|
*WARNING: Due to
some graphic content, reader discretion is advised!
PREVIOUSLY
IN “LIFETIME”
“FUTURE’S
END”
Sam
leaps almost thirty years into his future where he meets a woman named
Isabella, and her companion, Adam. She reveals to Sam the horrible account
of what has happened to PQL in his absence and how it became the catalyst
for the Great Disaster. He is further shocked when Isabella reveals that she
is in fact the biological daughter of Sammy Jo Fuller and Daniel Fulton, and
that she has purposely brought him here to bear witness to the religious
cult that his son, Stephen, started to keep his legacy alive.
As
Isabella and Adam lead Sam into her private workspace, he is also reunited
with Ziggy, who has now assumed a fully tangible holographic form with
emotions. She informs him of Isabella’s plan to send him back to the Star
Bright Project to plant the “seed” for his return home. A chip
containing the perfected Retrieval program must be integrated into the
circuitry of SID (System Interface Database), which was the prototype for
what would eventually become Ziggy. As the time of “Old” Sam’s
imminent death draws near, Adam attempts to kill Isabella, but is ultimately
killed by Ziggy. Sam then holds the Retrieval chip firmly in hand, and
leaps.
“PAST’S
PROLOGUE”
Upon
leaving the void, Sam looks in a mirrored reflection and sees Gooshie. The
year is 1984, and he is on his way back to New Mexico when he spots Alia,
seven years older than the last time he saw her. Believing himself to be
partially to blame for her returning to the streets, he formulates a plan to
sneak Alia into the Star Bright Project complex, so that she can be
retrieved with Sam once he plants the chip. Meanwhile, back in the present,
Al is in Washington, D.C. with Beth trying to keep the Project alive in
Sam’s absence, and is starting to express doubts that Sam will ever
return.
Back
at PQL, Ziggy is able to maintain a partial lock on Sam’s brainwaves, but
because of the weakening neural link, Sammy Jo’s image continues to fade
in and out in the Imaging Chamber. With no one else looking, Sam manages to
plant the chip into the Main Conduit Relay that will eventually power
Ziggy’s mainframe in the present, and he and Alia are successfully
retrieved. Al and Beth receive a call from Dom in their hotel suite telling
them that Sam is finally home. Just as Sam is finally reunited with Donna
and Stephen, however, he feels the tug of a new leap come upon him—a
sensation familiar, and yet… different…
PROLOGUE
He
was home—the moment Dr. Sam Beckett had dreamed of for ten long years had
finally come to pass. But just as quickly as the dream had finally been
realized, a cruel twist of fate pulled him right back into the temporal
vortex. Perhaps it was his decade’s worth of time-travel experience that
made Sam recognize that this new leap felt different. God, Time, Fate, or
Whatever was not guiding his journey this time, but rather, a more
malevolent force. Sam used every ounce of willpower he had to fight the
leap, but whatever force was pulling him out of his own time was much
stronger than his own self-control. This time, Sam wasn’t the one
targeting a host in the past; rather, he
was the target of someone else’s
leap.
In
the void ahead of him, Sam could see the mirror once again, but what stared
back at him sent a chill through his bones. It was his own dark, twisted
reflection, laughing at him in an almost mocking tone. And, unlike the
previous two leaps, a voice spoke to him—the voice of his dark self.
“You
didn’t really think it would be that easy, did you?”
“What
do you mean?” Sam asked back.
“You’re
so naïve, Beckett! That lack of common sense is going to be your undoing.
You think you’ve experienced pain before? Hah! All of that will feel like
child’s play compared to what’s coming up!”
“You
can’t be… you can’t be God…”
“Your
God has forsaken you, Beckett! Where you’re headed, He has no influence.
You were warned once before that great turmoil was destined for your future,
and you paid it little heed then. Now you shall pay the price for your
ignorance. Prepare to suffer beyond anything you’ve ever imagined! Hah hah
hah!!!”
Before
Sam had a chance to protest, he felt a searing pain shoot through his soul.
It felt as if his entire body was being torn apart, and just as quickly as
the sudden sensation overwhelmed him, it disappeared, followed by a wall of
red flames that consumed him. The only sounds Sam heard as he was pulled
into the depths of the abyss were the wails of his terrified screams.
Once
again, the tingling leap energy began to envelop Sam, but this time, it was
like nothing he’d ever experienced before. Instead of the familiar blue
void, an endless field of red surrounded him, and the force of the pull felt
stronger—more controlled. Even the “sound” of the leap was different.
As his vision began to clear, he found himself in a small, enclosed room
with walls that also seemed to pulsate blood red. ‘This…
seems like the Waiting Room, but… it’s different!’ Sam thought.
“Where am I?” he practically shouted.
For
what felt like five very long minutes, Sam’s question was followed by
silence, except for the distinct metallic hum coming from all around him.
Although Sam couldn’t recall ever experiencing any form of claustrophobia
in his life, he clearly began feeling that fear now. Again, he screamed out,
“Where am I?” followed by, “Someone! Answer me!”
“Ah,
at last, the good Dr. Beckett!” replied a male voice from behind Sam. He
whirled around and was nearly blinded by the bright white light of the open
doorway. All Sam could see was the shadow of a man, standing in the doorway
and appearing to hold something in his hands, which were crossed in front of
him. “I apologize for the lack of hospitality when you first arrived, but
we had to make sure you were the real deal. You are the ultimate prize…
and now we’ve finally got you, after all this time!”
“The
ultimate prize?” Sam exclaimed. “What do you mean? Who are you? And
where the hell am I?”
“Hell?” the voice shot back in mockery, followed by a sadistic
chuckle. “That’s where you’ll be wishing
you were by the time we’re
through with you! Ah, how the tides have turned… being the leaper for all
those years, putting things right that once went wrong.
Ironic how you have now
become the one that’s been leaped into… to have something in your life be put wrong that should have gone right!”
“What
kind of double-talk is that? Show
yourself!” Sam demanded.
After
a few seconds of silence, the figure stepped out of the doorway, revealing
his true identity. Despite his Swiss-cheesed memory, Sam remembered exactly
who the tall black man was. “Thames?
No! I-it’s not possible!”
“Oh,
but it is, Beckett! You still don’t know what’s happened to you? I would
think it should be obvious, but
perhaps you need a little reminder. Take a look at your reflection in the
table!” Thames ordered.
As
Sam looked down at the glass table in front of him, he couldn’t help but
notice the skin-tight black Fermi suit he was wearing. Upon seeing the
reflection in the mirrored surface, Sam nearly fell back in shock when he
saw the face of the auburn-haired woman staring back at him.
“Look
familiar?” Thames slyly asked.
“Zoë!” Sam replied. But how could that be possible? Zoë was
supposed to be dead… wasn’t she?
“You
got it! Zoë’s leaped into you!
So, you’d better get used to your time here, Beckett! ’Cause you belong
to Lothos now!”
With
Thames’ words echoing in the back of his mind, Sam shuddered in fear as he
whispered, “Oh boy…”
PART
ONE
Project
Quantum Leap, Control Room
Stallion’s
Gate, New Mexico
November
20, 2005, 11:40 PM
‘Although my memory was a bit
hazy from having my neurons and mesons dispersed via the Acceleration
Chamber, one word seemed to echo in my mind—a word that filled me with
nothing but hatred: Beckett! That pathetic, miserable, but oh-so-delicious
do-gooder has been the bane of Lothos’ and my existence ever since we
first discovered him during one of—damn, I can’t remember her
name—during one of the leaps of my former protégé. Now, Lothos has finally tracked him down… and I intend to repay
Beckett in full for the endless torture I was forced to endure over my
failure to eradicate his worthless existence on our last outing. Now, if I
could just find out who I am, and what I’m supposed to do, this leap could
end, and I could put him and his beloved Project out of their misery once
and for all.’
Zoë’s
thoughts were interrupted by the sound of joyous celebration emanating from
every direction. Upon first leaping in, she had looked down to see a
nine-year-old boy hanging onto her left leg like a sick puppy and smiling.
To her right was a middle-aged woman, with tears flowing from her eyes. For
the next five minutes or so, people from every direction came up to her, one
after the other, to either shake her hand or to give her a hug and welcome
her back to wherever it was she was supposed to be. She remained speechless
throughout most of the ordeal, and eventually looked back down at the boy,
who hadn’t let go of her leg the entire time. The sight made Zoë feel
like regurgitating her last meal.
“Sam,
what’s wrong?” the teary-eyed woman asked her. “Do you feel all
right?”
Zoë
realized she had erred with her reaction to the child and quickly shook off
her disorientation. “Yes, I’m fine, I just… wasn’t expecting all
of… this!” she exclaimed, as
she gestured with her free hand toward the celebratory crowd.
“Oh,
gosh, I’m sorry, Dad,” a brown-haired woman with a Southern accent
announced from across the room. “I guess this is all too much, too soon.
You’ve been gone for such a long time; I didn’t even think that you
might need some time to readjust and get your bearings.”
“That’s
quite all right,” Zoë responded with a tiny smile. “What’s important
is that I’m here now!”
“I
couldn’t have said it better myself!” a black woman said as she
approached Zoë and kissed her on the cheek. “It’s good to finally have
you back, Sam!”
“I
second that notion,” a handsome black man said to her. His outgoing
appearance and charismatic nature reminded Zoë a little of Thames.
‘Where
is that lecherous fool anyway?’
she wondered.
“I
know we’ve met a few times before, but this is the first time I’ve had a
chance to meet you face-to-face since you started your journey,” the man
continued. “It’s a good thing we got you back when we did! Ziggy’s
link with you seems to be completely shot. I just shut her down to run a
full diagnostic on her systems, so it’s going to take some time before she
‘wakes up’ and comes back to full-working capacity again.”
‘What
in blazes is this dolt blabbering on about?’ Zoë thought. Before she
had a chance to respond, she saw the familiar vision of the prismatic
Holographic Chamber door appear out of the corner of her eye. And stepping
out of the multi-colored doorway, as always, was her Observer, Thames,
holding a pyramid-shaped handlink in one hand, and a cane in the other. He
was wearing a gold sports jacket and a clear tie with an embroidered
holographic design, and the excited expression on his face made his already
glowing appearance look like it was ready to explode.
“At
any rate,” the former black man continued, “we should be able to
establish a new connection once the Admiral gets back. Not that it really
matters much anymore, now that you’re home! By the way, I already informed
Al, and he and Beth are making arrangements to get back here.”
“OWWWW!!
I feel go-od! I knew that I wooould!”
Thames started singing, doing his best James Brown impression. “Man, I
almost forgot how groovy it is to be a hologram! YEAH, bay-BAY!”
Only
Zoë could hear Thames’ ramblings, but there were times, like now for
instance, where she wished the Holographic Chamber had a mute button.
Turning back toward whom she assumed was the head programmer that spoke to
her, she replied, “That sounds… reassuring.”
“So,
this is what the inside of that infernal project looks like! Hmmph!
I’m not that impressed!”
Thames began to say, as the sight of a ditzy-looking red-haired technician
with a curvaceous figure caught his attention. “Ooo, on the other hand,
I’m very impressed by what I’m seeing right now! Why, hello there, sweet thang! You’ve obviously taken your
vitamins!”
“I’m
so relieved that you’re finally home, Dad!” the woman with the Southern
accent spoke again. “There’s so much I want to tell you… so much for
us to catch up on.”
Thames’
eyes opened wide when he noticed the Southern beauty. “Oh, my, my, my, and
this must be the delectable Dr. Sammy Jo Fuller! Mm-mm-mmm-mmm-MMM!
Ohh baby, if I wasn’t a hologram… what I would give to smash some atoms
with HER!” Following his statement, Thames began gyrating his hips to the
beat of his own simulated porno riff. “Bow-chickah-wah-wah,
chickah-wah-wahhh!”
Zoë
simply rolled her eyes, wondering how a man who got so easily distracted won
the position of Chief Observer. Raising her voice for all to hear, she announced, “If all of you
don’t mind, I’d, uh… I’d like to go back to my quarters and be alone
for a few hours. This… reunion is tiring me out a bit.”
“Uno
momento, chicitito,” a Puerto Rican woman replied as she
approached Zoë. “You have
been away for ten years, yes? You should be reporting to the Infirmary for a
routine physical.”
Thames
interrupted, checking out her backside as he said, “Baby, you can give me
a physical anytime! Damn, girl,
you remind me of J-Lo, with that big, round—”
“Ah…
yes, you’re right,” Zoë responded to the female doctor, “and I will
report for a physical later on… but right now, I really need to rest for a
while… if that’s all right with you. This is all a bit much to take in
at the moment.”
The
doctor squinted her eyes, thinking about it for a few seconds before she
replied, “I suppose it would not hurt for you to rest for a short time. On
one condition… you report to the Infirmary within the next twenty-four
hours, all right, chicitito?”
“All
right. Thank you… doctor,” Zoë answered, as she excused herself from
the celebration, despite the look of disappointment from her ”wife” and
“child.”
“And
muchacho?
Me and Dominico
saved some wedding cake for you, just like you asked!” the doctor added
with a wink.
“I
appreciate that,” Zoë responded, as she continued into the elevator cab,
following Thames as he walked through the nearby wall. Out of the corner of
her eye, she noticed another woman in disheveled clothing with short
dirty-blond hair, standing beside the woman Thames referred to as Sammy Jo.
She was older, but something about her looked very familiar—as if they
were acquaintances from a time past.
Zoë
simply dismissed it as her Swiss-cheese memory playing tricks on her, and
continued on her way.
Alia
Novack locked eyes with “Sam” for a few seconds, and suddenly felt a
cold shiver run down her spine. Something about the expression in his face
didn’t seem right. For a split second, it looked as if he was trying to
remember who she was. Perhaps it was the disorientation of returning home
after such a long journey. She would have to remember to ask him about it
after she got settled into her new life.
“Something
wrong, Alia?” Sammy Jo asked, interrupting her train of thought.
“Hmm?”
Alia inquired, as the physicist’s words brought her back to reality.
“Oh… sorry, uh… Sammy Jo, is it? I was just… thinking about things,
that’s all. It’s not every day that you get a second chance at making a
new life for yourself.”
“Yeah,
I can understand that feeling. I was nearly killed in a bad car accident a
number of years back, shortly after I came on this project. The experience
made me take into account what was most important in my life… to finally
leave the shadows of my past behind me for good.”
Alia
grinned at Sammy Jo’s statement and, with curiosity piquing her interest,
she asked, “If you don’t mind me asking… how is that Sam is your
biological father? You couldn’t have been born much later than Sam was.”
Sammy
Jo smirked as she answered, “It’s kind of complicated. I was conceived
through a leap. If you follow me to the quarters we’ve arranged for you,
I’ll tell you all about it…”
Private
Quarters of Dr. Samuel Beckett
11:58
PM
Upon
closing the door, Zoë practically shouted to her holographic Observer,
“All right, we’re alone, Thames. Now, tell me what the bloody
hell is going on here! Apparently, I’ve leaped into someone named Sam, but
that’s about all I DO know!”
“Temper,
temper, Zoë baby,” Thames
playfully shot back. “A little Swiss-cheesed, are we? Looks like Lothos
still needs to work out some kinks in the modifications he made to the
leaping program.”
“Stop
toying with me, Thames! I am not in the mood for your pathetic guessing
games!”
“Ouch,
baby,” replied Thames with a leering smile. “Very ouch! After all
we’ve been through together, you still don’t remember what our primary
mission has been for the past year? To put an end to Beckett’s heroics!”
“Yes,
I remember Beckett all too well!” Zoë replied with contempt. “He has
consumed my every waking thought ever since he shot me back in that prison a
year ago! I still have the scar to show for it! I want his head handed to me
on a silver platter, so that I can watch him writhe beneath my hands!”
“You
haven’t put two and two together yet, have
you, my dear?” Thames realized. “He’s a lot closer than you think!”
“What
are you talking about?”
“There’s
a mirror in the next room… go ahead, take a look,” Thames prodded her.
Giving
Thames a look of disgust, Zoë walked over to the lavatory, turned on the
overhead light, and saw her reflection in the mirror on the wall. The
expression on her face changed to one of shock when she saw Dr. Beckett
staring back at her. “I’m… HIM!
Of course! ‘Sam’ IS
Beckett!” she said in sudden realization, as she turned back to Thames.
“Which means that… he’s there with you
now!”
“Two
points for the home team, baby!” Thames responded. “And the best part
is, you’re in complete and total control over his aura, Zoë. You can do
anything you want and completely destroy his credibility before Lothos
decides his ultimate fate!”
As
Zoë continued to stare at the reflection of her arch-nemesis, she began to
get an evil glint in her eye as the corners of her lips curled up in a
sadistic chuckle. “In other words… I’m allowed to have a little… fun
before I get down to business, is that it?”
“You
got it, sweet cheeks!”
Zoë
stared hard into the eyes of her enemy’s reflection as the recollection of
her mission came back to her piece-by-piece. “This place… it’s his
project—what is it called? Project… Quantum Leap?”
“Yeah…
all this power at their fingertips and they call it something generic like
Quantum Leap? Dumb title, if ya ask me! Anyway, your ‘wife’ back there
is one Donna Elesee, age fifty-one, and your brainiac ‘son’ is named
Stephen, estimated age nine. That sweet Southern belle was none other than
Dr. Samantha Josephine Fuller, age thirty-eight. She was apparently brought
onto this project sometime in ’96 to create a new retrieval program that
would bring Beckett back permanently.”
A
memory hit Zoë as she said, “Beckett wasn’t supposed to be here! It’s
starting to come back to me now… history changed! Why?”
“Lothos
is still trying to figure that out,” Thames answered as his
expression became more serious. “Beckett’s project apparently lost
contact with him three months ago, and they’ve been searching for him,
desperate to get him back before the government makes the decision to pull
the plug. According to Lothos’ most recent projections, there was a 98.5
percent chance that Sammy Jo was going to step into the Accelerator a little
under two days from now and initiate a chain reaction that would have put an
end to this project once-and-for-all. Beckett would have been stranded in
time forever with no way back, just like we had planned.”
“But
Beckett’s sudden return obviously changed all that,” Zoë finished for
him. “Does Lothos have any theories as to how Beckett was retrieved?”
“Not
yet, but don’t worry, my dear. I left him chained up in the Holding
Chamber before I came here. So, he ain’t goin’ anywhere! He’ll spill
his guts sooner or later, both figuratively and
literally!”
“Don’t
underestimate the resourceful scientist, Thames,” Zoë warned. “He may
be a Detainee, but the man has more brain in his finger than you’ve got in
your puny little head.”
Thames
glared at Zoë before he continued, “In any event, your orders are to lay
low until Lothos can determine why the timeline seems to be in flux at the
moment.”
“What
about our ‘informant’? Has he said anything useful yet?”
“Only
that no one suspects a thing. The Senate Committee overseeing Project
Quantum Leap doesn’t even realize that a traitor is within their ranks.
Some big-shot general named Hawkins
has been imposing his authority over Admiral Calavicci for the past few
months. That committee just assumes that the tension between the two men is
nothing more than a bureaucratic disagreement—which works in our favor.”
“What
do we know about this Admiral Calavicci other than the fact that he was
Beckett’s holographic observer?”
“Other
than the fact that he’s a two-star Ex-Rear Admiral in the Navy and his
brainwaves were linked to Sam’s, nothing much. He and his wife, Beth, were
on their way back here from D.C., but there’s a thunderstorm out east
delaying a number of civilian and private flights, so they shouldn’t pose
a threat to our mission just yet.”
Zoë
took that information in stride and responded, “Tell our informant to get
as much information as he can on this ‘Calavicci.’ We might be able to
use what he knows to our advantage. Right now, I need to get out of this wretched
Fermi suit!”
“Well,
as much as I’d love to watch you slink out of that skin-tight suit, I’d
better get back to the Holding Chamber and check on our… guest.”
Thames entered a command on his handlink as the Holographic Chamber door
opened, and he stepped through. “I’ll be back a bit later when I get
more information for you. Ta-ta for now!”
With
that, the multi-colored door closed in on itself, and Zoë was left alone to
stare at her reflection. Once again, the corners of her lips curled up into
an evil grin as she thought about how much havoc she could wreak on
Beckett’s personal life.
Lothos’
Complex, Holding Chamber
Somewhere
off the British Isles
“Ooooofffff!”
Sam uttered as he felt the painful sting of the back of his interrogator’s
hand across his right cheek.
“I
asked you a question, Beckett!” the nameless man shouted. “How was your
project able to retrieve you?”
Fighting
through his restraints, Sam gritted through his teeth, “I told you… I
can’t remember! And even if I did… I would never tell you!”
“Every
man has his breaking point, Doctor!” a deep, synthetic, but human-like
voice announced. “It’s just a
matter of time before we find yours. Continue your… interrogation, Mister
Jacobson.”
“With
pleasure, my lord,” replied the interrogator, as he produced a pair of
brass knuckles from his pocket, placed it over his left palm, and proceeded
to punch Sam in his right side.
Sam
could feel one of his ribs break, as his cries of pain echoed through the
Holding Chamber walls.
PART
TWO
Washington
Dulles International Airport
Washington,
D.C.
November
21, 2005, 1:35 AM
The
Admiral’s mind was racing in a thousand different directions. No matter
how many times he replayed the events of the past couple of hours in his
head, it still didn’t add up: Dr. Sam Beckett finally returned home, no
strings attached. He refused to accept that it was just that simple; after
all they had been through together, it just didn’t make any sense. It was
only a matter of time before his best friend would be pulled back into the
quantum field and his journey would begin anew—he could feel it in his
bones. No matter what it took, Al Calavicci would make damn sure that Sam
Beckett would never be trapped in the past ever again.
“Penny
for your thoughts?” a soft feminine voice whispered in his left ear. Al
turned around in his seat at the terminal to see his lovely wife, Beth,
cuddling his arm and looking slightly concerned.
“We’ve
been through this already, Beth,” Al began to explain. “Something
just… doesn’t seem right about Sam’s sudden return. I can’t help
thinking that the carpet is going to be pulled out from under our feet, and
he’ll end up getting trapped in the past all over again.”
“Honey,
I think you need to relax. Even General Hawkins seemed optimistic that
Sam’s return is for keeps this time.”
“Don’t
even get me started on Hawkins, Beth!” Al argued. “From the moment I
laid eyes on that… pompous windbag, I didn’t trust a word he said!
There’s something fishy about that guy, I tell you!”
“Don’t
you think you might be getting a little paranoid, Al?” Beth attempted to
reason with her husband. “You’re acting like he’s a terrorist
disguising himself as a United States General!”
Al
thought about what Beth said and his eyes opened wide with horror. “Oh my
God, Beth, maybe that’s just it…
maybe Hawkins is really a leaper in disguise, sent to sabotage the project!
Why else would he insist on having a private office arranged for him there?
He’s been nagging me about it for weeks!”
“You
can’t be serious, Al!” Beth shouted.
“You
bet your sweet ass I’m serious! We never really found out for certain if
Lothos was gone for good! What if Zoë and Thames survived somehow and were
sent back by Lothos to get us? They almost corrupted Ziggy once before. What
if—God, what if Sam isn’t really Sam?
They could have gotten him somehow and sent an infiltrator in his place to
throw us all off!”
Beth’s
expression changed to one of deep concern for her husband’s state of mind.
He’d had some pretty wild theories in the past, but never anything this
far-fetched. “Al, you’re starting to worry me. You’re exhausted…
you’ve barely slept in two days. We’ll be on the plane and on our way
back to New Mexico as soon as this damn storm clears up. I really think you
need to get some rest until then.”
Al
continued talking to himself, apparently not even hearing his wife. “Oh
God… there’ve been others over
the years who have found out about Sam’s research… what if it’s one of
them? Maybe, it’s someone
completely new that we don’t
even know about yet!”
As
if on cue, the ringing of a cell phone emanating from Al’s pants pocket
brought him to attention. He pressed the call button and answered,
“Yes?” Al continued to listen to the voice on the other end of the line
for about thirty seconds before he finally ended with, “Please let the
General know I appreciate it. Thank you.”
“Who
was that, honey?” Beth asked curiously.
Standing
up from his seat and picking up his luggage, Al answered, “That was
General Hawkins’ personal secretary. She just told me that he called in a
few favors to okay a flight to Chicago that’s scheduled to take off in
about fifteen minutes. Once we get to Chicago, his private jet will be
waiting to take us the rest of the way to New Mexico.”
“You
see, Al? Does Hawkins seem like such a bad guy now?
I told you that you were worrying
yourself over nothing!”
“Maybe
you’re right, Beth,” Al smiled in fake sincerity. “Still… I want to
get back to PQL as soon as possible. My gut tells me that Sam is the only
person who can give me the answers I’m looking for.”
Lothos’
Complex, Holding Chamber
Somewhere
off the British Isles
“I
swear to God… I don’t have the answers you’re looking for!” Sam
screamed as electrical charges shot through his body via the electrodes that
were hooked up to his bare chest and back. Above him, a sprinkler system
sprayed him with water, which served to amplify the effect. “I don’t
know… what you want me… to tell you…”
“Our
intelligence indicated that your retrieval program was flawed and
incomplete,” the interrogator named Jacobson yelled. “Tell us how you
got it to work, Beckett! If you’re LUCKY, perhaps Lothos will show mercy
upon you!”
“I
told you… I don’t remember! Why won’t you believe me?”
Jacobson
simply sneered in contempt, as he raised the voltage up another level. The
crackling sound of the electricity echoed through the entire room, coupled
with Sam’s screams.
“ARRRRGHHH!!!
PLEEEEASE! I beg of you… STOP!!” Sam gasped through his teeth.
“ENOUGH!” the metallic voice announced through the speakers. “It
is obvious that Dr. Beckett will need more… persuasion. Bring in…
Xavier!”
“Xavier?” Jacobson asked nervously, the mere mention of Xavier’s
name causing him to cower in terror. “Are you s-sure that’s wise,
Lothos?”
“YOU DARE TO QUESTION MY
ORDERS, MR. JACOBSON?!” Lothos’ voice shouted as Jacobson’s body
began to writhe violently, a result of the shock that Lothos administered
through his neural implants. “Bring
in Xavier NOW, unless you wish to be on the receiving end of his
correction!!”
“Y-y-yes,
my Lord,” Jacobson whimpered, shaking as he spoke. “Please forgive my
impertinence.” Looking back toward Sam, Jacobson stared into his eyes and
plainly said, “You believe in a God, Beckett? Then you’d better start
praying to him! Because the word ‘mercy’ is not a part of Xavier’s
vocabulary!”
Sam
tried to protest, but his strength finally gave out and he succumbed to
exhaustion. The vision of Jacobson leaving the Holding Chamber was the last
thing Sam saw as he fell into unconsciousness.
Project
Quantum Leap, Guest Quarters
Stallion’s
Gate, New Mexico
November
21, 2005, 2:00 AM
Alia
listened to Sammy Jo tell her about Sam’s adventures during the past ten
years, and she couldn’t help but be amazed over all the good that he had
accomplished. The idea of someone loving strangers unconditionally was a
concept foreign to her. Even now, she thought back to when they first met;
she found it odd, and yet intriguing at the same time, that Sam felt
compelled to go out of his way to make Jimmy LaMotta’s life a better one.
Then,
several months later, when she leaped into college student Dawn Taylor and
talked with Arnold “the Midnight Marauder” Watkins in the campus
library, she sensed that same type of kindness and compassion in him—not
even knowing at the time that Arnold was actually Sam Beckett. Together,
they both leaped into a women’s prison, where Sam succeeded in freeing her
from Lothos’ control. Hypnosis combined with her “anchor” being
disconnected from her present time, resulted in her neural link with Zoë
and Thames being forever severed. They were no longer able to track her
after she leaped—and she was finally free to live her own life.
But
even in freedom, Alia couldn’t escape her destiny. She was eventually
reunited with Sam once again and aided him in saving Project Quantum Leap
from certain destruction. Although Sam reassured her that everything would
turn out for the best, she knew in her heart that it wasn’t over. Her life
had been filled with nothing but strife and torment as far back as she could
remember. She often wondered if death would be the only way that she could
ever find true peace. She had seriously contemplated finally taking her own
life when Sam reappeared back at that airport terminal in 1984. Technically,
it was over twenty years ago, but from her and Sam’s perspectives, it was
only about twelve hours ago. And yet, amazingly, Alia was now feeling as if
she’d been part of the PQL family for her entire lifetime. It was weird
how time-travel had a way of messing around with people’s minds.
As
Alia thought back on her life, she could hear Sammy Jo explaining the
trilogy of events concerning her conception. “… And I was born about
nine months later. My father leaped into my mother’s life one final time
in 1978, as the lawyer who cleared her of Leta Aider’s murder. He started
introducing himself to me as Sam before he corrected himself, so I ended up
calling him Mr. ‘Sam’ Larry Stanton! Heh heh! If only I had known way
back then. That was supposedly when Al told him that I was his daughter, but
because of the Swiss-cheese effect… well, he never usually remembered me
from one leap to the next. Al was eventually forced to tell me the truth a
few years back. You don’t know how hard it was for me after that to keep
the truth from my father whenever I needed to fill in for Al.”
“Amazing!”
Alia responded. “At least, you and Sam know of each other now… I had a
child myself in 1980. My lover at the time was killed in the line of duty,
so I gave my baby up for adoption. Every day, I wonder if I made the right
choice… depriving him of knowing who his real parents were… the life I
could have had with him. Oh my, I just realized… my son is all grown up
now too. I wonder if Ziggy can locate him when he comes back online.”
“‘She,’
actually,” Sammy Jo corrected. “Ziggy is a ‘she.’”
“What?”
Alia laughed.
“Well,
not technically, but… it’s kind of complicated. I’ll see what I
can do for you. In the meantime, I hope these quarters will accommodate you
until we can arrange something more permanent.”
“Oh,
this will be just fine. I really appreciate all you and Sam have done for
me. I don’t deserve any of this.”
“Please,
don’t be silly! You’re a good person, Alia—a good person who just got
dealt a bad hand in life. My father recognized that, and after spending a
couple of hours getting to know you personally, I can recognize it too!”
“I
just wish there was some way for me to repay the favor,” Alia said.
“Just
live your life to the fullest and make it mean something; that’s payment
enough!” Sammy Jo responded enthusiastically.
The
two women just smiled at each other, both of them feeling the beginnings of
a close friendship forming.
Beckett
Residence
Stallion
Springs, New Mexico
November
21, 2005, 2:35 AM
As
Donna drove her family back to the Beckett household, Zoë Malvison sat in
the passenger seat and remained silent as she contemplated recent events.
She sometimes hated these kinds of assignments. Pretending to be a loving
and devoted spouse was not always something she had an easy time dealing
with, or even something she enjoyed—unless the spouse was of the male
variety, which entitled her to some fringe benefits. Granted, these
assignments almost always ended with her irrevocably ruining their lives,
but in order to get to that point, she would have to convince the other
members of her hosts’ families that she was the person she replaced.
Sam
Beckett was a unique case though. He had been trapped in time for over a
decade and had only just returned. Assuming the role of another
time-traveler put Zoë in a unique position. She could exploit Beckett’s
long absence and make everyone believe that the experience corrupted his
mind. Little by little, everyone would believe that Dr. Sam Beckett was
losing his sanity, and by the time they realized the truth, it would be too
late. In some ways, it was even better now that Sam was back. The original
plan had been to place blame on Sammy Jo Fuller for PQL’s destruction,
thereby forever shaming the Beckett bloodline through his descendants. But
now, she would be able to shift the blame directly to the source. Delicious!
Zoë thought.
All
that was needed now was Beckett’s security codes, and for Lothos to
determine how Beckett returned in the first place. For all intents and
purposes, he should have been stranded in time forever, but somehow Beckett
was able to bypass the percentage ratio of leaping that Lothos had
formulated years ago. It couldn’t have been a random occurrence. Now that
she was away from the crowd of people at PQL, she could sit and think in the
comfort of Sam’s own home without further distraction.
The
only threat to that solitude came in the form of Donna Elesee-Beckett, who
re-entered the living room after putting Stephen down to bed. “Sam, are
you sure everything’s all right?” Donna asked. “You haven’t quite
been yourself since you came home. I mean, one minute, you’re there at the
Project hugging and kissing Stephen and I, and the next, you’re asking to
be left alone for a couple of hours in your private office.”
“It
was all just a little… overwhelming, that’s all, Donna,” said Zoë.
“To be honest… my homecoming wasn’t what I expected it to be, and it
threw me by surprise.”
“Your
homecoming wasn’t what you expected
it to be?” Donna asked in astonishment, taken aback by the statement.
“Sam, every one of those people at the project considers you a close
friend. They all care a great deal for you and were so happy to see you
safely returned. What did you expect, they were going to give you a simple pat on the back
and say, ‘Job well done’?”
“You
have to understand, Donna,” Zoë explained, “I’ve been gone for so
long that my brain is still slightly… Swiss-cheesed from my journey. There
were over two dozen names and faces in the Control Room that I couldn’t
immediately recall, and it… disturbed me.”
Donna
stared into her “husband’s” eyes and continued, “Stephen was a
little upset, you know; that you needed to leave the celebration so soon.
He’s been dreaming of this day his whole life—to meet his father in
person… to share his discoveries and his knowledge with you. It took some
sweet-talking, but I calmed him down before we came to your office to bring
you home. I reassured him that you would devote time to him when you were
feeling better. You have a lot of catching up to do with your son. Stephen
may be a miniature version of you with that brilliant brain of his, but
he’s still just a child. He’s needed you… more than you could ever
know.”
‘Ugh!
I think I’d rather be tortured than listen to any more of this drivel!’
Zoë thought, as she listened to Donna’s whining. But, remembering that
she needed to assume Dr. Beckett’s role until further notice, she put on a
loving face and responded, “I’m sorry, my dear. This is all so new to me
right now. I suppose when you’ve been traveling through time as I have for
so many years, you tend to latch on to the names and faces of the people
you’ve helped… and forget about the ones that really matter, like you
and Stephen.”
Donna
smiled as she listened to Zoë’s words and embraced her with all her love.
Zoë just rolled her eyes as she smugly thought, ‘A
brilliant performance, if I do say so myself!’
“Well,
listen, honey,” Donna continued, “Stephen’s asleep. How about we do
our own form of celebrating? It has
been a long time, after all.”
‘Oh
great! I knew this would be coming up sooner or later!’ Zoë thought.
If the roles were reversed, she would definitely entertain the notion of
bedding the good Dr. Beckett; he may have been her enemy, but she couldn’t
deny the fact that he was a
“studly morsel.” She could just imagine Thames walking through that
Holographic door any minute and drooling over the prospect of seeing two
women going at it.
Almost
as if he read her mind, the lecherous Observer with a James Brown obsession
walked through the Holographic Chamber door and began inputting some data
into the handlink he was holding. Looking up, Thames grinned and said,
“My-my-my, what have we here? A quick round of women’s gymnastics, I
presume? I’d better grab a ringside seat for this!”
“Actually,
Donna,” Zoë protested, “if you don’t mind, I’m not feeling up to it
right now. I’m still feeling a bit worn down from everything.”
Donna
just looked at her “husband” with a hurt expression in her eyes, but she
tried her best to understand and to be considerate toward his needs—for
now. “All right, Sam! Then I guess I’ll head off to bed myself. You
coming?”
“In
a little while, dear,” Zoë reassured.
“Okay…
good night, honey,” Donna finished, as she kissed Zoë on the cheek and
turned in for the night.
With
Donna gone, Thames turned back toward the evil leaper with a look of
disappointment on his face. “Aw, man, you just destroyed the best chance
I’ve ever had to see my wildest fantasies come true!”
“Sorry
for disappointing you, Thames, but I have more important things to worry
about… like why I’m here! If I don’t find out soon what it is I need
to do to terminate this project, I’m going to go mad!” Zoë exclaimed
annoyingly. “Do you have anything new to report?”
Thames
looked down at his handlink, punched a few buttons, and answered, “Well,
you’re not gonna like this… but Lothos says you need to ‘demoralize’
the project’s computer. They call it ‘Ziggy’!”
“Ziggy?”
Zoë scoffed, remembering the name from earlier. “That’s the name of Beckett’s hybrid computer? What the bloody hell kind of idiotic name is that?”
“Beats
the hell out of me! But whatever you do, you’ve got to make sure that
‘Ziggy’ doesn’t alert everyone that you’re not really Sam when it
comes back online. And the only way to do that is by entering his clearance
codes and overriding the computer’s safety and
security protocols.”
“And
how am I supposed to do that if I
don’t have Beckett’s security
codes?” Zoë asked with clear annoyance in her voice.
“Patience,
patience, patience,” Thames replied with as much charm as he could muster.
“That’s what I came to tell you! It turns out Lothos was able to find
the information we needed just by digging through some old government
documents from the mid ’60s. Ever hear of Project Blue Book?”
“Project
Blue Book…” Zoë repeated. “Something to do with the study of UFOs?
What does that have to do with Beckett?”
“Lothos
found a recording of one Maxwell Stoddard made by two government officials
associated with Project Blue Book, dated May 24th, 1966. The old
geezer revealed some very interesting tidbits under the influence of sodium
pentothal. Just listen to this…”
Thames pressed a key on his handlink, which played the audio reproduction of
an interrogation conducted by Dr. Hardin and Major Irwin Meadows, their
two voices alternating back and forth with the slurred voice of Max
Stoddard:
(*For
the actual recording from “Star Light, Star Bright,” click here)
“We
are going to ask you a series of questions. You will answer all of them
truthfully. Do you understand?”
“Truthfully.”
“Let’s
start with something simple… like your name.”
“…
Saam…”
“Louder
please.”
“Doctor
Sssamuel Beckett.”
“Think
you gave him too much?”
“Do
you know where you are?”
“I’m
in, erm… New Mexico.”
“What
is the date?”
“May
1st, 1999.”
“Tell
us about yourself, Dr. Beckett.”
“Born
8-8-53.”
“Terrific!
He’s thirteen years old?”
“Or
a hundred and thirteen.”
“Father’s
name: John Samuel Beckett… Mother’s name: Thelma Louise Beckett…
Social Security Number: 563 dash 86 dash… 98… 01… Department of
Defense… UMBRA clearance number: 004 dash 002 dash 02 dash 016…”
“Did
you hear that?”
“It’s
a coincidence. He was in the service.”
“In
World War One! UMBRA is an operative
code! Why do you need a clearance? Why do you need a clearance, Dr.
Beckett?”
“My
project…”
“What
is your project?”
“Project…
Quantum Leap…”
“This
project studies unidentified flying objects?”
“…
Travel in time…”
“The
old man was really Beckett!” Zoë realized with an evil grin. “He
blabbed everything—just like he did with my father forty years ago!”
“First
rule of quantum leaping,” Thames lectured mockingly, “never divulge
top-secret information when truth serum has been administered into your
bloodstream. You never know when it’ll come back and bite ya in the butt!
Hah hah hahhhh!”
“Whatever
happened to this Max Stoddard?”
“No
one in the government really took his claims seriously. They considered him
a crackpot. Funny thing though… the old man suddenly disappeared without a
trace shortly after that ‘interrogation.’ The two men who questioned him
claimed that he was ‘willingly’ taken aboard an alien spacecraft!”
“You
can’t be serious!” Zoë practically laughed over the absurdity of such
an idea.
Realizing
the conversation was getting side-tracked, Thames continued, “Well,
anyway, the point is… we now have the codes needed to access Ziggy’s
mainframe and lock everyone else out of main Control. When you first leaped
in, Ziggy had just gone offline, otherwise we would have been found out
almost immediately. Hmm… this is odd. According to the files we’ve
uncovered, the head programmer’s name is Dominic Lofton. Lothos thought it
was supposed to be some little guy with bad breath named ‘Gooshie.’ I
wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that Beckett knew my name
earlier.”
“What?”
Zoë demanded.
“In
the Holding Chamber a few hours ago… Beckett looked at me and said my name
as if he’d met me once before. I didn’t think anything of it at the
time. The only way he could have known who I was is if I had been a leaper,
or if he had leaped to our project. And based on what Lothos is detecting,
that might be exactly what happened… or should I say, what will
happen.”
“What
on earth are you talking about, Thames?” Zoë asked patiently.
“We’re
not sure, but Lothos says the current date here is November 21st,
2005!”
“How
is that possible? I thought Lothos didn’t have the ability to send a
leaper into the future!”
“He
doesn’t… at least, not yet!
He’s saying something about timeline fluctuations; changes that have been
made in the past are causing some kind of ripple effect that’s affecting
our ‘present,’ and our timeline’s been shifted into the future as a
result! This is damn weird, Zoë!”
“Is
this going to affect my mission?” Zoë asked, concerned and confused at
the same time.
“It
shouldn’t, but I’m gonna still do some checking anyway. You know what
you have to do: sneak out of here at your next opportunity, get back to PQL,
and lock out all other personnel from accessing Ziggy’s databanks before
the Admiral gets back. I’ll report back to you as soon as I can.” Thames
opened the Holographic Chamber door and stepped through it as it closed
behind him.
Remembering
what Thames told her, Zoë mentally repeated the codes in her head until
they were committed to memory. ‘Soon,
this project will be under my control,’ she thought. ‘And
there isn’t a bloody thing that Beckett or Calavicci will be able to do
about it!’
Lothos’
Complex, Correctional Facility
Somewhere
off the British Isles
When
Sam woke up, he found himself hanging by his arms, his toes just touching
the floor, but not enough for him to stand squarely on his feet. The
remainder of his black Fermi suit had been stripped off, leaving him
bare-naked and helpless. The unmistakable scent of ammonia in the room also
invaded his senses, keeping him alert. In front of him was a
distinguished-looking, white-haired but balding British man in his early sixties,
but physically fit for his age. He was holding a small cat-o-nine
tails whip, referred
to in many circles as a “little cat.” Behind Sam was one of the British
man’s underlings, brandishing a “little cat” of his own.
“Rest
well, Samuel?” the British man asked. “Allow me to introduce myself. I
am Xavier, Master Tormentor of this facility. For your sake, I hope you have
enjoyed your precious moments of tranquility, because for the next several
hours, you will feel extreme discomfort, I assure you.”
“Please,”
Sam pleaded in desperation as he got a good look at the barbed hooks at the
end of Xavier’s whip, “I’ve done nothing to you!
Why are you doing this to me?”
“It
is the command of Lothos, Dr. Beckett,” Xavier replied calmly, devoid of
any emotion. “His will be done. You shall not question it.”
“You
are considered a Savior to many people, Dr. Beckett,” Lothos announced
with cold antipathy. “I think it is only fitting that you should suffer for their sins, as
Jesus Christ supposedly did two thousand years ago.” After
a brief pause, Lothos continued, “I
suspect by now, you are feeling a slight tingling sensation near the back of
your neck. I had my chief neurosurgeon Dr. Hugen inject a special concoction
of amphetamines mixed with adrenaline directly into your cerebral cortex.
This, coupled with the ammonia, will heighten your senses to ensure that you
will not pass out from the intensity of your… punishment. Xavier, you may
proceed at your discretion.”
Xavier
looked behind Sam and nodded to his underling, as he coiled up the “little
cat,” preparing to strike. His expression was one of calculated patience
and professionalism, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
Sam’s
eyes widened in terror, as he whimpered, “No… please, I beg of you…
don’t—”
CRACK!
“ARRRRRGHHHHH!!!
NOOOOO!!! Please…” Sam screamed as he felt the lashes of Xavier’s
“cat” tear into his upper abdomen. This was followed ten seconds later
by another flogging from behind, even more painful than the first, if that
was possible.
“GGGAAAAAHHHHH!!!
STOP… PLEEEASE!!!” Another strike from the front brushed up against his
manhood, and he let out an excruciating scream. Looking up to the ceiling,
tears streamed from Sam’s eyes as he asked, “GOD… why have you
forsaken me? PLEEEEASE… HELP MEEEEEEEE!!!”
Sam
continued to cry out in agony as, for the next several hours, the two
tormentors alternated striking him from the front and behind, the barbed
hooks continuously ripping into his flesh. After
the first hour, he could no longer mentally keep count of the number of
times that Xavier and his apprentice flogged his body with the cat-o-nine
tails. By the time they were through, not only was Sam’s body a bloodied
mess, but his voice had also grown hoarse from all the screaming.
“Clean him up and bring him into Central Control,” Lothos’ voice
announced. “It is time for Dr.
Beckett and I to speak personally.”
Xavier
lowered the chains that suspended Sam and dragged him toward the doorway.
Sam’s ragged breathing did nothing to alleviate the lingering pain. As he
was dragged and carried out of the Correctional Facility, his thoughts went
to his best friend, Al, as he remembered the ordeal he went through during
Vietnam nearly forty years ago. For the first time in his life, Sam finally
understood the hell Al had gone through, and he lowered his head in shame.
Xavier
and his nameless cohort supported Sam’s body, which was now wrapped in a
blanket, as they guided him down the corridor toward Central Control. Sam
vaguely remembered leaping to this complex once before, but for the life of
him, he could have sworn that he had destroyed Lothos and put an end to this
project of evil. As
he tried to contemplate how it could still exist, Lothos’ voice thundered
outside the main door, “Enter!”
The
door whirled open from the center outward, and Xavier led Sam to a chair in
the center of the room. The quantum physicist used all of his remaining
strength to sit up straight in the chair as Lothos announced to the other
two men, “Leave us. Wait outside and
return when I call you.”
Without
a word, the two men did as requested, leaving Sam alone in the room. As he
looked up toward a small cul-de-sac in the wall, he could see the vision of
the monstrosity that made up Lothos which had imbedded itself in the bowels
of his mind. Lying beyond the window in the door that closed the cul-de-sac
off from the main room was indeed the comatose body of Dr. Nathaniel
Lothoman, with numerous wires and conduits connected to his body. Before
Sam could get his bearings, a beam of light shot out from the portal,
hitting the floor in front of him. A bright flash of red light followed
which nearly blinded Sam. When the light subsided, the full-framed figure of
a man stood before him. He was wearing a white blazer with a navy
blue T-shirt underneath, looking like a reject from Miami
Vice.
“At
last, we meet face-to-face, Doctor,” said the man.
Sam’s
eyes opened wide with realization upon seeing the identity of this man.
“Oh my God! Lothoman!”
INTERLUDE
Meanwhile, within the
void…
Dr.
Maxwell Connors did not like what he was seeing. Ever since he had become
trapped in the temporal void, doomed to wander the corridors of time for all
eternity, he had become obsessed with putting an end to the journey of his
old rival, Dr. Samuel Beckett. It was because of his interference that he
was now trapped in time with no way home. The program for Morpheus, the
super-computer he had created to supply power for the Second Genesis
Project, was now permanently grafted onto his brainwave patterns, which
allowed him to track temporal anomalies in the time stream.
Drifting
within the multi-dimensional void, Connors could see the effects that
Beckett’s leaps were having on the time continuum, and what he discovered
concerned him more than ever before. If something was not done soon to
prevent further time disruptions, the entire space-time continuum would snap
like a frayed rubber band and erode into nothingness. It would lead to the
destruction of all that was, is, and would be. The nightmares that
continuously plagued Connors since his childhood only confirmed his
suspicions. Although the cloaked figure remained forever hidden in the
shadows, he now knew with almost one hundred percent certainty that Beckett
was the figure of darkness that had been haunting his dreams.
For
what Beckett didn’t—or even wouldn’t—realize was that for each
change he made, an entire timeline was being eradicated from existence.
Billions upon billions of people… annihilated along with the timelines
they were spawned from. Perhaps Beckett was able to justify his actions by
believing that some omnipotent force like “God” or “Fate” would
allow everything to fall into place properly. But, that was not an
acceptable solution for a true scientist such as Connors. Within the quantum
void, the proof of time’s scientific core properties lay before him. Time
existed on multiple levels of existence, not something as simple and mundane
as what mere mortals perceived as “linear” time. Each timeline was a
reality in itself; to change history, a new reality would have to take the
place of the old one.
And
Beckett was not the only one causing damage to the time continuum… there
were others as well. A malicious quasi-living hybrid computer named Lothos
who controlled a complex of evil on a quaint island somewhere off the
British Isles… Another secret project in Australia led by the psychotic
daughter of Nathaniel Lothoman, seeking revenge for the deaths of her
parents… A former lover who proceeded to join Beckett on his journey,
driven by obsession… A group of Beckett’s descendants who discovered the
secrets of time-travel in the early 22nd Century, leaping along
the Beckett bloodline in the hopes of finding their time-lost ancestor… An
insane man who discovered the secrets left behind by Dr. Braden after his
death… Even Connors himself, an innocent bystander turned rogue leaper…
All
of these seemingly unconnected time-travelers were the result of one man…
Samuel Beckett. Whether they were spawned from one moment of weakness that
damaged the continuum, or whether Beckett influenced them in some fashion…
ultimately, Beckett was the catalyst for shifting the necessary balance
between good and evil. His journey had to be stopped.
Connors
could see no other alternative. He would have to directly intervene… and
soon…
PART
THREE
Lothos’
Complex, Central Control
Somewhere
off the British Isles
“I-it
can’t be you! You’re… dead!”
Sam exclaimed in shock.
“You
surprise me, Dr. Beckett,” Lothoman answered. “I would think someone as
intelligent as you would be able to see beyond such trivial concepts as life
and death! Anything is possible through an advanced computer program such as
mine.”
The
vision of Ziggy’s full hologram from the future formed in Sam’s head as
he realized, “You’re a… hologram!”
The
holographic matrix of Nathaniel Lothoman smiled and responded, “Well done,
Samuel! So, what do you think?” Lothoman spun around, as if he was
modeling on a runway. “I think this new look suits me. It’s much more
efficient to be able to speak to my subjects face-to-face, rather than
through a primitive intercom system. Granted, this is only a prototype, but
it still creates a satisfactory illusion that I am human. In fact, you are
the first human being to see me in this form. Don’t you feel special?”
Not
even wishing to dignify Lothoman’s mockery with an answer, Sam gathered
his strength, stood up defiantly, and asked a question of his own. “Why,
Lothoman? Why go through… all this… trouble just to… get to me?”
“Why,
it’s really quite simple, Dr. Beckett… with you gone, nothing will stand
in my way of gaining dominion over Time! Finally, I will be free to control
it… to mold a timeline to my liking!”
Sam
struggled through his pain to assert himself, as he stood upright and asked,
“Why control anything? What’s
so… wrong with the world that… you need to control it… through
time-travel?”
“It
amazes me that a man of great intellect such as yourself can be so
incredibly naïve, Doctor!” Lothoman shot back. “Do you ever bother to
pay attention to the world around you when you leap into someone’s life?
All you ever concern yourself with is… changing one
person’s life for the better—putting right what once went wrong! BAH!
These things mean nothing in the grand scheme of things! You’re missing
the bigger picture!”
“What
are you… talking about?”
“The
world is in chaos, Dr. Beckett—has
been for the better part of the 20th Century! And do you know why
it is in chaos? Because of THEM… the pathetic, selfish humans who think
that they know how to govern the world.”
“But
you do, I take it!” Sam added sarcastically.
“Of
course! Knowledge is power! And many times, sacrifices must be made for the
world to realize the wisdom behind that knowledge. What I am doing with this
project is no different than what you do with yours! We are the same, you
and I! Whereas you are soft on humanity’s troubles, I take a much tougher approach to solving them!”
“How
DARE you compare yourself to me!” Sam gritted through his teeth. “I
don’t go around… ruining people’s lives for the pleasure of it!”
“You
honestly believe I take pleasure
in ‘ruining’ people’s lives, as you put it?” Lothoman angrily
shouted back, almost appearing hurt by the accusation. “I only do what
needs to be done to restore order to a chaotic universe—a chaos created,
I might add, by the humans that presume to know how to govern it! Besides
which, you have no right to
dictate to me what’s right and
wrong! You justify your actions by saying that… God,
or Time, or whatever the hell you
want to call it, is controlling your objectives. Well, where is this
‘God’ now? Why hasn’t he come to save you?”
“I…
don’t know…” Sam replied weakly.
“And
where was this so-called ‘God’ when you gave in to the lust you felt for
Abigail Fuller?”
“Abigail?”
Sam vaguely recalled.
“You
may find this hard to believe, Samuel, but I am well-versed in the ways of
“God” and the Bible. Lust is one of the Seven Deadliest Sins. Your lust
for Abigail Fuller resulted in an illegitimate love child named Samantha!
Because of your selfishness and your desire to satisfy your… primal
male urges… you deprived your biological daughter of being brought up by a
‘proper’ family.”
“Sammy
Jo!” Sam exclaimed. In a flash, it all came back to him—the adult Sammy
Jo Fuller; her fiancé Daniel Fulton; and their future daughter, Isabella.
He remembered everything. “I… I have a daughter… a family!”
“Yes,
and you also have a son… named Stephen. Only Stephen
has a different mother—your
WIFE… Donna—a woman you conveniently
forgot about when you were… indulging
yourself with that Southern TRAMP,
Abigail!”
“NO!
T-that’s not fair, Lothoman! My brain was Swiss-cheesed! I… I didn’t
remember… Donna!”
“As
I said… how convenient! That pathetic excuse still doesn’t change the
fact that your ‘beloved’ Sammy Jo is a daughter of sin—a DEADLY sin,
no less! In that sense, you are even worse than I am, Doctor! You preach
against bigamy and adultery, and yet, you’re a hypocrite!”
“No…”
Sam lowered his head in despair, giving in to the guilt of his past sins.
“I… didn’t know…”
Lothoman’s
holographic lips curled up into an evil smirk as he allowed Sam to wallow in
his guilt for a few more seconds before continuing, “I am also a strong
believer in revisiting the sins of the father upon the children. All I need
to do is give the word, and Zoë shall punish your daughter for your
transgressions. What Xavier has done to you shall be child’s play compared
to what Zoë can do to her.”
“NO!”
Sam shouted as he fell on his knees and begged Lothoman to reconsider.
“She doesn’t deserve your retribution! Please… I’ll do anything you
want… but don’t touch her! Please!”
“Then
tell me what I want to know,” Lothoman demanded. “Your retrieval… how
was it accomplished? You do
remember now, don’t you?”
With
his prior leap into the future now fresh in his mind, the memories of
Isabella’s sacrifice and Adam’s betrayal flooded back to him. “It
was… a retrieval chip… brought back from the future… a possible future
of mine, which… probably doesn’t even exist anymore. It contained a
perfected retrieval program that… allowed me to control my journey.”
“Interesting,”
Lothoman pondered the possibilities of leaping into a future timeline.
“And where is this chip now? Tell me, or your children die before the day
is through!”
Giving
in to defeat and the residual pain of his torture, Sam closed his eyes
shamefully and answered, “I leaped back further in time and… implanted
it into the main conduit relay of my computer. It activated in my
time and… brought me back. It should still be there. Now, please… spare
my children.”
Giving
a thoughtful look to Sam, Lothoman deactivated his matrix, vanishing before
Sam’s eyes. His voice boomed through the control center as he called, “Xavier.”
Xavier
and his henchman returned to Central Control as Lothos spoke once again. “Dr.
Beckett has given me the information I required. Prepare him for preliminary
training to become one of my operatives. If this Retrieval chip does what
Dr. Beckett says it does, then Project Quantum Leap will no longer be a
concern. Beckett will be mine to mold as I see fit.”
“You
gave me your word, Lothos!” Sam screamed as the two men took hold of him.
“You said my children wouldn’t be harmed!”
“I
promised you that I would not lay a finger on them, and in that sense, I
have spoken true, Dr. Beckett,” Lothos complied. “The resulting explosion that will occur as a result of the cascade
feedback that Zoë will set in motion is what will destroy your project and
everyone inside of it. Once Zoë sabotages your Accelerator Chamber and uses
the chip to bypass the normal leaping parameters and send herself back here,
you will remain trapped here in your own aura. You will be under my control
for all eternity.”
“N-no!”
Sam flinched as the irony of his situation finally dawned on him. By
returning home, he had unwittingly set in motion the very events he was
trying to prevent—or at least a similar version of them. Suddenly,
Isabella’s story about Sammy Jo’s fate and the events that led up to all
of it made sense. ‘How could I have missed it? In the original history, it must have been
Sammy Jo that Zoë leaped into, not me! The Swiss-cheese effect must have
made her believe that she was the cause, and she killed herself when the
guilt overwhelmed her! That’s
why she was so disoriented!’
And
then, Sam realized what Lothos had said about training him to be an
operative. Was he implying that Xavier and his cronies were going to break
him into submission to become a new evil | 