TIME ASSASSIN

TIME ASSASSIN

I could hardly hold back the tears as they lowered Tony’s coffin into the ground. I knew it was only a matter of time until I suffered a similar fate, even technology couldn’t avoid that. Some how I didn’t think it would end this way for us. There was no color guard, no neatly folded flag, or 21 gun salute, and no words of praise from a grateful nation.

In fact, aside from the preacher and the 2 guys on the grave detail, the only people in attendance were me and Tony’s only daughter. It was kind of a shame, because even though we had worked together for many years, I realized that I hardly knew her and that Tony wasn’t much closer to her then me. Absent, were the typical gathering of friends and family, but that was no surprise, none of us on the team had many of either.

After the brief ceremony it began to rain lightly as I turned and began walking back to my car. I had only taken a few steps when Crystal touched my shoulder and extended her arms. We hugged briefly and then I wiped a few tears from her face. She looked me right in the eyes and asked me very sincerely to tell her about her Dad’s life and his work. My first instinct was to tell her that we were just old friends, but her eyes were like a window to her soul and I felt she deserved an honest answer. I knew I didn’t have much time, but I felt it was the right thing to do. We all had lived with the knowledge that we swore to keep secret, but it had been a long time and we were the last ones, so I decided to tell her what I could.

We drove over to a small diner a few minutes away, and grabbed a booth in the back. After ordering a few coffees, I began to tell her about how we met and the journey we had shared. At this point in my life I think I needed to share my story as much as she needed to hear it.

Back in the early 60’s officials at the Pentagon had hired on a brilliant scientist named Benjamin Opperman. At the time Benjamin was at the forefront of experimentation on Time Travel. He approached the issue from a different viewpoint and perspective than the other leading minds of the time. Benjamin believed that time travel was an inaccurate phase. Going back in time did not mean being mysteriously propelled to another place, it merely meant that an individual would remain exactly where he was as the layers of time were pealed back, much like an onion.

I’m certainly not a scientist but from what I could understand, time is more closely represented as a wave or ripple effect. Much like a pebble thrown into a pond, the waves of time ripple, or radiate outward from the source of the impact. I guess another way of looking at it would be like a radio signal that is broadcast from a tower. The radio waves expand out in ever widening circles until they reach our radio or receptor. As we pick up the signal our radio converts the sounds waves back to recognizable language or music. The part most people find it hard to understand is that the sound or radio waves do not stop resonating out, just because we hear them. A sufficiently powerful wave will continue out for ever and can be converted into a recognizable format again and again with the proper equipment.

In any case, the government and military were very interested in this concept and formed a small group of elite agents to travel back in time with the mission of solving a crime, gathering information, or attempting to alter a past event. The usual protocol was by terminating the person or persons responsible. There were only 12 of us in the program, each of us were sought out due to our high security clearance and military background. We went thru a full year of training as well as psychological testing. The program directors went out of their way to choose men with little ties to family and friends, in a word: loaners. They wanted men that would not be easily missed, because of the inherent danger of the missions.

This entire project was far from an exact since and we were made fully aware that we might never return from our travels or have to live out the remainder of our lives in the time and place that we were sent to. In fact we had to sign a detailed mission letter that included a non-discloser and hold harmless clause. I explained that her dad and I were the only two agents that ever returned, the other were lost or killed in action.

Tony was sent back in time to try to alter the course of events that lead up to the assignation of President John F. Kennedy. It was widely suspected that a second gunman was present that November day, on the grassy knoll, very close to where the motorcade passed by. Your dad, was there that day, in fact his image was capture in several frames of the Zapruder film. He was the man in the shadows behind the fence, that afterward could not be found. He verified for us that there was no second shooter in the Kennedy assassination.

It was then that Crystal asked me about my own mission, and I found that I was unable to lie to her. I’ve had many missions but in this case I was sent back in time, to be here on this day, to be with you, because in fact, your father was the last of the agents in the now defunct program. With that said, I stood up and gave her another hug and then disappeared back into the vapor.

Please feel free to contact me: pooritalianboy@gmail.com

P.I.B.

FLYING CAR

FLYING CAR

It’s long been the stuff of science fiction and futuristic dreams, but the flying car, is now a reality. In fact, even the Pentagon is working on their own version for military purposes (those guys could turn anything into a weapon). Their concept is to use the vehicle for scouting missions and then fly off into the sunset if the need occurs.

Aside from the military efforts, several private sector companies are also working feverishly on designing a working model flying car, for mass production. I’m having a little difficultly finding the need or potential market for one, except for the “WOW” ..look what I’ve got factor.

I’ve found over the years that most things that are designed to multi-task are normally not very good and any one function. So, in reality, we would probably end up with a lousy car, and an inefficient small plane. (oh, the insurance guys are going to love this one..The cavemen is set for life). Not only that, any teenager can drive, but flying ?.

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I fell asleep last night while trying to imagine myself 20 years into the future driving one of these gizmos. It was love at first sight, I wanted the 2 seater convertible model parked right next to the sign that said “GIVE FLIGHT TO YOU FANTASIES”. I had to be the first in my neighborhood to have one so I plunked down my 150 grand at the local dealer (Buy and Fly) for the stripped down version. (I did buy the optional low fuel alert system and doubled up on air bags) The salesmen takes me for a quick spin and flight and requires me to watch a 10 minute video on operations and flight safety, and then issues me a stamp on my license showing that I am now certified to operate a land/sky vehicle. Thanks to a loophole in the federal aviation laws,(lobbied for by makers of these dual use passenger cars) any vehicle under 150 horsepower, who’s main function is that of a terrestrial vehicle, does not need to comply with normal Federal Aviation laws.(not really, I just made that up..this is a dream sequence after all) He hands me a complementary pair of aviation sunglasses, a few bags of those airline peanuts, a pair of gold wings to pin on my shirt, and a small back pack parachute and sends me on my way. The next day I’m 15 minutes late and I need to get to work quickly. Traffic is a bear, and I’m laying on the horn, in bumper to bumper traffic. I take a quick glance down at the button on my dashboard that says “flight mode”. In frustration I push the button and my little sub compact car begins the transformation to “Super Cesna”. Before my very eyes, the wings fold out from under the chassis and a small propeller juts out the front of the bumper. The light turns green and I sound the aviation alarm to warn my fellow drivers that I am about to go airborne, and hit my directional signal (the “Up Arrow”) on my steering column. The little old lady in the big green Buick (yes, Buick is still around), shoots me the finger because my unfolding wing just put a three inch gash in the side of her car. I slowly gather speed as I taxi down the roadway, my wing tips plow down road signs, small trees, and a poor guy passing me on his motorcycle. But that doesn’t matter, nearly as much as the semi truck that seems to be in the way of my taxi runway. I pull back on the stick (or steering wheel as the case may be), with all my might, the nose of my craft, inches off the ground. At this point, I can read the fine print on the back of the 40 foot long trailer in front of me. My aerial proximity alarm is screaming in my ear. I put the pedal to the metal and just clear the back of the trailer as I make my assent. I exhale a sigh of relief as the vehicles below me now seem smaller. Now, this is what it’s all about, I’m flying, free as a bird, leaving all the traffic and earthly worries behind me. Free from the asphalt jungle below, I retract the tires, with the simple push of a button, and the transformation to a small plane is complete. A quick glance at my altimeter shows I’m cruising at 300 feet at 150 miles per hour. I kick in the cruise control and crank up my satellite radio. Suddenly, I’m stunned out of my blissful dream state, as my proximity alarm goes off again, this time with a deafening report. Bam, I’m thrown hard to the left as I feel an impact on my right side. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of green, as I’m loosing altitude, and the ground rushes towards me. I see the little old lady in the green Buick flying by, her head just barely clearing the steering wheel and completely oblivious to the fact that she just clipped off my right wing. I guess, even old ladies and bad drivers can buy these things also.

Even though I don’t see the market for this “Ca-plane” (I just coined that term), in all fairness I should really give the concept a thorough cerebral workout. On the positive side, traffic on our roads would decrease, but it would add a whole new dimension to the term fender bender. (as flying accidents tend to be among the types you don’t walk away from). Also, the flying car concept could be good for commerce, as new businesses sprout up(much like the motels of yester year did when automobiles became common) to cater to the airborne driver. Fast food places could hang your bag of food on a high pole, that you have to snag, as you fly by and more billboards would be painted on the tops of tall buildings.

I guess there are still a few bugs to work out, but maybe these hybrid “Aero-mobiles” ( I should copyright this term also), will become common place in the future. I don’t know about you, but I planning a wider garage for my next new house. Hey, they laughed at the Wright Brothers, you know.

P.I.B.