Chapter 20

I of course didn't get to watch the missiles in flight, but the explosion was tremendous! Even from the distance I was from the ship, I could feel the concussion. I saw the blast, despite the extreme range it was from me! Later, I discovered that the first missile had smashed the compartment bulkheads holding the oil and fertilizer separated. The 40-second delay was more than enough for the two components to mix, and the second missile set the combined explosive off.

When I returned home the computer was able to show me the missile tracks and the explosions. When seen from the orbiting satellite that my computer used, it was fantastic. I also observed the effects on the immediate area surrounding this booby-trapped tanker.

Have you ever watched the old films from the Bikini Atoll nuclear explosion? Remember how the ships got caught in the shock wave, and the other side effects? Well, it was similar, to say the least.

While I was thinking of it I had the computer call up my inventory of ill-gotten military grade weapons. I was getting quit a collection. Luckily, I kept it all in the 'between'. This prevented the deterioration and degradation of the weapons, chemical components, fuel, and explosive compounds.

I loved the 'between'. Perfect insulator. Kept hot things hot, cold things cold, and no time passed for the items, or people, that I placed into it.

I had other things to think about, though. I was noticing little fractures, or blemishes in the 'pictures' of the past I was looking at. This was a recent development, and it worried me. I started concentrating on those little blemishes.

I also discussed them with Courtney. I was seeing these little blemishes, and larger ones too, more and more frequently. While the computer had admitted to me that my older future self had noticed this, it would not divulge any information further than that.

What the heck were these things, and why did they appear now? Was it a continuation of my ability to travel through time? I sighed and decided to put that aside right now, as this type of thinking would drive you crazy if you let it.

It was a couple months later that I had an answer, of sorts. At least, I think it was the answer. I had gotten curious over something, and started looking 'back time' to see if I could find a specific situation to observe. As I was zeroing in on the time, I noticed that there was a sort of blemish in my view. As I concentrated in frustration on it, it appeared in greater detail.

As this happened, I got the type of pounding headache I usually associated with improving my time travel abilities. I frowned. So this had something to do with time, or the reality of it, as I perceived it anyway.

I backed off, and found some Tylenol. I closed my eyes to do some thinking of what I had seen when the blemish had cleared.

It had seemed to be another view of the past, but of the same area. Now what the hell was this about? True, it had not been in very great detail, but it appeared to be the same area, yet different somehow. I felt a chill go through me.

It was almost as if a small picture had been laid off to the side, just as my computer does for me when it is showing me things, and multi tasking.

I had to talk this over with Courtney and the AI. This time, I was not going to take 'no' for an answer from my reluctant computer. I had a feeling this was important.

Courtney and I looked at each other, then back at the computer.

"Say what?" I blurted.

"The elder you discovered these anomalies, a bit later in his lifetime. This represents a divergence of the reality that you previously experienced. He postulated that every action he performed in the past, had some type of influence on the 'then current time line'. The blemishes, or thumb pics of the same area you normally view, represent a divergent reality," the computer stated.

"Oh, Ben! Do you realize what this means?" Courtney asked excitedly.

"Yeah," I answered slowly, "I seem to have been messing with time, 'till it started changing or diverging."

"Essentially, that is correct," the computer replied, as if I had addressed it.

Courtney and I discussed the situation, throwing questions at the computer occasionally.

"What would happen if I went into one of those divergent realities that my trips into time have caused?" I asked the computer curiously.

"Message follows... Message follows..." the computer droned.

Then the computers screen flashed, and went dark. It soon came back up showing my elder self, as I remembered him when he showed up in Alaska.

"Ok. This is an important note to you. I have discovered that my going back into time has undisturbed history as it normally happened. Even a little change can produce some strange results.

"The best case I can site is from 2020. I am still not sure what happened, but I saved someone who was working for me. In this time line, he died. But when I saved him, it caused a split in reality, or a spin off from this version of reality. I observed the results as best I could, and yes, I could have gone into that reality, but I have decided against it.

"While most shifts or alterations seem to be minor, this particular shift caused a great change in 'reality', for some reason. It seems time does not just flow along one line; it flows off in other ways I still don't understand. Your actions affect time, and 'reality', one way or the other. As I said, most changes are minor or not noticeable; but a few seem to have caused major upheavals. Be cautious in what you do.

"Best example I can give would be to get a sheet of glass. Strike it hard enough to crack, but not break. The point of the strike represents the situation, and the resulting radiating cracks that appear surrounding that damage are probability spin offs from the universe you know. I decided it is best not to interfere in certain events. No more going into the past to alter what was for me. From that point, I never did anything to affect major changes. I suggest you do the same," the image of the older me stated intensely, then the screen went dark again.