Debut Writers' Showcase by Fiction River

Author:Fiction River
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: WMG Publishing
Published: 2015-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

***

The technicians at Time Horizons had taken all of Sofu’s fine new clothes when he returned from his lightpulse jump, so when they went back to the Time Horizons headquarters the following week, he was forced to wear one of his older suits and a pair of black Nikes. She had not been able to find any more Japanese Sacred Lily leaves, so they’d clipped a sprig from a huge cedar tree at the Arboretum. When they reached the reception lobby, Dr. Orlov was waiting for them. He looked like a man who’d just won the lottery. Or maybe a Nobel Prize.

“Mrs. Erikson, please extend our grateful thanks to your grandfather for his bravery. We’ve only just begun to analyze the data gathered from his trip. The value and importance of this information to mankind supersedes even what scientists have been able to extrapolate from Chernobyl.”

Keiko had spent all week trying to talk Sofu out of returning, but in the end, she’d had to obey his wishes. Now, her only hope lay with the navigator.

“Dr. Orlov, I would like you to tell him that there has been a mistake. Please, tell him the machine is broken. Or that you’ve found someone else. I don’t care what you say, but I don’t want him to go.”

He gave her a puzzled look. “Why would I do that? Have you any idea the significance of your grandfather’s contributions to science? The dust on his shoes alone—.”

“I don’t care,” Keiko’s mouth trembled with the weight of her emotions. “He’s been having nightmares. He’s so upset by what he saw. He says the town is filled with angry ghosts.”

Sofu put his heavy hand on her shoulder for silence. “Two hundred years, Orlov-san,” he said. “I am ready.”

Just as before, they helped Sofu into the heavy travel vest. For this trip, Dr. Orlov explained, they added several additional measurement devices, and a digital camera. As the technicians showed him how to operate the equipment and Keiko translated the navigator’s instructions, she saw the gleam of pride return to Sofu’s weathered face.

“Now I don’t want you to worry, Mrs. Erikson. Your grandfather’s suggestion to place him at the shrine is brilliant. Those temples were really built to last. Even if people have returned to the area, they’re not likely to have torn the place down, and he’ll be as safe there as anywhere.”

Despite the heaviness of the equipment, Sofu stood straight and tall upon the platform. She shook her head. Somehow, this whole thing had gotten changed around. Sofu was no longer at peace. The angry ghosts of his ancestors truly terrified him. It was as if he believed serving the people at Time Horizons was now more important than saving his own soul. She’d tried to convince him to die in Los Angeles, but he’d refused to listen. Most of all, she hated the thought that Dr. Orlov and the scientists were using her grandfather as an experiment. They probably thought he was just some old man.

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