Curtains Of Time Read online

  Chapter 2 – Time On His Hands

  While Marco was recovering, Gizmo spent most days in his lab, usually from early morning until late at night with barely time to eat. They had given him a fully equipped lab and pretty much anything he requested in the way of materials. What he was working on now was a further enhancement of his leap frog. With the close call they had on Gandos, he saw some changes needed to be made. During the mission, when he stopped to program leap frog it had almost cost them their lives.

  What he was working on now was a miniaturized version of leap frog that would be controlled by brain waves, or by telepathy. He had experimented with that technology back in his workshop at home years ago and was trying to incorporate it into leap frog now. If you can think it, you can do it. He wasn’t sure who had first coined that phrase, but Gizmo found it fitting. It was just a matter of programming his precise brain patterns into logical commands. But that was the easy part. That was the part he had worked out years ago.

  He spent a few days fine tuning it so it would take him exactly where he wanted to go, to the exact place in time and space. When he was satisfied it worked to his specifications, he set about miniaturizing it as small as he could. For that he would need the use of an electron microscope and some very specialized equipment. Once he had the original design, the miniaturization process progressed smoothly.

  But would it pass undetected through a high powered scan machine? He could think of many instances where that might be an issue. Scanning devices at transport terminals being the most obvious, but what about a hostile capture and search? That could become problematic as well.

  Gizmo experimented with various synthetic materials but they all emitted anywhere from a shadow to a full image when scanned. There was nothing Gizmo tried that would go undetected through a scanner. He tried reflective materials but they too showed as luminous objects that did nothing but raise questions.

  Over the time he worked on this device he got to know the Captain of the Guard on the flight deck scanning detail pretty well. It was actually the Captain who had given him the clue he needed to make the device invisible to scanning machines. Why not use the same cloaking technology the aircraft used to avoid tracking and detection? Gizmo had designed it to use telepathy from specific brain waves, he had miniaturized it, and now using the cloaking technology, there was only one problem he could see before it would be perfect. That’s when the last piece fell into place. What if he was stripped searched? What if all his clothes were taken from him, such as a prison setting, and he was given different clothes to wear? That’s when he knew he had it figured. It would have to be planted under the skin.

  He also programed it to operate as long as the heart beat continued. If for some reason, the heart rate stopped, or became faint, or erratic, or otherwise irregular, it was programed to take him either back to Giselle who would immediately transport him back to The Colony for medical attention, or it would transport him back to The Colony directly. It all depended on the severity of the medical situation.

  After a trial period and numerous tests supervised by the flight deck Captain, he decided it was time to have a talk with the medical staff. He wanted them to implant it under his skin. But before he took that final step, he built a second one and programed it for Marco’s use.

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  A few days earlier, Marco had been released from the medical center as fully recovered, but before he would accept that decision, he had to put his arms and his body through his own tests. When he wasn’t working out with weights, he could be found on the surface of the planet swimming in the lake. He wanted to make sure both arms were back to full strength. He had to know he could count on his body to react as expected when needed.

  He found his new arm was as good if not better than the one he had before. It was in fact his same arm. It had been grown from his own DNA. It was impossible to see any scar tissue where the new limb had been attached. He and Gizmo spent hours diving from the top of the water falls into the pool below and racing across the lake. Marco had longer arms and was the better swimmer since he had been doing it for the better part of every day to gain back any strength he might have lost in the accident. He was now basically good as new.

  It was then Gizmo and Marco decided to request some time away from The Colony as a holiday or a vacation. The Colony would always be their home but they still had a restless spirit and some exploring to do before being confined to life at The Colony. Sula was agreeable but told them he would keep in regular contact with them in case their skills were needed at The Colony.

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