Hyperdrive

(Picture Credit - Top1walls com)

They were returning home in triumph. Twenty professional space explorers on board the prototype “Hyperdrive” Space craft “Santa Maria”. In an instant they had appeared in the Alpha Centauri solar system. For a month they had made a host of remarkable discoveries in a totally alien realm. Now they were back orbiting the Earth, ready to share what they’d found.

The Hyperdrive worked in a very simple way. It briefly took them out of our space-time continuum and then put them back wherever they chose. They could go anywhere in the universe in fact. A wonderful feat of science. And now they were ready to tell the world about it.

But Captain Dave Smith was frowning. Indeed everyone in the Control Room was looking perplexed. Grant on radio was frantically switching channels.

Dave: “Better get Matt Cox up here, we need a translation.”

Lisa (Second in Command): “That sounds like Latin Sir.”

Dave: “I’m bloody sure it’s Latin. What the hell’s going on?”

A few hours later, all the senior staff were gathered round a table in the conference room.

Dave: “Right ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for your reports. We’ll start with you, Maddy.”

Maddy: “Thanks Dave. Well, as you know it’s early days yet. There is almost no end of data to study. But there is absolutely no doubt: the Earth has changed. The whole world is now governed from Rome, by the Roman Empire. It is self-evident that on this Earth the Roman Empire never fell and in fact went on to colonise the whole world. On this Earth there is no USA, Russia, UK, France… very few of our nations remain…”

Dave: “Okay, Maddy, we’ll get back to you. Jacob, your analysis?”

Jacob: “Right. Well, we have two theories. The first is that somehow we have changed the timeline and lost Earth as we know it. That’s the worst case scenario. And the second theory is that when we left hyperspace we transported ourselves into the wrong dimension, so to speak. If so, it is possible that the Alpha Centauri we visited was the wrong one also.”

Dave: “What can we do about it Jacob?”

Jacob: “Our only possible action, Sir, is to figure out what went wrong with the Hyperdrive, and correct it.”

Dave: “Over to you, John.”

John: “We are already working on that Sir. What I will say, though, is that we are on our own with this. Maddy and her team have shown conclusively that these here Romans have only reached our 1930s technology at best. It would seem that fewer wars under the Romans meant slower technological progress on this Earth. We can, er, procure some hardware from them, but that is all.

Dave: “All I can do is ask you to do your best, John. You’d better get straight on with it.”

A few weeks later Dave was all smiles. John’s “Hyperdrive Team” had come up with a solution. The ship had returned to hyperspace then re-appeared in orbit above the world we all know. They had radioed in to HQ and been answered by colleagues they know. A course was being laid in for a landing; everyone was ready to party.

But then Lisa entered the Control Room.

Lisa: “Sir, we have a problem.”

Dave: “What?”

Lisa: “We’ve just recorded this News Bulletin…”

Briskly, Lisa went to a screen and pressed a few buttons. On came a news bulletin.

News Reader: “Good afternoon. Preparations have been completed now for next week’s “Beatles Reunion” at the World Trade Centre…”

The footage showed what was clearly an aerial view of the Twin Towers in New York!

News Reader: “Yes, they may be old-age pensioners now, but John, Paul and Ringo still have what it takes. Here’s what John had to say about it…”

(Cut to) John Lennon: “We are really looking forward to the show. Our only sadness is that George didn’t make it…”

Dave: “Turn it off.”

Lisa complied.

Dave: “I’m afraid it’s back to the drawing board. Get John up here.”

 

Paul Butters