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“You got the device?” asked Paul.
“Yeah, I left it in the shipping box,” said Rudy, showing Paul the box on his desk.
“Okay, let’s go,” said Paul.
The boys left Rudy’s house, which was closer to the university, for about a twenty minute walk.
They soon arrived at the university and the physics building. Paul led Rudy up to the fourth floor where he knocked on Professor Pratt’s office door.
The professor opened the door and said, “Come in, boys.”
“Hello professor,” said Paul. “This is my friend Rudy, he brought the device.”
“Hello Rudy.”
“Hello Professor, here’s the device,” said Rudy, putting the box on Pratt’s desk.
The professor took the box, opened it, and placed the device on his desk.
“That’s it?” he asked.
“Yes Professor, that’s the device we used,” said Paul.
“Doesn’t look like much, does it?” said Pratt.
“It’s a pretty simple design,” said Rudy. “I made the first one on my 3D printer, but we had this one made by a machine shop, so it should work even better.”
“Excellent,” said Pratt. “I can’t wait to get it into the lab and see what it can do.”
“When will you be testing it, Professor?” asked Paul.
“I plan on running the test tomorrow morning before my classes, but right now I want to take it down to the lab and set it up. Do you boys want to come along?”
“Sure,” the two said simultaneously.
The lab was in the basement of the building. The three entered, and the lights came on automatically.
Professor Pratt took the box with the device in it to the nearest table and took it out. A robot appeared at the door.
“Hello Professor Pratt,” it said.
“Hello Jergens, how are you?” asked Pratt.
“I am well, sir. Can I be of assistance?”
“You could set up some video; I want to be able to remotely test this new device,” said Pratt.
“Yes sir,” said the robot, who went about assembling tripods and videocams.
Paul and Rudy watched the robot closely. They knew of them but still didn’t encounter many in their everyday lives.
The professor kept them informed of each piece of equipment he was setting up until he was finished.
“That’s it,” he said. “I guess we can go back upstairs and let Jergens finish up. It’s almost time for dinner if you boys would like to join me. We can discuss the device more.”
“Dinner,” said Paul. “You mean it’s that late?”
The professor pointed to an old-fashioned clock on the wall. It was 6 p.m.
“Uh-oh,” said Paul, looking at Rudy.
“I was supposed to be home by now. We’ll have to do it some other time, Professor,” said Paul.
“You ready to go, Rudy?”
“Yeah, bye professor,” said Rudy.
“Bye,” said Paul.
“Goodbye boys. I’ll talk to you tomorrow after my classes and let you know how the experiment went,” he said.
The boys rushed out of the lab and up the stairs and outside the building. They called an E-taxi to save time.
The following morning, Dr. Pratt was in one of the basement labs of the physics building, preparing to test the device the boys had delivered.
He started the experiment by pressing a button on the screen of his AI, which turned on the power. The professor was busy watching through the safety glass into the next room as the device powered up. Soon, he noticed the spheroid, which represented a wormhole mouth, open at the end of the device with the rotating disk.
Every few moments, Pratt would glance down at the screen to see the readouts of the sensors he was monitoring. There didn’t seem to be anything alarming, yet. Then there was a bump in the power monitor readout. He glanced back into the other room and noticed that a second spheroid had formed just beyond the first and that they appeared to be approaching each other.
This was what Dr. Pratt had been waiting for. According to Paul, this was when things got interesting.
The spheroids began to merge. Pratt noticed that at the point of contact, a brilliant white light shone. He could hear something like a low roaring sound coming from the room. Seeing some loose items being blown around, he knew it was an effect of the device. Paul had seen the same thing.
The last thing he saw was the spheres merge, followed by a blinding flash of light and a wind roaring as if a train was passing through the lab.
Paul finished with his studies early that day; he hadn’t heard from the professor. He searched for some news. Rothmeyer reported the incident on the nearby campus. Something had happened to the physics building, but no one was sure what had happened. It seemed to have disappeared early that morning, leaving a depression where it had once stood. So far, only a few people had gone unaccounted for, some administrative assistants and a professor of physics. Names were being withheld until relatives could be contacted.
“Professor Pratt,” thought Paul. “I’ve got to call Rudy.”
“What’s up, Paul?” said Rudy over the phone.
“Did you hear the news about the physics building?” asked Paul.
“No, I’m still doing my studies,” said Rudy.
“It disappeared,” said Paul.
“What?”
“The news said the building disappeared. All that’s left is a hole in the ground,” said Paul.
“You think it had something to do with the device?” asked Rudy.
“I wonder,” said Paul. “If anyone had looked for me when I was having that dream would they have seen me?”
“You mean it could be there, but we can’t see it?” asked Rudy.
“I don’t know, Rudy; I just wonder, because it seems to me that the device was involved in both incidents.”
“So, what should we do?” asked Rudy.
“I don’t know,” said Paul.
“Well, call me if you figure out something,” said Rudy.
Paul told his dad about his suspicions.
“I don’t know son; I guess we should tell someone. But I’m not sure who to tell,” said his dad.
“Maybe we should tell the president of the university,” said Paul.
“Well, I know someone in the administration there, not the president, but he might be able to help,” said his dad.
“Thanks Dad, you’ll go with me, won’t you?” asked Paul.
“Sure son. Let me make the call.”
Walter Anderson’s contact agreed to meet them off campus, as it had been locked down by security forces and movement was restricted.
“Hey Bob,” said Walter as he shook the man’s hand.
“Hello Walter, how are you?” said Bob Shaw.
“Fine. And this is my son, Paul.”
Bob Shaw shook Paul’s hand, and they all sat down at the table in Lou’s Coffee Shop, across the street from the university.
“Bob, what we are about to tell you may seem crazy, but we think it is related to the incident with the physics building,” said Walter.
“Okay Walt, let’s hear it,” said Shaw.
“Actually, Paul knows all the details,” said Walter.
Paul then began to tell the Dean of Engineering about the device and his experience with it and that
Professor Pratt was probably experimenting with it that morning when the incident happened.
“You are sure he was going to do the experiment this morning?” said Shaw.
“Yes sir, said Paul. “He told me and my friend Rudy yesterday when we delivered the device to him.”
“Alright, I think what we should do is go across the street and let you tell your story again to those investigating this incident. They can decide what action should be taken,” said Shaw.
The three went to the university, where Shaw got Paul and his father a meeting with federal agents. Paul and his father told the men everything they had explained to Bob Shaw. After an hour, they were allowed to leave, leaving behind their contact information with the authorities.
“What do you think, Dad?” asked Paul as they were waiting for an E-taxi to take them home.
“I guess we’ve done everything we can to help with the investigation, son. It’s up to the government now.”
The taxi showed up, and the two were home in time for dinner.
That night, as Paul and Rudy were talking before bed, Rothmeyer alerted. Paul put Rudy on hold and listened to the AI. Rothmeyer reported that a soldier at the university who had been tasked with patrolling the area where the physics building once stood reported an eerie incident. He had stopped his rounds and was standing with his back to the site, which was roped off, when he said he felt a huge presence.
Turning, the soldier could see the outline of a large building. Upon investigation, it turned out to be the physics building, and inside were the missing people, unconscious.
Paul told his AI to watch for any news about Professor Pratt and let him know.
He turned back to talking with Rudy. “You heard?”
“Yeah,” said Rudy. “My AI just told me. It sounds more and more like our incident.”
“Yes,” said Paul. “And that means the device is the source.”
After they said goodnight, Paul sat with his AI, waiting for more news. He drifted off to sleep, and the AI, aware of this, held the latest update for Paul when he woke.
Paul woke with his clothes on. It was just daybreak. He queried Rothmeyer about the situation at the university.
Rothmeyer told him that one of the people discovered in the building was Professor Pratt and that he had been taken to the local hospital. There wasn’t much more news except that the building would remain closed until authorities were sure it was safe for use.
Paul followed all the developments he could but didn’t learn anything more until Professor Pratt was back in his office at the university.
“Hey Professor,” said Paul. “How are you?”
“Come in, Paul. I’m fine. Have a seat.”
Paul sat down in front of Pratt’s desk and Pratt moved to sit in his chair.
“So, you haven’t had any consequences from your disappearance?” asked Paul.
“Nothing I’ve noticed.”
“I didn’t notice anything either from my incident,” said Paul.
“Yes, there doesn’t seem to be any physical consequences,” said Professor Pratt.
“Professor, I’ve spent the time since your disappearance and the building’s disappearance trying to come up with a reason the device causes these incidents. But I haven’t been able to discover anything except that it might be a consequence of Quantum Temporal Dynamics,” said Paul.
“I’ve been thinking about the theory behind these incidents, Paul. Since I’ve been prohibited from doing anymore experimentation on campus, I started with QTD, but I’ve almost changed my mind,” said Pratt.
“What do you think now?” asked Paul.
“Well, there’s a theory that seems appealing to me,” said Pratt. “It starts with a reinterpretation of Einstein-Rosen bridges. They were the basis for developing wormhole theory. But they were originally proposed by Einstein and Rosen in the 1930s to describe particles under extreme gravity.
“It was in the 1980s that they were interpreted as wormholes which could physically connect separate areas of the universe. But new research interprets them more as Einstein and Rosen intended, and if true, they would connect different epochs in time.”
Pratt continued with his explanation, although Paul wasn’t able to follow it completely. But Rothmeyer was listening and would later explain it to him.