Justin Time (Chapter 18) An Original Science Fiction Novel
Link to beginning of story:
https://steemit.com/fiction/@justephen/justin-time-chapter-1-an-original-novel
Link to Chapter 17: The Letter
https://steemit.com/fiction/@justephen/justin-time-chapter-17-an-original-story
Chapter 17 Review:
Justin reads this mysterious letter and finds out that it was written by himself. Evidently he had discovered time travel, but messed things up. He now has to go back and rectify it. He must do exactly as the letter says and cannot deviate. He then shares that information with Blair. Inside his basement is a safe and he is instructed to open the safe for more information.
Chapter 18: Dreamer
Justin and Blair proceeded to the basement via the kitchen cupboard. Inside the large basement there was a couple of refrigeration and freezer units where Justin would keep a variety of specimens. He also had two dentist chairs and an x-ray machine. On the shelves of one wall, there was hundreds of bottles and containers. Stored within them were a huge variety of chemicals, mixtures and reagents. On the opposite wall, were dozens of empty beacons, petri dishes and test tubes. Justin had a full laboratory set up with all of the state of the art equipment needed.
In the far corner laid a large safe standing five feet tall and three feet in width and depth. As Justin and Blair approached the safe, they both started to sweat. Just carefully opened the safe using a six digit code. As Justin opened the safe, along with his usual personal items, was placed many envelopes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. They were all clearly marked numerically. Justin and Blair glanced at each other and then back inside the safe. Just grabbed the envelope marked 'One'. It was a white envelope 18" x 12" and 2 inches thick. He opened the envelope and pulled out standard writing paper that was clipped together. Also, within the envelope was a full medicine vial. Justin and Blair read the letter together.
Justin,
I first need to reiterate that if you do anything out of order, you can alter the outcome. The envelopes and the instructions within them must be done in the appropriate order. By the way, this feels strange writing to myself.
As I said earlier, you were successful in creating time travel, but made several errors. YOU must now rectify those errors. YOU must go back in time to do that!
First of all, you must create and learn how to time travel. You are correct in your book when you discussed what time travel is and isn't. The key to time traveling is NOT some kind of a machine that takes you back and forth through time. You are correct that it must be broken into two parts. This first envelope is your guide on what you must do to construct an apparatus and learn how to time travel.
Although you are quite aware of this process through your own experiments with terminal people, you must learn how to do this for yourself. Your first step is to practice and then perfect controlling your dreams. This may take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple months. You cannot take longer than 72 days. Every time you go to sleep, you must first make a concerted effort to tell yourself when you are dreaming. While dreaming, do not be afraid to test your intuition when you ask yourself ,'Am I dreaming?' Do something, you wouldn't normally do if you were awake. An example would be running through the neighborhood in your underwear. Once you are consistent on knowing when you are dreaming, the next challenge is controlling your dreams without waking up. This is very important as it is impossible to accomplish and complete any task within your dream if you wake up. Within this envelope is a container of pills. These pills will help you sleep deeper. This is a special sedative your mom created.
The bottom of the page read:
STOP! ONCE YOU HAVE PERFECTED CONTROLLING YOUR DREAM, YOU MAY CONTINUE.
Blair and Justin looked at each other and said nothing for moment.
Finally, Justin said, "Wow. I am going to put my theory into practice. I have spent so much time on this project and now I can make it happen."
Blair just shook his head and said, "What have you gotten yourself into?"
25 year old Kirstin Reynolds was day dreaming while reading her script for an esteemed play-write, William Shakespeare's Othello. She was selected to be one of the main characters, Desdemona. Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who eloped with Othello, a man 25 years older than she.
Kirstin moved back from England three months ago after graduating the University of East Anglia. She double majored in drama and music. Kirstin thought her best opportunities would be in Hollywood. She answered an ad from someone who was looking for a roommate. She ended up moving in with an unwed women in her early 50's.
Kirstin was recalling her encounter with Justin at the book signing. He didn't seem that excited to see me. All he said was, 'are you Kirstin?' I know he was busy, but he could of said, 'nice to see you.' 'How have things been?', 'We should hook up.' I can't concentrate on this play-write. I am sure he is so busy he wouldn't have time for me anyway. He is a College University professor and writes an extraordinary book on time travel. I am just an aspiring actress.
"You have been on that same page for 20 minutes now.", said 53 year old Mrs. Hartford. Connie Hartford was a widow who started a second career as an elementary school teacher.
"I know.", said Kirstin. "I keep thinking of this guy who I dated a couple of times in High School. We both really had a great time and I think we were falling in love with each other. My parents moved to England and we hadn't heard from each other since. I know its' been about eight years since he and I went out, but now that I am close, I can't stop thinking about him. To tell you the truth, I am very inexperienced when it comes to dating. He is a very accomplished teacher and probably doesn't think twice about me. When I went to an event of his, he barely remembered who I was. All he did was stare for a couple seconds and then spoke to the next person in line."
"Have you ever thought." ,said the wise teacher, "that maybe you caught him off-guard and he was lost for words at that moment?"
"No. I doubt that. He probably is an expert in public speaking and lecturing is a common part of his life.", said Kirstin.
"Public speaking expert or not, everyone can be thrown of guard. You two may of been in love and he hadn't seen you for eight years? You then surprise him at an important event, with an unexpected visit? I think most people would be surprised and lost for words. You owe him and yourself a second chance. Do you know where his school is?"
"Yes", said Kirstin somewhat sheepishly.
"You should pay him a visit and if he is busy, at least make a point to find out if he would like to go out for a cup of coffee or something."
"I am sure he has found someone already. He was a high school track and field star and I am sure that some girl has scooped him up."
"You don't know that. You owe yourself to at least try. Otherwise who knows how long you will be distracted. If he is, you can then move on."
"You're right. I will pay him a visit. That is, when I get the courage."
"Just a couple more days mom, and the new drug will be on the market.", exclaimed Mark Hannity.
"Really?” ,Margaret Hannity slurred. “This pain is excruciating and I don't know if I am going to last much longer."
After her stroke three years ago, she had completely lost all movement on her left side and it seemed like Mark's mother was living her final days.
"Hang in there mom. I promise you will be much better. Just two more days."
After the trial, Mark had a new perspective on life. Although money was still important to him, he grew to realize that careful thought and planning was much more rewarding. For ten years now, Mark has been working as a financial adviser. He specialized in helping the elderly with their retirement portfolio. He charged a modest commission, but had a huge following. A large portion of all of his clients portfolio was in a biotechnology pharmaceutical company called Neurogenetics Inc. Ten years ago, Mark himself started investing in Neurogenetics Inc. when they were a much small company. They specialized in neuro genetic engineering. Seven years ago, science finally was successful in cloning of the human brain. The rest of the human anatomy had been successfully cloned for 12 years. The human brain in its complexity took much longer. They found that the 'spiritual gene' in all its uniqueness was very complicated to copy. From the time Mark started investing, they have had many scientific breakthroughs, including their newest pharmaceutical called antiocclusion. Antiocclusion is a drug that reverses damage caused by a brain stroke. It is scheduled to be available to the public in a couple days. The attributing reason for their growth within the last tens years was there acquisition of a well known scientist named Katherine Time.
"Oh my god. That smells so good.", said Katherine Time as she walked through the door.
"Don't come in the kitchen yet dear. I don't want you to see.", said William.
"Happy Birthday hun", said a flour covered William as he was entering the family room. William hustled over to Katherine and gave her a big hug and kiss.
"Oh boy, now I am covered in flour too." she whined.
William took Katherine's hand and lead her to the dining room table. There they had another wonderful looking meal. At that table throughout the years they have had many phenomenal meals. During special occasions, William always prepared something spectacular.
It's been 18 years and they still lived in their comfortable home. Katherine left Neuro Science Institute for Advanced Scientific Research because she was offered a head position at Neurogenetics Inc. and was given a sizable compensation. William, on the other hand, was now a minority share partner for the Gourmet Grille. His partner was rarely around as he spent half the year traveling. William's chief competition was still the Bel de la Flur Country Club. After the announcement at the trial, the owner Larry Van Morrison, had a nervous breakdown and ten years later was committed to an insane asylum. His brother, Jerry took over the business, restructured the operations and now it is very lucrative. Jerry Van Morrison, unlike his brother, was an upstanding citizen. He and William had great mutual respect for each other.
"That meal like usual, was delicious dear.", said a very content Katherine.
"I created that meal last week. I plan on adding it to the menu within a couple of months. I plan on naming it, 'Tendersweet Pork Chops'. The description on the menu will looking something like this. 'Succulent herb boneless chops paired with a tangy raspberry sauce mounted on a bed of gratin mashed potatoes accompanied with sweet steamed Julian cut carrots and zucchini'."
"That sounds wonderful dear.", complimented Katherine.
"I was thinking of some summer recipes that I could cook for outside in our new back yard. Something less formal, but still delicious."
"That's a great idea dear. When our backyard is complete, we should have a small party and invite our friends and family.", exclaimed Katherine.
"That's a wonderful idea. We can make it a pool party as well. The contractor told us that everything should be complete within a few weeks now."
"We need to find out when Justin will be available and plan around that. Our boy is always so busy.", added Katherine.
It was 4:00 pm and Justin was just finishing class.
"Okay, your homework for tonight is to read Chapter 7: Isolating and Analyzing Genes. Who knows there just may be a pop quiz on Wednesday. See you all next week and enjoy your weekend."
The students slowly emptied the room and Justin stayed to catch up on a few small tasks. Justin's head was down as he was immersed in a publication so he didn't notice anyone entering.
"Justin?"
Justin quickly looked up and he felt like his stomach turned upside down.
"Hi. It's me Kirstin."