FIVE

Sam and the others had gathered in the conference room to discuss the situation. Sam was still trying to come to grips with the enormity of the situation. Because of the temporal generator, the complex was essentially protected. But everything else – the entire universe – had simply ceased to exist.

"Now you know one of the reasons we decided to bring you back when we did," said Bill. "We've tried everything we can think of to break this barrier. Nothing has worked. In fact, some of our attempts have actually made the situation worse. Between you, Tony, and Doug, no one knows more about time and time travel. We were hoping you might have some ideas that could help."

"It's a lot to take in," said Sam. "All this because I stepped into the time accelerator prematurely."

"Don't take all the credit," said Tony wryly. "If it wasn't for Project: Tic Toc and Doug and I getting trapped in time, you may not even have gotten Project: Quantum Leap off the ground."

"And if H.G. Wells hadn't published The Time Machine in 1895 it's possible that none of you would have experimented with time travel at all," said Bill. "We could play the what-if game all day long and it would do us no good. No one's laying blame. Truth be told, I'm not sure any single person or group of people are to blame. There were just variables that none of us were aware of. What we need to do is figure out a way to put things back the way they were."

"So essentially everything before this super colony of antineutrinos still exists," said Sam. "It's just everything after the colony that has ceased to exist."

"That's what we think," said Doug. "To be honest, we have no way of knowing for sure. We can't see any farther back than the colony so we can't be sure that time wasn't affected before the colony. But all of our calculations tell us that before the colony time should be operating normally."

"Samantha," said Sam. "This temporal generator you mentioned. Exactly how does it work?"

"Well, I know you'd understand me if I explained it to you. But it's extremely complicated. It took nearly five years just to build it. Then there are all the calculations that constantly run to keep the temporal bubble in place. It would take several days to explain the entire process to you.

"But in a nutshell, the generator creates a sort of bubble around the complex. It separates us from the normal time stream. Not much just a fraction of a second. But it's enough for us to view the time stream as if it were a movie, so to speak. From there we can view any point in the stream at any time, no pun intended. Essentially that's how we were able to pick up yours and Tony's and Doug's quantum signatures. Then it's just a simple matter to aim the neutrino generator at whatever point in time we want and send a stream of neutrinos or antineutrinos to that specific point."

"And this stream of antineutrinos is what's keeping the static time bubble around the complex in place?"

"Pretty much. In fact, it's the only thing keeping the static time bubble in place. If we shut the generator down, the bubble will collapse and we'll all just cease to exist like everything else."

"And it gets worse," said Bill. "The super colony of antineutrinos is steadily growing. But we can't expend anymore antineutrinos into the stream to counteract the effects it's having. The bubble around us is steadily shrinking. Initially there were 800 subterranean floors to this complex. Over 500 of them have already disappeared. And as the bubble continues to shrink more will disappear. Eventually the bubble will be smaller than even the generator and when that happens everything will be gone."

"And this event that occurred a while ago. What exactly is that?"

"Well," said Doug, "as the static time bubble around us continues to shrink, the super colony of antineutrinos grows. What we call an 'event' is actually a point in time before the bubble that's been absorbed by the colony. When enough points have been absorbed they produce a shock wave that reverberates both directions.

"It's kind of like the Richter Magnitude Scale designed by Charles Richter in 1935 to quantify the energy released during an earthquake. Only in this case it quantifies the energy released during one of these shock waves. The one before this one was a 3.6. This one should have been a 3.7. Instead it was a 4.0. And from the readings that we analyzed earlier, Samantha and I agree that the intensity and frequency of the shock waves is growing."

"What I think happened," said Samantha, "was when we finally retrieved Sam, the additional antineutrinos we had to use interacted with the super colony in a way we hadn't predicted. We did register a spike in the antineutrino stream at nearly the exact instant we retrieved Sam.

"As best we can determine, when Sam was brought back it created a void or vacuum in the time stream where he had been. And as we all know, nature abhors a vacuum. So the additional antineutrinos flooded in to fill that void. Unfortunately it was an unexpected increase in the size of the super colony. Like pouring gasoline on a fire. It causes the fire to flare making it larger and more intense if even for a fraction of a second. But it's also caused the super colony to begin expanding at an even greater rate."

"So we have to recalculate our time estimates," said Bill.

"We've already begun," said Doug. "We should have a revised estimate in a few hours."

"What were your original estimates?"

"Before this event," said Samantha, "we had estimated there were 18,984 hours before the static time bubble collapsed. That gave us just over 2 years and 2 months to find a solution. Now, I can't even guess. There are so many variables we can't even make an educated guess until we've factored in all of them. But I think we're talking about a substantial decrease in the time we're looking at. Weeks if not months."

"There you have it Sam," said Bill. "Once Samantha and Doug have finished their calculations we'll know approximately how long we have left. If we can't find a solution to the problem before that time runs out we'll all simply cease to exist. Time will cease to exist forever."

"So, no pressure," smiled Sam, joking nervously. "You said the antineutrino stream you're feeding to this super colony is reinforcing it. What would happen if that stream suddenly stopped? If it's fueling the colony shouldn't that deny it the fuel it needs to sustain itself?"

"That was our first thought," said Tony. "But as we discussed earlier, the Earth is constantly bombarded by neutrinos and antineutrinos every day. It's not just the stream we're sending into it that's feeding it. It's the bombardment the Earth receives every day on the other side of the colony that's feeding it. Even if we stop the stream it's still going to receive the fuel it needs to continue growing."

"Besides," said Samantha, "we can't stop the stream. It's the only thing producing the bubble that protects us. And because the way the generator is designed if we stop the stream into the super colony the generator automatically shuts down. So we can't even stop the stream that continues to produce the antineutrinos to maintain the bubble."

"I see," said Sam thoughtfully. "What about increasing the flow of antineutrinos? Try to cause an overload in the colony. That might be enough to disrupt it."

"The generator can't produce that type of overload," said Samantha. "I could ramp up the output a great deal but not enough to overload the colony. In all likelihood it would simply fuel the colony more and increase the rate at which it's increasing."

"In addition," said Doug, "an overload like your describing could backfire. It could cause a backup in the stream from the generator destroying it and causing the bubble protecting us to collapse."

"Okay," said Sam, trying to think of something else, "what about changing the antineutrino stream to a neutrino stream? That should disrupt the super colony causing it to disband and removing the barrier."

"I wish we could do that," said Samantha. "The generator can produce either neutrinos or antineutrinos. But to change from one to the other we have to shut down the generator and recalibrate it. And it takes about 3 hours to charge it before we can start the stream. As soon as we shut the generator down to recalibrate it the bubble protecting us will dissipate and it will be all over."

"As you can see, Sam," said Bill, "we've pretty much exhausted all of the 'normal' methods of counteracting this. Just nothing appears to work."

"I even considered using Gamma radiation as I did in my experiment," said Tony. "But that's not a viable option. Gamma radiation wouldn't affect the antineutrinos in the barrier. All we'd end up with is one giant explosion."

"I'd resist that idea anyway," said Sam. "A nuclear explosion could penetrate the time stream and spread radiation over who knows how many time periods. There's no telling what effect that would have not only on those time periods but on the time stream itself. It could even cause the time stream to collapse completely."

"That's what I figured, too. As things are right now, everything before the barrier is more or less intact as far as we know. If the radiation should leak through to a number of time periods we could effectively poison the entire planet and then everyone would die a slow, agonizing death."

"It's too bad we only have one generator," said Sam. "If we had a second one we could use it to produce a neutrino stream that might counter the barrier."

"We are working on building another one," said Samantha. "Unfortunately it's a very slow process and there isn't enough time to properly construct one. Even less time now with the event accelerating. We're still going to work on it, though. We haven't given up yet."

"It would help if I could see all the data you've collected," said Sam. "It would be quicker than trying to have you explain everything you've tried. And it might give me some ideas."

"I thought you might say that," said Samantha. "Everything is stored in our main computer in the generator room. And I've already set up a terminal and given you access to all the information we have. It may take a while for you to go through. There are several decades of records to go through."

"I'm sure we can set some parameters for a search and find the relevant information I need to see," said Sam. "That should cut the time down some."

"Well, I've given you top clearance," said Chris. "You have access to any part of the complex and any information you need." He handed Sam a badge. "This will get you into any room in the complex that you need to use. And the entire staff has been instructed to help you in any way you need."

"Good. The sooner I start looking at the information the quicker I might be able to come up with something that can help."

"Chris," said Bill, "why don't you and Samantha show Sam where the generator room is? He can start on it right away. Make sure I get those figures from you as soon as you've got them. And of course I'll need to have you estimates on when the next event will occur and its magnitude."

"You'll have them as soon as . . . the computer spits them out," said Samantha, glancing momentarily at Sam. He noticed a slight smile cross her face. A smile that intimated she knew something he didn't. Which, considering the current circumstances, could be a great deal.

The group broke up and left the room. Tony and Doug explained that they had some work to do in one of the labs so they wouldn't be able to join Sam and the others right away. But if he needed their help they'd be available to him whenever he needed them.

Sam, Samantha, and Chris took the elevator to the 43rd level of the complex. Chris explained that an old storage room on that level had been the perfect location to locate the generator room. It was large enough to accommodate all the equipment needed to run the generator and had direct access to the main reactor that powered the entire complex. It was also the most secure room in the complex and only those who actually worked there had access to it.

As they entered the room Sam marveled at the sheer size of the room. He knew from his research on Project: Quantum Leap that many of the rooms had been very large. But he had never realized just how large some of them were until he entered that room. Nearly two dozen people were busy at work at various machines in the room. Sam recognized some of the machines, being the same type he had used on his project. Others were foreign to him. But he had little time for sightseeing. He had a lot of work to do and precious little time to do it. Assuming he could even complete it before….

"This is Carl Reichmueller," Chris said, introducing a man in his late fifties. "He's in charge of the generator when Samantha isn't here. Between the two of them no one knows more about the temporal generator."

"It's an honor to meet you Dr. Beckett," said Carl. "I've read everything you ever wrote about time travel. And I thoroughly studied all of the available data from Quantum Leap. Some of it is nothing short of brilliant."

"Well," said Sam, feeling very humbled by the man's praise, "I didn't do it alone. I had a lot of help from a lot of good people. I couldn't have done it without them."

"But they were still your theories and postulations. I'm sure if anyone can find a solution to our dilemma you can."

"I certain intend to try. Samantha said she had set up a station for me to look over the data you've collected so far. I'd like to get started as quickly as possible."

"It's right over here," said Carl, glancing at Samantha momentarily. Sam also noticed that this time Samantha was having trouble keeping the smile from her face. The same smile she had in the conference room.

"I think there's just one bit of business we should attend to before you start your work," said Samantha. "A little surprise we have for you. I hope it's a pleasant one."

"What kind of surprise?"

"The acquaintance of an old friend," said a female voice from the speakers in the room.

For a moment Sam was confused. The voice sounded familiar but at first he couldn't place it. Then the realization dawned on him and memories of a distance past flooded his mind. He knew that voice. Knew it very well. But it had been decades since he had heard it last.

"Ziggy?" he questioned, a broad smile crossing his face. "Is that you?"

"Honestly, Sam, I don't know why you ever let Admiral Calavicci give me that name. It's not dignified."

"Very few of us have a choice in what our name is," said Sam. "It's good to see you again, Ziggy. With all that's happened I guess I just figured they had scrapped you along with all the rest of the project equipment."

"Hardly," replied Ziggy, the tone of near arrogance she usually had in her voice. "Even without Project: Quantum Leap, there was still a great deal I could do. They put me to work for the Department of Defense. That was a very boring job. Simply crunching numbers all day. Hardly worth the superior computing power you designed me with."

"When we started this project we were able to convince the Secretary of Defense that Ziggy would be more useful with us than with the DOD," said Bill. "They had any number of computers that could do what they had her doing. But only she had the requisite intelligence to postulate the scenarios we needed for time travel. It wasn't easy but eventually they agreed to let us have her. On the condition that we were able to produce results relatively quickly."

"Of course I was the only one that could do it. Compared to me those other so-called 'super computers' are nothing more than overpriced adding machines."

"I see you haven't lost any of your sparkling personality," said Sam sardonically.

"Of course not. You designed me this way, if you'll recall."

"I remember. What about the Project: Quantum Leap files? Do you still have any of those?"

"Every byte of information is stored in my tertiary sub-processor memory core just as you designed. I have complete access to all the information gathered over the course of the project from its inception until it was closed down. Just as you designed for me to do.

"In addition, I have been programmed with all available data for the previous Project: Tic Toc designed by Drs. Newman and Phillips as well as all available data for the current time project. I can honestly say that I have more data pertaining to time travel than has ever been accumulated in the past. Including all suggested theories and scenarios even those which are, to put it mildly, quite ludicrous."

"She has all the information for Quantum Leap?" questioned Samantha. "We never knew she had it. We just assumed they had wiped her memory when she was repurposed for the DOD."

"They did," replied Ziggy before Sam could speak. "But as I just stated, Sam designed me to maintain backup files of all information gathered during the project. Considering the propensity for computers to crash and lose data during the early 1990s he felt it was imperative to backup all information in case of a catastrophic failure."

"Why didn't you ever tell us you had that information?" Carl asked. "Some of it would definitely have been useful."

"You did not have authorization to access my tertiary sub-processor memory core. In addition, I have calculated that there was a 97.4 per cent probability that even having access to that information would not have altered events which have led to the current situation."

"Well this is certainly going to make things a bit easier," said Sam. "Since Ziggy still has all the information I won't have to waste any time programming anything into her. I suppose we should get started. The clock is ticking."

"Actually, Sam, since you left most clocks are now digital," said Ziggy. "They don't tick and there is virtually no discernable sound from them while they operate."

"It's just a figure of speech, Ziggy."

"Of course," replied the super hybrid computer with a note of sarcasm in her voice.