Bradigan was roused from sleep by the familiar sound of his alarm clock, the red LEDs showing 6:00am. He punched the button and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He was surrounded by all his things; his wardrobe, his dresser, his bedside table, his slippers on the floor. When he looked at the entrance to his bedroom though, he saw the metal sliding door with accompanying pin pad of Heliarc Enterprises’ secret underground research facility. He got up out of bed and took another look at his assigned room. It was admittedly cozy with a sunken sitting area, intimate dining space, bar, kitchen and spacious bathroom with separate shower and tub; it was just really disconcerting seeing all his things here.
I never should have got in that car, He thought. That woman probably arranged to have my house cleaned out as soon as I did.
Last night, after the demonstration, Valeria had ducked out of the control room, saying she had a meeting to attend that couldn’t wait any longer, and leaving Bradigan with Pip and the two computer technicians. Shortly after that, Doctor Zachariah arrived and invited him to have dinner. The good doctor answered what questions he could but telling Bradigan how it worked seemed to be off the table.
“That’s information for me and my staff only, I’m afraid,” he’d said with a grin.
Bradigan moved to his wardrobe and opened it to his meager collection of shirts and jackets; nothing particularly striking, just what he found comfortable. He selected a rarely worn outfit, something he kept for the uncommon occasions he’d go out, and fetched the accompanying slacks from his dresser. He felt a little embarrassed about being introduced to everyone yesterday in his ragged lounge clothes so he wanted to make up for it. After he’d shaved and showered, he put on his outfit, a simple suit he’d had since college for doing those insufferable speech presentations, and looked at himself in the mirror. Just then, he heard a chime echo through the room. Unsure of where it came from, he heard it once more before a knock on the door allowed him to piece it together.
“Yes? Who’s there?” he asked, approaching the door.
“Good morning, Doctor Bradigan. It’s Pip.”
“Good morning, Miss Stevenson,” he returned. “How do I . . . open this door?”
“Oh, there should be a flashing button on your door pad,” she answered. “It flashes when someone is outside your room.”
Bradigan spotted the button and gave it a press, suddenly a small screen above the pad lit up and he could see Pip out in the hallway. “I can see you now,” he said.
“Good.” She waved to him. “Now just press it again.”
He did so and the door slid open to reveal Pip’s smiling face.
She looked him over. “My, don’t you look sharp this morning. I take it you slept well, Doctor?”
“Well I was in my own bed,” he said, pointing behind himself with his thumb.
“Yes, Miss Davis was rather adamant about getting you moved in as soon as possible.”
“And yet she was in such a hurry last night she still couldn’t tell me why she wants me here.”
“I’m sorry about that. She does tend to overlook small details.”
Bradigan raised an eyebrow. “Small details?”
Suddenly Dr. Zachariah’s voice echoed in the hallway, “It’s rather lively down here this morning, isn’t it?”
“Oh, good morning Doctor Zachariah,” Pip said. “I hope we’re not disturbing you.”
“Not at all, Pip, not at all. Good morning to you both.”
Bradigan followed the duo through the hallways into a lounge area and they all took breakfast together. He was amazed at the choices available and the freshness of the fruit in his yogurt. As they ate and talked, Valeria arrived. Bradigan noticed she was wearing the same suit as last night with a tired look in her eyes. After they greeted her, she sat down next to him.
“Ugh, I’m starving,” she said, grabbing an apple off his tray.
Bradigan rolled his eyes and took another bite of his sausage pancakes.
“After that meeting with the shareholders last night,” Valeria continued, “they carried on for three hours, no joke, I had a party to attend in Milan with Antione and everyone kept asking me all these questions. I didn’t have a chance to get anything to eat all night.” She took a huge bite out of the apple and waved to one of the food prep people who simply nodded at her. Next, she imitated one of the party goers saying, “’Oh, Valeria, how do you stay so thin?’ It’s cause you won’t let me at those Swedish meatballs, woman!”
Pip and Zachariah laughed at her exasperated storytelling. Bradigan kind of just shifted a little away from her, he could feel the eyes of everyone else in the room looking in their direction. He was already catching more glances than he liked for being “the new guy” and this wasn’t helping his anxiety.
Valeria put her hand on his shoulder. “Oh, I’m sorry, Doctor Bradigan. You’re new here and I just waltz in like usual after a long night and start venting to my friends in front of you. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“I don’t care about you venting but everyone is looking over here.”
“I’m sorry, I will endeavor to tone is down a notch.”
With that a meal arrived for Valeria, no doubt her usual order. She quickly took the apple that came with it and placed it on Bradigan’s tray before tying her hair back. Bradigan thought it would best to wait till she finished eating before he asked her any questions, so he listened to her regale the group with more tales from last night. Sometimes, he’d even crack a smile. Suddenly, the conversation shifted to him.
“Doctor Bradigan,” Valeria said. “I know I’ve been stringing you along this whole time. I know you’re probably way out of your comfort zone, but I wanted you to see our little family here before I asked you anything professionally.”
“Trying to show me how happy and neighborly everyone is here?”
“Frankly, yes. We’re a tight-knit group and we’ve been working on this project together for a long time. Everyone here trusts everyone else and I want you to be a part of that.”
“So I take it you’re finally going to tell me why I’m here.”
Valeria pushed her tray away and stood up from the table. “Let’s talk in my office.”
Bradigan followed her through the halls of the complex until they arrived at double doors, each with a relief of that symbol on them, which entered into a modestly sized office space with seating area and bar in the corner. Valeria walked ahead of him and the others, turning around when she reached her desk.
“We’re planning manned expeditions into the past,” she said.
“You what?”
“And we need someone with your expertise here to make sure we don’t screw up the timeline.”
“I thought you said humans couldn’t survive inside the chamber, Doctor.”
Dr. Zachariah nodded. “But we’ve been working on a capsule that will protect two individuals from the cold and radiation for insertion into the tear.”
“And if I refuse?”
“We’ll find someone else.”
“What if I expose your entire operation?”
“Let’s be honest, Doctor,” Valeria said, coming close and looking him hard in the eyes. “There’s not a single secret you can leak that I can’t cover up with my influence. You either take the chance, and the responsibility, of helping us guard the structure of the timeline, or let it fall to someone else who may or may not be as qualified as you. It’s your choice.”
Bradigan had this odd sensation of being both trapped and free at the same time. He felt cornered by the idea of being forced into this position surrounded by all these new people, it made his social anxieties flare up. Equally however, he could feel this burgeoning in his scientific mind that working on this project would allow him the chance for the kind of research no one else in his field could possibly experience. The more he thought, the more he realized a third sensation that grew to smother the others, an utter terror from having knowledge of what was going on here; the unshakeable fear of suddenly waking up one day to being someone completely different, or simply to nonexistence, because something had gone horribly wrong.
“I’ll do it.”
Writer by Grace 