Date: 06/12/2001
From: SouthernSlider

Sorry for the interminable delay. It couldn't be helped.

Review: Quinn, Colin, Remmy and Maggie land on a world where they discover time travel is possible. Quinn finds a Professor Arturo double and finds out his own double is the one who discovered time travel instead of sliding. He also finds out his double went back in time to save his father and now can't come back. Remmy and Maggie have words and she leaves the hotel. Finding the bottle shop of time, she runs into trouble with the proprietor because she doesn't know all the rules about time travel yet, and that's where we pick up the story. I hope this reminder helps. If not, you can go back and reread the story at the following posts.

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Now on with the story:

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Chapter Eleven

Quinn came back to reality with a sputter as water assaulted his face. He took a deep breath and coughed, coming up off the sofa in a daze.

“Ah, you’re back among the living,” said the professor.

“Quinn, are you all right?” asked Colin.

Quinn blinked his eyes several times, wiping water droplets from his face and shirtfront. “What happened?”

“I think some of the aspects of time travel were a bit much for you to absorb, though I am not too sure why,” said the professor. “It would seem to me that sliding would have dismissed all shock from your system. Nothing of time travel should be astounding. You’ve been traveling in parallel dimensions. Time travel is just another dimension of space.”

Quinn’s previous thoughts right before the lights went out came slamming back into his consciousness. He was going to have to choose the person most important in his life -- his father or his brother. How could he do that?

“I guess the shock of discovering that one could time travel, coupled with finding the double of a man I truly admire, well . . . I guess it was just a little too much for me,” he lied. He wasn’t up to telling them what was really on his mind just yet -- especially Colin. He was going to have to give this a lot of consideration. But he wasn’t sure even years of consideration would put him any closer to a decision.

A look of honest humility passed over the professor’s face. Quinn thought for a fleeting moment about his own professor -- another’s life he would be choosing to save or
deny when he made up his mind. He shook his head vigorously, trying to eliminate all thoughts entirely.

“Professor, I think you had better just give me all the pertinent information on time travel. What can one do or not do? How does it affect one’s life? That sort of
stuff.”

Professor Arturo raised an eyebrow. “My boy, I must say, I think you are talking with your heart now, and not your scientific mind. You don’t seem a bit concerned with
the science of time travel . . . only the consequences.”

“Professor, I’ve lived through the consequences of sliding. If I had been a little bit more concerned about them, instead of going with my heart and the adventure it could bring, I would have saved a lot of heartache and lives.”

His eyes fell on his brother as he spoke. Colin masked his thoughts quickly, but Quinn knew what he was thinking.

“But then, if I hadn’t gone with my heart, I wouldn’t have found my brother,” he added quickly. He almost laughed at the irony. He couldn’t get away from the choice.

“Ahhhhh. My young Mr. Mallory. I guess you and your doubles are all alike. It is a heart-wrenching decision to have to make. When it was discovered that one could go
back in time, but not return, it set everyone to thinking about whether or not they would be better off. You are no different from everyone else on this earth.”

A bit of silence crept into the room after the professor’s last words. They were all thinking about the consequences now. The professor’s sympathy for his protégé’s double
swelled, but he held his tongue. There was no way he was going to try to influence the lad one way or the other.

Quinn agonized over his choices, his stomach churning, his mind reeling. He wanted to scream from the pain of it all, but the scream stuck in his throat, refusing to spew forth and bring him even a hint of relief. He almost wished he hadn’t awakened from his sudden blackout of a moment ago. He knew it was the coward’s way out, but, at the moment, he certainly didn’t feel like any kind of hero. Living the life of a coward, and not having to choose, would suit him just fine right now.

Colin’s agony was no less than that of his brother. He knew what Quinn was thinking. Having to choose between his brother and father was an awful thing to put a man through. Colin wished, for Quinn’s sake, that he could undo everything for him. If only he had refused to go with Quinn that fateful day. He could have lived out his life in
simplicity -- hopefully with Susannah. Then Quinn’s choice today would be simple. <<Could I, myself, go back in time and spare my brother this dilemma? Maybe that is the
thing to do.>> Then another question sprang to his mind. He finally broke the silence among them.

“Professor, why is it that you, yourself, have not gone back in time? When you stopped receiving the letters from your Quinn, I am a bit surprised you did not go back
yourself to see what happened to him.”

The question pulled Quinn out of the painful pool of thoughts he was drowning in and looked at his brother. It was a good question; one he hadn’t thought to ask, but
should have. Why didn’t this man of science try to check out the mystery in the beginning?

Professor Arturo stood, clasping his hands behind his back and started to pace around the room. His mind started down a new path. No longer was he thinking about the heartache of this young man, but of his own. He supposed he would have to tell them the truth.

***

Remmy paced around the room in a boil. When he stopped at the table where the lamp stood innocently, his fingers itched to slap it across the room while his mind pretended it was Maggie. <<How dare she say something like that?>> He stared once more at the lamp. Before common sense could take hold, his hand reached out and did what his
heart and mind demanded. The lamp went sailing threw the air, crashed against the adjacent wall, and landed in a heap of china shards on the floor. The shade popped off
and flew in another direction, landing with a flop, bent and crumpled. The whole episode did nothing to ease the rage seething in Remmy’s body and mind.

His eyes watered, and he let out a blood-curdling scream in an effort to alleviate the pain and anger. When that eased things no more than the lamp episode, he stomped to the door, opened it with a jerk, and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Blindly, he took the stairs, strode through the lobby amid stares and whispers, and exited
the building. His only thought was to find Maggie and strangle the life out of her.
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I'll bring you another tomorrow.

SS

Welcome back!

Date: 06/12/2001
From: DieselMickeyDolenz

Maggie's in trouble. Remmy's ticked. Quinn and Colin are confused. Sounds about right. Glad to see you back.

DMD

Yay!! You're back

Date: 06/13/2001
From: SweetOne

It was definitely worth the wait.
Glad everything went well.

SweetOne

"Be on the lookout for mercies. The more
we look for them, the more of them we will
see. Blessings brighten when we count them."
Maltbie D. Babcock

I've missed your stories

Date: 06/14/2001
From: Missye

I know how hetic weddings and other things can be. My sister got married about 10 months ago and then there was a lot of other things going on. I do love your stories and I've missed you greatly for a while it was just 2 of us on here and when WadesDiary came it was a nice addition. I have enjoy this instalment and can't wait to read another.
Missye

Original URL http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/1095/3439
Nominated by DieselMickeyDolenz