Morningstar/Alignment, Keith Trimm [feel good novels txt] 📗

sell me siding." He was actually well prepared and could give this lecture with little preparation. He approached his work with great eagerness.

Through the window he could see two well-dressed men carrying briefcases at their sides. "Now I’m in for it," he thought to himself. He followed them with his eye as they walked though the other office, into his office and stood silent before him. They had a no nonsense look about them seeming quite anxious to speak with the doctor. Tony waited for them to speak not even considering introducing himself.

"Dr. Rhine?" asked the man on the left.

"Yes I am Tony Rhine, what can I do for you?" he replied.

"I am sorry to bother you doctor but we are here concerning a matter of national security," the man said.

Tony looked at him with puzzlement.

"You sure know how to cut through the bull don’t you?" Tony asked.

"We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the importance of the matter," he said. "And we are not able to discuss it here you understand?" stated the other man.

"Not really…I do have a class in thirty minutes." Tony said.

"I don’t think you realize the gravity of the situation doctor. You need to cancel your classes for at least today, and reschedule the next week with another instructor."

"I can’t just pick up and leave!" Tony exclaimed.

"We cannot force you to go with us, but please give us the chance to show you what this is all about," the man said.

Tony reclined back in his chair taking a deep breath. He studied the men before him and scratched his ear. He reached over picking up his warm coffee and took a sip. He sat for a minute thinking about what they had said. It was evident that the two men before him were ready to explode, waiting impatiently for an answer.

"Who are you again?" he asked.

"We cannot say," the man replied.

"This is damn strange. Why me?"

"You are an expert in a certain scientific field, and that is all I can say," the man said.

"Give me an hour," Tony said.

"We have a car waiting for you outside, and a plane at the airport. Time is critical. You can make arrangements after you have arrived."

"Arrived where?"

***

The trip to the airport was awkwardly quiet. Tony knew he would get no answers from them and was content to stay in the dark. The car was an unmarked government vehicle with several modifications made to the interior including a mesh steel barrier between him and the driver. He felt like a prisoner. Tony was single and did not need to inform anyone of his whereabouts. He did make arrangements for the Government to come in take care of his house.

At the airport he was driven straight to a small two-engine passenger plane with the capacity to hold twelve people. On board he discovered his fellow professor Alex Parsons reading the newspaper sitting alongside with several military types dressed in tan camouflage. It seemed strange that they were dressed this way. He felt like he was going to war. He didn’t bother to address Alex because he knew he had no more information that he. He just nodded at Alex in acknowledgement

"You will be briefed upon arrival doctor," the man said. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride."

Tony watched out the window as the plane quickly rose into the air and the ground became smaller and smaller. His mind wandered as he tried to make out the tiny objects far below. He scanned the horizon and it amazed him how the Earth met the sky. It was hard to believe that this was all an accidental act of nature but in his mind he knew this it was.

***

An older man met Tony at the destination airport He was in his sixties, rugged with age, unlike the military personnel he had been with for the last two hours. He looked intelligent and somewhat classy with just a little gray hair. The older gentleman seemed different, and as out-of –place in this situation as Tony. The small mid-west airport was brimming with military vehicles and soldiers. It looked like the United States were preparing to go off to war. "What was so special about this place?" he thought to himself. Alex joined him by his side and waited for the gentleman to speak.

"Good afternoon Dr. Rhine and Dr. Parsons," he said in an authoritative tone. "I’m glad you were able to come today. We would not have sent for you if this weren’t of the utmost importance," he said.

"I hope we can get some information soon, I am starting to get agitated with all this cloak and dagger stuff," Alex stated.

"Follow me," he said, "My name is Jesse Brinkman. I recommended you both to consult with this project. I contract with the US government as a consulting scientist in the field of physics and other related fields."

"What are we here to consult on?" Tony asked.

"You won’t have to wait long. We are taking you to it now," Jesse said. He directed them to another military vehicle and they got in. The car sped off smoothly on the airport Tarmac driving out the gate to the airport exit. The first four miles were paved asphalt roads that quickly deteriorated the further they drove. They then followed county roads for miles kicking up dust and racing by fields of corn, milo and wheat. The windows were down and the smell of the dust and crops vented into the car. It was over eighty degrees and they were sweating profusely. The sky was mostly clear and the sun beat down like a hammer.

In the distance they saw a Hummer parked alongside a barricade pulled across the road. A soldier was baking in the heat holding a rifle in his arms and another was sitting in the passenger seat. Behind the Hummer, in the distance was a cloud of dust and smoke rising behind a hill. As they approached they could hear the sounds of heavy machinery clanking and moving. The tops of trucks could be seen belching smoke and rising and falling behind the horizon.

When they arrived at the checkpoint the guard passed them through maintaining the same speed. "They must come here often," Tony thought. The closer they drove the louder the sounds became. At the top of the hill, Tony could make out a small city of tents and shelters. Machines and men were all around, like at a construction site. There were cranes; dump trucks, backhoes and bulldozers scattered all about the area.

They parked in an impromptu parking lot adjacent to one of the tents. The tent was itself just a top of canvas suspended on twelve poles with tie downs. They exited the car and were directed to seats under the tent. The heat was still roasting, but the shade was nice.

Jesse Brinkman stood before the men, and offered them a drink. Both men eagerly took them up on it.

"Now gentlemen, I will explain everything." Jesse said.

"We have, or shall I say the owner of this property, discovered something quite fascinating." Jesse said. "Fifty some odd years ago, my father owned this land. He and I were out on this very pasture feeding the cattle," he stated pointing out towards the work area. "Back in those days, we had to take the hay out on a scoop loader on the old John Deere. Maybe it’s the same today. I don’t know for sure, I’m a bit out of touch on modern farming practices," he paused and sipped from a glass of water on the table. "It had been raining like a son of a gun for a week and the ground was just soaked."

Tony and Alex sat patiently on the folding chairs as Jesse spoke; swatting bugs and wiping sweat from their brows as he talked. Tony had a difficult time paying attention watching out the corner of his eye, the machinery working nearby.

Jesse spoke on. "I lost my father that day," he said looking to the ground. "He drove over some soft ground and he tipped. I mean the tractor of course."

"I’m so sorry," Tony said feeling solidarity with the man.

"Thank you. You never get over that kind of thing. Even at my age."

"Did he hit a buried pipeline?" Alex asked.

"No," Brinkman answered. "It was a sinkhole of a magnificent size. It dropped twenty-five feet before it stopped.

"Oh my God!" Tony gasped. "How old were you when this happened?"

"Fifteen," Jesse Brinkman answered. "I ended up in that hole myself. I tried to save him but the ground was to soft."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Alex asked. Tony was shocked at his rudeness.

"A discovery was made that day Dr. Parsons!" Jesse barked at him. "The most significant scientific discovery of all time."

"I apologize," Alex said. "Go on."

"It was because of this discovery that I chose to leave farming and pursue science as my career. I will let you know that you are not the only Ph.D. under this tent Dr. Parsons," he paused for a moment and took another drink. "We found a time machine."

"Time machine?" Tony asked.

"Not an H.G. Wells time machine. It was, and still is, a civilian wide body airliner. A Boeing 747 to be exact."

Silence.

"Where is it now?" Tony asked Jesse.

"See that hanger over there?" he asked pointing past the heavy machinery.

"Yes," both men answered.

"It has been excavated, studied, cataloged and everything else you can think of, right in there."

"It was never moved?" Alex asked.

"Couldn’t. It would have fallen apart."

"Why?"

"It was way too old and in such a poor condition. It would not have stood up to reassembling process."

"How old is this thing?" Alex asked.

"Let me take you down and show it to you. I’ll let you take a guess." Jesse said.

They climbed into a transport vehicle and drove closer to where the heavy machines were working. They drove over rough pasture grassland attaining top speed of 35 mph heading towards the hanger across the field. The closer they got the larger the building became. Minutes past as they surveyed the area wondering how an operation of this size could remain a secret for so long. The farm had been turned into a secret military base and they were about to get to see one of the biggest secrets they had.

As they approached the building, they noticed a drop off getting closer to the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle stopped, letting them all out. As they walked closer to the hanger, they could start to make out the writing on a sign, posted by the front entrance reading "Keep out, violators will be shot on site."

Jesse led the men to the front door flashing his papers for the guard to read. Two men, armed with M-16 semi-machine guns stood guard outside the main door with two more men stationed at the ends of the building. The door swooshed open and the three men entered into the air-conditioned building shivering.

"We keep it at sixty-eight degrees at all times. We’d like it cooler, but the men find it difficult to work in those conditions," Jesse said leading them through the foyer to the hallway.

"Is this some sort of musem?”

"You could say that I suppose. I never thought of it that way," Jesse replied.

"This has been here since, since when?" Alex asked.

"My father came upon it in 1947. They estimate the planes actual age at 50,000 years give or take century."

"The plane?"

"Yes. I said it was a time machine."

They past a vending machine room and bathrooms finding themselves at a check in desk by a large black sliding door. A soldier manned the post with a clipboard and a .45 pistol at his side.

"Brinkman, Rhine and Parsons," Jesse stated to the man. The pages flipped, names were checked, and the door slid open. The scene was unreal.

Tony and Alex stepped forward into a huge room filled with lights, machines and personnel scurrying around like mice. They were taken aback, having to absorb what they were