Chapter Four: Close Encounter with the Future Kind
. June 9th, 2007 AD.
During the day, Riverdale Park West was a popular spot for the people of the neighborhood of North St. James Town. The park, a large patch of wooded land situated on either side of the Don River, was an Eden of sorts amongst the urban sprawl of Toronto. Here, people could walk amongst the trees of the park whilst the children of the neighborhood and local baseball teams could play in one of the four large sand fields on either side of the park. However, from sundown to sunrise, the park was as still and silent as the neighboring Necropolis Cemetery.
This was precisely what Luis was hoping for as he and his two friends made their way into the park, his rocket nestled inside an old red Radio Flyer wagon.
Luis looked down at his watch, the green digital displaying 5:58 a.m. Right on schedule, the boy thought as they made their way to the designated launchpad Luis had selected a few days earlier. He looked up into the morning sky, the golden rays if the rising sun shining over the treetops, streaks of high altitude clouds overhead, but, to his delight, no contrails.
Good, Luis smiled, everything was going exactly as planned. In the days leading up to the launch of his rocket, which Luis had dubbed the Triad for the three who were about to launch it, Luis gone over every possible factor: weather, windspeed, and even air traffic patterns. From his research, he had deduced that this day was the best possible time to launch the Triad, and so far, everything pointed to this conclusion.
"Hey, nerd", came the voice of Ethan, who straggled at the back of the group, the rocket and wagon in tow. "How much further?"
"Just over this rise", Luis said. "There's a clearing over there."
"Isn't this exciting, Ethan?", Emily said, the redhead trotting next to Luis up the hill.
"Sure", Ethan said, a long yawn escaping him. "Real excited here."
Luis shook his head. He had woken up at a little before five-thirty, just before the sun had begun to rise, and made final preparations on the rocket. At five-thirty-six Emily had arrived to help Luis, but Ethan had yet to show up, leaving her and Luis to heave the heavy rocket into the wagon. They had had to go to Ethan's house, where they found him still asleep. A few taps on his bedroom window had aroused the sleeping giant, who begrudgingly got dressed and joined the two; Luis had then charged him with pulling the wagon to the park.
The three finally arrived at the clearing. The clearing was fairly small, about ten meters long by two wide. A thick wall of oak and maples surrounded them, which Luis had hoped would create an adequate sound barrier for the launch. Luis scanned the sandy clearing, looking for a level area to place the rocket. Upon finding a spot he thought was suitable, he dragged the heel of his shoe into the dirt, creating an 'X' mark.
"Here", he said, pointing to the 'X'. "Big E?"
"Right", Ethan said, carefully lifting the rocket from the wagon.
Luis placed the rocket's launch pad on the ground above the 'X'. Upon ensuring that it was secure, he helped Ethan maneuver the rocket onto the pad. With the Triad in place, Luis made one last check of the rocket to ensure everything was ready for launch.
Only one shot at this, Luis thought. Gotta make sure everything…
"Hey, Luis", Ethan said, another yawn escaping him. "Can you hurry it up there?"
Luis rolled his eyes at the larger boy's impatience. "Almost ready", he said as he attached the wire of the launch remote to the rocket.
Ethan yawned again. "Dude, this thing had better blow up, wipe out, or do something cool."
"Wait Luis!", Emily said, looking up at the sky. "Don't launch until you're sure there are no birds in the flight path."
"Alright", Luis announced. "All systems are green, Triad is a-go." He backed away from the rocket, joining the others at the edge of the clearing under the trees. "Countdown commencing in T-minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six…"
"Just launch already", Ethan said.
With that Luis pressed the button on the remote. A low rumbling noise came from the rocket as smoke poured out the bottom, growing thicker as the rumbling rose to a roar. With a flash of flame the rocket shot up over their heads, leaving a trail of grey smoke as it rose higher into the sky.
"Look at it go!" Emily said, hands cupped over her eyes as she watched the rocket begin to disappear.
Luis beamed, everything had gone perfectly. He watched as the Triad began its ascent, carrying its precious cargo with it. Soon he and his friends would return to the garage where they would, hopefully, be able to pinpoint the satellite's location above the Earth, where it would then transmit photographs that it took from its vantage point. Now all that remained was to get Ethan…
"Hey, what's that?" Emily asked, pointing up at the sky.
Luis looked and was shocked at what he saw. Up above them, around where the rocket was approaching, the air seemed as though it were rippling, a red glow emanating from its center. He and the others flinched as a loud cracking sound filled the air, a bright light filling the sky as a large object emerged and collided with the rocket, causing the small projectile to explode into a large puff of black smoke. The object continued forward, beginning to fall as it did. The treetops whipped as the object flew overhead, the resulting wake causing dust and leaves to fly about the three teenagers below it as it flew out of sight. A large thud could be heard from beyond the trees, presumably from the object as it touched down.
"Oh my God, dude", Ethan said, eyes glued to the dissipating cloud of smoke from where the object had collided with the rocket. "Did you see that!"
"What was that thing?" Emily asked, looking through the trees in the direction the object had landed.
"I-I don't know", Luis stammered, staring up at the sky, his mind racing to process what had just happened. "The rocket wasn't supposed to turn the sky into liquid fireworks!" Then again, he thought ruefully. It wasn't supposed to have exploded either.
"Come on", Ethan said, running towards the trees. "Let's go check it out!"
Luis and Emily followed Ethan into the trees and down the slope that lead towards the larger clearing below. The three reached the edge of the clearing and stopped, starring at the object that lay in the field before them. The object appeared to be some sort of craft, measuring about forty feet in length from tip to tip. The greyish-blue hull, which sported a few black marks across its surface, dimly reflected the morning light as smoke rose from two wing-like structures at its back; to Luis, the object seemed to resemble some sort of large beetle.
"Cool", Ethan exclaimed, eyes wide as he looked at the object. "Luis, I think your rocket just brought down a UFO!"
"Great", Luis said, his eyes fixed on the object. "I'm in trouble with aliens now."
"Guys", Emily said. "There could be someone hurt in there, we have to help them."
"Em's right", Ethan said. "Come on!"
"Wait!" Luis called out, hand reaching out futilely as the two ran towards the object. "We can't just go running up to a… oh, what the heck?" He soon found himself running across the field towards the crashed object, a smell reminiscent of a burnt electrical socket and machine oil filling the air as he got closer.
The three stood before the object, which was much bigger now that they were closer to it. They began to walk around the craft, looking for anything that might be an exit for whoever, or whatever, was inside. They eventually made their way to the back of the craft where they located what appeared to be some sort of hatch, still closed.
"Alright, now what?" Luis asked, looking over to Emily.
"Its obvious", Ethan said. "We knock on the door and see if anyone's home."
Luis gave Ethan an annoyed look as Emily began to move closer to the craft. "Hello, is anyone in there?"
A hiss could be heard as the hatch began to open. Emily jumped back, rejoining the others as a cloud of smoke poured out from within the hatch. Suddenly, from inside the craft, they heard what sounded like a deep electronic scream as a robot, yellow in coloration, zipped out of the craft and across the field here it proceeded to crash into a tree, a loud clank ringing through the air as it hit the ground.
The three looked over at the robot before returning their attention to the craft at the sound of footsteps. The three watched as someone in a blue jumpsuit peered out through the hatch and slowly made its way down a ramp that had extended. To the group's surprise they saw that the person was a girl of around sixteen with tan skin, auburn hair pulled up in a ponytail sat atop her head with what appeared to be blue markings around her bangs.
"Whoa", Luis said. Despite the situation he couldn't help but acknowledge how attractive the girl was, even if she was an alien.
At this the girl's head snapped towards the three, her large eyes widening as she caught sight of the three teenagers. Her mouth, which seemed to be somewhat smaller than the average human's, hung open as she looked on.
"Someone say something", Emily said, directing a reassuring smile towards the girl.
"Right", Luis said, his mind racing with possible things to say. While he had always entertained the thought of making first contact with extraterrestrials, figuring that he would make some sort of speech for the visitors, he found himself at a loss for words. Finally, mustering a welcoming smile, he settled for, "Hello, welcome to Canada!"
. . . . .
A reverberating crack filled Cassiopeia's ears as the world shuddered around her. In the distance, she could vaguely hear the sound of roaring turbines followed by a thud as something large settled on the ground. Then all was silent, the only sound a distant humming.
Cassiopeia groaned, her eyes fluttering open as the world came into focus. She found herself slumped on the floor against the back wall of the bridge, the acrid scent of smoke hung faintly in the air. Slowly she began to rise on shaky legs and made her way towards the large table in the center of the room, catching herself on a chair as her knees buckled from a wave of dizziness. She gradually began to orient herself as her head cleared, and as she did she came to a startling realization. She was alive. Despite the Time Flyer careening into an unknown wormhole and sustaining some damage, she had survived the ordeal.
Now all she had to do was figure out where, and most importantly when, she was.
A familiar warbling sound from the helm caught Cassiopeia's attention. She looked just in time to see a pair of eyestalks rise above the seat followed by the body of the squibbon.
"Squibbon!" Cassiopeia said, amazed that the cephalopod had survived the crash.
A gleeful chortle emanated from the terrasquid as he clambered over the chair and bounded towards Cassiopeia, bouncing excitedly at the girl's feet.
"What were you thinking?" Cassiopeia exclaimed, anger in her voice, causing the squibbon to flinch. "Do you have any idea what you could've done? You could have jeopardized my entire mission, if not the fate of all humanity!"
A remorseful warble escaped the squibbon, his eyestalks and tentacles drooping. Cassiopeia sighed, a twinge of guilt overcoming her at the display.
"There now", Cassiopeia said, extending a hand out to the squibbon. "No real harm done."
The squibbon gleefully grabbed the hand with a tentacle and climbed up around Cassiopeia's abdomen in a hug, causing her to chuckle. "Now, to find out where we are."
Cassiopeia walked over to the helm and waved her hand over the consol. A whining sound could be heard as the hard-light display flickered on.
"Computer", Cassiopeia said. "Pinpoint current location and time."
"Unable to comply", the computer replied. "Self-repair in progress, please standby."
Cassiopeia sighed, turning her eyes to the bridge. The smoke that had filled the room had now cleared, the ventilators having purified the air as the Time Flyer's self-repair program took effect. Her eyes swept down to the floor and saw the three robots sprawled on the deck, sparks jumping from their casings.
So, I'm on my own then, Cassiopeia thought. While she had been trained to handle all the aspects of the mission, she did not find the prospect of continuing the mission alone appealing. But now was not the time to focus on that, now she had to figure out where she was and to assess the situation.
Her mind went back to her days in the academy, to a lesson that Professor Shu had drilled into her head as a failsafe in case of a situation just like this: be aware of your surroundings, keep interaction with anyone to a minimum, leave no trace behind.
She made her way to the front window. Outside was a wooded area on the fringes of a large sandy clearing. Beyond the trees, Cassiopeia could make out the outlines of skyscrapers against an early morning sky.
"So, we're in the human era", Cassiopeia said, looking down at the squibbon around her waist. "Apparently before the freeze. But which century is it?"
The squibbon warbled, as if to indicate he was unsure.
"I suppose we should go outside and see if we can't gather and further information", Cassiopeia suggested.
"N-n-n-not nessssssss-sary c-c-commander", an accented robotic voice said.
From the end of the bridge, Cassiopeia saw Visocod Y rising from the floor. Its yellow eye flickered as sparks jumper from the robot's casing, its stubby fingers fidgeting as it did.
"Visocod", Cassiopeia said as the robot floated forward. "How are you?"
"All system o-o-operating at mmmmmmmm-full capacity", the robot announced, giving a jerky salute. "R-ready for d-d-duty."
Cassiopeia looked the robot over warily. While it was obvious that it was not operating at full capacity, it was still functioning and could perhaps aid her in finding out where and when she was.
"Visocod", Cassiopeia said, putting on her best authoritative voice. "We have emerged in an unknown time period. Our vessel has sustained some damage and is unable to verify our location, therefor we must assume we are in a primitive human era. You are to go out and scout the area for any information on our whereabouts. Are you up to this task?"
"Af-f-f-firative, commander", Visocod said, turning to the door out of the bridge.
Cassiopeia began to follow the robot, before looking down at her waist and the squibbon who was wrapped around it. She gently pulled the terrasquid off her and placed it on the ground. "Squibbon, you must remain on the ship until I return", she said and turned to leave the bridge. The warbled sound of the squibbon caught her attention as she looked down to see the creature following her, his vestigial paddle-like tentacles flapping excitedly.
"Squibbon", Cassiopeia said, this time in a sterner tone. "Stay here!"
The squibbon gave what looked like a nod and crouched on the ground with his tentacles underneath him, almost like a dog sitting on its haunches.
Cassiopeia gave a satisfied smile. "Good", she said and left the bridge. She found that the ladder leading to the cargo bay had been extended and climbed down into the belly of the Time Flyer. Light smoke still hung in the air of the cargo bay, the ventilators having not gotten this far into the ship. Near the hatch she could see Visocod Y waiting for her.
"Alright", Cassiopeia said as she made her way to the control panel to open the door. "Now we have to minimize the chances of our being spotted. Though I doubt we haven't already been spotted yet, we must still proceed with the utmost caution."
"Affirmative, commander", Visocod Y replied. "Engaging stealth mo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!"
Cassiopeia gasped as she saw an explosion of sparks erupt from the robot's back, its long arms flailing as an electronic scream poured from its speaker. Before she could act, she saw the hatch of the cargo bay open, giving the berserk robot a chance to escape as it disappeared into the unknown world beyond, screaming as it went. In the distance, Cassiopeia could hear the distant clank of metal as the robot collided with something.
"Oh no", Cassiopeia said as she began to make her way towards the pen hatch. By now the smoke had cleared, giving her a view of what lay beyond the vessel. The landscape appeared like one of the enclosed parklands back in her own time, the kind that children would gather to play each other in hoverball or other physical activity Cassiopeia never got into. Cautiously she walked onto the gangplank, the cool morning air hitting her face. In the distance she could see Visocod Y laying on the grass under a tree, apparently having collided with it as it dashed out. Now all that remained was the task of retrieving the robot and bringing it back onboard…
"Whoa", a voice said.
Cassiopeia's head jerked in the direction of the voice. Her eyes widened at the sight of three humans standing a few feet away from the cargo bay entrance, two males and one female. One of the males was large and muscular with yellow hair, his attire consisting of a yellow shirt and tan khakis. The other male, a head shorter than the first, had a crop of black hair, his skin tone a shade or two darker than her own, wearing a grey shirt with the emblem of a rudely drawn skull. The female, the shortest of the group, even shorter than Cassiopeia herself, had a head of vibrant red hair in two braids, a light green shirt and yellow pant adorning her body. The three, who all seemed to be around her age, stared at her with wide eyes.
So much for minimizing interaction, Cassiopeia thought. It was then that the female smiled and said something in a language that Cassiopeia couldn't understand; possibly some primitive tongue.
At least they have developed language, Cassiopeia mused. Just then the dark-haired boy said something in a welcoming tone, almost like some sort of greeting. They were trying to communicate with her.
Cassiopeia sighed. While she knew that mission protocol dictated that she should try and minimize the contact already, she was in an interesting situation. She had no idea where she was, and her crew was incapacitated, she needed help and perhaps these humans could help her, or at least give her an idea of when she was. But, there was the issue of the language barrier. From a pouch on her belt she produced a small earpiece, one of the fail safes for such an event. She quickly placed the device into her ear, a low whine sounding as the device activated.
"Um, hello?" the female said, giving a small wave. Cassiopeia gasped as she heard the words, the alien tongue coming out of the girl's mouth but the meaning behind the words trickling into her brain.
"Hello", Cassiopeia said, raising her right hand in a greeting.
It was at that moment that the large boy with opened his mouth as if to say something, only to be interrupted by the redhead. "Ethan, say nothing", she said, to which the boy gave an annoyed grimace.
"Could you please tell me where I have landed?" Cassiopeia asked.
The dark-haired boy looked over to the redhead, giving a small nod. At this she stepped forward, raising her right hand, her forefinger and middle finger spread in an odd v-shaped sign. "Welcome to planet Earth. Peace."
"Yes", Cassiopeia said, stepping off the gangplank and onto the grass below. "I know I am on Earth. But what time period am I in, if you don't mind my asking."
At this the dark-haired boy stepped forward. "It's the twenty-first century, two-thousand seven to be exact", he said.
Twenty-first century. The words swirled around in Cassiopeia's mind, panic beginning to well up inside her. She had traveled over ten thousand years into the past, before humans had discovered a feasible means of time travel, let alone a means of interplanetary transit. "Oh no", Cassiopeia moaned, clutching her hair as she began to pace nervously. "Father will no be pleased. No, he'll be furious! Furious!"
"Why", the larger boy said, walking towards the Time Flyer. "Is this your dad's space shuttle or something?"
"No", Cassiopeia said, combing her fingers through her hair. "This is not a space craft, it is a Time Flyer. And I have managed to travel backwards to an ancient that, most likely, doesn't have a time-space vortex map I can borrow. Do you?"
"Sorry, can't help you there", the dark-haired boy said, scratching his head. "But I got an A in physics last semester if that helps."
Cassiopeia sighed. "No but thank you. Oh, this is bad, how am I ever going to get out of here?"
As warbling sound followed by a scream from the large boy caught the attention of the three. On top of the boy's head the squibbon had perched itself and wrapped its tentacles around his head, a delighted giggle emanating as the boy flailed frantically.
"Get it off!" he shouted, hands swatting at his head to get the creature off.
"Squibbon!" Cassiopeia shouted. The terrasquid looked over to Cassiopeia and jumped off the boy's head, bouncing happily. "I thought I told you to stay in the ship!"
"What is that thing?" the large boy asked, tenderly rubbing his head to check for injury.
"Aww", the redhead said, crouching down to get a better look at the creature. "It's so cute."
"Hardly the words I'd use", the dark-haired boy remarked, to which the redhead shot an annoyed at him.
"That", Cassiopeia said, picking the terrasquid up. "Is a terrasquid from two-hundred million years in the future. A squibbon to be precise."
"Squibbon", the girl echoed, reaching out a hand to pet the creature's green mantle. At the redhead's touch the squibbon uttered a soft cooing sound and immediately jumped from Cassiopeia's grip and into the girl's arms, warbling happily as it did. "I think he likes me, don't you little squibby?"
"Squibby?" Cassiopeia said, perplexed at the cutesy moniker that the girl had given the terrasquid.
"She gives pet names to almost every animal she meets", the large boy said. "You'll get used to it."
"Wait", the dark-haired boy said. "So, you mean to tell me you are from the future?"
"Well, yes, I am", Cassiopeia said, rubbing her arm. "And I have officially broken every rule in my mission handbook for even talking to you."
"Hey, rules are made for breaking", the large boy said, leaning against the hull of the Time Flyer.
Cassiopeia rolled her eyes. "Despite this, I need your help. One of my robotic crew had ran off and I need to retrieve it."
"Oh, you mean the thing that ran into that tree over there", asked the dark-haired boy.
"Yes", Cassiopeia said. "You wouldn't mind helping me retrieve it, would you?"
"Sure", the dark-haired boy replied. "Come on Ethan, lend a hand."
"Sure", the large boy, Ethan, replied as they four made their way towards the robot across the field.
"So", the redhead said, walking up to Cassiopeia. "We never got your name."
"Oh", Cassiopeia said, not breaking her stride. "Forgive me. I am Cassiopeia G."
"That's a pretty name", the redhead said. "My name's Emily, the skinny boy next to you is Luis and the large lug behind you is Ethan."
"Hello", Cassiopeia said, giving a wave to the two boys. By then the group had reached the robot, a large dent had formed in it's casing. Cassiopeia knelt to the robot and inspected it, sighing as she did. "Great, its completely fried."
"Maybe I could help", Luis said, kneeling beside Cassiopeia. "I'm pretty good with robotics."
"No offense", Cassiopeia said. "But this may be a bit advanced for you."
"I'll take that as a challenge", Luis said, a smirk spreading across his face.
"Hey nerd, how about less yapping and more lifting?" Ethan said, crouching to get a grip on the robot.
"Oh, right", Luis said as he grabbed the opposite end of the robot. With a grunt the two boys lifted the robot above the ground and began to move it back towards the Time Flyer.
"So, you're from the future, huh?" Ethan said.
"Yes", Cassiopeia said, not making eye contact with the boy. "The year twelve thousand three-hundred sixty-seven to be exact."
"Cool", Ethan said. "What's it like?"
Cassiopeia thought carefully on what her next word should be. She had already contaminated the timestream enough by even talking to these primitives, she couldn't risk doing any more damage. Finally, she said, "Cold. Very cold."
"Huh", said Luis. "I'd have thought it'd be warmer."
"It was", Cassiopeia said. "But we alleviated that problem, perhaps too well."
At last they arrived back to the Time Flyer. Ethan and Luis carefully placed the robot against the wall on the back of the cargo bay, wiping sweat as they did.
"There you are", Luis said. "One robot delivered."
"Thank you, uh, Luis", Cassiopeia said, giving a smile. "Now, I would kindly ask you all to please leave my ship and not discuss this meeting with anyone."
In the distance a wailing sound could be heard. Cassiopeia and the others looked out the cargo bay as the sound got closer, the sound of spinning rotors drawing nearer above them as the wailing got closer.
"Uh oh", Luis said. "I think your landing may have gained some attention from the police."
"Oh no", Cassiopeia groaned. "And the ship isn't functional yet. How can this get any worse?"
"Self-repair protocol completed", the voice of the computer. "All systems at one-hundred percent efficiency."
Cassiopeia let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps things were going her way after all. However, this sentiment didn't last as an alarm blared within the cargo bay. "Proximity alert. Time Flyer has arrived in pre-time travel era. Initiating retreat protocol", the computer said.
With that the hatch to the cargo bay closed, sealing the four inside teens and the squibbon inside. A low thrumming sound filled the air as the Time Flyer's engines came online.
"Oh no", Cassiopeia said as she rushed towards the ladder. "No, no, no, no, no."
"Cassiopeia", Emily asked, clutching the squibbon in her arms. "What's going on."
"Quickly, climb up", Cassiopeia called down. "We are about to enter an emergency vortex entry, you may want to secure yourselves."
With that the three clambered up the ladder after Cassiopeia, the squibbon holding on to Emily's back. Reaching the upper deck, they followed the future girl through a sliding door and into a large room like a bridge from a science fiction show. Cassiopeia was seated in a large chair in front of what seemed to be the helm, frantically waving her hands over a console that showed red lights. Out the large convex windows they could see the ground beginning to disappear below the Time Flyer as the vessel climbed into the air. In front of the vessel the air seemed to ripple, electricity crackling as the thrumming of the engines grew louder.
"I can't gain control of the helm", Cassiopeia said. "Brace for vortex entry."
"Cassiopeia", Luis said as he took a seat around the large central table. "Where are we going?"
"The question is not where", Cassiopeia said. "The question is when."
With that a loud crack filled the air as the world outside gave way to a vast tunnel of blue as the Time Flyer entered the time vortex.