, but him himself. It was certainly confusing being his own son!
'He's at least 80, he's stuck back in the last century. All the work we're trying to do here with Ziggy, he just doesn't understand it. Yet he's always there, trying to do everything himself, trying to help everyone. Now you're being just the same.'
'The white knight complex', remarked Sam.
'The what?'
'Just something Al used to say about doing everything and helping everyone.'
'Who's Al?'
'Who's...? He's my...my father's best friend. Was his best friend'.
'Guess he was before my time, huh. Was he at the project?'.
Sam nodded.
'Well, seeing as I've only been here 2 years...'.
Sam nodded again.
'Anyway, I just wish your father would let us get on with our work. And that Sammy-Jo, she's just as bad. Who does she think she is, trying to run everything around here. And she's the only one who's allowed to leap! Well, her and now her daughter'.
'His daughter. And SHE has a daughter?', Sam exclaimed, remembering Sammy-Jo, as another long-empty hole in his swiss-chessed mind suddenly filled. He was a grandfather!
'Huh? And of course Sammy-Jo's got a daughter. Where have you been the last 20 years?'
'Sammy-Jo's my, er, sister. Half sister anyway. Sam Beckett's daughter.'
'You're kidding?!'.
'No. I, er, thought you knew'.
'Well, you've never told me, how would I know?' she replied, looking at him strangely.
'So, er, Sammy-Jo's the problem, is she?' he asked, trying to get back to the issue at hand. 'You want me to have a word with her?'
'No, don't bother. I can take care of my own problems, thanks.'
Lucy left, leaving Sam sitting, shaking his head. He didn't see Lucy as she turned the corner out of the canteen, didn't see her have her own conversation with thin air which was really a hologram, didn't see that she was really Zoe, one-time hologram to Alia, an evil leaper, and now an evil leaper herself! And she still had only one objective. This time though, it wasn't to kill Sam Beckett, it was to destroy the life of his son, Nicholas.
May 18th 2003, PQL:
Meanwhile Al had been to see Nicholas once more.
'Nick, is there anything you can tell me about this leap? What do you remember? Sam is working on Lucy, but I'd afraid that's not much to go on.'
'Well, no-one really told me much. I'm sorry. I, I want to help but you and dad kept everything classified. You didn't want to change anything'
'Hmm, even to help us this end? Maybe they need to work on it your end, Sam's end? I bet Sam made lot's of improvements after he came back...'
'Al, don't, please. You know I can't tell you much. Would you tell if you were me? I don't like letting you down, but, whatever happens is supposed to happen...'
'No, it's not; and it's our job to put it right!'
'Look, I had a good childhood, I had loving parents, I was happy, dad was home. Nothing needs changing. I had you as well.'
'We, er, we were pretty close, kid?'
'Yeah. You, you were great. Like a second father. Well, you know how obsessed with work dad is. I miss you, Al.'
'Well, maybe this is God, time or whatever's way of giving us a last chance. Even with a version of me who hasn't met you yet?' He laughed.
'Come on, kid, what say I buy you a coffee and we catch up?'
'That'll be great; but what will you tell the others?'
'Don't worry I'll think of something. If your dad can wander around in the past I guess you can for a while as well.'