THREE

Sam stood up just staring at the men. He recognized both of them, of course. He had seen pictures of them while working on Quantum Leap. But he had never imagined he would ever meet them. As Parker said, they were permanently lost in time. There was no known way to get them back.

"Dr. Beckett, it's a real honor," said Tony, shaking Sam's hand. "Since I got here I've learned a great deal about you. You took my project in directions I would never have dreamed."

"Sam, please," said Sam. "If we refer to each other by our titles we're going to 'doctor' ourselves to death."

"Well, at least you still have your sense of humor," said Bill. "That's good."

"How can you be here?" Sam asked Tony and Doug."Everything I know about time travel says there was no way to bring you back."

"It was a fluke of sorts," said Doug. "When they shut Project: Tic-Toc down, Tony and I found ourselves trapped in the past. We had no way to contact them or even find out what had happened. For a long time we continued to bounce around in time."

"We were partially anchored to the time we had left," continued Tony. "Much like a flag on a flag pole. One end was anchored to 1968 while the other end 'fluttered' around in time. Each time it fluttered, we were moved somewhere else. Completely at random."

"That's what I theorized," said Sam. "That's why the project could keep track of you. Because you were partially anchored where you had started from."

"When the Temporal Institute fired up the quantum temporal generator they discovered an interesting side effect," said Doug. "They discovered they could actually discern matter that had moved through time. It took them a while to figure it out but eventually they discovered that what they were witnessing was Tony's and my 'trail' through time. And they were able to track it."

"A quantum trail?" questioned Sam. "I always thought it might be possible. But we just didn't have the necessary equipment to test the theory."

"You'd be surprised at the equipment we have now," interjected Parker.

"Eventually they realized that wherever we moved in time, we left a trail," said Tony. "A footprint if you will. Since Doug and I were connected we appeared as a single footprint. The Institute was able to track us everywhere we went."

"But how did they get you back?" Sam asked. "Bill said they weren't going to send anyone back through time. To prevent losing them as they had lost us."

"Initially," said Tony, "I used Gamma radiation to affect my time travel process. Only I misjudged the dosage needed. I used too little. That's why the Time Tunnel could track us but couldn't retrieve us. There was enough radiation to get a fix on but not enough to get a lock on."

"During one of our jumps," continued Doug, "we appeared during a solar flare. This caused our signal to be strengthened. The Gamma burst from the solar flare enhanced our signal. But by the time they realized what had happened, the flare had passed. The enhanced signal was lost and they were back where they started from. Able to track us but not able to bring us back."

"But they had learned what to do," said Tony. "All they had to do was wait until we moved to another time during a powerful enough solar flare and they would be able to retrieve us. Which is exactly what happened. Once we got back all they had to do was neutralize the Gamma radiation we were exposed to and it prevented us from jumping around in time."

"I see," said Sam. "They cut the bungee cord that kept you bouncing around in time."

"Something like that," said Parker. "We weren't sure it would work initially. But it was the best chance we had. That was a little over 3 years ago. Since then Tony and Doug haven't moved through time once."

"But that doesn't explain how you were able to retrieve me," said Sam. "I didn't use Gamma radiation in my experiment. Like I said, I always thought the radiation was part of the reason you were lost. I didn't want to make that mistake."

"No, you used neutrinos," said Tony. "That had us stumped for long time. The neutrinos were what were causing you to 'leap' around in time. As long as they were present there was no way to prevent your leaping. And there was no way to neutralize the neutrinos in your body. We're bombarded with so many every second that they would continue to replenish themselves as fast as we could neutralize them."

"That's when Tony thought of another solution," interjected Doug.

"Well, it was a team effort," said Tony. "I was hardly alone in it."

"He's always been modest," said Doug. "Tony figured if we couldn't neutralize the neutrinos, maybe we could counteract them."

"Antineutrinos," said Sam, the sound of recognition in his voice. "Of course. If you could bombard me with enough antineutrinos they might counter the effects of the neutrinos in my body that were moving through time. A second doorway. The neutrinos and antineutrinos would effectively cancel each other out causing the same effect as neutralizing the Gamma radiation you were exposed to."

"Exactly," said Tony. "The only problem was, just how many antineutrinos were needed to accomplish that? There was no way to know. So we started bombarding your quantum trail with a barrage of antineutrinos, increasing the amount each time you leaped. Initially it simply kept you from appearing in another time. You would leap to a specific time but you wouldn't stay. Almost immediately you'd leap to another time and we'd bombard you with more antineutrinos. Eventually we used enough and here you are."

"Ingenious," said Sam. "If I had thought of that when we were working on Quantum Leap I would never have been lost in time. Not even Ziggy considered using antineutrinos. And she was the most sophisticated hybrid computer ever created. Wait until I tell Al. We've actually found a way to . . . ."

His voice suddenly trailed off as a look of dismay came over his face.

"Gentlemen," said Parker, "I think we should give Sam some alone time for a while."

"Of course," said Doug. "Sam, we'll talk later."

Sam barely heard him. It was 2052. And that meant . . . .

"How are you doing?" Parker asked after he had returned to his office some time later. "We do have a psychiatrist on staff if you'd care to talk with her."

"No, I'll be okay," said Sam. "It just dawned on me what year it was."

"The emotional realization," said Parker.

"I beg your pardon?" questioned Sam.

"The emotional realization," repeated Parker. "There are 2 kinds of realizations." He pointed to his head. "The first is the intellectual one. It's just so much data. Just a bunch of facts and figures. The second," he pointed to his chest, "is the emotional one. That's the one that is usually the hardest to deal with."

"I guess I just never expected it," said Sam. "I knew that you told me it was 2052. But until I was talking with Doug and Tony, it didn't dawn on me exactly what that meant."

"That everyone you ever knew," said Parker, "you wife, Al, all your family, loved ones, even every stranger you happened to pass on the street during the day has been dead and buried for decades."

"Yeah," said Sam. "When I said I couldn't wait to tell Al it suddenly occurred to me I couldn't because he was dead. He had been dead for 25 years. Which also meant that Donna, Gushy, Tina: all of them: were also dead."

"You seem to be dealing with it pretty well," said Parker.

"I guess I was always prepared to never see them again," said Sam. "I was bouncing around in time and they had no idea how to get me back. I guess in the back of my mind I always figured there was a chance they never would. Somehow that's made it a little easier to accept that they're gone."

"Everyone dies, Sam," said Parker. "Unfortunately you didn't have the luxury of being there with them. That can be hard to take. If you'd like, I can give you all the relevant information on them. What they did when you didn't return."

"Maybe later," said Sam. "I'm still adjusting to the fact I'll never see any of them again. That, in a way, I'm all alone here."

"Well," said Parker, smiling slightly, "it's not all bad news."

Just then the door opened and 2 people walked in. One was a woman, about 30, with brown hair that hung just past her shoulders. She was dressed in the now familiar lab coat but she had no nametag on.

The second was a man of perhaps 40. He was dressed in a security uniform complete with a sidearm on his hip. They were both smiling at Sam as they walked in.

"These are 2 of our personnel," said Parker. "They're very important to the project and without them I'm not sure we'd be able to function as effectively as we do."

"Speak for yourself," said the man. "I'm just a glorified security guard."

Parker just smiled.

"Sam, I'd like you to meet Samantha Thomas," he continued. "She's in charge of the quantum generator that allows us to track time travelers through time. And this is Chris Travers. He's head of security at the Temporal Institute. And he's much more than just a glorified security guard."

"Pleased to meet you both," said Sam. "I guess they keep you both pretty busy here."

"Some," said Chris. "I've heard a lot about you, Dr. Beckett."

"Sam, please," said Sam.

"My grandfather used to tell me stories about you," said Chris. "Of course, they were all second-hand. His father had told him the same stories but he swore they were all absolutely true."

"Your grandfather?" questioned Sam. "I don't recall ever meeting anyone named Travers."

"Well, it was my mother's father that used to tell me the stories," said Chris. "My mother's maiden name was Calavicci. Al Calavicci was her grandfather."

"You're Al's great grandson?" questioned Sam. He could hardly believe it.

"That's right," said Chris. "After you changed the past and prevented my great grandmother from moving on, she and Grandpa Al had 4 daughters. One of them was my grandmother. So I guess I have you to thank that I'm even here."

"Al always did say she was the only woman he had ever truly loved," said Sam. "I had to do something. He was my best friend. I'm glad to see I was able to fix things for him."

"Travelling in time you affected a lot of lives," said Samantha. "You were able to fix a lot of things for a lot of people."

"I suppose being in charge of the quantum generator keeps you busy as well," said Sam. "From what I'm told, it can't be easy tracking someone's quantum trail from one time period to another."

"Well, that's certainly true," said Samantha. "But I wouldn't want to do anything else. You might say it's in my blood."

"How so?" Sam asked.

"Well," said Samantha, glancing at Parker for a moment, "my great grandfather had something to do with it. He worked in the field of quantum physics. It just sort of seemed natural that I'd follow in his footsteps."

"Your great grandfather?" questioned Sam. "That must have been early in the field. Even in my day we were still learning things about it."

"I know," said Samantha. "When I got married, I took my husband's name. I was named after my great grandmother, Samantha. Although she usually went by Sammy Jo. I never cared much for that nickname."

"I knew a Sammy Jo once," said Sam thoughtfully. "I met her during one of my leaps."

"I know," said Samantha. "You see, my great grandmothers' maiden name was Fuller. And as I said, I was named after my great grandmother: Samantha Josephine Fuller."

Sam just stared at Samantha hardly believing what she was saying.

"That's right, Sam," said Parker. "Samantha is more than one of our resident geniuses here at the Institute. She's your great granddaughter."

Sam could do nothing but simply stare at the young woman completely dumbfounded.