Slipped

“Tabby, are you sure you want to do this?” Broderick asked. They stood on the dark stoop of an ordinary looking home. She took in a deep breath as she stared at the brown front door. After she exhaled, she nodded.

“I have to,” she said. She gripped the handle of her old-fashioned doctor bag. Her palms were sweaty. She threw a look over her shoulder to her companion, trying to ignore the device he was holding. She faced the door again, raised a fist and knocked hard.

A homely woman of indeterminant age answered the door. With narrowed eyes she stepped aside to let them in. "Cutting it a bit close aren't you?" she asked as she quietly closed the door behind them.

Tabby ignored her and instead asked "where should we set up?"

"The front room," the woman responded, annoyed.

The ancient floorboards creaked as the group walked into the sitting room. It was gloomy; the only light came from a small table lamp in a corner. It emitted a yellow glow. The only sound, other than noise attributed to the visitors, was from a tv deeper in the house.

Tabby set her bag down in the middle of the room. “Broderick, light a candle in that window,” she directed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him carefully set the device on a coffee table. She directed her attention to her bag while Broderick dug around his backpack.

He pulled out an ordinary, waxy white tapered candle. He put it in a silver holder and placed them on the windowsill. He searched his pockets for a matchbook. Once located, he struck one match and introduced fire to wick. When lit, he shook the match dead and turned to see that Tabby had spread a cloth on the floor and was systematically placing items on it.

All the while, the hag watched from the doorway, arms crossed over her sad bosom. “This better work,” she growled, “master doesn’t take kindly to disappointment.”

Tabby looked at her with hard, angry eyes. “Have I ever failed before?” she asked between gritted teeth.

“First time for everything,” the hag replied. She dropped her arms and walked away.

“What a bitch,” Broderick said. “She always like that?”

“Always,” Tabby responded. She turned back to her work. The hag was right about one thing, time was running out. On the cloth she had placed a large, raw gold nugget and a crystal bowl. From her bag she revealed a bottle labeled ionized water which she placed next to the bowl. She turned to Broderick with an outstretched hand. “The device.”

He retrieved it and handled it to her. She couldn’t stand to touch it, which is why she always made the assistant carry it. With extreme care she placed it on the middle of the cloth. On the top was a set of latches whose mechanism was so complex, only someone specially trained could open them. Once released, a door sprung open and revealed a red button inside. The candle flickered.

“It’s time,” she said.

Broderick was mystified by the device. "Can I ask what we’re doing?"

Tabby rolled her eyes and stood up. Would they ever send her someone experienced? She did not look at him, for she had seen every reaction possible. She braced herself for his shock, anger, and anxiety. "We're causing a slip," she responded.

He blinked a few times, processing what she said. "Wait, what? Are you kidding me? We're slipping tonight?" his voice was unstable, volume rising. “This isn’t right!” He paced the floor with both hands on his head. He was succumbing to anxiety.

“What am I supposed to do? Huh?” she yelled at him. She hated new recruits. “This is-“ she was cut off by the sound of creaking floorboards in the hallway. She stopped herself, looked up at the ceiling, sighed, then stretched her neck side to side. “This is what he wants,” she said calmly, looking directly into Broderick’s eyes.

“Well it’s not right,” he responded with defeat.

“That’s not for us to decide,” she said as she kneeled on the edge of the cloth.

“Don’t you feel bad,” he asked as he sank onto the couch.

“No one feels anything,” she said, avoiding his question. “No one even knows it happened.”

“But we’re playing God,” he argued. “We’re changing things we shouldn’t be changing. Does he, you, or anyone have any idea the ramifications?” Long ago Tabby had made a similar argument.

“Very little changes, Broderick. You slipped many times before you knew what it was.” In her peripheral the candle flickered again. “We’re wasting time,” she said.

She picked up the gold and rubbed it between her hands. When it was warm, she set it down and reached for the bottle of water. After methodically uncapping it, she slowly poured it into the bowl. Before she could change her mind, she placed her hand on the device and pressed firmly on the red button. The device made a whirring sound that got louder over the next several seconds. It vibrated as parts inside began moving. The whirring intensified, until finally there was a pop. The candle flickered hard, and the device went silent.

Broderick held his breath. His eyes, wide and terrified, darted around the room, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. Tabby stood up and began packing up the items she had so painstakingly placed.

“Wait, nothing happened,” he said with obvious relief. He laughed.

The creaking in the hall quieted him. The hag appeared, “finally,” she said with distain. Tabby paused to look at her with no visible expression.

Broderick looked back and forth between the hag and Tabby. Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure nothing had occurred. While his brain clouded with confusion, the two women had a silent stand-off. He was still staring in confused disbelief as the hag curled her lips in a smile and retreated.

Tabby returned to her items. She closed the door on the device and latched it. Her calm, deliberate movement added to his confusion. She walked across the room and blew out the candle. For a moment she regarded the smoke, winding its way up. "Pack up," she said still facing the window.

Wordlessly, he did as he was directed. He reached around her for the candle and paused. "Did it happen?" he asked, his face inches from hers. She cast her eyes down and nodded.

He cradled the candlestick before he placed it in his backpack. His shoulders were slumped. He felt defeated and tricked. He was lost in thought when Tabby handed him the device.

"What is it?" he asked as he took it.

"It's a remote to the large hydrogen collider," she said matter of factly. He started to ask more questions but she interrupted him. "Do you know why you were chosen for the Program?" she asked. "Because you can remember. Only a few thousand people on the planet can remember the way the world was before a slip."

She closed her bag and walked out to the hallway where she waited for him. He spent a few seconds staring at the device. He was utterly stunned by how small it was. A direct link to the world’s deadliest weapon, right there, in his hands.

They left. But before she closed the door she paused. She strained to hear the upstairs tv. A male newscaster with a crisp and stunned tone announced “we’re obviously waiting on the final numbers, but it does appear the winner of the 2016 general election is...”

She closed the door.

Broderick's voice reflected the magnitude of what happened. "What have we done?"

"Don't worry," she said. "They'll think it was the Russians."