From Here To 1137 AD; Episode 16, Getting Some Cash

This is episode sixteen of the novel, From Here To 1137. 

   If you would like to purchase From  Here To 1137, it is available on Amazon in Kindle format or paperback.

Getting Some Cash    

Tom slung on his coat and slipped into his work boots. He jogged to the location of the invisible pod. He entered.

Tom sat in the captain’s chair. He looked at the various digital instruments. He mentally asked how to operate the pod. His brain quivered gently, and for an instant, he felt as though he lost consciousness. Then he knew all about the pod. 

“Brain,” Tom said, “How soon can I get to New York City?”

“We can get there in minutes,” Brain said.

“How many minutes?” Tom said.

“Depends on how many minutes you want to take,” Brain said.

“Fifteen minutes?” Brain asked.

“Yeah,” Tom said. 

“Any particular part of New York City?” Brain asked.

“Here’s what I have in mind,” Tom said, “I want to use the Instaport to place me inside Frankie Grasso’s safety deposit box room of the Manhattan Fidelity Trust Bank on Broad Street. Do we have the technology to open his box?”

“A device can be provided to disable any type of lock,” Brain said.

“Good,” Brain said. “How soon can we get underway?”

“Just give the command,” Brain said.

“Brain,” Tom said, “you’re in control. Take us about one hundred thousand feet over Frank Grasso’s bank. Go!”

Tom felt a slight movement. It was his first flight in the pod. There was no sensation of movement or flight. He glanced out the forward windshield. It looked like a cloudy blur with speckles of tiny flashing white light. 

A plan rolled around in his mind. He reworded and honed the plan to fit different possibilities. 

“Brain,” Tom said. “Give me the dossier on Frankie Grasso.” 

A hologram white screen appeared in front of Tom. Information about Frankie Grasso appeared on the screen. Tom asked a series of questions, and the answers appeared on the screen. He read over them as they travelled.

“We have arrived,” Brain announced.

“Check the room where Grasso’s safe deposit box is located,” Ton said. “Is it empty?”

There was a pause.

“If you are Instaported now, you will have thirty minutes before it is open for depositors,” Brain said. “In fact, no one can enter; its lock is set on a timing device.”

“But we can?” Tom asked.

“With no difficulty,” Brain said.

“That’s perfect,” Tom said.

Tom stood and walked back to the Instaport dock. 

The Instaport docking area was the portal where objects could be invisibly transported from one location to another. It could be activated from anywhere on the pod, but it was like using the door to walk in, even though the garage door was already open. Tom stepped into a doorless room about the size of an elevator. 

“Brain, you have my location?”

“Yes.”

Tom waved his hand over an activation scanner on the wall. In a blink, he was gone and suddenly in a room full of safe deposit boxes. 

He looked around the room until he found box 252. That box belonged to Frankie Grasso. He held the unlocking device over the keyhole. He heard and felt a click. Grabbing the handle, he pulled open a drawer about the size of a desk top.

It was full of strapped one-hundred-dollar bills.

Tom counted twelve straps and placed them in a leather briefcase. The safety deposit box was closed and locked.

Tom stepped back. “Brain, retrieve me.”

In an instant, Tom was back aboard the pod.

He stepped out of the room. “Cloner, I’d like breakfast. Two eggs, over easy, two strips of bacon, hashed brown potatoes, and Sumatran coffee—strong.”

Tom dropped the bag of money next to the Instaport dock's doorway. Next to it was a small opening in the wall with a tray containing the breakfast. He removed it and walked forward to where a chair and a dining table waited for him.

Tom sat and began eating breakfast. 

“Brain,” Tom said. “I don’t know how it’s done, but this is the best breakfast I’ve ever had. Especially better than the ones I prepare. That Cloner is incredible. I think everyone should have one. However, it doesn’t match my mother’s love.”

“And it never will,” Brain said.

“Brain, you really know how to make a guy feel better, don’t you?”

“It’s what I do.”

“I have a question,” Tom said. “We here on earth, for as long as I can figure, have, at times, named inanimate things. For example, we name things we use: The Queen Mary, The Spirit of St Louis, Gemini, and so on. My dad had a hammer he called Brutus. Does this pod have a name?”

“No.” Brain said. “It has been called Pod Two.”

“I don’t know,” Tom said, “A number is so impersonal. I’d just like to give it a name.”

“That is your decision,” Brain said. 

“And I don’t want any help,” Tom said. “I don’t want you manipulating me and outsmarting me into a perfect name.”

“Only if I’m asked,” Brain said.

“I got a name,” Tom said. “I want to call this pod, The North Forty.”

 “A wise choice,” Brain said. “A rugged Midwestern bucolic sound to it. It matches who you are.”

“I knew you would agree,” Tom smiled and continued eating breakfast. 

From Here To 1137 AD; Episode 15, Checking on Edgar

This is episode fifteen of the novel, From Here To 1137. 

   If you would like to purchase From  Here To 1137, it is available on Amazon in Kindle format or paperback.

Checking On Edgar

Tom returned to the house. He went to bed, but he did not sleep much. He plotted a strategy. 

He thought while staring at the illuminated digital clock across the room.

“Billy McElroy was a bully. In my freshman year, he backed me against the wall in the boys’ restroom. His buddies were all with him. He wanted my writing tablet.’

‘I remember thinking, it’s a writing tablet today, a pen tomorrow, and money the day after that. I wasn’t about to enable Billy’s nicotine addiction.’

‘I knew that without his friends, he was weak. I worked on a farm. I’d stacked bales of hay all day long. I’d birthed calves. Billy’s only accomplishment was smoking cigarettes and creating a monstrous wave of hair on his head.’

‘He wore confidence that hid his cowardice. “You will have to rip this tablet away from me. And the next time I see you, you better not be alone.” He smirked and walked away. Every one of them was a coward, but the biggest was Billy McElroy.’

‘It’s a funny thing. We never said a word to each other the rest of our time in school. I don’t even remember exchanging looks with him. On graduation day, he came up and shook my hand and said, “No hard feelings.” It took me a while to figure out what he was talking about. I guess cowards have a conscience too.’

In the middle of one of the scenarios of thinking about the meeting with Frank Grasso, he fell asleep.

The 5:30 AM buzzer from the clock across the room sounded. Tom got out of bed and turned it off. The day began. He dressed and went to the barn. He forced the cattle out of the barn and shoveled manure. When he was done, he laid down hay for the cattle. 

Back at the house, he made coffee and breakfast, and waited for Edgar’s eight o’clock call. He sat at the kitchen table and watched the second hand arrive at the twelve.

Tom mentally said to Brain, ‘Brain, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” Brain said.

“Can anyone else hear you?” 

“No.”

“So if I should carry on an audible conversation with you, nobody else will hear, right?” 

“That’s right.”

Tom thought.

“Is something wrong?” Brain asked.

“No, not really,” Tom said. “It makes me wonder about all those folks walking the streets, and talking to themselves.”

“They are mentally ill,” Brain said.

“But I am not, right?” Tom asked. 

“No,” Brain said.

“Thanks,” Tom said. “Is it possible to locate my brother? He’s supposed to be in a bed and breakfast in Mastic Beach, Long Island.”

“He would have to do something that I could track,” Brain said. 

“You have no idea where he is?” Tom asked.

“Your phone is about to ring, and it’s from Mastic Beach,” Brain said. 

The phone rang, and Tom hurried into the dining room.

“Hello, Edgar?”

“Hi, Tom.”

“I was just starting to worry about you,” Tom said.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Edgar said.

“Do you have anything planned?” Tom asked.  

“I don’t have a car, and a taxi brought me here,” Edgar said. “I’m kind of locked in to what I can do.”

“Did you pay cash or credit card?” Tom asked.

“Cash.”

“Good,” Tom said.

“Are you going to drive here and get me?” Edgar asked.

Edgar’s tone seemed strange to Tom. It was not that long ago that he appeared brash and arrogant. Now he seemed like a child lost in a crowd. Tom thought, ’He always has been dependent on Dad, Mom, and me.’

“Tom, are you there?” Edgar panicked.

“Yes, yes,” Tom said, “I’m here. I was trying to think of something.”

“Are you coming to pick me up?”

“No,” Tom said, “well, maybe, but for now, can you stay put for at least a couple of days? You should be fine.”

“What are you going to do?” Edgar’s voice quivered.

“Edgar,” Tom said assuringly, “you don’t need to worry. Just stay where you are. You are safe there.”

“This is strange,” Edgar said, “but somehow I believe you.”

“Listen,” Tom said, “if you need anything, call me, okay? I have to go now. Thanks for calling. I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

“Okay,” Edgar said and hung up the phone.

Tom called Debbie.

“Hello,” Debbie said.

“How are you doing this morning?” Tom said.

“I’m fine,” Debbie said. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“It kind of makes me wish I had something planned,” Tom said. “But maybe we can plan something for next week.”

“I feel like I’ve guilted you into something,” Debbie said. 

“No,” Tom said, “not at all. I was hoping to talk to you or your brother.”

“Steve has already caught the bus for high school,” Debbie said.

“Okay,” Tom said, “I’ll run this by you. I may be gone for a couple of days, and I need somebody to look in on the cattle and toss some hay down for them.”

“I’ll say something to Steve,” Debbie said. “And if he can’t do it, I will,”

“You’re the best,” Tom said.

“Where are you going?” Debbie asked.

“I’m going to visit Edgar,” Tom said.

“You got to be kidding me,” Debbie said, “after the way he treated you?”

“He’s my brother, and he’s in a jam,” Tom said. 

“You’re being too good to him,” Debbie said. 

“Debbie,” Tom paused, “you’d do the same for your brother.”

“Not if he won’t look in on your cattle and feed them,” Debbie said.

“How’s school going for you?” Tom asked.

“I'm doing well,” Debbie said. “A little hard at first, but I’m catching on.”

“What about you?” Debbie said. “Did you enroll?”

“No,” Tom said, “we’ll talk about it when I come back from Edgar’s.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Debbie asked.

“You know where the house key is,” Tom said. “While I’m gone, you could do a load of laundry for me—just kidding.”

“Goodbye, Tom. Have a safe trip.”

“I’ll call when I’m back.”

From Here To 1137 AD; Episode 14, The Use Of MAS

This is episode fourteen of the novel, From Here To 1137. 

   If you would like to purchase From  Here To 1137, it is available on Amazon in Kindle format or paperback. 

The Use Of MAS

“What are some tools I have available?” Tom asked.

“You have the use of telepathy, as explained by Gordon,” Brain said. “Just follow the protocol, and answers will be provided.”

“You mentioned the irrational behavior of Frank Grasso,” Tom continued. “What if he takes a gun and shoots me?”

“You can be fitted with MAS,” Brain said.

“What is MAS?” Tom twisted his face.

“In your language, the letters M, A, and S,” Brain said. “It stands for Micro Absorption Suit. It is a micro-thin skin-clinging suit that absorbs tremendous amounts of shock. It will stop any bullet. The only weapon that can penetrate MAS is not available on this planet.”

“What about an atomic bomb?” Tom joked.

“If that should happen, MAS will survive,” Brain said. “And your remains will be perfectly preserved.”

“You don’t know how much comfort that brings?” 

“Thank you, Tom. It might help to know in the event of an atomic blast. You will look fine; however, there will be a complete redistribution of cells. Brian cells may be found in your feet.”

“You are such a comfort,” Tom said sarcastically. 

“I try,” Brain said.

“Tell me more about MAS,” Tom said.

“You can wear it under your clothes or over,” Brain said. “It is invisible. There is a beneficial feature you should be aware of: There are two million subatomic engines in the MAS. They provide all the functions to protect you, but also they can provide you with what will appear as personal physical strength.”

“How about good looks?” Tom chided.

“I imagine that can be arranged,” Brain said, “but in your case, there’s only so much the suit can do.”

“Okay,” Tom said, “let’s suspend the humor—don’t say it, you weren’t joking.”

“Keep up the quick wit, and you will be replacing me,” Brain said. “Nevertheless, let us return to the serious matter at hand.”  

“By all means,” Tom removed the grin from his face. “You were about to explain the subatomic engines.”

“The subatomic engines can be activated in such a way that they will increase your strength and reflexes.”

Tom’s head dropped into deep thought. 

“You are troubled?” Brain asked.

“Indeed,” Tom said. “It’s a two-edged sword. If it is overused, could it send those disturbing waves through the universe?”

“That is a possibility,” Brain said.

“The dilemma is how much can I use without it causing that disturbance?”

“Allow me to clarify something that will help you make informed decisions,” Brain said. “It is not the use of any of the apparatuses or skills provided. They are all protected and will not cause so much as a ripple in the universe. It is the effect it has on your civilization. Changing the pace of the natural development of technology and notoriety are the challenges you must deal with. I can’t make those decisions for you. I can calculate the risks, and that is it. Gordon made the decision to pick you. He expressed great confidence in you.”

“So,” Tom chided, “I can’t use it to get girls.”

“Who do you have in mind?” Brain said. 

“You are good,” Tom said. 

“It’s what I do.”