They left the conference room through a door and turned down the passageway. The passageway was about 3 meters wide and 4 meters high and very long. It was well lit. There were hand rails on the walls and on the ceiling. There was a slot in the floor about 10 centimeters wide and 15 centimeters deep. Above and below the handrails were what looked like doors. Each door had a number and a bar code.
“What is this part of the time ship?”
“Ship’s stores. Our voyage will take decades, so there is plenty of fuel, water, food, medical supplies, clothing.”
“Power?”
“There are 5 matter-anti matter reactors that provide plenty of power and redundancy”
“How long is this passageway?”
“About a kilometer”
“Hey - if we’re orbit 1000 kilometers above the planet in an equatorial orbit, and we’re a kilometer long, then won’t somebody down there detect us?”
“The time ship is a sphere 1.5 kilometers in diameter, so it’s easy to see if you know where and how to look. As a matter of fact, the American government, the Russian government, and the Chinese government are having a conniption fit over us. The only thing that orbits the earth that’s bigger than we are is the moon. However, nobody has the launch capability to put something this big in orbit without being detected. Furthermore, nobody detected my approach - because the timeship was suddenly just there. But the governments don’t want to panic the people with the thought that extraterrestrials are visiting the planet. They’re also concerned that some amateur astronomer is going to find us and spill the beans”
“How do you know?”
“Some high school kid in the 23rd century is going to figure out a fast way to factor large prime numbers in a reasonable amount of time. Evidently she was too stupid to know that it couldn’t be done, so she did it. The rest is good old signal intelligence. However, it is a concern which is why I am in a bit of a hurry - an unaccustomed trait for a time traveler.”
“What are they going to do about it?”
“They don’t know yet.
“There are scientists that want to point telescopes at us and use xenon strobe lights to send us prime numbers. As if a civilization advanced enough to build such a large space craft would be too stupid to look out the window and see the Mercury vapor and Sodium vapor lights all over the planet, the roads, airports, all the radio waves from commercial broadcasters, air traffic control systems, cell phones. I suppose it is possible for a natural source of excited sodium vapor to exist, I just don’t know what it might be.
“There are Generals who want to shoot us down, except that they don’t have a weapons system that will reach us.
There are politicians who want to get the United Nations to issue a declaration of welcome, and a directive to all nations to turn off their air search radars”
“What’s an air search radar?”
“Most air traffic control systems in this time do not use radar, they use a radio on the aircraft called a transponder. The transponder sends a pulse back to the air traffic control system. It’s all done with computers. However, military airplanes and smugglers turn off their transponders, so there are still real radars that search for intruders. They are really a defensive weapon system. Turning off the air search radars would be a signal of good faith”
“Sounds like a smart politician”
“Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature”
“I’ve heard that before”
“An American humorist, Kin Hubbard”
“Back to the reaction of the planet earth. Don’t we have to do something to prevent publicity?”
“Yes, we do, and I have the perfect hiding place”
“Where?”
“The far side of the moon”
They walked to one end of the passageway. Deborah (the elder) opened a heavy door, and indicated that Deborah (the younger) should enter. They were in a chamber perhaps 3 meters cubical. There was another heavy door. Deborah opened the door and they stepped through it into another room, also 3 meters cubical.
“An air lock”
“Yes, to protect you against a catastrophic failure”.
They went through the next door. They were in a corridor 3 meters wide by 3 meters high and about 20 meters long.
“This is your living space. Here is a bedroom. Here is a zero gravity toilet”
“Why do I need a zero gravity toilet?”
“So that you can go to the bathroom in case the gravity fails. You noticed the hand rails in the hall, and the slot in the floor and the handrail in the ceiling? You have to be able to move about the ship if the gravity fails.
“This machine is a gymnasium. You should spend an hour a day in it.”
“Blech”
“You can study or listen to music or watch a movie while you work out,
“Here is a kitchen, which will work either with gravity or without it. This room”, she opened what looked like a coffin, “Is a medical facility. The autodoc is a very capable physician. I’ve been stabbed, fallen, broken bones, gotten sick, it’s always taken care of me”.
They came to a space with a two very comfortable looking chairs, 6 computer screens each and a keyboard. There were trackballs to the right of the keyboards. On the right armrest of each chair was a complicated looking joystick. Above each chair on a hook was a helmet that looked very strong. Each chair was equipped with a 5 point harness. Most of the screens had squares of different colors with three and four letter acronyms. Some of the screens had just text boxes. Other squares were diagrams of various systems, with circuits marked in green, yellow and red.
“This is your office and the flight deck. You fly the time ship from here”
“It looks simple, compared with, say an airplane”
“It is. You tell the computer where and when you want to go and it takes you there”
“If the computer can listen, then why is there is keyboard?”
“In case the computer voice communication system fails, you can still fly the timeship. Also, the weapons systems have to be fired and controlled by hand, because the consequences of misunderstanding are so great”
Deborah (the younger) touched the chair.
“You have some studying to do. We like to read, rather than be lectured to, so I have prepared a tutorial on how to fly a timeship. In addition, you will wear this helmet, which connects to a learning machine”
“Learning machine?”
“The learning machine is a direct interface into your brain. It creates new memories for you. However its speed is limited by the fact that your nerve conduction velocity is about 50 meters/second. Also, if you use the machine when you are too young, you get confused between real memories and machine generated memories, so we don’t like to use the learning machine before age 22. That’s why I waited so long before contacting you. But we can talk about that later. Please, have a seat. Put on the helmet on the hook above you - it will not only protect your head from impact, but it will also make learning much faster. Use the trackball to select the icon labeled ‘ship’s manuals’ to learn how to fly the timeship”
“Fly?”
“Well, you don’t really fly because the timeship is too fragile to enter an atmosphere, but I haven’t thought of a better, simple verb to describe what the timeship does.
Deborah did. A screen opened that said
“Click on ‘Flight Controls and Navigation’”
She did. A new screen opened.
“Okay, I am hungry. I’ve talked more in the past 3 hours than I have in the past 3 years. I’m going to have a snack. I’ll check up on you in an hour”
“Okay, I’ll be here”
Deborah (the elder) came into the flight deck.
“Are you ready for your first flight lesson?”
“I think so”,
“Good. You were worried about the reaction of Earth’s governments to our presence?”
“Yes”
“Okay, I want you to take us to the perfect hiding spot: Lagrange 2”
“What’s Lagrange 2?”
“Adelle”
“Yes”
“Please show a diagram from the encyclopedia about Lagrange points”
“In a gravitational system where two relatively large objects, there are 5 points where a relatively small object could be relatively stable. Lagrange 2 happens to be 62,800 km above the far side of the moon from Earth, so we could orbit there for a long time without being detected.
“Okay. I think I will use the voice control”
“Fine”
“Adelle”
“Yes?”, the computer responded.
“Change ship’s orbit to Lagrange point 2”
“Use a Hohmann transfer orbit, transfer at maximum acceleration, or use time travel for instantaneous transfer?”, the computer answered.
“What should I do?”
“That is your decision to make”, the computer said.
“Since we’re in a bit of hurry, I think, let’s do this the fast way and use time travel”, Deborah (the elder) advised.
“Adelle: Change ship’s orbit to earth-moon Lagrange point 2 and use time travel”
“Changing ship’s orbit to earth moon Lagrange point 2 using time travel. We have arrived at Lagrange point 2”
“I didn’t feel anything. Is there a window I can look out of?”
Deborah (the elder) raised her voice. “Adelle”
“Yes”, the computer said.
”Show the lunar surface on monitor 2”
One of the monitors showed a lunar surface. I’ve seen the moon before, but I’ve never really looked at it. This looks sort of like the moon, there are craters and stuff, but it doesn’t look right”
“Is this in color?”
“Yes. The moon is various shades of gray”
“Are we moving?”
“That’s the beauty of Lagrange point 2. The earth’s gravity and the moon’s gravity line up just right to create this little island of stability in space. We appear to float over the moon’s surface. In fact, we’re in orbit about the earth in such a way that the moon is always between us and the earth.”
“So now what do we do?”
“I think it is time to exercise, eat, read, and sleep. We are going to be here for a while.”
Deborah (the elder) yawned.
“It’s time for me to go to bed. When you get to be my age, you become habituated to a 24 hour sleep cycle”
“Where do I sleep?”
“I told you - in the bedroom”
“Where do you sleep?”
“This space is replicated 500 meters down the passageway and again at the other end of the passageway”
“Why replicated?”
“In case this living space fails”
“Rise and shine”
Deborah (the younger) covered her head with her blanket.
“Wake up, youngster”
“What time is it?”
“Well, that question doesn’t really make any sense on a timeship. However, according to your circadian clock, it is 0700. Now, get out of bed and get dressed in gym clothes”
Deborah (the younger) rolled out of bed and promptly flew to the ceiling in the low gravity, hitting her head. She came back to the floor, recovered somewhat, and came to her feet. She trundled into the restroom. She went to a drawer and pulled out gymnastic trunks, a tank top, sport bra, socks, and sneakers. She gave her hair a quick brush and went into the hallway where Deborah (the elder) was waiting.
“Time to work up a sweat”
“Where?”
“There is a gymnasium around the corner. In the low gravity, it is easy to get out of shape. So you should spend an hour in the gym every day. You should also spend about 30 minutes a day running.”
“Do you do that?”
“I do. Shall we go for a run?”
“Okay.”
Deborah (the elder) took off at a quick jog. Deborah (the younger) took off after her. They ran down the corridor. Then Deborah (the elder) turned left down another long corridor. Deborah (the younger) chased after her, but her body was beginning to glisten. When Deborah (the elder) got to the end of the corridor, she twisted and all of a sudden, was running down the wall at a right angle (going up) to the corridor. Deborah (the younger) came to the junction and stopped.
“Wait a second”
“Am I going too fast?”
“No. It’s just that you’re running on a wall”
“That’s the artificial gravity here”
“So, I just turn here and turn there and then run upwards? Like those oriental martial arts movies?”
“Yes, that’s the idea”
Deborah (the younger) carefully twisted her body and all of a sudden, she was stuck to the wall! She stood up carefully. Her ears told her brain that this way was down. So she took a step. Her ears still said that this way was down.
Deborah (the elder) watched this slow motion comedy. “I think when you get a little practice, it will come more easily for you.”
Deborah (the younger) started running slowly, carefully. She ran past Deborah (the elder), who started running again, easily catching her after about 10 meters. What is disconcerting to me is that I am constantly at the crest of a hill - “downhill” is both in front of me and behind me. The hill should be getting steeper, but my senses tell me that I am running on flat ground. This is really going to be an adventure.
“This corridor is curving downward all the time, but it doesn’t get any steeper”
“That’s the artificial gravity”
“Never heard of it”
“Well, you know what real gravity is, don’t you?”
“Isn’t that what Sir Isaac Newton discovered when an apple hit him on the head?”
“Nobody else from your time does, either. There are 4 fundamental forces in the universe: electromagnetism, the strong force, the weak force, and gravity. Electromagnetism is light, radio waves, microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays, electricity, and also what keeps atoms and molecules together. The strong force is what keeps atomic nuclei together. The weak force holds together Fermions with half-spin.”
“I’m a religious scholar and not a physicist”
“I know, I have to add that to your training material”
“What training material?”
“Am I running too fast for you?”
“I can go faster”
Deborah (the elder) promptly ran faster.
I am going to regret being prideful. This is me as a grandmother and I can barely keep up with myself.
“You are going to have to go through some training. You’ll need 24th century physics, timeship operations, weapons, engineering. You will have to spend some time teaching your prisoner English, because all of the ship’s documentation is in English.”
“I don’t even know 21st century physics. Are Fermions known in the 21st Century?”
“They were named after a famous 20th Century physicist named Enrico Fermi, 1901-1954”
“Never heard of him”
“I am also adding the history of science to your curriculum”.
“How long is it going to take me to learn all of this stuff?”
“Using a learning machine, about 2 years. We’re coming back to the main corridor, do you want to return to your quarters or do you want to keep going? I’m just starting to breath hard”
“Let’s keep going. How does the learning machine work?”
They came to an opening in the floor 3 meters by 3 meters, which they ran around.
“It connects the computer directly into your brain and creates memories for you. Because the neurons carry information at about 50 meters/second, there is a limit as to how fast these memories can be created. You have to marry Lapidot, so it would be nice if you were of reasonably marriageable age by the time you get there. It would also be nice if you could talk with him, he will be your husband after all. Unfortunately, your brain has to be reasonably mature before the learning machine can work effectively, otherwise you don’t know which memories are machine memories and which are real. It can be disconcerting if we start too young. Otherwise, I would have intercepted you at a younger age.”
“Why?”
“In the time of Judges, it was common for a woman to wed at around 13-15. You’re 22 now, and you will be 24 by the time you get there. So you will be relatively old. By the time I was 35, I gave up looking for Lapidot, and started preparing intelligence reports for you so that would search at places and times I didn’t go, perhaps detect the time when the battle took place. Also, I wanted to get the measure of what King Jabin of Hazor does to the Israelites.”
“What does he do?”
“Well, he oppresses them with tribute, taking their crops and animals and women. Eventually, they disappear under the strain as other hostile tribes invade and take over the land. They go out of existence and with them goes the concept of ethical monotheism. There goes Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Without the concept of a universal God and ethics, and also a penchant for study, the world descends into a nightmare of petty wars, pestilence, and misery.”
“So my job is to save the world?”
“No pressure. Ship’s stores includes anti-perspirant in case you lose your cool. One of the nice things about the period of the Judges is that women don’t shave their legs or armpits”
“That’s supposed to make me feel less stressed?”
“I’m just trying to be helpful. We’ve been running for 20 minutes - you want to do another lap?”
“I’m getting winded. So when does the battle occur?”
“I don’t know. It may be that I didn’t do what I was supposed to do, and the battle never occurred. Unfortunately, our knowledge of that period is extremely limited. Basically, we have the account in Judges chapters 4 and 5 and some archeological evidence”
They stopped running and walked.
“You’re out of shape, for a 22 year old”
“You’re in superb shape, for a 66 year old”
“I had the advantages of living in an environment where I had to do a lot of physical labor, but I also have the advantage of the best of 24th century medical care. For example, both of my knees have been replaced, I have an artificial left hip, I have had Laser-Assisted in-Situ Keratomileusis on both eyes”
“Laser assisted what?”
“LASIK surgery. I had vitamin supplements, Fluoride, something to control cholesterol, and so on. The people in Canaan at that time have a life expectancy of about 40 years, which is why I gave up around 35 and concentrated on intelligence gathering. Well, I am here. Go to your quarters, shower, change and join me for breakfast”.
Deborah (the elder) turned into her quarters. Deborah (the younger) walked down the corridor to her quarters, turned in. She stipped off her gym clothes and dropped them into a laundry chute. The shower felt good. She was fascinated by the way the water moved in 1/6th gravity. Of course, the shower had hand rails and sandals built into the floor, and a vacuum hose, so that she could take a shower in zero-G. She stepped out of the shower, towelled, threw the towel down the laundry chute, and put on a deep blue jumpsuit. The jumpsuit fit perfectly. It was loaded with pockets both large and small. She brushed her hair (the hair brush was clipped inside a drawer), and then went out. She met Deborah (the elder).
“What would you like for breakfast?”
“What’s available?”
“The replicator can make virtually anything you want. Eggs, any style, pancakes, waffles, real maple syrup, oat meal, Cheerios, bacon (if you want to eat trefe), rolls, biscuits, fruit, anything you want.”
“I’d like a grapefruit, sliced in halves”
“Okay, just address Adelle and tell her”
“Adelle”
“yes”, the computer answered.
“I’d like a grapefruit, sliced in halves”
A bowl with two grapefruit halves appeared in front of her. However, there was no spoon.
“Adelle”
“yes”, the computer answered.
“I’d like a grapefruit spoon, please”
The spoon materialized in front of her.
“Adelle”, Deborah (the elder) spoke up.
“yes”, the computer answered.
“I’d like two low cholesterol scrambled eggs at 80 °C, 250 milliliters of orange juice at 4 °C, a fork, and a napkin”
Immediately, a plate of steaming eggs, a glass of cold orange juice, a fork, and a neatly folded paper napkin appeared.
“Adelle”, Deborah (the younger) addressed the computer.
“yes”, the computer answered.
“I’d like a napkin, please”
Immediately, a napkin appeared.
“So, once we get finished with breakfast, you can begin training with the learning machine”
“Okay, what’s on the agenda?”
“You have to learn enough about flying the time machine so you can take me back to your apartment, and then get to 2372 to finish your training.”
“What happens in 2372?”
“Your timeship - “
“My timeship?”
“Yes, this timeship is yours now, to go wherever and whenever you wish, subject to some limitations, which you will learn about later. Once I beam down to your apartment, I am done with it. I will never travel in time again, at least, not of my own volition. Anyway, your timeship has to go to 2372 to be refurbished, refueled, and checked. There is a chronobeacon waiting for you”
“Am I going to be on time?”
“That doesn’t really apply. When the shipyard is ready for you, they turn on the chronobeacon. When you are ready to go to the shipyard, you go to the chronobeacon. You can take as long as you want”
“I read that this ship has weapons”
“Yes, it does. Powerful weapons - lasers, nuclear bombs, fusion bombs, etc.”
“I could end the Arab-Israeli conflict”
“And be known as the greatest murderer ever, surpassing Hitler. Do you really want to be remembered that way?”
Would I be remembered as a murderess or as a heroine? I suppose it depends on who is writing the history. Do I really want to take out entire nations, or is merely that their leadership is corrupt and incompetent? Democracy doesn’t have a good track record in the Arab world - the guys who know how to get elected are terrific ideologues but lousy administrators. Does that mean that all of those people have to die?
“I don’t think I want to be remembered that way”
“Good! You’re learning the limits of power. Now, back to the plan. There is no need to delay in this time and place. You can’t really say good bye to your friends and family - how do you explain to them that you are traveling into the future and then into the past? Our family would have you committed to a mental hospital”
“Ever since I met you, I have doubted my sanity”
“Oh, I’m pretty confident you’re quite sane. If you were schizophrenic, for example, then you wouldn’t have decided that exterminating the entire Arab world was a bad idea”
“What if I am deluding myself into thinking that my delusion is telling me that I am sane?”
“Honestly?”
“I’m the first woman to see the far side of the moon”
“Just pretend you are sane and let’s keep going. In 2374, your training should be complete. At that point, you pick up your prisoner in 2456 and then fly backwards in time to 1126 BCE. Then, you find Lapidot, marry him, start judging, then summon Barak and lead the country through a war.”
“No problem”
“Okay, then take me to your apartment”
They went to the flight deck and sat down.
“Adelle”, Deborah (the younger) said.
“Yes”
“Using time travel, take us to a circular equatorial orbit, altitude 250 Kilometers”
“Executing”
Deborah (the elder) worked her keyboard and mouse.
“Looks like you nailed it. The sun is just rising over Asia minor. That will give me some time to get to a transporter room”
“Do you have any last words of wisdom for me?”
“Good luck”
“Will I see you again?”
“That’s entirely up to you. You can visit the stars, or you can come home. Just keep in mind your role in history. By the way, give me the key to your apartment”
“Why?”
“So I can get in. I’ll give it back to you in 44 years”
Deborah (the younger) walked to her quarters, and fetched her purse.
“Here, you might as well have the whole thing - my keys, my credit card, my debit card, my library card, my student ID card, my transit pass”
“Thank you”
The walked out of the flight deck and along the corridor to the transporter room.
“Adelle”, Deborah (the elder) said.
“Yes”, the computer said.
“Do you recall the location named ‘Deborah’s Apartment’?”
“I do”, the computer replied.
“Set destination to that location and transport me down”
