Jones we are not changing history. Think about it. This history has happened. We still live in the 21st century China has not a yet invaded. If only we were able to determine the timeline we can stop this. When we get back to our time we inform our Feds .. first and foremost. They then need to find the best ASIO tech operative to infiltrate Beijing's defense platform to determine their future military plans.....
Tom, whatever changes we make can't make things any worse than what the Aussies are living now. We must not fail.
Tom seems to have pictures to prove our story. Raven can take us back to our helicopter that won't start. When Kirk opens the portal, we will be transported back to the past where we came in. In the meantime. let's enjoy our last couple of days with Raven and Ray.
Richie savored the two days with Raven and told her if he was able to he will return. Near tears Raven said "as soon as we have mastered the time portal Ray and I will come to your time Richie." Friday midnite came our goodbyes were made to our new future friends and and as promised Captain Kirk opened the portal to our dimension with the glowing white lite again covering the tiny helicopter and returning them to the Cantwell homestead. Immediately Richie contacted the Presidential office and informed him of the shocking plan Communist China had for our nation. Initially, President Worthing and his advisors had trouble believing the grazier's story.. do you blame him as he, Ashley and Tom Jones had also not believed it. It was only after the posted photos Tom Jones took of Raven, Jomah, Ray, the Force Field, the downed Cantwell Flash in a strange, futuristic landscape, the President was convinced. " Mr President we need to determine a timeline for Beijing's future military plans so we can notify our strong ally the United States." "I concur Mr Cantwell. I will have my best technical team at ASIO onto it in 10 minutes....... story continues.
Meanwhile, Tom rode his horse to where he'd buried his little stash of gold. Digging , dirty and sweaty he eventually found his leather satchel with all his gold still intact. "Phew" said Tom to his horse Zeus, "it's all here." Sniggering to himself, Tom pulled out a granite rock with his name deeply engraved on it, and placed it in the hole before filling it back in. "Let's see what the Goblins of Time make of this" he said to Zeus. Tom never missed an episode of Morgan Freeman's Science show that often talked about Time Paradoxes on NITV, the Indigenous tv channel. "Life is but a dream..." hummed Tom. "Some say the past pushes us forward, others say the future drags us forward. Zeus neighed. Later Tom gave Mr Cantwell his scrounged rubbish from the 30th century. "Not sure what most of these bits and pieces are Mr Cantwell, but many of them are made of strange metals and materials you might want to get examined. Further proof too I'd say, and futuristic technology?"
Meanwhile Richie, Ashley and Jones have been summoned to Canberra as the President was most keen to see our amateur geologist Jones' strange metals and materials that he had been told were found in a future civilization. The media had now jumped onto the story of us three accidental time travelers, tho a steel jaw lock had been put on the press over revealing details of the probable Chinese invasion of out island continent. President Worthing has been in touch with his American counterpart and an online meeting had been arranged between American and Australian military personnel the following day......
They asked Deputy Crow to contact the CIA, M16 and and other world security forces. They sent China a message through the backdoor that any move against Australia would result in the total destruction of China. So disaster was averted. Meanwhile, back in the future, Raven has a token of the love she and Richie shared. She will never see him again but she will never forget him.
Well done Mr Cantwell sir and Lady Ashley for your high level infulences and Dep. Crow's part, and I heard on the news China is making all these denials and being obsequious to us Aussies. Even taking off all their trade sanctions as a sign of friendship! Ha! They double speak too much. Mr Cantwell sir, I emplore my spirits to let you get your OAM and medal you so much deserve, and your notoriety likewise enhanced Lady Ashley. Politics? I hope I served you well Mr Cantwell Sir but I confess much of my motivation came from Scientific speculations about Time travel. I'm just a layperson but Morgan Freeman, a Blackman, put those seeds of thought in my head. His show is called 'Through the Wormhole' with high level Physics and Cosmology. It's amazing and both inspires and befuddles me. Now the news is global I've Skyped him briefly, Freeman. He's offered me a lucrative interview which I humbly accepted, but only with Morgan. He's got boffins galore for him to script for. I get to delete my share too, collaborative? They'd like to speak to you too, Lady Ashley and Marie too. Many other Lucrative offers too. I'm not sure where the media came from, I'm usally tight lipped as you know except I confess to my idol Morgan. Mea culpa. Catholic. I prefer dogs, cats, horses, cattle and sheep; they're easier to read, not like us humans sir.. I'll take your lead re the media sir, dogs and horses for me. At your service Mr Cantwell Sir, as promised.
Tell him thank you for the offer but I prefer to remain to remain in the background. I have received a message from London and I will have to return there shortly. It has been an enjoyable and quite interesting visit to the Cantwell Station but duty calls. Who knows what adventure awaits?
Jones.. I'd prefer you called me Richie rather than sir. OAM..that is a great honor I'd take gratefully. When I started out as a grazier I despaired at the amount of regional properties and companies owned by foreigners. I promised myself that if I became a success I'd help ' buy back the farm '. I kept my pledge as among my many enterprises are five companies formerly owned by overseas interests. Three were cattle and sheep farms which now produce Cantwell Milk and Dairy products. My wool is sold to Australian manufacturers to make the finest woolen products for domestic and export markets. The other two companies were a berry orchard and an orange grove. Cantwell Berry Co and Cantwell Citrus Co are the result.
Ashley I will miss you. No reason tho why we can't see each other again. I have several business interests in England, so rather than me attending meetings I will send one of my chief executives instead and we can go riding again. Or have a picnic and row or punt a boat along a rural river.
Meanwhile, during a cold and frosty February in 2054, Henri Gariepy was 126 metres up a giant Wind Turbine. 'Merde', he said as he saw the rows of bolts he had to check. Last night had been very bad chasing gambling losses he could never afford to repay. The last bottle of wine was stupid. Dressed to the nines with tools and equipment Henri was thankful for his bio suit even tho his head was thumping and dull. He could see the lights of Quebec in the distance and memories returned again of his financial demise. That's when he slipped whilst wiping snow from his visor. More unfortunately, with his hangover, he'd forgot to attach his safety harness and ignored the warning lights. There were always lots of flashing lights anyway. Especially after a hard night. So down he fell freely, as in slow motion, uncaring even. A second or two later the dark cloudy sky above started brightening to a baby blue with a shinning sun. Henri fell asleep into the soft folds of a white cloud. Many strange dreams later Henri woke slowly and felt he was so comfortable as if floating on another cloud. His head and body aches had gone and his body suit said the ambient temperature was 23 degrees Celsius. Perfect like the air in the perfect Hemisphere he was in. Henri couldn't tell where the ambient light was from but saw the shape and size of the room. A hemisphere of diameter 12m he figured. Half that for a radius of 6m. A fairly big space. 6m tall. Then he saw his very comfortable bed sink into the floor and disappear. What the 'Tech' yelled Henri! Amazed, scared, befuddled and confused at first, eventually Henri started exploring his tiny world. Touching various parts of the walls or speaking in French or English made the place do things, even showing windows, a door or even go completely transparent to a tropical outside. Even jungle noises and animals with one very big snake slithering by. Many colourful birds and a few boars. The office, kitchen, bed, toilet, bathroom and lounge interfaces took Henri days to figure out that sorcery. It wasn't too disimilar to his tiny multifunction box home in Quebec. The Office had brilliant computers with hugely extensive data bases up to 2050 only. Nothing interactive except very limited AIs. Very user friendly tho with many AI's acting as guides. They won't say where and when we are, or why! On the second day there Henri figured out the door. Creatures, nothing Alien... couldn't enter, nor temp or atmosphere, but Henri could go out and in with ease. Like a membrane only he could use, and anything he touched, like a little mouse creature he made a pet of. His watch, wrist and pad computer got no signals at all. None, but Henri had found and worked out charging ports in his little home. His bio suit was self charnging anyway thru kinetic and solar energies. Not cheap but necessary for his work with such erratic global climates. Well, in 2054. Tax deductable. Used to such basic technology, Henri tapped into possible Security systems his little home might have. His search interrogating many AIs was fruitful. He easily turned all walls transparent with the other main functions outlined in subtle colours befitting their functions. Henri even had an implanted 1080 terrabyte brain chip which he tuned to the main AI of his shell. Hence, he only had to think it, and his new home responded like a good butler, even creating n bringing his favourite drinks. His butler was a little robot that morphed out of the floor. On the 17th day he saw the 6 young dark skinned men appear speaking with a strange language. "Translate" yelled Henri to his Dome's main AI who he called Lucy. Even his watch computer chirpped in. OLD POLYNESIAN: 1700's or 18th Century they all said. Older one, he say's "just like other ones, don't get too close, don't touch. We go back now, Come!". 'Sounds like old Earth' mouthed Henri 'and what others?' 'Cannot say' said Lucy. "Or she won't say" said Henri's watch Tempus cynically. Henri had won Tempus in a high stakes game. He was a very good AI. 'what are they not saying he often whispered?' Paranoid! Two hours later, with his seemingly mastered, Security skills, Henri did notice quite quickly the ground swelling and bulging nearby him, his dome home. The beginnings of a new White Hemisperical Dome just 50m from his own was beginning to emerge. Henri put a stong security focus on it with all his AI's on full time watch, like 'Tempus' who always has the time? "Who's sending the invitations tho and Why?" asks Tempus. See, I said to no one, it's that they are growing into the same as us perhaps. I need a beer 'James' and a football game... No, Two beers! "Tempus, keep watch!" I said as I activated his 50m security zone and Hologram of Bugs Bunny. "I wonder what will happen next. I should be dead?" I said again to my benign universe. "You're just depressed." said Tempus, "You just need TIME!". "Are you trying to be funny" I said to my watch, "Watch it!" I love jokes!
Out of character, Terry here: Hiya Craig n Shirley (and any others interested), May I suggest you both likewise explore and emerge from the White hemispheres as Henri did. That's all. Being Intelligent from the 2050's would reveal more than I found, surely. Rationalise bringing some high tech gear. Come before, after or about the same time as Henri (St, Soc, Int, Wlth), and from any year in the 2050's. Wealthy comes with superior high tech trinkets I'd say, from the 2050's, like ....special bio implants, .... and treatments. Cheers, Terry
I am a retired colonel in the Australian Space Force. Richard Fenworth is my name. My friends call me Richie. I was just about to catch some zzzs in my lunar apartment when I looked into my bathroom mirror and suddenly I was drawn forward and into it. The last thing I saw was a white flash and everything went blank. Next thing I find myself on what looks like a tropical island I hope it is one of those pristine islands off the North Queensland coast I visited as a young air force pilot. A quick look around and my hopes are dashed, there is not a person in site. Then I come to my senses. Hey I must be dreaming.. this can not be real. Nah just an illusion. Then I am shocked into reality as I am no longer wearing my pyjamas, instead what looks like a British red coat uniform of the mid 1700s..............