The red lights went out one by one, and he knew for certain, that the time machine had broken down. Again. He sighed. Wonder what caused it this time? Might take some “time” to repair. And well, next day’s off duty wasn’t as close as he had thought. He turned to the main computer – this old piece of machinery was still necessary when a major breakdown occurred. Bit of a pleasure also actually. Fun to use the “keyboard” – as it was called. And of course it was his specialty. Technician as he was.
Though “time” was off now – so to speak – he would have to be quick with the repair. The time machine did work in a – let’s say more than special way – as an overall “main-keeper”. Yes, all sorts of things could go wrong, when it was out of function. Recession might occur, wars would start – accidents and general social malfunction of society. Typically – on a fine day like today in the 3rd (dimension that is) – he would have to stay here in the 4th dimension – stationary work position – until everything was up and running again. Better call for the backups, he thought and put his palm on the plate sensor for communication. They wouldn’t be long.
He had just started running an evaluating error-find rinsing of the magnetic inner cycles, when the gate area swirled with voices.
-Laurentius – what have you done?
The first incoming of the backup troupe was a tall, jovial man with a never ending ability to joke about everything.
-Juper. Good to see you. Afraid I can’t take credit for this. Where’s the other two?
-Plots and Galore are coming. Don’t worry – won’t be a minute.
Juper threw himself into the other cockpit chair – his feet at the edge of the control desk, resting them dangerously close to an on-off switch for the power board. He grinned.
-Now, let’s see what or who caused this little incident.
A sudden sound of a swoosh – or maybe two. Laurentius looked up. Two blurred cloudlike visions of human beings hovered above the control panel.
-Plots – Galore! What on earth are you doing? – Juper sat up.
-Sorry, but we couldn’t get all the way through – the time machine must have…
-You should be able to access the 4th from the 3rd when you have your vindications activated – with or without the time machine.
-Yeah sure…but eh…actually we were in the 2nd when the alarm came.
-The 2nd !! What the….were you doing there?
-Juper, you know Plots is very interested in ancient hieroglyphs, runic stones – that sort of thing. Wanted to study them in their natural surroundings.
-Surroundings – hardly the right word for anything in the 2nd dimension
-So – what now Boss? How do we get in? – Plots asked.
-Don’t know – I haven’t tried this before. Suppose you both have to follow us like the two goddam foolish ghosts as you appear to be.
-You mean, we’ll have to STAY this way? – the desperation in Galore’s voice was increasing.
-No, no, no – I mean – I hope not. We’ll find a way later.
-I think we better have to move on with the time machine. – Laurentius put in – you know the power source may become quite tricky to handle if the stop is taking too long.
-Power sauce! – Plots’ voice murmured out of the cloud – followed by a similarily murmured laughing sound – presumably coming from two persons.
Laurentius and Juper delved into the instructed procedures – and for some time not a sound was heard. Some time – but for how long was that? No hour or minute could describe the field they were in. And the comments from Plots and Galore in the cloud grew like small wisps of mist in a twilight meadow – their eyes just visible like flashes of light in the morning dew.
Now this may be an appropriate time to say a few words about the time machine. Maybe it´s already clear, that this fine instrument has a central and – not to say the least – crucial function in the world (or the habitable parts of the universe, to be more precise) It has a function utterly far from previous times´ imagination of time-travelling devices. – The time machine in reality is holding together time, space and order. It works under laws of mathematics without any interference from old physics – today called the laws of quantumathematics – a development from earlier and simpler quantum mechanics – in all a purified universal law. Thus the uneasy feeling within Laurentius.
