John felt very nervous.

For most of Geordi's explanation he had been completely lost, unable to fathom anything the man had said. But as the chief engineer had wrapped it up, John realized that his exploits as a time traveler were being revealed to the whole room. He didn't actually have a problem with that as he wasn't trying to keep it a secret, especially from those who might be able to find a way to send him back home. But now Riker had just caught him in a lie of sorts. How could he possibly know the Commander's name if he was indeed from several centuries in the past?

John sighed as he glanced at the rooms' occupants. He supposed that he could come up with some elaborate ruse to explain his knowledge, but then, these were not stupid people. And for all that he considered himself a damn good detective, lying was not a strong suit of his, especially lying on the spot. It looked like he was going to have to come completely clean.

As he opened his mouth to start explaining, he hoped to hell that he wasn't about to get himself into an even bigger mess.

***** ***** *****

"I am from the past, that much is true," John began as he eyed his audience. "But I'm not from your past. At least I don't think so. I'm not the most knowledgeable guy when it comes to all this science stuff. But what I can tell you is that right before I was beamed aboard your ship, I was watching you," he said, indicating Riker, "Commander LaForge and Chief O'Brien in the transporter room, conducting the experiment Geordi was just discussing."

"You were spying on us?" O'Brien asked.

"No," John defended. "I was watching you on a television show."

"What's television?" Geordi asked.

"Television was a passive entertainment medium that become popular in the mid twentieth century, and had all but died out by the mid twenty first," Picard explained to Geordi.

That wouldn't have been quite the way that John would have explained it, (passive entertainment?) but it got the meaning across.

"I think what Mister McClane here is telling us," Picard continued, "is that to him we are nothing more than actors in a play. That where he comes from, our daily experiences, our lives, are nothing more than entertainment for him and for others."

"I'm still not quite sure I understand," Geordi said, glancing from the Captain and back to John seeking explanation.

"What he means," John said, "is that until yesterday when I was beamed aboard your ship, I had been under the impression that you, your ship and crewmates, all of Starfleet in fact, was nothing more than science fiction. That you were all actors going around doing and saying everything you did because someone had written it in a script. And when the cameras stopped rolling at the end of shooting every day, the lights were turned off and you all went home."

Silence reigned for several seconds in the small transporter room as everyone stared at him incredulously. Riker, who was having an incredibly difficult time believing any of this, was nonetheless a practical man. So instead of dismissing John's wild story outright he asked, "What evidence do you have to back this up?"

"Well how did I know your name and rank?" John asked.

"I can think of several possibilities. Perhaps someone preceded you in traveling from the past, and collected personnel information on half of Starfleet."

"As you might recall," John said slightly angrily at being doubted, "it was your experiment that brought me here. I had no say in the matter. And besides, I know a lot more about you guys than what's written in your personnel files. I have a pretty thorough knowledge of most things that have happened to you and this ship since it was first commissioned."

Picard was the next one to speak. "We have had some experience with alternate timelines in the past," he said to Riker. "In a multiverse with infinite possibilities, I suppose it's possible that in an alternate timeline we are just characters in a 'TV show' as Mister McClane claims. I would imagine the possibility also exists that there is a reality where he is a character in such a show."

Picard paused to gather his thoughts. "Ultimately," he said, addressing John, "it doesn't matter either way, as we need to get you home regardless."

Turning to Geordi and O'Brien, Picard said "I assume that in order to send him back to his own time and place you would need to repeat the transporter process that brought him here, but in reverse."

"Yes sir," Geordi responded, "that seems logical, but it might not be so easy. The first time it happened was a complete accident. Intentionally reproducing all the variables for a second time could be a little difficult."

Geordi glanced at the transporter platform a moment before looking back at the Captain. "But between O'Brien and myself, I'm confident that we should be able to do it within a couple of days. We will need to go back to Warren 4006-X3 though."

"Of course," Picard said while tapping his comm badge.

"Ensign Carlyle, there's been a slight change in plans. Please take us back to our previous location and enter a standard orbit around the star."

"Aye sir," came Carlyle's response.

Picard then looked at Geordi and O'Brien. "Well, gentlemen, we'll leave you to your work." And with that Picard and Riker left the transporter room.

***** ***** *****

John was able to follow the conversation somewhat better this time. While he wouldn't mind going home right now, a few more days on the Enterprise wouldn't be so bad. He could certainly think of worse places to spend his time.