A fault in time

The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished. Seconds later it started running forward again.

At Buckingham Palace, in the music room, the King and Queen were in a meeting. Everyone looked at each other with confusion and horror on their faces.

“The Queen, she’s gone, call security straight away.” The King said in a scared and worried voice.

Sarah, the Kings assistant picked up a phone and made the call.

“The Queen vanis.” She was cut off by the guard.

“Put on the news, any channel.”

Sarah walked to a little table near the window, picked up a remote and turned the TV on, they couldn’t believe what they heard. A man in a blue suit spoke.

“Is unfathomable, we’re trying to get scientists on the phone.” The man said. Behind him there were people talking on their phones, one woman yelling very loudly said. “Don’t tell me he’s in a meeting; I need to talk to him now!”

***

3,241 miles away at MIT in Cambridge Massachusetts Professor Brian Hitchings was giving a lecture, when suddenly everyone started doing everything in reverse. The TA was unwriting what he moments later wrote on the whiteboard, the teacher walked backwards and sat on his desk, speaking in reverse, then everything went back to normal. Everyone looked at each other and started talking.

"Before it was just the water, now we're all moving in reverse. What's going to happen next?" The professor said to his TA.

The TA shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know sir."

“Umm, I think class is dismissed, go back to your rooms, houses, dorms until I find out what just happened.” Then he walked off with his TA in back of him.

***

At the home of Doctor Paul Wilson, the head professor of the physics department at MIT lies on the floor unconscious, of his home lab. A machine that looks like a server is radiating a strange blue light. By the left wall was a big touchscreen with math problems on it, at the other end there was a desk with a computer and some papers.

At his door Marvin Rictor, Doctor Wilsons Aid knocked on the door.

“Professor Wilson!” He knocked again. “Professor.”

Marvin Rictor walked around to the back of the house and looked through a window which leads to the basement. He called Lidia Lee, the Dean of MIT right away. When she answered he told her.

“It’s Rictor, I’m looking through a window of Doctor Wilsons house that leads to the basement, he’s on the ground, not moving but I see he's breathing. There is a strange light coming from a machine, which may be the cause of what's happening. Should I call the cops?”

“No, people are probably frightened already, the last thing we need is to cause a panic before we even know what’s going on. Can you get in?” Lidia asked.

“The door is locked, if people see me trying to break in they’ll probably call the cops.”

“I’m going to send a security guard to you, he’ll take care of it.” The person on the other line just ended the call.

***

Back at the palace the King was talking to scientists on the phone, the television is still on in the background.

“Turn bloody thing off!” the King yelled. Sarah promptly turned it off. “The Queen is gone, she just vanished. Where could she have gone? What does this have to do with time moving backwards?”

“We don’t know what it is your Majesty. We don’t even know what tests to do, this defies everything we know. We’ll try and come up with an answer, but not sure we will.”

The King took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Just let me know, the Queen must be scared.”

“Yes, your Majesty.” Then they hung up.

***

A black Chevy Equinox pulls up in front of Doctor Wilsons house and a woman in a security guard uniform walked out of the car toward Marvin Rictor. “Hey, this is nuts right? I was on my way back to the college when started going backwards like someone pressed a rewind button on a DVR remote.” Jan Tinsly said.

“Yes, very.” They walked to the Doctors door and Jan started picking the lock. It took her a couple of minutes, but she got the door opened. They ran to the basement stairs and down, then they saw the Doctor still laying there.

Marvin walked up to him, but then he too collapsed.

Jane Tinsly took a few steps back and called Lidia Lee. “Ma'am, we can’t get close to the machine or the doctor. Marvin tried and he went unconscious as well.”

"Call the hospital, ask for Doctor Graham, and tell him and only him what happened, maybe he’ll know what to do. Stay there with the machine in case something else happens, just stay back.”

“Yes ma'am.” Jane hung up the phone then called MIT Hospital.

***

Three hours later at the hospital.

“The King asked me to see if there was any news?” Sarah asked Doctor Stans.

“I’m sorry to say no. We’re working on it. I called other professors and we’re putting our best foot forward, but this doesn’t make one bit of sense. I left a message with an American friend of mine, but he hasn’t returned my call yet.

The doctor heard the King talking in the background.

“Thanks, keep us informed.” Then she hung up.

***

“What the hell was Rictor working on, what did he do?” Lidia Lee said aloud

Morris Drisdale MIT’s Provost looked at the Dean. “I have no idea, he never told me about any home experiments and no one else said anything either. The Professors work on side projects all the time, but never has anything like this…”

Morris got up from his seat and started walking backwards, the door opened and then he closed it in front of him. The Dean looking up at the door said “ni emoc” then looked down and started typing but the words on her computer were being deleted as she typed. A few seconds later everything was normal again. The Dean looked at her computer “Oh shit, now I have to re-write this.”

Morris didn’t even knock, just walked into the dean's office. “I walked backwards all the way back to my office. The question I have is why do we remember everything after an event? If time is going backwards, we should forget everything we did before the event, but I remember sitting in your office, and walking backwards during the time reversal.

The dean just lightly shrugged. “I don’t know, that would be a question to ask Paul when he wakes up. We should go to the hospital just in case he does."

***

A few hours later at the hospital the doctor walked up to Lidia Lee. “I think they’re both in comas, I ordered a PET scan, a DWI scans and an EEG, their bloodwork came out clean, hopefully we’ll have some answers soon.

“Thanks, do…” Again, time started going backwards. When it stopped, the doctor walked back up to the Dean and they stared at each other with confusion in their eyes.

A nurse walked up to the doctor.

“Imaging is ready to take them now; I called orderlies to bring them up.”

"They still don't know right?" The dean asked

"No, to everyone else they're just to people in comas."

***

An MIT student ran into the hospital and asked to talk to the Dean, and that it was important. The person at the front desk typed a memo to all nurse’s stations asking if Dean Lee was on their floor. A few seconds later the phone rang. The receptionist picked up the phone.

“Here’s Dean Lee sir.” He handed the phone to the student.

“Hello.” The Dean said.

“Dean, I have an idea, can you…” The Dean stopped him in mid-sentence.

“Wait. Who is this? How did you know I was here?”

“This is Mark Waters, I saw you and Mister Drisdale running out of the school in the middle of the day, thinking it may have to do something about what’s going on I followed you. I told the team my idea…I didn’t tell them where you are…and they a test confirmed it works.”

“This better be good or you’re in trouble. I’ll come down now.”

***

About 5 minutes later Dean Lee walked out of an elevator toward the student.

“Ok, tell me your idea and make it quick.”

“We make a room a faraday cage. I asked some students to test it, they made a mini-faraday cage around a watch and after an event the watch was 10 minutes ahead, so it worked.”

The Dean looked at him then said “That’s actually a great idea and it was this tested, good job Mister Waters, you're not in trouble this time.

Mark felt relieved.

“Ok, do it.”

Mark Waters picked up his phone and made a call telling the students to get it done. Then he hung up.

"Take Mister Drisdale with you, I think it’s time for a news conference, just don’t mention it was one of our people who started it. Give plans on how to build a faraday cage if people want to make one. Oh, I'm going to see if we can take them to the labs that are being transformed, so get one ready for two gurneys.

“Will do, I'll call on the way back and draw up the plans.”

***

Sarah watched the news as the King looked out the window. The anchor stops and reads something on the teleprompter to himself, then says. “We just got this over the news wire, we’re going to show a news conference from Morris Drisdale from MIT.

Thank you, Jane,

“So, Mr. Drisdale, a student had this idea for a temporary fix, so time won’t go backwards?”

“Yes, it’s called a faraday cage. Basically, it stops signals from entering whatever is in it and also stops signals from getting out. It’s simple to make but time-consuming, we’ll leave plans on our social networks and on MIT.edu. in case people want to build one.”

“Thank you. So, there you have it.” The information popped up on the screen. “if you make one, good luck. Back to you Mary.”

***

“Can we do this?” The King asked.

“I’ll see if we have everything needed, if not I'll send someone out to get it.” Sarah picked up the phone and told maintenance what’s needed, then it was quiet for a moment. She looked at the King and mouthed “Yes.” Said thank you to the person on the other end and hung up the phone.

“Get as many people working on these cages as you can.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And Sarah.” She turned around.

“Thank you.”

Sarah smiles “My pleasure Your Majesty.” Then she left the room.

***

A couple of hours and one event later.

Back at MIT the students were getting the finishing touches done on one of the Faraday cages.

“Good work everyone, that’s one down, one to go. We'll probably have at least one time rewind, but I believe you’re all up for the challenge. Make sure there’s room for the two gurneys and students that worked on this one should rest in there as well, just stay in here for the next rewind."

Mark Timmons was writing a simple program that would start a timer when an event happened and stop it time was normal again, then log the times. An external clock was connected a computer, sensors were put inside and outside of the faraday cage so when time starts to reverse the timer will start and it'll stop when time starts going forward again.”

***

Two ambulances rolled up to the physics building at MIT, Doctor Wilson and Marvin Rictor were being wheeled out of them. Doctor Stans walked out of one of the ambulances and the Dean drove up in a car behind them. The Dean got out of her car and walked up to them.

“How are they doing Doc?” A student asked.

“Well, they're in good health, but we still don’t know why they’re in comas.

"How about the cages?" The dean asked.

"One is complete, the other is still being worked on. The students in the finished cage are resting, they built this one, there’s still room for Doctor Wilson, Mister Rictor, you and the Doctor."

“Good, lets get them in their quickly and close the door behind us before another event starts.”

***

The King just sat at the window watching the sunset. Sarah was writing in her diary of what’s going on. It was so quiet but yet you could feel the tension in the air.

A security guard knocks on the door.

“Come in” the King said.

“It's ready your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Michael.”

The King and Sarah got up and walked to the room. The King looked around.

“This is going to make it so time doesn’t go backwards?”

“That’s what the scientists say. Doctor Sands was upset he didn’t think of it first.”

“How many people can we fit in here?” Sarah asked

“Comfortably about 50. I talked to the rest of the guards, and we decided to let other staff have a place in here, we’ll stay out.”

“That’s very kind of you.” The King said. “Can you start building another one for the rest of you?”

“Yes, and we will your Majesty.”

A few seconds after the guard shut the door time started going backwards. Everyone walked backward outside of the faraday cage. When the guard got back, he opened the door.

"It just happened, how are you doing?

"It worked! We're fine, now get more staff in here before another reversal. That one lasted a while."

***

Morris Drisdale walked out of the faraday cage and a student walked up to him. “That one lasted twenty minutes.”

"But the cage worked and they're out of their comas." Morris said.

“Well, that’s great news. Let me talk to the professor and see what he was working on and how to stop it.” A student commented.

“But how? Being in the faraday cage woke them up?” The Dean asked

“I have no idea. We have waves around us at all times, maybe one of them kept them in their comas and when they were in the cage and the waves were blocked they woke up? “

“What the hell did you do Paul? No, don’t tell me now, just tell us how to fix it. Marvin tried to get you and went into a coma as well.” The Dean asked.

“I’m sorry. I made some shielded suits that I had to use to shield myself from some of the elements, they should work, they’re in the closet below the staircase. At the keyboard type in the password IYNNf#ssa93l1P*zmAFp&hqZF3 then return. That will turn it off.”

“What the hell were you working on?” The Dean asked.

“Well, time travel. The doctor said gritting his teeth waiting to be yelled at. Maybe I put too much power into the machine, or something blew. I won’t know until I look at it.”

“Why the hell didn't you make a faraday cage around it?”

"I didn't foresee this happening. Before I turn it on again, I will make the room safe."

"Again! Why would you turn that thing on again?"

"I think I'm close. Time travel, think of what we could do, the problems we can fix. We can stop climate change before it begins, we can make electric cars, computers and cell phones in the eighties. This would hold Russia, China and Korea back for decades.

The dean took a deep breath. "Ok, but make sure it's safe and keep me informed on everything you do."

"Yes Dean."

***

Two hours later at the palace, there was a knock on the door. It was a guard with the Queen next to him.

" So, we all had a little scared. Has anyone found out what started this?" The Queen said taking the Kings and giving him a hug.

"Are you ok?" The King hugged her back and kissed her cheek.

"Oh yes, I'm fine."

The King looked into her eyes. "You should still see the doctor to make sure and I'm glad you're back safe."

“Where did you go Your Majesty? Mary asked.

"I don’t know, I was in the room, then I saw I was alone for a few seconds, then I was in the music room alone and David found me looking for you.”

Mary had a puzzled look on her face. "A few seconds. You were gone for almost 16 hours."

"Oh my, for me it was a flash."

“We were worried.” The King said, giving her another hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Well, I’m here now.”

“I’m exhausted.” The King said.

“Me too.” Sarah commented

“Everyone deserves a rest. Go…Go.” Said the Queen.

"Thank you, your Majesty." Mary said with a yawn.