July 17, 1986
5:58 p.m.
Marty picked at the admittedly tasteless chicken sandwich he'd ordered from the Howard Johnson's restaurant. "You'd think being a national chain, they'd be a little better with their food, Doc, "he confided in the scientist, who was just as uncomfortable with his barbequed ribs.
"Things have certainly changed since I was last here," Doc admitted, "This facility used to be a lot bigger and the food a lot better. Another sign of how the times always seem to change for the worse."
"Tell me about it," Marty agreed, having seen for a fact how simpler life had been in 1955. "Say Doc, how do you suppose Dr. Catledge got Biff to join him? He doesn't have any extraordinary talent that would be of help to him."
"Catledge has always surrounded himself with people who have weaker dispositions than he himself, and the current Biff after your father knocked him out is a ridiculous enough person to fit that bill," Doc told him,
"Sounds right to me," Marty said. His thoughts shifted to their soon-to-be dinner guests. "So, this Wayne Szelinski guy was your student, huh Doc?"
"About twenty years ago," Doc reminisced, "He was a bright pupil, but he had an alarming tendency to get sidetracked at critical moments and forget important items. One noteworthy instance was when he left acid boiling on the lab table overnight, and I arrived the next morning to find half of the table burned away. I was reluctantly forced to dock his grade a few points for the negligence." He lowered his voice and added, "And indeed, in a few years time, a similar lapse in conscious thought on his part will cause a scientific catastrophe that will seriously threaten the safety of Las Vegas."
"Whoa, that's heavy," Marty commented, "How?"
"Those details I cannot reveal, Marty; even though it would just between you and I, the..." It was then that Doc noticed their guests coming into the restaurant, and a lot of them. "Over here, Wayne," he waved to his former pupil.
"Evening, Dr. Brown," Wayne strode over and shook his teacher's hand, "Where've you been today? I've been concerned when you didn't come back all afternoon."
"Oh, Marty and I were on a scientific mission," Doc told him, "I take it you've met Marty formally already?"
"Yep, you could say that," Wayne said, nodding to Marty, "But I don't think you've met my kids yet. Nick, Amy, this is Dr. Emmett Brown."
"Pleasure to meet the two of you," Doc shook both their hands. "I think I've seen your face in the paper before," the old man told Nick, "Didn't you win first place in that Northern California Science Bee a year ago?"
"That was me," Nick seemed surprised that Doc could remember something like that, "You were watching?"
Doc smiled. "I'm always interested in what the next generation can do," he said, "I know some friends in the scientific industry who might be interested in the services of a young prodigy like you, if it would be okay with your family." He glanced up at the young couple that had come in with the Szelinskis, one of whom Marty recognized as Wayne's friend from the Convention Center. "And who might I have the honor of greeting here?" Doc asked.
"Hi, I'm Newton Crosby, I'm an old friend of Wayne's, "Newton told him, shaking his hand, "And this is my fiancé Stephanie Speck."
"I've seen the two of you before," Marty spoke up, "Weren't you major players in that runaway robot escapade up in Oregon?"
"Well, that's not one of our most memorable experiences," Stephanie said, looking what Marty interpreted as nervous like there was no tomorrow, "But were beyond that now. Sort of. We've started our own private game preserve in Montana and..."
"Stephanie, wait up!" came a metallic voice from the restaurant's doorway. Marty was shocked to see a hunched-over...thing motoring toward them. It was wearing a high-collared trench coat, a large scarf that covered most of its face, a low-slung hat, and large dark glasses. But Marty knew right away what it was. "It's the robot!" he gasped, "But on the news they said it was destroyed!"
"News liars, prevaricators, falsehooders," the robot declared defiantly, parking itself in front of the table. It picked up the nearest menu, "What's cookin', doc?"
"Uh, I should probably explain," Newton said in a low voice, "Number Five here..."
"JOHNNY Five," the robot corrected him, "Number Five stupid name, we agreed, Newton Crosby, PhD."
"Right, sorry, I forgot, JOHNNY Five here built a double of himself while the guards' backs were turned and let them destroy that," Newton said, "We got away with him and let the press think he was destroyed. He's been hiding out with us ever since. You'd all be doing us a favor if you didn't tell anyone you saw him. Nova might still want him back if they knew."
"That's the problem with science today," Doc grumbled, "Every little invention has to get turned into a weapon of mass destruction. There are probably at least fifty other good uses for a robot of this type than to blow up Moscow and the other soon-to-be-no-longer Warsaw Pact capitals." He gasped and covered his mouth in shock as he realized he'd just given away the future. "Forget I said that!" he asked everyone, "So, what's the robot doing down here where it just might be spotted by some money-mad societal have-not?"
"He hated being alone while we were down here, so he talked us into letting him come with us just this once," Stephanie explained, taking the menu away from the robot. "I don't think you'd be able to eat any of that," she told it.
Just then there came another person up to the table. "Excuse me, you're Doctor Brown, right?" asked a young woman whom both Doc and Marty recognized as the other occupant of David's room when they had come in earlier in the day.
"Yes," Doc frowned, "How'd you know where to find us?"
"I know with the Edison Awards in town, you'd probably be there, and I called the Convention Center and fed them your description," the woman admitted, "They told me you were staying here at the Howard Johnson."
"And why have you chosen to seek us out like this, Miss...?" Doc inquired.
"Carolyn McAdams," she told him, "I heard some of the stuff you said to David just after I left, and I just have to know, did you mean half of what you said?"
"I meant every single word of it," Doc said, "Both Marty and myself are quite concerned about David's situation there at NASA, and we really want to send him back to his own time as soon as possible. Dr. Catledge is going to exploit him to no end, I just know it, and the longer David stays in that hellhole, the worse it'll be for him."
"Well then I'm afraid you're not going to be happy, because I checked the records before I left here, and he's scheduled all through the next week," Carolyn told them.
"Damn!" Doc smacked his head off the window in disgust. "We've got to get him out as soon as possible!" he announced grandly to no one in particular.
"Um, I think you'd better not try anything like that," Carolyn advised him, "I'm taking a huge risk by even being here, and if you try and spring David, you might get both him and me in hot water as well."
"Well if you're so concerned about your job security, why did you even bother coming here to tell us these things?" Marty had to know.
"Because I care about David as much as you do, "Carolyn said. Marty noted that she did in fact look genuinely sympathetic to their cause, "I think he's been through a lot, and he really doesn't deserve to be spending indefinite time inside a maximum security ward, "she told them, "But unless you could somehow defy logic and take him back to where he left eight years ago, I can't really see how you'd be able to help him."
Marty couldn't help let loose a sly smile. "Oh, I don't know, Miss McAdams, we might be able to do more than you'd think," he said.
Carolyn shrugged at his response. She checked her watch. "Well, I'd better be off, I'm expected back at the base for the night shift," she told everyone, "Got to put the RALF away for the night so the morning shift'll have it ready for tomorrow. Try not to do anything brash, okay?"
"We'll do our best, I guess," Marty said as she left. "Well, at least we have some people at NASA on the same level as us, Doc," he told the old man, "We can..." It was then he noticed the strange enlightened look on Doc's face. "What is it, Doc?" he asked.
"Of course, the RALF unit!" Doc exclaimed, acting as if no one was at the table with him, "Why didn't I think of it sooner!"
"Uh, Dr. Brown, not to sound rude, but are you still on Planet Earth here?" Wayne asked his teacher with raised eyebrows.
"Of course I am, Wayne, "Doc told him matter-of-factually, "I guess I too should explain from the beginning. Did you per chance read this article in the paper today?"
He handed Wayne the newspaper he'd picked up earlier. Wayne frowned. "This wasn't what the front page looked like on the one I got a couple hours ago," he admitted.
"Catledge must have ordered it withdrawn for security purposes," Doc realized. Without following up on the subject, he pulled what Marty thought was a small, flat briefcase from the folds of his coat and unlocked it. "What're you doing, Doc?" he asked him as he opened it.
"I'm going to Yahoo, Marty," Doc told him.
"Why?" Marty asked, confused, "We haven't done anything to warrant it yet. And if you yell in here they'll toss..."
"No, I'm not going to yell 'Yahoo!', I'm going to Yahoo the web page," Doc corrected him, typing in some information on the keyboard that was inside the briefcase. "It's a laptop," he explained to their company, who were eyeing him strangely, "It gives you access to the Internet, among other amenities. Becomes very popular in about fourteen years."
"Okay," Amy jumped to her feet looking almost frightened, "You're really starting to freak me out here. Fourteen years from now it comes out! You've definitely cracked!"
"Um, I guess now would be a good time to tell you all that Doc invented time travel last October," Marty told the guests.
"Time travel?" Stephanie looked skeptical.
"It may be hard to believe, but he did it," Marty said, hoping he sounded sane, "We went over a good part of the space-time continuum, all the way up to 2015."
"Really?" Nick, rather than looked hesitant as the others were, was quite interested, "How far has technology gone in that time?"
"Nick!" Amy glared at him, "They didn't invent time travel! They're both crazy!"
"Great Scott!" Doc exclaimed as he saw the information on the laptop's screen, "It's perfect! It just might work if all of us work together on it!"
"Uh, what do you mean all of us, Dr. Brown?" Wayne looked like he wasn't going to like what Doc was about to suggest.
"Why don't we all retire to my room and I'll explain it all?" Doc told everyone.
July 17, 1986
7:16 p.m.
"Not sure about plan, Dr. Brown," Johnny Five quipped, "Sounds ludicrous, crazy, suicide, folly."
"It may sound crazy, Johnny Five, but I think in execution you might like it," Doc breathed excitedly. He handed the robot several hand-drawn diagrams. "Memorize these," he instructed it, "Your position in my plan is vital."
"Um, why do you need us to repair the continuum, as you say?" Newton asked.
"Catledge is looking for Marty and myself," Doc said, "More anonymous people might throw him off. And besides," he looked sentimental, "I've always wanted to share an experience with other members of the scientific community, and you and everyone here are just that type of people."
"Now if we're caught Dr. Brown, it was your idea, you know that?" Wayne told him, "And I'm not sure the kids should come..."
"Wayne, from what I've heard, you've spent little enough time with them as it is, so this is good chance for you to bond with them further," Doc cut him off.
"We won't be a problem, Dad," Nick told him, "We can help the plan."
"That's the spirit I'm looking for," Doc said with a smile. "All right," he went on, spreading another large piece of paper over his bed, "Here's my master plan. The NASA laundry truck arrives at the facility around 5 o'clock. We intercept it here at the Sawgrass Road junction with the highway and...borrow it to enter the complex. Marty and I will disguise ourselves as janitors; the rest of you pose as scientists. Once we're parked in the loading area here," he pointed to the specific spot on the map, "Johnny Five will head for the central control area here. At five fifteen, he'll short circuit the cameras facing the maximum-security wing just enough so that they lose visuals but won't suspect that we're manipulating them. Wayne, you and the others will pick up the RALF dispensing unit from its closet here and program it to move to David's room here. Marty and I will have entered the room at that time and will have cut off the guards' methods of keeping track of him. The RALF unit is big enough to fit people inside of its hull. We simply tuck David inside and leave before anyone suspects anything. We then spirit him over to this hangar here, where the object that brought him through time will be stored. We then load it on the truck located in the back here and leave the complex. Amy, you're in charge of that; once we have everything loaded up, you drive for the exit like the wind."
"But I don't even have a license yet!" Amy protested, "And may I add that this whole plan is insane?"
"So was the whole theory of time travel, Miss Szelinski, but it proved crackable after thirty years," Doc told her.
"But what if we can't load the thing up? What if it's too heavy?"
"Then we may want to think about personally maneuvering it out if it contains its own navigational system," Doc said. Noticing some more skeptical glances, he said, "I will take responsibility if we're caught. I have a feeling, though, that you'll all find this adventure we're about to embark on very rewarding. Are there any further questions?"
"Uh, why do you need my shrinking ray? "Wayne inquired, "I think it stands a good chance of winning its division, and I don't want to damage it."
"Catledge is a dangerous man, Wayne, and that technology you possess in that ray could prove decisive in certain situations," Doc told him, "And don't feel guilty; should we succeed in our mission, the effects of shrinking people will be reversed as if it never happened, because it won't have happened. So now, the big question, are you all in with us?"
After a moment's pause, five human heads and one robotic one nodded, some more firmly than others. "All right, we meet out front at 3 a.m.," Doc announced, "Tomorrow we correct the space-time continuum!"