John James Ingersoll was a model criminal and a model inmate. A model criminal in that he had cleverly eluded the police for 13 years until his unexpected capture in 1998. A model inmate in that he had actually improved himself, spending the subsequent 23 years in a federal penitentiary, performing volunteer work, staying out of trouble, earning degrees in engineering and law, and obtaining special privileges by participating in the highly secretive Omnichron Project.
The circumstances of Ingersoll’s capture were shrouded in mystery. The fact that the Feds had captured him, not the state police, led many to speculate that Ingersoll had been (or had run afoul of) a government agent involved in some sort of cloak-and-dagger project. At any rate, deals were made; publicity suppressed - the end result being that Ingersoll was sent to a maximum security federal facility, which afforded certain luxuries not readily available to the average lifer, in exchange for his total cooperation - in Omnichron.
Two hundred seventeen technicians, engineers, bureaucrats and observers (not including the infamous Mr. Ingersoll) had gathered in the Omnichron facility, 12 stories beneath the Western desert. The technicians and engineers knew why they were there, but not where. Their drivers, who had delivered them in vans with windowless passenger compartments, knew where they were, but not why. The bureaucrats and observers pretended to know both, but none knew if the others knew, or how much, or why. And what Mr. Ingersoll knew, or thought, or why, was anybody’s guess.
The culmination of the project was the Omnichron Matrix. The function of this massive machine was, quite simply, to move objects back and forth through time.
Ingersoll was escorted into the lab. At fifty-something, he was impressively fit and neatly dressed. Clean-cut and polite, it was hard to believe that he was the same unwashed, overweight heathen a jury had convicted 23 years ago. His only questionable physical feature was an angry scar which ran across his forehead, just below the hairline.
The technicians had prepped him for his excursion. A number of nanoprobes had been implanted in his body. Over the last few weeks, he had been periodically injected with a special solution which would allow the Matrix to lock onto him. He was dressed in 1998 period clothing: brand-name blue jeans with matching jacket, white leather tennis shoes, flannel shirt, and a baseball cap.
Doctor Mary Bennett Doyle, Principal Engineer and Assistant Director of the Project, thoroughly hated Ingersoll. First, Ingersoll had been shoved down her throat as Test Subject One at the last minute, on the personal authority of her boss, Project Director Thomas Skarbek. Second, she objected vehemently to a career criminal being offered the historic opportunity to become the first human being to travel backward in time. She was perfectly happy to let Ingersoll travel forward in time, at the same pace as everyone else, until the gods saw fit to remove him from existence. And she didn’t give a flying goddamn (and had said as much) if he’d become the Pope since his capture; she didn’t trust him any further than she could kick him.
But Doctor Doyle knew that today’s test would proceed, with or without her, so she swallowed her pride and played along, albeit reluctantly, not willing to be absent during the greatest technological achievement in human history.
As technicians fussed around Ingersoll, making final checks of his implants, the doctor reviewed the mission objective with him.
“When the transfer occurs, you should materialize upright and on the ground – but be prepared in case you take a tumble. You’ll be in a warehouse in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1998. You should have memorized the floor plan. Find the safe we talked about. Open it – you do remember the combination?”
Ingersoll, quite professional, recited the numbers drolly, ignoring her obvious animosity. “…And I will retrieve the pair of sensitive temporal tags, and keep them on me until I am automatically retrieved by the Matrix four hours later – my time.”
“That’s right,” Doyle replied dryly. “The excursion will be instantaneous from our viewpoint. As we discussed, once you’ve secured the tags, you have plenty of time. Just relax, and for God’s sake don’t go outside. The building is secure, so you shouldn’t run into anyone - but if you do, say as little as possible. At least get out of sight so they don’t see the transfer take place. The last thing we need is some freaked-out citizen stirring up trouble. We’ve checked police records and the local papers for that time period and it doesn’t look like you will be – uh, were - spotted. Just don’t take any chances.
“One more thing. No matter what happens, don’t part with that hat. It’s loaded with nanotech sensors that will make an audiovisual record of your excursion. And the button on top contains the miniaturized transfer scanner. Once it’s activated by the Matrix, it’ll scan you, and bring you back in one piece.”
“You hope,” finished Ingersoll, winking at her. She made a disgusted sound through her teeth and turned away. Ingersoll laughed.
Project Director Skarbek stepped forward. Skarbek had been with the Project for nearly 35 years, longer than anyone else. “One last thing, Mr. Ingersoll. I feel I must remind you, per your agreement with the federal government, that if for some reason you are not retrieved, and find yourself stranded in 1998, you are to say nothing to anyone, and contact me immediately at the phone number you have memorized. We’ve given you $200 and a counterfeit driver’s license, in case we can’t get to you right away. If you try to evade us, our security agents – when they find you - are authorized to eliminate any threat to the secrecy of the Project.”
Ingersoll nodded, making a dismissive gesture with one hand. “Let’s get this over with.”
Technicians helped Ingersoll into a spherical chamber just big enough to allow him to stand upright. The dignitaries donned protective eyewear and huddled around small view ports to observe the procedure.
#
It was over so fast they could barely believe anything had happened. At a signal from Doctor Doyle, a technician activated the Matrix. There was a flash of light, so brief it was almost imperceptible to the human eye. Ingersoll’s position changed, as if he were a film clip with a bad splice.
He put a hand against a plexiglass view port to steady himself, smearing a bloody palm print across its surface.
“Oh my God!” gasped Doyle. “Get him out of there!”
As medics extracted Ingersoll, who was obviously reeling with nausea, Doyle turned angrily to Skarbek. “Damn you! This bastard has done it again – and you let him!”
Skarbek ignored her, wading into the confusion, shouting commands. “I want those tags authenticated!” he ordered a technician. To the medics: “Get him out of here! Sedate him! And run a sample of that blood – I think you’ll find it’s his own.”
A medic glanced skeptically at Skarbek. “No wounds on him – not even a scratch.”
The technician called from a test station. “The tags are authentic, sir.”
Doyle was absolutely livid. Skarbek briefly considered having her sedated as well. “Please, Mary - calm down. It’s not what you think!”
“Not what I think!” shouted Doyle. “You send that maniac on a mission like this, and you expect him to do as he’s told? He’s probably been waiting 23 years for his big chance to have another thrill! Jesus…” she trailed off, hugging herself.
“Please,” Skarbek was now speaking louder, addressing the shocked group of observers. “I assure you there’s a good explanation for all of this. If you’ll just move into the screening room, we’ll take a look at his recording.” Skarbek held the baseball cap aloft with both hands, then handed it to a technician.
#
Had it not been for its historical significance, the video would have been so boring as to be unwatchable. The view of the Omnichron chamber’s interior blinked instantly into the interior of a dim warehouse. The image weaved, as Ingersoll fought off the initial disorientation and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark. He looked at his watch. Five o’clock. He went into action, finding the safe and pocketing the temporal tags. All in less that two minutes.
Then he broke a window and climbed outside.
Doyle went berserk. “I told you this would happen! He’s going off program!”
They watched impatiently, not daring to fast-forward the recording. But to their astonishment, Ingersoll simply walked to a small streetside café, and proceeded to have a beer and a burger, enjoying a beautiful, sunny spring day.
“That son of a bitch is going off program!” reiterated Doyle, provoking a barrage of shushes from the dignitaries.
After enjoying his food – presumably his first restaurant meal in 23 years – Ingersoll strolled casually to a payphone. As the receiver rang in his ear, his gaze followed a young, attractive woman as she jogged by. A surprised voice on the other end greeted him.
“Mr. Skarbek. Hello,” said Ingersoll. “The Omnichron Project is a success. Please send your agents to 1272 Pinewood Court at nine o’clock tonight – no earlier. That is all.”
Every eye in the screening room turned toward Skarbek; every mouth fell open. Skarbek, unperturbed, pointed back to the screen. They watched as Ingersoll walked to a nearby hardware store, where he purchased some heavy cord and a large hunting knife.
“Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch,” Doyle repeated under her breath, until Skarbek cast her a shut-up-or-you’re-out-of-here look.
Ingersoll took a taxi to 1272 Pinewood Court, an unassuming little saltbox house in a “mixed” neighborhood. He paid the driver, walked nonchalantly around to the back - and kicked in the door.
A young man, somewhat overweight, unkempt, unshaven, and apparently drunk, appeared in the hallway to see what was the matter.
Despite being older, Ingersoll quickly overpowered the younger man, beating him senseless, dragging him to the basement, and tying him to a heavy chair.
The young man cursed and struggled. “What the hell do you want?”
Ingersoll jerked the young man’s head back by a handful of hair, and drew the hunting knife hard across his scalp, cutting a deep gash that bled profusely. The young man shrieked; his breathing became heavy and ragged.
“How does it feel, you little bastard? To be the victim?” Ingersoll rummaged around and found a hidden box, laying it at the young man’s feet. He opened it, revealing a number of shocking instant photographs, some women’s intimate items, locks of hair. “I know your dirty little secret, Johnny.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Oh really? Would you like me to call the police and straighten this out? I’m sure a model citizen such as yourself wouldn’t mind.”
The young man said nothing.
Ingersoll began to remove the contents from the box, recounting the gruesome particulars regarding each item. Johnny stared straight ahead, his face a shining mask of blood. Finally, Johnny had heard enough.
“Who the hell are you, man? Do I know you?”
“Look at me closely. See any resemblance?”
The young man squinted hard for a few seconds, then his eyes opened wide. “Who are you? My father or something?”
“Or something.” Ingersoll looked down, lost in thought for a moment. “Listen, do you remember Captain Ahab?”
“Who?”
“Captain Ahab. From Moby Dick?” Ingersoll sighed with exasperation. “You should read more. He couldn’t let go of the past, and ended up destroying himself.”
“Look, what the hell do you want?”
“I want you to think about the past. Most people give up thinking about the past, about the wrong they’ve done. You can’t go back, right? Well, I got a chance to actually change the past – a little piece of it anyway. At any rate, this time Ahab gets his whale, because he is the whale. Or was. Do you understand any of this?”
The young man trembled, swallowed hard, shaking his head. “No.”
“Well, I know you’ll figure it out. Now, listen carefully. In a few seconds a couple of fellows will arrive. They’re here to help you. Ask for Skarbek. Mention Omnichron. Can you remember that?”
“Yeah. Skarbek. Omnichron. Christ.” Johnny looked down at himself, covered in blood and sweat.
Ingersoll glanced at his watch. Nine o’clock. The clip-clop of hard shoes sounded overhead.
“We’re down here, gentlemen!” shouted Ingersoll.
Two plainclothesmen came down the steps, cautiously, guns drawn. “Mister, put down the knife.”
Ingersoll complied.
“Now, put your hands behind your head, then kneel on the floor.”
“That won’t be necessary, Agent Reynolds.”
“How do you know my name? Get those hands up!”
“Take care of this young man,” said Ingersoll. “I’ve waited 23 years to set him on the right path. He has a promising…future.”
At that moment the officers and the basement disappeared in a brief flash of light. The interior of the Omnichron chamber reappeared.
#
Skarbek ordered the recorder turned off. The audience sat in stunned silence.
“Now I can tell you what I’ve known for 23 years. In 1998, I had just been promoted to Director of the Omnichron Project. As you all know, it was top secret. Only a dozen or so individuals knew what it was about. At the time, it seemed ludicrous to funnel money into, what, time travel? Funding was increasingly impossible. Then one day I got a mysterious call, at my unlisted number, from someone claiming that Omnichron was a success! I was dumbfounded. I ordered two security agents to Pinewood Court. They found him, as you saw, tied up, bloodied, but otherwise none the worse for wear. And at his feet - enough evidence to convict a young and reclusive John James Ingersoll of nine brutal killings. The agents also had some cockamamie story about a middle-aged stranger in a baseball cap who disappeared into thin air. But that was enough. The Project was saved. So, we pulled a few strings. Got Ingersoll placed into our custody. And the rest, as they say, is history.”
Mary Doyle looked as if she had been struck a heavy blow. “But why did you believe him? Didn’t you consider that some other agency, even another American agency, could have pulled this off as a hoax?”
Skarbek gazed at the blank screen. “Well, as you’ve seen, it wasn’t a hoax. I really didn’t believe him at first, but let’s just say that Mr. Ingersoll is – or will be – a well-traveled man.”
END
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