Disclaimer: Time travel is a science fiction concept and/or speculation. The existence of time travel cannot be verified. The author loves playing with scenarios based on logic which may include errors to figure out the types of situations that should be avoided in the future. Feel free to have an open mind and explore possibilities.
SUMMARY
A research team minding their own business, trying to research advanced technology in the area of time travel. But the future has been taken over by the Eastern Alliance… In a desperate battle to hold off extremely powerful telepathic forces with whatever means at their disposal, the research team has to enlist the help of the time sheriffs in a terrifying stand-off against the enemy. Will they be able to get time travel into the hands of NATO?
PROLOGUE – THE DISCOVERY OF TIME TRAVEL
July 16, 2026
“This is Jennifer Frank,” I speak on the phone, “Yes, I am project manager for the Time Research Team. We are part of the Time Travel Research Think Tank organization in Silicon Valley. Am I speaking to the auditors of the Time Travel Research Think Tank?”
A voice comes through on the other side, “Could we please have copies of your grant agreements? We need to read the agreements to ensure that your grant revenue is being properly recorded.”
“We have a U.S. government grant agreement and because I am well thought of in Canada, being a Canadian, we also have a Canadian government grant agreement. Which one would you like to have?”
The auditor responds, “We would like copies of both agreements.”
“Excellent. I will pull it up as quickly as possible and will send it over.”
“That would be wonderful. Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Talk to you tomorrow,” I spin on my chair as I put the phone down. My mind whirls and crunches numbers as I think about the time travel experiments we are conducting. News reports have been talking about a strange crowd of people called time sheriffs. I am not sure whether to believe the stories. But the implication that there are time sheriffs could be a major indication that time travel is indeed possible. But these time sheriffs seem to have made contact with a science fiction author. It sounds very farfetched. But it makes sense that there could be time travel soon if these time sheriffs are on the scene. The race is probably on to discover time travel. Someone is going to discover it first.
I look over to Benjamin Harris, one of the Americans on the team. He is a weird man who likes to conduct all kinds of strange experiments, the perfect scientist. He is quickly typing on his computer and muttering.
I ask, “Benjamin, are we any closer to a result?”
Benjamin grunts, “I think time travel has something to do with quantum theory, the theory of relativity and particle physics. Based on my assessments, the new particle we have discovered has an ability to make electrons within five minutes in its future and five minutes in its past take on the same properties. So we may be able to do something with a coin some time soon.”
“Excellent! Do the others know?”
“Gertruda Gutenberg discovered the particle two days ago, and she recommended we try to copy the effect with a coin.”
“I told you that Gertruda’s education at the University of Berlin would be of great use.”
“Do we have something?” Harry Bosford, our British marketing specialist, comes up with a mug of coffee.
“Yes we do,” Benjamin mutters, “We will do the experiment in two days by recreating the particle and then applying its effects to the coin.
Harry yells, “Miranda, Lily, James, take a look at this! We may have something!”
Miranda shows up, her hair completely wild as always. She looks short-sightedly at the results and claps her hands. She smiles, “We may have something here.”
Lily, a carefully groomed and icy Canadian shows up to look at the screen, “Good! We are making progress!”
Harry chuckles, “Good for the Australians! You, Miranda as an Australian physicist will get to say you were on the front lines of a major discovery. Hey, James! Join us!”
James comes up, a cocky American saunters over. He peers at the screen and nods, “Yes, this looks like we have the right kind of results!”
I am so excited. My eyes look at the television. A news commentator is speaking, “Professor Kowalski of MIT, you are a world-renowned Nobel Physics Prize Nominee. If there are time sheriffs, the implications could be profound. Can you tell us something about what your thoughts on time sheriffs are?”
Professor Kowalski responds, “The implications are massive and far-reaching. It means we are not alone. The presence of time sheriffs alone could explain a lot of things. It could explain why we have not been invaded by aliens. Also we are not alone, and even though the United States of America is the most powerful nation in the world, it probably is not really the most powerful entity on the scene other than God. There could be much more powerful entities watching us from the future and that is a scary thought. Someone is going to discover time travel eventually, so I am pretty sure there will be a massive race to get time travel.”
I turn off the television. I feel so nervous and agitated. How can we get to the front of this race?
July 18, 2026
Benjamin, Lily and Miranda set up the chamber. Harry, Gertruda, James and I watch in the observation room. Miranda places a coin in a lever that moves slowly and continuously. Soon Benjamin and Miranda are in the observation room with us.
Benjamin explains, “If we can get the coin to travel through time five minutes into the future and five minutes into the past, then we should be seeing the coin in three different locations with the levers. But first we have to generate the quatron, the particle that is supposed to copy attributes of anything it touches and replicate it in the future and the past.”
The room whirs and hums as lasers blast into the coin. After a minute, the team observes the results of the experiment. The coin seems to replicate itself and become a long pole.
“Experiment success,” Benjamin smiles, “It looks like we can replicate the properties of a coin five minutes in the future and five minutes in the past.”
Harry looks flabbergasted, “How do we explain this to a layperson?”
Gertruda laughs, “We will explain this to physicists not laypeople.”
Benjamin looks full of himself, “If we can control the properties of the quatron, then I am sure we can replicate objects such as robots and the like in the past or in the future and we could do probe missions to find out what happened in areas such as cold criminal cases or the like.”
We give each other high-fives.
James boasts, “We are going to nail the market with this invention,” and laughs.
I ask Benjamin, “Can you please give me the test results and I will draft up a report as soon as possible. I am pretty sure we will be able to get lots of funding to do even more research. NATO and her allies would greatly benefit from this technology. Let us go to celebrate at the Grays Restaurant in Downtown San Jose.”
There are smiles everywhere.
We drive as a team to the Grays Restaurant in Harry’s SUV. When we arrive, we get seated by the waiter and we get treated to a round of champagne.
I raise a champagne glass, “To the discovery of time travel.”
All the others smile, “To the discovery of time travel.”
Miranda laughs, “We are going to be so rich.”
“Leave that to me to organize,“ Harry chuckles.
We laugh and talk the whole evening, greatly excited by our momentous discovery.
CHAPTER 1 – CEASE AND DESIST ORDER
Real Life – July 19, 2026
I am in the office kitchen preparing my coffee to start the day. The coffee is ready in about a minute and I take it to my computer and put it to the side. I turn on the computer. Everything starts normally. I open up Word to start my report. I see the words, “By order of the united human races of the future, you have been issued a cease and desist order. Do not proceed with your research or risk retribution.”
Shocked I look at it again and call the IT specialist. Within a few moments, I have him on my computer looking for viruses. The IT specialist chats with me by chat message, “I don’t see any viruses or Trojans on your computer. I cannot see that message you were talking about.”
I respond, “What do you mean? It is right on my screen!”
“There is nothing on your computer.”
“IT IS RIGHT THERE!”
“I don’t see anything on your computer.”
Shaking, I tell him, “Thanks!”
I look at my computer, and I can still see the words.
I start picking up thoughts, Jennifer Frank, we have a nasty situation brewing here in the future. Everybody in the future thinks you are doing this to benefit the United States of America. The problem is that people are saying the USA has had a streak of bad presidents and the United States of America is no longer the greatest nation in the world. In fact, there are a number of Communist Empire-descended nations that are much stronger than the United States in our time zone and they have managed to convince the Senate of the future that Communist Empire should be the first to discover time travel. They have been complaining that the United States could use time travel to bring about their plans for world domination. Everybody is saying the United States of America is not the great nation it used to be, that the democratic experiment is falling apart, that there is too much division and that it is time for her to step aside and let better nations lead the world. They say that the United States has had its time under the sun.
I think back, Are you time sheriffs?
We know the time sheriffs, but we are the representatives of the United States of America from the future. The USA is no longer the most powerful nation in our time zone and has been greatly outnumbered by other nations. It will be very difficult to convince the Senate of the future to allow the United States to discover time travel. The Senate has overruled the time sheriffs and has issued you a cease and desist order. The wishes of the Senate are that you let Communist Empire discover time travel first.
I respond, I am Canadian! Do you understand that? I am Canadian! I may be from Alberta but I am Canadian. Does that make any difference?
We realize you are Canadian, but you are in the United States of America. As long as you are on American territory, everybody here assumes that you are working for the Americans.
This is critical technology to discover. Time travel technology would be a major asset for NATO. We CANNOT just back down from the discovery of time travel.
The cease and desist order has been issued already. There isn’t very much we can do. The Communist Empire of the future may have the Senate of the future in their back pockets, but it won’t help you to get bitter about this.
NO!!! I AM NOT BACKING DOWN!!!
A cease and desist order is a very serious situation. The methods of the enemies of the United States of America in the future can be very extreme. The time sheriffs could be overruled by the Senate of the future and you would have little or no protection.
I AM NOT BACKING DOWN!!! We discovered this technology first and we are going ahead with it! We are so NOT backing down!
Very well! I will deliver your message to the Senate of the future.
I look at my computer and the message has disappeared off my computer. Shaking, I try to steady my nerves. What does this cease and desist order mean for all of us?
Miranda comes into my office. I must have hidden my shock well, because she tells me about a dream that she has had, “I was dreaming that there was a large fleet of ships steaming from the United States to Britain.”
Convoy Visualization – July 19, 2026
“There were seven corvettes. Corvettes are small anti-submarine ships that protected convoys of ships during World War 2. The seven corvettes were named the H.M.C.S. Jennifer, the H.M.C.S. Lily, the U.S.S. Benjamin, the U.S.S. James, the H.M.A.S. Miranda, the D.S. Gertruda and the H.M.S. Harry. There were two battleships, the H.M.C.S. Grant and the U.S.S. Grant. Then there were a whole lot of other transport ships each named after the family members of our team. There was also a cargo ship carrying special technology called the U.S.S. Time Warp.”
“Apparently the seven corvettes and the two battleships are supposed to protect this entire fleet and they are taking the fleet to Great Britain which is the gateway to the rest of the world. It was so glorious to see the huge fleet of ships making its way through the waters.”
Real Life – July 19, 2026
I sigh, “Miranda, that is just a dream! Seriously!”
“I know. But it was really cool!”
Shaking off my nerves, I try to collect my thoughts, What is going to happen to us if the future is making war on us? But we cannot back down. It would be wrong. Unethical. Who knows what the Communist Empire could do with technology like this?
Miranda asks me, “Did I say something wrong?”
“No,” I answer, “You didn’t say anything wrong. I am just concerned that if time travel is discovered in the United States of America now, then the enemies of the United States from across the whole timeline may come after us. And that is a scary thought.”
“Well, we aren’t traveling through time are we? They would have rules about people traveling through time, but not five minutes into the future and the past.”
“No we aren’t traveling through time, but we may be the reason that the United States uses time travel to protect itself, which could cause America’s enemies from the future to come after her. We wouldn’t just be dealing with America’s enemies from now, but also from across the whole timeline.”
“We are just a bunch of scientists who have discovered how to make a coin travel through time five minutes into the future and five minutes into the past. And besides if there are time sheriffs, they would keep this sort of stuff under control.”
“Depends how much influence they have in the future. I am pretty sure they would be able to deal with all the normal cases, but we are dealing with the discovery of time travel here. This is a big deal and all the main players in the future will start manoeuvring. They would have to be really careful how the handle a situation like that. It would be very political and could get very ugly very fast.”
“Well time sheriffs are just the stuff of science fiction.”
“We have discovered time travel. Why would there not be police for the subject of time travel?”
“Do you think America is as big as it is… because… of time travel?”
Desperate not to say too much too early, I respond, “I don’t know. I think we may be wading into a big political mess here. We may have to be very careful. We are going to have to have a lot of guts to see this project through to completion.”
“I am pretty sure we will be OK. We just managed to transport a coin. Big deal!”
I say nothing, terrified I will frighten my employees.
Benjamin shows up and laughs, “I managed to do the same thing with a piece of wood. The piece of wood became a plank. The quatron should be our ticket to proving that time travel is real. This is so cool! They will say an African-American was the first to discover time travel.”
“What happened to the coin turned rod?” I ask.
“It sort of became a coin again.”
“And the piece of wood turned into a plank?”
“It became a piece of wood again.”
“Could you replicate this experiment for our grantors in the US government and the Canadian government? We need the grant money to do further research. Our own seed money will only last us a year.”
“I would love to. It will be the spectacle of the century.”
“Can you explain the science to me again?”
“Basically the quatron copies the properties of any item onto electrons, protons and neutrons in the air a certain amount of time in the future and a certain amount of time in the past, making the electrons, protons and neutrons in that space take on the same properties. This effectively copies the item into the past and the future. You can set the amount of time by messing with the spin of the quatron.”
“Can you turn this discovery into a workable solution for time travel?”
“Yes. It should be possible to copy a drone or a robot into the past or the future and use it to perform tasks in the past and the future. We could use it for all sorts of things like cold cases and rescue efforts.”
Gertruda comes in, “I have been working on setting the spin of the quatron. It seems to have a range of 500 years based on my calculations. We would be able to solve the mysteries of the last 500 years.”
Lily joins us and listens in silently.
I am very excited, “This is such good news. Can you make a record of your calculations and your experiments so that we can show the grantors?”
“Absolutely.”
Lily sighs, “If I were in charge, I would do things differently. I would do more research. But no I am not in charge, so I am left with these incompetents.”
Everybody looks at her angrily. Benjamin vents, “Speak for yourself!”
Lily walks out.
Gertruda looks at me, “We are doing great. Don’t listen to her.”
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 19, 2026
I am fast asleep. I dream I am sort of Joan of Arc leader. I command an army of knights, foot soldiers and mercenaries. We are busy garrisoning a powerful castle. I can see battlements everywhere with soldiers manning them. There are catapults at various strategic points.
A knight walks up to me, “Commander Jennifer Frank, the leader of our enemy has sent an envoy to talk terms with us.”
“Bring him to me.”
The knight brings the envoy to me.
“Why are you working for the General, being of my nation?”
“The General has taken our village and is holding our children ransom.”
I look at him, “What does the General want from me?”
The envoy speaks, “The General wants to discuss the terms of your surrender. If you surrender Castle Rock of Time, he will let you go in peace, unharmed.”
I respond, “We will never surrender! Not ever! We will send him packing!”
The envoy rejoins, “The various surrounding nations have joined with the General because they view him as too powerful to fight. I do not think that you will prevail against the General.”
“Says who?” I say, “Says the General? I think he has greatly underestimated me. Take this message back to your General. He is going down!”
Real Life – July 19, 2026
I wake in a fright, What interesting dreams. First a dream about a convoy and now a dream about castles. What does all of this mean?
CHAPTER 2 – GETTING STUBBORN
Real Life – July 20, 2026
As I drive to work, I am so angry. How could the future cave in to the demands of the Communist Empire of the future? We discovered time travel first! We earned it, so there!
I pick up a thought, You were issued a cease and desist order yesterday. By order of the future, you are being issued a warning that failure to comply could result in serious retribution. This is your first warning! Cease and desist!
I respond, To hell with you! I am not complying with people who manipulate the situation so that the enemies of Canada and the United States of America will prevail. I am sticking to my guns. Do you understand?
Do you acknowledge that you have been warned that serious action may be undertaken against you? Failure to comply may result in serious harm being done to you and your business. You have no idea what kind of force we may apply against you.
I am sticking to my guns here! You are NOT intimidating me!
Very well, fool! We will give you two more warnings and then we will attack you.
Angrily, I continue driving.
Suddenly I pick up another thought, Sorry about that. We are time sheriffs from a later time zone than the crowd that has been bothering you just now. We are very sympathetic to your situation but we are limited in what we can do in this situation given how political everything has become, and these guys got to you first. We were asked to give you some pointers though that may help you and to tactically help you to succeed with discrete interventions at various points.
Time travel is an intensely political subject and will always be a political subject. It is so political that even science fiction authors who write about time travel and time sheriffs have been known to get hurt. Once it becomes possible, all the players in the future as well as all the world powers in the present are going to start manoeuvring to control the situation. So you need to be able to fight and hold your ground.
You are scientists with a marketer. That is very good. However, when you deal with any movement in time travel, you need people who can take a major mental beating and still bounce back. You will likely run into telepaths, and believe me, they are very, very rough. Sometimes it will be like playing mental rugby or mental American Football. You also need a good helping of political common sense, because everybody who doesn’t like you or your people will be whining about what you or your people will do with the situation. You need to be able to make decisions well under pressure and also perform excellent mental and emotional stewardship of yourself. You also need to be assertive and you need to know which battles to pick. Don’t just back down just because someone from the future intimidated you, but don’t push your agenda too far either.
The other thing is that time sheriffs, regular people from the future, spirits and Jesus are all completely different entities and they all exist. Never get them mixed up. Knowing which one of the four you have encountered is everything. You need to be able to test what you pick up to identify which of the four you have encountered. Since all four of these entities can connect to your mind, things like visions, predictions about the future, impressions, thoughts, dreams, disembodied voices and anything like that should be very carefully tested, even though there is some truth to them. This is important as there are all kinds of cringeworthy horror stories of impersonation in this domain. For example, people should test what they pick up against a realistic view of the world before they rely on anything from this domain. Also, Christians should test that what they pick up is consistent with the Bible and the Biblical view of the nature of God before they assume they are listening to God. The key word is test, test, test. Never ever get mixed up between entities in this area.
The job of time sheriffs is to protect people like you from people from the future, but because of the nature of time travel, the means of doing so can get very complicated. You will hear from us along the way. Sorry about the rough treatment, but the problem is you have waded into deep political waters and we are a bit limited as to what we can do.
I respond, Can you please just deal with the guys who are coming after us?
In time, Jennifer, in time. But we have to do this in a way that keeps the situation together so it will not make sense right away.
I continue driving. Arriving at the office, I go into the office to find the others already working excitedly to develop our new invention. Harry is busy making a marketing plan to market our new invention, and is trying to understand what we have done so that he can sell it to the grantors. Miranda and Benjamin are working with Gertruda to perfect the Jenny quatron. I sit down with Harry, and we start talking about the invention.
Harry enthuses, “This is so cool, that we have discovered a means of time travel. We could sell it to the Canadian and American governments by talking first about a cold case and a failed rescue mission. We can push the sympathy button for the plight of the victims, and then we drop the idea that we can rescue them. Here is the quatron! We should probably have some sort of sphere in the middle and two more on the sides and how we can copy a robot into the past and the future and have it do tasks in the past, present and future. And the victim is saved! And everybody will cheer! We have discovered time travel! Hurrah!!!!”
James stands to the side. Arrogantly, he waves his hand in the air, “We are going to get this! We are going to leave everybody in the dust! Anybody who tries to take this from us will be destroyed!”
I love Harry’s and James’s enthusiasm, but the terrible feeling of foreboding is ever present. Like something is watching us. Something that can use quatrons or whatever technology is in the future.
Suddenly the lights turn red. Miranda screams. Benjamin comes running in to check on us. Gertruda goes into a panic attack. Harry looks about, vividly shocked. Lily shrieks. James starts shaking like a leaf. A robotic voice speaks, “This is the second warning. You have failed to obey a cease and desist order. Failure to stop all work on time travel could lead to serious retribution including potential attack on your families and your careers. The right to discover time travel has been given to Communist Empire. You will cease and desist, otherwise you will be destroyed!”
The lights return to their natural colour.
My blood is boiling with anger. Gertruda is sobbing from fright. Benjamin and Harry look at me, unsure at what is happening. Miranda is shivering. James is battling to stay calm. Lily is fuming.
I speak, “We are dealing with time travel here, people! The enemies of the United States and Canada want to give this technology to the enemies of our country! I say we will not let them do that! We are going to hang in there and get this technology before the Communist Empire does! Over our dead bodies will this technology be taken away from us!”
“Didn’t you hear that voice?” Benjamin shouts, “Somebody could get hurt!”
I snarl, “EVERYBODY in this country will get hurt if this technology goes to the Communist Empire! We are fricking well sticking to our guns! We will stare these creeps down!”
Harry nods in agreement, “Old chap! You have no idea what time travel could do to the timeline! We got to get somebody to make sure that time travel is properly legislated!”
Benjamin tries to reason with me, “You are a Canadian. Just say you are sorry!”
I yell to the air, “Sorry! I am going to have to beat you guys up!”
Harry claps his hands, “Hear! Hear! You guys are going to go down!”
Benjamin raises his hands in the air in exasperation, “Where is the Canadian spirit of ‘I am sorry’ when you need it?”
Miranda yells, “You are never going to take us down! We are sticking to it!”
Gertruda marches in and screams, “You scare me like that again and I am going to give you hell!”
There is silence.
Lily rounds on me, “You STUPID DWEEB!!! You are going to get us killed! I have to rescue this project from you and your incompetent friends! If I were in charge, I would keep everybody safe from those types in the future! We have to make friends with them, work with them, maybe even give the Communist Empire the technology so they can pass it onto us.”
My eyes narrow at her, “GET LOST!!!”
Lily’s lip curls as she snarls, “Ohhh… I am going to show you! Piece of incompetent! I will talk to the US government and get my own team!”
She marches off.
Angrily, I say, “Let us get back to work and show those idiots from the future up!”
Everybody nods in agreement and goes back to work. I continue my meeting with Harry. He tries to continue talking, but I can see he is shaky, “We should… um… we should try to get a few other government grants if… um… if possible.”
Miranda yells in frustration, “Seriously! My concentration is cooked! Fricking idiots!”
“How could they take our discovery away from us,” Gertruda vents, “Morons!”
Benjamin grunts, “Seriously! I cannot type!”
Harry sits down to stop himself from shaking, but he bravely smiles, “We are going to show those idiots up!”
I nod, but I cannot help but feel that emotions will get us nowhere. That our opponents can handle emotional people like a matador does a bull. Finally, I say, “Stay calm, everybody! Stay calm, everybody! Let us stay dead calm and fight this enemy the right way.”
I suddenly pick up a thought, Time sheriffs here. Do NOT get angry or paranoid. Be calm, collected and strategic in how you respond. Emotions will get in the way and take all of you out. Stay calm. This is a very frightening situation prepared by experts who have studied how people respond under pressure. Do NOT fall into the trap of responding emotionally. Excessive fear, anger and worry will end up taking you out. They are signals something is wrong but do not give them the time of the day.
I look at everybody, “Stay calm. We will figure this situation out. We should not respond emotionally.”
I take a quick look at Benjamin, Gertruda and Miranda. They are pale as sheets. They have been so badly frightened that their hands are not moving right.
Suddenly the lights go red again and there is a shrill whine, “This is the third warning! Failure to cease and desist from seeking time travel technology will lead to the most serious of consequences! You and your families may experience significant retribution! The United States of America has been disqualified from getting time travel technology! The discovery of this technology will be given to Communist Empire! You WILL CEASE AND DESIST!”
I yell, “Hold the line! Keep working!”
The red light remains. I wonder how the lights could go red.
The robotic voice rumbles, “You WILL CEASE AND DESIST!”
I roar, “Hold the line! Keep working!”
There is shrill whining, “CEASE AND DESIST!!! THAT IS AN ORDER!!!”
I shout, “KEEP WORKING!!!”
Suddenly a man’s voice comes through, “Your protections as neutral civilians have been removed. You will be treated as enemies of the future!”
I scream, “KEEP WORKING!!!”
The lights go back to normal.
“Fools! You will be destroyed,” the man’s voice comes through.
I respond, “To hell with you!”
“We have done our best to dissuade you! You will be destroyed!”
I shrug and talk to Harry, “I am sorry about that minor interruption. Let us continue with your presentation.”
James is shaking. He has soiled his pants, “I don’t want to disappoint you, but I didn’t sign up for this. I think my talents would be put to better use elsewhere.”
I walk up to him and cross my arms.
James looks down, “Look these guys sound dangerous. I want out.”
I stare at him angrily.
James picks up his coat and leaves in a hurry.
There is silence. I turn to the others, “We are going to show these fools from the future what they are messing with! ARE YOU WITH ME?”
The others nod awkwardly.
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 20, 2026
That night, I struggle to go to sleep. But finally I waft off into the land of slumber.
Once again, I am that lady knight in armour, Commander Jennifer Frank. I am in the hall discussing strategy with my soldiers, when a man comes running in, “Commander! The General’s army is visible! They have three hundred thousand soldiers and siege equipment!”
One of my captains responds, “Commander! We only have fifteen thousand soldiers here! We are greatly outnumbered! We lost two thousand of our soldiers to fear! They got outside the walls and ran!”
“We are going to guard this castle! Over our dead bodies will the General take this castle! We will fight and we will win! Let us go to see the army!”
I walk to the battlements with my captains and lieutenants. I can see in the distance a huge army, spread over the horizon like a glistening ocean. I can see the soldiers getting visibly nervous. I yell, “Hold the line! We are going to hold this fort against all opponents!”
CHAPTER 3 – ATTACK FROM THE FUTURE
Real Life – July 21, 2026
I try to work on my computer, still a bit shaky from the day before. I open my e-mail software. I look at the first e-mail to pop up. The message reads,
Dear Jennifer,
It is with deepest regret that we have to inform your research group that you no longer qualify for funding from the United States government. We have identified based on feedback from a member of your group that your group does not meet minimum security clearance standards. Your funding will be pulled effective immediately.
Sincerely,
Graham Hunt
Research Commissioner
I want to choke, We need the funds!!! How can this happen to us!!!
I quickly grab the phone and try to phone him. Getting through to him, I speak, “Why are you pulling funds? Why? What have we done to deserve this? Why don’t we meet security clearance standards?”
He sounds visibly nervous, “You just don’t meet security clearance standards.”
I yell, “GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF HOW I DON’T MEET SECURITY CLEARANCE STANDARDS!”
He mumbles, “You just don’t.”
“WHO TOLD YOU THAT?”
He sounds unhappy, “We will be giving our funding to Lily instead.”
I howl from anger, “WHAT THE HELL DOES SHE KNOW!”
I hang up angrily. Half of our funding! Gone! Just like that!
I look at my e-mail again and see an e-mail from the Canadian government. Frightened, I read it.
Dear Jennifer,
Unfortunately, it has come to our attention that the United States government has removed your security clearance. This leaves us with no option but to follow suit and pull your funding immediately.
Sincerely,
Mary Dean
I want to curl on the ground and cry, but I try to put on a brave face. We just lost three quarters of our funding! What do we do?
Benjamin comes in, looking worried, “These red burn marks appeared on my wife, Patricia’s legs. They hurt her like fire. She says she is not allergic to anything. I don’t know how to explain this. It is very concerning.”
I respond, “We will make sure a doctor looks at that.”
He looks at me, “Thanks. Is everything OK, Jennifer?”
“We just lost some financing, but we will get it back another way.”
Gertruda comes in and sits down, “Heinrich, my husband has insomnia for the first time in his life. He says he is experiencing a terrible sense of foreboding, and it is keeping him from sleeping. Like something really bad is going to happen. He cannot shake it. He just started crying for no reason. I hope he will be OK.”
I look at her, “You will probably find out what is going on. Take your husband to the doctor and have him seen to.”
Harry groans, “I haven’t felt like this in ages, but I feel so down. Like if I could just get on a bridge and jump off it would be great.”
I rush to him, “Don’t talk like that! Suicide is wrong! It is not the answer! You can do this! Hang in there!”
Miranda starts having a panic attack and starts sobbing, “I don’t know why I feel like this! I feel like I am so out of control! I am so scared and I don’t know why! Like this feeling of terror is pounding on my system! I had a dream and it went like this!”
Convoy Visualization – July 21, 2026
“The convoy was sailing fast, cresting the rolling waves. But then the torpedoes came. Three torpedoes hit the U.S.S. Grant. It started sinking and keeled over. Two torpedoes hit the H.M.C.S. Grant in its arsenal and it exploded in flames. A torpedo hit the D.S. Heinrich, a transport ship, severely damaging it. Another hit the H.M.S. Happiness and it is now smoking. And another hit the H.M.A.S. Confidence, causing it keel slightly but still move. The last one hit the U.S.S. Patricia, crippling it. The U.S.S. James fled with a bunch of transport ships. The H.M.C.S. Lily mutinied with several transport ships and sailed off to join the Communist Empire fleet. The other ships gathered survivors from the ships that had sunk.”
Real Life – July 21, 2026
I speak, “Stay calm, everybody! Don’t worry! We will get through this!”
Harry starts crying, “I don’t know why I am feeling like this.”
“Stay calm!” I hold my hands up, “We will figure this out!”
Benjamin grunts, “We will get this time travel technology and we will get credit for it!”
“That is the spirit!” I respond, “If we are cowards, we will have nothing to show for our hard work!”
Miranda sobs, “I feel so awful!”
Gertruda scowls, “We will take these guys from the future down!”
Miranda gestures, “How are we going to do that? We cannot get at them.”
I get a thought again, Time sheriffs here! We are attempting to build a case here so that we can override the wishes of the nations involved in this mess. Their descendant nations are trying to cover for them in our time zone and are getting in the way. Please try to stick to your guns. Cowardice, dithering and time travel do not agree. You could lose everything you have fought so hard for if you run away at this point. Hold your ground and try to hang in there.
Remember, you are dealing with people who can read and influence your minds. You need to practise excellent emotional and mental management, as well as good venting. A mental assault may take the form of destructive thoughts being substituted for your own thoughts, or mental thought tapes that are extremist types of thinking that are either too nice or too harsh, or too facetious, or too egoistic or too something or other. Other assaults may include getting in your face, or beating you down with negative statements, or attempting to intimidate you with the political or similar situations around your life or your nation. Mental assaults can last a while, and if you are not disciplined enough, may last even longer. It is a bit like a tornado moves through your thoughts. Telepaths are always stronger and faster than you are, so there is no point outwitting or strong-arming them and they can easily handle any kind of emotional or reactive thinking, so that won’t impress them either.
Imbalanced thinking kills confidence and balanced thinking builds confidence. You need to define the boundaries of what balanced thinking is on each subject and come up with pithy statements that define these boundaries. You need to be able to relax in high pressure situations, but also defend yourself on short notice. You will suddenly be ambushed at various points in areas of mental weakness, and you need to have these pithy statements ready on short notice. Saying these pithy statements to yourself will help you stay balanced in your thinking when the tornado moves through. Three to five pithy statements that summarize the boundaries of balanced thinking for each area should do the trick. For Christians, Bible verses work just as well.
If you get a massive mental assault designed to make you paranoid, you need to cycle through statements such as ‘assume the best,’ ‘do not jump to conclusions,’ ‘do not overthink,’ ‘this too shall pass’ and ‘don’t overshare with the wrong people.’ These statements mark out the boundaries of acceptable thinking around paranoia and keep you in that territory in the middle of the assault, when it is too difficult to think higher order thoughts. Alternatively, if you get a massive mental assault designed to make you bitter and vengeful, then you need to cycle through statements such as ‘an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,’ ‘two wrongs don’t make a right,’ and ‘all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to look away.’ Again, these statements mark out the boundaries of acceptable thinking around bitter, vengeful thinking and keep you in that territory in the middle of the attack. Failing to do this could mean your thinking could get overwritten with the destructive thought processes, which will mean you will get taken out.
The other thing is vent. Do not get yourself into a situation where your pressure cooker personality explodes. Vent strategically and safely – punch a pillow when nobody is looking – write out your complaints in a journal. Practise staying calm and relaxing. Music is excellent for this purpose as is physical activity.
I feel overwhelmed, That is a lot to share.
Hang on, we are trying to prevent the whole situation from falling apart. Once we have built the case to defend your team, we will be able to help you better.
I respond, What would be involved?
Let us take care of that, but we will offer suggestions along the way that should help you make good, strategic decisions that could save the day.
Miranda looks at me, “You’ve been quiet for a while. Is everything OK?”
I sigh, “Yeah. I am trying to decide what to do here.”
Benjamin answers, “We need a plan.”
I turn to him, “Why don’t we all take the day and the weekend off and think about what we are going to do about the situation?”
Gertruda looks concerned, “Are we going to give up?”
I scowl, “No! We are not giving up! We just need a plan. We need to think.”
Sleep – July 21, 2026
I am fast asleep. Once more I am Commander Jennifer Frank guarding Castle Rock of Time. I can see a vast army surrounding the castle. They are armed with guns and cannon. All my forces have is longbowmen, swordsmen, trebuchets and a castle with walls of granite. 5,000 mercenaries have made a break for it, escaping from the castle when nobody was looking and running away. Ten thousand longbowmen and swordsmen with a large number of trebuchets castle versus three hundred thousand musketeers and cannon. This is a completely unequal fight.
I can see the fear in my men’s eyes. They know that this is very bad. There is no way out, and we are outgunned and outnumbered. How will we defend this castle? Should we just surrender? Is that the way forward? And throw away everything? Literally everything?
I wake from my dream.
CHAPTER 4 – SENT REELING
Real Life – July 23, 2026
I am watching television at night. Depressed. So depressed. We got so far and we were this close to getting our time travel discovery out there and now this! How can we fight such powerful forces? They could steamroll us any time. No grants. Everybody getting hurt. Is it right to put my employees and their families in harm’s way. Maybe we could just give up. Then everybody will be safe. Canada and the United States would last a little longer and then be taken out. That would be easier. Easier than facing this storm. It is just too hard.
I sit there. I feel like crawling into myself and just giving up.What is the point? What was the point to it all? We were so close.
I look at the calendar. Sunday. How are we going to be able to do anything without any funding? How are we even going to make anything work?
I recall the e-mails I have received from the others earlier in the day. Harry has told he has called the suicide hotline. He tells me of the terrible thoughts that gang up on him, convincing him to end his life. I remember my panicked e-mails telling him not to kill himself. Harry seems to be hanging by a thread.
Benjamin has told me that the medical doctors haven’t been able to find the reason for the burn marks on his wife’s legs. His wife is terrified that something bad will happen, as though there is a terrible force out to get them. And he is trying to keep her calm.
Gertruda has been woken up on Saturday night by her husband sobbing as he slept. A horrible vise of fear has clutched his heart, that something very bad is wrong. He cannot shake his great feelings of fear.
And then there was the e-mail from Miranda.
Convoy Visualization – July 22, 2026
Hi Jennifer,
I cannot help feeling terrified. There is an awful sensation that something evil is going to happen. Like we have been sucked into a horror story.
I thought I should share with you my last dream.
The captains of the five corvettes were talking to one another. The captain of the H.M.C.S. Jennifer was saying, “We may have to pull out and save the rest of the fleet, and let the U.S.S. Time Warp get sunk. It is the primary target.”
The captain of the U.S.S. Benjamin responds, “I second that. This is too difficult a situation for us to handle and we have to save everybody else.”
Anyway, that was the dream.
Hope you are well.
Miranda
Real Life – July 23, 2026
I sit there, dwelling. We worked so hard. We worked so, so hard. We were so close to success and now this. Will the United States of America and Canada be OK if we let this opportunity slip through our hands?
I sigh. I feel like the five of us are trying to pull a tug-of-war rope knot into the arena of the United States and Canada and our opponents are too powerful. Maybe we should … just… let… go.
I envisage the tug-of-war knot moving closer to Communist Empire territory. It creeps closer and closer to the Communist Empire side. Soon it is just an inch away.
I pick up a thought, Do you need a hand?
I get the sense that there are more than the five of us pulling on the tug-of-war rope, dragging the knot firmly into American and Canadian territory.
Time sheriffs here. Do not react with your emotions. React with your brains. What would make nations from the future react well? What would make nations from the future react badly? What are the nations of the future worried about? Why are they worried about the United States getting this technology? Is there a way around this? How do you build confidence that the nations of the future have that you will not abuse this technology? How do you make the nations of the future go against those nations that would support the Communist Empire? How do you meet the needs of all the stakeholders in this situation? Is there a good compromise that works for every party? If you don’t know what the concerns of the future are, try triangulating them from the other information you have using logic. Is there a way to document what is happening so that friendly forces can help you? Respond to this threat in a strategic way.
This is not rocket science. I know you are worried about your employees, but there are ways of overcoming these negative emotions that they are having. There are all kinds of techniques of doing so. With enough practice and self-discipline, you can all manage your thinking, even while under attack. You need confidence and assertiveness. Take training in managing your thoughts and staying calm under pressure. Try saying pithy statements to yourselves. Try playing music. Try exercising. Try venting safely. You can do this.
The feelings of anger return. How dare those yahoos from the future try to take the discovery of time travel away from us. We got the technology first. It is ours by right of discovery!
The time sheriff responds, That is exactly why we are helping you. You were first to discover the technology and taking this discovery away from you is wholesale cheating on behalf of the Communist Empire. It is also the use of time travel to conduct politically motivated interference with an important scientific discovery, something that most time sheriff organizations in the future strongly disagree with.
I start feeling better, You will protect us, right?
The response comes, We need to build a case. It gets very complicated to build a case when time travel is involved. Once the elements of the case are organized, we will be able to steamroll your opposition.
I sigh, How long will that be?
However long it needs to take.
So we need to come up with a strategy for self-defense.
Exactly. Go to work tomorrow and discuss your plans with your employees
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 23, 2026
As the Joan of Arc figure, I can see the fear in the eyes of my men. All they have is bows, arrows, swords and trebuchets, and the enemy has muskets. I can hear some of them talking about surrender, how they must not trust a woman to lead them.
I look over the battlements to see hundreds of thousands of muskets trained on the castle. How are we going to survive?
I think to myself, We need to come up with a strategy for self-defense.
CHAPTER 5 – FORMULATING A STRATEGY FOR SELF-DEFENSE
Real Life – July 24, 2026
“Listen to me everybody,” I speak, “We are under attack. We need a strategy to defend our work and our families, as well as ourselves. Just so you know, the situation is that our discovery of time travel has been detected by the future. There appear to be two camps from the future. One camp supports the Communist Empire of today and is probably made up of Communist Empire descended nations from the future and appears to have convinced the future that the United States is no longer a great nation and that better nations need to lead the world now. The other group calls themselves time sheriffs, who appear to believe that we should retain the rights to the discovery of time travel. The time sheriffs say they are stronger but they need to build a case before they can steamroll our opponents. I don’t know how long that will take.”
“There have been suggestions so far that we need to build support from the future, consider their concerns and to build confidence that we will not abuse the technology of time travel. We also need ideas for documenting what happens here and also for how to build our case so that we can get help from friendly forces. We also need ideas for managing our thought and emotional processes so that we can be an effective team. Is everybody on board with this?”
Harry nods, “I feel awful but I think we shouldn’t run from a fight.”
Benjamin smiles, “Let us take our opposition down. We cannot let them have what they want.”
Miranda swallows, “Let us hang in there and stare them down.”
Gertruda scowls, “I want to take them out for going after my husband.”
I walk to a white board, “I want ideas for how we are going to build the confidence that the future has that we will not abuse the technology of time travel and also how we will address their concerns. One idea I have is to make it clear that it is in the interests of the United States and Canada to act in the best interests of all nations, by ensuring that the technology of time travel is not abused by dangerous types.”
Benjamin shouts out, “We could suggest that time sheriffs could be created so that time travel is not abused and help build the frameworks for managing time travel.”
“Good one,” I write the note on the board, “Anybody else?”
“Since we lost our grant income, maybe we should freely share the technology with all the member nations of NATO. That would dampen the concerns the future would have that we would abuse the technology,” Gertruda suggests.
I think about it before writing it on the board, “We may need to be careful with that one. That would depend on how things play out.”
Miranda is next, “We could frame our discovery in words that suggest we will benefit everybody, not just the USA and Canada with the new technology. We could talk about the applications for the new technology such as solving cold cases and rescue missions. We should probably avoid using terms that involve military applications.”
“That is a thought,” I respond.
“We could say we are a very international team, and make a spin on that,” Harry thinks aloud.
“Good thought. Any other ideas?”
There is silence.
“Okay, everybody. Next up. We need to document what happens to us so that we can get help with what we are dealing with by an entity such as time sheriffs. Also we need to build our case so that the time sheriffs can defend us. One idea I have is to create paperwork that supports the creation of controls over time travel so that time sheriffs can support us based on the premise that we are making time travel safe and are not abusing it. Do you have any suggestions?”
Harry shouts out, “Let us create a special document that logs what happens to each of us and to our families. Anything out of the ordinary, and we keep it in a safe, secure place for us to use when in trouble.”
I give him a thumbs up, “That is a good idea. Any other ideas?”
Miranda responds, “Those of us that are having emotional health issues could log counselor visits and other medical visits to try to help build our cases for the time sheriffs to get a sympathy vote on our behalf.”
Benjamin adds, “We could document our research findings and date them clearly so that the time sheriffs clearly know we discovered the technology first.”
“Excellent ideas, both of you,” I write both notes down.
Gertruda points out thoughtfully, “We could make a big deal of the loss of the grant income and the fact that there was no specific reason that we lost our security clearance, as well as the really pusillanimous response from the granting government authority.”
“Any other ideas?”
There is silence.
“Okay. Any ideas for how we can build our mental, emotional and teamwork resilience? We need to work as a team and present a united front against our enemies from the future. I know the time sheriffs suggested that we come up with pithy statements that mark the boundaries of balanced thinking and then to cycle through the pithy statements when under attack. So I will write that down. Any other ideas?”
Gertruda responds, “We need to psych each other up. Note how all those sports teams have chants and rituals to make them function as a team. We should do some of those.”
Miranda adds, “We could also try exercise, music, sleep and venting.”
“Good ideas,” the two points get added to the board.
Harry thumps the table, “I have a thought. We could journal what we are thinking about, and come up with ways of improving the quality of our thinking. Sort of reject the bad thoughts and have positive self-talk to make ourselves positive.”
Benjamin raises his hand in the air, “We need to practice being assertive while being calm. If these bad guys get in our faces, we have to calmly tell them that we are not interested in what they think of us, we are just going to do what we have to do.”
“Now we need strategies to protect our families and our associates. An idea I have is to have a policy of free and honest communication with them so that we know if there are any problems that we need to deal with. Anybody else?”
Harry adds, “We could also ensure that they are all trained up on methods of venting and managing their emotions and thoughts.”
Miranda shouts out, “We need to do lots of bonding exercises, such as playing sports with them and doing fun family activities with them. Give them the attention that they need.”
“Good thoughts,” I write both points down.
Benjamin smiles, “We could get our family members pets to keep their focus on something that is cute and adorable and away from things that would mess with their thoughts.”
Gertruda clicks her fingers, “We could also get them plugged into group activities to help them make friends which would help stem the damage, if any.”
“All good ideas. Anything else?”
Everybody looks at everybody.
“No more ideas? Very well then. We need to incorporate all of these strategies into what we are doing. Make sure your families are taken care of. I want everybody to exercise, listen to music, get enough food, eat right, vent safely whenever necessary and to have journals to help with getting the right type of thinking into our heads. I want all of us to do teambuilding exercises as well as assertiveness training. For the time sheriffs to use as case material, I would like the research notes from Benjamin, and I will add the information about the poor excuse for why security clearance was taken from us as well as the counseling and medical visits most of us are having. I want all of you to have a log of what is happening in your lives and your family’s lives and to submit that to me as well. We will keep all of that information in a single place. I will also prepare strategic selling points for our technology. I will mention how time sheriffs need to be created, discuss some frameworks for the application of time travel based on our research that are not military or political in nature, and I will also mention that we are a very international team. I will try to come up with more ideas to make everything more saleable.”
Miranda smiles, “I love that we have a plan. I wanted to tell you about that weird convoy that I keep on dreaming about.”
Convoy Visualization – July 24, 2026
“Captain Jennifer of the H.M.C.S. Jennifer, this is Captain Stout of the H.M.S. Endurance. We understand you are under attack by a wolf pack of enemy submarines and that you are not equipped with sonar. As a result you cannot see the submarines. Know that the H.M.S. Endurance, the U.S.S. Perseverance, the H.M.A.S. Tenacious, the H.M.C.S. Dauntless and the D.S. Persistence are on the way to help you. We are all equipped with sonar and we are all advanced destroyers capable of destroying submarines. The U.S.S. Endeavour and the H.M.S. Enterprise carrier groups are also making a heading for your convoy to provide anti-submarine air support. You have to hang in there. Over!”
“This is Captain Jennifer of the H.M.C.S. Jennifer, copy that. Over!”
Captain Jennifer presses button on the radio, “Okay, members of the Time Warp convoy. We need to start taking evasive maneuvers. All ships are to sale fast in an “emotional self-management” zigzag pattern to avoid torpedoes. Every five minutes, turn 30 degrees to port and every five minutes, turn 30 degrees to starboard. All transport ships are to stay in the centre of the convoy where it is safe and all corvettes are to guard the outskirts of the convoy. Corvettes are to make educated guesses as to the positions of the enemy submarines and shoot “strategic policy” depth charges at the enemy wolf pack submarines. Hopefully, we will take out a number of submarines. Help is on the way if we can just hang in there and not get taken out. Do NOT break formation for any reason whatsoever. Over!”
Real Life – July 24, 2026
“Wow, Miranda! Interesting scenario!”
Miranda smiles, “I thought it was a helpful way of illustrating the strategy we have to take as a team.”
I nod, “Well, it is working. Okay, everybody – based on the grand strategy that we have formulated, I want everybody to create a family self-defense plan and an individual self-defense plan. Discuss it with your families and then let me have a look. We may need to integrate our strategy across the five groups of networks that make up the convoy if you will, given that there are five of us. So I am sending you home right now to discuss the plan with your families.”
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 24, 2026
I am sleeping, after a busy day at work. I dream that I am Joan of Arc once more. She is speaking to her soldiers, “We have an excellent castle here. The walls are made of granite. It will be very difficult for musketry and cannon balls to penetrate the granite. Our greatest weakness is the “time travel discovery” gate. We need to use our inferior weaponry to our advantage. Arrows fly in an arc better than musket balls. Their “know how the system works better” musket balls are very dangerous so stay behind the cover of the “victim party” granite. So we will be able to take cover and fire “strategic policy” arrow and trebuchet volleys at the enemy while the enemy will likely shoot over our heads. So make sure you fire as many volleys as you can. We will use “emotional self-management” pots of boiling oil and “venting” fire arrows on the enemy and rely on the “victim party” granite to defend us. Stay calm and do not panic! We need to fight as a team.”
The men cheer, “Commander Jennifer! Commander Jennifer! Commander Jennifer!”
“Okay, men! Get into your positions!”
The soldiers run up the battlements to man their positions.
The three hundred thousand man enemy army starts moving closer.
CHAPTER 6 – IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGY FOR SELF-DEFENSE
Real Life – July 25, 2026
I speak, “Okay, we have integrated our plan for defending ourselves and our families. Miranda, I understand that you and your boyfriend, Peter Hawkins have come up with a plan between the two of you. You will both exercise at the gym in the morning, and you will both do journals where you will journal your thoughts to see how you can manage them better. You have both agreed to eat healthily and to communicate with each other if there are any issues. And you have both agreed to get a punching bag at your house which you will punch to help yourselves vent safely. You have also agreed to spend adequate time with each other going to the movies, exploring nature and swimming.”
Miranda responds, “That is correct.”
“Benjamin, you are married with a family and two kids, Anna and Jasmine. Your plan is to play hide-and-seek with your kids and read stories to your kids to keep their minds at ease. You are also taking your wife and kids on visits to the science museum, and you are buying a kitten to keep the family occupied. You have talked to your wife to get her to communicate with you as soon as there is a problem with her or the kids and to let them draw on paper to see if anything weird shows up. To deal with your emotions, you and your wife have decided to get decent rap music and rap and dance to the music. Your kids are being put into dance school and you and Patricia are going to go jogging together.”
Benjamin nods, “You got it.”
“Gertruda, you are married but have no kids. Your plan is to manage your emotions by playing the violin with your husband, Heinrich as he plays the piano. For exercise, the two of you will take ballroom dance lessons. You have also decided to get a dog. You have agreed to talk to each other as soon as you have problems. You have also decided to take lots of walks together.”
Gertruda gives a thumbs up, “That’s it.”
“Harry, you are single and not looking for a relationship. You are looking after your mother Bonnie though. You have agreed to talk as soon as either of you have a problem. You have decided to take your mother on frequent shopping trips. You have also decided to get a parrot to keep your mother occupied. Both of you are spiritual, so you will use your spirituality to protect yourselves mentally and to use prayer to help yourselves vent safely.”
Harry smiles, “That’s everything.”
“As I am single, alone and not looking for a relationship, I will do judo training for exercise and to vent properly. I will let the four of you know when I am in trouble. I will also get a ferret to keep myself occupied. To deal with my emotions, I will listen to heavy metal music. We have all agreed to update everybody on the status of everybody in the five networks of relationships. Everybody has agreed to practice healthy self-talk that refutes any kind of negative thought that shows up in your minds, with pithy statements or religious statements or the like.”
Everybody nods.
“I will also prepare a master report that we will keep password protected and in a secure location for anybody from the future on the scene to review. It will have the following headings with sufficient discussion of the details about each heading. I will start with a high level executive summary that details the facts and strategy of the situation. The first section thereafter will be the findings of the research and the dates thereof which you Benjamin have agreed to provide. The second section will discuss what the implications of the research are and how the United States of America and Canada will use the research in ways that benefit the whole world and not just the USA or Canada. The third section will cover how we will keep controls over time travel by creating time sheriffs, which will give confidence that we are being responsible. The fourth section will discuss how our team is an international team from three continents and more than one ethnic grouping, which will be used to support the idea that we want to be international in our efforts. The fifth section will discuss what we have been through up to this point to help any time sheriffs who are reviewing our information build a case to protect us. I will discuss the loss of the grant income for spurious reasons, the harm we have suffered to this point, the intimidation we have faced to this point. I will then have a conclusion. I will update as we go. Everybody happy?”
Benjamin adds, “We should probably have a code of ethics, mission and vision and also a set of rules for how we will stick to a common set of rules of conduct and the punishments for failure to meet the rules of conduct.”
I respond, “That is a thought. We could say we will ensure that we will not benefit financially in any way from information gained from time travel. We could maintain confidentiality and make other statements to that effect.”
Miranda nods, “I suggest we do that.”
I smile, “Anything else?”
Gertruda speaks, “We forgot to do the teambuilding stuff.”
“Good point. Let us come up with a number of team building things every week. We should take out of our work time and do various group board and physical activity games. We should also find a number of case studies of various war and business planning initiatives and work together to hone our skills in dealing with the situations mentioned in these case studies. Just so you know, I have hired a crisis counselor who will be available by phone to help us with any issues that develop in this process. Anything else?”
Miranda raises her eyebrow, “I think that is it.”
“Between the four self-defense strategies of staying on side with the future, allowing time sheriffs to build a case, self-management and ensuring our networks are well looked after, I think we can beat off the enemy attack from the future. Miranda, what did your latest dream involve?”
Miranda smiles, “It went like this.”
Convoy Visualization – July 25, 2026
The convoy has started moving in zigzag maneuvers. The five corvettes are on the outside of the convoys, with the sailors onboard scanning the waves for a hint of the submarines.
Real Life – July 25, 2026
“It definitely sounds like your dreams are sort of following along with what is happening. Okay, everybody, we have a plan now. Continue with the research work on the quatron to make our findings ready for a research paper, and I will start preparing the master report which will help us protect ourselves. Let us get to it!”
Everybody begins work on their assigned duties.
I go to my computer to start drafting the master report. I write down the headings and start fleshing out the details. I get a strong sense we are being monitored from the future. I hope that this plan will work out.
A thought comes, Time sheriffs here. This is all you can really do if you don’t have future technology to back yourself up. This is a good plan to start off with, but it doesn’t mean you won’t still be attacked. You will need to hold your ranks and bear up under pressure before you see results. You will need lots of self-discipline and lots of nerve before you will be able to pull off a victory in this situation. However, our presence here is a strong indication that you were indeed successful in the long run. The key to victory is mental and emotional self-discipline, perseverance, courage and strategic smarts across the whole team. If someone on the team is not disciplined enough, your defenses could crumble, so you need to make sure that everybody is well disciplined. This is much like a military engagement. If you have one weak link in the team, the whole team is compromised and you could all get taken out.
I respond, Got it.
The thoughts continue, What has happened to you is that the early future has been turned against you. The problem is that the early future would more likely choke on political issues affecting your time zone. The way around that is to get the late future to keep the early future under control. Any political effects such as Communist Empire-mania usually wear off after one to four centuries so the late future would be more reasonable. Your job is to convince the late future to support you, otherwise they may just let the early future handle the situation, which means you will get taken out. You should invest in things that the late future would think is wonderful such as investing in space travel, creating time sheriffs, preventing nuclear war, preventing genocide, and fighting general racism towards all groups, even the dominant group. You can figure this out by remembering the deep future wants to make progress in expansion due to potential opposition from alien races in the future, wants security, wants to exist in the first place and is probably quite a mixed crowd. It would help tip the balance of things in your favor. It would help with your standing with the early future as well.
If the particular issue is not worth taking major casualties over or you cannot get all elements of an effective self-defense strategy in place, namely getting the deep future on your side, getting the time sheriffs to build a case, excellent protection of yourself emotionally and mentally and excellent protection of your networks, you are always strongly advised to withdraw from the field of battle when you start having the experiences you have been having. In this case you do have all elements and you understand that the issue is worth fighting for, so you should stay in the field of battle and do the best you can even though you do not have the technology you need to fight back. You should only fight the future over make-or-break issues such as the discovery of time travel, creating time sheriffs and similar discoveries or when you are dealing with life-or-death issues such as averting nuclear war or genocide and similar issues. Otherwise, just stay out of the way and retreat. This is because it will get very frightening very quickly once a fight starts.
I nod, Makes sense.
I continue to draft the report. Benjamin sends me the research findings, and I quickly add it to the overall report. I save it in a secure folder.
I move onto preparing the research findings paper to submit to the scientific journal. Perhaps we can get grant income from somewhere else. Someone who won’t run away at the first sign of trouble.
I get a menacing thought, Fool! You have lost your grant income, and yet you still insist on continuing the research? Do you understand we can hurt you? And I mean really hurt you?
I respond, I am NOT backing down for any reason!
I start getting mental thoughts of myself and my team members suddenly going mad, We swear that we will hurt you if you continue to write this report.
I smile, Just you try! Go ahead, just you try! If you attack us, you could get into serious trouble, potentially losing great benefits in the future from the sounds of things.
The enemy spits on the ground in the future, The future is on our side! We will nail you! Do you understand us! You will go down like a sack of potatoes!
I stick my tongue out at him, The future in your time zone is on your side! What about later time zones? Have you considered that?
Cease and desist, you fool! A cease and desist order means you cease and desist! Is that clear!
I chuckle, I am NOT backing down.
Fool!
All is quiet.
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 25, 2026
I am dreaming once more of being the Joan of Arc figure. I see men running around, boiling pots of oil and getting small fires ready to light up fire arrows. I can see several people release lots of homing pigeons to get help. Quivers of arrows are being distributed. The gates are being shored up with as much debris as possible to make an attack harder. Supplies and water are being distributed to all of the soldiers. Men are sharpening swords and preparing the trebuchets.
CHAPTER 7 – THE STORM INTENSIFIES
Real Life – July 27, 2026
I have come in to work early this morning. I am excited about the progress we have made. The research findings report is almost ready. We are close to a submission to the scientific research journal. And then we will be able to get grant funding.
The phone rings and I pick up, “Hi Jennifer, This is James, the building manager. We have video footage of people in your office from last night. We also have video footage of people watching the premises from unmarked black vehicles outside. Do you know anything about this?”
My heart starts beating fast, “I don’t know anything about this. Can you describe them?”
“They appear to be of Communist Empire extraction. Are you doing something that we don’t know about?”
I respond, “We are a think tank specializing in time travel research. I can see the Communist Empire taking an interest. Did you call the cops?”
“The cops said that after the Defund the Police business, they only want to focus on serious cases such as murders and sexual assaults where it is clear that everybody will support their presence. That is just in case the media portrays them as exceeding their authority. So they are ranking this incident as low priority and will get back to it when they have dealt with the more serious cases. They say they are really short-staffed and can only put their guys on serious cases right now. It could take two months for a report to be processed.”
“So what do we do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can we hire a security company if needs be?”
“I will have to check with the landlord.”
“Please don’t tell our landlord right now. We will have to figure this out a different way. Give us a week or two.”
“Got it.”
I put the phone down. I am shaky. Suddenly, I pick up a voice, “Fool! We are going to take you down!”
Suddenly, I start getting mental images of the five members of our team going mad. I respond by going through five pithy statements, Time travel in the hands of our enemies is death to us all! Hold the line! Bullies are cowards! This too shall pass! Perseverance leads to victory! Time travel in the hands of our enemies is death to us all! Hold the line! Bullies are cowards! This too shall pass! Perseverance leads to victory!
Suddenly, I hear tires squealing and gunshots. I duck under the table.
I am shaking from the fright. I do various physical exercises to shake myself loose from the fright. I put a smile on my face and think back, You guys are the ones who are going down! You are going to go too far and then that will be the end of you! I do judo and I will throw you with the force that you come at me with!
Harry comes into my office, “The building opposite us has been the target of a drive-by shooting. There are police cars arriving.”
I look at him. He is clearly frightened. He tells me, “My mother has started sleepwalking for the first time in her life. I have never seen her do that in my life.”
I grab him by the shoulders, “Don’t overthink! Don’t jump to conclusions! Assume the best! Understand the situation first and then judge or speak! Everything will be OK! Tell yourself that over and over!”
He nods, visibly rattled and whispering the words to himself over and over.
I pick up thoughts, Time sheriffs here! Be careful, the Communist Empire types attacking you have a communist gang under their control and are trying to get them to assassinate your team. You got lucky. They say your address pops up on the map software on the opposite side of the street from where it should. Be alert! Get security now!
Gertruda comes in “Heinrich has started hearing voices that say that you Jennifer will be killed. I asked him to confirm that he was hearing this, and he did. I didn’t hear anything, but he apparently recorded the voices and I was able to hear the threats. Whatever this enemy is, it wants you dead!”
I smile, “That is OK. We may have help. We have to try to get the enemy to go too far so that the time sheriffs will have a better case to help us.”
“Jennifer!” Benjamin comes in, “The kids started drawing pictures of a man with a chainsaw that was coming after a woman. It was so weird. I find this very concerning.”
“Like I told Harry, tell yourself, ‘Don’t overthink! Don’t jump to conclusions! Assume the best! Understand the situation first and then judge or speak! Everything will be OK!’ Tell yourself that over and over. But do tell the kids not to draw pictures like that.”
Miranda comes in and sighs, “My boyfriend had a mental picture of me being mentally tortured!”
I respond, “Do the same thing that I told Harry to do. Everybody! Stay calm! At this point the enemy is being very aggressive. This is the kind of behavior that gets everybody in the future on our side. We need to trigger the enemy in every single way possible so that he goes too far. The other thing is, please be careful what you do in the office. The Communist Empire secret service may have bugged our premises and we may need to be very careful to ensure that our technology is not hacked. Benjamin, make sure the research is password-protected with eye scan technology. The police will not be able to help us at this point. We need to go as fast as we can with the research paperwork and get it sent to the American Research Today journal. That way we may be able to get grant income and then hire a security company. Hold the line! Stay calm! Be strong!”
Harry vents, “We need to have a better plan!”
Miranda starts sobbing, “I don’t know if I can take this anymore! I want out! Please! Please! I want out!”
I hug her, trying to console her, “Hang in there! We can do this, OK!”
Gertruda sighs, “How are we going to protect ourselves from an enemy like this? It looks like the Communist Empire of today and the Communist Empire of the future are after us. We are being attacked physically and mentally, in the present and in the future. How do we make sure everybody is OK?”
“It is too late to run away from this fight. We need to trigger our future opponent as much as possible so that the time sheriffs can make an intervention to take him out. That is the only way forward. We will likely be intimidated until we decisively deal with this threat. Backing down is not an option!”
I pick up a thought, Time sheriffs here! Try to trigger them as much as possible! We have one of them on charges of death threats. The others got away as they had proof that your team members and their families were imagining things. Hang in there and try to get them to push their luck. Remember we got to build a case. If you can get us three strikes like in the game of baseball, we may be able to take the whole group down.
Miranda vents, “I don’t know if these dreams mean anything anymore, but here is what I dreamed of.”
Convoy Visualization – July 27, 2026
A torpedo whirrs towards the H.M.C.S. Jennifer, but the corvette is too nimble. Seeing the torpedo, Captain Jennifer turns the wheel hard to starboard. The ship veers hard to starboard. The torpedo grazes past.
Another torpedo starts streaking through the water towards the H.M.C.S. Jennifer. But Captain Jennifer turns the ship hard to port, and that torpedo misses by twelve feet.
The radio crackles, “The H.M.S. Bonnie has been hit by a torpedo. She is still moving. She is lower in the water but they have managed to contain the water though.”
Another radio message comes through, “This is the H.M.A.S. Miranda. We had a torpedo come right past us.”
A torpedo moves towards the H.M.C.S. Jennifer from the direction of the D.S. Gertruda. Captain Jennifer turns the ship hard to port and puts the engine on full thrust. The torpedo misses the propellers by a few feet.
“This is the D.S. Gertruda. We have launched depth charges. We have identified the probable location of a submarine.”
In the distance near the D.S. Gertruda, there are lots of splashes and explosions. Suddenly there is a massive explosion. Detritus rises to the surface.
“This is Captain Gertruda of the D.S. Gertruda. We appear to have blown up a submarine.”
“This is Captain Jennifer of the H.M.C.S. Jennifer. This is excellent! Everybody, keep following the zigzag maneuver and we will eventually be able to get out of this!’
Real Life – July 27, 2026
I wink, “Whoever was speaking to your husband Heinrich and threatening me has been taken out. That is one of the submarines. Let us keep triggering them.”
I blow a big raspberry and give a rude gesture to the air.
Everybody laughs and starts doing the same.
I turn to the others, “Password-protect your information. Put covers over your keyboards and don’t make it clear to anybody spying on us what the passwords are. Install anti-key logging software on the computers. Pretend we have been hacked and make situation-appropriate decisions. We will put our information on laptops and we will work off site at a different location.”
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 27, 2026
The musketmen are shooting at the castle, providing covering fire for their ladders and other siege weapons. Their cannons have opened fire on the gate, blasting holes in various places. But there is too much debris for the cannonballs to clear away.
I yell, “Longbowmen! Maintain your cover! Open fire against the enemy! Fire at will! Trebuchets! Aim for the enemy cannons!”
Thousands of arrows soar into the air from the castle. Many hit musketmen and they fall to the ground. Many trebuchet arrows smash through the ranks of musketmen. One hits a cannon and it explodes in flames.
I roar, “Get the burning oil and the flame arrows ready!”
The musketmen keep shooting at the battlements and advancing closer and closer. Many draw closer to the gates. And many are cut down by the cloud of arrows falling from above. Soon some bring ladders against the battlements.
I shout, “Dump the oil on the ladders and light them!”
Oil falls down on the ladders and flaming arrows set them alight.
Every now and then, one of my men falls from the battlements, hit by a musket ball.
CHAPTER 8 – DEALING WITH THE AGGRESSIVE TYPES
Real Life – July 28, 2026
I am at my house on the telephone calling the police, “Are you serious? It will take you two months to resolve the issue with the break-and-enter? Can’t you be any faster than that?”
“We have to look good these days when we do crime-fighting, otherwise the public will lynch us. If we deal with this case will we look good?”
“I think so! It is a break-and-enter!”
“You think so? We are making this a lower priority case. If we cannot look good we will deal with this case later. You may hear from us in six months.”
I scream, “Are you fricking serious! We need you on this!”
“Sorry, madam! Our hands are tied! Bye!” the phone is hung up.
I look outside in desperation. I can see a man walking past the house. He has one hand in his jacket.
I pick up a thought, Time sheriffs here! Sorry that you are having this experience. People always seem to overcompensate for everything. This follows a well known cycle that we have observed over the centuries. First the criminals are vicious. Then the public asks for strong police. Then after a while, the police get heavy handed. The public then asks for the police to be defunded and gutted. Then the criminals get brutal again. And then the public asks for strong police again. On the other hand, respect for the law is essential for the maintenance of the proper functioning of a country and is easy to take for granted until you don’t have it. Once you lose the respect for the law, your country will become a Third World Country. We are very sorry you are having this experience. Just so you know, we nabbed another suspect who apparently got paid by a Communist Empire descended nation to terminate you a few minutes from now. He could actually pick up our conversation.
The man walking past the house pulls out a gun and tries to shoot. But he suddenly trips into a black rectangle that suddenly appears before him. Both disappear before my eyes. Another man starts running away. A black rectangle catches him too.
I get a thought again, Time sheriffs here! We pretended we caught the second guy and he panicked, so we knew he was a suspect. The fake capture routine is quite effective on some of these earlier time zone operatives. Now we have him for real! Hahahahaha!
I start shaking from fright.
Hold the line, Jennifer! If we are here, everything will be OK! Our activity is usually more visible with cases that turned out well. Be patient with us. We need to nab a number of the more aggressive types coming after you. Time sheriffs out!
I hold the table to steady myself. Are people seriously trying to kill me?
I firm my lips, the rage rising within me, I will hang in there no matter what! I will never give up! NOT EVER! Over my dead body will the Communist Empire get this technology!
The others are about to arrive with their laptops. We no longer trust the offices we used to work at.
The doorbell rings. I answer.
“Hi Jennifer, the rest of us are here! We have the information!” Benjamin’s smiling face shows.
“Come in,” I say, “Make yourselves comfortable. Benjamin, I hope you have the final report findings for our research on your USB key.”
Benjamin nods, “That I do. I prepared it to the best standards of research report writing. Other scientists should be able to verify our findings. Here it is.”
I am relieved, “I will add it to the secret report as well as the document that will be send to research journals around the United States. I have several editors who are interested in publishing our findings. We could turn this around, get the grant income we need and then deal with the problems we have been having. We could commercialize our findings and have patent attorneys write patents for us if we could get this right.”
I plug the USB key into my laptop, and update the documents.
Suddenly, I get a horrible thought, You WERE warned! Cease and desist! Fool!!!”
Another thought comes, Time sheriffs here! Things have changed! We will have to stop this effort of yours to publish time travel findings! And unfortunately, we will have to terminate anybody with any knowledge of this time travel effort. Okay! Over to you to do the deed!
I feel deeply betrayed.
The horrible thought comes back, I will fricking kill you, Jennifer! You were warned to cease and desist! I will stop your miserable heart! You will die!
The other thought returns, Time sheriffs here! That sounds like a death threat to me.
The horrible thought roars, She deserves to die for harming the human race!
Time sheriffs here! You are under arrest for threatening this poor woman with death. Sorry about that! Jennifer, the fake betrayal routine works just as well at nabbing suspects. Hold the line! Gotta get one more aggressive type! Time sheriffs out!
I sort of try to breathe, forcing myself to keep typing. My brains are fried. Finally, I say, “Let us just spend one more night thinking about this document. Can each of you read this document and let me know if you see any issues? My brains are scrambled. I will give you each a copy of the report, and could you please review the report for any issues. If you can think of anything, please let me know.”
The others start getting out their laptops. I give Benjamin a USB key. He puts the USB key into his laptop and downloads the report and passes it onto Miranda. Eventually, after downloading the report, she passes it on to Gertruda. Finally everybody has a copy of the report.
I try not to panic. I tell myself, Everything will be OK! Be strong and courageous! Do not give up! Running from battle means a lifetime of regret! Do not precipitate the situation!
I keep telling myself the same thing over and over.
I pick up a thought, Time sheriffs here! We have another complicated maneuver to play here! If a bad guy messes with your thoughts, tell him that we have located his time zone as being the late 21st century and we are aware he has been sent to terminate you after he speaks to you. Time sheriffs out!
My head is spinning. What is going on?
I watch the others, trying not to freak out. I tell myself again, Everything will be OK! Be strong and courageous! Do not give up! Running from battle means a lifetime of regret! Do not precipitate the situation!
The words make me feel stronger. But I am weak from fright.
A nasty thought pops up, Weak fool of a woman! The United States and Canada are the countries of yesterday! A bright new future will rise over Communist Empire!
Gathering my scattered thoughts, I respond, The time sheriffs say they have located your time zone as being the late 21st century and they are aware you have been sent to terminate me.
Whoever made the thought jolts suddenly and panics.
Time sheriffs here! That guy panicked too! We have our third suspect! The tactic this time was to feed the victim information beforehand to see what kind of reaction the perpetrator had. Works well in some situations! Okay, sorry Jennifer! We will have to withdraw for a bit now! We got all the very aggressive types now! Hold the line, Jennifer! Time sheriffs out!
I try to settle myself down. I go to the radio to play soft, calming music. My thoughts are so scattered. I try to collect my thoughts.
The others are typing suggestions for changes to the reports.
Miranda sighs, “I don’t think the dreams are following reality now, but in any case, my latest dream went as follows.”
Convoy Visualization – July 28, 2026
The H.M.C.S. Jennifer is cutting through the waves. Suddenly, a torpedo streaks towards the ship from a hundred feet away. Captain Jennifer shifts the wheel hard to port. The H.M.C.S. Jennifer escapes being hit by the torpedo by two feet. Captain Jennifer yells, “Fire the depth charges!”
Depth charges soar into the air and plunge into the water. There are lots of explosions. Finally, there is a large explosion. Debris rises to the surface. Captain Jennifer cheers, “We got another submarine! Resetting our course!”
As soon as the H.M.C.S. Jennifer has rejoined the course set by the rest of the convoy, another torpedo emerges going straight for the middle of the H.M.C.S. Jennifer. Captain Jennifer yells, “Set a depth charge to explode at a shallow depth and fire it! Try to explode that torpedo!”
A depth charge shoots into the air and crashes into the water just as the torpedo starts going past it. The depth charge explodes taking the torpedo with it. Captain Jennifer roars, “Fire the depth charges at that submarine!”
More depth charges plunge into the water, churning the water with explosions. Eventually, there is another enormous explosion. The sailors cheer.
Captain Jennifer shouts, “Look for more torpedoes!”
Sure enough, another torpedo approaches from the opposite direction. Captain Jennifer steers the boat hard to present as small a target as possible. The torpedo grazes past by a few inches.
“Fire more depth charges!” Captain Jennifer screams.
Depth charges churn the waters. After five minutes, a long column of exploding waters denotes the demise of a submarine.
“Check for more torpedoes! Check for more submarines!”
“We cannot see any!” one of the other sailors yells.
Captain Jennifer radios out, “This is Captain Jennifer of the H.M.C.S. Jennifer. When can we expect assistance?”
“This is Captain Stewart of the U.S.S. Perseverance. We are on the way to assist you! You can expect an ETA of one day. The H.M.S. Enterprise carrier fleet and the U.S.S. Endeavor carrier fleet are also on the way to assist you with an ETA of two days.”
Real Life – July 28, 2026
“Anyway, that was my dream,” Miranda says.
I smile, “Sounds like a good dream. How are you guys holding up?”
Benjamin sighs, “I keep having thoughts that I am going to destroy this information and I am telling myself, ‘Be strong! Don’t throw away a lifetime of work in a fit of stupidity! America’s counting on you!”
Miranda tears up, “I am also having thoughts that I will be depressed for the rest of my life and I am telling myself, ‘Do not give up! This too will pass! The sun comes out after the rain!’”
Gertruda nods, “I am having something similar, that I must kill myself. I am telling myself, ‘Do not throw your life away! This too shall pass! NATO is counting on you!”
Harry blinks, “Weird how we are all struggling with something. I have a feeling that I am so angry that I cannot think straight. I am telling myself, ‘An angry bull doesn’t gore a matador but a strategic one does. Stay calm! Anger is a symptom of an invasion, and is a signal something has to be done!’”
I speak, “Hang in there, everybody! I am having similar thoughts around fear. Be strong! You are welcome to spend the night here. We can figure this document out together!”
Benjamin smiles, “Everything will be OK. I am done.”
Miranda adds, “I will be done by midnight.”
“Okay, everybody. I will wait for you to finish.”
As I wait, I fall asleep.
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 28, 2026
The arrows are soaring through the night. The trebuchets are shooting large arrows. There is intense gunfire from below. Fires are burning below everywhere as more musketmen come with ladders.
An arrow from one of the trebuchets hits a cannon and it explodes in flames. The cannons fire cannonballs at the gate of the fortress. It is starting to fall apart. But there is so much debris the musketmen cannot get in. More ladders get thrown onto the walls, and more burning oil gets dropped on the ladders, with fire arrows setting them alight.
Another trebuchet arrow finds its mark, severely damaging another cannon.
I yell, “Make more burning oil! We are running out! Archers, keep up the fire!” Every now and then a musketman manages to get to the top of the ladders and is quickly pierced through by a swordsman.
Another explosion marks the end of yet another cannon at the hands of a trebuchet arrow.
Real Life – July 28, 2026
I wake up to see the others still working. “How far are you?”
“Just finishing up,” says Getruda.
I respond, “Whoever has done their review, could you please give me a USB key with your copy of the report and I will update the master copy.”
CHAPTER 9 – THE STORM REACHES A CRESCENDO
Real Life – July 29, 2026
I update the report with the various team members’ notes. Some make sense and others I disagree with. It is 2am. The others are fast asleep. I am terrified, so desperately terrified that we will be stopped before we can send in the report findings to the research journals. Will we get it out on time? Will we be stopped? Will we be able to get patentable discoveries out of the Jenny quatron? The possibilities are endless. Will we get more grant income to do more research? Or is that now an option of the past?
I quickly update the report with the notes that I agree with. But I am so tired… so tired. Will the Communist Empire secret service stop us? Will the Communist Empire of the future stop us? What are we supposed to do?
Finally, I finish the report. Maybe I should sleep a bit more in case there are a number of issues.
Saving my work, I turn off the computer and try to sleep. The fear beats down on me like a cloud, like an army of darkness threatening to overwhelm me. I start practicing my self-talk, “Courage is not the absence of fear. It is pushing against fear. Nothing good ever came without a struggle. Do not give up. Be strong.”
Slowly I relax, and fall asleep.
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 29, 2026
“Commander Jennifer, the enemy has breached the gate!” someone yells.
“They are coming over the walls!” another soldier yells.
“Rally to me! Push them back off the walls!” I yell.
Swordsmen rush towards the castle walls and fight the musketmen. Every now and then a musketman manages to shoot a musket killing a swordsman.
“Longbowmen! Keep firing your arrows over the castle walls!” I yell.
Clouds of arrows fly over the walls.
Real Life – July 29, 2026
I wake to hear sobbing gasps. I find Miranda in a state crying.
“What’s wrong, Miranda?” I ask.
“I feel so terrible! Like something really bad is going to happen! But let me do the self-talk routine. Everything is going to be OK! Do not give up! Stay strong! This too shall pass! I want out! But I cannot let go! I want out! Please! I want out!”
I can hear praying. I listen in to Harry, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Be strong and courageous!”
Gertruda sits up, but she looks shaky.
“Is everything OK, Gertruda?”
She battles to talk, “I had a dream that I was being tortured! It was horrible! There was something to that dream that I cannot ignore it!”
Benjamin is muttering to himself, “Everything is going to be OK! Everything is going to be OK! Everything is going to be OK!”
I tell everybody, “Stay strong! We can do this! We can fight this and get this report out! We can do this! Do you understand me? These feelings and dreams we are getting – they are just caused by enemy telepaths messing with our minds! We have to hang in there! Do you understand me? We are going to fight to the very bitter end!”
Benjamin nods glumly, “We will fight to the bitter end!”
Harry adds, “To the bitter end!”
Miranda and Gertruda are quiet.
Harry mutters, “This is eerily similar to spiritual warfare.”
I nod, “I know but we know that we are dealing with telepaths from the future, not spirits so we need to make sure we fight with the right strategy.”
I pick up a thought, Time sheriffs here! You are exactly correct. Telepaths can influence emotions, thoughts, dreams, visions, impressions, prophecies and anything like that. In fact, they can influence decisions as well and it is of critical importance to ensure that you understand the rules and components of good decision making in order to avoid being unduly influenced, such as testing your decisions against advice or common sense. Also telepathic and mind interference technologies can make you very ditzy, and a good way of overcoming that is to come up with detailed checklists and step-by-step processes for your job and home to avoid errors. Also telepaths from the future need to be handled with a more scientifically or secularly based strategy than spirits. In fact, unethical telepaths will likely play games with people who think they are spirits and you could get events like the Salem witch trials. On the other hand, for Christians, a strategy that combines respect for the science and facts of the situation as well as spiritual self-defense can be extremely effective against these types, and may open up pathways to all kinds of opportunities in the situation. The main point though is that there needs to be respect for the science and facts of the situation. Sorry we are not much help at this point due to a twist in the case but know that the five of you will be OK. Time sheriffs out.
Miranda speaks, “I got another ship dream. It went like this.”
Convoy Visualization – July 29, 2026
The convoy sails through the waters.
Five torpedoes appear, each heading for one of the five corvettes. But the corvettes are too small and too fast. Each torpedo misses its target.
But many more torpedoes start coming.
Three start streaking towards the U.S.S. Time Warp.
Real Life – July 29, 2026
Benjamin’s phone rings. He picks up. A voice comes through on the other side, “Benjamin, I caught one of our kids sleepwalking for the first time ever and muttering under his breath. I woke him and put him to sleep, but I was so freaked out. Is everything OK on your side?”
I can see the fright on Benjamin’s face. He tries to pacify his wife, “Baby, please stay calm. Everything will be OK! I will be back home later today!”
Miranda’s breath shakes, “I feel a terrible feeling that something very bad is wrong! I cannot get rid of the feeling.”
Gertruda looks at her phone, “My husband says he can hear a voice threatening to kill the five of us.” She looks very scared.
Harry picks up his phone and calls his mother, “Hi Mom, just checking on you. Is everything OK?”
His mother responds, “Yes dear, but there are these people in black cars parked outside watching the house. I don’t really know why they are there. But other than that, everything is fine.”
On a whim, I open the blinds and look outside. I can see black cars waiting outside. I am terrified. Maybe I should just send the research findings report! NOW!
I start the computer, “I will just send the report now. Maybe that will make everything OK again.”
Suddenly Miranda starts sobbing, “The feeling is getting worse! It is getting worse! I can’t handle it!”
Gertruda starts shaking as she battles her emotions. Benjamin sits down and becomes catatonic. Harry starts praying, but he battles to get his words out. The computer is on. I open the e-mail and attach the document, but then I get a strong urge to just delete the whole report. Just delete the whole report.
I battle the urge with all I have. This is our life’s work! We worked so hard!
The urge retreats and then attacks even more powerfully.
I fight it with everything at my disposal. I clench my teeth. I speak, “I WILL send it! I WILL send it!”
The urge barrels into my system incredibly powerfully.
I strain hard to overpower it.
Suddenly my dream and reality seem to occur at the same time.
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 29, 2026
Musketmen are pouring over the walls. The debris behind the gate has been all but cleared.
I yell to my men, “Fall back! Fall back to the inner defenses!”
My men and I run hard to the last line of defenses, a modest battlement within the castle. Musket balls fly everywhere, taking down a soldier every now and then. Quickly taking their positions along the inner line battlements, my soldiers stand ready.
I shout, “Longbowmen, let them have it!”
Another cloud of arrows falls into the musketmen, taking many of them down. But the inner defenses are no protection from the musket balls. My men are starting to fall like flies.
Real Life – July 29, 2026
I strain hard against the overpowering mental force. But my hand slowly moves towards the delete button.
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 29, 2026
I roar to my men, “Fall back into the inner chambers. We will fight to the end there!”
I start running with what is left of my men into the inner chambers of the castle.
Real Life – July 29, 2026
My hand moves ever closer to the delete button. I strain and grunt against the force but my hand ignores me. It gets closer and closer to the delete button.
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 29, 2026
The musket men are shooting at the doors. Holes are appearing everywhere in it. I have a few swordsmen around me and a few archers behind me. The gates are blown down. My archers fire arrows and several musketmen fall down slain.
Several muskets are fired. One by one, my men fall down killed.
A voice shouts out, “Restrain her!”
Several musketmen rush into the room and grab me. I fight valiantly but I am overpowered.
Real Life – July 29, 2026
My hand is right over the delete button.
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 29, 2026
A man in military gear steps in front of me. He snarls, “Did you think you would win this war, fool!!! You will be executed!”
He waves his hands and orders, “Get a firing line. Let us execute her!”
Real Life – July 29, 2026
I think angrily, “I WILL NOT BE TAKEN DOWN! I am doing this for the future of Canada and the United States. I WILL NOT BE TAKEN DOWN! I will fight to the very bitter end!”
My hand draws back.
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 29, 2026
I yell, “I will not be taken down! I will fight to the very end! You have no right to be here! And I have every right to be here!”
The musketmen draw back in fear and lower their weapons.
Real Life – July 29, 2026
My hand is suddenly paralyzed and the terrible urge forces my hand back towards the delete button. A voice snarls, “You will CEASE AND DESIST, fool of a woman!”
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 29, 2026
The enemy general snarls, “Fool! Soldiers! Execute her!”
The musketmen raise their weapons and prepare to fire.
CHAPTER 10 – INTERVENTION
Real Life – July 29, 2026
My hand descends upon the delete button. I fight hard to control my hand. The button starts to give way beneath my finger.
Suddenly the pressure releases. I fall back. I jump forward and click the send button. The e-mails sends. The publishers now have our findings on the quatron.
A voice speaks, “Time sheriffs here! For the criminal offense of political time interference, you are all to be arrested! Your nations of origin have been notified and have been asked not to interfere or face serious consequences! You will surrender now or face the threat of force!”
Another voice speaks, “You cannot countermand us! We have a cease and desist order from the United Nations Senate of the year 2091! The Senate’s word is the law.”
The first voice responds, “We are the time sheriffs of the year 3261. We have countermanded your corrupt Senate’s cease and desist order. We have managed to get enough evidence to send you all to jail. Your nations of origin will be denied the rights to time travel for a space of 100 years each. We are stronger than you and we suggest that you comply!”
The second voice snarls, “The Senate’s order is the law.”
The first voice answers, “When you travel through time, the interplanetary time sheriffs are the law! You will submit to arrest and explain your actions in a court martial in the year 3261. A time zone where your precious Interplanetary Senate cannot protect you from the consequences of your actions.”
“We will attack you if you try to arrest us!”
“Threatening a time sheriff with assault is a very bad idea. Believe me! Lay down your weapons and switch off your computers and we will take you in! Do NOT attempt to attack the victims!”
There is hideous swearing.
“We are coming after you in three… two… one… sting operation activated!”
Suddenly blue electronic shields appear, covering Benjamin, Gertruda, Miranda, Harry and I. We all start wafting off to sleep.
Siege Warfare Visualization – July 29, 2026
Just as the musketmen are about to fire, there are lots of gunshots. They slump to the ground dead.
Men in black police uniforms with SWAT on the back quickly rush into the room, looking for intruders. One of them yelled, “This room is now clear, but we have a victim here!”
One of them, clearly a more senior ranking person gives orders, “Escort Commander Jennifer! We are going to extract her. Get Captains Benjamin, Miranda, Gertruda and Harry and extract them as well! We will have to get into a firefight to take out the General’s musketman army!”
The SWAT police officers grab me and start rushing me out. Soon I can see the others being quickly bundled with me. We are rushed outside. I can see a black helicopter with its blades whirring. I can hear machine gun fire as SWAT policemen engage with the musketmen. Musketmen collapse everywhere. I can see fighter bomber aircraft coming in from the horizon. They drop bombs on the musketman army. The musketmen try to shoot at the helicopter and the fighter bombers.
A SWAT policeman drops down from the helicopter and grabs me. He quickly rappels up with me to the helicopter. He repeats the process with the four others. The fighter bombers come around and start strafing the ground. Musketmen start running for their lives, dropping their weapons. Outside the castle walls I can see SWAT police vehicles appearing. They stop and unload SWAT police who open machine gun fire on the musketmen. The huge army is sent running.
The helicopter starts rising in the air, and starts taking the five of us away. A medical officer is quickly scanning my eyes and taking my pulse to see if I am OK. He quickly checks on the others. He yells over the helicopter’s noise, “You’re gonna be OK!”
I shout, “What about Castle Rock of Time?”
He shouts back, “We are going to make it safe for everybody!”
Real Life – July 29, 2026
I hear someone say, “Can you give me a report?”
Someone else responds, “Jennifer has sustained mental harm from being mind controlled. We are correcting the neural pathways to compensate. The other four have similar types of mental harm. We are trying to heal them as quickly as we can. The five of them seem to have developed an electronic mental connection that we need to break. Their close family also seems to have picked up similar problems!”
“What are we doing about the Communist Empire secret service watching them? We cannot have them watch this unfold.”
“We are attempting to mask the scene with a virtual reality portrayal of the five of them working.”
“Will the five of them make it?”
“They should be able to make it. They may sustain psychological damage from this experience though. They may have post traumatic stress syndrome after this.”
“How long do you need?”
“Give us ten minutes!”
The voices go indistinct.
Convoy Visualization – July 29, 2026
Suddenly, I feel like I am Miranda and I am watching the convoy sailing. Torpedoes are streaking everywhere. Suddenly aircraft arrive, dropping anti-torpedo countermeasures into the ocean. The three torpedoes heading for the U.S.S. Time Warp explode within twenty feet of the ship. The other torpedoes headed for the five corvettes are similarly destroyed.
More aircraft arrive, dropping bombs into the ocean. Every now and then, a large explosion denotes the demise of a submarine.
Five destroyers appear on the waves a short distance away. They start sending sonar beeps and releasing depth charges. After a minute or so, another huge welling up of water marks the end of yet another submarine.
“This is Captain Stout of the H.M.S. Endurance! We are engaging in combat with the submarines! The two carrier fleets are not far behind us!”
Then he adds, “Good news! It looks like the wolf pack is retreating! We will continue to mop up the area. Please continue on your mission to the United Kingdom!”
Everything starts to fade.
Real Life – July 29, 2026
The voices continue, “Do we have the suspects in custody?”
“Yes, sir! We have most of them!”
“Medical officer, how are the patients?”
“We have managed to break the electronic mental connection. We are busy settling their minds down and trying to massage everything back into some sense of normalcy.”
“How long do you need?”
“Another five minutes.”
“Got it! Tech Officer, is there a way we could get the FBI or the CIA on the tails of those Communist Empire secret service members?”
“We could perhaps make a big noise on cyberspace pretending to be amateur hackers talking about this particular location and that the Communist Empire is doing something here.”
“Try that! Any other ideas?”
“We could send an ominous message to the head of the Communist Empire secret service team that will cause them to back off.”
“Let us do that. Make sure you don’t give us away!”
“Of course, sir!”
Everything goes black.
Real Life – July 30, 2026
Someone is shaking me awake.
“Jennifer! Are you OK?”
I open my eyes to see Benjamin, “What is going on?”
“I am the only one awake. Why are the others asleep?”
“I don’t know,” I say. I sit up slowly. I have a major headache. I look at the computer to see that my e-mail has been sent. I see a message in my inbox from the publisher of the scientific journal. It reads as follows:
Dear Jennifer,
I am greatly impressed by your research findings. This discovery could be revolutionary. I will not hesitate to publish your findings in the hopes that people will discover great use for the quatron.
Excellent work!
Sincerely,
Karen
Manager
Technology Research Editing Team
I look at Benjamin. He is smiling from ear to ear. I can see the rest of the team rousing themselves from sleep.
EPILOGUE
Real Life – August 27, 2026
I read the newspaper headlines. One reads, “Silicon Valley team discovers method of time travel!” I can see a picture of the five of us. I am so proud of our work and how we stood up to the mysterious opposition that we had faced.
I pick up a thought, Time sheriffs here! As you can see the time sheriffs of the future have protected the fact that you discovered time travel. We managed to convince the Senate of the year 3261 to approve the discovery of time travel as being attributed to you. We were hoping you could please do us a favor?
I respond, What kind of favor do you need?
We were kind of hoping that you could please get some interest going in getting time sheriffs started. Seeing that time travel has now been discovered, could you please put in a word with the powerful that they must please arrange for us to get started?
I smile, Sure!
We would be very grateful if you did that. Time sheriffs out!
I look at my e-mail inbox. Four new grants have been given to us! Things are looking good!
I go back to what I was working on for publication as a special report for the newspaper. It is titled, “Implications of the Arrival of Time Travel and Time Sheriffs.”
I start typing, “The arrival of time travel is an important event in human history. So important in fact that time sheriffs will likely try to impose the creation of the time sheriffs on earlier time zones in order to protect everybody from its effects. It is clear that the consequences of the fact that it is indeed possible to travel through time has profound implications for everybody. In fact, it could bring us into conflict with powerful forces from the future we never knew existed. And that is why we need time sheriffs to keep the peace. To protect us from technology that we do not know how to fight.”
“Our technological research teams will need corvettes to help guide them through interactions with the future, particularly if the research is dangerous technology. My recommendation is that corvettes be trained to help support research and political teams against interference from the future. In fact, I believe that in the absence of effective time travel, corvettes are our best defense against interference from the future. In fact, they may give birth to the time sheriffs themselves.”
And the moral of the story is…
Time sheriffs and time travel start with corvettes!
Copyright © 2021 Jean Paul Booyens All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Booyens, Jean Paul. Excerpted from The Wild West of Time Travel needs a Sheriff. Kindle Edition.
Jean Paul Booyens, Author 