Chapter 8: Recovery of Lost Technology Club

When Monday came, Alexa finally mastered the swimming pool game. The teams were divided into two teams, with an equal amount of boys and girls on each team. Alexa was able to dive in and retrieve the highest scoring points for her team. After school, she went to the debate club to resign, then walked over to the classroom where the recovery of lost technology club was being held.

The teacher was very enthusiastic about another girl joining the club, because it was mostly composed of boys. He sat Alexa down in a seat in the front row of the room. On a huge electronic monitor in the front of the room, there were images of schematics of machines that scientists were trying to re-discover. Alexa raised her hand. The teacher called on her.

"What is the most technologically advanced device your scientists are trying to re-discover?"

"In our own era close to one million A.D. there was a device that could generate alternate timelines," the teacher began. "Normally, when you travel through time, whether you journey into the past or future, you become a part of history. It is impossible to make alterations to the timeline. We once had a way of creating an alternate timeline that skewed off of the original reality, making it possible to alter history in the new timeline."

"How close are your scientists to re-developing this technology?" Alexa asked.

"We don't know," the teacher replied. "Morgan Lefevre was the closest to making a breakthrough, but she took her research with her into another reality, and we can't track her down."

"Is it true she tried to take over the world fifty years ago?" Alexa asked.

"Yes," the teacher replied. "But she was defeated by our best soldiers."

"Why don't the ephemerals know about any of this?" Alexa asked.

"We've managed to keep our existence a secret from them," said the teacher. "Even in the era we came from, the existence of Futurians was unknown to the general population."

"Does that mean we're going to find a way back to our own time?" Alexa asked.

"We can't be sure," the teacher replied. "We don't have enough fuel to travel that far into the future."

"What about a time probe?" Alexa asked.

"We could launch one, but it wouldn't have enough power to return to normal space when it reached one million A.D. It takes power equivalent to an exploding star to breach temporal space."

"Ozymandias took me back to the world of the ephemerals this past weekend," said Alexa. "So you're saying it took that much power just to go there and come back?"

"You don't understand," said the teacher. "Traveling that far into the future, to one million A.D. requires navigating around the gravity wells of stars and black holes. It takes too much power to travel that distance and also breach temporal space to return to normal space. Traveling back and forth to Los Angeles is within our grasp, but not retiurning to our own time."

"I understand," Alexa replied. "What technology should we be focused on recovering?"

"The most vital piece of technology we need now is the ability to generate alternate timelines," said the teacher. "The sooner we develop this, the sooner we can find a way to circumvent it, to stop Morgan Lefevre."

Alexa raised her hand again, and the teacher called on her. "What is so bad about Morgan generating an alternate timeline where we rule over the ephemerals?"

"If she does that, there would be two sets of us," the teacher replied, "one set of us in the original reality, and another set in the alternate timeline. We would have a different quantum signature than our counterparts, and we could be mistaken for usurpers. A war between those two realities could spring up, putting all of us in danger, with both groups of us thinking we are the originals."

"How far away is Morgan Lefevre from developing an alternate timeline generator?" Alexa asked.

"We think she's still several years away, but she's still a lot closer than our scientists are. That's why we need students to go into science and engineering. There are too many students here who are interested in the arts, and we really need to pressure you into becoming scientists."

"What can we do as students?" Alexa asked.

"I'll upload the schematics of the timeline generator schematics we have so far to your electronic tablets. If you can do research on your own time, that would help."

The teacher went to the desk and mainipulated a control console, and Alexa saw that a file had been downloaded onto her tablet. She accessed it, and she saw a complex schematics design. The teacher went over several other inventions, then the club let out.

Alexa walked to her dormitory and waited until there were no other people in her area of the dorm. She entered the bathroom and made sure no other girls were inside, and approached the mirror. She put her hand through, and it disappeared into the other side of the mirror, so she stepped through with the rest of her body. When she arrived on the other side, the room seemed to be the mirror image of the bathroom in her reality.

Morgan Lefevre showed up. "Why are you here? I didn't expect you back so soon." Morgan asked.

Alexa showed Morgan the electronic tablet. "I joined the recovery of lost technology club, and the instructor uploaded a file to my tablet. It shows how close they are to developing an alternate timeline generator!"

Morgan handled the transponder that Alexa wore as a necklace. "I see you did as I instructed. I really needed to know how well their transponder technology had progressed.” Morgan used a scanning device on the necklace, and waved it over the tablet. "Now I have all that I need. You've done well, Alexa! In the new order, your voice will only be second to my own!"

A sinister smile crept across Alexa's face. Her smile turtned to a look of concern. "The teacher said that if you created a divergent timeline, it could start a reality war."

"You leave that to me," Morgan replied. "The academy has been known to villify me, I don't know what they have against us ruling over ephemerals."

"Those people on Earth right now in the 21st century are our ancestors," said Alexa. "Don't they at least deserve respect for that?"

"If I create a divergant timeline, the only ephemerals we would be dealing with would be duplicates. The original timeline would be unaffected."

"But we would have to be dealing with doubles of ourselves who would see us as usurpers." Alexa reasoned.

"These are all valid questions," Morgan replied. "But you have no need to worry. I have all of this figured out. Now get back to your reality before someone enters the bathroom while you're here."

Alexa returned to the real world, and went to the Verso common room. There were a lot of girls there, including Stratus and Hellion. Stratus appraoched Alexa.

"Lexie, I've been thinking. You know how your captive is rebellious? Hellion thinks you should use a mind control device to make him more obedient."

"Here's what I'm thinking," said Hellion. "One of the older students could get a hold of a mind control device and show you how to program it."

"I'd rather that he came around on his own," Alexa replied. "I think I should only use mind control as a last resort. Does anyone know where I can buy a burrito?"

"At the commisary," Hellion replied. "You can even go there after hours, if you wanted to. It's fully automated."

Alexa went to the commisary and purchased a burrito with her student credit card. She took it back with her to the Verso girl's dormitory, and showed it to Stratus and Hellion. "Where do I heat it up? Is there a microwave oven?"

Hellion laughed and grabbed the burrito. "You use one of the time inverters,"

"Time inverter?" Alexa asked. "What's that?"

"You’ve been here a week and you've never used a time inverter?" Hellion pointed to something that looked like a microwave oven.

"I've seen people using those, but I thought they were microwave ovens," Alexa replied.

Hellion unwrapped the burrito slightly, and set it inside the oven. She pressed the setting for burrito, and one second later, the oven beeped. Hellion pulled out the burrito, and it was piping hot.

"See?" Hellion asked. "Why wait for two minutes with a microwave oven, when you can use this?"

Alexa took the burrito.

"There's also a device that can freeze things instantly," said Stratus.

"After I eat my burrito, do you want to watch me play with my shrunken captive?" Alexa asked Stratus. Stratus agreed, so Alexa quickly finished her burrito. "Don't tell my captive what I just ate, I want to play a game with him."

The two girls walked to Alexa's dorm, and Alexa got the terrarium and a large plastic bowl down from the shelf. Alexa lifted the lid and scooped out her captive. She got out the cherry bubble gum flavored string and the neural stimulator that Stratus had given her.

With her shrunken captive in the palm of her hand, Alexa addressed him. "We're going to play a little game, you're going to have to figure out what I just finished eating."

Alexa held the flavored string down for her captive to grab onto. He climbed up the strand of string, and Alexa lifted him above her open mouth, then dropped him in. She was easily able to gulp him down. He slid down her esophagus, and splashed down in her stomach. He tried to conserve his air, not knowing that he couldn't die from asphyxiation because of his immortality.

Meanwhile, Alexa and Stratus were laughing. "Now you can test out your neural stimulator!" said Stratus.

Alexa lifted the device and aimed it at her head, and moments later, she was vomiting into the bowl she had gotten from the shelf. She grabbed her tiny captive and took him to the bathroom to clean him off in the sink. She carried him back into her dorm room when he was clean.

"What food did I just eat?" Alexa asked.

"Mexican food?" the captive replied.

"Yes, but what specifically?" Alexa asked.

"A bean and cheese burrito?" the captive asked.

"You got it right!" Alexa said. "Now you get to ask me a question, and I'll answer it honestly."

"Can I have time to think about my question?" the captive asked. "I don't want to waste this opportunity."

"He just used his question!" said Stratus.

"I won't do that to him," said Alexa. "Tiny man, you have as much time as you need to think of the question you want to ask me."

"You give your captive way too much latitude," said Stratus. "You should watch how my sister treats her captive. Lexie, I think your problem is that you think of your captive as a person, instead of a toy. I guess you just need to get used to the idea of owning one."

Alexa put her captive back in the terrarium and closed the lid, then set the terrarium back on the shelf. Alexa looked at the bowl of vomit, and asked, "Would you like to help me clean this?"

"There's a machine that can do that, it has a time inverter installed in it, too," said Stratus. "She took the bowl and went to the Verso common room and set the bowl inside a large machine. She pushed a button, and in one second, there was a beep. Stratus opened the door hatch, and the bowl came out perfectly clean. She handed the bowl to Alexa.

"You could get really used to this technology that you won't even want to return to the world of the ephemerals." said Stratus.

"Now I'm hungry again!" said Alexa, and Stratus laughed.

"It's almost time for dinner," said Stratus. "You need to rally people together to vote for you for student body president."

"I forgot to register!" said Alexa. "Is it too late? What office do I go to?"

"You don't need to go to an office, you can do it right from your tablet," Stratus replied.

The two girls walked back to Alexa's dorm and Alexa got her electronic tablet. Stratus showed her how to register as a candidate for student body president.

"Everything is so much easier here!" said Alexa.

"That's why we need to help Morgan Lefevre," said Stratus. "She can create a new reality for us where we rule over the primitive humans." Stratus looked at the transponder necklace Alexa was wearing. "The rumor around the school is that Morgan contacted you and you're keeping it all a secret."

"Stratus, I don't want to argue about this again," said Alexa.

"I'm on your side," said Stratus. "I'm just letting you know what most of the other kids are saying about you."

"Thanks for keeping me informed," Alexa replied