Time Virus

Chapter 6

Chapter 6
Date: Launch minus 7 months
Location: Quintana Roo, Mexico

The first indication that they had finally found what they were looking for was when a routine blast cycle failed to loosen up more than just a few inches of dirt. They typically blasted twice a day in order to loosen up rock and dirt for easy removal. Blast – dig - repeat; that had been the mantra for months.

This morning’s blast has produced the typical ground trembling event, but when the giant shovels went to work, they hit something hard almost immediately. They had found something. They had found IT.

A scrum of scientists gathered around as the remaining overburden was removed the old fashion way. Handheld shovels and brooms exposed a white ceramic cube nearly a hundred meters a side. There were no doors or external bulges or depressions of any sort.

The physicists went absolutely ape over the object. To them, this box was the key to what they had been looking for. It was the Rosetta stone to the Theory of Everything. Now they just had to figure out how to open it up.

Allison was surprised to find her feelings to be somewhat subdued. From the time she had found her first arrowhead at the age of four, she had been hooked on digging up any and everything ancient. There was something about holding an object in her hands that hadn’t been touched or seen by anyone for centuries. She would touch an old pot and visualize how it had been part of some ancient tribe’s cookware. She could see them fashioning it out of clay. They would use it to cook and eat out of. From time to time, it would have to be repaired. There was no doubt that it was as much a treasure to its original owner as it was to Allison. This feeling of spanning time, of looking directly into the past as if separated by only a plate glass window was what had driven her to pursue archeology.

All of that drive and passion had landed her in the bottom of a gigantic hole next to what appeared to be a humongous die with no dots on the sides. It didn’t look old. It wasn’t of this planet. It represented no window into her past. This was an alien thing from somewhere else. To her, this was not a treasure, it was a threat; something for the military to deal with.

With a shiver, she turned her back on the object. As the other scientists scrambled around excitedly, she headed out of the pit. Back at her tent, she dug out her cell and placed her final call from Quintana Roo, Mexico.

“Hi Mom. It’s me. I’m coming home.”

Date: Infinity
Location: Null Space

“Let me get this straight. You are telling me that I have lived several lifetimes? You mean like reincarnation?”

Magnus smiled patiently before slowly shaking his head. “No, you have not lived several lives. You ARE living several lives. They all exist simultaneously.”

Jason could feel his new-and-improved mind trying to come to grips with what he was being told. So far, the nano-bot enhancements were of little use. There was no reference frame to help with comprehension. It was like trying to explain an internal combustion engine to a zebra.

“How is it possible for everything to exist simultaneously? I can’t be more than one place at a time.” Jason asked.

“You have to take time out of it. There is no such thing as time other than as a fabrication to help you come to experience the universe in a way that interests you. You see, every life that you have is filled with infinite possibilities, all of which take place at the same instant. You have created these possibilities for yourself.”

“Wait a minute.” Jason interrupted. “Are you saying that I am God?”
Magnus smiled and said, “What you refer to as God exists and I can assure you that you are not him. God is beyond comprehension, even for me. No Jason, you are not God. You are “of” God and as such, have the ability to create your own reality.”

“So you are saying I can be and do anything I want?” Jason asked as his mind began to fabricate options.

“No. There are limits. You have infinite possibilities but you cannot do everything. Remember, even an infinitely small part of infinity is infinite. Your soul has its own finite infinity. Other infinities are available to you but then, you would no longer be you. The one thing that you cannot do is cease to exist”

The conversation went on and on. Jason and Magnus floated in the infinity of a timeless fog discussing all matters of existence and life. Jason knew that it would end just as he knew that the ending would be his choice.

His nano-bots purred quietly amidst the synapses in his brain. They were without souls and as such, remained very much on mission. Earth needed to be saved. When the time came, they would cause this bio-support system to deal with the situation at hand.

Chapter 6 word count 862
Running count 5,550

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