The First State of Being: Chapters 12–14

The couch was tattered and stained, with stuffing poking out of the cushions.

There was a faint smell of dirty socks, which emanated from a pair of sneakers next to the front door.

He imagined Beejee in a fiery rage, storming in and demanding to know what they were doing in his apartment.

He smelled the faint scent of Gibby’s strawberry shampoo, mixed with a tinge of body odor from Ridge—he hadn’t showered, after all—and the unplaceable odor that was, no doubt, Beejee.

The logic made sense to Michael, though he now regretted the question because he realized it sounded babyish.

My mom is a scientist. She has a lab at UD on the Red Knot campus, and inside the lab is the STM. Spatial Teleportation Module. It’s a prototype. A preliminary model for spatial teleportation... what you call time travel.

“Then you input the Timestamp—the date you want to travel to—on an STM screen. You scan your thumbprint with the EGG, close your eyes, and poof, you’re in 1999, or whatever date you put in. At the same coordinates as the STM.”

“1999 is your favorite year in history,” Gibby repeated, deadpan.

“But that’s because no one realizes they’re living history every minute of every day. Sure, there are big moments, like the first Black president or the first trip to Mars and Jupiter, or the first STM. But the truth is, we’re making history at this very moment, sitting on this couch together, looking at this EGG in these unfortunate living quarters. Every breath we take, we’re contributing to history.”

The EGG, named for the Founder (See Founder of Spatial Transportation) is a handheld device that allows Spatial Teleportation Scientists (STSs) to teleport to and from a single date or timeprint through an immobile home base known as the Spatial Teleportation Module (STM).

The scientific mechanisms of the EGG are complex (See EGG Scientific Mechanisms), but the concept is relatively simple—by scanning an individual STS’s thumbprint, the EGG dematerializes the STS into an individual energy pattern, which is subsequently rematerialized into the predestined timeprint, which is coded into the STM at the time of departure.

Although current technology allows STSs to predetermine a timeprint, spatial scientists have not yet developed technology to select specific geographic landing destinations outside of the STM coordinates.

Consequently, the STS will rematerialize in the exact location of the STM.

(Please note that only the items in direct contact with the STS’s person [i.e., in contact with the EGG] will engage in spatial transportation.)

“I didn’t think you were actually going to read it,” Michael said as he returned the spare key to its hiding nook under the flowerpot.

Everything about it was warm and comfortable, from the pillows on the sofa to the recliner where Michael now sat.

And the first paragraph: Terrified earthquake survivors sought the safety of open ground Tuesday as the enormity of Turkey’s tragedy became clear: more than 2,000 people killed, 10,000 injured, and thousands more missing.

“That’s a nice offer, kiddo, but I’m pretty sure Ship would fire me if I put one of the underage tenants to work.”

Strange as it may sound, Michael enjoyed unloading the dishwasher at home. It didn’t require much thought and it was a task with a clear beginning and end. No ambiguity.

He thought of the people in Turkey, covered in dust and rubble.

He thought of all the lights of the world flickering out, one by one. Water systems breaking down. Grocery stores looted.

He imagined himself showing them the stockpile under his bed.

He ambled to the kitchen and picked up the phone.

STSs should always err toward observation.

Do not interact with NTIs unless absolutely necessary.