Chapter 2
What's a Time Loch
With a brilliant dimension warping of Time/Space both Ace and Spanners jumped into dimensions unknown. All the crew could do now was hope for their safe passage into their respective universes. When the blinding light show abated a shimmering leak in space filled Starbug Two's Plexiglas windscreen.
"What is Kryten?" Asked Lister as the ship to surface transport vessel Starbug Two encountered something that looked remarkably like a huge rip in the time space continuum. "I've never seen anything like it."
"I don't believe any one has Sir, it's a Time Loch"
"A time lock? What the hells a time lock?" Quarried the Cat.
"You mean like on bank vaults and that sort Kryt?" Lister asked.
"No Sir, Not Time lock. L-O-C-K-. Time Loch, L-O-C-H-."
"So you've presumably heard of one of these time lochs have you, butter pat head?" Rimmer Questioned.
"Well fundamentally a Time Lock that is spelled with a K is as Mr. Lister said, a lock designed to open in a pre programmed time and no other," answered Kryten. "Where as a Time Loch with an H is a deep cavern in the regular time space continuum."
"Where does one of these time lochs come from?"
"Best guess is that it started out as a crease in space, possibly it formed as early as the big bang itself."
"So your telling us that thing is a crease or a wrinkle in time?" Asked the Cat.
"It may have started as what the Cat called a wrinkle in time, but eventually it spread into real Time space. Little by little, as it filled up, it grew and grew. Until finally after countless millions of years it becomes a Time Loch."
"Filled?" Questioned Lister. "Filled with what?"
"Time sir, bits and pieces of time. Fragments of forgotten yesterdays and lost tomorrows, in relatively small compact pockets of space. A non place where hapless wanderers may be caught by the ever flowing time streams or perhaps stray too close to a black hole and wind up traversing the countless depths of the Time Loch. Forced to relive pieces of their past and witness bits of the future. Usually so confused and distorted the travelers themselves are forever lost in its Loch. That is a time Loch Sirs."
"A simple yes would have sufficed there Kryten." Said Rimmer as he shot a frozen half smile at the mechanoid before he continued.
"And your saying that we ourselves," Rimmer pointed around to each of them, "men and Quasi droids alike, must traverse this to make our way back to the FemVerse so Lister can have a maintenance visit with the dad for some sort of weekend cricket tournament? I say no way. It's too dangerous. We are not going. I forbid it," Rimmer stood firm.
"Kryten plot a course through the Time Loch. Jim, Bexly. We're going to visit mama."
Then all went swirly.