Organization: Penn State University Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 12:22:55 EDT From: Marshall Ryan Maresca Message-Id: <93203.122255MRM122@psuvm.psu.edu> Newsgroups: alt.ql.creative Subject: TimeStorm, Part 2 Lines: 140 TIMESTORM Part Two Alia started pulling at the straps holding into her the chair, and Sam tried even harder to get out of the handcuffs, but all he managed to do is make his wrists raw. Alia started to thrash even harder in the chair, and screaming. "Let me go! Lothos, let me go!" "Alia!" Sam shouted, "Alia, it's all right, I'm here." Alia looked at him. "Sam? Sam, what's happening?" She tried again to get out of the chair. "Don't ask him," said the strange man, "He has no idea. I'm glad you two know each other. We won't have to make any introductions, then. Oh, except for me. Silly me, I forgot that. "Larry Thorton, that's me. You're both probably wondering just how I did this, aren't you?" "That DID cross my mind, Mr. Thorton. What year is this, exactly?" Sam asked. "No, no, no, Doctor, no free rides. And, please, call me Larry." He grinned evilly, "Now, if you excuse me, I have a few things I must take care of. Good day, now." With that, he left the room, the door closing with a resounding slam and the click of heavy bolt. "Alia? Are you okay?" asked Sam. "I'm fine. I just hate being trapped in this chair. What is going on? Who is that guy? How does he know who we are?" "I don't know. He's obviously someone who has figured out the existance of leapers and how to draw them to a specific point in time. Here." "How could he do that?" "The technology could exist. One time this scientist I leaped into in 1971 had these elaborate sensors which picked up my leap and transmissions from Al. If stuff in '71 could do that, then maybe in the eighties or nineties someone clever enough could put it together." "But how could he know that people were travelling in time?" "I don't know. He's obviously has some chemical imbalances or something. We just have to ride this out. Where is Al?" "You haven't seen him? How long have you been here?" "Maybe a few hours, I usually see him by now. But this leap is too strange. Anything could be happening." ************** "Gooshie, what do you mean you can't get a lock?" "Just that, Admiral. Although we have located where and when Doctor Beckett is, we cannot lock the Imaging Chamber to him." "Great. Just great." said Al. Verbena came into the Control Room. "Alia's leaper just arrived," she said, "And she's in the same state as Sam's." "Do you think there is a connection?" "Perhaps. We haven't focused in on her yet." "Ziggy!" said Al, "Can you get a lock on Alia?" "Negative, Admiral," said Ziggy's cool voice, "But I can predict with 94.3% accuracy that she is also in Maine, January 14th, 1989 with Doctor Beckett. This rises the chances of my timenapping theory to 99.8%." "Are you saying that someone or something in Maine in January of 1989 has snatched Sam and Alia out of time?" "Exactly, Admiral." "That's IMPOSSIBLE," said Al. "Apparantly not, Admiral, since all the evidence suggest that it has indeed happened." "OK, Ziggy, fire up the imaging chamber. Get me as close to there as you can without a lock." Al found himself on a winding dirt road, in the middle of virtually nowhere. "Is this the best you can do, Ziggy?" he asked, but it was Gooshie who answered him. "Admiral, there appears to be some kind of energy field north of where you are, which we can't penetrate." "Well, what's there?" "We're not sure, Admiral, since we can't..." "I mean RECORDS, Gooshie! If we know where it is, we can check it!" "Oh! Of course. Why didn't I think of that?" "I'm sure I don't know, Gooshie. While you do that, I'm going to see just how close I can get." *************** Despite his attempts to keep himself awake, sleep had taken over Sam. After a little while he was woken up by a nudging in his side. Alia had been moved and tied up next to him while he was sleeping, and she was now using him as a pillow. When he looked up he saw Thorton was back in the room, fiddling with his controls. "Carbonized quarks!" he shouted suddenly, "That must mean only one thing- one of those blasted observers has come, probably that Admiral Calavicci!" "HOW could you know about Al?" demanded Sam. "Ah, you've rejoined us, Doctor Beckett. I will confess, my knowledge of Admiral Calavicci was gained much easier than my other information." "What do you mean?" asked Sam. Thorton simply giggled for a moment, then said, "Well, I can't give away ALL my secrets, not yet at least, but I will say that I know about 'Al' simply because you talk in your sleep." Sam grimaced. "So what are you going to do?" "Well, nothing. I mean, at least for the moment. However, Admiral Calavicci will not be able to contact you, due to the energy field that surrounds the area. As you can guess, I've been planning this for some time." "You certainly do seem... prepared." "Well, it's very exciting to find out that you are right, despite what others said." "I know what that's like." said Sam. "Of course, you're a maverick scientist as well! How could I forget? Never mind. Anyways, it has taken me years of research and work, plus a large amount of money, it order to design this equipment, and then I wasn't even sure it worked, if I was just wrong. Until I recorded this!" Thorton held up many sheets of paper with graphs and figures. "What is that?" asked Sam, partly just to keep Thorton talking, but now mostly his own curiousity kicking in. "THIS is Mallard, Ohio, September 16th, 1987! One of the biggest time disturbances ever seen! It proved I wasn't wrong! It was then that I started to design the retrieval chair." Thorton waved his hand over to the chair, which Sam now saw had another person strapped in, unconscious. "You aren't going to bring someone else in, are you?" "Of course I am!" "But why? For what purpose." "The same reason one climbs a mountain- because they are there." With that, he started flipping more switches, and Sam could feel that same slight tug towards the chair. The same quantum glow surrounded the victim, but this time, it was different- red. Then it settled again, and the Leaper sitting in the chair looked over and locked eyes with Sam. "You!" she said. "Zoey," said Sam, "Oh God."  Marshall Ryan Maresca