Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 14:26:13 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Slide Before You Leap - part 15 Message-ID: Slide Before You Leap A Quantum Leap/ Sliders Crossover by Kat Freymuth Part 15 Quinn waited until Al was out of sight before he spoke up. "Do you guys get the feeling they're trying to hide us from something?" "Indeed, Mr. Mallory," Arturo replied. "Despite the Admiral's assurances, I would say that this area hasn't been in use for at least a couple of years." "What makes you say that, Professor?" Rembrandt asked. "The doors, Mr. Brown," Arturo said simply. Quinn nodded. "Of course." Wade looked at the doors carefully and realized what Arturo meant. "They're not the same as the others upstairs." "Precisely, Miss Wells. The technology of these locks are quite different." "Well, I don't know about you guys," Rembrandt put in, "but I don't care where I am right now as long as I can get some sleep." "He's right," Quinn said. "Let's get some more sleep and worry about this in the morning." They all agreed and went into their new quarters for the rest of the night. ******************* Al walkedd into the Control Room where, Alpha had informed him, Sam and Max were at work. He looked about. He could see Sam's legs sticking out from underneath Alpha with Max just beside them, watching intensely. "How's it going?" Al asked quietly enough not to startle the two scientists. "Slowly," Max answered him. "I doubt we'll have the computer operational by morning. As Max said this, Sam, lying of a trolley, pushed himself out from underneath Alpha and sat up. He looked at Al. "Better bring some more coffee. We're gonna be up for a while." "What's the problem?" Al asked as he approached them. "Incapatibility," Sam told him. "Apparently, we DO need the cell samples we took; the brainwave scans are just not strong enough to maintain a link just as we feared." "So you need to put the cells themselves into the computer," Al concluded. "And we can't do that unless we have a compatible chip," Max put in. Al thought for a moment. "A biomechanical chip?" "It's possible theoretically," Sam told him. "Problem is no one has invented one yet." Al blinked in disbelief. "Let me get this straight. You have to invent a biomechanical chip, based only on theory and our brain cells, in less than seven hours?" He shook his head. "Sam, you may be a genuis but you're not Superman. You can't build things faster than a speeding bullet." "It doesn't have to be perfected," Sam told him. "It just needs to last until after Weitzman and Harlow have left." Al sighed. "Sam, I've never known you to do anything half-baked before but now it appears you're on a role." Sam looked at Al carefully. "I don't have a choice." The two looked into each other's eyes for a moment. "No. I don't suppose you do," Al said quietly. "Well, then. Let's get started, shall we?" "Right," Sam said, standing up. "We'll need to get this done as quickly as possible." "I'll call down Tina," Al told him. "You'll need all the help you can get." ************************ Hours passed slowly as Sam, Max, Tina, and Al worked on the problem while drinking several pots of coffee to keep awake. Finally, as the sun rose over the New Mexican horizon.... "Sam," Al said to the physicist. "Better come see this." Both Sam and Max followed Al out of the lab in which they had been working. They entered the Control Room to find Tina standing behind Alpha's control console. "Hello, Doctor Beckett. Dr. Arturo. Welcome back, Admiral Calavicci," a strong masculine voice came from seemingly nowhere. Sam smiled with delight. "Hello, Alpha. How are you?" "I am well, Doctor Beckett. However, it is quite apparent that you, Dr. Arturo, Dr. Martinez-O'Farrell, and Admiral Calavicci are not. It would be wise for all of you to go to sleep for a few hours. Unlike humans, I do not require rest and can easily maintain my systems alone." Sam laughed. "This is great!" "His personality could be less egotistic though," Al commented. "My personality is a composite of both your personality and Dr. Beckett's, Admiral," Alpha told him. "I cannot help but reflect part of your own personality." Arturo laughed. "I believe alpha has just insulted you, Admiral." Sam stared at the computer in astonishment. "It works! The chip works!" "Congradulations, Dr. Beckett," Tina told him with a smile. "You've just invented the biomechanical chip." Al took a breath. "But there is a problem." Sam looked at him for an explanation. "The chip will eventually burn out," Al told him. "How soon?" Sam asked. "A week. Maybe less," Tina answered him. "So it will get us through the inspection," Sam concluded. "It should," Al told him. "But I suggest you improve it before Weitzman and Harlow see the Control Room. And get rid of our guests too." "Guests?" Max questioned. Al quickly turned to him. He sighed. He hadn't watched what he was saying. So far, only he, Tina, and Sam knew about the Sliders. Now he couldn't keep it from Max. But he could delay it. ""Later," Al told Max. He looked at his watch. "It's five oh seven now. The senators are going to be here in about three and a half hours and, like Alpha pointed out, we need sleep." They all left the Control Room to go to their quarters, leaving instructions with Alpha to wake Al and Sam at eight o'clock. ------------------------------------------ Part 16 soon. Kat Freymuth