Time Trap 01 Time Trap by Keith Laumer

Author:Keith Laumer [Laumer, Keith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780709152514
Google: tTRXAAAAYAAJ
Amazon: 0425018717
Publisher: Orion Publishing
Published: 1976-11-15T08:00:00+00:00

2

“When we first discovered ourselves to be entoiled in a trap,” S’lunt explained, leading the way out onto an unrailed terrace jutting over an orderly landscape half a mile below, “we of Culture One refused to panic. The enclave, happily, included the laboratory complex you see about you. We at once set to work to establish the parameters of our situation.”

Roger held back as the others started across a yard-wide walkway arching over empty space to the adjoining structure. S’lunt gave him an interrogatory glance. “Why are you crouching in that fashion, sir?”

“It’s just a thing I’ve got about heights,” Roger confided. “Suppose I just wait here.”

“Nonsense. I insist you join us on the pinnacle for a cuppa.”

“You go ahead, then. I’ll follow in my own way.”

“Our studies,” S’lunt said, strolling slowly as Roger progressed on all fours at his side, “have not been entirely fruitless. We have made certain determinations regarding the nature of the spatio-temporal distortion. Using a special tracer beam to follow our explorers through the point of tangency through which it is possible to pass from one display to another, we have determined that a progressive degeneration of temporal binding forces is at work, allowing artifacts and fauna of each era to wander into anachronistic settings, thus engendering massive energy imbalances which must end in disaster! On the basis of those findings, we designed and constructed the Reinforcer. With the aid of this device, the selected agent would, we hoped, be enabled to pass not only transversely across the Museum, but longitudinally along the Axial Channel as well, thus tracing the phenomenon to its source, and, hopefully, discovering the identity of the power behind it.”

“How do you know it’s a museum?” Roger inquired. He opened one eye and quickly closed it again.

“An assumption. The displays present a panorama of Terrestrial history from the dawn of life to its eventual sublimation.”

“Then—why not just find another, ah, display, from the distant future where they have even more advanced science that you folks here in Culture One and—”

“Impossible. In the first place, the displays number ten billion, four hundred and four million, nine hundred and forty-one thousand, six hundred and two. Thus, investigating them at the rate of one per minute, the time required—”

“I get the idea,” Roger interrupted. “What’s the second place?”

“It would be the merest chance if we happened on a center of population or a scientific installation which would afford the necessary hardware, even if we succeeded in pinpointing a suitably advanced culture. So we have devoted the available time and manpower to the probe scheme.”

“Say, that reminds me . . . ” Roger said as he rose to his feet on the far side, where tables were placed under gay-colored umbrellas. “Some friends of mine were about to be eaten by a bear. How about just fetching them along here the way you did me?”

“Impossible. In your case, we were able to trace your movements via the emanations of the Reinforcer—though we didn’t understand the nature of the signal at the time.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.