Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter… wish I did – an extra million or two would sure come in handy sometimes…

March12th, 2063

Malfoy Estate, Wiltshire

The crowd moved about the ballroom restlessly, awaiting the imminent announcement that their host was about to speak. Many witches and wizards attended; most notable was a large contingent of press members from The Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, as well as representatives from a variety of other newspapers and magazines across Europe.

Famous witches and wizards moved through the sea of commoners - each with their own entourage. Frederick Weasley and his son Fabian – founders of the highly successful WTG Enterprise – actively networked with individuals throughout the room, pressing flesh and demonstrating some of their latest Theurgical Gadgets.

Heir of the Zabini fortune, Jeremy Artemis Zabini, sauntered proudly around the room with his freshly minted wife, Calyse. Dressed impeccably, the couple drew stares from all quarters; jealous scowls from the witches, and winks from the older wizards. Having married only three months prior both bore the unmistakable glow of a couple in love.

Across the room from the golden pair, were the four Flumes – Hermann and his son Ashley – and – Derrick and his son Paul. All formed the powerbase of the Flume Group; a multinational company that not only ran the successful Honeydukes franchises, but also a variety of other Wizarding retail chains. Inheriting the original Honeydukes at Hogsmeade upon their parent's death, Hermann and Derrick expanded the brand name.

At the current point in time, over forty Honeydukes' were located in nearly every magical shopping location throughout Europe. Two years ago, they announced a grand goal of opening Honeydukes stores outside of the European Union. Their first American store at been opened in Salem just in time for Yule at the end of last year.

Within the crowd were a mix of Malfoys, Potters and the Bletchleys – all three families closely affiliated by marriage. Other faces were mostly Life Association of Magical Purity members – in attendance to hear the important public announcement of the Founder, Draco Malfoy.

Lurking along one sidewall, two members of L.A.M.P. exchanged greetings and theories on the nature of the announcement.

Sabina Black, now the personal assistant to the Director of Operations, and the Director himself, Gerhart Dolohov-Avery, conversed in varying tones. Currently, Sabina was expounding on a point of speculation in an urgent murmur.

"…He's feeble-minded, Gerhart. The wizard should have stepped down from his position after the Accident. There's been rumours in the office that he plans to change the charter – make it more liberal."

"Nonsense," Dolohov-Avery scowled. "He needs a full Board quorum to pass any changes, and at least three months notice beforehand. For Merlin's sake, he instituted these regulations himself when he started L.A.M.P."

Sabina waved her hand dramatically at the mingling crowd. "What do you think this is about then?"

"I do not know, Sabina. I am worried however, that he invited those vultures." He quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head in the direction of the press corps. "For Malfoy, that means he has something of significance to announce. I do hope that it will be that he is retiring immediately, and is using this occasion to promote his successor."

Sabina smirked. "If that is the case, you do realise that it probably won't be you…" She knew that he had fairly far-reaching ambitions.

Dolohov-Avery's lips thinned in contempt. "Nott has it in the bag – he cemented that by allowing his daughter to marry Malfoy's dim-witted grandson," he spat.

"You could always instigate a no-confidence vote within the board – Nott only has his son-in-law with him on the Board. You would have my husband's vote, as well as my uncle's – and Burke can be bought."

Dolohov-Avery smiled slightly, giving her comment some consideration. "I presume that if the quorum were to hang and a wider vote taken, you would find a way to secure my victory?"

Sabina laughed. "You know as well as I that apart from you, I hold most of the power within Operations."

"And that wouldn't just be 'bargaining' power, would it?" he replied wryly, referring to her rather extensive collection of confidential data which she kept on the vast majority of the staff at L.A.M.P. He had discovered what she termed as her 'insurance' six months ago, when he was going through old reports in the secure storage vault that only he and Sabina had access to.

"Most of that is to insure my own position within the Association. If the situation arises with a general vote, I may be willing to sacrifice a few to ensure your success." She looked at him intently, "At a mutually beneficial price, of course."

Dolohov-Avery regarded her quizzically. "What would that be?"

"My own place on the Board," she responded, as she had aspirations of her own.

"And who would you be replacing?" Dolohov-Avery recognised her voracity of determination.

"Abraxas Malfoy. Once his grandfather is gone, and his father-in-law usurped, he is one challenger you must remove from the Board. This Association belongs to those like us, and not the Malfoys. The sooner they realise that they can't control the Association, the better it is for us," she finished impassionedly.

Dolohov-Avery nodded. Before he could answer, an unnatural silence fell over the hall, and he and Sabina refocused their gaze on the stage at the front of the hall.

Levitated on a decadent chair, Draco Malfoy hovered to the centre of the podium, his wife Astoria standing regally at his side. The ten years since his perilous fall had not been kind to the Founder of the Life Association of Magical Purity. At eighty-three, he was wane and frail; his inanimate legs atrophied and stick-thin beneath rich fabric. Two nervous hands quivered in his lap, the twitching of his fingers more apt on a gunslinger awaiting the best moment to draw and fire, than a weak-bodied wizard.

When the audience removed their gaze from the ruin of the man, and focused instead on his face, they saw determination and a will to succeed. Though slightly rheumy, his steel grey gaze pierced all who dared to meet their eyes with his. The cold fire still burned as he raised his wand to his throat and hoarsely croaked; "Sonorous."

He cleared his throat, and the sound carried throughout the hall. He nodded slightly at Astoria, who reached down and squeezed his left hand, just once, before departing from the podium. Draco peered down at his anxious audience, and began.

"Good evening, friends and members. I have invited you all here tonight to bear witness to the dawning of a new era in the life of this Association."

The press members directly in front of the stage shuffled excitably. Sabina glanced out the corner of her eye at Dolohov-Avery; his mouth was set in an ever-thinning line.

"When I first founded the Association, I set out the charter to primarily benefit Pureblood Wizarding families – to support them through the difficult times that the fall of Voldemort havocked on our reputations and livelihoods."

The mention of the Dark Wizard's name still elicited gasps from various members, primarily from those who had lived through that time. To the right of the podium, Harry Potter closed his eyes briefly, before catching Draco's eye and giving him an encouraging smile.

"Throughout the years, I have come to understand that what is most important – what is most vital – is not blood purity, but magical purity. One of the aims of the Association has been to encourage 'new blood' be assimilated by the old Pureblood families to strengthen the magic. My dear friends – this policy has succeeded! Our children are magically stronger; the incidence of squibs is the lowest it has been for centuries."

Many within the crowd clapped enthusiastically, others tapped their hands together two or three times politely; falsely cheery smiles plastered across their faces. Sabina and Dolohov-Avery were two of the latter group, Dolohov-Avery barely containing his irritation. "I do hope he is not going to broach a subject that is best left alone," he growled, his face now set in a scowl.

Sabina steadied herself against the wall as the implications of what Dolohov-Avery hinted at, set in. "He's going to encourage…" Her words were drowned out by Draco's continued speech.

"My friends and members, I propose that the Association evolve – just as our rapidly changing world adapts and changes – to grow and restructure according to what our World demands of us. Why should we wait for a particularly strong Muggleborn witch or wizard to pass their magic on to their children and grandchildren, before we allow them entry into our organisation? These special witches and wizards should be introduced to the older families to ensure healthy and strong offspring the next generation."

"No!" That one word from Dolohov-Avery was enough to send chills through Sabina's heart, to join her own trepidation at Draco's announcement.

"Mudbloods!" he spat. "He wants us to breed with filthy Mudblood bitches and bastards to 'strengthen our magic' – it's unthinkable!" Dolohov-Avery took two determined steps forward before Sabina snagged his arm. He glared at her, and shook her hand off.

"Sir?" she queried, concerned that her superior would storm the stage and throttle Malfoy. She would not have minded, she wryly thought, but the murder would be witnessed by far too many people, as well as smeared across the Daily Prophet the next day.

They were not the only ones inflamed – a few scattered throughout the crowd murmured similar mutinous sentiments. As murmurs turned to a rumble, Harry Potter himself stepped to the stage, and a great roaring "Silence!" reverberated throughout the large room.

In a voice that his descendants knew well and feared, Harry declared, "Have you people no respect? This wizard has lived and experienced more things than most of you." A wave of utter quiet followed Harry's voice as he stood by the wizard that had once been in the presence of the Dark Lord, and done his bidding. Draco raised a trembling hand in a gesture of thanks – he and Harry had long ago set aside their teenage rivalry.

Sabina frowned as Harry smiled at Draco then drifted from the podium. In the last ten years, the two CEO's had spent far too much time in each other's company, and Harry's influence had led to a decline in Association member's seeking admittance to the higher echelons on L.A.M.P., partially due to Draco's insistence that the rules concerning dual membership be changed. The one or two that had made it through, in the early days - retaining their membership with the Order - had been summarily victimized by those who had not. Sabina had played a role in many of these 'unfortunate' resignations.

Draco continued. "I have, for the previous eight years, been making small, but incremental changes to the core functionality of the Association. For instance, allowing those with Muggleborn parents into the organisation…"

Sabina smirked. That was another area that she and Dolohov-Avery had worked on behind the scenes to repress – with varying success. The happiness the victories evoked dissolved as the very last of Malfoy's words struck home.

"…or those especially gifted Muggleborn students at Hogwarts." Sabina raised an eyebrow – she had not been aware of that. She would have to have a word with her Uncle.

"Additionally, I plan to restructure the Association to reflect these changes, as well as to remove certain factions within the organisation that have been operating on another agenda."

Faint whispers that broke out in the crowd hid, for the most part, the hiss that escaped Dolohov-Avery's mouth. Sabina wrung her hands nervously as Malfoy seemed to look right at her and the Operations Department head.

"In the next few months I will dismantle an elitist section, within the administration itself, of individuals who have consistently shown tendencies towards both dangerous thinking and rash action. There is no place in this Association for individuals who crave power more than they desire to implement the enrichment of our magic."

As Malfoy's pronouncement washed over her, Sabina felt heat rise on her face. Individuals turned in the direction Malfoy glared, curiously seeking out the offenders. Next to her, Dolohov-Avery visibly seethed.

Draco let his gaze linger on different parts of the audience before he continued, and finally concluded his speech. "I will not see another Dark Wizard rise in my life time." Draco brought a hand to his face and brushed something from his eye. When he spoke again, his voice was wrought with emotion. "My friends, my fellow members – I saw firsthand what striving for that power does. I experienced…"

Sabina watched with fascination as Draco paused to tremulously roll up the sleeve covering his left arm, revealing a reddened pattern that she had seen only once before. He thrust the arm out, holding onto his left wrist with his right hand. A gasp rippled through the crowd, and many of the younger ones craned their heads forward for a closer inspection.

"I experienced sheer terror – and, even then, I was not one of those that opposed. My father died still believing that this sort of power was to be encouraged, that blood purity was something worth fighting for; that it was worth the torture, the murder, the lying and deceiving, your friends and family." His voice grew angrier at each spoken word. Punctuating the last, he ripped down the sleeve. "No! I will not have this Association perpetuate any of those things."

Silence; for minutes the whole room just froze. The younger ones kept their eyes fixed in awe either on Draco, who wept openly, or Harry, who had rejoined Draco with a comforting hand on his shoulder. The older ones – those whose hearts beat faster and their own eyes glistened – had their heads bowed as they remembered; not just the fallen but also the ones who survived scarred and changed.

The bubble of silence popped and dissipated, as, with a gust of air, the room suddenly erupted in a cacophony of sound. Sabina turned to find Dolohov-Avery regarding the podium with ill-concealed hate. As he glanced at her, she noted that his eyes glinted malevolently. "Sir?"

Dolohov-Avery snapped his body away from the stage, his robe still twisting about his legs as he addressed her. "He was referring to me – he's going to have me removed from the Board – followed by yourself and the remainder of my staff that are loyal to our cause." He grabbed her arm and steered her away from the throng of people and out into a deserted hallway.

"What do we do now?" she queried, concerned, for not only her job, but also their mission.

"The only option we have left," he replied.

May 2nd, 2063

Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire

Astoria Malfoy, having just tucked her husband in, retired to the library with her customary cup of tea, biscuit and book. Halfway through her refreshments, the Malfoy house-elf Gilly, entered the room flustered.

"Mistress Astoria, there's a wizard at the door – he won't…" The house-elf's lip quivered. "…He won't leave. You told Gilly never to admit another wizard after Master Malfoy had retired…"

Unruffled by the house-elf's own lack of composure, Astoria gently set her teacup down, and then rose gracefully. "Dismissed, Gilly – I shall see to this matter myself," she replied haughtily.

The house-elf bowed and scampered from the room. Adjusting her clothes, Astoria sauntered through the Manor to the entrance hall. Silhouetted against the windows stood an imposing figure, and Astoria swung the door open to find her suspicions realised.

"You are not welcome here," she hissed coldly, her right hand still on the door. "I request that you leave the grounds immediately…"

The wizard stepped into what little doorway she had exposed. He leant a palm against the door and nudged the solid wood, causing Astoria to take a step back. "I am not departing until I speak to your husband," he growled in return.

Only the hand hidden behind the door belied her nervousness. Astoria squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and spoke firmly. "Leave."

The wizard shoved the door abruptly, catching Astoria in the shoulder. She gasped and stumbled back, her left hand rising to rub the spot where the door had collided with her skin.

"I have something to discuss with Draco," he obstinately replied as he stalked past her.

Astoria whipped around and hurried after him. She grasped a handful of his outer garment and yanked. "Please – he's in bed, asleep, he's not well," she implored him.

The wizard merely shrugged his coat off, leaving it to dangle from her hand. "So kind of you to offer to take my coat, Mrs. Malfoy," he snidely responded as he strode away from her.

Astoria's heart palpitated wildly as she shook with indignation. She threw the decadent brocade coat to the floor, disgusted. Leaning against a side table, she fought to compose herself. "Gilly," she whispered hoarsely, and the house-elf appeared, wringing its hands.

"Yes, Mistress Astoria?"

"Please take that," she pointed at the fabric that lay coiled on the tiles. "And hang it in the coatroom."

The house-elf bowed, and departed with the offending article.

A few minutes later, after collecting her thoughts and courage, Astoria determinedly ascended the stairs in the wizard's wake. At the landing, she turned right, and marched down the hall towards her husband's bedchamber. She pulled up short at the sound of a fervent argument.

"…this course of action shouldn't be taken."

"Oh, Draco – the change of heart has made you righteous and beyond reproof has it?"

"It took me nearly sixty years to admit that my ideologies were at fault…"

Astoria crept to the door, peering through a gap where the door had failed to close properly. Her view of Draco was imposed upon by the back of the wizard who towered over her husband's frail form. She barely concealed a whimper when she noticed Draco's wand lying on the floor some distance from the bed.

The wizard whipped around; evidently, she had not muffled her exclamation enough. She flittered away from the door, slinking down the hallway. She heard the door open briefly, before it closed solidly, and then a muttered charm. She recognised it as the muffliato, and her heart sank in despair. She glided back to the door, and, touching the handle, went to open it. She snapped her hand back in shock – the door was clearly warded against her, her hand reddening where it had contacted the metal.

Clutching her hand to her chest, Astoria's consternation grew. Draco had been disarmed, and her own right to entry barred. She knew the visitor felt offended by her husband's plans to restructure the Association, but Draco had hoped that he would listen to reason.

The wizard's actions tonight betrayed that he was not one to admit defeat. Fearing the outcome, she slid down the wall, coming to rest on her heels. Her hand throbbing and her breath shallow, she waited.

Some time later, the door to the room wrenched open, and the wizard exited. Astoria glanced up at his face. As their eyes met, he reached out and jerked her to her feet. He pinned her to the wall by her throat.

"I was never here, do you understand?"

Astoria moaned. "What?"

He shook her, slamming her head back, his hand tight around her throat. "Do you understand?" he asked, the question repeated slowly and deliberately.

Eyes wide with fear, Astoria clawed at his wrist, only to have him strengthen his hold.

"Answer me, witch, or I'll send you to join your husband," he snarled.

Astoria attempted to swivel her head toward the open door, the import of his statement ringing in her ears. "Draco? What have you done? What have you…?" Her words cut off as he forced her up the wall. She gasped for air as her feet left the ground.

He leant in close enough for her to smell his breath. Almost nose to nose, he sneered, "Do you understand?"

Fearing for her life, Astoria jerked her head forward, twice. Satisfied, the wizard dropped her to the ground, where she whimpered and curled her knees to her chest. He crouched beside her, his wand out and pointed at her heart.

"Lack of understanding could mean your life, Mrs. Malfoy," he purred, his tone pouring goose bumps down her spine.

She gazed at him imploringly. "You were not here. You did not kill my husband," she responded flatly.

"Of course not – your husband died in his sleep. Very sad," he murmured sarcastically, as he regarded her unemotionally. "See that you remember that, Mrs. Malfoy."

Astoria watched as he rose from her, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. She rolled onto her stomach and sobbed into the carpet hallway runner, missing his eventual departure.

May 3rd, 2063

Londonderry, Ireland.

Gerhart Dolohov-Avery smoothed the Evening Prophet out on the desk in front of him, grinning wickedly as he relished the most satisfying headline.

"DRACO MALFOY DEAD;

Founder of L.A.M.P. dies at home after lengthy illness."

As he pushed the paper to one side, the light in the room caught the ring on his right hand. With the fingers of his left hand, he toyed with the signet ring, running the pad of his index finger over the delicate engraving; an old oil lamp set with amber that glowed in the candlelight.

The ring was his - the rich gold never cooling as he transferred it from its original owner's hand to his own. Soon, he would ensure that everything that belonged to the ring would belong to him also.

October 13th, 2063

The Muggle World.

The Herald Tribune

October 13th, 2063

European Union announces new defence contractor.

By Special Correspondent Emily Harrison

The historical announcement three years ago that the European Union had approved changes that allowed joint defence projects to be undertaken for the benefit of all member countries, reached a dramatic turning point yesterday. The European Union Joint Defence Counsel (EUJDC) announced, by a voting margin of 53, that the Defence Contractor giant Praxis Corporation, would lead all current and new defence research and application.

Praxis Corporation was founded in 2008. The Corporation tendered for and won a United States military contract in 2012, delivering technological advances such as the first real-world applications of nanotechnology. Their twelve-year contract with the US came to an early end when budgeting constraints, after the stock market fall of 2021, tightened the hip pocket of many countries around the world.

For the past forty years, Praxis Corporation has been one of the leading science and technology groups in the Western world. They were one of the three companies behind the immergence of the Intelligence Singularity, and their current main research fields include Quantum and Cosmic String development and application, Energy Waveform Frequency detection and manipulation, as well as Genetic Modification. It is a well-publicised fact that Praxis Corporation use their very own third-generation Higher Intelligence Machines (HIM), which are capable of projecting a holographic array of their awareness that interacts with its fellow researchers.

December 1st, 2063

Undisclosed Location, Argyll Forest, Scotland.

Field Research Site #21, Praxis Corporation.

Inside a warmed biosphere, Muggle scientists scurried back and forth between a large bank of holographic displays and quantum interfaces lining an entire wall, and various workstations arranged around a central hub. Praxis Corporation's Research and Development Section Head, Juliette Walker, rallied a variety of technicians. She gave a sidelong glance at a wiry man in his forties.

"Johnson, what's the status with the sensors?" she shot at him.

Garth Johnson, lead researcher in the field of energy waveform frequencies, barely glanced from his display, nor did his polymer-coated hands stop their incessant movement. "Infrared, ultraviolet and spectrometer are online." He swished one hand, and the holographic interface in front of him changed. "Just completing the matrix for the temporal array – correlating coordinates now," he replied.

Juliette nodded imperceptibly. She turned to an assistant. "Do we have confirmation that this site will yield another irregularity?"

The young woman stopped, and, with her own gloved hands, called up a glimmering white sheet of light containing data. "We have logged at least two quantum events in the immediate area within the past three hours, the resulting probability wave suggested that the next event would occur within the hour."

Juliette waved a hand in dismissal. She strode to where another scientist sat, surrounded by machines. "Bellamy – have you established the absolute fifth dimensional coordinates?"

Lyle Bellamy, quantum theorist, nodded as he checked an interface. "Quantum harmonics indicate that the initial quantum distortion episode, recorded three hours ago, originated from within Earth's own space-time continuum."

Juliette swore – a quantum rip within Earth's own space-time continuum could mean only one thing, and her superiors would not be happy to hear that evidently another person or persons unknown had bettered them at their research. She turned her attention to the project's HIM, who preferred to be referred to as 'Samuel'.

"Samuel, did you get an ID?"

The solid holographic representation in front of her shook its 'head'. "No – I ran the biometrics through my database, and no match was returned. The target also had no discernable nanotechnology – considering the target's age, the probability of that occurring is at the factor of…"

Juliette held a hand up. "So we have someone from either AANZ Federation or the Indo-China Alliance…"

'Samuel' interrupted. "No – the target also spoke. Using my linguistics module, I determined that the inflection and cadence of the voice indicated that the target has a 98.76 probability of originating from within the British Isles. More specifically, the dialect indicated that the target was born and lived for at least twenty years in or around the region of Cumbria."

Juliette peered at 'Samuel'. "How about the second instance of temporal disturbance – were you able to identify the target in that case?"

"The second target also remains unidentified. Like the first target, the second target's biometrics contained no nanotechnology readings. Additionally, both targets had on them unknown devices that repelled further probing. After tracking their movements for some distance, we recorded various distortions, and they disappeared from our sensors."

Juliette glared at the HIM incredulously. "Even with cloaking technology, one does not 'disappear' from our sensors."

"I ran a diagnostics check – all our systems were functional at the time; the only anomaly I registered was a slight peak in quantum energy before each disappearance. Simply put, I believe they disappeared from our reality and reappeared in another."

Juliette mused. "If you are correct, this may be confirmation of the Multiverse Cross-Dimensionality Theorem."

Her statement roused Bellamy's interest. "The layered Universe theory has been batted around for nearly a hundred years, Ms. Walker – and nobody has even come close to even proving it exists."

She huffed superiorly. "A hundred years ago, no one believed quantum travel or subspace cosmic string travel possible either. Besides, this company is the leader in recent significant scientific discoveries." She smirked at him. "Why limit yourself to one Nobel Prize?"

"MCDT dictates that we share some parts of our physical universe with others – a cross-over where occupants of one world co-exist in the same time-space continuum as another. So, why haven't we recorded more of these events over the years?" Bellamy replied.

Garth Johnson had slunk over to join the discussion. "We haven't had the technology until recently," he interjected. "Maybe the occupants of the other dimension are more technologically advanced, and have been careful to keep their movements hidden."

"It is most likely to be the former than the latter," Juliette replied. "This is one of many sites throughout Europe that Praxis Corp has been actively monitoring with the new probability wave detectors, and data from other sites have shown regular instances of anomalies. This is the first site where we have positively identified the source of the fluctuations to have come from within our exact fifth dimension co-ordinates, or time-space continuum."

"So they must cohabit; I did overhear 'Samuel' mention that their biometrics scan showed no evidence of technology from the last fifty years, but are you certain they belong to the same time? Perhaps the probability wave that accompanies their arrival is merely an echo forced back by time travel," Johnson noted.

"Interesting point," Bellamy mused, "though, I am inclined to place my bets on MCDT, due to the recordings of the absolute fifth dimensional coordinates. The quantum harmonics do not veer off the baseline by enough for a phenomenon such as time travel, indicating that the source of the activity is ultra-dimensional and not sub-dimensional. If it were time travel, we would register a different space coordinate as opposed to normalcy while the rip remained open. As we have yet to do so, we can deduce that these individuals are moving through relative space at the same time as us before, during and after their transit, while remaining in the same general physical location."

"So for time travel the fifth dimension coordinate is not the same?" Juliette queried, attempting to clarify the point.

"That's correct," Bellamy responded. "Even though you remain in the same physical space – the third dimension – and time travels with you, your relative position in space – within the universe, changes. For instance, this time yesterday, this particular location occupied a different location in space due to the Earth's orbit around the Sun, and the Sun's movement through space due to the ever-expanding cosmos. To time travel back to yesterday, you would have to know the exact fifth dimensional coordinate, and not just the time and place."

Johnson snorted in amusement. "Otherwise you'd find yourself in the middle of space, without a location. The sub-dimension allows you to enter time as it flows in either direction, but you must know your exact arrival point."

Bellamy continued. "When you arrive at your location, the dimensional rip from your original time stays open momentarily – that's the beauty of using sub-dimensional travel – with your fifth dimensional coordinates. In these cases, we are simply not seeing a different time coordinate to the one we have set for this location."

Juliette consulted the time display. "According to the last probability wave, we should expect a target shortly." She turned to Johnson. "I presume by your absence from your station, that the temporal array is primed and ready?"

"Yes – I came over to run the synchronization with Lyle."

Bellamy moved sensors attached to his fingers in a sequence, and a display of five alphanumeric figures appeared on a holographic display at the front of the room. The first three were currently displaying zeros.

Johnson moved his hands and consulted a sheet of white light. "Probability wave dictates that the event horizon will be located at fifty-six degrees, seven minutes, and zero seconds North…" he read off the first. "…and four degrees, fifty-two minutes, and six seconds West. At an altitude of eight hundred and seventy-two, point seven zero three feet."

Bellamy locked in the coordinates, and they glimmered in the first three positions in the display. Beside him, 'Samuel' brought up the physical location on a large three dimension holographic display in the centre of the room. "Only three miles south of our location – have tasked the spy drones to provide full dimensional feed."

Juliette watched the full colour feed and shivered. "It looks cold out there." The feed reproduced an area seven feet cubed – where snow lay deep on the ground, and a flurry of flakes buzzed through the air.

Bellamy checked the alphanumeric display. "Time and universal position synchronized," he murmured.

The last two figures were incessantly changing. The fourth – time – ticked at the subatomic level. The fifth – the universal position – was a mass of numbers, letters and simple pictorial representations that changed subtly. He opened a new screen, located beside the first. "Feed initialized – sensors will read the inception point as soon as the rip opens."

Johnson returned to his station, Juliette trailing him. He called up a display containing the probability wave, pausing briefly to switch on the voice amplification implant at the front of his throat. "Quantum harmonics exponentially increasing, event horizon in three minutes," Johnson stated, and his voice boomed throughout the sphere.

Research assistants rushed to man the stations, and a large time display blinked into existence above the holographic display, which currently contained the area of snow. The display flashed electric blue numbers, counting down from three minutes.

With six seconds to go, a section of Johnson's display blinked. "Initial displacement wave registered," he intoned.

Two seconds later, Bellamy responded with his own observation. "Occurrence of temporal dissonance located within target area."

All eyes turned to the three-dimension display. As the countdown hit zero, a woman literally popped into existence. At the same time, a multitude of feeds and output devices went into overdrive.

"Inception point obtained, originating fifth dimensional coordinates recorded," Bellamy yelled over the increasing excitable chatter.

Juliette rushed over. "Where did she originate from?"

'Samuel' called up a satellite display. "Inception point was five seconds ago, within the Earth's universal position, at the location of fifty-three degrees, twenty-two minutes, and ten seconds North, and, one degree, twenty-nine minutes, and seventeen seconds West, altitude of sixteen feet." A point on the satellite map converged, coalesced and focused in on a clearly wooded area. "Sheffield, England," Samuel finished.

By this stage, a group of assistants had gathered around the three-dimensional display, and were rapidly gathering data.

"She's on the move," one of them shouted.

'Samuel' made adjustments. "The imaging drones are in pursuit."

The assistants moved around the representation, some taking instantaneous captures of aspects of her body, face, clothing and other things.

One of them shouted abruptly. "She dropped something!" He pointed at an object in the snow. He captured the moment and the device on a light tablet and ran it to Juliette. "We should retrieve the artefact."

She held a finger up. "We wait."

Seven minutes after the woman arrived, she strode into an area that caused displays to flicker.

Bellamy glanced at his display, puzzled. "The same dimensional ripple as the other two targets – we're going to lose her."

Juliette marched over. "Someone can't just disappear into thin air. She has clearly not entered another rip, so she has to be still here."

Across the room, Johnson shook his head. "I've lost her from all the sensors – even infrared is not picking anything up." He glanced at a display. "The only reading I received was a slight irregularity in the quantum harmonics as she shifted." He retrieved results from the previous two 'targets'. He frowned, "Interesting."

Juliette snapped her head in his direction. "Nothing is ever just 'interesting' to you, Johnson."

He worried his bottom lip with his teeth. "The same irregularity occurred in the last two events. The deviation is slight – maybe they're using a cloaking frequency," he pondered.

"Perhaps," she replied, disappointed that they had managed to lose another target. She called over the assistant who had brought her attention to the dropped object. "Retrieve the artefact – maybe we can get some answers."

The assistant smiled and hurried off. The others watched on the displays as the assistant, dressed in thermo-matrix polymer, crunched his way through the snow. As he approached, a sensor beeped on Johnson's display. He gasped as the same dimensional shift registered. Without notifying Juliette, he screamed. "Abort! Get him away from the area!"

Juliette glanced up to see the woman reappear. She tapped her communication implant once. "Hollander – evasive measures - target has returned and is in your vicinity."

The scientists in the room held their breath as their colleague dropped behind a tree, and engaged the camouflage component of the polymer. He melted into his surroundings as the woman came into view, clearly searching the ground.

"Bloody hell!" Juliette exclaimed, thumping her hand on a nearby table. "I really wanted proof." She watched, annoyed, as the woman finally located her dropped object. Muttering to herself, she turned to 'Samuel'. "Apart from imaging, are those drones equipped with anything else?"

'Samuel' searched the blue prints. "Drone two and three are also equipped with nano-tranquilizers, each micro-dart contains neural blocker N-678."

Juliette considered the information and came to a decision. "Enough to render her unconscious?" she queried.

"Four micro-darts should be sufficient," 'Samuel' replied. "Shall I task them to fire?"

Juliette nodded in confirmation, and 'Samuel' interfaced with the drones through his neural network. The researchers watched as the three-dimensional representation of the woman jiggled a few times, slapping parts of her body. Seconds later, she dropped to the ground. Juliette pointed at two more assistants. "You, and you - help Hollander with the retrieval."

They accepted her orders eagerly and then left her presence. A few minutes later, the three assistants carried in the unknown woman on a stretcher. Juliette eyed the device that the woman had in her hand. She wriggled it from her clutch and held the trophy up to the light. Most of the assistants gathered around, staring at the strange device.

"Any idea what it could be?" an assistant enquired, interested.

"No, but we are going to find out." Juliette handed the item to Johnson. "Run every diagnostic you can think of – I want an approximation of what its function is, preferably within the hour."

Johnson accepted the device, examining the outward appearance first. Juliette watched as he rolled it over in his hands. "Almost looks like one of the personal music players from fifty years ago," he murmured, "but different." He tapped the back of the device. "No apparent battery or power source." He flipped it to the front. "A display screen of sorts - but no on or off switch, nor jacks for listening devices."

Juliette observed as Johnson pried the outer case open and placed the naked device on a scanner. "All known frequencies elicit no reaction in the internal structures," he muttered. "Perhaps Bellamy should examine the device," he offered, the mystery of the device stumping him.

Juliette waved Bellamy over to join them. He too picked the device up. "I presume you desire my expertise?"

"Establish its quantum state – perhaps it operates at a sub-atomic level," Juliette requested.

Bellamy removed the device to his workstation. A battery of tests later, he shouted in surprise. Juliette and Johnson rushed to his side. "You found something?" she queried.

Bellamy grinned. "I sure did. Its quantum state is in perpetual change." He glanced at Johnson. "That's why none of the frequencies you used changed." He turned to Juliette, his eyes sparkling. "And I established that the same harmonics irregularity persists in each state of change. This irregularity matches the wave that Johnson identified at the point of the dimensional shifts."

"Can we apply that as a coefficient, now that we have determined it is a unique signature?" Juliette asked. "Filter out the pre-existing background harmonics for this location and visualize the results?"

Johnson nodded, he understood exactly what Juliette wanted – they used the technique to determine when locations or objects used cloaking frequencies. He moved a gloved hand in a particular sequence. A new light screen popped up, and he peered at it. He sighed. "No – that can't be right."

The image displayed the point where the woman appeared. Everything – from the snow to the trees, was overlaid with glimmering violet light. About to switch the display off to recalculate, Juliette stopped him. She pointed at the spot in the air where the woman had disappeared then reappeared. "There. What is that?"

Johnson focused on the spot. He breathed out in wonderment, as a section of transparent violet appeared to ripple like the surface of a pond. "Shielding – it has to be." He made a few adjustments. "I can amplify the signature," he noted.

Juliette and Bellamy gasped as parts of the violet strengthened. "Clever buggers." Bellamy snorted. "They've harnessed a naturally occurring quantum harmonic, and intensified it in certain areas. If you hadn't have noticed the slight irregularity, Garth, we would have overlooked it entirely." He clapped his fellow researcher on the shoulder.

Johnson's face reddened, and then he clicked his fingers fervently. "The device!" he exclaimed. "Let me scan the device again." He snatched it from Bellamy's workstation, and ran with it to his. Bellamy and Juliette bustled behind him. He focused on the device and visualized an overlay.

The same violet light streamed into the device, coalescing in certain internal structures. Juliette's grin betrayed her amazement. "An energy source?" she quizzed.

"It would appear so," Johnson replied. He glanced suddenly at the unconscious woman. "I wonder…?"

Juliette's eyes followed his gaze. "She would need some form of frequency modulator to focus the energy to use both the device, and enter the shield."

Johnson dashed to the woman's side, and then pushed the wheeled stretcher over to his workstation. With some adjustments, he focused the scanner over her entire body, and initialized a large display.

Work within the biosphere ground to a halt as researchers ceased their own work and stared at the display. Despite his expectations, Johnson gaped at the holographic output. He tapped Juliette. "Humour me – stand next to her."

Juliette acquiesced.

The holographic display teemed with violet light. Like the trees and snow outside, violet light glimmered over Juliette's own body, with concentrations of it at her heart and head. It merely enveloped her in pale translucent colour.

The unconscious woman, however, attracted the vast majority of visualized light. Her body drew vortexes of spiralling violet into her body; the largest concentration an opaque ball encompassing her upper torso. Lost for words, all watched on silently as the light incessantly entered the woman.

Johnson cleared his throat. "It must be an implant of some description – its focal point is inside of her, and…" He pointed to an area of intense light. "She also has an amplifier." He turned his head from the display and back to Juliette. "Ms. Walker – she has a secondary device in her clothing somewhere – left hand side, probably in a pocket."

Juliette searched the woman, finally withdrawing a long thin wooden rod. She placed it beside the woman's body before withdrawing from her, to investigate the display herself. She gasped as she gazed at the visual representation.

The wooden rod connected to the woman with a flickering string of pure violet light. Beads of the light slid up and down the length of the rod, in some places arching off into the surrounding transparency.

She snapped her attention away from the display. She summoned 'Samuel'. "I want a full biometric scan completed." The HIM proceeded to the stretcher to begin scans.

Juliette also gestured at another researcher. "Ms. Davids – I need a full genetic sequence completed before the subject wakes, as well as viable tissue and blood samples for comparison with our databank." Vera Davids murmured her acceptance.

She turned back to Garth Johnson and Lyle Bellamy. "Excellent work – I have a feeling that this breakthrough could be just the tip of the iceberg."

A/N:

Thanks to everyone for reading, and special kudos to those who do review. I extend a special invite to my readers who haven't reviewed yet – please do – it is as easy as clicking on that little button to the left.