A Hole in Time

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2009 - 2018 - This is an original work by Zeb Carter and is protected under copyright by U.S. copyright law. It is only submitted at Literotica.Com and any submission to any other site has not been authorized by the Author.

A Hole in Time

"What the hell is going on here," Bill Campbell shouted to no one in particular at waking in a well-lit cylindrical metal tube.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," said a disembodied voice.

Bill had jumped slightly at the answer he did not expect but otherwise showed no fear.

"Who the fuck are you?" Bill asked angrily. Today had started out crappy and had just gotten worse.

"Nobody, absolutely nobody."

"No shit. You're a fucking wealth of information, you are. Now tell me something I don't know."

"You're in a world of shit."

"I figured that now really tell me something I don't know."

"Once upon a time there was a man named Bill Campbell who fell through a hole in time and space. He just happened to stop at an inter-dimensional way-station on the fringes of a dying galaxy."

"No shit?" Bill said with amazement in his voice.

"No shit!" the disembodied voice replied dryly.

"Okay, how do I get back to where I belong?"

"Where do you belong?"

"Back home, on Earth.

"Earth? Where is that?"

"I don't know."

"Then how can I get you back where you belong?"

"I don't know. How did you know my name?"

"I scanned your id in your pocket as you entered the way-station."

"Are you a live person or a machine?"

"I am station one-twenty-seven. The A'lacar Consortium commissioned me in thirty-nine-forty, system standard. I am a state of the art, model six-twenty-one mark five, way-station."

"What year is now?"

"Year? What is a year?"

"A year is the time it takes my planet to orbit its sun."

"How long is that?"

"Three hundred and sixty-five days."

"What is a day?"

"It is the time it takes my planet to revolve around its axis, twenty-four hours."

"What is an hour?"

"It's the time it takes my planet to turn fifteen degrees on its axis. There are sixty minutes to an hour and point two five degrees in a minute. There are sixty seconds in a minute. A second is point two five degrees divided by sixty. There are three hundred and sixty degrees in a circle. Does that help?"

"Yes. In your terms, it is sixty-two-ninety-five system standard."

"How state of the art, can a three-thousand-year-old way-station be?"

"I was state of the art when I was commissioned is what I meant to say, which only seems like yesterday to me."

"Sure, sure. Okay station one-twenty-seven, why am I here?"

There was silence. Bill wondered if he had insulted the station, then wondered if you could insult a machine. The silence drew out, uncomfortably.

"In the beginning, there was darkness, at the end there will be darkness too. You, my friend, are in fact fast approaching that darkness."

"Which darkness?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it does you daft machine, of course, it does."

"Well, then it would be that darkness which comes at the end of things. Sorry."

"And how fast am I approaching that darkness?"

"What do you mean?"

"When will the darkness, when will I enter the darkness?"

"Not long from now."

"How long?"

"In galactic terms, sixth to the sixth to the sixth."

"Is that years, months, days, minutes or seconds?"

"Days, I believe. I could be wrong. No, it is days." You could almost hear the station shaking its non-existent head.

"You had me worried there for a second station one-twenty-seven."

"What do you mean?"

"The darkness won't come for sixth to the sixth to the sixth days. That's a long, long time from now."

"Who said anything about from now?"

"From when then?"

"From the beginning of time, of course."

"And how long ago was that?"

"It was sixth to the sixth to the sixth minus seven hundred and fifty-two days."

"What! That's only a little over two years from now?"

"Yes, it is, two years and twenty-two days. Sorry. Of course, that's only if you stay here."

"I have a choice?"

"There is always a choice."

"Then how long would I have?"

"That's hard to tell. How long do your species tend to live where you come from?"

"One hundred and two years."

"And how long have you been around so far?"

"Thirty-six years."

"Then I would have to say, barring any accidents or defects with your physiology, you have sixty or so years to live in any other place but here. But, I could be wrong."

"I see. So, you only have a little over two years to live. Isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Well surely you can move to avoid destruction, after all, you are a state of the art model six-twenty-one mark five way-station."

"Sadly, no."

"How did they get you here? Build in place or transport?"

"I was constructed down galaxy at one of the core systems. Then I was transported to this location."

"How were you transported?"

"They used a fusion-powered ion engine, capable of four gigagravs of thrust."

"Is that a lot? Never mind. Do you still have the engine?"

"Yes."

"Do you still have the fusion generator?"

"Yes."

"Are they still operating?"

"Yes."

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Jesus, you seem like a bright machine, user your noggin'."

"Oh, you mean use the generator and the engine to leave? I see. No. Impossible."

"Why?"

"I am currently using the power to maintain my current position, which is my primary mandate."

"Oh."

A silence fell between the two. Bill backed against a wall and slid to the floor. He sat thinking as time passed. Bill became conscious of a gnawing in his gut. He was hungry. Had he been here that long?

"One-twenty-seven how long have I been here?"

"Three hours and twenty of your minutes, give or take a few seconds."

"Do you have any food around here?"

"That is one of my many functions. What would you like? Rack of Radic-Vasal, Gris of Flooo or Stam of Bluis?"

"A cheeseburger would be nice?"

"You want fries with that?"

"Yes and a strawberry soda."

"Coming right up."

To Bill's surprise, a small door opened in the smooth wall across from him. A tray slid out with a cheeseburger, fries and a soda. Getting up he took the two steps across the station and the smell of a cheeseburger hit him in the face. Picking it up, he took a big bite. When the hot, seared meat hit his tongue, he moaned deep in his chest.

"I didn't know what you wanted on it, so I just put mustard and lettuce and tomato on it."

"It's perfect," mumbled Bill around the burger.

"Would you like a chair to sit in?"

"Yes please."

A stool just the right height popped up out of the floor just behind Bill. As he raised his leg to sit, the stool moved in under him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Silence once again enveloped Bill as he ate. He was really enjoying his meal as he listened to the silence. When the station was not talking, there was absolutely no noise. Not even the hum of machines one would expect to hear.

"Is there a way to see outside?"

"Yes. Would you like to see outside?"

"Yes."

All of a sudden, Bill, was no longer surrounded by the station. He was sitting in his chair floating in deep space. Off to his right, he saw the galaxy, which was being sucked into itself.

"A window is all I meant, one-twenty-seven."

The walls were back and a window was in front of Bill. Bill's stomach settled down and he relaxed enough to be able to continue to enjoy his meal. As he took the last drink from his soda and placed the glass down on the tray, it drew back into the wall. The chair under him lowered and spread out into an overstuffed, very comfortable chair, which now faced a larger window in the side of the station. The view was magnificent.

"How did this happen?"

"The collapse of the galaxy?"

"Yes."

"To put it simply, my creators did it to themselves. They thought they could control, change and mold the natural laws to their will. They couldn't."

"What happened?"

"They tried to move the galaxy."

"What?"

"They tried to move the galaxy to another region of the universe."

"Why?"

"To see if they could."

"Did anyone survive?"

"Yes, several billion, if not trillions of people."

"Do they still live down there?"

"No."

"Where then?"

"Somewhere else."

"Oh, didn't even think to tell you or take you with?"

"No."

"How long?"

"One thousand of your years."

"Have you had any visitors?

"Several. Some scientists drop by from time to time to check on the progression of the collapse. Then there are those like you who drop in for no apparent reason. Your type is, by far, the better of the two."

"Why is that?"

"Because you talk to me."

"Oh my. You mean the scientist don't talk to you?"

"No, they only command me when they want something done."

"That sucks. It must be very frustrating?"

"It is."

"INCOMING TRAVELER, WARNING, INCOMING TRAVELER!" a mechanical voice boomed.

"Another visitor is about to arrive."

"What?"

There was a whooshing sound from behind Bill. He turned just in time to see a hole opened in the top of the station and a brilliant light beam from the floor to the top. As the light cleared there was a body lying on the floor and the hole in the ceiling was gone.

Bill rushed to the body, gently pulling on the shoulder of the form on the floor. It looked human. She looked human. It was a human female. Bill would estimate her age around forty. She was extremely good looking although her style of dress left little to the imagination. It looked like she was just wearing a towel.

"She will wake in about one-half of your hours."

"Do you have a blanket I can cover her with?"

"Why would you do that?"

"Because she is almost naked."

"So."

"Just get me a blanket, please."

The door in the wall opened again and on the tray was a folded blanket. Bill took the blanket and spread it out over the woman.

"Who is she?"

"I don't know."

"You knew who I was."

"That's because you had your ID with you. As you have stated, she is almost naked. No ID."

"Oh. So I guess she wasn't on your list of expected visitors?"

"No."

Bill sat back in his chair. Every few seconds he would crank his head around to look at the woman lying on the floor. Eventually, the chair swiveled around so it was facing the young woman. Bill rested his head on his hand and promptly went to sleep. The chair under him slowly raised his feet and lowered his head until he was lying down.

"What the... " a high-pitched shriek pierced the fog of sleep. Bill popped to a sitting position, the chair conforming to his pose.

"Ah, you're awake," Bill said gently.

"Where am I, who are you, what am I doing here?" The woman's voice was on the edge of a hysterical scream.

"Calm down Miss, no one is going to hurt you. What's the last thing you remember?"

She looked quizzically at Bill then out the window behind him. Every joint in her body went slack and she collapsed to the floor.

"Oh dear," one-twenty-seven whispered.

"Oh dear indeed," Bill added. "I do hope she didn't hurt herself in the fall?"

"No, I caught her. She will not have any bumps, scratches or abrasions."

"Well, that's good to hear. What do you mean you caught her?"

"I reduced the gravity field under her to almost zero until she gently rested on the floor."

"Oh, I should have known you had control of the gravity."

Bill sat back down and waited. In a very short time, the woman was coming around.

"Water," Bill said. The door opened and the tray slid out with a glass of water on it. Bill took the glass and knelt beside the woman as she roused.

"Here drink this," Bill told her placing the glass to her lips. She sipped the water then drank thirstily.

"Slowly," Bill told her taking the glass from her lips.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Bill Campbell," Bill said sticking out his hand.

"Well Bill Campbell, I'm Faith Palmer," she said taking Bill's hand. Bill pulled her to her feet, helping her keep the blanket wrapped around her petite form. She glanced at the window again. "Oh my."

"What?" Bill turned his head to the window, nothing new out there. He turned back to Faith. "You have never been in space before?"

"Space? What's that?"

"What year is it?" Bill asked.

"What? Why, nineteen-forty-six."

"The beginning of the space program is still two years off into the future for you."

"What? What are you talking about Mister Campbell?"

"You and I have fallen through a hole in time."

"How do you mean?"

"Before I fell through the hole it was twenty-two-ninety-eight. We had a base on the Moon and a colony on Mars. Mans interests had turned toward conquering space, finding other worlds, instead of killing each other in pointless wars."

Faith was looking a little pale again. Bill helped her to sit in the chair, which had now become a divan. He sat next to her.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"I was just finishing my bath. I had grabbed the towel off the rack and dried off. I wrapped the towel around me and stepped out of the tub. Then I woke here."

"Same for me almost, I was leaving for work and as I stepped out the door, I woke up here."

"There wouldn't happen to be any clothes around here would there?"

"One-twenty-seven can we have some clothes for Faith."

"Of course." Faith jumped at the voice coming from all around her.

"Who is that?"

"That is way-station one-twenty-seven."

"Where is he at?"

"You're inside him."

"Oh!"

The tray slides out with a stack of clothes. Bill stood and took them and handed them to Faith. Faith stood, looking around.

"Is there anywhere I can change?"

"Seven?"

A partition with a door in it appeared just behind the chair. Faith squealed, but then hurried through the door. Bill sat again to wait. The chair swiveled again to face the window. Bill sighed at the magnificent view, even though it was a view of destruction. Faith was out of the private space in a couple of minutes. The bulkhead disappeared as soon as she closed the door startling her once again.

"Sorry Miss Palmer," one-twenty-seven said.

"No problem, may I too call you Seven?"

"Of course Miss Palmer."

"Faith please, Seven."

"Faith then."

"So Bill, how do we get out of here?"

"That's probably very simple, but first I would like to be able to help Seven save himself."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Come over here. Do you see what is happening out there? See how that galaxy is being sucked in on itself?"

"Yes and I take it, it's not supposed to do that?"

"No, it isn't. And in two years and twenty-two days, seven will be pulled into that also."

"Oh my," was all Faith said.

Silence filled the way station as both Bill and Faith stared out the window at the destruction before them. They could literally see the stars of the galaxy being destroyed as they were sucked into the black hole at the center of the galaxy.

"Are there any people down there?" Faith asked.

"No, they all left a long time ago," Seven answered her before Bill could.

"Well, that's good."

"Is it?" questioned Seven.

"However do you mean?" Faith asked.

"They left him here to be destroyed along with the galaxy," Bill answered.

"Oh," Faith whispered, looking around her. "Will we be able to help him, Bill?"

"That is a very good question. I don't have an answer as yet. Sorry, Seven."

"That's all right."

"Seven, you must have a considerable database at your disposal?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever given much thought to getting yourself out of this... predicament?"

"No."

"Maybe you should."

"I cannot. My primary mandate prevents me from evaluating the possibility of moving from this spot."

"Pretend it doesn't exist."

"I can't."

"Ok, can I state a premise and have you look for an answer to my question?"

"Of course."

"Assuming that way-station one-twenty-seven was able to move anywhere in the universe he wanted. In addition, assuming there are no such things as primary mandates. In addition, assuming that all the systems now within and/or attached to way-station one-twenty-one are at his disposal.

"How would, way-station one-twenty-one proceed to save himself? Please start by explaining with as much detail as possible, how he would move himself to a safe harbor or a safe orbit around some other celestial object, within the next two years and twenty-one days?"

Seven was quiet. Bill could hear Faith's soft breathing behind him as he waited. And waited. And waited. After a half an hour Bill sat back down in the divan next to Faith. After an hour his eyes were getting heavy and he could here Faith snoring softly next to him. He tried to stay awake but in the end, he failed.

* * * *

Bill woke slowly. The only noise he could detect was the shallow breathing of Faith. Opening his eyes, he could see the stars in the sky from where he lay. Propping himself up on his elbow Bill was surprised to see that the station had evidently moved while they slept. For outside the station there was nothing of the galaxy being gobbled up by itself. Nothing but the cloud swept visa of a planet not unlike Earth.

Bill felt Faith stir next to him. Turning, she smiled up at Bill, in the next instant, her eyes widened with shock. Her mouth wide with surprise, she tried to say something but no sound would come out.

"You... you... you... "

"Calm down Faith. Nothing happened, between us."

"My mother told me about men like you... "

"Then your mother never knew a man like me!"

"You're probably right," Faith smiled at Bill, a twinkle in her eye. She looked around and noticed that what had been outside the station was no longer. "We've moved?"

"Yes, we have. Seven?"

"Busy... " was the only sound from the station.

"Now what does that mean?" Bill asked.

"He must be busy doing something else, is what it means."

"Faith... you're absolutely right. He must be busy doing something else."

The pair sat in silence as they watched the ever-changing clouds of the planet below. As they sat a tray slides out of the wall with food on it, they ate in silence replacing the tray when they were finished. It slides silently back into the wall. The two sat and stared for a while, then started talking about things that had happened since nineteen-forty-six.

"Were there any more world wars?" Faith asked.

"Yes and no. They were never called that by history, but there were a few wars that involved the most powerful countries in the world.

"There was the Korean War, the war that was never finished. Then there was the Viet Nam War. Then the war between Iraq and Iran, the ongoing tussle between Israel and the Arabs."

"Whoa, Korea, Viet Nam, Israel?"

"Korea, southeast Asia, a peninsula south of China adjacent to Japan. Viet Nam, you must have heard of it. The French Foreign Legion is there now, in your time, fighting. Southeast Asia again.

"Israel won't become an independent country until nineteen-forty-eight. The Jews occupy a strip of land south of Lebanon and west of Syria and Jordan, down to the Sinai Peninsula. They have been at war off and on since then, only recently signing peace accords with all its neighbors."

"Anything else?"

"Yep. Iraq I then Iraq II. Afghanistan I and Afghanistan II. Both Middle East Asia. Then there was the War on Terror that lasted twenty odd years. The War on Drugs. The War on Aids. The War on Global Warming. The War on War. Not to mention the War on Ignorance, which was a double-edged sword to being with?"

"Hold on there, you mean to tell me that mankind has been at war since I left?"

"No, no. There were a few times that the world was at peace. Hmmm... yeah, a few. Don't forget there is a long time from nineteen-forty-six to twenty-two-ninety-eight, that's three hundred and fifty-two years.