Chapter 5

I had to admit it. Even though I was Red Necked to the bone, nearly, I'd still heard Stephen Hawking, or at least read about him saying time travel should be possible. I dearly wished I could talk it over with him right now since it seemed to be the only thing that made sense to me in my situation.

At first I wished I'd paid more attention to where the California Gold had been discovered and maybe even where the Comstock Lode was exactly. After a few minutes I came to my senses. What good would tons of gold or silver do me here and now? No good of course.

Then I started thinking of what might be comming up I might remember. Suddenly I gave up on thinking about it. I would discover what I needed to know the old fashioned way, by living through it. Then another thought hit me. Stephen Hawking had said time travel was possible, but only into the future, not into the past. He'd claimed it was so people couldn't kill their own parents or other such things. I think I remember some talk about paradoxes. His idea of the world or the universe was all based on cause and effect. His explanations didn't leave any room for effect and then cause. As if there was some colossal intelligence conducting nature or physics.

Well what did he know? I was already pretty damned sure he was wrong about one part since I had obviouly been moved back in time.

I went back into the cave and watched the women working on lunch. It seemed like forever but after a long while supper came around. We ate it, and then we went to bed. I was surrounded by naked women again but I fooled them by dropping off to sleep almost right away.

Almost at once I was pulled into a dream, but it was a weird one.

"Jake, can you hear and understand me, Jake?" a voice in my dream asked and I replied in the affirmative. At least I dreamed I did.

"Your conjecture is correct. You were put back in time. Stephen Hawking is also correct but the time dimension is much more discriminating than he thinks. You were sent back approximately six hundred years and our calculations indicate you have no chance of creating a paradox." the voice said.

"Well, thanks for that. I was really worried for a minute there, NOT!"

"Can you tell me why I was sent back?" I asked, in my head, I assumed.

"It was just the luck of the draw. We traveled billions of miles for the test and you happened to be exactly where it was scheduled to take place. We decided not to delay it because of your prescense." the voice said.

"Well thank you so fucking much," I said, and I realized I wasn't being my usual polite self.

"What did it hurt? You were living alone and if we aren't mistaken you had just severed ties with your prospective mate. Since coming here you have already acquired many more mates and the new ones are not worried about saving money for the wedding or to build a house later. Face it, you hated the job you had and now you are rid of it and in excellent shape to provide a living for you and all your new mates.

"We are not unsympathetic to your difficulties. We admit we left your vehicle and its trailer on purpose, but we have already provided you with some food and equipment, though it was admittedly a small amount.

"We will provide additional things for you in the future also. If you think of something you need just mark it as a note to us in your mind. For instance, we have noticed you've been making excellent use of the horses we brought along with you. It was only a decision at the last moment which caused us to transport them but you have used them well. We can bring several more when we make another transport of that size. Can you tell us which ones you'd especially like?" the voice asked.

"Can you find a way to pick out American Quarter Horses?"

"Yes, we have already discovered their association and have copied all their data. We have also copied the data for several other breeding associations. If you want Quarter Horses especially we can assign a researcher to study them carefully," it said.

"Yes, I want them especially. Have your researcher look for those trained for roping and cutting work," I said.

"What about the equipment used for riding then? Do you need more equipment?" it asked.

"Yes, but mostly just copies of what I already have will be fine," I said.

"What about weapons?"

"What about them?"

"Would you like more?

"Of course I would like more. Can you provide them?" I asked.

"Without a doubt. We can even make specialty items. We have two crew members who have made a hobby of doing, gunsmithing, I think it is called on this planet. They are reported to do excellent work"

"I have a request of them also then and it may prove interesting for them to work with. I'd like an M1 action and barrel type in a synthetic thumbhole stock similar to the one on an M16. They'll probably have to look up the thumbhole part. I'd also like an XP100 chambered for 35 Remington with a useable clip type magazine in the pistol grip." I said, nearly licking my chops over the thought of one.

"Excellent, would these animals and items make your life here more palatable?" it asked.

"Without a doubt. By the way, why did you contact me? And why are you offering to help me out?"

"It is simple really. Since you were transported anyway we decided to study you actions here and your interactions with the people. Doing this for you is almost trivial for us and we hope it will lead to your happy and long life here. We will be observing you fairly closely and we hope the extra weapons will make you able to preserve your own life and the lives of your people." it said.

"What about disease. Didn't it cause a lot of loss of life in these times?" I asked.

"Of course it did. We have already vaccinated you against all known diseases on earth and we can do it for all those with you too. It will be done during the sleep period. We will also provide you with medical equipment and special antibiotics in case of injury or infection."

"We studied your life rather thoroughly and noticed you injecting yourself with Talwin for recreational use so we already know you can give injections. We will even provide some Talwin to you for recreational use as long as it doesn't become an addiction. It will probably come in handy for use on your people if they are injured." it said.

"Thanks for that then. I will try not to become dependant on Talwin, or anythng else, drug wise," I said.