18 July 2036
“Oh, this is so exciting!” Anna, my best friend squealed. The two of us were sitting in the park, in the middle of a picnic, watching a live launch of a rocket on my hand phone screen.
“Yeah, it is,” I could feel goose bumps popping up as I waited with anticipation for the Green Earth 1 rocket that I had helped build, to launch into the atmosphere.
The Green Earth 1 rocket is an international project designed by the world’s top scientists and engineers of various fields to remove the threats of the green house effect and rising sea levels by changing the carbon dioxide into oxygen. Eight years ago, I joined this elite team as an electronics engineer.
“Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven…” The countdown began. I felt a pang of regret that I could not witness the launch close up. I quickly reminded myself that we had planned Anna’s 35th birthday picnic a long time ago.
“Sam, you must be so proud,” Anna said as she gave my hand a squeeze. I was proud. Although I was only 27 when I joined this earth-saving project, all my colleagues treated me with respect and my opinions were held in high regard. Most importantly, I had a role in this important project.
“Three… Two… One…” Anna and I cheered as the rocket took off. I felt a rush of excitement; I was like a small boy tearing open his Christmas presents. My dreams of a cleaner and better environment were just about to come true.
All of a sudden, while the rocket was in the middle of the troposphere, GE1 gave a small jerk. Caution bells rang in my head. That wasn’t supposed to happen; something was wrong. The GE1 jerked again, more violently.
“Oh no,” I muttered under my breath. “Watch out!” The GE1 exploded. There was a ferocious boom as the rocket blew up into pieces. On my small hand phone screen, we watched on helplessly at the fiery flames as the remains of the rocket plummet towards the earth.
I felt a warm hand slip into mine; Anna pulled me up from the ground and quickly started to clear the remains of our picnic. I just stood there, staring; I dumbfounded at the sudden change of events.
When she was done, Anna led me to the car. “Come on, Samuel,” she told me gently, wiping off a tear I hadn’t realized was there, “I’ll drive you to the station.”
*
My movements were slow and heavy as I locked the main door and trudged up the stairs to my bedroom. I dragged myself to the bed and just laid there, staring at the ceiling.
David, the head of this entire operation, had told us that it was suspected that the GE1 was sabotaged. On top of that we would not be building another rocket; there was a lack of funds and none of the countries were willing to back us up.
‘Sabotage’. I had never seen David looking so messed up. He had bloodshot eyes, a pale complexion and he wore a spaced out expression. His usually neat suit was in disarray.
‘We would not be building another rocket.’ At the rate things are going, every living thing on earth would completely fried in twenty to thirty years. The entire human race would be completely extinct by the year 2080, about 44 years from now.
“Unless…” a thought struck me. I crossed the room in three long strides to my desk. My heart was beating loudly. Picking up the receiver, I dialed a number I knew by heart.
After a few rings, the phone was picked up. “Hello?” In the background I could here my niece and nephew, Deidre and Daniel splashing around in their pool at the back of the house.
“Did you watch the launch?” I asked. “The GE1 exploded.” Even now, hours after the incident, the words still pierced my heart and every syllable was a heavy blow.
There was a soft sigh. “Yes. I tried calling you a million times. Sam, are you all right? What happened?”
“I need to use the time machine.”
A long silence greeted my statement. Finally, my older sister replied. “Samuel, are you sure you want to do this?” I kept silent. The answer to that was more than obvious. Hannah heaved a sigh. “Come on over.”
“Thanks, sis. Love you!” I quickly hung up the phone and grabbed my car keys off the table. Whistling, I jogged down the stairs, out the door and got into my car. It was amazing how quickly a situation could change.
“I have a chance to make things right,” I muttered to myself as I steered my car out of my driveway and onto the road. “I can change everything.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” my sister asked as soon as she opened the door to let me in.
I fixed my gaze on her, not saying a word. Hannah knows how important this was to me and the only way I could save the GE1 was if I used the time machine Hannah and I secretly built in her attic; Hannah used to be a scientist before she decided she wanted to be a stay-at-home mother. The only flaw in my plan was that I wasn’t sure if the time machine worked properly; Hannah had told me that it wouldn’t on various occasions.
With another long and loud sigh, Hannah led me to her attic where the time machine was already up and running. To my surprise, there was someone there, checking the dials, knobs and such.
“What the-“ I uttered when that person turned and I saw her face. It was my sister. I turned around and, sure enough, there appeared to be two of Hannah. “What’s going on? Did you clone yourself or something?”
“No. I time traveled,” the second Hannah said coolly as if she was telling me the time. “I’m from tomorrow.”
“So the machine works? Great!” I cried, all my worries vanished. “Send me back to tomorrow. That should be enough time for me to check the machine.”
The Hannahs exchange looks. “Sam, we know who sabotaged the rocket,” the first Hannah announced.
“Who?” I asked excitedly. If I knew who sabotaged the GE1, I could just try to stop the person or find out exactly what that person did the to the GE1.
“You.”
That single syllable struck me like a speeding truck. “How could I have sabotaged the GE1? Impossible! I ‘m trying to save it. I need to!”
“You have to,” the second Hannah told me. “If the rocket launches without a hitch, it ends up going into overdrive. It turns all the carbon dioxide and any gas possible into oxygen.”
“Bottom line is the earth burns up in a matter of weeks but this time it’s because of excess oxygen. A single match will give the flame of a blowtorch,” Hannah number one added.
“How would you know? That couldn’t happen. The system is flawless!” I argued. “There’s no way that’s possible!” I moved toward the main control panel. They must have gotten it wrong. I had to save the GE1 not sabotage it.
“It is possible. Don’t forget, we have the time machine,” the second Hannah told me as she stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“So let me use it,” I declared. “ Let me travel through time. Let me see for myself if what you say is true.”
They look uncertain. “Alright. We’ll send you forward fifty years from now,” the first Hannah said finally.
“Ten. If what you say is true then ten years should be sufficient,” I countered. A thought struck me. “Wait. If the rocket already blew up, isn’t the earth saved already?”
“Well, what I think is since the present Samuel hasn’t sabotaged the rocket, the event hasn’t really happened even though it actually has. So the person that sabotaged the rocket is kind of an image of you from the future, or something like that,” the second Hannah explained.
My head went around in circles. “So you’re saying that it hasn’t happened but at the same time it has.”
“In a word, yes. That’s basically it. I know it’s confusing, isn’t it?” Hannah laughed. “That’s my theory about this particular event. But as you know, theories are not always precise and may even be wrong.”
“I think I get it,” I said, nodding my head. I stared at the time machine with determination and partial desperation. “Let’s do this.”
*
18 July 2006
My heart pounded loudly as I climbed down the attic and into the hall on the second floor of Hannah’s house. ‘Mom’s house,’ I corrected myself. I had traveled to the future and what I saw was devastating; everything was in ashes. Nothing survived. Occasionally there was even a small eruption of flames.
When I returned to my real time, I agreed to sabotage the GE1 but only on one condition; I wanted to travel further back into time.
“Mom,” I murmur as I walk down the hall towards the stairs. My mother had passed away when I was only eight and Hannah was ten. Hannah told me that she had often time traveled to see our mother and reveled that she even knew all about the time machine and us.
I heard the clatter of pots and plates downstairs; my mother was cooking lunch.
“Samuel! Give me back my Barbie doll!” I heard the seven-year-old Hannah scream as she chased the five-year-old Samuel around the garden. I chuckled as I walked down the stairs and to the kitchen, letting my hands run over the old, familiar furniture.
I breathed in and took in the smell of my mother’s cooking. I’ve missed her so much. I couldn’t wait to tell her all about myself and all that I have achieved. I couldn’t wait to hug her and to see her again, to hear her voice as she strokes my hair.
Without realizing it, tears started to roll down my cheeks. This would be the second time I was crying in 24 hours. I stepped quietly into the kitchen. “Hi, mom,” I said, my voice cracking. “It’s good to be home.”
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